EurekAlert! News by Subject: Social & Behavior

Social & Behavior

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 30-Apr-2026 10:16 ET (30-Apr-2026 14:16 GMT/UTC)

30-Apr-2026

Perceptions of cultural foreignness may lead to job discrimination

American Psychological Association
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Asian, Arab and Latino Americans may face more discrimination when seeking jobs that emphasize stereotypically American characteristics because they are deemed to be culturally foreign, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.

Journal: Journal of Experimental Psychology

30-Apr-2026

A physics explanation of why US elections keep ending 50:50 – and why more spending won't change that

Complexity Science Hub
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A physics-inspired model calibrated on 40 years of US congressional data pinpoints a spending threshold of roughly 1.8 million USD at which campaigns stop influencing who wins and start fueling polarization instead.

Journal: Physical Review Letters
Funder: Austrian Science Fund, Austrian Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation, and Technology

30-Apr-2026

Hidden in the headlines: New study uses local news to assess wildlife poaching in Romania

Pensoft Publishers
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Published in the journal Nature Conservation, a University of Bucharest study analysed over 1,100 media reports to map the scale of wildlife poaching in Romania, filling a critical gap left by the absence of a centralised official database. The research emphasises that curbing these crimes requires moving beyond uniform enforcement to address specific motivations, while actively working to dismantle the quiet social tolerance that shields illegal activity

Journal: Nature Conservation

30-Apr-2026

UN Women report finds online violence and deepfakes drive women from public life

City St George’s, University of London
Reports and Proceedings

AI-assisted violence is pushing women out of public life, finds a new UN Women report co-authored by researchers at City St George’s, University of London. More women in public life are self-censoring online and at work to avoid abuse, unwanted sexual advances in DMs, or deepfakes. The study surveyed 641 women in public life – journalists, activists, human rights defenders – in late 2025. The full report with breakdowns per category can be downloaded here: https://ow.ly/NlYy50YRS2i.

Topline stats:

- 27% received unsolicited sexual advances via direct message

- 12% had personal images (sometimes intimate) shared without their consent

- 6% were subjected to deepfakes or manipulated images and videos

- 24% experienced anxiety or depression as a result

- 41% self-censored on social media to avoid harassment.

29-Apr-2026

Losing a parent in adulthood can affect earnings for years through mental health and family support, Oxford study finds

University of Oxford
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New research from the University of Oxford suggests that losing a parent in adulthood can have lasting consequences for earnings, through deteriorating mental health and reduced access to family support, with earnings effects particularly marked for women and for mothers with young children.

Journal: American Economic Review

29-Apr-2026

New brain stimulation technique improves short term social skills in children with autism

BMJ Group
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new non-invasive brain stimulation technique known as accelerated continuous theta burst stimulation (a-cTBS) improves social communication at one month follow up and has a favourable safety profile in children with autism, finds a trial from China published by The BMJ today.

Funder: National Natural Science Foundation of China, the China Brain Initiative Grant, Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality, the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning, the Innovative Research Team of High-level Local Universities in Shanghai, the Construction Project of the “Discipline Peak-Climbing Plan” of Xinhua Hospital affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine

29-Apr-2026

Biomonitoring the Anthropocene: NY's East River becomes a living biosensor

Programme for the Human Environment, The Rockefeller University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A year-long environmental DNA study of New York City’s East River involving single liter water samples revealed an unexpectedly detailed snapshot of life in and around the city, from weekly and seasonal shifts in fish species and abundance to urban wildlife activity and even New Yorkers’ diets.

The findings suggest that urban waterways anywhere could become continuous biosensors, tracking biodiversity, habitat restoration outcomes, and human impacts in real time.

Journal: PLOS One