Opportunity to view the starry night sky is linked to human emotion and behavioral interest in astronomy.

Prior to the modern era, the stars in the night sky were readily visible across the globe, but light pollution has created disparities in the opportunity to see these astronomical objects with the naked eye. This alteration may measurably impact human behavior. We hypothesize that light pollution is related to the development of people's interest in astronomy, which often serves as a "gateway" to science more broadly.

Human infants can override possessive tendencies to share valued items with others.

Possessiveness toward objects and sharing are competing tendencies that influence dyadic and group interactions within the primate lineage. A distinctive form of sharing in adult Homo sapiens involves active giving of high-valued possessions to others, without an immediate reciprocal benefit. In two Experiments with 19-month-old human infants (N = 96), we found that despite measurable possessive behavior toward their own personal objects (favorite toy, bottle), infants spontaneously gave these items to a begging stranger.

Identifying with all humanity predicts cooperative health behaviors and helpful responding during COVID-19.

In the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, public health experts have produced guidelines to limit the spread of the coronavirus, but individuals do not always comply with experts' recommendations. Here, we tested whether a specific psychological belief-identification with all humanity-predicts cooperation with public health guidelines as well as helpful behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. We hypothesized that peoples' endorsement of this belief-their relative perception of a connection and moral commitment to other humans-would predict their tendencies to adopt World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines and to help others.

Altruistic food sharing behavior by human infants after a hunger manipulation.

Altruistic behavior entails giving valuable benefits to others while incurring a personal cost. A distinctively human form of altruistic behavior involves handing nutritious food to needy strangers, even when one desires the food. Engaging in altruistic food transfer, instead of keeping the food, is costly, because it reduces the caloric intake of the benefactor vis-à-vis the beneficiary.

Threats to social identity can trigger social deviance.

We hypothesized that threats to people's social (i.e., group) identity can trigger deviant attitudes and behaviors.

Aortic valve replacement in patients 70 years and older.

Background: Aortic valvular disease is the most common valvular lesion among elderly patients. Because of changing demographics, it has become increasingly frequent. Aortic valve replacement (AVR) is the only effective treatment for aortic valvular disease.