Psychology

You Can Build a City, But You Can’t Force It to Be Loved

South Korea’s new cities are built to perfection—and remain emotionally vacant. Here’s why urban overplanning is failing to create real places.

11 min read

Designed to Distract: How Overstimulation Reshapes the Mind

Why do small sounds feel unbearable? Why does silence feel unnatural? Neuroscience, psychology, and culture all point to the same answer: too much, too fast, for too long.

17 min read

To Smell Is to Remember: The Psychology of Scent in the Age of AI

Smell bypasses language and logic to access emotion and memory directly. As machines advance in sensory replication, olfaction remains a frontier — where technology’s limits and humanity’s depth come into sharp focus.

12 min read

Why AI-Generated Beauty Leaves Us Cold

Generative AI can now produce images, messages, and moods designed to feel deeply human. But increasingly, audiences report a strange detachment—even unease. This isn’t about bad design. It’s about what happens to human psychology when emotional signals no longer come from real people.

11 min read

Digital Masculinity: How Social Change Fuels Extremism

Not long ago, the internet was seen as a limitless space for connection, knowledge, and progress. Today, however, it has become a breeding ground for something far more insidious. Across online platforms, a growing number of young men are being drawn into radical communities, where disillusionment festers, grievances are amplified, and extremist ideologies take root. From the anonymous corners of South Korea’s Ilbe and DC Inside to the global reach of 4chan and Reddit, these spaces offer not jus

33 min read

The Truth About Political Lies: Why We Keep Believing

In an age of information overload, where access to facts is easier than ever, one might expect that political lies would struggle to take root. Yet, despite the abundance of credible sources and fact-checking mechanisms, many individuals continue to believe and even defend political falsehoods that have been repeatedly debunked. The persistence of these beliefs reveals a complex interplay of psychological, social, and cultural factors that influence human cognition and behavior. Political decep

4 min read

The Psychology Behind Our Unease with AI-Created Images

As artificial intelligence (AI) technologies revolutionize creative fields, the emergence of AI-generated images and videos has captivated audiences worldwide. At first, these hyper-realistic creations amazed viewers with their technical prowess. Yet, over time, a subtle unease and detachment have arisen among viewers, leading to questions about the psychological and scientific underpinnings of this phenomenon. Why do AI-generated visuals, despite their technical sophistication, often feel less

13 min read

Why Korean Singles Are Moving Away from Dating Apps

In South Korea, where traditions often intertwine with the latest technological advances, dating culture is undergoing a notable shift. Once dominated by the rise of dating apps, particularly during the socially restrictive pandemic years, the scene is now swinging back to more traditional, face-to-face interactions. While apps like Tinder and Bumble remain popular globally, recent statistics indicate a global trend of “app fatigue,” with users increasingly seeking in-person interactions over al

8 min read

Psychological Impact of McLuhan’s "Medium is the Message"

In a world where technology saturates nearly every aspect of daily life, Marshall McLuhan’s famous dictum, “The medium is the message,” has proven more relevant than ever. As we navigate an era dominated by digital platforms, McLuhan's insights into the power of media environments resonate deeply, especially when examined through a psychological lens. His central thesis—that the form of media impacts human experience more than the content—has now been supported by numerous psychological studies,

6 min read

Cultural Perceptions of Kamala Harris’s Body Language

The 2024 presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump sparked a significant conversation, not only for the policy points raised but also for the candidates' nonverbal communication. Harris, in particular, drew attention for her expressive body language and facial reactions. While these behaviors were seen as confident and assertive by some, others perceived them as theatrical or insincere. This divide becomes even more intriguing when we examine how such actions might be perceived

7 min read