Across three experiments, Baror et al. show that context shifts reduce serial dependence (bias towards prior choices) and shape memory at event boundaries.

Using food residues on pottery vessels and dental calculus, and faunal remains, Casanova et al. find evidence that Neolithic communities in Iran were milking goats or sheep as early as the seventh millennium BC.

Vaziri et al. examined how humans detect changes in auditory pitch, revealing that listeners rely on correlations in sound intensity over frequency and time, processing that is reminiscent of visual motion detection.

Language barriers hinder technical knowledge diffusion. Higham and Nagaoka show that a US patent policy change reduced the lag in US citations of Japanese patents, particularly for firms with limited translation ability and for high-quality inventions.

This meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials indicates that social safety nets can improve women’s economic achievements and agency. Pooled treatment effects are largest for unconditional cash transfers, public work programmes, social care services and asset transfers.

Using artificial neural networks applied to human data, Eckstein et al. show that good models of reinforcement learning require memory components that track representations of the past.

We discuss six reasons why we need to study the emotional support of human–artificial intelligence (AI) interactions, and offer suggestions on future avenues for evidence-based research and policies regarding user-facing conversational AI.

Natural hazards claim thousands of lives annually, yet warnings often fail to compel action. This is not just a technological issue but also a communication failure. The next leap in disaster risk reduction must be psychological and social: transforming warnings into personalized, actionable messages that are tailored to individuals’ needs.

Big team science promises to globalize the social behavioural sciences. However, without structural reform, it will reproduce a research model in which data are gathered globally but intellectual power stays centralized. Justice, rather than symbolic inclusion, must define the future of collaboration.

Older adults face higher risks from climate change. We propose an age-sensitive climate adaptation framework, which emphasizes non-digital communication, financial assistance and community-based strategies for older populations.