You may think of people with high self-control as having enviable reserves of willpower, but recent findings suggest this isn’t the case. Instead it seems the strong-willed are canny folk, adept at avoiding temptation in the first place. A new study in the journal Self and Identity builds on this picture, showing that people high in self-control tend to experience less intense visceral states, like fatigue, hunger and stress (states that are known to encourage impulsive behaviour).

As one of the most popular websites in the world, and as — according to Statista — the leading global social network, Facebook may have changed the way we maintain social relationships. An issue of contention, however, remains. Relatively little is known about how heavy Facebook usage, and potential addiction, affects the human brain.

Myths and misunderstandings about both introverts and extroverts abound. Introverts don’t like people. Extroverts are shallow. Introverts are snobby. Extroverts are awful listeners.

We're not superior to extroverts, we're just differently irritating.

Colonel Chris Hadfield is a man of firsts. He was the first Canadian to carry out a spacewalk, the first Canadian to command the International Space Station and the first person in history to record a produced music video in space. Because of his unique ability to captivate the world, bringing a focus on space station science and what it’s like to live in space, Discovery News is proud to announce that Hadfield has been selected as the first DNews Person of the Year!

If anyone could claim to be leading by example in an age of austerity, it is José Mujica, Uruguay's president, who has forsworn a state palace in favour of a farmhouse, donates the vast bulk of his salary to social projects, flies economy class and drives an old Volkswagen Beetle.

One of the distinctive features of French intellectual life in the post-war period has been the influence of the German philosopher Martin Heidegger (1889-1976). Heidegger’s standing among French philosophers, especially those working in the phenomenological tradition, contrasts dramatically with his reputation in the country of his birth, where his legacy is tainted irredeemably by his political compromises with National Socialism in the 1930s.

South Africa buried Nelson Mandela on Sunday, leaving the multi-racial democracy he founded without its living inspiration and still striving for the "Rainbow Nation" ideal of shared prosperity he had dreamed of.

On most Wednesdays, the Pope gives a general audience, and this one was packed. It was a balmy October morning, and more than a hundred thousand pilgrims, tourists, and Romans had funnelled into St. Peter’s Square. It was the first of three large gatherings Pope Francis presided over that week for a celebration of the family during the Catholic Church’s “Year of Faith.”

Earlier this month, he was named Person of the Year by Time magazine, with the publication saying the Pope had pulled "the papacy out of the palace and into the streets". It has been an extraordinary year for the Catholic Church under the leadership of Pope Francis. In just nine months since taking over from Pope Benedict he has vigorously set about modernising the Church. Paul Vallely, biographer of Pope Francis, has been to Rome for BBC Newsnight to look at the Francis phenomenon.

When Jon M. Chu first got on Justin Bieber's tour bus in 2010, he was just a promising director who cut his teeth on two Step Up films and a Hulu-exclusive dance series called The LXD. But then Bieber happened, and Chu became something a little more than a director.

The best diamonds in the world contain mysteries. And years ago, John Hatleberg was unlocking the mystery of one of the best.

I learned that even Obama knows young people don't use Facebook anymore.

Computer genius and online activist Aaron Swartz wanted to change the world - one download at a time. Then the US government decided enough was enough, with tragic consequences. By Paul McGeough.

Are you a creative or an analytical person ? Find that out with this simple exercise in just 5 seconds...

“The press has portrayed me alternately as a mad genius or a mad psychotic genius,” began the infamous John McAfee, speaking at Def Con–and why break that streak now? I must admit: when he’s crazy, he’s crazy like a fox. Ultimately, though, as insane and riveting as his tale is, what’s most interesting to me is the way he has weirdly come to symbolize his audience.

Smart machines need the right “personality” to work well—and experts are finding the best choice may not always be what we think we want

A new study shows that internet trolls really are just terrible human beings.

Discover the second of second five components of your personality with this one-minute test.

The Myers-Brigg Type Indicator personality test may be reductive and inconsistent, but I still love it.

Science has finally proved that spending your Friday night in the company of your cat is good for you. Happiness is determined by the quality - not the quantity - of friendships you have in your thirties, according to a new study published in the American journal Psychology and Aging. This is good to hear for introverts who, like me, typically have fewer friends that they’re very close to.

Imagine a typical entrepreneur. A quiet, reserved introvert is probably not what first came to mind. Aren’t entrepreneurs supposed to be gregarious and commanding—verbally adept and able to inspire employees, clients and investors with the sheer force of their personality? No wonder the advice for introverts who want to be entrepreneurs has long been some form of: “Be more extroverted.”

“When I do something well and have success, I feel like it’s a fluke.”

It might have to do with how your brain processes self-generated thoughts.

Some people see threats even when none are present. Strangely, it can make them more creative. By Olga Khazan.

The personality test isn't perfect, but it plays to people's desire to understand themselves and others.

New research finds that heterosexual people with pathological personalities have better success finding mates. By Karl Gruber.

It’s not shallow, boring, or offensive. It’s a crucial social lubricant as valuable as wine or laughter. By Ruth Graham.

When you picture a “grammar nazi”, what does that person look like? Are they old or young? Male or female? Professorial or blue-collar? A new study suggests they could be any of those things. In an experiment involving 80 Americans from a range of backgrounds, linguists Julie Boland and Robin Queen found no significant links between a judgmental attitude towards “typos” and “grammos” and gender, age or level of education.

See how you rank. By Melissa Dahl.

It can be a lot of fun taking those back-of-the-magazine personality tests. But tests may be less fun when they are used by employers to make big life decisions on hiring and job performance. Twelve years ago, I tried to drive a stake into the heart of the personality-testing industry. Personality tests are neither valid nor reliable, I argued, and we should stop using them — especially for making decisions that affect the course of people's lives, like workplace hiring and promotion.

Psychologists have been arguing for decades over whether personality traits are real or a myth. More recent research shows that traits are real, a scientist says, and have a big effect on behavior. By Christopher Soto.

Are you moody? Prone to distraction? Cellphones may act as a high-tech pacifier. By James A. Roberts.

Narcissists are imitators par excellence. And they do not copy the small, boring parts of selves. By Kristin Dombek.