Browse 122 real Behavioural and Social Sciences projects entered in 2026, with abstracts, awards and links to the original entries.
ISEF · 2026
Behavioral and Social Sciences
Major depressive disorder (MDD) affects over 332 million people worldwide and is a leading cause of disability. Duloxetine is a widely prescribed antidepressant; however, discontinuation is…
CSEF · 2026
Behavioral & Social Sciences (Senior Division)
Adolescence (ages 14–18) is characterized by rapid neurodevelopment that influences attention and cognitive control, often producing measurable changes in reaction time and accuracy. However…
CSEF · 2026
Cognitive Science (Junior Division) Honorable_mention Award
With increasing use of technology, many students struggle with remembering information after learning a lesson. Studies have shown that memory is also tied to the types of sensory input. Thi…
ISEF · 2026
Behavioral and Social Sciences
This research explored how the presence of spiders in homes in São Paulo's peripheral neighborhoods can promote environmental education in elementary schools, linking the topic to the Sustai…
CSEF · 2026
Behavioral & Social Sciences (Senior Division)
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental condition whose diagnosis remains highly dependent on clinician expertise, time-intensive behavioral assessments, and limited a…
ISEF · 2026
Behavioral and Social Sciences
The go/no-go (GNG) task is a well-known paradigm for studying reactive inhibition. While traditional GNG tasks use repetitive presentations of letters or other visual stimuli, there is an in…
ISEF · 2026
Behavioral and Social Sciences
Student engagement, including attention, focus, and emotional involvement, is essential for academic success. However, traditional observation methods are limited in precision and may not ca…
ISEF · 2026
Behavioral and Social Sciences
Attentional fatigue reduces cognitive performance, increases reaction time variability, and increases error rates, especially in environments where safety is critical. This study developed a…
CSEF · 2026
Cognitive Science (Junior Division)
The idea behind this project was to see if age makes a difference in people's ability to tell if images are AI generated. I made a survey with five AI generated images and five real images,…
CSEF · 2026
Behavioral & Social Sciences (Junior Division)
Our study investigated the effects of social media use on the stress levels and self-esteem of middle school students. We hypothesized that higher social media consumption would correlate wi…
ISEF · 2026
Behavioral and Social Sciences
Large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and DeepSeek increasingly influence how people access and interpret political information, raising concerns that they may subtly sh…
CSEF · 2026
Behavioral & Social Sciences (Senior Division)
Falls are a leading cause of injury-related hospitalization and loss of independence in adults aged 65 and older, yet most assistive systems remain reactive, detecting falls only after impac…
CSEF · 2026
Behavioral & Social Sciences (Senior Division)
As stress levels of adolescents grow in modern society, the risk of severe mental disorders has increased. Recent studies reveal the potential of music to alleviate negative emotions. This s…
CSEF · 2026
Cognitive Science (Junior Division) Third Award
This project explores how different types of AI assistance influence human learning and knowledge acquisition. Through a randomized controlled experiment, participants learn about the histor…
CSEF · 2026
Behavioral & Social Sciences (Senior Division) Honorable_mention Award
Digital avatar-based identity is rapidly becoming central to adolescent life, with 85% of Gen Z users having created a digital avatar. As individuals increasingly represent themselves throug…
CSEF · 2026
Behavioral & Social Sciences (Senior Division)
Cognitive decline affects more than 55 million people worldwide, yet early screening still depends on clinical infrastructure that limits access. In the United States, an estimated 7.4 milli…
CSEF · 2026
Behavioral & Social Sciences (Senior Division)
In May 2023 the Surgeon General of USA issued a warning about the concerning effects of social media (SM) on youth and adult mental health. This project is aimed towards analyzing the effect…
ISEF · 2026
Behavioral and Social Sciences
Although death of a loved one is not an uncommon event among school-age children, bereavement-related discussions are still perceived as a taboo. This societal stigma can inhibit the grievin…
ISEF · 2026
Behavioral and Social Sciences
As we move into an era where AI agents are prevalent in many aspects of our lives, from solving scientific problems to acting as therapists, the world faces an unquantified risk. Every day,…
ISEF · 2026
Behavioral and Social Sciences
Braille literacy rates collapsed from over 50% four decades ago to under 10% today (National Federation of the Blind, 2020), driven by instructor shortages and fixed curricula unable to adap…
ISEF · 2026
Behavioral and Social Sciences
Alzheimer's disease and dementia present a global health crisis characterized by progressive cognitive decline that traditional pharmacology struggles to reverse. This study, "Cognitive Stim…
ISEF · 2026
Behavioral and Social Sciences Third Award
Traffic is a universal phenomenon for humans leading to casualties, economic losses, and health problems. Interestingly, traffic has been observed in other species as well. For example, ants…
CSEF · 2026
Behavioral & Social Sciences (Junior Division)
This experiment tested whether sheets of paper in primary colors (red, yellow, blue) improve memorization of shape locations compared to those on white paper. Participants studied a grid of…
AJAS · 2026
Behavioural and Social Sciences (inferred)
Post-operative depression remains a major barrier to recovery, while few tools enable the investigation of exactly how specific environmental features influence mood in controlled settings.…
ISEF · 2026
Behavioral and Social Sciences
Disease-spread and its consequences are governed by a multitude of factors, but only recently has culture been considered among its predictors. The individualism-collectivism spectrum, which…
ISEF · 2026
Behavioral and Social Sciences
Indian educational reforms under the 2020 National Education Policy (NEP) aim to shift from rote memorisation toward creative thinking, a move that, alongside rising AI automation, demands s…
ISEF · 2026
Behavioral and Social Sciences Second Award
Phubbing (phone use during face-to-face interactions) affects 75% of smartphone users and correlates with depression, loneliness, and relationship dissatisfaction. While contingency manageme…
ISEF · 2026
Behavioral and Social Sciences
Dyslexia is a neurodevelopmental disorder that primarily affects reading abilities. Early identification of dyslexia is crucial because early intervention can improve reading skills. However…
ISEF · 2026
Behavioral and Social Sciences Third Award
OBJECTIVE: Cochlear implants (CIs) are the standard for treating profound sensorineural hearing loss, yet postoperative speech perception outcomes remain highly variable. This study hypothes…
ISEF · 2026
Behavioral and Social Sciences Third Award
Ever since the Covid-19 pandemic, unemployment rates have steadily risen from 3.4% in April 2023 to 4.4% most recently in 2026. Amidst escalating economic inequality and worker burnout, onli…