Too Much Motivation Affects Your Perception and Decision-Making
An EPFL and UNIGE team demonstrates how motivation affects the neural circuits of perception and influences decision-making. Whether we are in a good mood or a…
Behavioral Science News
Wearing a Mask Can Change Your Behavior
According to a recent Chinese study, wearing masks for health reasons makes individuals act more morally. Since 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a rise in…
Researchers Find That Resilience Can Be Learned, and Can Even Be Reinforced
Findings indicate that activating dopamine could build resilience. It can feel all too easy to succumb to a sense of hopelessness. That’s especially true in…
Don’t Be Too Confident – Science Shows That It Can Endanger Your Health
People, especially the elderly, often overestimate their health. Those who are older and overestimate their health see the doctor less often. This can have major…
The Frequency Illusion: Why You’ll Probably Hear the Name Baader-Meinhof Again Soon
You heard a great song for the first time the other day and suddenly you’re hearing it everywhere you go — in the car, at…
12 Scientifically Tested Ways to Earn More Tips
Logic says that the size of a server’s tip should be based on the quality of the service provided, but research[1] shows that quality rarely…
8 Surprising Psychological Benefits of Hand Washing
If there’s anything we’ve learned from the coronavirus pandemic, it’s that washing our hands is one of the best ways to protect ourselves from the…
The Barnum Effect: Why Horoscopes Are So Popular
What if someone told you that they had created a personality profile just for you? Here is an extract: “You have a great need for…
Solving a Neuroscience Riddle: How the Brain Stops Us From Jumping the Gun
Suppressing the urge to act until the time is right is a crucial, often overlooked, aspect of behavior. Just think about what might happen if…
Better Keep the Instructions: People Aren’t That Good at Solving Complex Problems
How good are people at finding optimal solutions to complex problems? New research finds that people may not be as capable as generally assumed. Who…
When Companies’ Diversity Messages Backfire
The business case for diversity can undermine belonging for potential employees from underrepresented groups, research finds. Many companies have efforts to increase their diversity and…
The Decoy Effect: What It Is and How to Make It Work for You
Every retailer is interested in increasing their turnover or maximizing the sales of a particular product at some point or other, and one way of…
The Denomination Effect: Why You Are More Likely to Hang Onto a $100 Bill Than Five $20s
Picture this: you’re going to the office and you stop at your regular coffee shop on the way. You pick up your usual large mocha…
The Cashless Effect: Why Credit Cards Make It So Difficult to Budget
The end of the month is here again and, with it, the credit card bill. It’s higher than you thought it would be, and you…
The Endowment Effect: Why You Find It So Hard to Sell Your Used Car
What is it? The endowment effect describes our tendency to overvalue the goods in our endowment — our possessions — just because they are ours….
Predicting Hidden Intentions: Algorithm Predicts Which Students Will Drop Out of Math Courses
Social science researchers at the University of Tübingen develops a statistical method for separating different levels of influence. In the subjects of science and technology,…
This Kind of Flirting Works Best – According to Science
Some people succeed at flirting more often than others. Plenty of people are obviously more attractive than the rest of us, but it also seems…
Action Bias: Why It’s So Hard To Stay in the Same Line at the Supermarket
Many times throughout your life, you will find yourself asking the question, “Should I do something about this?” Almost as many times, you will find…
