I live in New York City, and for me, there’s nothing that compares to its culture, energy and convenience. I’m not alone in feeling this way — more than half of the world’s population now lives in urban areas.
Behavior
Driving While Buzzed: No Amount of Alcohol Is Safe Behind the Wheel
(Updated) The blood-alcohol limit in the U.S. is 0.08% — a cutoff that implies that any blood-alcohol content (BAC) south of 0.08% is safe, or at least not illegal.
The Psychology of Real Estate: Why North Is Better Than South
So you’re searching online for a new place to live. You stumble across an affordable house in a nearby city that you’ve never visited. The house is in a neighborhood called North Town. A few minutes later, you find a similar …
The Psychology of Dictatorship: Why Gaddafi Clings to Power
Muammar Gaddafi continues to hold tightly to power even as NATO bombs rain down on Tripoli.
Want to Be Heard? Try Changing the Way You Talk
We all know that frequent verbal ticks, such as “like” and “you know,” can turn listeners off. But what about the pace, pitch and fluency of your speech? Are others more likely to tune in if you’re a high-talker, for instance, or
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Could Lactose Intolerance Be All in Your Head?
Most people who suffer from the telltale symptoms of bloating, gas, gut pain and nausea after consuming milk believe they have lactose intolerance. But a new Italian study suggests that only a third of such patients actually do. …
Don’t Tell Me: Knowing How Long Unpleasantness Will Last Makes It Worse
People are notoriously bad at predicting their future emotional state. Intuitively, for instance, we think that knowing beforehand how long an unpleasant experience will last — waiting on a crowded subway platform or having …
Does the ADHD Drug Shortage Herald a Crackdown on Stimulants?
With the Obama administration characterizing prescription drug misuse as this generation’s crack epidemic, something like this seemed fated to happen: patients, pharmacists and manufacturers are reporting a serious shortage of …
Faking It: Why Nearly 1 in 4 Adults Who Seek Treatment Don’t Have ADHD
A new survey of patients’ medical records finds that nearly a quarter of adults who seek treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder may be exaggerating or faking their symptoms. Why would someone fake a psychological …
Found! The Seat of Embarrassment in Your Brain
Ever wonder why your pulse races and your heart beats faster and you start to sweat when you’re embarrassed?
When Lunch Is Served, So Is Justice
“There’s an old trope that says justice is ‘what the judge ate for breakfast,'” writes Ed Yong on Discover Magazine’s “Not Exactly Rocket Science” blog — which is to say that “the law, being a human concoction, is subject to …
House Watch: What Causes Obsessive Hoarding?
“The bitch is back,” House says in last night’s episode, “The Dig,” which featured the return of Olivia Wilde, who had been off filming Tron: Legacy, Cowboys & Aliens and other movies. Our little Thirteen is quickly …
Girl, You are So Not Fat! Does ‘Fat Talk’ Make Anyone Feel Better?
The overwhelming majority of college women — 93% — engage in “fat talk.” You know, in the “Ugh, I feel so fat in these jeans” vein of griping. Many women say they think fat talking with their friends makes them feel better …