It happens to the best brands. One minute, they’re adored by millions. The next, they’re like Blockbuster, Friendster or Lindsay Lohan — sans fans, in need of rehab and largely ridiculed.
Behavior
Why That Rich Guy is Being So Nice to You
There are a lot of ways to make people not like you, but one of the most powerful — if least fair — is to be really, really successful.
Does Extremely Picky Eating in Adulthood Signal a Mental Disorder?
Everyone knows someone who refuses to eat certain foods, whether it’s because of yucky texture, unappetizing color or stinky smell. Usually these people are kids. But according to a preliminary online survey by researchers at the …
The Business of Weird: Why People Pay for Bizarre Experiences
There’s a growing trend in the world of travel and leisure, and it’s, well, weird. Hotels where guests sleep on blocks of ice or inside prison cells are on the rise, and there’s no shortage of strange at today’s restaurants either (stir-fried crickets, anyone?).
It’s True: We Shop Till it Hurts
Feel like going out to dinner at that trendy new spot but can’t justify paying $120 for the tasting menu everyone’s talking about? Then take a date, spend twice as much and call it an investment in the relationship. There, that …
The Lab Rat: How to Take a Position of Power
Stories about brain research can get a little boring if you just cite an endless stream of academic papers and statistics. So welcome to Healthland’s latest feature: The Lab Rat.
Why You Shouldn’t Make a Contract With a Psychopath
Pity the poor psychopathic criminal. O.K., pity might be a strong word, but cut them a little slack. A new study in the journal Psychological Science shows that one of the reasons for their characteristic badness to the bone is …
I Know the Truth, So Don’t Bother Me With Facts
Global warming is a hoax! Climate change, like autism, is actually caused by vaccines, typically administered by Apollo astronauts who didn’t really land on the moon. Oh, and President Obama was born in Kenya. These, at least, …
Forget the Joneses: How Envy Drives Destructive Behavior
Keeping up with the Joneses is a well-established aspect of the human condition: we want what our friends, neighbors and co-workers have, whether it’s a sports car, a high-powered job or cute new shoes. But a new study finds that …
In the Candy Store of iPhone Apps, Users Treat Health Apps Like Broccoli
The average American’s smartphone may be pretty dumb about health, according to a new survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.
Study: Paying Cash, Not Credit, Leads to Healthier Food Choices
Paying with cash instead of plastic at the grocery store leads to more careful spending and healthier food choices, a study in the Journal of Consumer Research finds.
Mad Mad Men Men: Why People Love Repetitive Brand Names
No one ever pretended that shopping for anything is a rational experience. If it were, would there be Fluffernutter? Laceless sneakers? Porkpie hats? Would the Chia Pet even exist? To the list of ridiculous reasons we often buy …
Study: Telltale Signs that a CEO Is Lying
Public confidence in big business is in bad shape, not least because so many CEOs have been caught lying to investors and the public. It’s hard to know who to believe anymore. So two researchers from Stanford’s Graduate School of …
