The average American’s smartphone may be pretty dumb about health, according to a new survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.
Behavior
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 …
Study: College Students Drink More While Studying Abroad
College campuses are hotbeds of drinking activity, but new research suggests that students consume up to twice as much alcohol when they study abroad versus staying on campus.
Bowl Half Empty? How to Tell If Your Dog Is a Pessimist
The only time my dog’s tail stops wagging is when she’s asleep. She’s a really happy pup, in other words — or at least I thought she was. The lead author of a new study in the journal Current Biology suggests she may have a …
How Retail Therapy Works: Spending Money for Social Acceptance
It was a pattern that Nicole Mead had seen over and over. Her friends would break up with their romantic partners and then go on a shopping spree to compensate: break up and buy, break up and buy, break up and buy. As a marketing …
Why We Strive for Money Over Time — and Why It’s a Mistake
An old cliché says time is money. A newer cliché, from Oliver Stone, says money never sleeps — which is essentially the same assessment as the older one. But why are we pretending there’s a contest here?
If I’m Drunk, Then You Stepped On My Toes On Purpose
Why does heavy drinking sometimes lead to violence? A new study — nicely examined by the British Psychological Society on its blog here — offers one clue.
The Misunderstood Psychology of Fake Tanning
As summer comes to a close and we all fade back to our winter shades of pale, two studies offer conflicting information about the impact of fake tanning — using sunless tanning lotion, spray or even airbrush — on cancer risk.
Don’t Choke: 5 Tips for Performing Under Pressure
Does your mind go blank every time the boss calls your name in a big meeting? Ever bombed a test you spent weeks studying for, or botched a simple play that cost your team the game? If so, University of Chicago psychologist Sian …
Study: An Earlier ‘Last Call’ May Reduce Assaults
It may seem like a drag when the bartender rings that bell and shouts, “Last call for alcohol!” But in addition to a legion of weary bartenders, everyone else may benefit from an earlier closing time, according to a new study in …
One In Five Americans Admits to Drinking and Driving
Twenty percent of Americans 16 and older say that, in the past year, they have gotten behind the wheel within two hours of drinking alcohol. And about two thirds of them said they have done so in the previous month — suggesting that people who drink and drive do so regularly.
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety …
