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 …
Behavior
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 …
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.