Psychology

Why We Buy Into Magic At Christmas

Few events encapsulate our infatuation with a well-told story as much as Christmas. As a culture, we are dependent on stories as a tool with which to negotiate our daily lives and make sense of the world around us. In particular, we love magical ones beca ...

Article - The Conversation - Dec 24 2015 - 10:30am

Ask, Don't Tell, When It Comes To New Year's Resolutions

A recent analysis spanning 40 years of surveys including more than 100 papers on the 'question-behavior effect,' a phenomenon in which asking people about performing a certain behavior influences whether they do it in the future, offers insight ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 28 2015 - 12:03pm

Stereotypes: It's Not So Black And White

Recent race-related events in Ferguson, Baltimore, Chicago and New York City make it seem like race is a big problem in America, but in reality America seems that way because of transparency. We never need to run ad campaigns to stop racist chants at spor ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 29 2015 - 9:08pm

Ugly Consumer: We Don't Want To Know If Our Tablet Was Made With Child Labor

No one wants to knowingly buy products made with child labor or that harm the environment and that may be why few people want to know if their favorite products were made ethically. Even beyond that, people really don't like those good people who mak ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 4 2016 - 10:29am

Organic Paranoia Is Not New: Ancient Communities Resisted New Farming Practices Too

It may seem strange to have a segment of the population, once confined to wealthy elites on the coasts but now growing nationwide, which believe that a particular process for food is not only healthier, but materially, culturally and ethically important. ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 9 2016 - 10:09am

Most Women Don't Use Social Capital To Get Promoted, Say Successful Women

It may not be sexism that keeps more women from top jobs, it may be less understanding of the role of social capital in reaching the top, according to graduate student Natasha Abajian of City University London at the British Psychological Society's D ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 6 2016 - 5:11pm

Even How You Manage Emails May Be Bad For Your Health

Claims that sitting is bad for your health were all the rage last year- epidemiological curve matching claimed that you were in real peril if you didn't get up once an hour, while waitresses without epidemiologists surveying them disagreed that a des ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 6 2016 - 8:57am

Does Religion Always Lead To Violence?

Take any religion that claims to be about peace and it will have a violent history. And while Islam is the most violent religion claiming to be peaceful today, Christians commit plenty of hateful acts- and Buddhists have extremists in their ranks as well. ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 7 2016 - 1:10pm

Marital Interdependence Persists Even After The Death Of One Spouse

There is a common perception that as people spend more time together, they begin to act and think more alike. They may even look more alike.  This synchrony, or interdependence, between a couple posits that a married person's cognitive functioning or ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 13 2016 - 2:38pm

Seduced By The Promise Of Food Labels

Have you ever been to the supermarket and chosen foods based on nutrition labels?  Have you ever assumed a fat-laden, high-calorie coffee drink must be healthier because a barista claims the milk does not contain something science-sounding like rBST? Labe ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 14 2016 - 7:30am