Behavior
Don't Let New Information Distort Your Decision Making
Managers are all too tempted to twist new data to confirm what they already believe. That's when bad choices get made. Use these 9 guidelines to avoid bias and reach the right conclusions.<p>The owners of a very successful Lexus dealership in Haverford Pennsylvania, an affluent suburb of Philadelphia, …
Sunk Costs11 Signs Your Co-Worker Is a Passive-Aggressive Person
When they have a problem, instead of confronting you directly, they try to undermine you by leaving you out of the loop on important projects.<p>It's probably healthier to distance yourself from any passive-aggressive people floating around your personal life.<p>But you don't usually have that luxury in …
Mayo ClinicPatients may buy idea of injectable meds with a little manipulation
(Reuters Health) - Patients who may be reluctant to start using an injectable medication warm to the idea when they are first offered a once-daily shot, then presented with the alternative of a once-monthly shot, a small study finds.<p>A psychological phenomenon called anchoring - the tendency to make …
MedicineAlief Is When You Act In Opposition To Your True Beliefs
People do all sorts of irrational things without realizing it: we yell at the TV screen even though the second baseman can't hear us. We cower on …
Why Bans And Warnings Always Backfire
Which is more intriguing: a documentary TV show, or a documentary TV show that starts with a warning of "Viewer Discretion Advised"? Chances are, …
Some Good News for People Who Have a Hard Time Making Decisions
You know the saying (and the old Selena Gomez song), “Live like there’s no tomorrow?” Yeah, not me. I mean, I’ve <i>heard</i> it often enough, and seen the …
PsychologyAggression and Fear Can Be Reduced in Specific Dog Breeds
Source: Doug Pieper photo - Creative Content License<p>"Breed-Specific Legislation is not the answer!", was the emphatic exclamation of a colleague of …
Dogs8 Ways Smart People Act Stupid
Smart people are more prone to silly mistakes because of blind spots in how they use logic.<p>It’s good to be smart. After all, intelligent people earn more money, accumulate more wealth and even live longer. On the surface, being smart looks like easy living. But there’s another side to the …
Self-improvementAvoid Decision-Making Mistakes - Start A Decision Log
Do you see any of these decision-making problems at your work?<p>Decisions take too long.<br>• Decisions don’t involve the right people.<br>• Decisions are not data-driven.<br>• Decisions are not communicated consistently.<br>• Decision execution fails from poor follow-through.<p>If so, you not alone. Decision-making mistakes …
LogFamiliar Faces Look Happier Than Unfamiliar Ones
<i>Summary: A new study reveals that people tend to perceive familiar faces as looking happier than those they are not familiar with.</i><p>Source: APS.<p><b>People</b> …
NeuroscienceApes Have Social Traditions Just Like Humans, Chimp Behavior Shows | International Business Times
Chimpanzees want to fit in with the popular kids, just like humans do — researchers say chimps will change their behavior to match what others are …
ChimpanzeesPublic attitudes to immigration: Salience matters | VOX, CEPR’s Policy Portal
Public attitudes to immigration have influenced policymaking, most recently during the European migration crisis and in the Brexit referendum. …
ImmigrationBanana Game Study Shows That Chimps Aren't Always Selfish Jerks
Humans often go out of their way to help other people, even if the payoff isn’t obvious. Whether the gesture is as simple as holding a door open for …
EvolutionWould People Agree About Everything If We Paid Them?
Source: Tax Credits/Flickr<p>Why are we so politically divided? Research suggests people may just be liars.<p>Some claim political disagreements are due to …
PsychologyUse Your Imagination and You’ll Make Better Decisions
Hint: Picture your day as a real-life game of dominos.<p>Here’s a familiar scenario: You’re faced with a decision — like eating a salad or inhaling …
How accurate is your mind’s eye? Quiz
Do you have good recall? Within your mind’s eye are things clear or hazy? Take this test and find out what it says about you<p>Do you have a good imagination? When you picture something, how clear is it? Take the “vividness of visual imagery” test below, then, using the following scale, ask yourself …
PersonalityAlex Jones and the illusory truth effect, explained
One simple trick for making bullshit seem real: repetition.<p>When NBC previewed what was billed as a Megyn Kelly primetime interview with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones on June 11, we were worried. The preview suggested a confrontational sit-down interview that would give Jones a huge platform to …
PsychologyPanic selling when stocks fall is usually a terrible idea
Flickr / Feeling My Age<p>October 15, 2014 was a rocky day for investors in the stock market, which at its lowest point dipped 460 points, close to “correction” status. A late-day rally saw stocks rebound, ending the day down 173 points at 16,142. Some investors decided to weather their losses, …
FinanceThe 1 mistake we all make when it comes to serious decisions
When you’re making a big decision, you may slow down and try to carefully reason through your options —believing that logic, rather than emotion, will guide you towards the right path.<p>But even the most careful among us cannot avoid a major cognitive trap, one that Princeton psychologist Daniel …
‘Predictably Irrational’ by Dan Ariely tells us why we often pay irrational prices for what we buy
How to fix your overspending problem. Yes, you have one.<p>What do you imagine might be the link between unwanted teenage pregnancies and spiralling …
Harvard Business SchoolHow Accurate are You at Judging Personality?
It’s a well-known fact that you form impressions of people within seconds of meeting them. Over time, these impressions may shift, but they’ll remain …
PersonalityAddressing Unwanted Behavior in Performance Mares
Robinson said common unwanted behaviors in mares can include aggression, hormone-driven behavior, and resentment or unwillingness to work or …
HorsesRemembering The Same Event Differently? That's The Rashomon Effect.
Have you ever left a party and immediately started recounting how rude the host was to you, only to have your friend look at you puzzled and recount …
The BrainConsumer Neuroscience
Contrary to the assumptions of economists, consumers are not always rational actors who make decisions in their own best interests. The new field of …
MITYour Beliefs About How Your Memory Works Is a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
<b>Did you forget to pick up the milk?!</b><p>We often curse our lack of recalling what we just heard, such as forgetting one of the items that a significant …
The BrainStudy Shows a Bias for Evidence of What We Want to Be True
Karl Popper, echoing David Hume, argued that no amount of empirical evidence is sufficient to establish that a law of nature is true. Some subsequent …
Western PhilosophyConsumer Behavior Influences Search Ranking Position
User behavior signals, such as time on site, pages per session and bounce rate, indicate the authority of a Web site and influence its rankings. The …
SEOA Politician's Name & Face: Why a Good Match May Win Votes
Politicians who have names that are "better matched" to their faces tend to get more votes, a new study suggests.<p>Researchers looked at men running …
Cool StuffThe Ultimate Guide To Making Smart Decisions
Imagine you’re sitting at a poker table.<p>You’re dealt cards the same as everyone else, and you’re playing by the same rules. The thing is, you’ve got …
Warren BuffettHand-washing is like hitting a reset button in the brain
According to a series of experiments conducted by researchers at the University of Toronto, the act of hand-washing leads to more flexible thinking.
The Brain