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New Research From Psychological Science
Read about the latest research published in Psychological Science: Money Earlier or Later? Simple Heuristics Explain Intertemporal Choices Better Than Delay Discounting Does Keith M. Marzilli Ericson, John Myles White, David Laibson, and Jonathan D. Cohen People frequently make decisions that have both short- and long-term consequences. These decisions -- called intertemporal choices -- have often been explained using delay-discounting models; however, these models have not always accounted for some of the behaviors seen in decision-making experiments. The authors hypothesized that models based on heuristics may provide a superior way to account for performance on discounting tasks.
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‘Inside Out,’ Pixar’s New Movie From Pete Docter, Goes Inside the Mind
The New York Times: John Lasseter, a notepad in hand, settled into his seat in a dimly lit screening room at Pixar headquarters here in July 2012. Mr. Lasseter, Pixar’s chief creative officer, was there to evaluate progress on “Inside Out,” a new film set inside an 11-year-old girl’s mind. Had the filmmaking team cracked the unusual concept? It did not take long for the air to frost over. “We got up and said, ‘We’re not going to show you a screening because the film is not working,’ ” recalled Pete Docter, who turned to “Inside Out” after his Oscar-winning “Up.” Talk about guts: Mr. Docter’s movie had already been in the works for more than two years at that point. “I saw John do this,” Mr.
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Thinking of Time as Money Stifles ‘Green’ Behaviors
A study demonstrates that the way we’re paid—not just how much—can exert a disturbing influence on our willingness to recycle.
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Career Advice From an Oldish Not-Quite Geezer
The Chronicle of Higher Education: Over the course of my career, I’ve given and received a lot of advice. Much of it was wrong. Sometimes it lacked the perspective that comes with age and experience. So now, as an official "oldster" at 65 (proof: thanks to my age, I just got $25 off upon joining a botanical society), I offer the following advice, from someone who has thought and written about academic careers for 40 years. Put your family first. Academics often have trouble doing that. I know I did.
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Impossible Knowledge: Are You an Expert?
The Huffington Post: I grew up with a habitual overclaimer. He wildly exaggerated his expertise, at times claiming knowledge of things he couldn't possibly know -- people, events, ideas that simply do not exist. Being unfamiliar with overclaiming, I just called him a liar. I couldn't have known the word "overclaimer," nor the concept. The word didn't exist and is only used today in the world of psychological science. Even so, we're all familiar with these people who feel the need to overestimate what they know about the world. What underlies such assertions of impossible knowledge?
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Study: ‘Pics or it didn’t happen’ distracts you from real life
USA Today: “Who curls their hair and takes a selfie stick to go for a hike in the park?” one of my friends incredulously asked me this weekend. Apparently, one of our mutual acquaintances was so committed to “pics or it didn’t happen” that she decided that lugging a selfie stick on a nature walk was worth the photo op. This pressure to photograph everything we do (and post those photos to social media) is common among young adults, especially college students. After all, Instagram is the third most popular social network among college students after Facebook and Twitter. Read the whole story: USA Today
