Why Do People Go Nuts on New Year’s Eve?

U.S. News & World Report:

True story. Last year, I went to a New Year’s Eve party based on the following facts: It was being held at a very cool coffeehouse and geared toward an older crowd. By older, I mean not 20somethings, who I’d considered the rowdiest of revelers. And by coffeehouse, well, it seemed an unlikely site to teem with drunk crowds of 20somethings. In my mind, that combo created the possibility for a dignified New Year’s celebration, one in which people weren’t humping each other in plain view and vomiting. Hopefully, not at the same time. I know I sound like a New Year’s Eve scrooge, but my definition of not fun definitely includes crowds of vomiting humpers.

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“What sets humans apart from all other species is the extensive use of culture. But for culture to work, people have to follow rules, which means denying themselves things and blocking some of their impulses,” says Roy Baumeister, professor of social psychology at Florida State University.

Read the whole story: U.S. News & World Report