-
Under Pressure: Stress and Decision Making
A common way that researchers induce stress in study volunteers is by making them give a speech. In that case, there were plenty of opportunities during the APS 22nd Annual Convention to see the stress
-
Goalkeeping with an ancient mind
Behavioral economist Ofer Azar did an intriguing study of premier soccer goalies a few years ago, worth dusting off for the World Cup. Azar, a lecturer at Ben-Gurion University in Israel, studied penalty kicks. A
-
The Paradox of Idleness
Would Sisyphus have been happier just sitting in a jail cell, twiddling his thumbs? After all, the punishment Zeus meted out to him was nothing more than make-work: rolling that boulder up the hill again
-
Is Love a Numbers Game?
A number of recent studies have looked at what happens to humans when faced with extensive choice — too many kinds of chocolate or too many detergents to choose from at the grocery store. Under
-
Knockoff psychology: I know I’m faking it
Within just a few blocks of my office, street vendors will sell me a Versace t-shirt or a silk tie from Prada, cheap. Or I could get a deal on a Rolex, or a chic
-
Don’t Stand So Close to Me: Proximity Defines How We Think of Contagion
We judge probability and make risk judgments all the time, such as when we try new products or consider which stocks to trade. It would seem that our decisions would be rational and based on