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Nervous Laughter, Tears of Joy
In Stanley Milgram’s famous obedience experiments, the subjects, called “teachers,” were instructed to shock the “learners” for every wrong answer. The learners, confederates in the study, were not actually shocked, of course, but the teachers
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Grumpy People Get the Details Right
New York Magazine: Think back to the last time you had to navigate a customer-service situation. Perhaps you were trying to make a doctor’s appointment when few convenient times were available, or you may have
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Is Anybody Watching My Do-Gooding?
Slate: Hero means everything and nothing. It encompasses the firefighters who rushed into the burning twin towers, long-distance runners who compete through chronic disease, and the wag on Twitter who makes a point you agree with. The highly
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Meet Facebook’s Mr. Nice
The New York Times: Of Facebook’s 7,185 employees, Arturo Bejar may have the most difficult job. No, he is not responsible for increasing advertising revenue or keeping the website alive 24 hours a day. Mr.
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New Online Media, Old Human Behavior
The Wall Street Journal: “I’m open to new things, but I’m worried for my children’s generation. They’re consumed. They don’t play outdoors or spend time with friends anymore. The nuances of face-to-face communication have been
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How Consumers’ Moods Drive Decisions
The Atlantic: In April this year, scientists from Georgia Tech and Yahoo Labs reported that something strange was manipulating online restaurant reviews. It wasn’t hackers. It wasn’t software bugs. It was rain, snow, and sunshine. After looking