Oct 10 How to teach self-control and reduce economic inequality By Walter Mischel If taught young, self-control skills can have strong protective effects, even helping those whose vulnerabilities might make them more likely to fall behind economically. That's according to Walter Mischel, author of "The Marshmallow Test," in part four of his conversation… Continue reading
Oct 09 How former president Clinton, who couldn’t resist donuts (or other temptations), now can By Walter Mischel Each of us has our own temptations, says Walter Mischel, author of "The Marshmallow Test." For Mischel, it was smoking. For Clinton, it was junk food. Having the willpower to resist, Mischel explains, requires making the long-term consequences of each… Continue reading
Oct 09 So your kid failed the marshmallow test. Now what? By Walter Mischel The first step to overcoming temptations, like eating the marshmallow, is figuring out what makes us "hot." All of our behavior is localized, says "The Marshmallow Test" author Walter Mischel, and our vulnerabilities are no exception. Continue reading
Sep 03 Are Americans a stingy lot of people? By Christian Smith, Hilary Davidson Given the popularity of the Ice Bucket Challenge this summer, you might think Americans are a fairly generous group. Indeed, more than $100 million has been raised for the ALS Association. But although we enjoy, and benefit from, giving money… Continue reading
Jul 23 How brands make the man, and the woman – literally By Wahyd Vannoni All brands carry their own messaging about how we should look and act. And we take our cues from them -- whether it's a Starbucks Americano or a Harley Davidson motorcycle -- to shape our own identities, says marketing professor… Continue reading
Jul 01 Watch Facebook’s psychological study ends up testing users’ trust By PBS News Hour Many Facebook users were upset by news that the social media network manipulated incoming content for hundreds of thousands of people without telling them. The manipulation was conducted for a study -- published in a respected scientific journal -- measuring… Continue watching
Jun 09 Rats regret their decisions, study finds By Rebecca Jacobson, Inside Energy Regret, it turns out, is not just a human emotion. Rats regret their bad decisions too, a study in the journal Nature Neuroscience finds. And only a few of them learn from it. Continue reading
Jun 06 Forget the queen: bees and humans work together without a leader By Rebecca Jacobson, Inside Energy Queen bees have no power. So how do bees, and humans, work together when no one is in charge? Scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the University of Connecticut find out. Continue reading
Mar 05 Are your grades killing your grandmother? Dan Ariely’s prescription: The perfect MOOC By Dan Ariely More college students lose grandparents right before taking college exams. Duke professor and irrationality expert Dan Ariely has a solution: Enroll in Massive Open Online Courses to spare grandparents some fatal stress. Continue reading
Feb 28 Why ranting online doesn’t help manage anger By Ellen Rolfes Often rooted in a heightened level of expressed emotion, uncensored anger or frustration, the rant is accessible to anyone armed with a computer keyboard and an Internet connection. But what are Internet ranters really after? And does ranting bring them… Continue reading