Sex Sells? No, It Doesn’t Chiseled abs and bikinis can sell just about anything, right? According to the minds behind those Carl’s Jr. ads—and countless others—you’d think that’d be true. This idea that “sex sells” has hung around for more … Continue reading Is there too sex in marketing?
Israelis favor gentle government ‘nudges,’ study says Israelis of all walks of life tend to support gentle prompts from government and businesses that encourage positive behavior, according to a recent survey. The method of influence is known as “nudging,” and … Continue reading Supporting nudge
Why is society so anxious about delusional beliefs? Desperately striving for an objective view of reality is a technique to reduce anxiety-provoking uncertainty. It promises itself as a way to stop a descent into madness, to avoid being completely disorientated … Continue reading Beliefs are subjective
Why Your Brain Hates Other People As a kid, I saw the 1968 version of Planet of the Apes. As a future primatologist, I was mesmerized. Years later I discovered an anecdote about its filming: At lunchtime, the people playing … Continue reading Us Versus Them
Replication is impossible, falsification unnecessary and truth lies in published articles (?) I recently peer reviewed a partly shocking piece called “Reproducibility in Psychological Science: When Do Psychological Phenomena Exist?“ (Iso-Ahola, 2017). In the article, the author makes some very … Continue reading Do psychological phenomena exist?
When Harm Helps: Building Choice Architecture for Investors When I was 16 years old, my parents sat me down and said: We know you’re at the age when you might start drinking. We are not encouraging you to drink—it will … Continue reading Financial choice architecture
Driving costs are hidden. Revealing them could help reduce traffic It’s been 10 years since New York City proposed congestion pricing as part of its PlaNYC sustainability initiative. That effort didn’t end the way many mobility professionals working for city … Continue reading Drivers’ cognitive reflex
