Psyched!

The science of psych

by Matthew Hutson

The Rich Are Differently Moral

You’d have to be pretty cold-hearted to shove someone off a bridge into the path of a train. But from another perspective, that is the most beneficial thing you could do. Read More

Even Top Scientists Believe Everything Was Created by Magic

New research suggests even scientists intuitively believe in divine intervention and intelligent design. Read More

The Like Trail

A paper published online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) shows just how revealing Facebook Likes can be. Read More

What Kind of Thinker Believes in God?

A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total. The bat costs $1.00 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost? Your answer to this question will help me guess whether you believe in God. Read More

How Much Can Jonah Lehrer Be Reformed?

Today Jonah Lehrer gave a talk in which he apologized for his journalistic wrongs and attempted to explain them. It's unclear whether his fundamental personal flaws can be fixed. Read More

The Enigma of Human Consciousness

Wednesday night I attended a panel discussion at the New York Academy of Sciences titled “The Thinking Ape: The Enigma of Human Consciousness,” featuring Daniel Kahneman, David Chalmers, and others. Read More

Our Inner Puritans

In Sunday’s New York Times I wrote about the influence of the Puritans on modern American culture and morality, but there’s more to the story than could fit in the article... Read More

The Karmic Connection: We Expect Good Fortune After Helping Others

New research indicates that when we want something from the universe, we’ll invest in karma by doing a good deed. Read More

Are Conservatives More Religious, and Liberals More Spiritual?

In the United States, religion and politics have always been (fitful) bed buddies. But whether faith drives people left or right (or neither) is not obvious. Read More

Does Autism Lead to Atheism?

In most religions, and arguably anything worth being called a religion, God is not just an impersonal force or creator. He has a mind that humans can relate to. Read More

Can You Be More Dead Than Dead?

In The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion describes the year following the sudden death of her husband. At one point while collecting his clothes for donation, she stops. She can’t give away all of his shoes, for he might need them if he returns. This is the magical thinking of the title. Read More

Are There Really No Atheists in Foxholes?

It’s often said that there are no atheists in foxholes. While this isn’t technically true—a group called The Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers even keeps a roster of them—new research suggests that inducing fear of death at least makes atheists a little less entrenched in their beliefs. Read More

Teddy Bears Make You Friendlier—and Maybe Healthier

I slept with a Beanie Baby for eight years—from the ages of 18 to 26. Thanks to new research, I can now look back and say it was probably good for me. Read More

Can Emotions Haunt Houses?

In the early 1990s, Trent Reznor (the man behind Nine Inch Nails) purchased the house at 10050 Cielo Drive, in Los Angeles. Before moving in, he learned of its dark past. This is the house where members of Charles Manson’s “family” murdered Sharon Tate and four other people in 1969. Reznor moved in despite (or perhaps because of) these events. Read More

The Unsinkable, Sunk, the Unthinkable, Thunk

April 15 marked the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. If you don’t recall the details, just read one of the many other stories in the media right now, or watch a certain movie by James Cameron (not the one with aliens). Or read the novella Futility, written 114 years ago. Read More

Horoscopes in the East vs. West

Around the world, everyone looks up at the same stars, trying to divine occult truths. But the kind of information they're looking for depends on their personality and on their culture, according to new research. Read More

Spooked by Shakespeare

A short piece by Tad Friend in the January 9 New Yorker demonstrates no fewer than three forms of magical thinking in one column of text. The subject: John Logan, a playwright and screenwriter (recently: Hugo, Rango, Coriolanus). The scene: Bauman Rare Books on Madison Avenue. Read More

Being President Doesn't Hasten Death? Not So Fast!

I must say I am disappointed with what the New York Times has placed front and center on their home page. We have no way of knowing whether the Oval Office shortens life spans. Read More

Self-Control Inspires Trust

A new set of findings reveals not only that people can perceive others' chronic and momentary levels of self-control, but that we use this information to judge others' trustworthiness. Read More

Clenching Your Fists Increases Willpower

According to researchers in a new paper, “Steely muscles can lead to a steely resolve.” Read More

Having to Pee Increases Willpower

Next time you need to discuss something with your boss while not telling him off, or you’re headed to the candy store with a credit card, consider chugging some water beforehand. Your brain will thank your bladder. Read More

The North-South Real Estate Bias

Billy Joel sang about his “uptown girl.” Jim Croce warned us about “bad, bad Leroy Brown,” who lived on the South Side of Chicago, “the baddest part of town.” In some cities, uptown is genuinely nicer than downtown, but might people have a general bias to prefer northern areas over southern in any city? Read More

Don’t Try to Predict Upsets in Tournament Pools

The best way to win your March Madness tournament pool is to stick to the seedings. So why do we try to predict upsets? Read More

“My monkey could have painted that.” Really?

How much better is abstract art than work by kids and monkeys? New research reveals the answer. Read More

WEIRD Science: We Are the Weirdest People in the World

I am one of the weirdest people in the world. You probably are too. It's a scientific fact, now! Read More

Inception is Easier than Extraction

I finally watched inception last night. If you're interested in the mechanics of the subconscious, it's a must-see, both expository and provocative. But it's based on the premise that discreetly planting ideas in people's heads ("inception") is much harder than discreetly extracting ideas. It seems to me that they got this reversed. Read More

To Be Creative, Be Yourself.

Yesterday I went to "Your Brain on the Internet," a discussion that was part of the New Yorker Festival. I got at least one $30 idea out of the deal: The computer scientist Jaron Lanier noted, almost in passing, that the people he knows don't achieve creativity by trying to do something novel. They achieve it by being more themselves. Read More

The Psychology of Penalty Kicks

Yesterday's World Cup Final between Spain and the Netherlands nearly ended in a penalty shootout. If it had, the kickers and keepers would have done well to know about these bits of psychological research on penalty kicks. Read More

What You Touch Changes How You Think

Next time you visit a car dealership, avoid sitting in soft chairs and you'll negotiate a better deal. Science says so. Read More

Washing Your Hands Reduces Cognitive Dissonance

Some decisions just leave you gutted. Your iPad 3G or your finger. Your son or Sophie Jr. Paper or plastic. The only way to alleviate the anxiety that results from saying no to something you want is to convince yourself you didn't really want it in the first place. Now there's a way to reduce the effects of cognitive dissonance: Wash your hands.