The Science of Willpower

Students in my "Science of Willpower" course pick a willpower challenge to focus on for the class. Over the last few years, one choice has become surprisingly common: watching less reality television. People feel addicted to shows that seem fun, but ultimately leave them unsatisfied. Read More

I was browsing the latest issue of the journal Nutritional Neuroscience and came across this gem of a study, conducted by researchers at Kanazawa Medical University in Japan. Researchers created two very different virtual reality experiences using something called a "Body Sonic Chair." Read More

A new study provides a strategy for all those office workers who can't resist the jelly bean jar, the vending machine, or the secret sugar stash in the bottom drawer. Read More

Do you think you are smarter, nicer, or funnier than most people you know?

Most people answer yes, a quirk psychologists call the "better-than-average" effect. Although it's statistically impossible, everyone likes to think of themselves as at least one standard deviation above the norm. Read More

A recent blog post I wrote has been generating debate in the comments section: Does shame motivate self-control? And more specifically, can shame encourage people to lose weight? Read More

A simple word change can make people more likely to be the best version of themselves: helping others, conserving energy, saving money, and not cheating. That change? Use a noun, not a verb, to describe the action. Read More

Coming to a loan application or online dating service near you: the question decision-makers should be asking. Read More

OK, nobody wants to make mistakes -- but how you react to them makes a big difference in whether you learn from them. Read More

Worried you won't be able to hold yourself back from a holiday shopping binge? Setting a New Year's resolution to save more, and spend less? What neuroscience can teach us about spending wisely. Read More

We blame our food cravings on hunger, but stress may be the real culprit.

Another study has shown that low blood sugar makes you more susceptible to temptation. The idea itself isn't new. People who have low blood sugar are more likely to take risks, spend impulsively, cheat on a test, crave a cigarette, and even flirt with someone they have no business flirting with. Read More

The most emailed article on the New York Times right now is "You Love Your iPhone. Literally," an OP-ED by Martin Lindstrom, a "branding" expert. The jist of the piece: Lindstrom claims people are in love with their smart phones, not addicted to them. His evidence? When people think of their phones, an area of the brain called the insula becomes more active. Read More

We all know that starving yourself to lose a few pounds can zap your energy and kill your mood.

But would you believe that dieting turns you into a literal zombie? That's right: cut back on the calories, and you become a brain-eating zombie whose appetite cannot be satisfied. And the brain you're eating? Yours. Read More

At the annual conference of the American Psychological Association this week, Brian Wansink -- famous for his research on mindless eating -- took a position that would raise the ire of the mindfulness community (that is, if they weren't too busy taking a deep breath and letting go of attachment). Mindful eating is impossible, he argues, or at least impractically difficult. Read More

Cognitive psychologist Daniel Wegner first demonstrated the ironic effects of thought suppression by asking college students not to think about white bears. The more students tried to push white bears out of mind, the more they became obsessed with them. Don't think about a white bear. White bear. Stop it! Stop thinking about white bears! White bear white bear white bear. Read More