A trio of new studies indicates that to live a long and healthy life, one should have a job—just one that doesn’t require exceptionally long hours. And it seems like getting out and shopping regularly seems to extend one’s life in the golden years. So long as unemployment or a stressful job hasn’t already killed you, that is.
research
Study: No Sleep and You’re at Risk to Make Risky Financial Decisions
Here’s a research finding that the people running Vegas casinos seem to have known all along: When it comes to evaluating the risks of winning or losing money, sleep-deprived individuals tend to be more optimistic than their well-rested counterparts. No wonder casinos are open 24/7, no one ever knows what time it is, and the culture …
Why Are Beautiful People Happier? Mainly Because Good Looks Help Them Get Rich
Beauty is the path to happiness—by way of money. A new series of studies shows that attractive people earn more money and marry better-looking spouses, and that the economic benefits of being good looking make them happier than their homely counterparts. Logically, you’d think that efforts to improve one’s appearance would somehow lead …
Financial Lessons from Charlie Sheen and Other Odd Sources
It’s time for more financial lessons from unusual sources—including Dungeons & Dragons, your own full bladder, and a certain Twitter superstar.
Study: When You Feel Loved, You Love Stuff Less
A new psychology study shows that people who feel loved and accepted by others place lower monetary values on material possessions than folks who feel insecure and unloved. In other words, the folks who don’t feel valued and appreciated tend to value their stuff more.
Consumer Research Roundup: 7 Studies Explaining Why You Buy, Why You Have No Free Time, and Why a Designer Good Purchase Can Snowball
Also, there are theories as to why the layout of IKEA stores is so damn confusing, and why the presence of a Walmart in your neighborhood may have caused you to gain weight.
Pump Up Your Willpower: Why You Should Flex Your Muscles When You’re Too Weak to Fight Off the Urge to Buy
Here’s one of those weird-yet-fascinating, quirky-yet-perhaps-helpful research findings: People who clench their muscles—by, say, making a fist or tensing their biceps—show a brief spurt of improved willpower. So, if one of your long-term goals is to save money, you might be able to fight off the impulse buy urge when shopping by …
Is Your Boss a Psychopath? Or Merely Mean?
Two separate studies offer insights for why your boss is such an abusive jerk. One says that corporate managers score higher than the average population on tests measuring psychopathy. The other reveals that bosses who make big bucks are much meaner to their employees compared to executives who aren’t earning astronomical salaries. So …
Why I hate Lexis-Nexis
In this day and age of Google, I simply can’t understand why the world’s best-known database of news and legal documents is so super bad.
As any of you who has worked in academia, journalism or the law know, Lexis-Nexis has long been the go-to source for previously published information on your topic of interest. I’ve used it for years, …
