Around the holidays, the thoughtful gift giver understandably wants to find something unique for each person on his or her …
psychology
It’s Peak Season for Shopping Because You’re Depressed
The most depressing day of the year supposedly takes place right around now. It’s also prime time to be tempted into shopping as a cure for the blues.
Study: Guys Spend Stupidly When There Are Fewer Women to Date
Most men tend to do dumb things around women just to get their attention — wearing muscle shirts, flexing in muscle shirts, and lying about their job and marital status while wearing and flexing in muscle shirts, for instance. Add this to the list: spending money on stupid things and taking on credit card debt because they sense …
How Not to Sabotage Yourself at Work
To paraphrase the old saw about suckers at a poker table: If you can’t spot the sneaky gossip at the office, it’s probably you. But you probably shouldn’t be looking for him or her at all. That’s the conclusion of an interesting …
You Gotta Have Faith: Why Overconfidence Can (Sometimes) Be Good for You
Overconfidence gets a bad rap among economists, and, it seems, for good reason. Overconfidence leads workers to overinvest in the companies they work for (putting both their employment and their retirement savings at risk if …
Do the Suburbs Make You Selfish?
Urban areas have begun to outpace the growth of suburbs. Could that be good for America’s social ecology?
Consumers Prefer to Get More Rather than Pay Less – Because They’re Bad at Math
Is it better to get more or pay less? If you think they’re basically the same, you’re like most consumers. And, like most consumers, you’re wrong.
Are Online Dating Services a Waste of Money?
Based on the numbers alone, the advantages of online dating services seem obvious. The sites grant access to larger pools of potential dates than you could ever find on your own, and the more people you connect with, the greater …
Should We Stop Referring to People as ‘Consumers’?
The term “consumers” is routinely used in place of “people” and “citizens.” While most people (consumers?) don’t notice or care much about the terms being used interchangeably, there are those who resent being labeled as …
24 Hours Until Tax Day: 7 Reasons We Procrastinate (and How It Costs Us)
While it’s possible to file your taxes months in advance, it’s commonplace to procrastinate and not get to the task until the last minute—increasing the chances of making mistakes and overpaying while you’re at it. According to …
License To Sin: When Good Behavior Leads To Bad Results
Most people are taught early to believe in what we might call “momentum morality”: the idea that good (or bad) actions lead to further good (or bad) habits. Economists and other philosophical types call these feedback loops …
The Secret to Memorable Vacations: Keep ’Em Short and End ’Em Sweet
In an earlier post we described research showing that people get more long-lasting satisfaction from money spent on experiences than money spent on material goods. If you read that post and took it to heart — humor us — an …