The framing effect: the same truth, two different decisions
"90 per cent survive" and "10 per cent die" say the same thing. Yet people, doctors included, make different decisions depending on how the information is presented.
Mind
How we think, what we believe, and how thoughts shape our actions.
35 articles
Many choices, few decisions? The story of the jam experiment
In a Californian supermarket, a table with 24 kinds of jam attracted more people than one with 6. But far fewer bought. This experiment became the symbol of the "paradox of choice". What do we know today?
Why we misjudge how we will feel: the research of Daniel Gilbert and Timothy Wilson
When we think of a future loss or win, we believe it will affect us strongly and for a long time. We are often wrong on both counts. This error has consequences for the decisions we make.
Hedonic adaptation: why the joy of a new purchase fades so quickly
A new car, a higher salary, a bigger house. At first they make us happy, then they become an ordinary part of life. Psychologists call this adaptation. But it does not work the same way for everything.
The spotlight effect: others notice us far less than we think
A stain on your shirt, a wrong word in a meeting, a hair out of place. It seems everyone has noticed. Research shows that most people have seen nothing.
Can a word read without noticing really change us? The story of “priming” studies
For years, well-known books claimed that simple words could unconsciously change how we walk or act. When scientists tried to replicate these studies, many were not confirmed.
Affirmations that work: writing about your values
Repeating positive sentences about ourselves can make us feel worse if we do not believe them. But writing for a few minutes about the values that matter to you can, according to studies, ease threat and stress.
Why we like what we have seen most often: the mere-exposure effect
The more often we see something, the more we tend to like it, even when we do not remember having seen it. It is one of the most robust effects in psychology.
Who steers your life? Locus of control according to Julian Rotter
Some people believe their life depends mainly on what they do. Others believe it depends mainly on luck and on other people. This belief shapes how we act.
Rumination: when endless thinking solves nothing
After a bad event, some people turn it over in their minds for hours and days: why it happened, what it means, why I feel this way. This is called rumination, and it often prolongs the pain.
The Dunning-Kruger effect: what the study really says and how it is misunderstood
The famous study showed that those who do worst on a test greatly overestimate their performance. But the graph circulating online says much more than the study.
Is stress always the enemy? How our belief about stress matters
Some people see stress as something that only harms. Others see it as something that can help them prepare. Studies suggest this difference affects how we experience stress.