The Best of Behavioral Scientist
10+ most popular Behavioral Scientist articles, as voted by our community.
Original, thought-provoking reports from the front lines of behavioral science. Learn more: http://behavioralscientist.org
Behavioral Scientist on Behavioral Science
Time Confetti and the Broken Promise of Leisure
We have more free time than ever before, but it’s so sliced and diced that we feel more time poor than ever. Here’s how to notice and overcome the time confetti in your life.
«When we try to have meaningful time off with friends and family, our alerts from work create guilt and dread over what we’re not getting done.»
The Real Reason You Shouldn’t Text While Driving
Everyone knows that texting and driving is a terrible idea, but few understand why.
«Most crashes are caused by people like you and me who think they can pay attention to the road and do something else at the same time. »
Behavioral Scientist on Creativity
The Surprising Origins of Our Obsession with Creativity
We tend to assume creativity is a timeless human value. But creativity as the concept we know today emerged in the 1950s and '60s, driven by the needs of the modern corporation.
On the Quest for Originality, Recombine the Familiar
Most of the time, success comes from a well-placed tweak, a novel combination of two or more existing elements, or the better version of an idea or product not yet perfected.
«Often, the best way to get unstuck on the quest for originality is to combine two old ideas to form a new one, rather than searching for a single, novel creative nugget»
Behavioral Scientist on Decision Making
Is Having Too Many Choices (Versus Too Few) Really the Greater Problem for Consumers?
A new study featuring more than 7,000 participants from six countries found that choice deprivation—a feeling of not having enough to choose from—not choice overload is the most common consumer…
Behavioral Scientist on Education
Understanding and Overcoming Belonging Uncertainty
Feeling uncertain if you belong is normal. But for some, the uncertainty persists longer than others. A duo of psychologists designed an intervention to change that.
Behavioral Scientist on Math
Why You Should Always Switch: The Monty Hall Problem (Finally) Explained
The infamous problem even professors and mathematicians got wrong comes down to one unintuitive inference—in the Monty Hall problem, Monty Hall is God.
Behavioral Scientist on Mental Models
Mental Models to Help You Cut Your Losses
When should you hold 'em and when should you fold 'em? Use this set of decision-making tools to help you identify when it’s time to move on and find the courage to do so.
Behavioral Scientist on Problem Solving
An In-The-Box Method to Creative Problem Solving
In an adaptation from his book, Evolutionary Ideas, Sam Tatam introduces a framework for inventive problem solving developed by a Russian scientist and inventor in the Soviet era: the solution to your…
«There are consistent patterns of solutions.Solving contradictions creates breakthrough innovation.»
Behavioral Scientist on Psychology
Get Comfortable with Feeling Uncomfortable
Self-growth isn’t always easy, or comfortable. Reclaiming discomfort as progress can help you learn more and stay more motivated.
«When people can positively spin otherwise negative cues—reappraise their discomfort as a sign of achievement—those cues become more motivating.»
What Is the Power of Regret? A Conversation with Daniel Pink
In The Power of Regret, author Dan Pink offers readers a glimpse into the psychology of those moments that we often wish we had back.
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The Time Traveling Mistake We Make When We Procrastinate
In thinking about the future in a merely surface level way, we end up traveling to a different future than the one we meant to go to.
«failing to consider how much our future self will want to avoid the same negative emotions that we’re trying to avoid right now.»
Lived Experience Makes the Work Better
But it’s exhausting when you’re one of the only ones carrying that weight.
Conversations on Polarizing Topics Are Possible. If You’re Up for It, Here’s How to Start
How can you successfully understand someone else’s point of view, share yours, or even change someone’s mind?
Americans Are Fake and the Dutch Are Rude!
What I learned about emotions when I traded Amsterdam for Ann Arbor.
Staying Smart in a Smart World: A Conversation with Gerd Gigerenzer
A deeper understanding of what algorithms do and how they’re being deployed can save us from the whiplash between reverence and resignation.
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