The New York Times: I HAVE written here before about the potential gains to government from involving social and behavioral scientists in designing public policies. My enthusiasm comes in part from my experiences as an academic adviser to the Behavioral Insights Team created in Britain by Prime Minister David Cameron. More
The Boston Globe: If you read much of Dan Wegner’s writings on psychology, pretty soon you cannot stop thinking about Dan Wegner, particularly if you try to forget him. He could have told you that would happen. After all, he wrote a book about the difficulty of suppressing thoughts, and More
Elaine F. Walker’s influence can be measured in her stellar publishing records, her many awards, and the number of her former students who have gone on to acclaimed research careers of their own. At the 25th APS Annual Convention, Walker received the 2013 APS James McKeen Cattell Fellow Award. In More
The Atlantic: Everyone’s heard of the phrase, “Keeping up with the Joneses,” which refers to the phenomenon of using one’s neighbors as a standard of comparison for the consumption of material goods. (For example: it’s hard not to notice when your neighbor buys a luxury sports car, and it’s even More
Forbes: All over the world, people in pain turn to rituals in the face of loss—no matter if it’s the death of a loved one (dressing in black, for example), the end of a relationship (burning old love letters), or the crushing defeat in a Little League baseball game (graciously More
Social status asymmetries are a persistent feature of human life. Occupying a position at the top versus the bottom of a social hierarchy during youth development produces substantially disproportionate effects on well-being, learning, and longevity. Adaptive social behavioral patterns and trustworthiness are among the foremost determinants of youth social status More
