Every day around the world, an estimated three billion people go to work and 2.9 billion of them avoid making small talk with their co-workers once they get there. Their avoidance strategies vary. Some will keep their headphones in and their eyes low. Others will pantomime receiving an urgent message that requires an More
A great deal of recent research on evolution focuses on altruism—the tendency of creatures to help others, often at great cost to themselves. This is especially true of human beings, who help one another for a variety of good evolutionary reasons. For instance, people help kin, which is a way More
After we have conversations with new people, our conversation partners tend to like us and enjoy our company more than we think. More
People who engage in more substantive conversations tend to be happier but idle small talk isn’t necessarily negatively related to well-being, researchers find. More
A researcher looks at the interpersonal side of our tendency to avoid sunk costs.
A researcher takes a fresh look at why people often persist with an unpleasant or unprofitable endeavor because they don’t want the resources they’ve already invested to go to waste. More
If the NFL team you hate the most is in the Super Bowl, take heart. Psychological science suggests that a rival team’s win may improve your team’s motivation and performance next season. More
