It is likely that many diverse factors have contributed to the current obesity epidemic. Fast food, less activity, trans fats, viruses, big portions, and so on have all been blamed for our increasing waistlines. The more we understand the phenomenon, the better equipped we are to deal with it. Adina Lemeshow and Read more…
Most of us are a bit uneasy about the idea that somebody can influence our thinking without our awareness. We are bombarded by enough obvious persuasive messages as it is, without having to worry about messages we don’t even notice. Although this example is not exactly subtle, and one wonders Read more…
“Everybody loves a winner,” or so we often hear, but it may not necessarily be true, especially at bowl time. According to Joseph Vandello and his colleagues at the University of South Florida (which incidentally boasts a pretty good football team), we like underdogs. Vandello et al. presented participants with Read more…
I must confess to being a sucker for any study involving rhesus monkeys. I developed a fondness for the little guys during my grad school days at UCLA, even though they were prone to homocidal impulses when they got loose. They’re just sooooo smart. Now we learn that they may Read more…
Many of you enjoyed taking the EQSQ Tests (empathy versus systemizing) mentioned in a previous post. Tim Worstall, who runs the EQSQ site, picked up on my confusion about interpreting my 51 EQ score and my 97 SQ score and offered a very helpful clarification. If I understand Tim correctly, the Read more…