Physiognomy and success | Face value | Economist.com

Physiognomy and success | Face value | Economist.com: "What the boss looks like determines how he performs"

The Frontal Cortex : Rational Voters?

The Frontal Cortex : Rational Voters?: "they assume that my political preferences reflect some mixture of ideology and selfish calculation. I'll vote for the guy who best matches my geopolitics and tax bracket.

The problem, as political scientist Larry Bartels notes, is that people aren't rational: we're rationalizers. Our brain prefers a certain candidate or party for a really complicated set of subterranean reasons and then, after the preference has been unconsciously established, we invent rational sounding reasons to justify our preferences."

Mirrors Don’t Lie. Mislead? Oh, Yes.

Mirrors Don’t Lie. Mislead? Oh, Yes. - NYTimes.com: "Other researchers have determined that mirrors can subtly affect human behavior, often in surprisingly positive ways... 'When people are made to be self-aware, they are likelier to stop and think about what they are doing,' Dr. Bodenhausen said. 'A byproduct of that awareness may be a shift away from acting on autopilot toward more desirable ways of behaving.'"

Psychology Today: The Smell of Love

Psychology Today: The Smell of Love: It was found, by Wedekind and his team, that how women rate a man's body odor pleasantness and sexiness depends upon how much of their MHC profile is shared. Overall, women prefer those scents exuded by men whose MHC profiles varied the most from their own. Hence, any given man's odor could be pleasingly alluring to one woman, yet an offensive turnoff to another.

ABC News: Feel Powerless? Buy Something

ABC News: Feel Powerless? Buy Something: "The study, published in the current edition of the Journal of Consumer Research, contends that when the boss puts you down, you feel so robbed of power that you're more likely to go out and buy yourself some status symbol."