If it’s easy to read, it’s easy to do, pretty, good, and true - Vol. 23, Part 2 ( February 2010)

The Psycholoist: If it’s easy to read, it’s easy to do, pretty, good, and true - Vol. 23, Part 2 ( February 2010)

We perceive things to be more appealing, easier to handle and more efficient based on how simple they are to understand - even when this is based on irrelevant or superficial properties - like its name or the font it is described in.

The Facebook effect on first impressions | PressDemocrat.com

The Facebook effect on first impressions | PressDemocrat.com: "New research by a Sonoma State University professor and a colleague with the University of Texas shows that those conclusions can be surprisingly accurate in a photograph, depending on how one poses."

Political Science: What Being Neat or Messy Says about Political Leanings: Scientific American

Political Science: What Being Neat or Messy Says about Political Leanings: Scientific American: "Researchers from the University of California, San Diego, and the University of Southern California in Los Angeles found that 72 percent of the variation in voter turnout is genetic, according to a study in July's American Political Science Review (APSR)"

Massive bonuses might actually cause poor performance - The New York Times

Massive bonuses might actually cause poor performance - The New York Times

The group offered the highest bonus did worse than the other two groups - in every single task. On top of that, the people offered medium bonuses performed no better or worse than those offered low bonuses.

Drilling Down - Vowel Sounds Influence Consumers’ Perception of Prices - NYTimes.com

Drilling Down - Vowel Sounds Influence Consumers’ Perception of Prices - NYTimes.com

Researchers have known for 80 years about a symbolic connection between speech and size: back-of-the-mouth vowels like the “o” in “two” make people think of large sizes, whereas people associate front-of-the-mouth vowels like “ee” with diminutiveness. Marketers can use this effect to make consumers think a discount is bigger or smaller than it truly is, according to a study soon to be published in The Journal of Consumer Research by Keith Coulter of Clark University and Robin Coulter of the University of Connecticut.

Top 10 Common Faults In Human Thought - Listverse

Top 10 Common Faults In Human Thought - Listverse

Sex and shopping – it's a guy thing - life - 01 January 2010 - New Scientist

Sex and shopping – it's a guy thing - life - 01 January 2010 - New Scientist

much of human economic behaviour is engendered by motives of costly signalling to display our personal qualities to potential mates and other social partners. These motives are finely tuned and very specific. They show systematic sex differences, and are influenced by apparent mating opportunities. They reveal a human display psychology with intricate design features shaped over millennia of evolution, to attract mates and friends through certain kinds of costly, risky behaviours that reliably signal certain desirable traits.

Brain Power - Studying Young Minds, and How to Teach Them - Series - NYTimes.com

Brain Power - Studying Young Minds, and How to Teach Them - Series - NYTimes.com

Over the past four years, the couple has tested Building Blocks in more than 400 classrooms in Buffalo, Boston and Nashville, comparing the progress of children in the program with that of peers in classes offering another math curriculum or none at all. On tests of addition, subtraction and number recognition after one school year, children who had the program scored in the 76th percentile on average, and those who did not scored in the 50th percentile.

By the end of kindergarten, a year after the program has ended, those who had had it sustained their gains, scoring in the 71st percentile, on average.

Random Promotions � Cheap Talk

Random Promotions � Cheap Talk: "Random promotion outperformed a “promote the best” policy. It increases the chance that someone who is actually good at the job makes it to the next level."

Author William Poundstone Dissects the Marketing Tricks Built Into Balthazar's Menu -- New York Magazine

Author William Poundstone Dissects the Marketing Tricks Built Into Balthazar's Menu -- New York Magazine: "Consultants try to turn puzzles into stars, nudge customers away from plowhorses, and convince everyone that the prices on the menu are more reasonable than they look.”"