Big data analysis has unveiled startling links between seemingly unrelated things, such as how a person’s physical elevation above sea level might influence their personality.
Irrational behaviour during difficult circumstances is rooted in deeper cognitive and evolutionary psychological mechanisms. Many reflect what are called emergency decision and purchasing contexts.
It’s easy to judge people who escape from quarantine as not doing their bit. But if we use some basic principles from behavioural science, we might stop people wanting to escape in the first place.
Even in hospitals, where hand hygiene is vital, staff don’t always remember to wash their hands. What hope is there for the rest of us? Thankfully, research on handwashing behaviours has some answers.
To save as many lives as possible, public health efforts must take into account our subconscious biases.
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Those money-saving black boxes reveal a lot about the rules that govern our lives.
People expect drivers to stop for them at pedestrian crossings, but what if they know autonomous vehicles will stop any time someone chooses to step in front of them?
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How will people respond once they realise they can rely on autonomous vehicles to stop whenever someone steps out in front of them? Human behaviour might stand in the way of the promised ‘autopia’.
What goes into all for one and one for all?
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Where do the cooperative skills that hold together human societies come from and why don’t our selfish instincts overwhelm them? Evolutionary game theory suggests that empathy is a crucial contributor.
Some people just follow the social norm, whether it’s right or not.
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Ninety percent of psychology studies come from countries representing less than 15 percent of the world’s population. Researchers are realizing that universalizing those findings might not make sense.