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The New Sofa Makes Your Rug Look Shabby. A Philosopher Described That Feeling in 1769
One upgrade can quietly set off a run of others. Experiments show when it happens, and how to stop the spiral before it hits your bank balance.
Latest
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Couples Who Say “We” Mid-Argument Stay Calmer, and It’s Your Partner Who Benefits
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The Famous Jam Study Says Too Much Choice Freezes You. The Real Answer Is Messier
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The Song Stuck in Your Head Follows a Pattern. Here’s How to Break the Loop
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The Laugh You Share Says More About Your Relationship Than the Joke Does
Just updated
Stories our editors have just revisited with new research, figures and sources.
Relationships
Love, friendship, family and the everyday dynamics between people.
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Couples Who Say “We” Mid-Argument Stay Calmer, and It’s Your Partner Who Benefits
Across 30 studies and 5,288 people, “we-talk” tracked with better relationships and health. The link is small, and it runs…
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The Laugh You Share Says More About Your Relationship Than the Joke Does
In one study, couples who laughed at the same moment felt closer and more supported. Listeners in 24 societies can…
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“I’m Sorry You Feel That Way” Isn’t an Apology. Here’s What the Science Says Works
In one study, owning the mistake beat every other part of an apology. Another ingredient is missing from most apologies…
Psychology
How people think, feel and behave, explained through research and real life.
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The Famous Jam Study Says Too Much Choice Freezes You. The Real Answer Is Messier
Across 50 later experiments, the average effect of more options was almost zero. Four conditions decide when a long menu…
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The Song Stuck in Your Head Follows a Pattern. Here’s How to Break the Loop
Nearly nine in ten people in one large survey get one weekly. Tunes named by 3,000 people show what makes…
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That Ache for the Past Was Once a Disease. Now It Seems to Keep You Warm
In 1688 a Basel dissertation called it an illness. Today’s labs find nostalgia eases loneliness and can make a cold…
Worth your time
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Money’s Tight and You Still Bought the Lipstick. Psychologists Have a Theory
Lipstick sales are said to rise in hard times. The data is messier, but the urge is real,…
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The Wobbly Shelf You Built Feels Priceless. Psychologists Call It the IKEA Effect
People paid 63% more for a plain box they had built themselves. Stop two steps short of finishing,…
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Mozart Won’t Make Your Baby Smarter. The 1993 Study Never Said It Would
It began with 36 students and 10 minutes of piano. It ended with free CDs for newborns. Here…
Modern Life
Work, technology, money habits and the way we live now.
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Open-Plan Offices Were Meant to Get You Talking. Face-to-Face Talk Fell 70%
When one big firm tore down its walls, staff sent 56% more emails. If you hot-desk a few days a…
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That Scary Screen Time Number on Your Phone Tells You Less Than You Think
Across 355,358 teenagers, tech use was linked to wellbeing about as much as eating potatoes. The bigger story is what,…
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Nearly 1 in 4 Young Adults Never Answer Calls. The One You Dread Is Kinder Than You Think
In one experiment, people who swapped an email for a call felt closer to an old friend, and no more…
Self-Growth
Habits, confidence, resilience and building a life that fits.
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Left-Brained or Right-Brained? Scans of 1,011 Brains Found No Such Thing
Yet 91% of UK teachers in one survey thought hemisphere dominance helps explain differences between pupils. Here is what the…
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Mozart Won’t Make Your Baby Smarter. The 1993 Study Never Said It Would
It began with 36 students and 10 minutes of piano. It ended with free CDs for newborns. Here is what…
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The Guilty-Pleasure Trick That Got People to the Gym 51% More Often (at First)
A later trial with 6,792 gym members found a smaller boost, about 10%. Here’s how to build bundles that still…
Style & Living
Style, home and the small rituals that shape how we live.
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The New Sofa Makes Your Rug Look Shabby. A Philosopher Described That Feeling in 1769
One upgrade can quietly set off a run of others. Experiments show when it happens, and how to stop the…
-
Money’s Tight and You Still Bought the Lipstick. Psychologists Have a Theory
Lipstick sales are said to rise in hard times. The data is messier, but the urge is real, and there…
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Nearly a Third of Your Wardrobe Goes Unworn. Your Brain Did the Shopping
UK wardrobes hold about £30 billion of clothes unworn for a year. Six mental habits help explain it, and a…
More stories
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Left-Brained or Right-Brained? Scans of 1,011 Brains Found No Such Thing
Yet 91% of UK teachers in one survey thought hemisphere dominance helps explain differences between pupils. Here is what the…
-
That Ache for the Past Was Once a Disease. Now It Seems to Keep You Warm
In 1688 a Basel dissertation called it an illness. Today’s labs find nostalgia eases loneliness and can make a cold…
-
Open-Plan Offices Were Meant to Get You Talking. Face-to-Face Talk Fell 70%
When one big firm tore down its walls, staff sent 56% more emails. If you hot-desk a few days a…
-
Money’s Tight and You Still Bought the Lipstick. Psychologists Have a Theory
Lipstick sales are said to rise in hard times. The data is messier, but the urge is real, and there…
-
The Wobbly Shelf You Built Feels Priceless. Psychologists Call It the IKEA Effect
People paid 63% more for a plain box they had built themselves. Stop two steps short of finishing, and that…
-
Mozart Won’t Make Your Baby Smarter. The 1993 Study Never Said It Would
It began with 36 students and 10 minutes of piano. It ended with free CDs for newborns. Here is what…