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Decision-making

Photo of climbers trekking on a snow-covered mountain ridge shrouded in mist and clouds.

Decision-making

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How a ‘dominance’ mindset encourages leaders to put others at risk

To find ways to deter this recklessness, we’ve studied the mindset of financiers and others who take ‘moral hazard’ decisions

by Hemant Kakkar & Garrett L Brady

Photo of a rainy motorway with heavy traffic and a sign warning of a stranded vehicle, speed limit 40 mph.

Decision-making

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Why small annoyances can harm us more than big disruptions

A largely forgotten psychological concept helps explain the insidiousness of minor problems – and what to do about it

by Shayla Love

Painting of a crowded casino table with people playing cards and roulette. Green table and overhead light dominate the scene.

Knowledge and reason

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What we gain by recognising the role of chance in life

Appreciating the world is random can foster perseverance, gratitude for our own luck and empathy for the plight of others

by Mark R Rank

Photo of two women laughing backstage, one facing away and the other facing forward, with blurred figures in the background.

Decision-making

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Stereotypes might not be as powerful as psychologists assumed

Research on first impressions suggests that people’s behaviour can trump any biased assumptions we might make about them

by Shayla Love

Abstract illustration of a man in profile, reclining with a pipe in his hand, set against a red and black background.

Decision-making

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Do you think more clearly when reading or when listening?

How we take in information has a remarkably significant effect on how intuitive or analytical we are in thinking about it

by Janet Geipel & Boaz Keysar

Photo of a man in an old car filled with carrots in the backseat parked next to a red truck.

Values and beliefs

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Do you have a duty to tell people they’re wrong about carrots?

How to decide whether you should correct someone’s false beliefs about carrots, vaccines and South American dictators

by Giulia Terzian & M Inés Corbalán

Photo of people standing near a large crack in a concrete floor, emphasising the depth and rugged edges of the split.

Mind and brain

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Allow error into your life and experience the joy of surprise

Neuroscience theories see the human brain as an error-minimising machine. But that overlooks the joy of the unexpected

by Leyla Loued-Khenissi

Photo of a fried dough stall at a fair with vendors inside, a child with a stroller, and a customer at the counter.

Thinkers and theories

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The id and the nudge: where Freud meets behavioural economics

Both Sigmund Freud and behavioural economists describe a dual-process mind. But the differences in their ideas are revealing

by Briana S Last