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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, and that premium collapses.
Latest
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Mozart Won’t Make Your Baby Smarter. The 1993 Study Never Said It Would
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That Scary Screen Time Number on Your Phone Tells You Less Than You Think
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“I’m Sorry You Feel That Way” Isn’t an Apology. Here’s What the Science Says Works
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Nearly a Third of Your Wardrobe Goes Unworn. Your Brain Did the Shopping
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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“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…
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How You React to Good News Says More About Your Relationship Than How You Handle Bad
In one experiment, an excited reply to good news made strangers almost twice as likely to return extra cash as…
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It Takes Over 200 Hours to Turn a Stranger Into a Close Friend. Here’s the Ladder
Each rung has its own hour count, and the hours you spend side by side at work barely move you…
Psychology
How people think, feel and behave, explained through research and real life.
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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, and that…
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That “I’ve Been Here Before” Feeling Has a Cause. Your Brain Is Checking Its Own Memory
Around two in three people have felt it. Lab studies using virtual towns and brain scans suggest déjà vu is…
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You Buy a Red Car and Suddenly They’re Everywhere. Your Brain Changed, Not the Roads
A 1994 newspaper letter named it, and a gorilla experiment explains it: nearly half of us miss what we aren’t…
Worth your time
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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…
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How You React to Good News Says More About Your Relationship Than How You Handle Bad
In one experiment, an excited reply to good news made strangers almost twice as likely to return extra…
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You Buy a Red Car and Suddenly They’re Everywhere. Your Brain Changed, Not the Roads
A 1994 newspaper letter named it, and a gorilla experiment explains it: nearly half of us miss what…
Modern Life
Work, technology, money habits and the way we live now.
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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…
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Your Silent Phone on the Desk Might Be Draining Your Focus. The Evidence Is Messier
A famous 2017 study said a phone in sight dulls the mind. Two meta-analyses and England’s new school phone rules…
Self-Growth
Habits, confidence, resilience and building a life that fits.
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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…
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Being Kind to Yourself After a Failure Won’t Make You Lazy. It Made Students Study Longer
In a Berkeley experiment, a few kind words after a failed test led to 50% more study time. Five myths…
Style & Living
Style, home and the small rituals that shape how we live.
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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…
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That Cosy Feeling Some Rooms Give You Isn’t Luck. It’s Light, Corners and Safety
Scientists asked 798 people to rate 200 interiors. One quality, hominess, explains why some rooms hold you and others don’t.
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Your Yellow Jumper Feels Happier for a Reason. It Just Isn’t Dopamine
A survey of 4,598 people in 30 nations shows how widely we share colour feelings, and where the dopamine dressing…
More stories
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That “I’ve Been Here Before” Feeling Has a Cause. Your Brain Is Checking Its Own Memory
Around two in three people have felt it. Lab studies using virtual towns and brain scans suggest déjà vu is…
-
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…
-
That Cosy Feeling Some Rooms Give You Isn’t Luck. It’s Light, Corners and Safety
Scientists asked 798 people to rate 200 interiors. One quality, hominess, explains why some rooms hold you and others don’t.
-
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…
-
How You React to Good News Says More About Your Relationship Than How You Handle Bad
In one experiment, an excited reply to good news made strangers almost twice as likely to return extra cash as…
-
You Buy a Red Car and Suddenly They’re Everywhere. Your Brain Changed, Not the Roads
A 1994 newspaper letter named it, and a gorilla experiment explains it: nearly half of us miss what we aren’t…