As described in a forthcoming article in Psychological Science, across all scenarios volunteers felt that they should give much more generously when a disaster had a high death toll. That is, donors were highly sensitive to fatalities, and unfazed by the actual numbers of needy.

New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg's controversial ban on large, sugary drinks was slated to go into effect today. The regulations were intended to help curb runaway obesity rates. This is based on sound psychological science.

The vast majority of the planet's seven billion people ascribe to some kind of religious belief -- that is, a faith in things that cannot be proven. This makes no sense from a scientific and psychological point of view.

One of the most daunting public health challenges is getting people to take care of themselves in the most basic ways.

Does our powerful belief in hot streaks, even if it's a false belief, still affect games? That is, do players play differently when they believe they are hot? Or if they believe a teammate is on a roll?

Why do people keep toiling long beyond when they have to? Of course, the lucky ones do it because they love their work, and others want to bequeath something to their kids or hedge against misfortune. But what about those who lack these motivations but earn too much money anyway?