Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

The Cognitive Contradictions That Shape Who Runs the Household - by Allison Daminger - Behavioral Scientist

1 5

Reposted by Behavioral Scientist

Nancy J Hess @nancyjhess.bsky.social · 1d

"The same men who struggled to anticipate domestic problems or follow a project through to its end frequently described success in occupations requiring the very same skills they were said to lack at home..." behavioralscientist.org/the-cognitiv...

There’s a puzzling inconsistency in the way couples deploy their skills at work and at home.

The Volunteer’s Dilemma - by Steven Pinker - Behavioral Scientist

Behavioral Scientist @behscientist.bsky.social · 16h

The Volunteer’s Dilemma By Steven Pinker

Learning about something in public, even if everyone already knows it, can change everything—especially when and how we decide to help.

behavioralscientist.org/the-voluntee...

Learning about something in public, even if everyone already knows it, can change everything—especially when and how we decide to help.

The Cognitive Contradictions That Shape Who Runs the Household - by Allison Daminger - Behavioral Scientist

Behavioral Scientist @behscientist.bsky.social · 16h

The Cognitive Contradictions That Shape Who Runs the Household By Allison Daminger

There’s a puzzling inconsistency in the way couples deploy their skills at work and at home...

behavioralscientist.org/the-cognitiv...

There’s a puzzling inconsistency in the way couples deploy their skills at work and at home.

Why We Spiral - by Gregory M. Walton - Behavioral Scientist

1 1 1

Reposted by Behavioral Scientist

Johannes Buchner @johannesbuchner.bsky.social · 29d

An important dynamic to counteract with your peers and students behavioralscientist.org/why-we-spiral/ #astronomy #welcomingenvironment #belonging #academicchatter

Questions of who we are or what we’re worth can send us into a tailspin. But the very same processes that pull us down can propel us up, too.

The Power of Asking ‘How?’ - by Rene Almeling - Behavioral Scientist

Reposted by Behavioral Scientist

Kirk Weber @kirkweber.bsky.social · 14d

The Power of Asking ‘How?’ behavioralscientist.org/the-power-of... via @behscientist

Humans love to ask, “Why?” But when it comes to our behavior, it can often be more productive and compelling to ask, “How?”

Behavioral Scientist @behscientist.bsky.social · 6d

Happening Today! — How Can We Continue to Innovate in Behavioral Design? with Piyush Tantia

We'll speak with the former founding executive director and chief innovation officer at ideas42, about how we can continue to innovate in behavioral design. Full info: behavioralscientist.org/event-2025-f...

How Culture Shapes the Stories We Tell About Our Emotions - by Katie Hoemann & Batja Mesquita - Behavioral Scientist

Behavioral Scientist @behscientist.bsky.social · 10d

In this weekend’s read from the archive, @katiehoemann.bsky.social and @batjamesquita.bsky.social reveal how limited our study of emotion has been—and where we could look to correct that.

The Hadza don’t talk about emotion the way psychologists were used to. To capture human emotion in all its richness, we have to broaden where and how we study it.

The Art of Balancing Solitude and Connection - by Elizabeth Weingarten - Behavioral Scientist

Reposted by Behavioral Scientist

A Chronic Voice @achronicvoice.com · 12d

" #Unpredictability tends to have a #negative valence, making it feel threatening or #stressful. But #social interaction can also surprise us with how good it makes us feel: lifting us from a bad #mood, helping us discover a new side of ourselves..": buff.ly/OTJCCQW

via @behscientist.bsky.social

Without enough alone time, I feel disconnected from myself. But too much alone time makes me feel like I’m losing part of myself, too—the part of me that comes alive when I’m with other people.

buff.ly

3 5

Reposted by Behavioral Scientist

Matt Coleman @matt--coleman.bsky.social · 15d

New article I wrote at Behavioral Scientist (@behscientist.bsky.social): I share the psychological research on "drop-in-the-bucket" thinking, how this tendency shows up when trying to make an impact, and what we can do about it.

Article: behavioralscientist.org/how-proporti...

How ‘Proportion Dominance’ Gets in the Way of Effective Giving - by Matthew Coleman - Behavioral Scientist

When it comes to helping others, it’s important to remember that it’s the size of the drop that matters, not the size of the bucket.

How to Rescue an Overloaded Organization - by Nelson P. Repenning and Donald C. Kieffer - Behavioral Scientist

2 3

Reposted by Behavioral Scientist

Katie Fleeman @fleemanator.bsky.social · 19d

“No one would ever ask a cardiac surgeon to stop an operation midstream because something supposedly more important popped up... yet we ask knowledge workers to do something similar multiple times a day because the immediate impact doesn’t seem onerous.” | via @behscientist.bsky.social

Many leaders mistakenly believe that their organizations thrive under constant pressure. But overloaded systems are broken systems—to fix them, we must learn our way to the right amount of work.

Ellis Island Echoes: The Emotional Legacy of Ancestral Diversity - by Ryan Hampton and Paula Niedenthal - Behavioral Scientist

3 4

Behavioral Scientist @behscientist.bsky.social · 17d

Your weekend read, from the archive:

Why are some cultures more emotionally expressive than others? One explanation, Ryan Hampton and @pniedent.bsky.social write, could be that overt emotion helped people overcome diverse linguistic and cultural barriers.

Why are some cultures more emotionally expressive than others? One explanation could be that overt emotion helped people overcome diverse linguistic and cultural barriers.

Waste Waste... Don't Tell Me: Investigating the Bias Toward Recycling Over Reduction and Reuse - by Patrick I. Hancock & Michaela Barnett - Behavioral Scientist

Behavioral Scientist @behscientist.bsky.social · 24d

In this weekend’s read from the archive: People often think recycling is the place where they can have the greatest environmental impact. This misperception lets wasteful companies off the hook, write Patrick I. Hancock and Michaela Barnett.

For many people, recycling seems like the place where they can have the greatest impact on the waste stream. This misperception lets wasteful companies off the hook.

Solitude Is a Skill - by Elizabeth Weingarten - Behavioral Scientist

Reposted by Behavioral Scientist

Allan Schoenberg ☕️ @allanschoenberg.bsky.social · Sep 14

“Cultivating solitude offers an opportunity and a gift, one that philosophers (Stoics in particular), poets, and artists have long recognized: the ability to create a revitalizing refuge that you can return to wherever and whenever” behavioralscientist.org/solitude-is-...

We all need different amounts of social time and alone time. If the solitary life comes less natural to you, what should you do?

The Power of Asking ‘How?’ - by Rene Almeling - Behavioral Scientist

Reposted by Behavioral Scientist

Steve Holcombe @steve-holcombe.bsky.social · Sep 15

"But when it comes to human behavior, it can often be more productive and compelling to ask questions that begin with how rather than why."

behavioralscientist.org/the-power-of...

Humans love to ask, “Why?” But when it comes to our behavior, it can often be more productive and compelling to ask, “How?”

The Power of Asking ‘How?’ - by Rene Almeling - Behavioral Scientist

Reposted by Behavioral Scientist

Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford @casbsstanford.bsky.social · Sep 14

When it comes to human behavior, it can often be more productive & compelling to ask questions that begin with how rather than why, writes fmr CASBS fellow @ralmeling.bsky.social in @behscientist.bsky.social

Read why (about how): behavioralscientist.org/the-power-of...

Humans love to ask, “Why?” But when it comes to our behavior, it can often be more productive and compelling to ask, “How?”

A Conversation with Simon Johnson about Technology and Prosperity - By Evan Nesterak - Behavioral Scientist

3 3

Behavioral Scientist @behscientist.bsky.social · Sep 13

In this weekend’s read from the archive, Evan Nesterak interviews Nobel Prize winner @simonhrjohnson.bsky.social about the relationship between technological progress and prosperity, including how societies have made these choices in the past.

We speak with Nobel Prize winner Simon Johnson about the relationship between technological progress and prosperity, including how societies have made these choices in the past and what our decisions…

How to Rescue an Overloaded Organization - by Nelson P. Repenning and Donald C. Kieffer - Behavioral Scientist

Reposted by Behavioral Scientist

Behavioral Scientist @behscientist.bsky.social · Sep 5

How can you rescue your overloaded organization?

Many leaders mistakenly believe that their organizations thrive under constant pressure. But overloaded systems are broken systems—to fix them, we must learn our way to the right amount of work.

behavioralscientist.org/how-to-save-...

Many leaders mistakenly believe that their organizations thrive under constant pressure. But overloaded systems are broken systems—to fix them, we must learn our way to the right amount of work.

The Art of Balancing Solitude and Connection - by Elizabeth Weingarten - Behavioral Scientist

Reposted by Behavioral Scientist

Behavioral Scientist @behscientist.bsky.social · Sep 5

"Without enough alone time, I feel disconnected from myself. But too much alone time makes me feel like I’m losing part of myself, too—the part of me that comes alive when I’m with other people."—Elizabeth Weingarten, The Art of Balancing Solitude & Connection
behavioralscientist.org/the-art-of-b...

Without enough alone time, I feel disconnected from myself. But too much alone time makes me feel like I’m losing part of myself, too—the part of me that comes alive when I’m with other people.

Why We Spiral - by Gregory M. Walton - Behavioral Scientist

2 1

Reposted by Behavioral Scientist

Behavioral Scientist @behscientist.bsky.social · Sep 5

Questions of who we are or what we’re worth can send us into a tailspin. But the very same processes that pull us down can propel us up, too.

Why We Spiral By Gregory M. Walton

behavioralscientist.org/why-we-spiral/

Questions of who we are or what we’re worth can send us into a tailspin. But the very same processes that pull us down can propel us up, too.

Understanding Energy Is Essential to Understanding Ourselves: A Q&A with Michael Muthukrishna (Part 2) - by Evan Nesterak - Behavioral Scientist

Behavioral Scientist @behscientist.bsky.social · Sep 6

Your weekend read, from the archive: @michael.muthukrishna.com and Evan Nesterak explore whether energy is the sine qua non of understanding the human world.

The common constraint for all life is the ability to find and use energy, yet we take it for granted, says Michael Muthukrishna. In his new book, he makes the case that energy should be central in…

Americans Are Overworked. Could AI Change That? - by Juliet Schor - Behavioral Scientist

3

Behavioral Scientist @behscientist.bsky.social · Sep 6

Americans Are Overworked. Could AI Change That? — AI promises to help us get more done in less time. It’s an opportunity to reverse the trend of American overwork, but powerful structural factors stand in the way.

behavioralscientist.org/americans-ar...

AI promises to help us get more done in less time. It’s an opportunity to reverse the trend of American overwork, but powerful structural factors stand in the way.

Why We Spiral - by Gregory M. Walton - Behavioral Scientist

Behavioral Scientist @behscientist.bsky.social · Sep 5

Questions of who we are or what we’re worth can send us into a tailspin. But the very same processes that pull us down can propel us up, too.

Why We Spiral By Gregory M. Walton

behavioralscientist.org/why-we-spiral/

Questions of who we are or what we’re worth can send us into a tailspin. But the very same processes that pull us down can propel us up, too.

The Art of Balancing Solitude and Connection - by Elizabeth Weingarten - Behavioral Scientist

Behavioral Scientist @behscientist.bsky.social · Sep 5

"Without enough alone time, I feel disconnected from myself. But too much alone time makes me feel like I’m losing part of myself, too—the part of me that comes alive when I’m with other people."—Elizabeth Weingarten, The Art of Balancing Solitude & Connection
behavioralscientist.org/the-art-of-b...

Without enough alone time, I feel disconnected from myself. But too much alone time makes me feel like I’m losing part of myself, too—the part of me that comes alive when I’m with other people.

How to Rescue an Overloaded Organization - by Nelson P. Repenning and Donald C. Kieffer - Behavioral Scientist

2 1

Behavioral Scientist @behscientist.bsky.social · Sep 5

How can you rescue your overloaded organization?

Many leaders mistakenly believe that their organizations thrive under constant pressure. But overloaded systems are broken systems—to fix them, we must learn our way to the right amount of work.

behavioralscientist.org/how-to-save-...

Many leaders mistakenly believe that their organizations thrive under constant pressure. But overloaded systems are broken systems—to fix them, we must learn our way to the right amount of work.