Ernest Becker, Author of The Denial of Death

  Agitated people tend to be described in cataclysmic ways: she exploded, he had a meltdown, she blew her top, he burned with rage. What fuels these cataclysms of arousal?   read more

The psychology of money: post-purchase rationalisation, the relativity trap, rosy retrospection, the restraint bias and more… We all make mistakes with money, some more than others. And in this economy, who needs it? But many of these mistakes are avoidable if we can understand how we think about money. Here are 10 biases that psychological [...]

The science of self-control: use rewards, commitments, self-affirmation, adjust values, fight the unconscious and more… Self-control is vital to our success. People who have good self-control tend to be both more popular and more successful in many areas of life. Those with low self-control, though, are at risk of overeating, addictions and underachievement. Unfortunately, as [...]

Goal-setting research on fantasising, visualisation, goal commitment, procrastination, the dark side of goal-setting and more… We’re all familiar with the nuts and bolts of goal-setting. We should set specific, challenging goals, use rewards, record progress and make public commitments (if you’re not familiar with these then check out this article on how to reach life [...]

When the British acid house band The KLF videoed the burning of a million pounds in 1994 on the Isle of Jura, they might not have realised it, but they were likely activating the left hemisphere tool network of anyone who watched. In a splendid case of science imitating one of the quirkier corners of [...]