Voices are more than sounds. They’re auditory faces that can give clues to who we are. In the time it takes to say “hello,” we can identify a person’s ethnic or cultural background as different from ours. Yet this can lead to other impressions that are just...wrong. How might accents influence our judgments? And what’s the cost?
Book-smart or street-smart? Education or experience? We like to think we use objective criteria to make decisions. But what happens when we choose the person first, then use the standard that supports our decision? How might the “pictures in our heads” drive the criteria we choose?
Albert Einstein, we would say, is a genius. Yet we might say the same for a puppy that can open a cabinet to get her snacks. Sometimes it makes sense to shift our standards based on context. But are we raising and lowering the bar when we shouldn’t?
40 years ago, memory researchers showed us that patients with amnesia could form new memories… implicitly. This sparked an ongoing revolution in research on the hidden mind: how it learns, how it influences us, and how it can be measured and changed.
We work out, then pig out. We donate to charity, then indulge in retail therapy. Does this also happen with our good deeds? How can we avoid bringing our moral scorecards to the workplace?
Humans help each other all the time. So what’s wrong with helping?
We overvalue the things we own. This is fine when it’s a family keepsake or memento – but how does this influence decisions we make about our homes, investments, and more?
You perform well at work one day, but not the next. One person sees you as “warm”, another as “cold”. Maybe it's you – but there's another possibility: that a belief in one person’s mind can shape another person’s behavior.
Expectations help us quickly navigate our world. Yet they can also keep us from the simple solutions, talent, and opportunities that are right in front of us.
Our faces broadcast information about us: whether we’re smart, warm, trustworthy. How do these signals influence decision-making – and are they accurate? Psychologist Alexander Todorov discusses the science behind face value.
400 years ago, we began to explore the universe with simple tools, and it challenged our beliefs about our place in the universe. Are investigations of the universe inside our minds any different? An introduction by OHM Founder, Professor Mahzarin Banaji.
