The Ostrich Effect: Why and How People Avoid Information

  The ostrich effect is a cognitive bias that causes people to avoid information that they perceive as potentially unpleasant. For example, the ostrich effect can cause someone to avoid looking at their bills, because they’re worried about seeing how far behind they are on their payments. Information avoidance can lead to detrimental outcomes in …

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The Google Effect and Digital Amnesia: How We Use Machines to Remember

  The Google effect and digital amnesia are two related psychological phenomena, which have to do with our tendency to forget information that is available online or stored digitally. For example, the Google effect and digital amnesia could cause someone to forget a certain piece of information, if they know they can find it later by searching the …

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The Benefits of Playing Video Games

  Research shows that there are various benefits to playing video games. These include cognitive benefits, such as improved reaction time, improved mental flexibility, and improved spatial abilities, as well as other types of benefits, such as reduced stress levels, increased self-esteem, and increased prosocial behavior. In the following article, you will first learn more …

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Memory Cues: How to Set Yourself Up to Remember

  Memory cues are objects or events that help trigger an action or a memory of that action. Memory cues can either be things that we set up intentionally in advance, as in the case of a reminder on our phone, or they can be unintentional, as in the case of seeing a product at the …

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Who Should and Who Shouldn’t Eat Before Going Grocery Shopping

  A common piece of conventional wisdom is that you should never go grocery shopping on an empty stomach. Intuitively, this makes sense: if you’re already full when you go to buy food, you’ll be less tempted to buy extra food items. However, studies on the topic show that this is not always the case. Rather, …

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Sleep Better by Reducing Blue-Light Exposure Before Bedtime

  In today’s world, late-night exposure to bright lights is one of the most common issues affecting sleep quality, a fact which is often attributed to the widespread use of light-emitting screens. Basically, when you check your phone or laptop while lying bed, you’re making it more difficult for yourself to fall asleep, while also reducing your …

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The Cognitive Benefits of Chewing Gum

  Research suggests that chewing gum could have some small but beneficial cognitive benefits. In the following article, you will learn about these benefits, and about how you can take advantage of them.   The cognitive benefits of chewing gum There is a large number of studies on the topic of the cognitive benefits of …

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