decision-making

The brain has a remarkably flexible system for handling uncertainty and changing situations. Researchers found that the frontoparietal cortex constantly shifts how it communicates with other brain regions depending on what information is needed to make a decision. Rather than simply becoming more active when things get difficult, this network appears to reorganize itself in real time.

A scholar who studies consumer decision-making explains just what it is in the human mind that makes people susceptible to nudges toward one behavior or another.

Avoiding bad financial news is a common human trait – but it can have serious consequences for money management.

People use cognitive shortcuts to make choices that sometimes have outcomes that don’t serve their own interests or preferences. But to call these choices irrational might be missing the big picture.

Indecision reflects self-interest more than sensitivity – and leaves friends, family and acquaintances feeling disrespected.

Nearly 80% of people have accepted invitations to events they didn’t want to attend.

Overconfidence and other cognitive biases help to drive up real estate prices. Here are three techniques used by real estate agents to exploit those biases.

New research shows even wrong memories leave a fuzzy trace that supports recognition and improves decision-making.

We naturally overestimate the risk of rare events, like shark attacks or terrorism. But there are things you can do to think more rationally about the real risk.

A lottery jackpot being won by 433 people in the Phillipines has raised accusations of foul play. Then again – such outcomes usually do.