Are you a tightwad or a spendthrift?
That's what John Tierney, now back in his more natural spot as the New York Times' science columnist and novice blogger, wants to know. An interdisciplinary team that includes behavioral economists at Carnegie Mellon University and a neuropsychologist at Stanford, Brian Knutson, has located "distinct neural circuits" that activate when it's time to make a ...
That's what John Tierney, now back in his more natural spot as the New York Times' science columnist and novice blogger, wants to know. An interdisciplinary team that includes behavioral economists at Carnegie Mellon University and a neuropsychologist at Stanford, Brian Knutson, has located "distinct neural circuits" that activate when it's time to make a decision on what to buy. That means that although purchasing choices may not necessarily be as rational as economists traditionally assume, they can be analyzed scientifically nonetheless. Tierney stuck his own head in Knutson's MRI machine to find out why his VISA bills are so high (the science isn't quite there just yet).
That's what John Tierney, now back in his more natural spot as the New York Times' science columnist and novice blogger, wants to know. An interdisciplinary team that includes behavioral economists at Carnegie Mellon University and a neuropsychologist at Stanford, Brian Knutson, has located "distinct neural circuits" that activate when it's time to make a decision on what to buy. That means that although purchasing choices may not necessarily be as rational as economists traditionally assume, they can be analyzed scientifically nonetheless. Tierney stuck his own head in Knutson's MRI machine to find out why his VISA bills are so high (the science isn't quite there just yet).
On his blog, Tierney links to the related survey developed by the same guys at Carnegie Mellon University that tells you whether you're more of a free-spender or a miser. As Tierney notes, it's a different matter entirely to be frugal, which means that you derive pleasure from saving money. Tightwads, in contrast, are miserable even when they don't spend.
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