Scientific American’s podcasts are fascinating to thousands of listeners, especially 60-Second Psych, which is produced in partnership with Worth Publishers

Scientific American’s podcasts are fascinating to thousands of listeners, especially 60-Second Psych, which is produced in partnership with Worth Publishers. Click on any of the links below to listen now, or visit the Scientific American web site to subscribe.

Preschoolers Already Have Deep Brand Preferences (August 7, 2007)
Kids given the exact same food in unmarked or McDonald's packaging said it tasted better with the brand name. Steve Mirsky reports.

Beauty Affects The Eye of the Consumer (January 29, 2008)
Consumers were more enthusiastic about purchasing an article of clothing when they saw a good-looking person handling it first. Steve Mirsky explains, with reporting by Harvey Black.

Users Of Online Dating Services Often Fib (February 07, 2007)
A study of users of four popular online dating services found that a majority lied about their weight, and many lied about their height.

Could Humans Cause Survival Of The Cutest? (February 01, 2007)
A study of penguin species most often depicted in coffee table books raises questions about how human preferences for attractive animals may influence conservation efforts.

Anxiety Impedes Memory During High-Pressure Exams (February 21, 2007)
Under lots of exam pressure, better students take the same bad shortcuts as poorer students, and their anxiety can waste working memory.

Fright Day Friday (October 13, 2006)
Scientific research to determine whether Friday the 13th is really unlucky.

Limelight is Mother's Milk for Celebs (September 08, 2006)
Celebrities score higher on a psychological test for narcissism than do the non-famous. Yes, we're shocked too.

Retail Products May Suffer Guilt By Association (May 1, 2007)
Consumers were turned off to usually appealing products—such as cookies—if they saw the package touching a box of something with negative hygienic connotations, such as kitty litter.

Bike Helmet Paradox (September 12, 2006)
Drivers may feel more comfortable squeezing cyclists who wear helmets.

Safe To Be More Dangerous (October 18, 2006)
People apparently take advantage of safety features to behave more dangerously.

Joe Torre and the Psychology of Persuasion (October 22, 2007)
Former Yankee manager Joe Torre made good use of social psychology techniques that were outlined in a February 2001 Scientific American article by Robert Cialdini called The Science of Persuasion, available at www.sciamdigital.com. Steve Mirsky reports.

Handwashing Stats Are Good, Could Be Better (September 18, 2007)
The majority of those using public restrooms wash their hands, but large numbers still don't and the numbers have fallen since the last survey. Steve Mirsky reports

Money Can Buy Happiness (March 24, 2008)
One surefire way for money to provide happiness appears to be to spend it on other people. Karen Hopkin reports.

Kids Like Lucky Kids (November 15, 2006)
Small children seem to be predisposed toward liking other children who have good luck and shunning unlucky ones.

Divorce Wrecks Environment Too (December 4, 2007)
Divorced individuals use more resources than they did as married couples. Karen Hopkin reports.

Satisfaction Associated With Helping Others (April 23, 2007)
The University of Chicago's General Social Survey looked at who was satisfied with their jobs and who was happy, and found that a good bet was a career involving helping people.

Genetic Condition's Interplay with Culture (August 30, 2007)
Kids with Williams Syndrome are more gregarious—but cultural norms modulate how gregarious they become. Steve Mirsky reports.

Women Still Face Science Ceiling (September 20, 2006)
A new report from the National Academy of Science and associated institutions analyzes the continuing barriers to advancement faced by women academic researchers and prescribes solutions (http://www.nas.edu).

Six Big Science Debates; Missions to Map Planets; Breaking Down Barriers: Women in Science (September 27, 2006)
Last week, the National Academy of Sciences and other institutions released a report titled Beyond Bias and Barriers: Fulfilling the Potential of Women in Academic Science and Engineering. Maria Zuber, head of the department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was one of the members of the committee that prepared that report.