Consumer Behavior News

June 13, 2025

Top Headlines

Unconditional Cash Transfers Following Childbirth Increases Breastfeeding

May 27, 2025 — The U.S. is facing a maternal health crisis with higher rates of maternal mortality than any other high-income country. Social and economic factors, including income, are recognized determinants of maternal morbidity and mortality. In addition, more ...

Scientists Discover New Way the Brain Learns

May 14, 2025 — Neuroscientists have discovered that the brain uses a dual system for learning through trial and error. This is the first time a second learning system has been identified, which could help explain how habits are formed and provide a scientific ...

Social Media Platform Tailoring Could Support More Fulfilling Use, Study Finds

May 7, 2025 — Redesigning social media to suit different needs of users could make their time online more focused, according to new ...

Personality Traits Shape Our Prosocial Behavior

Apr. 28, 2025 — Why do some people do more for the community than others? A new study now shows that personality traits such as extraversion and agreeableness correlate with volunteering and charitable ...

Nudges Improve Food Choices and Cut Calories When Shopping for Groceries Online

Apr. 25, 2025 — A team of researchers designed and tested a new digital toolkit that helps consumers make healthier grocery choices online -- an innovation that could play a major role in the global fight against ...

How Does Our Brain Regulate Generosity?

Apr. 14, 2025 — Are there areas of the brain, which regulate prosocial, altruistic behavior? Researchers have studied a very special group of patients and established that the 'basolateral amygdala' (part of the limbic system) plays an important role in ...

Study Reveals How Alcohol Abuse Damages Cognition

Apr. 2, 2025 — For the first time researchers demonstrate in an animal how heavy alcohol use leads to long-term behavioral issues by damaging brain circuits critical for ...

Is Your Job Making You Happy? Insights from Job Satisfaction Data

Mar. 26, 2025 — New research has found that employers and policymakers might want to start paying attention to how workers are feeling, because employee happiness contains critical economic ...

New Research Explores Mental Health Costs of Emotional Labor at Work

Mar. 12, 2025 — 'Fake it till you make it' might be common advice to climb the corporate ladder, but new research shows that this attitude could also adversely affect job satisfaction and mental ...

Trying to Be Happy Makes Us Unhappier by Zapping Our Self-Control, Study Finds

Feb. 27, 2025 — A new study finds people who habitually try to be happier also tend to have less ...

'Loot Box' Virtual Rewards Associated With Gambling and Video Game Addiction

Feb. 19, 2025 — A new study of more than 1400 adults who gamble and play online video games has found loot box buying is associated with real-world gambling, video gaming addiction, and other mental health issues. ...

Socially Dominant Individuals Are More Confident but Not Necessarily More Competent

Feb. 19, 2025 — Research has found that people who strive for dominance, whether in personal or professional life, are more confident in their decision-making but are no more accurate in their choices than those of ...

Latest Headlines

updated 12:21pm EDT

How the Brain Balances Risk and Reward in Making Decisions

Feb. 19, 2025 — Research in mice identifies brain circuitry that supports certain reward-based ...

Nutrition Labels Meant to Promote Healthy Eating Could Discourage Purchases

Feb. 6, 2025 — As the U.S. Food and Drug Administration weighs whether to require front-of-package food labels, a new study shows some food labels designed to nudge Americans toward healthier food choices can have ...

Air Pollution Clouds the Mind and Makes Everyday Tasks Challenging

Feb. 6, 2025 — People's ability to interpret emotions or focus on performing a task is reduced by short-term exposure to particulate matter (PM) air pollution, potentially making everyday activities, such as the ...

Wealth Is Strong Predictor of Prosocial Behavior Around the World, Study Suggests

Feb. 5, 2025 — Wealthy people are more likely to engage in prosocial behavior such as donating money or volunteering, according to a new global ...

Optimism Can Boost Saving, Especially for Lower-Income Individuals

Jan. 30, 2025 — Being optimistic about the future may help people save more money, and the effect appears strongest among those with lower incomes, according to new ...

Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility Can Create Social, Economic Value

Jan. 28, 2025 — Strategic corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts that are directly related to a hospitality company's core business operations and competencies can help companies create both social and ...

Myth Busted: Healthy Habits Take Longer Than 21 Days to Set in

Jan. 24, 2025 — We're nearly one month into 2025, but if you're struggling to hold onto your New Year's resolution, stay strong, as new research shows that forming a healthy habit can take longer than you expect. ...

Exploring Decision Making in People With Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Jan. 24, 2025 — Although obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) can be treated, research has shown that people with the disorder tend to have a lower quality of life than neurotypical people. Many struggle to achieve ...

Why Are Most Companies Failing to Benefit from AI? It's About the People Not the Tech

Jan. 22, 2025 — Successful uptake of new technology is a matter of emotions -- and with 4 in 5 companies saying they're failing to capitalize on its potential, ...

Study Shows Travelers Are Dreaming Forward, Not Looking Back

Jan. 22, 2025 — When it comes to getting people to want to go places, the future is ever more lovely than the past, according to a new study. The study found that forestalgia-focused destination ads -- those that ...

Stars or Numbers? How Rating Formats Change Consumer Behavior

May 19, 2025 — Researchers found that consumers tend to overestimate fractional star ratings and underestimate fractional numerals. In either case, the ratings can be misleading, potentially causing a company to ...

Attention Can Be Used to Drive Cooperation

Mar. 17, 2025 — Our ability to cooperate with others may be influenced by how our attention is captured and directed, as much as by how altruistic we are feeling, according to a new ...

How People Make Life's Biggest Decisions

Jan. 8, 2025 — Some decisions in life are so significant that they have a massive impact on the course of a person's future. Whether it's the decision to emigrate, quit a job, end a long-term ...

Naughty or Nice? Many Parents Rely on Threats to Manage Misbehavior -- From No Dessert to No Santa

Dec. 16, 2024 — When young children's behavior becomes challenging, many parents resort to threats -- from taking away toys to threatening that Santa will skip their house, a national poll ...

Political Opinions Influence Our Choice of Chocolate

Nov. 25, 2024 — We distance ourselves from completely neutral products if they are liked by people who have political views that we find disagreeable. Even chocolate can be political, according to new research from ...

Smarter City Planning: Researchers Use Brain Activity to Predict Visits to Urban Areas

Nov. 21, 2024 — Researchers have measured the brain activity of people who had never been to a specific city and then use this brain activity to predict other people's actual visits to places around that city. ...

Confidence Drives Feedback-Seeking Behavior: Insights Into Learning and Motivation

Nov. 21, 2024 — New research reveals how low confidence drives feedback-seeking, enhancing learning with insights for education and rehabilitation ...

Researchers Discover New Cognitive Blueprint for Making and Breaking Habits

Nov. 19, 2024 — Cognitive neuroscientists have described a brand new approach to making habit change achievable and ...

Cash Is King: The Surprising Truth About Spending Habits in a Cashless World

Nov. 14, 2024 — Physical cash not only influences how much we spend but also fosters a profound sense of psychological ownership that digital payments cannot replicate, according to new ...

New Study Sheds Light on the Role of Sound and Music in Gendered Toy Marketing

Nov. 6, 2024 — New research reveals that the music and soundscapes used in toy commercials are reinforcing rigid gender norms, shaping the way children perceive masculinity and femininity. The study uncovers how ...

The Harmful Frequency and Reach of Unhealthy Foods on Social Media

Oct. 31, 2024 — An analysis of social media posts that mention food and beverage products finds that fast food restaurants and sugar sweetened beverages are the most common, with millions of posts reaching billions ...

Age Assurance Online Needs to Be Child-Rights Respecting, New Study Says

Oct. 28, 2024 — A range of different age checks are needed to protect children -- but also to ensure they can take advantages of positive opportunities online -- a new study ...

Cannabis Use During Pregnancy Can Impact Thinking and Learning Skills, Increase Aggression Among Children, Study Shows

Oct. 28, 2024 — As cannabis is legalized and is more accessible in various forms across the country, there is increasing concern among health care providers about potential impact on children. Researchers have new ...

An Individual's Reward-Seeking Strategy Reflects Responses to Nicotine

Oct. 24, 2024 — Individualistic reward-seeking strategies predict responses to nicotine among mice living in a micro-society, according to a new ...

How Social Structure Influences the Way People Share Money

Sep. 26, 2024 — A study of informal finance finds that in East Africa, money moves in very different patterns depending on whether societies are structured around family units or age-based ...

A Risky Business: Why Do Some Parkinson's Disease Treatments Affect Decision Making?

Sep. 24, 2024 — Parkinson's disease, a debilitating nervous system disorder, is treated with medications that sometimes cause impaired decision-making and poor impulse control. Now, researchers have identified ...

Calorie Labels on Alcohol Might Help Some Drinkers Maintain a Healthier Weight

Sep. 19, 2024 — Just over half of heavier drinkers in England say they would make changes to their drinking if calorie labels for alcohol were introduced, according to a new ...

People Aren't Volunteering as Much These Days: What Gives?

Sep. 17, 2024 — Volunteering used to be a mainstay of U.S. culture. But in recent years, giving back to their community hasn't played as big a role in many Americans' lives. New research suggests the ...

How Cheerful Is That Water Bottle?

Sep. 3, 2024 — New research shows consumers use 'happier' words to search for products when they are in a good mood. Researchers have connected those positive search terms with an increased likelihood of ...

Just 10 Minutes of Mindfulness Daily Boosts Wellbeing and Fights Depression

Aug. 22, 2024 — New research reveals how short bursts of daily mindfulness can boost wellbeing, combat depression and anxiety, and inspire healthier lifestyle ...