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Tag Archives: psychology
Superstition, Statistics and Our Unshakable Love of Spooky Math
It’s not quite Halloween. There are no ghosts, no monsters, no spooky hauntings, no plastic skeletons on the lawn, no “fun-size” candy bars clogging the pantry and no neighbors dressed as inflatable dinosaurs, at least not in the costume aisle … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Holidays, Society
Tagged black cats, Friday the 13th, Halloween, luck, psychology, science, superstition, triskaidekaphobia
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Paying to Be Terrified: The Curious Case of “Safe Fear”
There’s something deeply odd about human beings: we actively seek out fear. No other species on the planet does this. You’ll never see a deer buying tickets to a prance though a predator habitat or a raccoon strapping itself into … Continue reading
Posted in Holidays
Tagged adrenaline, dopamine, fear, fight or flight, Halloween, horror, neuroscience, psychology, risky behavior, scary things, thrill seeking
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