ALL CAPS, Tone, & Memory

Putting words in ALL CAPS can signal importance. However, it can also feel like shouting. Does formatting text in all caps boost memory at the cost of a harsher tone? We used a randomized experiment with 1,200 email readers to find out.

Bold Text, Tone, & Memory

When sending emails, can bolding the key details make them easier to recall? If so, does it make other info less memorable? And how does it affect your perceived tone? We put all of these questions to the test in an email experiment.

Coffee: Black vs. Milk

Most U.S. adults drink coffee. So much, in fact, that the science of coffee is percolating. But what about the psychology? In this experiment, we tested whether drinking coffee black or with milk affects how warm and competent we seem to our colleagues.

Emoji Use

Across social media, emails, and other digital mediums, people are using emojis more than ever before. But how does it affect your image? Do contexts or reader differences matter? We conducted a randomized experiment with 1,200 people to investigate.

Exclamations

If you use exclamation marks frequently in your communications with others, you may wonder how it affects your readers' perceptions of you. Do gender or age matter? We conducted an experiment with 400 people to find out. 

Phone Call Anxiety

A lot of people hate phone calls, particularly spam calls. Young people even claim that they can trigger anxiety. The results of an experiment with 400 people suggest there may be some validity to these claims.

Smoking - Does It Look Cool?

One reason people take up smoking is because they think it looks cool. But new research suggests that it actually has the opposite effect. In this randomized experiment, we find that smoking actually reduces how cool you look, even to fellow smokers.

"Thank You" - Are Words Enough?

Research shows that expressions of gratitude can have profound effects on both parties. But we often conflate gratitude with simply saying "thank you." Is this actually enough to increase others' happiness? We put it to the test in a 400-person experiment.

Texting Back-to-Back

When text messaging, do you prefer to send a single paragraph or multiple texts, back-to-back? Though it may seem inconsequential, the results of our experiment show that it can affect how your recipients perceive you.

Wine Sophistication

Wine is often thought to be a drink of the refined. Indeed, the nuance to assessing its quality, oft the domain of only the most sophisticated palettes, lends credence to the term "wine snob." But does drinking wine actually make you look more cultured?