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Press
- A likely culprit in Covid-19 surges: People hell-bent on ignoring social distancing orders Vox (July, 2 2020) PDF VERSION
- Optimism bias needs a reality check Business Daily (June, 11 2020) PDF VERSION
- Trouble concentrating? Forgetting things? Our brains are doing strange things during this time of crisis. Kuow (June, 11 2020) PDF VERSION
- People are optimistic about own COVID-19 risk, pessimistic about society Medical Press (June, 1 2020) PDF VERSION
- Why We Can’t Have A ‘Democratic’ Discourse On Death Penalty
Live Law (May, 30 2020) PDF VERSION - Researchers say a little pessimism may not be a bad thing to weather COVID-19 crisis The globe and mail (May, 16 2020) PDF VERSION
- So many people are convinced that they had covid-19 already The Washington Post (May, 6 2020) PDF VERSION
- Why We Can’t Stop Watching the News Psychology Today (April, 30 2020) PDF VERSION
- Childhood in the time of corona- How will this pandemic shape the next generation? The telegraph (April, 22 2020) PDF VERSION
- Why it’s still important to feel hope – even when everything seems so hopeless The telegraph (April, 15 2020) PDF VERSION
- Why we find it difficult to recognise a crisis BBC Future (April, 14 2020) PDF VERSION
- Why optimism may not be enough to carry us through times of crisis Fast Company (April, 5 2020) PDF VERSION
- “I’ll do what I want”- Why some ignore social distancing orders on coronavirus Vox (March, 24 2020) PDF VERSION
- What you experience may not exist. Inside the strange truth of reality New Scientist (January, 29 2020) PDF VERSION
- Why duplicity is a debate winner The Times (December 18, 2019) PDF VERSION
- The Truth about Lying and What It Does to the Body Psychology Today (December 20, 2019) PDF VERSION
- Strength of conviction won’t help to persuade when people disagree Science Daily (December 16, 2019) PDF VERSION
- This Brain Region Lights Up When People Display Confirmation Bias Discover (December 16, 2019) PDF VERSION
- Here’s what happens in the brain when we disagree The Spectator (December 20, 2019) PDF VERSION
- Why is it so difficult to make people change their minds?, Medical News Today (December 18, 2019) PDF VERSION
- How to change you and your bank balance, Weekend Switzer (October 4, 2019) PDF VERSION
- Optimism, pessimism-What about a hopeful pessimist, Thrive Global (September 9, 2019) PDF VERSION
- People’s motivations bias how they gather information ScienceDaily (June 27, 2019) PDF VERSION
- The way to change anti-vaccine campaigners’ minds, The Spectator (March 14, 2019) PDF VERSION
- Here’s how to get everyone to adopt the planetary health diet, Wired (January 19, 2019) PDF VERSION
- 5 types of climate change deniers, and how to change their minds, Big Think (January 14, 2019) PDF VERSION
- What happens in your brain when you change your mind, Open Democracy (January 4, 2019) PDF VERSION
- How Political Polarization Breeds Ignorance, Pacific Standard (October 24, 2018) PDF VERSION
- New in Paperback, The New York Times (October 12, 2018) PDF VERSION
- Three titles honoured in the Society’s 2018 Book Award, British Psychological Society (October 2, 2018) PDF VERSION
- Kavanaugh Or Ford? Why It’s So Hard To Read The Body Language Of A Liar, Forbes (September 29, 2018) PDF VERSION
- The science behind Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony to Senate judiciary committee, East Bay Times (September 27, 2018) PDF VERSION
- Comprehensive Study Shows Americans Remain Optimistic in Troubled Times, PR Newswire (September 13, 2018) PDF VERSION
- Return to Reason: The Science of Thought, Scientific American (September 3, 2018) PDF VERSION
- What is the optimism bias? Study reveals best time to break bad news, Newsweek (August 6, 2018) PDF VERSION
- How to futureproof your kids, The Telegraph (June 30, 2018) PDF VERSION
- Your brain constantly shuffles between ‘ignorance is bliss’ and ‘thirst for knowledge’ states, International Business Times (June 27, 2018) PDF VERSION
- How your brain decides between knowledge and ignorance, Science Daily (June 25, 2018) PDF VERSION
- Five titles have been shortlisted for our book award, The British Psychological Society (June 16, 2018) PDF VERSION
- Should we trust people whose politics differ from ours? The Guardian (June 15, 2018) PDF VERSION
- Why Optimists Make More Money Than Pessimists, NAV (June 6, 2018) PDF VERSION
- Trump’s not a liar. He’s a madman, The Washington Post (May 29, 2018) PDF VERSION
- Would you go to a Republican doctor? The New York Times (May 24, 2018) PDF VERSION
- Lying seems to be getting worse. Psychology suggests there’s a reason why, MSNBC (May 23, 2018) PDF VERSION
- How your mind, under stress, gets better at processing bad news, aeon (May 15, 2018) PDF VERSION
- Changing your mind has never been easy. But we must start listening again, The Guardian (February 25, 2018) PDF VERSION
- Book Review: The Influential Mind, Psych Central (December 22, 2017) PDF VERSION
- 5 Great Business Psychology Books from 2017, Inc. (December 18, 2017) PDF VERSION
- The Must-Read Brain Books of 2017, Forbes (December 18, 2017) PDF VERSION
- 2017 Review: The 10 Best Event Sessions, The Holmes Report (December 17, 2017) PDF VERSION
- Our Favorite Books of 2017, Greater Good at UC Berkeley (December 8, 2017) PDF VERSION
- What to read over the holidays, Stanford Business (December 5, 2017) PDF VERSION
- Best political books of 2017, The Times (November 25, 2017) PDF VERSION
- These 7 TED talks have completely changed how I make decisions, Business Insider (November 23, 2017) PDF VERSION
- Understanding the Influential Mind, Scientific American (September 27, 2017) PDF VERSION
- What motivates employees more, rewards or punishments? Harvard Business Review (September 26, 2017) PDF VERSION
- Why Hard Facts Aren’t Enough to Alter Our Beliefs, NBC News (September 25, 2017) PDF VERSION
- How Our Desires Shape Our Beliefs, Thrive Global (September 22, 2017) PDF VERSION
- How We Make Up Our Minds, The New York Times (September 22, 2017) PDF VERSION
- Emotion, the Great Manipulator, Time (September 21, 2017) PDF VERSION
- Why People Can’t Agree on Basic Facts, Time (September 19, 2017) PDF VERSION
- In the Battle to Change People’s Minds, Desires Come Before Facts, Wired (September 17, 2017) PDF VERSION
- Why don’t facts matter?, CNN (September 14, 2017) PDF VERSION
- Want to change minds? Try this, CNN (September 14, 2017) PDF VERSION
- What the Brain Reveals About Our Power to Change Others, Psychotherapy Networker (September 11, 2017) PDF VERSION
- How our Desires Shape Our Beliefs, The Guardian (August 27, 2017) PDF VERSION
- The Truth Is, Lying Might Not Be So Bad, KUOW (March 28, 2017) PDF VERSION
- Why Piling On Facts May Not Help In The Battle Against Fake News, KRCC (March 14, 2017) PDF VERSION
- Lying gets easier on the brain the more you do it, Quartz (March 9, 2017) PDF VERSION
- Optimism v pessimism in 2017: the comedian and the psychologist debate, The Guardian (January 2, 2017) PDF VERSION
- Psychological research that helps explain the election, The New Yorker (December 25, 2016) PDF VERSION
- 11 TED Talks that show how weird the human mind really is , Science Alert (December 19, 2016) PDF VERSION
- How lying changes your brain in just a short period of time, Huffington Post (October 26, 2016) PDF VERSION
- Little white lies the start of ‘slippery slope’, scientists find, The Australian
- Liars in Making Small lies tune your brain to be dishonest, The Times of India (October 26, 2016) PDF VERSION
- Lies breed lies: Brain may get desensitized to dishonesty, Fox News (October 26, 2016) PDF VERSION
- How little lies lead to bigger lies, CBS News (October 25, 2016) PDF VERSION
- Lying Appears to Make It Easier to Tell More Lies, Vice (October 25, 2016) PDF VERSION
- The Fascinating Reason Why Liars Keep On Lying, Huffington Post (October 24, 2016) PDF VERSION
- Why Big Liars Often Start Out as Small Ones, New York Times (October 24, 2016) PDF VERSION
- From porkies to whoppers: over time lies may desensitise brain to dishonesty, The Guardian (October 24, 2016) PDF VERSION
- Why being dishonest is a slippery slope, The Conversation (October 24, 2016) PDF VERSION
- Lying feels bad at first but our brains soon adapt to deceiving, New Scientist (October 24, 2016) PDF VERSION
- The more we lie, the easier it is for our brains to be increasingly more deceitful, Wired (October 24, 2016) PDF VERSION
- Slippery slope: Study finds little lies lead to bigger ones, Associated Press (October 24, 2016) PDF VERSION
- From Fibs to Fraud: Why Lying Is a Slippery Slope, Discover Magazine (October 24, 2016) PDF VERSION
- Little white lies make it easier to go on and tell big whoppers, The Telegraph (October 24, 2016) PDF VERSION
- Whenever you lie, your brain adjusts to make telling bigger whoppers study finds, The Independent (October 24, 2016) PDF VERSION
- Neuroscientists show how tiny fibs snowball into big lies, LA Times (October 24, 2016) PDF VERSION
- Slipper Slope: Study finds little lies lead to bigger ones, San Francisco Chronicle (October 24, 2016) PDF VERSION
- Brain study shows how small lies grow into whoppers, Stat (October 24, 2016) PDF VERSION
- Lying may be your brain’s fault, honestly, CNN (October 24, 2016) PDF VERSION
- Telling white lies could encourage people to tell bigger fibs in the future, The Sunday Express (October 24, 2016) PDF VERSION
- Little white lies are not as innocent as you think: over time, small fibs may desensitize our brains to dishonesty, The Daily Mail (October 24, 2016) PDF VERSION
- Little white lies help the brain prepare for telling whopping fibs, study reveals, The Mirror (October 24, 2016) PDF VERSION
- Lies Breed Lies: Brain May Grow Desensitized to Dishonesty, Live Science (October 24, 2016) PDF VERSION
- How Small Fibs Lead To Big Lies, NPR (October 24, 2016) PDF VERSION
- Telling a lie makes way for the brain to keep lying, PBS (October 24, 2016) PDF VERSION
- How do politicians get so comfortable with lying? One theory: practice, Vox (October 24, 2016) PDF VERSION
- Positive thinking can make you too lazy to meet your goals, BBC – Capital (October 12, 2016) PDF VERSION
- Genomes, good news, and you, MIT News (September 8, 2016) PDF VERSION
- Why facts don’t unify us, NY Times (September 2, 2016) PDF VERSION
- China is the only country that’s remotely optimistic about the future, Tech Insider (July 5, 2016) PDF VERSION
- Recognizing the Role of Optimism Bias in Case Evaluation, Lexology (June 1, 2016) PDF VERSION
- Why do we ignore obvious dangers?, Observer (May 26, 2016) PDF VERSION
- Excessive Optimism Played a Big Role in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig Disaster, Fox News (May 4, 2016) PDF VERSION
- 6 TED Talks You Should Watch To Up Your Mindset, Forbes (March 30, 2016) PDF VERSION
- Why we’re hard-wired for hope, Arab News (March 2, 2016) PDF VERSION
- 50 Must-Read Psychology Books, Sparring Mind (October 10, 2015) PDF VERSION
- Risk Factor: The Happy Pill, Financial Chronicle (August 07, 2015) PDF VERSION
- 9 TED Talks that will teach you how your mind works, Business Insider (July 20, 2015) PDF VERSION
- Here’s the Root of Our Financial Problems, Time Magazine (July 6, 2015) PDF VERSION
- 7 Lessons on How to Hack Your Own Brain, Time Magazine (July 1, 2015) PDF VERSION
- Motley Fool: Nine thoughts about investing and the economy, Sydney Morning Herald (February 3, 2015) PDF VERSION
- The Economic Power of Positive Thinking, Bloomberg Buisnessweek (February 2, 2015) PDF VERSION
- Planning for optimism bias in Utah, Herald (January 06, 2015) PDF VERSION
- The Resilient Person’s DNA, Forbes (June 04, 2014) PDF VERSION
- Wired Health: how do we harness self-monitored health data, Medical News Today (April 30, 2014) PDF VERSION
- Positivity not scaremongering could help you lose weight, Wired (April 29, 2014) PDF VERSION
- Positive thinking can trip into costly delusion, HeraldNet (April 12, 2014) PDF VERSION
- Want A Better Life? Be An Optimist – With a Twist, Forbes (March 17, 2014) PDF VERSION
- Cyber Security Risk: Perception vs. Reality in Corporate America, Wired (March 10, 2014) PDF VERSION
- Would you rather have time or money?, Forbes (December 20, 2013) PDF VERSION
- Psychology: Good and bad news on the adolescent brain, Nature (October 30, 2013) PDF VERSION
- Why We Make Bad Decisions, New York Times (October 19, 2013) PDF VERSION
- In Defence of Brain Rotting Cliches and Scientific Myths, The Guardian (October 15, 2013) PDF VERSION
- Young People Resist Bad News, Nature (September 26, 2013) PDF VERSION
- Youngsters Learn More From Good News Than Dire Warnings, Science World Report (September 22, 2013) PDF VERSION
- Even When Told True Risks, Kids Often Misjudge Them, NPR (September 10, 2013) PDF VERSION
- New Play Development: Death by Talkback, Huffington Post (March 25, 2013) PDF VERSION
- Your Child’s Fat, Mine’s Fine: Rose-Colored Glasses and the Obesity Epidemic, National Public Radio Health News (March 4, 2013) PDF VERSION
- January’s Stock Temptation, New York Times (January 1, 2013) PDF VERSION
- Why humans look on the bright side, Sydney Morning Herald (January 1, 2013) PDF VERSION
- Optimism bias: Why the young and the old tend to look on the bright side, Washington Post (December 31, 2012) PDF VERSION
- Resolutions: So Irresistible, So Hard to Keep, Wall Street Journal (December 17, 2012) PDF VERSION
- Why We’re Born Optimists, and Why That’s Good, The Atlantic (December 13, 2012) PDF VERSION
- How happiness changes with age, BBC (December 4, 2012) PDF VERSION
- How the brain filters bad news, The Guardian (September 25, 2012) PDF VERSION
- Removing the Optimism Bias, The Scientist (September 24, 2012) PDF VERSION
- Researchers identify brain region that generates optimism bias, Wired(September 26, 2012) PDF VERSION
- Optimistic Investors need to get real, FT (August 24 2012) PDF VERSION
- Why we fool ourselves into optimism, CNN (June 27, 2012) PDF VERSION
- Neural Responses Reveal Our Optimistic Bent, Scientific American (April 10, 2012) PDF VERSION
- Why your brain always looks on the bright side, Daily Mail (Jan 06, 2012) PDF VERSION
- The optimism bias: reasons to be cheerful (interview), The Guardian (Jan 1, 2012) PDF VERSION
- The optimism bias (book extract), The Guardian (Jan 1, 2012) PDF VERSION
- Brain Imaging Reveals Why Optimists Are The Way They Are, Huffington Post(Oct 11, 2011) PDF VERSION
- Brain ‘rejects negative thoughts’, BBC (Oct 9, 2011) PDF VERSION
- Blame ‘Faulty’ Frontal Lobe Function for Undying Optimism in Face of Reality, Science Daily (Oct 9, 2011) PDF VERSION
- Optimism is (still) in, Forbes (July 13, 2011) PDF VERSION
- Cheer up, you’re really an optimist, Toronto Star (July 8, 2011) PDF VERSION
- The Human Brain: Optimism Bias, Examiner (July 7, 2011) PDF VERSION
- Illusions and reality, Time (June 6, 2011) PDF VERSION
- Morning Links: Squid Watch, The Wall Street Journal (May 31, 2011) PDF VERSION
- The Optimism Bias, TIME magazine (May 28, 2011) PDF VERSION
- Major Delusions, New York Times (May 14, 2011) PDF VERSION
- The ups of being down, The Sunday Times (July, 2009)
- Except in one career, our brains seem built for optimism, The Wall Street Journal(Nov 9, 2007) PDF VERSION
- Optimism lights up a brain part, LA Times (Oct 29, 2007) PDF VERSION
- This is Your Brain on Optimism, Newsweek (Oct 24, 2007) PDF VERSION
- Brain regions responsible for optimism located, Reuters (Oct 24, 2007) PDF VERSION
- Source of ‘optimism’ found in the brain, NewScientist (Oct 24, 2007) PDF VERSION
- Dopamine levels in brain ‘influence decision making’, BBC News (Jan 8, 2010) PDF VERSION
- Can Dopamine Make Your Future Look Brighter?, Time Magazine (Nov 27, 2009) PDF VERSION
- Scientist identify brain regions that help us make choices, The Telegraph (Mar 27, 2009) PDF VERSION
- Thanks for the memories, PsychPost (1 July, 2011) PDF VERSION
- 9/11 memroies reveal how flashbulb memories are made in the brain, Discover Magazine (14 Oct, 2008) PDF VERSION
- Report Links 9/11 Memories to Proximity, Washington Post (Dec 18, 2006) (The Associated Press) PDF VERSION
Online Videos (selected)
*best viewed in Chrome/Firefox
How people decide what they want to
BX2019- Tackling disinformation with behavioural science
European Parliament - Fact Checking in the EU
Big Think - How to cut through confirmation bias
World Economic Forum Davos 2017
Talks at Google
Optimal Optimism - animated short movie
WIRED Health
TED talk
RSA talk
Redes documentary on optimism (in English)
Redes documentary on optimism (in Spanish)
Interview with Tali Sharot
Laughing in the face of reality
Documentaries and TV
- CNN Special Report (CNN, 2019)
- MSNBC Live (MSNBC, 2018)
- Smerconish (CNN, 2018)
- Channel 10, Israel (2018)
- The Today Show (NBC, 2017)
- Global Business (CGTN America, 2017)
- The One Show (BBC, 2016)
- Power Lunch (CNBC, 2015)
- The Today Show (NBC, 2015)
- Redesign My Brain (ABC, 2015)
- Dishonesty – The Truth About Lies (CNBC & Salty Productions, 2015)
- How to be happy (RTÉ One, 2014)
- Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman. Reality Check: Is our Universe Real? Season 4, E8 (The Science Channel, 2013)
- Israel Night News (2013)
- Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman. What Makes Us Who We Are? Season 3, E4 (The Science Channel, 2012)
- Horizon: Out of Control (BBC2, 2012)
- Dara O Briain’s Science Club, Episode 1: Reproduction (BBC, 2012)
- Dara O Briain’s Science Club, Episode 3: Extinction (BBC, 2012)
- Dara O Briain’s Science Club, Episode 4: Space (BBC, 2012)
- Dara O Briain’s Science Club, Episode 5: Brain (BBC, 2012)
- Dara O Briain’s Science Club, Episode 6: Music (BBC, 2013)
- Redes, (RTVE, 2012)
- The Daily Rundown (2011)
Radio and Podcasts (selected)
- The Age of Denial (Episode 2). BBC Radio 4, March 15th 2019.
- The Age of Denial (Episode 1). BBC Radio 4, March 14th 2019.
- The Tyranny of Story (Episode 2) BBC Radio 4, December 15th 2018.
- The Tyranny of Story (Episode 1) BBC Radio 4, December 8th 2018.
- Science Weekly podcast The Guardian, May 25th 2018.
- BBC Start The Week BBC Radio 4, February 19th 2018.
- Why Do We Follow the Crowd? BBC World Service, March 20th 2018.
- Here’s Why All Your Projects Are Always Late — and What to Do About It Freakonomics, March 7th 2018.
- Free Thinking BBC Radio 3.
- The Joy of Bad Films BBC Radio 3, December 6th 2017.
- The Truth Is, Lying Might Not Be So Bad NPR, Morning Edition, March 28th 2017.
- I’m Right, You’re Wrong NPR, The Hidden Brain, March 14th 2017.
- Are we natural optimists? NPR, TED Radio Hour, May 6th 2016.
- Optimism – Our Enemy BBC Radio 4, April 2nd 2016.
- Your Child’s Fat, Mine’s Fine: Rose Colored Glasses and the Obesity Academic NPR, Health News, March 4th 2013.
- Listen to a podcast of Tali Sharot talking about the Optimism Bias recorded at The RSA, London, January 19th 2012.
- The Optimism Bias Louisa Jewell Blog, June 24th 2011.
- Tali Sharot on optimism, podcast recorded at The Wellcome Collection, London.
