A professor at Harvard has applied her behavioral science background to the use of the “sequestration” tactic in an article, “The Strange Behavioral Logic of the Sequester Stalemate.”
She uses the somewhat forced nature of the upcoming automatic spending cuts and compares elements of the situation to other hard-and-fast goals we place...
There’s a surplus of pretty successful infographics attempting to sway audiences as to the meaning–and import–of sequestration cuts.
From political groups like Third Way and The Democratic Daily to a Quaker organization and the Cato Institute, there are common themes running through many of the depictions that attempt to both explain the term “sequestration,” while also selling a...
A study entitled “In the Land of the Free, Interdependent Action Undermines Motivation” published this month from Stanford University researcher MarYam Hamedani concludes that appeals to community motivation, what they call “interdependence,” are less compelling than independent behaviors when addressing social challenges.
In other words, if you’re trying to get people to go...
A Washington, D.C., area organic grocery store chain is banning all food items marketed to children with cartoon characters, according to a report on Food Navigator-USA. MOM’s Organic Market founder Scott Nash called using cartoon characters on items like cereal boxes or snacks “sleazy” and advertising itself ” a shady game.”
Nash...
Hillary Clinton continued to get the meme treatment this week with columnist Zerlina Maxwell‘s posting of a series of GIFs, or animated pictures, that instruct how to deal with “mansplainers.”
The GIFs used footage from the Benghazi hearings to take emphasis away from the content of the hearings, instead overlaying a familiar...
Local Chicago NPR station WBEZ has unrolled an advertising campaign for its membership drive that calls on its listeners to “go make babies today.”
The facebook-based microsite, “Go Makes Babies,” features a five-question assessment that with the question, “The quickest way to get me thinking about reproduction: 1) Good music, 2) Good...
As part of “turning loose” his massive campaign apparatus on a number of policy fronts, President Obama appears to be directing a language overhaul as part of his gun-control agenda.
In a recent press conference with Joe Biden, The Atlantic‘s Molly Ball observes that neither President Obama nor Vice President Biden used the term...
An infographic from Mayor Bloomberg’s “Mayors against Illegal Guns” depicting “common-sense gun control” shows how graphics can swindle their audiences using simple tricks.
Despite the fact that the NRA has condemned the group for being anti-gun, MAIG is attempting to define the terms of the debate in ways to positive their aims more positively....
As we all seek out ways to restore our country to the right path, I believe there is one area that has been neglected: culture.
In 2013, my organization The Frontier Lab is excited to continue its study of the facets of the American character–how Americans understand and relate to the tenets upon...
As some of you know, as part of my day job I run a nonprofit, The Frontier Lab (TFL), which uses market research to measure the state of the American character and to learn how we can best revive interest in American exceptionalism.
In 2013, I’ll be bringing some of the content...
Starting next week, Anne Sorock will begin posting here.
You may remember Anne from my post, When did you decide to become politically active?
I had the pleasure a couple of weeks ago of meeting with Anne Sorock and Yvonne Ralsky, co-founders of The Frontier Lab.
The Frontier Lab, among other things, utilizes “deep...
I had the pleasure a couple of weeks ago of meeting with Anne Sorock and Yvonne Ralsky, co-founders of The Fontier Lab.
The Frontier Lab, among other things, utilizes “deep values research” common in consumer products marketing analysis (Anne is a Cornell Business School graduate who concentrated in the field) and applies those principles...
