We surveyed a thousand people on how hot and how crazy the top 20 Millennial names are (20 boy names, 20 girl names). We show where the names line up on the hot/crazy scale.

Hottest Millennial Boy Names:

1. Ryan
2. James
3. Nicholas
4. Christopher
5. Michael

Hottest Millennial Girl Names:

1. Samantha
2. Nicole
3. Amber
4. Ashley
5. Brittany

Craziest Millennial Boy Names:

1. Joshua
2. James
3. Ryan
4. Andrew
5. Tyler

Craziest Millennial Girl Names:

1. Ashley
2. Samantha
3. Kayla
4. Melissa
5. Amber

Check out the video version of this episode on YouTube.

We surveyed over 500 people on first date norms. Here are the questions we’ll answer:

1. Who should pay for the first date?
2. What’s the preferred activity for a first date?
3. What level of physical contact is appropriate on a first date?
4. How late is acceptable for someone to arrive on a first date?
5. Is it appropriate to discuss ex-partners on a first date?
6. When should you follow up after a first date?
7. Do people believe in ‘love at first sight’?

Key Takeaways:

• Many people (36%) expect the man to pay. Men especially believe this.
• Coffee (35%) and dinner at a restaurant (28%) were most preferred first date activities 
  • Younger people prefer coffee; older people prefer dinner at a restaurant
• For physical contact, it depends on how the date goes but a hug at minimum is generally appropriate
• Many people (35%) think being up to 10 minutes late is fine
• 34% think it’s appropriate discuss exes 
  • Younger people think it’s more appropriate; older people think it’s not appropriate
• Many people (41%) think you should follow up the next day after the date
• Most people (65%) believe in ‘love at first sight’

We surveyed over 600 people on their dating deal breakers. We provided a list of 29 potential deal breakers and asked participants to select all that would end a relationship for them

Question’s we’ll answer:

• What are the most common deal breakers in dating?
• How does it differ by: 
  • Gender
  • Relationship Status
  • Sexuality

Some key highlights:

• Heavy drinking, smoking cigarettes, and drug use were the most cited deal breakers.
• Women had slightly more deal breakers, on average, compared to men.
• Single people had A LOT more deal breakers, on average, than people in relationships.
• Heterosexual people had the most deal breakers, on average, compared to other sexualities.

Check out the video version of this episode on YouTube.

The Kiki-Bouba effect is a phenomenon where people tend to associate certain sounds with specific shapes. When shown a sharp, angular shape and a soft, rounded shape, and asked which is named "Kiki" and which is "Bouba," most people will label the sharp shape as "Kiki" and the rounded shape as "Bouba." This effect suggests that there is a universal, possibly innate connection between speech sounds and the visual appearance of objects.

This effect is seen across multiple languages and cultures and even observed in children and people born blind.

We connect the kiki/bouba effect to past research we’ve conducted on which boys names and girls names would win in a fight? We surveyed over 500 people per survey and gave them random name pairings and asked who would win in a fight (eg, “David vs. Anthony… who would win in a fight?”). We also connect it to another survey we ran on which letters would win in a fight. Similar setup (eg, “X vs. W… who would win in a fight?”)

Check out the video version of this episode on YouTube.

We surveyed over 500 people on the masculinity and femininity of different table lamps. Yup…

Questions we’ll answer: What’s the most masculine lamp?

• What’s the most feminine lamp?
• What makes a lamp either masculine or feminine?

Some key takeaways:

• Lamps do have gendered associations
• Masculine lamps tend to have: Straight lines / hard edges, Darker colors,  Industrial or modern design elements, Materials like metal or concrete, Minimalist or functional design
• Feminine lamps to have: Soft or curved shapes, Lighter colors, Decorative design elements, Materials like glass or ceramic

Check out the video version of this episode on YouTube.

The decoy effect is a trick used in marketing to make you choose a more expensive option by adding a third, less attractive choice. For example, if you're deciding between a small and a large popcorn, and a medium popcorn is added at a price just below the large, you'll likely go for the large because it seems like a better deal compared to the medium. The less attractive option (the medium) is the "decoy" that makes the large popcorn look like the best choice.

We discuss the different environments (movie theaters, restaurants, subscription services, etc) where this can occur as well as how it relates to the paradox of choice.

Check out the video version of this episode on YouTube.

What do people think about anime fans? Do people prefer subbed or dubbed? We surveyed people on their impressions of anime and whether they think being an anime fan makes you cooler or lamer.

Questions We Answer:

• How popular is anime?
• Do people prefer subbed or dubbed?
• How’s being an anime fan affect impressions?
• What age groups do people think anime is intended for?

Key Findings:

• Anime is very popular. 75% of people have at least watched anime a few times. It’s especially popular among younger crowds.
• More people prefer dubbed over subbed anime.
• 58% of people think being an anime fan makes you cooler.
• Most people think anime is for young adults and adults (18-39 years).
• Anime fans think other anime fans are cool.

Check out the video version of this episode on YouTube.

We conducted a survey to learn whether your phone’s background image can act as a “window to the soul.” In other words, whatever is most important to your wellbeing will most likely be your phone background. So if you want to get to know someone, take a look at their phone background.

Questions we answer:

• What are the most common phone backgrounds?
• What do people value most to their well-being?
• Does your phone’s background image predict what you find most important to your wellbeing?

Key Findings:

• The most common phone backgrounds are (1) Family, (2) Nature or landscape, and (3) your partner or significant other.
• Family is most important to people’s wellbeing, followed by their partner, and then focusing on themselves.
• Phone backgrounds are a good predictor of what people value the most

Check out the video version of this episode on YouTube.

Beauty = Order and Complexity. Think of the architecture of your favorite museum versus the architecture of a mundane apartment building. Why is one beautiful and the other isn’t? For something to be beautiful, it must have the right balance of order and complexity.

Order refers to the structured, organized, and predictable aspects of an object or environment. In architecture, order can be seen in the symmetry, balance, and clear organization of elements within a building. It provides a sense of coherence and stability, making it easier for our brains to process and understand what we see.

Complexity refers to the intricate, detailed, and varied aspects of an object or environment. In architecture, complexity is found in the richness of details, variety of forms, and the depth of visual interest in a building. It engages our attention and curiosity, providing new patterns and details to discover upon closer inspection.

The idea is that beauty arises from the right balance between order and complexity. Too much order can lead to monotony and boredom, while too much complexity can result in chaos and confusion. A beautiful object or environment, such as the Palace of Versailles, achieves a harmonious balance where there is enough order to provide stability and enough complexity to maintain interest and engagement.

While this view focuses on architectural beauty, it can also be applied to other domains such as art and music.

This view relates to the Prospect and Refuge Theory (Appleton, 1975) that states humans have an innate preference for environments that offer both opportunities for exploration and observation (prospect) and places for shelter and safety (refuge).

Article: https://www.theschooloflife.com/article/the-secret-of-beauty-order-and-complexity/

Check out the video version of this episode on YouTube.

Is your preference for lights on/off during sex correlated with whether you keep your eyes open or closed at the dentist? How does this differ by gender? We surveyed 500 people on these topics. Psych PhD Chris Cole and cohost Joseph Tajaran discuss the results in this episode of Psych Papers.

Key Findings:

• People are generally split on whether they keep their eyes open (52%) or closed (48%) at the dentist. Men are slightly more likely to keep their eyes open than women.
• Most people prefer sex with the lights off (60%) compared to on (40%). Men are more likely to prefer sex with the lights on than women.
• People who close their eyes at the dentist are more likely to prefer sex with the lights off.

Check out the video version of this episode on YouTube.

In the 1930’s, a baby chimpanzee was raised as a sibling to a 10-month old infant. Winthrop Kellogg treated the the ape, Gua, as similarly as possible to his own son, Donald. They were dressed, bathed, fed, and taught in the same manner; they both wore diapers and shoes, had similar play toys, and both received a kiss goodnight.

Kellogg examined the effects of nature versus nurture on development. We discuss the tests and measures used to compare the cognitive and physical growth of the chimpanzee and the child. Tests ranged from harmless to unethical and dangerous.

While Gua the chimp developed quickly, Donald the baby actually started copying Gua’s behaviors, dragging his knuckles on the ground, barking when food was nearby, and even developing a type of language with Gua involving bark-like noises.

We also discuss Kellogg’s later research on dolphins and echolocation, highlighting the importance it had in the development of the Navy’s radar systems.

Check out the video version of this episode on YouTube.

We analyzed Rotten Tomatoes Movie Ratings and discuss our findings. The scraped dataset has data on 1.1 million reviews from 17.7k movies from 1914–2020.

Here’s a sample of our findings:

• Documentaries were the highest rated movie genres, followed by “Art House & International, Drama”. Horror genres were ranked lowest.
• “Action & Adventure, Drama” and “Comedy” movies were the only genres that audiences liked more than critics.
• G-rated movies had the highest median ratings. As maturity ratings increased (PG, PG-13, R) movie ratings generally decreased.
• Older movies (1920-1960) were rated higher than more recent movies (1990-2010).

Here are some of our takeaways and suspicions:

• People have different expectations for different movie genres and these influence ratings: Documentaries and art house films might be evaluated based on their informative and artistic qualities, respectively, while genres like horror may be judged more on entertainment value and elicited emotional reactions (I also suspect documentaries attract viewers who are already interested in the subject matter).
• Action (eg, 300, Fast & Furious) and comedy (eg, Scary Movie, American Pie) movies are generally considered “lower-brow” and prioritize excitement, humor, and escapism. This immediate gratification may be more appealing to audiences compared to critics.
• Audiences and critics evaluate movies differently. Audiences evaluate movies based on entertainment value, while critics judge more on artistic merit.

Check out the video version of this episode on YouTube.

The Shopping Cart Study investigates how toddlers develop awareness of their own bodies. Developed by Chris Moore and colleagues in 2007, the task examine when a sense of self develops in babies. At what age do children begin to understand how their bodies interact with the world?

The shopping cart task involves tying a small rug onto the back of a toy shopping cart, right by the back wheels. If you tried to push the cart, you’d be standing on the rug which would make it impossible to push the cart. In order to push the cart, you have to realize that your body standing on the rug is what’s impeding your ability to push the cart forward. In other words, you have to have enough of a sense of self to understand how your body interacts with the world.

14-15 month olds will stand on the rug and try to push the cart and have no idea why it doesn’t move forward. They get frustrated and will try strange tactics like trying to climb into the cart.

16 month olds understand that the rug plays a part in what’s blocking them from pushing the cart, but think it’s something to do with the mat, and not themselves.

18 month olds will typically try to push the cart once, and then quickly realize that they themselves are the obstacle to moving the cart. This suggests he’s aware of himself and his body.

Check out the video version of this episode on YouTube.

In developmental psychology, the Rouge Test is used to test self-recognition in children. We discuss the origins and significance of this classic test which assesses a child’s ability to identify themselves in a mirror.

Developed by Gordon Gallup Jr in 1970, using rouge makeup, an experimenter discreetly puts a red dot on the child’s face. Then the child is placed in front of a mirror to see how they react. Babies between 6-12 months will typically see a “playmate” in the mirror that they try to interact with. But babies around 18 months old will look in the mirror and start poking the red dot on their face, indicating they recognize themselves in the mirror.

This is crucial for a child to develop their sense of self—an individual’s awareness and understanding of their own identity and that they are a thing that exists in the world that is separate and distinct from other things. A sense of self develops over time and can include many facets but one of the earliest aspects of it is being able to recognize yourself.

Check out the video version of this episode on YouTube.

The Barnum Effect is the tendency for people to accept vague and general personality descriptions as highly accurate and personally meaningful. “Barnum statements” are general characterizations that people believe to be true about themselves, even though these statements could apply to just about anyone. It’s commonly exploited in astrology / horoscopes, fortune telling, psychics, mediums, tarot card readers, palm readers, and other con artists.

Bertram Forer identified the effect in 1948 with a classic psychological study which gave people personality surveys followed by bogus personality feedback. Every participant received the exact same personality feedback which they rated to be highly accurate of them.

Psych PhD Chris Cole and cohost Joseph Tajaran discuss the Barnum Effect and how it can be exploited by scamsters.

Check out the video version of this episode on YouTube.

How do sports and income relate? Specifically, how do the sports you played in high school relate with your household income. Which sports do more educated parents have their kids play? We surveyed 500 US high school graduates about what sports they played in high school, their parents’ household income, and their parents’ highest education achieved.

Key Findings:

• The rich kids played hockey. Hockey and income had the strongest correlation, meaning the wealthier your family was, the more likely you were to play hockey. This makes sense given the amount of equipment and facilities needed to play.
• Soccer was played by everybody. Soccer and income had the weakest correlation, meaning that income didn’t matter in whether or not you played soccer. This also makes sense given the minimal equipment needed to play.

Check out the video version of this episode on YouTube.

Scale errors refer to a hilarious phenomenon in developmental psychology where young children make errors in judging the relationship between the size of an object and the size of their own body. What this looks like is a child seriously trying to sit in a doll house chair, trying to get inside of like a hot wheels car, and trying to put doll shoes on their own feet.

Psych PhD Chris Cole and cohost Joseph Tajaran discuss how scale errors were discovered and what is going on in a child’s mind when they commit these errors.

Check out the video version of this episode on YouTube.

Joseph Tajaran (Designer & Chris’s friend) and Chris Cole (Psych PhD) go over how aesthetics impact functionality in design. More specifically, they go over the aesthetic-usability effect and specific examples of how this happens in design:

1. Contour Bias: people are biased towards curved over sharp forms
2. Ockham’s Razor: the philosophy of leveraging the smallest amount of elements
3. Signal-to-Noise Ratio: maximizing the most functional elements of a design.

Check out the video version of this episode on YouTube.

Why do men prefer black coffee? We ran a survey of over 500 people to see how their food preferences and gender interact. Psych PhD Chris Cole and cohost Joseph Tajaran review the results in this episode of Psych Papers. The food takes we surveyed are:

1. How do you like your coffee?
2. Pancakes vs waffles?
3. For buffalo wings: blue cheese vs ranch?
4. For buffalo wings: boneless vs bone-in?
5. Favorite type of french fry?
6. What level of doneness for your steak?
7. Corn vs flour tortilla?
8. For ice cream: waffle cone, sugar cone, or cake cone?

Check out the video version of this episode on YouTube.

Is being a Joe Rogan fan a red flag in dating? Do Democrats or Republicans like Joe Rogan more? Why do Joe Rogan haters dislike him so much?

We conducted a quantitative survey of 1000 people and analyzed how people think about Joe Rogan. Psych PhD Chris Cole and cohost Joseph Tajaran discuss the results in this episode of Psych Papers.

Here are some highlights:

1. Most people, that have heard of him, like Joe Rogan at least a little.
2. More women dislike Joe Rogan, and more men like Joe Rogan
3. Republicans like Joe Rogan. Democrats are mixed. But out of Joe Rogan’s haters, they’re predominantly Democrat.
4. Fans like him for being funny, controversial, and honest. Haters dislike him for being arrogant, conservative, and into conspiracies.
5. When it comes to dating a Joe Rogan fan, women feel more strongly both negatively and positively.
6. Democrats are more likely to prescribe a social responsibility to Joe Rogan to be mindful of the impact his content has on his audience.

 Check out the video version of this episode on YouTube.