🪰Why People think like Flies; Procrastination; Friends and Dreams

This month we look at the science of procrastination and how dreams are changing during the pandemic.

New studies show that we can have as many friends as we want; that humans actually learn rather like flies; and important insights around engaging with adolescent minds.

If you'd like to understand the deeper motivations of your audiences and how you can practically and ethically address them, do get in touch.

Every so often we use our Monkey Business newsletter to share useful nuggets, opinions, and findings as food for thought. Sign up here.

We start off with a dive into the science of procrastination from Dr Fuschia Sirois, a researcher of some 20 years on the topic and how to address it. Take a look now!

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

Look at these new findings published in the Royal Society this month. They re-examine Dunbar’s oft-quoted study that humans brains can only manage 150 “stable relationships”.

The “upper limits” may in fact be much higher than suggested by the original study - conducted at the dawn of the internet in the early 90’s.

Photo by Helena Lopes from Pexels

If you are marketing to younger people or perhaps dealing with them at home, then read this article from Scientific American. It shares a fascinating study on how adolescent brains are wired to want status and respect and the opportunities this creates to engage with them.

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

This article explores how flies learn similarly to humans in their craving of dopamine - the happy hormone. The University of Sussex has developed a new computational model showing the link between insect and mammalian learning.

Photo by Thierry Fillieul from Pexels