Computer says “go”

11 Jun 201716 May 2017

This column originally appeared in The Observer magazine/Guardian online Your personality predicts a great deal about your prospects in life, including something that would have seemed barely comprehensible to members…

Yuck, right

4 Jun 201716 May 2017

This column originally appeared in The Observer magazine/Guardian online  We might say that we find opponents’ political views “disgusting”, but did you know that your sensitivity to various forms of…

Everyday People

28 May 201716 May 2017

This column originally appeared in The Observer magazine/Guardian online Psychologists have explored personality from every conceivable angle except one: What do people with particular personality traits actually do, in terms…

Humble Pie

21 May 201716 May 2017

This column originally appeared in The Observer magazine/Guardian online “The meek shall inherit the earth”. At least that’s how the saying goes; but in these days of Trump and Brexit,…

It’s not easy being green

14 May 20175 May 2017

This column originally appeared in The Observer magazine/Guardian online “It’s not easy being green” sang Kermit The Frog, but was he right? How hard do you try to lead an…

What makes you “you”?

7 May 20175 May 2017

This column originally appeared in The Observer magazine/Guardian online Our personalities are made up of hundreds of individual traits, but which are shared by most people, and which are the…

I’m Alright, Jack

30 Apr 201730 Apr 2017

This column originally appeared in The Observer magazine/Guardian online A very common finding in psychological research is that we tend to like other people who are like us. But is…

CATaloguing your personality

23 Apr 2017

This column originally appeared in The Observer magazine/Guardian online YouTube cat videos have, in total, amassed over  26 billion plays. That's, on average, 12,000 plays for every cat video (more…

Where do you come from?

16 Apr 201716 Apr 2017

This column originally appeared in The Observer magazine/Guardian online Where does your personality come from? At least partly from your parents, right? But how? To find out one way in…

Funny Business

9 Apr 2017

This column originally appeared in The Observer magazine/Guardian online   Do you have a twisted sense of humour, or do sick jokes leave you retching? And what does this tell…