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Adams Converse WaPo
Apr 16, 2021

We instinctively add on new features and fixes. Why don’t we subtract instead?

Social Psychology

Across a series of studies published this month in the journal Nature, Batten’s Gabrielle Adams, Benjamin Converse and co-authors demonstrated that people tend to overlook the option to subtract parts when asked to change or improve something. In an op-ed for The Washington Post, they explore why ‘less is more’ is a hard insight to act on.

Read in The Washington Post
Lego structure
Apr 14, 2021

Why People Forget that Less is Often More

Social Psychology

Why, when solving problems, do people prefer adding things to getting rid of them? In an article for The Economist, Batten’s Gabrielle Adams and Benjamin Converse explain their research on subtractive improvements. 

Read in The Economist
Nature cover
Apr 07, 2021

Why Our Brains Miss Opportunities to Improve through Subtraction

Social Psychology
Leadership

In a new paper featured on the cover of Nature, Batten’s Gabrielle Adams, Benjamin Converse and co-authors explain why people systematically overlook subtractive improvements.

Learn more
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