Interaction Effects

This article needs no motivation. The Return Trip Effect, which is the perception that the return trip seems shorter than the initial trip, even though the distance traveled and time spent traveling are identical, is observed by almost everyone I know.  I couldn't explain how this was possible until I recently came across a paper by Van de ven, Van Rijswijk, and Roy (2011), that we shall call VVR henceforth.  The first possible reason for the return trip effect could be that the initial trip deals with an unfamiliar and unpredictable route, whereas the return trip is relatively more familiar and predictable. Research has shown that unfamiliar or unpredictable tasks are often remembered to be longer than familiar or predictable ones. The second reason is motivated by research that suggests that people often underestimate the time required for tasks. If this is the case, then people are likely to underestimate the time of their initial tri...

For the most part of my time in the library, I need to wear a sweater. If I'm in the library for too long, then I sometimes have to wear a jacket above the sweater. I began thinking about why the library is so cold. Another way to think of this is as follows: given that the library is cold, why hasn't it gotten warmer. One reason for this could be, what researchers have christened, "Diffusion of responsibility". In a nutshell, it says that nobody takes responsibility ( telling the librarian that it is too cold) because they think someone else would do it. In the next few lines, you can read the process that goes on in my head and my conversation with a few others. Me to Myself: The library is too cold. Maybe it's just today. Me to Myself: The library is still cold. Maybe I feel cold because I am from the India. Me to Sophie: The library is too cold. Sophie: Yeah even I feel cold. I think a lower temperature is conducive to studying and so they deli...