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The feeling of beauty in music: Relaxing and not confusing

Jain et al. | Sep 07, 2022

The feeling of beauty in music: Relaxing and not confusing

Here, the authors sought to better understand how and why people experience beauty in music. They explored this fundamental aesthetic response by considering numerous emotional responses of participants to diverse musical excerpts using a 42-item Aesthetic Emotions Scale assessment. They found that the highly nuanced emotional experience of beauty in music includes positive, negative, and knowledge-related feelings.

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People’s Preference to Bet on Home Teams Even When Losing is Likely

Weng et al. | Mar 10, 2020

People’s Preference to Bet on Home Teams Even When Losing is Likely

In this study, the authors investigate situations in which people make sports bets that seem to go against their better judgement. Using surveys, individuals were asked to bet on which team would win in scenarios when their home team was involved and others when they were not to determine whether fandom for a team can overshadow fans’ judgment. They found that fans bet much more on their home teams than neutral teams when their team was facing a large deficit.

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Are Teens Willing to Pay More for Their Preferred Goods?

Johnson et al. | Sep 28, 2019

Are Teens Willing to Pay More for Their Preferred Goods?
Image credit: Blake Wisz

Each day we are flooded with new items that promise us a better experience at a better price. This forces buyers to continuously chose between sticking to what they know, or trying something new. In turn, companies need to be aware of the factors affecting consumer choices, that too within the different fractions of society. In this study the authors investigate the effect of survey-based price setting on profits made based on African American teen purchases, and how African-American teen loyalty to a particular brand affects their willingness to pay a higher price than the market average for their preferred brand items.

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Using satellite surface temperature data to monitor urban heat island

Meister et al. | Feb 13, 2026

Using satellite surface temperature data to monitor urban heat island
Image credit: Meister, Horvath, and Brown de Colstoun

This manuscript investigates the urban heat island (UHI) effect by utilizing two satellite datasets: Landsat (high spatial resolution, lower temporal resolution) and MODIS (lower spatial resolution, high temporal resolution). The authors hypothesized that Landsat would provide better spatial detail, while MODIS would better capture temporal variations. Their analysis in the Washington D.C.–Baltimore region supports these hypotheses, demonstrating that Landsat offers finer spatial details, whereas MODIS provides more consistent seasonal patterns and better detects heatwave frequencies.

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