Water Scarcity Changes How People ThinkOur brain is sensitive to scarcity. The lack of something we consider vital, such as time or food, can po...

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Water Scarcity Changes How People ThinkOur brain is sensitive to scarcity. The lack of something we consider vital, such as time or food, can po...
Water Scarcity Changes How People Think
Our brain is sensitive to scarcity. The lack of something we consider vital, such as time or food, can powerfully shape our thinking and behavior. Take money, for example. When people play a game that makes some players abruptly wealthier or poorer, those who lose money start making decisions that result in them being better off now but worse off later.

One potential explanation for why this happens is that scarcity is mentally taxing: the sense of not having enough becomes a sort of distraction that makes it harder to focus and plan.

In recent work, however, we found that people react to water scarcity very differently than they do to other shortages. In studies of people around the world, we found that those in places where water is scarce think more about the long term. And confronting people with water scarcity in the lab made them focus on the future. Worrying about water shortages prompted better planning and less wasteful behavior—not only with water but with other resources, too.

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https://newsreadeck.com/article/scientific-american/water-scarcity-changes-how-people-think/ee5325435fdf86f622daa816ca0a1296/?articleURL=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2NpZW50aWZpY2FtZXJpY2FuLmNvbS9hcnRpY2xlL3dhdGVyLXNjYXJjaXR5LWNoYW5nZXMtaG93LXBlb3BsZS10aGluay8%3D

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