In 1978, Edward Tronick asked mothers to play with their babies of a few months, then freeze their faces into a blank expression for a few minutes. The infants first poured out smiles and coos to restart the exchange, then looked away, squirmed and cried. This “still face” experiment has been repeated in more than 80 studies: from the first months of life, babies expect an emotional response from adults.
Remembering is not replaying a recording — it is rebuilding. Each time you recall a memory, it becomes temporarily malleable and can be altered before being stored again. That is why two people can sincerely remember the same event… differently.
In 2003, Johnson and Goldstein compared European countries. Where you must tick a box to become a donor, consent rates ranged from 4% to 28%. Where you're a donor by default unless you opt out, they topped 85%. People aren't more generous on one side; most simply stick with whatever option was chosen for them.