Why don't we read the fine print?

Editor's note

Witness accounts at the Financial Services Royal Commission may seem all too familiar to some of us. Who doesn’t know what it’s like to be on the phone with a salesperson making a pretty convincing case as to why you need extra insurance or a bit more on your credit card?

Banks aren’t the first to use psychological tricks to pressure customers into buying things they don’t need. As Paul Harrison and Chiara Piancatelli explain, we need to accept that our decision making is flawed but not judge ourselves for it.

Jenni Henderson

Section Editor: Business + Economy

Top story

Scarcity, trust and repetition are all pressure selling tactics that can be used to manipulate us. Sam Breach/Flickr

Why don't we read the fine print? Because banks know the pressure points to push

Paul Harrison, Deakin University; Chiara Piancatelli

In psychology, we know people don’t always think through their decision-making in a rational and linear way when placed under situations of stress.

Science + Technology

#MeToo must also tackle online abuse

Jennifer Beckett, University of Melbourne; Monica Whitty, University of Melbourne

Today's workplaces extend beyond physical spaces, so movements like #metoo must trigger change in how we behave online.
60 years in orbit for 'grapefruit satellite' – the oldest human object in space

Alice Gorman, Flinders University

When Vanguard 1 – the "grapefruit satellite" – was launched in 1958, its only companions were Explorer 1 and Sputnik 2. Soon it may have thousands of descendants swarming around it.

Politics + Society

Urgent action is needed to enforce zero tolerance of sexual exploitation by aid workers

Cassandra Mudgway

Survival sex – the exchange of sexual favours for aid packets – happens in refugee camps everywhere. Victims are not protected by international human rights law.
Charges in Justine Damond case a reminder of the dangers of a 'warrior cop' mentality

Rick Sarre, University of South Australia

In Australia, far fewer people are killed by police firearms than in the US – there are clear ways to ensure we never go down that path.
Book review – Clive Hamilton's Silent Invasion: China's Influence in Australia

Andrew Podger, Australian National University

Clive Hamilton’s book is perhaps a useful reminder that we must not be naïve about our relationship with China, but his prescription is the wrong direction for tackling the genuine issues he raises.

Environment + Energy

As the Libs claim South Australia, states are falling into line behind the National Energy Guarantee

Kate Griffiths, Grattan Institute

The end of Jay Weatherill's government has removed a significant obstacle to progress on the federal National Energy Guarantee – even though we don't yet know what the full policy will look like.
Come hither... how imitating mating males could cut cane toad numbers

Lin Schwarzkopf, James Cook University

New cane toad traps that carefully imitate mating males successfully target breeding females. Males, meanwhile, will turn up for anything that sounds remotely like a toad.

Cities
Many people feel lonely in the city, but perhaps 'third places' can help with that Tony Matthews, Griffith University; Joanne Dolley, Griffith University Third places are shared spaces where people can informally socialise. As a potential antidote to the modern scourge of loneliness, it's worth asking what makes the best of these places tick.

Arts + Culture
A beginner's guide to the foggy wilderness of ambient music Lawrence English, The University of Queensland Brian Eno's Music for Airports, released 40 years ago, marked the formal beginnings of ambient music. It is still provoking composers and audiences to contemplate new ways of listening.

Health + Medicine

Four of the most life-threatening skin conditions and what you should know about them

William Cranwell, Melbourne Health

Deadly skin conditions are rare, but can be misdiagnosed.
Animal study hints at link between vitamin D and autism, but don't start supplementing yet

Andrew Whitehouse, University of Western Australia; Caitlin Wyrwoll, University of Western Australia

Autism and vitamin D: an in-depth look at what the new study actually found.

Business + Economy
Unions have a history of merging – that's why the new 'super union' makes sense Peter Holland, Monash University; Marjorie Jerrard, Monash University Super unions allow for more resources to be put into building union membership and other union activities.