Carla Fried

Writer

About

Carla Fried is a freelance journalist who specializes in personal finance, with a keen interest in how behavioral issues impact consumer decisions. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, Money magazine, Barron’s, Bloomberg, CNBC and Consumer Reports.

A woman and a man having a meeting. Feature / Behavioral Decision Making

The Listening Gap: Speakers Assume They’re Heard, the Spoken-To Often Feign Attentiveness

A growing body of research questions the value of the nod, eye contact, ‘mm-hmm’ and ‘uh-huh’

A word cloud in various shades of gray and black featuring climate changes terms Research Brief / Stock Market

Disclosure of Climate Risk Helps Stocks Trade More Smoothly

Dropping facts into a polarized investor pool reduces the impact of ideology and leads to broader ownership

Grogu and The Mandalorian in a still from the Disney+ show. Research Brief / Economics

Streaming Platforms’ Exclusive Grip on Shows Is One of Modern Life’s Great Annoyances, But Things Could Be Worse

Absent these deals, smaller studios and streamers would suffer, TV might be less entertaining — and costlier

Two blue boxes with white text appear breaking down statistics of colon cancer Research Brief / Nudges

Out of the Blue, a Colon Cancer Screening Kit Arrives

That approach, closer to an opt-out, beat three nudges, or opt-ins at encouraging younger people to get tested

Aisle with merchandise at a hardware store. Research Brief / Retail

Website Search Data Suggests Profitably Reconfiguring In-Store Product Placement

Lots of web searches for laminate flooring? Move it closer to the storefront

Smartphone security concept and how to keep your data safe from hackers. The blue man is using a smartphone and he is being watched by many eyes. Research Brief / Investing

Companies at Risk of an Earnings Miss Allow More Third-Party Trackers on Their Websites

Managing earnings at the cost of privacy

Students walking on campus Research Brief / Education

Quirk of the ACT Test — Rounding to a Whole Number — Offers Rare Isolated Glimpse of the Value of Scores

Tracking the impact of a small test-score difference on college attendance and later life

A red door slightly open on the left and a blue door slightly open on the right. Research Brief / Stereotypes

Political Polarization Creates Minefield for Marketing Strategy

Liberals and conservatives respond differently to ads that reinforce or challenge stereotypes

An illustration of an Adderall pill Research Brief / Bias

We Think Illegal Products Are More Effective

Because they’re harder to get, we assume they’re more potent — and thus preferable over legal ones.

Focused bearded man in a business casual outfit holding a tablet while presenting to a colleague in a modern office setting. Research Brief / Workplace

How White Men, Discussing Race and Gender Inequities, Can Gain Credibility

Adding a note of personal advocacy to any factual statement helps a lot

Blue megaphones in a row with one of them is in orange color on blue background. Research Brief / Behavioral Decision Making

Those Offering Opinions Are Better Remembered Than Those Uttering Facts

And recall of the source affects how we interpret information — and how we might act upon it

Three rows of bright abstract textured multicolored emoticons. Research Brief / Happiness

The Surprising Relationship Between Empathic Skill — the Ability to Read Others’ Feelings — and One’s Own Happiness

A surer path to contentedness might be believing one possesses empathy, even if one doesn’t

Vector logo of a clock flowing into dollar symbol Research Brief / Retail

Expedited Delivery Is Widely Offered, But Might It Damage Brand Loyalty?

A surcharge for speediness is regarded as a profit grab, while a discount for slowness seems somehow more fair

Rear view of students attentively listening to male teacher in the classroom who is standing in front of a whiteboard with a math problem written on it. Research Brief / Nudges

Nudging Teachers, in a Large Field Study, Marginally Boosted Student Math Performance

Fifteen nudges tried out across 140,000 teachers and some 3 million students