Emotion

Back in the noughties, Tiger Woods, dressed in a red shirt, hoisted a trophy on the 18^th green on almost every Sunday that he started out with at least a share of the lead. Science is helping explain how the red shirt helped him — and why it won’t do much for the golfer now.

“It made him feel more confident and powerful and made others shrink in fear of this alpha male among us,” Andrew Elliot, a professor of psychology at the University of Rochester, told me Tuesday.

Job seekers take note: Resumes printed on heavy paper stock are likely considered more seriously than those on lightweight sheets.

That’s the finding of a new study that reveals our sense of touch unconsciously influences our thoughts and moods.

Few humans would disagree that a good chuckle every now and again feels good. Monkeys, dogs and fish get a kick out of life as well, says Jonathan Balcombe, a senior research scientist with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine in Washington, D.C. He has written several research papers and books on animal pleasure, including “Exultant Ark: A Pictorial Tour of Animal Pleasures,” due out next year. Check out an overview of good times in the animal kingdom.

The brains of bullies—kids who start fights, tell lies, and break stuff with glee—may be wired to feel pleasure when watching others suffer pain, according to a new brain scanning study.

Just like the physical rush experienced by endurance athletes, sunbathers often feel a “buzz” after a long day at the beach. But scientists say this natural high can be fatally addictive.

“We treat a lot of patients who have tans and get skin cancer. We tell them to cut back [on their tanning], but they just can’t seem to stop,” said Richard Wagner, a dermatologist at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.