I am fascinated by people’s behavior, which is why people-watching is a favorite pastime of mine. One of my majors is psychology, and I studied a lot about human behavior. The problem is that was twenty years ago and many of those studies have been debunked. Where is the warranty on that knowledge, by the way??

This morning in the breakfast area of the hotel I observed a gentleman stop to grab a USA Today from the stack freely available on the table. He picked up the top copy as if to assess whether he wanted it. Then he reached about four papers deep to pull out a “fresh” one to take with him, and he dropped the first one back on top. Why not just take the first copy?

I see the same thing in the airport at the magazine rack. Someone will grab a magazine and leaf through it, presumably to determine whether it’s worth a buy. Once he or she decides to buy it, about half the time he or she will return the first copy and grab a “fresh” one from the middle of the stack. 

What is this behavior? Is it the perception that everyone grabs the first copy so it must be germ-ridden or otherwise not worthy of purchase and storage in your bag? Maybe the first copy is tattered or has folded pages due to repeated perusals, so you figure you want a clean and new copy for your money’s worth? How does this theory apply to the free USA Today?

Magazines went out with powdered wigs anyway. Nevertheless, I am fascinated by human behavior.