How can I possibly relate spiders to chocolate cake?  When I hear a report about how information overload can affect our abilities to make good choices, they were the first thing that came to mind.

The study, conducted by Stanford University professor, Baba Shiv went like this:  Several dozen subjects were split into two groups.  The first group received a 2 digit number, while the second group received a 7 digit number.  They were then instructed to walk down the hall, enter another room and recite that number back.  That was all they thought they would need to do.  So imagine, the test subject is walking down the hallway, recalling the number over and over again so they can recite it back.  Then, out of nowhere, they encounter a person that asks if they would like a snack as gratitude for helping with the study.  The person is holding two different snack options that they can choose from.  One snack, considered not healthy (although some might argue) is chocolate cake, the other snack, a healthy bowl of fruit salad.

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