Social Psychology: Revisiting the Classics (2nd Edition)
Social Psychology: Revisiting the Classics (2nd Edition)
Human consciousness can be blessing or a curse as it often impels us into self-examination. Hence, people wonder what makes them and others tick? How their attitudes are shaped? How great leaders are made? How does prejudice develop, and how can it be overcome? And the questions can go on and on. Social interactions are complicated and their impact on the individual is profound. Therefore, understanding the social context that motivates behavior becomes necessary to fathom. Social psychology... / more
The Runaway Species: How Human Creativity Remakes The World
The Runaway Species: How Human Creativity Remakes The World
Defining creativity can provide us with the necessary frame of reference to develop better understanding of what creativity is, and its impact on innovation and humanity. It is often assumed that a new product or a new idea reflects originality, but does it? ... / more
The Face of Leadership: How CEOs’ Facial Appearance Predicts Business Success
keywords:
face perception / profit / dominance / leadership style / personality
The Face of Leadership: How CEOs’ Facial Appearance Predicts Business Success
Recent research in social psychology has demonstrated that the facial appearance of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and other business leaders predicts their companies’ financial performance. In this article, we review initial evidence illustrating the relation between CEO facial appearance and corporate success. We then delve into more recent research on how this relationship varies by economic climate, leader ethnicity, and CEO sex. Further studies are discussed that examined how facial cues related... / more
Straight talk about gaydar: How do individuals guess others’ sexual orientation?
keywords:
gaydar / sexual orientation / gay men / lesbian women
Straight talk about gaydar: How do individuals guess others’ sexual orientation?
Individuals guess women’s and men’s sexual orientation on the basis of visual, non-verbal, and vocal cues. People use these cues as signs of others’ sexual orientation. Here, we review research showing how perceiving others’ sexual orientation depends on two assumptions. People assume first that all individuals are straight and a minority of people have a different orientation. Second, this assumption is adjusted by the ... / more
In Defense of Anger: An Evolutionary Necessity and its Contemporary Applicability
keywords:
anger / tool / evolution / recalibrational theory / meme
In Defense of Anger: An Evolutionary Necessity and its Contemporary Applicability
Anger is defined as an unpleasant feeling that results from an unpleasant event and it is, therefore, not particularly surprising that so many people dismiss it as a pointless emotion. However, anger has proven to confer a great number of evolutionary benefits on those who utilize it, including (1) improving one’s bargaining position, (2) ensuring the wellbeing of society, (3) signalling to others that you care about the wellbeing of society, and (4) convincing authors to not...
/ moreAsking Children to Talk About Abuse: Can Research Help Improve Police Interviewer Skills?
keywords:
Child interviewing / Police training / Sexual Abuse / Children’s Testimony / NICHD protocol
Asking Children to Talk About Abuse: Can Research Help Improve Police Interviewer Skills?
Child abuse cases often lack corroborative evidence in the form of injuries, DNA or direct witness observations. Instead, the most important source of information about the alleged crime is typically the child’s testimony. A wide range of factors can influence children’s capability and willingness to disclose abuse during a police interview. Hence, the child interviewer needs to elicit reliable information from children without influencing their testimony. The National Institute of Child Health and Development (NICHD)...
/ moreSleepy Politics: How Sleep Deprivation can Affect Political Decision Making
keywords:
sleep deprivation / group decision making / politics
Sleepy Politics: How Sleep Deprivation can Affect Political Decision Making
In today’s political landscape, important decisions are often made by those who are severely sleep deprived. This raises the question of potential consequences of sleep deprivation for political decision making. Psychological research on the effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive functioning, decision making, communication, and coordination in groups can help to answer this question. There are several effects of sleep deprivation indicating that it could have negative consequences. For example, sleep-deprived individuals are less flexible in changing plans and courses... / more
Adverse Childhood Experiences and its lifelong consequences
Adverse Childhood Experiences and its lifelong consequences
Unfortunately, some children grow up with maltreatment and household dysfunction. In this post, I will explain how these adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) not only have a negative influence during childhood, but later on in life as well, and I will give some advice about how to prevent these long-lasting negative outcomes.
/ moreMoral Disengagement: How People Do Harm and Live With Themselves
Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm and Live With Themselves
We all know popular cases of people who became known for their immoral behavior: Think of Lance Armstrong, professional cyclist and seven-time-winner of the Tour de France, convicted for doping. Or the Abu Ghraib prison guards, soldiers of the U.S. army, who took photos while humiliating and abusing Iraqi prisoners under their protection. These, of course, are prominent examples that come readily to mind. However, immoral behavior also happens on the “smaller scale”: Every day, people commit tax fraud,... / more
Influence: Science and Practice (5th ed)
Influence: Science and Practice (5th ed)
“Over 2 million copies sold!” The cover says it all. No, not about the popularity and prominence of the Influence: Science and Practice, but rather about the subtle ways in which our attitudes, behaviors, and perceptions of value can be manipulated by people who have knowledge of what Robert Cialdini calls “the weapons of influence.” According to Cialdini, a Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Arizona State University and a legendary figure in... / more