magazine issue 8 2015 / Issue 27

Why do we so often ignore the influence of situations on behavior?

• written by Joe Moran
• edited by Laysee Ong

Situations matter; they have an effect on us all, great or small. We are told we should walk a mile in someone else’s shoes, to “look at it from my point of view,” and would never dream of swearing in the principal’s office. So why are we so quick to judge others’ behavior as if the situations they find themselves in are irrelevant? Imagine you are walking... / more

Experience in Action Games and the Effects on Executive Control

• written by Tilo Strobach & Torsten Schubert
• edited by Adam Fetterman

Many people spend numerous hours a day playing video games. Furthermore, the video game industry is expanding as the number of its clients constantly increases. Surveys show that 58 % of Americans play video games and 25 million Germans play games several times a month. This frequent use of video games occurs independently of gender, education, and income (e.g., BIU, 2012). Many politicians and members of the public media express their concerns about this development and... / more

Yielding to temptation: How and why some people are better at controlling themselves

• written by Amir Ghoniem & Wilhelm Hofmann
• edited by Hannah Nohlen