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Entitled at the Top: Are Leaders More Selfish Than the Rest of Us?
Leaders’ propensity for generosity seems to depend on whether they feel like they’ve earned their high-status position, according to new research conducted by psychological scientists Nicholas Hays (Michigan State University) and Steven Blader (New York University). The findings indicate that a boss or colleague who feels that their high-status position is unearned is likely to be much more generous compared to someone who feels like they’re entitled to a spot at the top.
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With Coercive Control, the Abuse Is Psychological
The New York Times: Lisa Fontes’s ex-boyfriend never punched her, or pulled her hair. But he hacked into her computer, and installed a spy cam in her bedroom, and subtly distanced her from her friends and family. Still, she didn’t think she was a victim of domestic abuse. “I had no way to understand this relationship except it was a bad relationship,” said Dr. Fontes, 54, who teaches adult education at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. ... Dr. Stark, the author of “Coercive Control,” noted that the English law pertains to a course of conduct over time.
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A Pair of Witnesses Can Be Better Than One
The Wall Street Journal: If you witness a crime, what’s the best way to recall what happened? Minutes to months later, police might ask you the color of the perp’s eyes, the design of his tattoo or how long it took him to pull out a gun after he entered the room. Would it be better to recount your story on your own or alongside the person you were with at the time? Anyone who has ever watched a police procedural can answer that question. Witnesses are always interviewed alone, in a dismal, windowless holding cell—that is, if the interview takes place in Hollywood. ...
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Can a Brain Scan Tell What You’re Thinking?
Pacific Standard: Mind reading stands as one of science fiction’s most enduring improbabilities, alongside light-speed space travel and laser guns. But unlike those latter two, mind reading actually has a whiff of reality: In a new demonstration, psychologists have shown they can figure out how far along someone’s brain is in the process of solving a sophisticated math problem—a result that, more than anything else, indicates the promise of new brain-scanning techniques for understanding the human mind.
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How Do Nature And Nurture Combine To Make Us Who We Are?
NPR: Psychologist Steven Pinker describes how far we've come in understanding how both nature and nurture make us ... us. Harvard psychology professor Steven Pinker questions the very nature of our thoughts — the way we use words, how we learn, and how we relate to others. In his books, he has applied sophisticated language analysis to topics of mass appeal such as language, human nature, and violence. Read the whole story: NPR
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Witnesses Confuse Innocent and Guilty Suspects with ‘Unfair’ Lineups
Police lineups in which distinctive individual marks or features are not altered can impair witnesses’ ability to distinguish between innocent and guilty suspects.
