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Wealthy really are different, and not in a nice way: study
The Vancouver Sun: Turns out, the rich really are different. But not necessarily in he ways we assume. Though economically privileged, people from upper-class backgrounds consistently display deficits in empathy, social engagement, generosity and sensitivity compared to those from the lower classes. The differences in behaviour are so marked that even unschooled observers are able to detect a person's socioeconomic background based on 60 seconds of interaction. The findings, published in the journal Current Directions in Psychological Science, have researchers concluding that wealth comes at considerable personal cost - and that being poor isn't without its rewards.
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Spoilers Don’t Spoil Anything
Wired: I’ve got a weak spot for pulp fiction, especially when it involves a mysterious twist. I like unironic thrillers and mediocre Agatha Christie imitations. Basically, I like any kind of fiction that lets me forget for vast stretches of time that I’m sitting in an airport terminal. I read these books in an unusual way: I begin with the last five pages, seeking out the final twist first. The twist won’t make sense at this point, but that doesn’t matter — I enjoy reading the story with the grand finale in mind. (Hell, I even cheated with Harry Potter.) I’ve always assumed that this reading style is a perverse personal habit, a symptom of a flawed literary intelligence.
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UK riots: What turns people into looters?
BBC News: There have been some extraordinary scenes in London and other cities this week, from burning buildings and running street battles, to people unashamedly walking into a shop and leaving with a flat-screen television under their arms. Many of the looters have not bothered to cover their faces as they raided electrical stores, sports shops and off-licences. Some have even posed for a picture afterwards, proudly showing off their haul and posting the images on social-networking sites.
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Do narcissists or junkies make better leaders?
Business Insider: Narcissists rise to the top. That's because other people think their qualities - confidence, dominance, authority, and self-esteem - make them good leaders. Is that true? “Our research shows that the opposite seems to be true,” says Barbora Nevicka, a PhD candidate in organizational psychology, describing a new study she undertook with University of Amsterdam colleagues Femke Ten Velden, Annebel De Hoogh, and Annelies Van Vianen. The study found that the narcissists’ preoccupation with their own brilliance inhibits a crucial element of successful group decision-making and performance: the free and creative exchange of information and ideas.
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Why We Like People Who Share Our Taste In Music
The Huffington Post: When you're at a party and you meet new people, you'd like to have some way to get to know about them quickly. You can try to talk about sports with people, but not everyone follows sports. You can try to talk about politics, but those conversations can get heated quickly. Instead, people often ask others about music. Finding out the music that someone else likes seems to give you a lot of information about them, quickly.
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Could stock market stress induce poorer financial decisions?
Los Angeles Times: The Dow Jones industrial average's wicked drops this week seem to have many investors turning to U.S. Treasury bonds and otherwise retreating into defensive economic positions to wait out the apparent financial meltdown. But the results from a recent study indicated that stress, perhaps in the form of an unstable stock market or high unemployment, might cause people to make even more risky financial decisions. A 2009 paper published in the journal Psychological Science showed how people's decision-making changed in response to acute stress.
