Why Jurors and Policemen Need Stress Relief

National Geographic: 

I’ll be sitting on a jury tomorrow for the first time. The logistics are annoying. I have to take an indefinite time off work, wait in long security lines at the courthouse, and deal with a constant stream of bureaucratic nonsense. But all that is dwarfed by excitement. And, OK, yes, some pride. My judgments will affect several lives in an immediate and concrete way. There’s a heaviness to that, a responsibility, that can’t be brushed aside.

My focus on jury duty may be why a new study on social judgments caught my eye. Whether part of a jury or not, we judge other people’s behaviors every day. If you’re walking down a city sidewalk and someone slams into you, you’re probably going to make a judgment about that behavior. If you’re driving down the highway and get stuck behind a slow car, you’re probably going to make a judgment about that driver’s behavior. If somebody leaves a meandering and inappropriate comment on your blog…

Read the whole story: National Geographic