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What Makes a ‘Good Samaritan’ Good? That Opinion Depends on the Beneficiary
Helping a total stranger is generally viewed as morally better and more trustworthy than someone who helps a family member. But this is true only if the helper did not have to choose between those options. [NEWS Feb. 10, 2020]
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The Iowa Caucuses and the Psychology of Impatience
If there’s one thing a democracy needs to get right, it’s an election. And, in that respect, Iowa failed Monday night. Due to an apparent software problem, the nation did not get the results of the Iowa Democratic caucus Monday night, as planned. Nor did they get the results Tuesday morning. It wasn’t until Tuesday evening that any results were released — and even then only 60% of the votes had been tallied and a winner had not yet emerged. There is, of course, another way to look at this week’s events in Iowa. And that has to do with a nation incapable of exercising even the slightest bit of patience when it comes to managing its elections. ...
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The Limits Of Nudging: Why Can’t California Get People to Take Free Money?
The Earned Income Tax Credit supplements incomes through the tax code, awarding thousands of dollars each year primarily to low-wage workers with kids. But there's a problem: a huge population of eligible workers fails to file their taxes and get the money each year. ... In 2018, the state of California and the California Policy Lab, an interdisciplinary think tank of scholars from various University of California schools, started trying to solve this problem, and they commissioned one of the most fascinating experiments in "nudging" we've seen in a while. ... Nudges are simple, low-cost interventions aimed at gently guiding people to make better decisions.
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New Research in Psychological Science
A sample of research on delay of gratification in children, the link between religiosity and violent crime, self-objectification and women’s social activism, and how object design can afford learning.
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What Do Wolfdogs Want?
The animals are a human creation. They belong neither in homes nor in the wild. ... Shadow is a wolfdog—a wolf-dog hybrid. That makes her an exotic animal in the eyes of Tooele’s law enforcement, ineligible for residence in a family home. Many states ban wolfdogs, as do many municipalities, since they require more resources and pose more danger than your average pup. “It is like having a toddler for a decade,” said Steve Wastell of Apex Protection Project, a wolfdog-rescue group based in Southern California. A toddler with jaws strong enough to shatter a moose femur. Still, like sugar gliders and pythons, wolfdogs have an enduring, cultish following among pet owners.
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The Secret to Dealing With Cynics at Work
In a management training that my company sent me to a few years back, I was introduced to a new concept: “cynical terrorists.” This category was meant to describe the kind of person who assumes the worst of everyone, shoots down every new idea, and generally drenches their environment in negativity with the volatile energy of a broken sprinkler system. Cynical terrorists, our coach explained, are highly engaged at their workplace, but in a destructive way. This makes them very powerful and very scary. I picture the Joker in a J. Crew button-down shirt, sowing chaos for the hell of it. ...
