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Narcissists Make Horrible Bosses: Study
U.S. News & World Report: Narcissists' too-high opinion of themselves means they don't make good business or political leaders, according to a new study. Traits such as high self-esteem, confidence and dominance often help narcissists rise to the top, but once they take over, their self-involvement and authoritarianism get in the way, the researchers explained. The researchers' study of 150 people who were asked to make decisions in groups of three showed that narcissists' self-centeredness impeded the free and creative exchange of ideas, which is a crucial part of effective group decision-making and performance. In the study, each group was asked to choose a job candidate.
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The psychology of terror
WXIA: Anthony Lemieux is a professor at the Emory School of Medicine whose speciality is the psychology of terror. 11Alive News talked to him about al-Qaeda's threat of violence to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Professor Lemieux says he is not surprised by that threat. He says al-Qaeda likes to warn of violent attacks on symbolic dates, such as this anniversary. He says what is interesting is that in this instance, we are talking about three individuals, which is very stripped down from the scale of the attacks ten years ago.
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Breast-feeding moms more aggressive, study says
CBS News: Girl power? Maybe it should be grrrrl power, at least when it comes to mothers who breast-feed their babies. Nursing moms protect their babies twice as aggressively as their bottle-feeding counterparts, according to a provocative new study. "Breast-feeding mothers aren't going to go out and get into bar fights, but if someone is threatening them or their infant, our research suggests they may be more likely to defend themselves in an aggressive manner," study author Dr. Jennifer Hahn-Holbrook, a UCLA psychologist, said in a written statement. What explains a phenomenon that some are calling the "mama bear" effect?
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Don’t let others stress you out
CNN: When I tell Pam, my stressed-out lawyer friend, that stress is contagious, she seems unimpressed. “I have always kind of suspected that,” she says, “ever since in 'Ghostbusters II,' when the guys discover that people’s nonstop negativity has created an evil slime that threatens humanity. Then they find out the slime reacts to both positive and negative emotions, so they have a bunch of New Yorkers hold hands and sing ‘Kumbaya’ to it in Central Park or something. And boom! The slime dissolves.” I’m sort of speechless, though the comparison is oddly compelling.
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Progressive Tax Rates Linked To National Happiness: Study
The Huffington Post: Detractors of Warren Buffett take note: The more a country taxes its richest citizens, the happier everyone in that country will be. Such are the findings of a new study, led by University of Virginia psychologist Shigehiro Oishi, which compares 54 different countries and finds a correlation between progressive tax policies -- that is, higher tax rates for higher tax brackets -- and overall contentedness. It may not be the case that a progressive tax system automatically leads to a happier population, however. The report emphasizes that what matters is what governments do with the tax dollars they collect.
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Why we shun creativity in the work place
The Globe and Mail: You come up with a great new idea at work, or at home. Or a political leader actually tries something “new and different” when faced with a previously intractable problem. But then, rather than grateful acceptance, or even a fair hearing, the idea is squashed, ridiculed, or otherwise ignored. Sound familiar? It should. As anyone who has ever suggested a creative solution knows, people often avoid the uncomfortable uncertainty of novel solutions regardless of potential benefit.
