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Kleine Aufmerksamkeiten
Süddeutsche Zeitung: Der Weg in ein Leben als schlechter Mensch wird in Trippelschritten gegangen. Eine kleine Verfehlung öffnet die Tür zur nächsten kleinen Schweinerei, bis irgendwann der Punkt erreicht ist, an dem sowieso alles egal ist und die inneren Dämme gebrochen sind. Psychologen um Nils Köbis von der Universität Amsterdam haben jedoch eine Ausnahme von dieser Regel identifiziert: Wenn es um Bestechung geht, dann neigen auch unbescholtene Menschen dazu, sehr plötzlich zu diesem unethischen Mittel zu greifen - ohne sich zuvor mit kleinen Verfehlungen erst einmal quasi aufzuwärmen. Read the whole story: Süddeutsche Zeitung
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Hypocrites, be honest
The Boston Globe: ACCORDING TO YALE University researchers, condemning someone else’s immoral behavior helps your own reputation, because when you condemn others, it’s a signal that you’re clean — more so than if you directly state that you’re clean. This is why hypocrisy is judged so harshly, because it violates the implicit assumption that you wouldn’t condemn unless you were really virtuous. As such, hypocrisy is judged even more harshly than lying about your behavior. However, honest hypocrisy — condemning others but also admitting your own misbehavior — is judged less harshly than lying. Read the whole story: The Boston Globe
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Here’s How Many Calories You’ll Eat During the Super Bowl
TIME: The game lasts four hours, but what you eat will stick with you way longer than that. By some (admittedly unscientific) estimates, Americans who snack on typical Super Bowl fare, like pizza, beer, soda, chips, dips, hot wings and nachos, could take in as many as 2,400 calories and 121 grams of fat just during the game. ... Add on a few miles if you happen to root for the team that loses. A 2013 study in the journal Psychological Science found that on the Monday after a big football game, people who had cheered for the team that lost ate 16% more saturated fat than they usually did.
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We Dislike Hypocrites Because They Deceive Us
We’re averse to hypocrites because their disavowal of bad behavior sends a false signal, misleading us into thinking they’re virtuous when they’re not, findings from a psychological study show.
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People Are Surprisingly Bad at Knowing Who Their Rivals Are
New research suggests that we’re much better at knowing who likes us than who is competing against us at work.
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White fear of demographic change is a powerful psychological force
VOX: In August 2008, the Census Bureau released a report that predicted a seismic shift in American demographics: By 2050, minorities would make up more than 50 percent of the population and become the majority. When Yale psychologist Jennifer Richeson heard about the report on NPR, she remembers thinking, “This is probably freaking somebody out.” By “somebody,” she means white people. Richeson’s studies on interracial interactions had taught her that when people are in the majority, the sense of their race is dormant. But the prospect of being in the minority can suddenly make white identity — and all the historical privilege that comes with it — salient.
