Particular personality traits may have a powerful influence on a country’s economic outlook, according to new research. Across three studies, University of Toronto psychological scientist Jacob Hirsh found that populations that tend to have higher levels of extraversion are less likely to save for the future. Hirsh argues that understanding More
The lead article in the January 2015 Observer, “Talkin’ About Your Generation,” is about purported generational differences in attitudes, values, and self-perception that were found in several large-scale studies. The studies’ results were noted to be often inconsistent. This should not be surprising. The studies are based on different populations. More
James S. Jackson, an APS James McKeen Cattell Fellow and Director of the Institute for Social Research (ISR) at the University of Michigan, has begun a 6-year term on the National Science Board. He will be among 25 board members who will advise the US Congress and the president on More
The Huffington Post: I have a colleague who would not be alive today if it were not for a complete stranger, who volunteered to give her a kidney. Her kidneys were failing, and she would not have survived for long. Now she is healthy, and has been for some years. More
People are much more likely to decide to donate a kidney to a stranger — an extraordinarily altruistic act — in areas of the United States where levels of well-being are high, researchers find. More
Scientific American: Does psychology’s over-reliance on American undergraduates distort our image of the human species? Imagine that you’re in a room with 100 psychopaths. The first thing you’ll probably want to do is leave that room. However, once you do, you discover a booth installed with one-way glass where you More
