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Our studies suggest that more positive attitudes toward greed and the pursuit of self-interest among upper-class individuals, in part, drive their tendencies toward increased unethical behavior,” said lead researcher Paul Piff of UC Berkeley.
The research revealed that relative to the lower class, upper-class individuals are more likely to break the law while driving, more likely to exhibit unethical decision-making tendencies, more likely to take valued goods from others, more likely to lie in a negotiation, more likely to cheat to increase their chances of winning a prize and more likely to endorse unethical behavior at work.
“The relative privilege and security enjoyed by upper-class individuals give rise to independence from others and a prioritization of the self and one’s own welfare over the welfare of others–what we call ‘greed,’” explained Piff, whose research was funded in part by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.
“This is likely to cause someone to be more inclined to break the rules in his or her favor, or to perceive themselves as, in a sense, being ‘above the law,’” he said and therefore become more prone to committing unethical behavior. -Science Daily
Writing Prompt: Write a story, scene or poem about entitlement in an upper class protagonist.
Journaling Prompt: Write about a time when you were affected by someone who felt entitled.
Art Prompt: Greed
Nonfiction / Speechwriting Prompt: Write about the problem of entitlement in today’s culture.
Photo Credit: erix! on Flickr
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“There are two ways you can make an error as a man,” says Perilloux. “Either you think, ‘Oh, wow, that woman’s really interested in me’ — and it turns out she’s not. There’s some cost to that,” such as embarrassment or a blow to your reputation. The other error: “She’s interested, and he totally misses out. He misses out on a mating opportunity. That’s a huge cost in terms of reproductive success.” The researchers theorize that the kind of guy who went for it, even at the risk of being rebuffed, scored more often — and passed on his overperceiving tendency to his genetic heirs. The casual sex seekers “face slightly different adaptive problems,” says Perilloux. “They are limited mainly by the number of consenting sex partners — so overestimation is even more important.” Only the actually attractive men probably had no need for misperception.
The research contains some messages for daters of both sexes, says Perilloux: Women should know the risks and “be as communicative and clear as possible.” Men: “Know that the more attracted you are, the more likely you are to be wrong about her interest.” Again, that may not be as bad as it sounds, she says — “if warning them will prevent heartache later on.” -Science Daily
Writing Prompt: Write a scene or story about speed dating from the point of view of a man.
Journaling Prompt: Write about a dating experience where you misread the intentions of your date.
Art Prompt: Speed Dating
Photo Credit: Ed Yourdon on Flickr
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Psychopaths used more conjunctions like “because,” “since” or “so that,” implying that the crime “had to be done” to obtain a particular goal. They used twice as many words relating to physical needs, such as food, sex or money, while non-psychopaths used more words about social needs, including family, religion and spirituality. Unveiling their predatory nature in their own description, the psychopaths often included details of what they had to eat on the day of their crime.
Past as prologue: Psychopaths were more likely to use the past tense, suggesting a detachment from their crimes, say the researchers. They tended to be less fluent in their speech, using more “ums” and “uhs.” The exact reason for this is not clear, but the researchers speculate that the psychopath is trying harder to make a positive impression, needing to use more mental effort to frame the story. -Science Daily
Writing Prompt: Write a monologue by a psychopath explaining their crime using the language cues above.
Journaling Prompt: Write about something that you feel guilty about.
Art Prompt: Criminal
Nonfiction / Speech Writing Prompt: Write about the psychopaths that are around us in everyday life.
Photo Credit: Sebastian Anthony on Flickr
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If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. -J. D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye
Writing Prompt: Write a scene or poem inspired by this first line.
Journaling Prompt: How would you describe your life to someone who doesn’t know you?
Art Prompt: Teen Rebel
Nonfiction / Speech Writing Prompt: Write about your teen age years.
Photo Credit: iwishiwashannah on Flickr
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That nice looking black car in the front is an Enzo Ferrari. It will run you a cool mil (American $) to walk off the lot with one. Take two; they’re small. Oh, and don’t forget to order a yacht while you’re here.
…you can’t outearn dumb spending. Just ask all the millionaire celebrities, professional athletes, and lottery winners who end up broke. Let me repeat for emphasis: You can’t outearn dumb spending. -Gregory Karp, The 1-2-3 Money Plan: The Three Most Important Steps to Saving and Spending Smart
Writing Prompt: Create a character sketch for your protagonist showing how he or she makes financial decisions.
Journaling Prompt: How do your emotions affect your spending habits?
Art Prompt: Luxury
Photo Credit: Damian Morys Foto on Flickr
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Of course everyone agrees with me. I’m always right. Right?
We like to think that others agree with us. It’s called “social projection,” and it helps us validate our beliefs and ourselves. Psychologists have found that we tend to think people who are similar to us in one explicit way — say, religion or lifestyle — will act and believe as we do, and vote as we do. Meanwhile, we exaggerate differences between ourselves and those who are explicitly unlike us.
But what about people whose affiliation is unknown — who can’t easily be placed in either the “in-group” or the “out-group”? A new study finds that we think the silent are also our side. -Science Daily
Writing Prompt: Write a scene between two characters who have just met. Include their internal monologue
about the assumptions they are making about the other person.
Journaling Prompt: Write about how you feel when you find out that someone who you thought agreed with you actually disagrees.
Art Prompt: Mind Reading
Photo Credit: DerrickT on Flickr
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Children are becoming more sophisticated about image at younger and younger ages.
…even very young children have a great deal of knowledge about the clothing retail sector and they know exactly which shops will sell the kind of clothing they want.
[Researchers] also found a strong association between family culture and the value children placed on brands and logos, citing two cases, ‘Robert’ and ‘Hayley’ (not their real names).
Robert came from a family where brands and designer fashions were valued, and he ‘name-dropped’ constantly about the brands of his clothes. Hayley, on the other hand, came from a family with little disposable income, where brands and logos were of so little importance that she had difficulty in understanding what the terms meant.
Parents, however, do not have it all their own way. Dr Pilcher commented: “There are a variety of fashion influences on children and you can’t ignore the pressures from their peer groups, especially friends of the same sex, and their ideas of what is cool.”
A further influence on young children is the celebrity culture, which they may wish to copy or they may reject. The skimpy clothing of singers Beyoncé and Kylie were not always admired by girls, who thought it was rude to show so much bare skin…
Children who do not participate in that culture, however, can be isolated from their peers in a form of social exclusion. This, Dr Pilcher says, is something to be borne in mind by teachers when considering school uniform policies and by parents doing battle with their children on the shop floor. -Science Daily
Writing Prompt: Write a scene about a young child shopping for clothes.
Journaling Prompt: Write about a shopping trip for clothing from your own childhood. If you have children, compare it to a shopping trip with them.
Art Prompt: Children’s fashion
Photo Credit: Jason Hargrove on Flickr
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How do men manipulate women into acting against their own best interests, even against their safety?
Researchers listened to telephone conversations between 17 accused male abusers in a Washington state detention facility and their female victims, all of whom decided to withdraw their accusations of abuse. For each of the couples, the researchers analyzed up to about three hours of phone conversations…
Typically, in the first and second conversations there is a heated argument between the couple, revolving around the event leading to the abuse charge. In these early conversations, the victim is strong, and resists the accused perpetrator’s account of what happens…
In the second stage, the perpetrator minimizes the abuse and tries to convince the victim that what happened wasn’t that serious….“The tipping point for most victims occurs when the perpetrator appeals to her sympathy, by describing how much he is suffering in jail, how depressed he is, and how much he misses her and their children,” Bonomi said.
“The perpetrator casts himself as the victim, and quite often the real victim responds by trying to soothe and comfort the abuser.”
…In the third stage, after the accused abuser has gained the sympathy of the victim, the couple bonds over their love for each other and positions themselves against others who “don’t understand them.”
The fourth stage involves the perpetrator asking the victim to recant her accusations against him and the victim complying. Finally, in the fifth stage, the couple constructs the recantation plan and develops their stories.
“They often exchange very specific instructions about what should be done and said in court. They seal their bond as a couple and see themselves as fighting together against the state, which they view as trying to keep them apart,” Bonomi said. -Science Daily
Writing Prompt: Write a scene involving psychological manipulation. (If you are interested in learning more about the psychology of the abusive relationship, read Why Does He Do That?: Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men
by Lundy Bancroft and The Betrayal Bond: Breaking Free of Exploitive Relationships
by Patrick Carnes.)
by Lundy Bancroft and The Betrayal Bond: Breaking Free of Exploitive Relationships
by Patrick Carnes.)
Journaling Prompt: Describe a time when you’ve been manipulated. How did that feel when it was happening? When did you become aware of what was happening?
Art Prompt: Psychological manipulation
Photo Credit: conmike12 on Flickr
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Is it any wonder we’re all stressed out? This sounds like a vicious cycle to me!
“A co-worker’s rudeness can have a great impact on relationships far beyond the workplace, according to a Baylor University study published online in the Journal of Organizational Behavior. Findings suggest that stress created by incivility can be so intense that, at the end of the day, it is taken home by the worker and impacts the well-being of the worker’s family and partner, who in turn takes the stress to his/her workplace.” -Science Daily
Writing Prompt: Write a scene that illustrates at least one part of the cycle described above.
Journaling Prompt: Write about a time when a co-worker’s rudeness cause you to feel stressed.
Art Prompt: Rude!
Nonfiction / Speech Writing Prompt: Write about the problem of rudeness in today’s culture and suggestion a solution.
Photo Credit: meddygarnet on Flickr
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Some people are natural leaders, but it’s important to know whether their leadership derives from a motivation of service or narcissism.
“Narcissism can sometimes be useful in a leader, says Nevicka. In a crisis, for instance, people feel that a strong, dominant person will take control and do the right thing, ‘and that may reduce uncertainty and diminish stress.’
“But in the everyday life of an organization, ‘communication — sharing of information, perspectives, and knowledge — is essential to making good decisions. In brainstorming groups, project teams, government committees, each person brings something new. That’s the benefit of teams. That’s what creates a good outcome.’ Good leaders facilitate communication by asking questions and summarizing the conversation — something narcissists are too self-involved to do.
“Nevicka says the research has implications beyond the workplace — for instance, in politics. ‘Narcissists are very convincing. They do tend to be picked as leaders. There’s the danger: that people can be so wrong based on how others project themselves. You have to ask: Are the competencies they project valid, or are they merely in the eyes of the beholder?’” -Science Daily
Writing Prompt: Create a character sketch for both a servant leader and a narcissistic leader. How do they differ?
Journaling Prompt: Write about leaders you have worked with and their motivations.
Art Prompt: Narcissistic leader
Photo Credit: Beverly & Pack on Flickr
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