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Psycology

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Value: Hyperbolic Discounting. “We show a preference for rewards that arrive sooner rather than later” When we consider a choice between two rewards, we tend to prefer the readily available one.

Value: Hyperbolic Discounting

We have a stronger preference for more immediate payoffs relative to later payoffs. In other words: the current is incredibly more powerful than the future. Want to Win a Political Debate? Try Making a Weaker Argument. Gun control?

Want to Win a Political Debate? Try Making a Weaker Argument

Abortion? The new social science behind why you’re never able to convince friends or foes to even consider things from your side. If all of American politics could be epitomized by a single emotion, it would be the frustration of watching an ignorant politician maniacally disregard the proof that your own position is correct. Grandma's Experiences Leave Epigenetic Mark on Your Genes. Why can’t your friend “just get over” her upbringing by an angry, distant mother?

Grandma's Experiences Leave Epigenetic Mark on Your Genes

Why can’t she “just snap out of it”? The reason may well be due to methyl groups that were added in childhood to genes in her brain, thereby handcuffing her mood to feelings of fear and despair. Of course, it is generally not possible to sample the brains of living people. But examining blood samples in humans is routine, and Szyf has gone searching there for markers of epigenetic methylation. Utilizing Key Persuasion Techniques in Sales.

Persuasion

The 100+ most followed psychologists and neuroscientists on Twitter. Your Fragile Emotions, Illustrated. There's More to Life Than Being Happy - Emily Esfahani Smith. "It is the very pursuit of happiness that thwarts happiness.

There's More to Life Than Being Happy - Emily Esfahani Smith

" In September 1942, Viktor Frankl, a prominent Jewish psychiatrist and neurologist in Vienna, was arrested and transported to a Nazi concentration camp with his wife and parents. Three years later, when his camp was liberated, most of his family, including his pregnant wife, had perished -- but he, prisoner number 119104, had lived. In his bestselling 1946 book, Man's Search for Meaning, which he wrote in nine days about his experiences in the camps, Frankl concluded that the difference between those who had lived and those who had died came down to one thing: Meaning, an insight he came to early in life. 15 Strange Reasons for Ending Someone's Life. Seven billion people share the inhabitable landmasses of planet Earth.

15 Strange Reasons for Ending Someone's Life

Seven billion unique personalities, beliefs and personal preferences. Seven billion pet peeves, annoying habits and deep-seated personality complexes. Needless to say, chances for peaceful worldwide co-existence are slim. From an early age, children around the globe begin cultivating their destruction fetish. It starts with stolen lollipops, transitions into teenage rebellion and, for some, culminates in freakish acts of wild, uninhibited tabloid fodder. Understanding Genetics. -A high school student from California January 6, 2005 Wow, this one was a toughie!

Understanding Genetics

What we are really talking about here is getting angry easily. Some work in behavioral genetics suggests that this trait can be inherited. As anyone who has kids can tell you, there are some parts of personality that seem to be hard wired. 10 Brilliant Social Psychology Studies. Ten of the most influential social psychology experiments.

10 Brilliant Social Psychology Studies

“I have been primarily interested in how and why ordinary people do unusual things, things that seem alien to their natures.Why do good people sometimes act evil? Social Psychology Experiments - Explaining Human Nature. Social psychology experiments can explain how thoughts, feelings and behaviors are influenced by the presence of others.

Social Psychology Experiments - Explaining Human Nature.

This article is a part of the guide: Discover 27 more articles on this topic Browse Full Outline Typically social psychology studies investigate how someone's behavior influences a groups behavior or internal states, such as attitude or self-concept. Obedience to Authority "I was only following orders" Legal defence by a Nazi leader at the Nuremberg trial following World War II The aftermath of World War 2 made scientists investigate what to made people "follow orders" even though the orders were horrible. Milgram's Lost Letter Experiment Classic social psychology experiments are widely used to expose the key elements of aggressive behavior, prejudice and stereotyping.

What Happened to Truth? Charles Blow in The New York Times was non-plussed about the “lies” that came out of Paul Ryan’s mouth last week in Tampa.

What Happened to Truth?

Your Initial Choices Often Get Stronger. We’re gearing up toward yet another election cycle.

Your Initial Choices Often Get Stronger

In the presidential election, most voters already have a pretty clear preference. However, there are always at least 10 percent of voters (and sometimes even more) who classify themselves as “undecided.” Even people who are officially “undecided” may have some leaning toward one candidate or another. Quite a bit of research suggests that the way that someone is leaning influences the way they interpret new information. If you have a slight preference for one candidate, then you are likely to give more weight to the positive things you hear about that candidate and the negative things you hear about the other candidate. The idea behind this effect is that we like to keep our beliefs consistent.

An interesting set of studies in the August, 2012 issue of by Evan Polman and Jay Russo examined some seemingly small factors that can have a big impact on this kind of spreading coherence. 15 Styles of Distorted Thinking. Mirror Neurons.