Free Talk Live - Published news - Psychology / Sociology

Authoritarian Sociopathy: Part 1 (The Stanford Prison Experiment)

MuslimNonarchist — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 17:01:38 +0000

For those interested in the science behind authoritarian sociopathy no studies are more poignant, or more chilling in their ramification than the Milgram Experiment and the Stanford Prison Experiment. But their sentiment was perhaps best expressed by Thomas Jefferson in an often overlooked passage of the Declaration of Independence:

“All experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.”

Authoritarian Sociopathy: Part 4: Power and Hypocrisy

MuslimNonarchist — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 02:53:52 +0000

In each of five experiments the method of inducing a powerful feeling, and the method of determining moral double standards was different, but in every one the results were the same. Powerful people judge others more harshly but cheat more themselves. But what’s especially interesting is his last experiment where distinguishing between legitimate power and illegitimate power garnered the opposite results.

Authoritarian Sociopathy: Part 2: Power and Deception

MuslimNonarchist — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 17:04:05 +0000

Dana Carney, a professor at Columbia University, conducted an experiment intended to discover whether “leaders” and “subordinates” experience the same physiological response to lying. She found that power not only makes lying easier, but pleasurable.

Professor Carney speculates that authority could have a similar impact on other unethical behavior with similar physiological responses, such as cheating, stealing, exploitation, reckless behavior and even political corruption. She concludes, “Power will lead to increases in intensity and frequency of lying.”

5 Scientific Reasons You're a Bad Employee

Karrde188 — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 15:51:13 +0000

There is a rule of thumb that says in any company, 20 percent of the employees will give you 80 percent of the top-notch work. Which means the other 80 percent of us are just a waste of company money and vending machine sandwiches.

So why do so few of us really excel at our jobs? Well, science says...

Nearly One Million Children in U.S. Potentially Misdiagnosed With ADHD

earthdome — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 16:00:19 +0000

Nearly 1 million children in the United States are potentially misdiagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder simply because they are the youngest -- and most immature -- in their kindergarten class, according to new research by a Michigan State University economist.

Overpopulation: The Perennial Myth

Takeshi Kovacs — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 15:18:28 +0000

Where people are hungry, it is because of war (Somalia, Ethiopia) or government policies that, in the name of modernization and industrialization, penalize farmers by taxing them at prohibitive rates (e.g., Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya), not because population is exceeding the natural limits of what the world can support.

'Thundercats' Cartoon Writer Murdered, Severed Arm Found

RottingNation — Mon, 31 May 2010 19:53:08 +0000

56-year-old Stephen Perry, who wrote for the 1980s cartoon series Thundercats, was officially announced murdered. He'd been missing for nearly two weeks, and police reportedly found his arm inside of his abandoned van

Study Finds: as Porn Increases, the Rate of Sex Crimes Goes Down

Fizzul — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:42:12 +0000

In every region investigated, researchers have found that as pornography has increased in availability, sex crimes have either decreased or not increased.

Overpopulation is a Myth

bjwebb — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 22:41:53 +0000

A video response to so called overpopulation. With stick figures.

Spirituality may be a form of brain damage

johnson — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 09:08:51 +0000

Scientists have identified areas of the brain that, when damaged, lead to greater spirituality. The findings hint at the roots of spiritual and religious attitudes, the researchers say. Self-transcendence "reflects a decreased sense of self and an ability to identify one's self as an integral part of the universe as a whole," the researchers explain.