Sublime

What’s more, those branches of social theory that make the greatest claims to “scientific status”—“rational choice theory,” for instance—start from the same assumptions about human psychology that economists do: that human beings are best viewed as self-interested actors calculating how to get the best terms possible out of any situation, the most

(2016) he gives a good example of how context can prime us to be receptive to different types of advertising messages. He realized that two of our most powerful drives – to stay safe and to find a partner and procreate – can lead to two opposing behaviour strategies at any particular moment: the desire to be supported by fitting in with the crowd (

Even scientists who are most concerned with assessing individual differences in personality would concede that our ability to predict how particular people will respond in particular situations is very limited. This “predictability ceiling” is typically reflected in a maximum statistical correlation of .30 between measured individual differences on

CyberPsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking; Cyberpsychology: The Journal of Psychosocial Research; and the International Journal of Cyberbehavior.

These small-scale examples of tapping into people’s values are compelling, but some might dismiss their successes as inherently incremental, merely tweaking at the margins of humanity’s grand challenges. Tom Crompton and Tim Kasser, experts in environmental values, attitudes and behaviour, would disagree. They argue that when it comes to creating d

Comedian Trevor Noah once discussed apartheid in his native South Africa, noting: “If you find the right balance between desperation and fear, you can make people do anything.” It’s just so hard to understand that, and understand how you’ll respond to risk, fear, and desperation, until you’re in the heat of the moment.

To simplify things, we will consider just the two end points: hot and cold.

The general theme of these findings is that the idea of money primes individualism: a reluctance to be involved with others, to depend on others, or to accept demands from others. The psychologist who has done this remarkable research, Kathleen Vohs, has been laudably restrained in discussing the implications of her findings, leaving the task to he