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Who Wants to Deliberate with Politicians? More than Some Expected, Study Finds

By Guest PostApril 8, 2011Culture, Politicsamerican public, citizens hate politics, congress, conventional wisdom, david lazer, deeply misleading, deliberative democracy, democrats, digital government program, michael neblo, political corruption, political discourse, republicans, stealth democracy

Conventional wisdom suggests that average citizens hate politics, loathe hyper-partisan gridlock, balk at voting even in presidential election years and are, incidentally, woefully ill-informed.

Given that, the thinking goes, it’s reasonable to conclude that citizens want less, not more, involvement in politics.

But that widely accepted theory does not survive empirical scrutiny, a team of researchers that includes a University of Colorado Boulder political scientist found. (more…)

Beautiful People Are Happier, Economists Find

By Guest PostApril 3, 2011CultureBritain, canada, daniel hamermesh, economic benefits, Germany, good looking people, happier, impact on economic outcomes, iza, jason abrevaya, personal beauty, society, study of labor, u s, unattractive

AUSTIN, Texas — Good-looking people are generally happier than their plain looking or unattractive counterparts, largely because of the higher salaries, other economic benefits and more successful spouses that come with beauty, according to new research from economists at The University of Texas at Austin.

This holds true for both men and women and across different cultures, authors Daniel Hamermesh and Jason Abrevaya report in their paper “‘Beauty is the Promise of Happiness’?,” [PDF] which they are releasing to economists this week. The paper is posted at https://ftp.iza.org/dp5600.pdf [PDF], the Web site for the German-based Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). (more…)

Study Finds Gender Differences Related to Sexual Harassment

By Guest PostMarch 31, 2011Culturebothersome, harassing behavior, isis settles, less distressing, sexual harassment, widespread problem

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Sexual harassment may have become so commonplace for women that they have built up resistance to harassing behavior they consider merely “bothersome,” suggests a provocative new study by Michigan State University researchers.

This effect, said lead investigator Isis Settles, may be similar to the way people build up immunity to infection following exposure to a virus. (more…)

FEELING ANGRY? SAY A PRAYER AND THE WRATH FADES AWAY

By Guest PostMarch 21, 2011Culture, Healthbrad_bushman, divine intervention, dutch university, fatigue, feeling anger, fuming, maureen, negative emotions, ohio_state_university, vigor

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Saying a prayer may help many people feel less angry and behave less aggressively after someone has left them fuming, new research suggests.

A series of studies showed that people who were provoked by insulting comments from a stranger showed less anger and aggression soon afterwards if they prayed for another person in the meantime.

The benefits of prayer identified in this study don’t rely on divine intervention: they probably occur because the act of praying changed the way people think about a negative situation, said Brad Bushman, co-author of the study and professor of communication and psychology at Ohio State University. (more…)

Reframing Climate Change: It’s as Much Cultural as Scientific

By Guest PostMarch 16, 2011Culture, EnvironmentAl Gore, andy hoffman, climate change, climate change exists, debate, democrats, diagnostic, Environment, evidence of global warming, logic schism, man made phenomena, newspaper editorials, political ideology, prognostic, republicans, united states, university of michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— While debate on climate change often strikes a caustic tone, the real impediment to meaningful dialogue is that the two sides often talk past each other in what amounts to a “logic schism,” says a University of Michigan researcher.

“In a logic schism, a contest emerges in which opposing sides are debating different issues, seeking only information that supports their position and disconfirms their opponents’ arguments,” said Andy Hoffman, the Holcim (U.S.) Professor of Sustainable Enterprise at U-M’s Ross School of Business and School of Natural Resources and Environment. “Each side views the other with suspicion, even demonizing the other, leading to a strong resistance to any form of engagement, much less negotiation and concession.” (more…)

PASSIVE NEWS REPORTS MAY LEAD READERS TO FEEL THEY CAN’T FIND THE TRUTH

By Guest PostMarch 12, 2011Culture, Technologyfactual disputes in politics, house of representatives, obama’s health care, political disputes, resolving factual, truth in politics

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Passive news reporting that doesn’t attempt to resolve factual disputes in politics may have detrimental effects on readers, new research suggests.

The study found that people are more likely to doubt their own ability to determine the truth in politics after reading an article that simply lists competing claims without offering any idea of which side is right. (more…)

More Reasons to Be Nice: It’s Less Work for Everyone

By Guest PostMarch 11, 2011Culturealtruism, common etiquette, critical distance model, david rosenbaum, emily post, joseph santamaria, polite act, relationships, social codes

A polite act shows respect. But a new study of a common etiquette—holding a door for someone—suggests that courtesy may have a more practical, though unconscious, shared motivation: to reduce the work for those involved. The research, by Joseph P. Santamaria and David A. Rosenbaum of Pennsylvania State University, is the first to combine two fields of study ordinarily considered unrelated: altruism and motor control. It is to be published in a forthcoming issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

“The way etiquette has been viewed by Emily Post—that you’re being proper by following social codes—is undoubtedly part of it,” said psychology professor Rosenbaum. “Our insight is there is another contributor: the mental representation of other people’s physical effort. Substantial research in the field of motor control shows that people are good at estimating how much effort they and others expend,” Rosenbaum continued. “We realized that this concept could be extended to a shared-effort model of politeness.” (more…)

Web Use Doesn’t Encourage Belief in Poltical Rumors, But E-mail Does

By Guest PostMarch 9, 2011Culture, Politics, Technologyalaska, Barack Obama, e mail, Facebook, factcheck, harmful consequences, internet communication, kelly garrett, mayor, mccain-palin, muslim, obama-biden, online sources, political information, political rumors, presidential election, rumor-mongering, Sarah Palin, telephone survey, Twitter, use of the internet, vicious feedback loop, wasilla

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Despite the fears of some, a new study suggests that use of the internet in general does not make people more likely to believe political rumors.

However, one form of internet communication – e-mail – does seem to have troubling consequences for the spread and belief of rumors.

“I think a lot of people will be surprised to learn that using the internet doesn’t necessarily promote belief in rumors. Many people seem to think that’s self-evident,” said R. Kelly Garrett, author of the study and assistant professor of communication at Ohio State University. (more…)

Category Archives: Culture