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Thinking in a Foreign Language Helps Economic Decision-Making

By Guest PostApril 28, 2012Cultureboaz keysar, businesspeople, economic theory, english speaker, foreign language, global economy, global society, intuitive system, myopically, non native tongue, risk evaluation, sayuri hayakawa, spanish, sun gyu an, university of chicago, william harms

In a study with implications for businesspeople in a global economy, researchers at the University of Chicago have found that people make more rational decisions when they think through a problem in a non-native tongue.

People are more likely to take favorable risks if they think in a foreign language, the new study showed. “We know from previous research that because people are naturally loss-averse, they often forgo attractive opportunities,” said UChicago psychologist Boaz Keysar, a leading expert on communication. “Our new findings demonstrate that such aversion to losses is much reduced when people make decisions in their non-native language.” (more…)

Belief in God Rises with Age, Even in Atheist Nations

By Guest PostApril 19, 2012Culture, Generalamerican, atheism, austria, belief in god, catholic societies, east germany, existence, god exists, international survey, Israel, mortality, nation, norc, organization, people, Philippines, poland, protestant population, russia, Scandinavia, slovenia, soviet states, tom w smith, united states, william harms

International surveys about the depth of people’s belief in God reveal vast differences among nations, ranging from 94 percent of people in the Philippines who said they always believed in God, compared to only 13 percent of people in the former East Germany. Yet the surveys found one constant—belief in God is higher among older people, regardless of where they live.

A new report on the international surveys, “Belief About God Across Time and Countries,” was issued by the General Social Survey of the social science research organization NORC at the University of Chicago. It is based on a comprehensive, international study of belief in God and includes information from the International Social Survey Program, a consortium of the world’s leading opinion survey organizations. Tom W. Smith, director of the General Social Survey, wrote the report. (more…)

Black and White American Voters Live in One Country, But Two Different Worlds

By Guest PostOctober 31, 2011Culture, Politicsafrican american problems, african americans, aftermath of hurricane katrina, Barack Obama, black political effectiveness, change, euphoria, first black president, katrina disaster, michael dawson, new orleans hurricane in 2005, political outlook of blacks in america, racial harmony, the nadir of black politics, uchicago political scientist, united states, university of chicago, warfare in iraq and afghanistan, william harms

The political outlook of blacks in America has undergone dramatic swings in the last ten years — from the depths of powerlessness during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, to the zenith with the election of the first black president, Barack Obama.

Now, with another presidential election looming, blacks are again confronting new issues as they judge and sometimes question the impact of Obama’s election, contends UChicago political scientist Michael Dawson, whose work finds sharp contrasts between how African Americans and whites feel about their country. (more…)

Tag Archives: william harms

Thinking in a Foreign Language Helps Economic Decision-Making

Belief in God Rises with Age, Even in Atheist Nations

Black and White American Voters Live in One Country, But Two Different Worlds