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Psychology News Roundup: ICYMI March 1, 2019

This week's roundup includes more discussion on relationships, a critique of research, and a few other gems. Recently in the news, written a post, or have selections you'd like us to consider? Email us, use the hashtag #SPSPblog, or tweet us directly @spspnews.

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Can We Foresee the Future? Explaining and Predicting Cultural Change

What does the future hold? Our enduring fascination with predicting the future is reflected on the silver screen, as excitement builds over the Blade Runner sequel. We continue being mesmerized by ancient prophecies, such as Nostradamus' Quatrains. And we certainly pay very well to pundits, economists, and intelligence analysts who try to predict coming social, economic, and political events. Unfortunately, this abiding interest in prediction has not translated into the ability to forecast future events with much accuracy.

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Rationalizing the “Irrational”

Image of smoldering, smoky cigarette butts in an ashtray

Economists are famous for attempting to rationalize seemingly irrational behavior. One of the more extraordinary is Gary Becker and Kevin Murphy’s theory of rational addiction, in which they hypothesized that addicts plan their consumption of addictive goods. When deciding whether to smoke a cigarette or take a hit, the theory goes, addicts choose in full knowledge and consideration of the health costs and the future costs of their smoking or drug use due to addiction.

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Does being wealthy make you more charitable?

By Ashley Whillans

Each year, the average American family donates approximately 3.4 percent of its discretionary income to charity. Most of these charitable contributions are made from October to December, known as the “giving season” in the nonprofit sector.

So what inspires individuals to donate to charity?

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The Case for Handgun Waiting Periods

More than 33,000 people in the United States die from gun-related injuries each year, making firearms the second leading cause of injury-related death. Many of these deaths could be avoided through policy—for example, Australia all but eliminated gun deaths through a series of gun control measures that included a massive gun buyback program, an assault weapons ban, and strict gun-trafficking policies. In the U.S., the current political climate would prohibit such dramatic changes. And yet, we believe there is still room for politically viable gun legislation that will save lives.

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Psychology News Round-Up: ICYMI October 12, 2018

A new study suggests there is a financial cost to being kind . See what else you may have missed online.

Recently in the news, written a post, or have selections you'd like us to consider? Email us, use the hashtag #SPSPblog, or tweet us directly @spspnews.

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The ‘Great Gatsby’ Curve: Perceptions of Economic Mobility are Caused by Perceptions of Inequality

Illustration of older men and women dancing in a line

In 1931, James Truslow Adams defined the American dream as the idea that “each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.” At present, however, social mobility is remarkably stagnant, with one’s circumstances of birth having a large effect on later social class. Despite this fact, many people overestimate social mobility.

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Psychology News Round-Up: ICYMI October 13, 2017

Each week, we recap featured posts from Character & Context and other blogs around the cyberspace, plus news stories and tweets worth a look.

Recently in the news, written a post, or have selections you'd like us to consider? Email us, use the hashtag #SPSPblog, or tweet us directly @spspnews.

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Wealth Doesn’t Always Equal Health

“Wealth equals health” has been a commonly accepted principle for decades. Beginning in 1967, the classic Whitehall studies revealed that higher-class British civil servants had lower risks of mortality from a wide range of diseases

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The Psychology of Raising the Minimum Wage

By David Nussbaum

Barry Schwartz discusses the psychology of anchoring in Slate and how raising the minimum wage would affect other wages as well.

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