Joe Scarborough had an interesting piece in Politico yesterday where he suggested that many on the left were engaging in moral hypocrisy by supporting President Obama’s actions in Libya while they condemned President Bush’s in Iraq. Simply put, Scarborough asks, “ How can the left call for the ouster of Muammar Qadhafi for the sin of killing hundreds of Libyans when it opposed the war waged against Saddam Hussein? During Saddam’s two decades in Iraq, he killed more Muslims than anyone in history and used chemical weapons against his own people and neighboring states.” He’s got a point. Although people can attempt to argue nuances, it’s hard to escape the label of hypocrisy when a person condemns others for actions or beliefs she herself embraces in similar situations. Read More...

Tags: Politics, hypocrisy, joe scarborough

“I love you.” That one little statement can mean so much. If you ask most people, they’ll likely tell you that it stands as a sign of true long-term devotion and that men are much more hesitant to say it. But, as new research by Joshua Ackerman, Vladis Griskevicius, and Norman Li shows, they’d be wrong.

Read More...

Tags: relationships, love, sex-differences

When I (Carlo) was six, my pet rabbit, Peter, went on a “vacation in Florida” and never came back. As years passed, I eventually intuited that he was likely not living out his golden years in the sand and sun, but instead probably met the business end of a Michelin tire or got himself mixed up in the wrong patch of greens. The horrid truth of Peter’s demise, however, was not revealed to me until many years later.  My beautiful furry friend had been slaughtered, butchered, sautéed and fed to me for Christmas dinner. Read More...

Tags: Food, Dining, vegetarianism

Self-flagellation, it seems, has always been with us. From ancient cults of Isis and Dionysus, to the roaming flagellants of the European Middle Ages, to current examples of self-crucifixion in the Philippines in the Easter season and zanjeer (ritual self-infliction of pain, often with a chain) in many Islamic nations on the Day of Ashura. Most of us recoil when we see these behaviors. “Yes, guilt is one thing,” we may think, “but why in the world would anyone hurt themselves for it?” What ever happened to saying you’re sorry? Read More...

Tags: Punishment, self-mortification

Conformist, tag along, copycat. In cultures that value the expression of individuality, to be labeled as such is an insult. We look down on those too weak or insecure to voice their opinions at the risk of sticking out. When a friend all of a sudden begins to like the same music as you, or dress the same way, or begin to borrow your catch phrases and jokes, it feels like a cheap and artificial strategy to ingratiate themselves to you. But what if your preferences truly shape theirs? That is, what if saying something like “You know, that Justin Bieber does have some musical talent” causes your friends to dig The Bieb even when no one else is around? Read More...

Indecisiveness. Fickleness. Flip-flopping. Whatever you choose to call it, the notion that one’s beliefs and opinions can change quickly, seemingly with the wind, is usually not seen as a mark of good character. Rational analysis. Reliability. These are the markers of what we should look for and admire. These are the traits that make someone a good leader. At least that’s how the story goes. We just think that the story may not be right. Sometimes, changing views have little consequence. Calling the waiter back to switch an order may only serve to annoy your dinner companions. Sometimes, though, changing views can have large consequences. For example, in the past few days following the tragedies in Japan, attitudes toward nuclear power have shifted dramatically. Read More...

Tags: Nuclear Power, social policy

In 1989 Enrico Ponzo slipped on a ski mask and attempted to murder Mafia boss Francis Salemme, aka Cadillac Frank, outside an International House of Pancakes in Saugus, Massachusetts. The Cadillac had assumed power in the late 80’s after the arrest of former boss Jerry Angiulo, but his lack of “polish” as a #1 inspired brazen attacks from those who sought the crown. With promises of endless stacks of pancakes and twenty four hour omlettes as bait, Enrico took his shot, and missed. With a contract out on his head, he eventually disappeared, only to resurface last month in the unlikeliest of places: Marsing, Idaho (you can find the full NYT coverage here) Read More...

Is compassion a moral force? The answer, according to many spiritual leaders like the Dalai Lama, is a resounding yes. The experience of compassion, they assert, has a radiating effect, extending kindness and forgiveness toward others, even those who have intentionally transgressed. If this is true, it suggests that compassion has the potential to stand as a counterweight to desires for punishment and revenge – a force capable of inhibiting actions that typically result in escalations of violence. Read More...

Tags: Compassion, Dalai Lama

David Brooks has a great article (The New Humanism) on the Op-Ed pages of the New York Times today where he argues that many of the policy failings of the past decades have stemmed from “a single failure: reliance on an overly simplistic view of human nature.” Picking up on themes that have flowed from the fields of psychology and behavioral economics, he points out a common error – separating rationality from intuition (or, as it’s often noted, conscious reasoning from nonconscious or intuitive mechanisms). Read More...

Tags: David Brooks, The Social Animal, Intertemporal Choice

When you think of the “typical” American high school student, the words highly motivated, engaged, and working for a better future might not be what immediately comes to mind. As we note in our book, a lot of recent research on education shows that taking short-cuts to succeed seems to be rather endemic among American youth. But today, President Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan are in Boston to visit the Tech Boston Academy – a school where 95% of the students go on to college even though the majority of students come from one of the poorer areas of urban Boston and are first generation college applicants (you can see CNN’s coverage here). Read More...

Tags: Education, Technology

In the span of 3 days, Charlie Sheen went from breaking the twitter record with the help of his anti-troll followers to debuting his live-streaming “Sheen’s Korner” on the internet which saw the same people fleeing in droves. Read More...

Tags: Charlie Sheen, Pride

Welcome to the blog -- our forum to discuss anything and everything having to do with why people do what they do. From politicians to celebrities, from saints to sinners, from you to us, this is where we’ll bring science to bear on the issues of the day. We’ll attempt to shine a light on the workings of the mind to help illuminate the forces that guide human decision making and behavior as it relates not only to morality, but to anything else that touches on social living. To check in with the blog directly, use: www.oocblog.com