psychology

  1. Maciamo

    Society Maps of prevalent negative emotions by country in and around Europe

    When comparing countries and cultures, few people think of the fact that the frequency of basic emotions can vary widely depending on the society where one lives. Using Gallup's State of the Global Workplace: 2022 Report I created maps showing the percentage of respondents that felt anger...
  2. Maciamo

    Selection of my most popular forum topics

    Genetics Percentage of genetic similarity between humans and animals Genetic inheritance: why people can be closer to one parent than the other genetically How adventurers, outcasts and remainers shape the evolution of society Are humans genetically programmed to live in hierarchical...
  3. Maciamo

    Health Childhood exposure to lead linked to less agreeable and conscientious adults

    The abundance and malleability of lead has made it a prime material to use as pipes since ancient times. The word plumbing itself comes from the Latin word for lead (plumbum, hence Pb for the chemical symbol). Yet it has been known for decades that lead was toxic, especially for the brain, and...
  4. Maciamo

    Would you support another country's team in football?

    It's the Euro 2020 and discussion in another thread made me wonder whether most people systematically cheered their own country's team, or if they could have a different favourite team, either because they like the players better, or because they may not feel bound to imperatively support the...
  5. Maciamo

    Happiness World happiness increased during Covid pandemic in 2020

    Like every year the United Nations and Gallup published their World Happiness Report. The big question this year is how the Coronavirus pandemic affected people's sense of happiness, and how different countries reacted. The Economist deftly summarised the report in their article It might seem...
  6. Maciamo

    Which countries have the strongest blue vMeme (Spiral Dynamics)?

    I have explained here the concept of Spiral dynamics and the evolution of human cultures. Here is a summary of the 8 stages of consciousness found in human societies. The last two (yellow and turquoise) are still very rare and found in less than 1% of individuals. I recently published a...
  7. Maciamo

    Happiness Link between post-capitalist culture and higher happiness

    Two years ago we discussed the factors that make some countries happier than others. I wondered why countries with a high level of development like Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Italy, Spain, Portugal or Hungary scored relatively low on happiness. Even the United States ranked 18th worldwide...
  8. Maciamo

    Which country has the most post-capitalist culture (green vMeme of Spiral Dynamics)?

    I have mentioned and summarised the concept of Spiral Dynamics in this thread. I find the concept fascinating and extremely useful to study the evolution of societies in history, but also to understand the current socio-political situation in modern countries and forecast how societies are going...
  9. Maciamo

    Spiral dynamics - the evolution of human cultures

    I have recently come across the concept of spiral dynamics, a model of eight levels of increasingly complex human value systems (or vMemes) consisting of sets of world views, preferences, and purposes. Each level represent a new evolution in the way people interact within a society. The...
  10. Maciamo

    Personality MBTI personality of countries

    Here is a short summary of the Myers-Briggs Personality Types from Wikipedia: I would describe the 4 main dimensions a bit differently to quickly assess someone's personality. - Introverts (I) need time on their own to recharge their batteries. They value privacy and enjoy solitary...
  11. Maciamo

    Politics Steven Pinker on political beliefs

    I have recently read Enlightenment Now by Harvard and MIT cognitive psychologist Steven Pinker, which really is an extraordinary book. In chapter 21, Professor Pinker explains that many of the most contentious political beliefs are not grounded in reason or the depth of knowledge regarding an...
  12. Maciamo

    Brain scans show social exclusion creates jihadists

    The Guardian: Brain scans show social exclusion creates jihadists, say researchers "For years western policymakers have tried to establish what causes individuals to be radicalised. Now a pioneering study has used medical science to gain fresh insight into the process – in the brains of...
  13. Maciamo

    Personality Personality is mostly stable over one's lifetime, but some traits evolve for everyone

    Do you feel that this applies to you too? Forbes: Can Personality Change Or Does It Stay The Same For Life? A New Study Suggests It's A Little Of Both "For decades personality was considered as unmalleable as concrete – who you were at 15 is who you’d be at 75. But within the last 20 or so...
  14. Maciamo

    Personality What's your MBTI personality?

    I started another thread in 2005 about the Myers-Briggs 16 personalities test. It would be interesting to compare everyone's personality using the same test, and the one on the 16personalities website is one of the best out there. Here is how I understand the four dimensions. Introversion vs...
  15. Maciamo

    Question Does inequality cause suicide, drug abuse and mental illness?

    I have come across this brilliant summary of the book The Inner Level in The Economist. The authors suggest that social inequality causes stress and anxiety, which results in mental illnesses such as narcissism, psychosis and schizophrenia. They explain for example that 10% of Japanese and...
  16. Maciamo

    Oxytocin and vasopressin equalises social dominance among primates

    Here is a new study on the effects of oxytocin and vasopressin on social behaviour in primates. It had been known for a while that oxytocin increases trust, generosity, and empathy. This study finds that it also equalises social dominance and reduces competitivity among members of a social...
  17. Maciamo

    Neurology Memories could be stored in neuron's nucleus rather than in the synapses

    If this is true it is potentially a Nobel-winning discovery. BBC News: 'Memory transplant' achieved in snails "A team successfully transplanted memories by transferring a form of genetic information called RNA from one snail into another. The snails were trained to develop a defensive...
  18. Maciamo

    Religion and tradition still influence couples' decision to get married

    In another thread, I was explaining how, for many Northwest Europeans, the decision to get married or live under a civil union or domestic partnership was often simply motivated by the desire to have a wedding party (still a dream for many women, regardless of their religiosity). I was...
  19. Jovialis

    Top 10 Cool Psychological Research Findings

    I don't agree with all of these, but some of them are pretty interesting. 10. That makes sense, smiling, frowning, scowling, and crying are universal in all populations. 9. I guess I can believe that. 8. Doubt it, if I can get paid $250,000 a year to pump gas, I'd love that job. 7. By...
  20. Jovialis

    Do Animals Have Emotions? A Debate

    I do believe that certain higher-order thinking animals have emotions. Perhaps not as advanced as humans, but to at least some degree.
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