A Call for New Measures of Asperger’s and Schizotypy
At their extremes, both autism and schizophrenia are debilitating disorders. But what is the relationship between them? The Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler, who coined the terms “schizophrenia” and “autism” a century ago, viewed autism as a form of solitude and schizophrenia as an extreme form of autism representing withdrawal from reality. Ever since, there has […]
How Our Senses Influence Creativity
Do you focus on the forest or the trees? Whether you have more of a global (holistic) or local (detail-oriented) processing style influences how you fundamentally perceive the world, and is one of the most prominent factors influencing creative thought. Beyond your personality, however, situational factors also play a crucial role in what kind of […]
Why is Narcissism Adaptive in Youth?
Everyone loves to bash narcissists (except narcissists). They do make easy targets. Their inflated sense of self makes others feel inferior, so putting them down a peg makes others feel better about themselves. Also, their outlandish, over-the-top displays of grandiosity can serve as good fodder for parody. Nevertheless, in recent years, psychologists have documented the […]
Too Hard For Science? Could Michael Jackson Have Created Twitter?
Fun interview with Charles Q. Choi at Scientific American on the topic: If you are one type of genius, could you have been another? Check out the full interview here: http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/assignment-impossible/2011/08/09/too-hard-for-science-could-michael-jackson-have-created-twitter/ Also, check out my Huffington Post article, where I explore the topic in more detail: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scott-barry-kaufman/michael-jackson-twitter_b_842469.html
Bad Boys Have Lower Standards
In 2009, Peter Jonason and his colleagues published a paper showing that college students scoring high on characteristics known as the Dark Triad (Machiavellianism, subclinical narcissism, and subclinical psychopathy) tended to report having a higher number of sexual partners as well as more of an interest in short-term mating than those scoring lower on the […]
How to Increase Your Likability
I found this neat little poster, done by the amazing Guy Kawasaki. It summarizes a lot of the social psychological literature on likeability all in one place. Enjoy!
Why Your Passion for Work Could Ruin Your Career
Every business wants workers who passionately love their work. And for good reason: workers who are inspired are more productive, and passion can provide the energy necessary to fuel engagement, amidst obstacles and setbacks. But while passion seems clearly desirable, recent psychological research suggests that not all forms are adaptive. In fact, some forms can […]
Why Nagging Women and Silent Men Drive Each Other Crazy
In last week’s hilarious episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm (“Palestinian Chicken”), Larry makes a deal with his friend: he won’t have to pay for the damage he made to his friend’s car as long as he tells his friend’s critical, nagging wife how annoying it is when she says “LOL” instead of actually laughing. Why […]
Finding Creativity on IQ Tests
IQ tests have received a very large number of criticisms since their inception. One of the main arguments made against the use of IQ tests is that they don’t measure creativity. But is this true? Surely creativity involves thoughtful reasoning, divergent production, pattern detection, learning, and other skills tapped into by IQ tests. Indeed, recent […]
What’s a shy, geeky, nice guy to do?: The case of Rebecca Watson
“I don’t mean to critique on your seduction technique But…sick of all your lines, so cheesy.” —Ke$ha The Datum: Skepchick Rebecca Watson gave a talk in Ireland on being sexualized as a feminist skeptic. After the talk, she drank and chatted with her fellow conference attendees. It hits 4am and she announced she’s tired and […]
