The bad news on human nature, in 10 findings from psychology

[NewsVine_Mariyam]

So there is science that supports the assholeness of some people?

Christian Jarrett is a cognitive neuroscientist turned science writer, whose work has appeared in New Scientist, The Guardian and Psychology Today, among others. He is editor of the Research Digest blog published by the British Psychological Society, and presents their PsychCrunch podcast. His latest book is Personology: Using the Science of Personality Change to Your Advantage (forthcoming). He lives in England.

Newspaper Carriers (Work disgraces) by Georg Scholz. 1921. Courtesy Wikipedia

It’s a question that’s reverberated through the ages – are humans, though imperfect, essentially kind, sensible, good-natured creatures? Or are we, deep down, wired to be bad, blinkered, idle, vain, vengeful and selfish? There are no easy answers, and there’s clearly a lot of variation between individuals, but here we shine some evidence-based light on the matter through 10 dispiriting findings that reveal the darker and less impressive aspects of human nature:

We view minorities and the vulnerable as less than human. One striking example of this blatant dehumanisation came from a brain-scan study that found a small group of students exhibited less neural activity associated with thinking about people when they looked at pictures of the homeless or of drug addicts, as compared with higher-status individuals. Another study showed that people who are opposed to Arab immigration tended to rate Arabs and Muslims as literally less evolved than average. Among other examples, there’s also evidence that young people dehumanise older people; and that men and women alike dehumanise drunk women. What’s more, the inclination to dehumanise starts early – children as young as five view out-group faces (of people from a different city or a different gender to the child) as less human than in-group faces.

We experience Schadenfreude (pleasure at another person’s distress) by the age of four, according to a study from 2013. That sense is heightened if the child perceives that the person deserves the distress. A more recent study found that, by age six, children will pay to watch an antisocial puppet being hit, rather than spending the money on stickers.

We believe in karma – assuming that the downtrodden of the world deserve their fate. The unfortunate consequences of such beliefs were first demonstrated in the now classic research from 1966 by the American psychologists Melvin Lerner and Carolyn Simmons. In their experiment, in which a female learner was punished with electric shocks for wrong answers, women participants subsequently rated her as less likeable and admirable when they heard that they would be seeing her suffer again, and especially if they felt powerless to minimise this suffering. Since then, research has shown our willingness to blame the poor, rape victims, AIDS patients and others for their fate, so as to preserve our belief in a just world. By extension, the same or similar processes are likely responsible for our subconscious rose-tinted view of rich people.

Continued here ​

 

[Butch_Coolidge]

So there is science that supports the assholeness of some people?

Christian Jarrett is a cognitive neuroscientist turned science writer, whose work has appeared in New Scientist, The Guardian and Psychology Today, among others. He is editor of the Research Digest blog published by the British Psychological Society, and presents their PsychCrunch podcast. His latest book is Personology: Using the Science of Personality Change to Your Advantage (forthcoming). He lives in England.

Newspaper Carriers (Work disgraces) by Georg Scholz. 1921. Courtesy Wikipedia

It’s a question that’s reverberated through the ages – are humans, though imperfect, essentially kind, sensible, good-natured creatures? Or are we, deep down, wired to be bad, blinkered, idle, vain, vengeful and selfish? There are no easy answers, and there’s clearly a lot of variation between individuals, but here we shine some evidence-based light on the matter through 10 dispiriting findings that reveal the darker and less impressive aspects of human nature:

We view minorities and the vulnerable as less than human. One striking example of this blatant dehumanisation came from a brain-scan study that found a small group of students exhibited less neural activity associated with thinking about people when they looked at pictures of the homeless or of drug addicts, as compared with higher-status individuals. Another study showed that people who are opposed to Arab immigration tended to rate Arabs and Muslims as literally less evolved than average. Among other examples, there’s also evidence that young people dehumanise older people; and that men and women alike dehumanise drunk women. What’s more, the inclination to dehumanise starts early – children as young as five view out-group faces (of people from a different city or a different gender to the child) as less human than in-group faces.

We experience Schadenfreude (pleasure at another person’s distress) by the age of four, according to a study from 2013. That sense is heightened if the child perceives that the person deserves the distress. A more recent study found that, by age six, children will pay to watch an antisocial puppet being hit, rather than spending the money on stickers.

We believe in karma – assuming that the downtrodden of the world deserve their fate. The unfortunate consequences of such beliefs were first demonstrated in the now classic research from 1966 by the American psychologists Melvin Lerner and Carolyn Simmons. In their experiment, in which a female learner was punished with electric shocks for wrong answers, women participants subsequently rated her as less likeable and admirable when they heard that they would be seeing her suffer again, and especially if they felt powerless to minimise this suffering. Since then, research has shown our willingness to blame the poor, rape victims, AIDS patients and others for their fate, so as to preserve our belief in a just world. By extension, the same or similar processes are likely responsible for our subconscious rose-tinted view of rich people.

Continued here ​

So all these findings are actually related to Donald Trump? Clever. Didn’t see it going there. I’ve always known people are shit though. Didn’t feel guilty about feeling that way.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[justinacolmena]

We experience Schadenfreude (pleasure at another person’s distress) by the age of four, according to a study from 2013.

That is too evil a characterization of the German word, Schadenfreude, which is recognized as a universal emotion.

All of us observe certain behaviors in others that we do not want to see rewarded, and we are happy when we see intentions of others to do wrong come to disappointment or frustration.

Sometimes others are on the wrong path, and we feel joy that their goings come to frustration and distress, but the word is a reminder that another person is made miserable by the same situation that makes us happy, and that we are forbidden from over-moralizing and over-judging.

In the Bible, God has no pleasure at all in the destruction of the wicked, but it is His will that all should come to repentance and one day experience eternal joy.

 

[Asclepias]

So there is science that supports the assholeness of some people?

Christian Jarrett is a cognitive neuroscientist turned science writer, whose work has appeared in New Scientist, The Guardian and Psychology Today, among others. He is editor of the Research Digest blog published by the British Psychological Society, and presents their PsychCrunch podcast. His latest book is Personology: Using the Science of Personality Change to Your Advantage (forthcoming). He lives in England.

Newspaper Carriers (Work disgraces) by Georg Scholz. 1921. Courtesy Wikipedia

It’s a question that’s reverberated through the ages – are humans, though imperfect, essentially kind, sensible, good-natured creatures? Or are we, deep down, wired to be bad, blinkered, idle, vain, vengeful and selfish? There are no easy answers, and there’s clearly a lot of variation between individuals, but here we shine some evidence-based light on the matter through 10 dispiriting findings that reveal the darker and less impressive aspects of human nature:

We view minorities and the vulnerable as less than human. One striking example of this blatant dehumanisation came from a brain-scan study that found a small group of students exhibited less neural activity associated with thinking about people when they looked at pictures of the homeless or of drug addicts, as compared with higher-status individuals. Another study showed that people who are opposed to Arab immigration tended to rate Arabs and Muslims as literally less evolved than average. Among other examples, there’s also evidence that young people dehumanise older people; and that men and women alike dehumanise drunk women. What’s more, the inclination to dehumanise starts early – children as young as five view out-group faces (of people from a different city or a different gender to the child) as less human than in-group faces.

We experience Schadenfreude (pleasure at another person’s distress) by the age of four, according to a study from 2013. That sense is heightened if the child perceives that the person deserves the distress. A more recent study found that, by age six, children will pay to watch an antisocial puppet being hit, rather than spending the money on stickers.

We believe in karma – assuming that the downtrodden of the world deserve their fate. The unfortunate consequences of such beliefs were first demonstrated in the now classic research from 1966 by the American psychologists Melvin Lerner and Carolyn Simmons. In their experiment, in which a female learner was punished with electric shocks for wrong answers, women participants subsequently rated her as less likeable and admirable when they heard that they would be seeing her suffer again, and especially if they felt powerless to minimise this suffering. Since then, research has shown our willingness to blame the poor, rape victims, AIDS patients and others for their fate, so as to preserve our belief in a just world. By extension, the same or similar processes are likely responsible for our subconscious rose-tinted view of rich people.

Continued here ​

I'm convinced the white race is genetically prone to violence. Look at what they have done on every continent and ocean on the planet.

 

[justinacolmena]

I'm convinced the white race is genetically prone to violence. Look at what they have done on every continent and ocean on the planet.

1. Lose the "violence" rhetoric and the victimhood. I just survived a 7.0 earthquake which was extremely violent but had absolutely nothing to do with the genetics of the white race, as far as I know.

2. Lose the environmental rhetoric. The coal delivery man is coming for Christmas and people bitch about carbon credits or carbon footprints like they all have a CPA or some college degree with a concentration in environmental accounting.

 

[Asclepias]

I'm convinced the white race is genetically prone to violence. Look at what they have done on every continent and ocean on the planet.

1. Lose the "violence" rhetoric and the victimhood. I just survived a 7.0 earthquake which was extremely violent but had absolutely nothing to do with the genetics of the white race, as far as I know.

2. Lose the environmental rhetoric. The coal delivery man is coming for Christmas and people bitch about carbon credits or carbon footprints like they all have a CPA or some college degree with a concentration in environmental accounting.

1. A earthquake isnt a person so its stupid to compare it to a white person.

2. What in hell does a carbon footprint have to do with the violence whites people have committed while on the oceans?

 

[deannalw]

Like I need anyone to let me know I'm an asshole.

 

[Karl Rand]

Every literate member of our species needs to read Arthur Koestler’s ‘The Ghost in The Machine'

 

[Asclepias]

Every literate member of our species needs to read Arthur Koestler’s ‘The Ghost in The Machine'

Why read that when you can just learn about various religious and philosophical beliefs of indigenous people?

 

[Karl Rand]

Every literate member of our species needs to read Arthur Koestler’s ‘The Ghost in The Machine'

Why read that when you can just learn about various religious and philosophical beliefs of indigenous people?

Why not do both?

 

[Asclepias]

Every literate member of our species needs to read Arthur Koestler’s ‘The Ghost in The Machine'

Why read that when you can just learn about various religious and philosophical beliefs of indigenous people?

Why not do both?

I have. Thats how I know the concept isnt new.

 

[Rustic]

So there is science that supports the assholeness of some people?

Christian Jarrett is a cognitive neuroscientist turned science writer, whose work has appeared in New Scientist, The Guardian and Psychology Today, among others. He is editor of the Research Digest blog published by the British Psychological Society, and presents their PsychCrunch podcast. His latest book is Personology: Using the Science of Personality Change to Your Advantage (forthcoming). He lives in England.

Newspaper Carriers (Work disgraces) by Georg Scholz. 1921. Courtesy Wikipedia

It’s a question that’s reverberated through the ages – are humans, though imperfect, essentially kind, sensible, good-natured creatures? Or are we, deep down, wired to be bad, blinkered, idle, vain, vengeful and selfish? There are no easy answers, and there’s clearly a lot of variation between individuals, but here we shine some evidence-based light on the matter through 10 dispiriting findings that reveal the darker and less impressive aspects of human nature:

We view minorities and the vulnerable as less than human. One striking example of this blatant dehumanisation came from a brain-scan study that found a small group of students exhibited less neural activity associated with thinking about people when they looked at pictures of the homeless or of drug addicts, as compared with higher-status individuals. Another study showed that people who are opposed to Arab immigration tended to rate Arabs and Muslims as literally less evolved than average. Among other examples, there’s also evidence that young people dehumanise older people; and that men and women alike dehumanise drunk women. What’s more, the inclination to dehumanise starts early – children as young as five view out-group faces (of people from a different city or a different gender to the child) as less human than in-group faces.

We experience Schadenfreude (pleasure at another person’s distress) by the age of four, according to a study from 2013. That sense is heightened if the child perceives that the person deserves the distress. A more recent study found that, by age six, children will pay to watch an antisocial puppet being hit, rather than spending the money on stickers.

We believe in karma – assuming that the downtrodden of the world deserve their fate. The unfortunate consequences of such beliefs were first demonstrated in the now classic research from 1966 by the American psychologists Melvin Lerner and Carolyn Simmons. In their experiment, in which a female learner was punished with electric shocks for wrong answers, women participants subsequently rated her as less likeable and admirable when they heard that they would be seeing her suffer again, and especially if they felt powerless to minimise this suffering. Since then, research has shown our willingness to blame the poor, rape victims, AIDS patients and others for their fate, so as to preserve our belief in a just world. By extension, the same or similar processes are likely responsible for our subconscious rose-tinted view of rich people.

Continued here ​

I'm convinced the white race is genetically prone to violence. Look at what they have done on every continent and ocean on the planet.

Lol
Every race is in the same boat, it depends on the individual.
My ancestors, Oglala Sioux were constantly enslaving/Torturing/conquering opposing/neighboring tribes... so your point is mute.

 

[Karl Rand]

Every literate member of our species needs to read Arthur Koestler’s ‘The Ghost in The Machine'

Why read that when you can just learn about various religious and philosophical beliefs of indigenous people?

Why not do both?

I have. Thats how I know the concept isnt new.

Did I say it was? However, I’ve yet to come across anything like a valid refutation of his central thesis.

 

[SweetSue92]

So there is science that supports the assholeness of some people?

Christian Jarrett is a cognitive neuroscientist turned science writer, whose work has appeared in New Scientist, The Guardian and Psychology Today, among others. He is editor of the Research Digest blog published by the British Psychological Society, and presents their PsychCrunch podcast. His latest book is Personology: Using the Science of Personality Change to Your Advantage (forthcoming). He lives in England.

Newspaper Carriers (Work disgraces) by Georg Scholz. 1921. Courtesy Wikipedia

It’s a question that’s reverberated through the ages – are humans, though imperfect, essentially kind, sensible, good-natured creatures? Or are we, deep down, wired to be bad, blinkered, idle, vain, vengeful and selfish? There are no easy answers, and there’s clearly a lot of variation between individuals, but here we shine some evidence-based light on the matter through 10 dispiriting findings that reveal the darker and less impressive aspects of human nature:

We view minorities and the vulnerable as less than human. One striking example of this blatant dehumanisation came from a brain-scan study that found a small group of students exhibited less neural activity associated with thinking about people when they looked at pictures of the homeless or of drug addicts, as compared with higher-status individuals. Another study showed that people who are opposed to Arab immigration tended to rate Arabs and Muslims as literally less evolved than average. Among other examples, there’s also evidence that young people dehumanise older people; and that men and women alike dehumanise drunk women. What’s more, the inclination to dehumanise starts early – children as young as five view out-group faces (of people from a different city or a different gender to the child) as less human than in-group faces.

We experience Schadenfreude (pleasure at another person’s distress) by the age of four, according to a study from 2013. That sense is heightened if the child perceives that the person deserves the distress. A more recent study found that, by age six, children will pay to watch an antisocial puppet being hit, rather than spending the money on stickers.

We believe in karma – assuming that the downtrodden of the world deserve their fate. The unfortunate consequences of such beliefs were first demonstrated in the now classic research from 1966 by the American psychologists Melvin Lerner and Carolyn Simmons. In their experiment, in which a female learner was punished with electric shocks for wrong answers, women participants subsequently rated her as less likeable and admirable when they heard that they would be seeing her suffer again, and especially if they felt powerless to minimise this suffering. Since then, research has shown our willingness to blame the poor, rape victims, AIDS patients and others for their fate, so as to preserve our belief in a just world. By extension, the same or similar processes are likely responsible for our subconscious rose-tinted view of rich people.

Continued here ​

So all these findings are actually related to Donald Trump? Clever. Didn’t see it going there. I’ve always known people are shit though. Didn’t feel guilty about feeling that way.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

What an interesting first response. An unthinking knee jerk to the socially acceptable receptacle of hate: Donald Trump and his supporters. Not even a thought given to it: We hate Trump because he's a hater.

It's almost funny, given the content of the article.

Almost.

 

[SweetSue92]

So there is science that supports the assholeness of some people?

Christian Jarrett is a cognitive neuroscientist turned science writer, whose work has appeared in New Scientist, The Guardian and Psychology Today, among others. He is editor of the Research Digest blog published by the British Psychological Society, and presents their PsychCrunch podcast. His latest book is Personology: Using the Science of Personality Change to Your Advantage (forthcoming). He lives in England.

Newspaper Carriers (Work disgraces) by Georg Scholz. 1921. Courtesy Wikipedia

It’s a question that’s reverberated through the ages – are humans, though imperfect, essentially kind, sensible, good-natured creatures? Or are we, deep down, wired to be bad, blinkered, idle, vain, vengeful and selfish? There are no easy answers, and there’s clearly a lot of variation between individuals, but here we shine some evidence-based light on the matter through 10 dispiriting findings that reveal the darker and less impressive aspects of human nature:

We view minorities and the vulnerable as less than human. One striking example of this blatant dehumanisation came from a brain-scan study that found a small group of students exhibited less neural activity associated with thinking about people when they looked at pictures of the homeless or of drug addicts, as compared with higher-status individuals. Another study showed that people who are opposed to Arab immigration tended to rate Arabs and Muslims as literally less evolved than average. Among other examples, there’s also evidence that young people dehumanise older people; and that men and women alike dehumanise drunk women. What’s more, the inclination to dehumanise starts early – children as young as five view out-group faces (of people from a different city or a different gender to the child) as less human than in-group faces.

We experience Schadenfreude (pleasure at another person’s distress) by the age of four, according to a study from 2013. That sense is heightened if the child perceives that the person deserves the distress. A more recent study found that, by age six, children will pay to watch an antisocial puppet being hit, rather than spending the money on stickers.

We believe in karma – assuming that the downtrodden of the world deserve their fate. The unfortunate consequences of such beliefs were first demonstrated in the now classic research from 1966 by the American psychologists Melvin Lerner and Carolyn Simmons. In their experiment, in which a female learner was punished with electric shocks for wrong answers, women participants subsequently rated her as less likeable and admirable when they heard that they would be seeing her suffer again, and especially if they felt powerless to minimise this suffering. Since then, research has shown our willingness to blame the poor, rape victims, AIDS patients and others for their fate, so as to preserve our belief in a just world. By extension, the same or similar processes are likely responsible for our subconscious rose-tinted view of rich people.

Continued here ​

I'm convinced the white race is genetically prone to violence. Look at what they have done on every continent and ocean on the planet.

That's evil.

 

[SweetSue92]

So there is science that supports the assholeness of some people?

Christian Jarrett is a cognitive neuroscientist turned science writer, whose work has appeared in New Scientist, The Guardian and Psychology Today, among others. He is editor of the Research Digest blog published by the British Psychological Society, and presents their PsychCrunch podcast. His latest book is Personology: Using the Science of Personality Change to Your Advantage (forthcoming). He lives in England.

Newspaper Carriers (Work disgraces) by Georg Scholz. 1921. Courtesy Wikipedia

It’s a question that’s reverberated through the ages – are humans, though imperfect, essentially kind, sensible, good-natured creatures? Or are we, deep down, wired to be bad, blinkered, idle, vain, vengeful and selfish? There are no easy answers, and there’s clearly a lot of variation between individuals, but here we shine some evidence-based light on the matter through 10 dispiriting findings that reveal the darker and less impressive aspects of human nature:

We view minorities and the vulnerable as less than human. One striking example of this blatant dehumanisation came from a brain-scan study that found a small group of students exhibited less neural activity associated with thinking about people when they looked at pictures of the homeless or of drug addicts, as compared with higher-status individuals. Another study showed that people who are opposed to Arab immigration tended to rate Arabs and Muslims as literally less evolved than average. Among other examples, there’s also evidence that young people dehumanise older people; and that men and women alike dehumanise drunk women. What’s more, the inclination to dehumanise starts early – children as young as five view out-group faces (of people from a different city or a different gender to the child) as less human than in-group faces.

We experience Schadenfreude (pleasure at another person’s distress) by the age of four, according to a study from 2013. That sense is heightened if the child perceives that the person deserves the distress. A more recent study found that, by age six, children will pay to watch an antisocial puppet being hit, rather than spending the money on stickers.

We believe in karma – assuming that the downtrodden of the world deserve their fate. The unfortunate consequences of such beliefs were first demonstrated in the now classic research from 1966 by the American psychologists Melvin Lerner and Carolyn Simmons. In their experiment, in which a female learner was punished with electric shocks for wrong answers, women participants subsequently rated her as less likeable and admirable when they heard that they would be seeing her suffer again, and especially if they felt powerless to minimise this suffering. Since then, research has shown our willingness to blame the poor, rape victims, AIDS patients and others for their fate, so as to preserve our belief in a just world. By extension, the same or similar processes are likely responsible for our subconscious rose-tinted view of rich people.

Continued here ​

I'm convinced the white race is genetically prone to violence. Look at what they have done on every continent and ocean on the planet.

Lol
Every race is in the same boat, it depends on the individual.
My ancestors, Oglala Sioux were constantly enslaving/Torturing/conquering opposing/neighboring tribes... so your point is mute.

In Africa they like to cut the labia out of little girls.

There is no perfect human race. To say one is better than another is evil.

 

[SweetSue92]

So there is science that supports the assholeness of some people?

Christian Jarrett is a cognitive neuroscientist turned science writer, whose work has appeared in New Scientist, The Guardian and Psychology Today, among others. He is editor of the Research Digest blog published by the British Psychological Society, and presents their PsychCrunch podcast. His latest book is Personology: Using the Science of Personality Change to Your Advantage (forthcoming). He lives in England.

Newspaper Carriers (Work disgraces) by Georg Scholz. 1921. Courtesy Wikipedia

It’s a question that’s reverberated through the ages – are humans, though imperfect, essentially kind, sensible, good-natured creatures? Or are we, deep down, wired to be bad, blinkered, idle, vain, vengeful and selfish? There are no easy answers, and there’s clearly a lot of variation between individuals, but here we shine some evidence-based light on the matter through 10 dispiriting findings that reveal the darker and less impressive aspects of human nature:

We view minorities and the vulnerable as less than human. One striking example of this blatant dehumanisation came from a brain-scan study that found a small group of students exhibited less neural activity associated with thinking about people when they looked at pictures of the homeless or of drug addicts, as compared with higher-status individuals. Another study showed that people who are opposed to Arab immigration tended to rate Arabs and Muslims as literally less evolved than average. Among other examples, there’s also evidence that young people dehumanise older people; and that men and women alike dehumanise drunk women. What’s more, the inclination to dehumanise starts early – children as young as five view out-group faces (of people from a different city or a different gender to the child) as less human than in-group faces.

We experience Schadenfreude (pleasure at another person’s distress) by the age of four, according to a study from 2013. That sense is heightened if the child perceives that the person deserves the distress. A more recent study found that, by age six, children will pay to watch an antisocial puppet being hit, rather than spending the money on stickers.

We believe in karma – assuming that the downtrodden of the world deserve their fate. The unfortunate consequences of such beliefs were first demonstrated in the now classic research from 1966 by the American psychologists Melvin Lerner and Carolyn Simmons. In their experiment, in which a female learner was punished with electric shocks for wrong answers, women participants subsequently rated her as less likeable and admirable when they heard that they would be seeing her suffer again, and especially if they felt powerless to minimise this suffering. Since then, research has shown our willingness to blame the poor, rape victims, AIDS patients and others for their fate, so as to preserve our belief in a just world. By extension, the same or similar processes are likely responsible for our subconscious rose-tinted view of rich people.

Continued here ​

I'm skeptical about a lot of these social science studies and I think we all should be. For example, the first one: they only measured "neural activity". So what, what does that prove? It might prove that, when people are motivated to aspire to something, their brains are stimulated--duh, to put it bluntly. No one is motivated by pics of homeless people or drug addicts. I might think "oh gee that's too bad" but that doesn't take much stimulation. Whereas if I see a pic of an executive or a professor or whatnot my brain has a lot to chew on there.

That proves nothing at all. Again. I'm highly skeptical of social science studies.

 

[Mac1958]

So there is science that supports the assholeness of some people?

Christian Jarrett is a cognitive neuroscientist turned science writer, whose work has appeared in New Scientist, The Guardian and Psychology Today, among others. He is editor of the Research Digest blog published by the British Psychological Society, and presents their PsychCrunch podcast. His latest book is Personology: Using the Science of Personality Change to Your Advantage (forthcoming). He lives in England.

Newspaper Carriers (Work disgraces) by Georg Scholz. 1921. Courtesy Wikipedia

It’s a question that’s reverberated through the ages – are humans, though imperfect, essentially kind, sensible, good-natured creatures? Or are we, deep down, wired to be bad, blinkered, idle, vain, vengeful and selfish? There are no easy answers, and there’s clearly a lot of variation between individuals, but here we shine some evidence-based light on the matter through 10 dispiriting findings that reveal the darker and less impressive aspects of human nature:

We view minorities and the vulnerable as less than human. One striking example of this blatant dehumanisation came from a brain-scan study that found a small group of students exhibited less neural activity associated with thinking about people when they looked at pictures of the homeless or of drug addicts, as compared with higher-status individuals. Another study showed that people who are opposed to Arab immigration tended to rate Arabs and Muslims as literally less evolved than average. Among other examples, there’s also evidence that young people dehumanise older people; and that men and women alike dehumanise drunk women. What’s more, the inclination to dehumanise starts early – children as young as five view out-group faces (of people from a different city or a different gender to the child) as less human than in-group faces.

We experience Schadenfreude (pleasure at another person’s distress) by the age of four, according to a study from 2013. That sense is heightened if the child perceives that the person deserves the distress. A more recent study found that, by age six, children will pay to watch an antisocial puppet being hit, rather than spending the money on stickers.

We believe in karma – assuming that the downtrodden of the world deserve their fate. The unfortunate consequences of such beliefs were first demonstrated in the now classic research from 1966 by the American psychologists Melvin Lerner and Carolyn Simmons. In their experiment, in which a female learner was punished with electric shocks for wrong answers, women participants subsequently rated her as less likeable and admirable when they heard that they would be seeing her suffer again, and especially if they felt powerless to minimise this suffering. Since then, research has shown our willingness to blame the poor, rape victims, AIDS patients and others for their fate, so as to preserve our belief in a just world. By extension, the same or similar processes are likely responsible for our subconscious rose-tinted view of rich people.

Continued here ​

I like to think that we'll continue to evolve, but we may be headed in the other direction.

We're allowing our worst instincts to control our behavior right now, and our inner humanity is suffering for it.

CDZ - Is something broken here?
.

 

[Butch_Coolidge]

So there is science that supports the assholeness of some people?

Christian Jarrett is a cognitive neuroscientist turned science writer, whose work has appeared in New Scientist, The Guardian and Psychology Today, among others. He is editor of the Research Digest blog published by the British Psychological Society, and presents their PsychCrunch podcast. His latest book is Personology: Using the Science of Personality Change to Your Advantage (forthcoming). He lives in England.

Newspaper Carriers (Work disgraces) by Georg Scholz. 1921. Courtesy Wikipedia

It’s a question that’s reverberated through the ages – are humans, though imperfect, essentially kind, sensible, good-natured creatures? Or are we, deep down, wired to be bad, blinkered, idle, vain, vengeful and selfish? There are no easy answers, and there’s clearly a lot of variation between individuals, but here we shine some evidence-based light on the matter through 10 dispiriting findings that reveal the darker and less impressive aspects of human nature:

We view minorities and the vulnerable as less than human. One striking example of this blatant dehumanisation came from a brain-scan study that found a small group of students exhibited less neural activity associated with thinking about people when they looked at pictures of the homeless or of drug addicts, as compared with higher-status individuals. Another study showed that people who are opposed to Arab immigration tended to rate Arabs and Muslims as literally less evolved than average. Among other examples, there’s also evidence that young people dehumanise older people; and that men and women alike dehumanise drunk women. What’s more, the inclination to dehumanise starts early – children as young as five view out-group faces (of people from a different city or a different gender to the child) as less human than in-group faces.

We experience Schadenfreude (pleasure at another person’s distress) by the age of four, according to a study from 2013. That sense is heightened if the child perceives that the person deserves the distress. A more recent study found that, by age six, children will pay to watch an antisocial puppet being hit, rather than spending the money on stickers.

We believe in karma – assuming that the downtrodden of the world deserve their fate. The unfortunate consequences of such beliefs were first demonstrated in the now classic research from 1966 by the American psychologists Melvin Lerner and Carolyn Simmons. In their experiment, in which a female learner was punished with electric shocks for wrong answers, women participants subsequently rated her as less likeable and admirable when they heard that they would be seeing her suffer again, and especially if they felt powerless to minimise this suffering. Since then, research has shown our willingness to blame the poor, rape victims, AIDS patients and others for their fate, so as to preserve our belief in a just world. By extension, the same or similar processes are likely responsible for our subconscious rose-tinted view of rich people.

Continued here ​

So all these findings are actually related to Donald Trump? Clever. Didn’t see it going there. I’ve always known people are shit though. Didn’t feel guilty about feeling that way.


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What an interesting first response. An unthinking knee jerk to the socially acceptable receptacle of hate: Donald Trump and his supporters. Not even a thought given to it: We hate Trump because he's a hater.

It's almost funny, given the content of the article.

Almost.

It’s funny that Trump was even mentioned in this article to begin with. The other funny thing is that scientists need to summarize for the general public,what law enforcement experiences on a daily basis. Kinda like watching the news. Horrible stories, with a cutesy human interest story at they end. To push the fallacy that people are basically good, so the gullible public are not too scared and dismiss reality.


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[Yousaidwhat]

Like I need anyone to let me know I'm an asshole.

But we are sure you are a beautiful and wonderful asshole.