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Psychology News Round-Up: ICYMI September 8, 2017

Each week, we recap featured posts from Character & Context and other blogs around the cyberspace, plus news stories and tweets worth a look. If you have an item you'd like us to consider, use the hashtag #SPSPblog or tweet us directly @spspnews.

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In Case You Missed it April 21, 2017

Each week, we recap featured posts from Character & Context and other blogs around the cyberspace, plus a few news stories and tweets that might be worth a look. If you have an item you'd like us to consider, use the hashtag #SPSPblog or tweet us directly @spspnews.

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July Tip Sheet: Psychology & Politics

Before the political conventions kickoff and general election season moves into full force, stay ahead of the story by familiarizing yourself with leading social and personality psychology experts and studies. These experts have made themselves available for relevant media inquiries.

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Expectations Can Minimize Unethical Behavior in the Powerful

Focusing the powerful to think about how they should behave may serve as a potential form of “preventative medicine” against the abuse of power.

While there are many examples of unethical leaders, from FIFA to the recent political discoveries from the Panama Papers leak, there are countless other examples, though not as headline grabbing, in history of leaders acting morally. Recent research offers new ideas for curbing unethical behavior by those with power – it all depends on how people in power think about their power.

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Republicans and Democrats Less Divided than Commonly Thought

San Diego -- Republicans and Democrats are less divided in their attitudes than popularly believed, according to new research. It is exactly those perceptions of polarization, however, that help drive political engagement, researchers say.

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Liberals Are More Emotion-Driven Than Conservatives

Emotions are powerful motivators of human behavior and attitudes. Emotions also play an important role in guiding policy support in conflict and other political contexts. Researchers at Tel Aviv University and the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya have studied the interaction between emotion and political ideology, showing that the motivating power of emotions is not the same for those on different ends of the ideological spectrum. Their research is published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.

Design of the study

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Are Conservatives More Obedient and Agreeable Than Their Liberal Counterparts?

Over the last few years, we've seen increasing dissent among liberals and conservatives on important issues such as gun control, health care and same-sex marriage. Both sides often have a difficult time reconciling their own views with their opposition, and many times it appears that liberals are unable to band together under a unifying platform. Why do conservatives appear to have an affinity for obeying leadership? And why do conservatives perceive greater consensus among politically like-minded others?

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