Psychopaths have an eye for the underdog

sea-maid submitted, created time 1 month 4 days (www.newscientist.com)

BEWARE the office bully, especially if you are the workplace underdog. It seems people with psychopathic behavioral traits tend to hone in on their most vulnerable colleagues instead of those who might have the greatest value for their career.

Contrary to popular belief, most psychopaths are not Jack the Ripper types - often they have never committed a violent crime. But as many as one in one hundred people display antisocial behaviors deemed psychopathic. Chief among these is a callous ability to manipulate other people to fulfill their own desires

1 comment | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: bullying underdog social dynamics sociology psychology workplace dynamics group dynamics bullies sociopaths Psychopaths

The psychology of voting when the vote "doesn't count."

Darkfrog submitted, created time 2 months 3 days (www.nytimes.com)

On this fine election day, I've found an article in the New York Times' science section on the psychology of voting and group behavior. In a departure, it is not an examination of what drives people to vote one way or the other; it's about what drives people to vote at all. It's a question that crops up every election year: "If my vote doesn't count, then why should I bother?"

There are lots of people who feel as though their votes don't count. Some people blame the elctoral system: If my state always goes red anyway, then my blue vote doesn't count

Submit comment | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: voting psychology human behavior politics group dynamics

Voyeurs put male fish off their ideal mate

snoopy submitted, created time 1 year 4 weeks (technology.newscientist.com)

An interesting research was carried out by some researchers these days. That says mating fish don't like an audience. If there’s another male spying on them, they change their mind about which female they prefer.
Researcher Plath thinks that fishes act like this to avoid sperm competition. Another possible explanation would be that the desire to fight a competitor distracts the very fishes from their true mate preference, although Plath considers this less likely

3 comments | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: animal behavior group dynamics marine biology zoology procreation reproduction sex sexual selection fish

From Ants to People, an Instinct to Swarm

yangjane submitted, created time 1 year 1 month (www.nytimes.com)

Researchers are discovering simple rules that allow thousands of animals to form a collective brain able to make decisions and move like a single organism.

Submit comment | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: brain development insects swarming group dynamics Instincts

Who’s Smarter: Chimps, Baboons or Bacteria? The Power of Group IQ ( Part I )

yangjane submitted, created time 1 year 1 month (www.scientificblogging.com)

Now for question number two. Which are smarter, chimpanzees or baboons? The answer is … baboons. There’s more to intellect than the number of neurons in your skull.

2 comments | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: group dynamics bacteria primates intellect IQ