How Your Social Network Influences Your Romantic Relationship
We care about what others think of us, and our romantic relationships, too. The support we receive from our social networks, such as family and …
Attitudes
Cognitive Dissonance: Why We Lie to Ourselves
The cognitive dissonance theory was coined by Leon Festinger (1957). Festinger suggests that our thoughts can show three relationships:
Extreme Political Attitudes are Difficult to Change for 5 Reasons
Why is it that some people hold extreme political or religious attitudes? First, we need to understand the nature of such attitudes. Here are two quotes, …
Instincts Might Explain Why People Hold Prejudices
Prejudices have plausibly existed since the origins of humanity. In an evolutionary sense, prejudices might have solved an adaptive problem.
Does the Apple Fall Far From the Tree? Parent-Child Similarities in Attitudes
This article considers a strongly disputed topic in social psychology: the formation of attitudes, prejudices, and stereotypes. A new meta-analysis by Degner & Dalege (2013) …
8 Psychological Mechanisms that Enable People to Hurt Others (The Psychology of Evilness)
It seems like most people are capable of doing harm to others, as shown in Stanley Milgram’s obedience experiment. However, self-reports have also revealed that obeying to hurt …