Across the animal kingdom, dominance hierarchies inform the way social creatures interact. And while people might think that our more evolved brains and advanced social dynamics put us above the kinds of behavior seen in dogs or apes, our actions are still very much steered by primal drives.
Authors: Deborah H. Gruenfeld, Kevin Cool | Source: Stanford University | Subjects: Life & Society, Sociology | Anthropology
Knowing that people value hierarchies, one of the most important skillsets I would say that human beings have is to figure out where they belong and how to contribute in a way that’s valued so they can be part of the group.
Author: Deborah H. Gruenfeld | Source: Stanford University | Subjects: Life & Society, Sociology | Anthropology
We are desperate to belong in groups… many individuals prefer lower ranks in a hierarchical group to not being in the group at all. So, they accept those positions. It is oddly a strange source of security to know who’s responsible for what, who’s going to lead, who’s going to follow. And it gives everyone a script to follow so they know how to behave … [ Read more ]
Author: Deborah H. Gruenfeld | Source: Stanford University | Subjects: Life & Society, Psychology | Behavior, Sociology | Anthropology
One of the ways in which we are like animals is that we need to organize ourselves in order to survive. It’s not intuitive because we have this sense that in modern civilized society people have a tendency to prefer equality and egalitarian kinds of organizing structures to more hierarchical ones.
But what you find when you look at how people behave despite what they say … [ Read more ]
Author: Deborah H. Gruenfeld | Source: Stanford University | Subjects: Psychology | Behavior, Sociology | Anthropology
In order to get the best out of life, we have to expect the best out of life. We’ve got to have these congruent beliefs, this faith that things are finally going to work out in the end. Why? The whole notion of the placebo effect, where our expectations turn into reality. And that’s why it is in the anticipation of happiness that happiness itself … [ Read more ]
Author: Baba Shiv | Source: Stanford University | Subjects: Happiness, Personal Improvement, Psychology | Behavior, Success / Failure
The divide between urban and rural voters is growing everywhere: from New York City to farm towns.
Authors: Ian Chipman, Jonathan Rodden | Source: Stanford University (May 2, 2017) | Subjects: America, Excerpts, International, Politics & Public Policy
A strong sense of conviction can both encourage and discourage people from speaking out.
Authors: Carol S. Dweck, Martin J. Smith | Source: Stanford University (January 9, 2017) | Subjects: Articles & Links, Excerpts