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One of Borkenau’s most surprising findings is that soft facial lineaments (that is, the contours of the face) are a key to spotting agreeableness; consistent with this result and with some earlier research from the 1980s, he found that a “baby face” look (a round face, large eyes, small nose, high forehead, and small chin) is associated with agreea
... See moreSam Gosling • Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You
Psychologists measure personality across five domains, which can be useful for writers doing character work to know. Those high in extraversion are gregarious and assertive, seekers of attention and sensation. Being high in neuroticism means you’re anxious, self-conscious and prone to depression, anger and low self-esteem. Lots of openness makes fo
... See moreWill Storr • The Science of Storytelling: Why Stories Make Us Human and How to Tell Them Better
The depressing thing is that so many of the ideas on which our psychologists base their beliefs about human intelligence, memory, and learning are all wishful thinking.
Daniel Keyes • Flowers For Algernon: The must-read literary science fiction masterpiece (S.F. MASTERWORKS Book 6)
confidence.
Kevin Dutton • The Wisdom of Psychopaths
The field guide also shows how changing your appearance might influence how you’re seen—Borkenau’s findings suggest that creating a refined appearance for yourself will tend to make people see you as extraverted, conscientious, and open. Borkenau’s data suggest that formality of dress was the key to judging conscientiousness.
Sam Gosling • Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You
If you unwittingly study these peculiar modern populations without realizing the powerful impact that technologies, beliefs, and social norms related to literacy have on our brains and mental processes, you can get the wrong answers. This can happen even when you study seemingly basic features of psychology and neuroscience, like memory, visual pro
... See moreJoseph Henrich • The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous
For a good brief introduction to the Big Five, check out Sanjay Srivastava’s Web site: http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~sanjay/bigfive.html. For a more advanced treatment, see John, O. P., & Srivastava, S. (1999). The Big Five Trait taxonomy: History, measurement, and theoretical perspectives. In L. A. Pervin & O. P. John (Eds.), Handbook of pe
... See moreSam Gosling • Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You
In 2000, a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, the field’s most prestigious journal, did just that. Today, this paper still stands as the most rigorous examination of the links between personality and handshaking.