21 APR 2014 by ideonexus
Praise a Child's Character Rather than Actions
The researchers randomly assigned the children to receive different types of praise. For some of the children, they praised the action: “It was good that you gave some of your marbles to those poor children. Yes, that was a nice and helpful thing to do.” For others, they praised the character behind the action: “I guess you’re the kind of person who likes to help others whenever you can. Yes, you are a very nice and helpful person.”
A couple of weeks later, when faced with more opp...
1 The opposite of telling a child they work hard instead of telling them they are "smart." Tell a child they are a good person when they do good things so that they internalize morality.
29 AUG 2013 by ideonexus
How Our Predisposition Toward Empathy Taints Our Logic
Our sexually selected instincts for displaying sympathy tend to affect our belief systems, not just our charity and courtship behavior. When individuals espouse ideological positions, we typically interpret their beliefs as signs of good or bad moral character. Individuals feel social pressure to adopt the beliefs that are conventionally accepted as indicating a "good heart," even when those beliefs are not rational. We may even find ourselves saying, "His ideas may be right, but his heart is... 1 
notes
notesWe find logical ideas repulsive when they conflict with our need to associate with sensitive people. If a person suggests a correct and logical idea, but it is an idea that lacks empathy, we tend to find the individual repulsive (This happened to me on a thread when I suggested letting pandas go extinct).
