For more than 30 years, psychologists Mahzarin Banaji and Anthony Greenwald have been studying the unconscious biases that take root in our brains, coloring everything from hiring decisions to how doctors mete out medical care and judges pass sentence. If you don’t think you harbor any such mental stowaways, tugging […] Read more »
What’s Good about Generation Y?
… Over the last two decades, numerous quantitative studies have attempted to measure and compare the attitudes, beliefs, values, behaviors, and personality traits of different generations. Some have found that the younger generation—X or Y, depending on the study date—is more environmentally and socially conscious, less materialistic, more community-minded and […] Read more »
Obama’s Unwanted Legacy: The Renewed Influence of ‘Old-Fashioned Racism’
As he looks back on his first term, President Barack Obama can take satisfaction from a series of significant accomplishments. But according to a new analysis by a Brown University political scientist, his rise to power has also produced a less-welcome result: A renewed alignment between political preference and “old-fashioned […] Read more »
Biggest moves in religion and politics in 2012
Considering that 2012 saw the first presidential contest in which there was no white mainline Protestant anywhere on the presidential ticket, religion played a surprisingly subtle role in the election cycle. But even if religion played more of a supporting than a leading role in the election, the religion factor […] Read more »
Most Say Americans Are Divided on Important Values
As federal lawmakers and the U.S. president struggle to bridge their philosophical differences and reach a budget compromise before the end of the calendar year, the public broadly perceives that Americans themselves are divided over core values. Nearly seven in 10 Americans say the country is divided when it comes […] Read more »
After divisive election, voters support balanced approach to budget crisis
… A balanced approach to solving the deficit problem, which focuses on raising taxes as well as cutting major programs, is popular among American voters overall. … But although there is general support for a balanced approach, an agreement on the details of revenue increases and program cuts may be […] Read more »