Naturally Selected

Understanding the human animal in the workplace

by Mark van Vugt

Why Only Humans Weep: The Science Behind Our Tears

We all cry, but what are the biological and evolutionary functions behind the tears that we shed? Why are humans the only animal capable of producing tears when experiencing joy or sorrow? Here are some clues based on the latest scientific findings and the book and movie "Life of Pi." Read More

What Do Your Eyes Tell About Your Leadership and Status?

New research shows that your leadership and status is determined by whether people look in the direction of where you are looking. Gaze following is an underappreciated contributor to leadership and followership in humans. Our estimate is that about 90% of your influence as a leader is determined by nonverbal cues like gazes, faces, gestures, and sounds. Read More

5 Best Stone Age Parenting Practices

As parents we often wonder what is the best way to raise our children. We should find out more about how families in traditional societies bring up their children because such societies may have evolved adaptive parenting styles. Here are some of the best practices of parenting the Stone Age way. Read More

5 Reasons Why It Sucks to Have Power

There is much psychological evidence to suggest that having power makes you less effective as a person, colleague, or a leader in business or politics. Here are the key scientific facts about power. So why do people crave power? It makes little sense according to the data. There is a Great Power Myth in our society. Read More

5 Big Ideas About The Origins of Homosexuality

New scientific insights show that homosexuality is a perfectly natural sexual orientation. Why homosexuality evolved in humans and what its functions are remains an open question. Here are some key biological hypotheses. Read More

Why Facebook Does Not Get You More Friends

Facebook has not changed the way we interact with each other. We have no more true friendships in the Facebook era than we had before. This is because of the costs of maintaining friendships and the limits of our social brain. Read More

The Fluctuating Female Vote

Hormones predict who women vote for New research suggests that woman’s voting and political preferences may be influenced where she is in her ovulatory cycle. Read More

Will Height Decide the 2012 Presidential Election?

If all one needs to win a US presidential election is to be taller than one’s opponent, it will be an easy victory for Mitt Romney. But does height matter in predicting the outcome of US presidential elections? Read More

Laughter Really Is the Best Medicine

How does laughter affect your brain? A recent study suggests that laughter triggers the release of endorphins, the feel-good hormones, in the brain which makes you more resistant to pain. Read More

Should Leaders Show Emotion?

Should leaders express their emotions in public? Psychological research suggests this is not a good idea because of the risk of being seen as emotionally unstable. But a positive emotion works better than a negative emotion provided the emotion is authentic. Read More

What's Wrong with Social Psychology?

After the high profile case of social psychologist Diederik Stapel in August 2011, which I discussed in a previous blog, two further cases involving social psychologists were recently brought to light. What's wrong with our discipline and how can we repair it. Read More

Is It Sexy to Be Green?

A guide for more sustainable living. How you can improve your sex appeal by going green. Read More

Are We Hardwired to Damage the Environment?

This week's environmental summit in Rio should offer a roadmap towards a sustainable future for our planet. Research shows however that humans are not hardwired to be green. Only with a sound understanding of how the human mind works can we bring out enduring changes in our environmental behaviors. Read More

What Do Your Fingers Tell About Your Hormones, Personality, and Sexuality?

What do your fingers tell about your personality and sexuality? New research on finger digit ratios suggests that hand reading is becoming a serious science wih possible implications for partner choice and personnel selection. Read More

Can Charisma Be Taught?

New research suggests that charisma can be taught. Here are ten tips to improve your charisma and become a more effective manager, politician, coach, or parent. Read More

Natural Born Followers

Followership is the default setting in our brain and it begins when we are still in our nappies. Unfortunately we sometimes follow the wrong kind of leaders. Read More

The Social Psychology Behind the Hunger Games

A great way to teach our students important theories and concepts in psychology is through the use of fiction. Drawing from plots and themes of well-known novels or movies can help them gain insight into important psychological phenomena such as memory (Memento), autism (Rain Man), leadership (Braveheart) or prejudice (The Color Purple). Read More

Charismatic Leadership: The X-Factor in Politics

People around the world seem to agree on which leaders possess that unique X-factor leadership quality, personal charisma. Jesus and Buddha had it. Obama had it, but may have lost it. The good news is: Charisma can be taught. Read More

Is the Male Sex Drive the Cause of Wars?

Why are humans so tribal and why do tribal wars almost always involve men as both perpetrators and victims? Our latest research suggests that men maybe biologically programmed to be warriors. Read More

The Sound of Leadership

Why do we prefer John as manager over Mary? The surprising answer is that their voice may have something to do with it. New research shows that we prefer leaders with low voice pitches. So, do you have the voice of a leader? Read More

Is the Modern Business Environment an Evolutionary Mismatch?

I was reading the other day about the fate of the magnificent golden toad of Costa Rica which went extinct some twenty years ago. The reason for its extinction being that is was no longer well adapted to its environment. The toad lived underground for most of the year and only came out for a short period each year to reproduce. Read More

What to Do About Scientific Fraud in Psychology Part II

Psychological science has made the headlines in the newspapers in the Netherlands again....but for all the wrong reasons. Read More

Why We Protest

Having just visited Cincinnati and Washington DC, two of the many cities in the US where people have taken to the streets to protest against corporate greed and political cronyism, I wonder what lessons we can learn from crowd psychology about the Occupy Wall Street movement and similar social movements that are popping up across the US and Europe. Read More

Are Men From Venus and Women From Mars?

Question: Are women more cooperative than men? Read More

What to Do About Scientific Fraud in Psychology?

After the high profile case of Marc Hauser, the Harvard psychologist found guilty of serious scientific misconduct there is the recent case of my colleague, Diederik Stapel, a social psychology professor in the Netherlands who has been suspended by his university after admitting to have fabricated experimental data over a prolonged period. Read More

Little White Eyes: Could Your Spouse Tell Whether You're Unfaithful?

Could you tell by looking at his face that Arnold Schwarzenegger had been unfaithful? What about David Beckham? Deceit isn't always sexually motivated: James Murdoch is now accused of misremembering e-mail exchanges in the ongoing phone-hacking scandal. Read More

Are You a Natural Born Leader or Manager?

Imagine being at an interview for a high-level job, and being asked to provide a syringe of blood, or a cheek swab. It's not to test you for illicit drugs but to analyse your DNA. Read More

The Napoleon Complex in World Soccer: How The Beautiful Game Turned Ugly

The past weeks have shown both the beautiful and dark side of world's most popular game, both showcasing leadership psychology. In a mesmerizing display of superior individual and team effort Barcelona FC was crowned European Champions. Read More

How Television Trumps Substance in Politics

How to run for President - without being a politician. Read More

Instruction Manual for Despots and Dictators: 7 STEPS To Increase Your Power

Hanging on to absolute power is no easy feat. Just ask Libya's Colonel GADDAFI or Syria's President ASSAD. Here we offer (with tongue firmly in cheek) these helpful tips for a prolonged iron rule. We call them STEPs - strategies to enhance your power base. Read More

Mark van Vugt is a professor of social and organizational psychology at the VU University Amsterdam and a research associate at Oxford University.

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