Psychgeist

The science of changing minds

by Kevin Dutton, Ph.D.

Smash the Ritz or Stay at the Ritz? The Schizophrenic Mindset of Britain's Inner Cities

The riots weren't funny. OK? They just, weren't. But that's not to say that they didn't have their moments. In Tottenham, for example, on the opening night, a crack squad of hoodies (forgive the pun) bulldozed their way into a somnambulant McDonald's, and, intoxicated by a sudden rush of self-worth, suddenly began frying their own burgers and chips. Read More

Guns and Roses - The Jilted, Juxtaposed Mind of Anders Breivik

There are no easy answers to what happened on Utoya island, at around 6pm, on Friday, July 22nd, 2011. But the two questions that many people are asking are these: 'Do spree killers have a telltale psychological profile?' And 'Does Anders Breivik conform to it?'

The answer to both of these questions is: Yes. Read More

Psychopath Season: Grab Yourself Some Empathy While Stocks Last

I have just returned from Montreal, where I attended the third biannual conference of the Society for the Scientific Study of Psychopathy. While I was there, a journalist from the National Post rang me up and wanted my take on Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund. Read More

All My People Love Me: The Dangerous Mind Games of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi

Dictators like Gaddafi know how to manipulate a nation through Us-versus-Them ideology. The trouble, says Gaddafi, is all the work of outsiders. Drugs cartels and Al-Qaeda infiltrators. The people of Libya must unite against the infidels. In the east, in Benghazi. And in the west, in the skies over Tripoli. He, Gaddafi, will fight among the people. Read More

Written In the Stars: The Shifting Political Sands of Africa's Tweeting North

Minorities are the stars of the firmament; majorities, the darkness in which they float.- Martin H Fischer Read More

Scared Sexy: Why Popcorn and Chianti Are Just the Ticket on Valentine's Night

Some time ago, on a trip to Sri Lanka, I visited a newly renovated church on the outskirts of the capital, Colombo. Five years earlier, on Pentecost, the minister had held a service for some of the younger members of the parish, the plan being for the power of the Holy Spirit to descend upon their lives as it had upon the lives of Jesus' disciples after the resurrection. Read More

When Rhetorical Guns Turn Into Real Ones

Nothing travels faster than the speed of light, Douglas Adams once wrote. Except for bad news. And if you need a second opinion, just ask Sarah Palin. Read More