Science Of Small Talk

The science of social behavior, one interaction at a time

By Sam Sommers

Judging Diversity, Part II

By Sam Sommers on June 19, 2009 - 9:36am in Science Of Small Talk

In the weeks since I posted on the topic, much of the furor has died down regarding the previous comments made by Sonia Sotomayor concerning the role of gender and racial identity in legal judgment. In fact, just days later, Newt Gingrich (sort of) retracted his previous statement that Sotomayor was a racist. I can only assume that Gingrich's regular subscription to my blog played some role in his (sort of) reversal. But the even more interesting race/gender-related question inspired by Sotomayor's nomination is how her addition to the Court might impact the tendencies of the 9-justice entity. Research in a wide range of fields provides compelling evidence that the demographic composition of a group can affect the way it goes about making decisions... Read More

Judging Diversity, Part I

By Sam Sommers on June 1, 2009 - 8:52pm in Science Of Small Talk

As an academic whose research focuses on 1) the effects of diversity on group decision-making and 2) psychological perspectives on the American legal system, there's a lot about the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court that piques my interest. Somewhat predictably, media coverage and political reaction to her selection has focused on issues of gender and race, bringing to the forefront of public discourse the intersection of contemporary debates surrounding diversity, judicial "activism," and personal identity... Read More

The Color of News

By Sam Sommers on May 13, 2009 - 10:14am in Science Of Small Talk

"What's black and white and red all over?" This i=s my 5-year-old's most recent favorite joke. The answer, of course, is the newspaper, the riddle's punchline hinging on the red/read homophone. But when I stop to think about it, it occurs to me that the news is actually pretty white, especially when it comes to particular types of stories... Read More

Excuses, Excuses

By Sam Sommers on May 5, 2009 - 1:32pm in Science Of Small Talk

In my last entry, I wrote about how the fiancée of Philip Markoff, the accused "Craiglist Killer," reacted to the arrest of her one-time future husband. She had a difficult time believing that her loved one could be capable of such actions, a reaction that strikes me as quite understandable–most of us would struggle to comprehend the criminal (or even just problematic) behavior of people in our own lives. Indeed, our expectations and assumptions about human nature are regularly challenged by the reality of actual behavior, as demonstrated an article in today's Associated Press with the headline "From church-going family man to bank robber?" Read More

"Wouldn't Hurt a Fly"

By Sam Sommers on April 24, 2009 - 5:49am in Science Of Small Talk

The newest crime du jour to have captured popular attention is the "Craigslist Killer," so dubbed because of his fatal altercation with a woman whose massage services he had solicited via the internet bulletin board. Earlier this week, Boston police arrested a 23-year-old medical student named Philip Markoff for the crime. As often happens in such cases, the initial media reports have included a range of quotes from the suspect's classmates and teachers–past and present–not to mention family members. We've already heard the requisite "he wouldn't hurt a fly" line, in this case from Markoff's fiancée. Her exact quote: "All I have to say to you is Philip is a beautiful person inside and out and could not hurt a fly!" Read More

Return of the Prodigal Spitzer

By Sam Sommers on April 7, 2009 - 5:22pm in Science Of Small Talk

Last fall I was discussing with my students the psychology of second chances in American life (insert your own F. Scott Fitzgerald allusion here). I argued that today's pariah is often tomorrow's comeback kid. As an example, I suggested that within five years, I fully expected to turn on MSNBC or CNN to see Eliot Spitzer, the disgraced former governor of New York, serving as a political pundit analyzing election returns or campaign developments.

So now I'm ready to admit that I was wrong. By approximately four-and-a-half years. Read More

Unnecessary Assumptions

By Sam Sommers on March 16, 2009 - 7:59pm in Science Of Small Talk

The subtle nature of bias in modern society is a topic I've touched on before. And a post this week from one of my fellow bloggers makes a compelling case for how this phenomenon can occur even when people have only the very best of intentions. As a case in point, consider the well-known tendency that many of us, elementary school teachers in particular, have to talk in terms of "boys and girls." There's the seemingly innocuous "good morning, boys and girls." And "how about the boys take care of cleaning out the brushes and the girls are in charge of putting the paints away." And so on. But what does this language really convey? And why is it necessary in the first place? Read More

Not Who I Thought You Were

By Sam Sommers on March 11, 2009 - 10:14am in Science Of Small Talk

It seems like such an easy thing to do, to recall a person you saw weeks, days, or even hours earlier. But it's not... Student: "That reminds me of a presentation I sat through during freshman orientation." Me: "Right, I was one of those presenters." Student: "No, there was a Black professor and a White professor, but the White guy was someone else." Me: "Actually, that was me. I conduct diversity workshops, including that one at freshman orientation." Student: "No, the White professor wasn't you; it was another guy." Read More

Email Easy Street

By Sam Sommers on February 24, 2009 - 12:04pm in Science Of Small Talk

These days, the majority of my interactions with students outside of class don't take place in person, but rather in cyberspace. As any faculty member can tell you, these email exchanges range from the appropriately courteous and tactful to the... well, let's just say, not so much. I've heard colleagues decry such emails as evidence that today's students just don't have the same sense of respect and propriety as their predecessors did. That kids today are just lazy. Perhaps, but I suspect that faculty have been saying this about students for generations, much like everyone's grandfather seems to have walked the same 5 uphill, snow-covered miles to school each morning. No, I think we just live in a much different world than we did 20, even 10 years ago, and a lot of that has to do with the rise of email... Read More

Purple Tunnel of Personality?

By Sam Sommers on February 9, 2009 - 5:17pm in Science Of Small Talk

Last month I noticed that one of my Facebook friends–in this case, someone I actually still talk to, not, say, the guy I had a vague dislike for back in 6th grade summer camp who now feels the need to list my name on his wall–had just joined a group called "Survivors of the Purple Tunnel of Doom." It was the first I had heard of this phrase, which I assumed had something to do with yet another Indiana Jones sequel. But as many of you know by now, the purple tunnel actually refers to the location in which thousands and thousands of inauguration ticket-holders were stranded for hours on the morning of January 20th... Read More