Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Crowd Psychology and Lessons We Still Ignore

The recent riots in Baltimore made me wonder about crowd psychology and control, among other topics. Is there a critical tipping point toward violence that we can avoid, or a proven way to cut short a rampage once it starts? How do we prevent peaceful protesters from turning into a rock-throwing, looting mob? Given our long history of urban riot, you'd think we would know better how to handle volatile crowds by now. Unfortunately, the new trend to militarized-looking police response may actually set back initial crowd control; those shields, helmets and armored vehicles distance communities from the police as people and turn them into a faceless occupying force to resent. Combine that with a relatively small police presence, and the tipping point comes because the cost of participating in violence--the risk of going to jail--gets low enough as crowd numbers overwhelm law enforcement numbers. After things spin out of control, only armed troops in curfew-emptied streets scatter the mob. Apparently, we still need to improve our understanding of crowd psychology. Back in 1895, Gustave LeBon pointed out the dangerous anonymity and behavioral contagion of crowds, which cause individuals to abandon personal responsibility for conformity with group emotions. Crowd psychology theorists define crowds by their aggressive, escapist, acquisitive, or expressive behaviors. The escapist crowd is just panicked people fleeing danger (what you get when you yell "Fire" in a theater). An expressive group gathers for a joint purpose (rock concert, civil disobedience, religious inspiration). An aggressive mob is outwardly violent (rioting and arson), while the acquisitive mob is fighting for limited resources (looting). Crowds in Baltimore at any one time probably fit into all four categories. So is there a general riot control formula we're missing? Edward Glaeser, a Harvard University economics professor, has argued that a comparison of crowd control examples supports a large initial police presence with a mass arrest/light penalty formula, basically nonviolent clearing of the streets, as the best way to stave off escalating violence. For an interesting but brief discussion of the history of American riots, see Glaeser's 2011 Bloomberg News article: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2011-08-12/how-riots-start-and-how-they-can-be-stopped-edward-glaeser



Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Put Biographies on Your Summer Reading List

I'm a fan of fiction, but I also love biographies and memoirs--from weighty tomes like Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson to slim books heavy with inspiration like I Am Malala by the youngest Nobel Peace Prize-winner Malala Yousafzai, from souffles like Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert to the hard-to-swallow agonies of Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, from the laughter of Bossypants by Tina Fey to the lyrical grief of The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion. I'm certainly not alone in appreciation of biographical literature. Biographies, autobiographies, memoirs and biographical fiction (which embellishes historical fact with imagined elements) are very popular in the book marketplace. Ever wondered why? When publisher Alfred A. Knopf checked with its 70,000-odd followers on Twitter to ask why biographies are popular, the answers fell into four categories: To better understand a certain era (history); to better understand a favorite artist (or hero); to learn something about life from someone who’s lived it; and to be inspired. In other posts, biography readers explain that they hope to mine the lives of others for lessons that will promote self-discovery and inspire personal courage, hope and change. Some say they seek a sort of mentoring at a remove, via others' path to achievement and forewarning of pitfalls. And still other readers say they hope to promote mental and spiritual growth by exposure to different perspectives, experiences, times and cultures. A well-written biography can certainly aid readers with those goals. So put a few biographies on your summer reading list. For the "top 100 biographies and memoirs to read in a lifetime," courtesy of Amazon, go to http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=11021806011

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Time for a Mental Spring Cleaning

In California, where the demarcations between seasons are slight and blurred, it's easy to forget the exhilarating sensation of "spring," of the transition from gray, cold and dead vistas to color, warmth and new growth. I was reminded recently by a quick April trip to Omaha. It snowed on the day we arrived (wet feathery clumps that melted on contact with the thawing earth), but, in just the next few days, a benign sun drew a bright green haze of budding leaves from leafless branches and coaxed so many blossoms from the fruit trees that they became white and pink earth-bound clouds. A clump of red, pink and yellow tulips appeared magically beside the front door. I was reminded why literature and poetry associate spring with rebirth, renewal, love, and hope, and symbolize it with lilacs, lambs and lovers. Spring is a universal spur to optimism. When winter's claustrophobic sheltering can be left behind by opening windows and stepping out into fresh air, our minds and hearts are encouraged to follow suit. So I decided to take the tradition of "spring cleaning" a step further this year by tossing out the rubbish of pessimistic thoughts and feelings along with accumulated dirt and clutter. I figure I'm pretty much guaranteed to feel better. A recent Shape magazine article cited a new health study that looked at 5,000 adults and found optimists were more likely to eat a healthy diet, have a healthy body mass index, not smoke, and exercise regularly than their pessimistic counterparts. They also had healthier blood pressure, blood sugar, and total cholesterol levels. Previous studies have shown that cancer patients with positive attitudes tend to have better outcomes, and optimists have more satisfying personal relationships. The article even listed three steps to kick-start an upbeat spring mood: write thank-you notes; do things you love; share good news. Need more help to shake the blues? For 20 more ways to a happier mindset, try this Shape article: http://www.shape.com/lifestyle/mind-and-body/20-ways-get-happy-almost-instantly/slide/all

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

In Fiction or Real Life, What Looks CanThrill?

Whether to describe, how to describe and when to describe a character's physical traits are among the conundrums of fiction writers. Many great writers have provided only minimal clues to a protagonist's appearance and thus freed the imaginations of readers--who are more interested in a character's, well, character than eye and hair color--to conjure up images that satisfy personal tastes and experiences. On the other hand, sometimes it is important to plot or character development to describe physical attributes. Especially for romantic protagonists, any description needs to be one that most opposite-sex readers find appealing and most same-sex readers respect/emulate. Luckily, research provides some guidance on physical looks generally rated as most attractive. Consider just facial appearance: Scientific studies show that women across cultures prefer male faces in the middle of a range from a "masculine" look, with wide smiles, strong jaws, large noses and smaller eyes, to "feminine" features, such as a small nose, narrow chin and large eyes. Men, on the other hand, find women with high cheek bones, big eyes and thin jaws more attractive--consistently preferring facial features characteristic of women aged about 25 (a hard-wired age bias). Some men even prefer the more childlike face typical of preteen girls (hello, Lolita). However, men also have different standards for sexy vs. competent women's looks. For example, an Elmhurst College study found that, in job interviews of women, men awarded mature women, with smaller eyes and larger noses, more respect. Take a look at 2014's top five actors (Leonardo DiCaprio, Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Robert Pattinson) and top five actresses (Angelina Jolie, Marion Cotillard, Charlize Theron, Julia Roberts, Mila Kunis) to see how well study results fit popular beauty tastes. For more on appearance and its implications, read http://www.viewzone.com/attractiveness2.html. By the way, if you shrug off the importance of looks in fiction or real life, you may get a shock; in the life-ain't-fair category, studies show that attractive people earn more salary and get more promotions than average-looking people, for example.

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Telltale Clues of a Doomed Relationship

In adult gatherings, the demise of a marriage or long-term romantic relationship is a common topic. There may be revelations about physical abuse, affairs and addictions. However, sometimes, like the murderer in the news whom everyone describes as a "good son" or a "great neighbor," these relationship deaths take people by surprise. Do doomed relationships really leave so few clues? Of course not. We just aren't paying close attention to other people's interactions--or at least not paying attention to what counts. According to famed marriage researcher John Gottman, who has won TV news and talk-show appearances, numerous print articles, and even a chapter in Malcolm Gladwell's best-seller Blink, there are four markers of relationship failure that are highly predictive of divorce (94%): criticism, defensiveness, contempt and stonewalling. Conflict is natural and even healthy in relationships; it is the unhealthy ways of dealing with conflict that cause problems, per Gottman. So, if couples consistently resort to criticism (attacks on personality or character), defensiveness (shifting blame or responsibility), contempt (expressions of disrespect and superiority) or stonewalling (a refusal to listen or discuss), long-term togetherness is in jeopardy. From other experts come these observable clues to a relationship unlikely to last: a coupling of extreme opposites (who may attract short-term but eventually repel over insoluble differences); a control freak partner jealous of anyone or anything outside of the relationship; unkind or verbally abusive behavior; and a demand or expectation of change in a partner's authentic self. Wondering about the health of your relationship? Try this little quiz: http://psychcentral.com/quizzes/relationship_quiz.htm