SPSP March 2012 Tipsheet 

Story leads and experts this month on political psychology, March Madness, musical creativity, guilt, and more...

In this tipsheet:

Online: Looking for Wisdom on Super Tuesday?
Online: A Method to March Madness
Bookstand: Democracy Despite Itself
Expert: Political Dodge
Journals: Persistence is Key to Musical Creativity
Journals: Repairing Actions in the Face of Guilt
Coming Soon: Conservatives' Happiness Linked to Group Memberships

Online-
Looking for Wisdom on Super Tuesday?

As this Super Tuesday draws near, polls show that many Americans are not very excited about this year's presidential candidates. But what are people looking for in a leader? Surprisingly, most voters are not looking for a "wise” president, but rather someone who displays traits that are incompatible with how researchers define wisdom – dogmatism, overconfidence in one’s own views, and an unwillingness to compromise, explains Mark Leary on the PSP Connections blog.

A Method to March Madness

This month kicks off a grand spectacle in the form of the NCAA basketball tournament. Recent research shows that while March Madness interrupts the workplace, it may actually boost long-term productivity by enhancing workplace satisfaction. As Donelson Forsyth writes on PSP Connections, March Madness has several positive other benefits – creating "excitement without violence, a sense of community without outcasts, disagreements that do not devolve into conflicts, and failure without its usual sting.”

On the Bookstand-
Democracy Despite Itself

People often act irrationally and voters are no exception. Yet despite the unpredictable and irrational nature of voting decisions, democracy produces citizens who are happier and live longer than in other societies, argue social psychologist Danny Oppenheimer and political scientist Mike Edwards in their new book Democracy Despite Itself. From why we believe misinformation to how a candidate's appearance may be more important than any policy stance, the book shares the latest scientific research on our political behavior.

Expert on Political Dodge-

Michael Norton studies political dodge, how politicians can avoid answering a difficult question without people taking notice. Contact him for stories about debates and communication in politics:

Michael Norton, Harvard Business School
mnorton[at]hbs.edu, 617-496-4593

In the Journals-
Persistence is Key to Musical Creativity

Focused attention plays a key role in musical creativity, according to a new study. A suite of experiments – including one with cellists at the Amsterdam conservatory – shows that musical improvisation and creativity benefit from a high capacity for working memory, which involves persistent and focused activity. "Working Memory Benefits Creative Insight, Musical Improvisation, and Original Ideation Through Maintained Task-Focused Attention,” Carsten K.W. De Dreu (C.K.W.deDreu[at]uva.nl) et al., Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Feb. 2, 2012 online – forthcoming in print, May 2012.

Repairing Actions in the Face of Guilt

Guilt makes people more generous toward others they have wronged, and only if the gesture is noticed, according to a set of five experiments. In one experiment, participants made to feel guilty about unknowingly making their experiment partner eat a vomit-flavored jellybean gave significantly more money to that partner when given the choice of how to distribute money between them and their partners. "Guilty Feelings, Targeted Actions,” Cynthia E. Cryder (cryder[at]wustl.edu) et al., Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Feb. 14, 2012 online – forthcoming in print, May 2012.

Coming Soon...
Conservatives' Happiness Linked to Group Memberships

Recent research suggests that conservatives are happier than liberals. But why? A new study suggests that conservatives' higher socioeconomic status gives them access to more social groups, leading to higher life satisfaction. "Bringing Back the System: One Reason Why Conservatives are Happier Than Liberals is That Higher Socioeconomic Status Gives Them Access to More Group Memberships,” Jolanda Jetten et al. (j.jetten[at]psy.uq.edu.au), forthcoming in Social Psychological and Personality Science this month online.

If you need full papers for any of the articles mentioned here, please contact Lisa at spsp.publicaffairs@gmail.com.

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