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A recent scandal over food hygiene ratings shows how deception destroys trust within society. We need to fight back, says Jonathan R. Goodman
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Tag: behaviour
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Our trust in society is eroding. We need to fight back
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Is my frequent laughter damaging my credibility at work?
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“One of my colleagues has pointed out that I laugh a lot, even when no one’s joking,” a reader writes. “I’d never really noticed this before, but his comments have made me worry that my laughter is damaging my credibility at work.”
No, this reader isn’t Kamala Harris, though I can’t help wonder if she has been inspired by the discourse around the Veep’s habit of chuckling her way through interviews. Titles like The New York Times and The Atlantic have speculated about the impact this may have on her presidential campaign, but what does science have to say?
Let’s…
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Are only children really spoilt, self-centered and lonely?
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I am an only child. Saying this sometimes feels like a confession – not least when people respond with a well-meaning “oh, you don’t seem like it!”. Now, as the mother of a preschooler, I see my daughter navigating the same assumptions. “Does she have older siblings?” one teacher asked recently. “She plays so well with the other kids!”
If it seems like I am bragging about my (or my daughter’s) behaviour, you will have to excuse me: I am, after all, an only child.
For over a century, we have been seen as odd, at best; antisocial, neurotic and narcissistic, at worst. “Being an only child is a disease in itself,” declared 19th-century child psychologist Granville Stanley Hall.
Whether there are actually any differences between the personalities and well-being of singleton children and those with siblings remains a contentious question – one given fresh impetus by the growing trend of one-and-done parenting.
Single-child families have become more common since the 1970s in high-income countries, including the US and UK, whether “by constraint or by choice”, says éva Beaujouan, a demographer at the University of Vienna, Austria. In Europe, nearly half of all households with children have just one child.
Despite their growing popularity, one-child families continue to encounter a long-held view that this arrangement is somehow harmful. Fortunately, delving into contemporary research can offer a degree of clarity – and it hints that being an only child can come with surprising outcomes. The findings may offer some reassurance for one-and-done parents and those still debating how many…
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Are only children really self-centred, spoilt and lonely?
[ad_1]
I am an only child. Saying this sometimes feels like a confession – not least when people respond with a well-meaning “oh, you don’t seem like it!”. Now, as the mother of a preschooler, I see my daughter navigating the same assumptions. “Does she have older siblings?” one teacher asked recently. “She plays so well with the other kids!”
If it seems like I am bragging about my (or my daughter’s) behaviour, you will have to excuse me: I am, after all, an only child.
For over a century, we have been seen as odd, at best; antisocial, neurotic and narcissistic, at worst. “Being an only child is a disease in itself,” declared 19th-century child psychologist Granville Stanley Hall.
Whether there are actually any differences between the personalities and well-being of singleton children and those with siblings remains a contentious question – one given fresh impetus by the growing trend of one-and-done parenting.
Single-child families have become more common since the 1970s in high-income countries, including the US and UK, whether “by constraint or by choice”, says Éva Beaujouan, a demographer at the University of Vienna, Austria. In Europe, nearly half of all households with children have just one child.
Despite their growing popularity, one-child families continue to encounter a long-held view that this arrangement is somehow harmful. Fortunately, delving into contemporary research can offer a degree of clarity – and it hints that being an only child can come with surprising outcomes. The findings may offer some reassurance for one-and-done parents and those still debating how many…
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How manners can be a weapon to divide and disempower
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THIS isn’t just any election year. With half the world set to participate in democratic votes, 2024 is being called the election year.
As disagreements around issues such as immigration and climate change come to a head, societal schisms are expected to widen even further. But there is one shared ideal that still unites many people: the concept of civility.
In September 2023, a poll found that while US voters are increasingly pessimistic about rising levels of political division, they tend to believe very strongly in norms of manners and respect. Ninety-four per cent agreed that “respect for each…
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