Category Archives: Unique—Like Everybody Else

Who Uses their Head and Who Listens to their Heart? – Scott McGreal (Unique—Like Everybody Else)

Whether a person identifies with their head or their heart can say a lot about their personality. Are people in their heads really smarter than those in their hearts? The head/heart distinction might reveal something about how personality and intelligence are related. Shifting a person's attention between the head or the heart might change the way they think and behave. read more

Do Personality Traits and Values Form a Coherent Whole? – Scott McGreal (Unique—Like Everybody Else)

Personality psychologists are currently attempting to create more comprehensive theories that integrate many different components of personality. According to Life History Theory there is a general factor of personality that combines all personality traits in a specific way. However, attempting to integrate personal values with traits poses problems for this model. read more

When Being Nice Gets in the Way of Being Smart – Scott McGreal (Unique—Like Everybody Else)

The relation between intelligence and the personality trait agreeableness presents a puzzle. Agreeableness is unrelated to IQ, yet lay people tend to associate agreeableness with lower intelligence, even though it is a desirable quality. A new study found that agreeable people choke under pressure, suggesting that being too nice can be a liability at times. read more

What Is An Intelligent Personality? – Scott McGreal (Unique—Like Everybody Else)

Some theorists argue that intelligence and socially desirable personality traits naturally go together. However, lay people associate intelligence with a mix of desirable and undesirable personality traits, such as disagreeableness. The relationship between personality and intelligence may be more complicated than is suggested by grand unitary theories. read more

What do Heroes and Psychopaths Have in Common? – Scott McGreal (Unique—Like Everybody Else)

Recent research looks at whether heroes and psychopaths are "twigs from the same branch." People who have performed heroic actions to help others often have a history of antisocial behavior as well. There may be loose connections between heroism and having "psychopathic" qualities, but the reasons for this remain unclear. read more

DMT: Gateway to Reality, Fantasy or What? – Scott McGreal (Unique—Like Everybody Else)

The bizarre phenomenon of encounters with non-human entities under the influence of DMT has inspired both mystical and scientific speculations. Greater understanding of the psychological and personality characteristics of DMT users might help shed light on this curious phenomenon. read more

Peak Experiences in Psilocybin Users – Scott McGreal (Unique—Like Everybody Else)

A recent study of intensely positive experiences in people who have used psilocybin found that some users had experienced profoundly altered states of consciousness, including visual hallucinations even when not under the direct influence of the drug. Perhaps psilocybin might have lasting effects on a person’s ability to enter altered states of consciousness without drugs.

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Are Dog People More Prejudiced Than Cat People? – Scott McGreal (Unique—Like Everybody Else)

A new study finds that self-identified dog people are higher in social dominance orientation than cat people, a trait associated with prejudice. However, this seems puzzling as previous research found that dog people are also more agreeable and conscientious. Further research is needed to determine dog people really are more prejudiced than cat people and if so, why.

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Can Cannabis Cause Psychosis? A Hard Question to Answer – Scott McGreal (Unique—Like Everybody Else)

Although a number of long-term studies have linked cannabis use to later risk of mental illness, the question of whether the one causes the other remains unresolved. The possibility that a third factor, such as genetic or personality predispositions, underlies both cannabis use and the development of psychosis needs to be considered more carefully in future research.

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Challenging the “Banality” of Evil and of Heroism Part 2 – Scott McGreal (Unique—Like Everybody Else)

Situationism implies that evil-doers are victims of circumstances beyond their control, yet argues that heroes are those who can rise above their circumstances to do what is right. An ideology of victimisation is incompatible with heroism. Personal responsibility for one's actions cuts both ways.

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