tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post4577591024441792137..comments2024-03-18T23:49:35.716-07:00Comments on The Splintered Mind: Re-Post: Does Studying Economics Make You Selfish?Eric Schwitzgebelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11541402189204286449noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-81162541633232536832012-11-27T08:20:56.740-08:002012-11-27T08:20:56.740-08:00Nice point, John.Nice point, John.Eric Schwitzgebelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11541402189204286449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-15016645864221791162012-11-27T01:13:13.379-08:002012-11-27T01:13:13.379-08:00"Likewise, relying on self-report of selfishn..."Likewise, relying on self-report of selfishness is problematic for all the reasons self-report is usually problematic in the domain of morality, and in this case there's an obvious additional confound: People exposed to rational choice theory might feel less embarrassed to confess their selfish behavior (since it is, after all, rational according to the theory), and so might show up as more selfish on self-report measures even if they actually behave the same as everyone else."<br /><br />Spending more time learning about and contemplating self-interest might also make them more aware of the role of self-interest in their own lives, in which case what's interpreted by researchers as greater selfishness is actually greater self-awareness. (Which I'd expect to have a positive effect on real-world behavior- things can get really ugly when a person who's convinced that they're a lot kinder and more altruistic than they actually are is around.)John Markleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09310488407543217717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-47754429501955246362012-11-25T01:14:46.017-08:002012-11-25T01:14:46.017-08:00Sort of raises the question of what did they actua...Sort of raises the question of what did they actually learn, then?Callan S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/15373053356095440571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-5199485308498641532012-11-24T09:02:05.940-08:002012-11-24T09:02:05.940-08:00GNZ: Yes, that does seem to be the pattern, based ...GNZ: Yes, that does seem to be the pattern, based on the student charity results.<br /><br />Iamcurious: The thought might be this: In econ courses, people are taught "rational choice theory", the simple version of which says that the rational thing to do is always to maximize money, which sounds pretty selfish! (In reality, the issues are more complex than that, of course.)Eric Schwitzgebelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11541402189204286449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-46484296771842476042012-11-22T20:58:33.386-08:002012-11-22T20:58:33.386-08:00I would expect as a starting hypothesis (i could b...I would expect as a starting hypothesis (i could be very wrong) that the type of person attracted to a course would dominate the actual content of the course in terms of determining the results of such ethical studies.<br /><br />GNZAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-63392623694519663182012-11-22T10:57:10.658-08:002012-11-22T10:57:10.658-08:00Where is the accusations that the study of economi...Where is the accusations that the study of economics makes one more selfish even coming from? Sociologists, or at least, the subset that seems to fancy themselves unselfish crusaders for social justice?Iamcuriousbluehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10617001006322490293noreply@blogger.com