Status Updates From The Righteous Mind: Why Goo...

Brilliant

“Kinder summarizes: "In matters of public opinion, citizens seem to be asking themselves not 'What's in it for me?' but rather 'What's in it for my group?" Political opinions function as "badges of social membership." They're like the array of bumper stickers people put on their cars showing the political causes, universities, and sports teams they support. Our politics are groupish, not selfish”

“Many political scientists used to assume that people vote selfishly, choosing the candidate or policy that will benefit them the most. But decades of research on public opinion have led to the conclusion that self-interest is a weak predictor of policy preferences… Rather, people care about their groups, whether those be racial, regional, religious, or political.”

“the cashier misread one digit and handed them too much money. Only 20 percent spoke up and corrected the mistake. But the story changed when the cashier asked them if the payment was correct. In that case, 60 percent said no and returned the extra money. Being asked directly removes plausible deniability; it would take a direct lie to keep the money. As a result, people are three times more likely to be honest.”

“Late-night comedians are grateful for the never-ending stream of scandals coming out of London, Washington, and other centers of power. But are the rest of us any better than our leaders? Or should we first look for logs in our own eyes?”

“This is how the press secretary works on trivial issues where there is no motivation to support one side or the other. If thinking is confirmatory rather than exploratory in these dry and easy cases, then what chance is there that people will think in an open-minded, exploratory way when self-interest, social identity, and strong emotions make them want or even need to reach a preordained conclusion?”

I'm definitely going to reread this in paper so I can take better notes. But I don't think I'm going to forget this book.