Progress-focused

Just over 10 years ago, there was a scandal about the psychologist Diederik Stapel, who had committed fraud on a large scale in his investigations. Recently, there have been some reports about scientists who probably did not act ethically. 

Difficult conversations play a central role in personal development, conflict resolution, and social progress. These conversations can range from parents discussing sensitive topics like death and racism to professionals needing to convey uncomfortable truths. A recent publication by Emma Levine, a University of Chicago honesty researcher, which she co-authored with several colleagues, sheds new light on the complex dynamics of awkward conversations.

People don't always behave the same. One situation evokes something different in us than the other. That's why we behave differently in different situations. But which aspects of our personality are relatively stable and which are relatively situation-dependent? And which characteristics of situations mainly evoke differences in how we behave? A new study sheds some light on these questions. 

We all have had to have difficult conversations at some point, like conversations where we say no to a request, give negative feedback, or communicate a negative decision or assessment. In these kinds of bad news conversations, people often experience a tension between two moral motivations, namely to be honest and to be benevolent. Emma Levine, Annabelle Roberts, and Taya Cohen explain, in a new paper , that people often make ineffective choices in how to deal with that tension, and they provide practical tips on how to better approach situations like this.