Progress-focused

The D-Factor , also known as the Dark Factor of Personality (D), is the following deep-seated belief held by some individuals: in the world we live in, it is justified and necessary to promote one's self-interest at the expense of the interests of others.” This D-factor turns out to be a common factor underlying all sorts of negative traits ( read more ). It has been researched in relation to various social and political phenomena, such as conspiracy theories, populism and responses to global issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wisdom is something to pursue. Many people would like to be able to act wisely in complex situations. And for many people it is an attractive perspective to, as they get older, become wiser. But what  precisely do we mean when we talk about wisdom? May what we call wisdom merely be a reflection of our personal values? May what one person views as wise be something completely different from what the other views as wise? In this article I discuss research from Glück, et al. (2021) which gives some interesting answers to these questions.

What does human nature look like? Are humans naturally good or bad? Are we selfish by nature or are we capable of purely selfless (altruistic) action? Are we mainly engaged in a constant battle with each other or is it more correct to say that we mainly work together and take care of each other? How we answer these kinds of questions for ourselves is quite important. Our answers to these questions determine to a large extent what we expect from ourselves and what we expect from others. And as a result, they also determine how we treat others and how we interpret behavior of others.