The Science of Sin: The Psychology of the Seven Deadlies (and Why They Are So Good For You)
Pride, lust, gluttony, greed, envy, sloth, and anger.They’re considered “deadly” because of their capacity to generate other evils. The truth is, we all sin and we do it all the time—in fact, usually several times over before breakfast! But human behavior, argues social psychologist Simon...
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Pride, lust, gluttony, greed, envy, sloth, and anger.They’re considered “deadly” because of their capacity to generate other evils. The truth is, we all sin and we do it all the time—in fact, usually several times over before breakfast! But human behavior, argues social psychologist Simon Laham, is more complex than “good” or “evil.” In psychology, these sins aren’t considered morally wrong or even uniformly bad, but are treated rather as complex and interesting psychological states that if, indulged wisely, can be functional, adaptive, and lead to a range of positive effects. The Science of Sin takes on these so-called sins one by one and through psychological research shows that being bad can be oh-so-good for you. Did you know that: · Being slow and lazy can help you win the race? · Anger makes you more open-minded? · Coveting what others have not only makes you more creative but bolsters self- esteem? So go ahead, eat that last cookie and kick back on the couch for a day of TV with your neighbor’s boyfriend—from gluttony to greed, envy to lust, Laham shows how even the deadliest, most decadent of vices can make you smart, successful, and happy.
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Format: paperback
ISBN:
9780307719348 (0307719340)
Publish date: February 7th 2012
Publisher: Harmony
Pages no: 224
Edition language: English
An intriguing book with a fantastic premise. Unfortunately it gets bogged down by repetitive and thus mostly unnecessary examples of lab studies supporting each idea, eventually driving even a patient reader to think, "Make your point once and move on." Additionally, despite having so much materia...