Robert Sapolsky (Image credit: L.A. Cicero)

Robert Sapolsky is a lot of things: a MacArthur Fellow who spent years studying a troop of baboons in Kenya, a neuroendocrinologist who changed the way we think about stress and the brain, an accomplished columnist and writer of popular science books. He is also a professor of biology at Stanford who has long been interested in what animals can tell us about our own behavior.

Most recently, Sapolsky has been reflecting on the origins of human behavior, starting deep in the brain moments before we act and working his way millions of years back to the evolutionary pressures on our prehistoric ancestors decisions, with stops along the way to consider how hormones, brain development and social structures shape our behavior. He also has been thinking about free will and comes to the conclusion, based on the biological and psychological evidence, that we do not have it.

On the occasion of his latest book, Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst, Stanford News Service interviewed Sapolsky about science, the need to be behavioral biologists and what to do about justice if, as Sapolsky argues, we do not have free will.

Youve advanced the idea that we cant understand human behavior by studying it at just one level that, for example, we cant understand politics without studying neurons, brain chemistry without studying psychology, or perhaps even humans without studying apes. Does that mean that weve been studying behavior the wrong way? Are university departments too compartmentalized to see the forest for the trees?

Well, theres nothing particularly special about the idea scientists thinking about the bases of behavior know that you have to be multidisciplinary. There are entire journals that enshrine that concept, for example, Psychoneuroimmunology or Brain, Behavior and Evolution, and every university of note is overflowing with interdisciplinary programs.

Where the contrast comes in is with individual scientists research. Of necessity, a scientist typically studies one incredibly tiny sliver of some biological system, totally ensconced within one discipline, because even figuring out how one sliver works is really hard. There are not many scientists who would argue that their sliver is the only thing that should be studied just that its the most important, which sure makes sense, if they just spent their last seven decades obsessing over that sliver.

Is that a problem?

Its not a problem if all they do is talk and think about sliver X. But potentially a definite problem if they think larger and their sliver X-centric view of the universe is distorted.

All roads in human behavior seem to lead to its complicated. Out of the mess of things that combine to create our best and worst and typical behavior, what do you think is most important for ordinary people to know? What about policymakers or other scientists?

I think its the same for both groups, which is that were all behavioral biologists when we serve on juries, when we vote for whether government funds should be spent to try to correct some societal ill, when we deal with an intimate with a mental illness, we are tacitly deciding how and how much our behavior is constrained by biology. So we might as well be informed behavioral biologists. And one thing that involves is being profoundly cautious and humble when it comes to deciding you understand the causes of a behavior, especially one that we judge harshly.

What does that suggest about judicial sentencing rules or the death penalty, for example?

Basically, that the criminal justice system is staggeringly out of date in incorporating neuroscience into its thinking. As one flagrant example, the gold standard for determining whether someone is so organically impaired that they cant be held responsible for their criminal actions the MNaghten rule concerning an inability to tell the difference between right and wrong is based on the case of a man by that name, almost certainly a paranoid schizophrenic, from the 1840s. The 1840s!

What are the most important questions that remain?

For me, the single most important question is how to construct a society that is just, safe, peaceful all those good things when people finally accept that there is no free will.

Thats a tall order, given that philosophers let alone politicians and activists have trouble deciding what justice and free will mean.

A tall order, indeed, because words like justice, punishment, accountability become completely irrelevant as irrelevant as if a car that has damaged brakes and is dangerous to drive is thought to be accountable for being dangerous, and that justice is served when the car is punished by locking it up in a garage and not driven.

And its equally important and challenging to realize that free will is also irrelevant to our best as well as our worst behaviors. And thus where praising seems as irrelevant as praising a car for having a strong work ethic and admirable gratification postponement when it makes it up the top of a steep road. Or if you give a car preferential treatment if it was manufactured with a really attractive hood ornament.

Yes, a very tall order, and Im not sure if it is achievable.

Sapolsky is also a professor of neurology and neurological sciences and of neurosurgery, and a member of Stanford Bio-X and the Stanford Neurosciences Institute.

Continued here:
Stanford biologist Robert Sapolsky takes on human behavior, free will - Stanford University News

By Agata Blaszczak-Bowe By Agata Blaszczak-Bowe May 7 at 7:45 AM

Although worrying does not feel good, it may have surprising benefits when done in just the right amount, two psychology researchers argue in a new editorial.

For example, worrying may motivate people to engage in behaviors that are potentially beneficial to their health, the researchers said. People who are worried may slather on sunscreen to help prevent skin cancer, and women may get regular mammograms to screen for breast cancer, the researchers said.

Despite its negative reputation, not all worry is destructive or even futile, lead author Kate Sweeny, a psychology professor at the University of California at Riverside, said in a statement.

[Heres how worrying too much can hurt your health]

However, the relationship between worry and behaviors that are potentially beneficial to peoples health is complex and seems to depend on how much a person worries, the authors noted. [9 DIY Ways to Improve Your Mental Health]

Previous research has shown that women who reported moderate amounts of worry, compared to women reporting relatively low or high levels of worry, are more likely to get screened for cancer, Sweeny said. It seems that both too much and too little worry can interfere with motivation, but the right amount of worry can motivate without paralyzing.

In the editorial, the authors looked at research that had examined both the downsides and upsides of worry. For example, studies have linked excessive worrying with such downsides as anxiety, fatigue, trouble concentrating and sleep problems, the researchers wrote in the editorial, published last month in the journal Social and Personality Psychology Compass.

[Obsessively thinking youre sick might actually make you ill]

However, other research has shown that worrying can also have positive effects on behavior, the researchers said. Worrying not only may motivate people to take action, as in using sunscreen, but also may allow people to better prepare themselves for negative experiences in their lives and to develop a greater appreciation for positive experiences.

For example, if a person who is worried and bracing for the worst in a certain situation receives the expected bad news, the disappointment will be mitigated by the advance worrying. However, if the news is good instead of bad, then the person may experience more excitement than if he or she had not been worried, the researchers said. [5 Wacky Ways to Quantify Happiness]

The new paper flies in the face of what a lot of people may assume when it comes to worry, said Simon Rego, an associate professor of clinical psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.

However, the idea that worry may have an upside is definitely valid, said Rego, who was not involved in writing the editorial.

Moreover, there are other psychological states and emotions that may feel unpleasant but that can nonetheless be useful.

For example, experiencing justifiable anger may motivate people to defend themselves or correct a sense of injustice, Rego said. If a person sees someone key-scratching his or her car, such anger might motivate the cars owner to rectify the injustice, he said.

Live Science

More Live Science:

Daydreaming Again? Five facts about the wandering mind

Seven ways depressiondiffers in men and women

Some controversial mental health treatments

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Are you worried? That can actually be good for you. - Washington Post

Benton Consolidated High School has recognized Allie Gischer, Derek Oxford, Cristen Shaw, Kaycey Webb, Austin Wills and Lauren Zinzilieta for academics, leadership and service.

Gischer, 18, is an Illinois State Scholar, was named All-South in basketball and softball and All-Conference in basketball and softball, and received Lion's Club Academic Honor and All-State Basketball Honorable Mention. She is a member of the softball, basketball and cross country teams, student council, yearbook, National Honor Society, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and pep club, and is a freshman mentor, class vice-president and peer tutor.

The daughter of Amy Gischer and Gary Gischer of Benton, she plans to major in behavioral science at Missouri Baptist University.

Oxford, 18, is an Illinois State Scholar, received IHSA All-State Academic Team Honorable Mention and AP All-State Honorable Mention Basketball Award, and was named All-South in golf and baseball. He is a member of National Honor Society, student council, student chamber, yearbook staff, Fellowship of Christian Students, history club, pep club, WYSE team, art club and the varsity basketball, golf and baseball teams.

The son of Dave and Julie Oxford of Benton, he plans to study mechanical engineering at University of Southern Indiana or Murray State University.

Shaw, 18, received a Presidential Fellowship at Murray State University, is valedictorian of the class of 2017 and an Illinois State Scholar, attended Rotary Youth Leadership Awards Conference, received Lion's Club Academic Award, perfect attendance awards in 2014 and 2016, and was named Top Ten, first team All-Conference Softball, BCHS Softball Teammate Award, BCHS Volleyball Teammate Award and BCHS Softball Top Defensive Player. She is National Honor Society secretary, yearbook editor, Student Council executive president, Freshman Mentor, Fellowship of Christian Students vice-president and Little Egypt District of Student Councils Convention secretary. She is a member of softball and volleyball teams, Immanuel Baptist Church Youth Group, Student Chamber, Pep Club, WYSE, Peer Tutor

The daughter of Christopher and Jeri Shaw of Benton, she plans to major in pre-veterinary medicine at Murray State University.

Webb, 18, received perfect attendance awards 2013 to 2016 and motivational player award. She is a member of National Honor Society and student chamber, and is FFA Chapter treasurer and president, Freshman Mentor and Lion's Club Student Ambassador.

The daughter of William and Lisa Webb of Ewing, she plans to study social work at Rend Lake College.

Wills, 18, placed first in WYSE regional competition and was named All-Conference and All-South Golf, All-Conference, All-South and All-State Honorable Mention Basketball. He is a member of National Honor Society, basketball and golf teams and Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

The son of Brad and Sandra Wills of Benton, he plans to major in information technology at Trevecca Nazarene University.

Zinzilieta, 17, is an Illinois State Scholar, placed first overall in WYSE Regional competition, placed first at Regional Architectural Board two consecutive years and third at State Architectural Board. She is a member of National Honor Society, WYSE team, drafting club, FFA, student council, student chamber, Freshman Mentor and basketball and softball teams.

The daughter of Craig and Jennifer Zinzilieta of Benton, she plans to study engineering physics at Murray State University.

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Benton Consolidated High School - The Southern

Gary White @garywhite13

INDIAN LAKE ESTATES As residents of Indian Lake Estates surveyed the charred impact of the latest round of fires near their community, some spoke angrily about an unknown person presumed to be responsible.

Apparently, they get some kind of thrill or kick out of it, these arsonists, Paul Dabolt said. Its crazy.

Investigators with the Florida Forest Service continue their quest for the source of the latest fires to threaten dwellings in Indian Lake Estates, a large community in southeast Polk County. Authorities have said they suspect arson.

Experts say Dabolt is correct: Arsonists do indeed derive pleasure from seeing the effects of the fires they start.

I know this sounds crazy and this is why the criminal mind is interesting to me but the enjoyment is curiosity, said Bryanna Fox, a criminology professor at the University of South Florida in Tampa. Its often about the thrill of being able to do it. They usually get a lot of pleasure out of watching the fire.

Fox and other experts described the psychological traits common to arsonists and the factors that motivate them to start fires.

Fox has worked for the FBI at its Behavioral Science Unit in Washington, D.C. She said she uses her expertise in forensic psychology and profiling to train law-enforcement agencies.

Arsonists can be assigned to two categories, Fox said, based on their intentions: instrumental and expressive. Instrumental arsonists set fires for a particular purpose, such as committing insurance fraud, covering up another crime or causing misery for a specific person, such as an ex-partner.

Expressive arsonists have more general motivations typically related to a psychological disorder, Fox said.

The expressive are generally the ones where youre setting it to either make a statement or to try in some way to get your feelings expressed, Fox said.

Based on the known facts of the recent Indian Lake Estates fires, Fox said the motivation seems to be expressive.

What is being called the Red Grange Fire in April followed a series of smaller fires in the area. A much larger blaze that broke out in February consumed 5,600 acres and destroyed several homes in Indian Lake Estates.

A spokesman for the Florida Forest Service said the cause of the February fire has not been determined.

A.J. Marsden, an assistant professor of human services in psychology at Beacon College in Leesburg, pointed to the results of a recent French study on arsonists. The study found 54 percent of arsonists have a diagnosed mental illness, and 56 percent have a history of suicide attempts.

The most common diagnoses are antisocial and borderline personality disorders, the study found, and arsonists are more than 20 times more likely than others to have schizophrenia.

Marsden said the FBI compiled a report in 1987 based on psychiatric evaluations of arsonists. The report determined that most arsonists have IQ scores ranging from 70 to 90, well below the average IQ of 100. Arsonists also score high on aggression, Marsden said.

Since then, three or four additional studies have come out showing one of the main drivers of arsonists is that sense of control and pleasure over seeing other people kind of freak out over something they created and manipulated, Marsden said.

An arsonist might be in a low-status job or feel a lack of power in his or her life, Marsden said. Lighting a fire that others must respond to is a way of exerting power over others.

Marsden said the uncertainty of the fires outcome, and the possibility of causing harm to others, generates excitement for the arsonist.

If it doesnt come to fruition and nobody gets hurt, theyre not disappointed, but while its occurring they like to be in the area or are very attached to whats going on in the news, Marsden said. A lot of times after they set the fire theyll leave and wait for the police to come and then join the crowd of onlookers.

Fox concurred that arsonists thrive on being able to manipulate the actions of others, who must respond to the fire the arsonist has created.

They feel alienated in society, so for them its like, Wow, look what I did, Fox said. They see it on TV and they think, That was me. In a weird way, its a sense of accomplishment. They have a sense of a little bit of power, where they feel relatively powerless in their lives.

Though fire crews were able to prevent the April fire from destroying any homes in Indian Lake Estates, the flames reached the edges of some yards, consumed at least one boat and vehicle and caused external damage to some houses.

The blaze also created inconveniences, as authorities ordered a mandatory evacuation of the entire community.

People drawn to arson are likely to have antisocial personality disorder, said Rachel Annunziato, an associate professor of psychology at Fordham University in New York. People with the disorder lack empathy for others and arent deterred by authority or moral codes, Annunziatio said.

People with antisocial personality disorder often referred to as psychopaths are more prone to destructive behavior, including arson, she said.

One theory is folks who have these traits are very hard to arouse, so it takes a lot to get them going, so something like arson would fit into that, Annunziato said. And similarly theyre not very aroused by the threat of punishment, so thats not a deterrent to them.

Annunziato said she hasnt seen any data on the gender breakdown of arsonists, but every arsonist she has ever encountered has been male.

In what could be good news for authorities investigating the fire, Fox said, there is a better chance of catching an expressive arsonist than one who sets a fire for a specific purpose.

The instrumental ones typically are better at covering up the evidence, Fox said. The expressive offenders typically are more disorganized. Theyre not thinking about covering up the evidence. They might have trophies or things that remind them they set the fire.

That doesnt necessarily mean authorities are likely to find the person or persons who caused such distress for many residents of Indian Lake Estates.

I would say the expressive cases are more likely to be solved and solved fast than the instrumental cases, Fox said, but these are very difficult crimes to solve.

Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on Twitter @garywhite13.

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Experts: Arsonists find power in scaring others - News Chief

A Michigan Department of Natural Resources conservation officer recently graduated from the prestigious FBI National Academy in Quantico, Va.

Capt. Wade Hamilton, Region 1 field operations coordinator who supervises DNR law enforcement in the Upper Peninsula and the northern Lower Peninsula, completed the intensive 10-week course. The academy is an invitation-only, professional course of study for U.S. and international law enforcement managers. It is designed to improve the administration of justice at home and abroad, and to raise law enforcement standards, knowledge and cooperation worldwide.

Candidates are nominated by their agency heads based on their demonstrated leadership qualities.

Capt. Hamilton earned this opportunity due to his daily leadership and professionalism, said Gary Hagler, DNR law enforcement division chief. He was an outstanding representative of the DNR and Michigan while at the academy. The advanced training he received will help the DNR become even more effective in protecting Michigans citizens and natural resources."

Hagler nominated Hamilton for the academy.

The 267th session of the academy consisted of men and women from 48 states and 25 countries. FBI Director James Comey was the principal speaker at the graduation ceremony.

The program includes studies in intelligence theory, terrorism and terrorist mindsets, management science, law, behavioral science, law enforcement communication and forensic science. Officers also participate in a wide range of leadership and specialized training, during which they share ideas, techniques and experiences, creating lifelong partnerships that transcend state and national borders.

The academy is physically demanding as well. The final fitness test candidates endure is the infamous Yellow Brick Road, a grueling 6.1-mile run through a challenging obstacle course built by the U.S. Marine Corps.

The academy began in 1935 to encourage standardization and professionalization of law enforcement agencies nationwide through centralized training.

Michigan conservation officers are elite, highly trained professionals who serve in every corner of the state. They are fully commissioned peace officers with full authority to enforce the states criminal laws. Learn more at http://www.michigan.gov/conservationofficers.

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Northern Michigan officer hones skills at Quantico - Petoskey News-Review

The online activity of participants on a retirement plan website reinforces that people are prone to making quick, instinctive decisions about investments. (Photo: Getty)

Theres no denying that Americans today are shouldering greater responsibility for their retirement security than ever before.

With uncertainty around the future of Social Security, the increasing costs associated with living longer, and the fact that people are not saving enough, the average worker faces the growing risk that they will not have the income they need to meet their retirement goals.

Every plan should consider one or more of these strategies, if they havent already:

1. Automatic enrollment One of the best ways to help sponsors advance their employees retirement goals is to first make sure they are on the path to saving through auto-enrollment.

Industry research has found that this step can increase enrollment by approximately 10 percent. Advisors should encourage clients to adopt auto-enrollment policies, reducing the number of employees who get overlooked or sidetracked before even signing up for their plan.

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How behavioral science can improve retirement plan health ... - BenefitsPro

On the contrarywe often choose immediate rewards over higher future benefits. We take the path of least resistance, typically by going with the status quo or simply doing nothing.

Seduced to Act

Take saving for retirement. We all know it's important, yet studies show that many of us haven't done a good job of it. Enter behavioral economics. One of its most successful applications has been to get workers to participate in retirement savings plans. For decades, employers cajoled workerseven offering generous matching contributionsto sign up for the 401(k). But human inertia often won out, and many workers didn't join.

Then employerswith a green light from Uncle Samstarted to automatically enroll workers in the plan; some even gradually increased employees' contributions over time. Workers can opt out, of course.

But inertia, now working in favor of savings, stops them from doing so. Vanguard, an investment firm that administers 401(k) plans for employers, found that when companies auto-enroll workers, the participation rates among new hires more than double, to about 90 percent.

The good news is that a growing number of employers, companies and nonprofits are using behavioral insights in similar ways to influence choices to make people better off. Here are six examples.

Making investment decisions easier

Too many 401(k) investment choices can overwhelm, causing workers to put off making any decision.

And even when they do select investments, human inertia often causes them never to revisit their choices. Over time, their portfolios can end up being heavily weighted in riskier stocks, putting their nest egg in jeopardy.

The solution: target-date retirement funds. Workers need to select only a single fund with the date closest to their retirement, and a professional money manager does the restinvesting aggressively when workers are younger and gradually becoming more conservative as they near retirement. Target-date funds are usually the default option when employers automatically enroll workers in 401(k)s and now are found in 9 out of 10 workplace plans, according to Aon Hewitt, a benefit consulting firm.

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Behavioral science can trick you into doing the right thing - AARP News

Norway is the happiest country on Earth, according to the 2017 World Happiness Report. Not far behind Norway are Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland and Finland. The next five are the Netherlands, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Sweden. The United States came in at No. 14 (out of 155).

This got me to thinking about what makes for happiness?

As far back as the 1960s, when Transactional Analysis (Im OK, Youre OK) and gestalt theories were in full bloom, I was fascinated by the various concepts of behavioral psychology. I attended workshops on T/A, had the rare pleasure of taking courses at Union College with the noted Professor Clare Graves, read widely the teachings of Maslow, et al., and eventually added a degree with a focus on behavioral science.

Among the various aspects of this field of study are concepts of individualistic veusus. social behavior. Dr. Graves has published extensive research on the maturing of the human brain, which featured cycling between individualistic and social behavior through eight stages. Noted cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead published a study of eight cultures, half of which she considered wholesome and the others remembered as unwholesome. She searched for commonalities among the four better societies and among the four worse ones. What she found was that the better ones exhibited greater social tendencies, working together for the common good, as opposed to individualistic behavior more of a dog-eat-dog culture.

To attempt to condense the findings of all of the research on human behavior would be well above my pay grade and futile within a 700-word limit. But I am moved to share a simple, maybe even naive, hypothesis, derived from the studies of individualistic and social behavior.

Lets start by considering two types of people. One has a dominant personality of individuality. The other is driven by social behavior. Ill call the first one Me and the other We. The Me person leans toward a zero-sum mentality. I have to fight for my share of the pie. What someone else has is not available to me. Whereas, the We person buys into the concept that a rising tide lifts all ships. The We person believes in synergy. That is: the product of a group, working together, exceeds the sum of the individual efforts and contributions.

Its not difficult to understand why and how people operate within these two personas. Individualistic behavior is one way of coping with fear. Such a person may not trust others to be concerned with his or her welfare. Individualist behavior can be driven by insecurity feeling in danger. Or sometimes, individualistic behavior is driven by greed, the need to take whatever is up for grabs.

On the other hand, social behavior can also deal with fear and insecurity. Faced with threats, We people tend to gather together, believing that pooling skills and resources will bring greater safety and rewards to all. I realize that there are reasonable arguments in support of both philosophies and that the subject is much more complex than this.

So what does this have to do with happiness? A fundamental characteristic of the Me person is to derive pleasure from doing things that make him happy. Conversely, the We person gains pleasure out of making others happy. Its sort of a two-for-one deal. By contributing to someone elses pleasure or satisfaction, We people make themselves happy.

It surely cant be that simple. Or can it?

Relate this to governance. With a Me focus, a nation can be prosperous, but such prosperity is only enjoyed by a small portion of the population. As a result, only a small group experiences happiness and those who, for a multitude of possible reasons, cannot reap the rewards are left to suffer. With a Me focus, a large part of the population may be overlooked by the system. Such people will fear being without a home, food, healthcare and other human essentials. This, in turn, will certainly take a toll on the nations happiness index. On the other hand, We people tend to spread the happiness around.

This brings me back to the Happiness Report. Most of the top nations in that list are ones where a We perspective dominates their societies. Can this be mere coincidence?

A Rancho Bernardo resident, Levine is a retired project management consultant and the author of three books on the subject. Reader comments, through letters to the editor, are encouraged.

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We! A recipe for happiness - The San Diego Union-Tribune

Although worrying does not feel good, it may have surprising benefits, when done in just the right amount, two psychology researchers argue in a new editorial.

For example, worrying may motivate people to engage in behaviors that are potentially beneficial to their health, the researchers said. People who are worried may slather on sunscreen to help prevent skin cancer, and women may get regular mammograms to screen for breast cancer, the researchers said.

"Despite its negative reputation, not all worry is destructive or even futile," lead author Kate Sweeny, a psychology professor at the University of California, Riverside, said in a statement.

However, the relationship between worry and behaviors that are potentially beneficial to people's health is complex and seems to depend on how much a person worries, the authors noted. [9 DIY Ways to Improve Your Mental Health]

Previous research has shown that "women who reported moderate amounts of worry, compared to women reporting relatively low or high levels of worry, are more likely to get screened for cancer," Sweeny said. "It seems that both too much and too little worry can interfere with motivation, but the right amount of worry can motivate without paralyzing."

In the editorial, the authors looked at research that had examined both the downsides and upsides of worry. For example, studies have linked excessive worrying with such downsides as anxiety, fatigue, trouble concentrating and sleep problems, the researchers wrote in the editorial, published April 18 in the journal Social and Personality Psychology Compass.

However, other research has shown that worrying can also have positive effects on behavior, the researchers said. Worrying may not only motivate people to take action, as in using sunscreen, but also may allow people to better prepare themselves for negative experiences in their lives, and develop a greater appreciation for positive experiences in their lives.

For example, if a person is worrying and bracing for the worst in a certain situation, and then if that person receives the bad news they have been bracing for, the person's disappointment will be mitigated by their worrying. However, if that same person receives good news instead of the bad news they were expecting, then the person may experience more excitement than if he or she had not been worried in the first place, the researchers said. [5 Wacky Ways to Quantify Happiness]

The new paper "flies in the face of what a lot of people may assume when it comes to worry," said Simon Rego, an associate professor of clinical psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. However, the idea that worry may have an upside is definitely valid, said Rego, who was not involved in writing the editorial.

Moreover, there are other psychological states, and emotions, that may feel unpleasant to the person who is experiencing them, but that can nonetheless be useful to this person. For example, experiencing justifiable anger may motivate people to "defend themselves or correct a sense of injustice," Rego told Live Science. If a person sees someone else key-scratching his or her car, then experiencing anger would motivate the car owner to do something to rectify the injustice that is happening, he said.

Originally published on Live Science.

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Don't Worry If You're a Worrier It Could Be Good for You - Live Science

In its earnings statement today, Tesla announced revenues of $2.7 billion for the quarter, above the estimated $2.6 billion. Losses came in at $1.33 per share, much greater than the anticipated 81 cents per share. In after-hours trading, TSLA shares spiked up a percent before trending downward. In its shareholder letter the company revealed a few key items:

Vehicle production is up 64% year-over-year and deliveries were a record25,051 for the quarter

The company is planning to manufacture 5,000 Model 3s per week later this year. Sometime next year,Tesla wants to boost that number to 10,000 vehicles per week (this is something of an explanation for how it plans to ramp up production to meet its goal of 500,000 cars in 2018)

Expect 100 more retail, delivery, and service locations to come this year globally

25,000 new charging stations are coming in 2017

This quarter Tesla brought its computer vision and self-driving tech stack entirely in-house to build the technology more rapidly

Good news for solar: Roughly a third of new residential deployments were to purchasing customers rather than leasing ones

In its forward-looking guidance Tesla says that by July capital expenditures will spill over $2 billion with more investment coming later in the year.

[Photo: courtesy of Tesla] RR

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The behavioral science behind why people don't return their shopping carts - Fast Company

In the US, research-led sales and marketing services company Maritz has appointed Charlotte Blank as Chief Behavioral Officer (CBO), tasked with leading its thought leadership, research, and the application of behavioral science.

The firm is based in St. Louis and its portfolio of services includes market and customer research; customer loyalty, sales incentives, employee rewards and recognition programs; and meeting, event and travel incentive services. Blank (pictured) previously led neuromarketing, social media and global branding initiatives during her ten years in the media and automotive industries, which included stints at Turner Broadcasting and General Motors. In her new role, she will also develop Maritz' network of academic partners and focus on opportunities for field research with these contacts and with clients.

CEO and Chairman Steve Maritz comments: 'At our core, we're a behavior company. The scientific study of human behavior is a central component of Maritz' DNA, and ingrained in the design of our client solutions. With Charlotte as our CBO, we can emphasize to the market and our clients the role behavioral science plays in powering our solutions and improving their business performance'.

Web site: http://www.maritz.com .

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Maritz Hires Chief Behavioral Officer - Daily Research News Online

ASU plans master's in athletic training

Arkansas State University will start its new master's degree program in athletic training.

The Jonesboro campus currently offers a Bachelor of Science degree in athletic training, which is housed under the College of Education and Behavioral Science, but will phase that out. The new master's program -- which is now only offered by the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville -- will be under Arkansas State's College of Nursing and Health Professions.

The university plans to hire one faculty member by July 1, 2018, for the new program.

The Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board approved the new master's program earlier this month. About 70 percent of certified athletic trainers have a master's degree, according to the National Athletic Trainers' Association.

Arkansas State anticipates 12 students to enroll in the program starting in the summer of 2018. Applicants must have a bachelor's degree in no particular field of study, but the university said required classes in some fields -- including biology and exercise science -- are more aligned with the master program's prerequisite requirements.

UCA, 2 colleges join in degree program

The University of Central Arkansas has partnered with two community colleges to help students finish a bachelor's degree in elementary or middle-level education.

The Conway university has created "2+2" agreements with North Arkansas College in Harrison and Northwest Arkansas Community College in Bentonville for the programs.

Students who have completed an associate of science in education at North Arkansas or an associate of science in liberal arts and sciences at Northwest Arkansas are eligible for the transfer program. Students must be accepted into UCA and into UCA's Teacher Education program, must show proof of minimum ACT or SAT college entrance exams and must have a cumulative grade-point average of at least 2.7.

North Arkansas will have to develop two courses, one in earth science and another in exceptional child, and will have to retool its child growth and development course, according to the agreement. Northwest Arkansas will have to add an earth science course.

The agreement will be in effect this fall, and any student currently attending either institution can start at any time, as long as he meets the requirements.

Metro on 04/29/2017

Print Headline: ASU plans master's in athletic training UCA, 2 colleges join in degree program

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Higher education notebook - Arkansas Online

ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Maritz announced today the appointment of Charlotte Blank to chief behavioral officer (CBO) of the company. In this new role, Blank will lead the companys thought leadership, research and application of behavioral science. Maritz joins a growing population of progressive businesses dedicating a c-suite executive to behavioral science in business.

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170428006071/en/

At our core, were a behavior company. The scientific study of human behavior is a central component of Maritz DNA, and ingrained in the design of our client solutions, said Steve Maritz, chairman and CEO of Maritz. Our expertise in this space has grown tremendously over the years. With Charlotte as our CBO, we can emphasize to the market and our clients the role behavioral science plays in powering our solutions and improving their business performance.

As Maritz CBO, Blank will forge the connection between academic theory and applied business practice, elevating the use of field research to propel Maritz people solutions and client programs. Her responsibilities will include growing Maritz network of world-class academic partners and focusing on opportunities for field research with these academics and clients.

Maritz has always been a leader in understanding, enabling, and motivating behavior, said Charlotte Blank, newly appointed chief behavioral officer of Maritz. Its exciting to see us elevate the study of behavioral science as the foundation for our expertise in what drives people.Our clients count on us to bring them the latest human science advancements to design higher-performing programs that drive behavior and business results.

Prior to Maritz, Blank led programs in neuromarketing, social media, and global branding during herten years in the media and automotive industries, including stints at Turner Broadcasting, and General Motors. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology from Emory University, and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School.

To learn more about Charlotte Blanks perspective on behavioral science in business, view a recent article here and follow Charlotte Blank on Twitter @CharlotteBlank.

About Maritz

St. Louis-based Maritz is a sales and marketing services company, which helps businesses achieve their full potential through inspiring and motivating employees, channel partners and customers. Maritz companies provide market and customer research; customer loyalty, sales incentives and employee rewards and recognition programs; and meeting, event and travel incentive services to Fortune 500 companies and beyond. For more information, visit maritz.com or contact us at 1-877-4MARITZ.

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Maritz Appoints Chief Behavioral Officer (CBO), Charlotte Blank - Yahoo Finance

With the right training and knowledge, many cyber attacks can be avoided. Addressing this human aspect of security is the idea behind a new platform from British start-up CybSafe.

Human error is a major cause of data breaches and security training needs to be able to positively change user behavior.

Using intelligent software and proprietary analytics, CybSafe's cloud-based platform learns an individual's knowledge level and their behavior patterns to deliver a personalized e-learning program. Delivered through a mobile app or online, the GCHQ-accredited e-learning platform is aimed at saving businesses money, not just by reducing their risk of falling victim to a security breach, but also by delivering meaningful training that constantly evolves based on current threats.

"Businesses recognize that their own staff represent their greatest security vulnerability, but its a problem that is costly and difficult to address and this results in cursory attempts to impart information which rarely has the desired effect," says Oz Alashe MBE, CEO and founder of CybSafe. "CybSafe transforms cyber awareness training from a box-ticking exercise into an immersive, recurring experience that positively changes security-related behavior."

The CybSafe platform is developed by specialists with a broad range of expertise. It uses written content combined with video learning and interactive assessments to make information accessible, maintain engagement and make learning effective.

Simulated cyber attacks are used to assess the level of effectiveness and retention of knowledge and there are regular updates based on the latest threat intelligence. There's a family and friends function too, so users can share the knowledge theyve gained.

Alashe adds, "Most businesses -- whether they have an information security team or not -- don't have the expertise, capacity or resource to address the human aspect of cyber security properly. The CybSafe platform gives them the edge and helps them more effectively protect their organization. We're harnessing the collective lessons from across the cyber security community and making this available to all."

You can find out more and sign up for a free trial on the CybSafe website.

Photo Credit: Wichy/Shutterstock

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New platform uses behavioral science to cut cyber security risks - BetaNews

CHICAGO I went to Morningstars panel on the latest techniques in behavioral finance for advisers with high hopes. But while the speakers made some strong points about psychological bias, they ignored the elephant in the room. Actually, make that about 150 elephants the advisers who attended the panel, along with fund managers and other financial professionals.

Investing is simple but not easy, according to Morningstar's Steve Wendel, the head of the firms behavioral science division. Learning about our biases helps clients become better investors, so advisers must be behavioral coaches to our clients.

During the presentation, Wendel referred to Russ Kinnel's work at Morningstar showing that investor returns lag fund returns due to poor timing. In other words, performance chasing.

Wendel made the case that advisers should help clients understand their behavior and get them prepared for the inevitable stock plunge. That can inoculate them from bad behavior, he says.

We advisers are people, too, and we must first control our own behavior.

Morningstar's Samantha Lamas, a client service associate, says she believes that tailoring advice to different generations is key. Retirement means something different to a 25-year old than a 60-year old client. They will likely have very different answers when asked where they want to be in 10 years. Thus, they will have different motivations.

But, I think the elephant in the room was completely ignored. We advisers are people, too, and we must first control our own behavior.

Years ago, I wrote how advisers were heavy in stocks on October 9, 2007, at the height of the real estate bubble and heavy in cash on March 9, 2009, at the bottom of the market. We timed bonds poorly because we were confident that tapering and ending Quantitative Easing would lead to rising rates. Rates declined significantly as bonds rallied.

Perhaps we should take a painful look at the advice each of us gave clients at that time, to see if we timed markets poorly. What role did our own biases play in our portfolio decisions? Don't assume it was those other advisers who behaved badly. No market plunge or surge should go wasted. We are kidding ourselves if we think we can inoculate ourselves, or our clients, from the pain of a market plunge. The best we can do is work through the pain and buy stocks when the herd is selling. That is truly simple but not easy.

If we use behavioral finance to acquire clients, it will surely backfire. But if we use it to help clients, we may find those clients become fans who refer other clients.

Allan S. Roth, a Financial Planning contributing writer, is founder of the planning firm Wealth Logic in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He also writes for The Wall Street and AARP The Magazine and has taught investing at three universities. Follow him on Twitter at @Dull_Investing.

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Ignoring elephants in the room at Morningstar behavioral finance panel - Financial Planning

Kimberly-Clark Professional has launched an industrial cloth and a system that uses behavioural science to improve worker hand hygiene.

The Kimtech Precision Cleaning Cloths and Allergen Control and the Continuum System were unveiled at the Global Food Safety Conference in Houston, Texas.

The disposable cloth, designed to remove allergens from food contact surfaces, will be launched in Latin America first and to the rest of the world by the end of the year.

It works on surfaces such as stainless steel and those that have direct contact with food like the inside of equipment and conveyor belts.

Basic principles of cleaning

Phillip Jarpa, global segment marketing manager of food processing at Kimberly-Clark Professional, said it is primarily for controlled wet type of cleaning usually found in dry environments.

The reason being that is where most of the clean out of place happens so you usually apply force and we know that those types of industries are focussed on controlling as much as they can the presence of moisture. So the cloths are not only good at removing but also helping drying those surfaces and preventing moisture, he told FoodQualityNews at the event.

This is important because removing allergens is about not just separating but also removing from surfaces and to avoid redeposit. We were able to remove up to 100% of some of the most unwanted allergens by combining with water.

This cloth is meant to be integrated in the current process without affecting product changeover time, for example. It is not a new step for dry processing environments it is replacing some of the supplies they are using so there should be no impact on cleaning time. We are not thinking about high volume because these are usually very precise tasks.

Jarpa said allergens are a new threat for industry which it is at the beginning stage of handling.

Regulation has moved faster than the practices. What the industry is using today is old technology for new contamination threats. It is very common to use brushes and vacuums which are very good at separating but not very good at removing and preventing from redepositing, he said.

This product falls under cleaning when manual force is applied under the controlled wet and drying process so the amount to be used is going to depend on the surface and the complexity of the soil.

Hand hygiene is important but is considered as basic and not a priority, according to Jarpa.

When you look at some of the research done, for example in a meta-analysis that looked at 66 outbreaks in the US in 23 years, they discovered around 82% were caused by workers and 50% of those, hands were the source of transmission. Which is not a surprise, when you see that 50% of employees do not wash their hands for the right amount of time, he said.

Other research has shown when you dont wash your hands for at least 20 seconds you wont effectively remove bacteria like E. coli and Shigella. When you go to the behavioural part, we know moist hands can proliferate bacteria 1,000 times more than dry hands.

Imagine you are a food worker and you have wet hands and you look across and you have 20 people in line for their turn at the hairdryer and youre standing there and you think Im not even paid for this, Im paid for being inside there. So what are they going to do? They are going to rub it on their apron which is the number one concern for QA managers when it comes to the hygiene station.

It is common practice that dryness in the hand hygiene process is overlooked and that causes bacterial proliferation and skin irritation of workers, said Jarpa.

If they are going to don gloves that is just a petri-dish effect. They can wear gloves; the problem is if your hands are dirty or moist when gloves rupture, as they rupture all the time, a single pinhole can release thousands of bacteria. We have seen many companies move away from gloves as they realise gloves make employees not care or worry about hand hygiene.

So those are the hands that are touching our food, that will go onto our surfaces but because traceability of an event to hand hygiene is so hard unless you make it visual and you provide industry with this data it wont be taken seriously.

The human factor

The Continuum System understands people are the most complex element of a process, said Jarpa.

There are a lot of existing models on behavioural science and Kimberly-Clark has experts on the subject, he added.

For example, the Kimtech cloth is part of this system. Weve incorporated the principles of behavioral science on the design of the product itself, how it will be used, where will it be used, what would workers be primed to, but we support that with interventions which are simple disruptive ideas that will drive behavior change for cleaning and for hygiene.

We start with the walk the walk is on-site where we look at practices, what are workers doing when it comes to hygiene and cleaning; station design so where and what are they doing it with and as an outcome of that well make a preliminary report on how effective the combination of those two things are today and how we can help them through products and interventions.

Weve done this in more than eight countries, for example in a facility in Latin America we were able to reduce dirty [more than 1,000 cfu/g per hand] from being 55% of the plant to being 3% of the plant without training a single employee, just by understanding what drives them.

For hand hygiene, washing and drying under Continuum the product brand will be Scott and for cleaning it will be Kimtech.

Food safety culture risks becoming a trend word, said Jarpa.

We have worked with GFSI member companies and based on what they are doing and public research we have defined a food safety culture as a place where you are guided by norms, so where safety is what you do and not what you are told, where safety is a value and not a priority; difference being that priorities change.

Jarpa said there are at least five dimensions of what need to be covered.

Continuum describes all the stages you will go through to get to that ideal within those five dimensions. One of the key ones, which is around norms, is practices so what is being done today? So that is why we start with behavior of employees. If we understand what it is they are doing and why they are doing it, it will be easier to move that dimension, he said.

In leadership what are the basic tools and processes that we can help our customers do to ignite change and sustain it. Engagement and motivation has a lot to do with how we address their workers.

One of the last dimensions, which is a joint effort, is how do we communicate and benchmark those practices. So we benchmark the different walks that we do so customers can see how they compare to the industry average of every other facility we have gone through and that way they have measurable baselines that they can act upon.

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Kimberly-Clark Professional addresses allergens and hand hygiene - FoodQualityNews.com

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - April 25, 2017) - When it comes to cybersecurity, you are the weakest link, according to insights uncovered by non-profit behavioral design lab ideas42. That holds true from the workplace to your home, from your personal banking data to your employer's systems and records.

Despite public and private sector investments in sophisticated security systems, vulnerabilities remain. This is due in part to the fact that the search for answers has been heavily steered toward finding technological solutions alone. In reality, up to 80% of the cost attributed to cyber attacks is actually a result of human error -- or, rather, human behavior.

In the final installment of Deep Thought, a CyberSecurity Story, released today, ideas42 addresses this technical problem in a way most people can relate to -- through a story. The true-crime novella dramatizes the human factors in cybersecurity and includes a robust index of key insights from behavioral science that can be used to rethink and improve security protocols.

Drawing on insights revealed in the story, here are five reasons you are the biggest threat to America's cybersecurity:

1. You connect to public Wi-Fi everywhere you go. Remember when connecting to an insecure, public Wi-Fi network: if it's easy for you, it's probably easy for "the bad guy."

2. Security warnings have lost all meaning to you. The "habituation" effect -- when we get used to something after seeing it several times -- often causes you to disregard security warnings with a single click, even if they are legitimate.

3. You think (and click) way too fast. Thinking fast can get you into trouble in a variety of situations, but it's particularly dangerous online, when one small action-opening a bad email or clicking the wrong link-can have a high cost. Is that weird email just a weird email, or is it a phishing attempt?

4. You don't follow through on installing the updates your device wants you to install. Poor "choice architecture" -- for instance, how a website or digital procedure is structured -- can often lead you to defer important security steps like downloading a new security patch or updating your operating system in a timely way.

5. Your pet's name is your password. When it comes to creating passwords, it is randomness (not your pet's name) that is your friend. Yet common security "rules of thumb" often inadvertently lead you in the opposite direction and result in passwords that hackers can work out in seconds.

This list isn't comprehensive -- it merely underscores the real problem with cybersecurity. The most secure system in the world is only as strong as the humans interacting with it. Failing to design for how we as human beings actually behave creates the opening for security breaches of all kinds.

Aside from tips like these, the ideas42 novella includes a rich vein of behaviorally-informed insights that can help organizations design systems that work with our human tendencies, not against them. The goal is to focus on behavioral insights and solutions that can be adopted quickly and brought to scale. For a full copy of the novella and behavioral insight appendix visit ideas42.org/cyber.

Here is our ideas42 novella and our cybersecurity video.

The organization's work in cybersecurity is supported by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation Cyber Initiative in partnership with New America's Cybersecurity Initiative.

About ideas42

At ideas42 we believe that a deep understanding of human behavior will help us improve millions of lives. Using insights from behavioral science, we create innovative solutions in economic mobility, health, education, criminal justice, consumer finance, energy efficiency and international development. We're a nonprofit with more than 80 active projects in the United States and around the world and many partnerships across governments, foundations, NGOs and corporations.

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ideas42: The biggest threat to America's cybersecurity is YOU - Yahoo Finance

Research in behavioral science is showing that there is a trend toward higher irritability in the workplace especially in the United States and it has been more pronounced over the last 24 months. In short, more of us spend more time in a bad mood at work than ever before.

There are even healthy, if snarky, internet memes on the subject. In one, the comic strip character Calvin howls, Im in a very bad mood, so nobodyd better mess with me today, boy!! Bad moods are generally the result of higher stress, lower satisfaction, elevated levels of fear (even if we do not have something specific to be afraid of) and an increase in feelings of powerlessness. Bad moods are also contagious, according to Scientific American. And in a business, bad moods are expensive. Consider these examples pulled from a recent organizational psychology study.

The senior vice president of a banks branch operations is unhappy with a decision his boss made and takes his irritability into a meeting with a branch manager. She leaves the meeting feeling tentative and concerned for her job. When she declines to make a reasonable accommodation for a longtime customer, the customers family business moves to a competing bank.

A surgeon with a reputation for being unapproachable arrives for surgery in a particularly bad mood. Surgical staff say nothing when the surgeon opens the wrong leg on a patient.

A plant manager, angry about budget cuts, shortens his morning safety meeting. While the engineering staff is drawing straws about who will tell him about a maintenance issue that needs attention on one of the lines, a belt breaks and there are three serious injuries and one death.

What may be most discouraging about this normal human condition is that if we begin our day in a bad mood, we are likely to remain moody and unapproachable for the entire day. It takes a concerted effort to shake off a bad mood and generally one of the conditions of our mood is that we feel no reason to need to change it.

But change it we can and change it we should. Going through the day in a bad mood is not positive for our performance or our career. And it can create rifts that take weeks, months, even years to get over. If you are the leader of an organization, failing to shake off a bad mood gives tacit permission for the entire organization to do the same. So, here are a few ways to shake off a bad mood:

Get outside! Even a five-minute walk outside, focusing more on the sky, birds, dogs and kids in a park, whatever nature offers can provide a reframe allowing the ability to let go of a foul temperament.

Oxygen is your friend. A few deep breaths are useful for clearing the body of stress-inducing hormones.

What am I really irritated about? A little time in consideration of the source of your irritation, anger, or discontent can be useful as well. It may be that the thing most driving your bad mood can be addressed constructively, but only if you identify it.

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Does this all sound simplistic? A little on the armchair shrink side? Perhaps. But in the end, we are human beings. And as leaders in an organization we have an obligation to both model the behavior we want in others, and be the standard-bearer for the culture we aspire to create. If taking five minutes out to reset your own mood then prevents you from modeling poor behavior that often can lead to poor business outcomes, that might be the most important five minutes of your day.

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The High Cost of Bad Moods (Barry Goldberg On Leadership) - Arkansas Business Online