People Who Read People: A Behavior and Psychology Podcast

Why do some people want to watch the world burn?, with Kevin Arceneaux

January 04, 2024 Zachary Elwood Episode 128
Why do some people want to watch the world burn?, with Kevin Arceneaux
People Who Read People: A Behavior and Psychology Podcast
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People Who Read People: A Behavior and Psychology Podcast
Why do some people want to watch the world burn?, with Kevin Arceneaux
Jan 04, 2024 Episode 128
Zachary Elwood

A talk with Kevin Arceneaux, whose research found that a surprising number of people (around 40%) either agreed with or did not disagree with statements like “When I think about our political and social institutions, I cannot help thinking 'just let them all burn'?” In their paper, they called this a "need for chaos." We talk about what the study entailed, what they found, and what the factors might be that help explain the finding. We also talk about its relation to toxic polarization, and to social media.  (This is a talk from 2021.)

Support the Show.

To get ad-free episodes, and more, get a premium subscription. To learn more about the show, go to behavior-podcast.com. I'm on Twitter at @apokerplayer. See a summary of my work.

Show Notes

A talk with Kevin Arceneaux, whose research found that a surprising number of people (around 40%) either agreed with or did not disagree with statements like “When I think about our political and social institutions, I cannot help thinking 'just let them all burn'?” In their paper, they called this a "need for chaos." We talk about what the study entailed, what they found, and what the factors might be that help explain the finding. We also talk about its relation to toxic polarization, and to social media.  (This is a talk from 2021.)

Support the Show.

To get ad-free episodes, and more, get a premium subscription. To learn more about the show, go to behavior-podcast.com. I'm on Twitter at @apokerplayer. See a summary of my work.