Todd L. Pittinsky

Published for The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI), the Journal of Social Issues (JSI) brings behavioral and social science theory, empirical evidence, and practice to bear on human and social problems. Each issue of the journal focuses on a single topic — recent issues, for example, have addressed poverty, housing and health; privacy as a social and psychological concern; youth and violence; and the impact of social class on education.

From the early days of navigating the world with bare hands to harnessing tools that transformed stones and sticks, human ingenuity has birthed science and technology. As societies expanded, the complexity of our tools grew, raising a crucial question: Do we control them, or do they dictate our fate? The trajectory of science and technology isn't predetermined; debates and choices shape it. It's our responsibility to navigate wisely, ensuring technology betters, not worsens, our world. This book explores the complex nature of this relationship, with 18 chapters posing and discussing a compelling 'big question.' Topics discussed include technology's influence on child development; big data; algorithms; democracy; happiness; the interplay of sex, gender, and science in its development; international development efforts; robot consciousness; and the future of human labor in an automated world. Think critically. Take a stand. With societal acceleration mirroring technological pace, the challenge is, can we keep up?

From the early days of navigating the world with bare hands to harnessing tools that transformed stones and sticks, human ingenuity has birthed science and technology. As societies expanded, the complexity of our tools grew, raising a crucial question: Do we control them, or do they dictate our fate? The trajectory of science and technology isn't predetermined; debates and choices shape it. It's our responsibility to navigate wisely, ensuring technology betters, not worsens, our world. This book explores the complex nature of this relationship, with 18 chapters posing and discussing a compelling 'big question.' Topics discussed include technology's influence on child development; big data; algorithms; democracy; happiness; the interplay of sex, gender, and science in its development; international development efforts; robot consciousness; and the future of human labor in an automated world. Think critically. Take a stand. With societal acceleration mirroring technological pace, the challenge is, can we keep up?

Humans have always been caregivers. Yet caregiving for children, the sick, and the elderly is shockingly undervalued and underaccommodated. Given how little value is placed on caregiving, the work-life movement has been stalled for decades, stuck on women and their children like a skipping record. There are more women in the workforce, but not significantly more in the top leadership positions. Most importantly, many women-- and increasingly some men--experience their efforts to have careers and care for dependents as a battle against themselves or their own wellbeing. Most of this conversation is centered on helping mothers succeed in the workplace, with little attention to how we think about caregiving more broadly. Commonly construed as a duty, obligation, or responsibility, caregiving is, for many people, something very different: a goal, a desire, an ambition. Society's failure to acknowledge caregiving as an ambition on par with career aspirations has created real consequences, including a troubling lack of caregiving for each other, stubborn gender gaps in leadership, and widespread dissatisfaction with life. This evidence-based, reflective, and practical book on caregiving ambition pushes beyond the "mommy wars" that divide women, and increasingly men, by how they care, uniting them instead on why and how much they care. Through firsthand quantitative and qualitative empirical research, plus a wealth of research reviewed, the authors bring together psychological theories and cutting-edge management research to illuminate how ignoring caregiving as an ambition perpetuates the status quo. This book shows the path forward: an honest discussion about caregiving ambition will make our individual and collective lives more humane, caring, and productive.

Among our greatest leaders are those driven by impulses they cannot completely control - by lust. Lust is not, however, an abstraction, it has definition. Definition that, given the impact of leaders who lust, is essential to extract. This book identifies six types of lust with which leaders are linked: 1. Power: the ceaseless craving to control. 2. Money: the limitless desire to accrue great wealth. 3. Sex: the constant hunt for sexual gratification. 4. Success: the unstoppable need to achieve. 5. Legitimacy: the tireless claim to identity and equity. 6. Legacy: the endless quest to leave a permanent imprint. Each of the core chapters focuses on different lusts and features a cast of characters who bring lust to life. In the real world leaders who lust can and often do have an enduring impact. This book therefore is counterintuitive - it focuses not on moderation, but on immoderation.