Lexington Community Education presents: Out of Character with Dr. David DeSteno.

Character. We want it in our leaders, we look for it in our spouses and friends, we try to teach it to our children. The prevailing view is that it comes from hard work and due diligence. It’s cultivated; it’s stable. But if character is so stable, then why do we so often disagree over who’s got it and who doesn’t? Why do we so often see paragons of virtue fall, see supposedly honest people deceive, and find ourselves surprised when those without a good bone in their body engage in acts of humility and generosity? In Out of Character: The Surprising Truths About the Liar, Cheat, Sinner (and Saint) Lurking in All of Us, authors David DeSteno and  Piercarlo Valdesolo attempt to turn the prevailing wisdom upside down by showing that character, nobility, and goodness are all shaped to a high degree by forces outside of our awareness. The book takes readers into the Social Emotions Lab at Northeastern University to provide first-hand accounts of how the best and worst of humanity arise from the interplay of these hidden forces and the emotions they evoke. This evening Dr. DeSteno will discus the forces that shape our character from moment to moment. David DeSteno is associate professor of psychology at Northeastern University, where he is also director of the Social Emotions Lab. He is editor of the American Psychological Association’s journal Emotion and a fellow of the Association for Psychological Science. His work has been repeatedly featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Boston Globe, ABC News, Scientific American, and NPR, and has been regularly funded by the National Science Foundation.

Pre-registration strongly recommended by contacting Lexington Community Ed. at 781 862 8043.