What's going through the mind of a 16-year-old kid who mugs a little old lady? Even a quick glimpse of the fear and anguish on her face would instinctively lead most people to pause and re-assess what they were doing. But for the young offender, these signals don't seem to register.
Why not? Newly published research proposes a simple answer: The kid can't read them. He's not a psychopath (at least in most cases), but when it comes to making sense of widened eyes and an open mouth, he's functionally illiterate.
The good news is this sort of sensitivity can be taught—even to young toughs. And at least in one small-scale British study, this training lead to a reduction in the severity of subsequent crimes committed by the newly knowledgeable delinquents.
[For more of this story, written by Tom Jacobs, go to http://www.psmag.com/health-an...g-them-to-read-faces]
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