The Fear Factor
How One Emotion Connects Altruists, Psychopaths, and Everyone In-Between

One of the best nonfiction books of the year--make room in your schedule to read The Fear Factor! Marsh contrasts scientific studies and brain scans of psychopaths and altruists to demonstrate pyschopaths do not feel fear, either their own or others. On the other hand, altruists and those we think of......more

This book was mostly very interesting and well-researched. One thing I took serious issue with though was her almost nonchalant dismissal of the concept of "rape culture." In her support for the idea that people think the world is much worse than it is, she writes "A Google Trends search finds over......more

While at times interesting, overall this was a not particularly well written book about Marsh's research that wasn't really pulled together well into a cohesive narrative. Marsh has found that psychopaths do not recognize faces that display fear, they are not sure what a fearful looking face represe......more

I heard about 'The Fear Factor' a few times on NPR and it sounded intriguing. I read mostly fiction. I pick up non-fiction now and then and I'll read a few chapters at a time between novels. But 'The Fear Factor' I finished in less than a week. It was as compelling as a novel! Diving into the psycho......more

Interesting read exploring the role that fear (or lack thereof) plays in altruism and psychopathy (which Marsh positions as opposite traits). Unlike most social psychology books I’ve read, this one stayed on a fairly specific topic, which I ended up enjoying.......more