Today’s British Psychological Society’s Research Digest blog notes an interesting new study finding that “ [a]spects of the environment that indicate danger - from flashing lights to a mere exclamation mark - lead us to make faster and more extreme judgements about fairness.” The researchers opine: “when we sense a threat, and what they call the 'human alarm system' is activated, we tend to form faster and more extreme reactions, with justice-related decisions being no exception.”

Perhaps other symbols can influence judgments as well. Maybe when immigrants see a U.S. flag, they quickly form strong opinions that the environment is safe and fair. That is apparently what the NLRB’s General Counsel had in mind when he made his much-maligned announcement that the U.S. flag would be displayed at all NLRB elections.