Description: While not trying to be overly dramatic it is possible to say that the 2018 American midterm elections which are occurring in 2 days are the centerpiece in a social climate fraught with uncertainty. There are legions of reporters, supporters, pundits and even a few politicians telling us how we should think about this… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Altruism Prosocial Behaviour
Social Octopi on Ecstacy: The evolutionary base of social connection
Description: The octopus is not a particularly social animal. While that might sound like the start to a fairy tale or to a “Just So” story it is actually simply a scientific fact. Octopi typically avoid social contact entirely including avoiding other members of their species. They Do, however, have to engage socially with at… Read more »
Shame Comes in Types with Various Social and Developmental Implications
Description: What is shame? When do people feel shame or feel ashamed? How is shame different than guilt? At its simplest level, shame involves a loss of social connection or a loss of social respect. Think about what feelings, thoughts, and social scenarios would come to mind if someone opened a conversation with you by… Read more »
Want Valuable Long Term Relationship Data? Enter an Escape Room!
Description: Ok imagine you are trying to get to know someone – someone with whom you might form a long term intimate relationship. Forget running your own version of a reality TV show (The Bachelor or the Bachelorette) but what sort of data would you want to gather as you contemplate moving forward with the… Read more »
Peer-to-Peer Campaigns for Dealing with Depression in High Schools: A Solution to Screening Woes?
Description: One of the biggest challenges in dealing with depression in the population is getting those who are struggling with it to seek help. Efforts to set up screening systems for any psychological (or physical) health matter are potentially very costly and very difficult to design effectively (just think about two issues – false negatives,… Read more »
Applying Classic Psychology Experiments to Leadership and Life
Description: What makes a Psychology experiment a “classic”? Well perhaps that s too broad a question but, in truth, “classic” psychology experiments, even, or perhaps especially, the ones that would not get through an ethic panel review today can cause us to reflect upon some important issues and variables in our lives. Think about what… Read more »
Spotting Liars: New tools for assessing character (shhhh don’t tell your friends and relatives!)
Description: Can you tell when someone is lying to you? If you do a You Tube search on lie detection you will find a great many postings showing versions of the classic lie detection game where someone tells you several things about themselves one of which is a lie and you have to figure out… Read more »
Mirror Neurons and Moral Dilemmas: Bidirectional Ethical Opportunities and Challenges
Description: What brain based activations are associated with your tendency to consider causing harm to others in moral decision-making situations? Typically, we are asked questions in abstract or “hypothetical” manners. Would you consider causing pain to one person if it might result in information to needed to stop a bombing that could harms many others?… Read more »
Criminal Brains: Opportunties and ethical pitfalls of looking beyond minds
Description: Have you ever watched an episode of the TV show Criminal Minds which fictionally focusses on the activities of an FBI behavioral analysis unit that hunts psychopaths? In the show there are many discussions of the sorts of developmental histories that amplify some psychopathic behavioral tendencies and of the sorts of things that can… Read more »
How are Religiosity and Cognition Related? Perhaps not as you might think.
Description: At first glance it may seem odd or perhaps inappropriate to conduct research into the nature and even into the brain function associated with religious belief. However, rather than seeing religious belief and science as antithetical think a bit about what sorts of cognitive functioning might be correlated with religious belief. For example, how… Read more »
Books for Success!
