Description: The debates and the research focused upon the impacts of video gaming and social media use on developing children and youth are heated and ongoing. The primary difficulty in sorting out the effects of video gaming and social media use is tied up in the comprehensive nature of their uptake in the population. As… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Abnormal Psychology
Psychology of Covid: Reasoning with Unreasonable People About Vaccination
Description: How do you deal with someone who you believe is completely unreasonable? Well, one possible answer that makes a lot of sense is simply to not deal with them at all. Who needs the stress and the headaches associated with trying to take on an unreasonable person and try to get them to BE… Read more »
Psychology of COVID-19: Suicide
Description: When we look back on the year or two (or whatever it finally turns out to be) of the Covid-19 pandemic what do you think we will find happened to the suicide rate during the pandemic? If the rate increased significantly why might that have occurred? What factors were (are) involved? The study of… Read more »
Issues in Criminal Responsibility: Psychology, Courts and Moral Insanity
Description: On April 23, 2018, Alex Minassian drove a rented truck into a group of pedestrians on Yonge Street in Toronto killing 10 of them and injuring even more. After his arrest Mr. Minassian admitted the actions with which he was charged. His lawyers are arguing that he should be found Not Criminally Responsible (NCR)… Read more »
Personality Disorders in 3 Simple Questions
Description: You may not know, off the top of your head, what the diagnostic criteria are for the 10 Personality Disorder (PD) types split over three clusters in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5). Given the word “personality” in their category title, you might expect that they would be defined by the patterns they reflect… Read more »
Psychology of Covid-19: A Jump in Gaming Addiction Issues?
Description: How much video/online gaming do you do? Would it surprise you to hear that over half of North American adults and many more children do this regularly? Would it surprise you to hear that people are doing more of this during these times of Covid-19 than ever before? Do you think we should worry… Read more »
Toxoplasmosis, Inflamation, and Dementia: New Possibilities
Description: Perhaps you have heard about Toxoplasmosis? It is a condition caused by a parasite that is carried by cats who catch wild birds and that can be picked up by humans when they clean the cats’ litter boxes and inhale some of the T. gondii parasite while doing so. Exposure among pregnant women can… Read more »
Challenges to Admitting Defeat
Description: Somewhere in the aftermath of the American election (November 3, 2020) there will be (maybe) a point where the outgoing president acknowledges his loss. At least that is how it has gone in every previous American Presidential election. But, as of today, November 14, 2020, Donald Trump has not yet conceded the election to… Read more »
The Psychology of Covid-19: Challenges in Diagnosing and Treating OCD
Description: I hope you are washing your hands A LOT these days! In fact, might you say that you are washing your hands compulsively? That is not really an appropriate descriptor but here is something to think about. What effect do you think the appropriate jump in hand washing over the past 8 months and… Read more »
The Bright Side of Narcissism?
Description: As we roll towards November even those of us who are NOT American or living in the United States are anticipating the upcoming election with a wide range of thoughts and emotions. Before he, possibly, moves on we can yet again consider a much-discussed possible aspect of Donald Trump’s personality, specifically narcissism. The trait… Read more »