Description: What can dogs tell us about the nature and extent of changes in the human personality with age? Well, I bet I know what you are thinking: People are like their dogs so if we observe people’s dogs through time, we will see signs of how their owner’s personalities may be changing with age…. Read more »
Posts Categorized: Adult Development and Aging
Wisdom: What is Your Theory?
Description: Do you know anyone that you would say is wise? If not think about a real person or a character in a book or film that you know about that you would say is wise. What is it about them that leads you to say they are wise? What is wisdom and what does… Read more »
Social Media and Smart Phone Use: We Need a LOT More Research
Description: I have posted previously on research related to the question of the impacts of social media and smartphone use on adolescent and emerging adult wellbeing. While some of the findings seem quite dire and while there is no debate about the increasing levels of anxiety and stress among emerging adults in recent years the… Read more »
The Life Course Stability of Attachment Patterns: Is There an Impact of Adult Relationships
Description: Do you know a bit about attachment? The important work of Bowlby and Ainsworth suggests that, a consequence of the nature of their relationship with their primary caregiver(s) over the first two years of their lives, human infants develop a model of their attachment relationship that includes basic assumptions/beliefs about their care-worthiness, about the… Read more »
Live Long and Prosper? Smile and Live Long!
Description: There are thousands and thousands of little postings out there on online that offer you small tidbits of information and that claim that those tidbits of information are potentially life altering. I am sure you realize that the main purpose of those tidbit postings is to capture and hold your attention just long enough… Read more »
Optimize Your Daily Stress Escape: Review Your Bedtime Habits
Description: I had the pleasure a few weeks back of taking in a show by a young blues musician named Jontavious Willis. He is quite something, mentored by Keb’ Mo’ and Taj Mahal, he will be a big part of the future of blues music. Anyway, I was thinking of one of his songs called… Read more »
Why Are Some Old Memories So Much Stronger Than New Memories?
Description: What was the name of your best friend in grade 1? What did you have for lunch the day before yesterday? We most often find that the older memory is still there but the more recent one is not, or is, at least, harder to recover. I have no doubt that you could come… Read more »
Mortality Following Bereavement: What Are the Causal Factors?
Description: You have no doubt heard a story or two about an elderly couple where, when one of them dies, the surviving partner also passes away fairly soon after. Can you recall if an explanation as to why this occurred was offered? Some version of a broken heart perhaps? Or maybe that the surviving partner… Read more »
We Need a Big Picture Understanding of Screen Time (and Who is Sox?)
Description: You cannot have missed at least some of the range of stories regarding the amount of screen time children are spending and the concerns being raised about its possible impact on their development. We should be concerned but we should also be cautious about treating screen time like this month’s Tickle me Elmo, Furby,… Read more »
Is Tech Dangerous or Should We Be Asking Different Questions?
Description: Here is a research-based claim you may have heard about recently. Jean Twenge, based on data she drew from several huge population (big sample) surveys, suggests that 5 or more hours of daily involvement with social media is having negative impacts on teenagers these days. Now, rather than thinking about whether you agree or… Read more »
Books for Success!
