Description: As the Covid vaccines roll out we general conversation is shifting from when vaccines will be generally available to when will we have enough people vaccinated that we close in on what seems like the almost mythical herd immunity. One of the topics of this more recent line of discussion within the media concerns… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Social Perception
Psychology of Covid: Hitting the Pandemic Wall
Description: Have you heard of something called the General Adaptation system (GAS)? Hans Selye (1907-1982) working at McGill University in Montreal was trying to find a model with which he could use rats to study the impact of longer-term exposure to moderate to high levels of stress. What he came up with as a rat… Read more »
This is Your Brain on Lonely
Description: Being lonely is not an enjoyable experience and in many ways that I suspect you are aware of or could guess at, it is not good for you either. But how does prolonged loneliness effect your brain and why might it be useful and important to know how loneliness impacts people’s brains? Think about… Read more »
The Psychology of Incitement to Violence: It is Not New
Description: Discussion and debate about the factors that lead up to the violent actions taken by supporters of Donald Trump in Washington on January 6, 2021 are often wrapped in political stances and loyalties. As the Senate trial of Donald Trump on the single article of impeachment of encouraging insurrection approaches it is useful to… Read more »
Psychology of COVID-19: Social Science Explosion
Description: Ok, time to take stock! What kinds of Psychology have people been doing as they try to make sense out of other people’s behaviour in relation to the pandemic over the past few months (or whole year)? There has certainly been a LOT more “Psychologizing” going on involving many things such as failures to… Read more »
Psychology of Covid-19: Masks and Emotions – The Kids May Be All Right!
Description: We are all wearing masks these days (or should be). I have posted previously about research suggesting that adults experience functional prosopagnosia (the lack of the ability to recognize people when one see’s them) when others are wearing masks covering their mouth and nose. A related, important question concerns how children manage socially when… Read more »
The Urge to Punish: It Is Not All About Revenge
Description: What comes to mind when you think of punishment? Violent criminals? Disobedient children? Now how about revenge? Is revenge essentially defined as punishment for another’s act that harmed you or someone you care about? Or are there situations that may not involve blatant or intentional wrongdoing that may still warrant or lead to a… Read more »
Psychology of Covid-19: Lies, Damn Lies, and Pandemic Lies
Description: There are lies, damn lies, and statistics, right? But what about pandemic lies? How many lies have you been telling lately, and about what? How common do you think it is these days for people to lie about their health status or symptoms? Why might people be lying more these days than was the… Read more »
Psychology of COVID-19 – Reading Masked Faces: The Eyes
Description: In my previous post I talked about functional prosopagnosia or the notion that we seem to become “face blind” when we try to recognize people we know when they are wearing masks. What if, however, this is a moment in evolving time where we have to take an automated process (the complex processes involved… Read more »
Psychology of COVID-19 SES – We Have Functional Prosopagnosia
Description: Have you ever heard of prosopagnosia? It is the term for something called face blindness or the inability to recognize people based on looking at their faces. It can be found among individuals on the Autism Spectrum, who may not process social cues as others do, or it can arise following a stroke. The… Read more »
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