Description: Face your fears! Sounds like a pretty basic piece of advice but for children with deep anxieties over often basic things like eating or being alone offering them such advice does not tend to work. There are therapeutic approaches that can work. Exposure Therapy, based on classical conditioning and linked to the much-discussed work… Read more »
Posts Tagged: ethics
Sentience, Ethics, and Octopuses: Recent Thoughts
Description: What does sentient mean? Its dictionary definition typical says something like responsive to and conscious of sense impressions; aware; conscious. We (us humans) are sentient, though there was a time when we believe that infant humans were not (we DO think they ARE sentient now). A huge part of how we manage or are… Read more »
Let’s Talk Talk Therapy!
Description: The Canadian cellular services company, Bell, launched the Let’s Talk campaign in 2010. It is focused on reducing/eliminating stigma associated with mental illness. Stigma, related to mental illness, is a social phenomenon involving beliefs about the nature of mental illness (e.g., that it is somehow the fault of the people who struggle with it)… Read more »
The Psychology of Covid: Being A Guinea Pig
Description: If I asked you to ponder what it is like to be a Guinea Pig, I suspect you would not actually start to reflect on what it might be like to be small and furry. Rather, you would be more likely to contemplate what is would be like to be a participant in a… Read more »
Shopping Predicting Personality (not the other way around)
Description: Usually, when designing a line of psychological research, we start from the psychology and predict the behavior – makes sense, because it is Psychological theories that we are developing. So, for example, think about what predictions you would make about people’s shopping (buying) behavior based on what you know or can find out about… Read more »
Personality Testing: Diversion or Thin Edge of the Big Data Wedge?
Description: How do you feel about personality tests? If your response to this question is some version of “meh” you might want to reconsider. Aside from being a part of all introductory psychology course curricula many people view personality tests as those diversions they encounter in magazines (well, on line these days). However, it is… Read more »
The Efficacy and Ethics of Zapping Depression
Description: Ok here we go…. This sounds like science fiction BUT … what if we could implant electrodes into our brains into specific locations and then, when necessary, such as when were are clinically depressed, we could use the implanted electrodes to stimulate those areas of the brain and by doing so normalize the functioning… Read more »
Moving Towards Transplant Fixes for Some Forms of Blindness
Description: The prospect of vision loss is scary and while my parents and grandparents would say things like don’t run with scissors or you cannot have a BB gun (for fear of “putting out an eye”) or make sure you have a good light on when you are reading because “those are the only set… Read more »
Diagnosing ‘Trump-like’ Behavior
Description: These days, and with increasing frequency as the November 6, 2018 American midterm elections approach, when people I meet find out I am a psychologist I am often asked some version of a “… so what is with Trump” question or in other words questions about how for “out there” is Trump or is,… Read more »
PTSD with Ecstasy as a Treament Add-on?
Description: I have posted a number of times in the past on the topic of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder – search PTSD in the Weekly Updates search window). Symptoms of PTSD are worryingly common among retiring military veterans. The rate in the general population is just under 10% while the rate among returning vets… Read more »
Books for Success!
