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Don’t Get Distracted By Anders Breivik’s Oddities
Following one of the worst mass shootings in history, the trial of Anders Breivik has understandably attracted much attention. With his neo-fascist fist salutes, claims to be part of a “Knights...
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When Teachers Bully Children
With more than 4.2 million views and counting, Stuart Chaifetz’s YouTube video is drawing attention to a situation no child, especially not one with special needs, should ever have to face: bullying by...
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How To Increase Your Powers of Observation
Many of science’s most important breakthroughs, from the discovery of microorganisms to the theory of evolution, have come about through observation. The scientist’s gaze is clearly a powerful tool for...
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Is Racism an Illness?
Is racism an illness? Psychiatrists and psychologists are debating the issue. The forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Personality Disorders, due for publication in August 2012, will include a chapter on...
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The Latest Trend: Blaming Brain Science
Is understanding human behavior as being driven, at least in part, by neurobiology, tantamount to “blaming the brain”? Does talk about genes, and brain structure and chemistry relieve us of personal...
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Talking to Yourself: Not So Crazy After All
In the privacy of our minds, we all talk to ourselves — an inner monologue that might seem rather pointless. As one scientific paper on self-talk asks: “What can we tell ourselves that we don’t already...
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Mary Richardson Kennedy: The Denial of Depression
Mary Kennedy’s friends held a memorial service in her honor earlier this week. One friend remarked to a New York Times reporter that during the eulogies “there was nothing about depression.” She felt...
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Do Mothers Hamper Their Daughters in Math?
We parents pass on all kinds of traits to our kids, from our hair and eye color to our love of slapstick comedy or chocolate ice cream. One characteristic we surely don’t want to hand down to our...
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Jerry Sandusky Verdict: What Makes a Pedophile Tick?
In the past two weeks we heard extensive accounts from numerous abuse victims of former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky, who was convicted for sexually assaulting 10 boys over an...
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Can We Trust Psychological Research?
Psychologist Dirk Smeesters does fascinating work, the kind that lends itself to practical, and particularly business, applications. Earlier this year, the Dutch researcher published a study that...
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Don’t Blame Batman for the Aurora Shooting
The tragic shooting in a Colorado movie theater, in which 12 people died and approximately 50 were wounded, has understandably caused both fear and confusion. Given that this shooting happened to take...
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How to Get — and Keep — Someone’s Attention
Sir Lancelot had the Holy Grail. Captain Ahab had Moby Dick. For scientists who study learning, the ultimate quest is to unlock the secrets of engagement. How do we engage students in learning, and...
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James Holmes Might Be Crazy but Not Legally Insane
A little more than a week after the horrific shooting in Aurora, Colo., we’re beginning to get some impression of James Holmes, the man who allegedly carried out the attack, and much of it is pointing...
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Why Gadgets Are Great for Introverts
A husband and wife sit companionably over bowls of cereal, heads bent not toward each other but to their smartphone screens. Three teenaged girls in sundresses gather in a friend’s living room,...
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The Denial of Mental Illness is Alive and Well
Earlier this week, I had dinner with a recently retired lawyer who has spent the past 40-odd years working to protect the rights of people with mental illness. She shared with me an anecdote that, she...
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Why Banning Conversion Therapy May Do More Harm Than Good
On September 29, Jerry Brown signed into law a bill banning therapy that purportedly “cures” gays for minors in the state of California. Brown had previously Tweeted that these practices, known as...
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Why the Fiscal Cliff Negotiations Are More Complicated than We Think
The fiscal cliff negotiations have the feel of a major sporting event. The media largely describe the cliff as a two-party conflict, with each side having a fighter in the ring. What House Speaker John...
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The Backlash Against ‘I Am Adam Lanza’s Mother’
A word of warning to any mother who writes about her child’s problems: you just might get blamed for them. This lesson was made clear by the dramatic arc of a blog post by one Liza Long, who in...
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Sandy Hook Shooting: The Speculation About Adam Lanza Must Stop
There are a number of things we think we know about Adam Lanza, the Newtown, Connecticut 20-year-old, who last Friday murdered his mother, then shot his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School and killed...
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How Friendship Makes You More Successful
Back in college, my dorm-mate Sofia and I invented a ritual we called “Power Wednesdays.” Every week, we headed to the campus fitness center for a workout, and then to the library for four hours of...
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