‘Inception’s’ Suicidal Tendencies
Jul 19, 2010 Christopher Nolan's epic and ambitious new blockbuster is a fascinating, skillfully made brain twister that gives Philip K. Dick a run for his existential money. But at the core of Nolan's film is a troubling idea that won't go away. (Spoilers!)
Carol Tavris on Barbara Ehrenreich’s Crusade
Jun 4, 2010 In her recent book, Barbara Ehrenreich takes on the excesses, delusions and unsupported promises of the positive-thinking movement, tracking both its naive and its corrupt manifestations in the worlds of health, business, religion and psychology.In her recent book, Ehrenreich takes on the excesses, delusions and unsupported promises of the positive-thinking movement.
Can Seeing an Illness Protect You From It?
Apr 6, 2010 Researchers in Canada showed young adults photos of obviously diseased people and found that the subjects’ immune systems were significantly more aggressive when later exposed to a glop of bacteria. Test subjects got a negligible boost from similarly upsetting, but not disease-y, images.
Where Neuroscience Meets Literature
Apr 1, 2010 How about a little cognitive psychology with your English literature? Professors who normally spend their time thinking about Virginia Woolf's characters and story structures are taking a page from scientific texts to add a new dimension to their exploration of fiction.
Is Sex Addiction Just a (Convenient) Myth?
Jan 23, 2010 Here we go again: Just as the question was raised during the latter phase of the Bill Clinton era, Tiger Woods' recently revealed indiscretions have prompted questions of whether there is such a thing as "sex addiction," or whether it's just code for "boys will be boys" until those boys get busted, that is.
Are We Wired for Compassion?
Jan 20, 2010 When the term human nature gets thrown around, it's sometimes used in a derisive fashion, as if to boil all the complex motivations, biological drives and psychological quirks that comprise our makeup down to some simplistic, base formula However, there are some who might cast the concept in a brighter light (continued).
Top Psychologists Analyze Themselves
Oct 6, 2009 Psychologists are people too, and they're prone to having quirks and neuroses despite their extensive training on the various facets of the human psyche. The British Psychological Society prodded 23 top psychologists to fess up to their own curiosities and inconsistencies on the organization's blog. Analyze away.
Psychology, Metaphors and You
Sep 29, 2009 Can you tell your metaphors from your synecdoches? These terms may trigger bad freshman English flashbacks, but at least when it comes to metaphors, they're more important than you might think; in fact, they might just be intrinsic to how you think.
Hitler’s Delusions of Artistic Grandeur
Aug 27, 2009 It's well known that Adolf Hitler dabbled in watercolor and that the Führer and his Nazi underlings amassed vast stashes of ill-begotten works of art, but according to art historian Birgit Schwarz, Hitler's artistic streak ran deeper into the dark zones of his psyche than most people realize.
Happiness Consultants Won’t Stop a Depression
Jul 27, 2009 Positive psychology, which claims to be able to engineer happiness, is a quack science that justifies the cruelty of unfettered capitalism, shifting the blame from the power elite to those they oppress.Positive psychology is a quack science that justifies the cruelty of unfettered capitalism.
