This semester I have the privilege of teaching three sections of introductory psychology. While teaching this many sections generally makes things challenging (the third time being the charm does not apply since by then you can’t keep straight what you have or have not covered), doing so with online, virtual classes that seem never to […]
Who would have thought that by June 2020 we would have encountered as many crises as there were months? January: #WW3 predicted as tensions rise between the US and Iran February: #Australian wildfires ablaze March: #WHO declares COVID-19 a pandemic April: #Global economies plunge May: #BLM Black lives matter protests June: #Locust swarm While COVID-19 seems to […]
TikToks are short videos that typically show a set of movements. Doing the Macarena requires remembering a sequence of movements to make up the dance. Our communications are full of hand gestures and body movements. These “co-speech” hand gestures are meaningful and often relate to the content of our speech. Co-speech gestures enhance the understanding of a listener, help a […]
Coronavirus aka COVID-19 aka severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the cause of the current pandemic that has turned our world upside down. This virus does not discriminate between who will be infected nor who will succumb to it. At the time of writing this blog, there are approximately 1.5 million cases, over […]
In many professions, evaluations can be rough; one negative comment can negate all of the positive comments. Oftentimes, that negative comment takes on the “white bear” or thought suppression phenomenon identified by Daniel Wegner in 1987. Reportedly influenced by the following line from Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “Winter Notes on Summer Impressions” Try to pose for yourself […]
Shall I respond to the email that just pinged, write this blog, referee the kids, or take the dog out? Every day, we are bombarded by multiple tasks that must be performed seemingly at the same time. Sometimes they are menial tasks that do not require much attention like a message coming into your phone […]
“Hamlet, Prince of Denmark,” considered one of Shakespeare’s best tragedies and perhaps one of the most famous English plays ever written, chronicles the quest of Prince Hamlet to avenge his father’s death through ruminating soliloquies and machinations. Hamlet, Act III Scene 1: “To be or not to be: that is the question: Whether ‘tis nobler […]
In the late 90s, Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks starred in the romantic comedy, “You’ve Got Mail”, which romanticized the idea of online dating and amplified AOL’s fame. “The Dating Game” Shortly after this movie, the year 2000 was the official start to dating websites with the release of eharmony, according to the “history of […]
Beloved childhood friends for many – A. A. Milne’s characters from the Hundred Acre Woods also presented models for various psychological disorders – anxiety (Piglet), obsessive-compulsive disorder (Rabbit), depression (Eeyore), ADHD (Tigger). In fact, there is a full body of scientific research examining the various disorders represented by each character, such as a study conducted […]
Going to the market at the beginning of the day produces many options, most of which are of high quality and plentiful. Unfortunately, by the end of the day, the options are no longer bountiful or beautiful. The same principle applies to sub-human species including our close cousins, the primates. Many foragers live by learning how […]