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Sandra Wood Scarr, 1936–2021
APS Past President Sandra Wood Scarr, a pioneer in the study of intellectual development and a 1993 recipient of the APS James McKeen Cattell Award, died on October 8, 2021.
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Mindfulness Meditation can Make Some Americans More Selfish and Less Generous
When Japanese chef Yoshihiro Murata travels, he brings water with him from Japan. He says this is the only way to make truly authentic dashi, the flavorful broth essential to Japanese cuisine. There’s science to back him up: water in Japan is notably softer – which means it has fewer dissolved minerals – than in many other parts of the world. So when Americas enjoy Japanese food, they arguably aren’t getting quite the real thing. This phenomenon isn’t limited to food. Taking something out of its geographic or cultural context often changes the thing itself.
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How a Facebook Whistle-Blower Is Stoking the Kids’ Screen Time Debate
The latest burst of recriminations directed at social media emphasizes the harm that can be done to teenagers. Frances Haugen, a former Facebook Inc. product manager turned whistle-blower, says executives at Facebook are aware of research showing the company’s Instagram photo-sharing platform in particular can be detrimental to teenage girls with body-image issues. Even before the pandemic increased the time most people spend online, many parents worried about attention-sapping “screen time” warping child development. ...
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The Self-Help That No One Needs Right Now
Nothing about The Body Keeps the Score screams “best seller.” Written by the psychiatrist Bessel van der Kolk, the book is a graphic account of his decades-long career treating survivors of traumatic experiences such as rape, incest, and war. Page after page, readers are asked to wrestle with van der Kolk’s theory that trauma can sever the connection between the mind, which wants to forget what happened, and the body, which can’t. The book isn’t academic, exactly, but it’s dense and difficult material written with psychology students in mind.
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Facebook’s Own Data is Not as Conclusive as You Think About Teens and Mental Health
On Tuesday, Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen testified before a Senate panel. The hearing's focus was advertised as "protecting kids online." ... Researchers have worked for decades to tease out the relationship between teen media use and mental health. Although there is debate, they tend to agree that the evidence we've seen so far is complex, contradictory and ultimately inconclusive. That is equally true of Facebook's internal marketing data, leaked by Haugen, as it is of the validated studies on the topic. Opinion versus fact The leaked Facebook research consists of opinion surveys and interviews.
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California Will Require Large Retailers to Provide Gender-Neutral Toy Sections
California became the first state in the nation Saturday to adopt a law requiring large retail stores to provide gender-neutral toy sections under a bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. The new law, which takes effect in 2024, says that retail stores with 500 or more employees must sell some toys and child-care products outside of areas specifically labeled by gender. Retailers can continue to offer other toys and child-care goods in traditional boys and girls sections if they choose to. ...
