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You 2.0: WOOP, WOOP!
Growing up in Germany, psychologist Gabriele Oettingen was not surrounded by people who spoke explicitly about their dreams and ambitions. "When I came to America, it was wonderful because people always said, 'Yes, do it. Yes, that's possible. Yeah, OK, this is a good idea. Why don't you do it?' Whereas back in Europe, people were more cautious and said, 'You know, are you sure you want to do this? Are you sure this is possible?' So I was really happy to come to America because people were just sort of encouraging whatever idea you had." But Oettingen's research has found downsides to this mentality.
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The Psychology Behind Why Some College Students Break COVID-19 Rules
NN spoke with the following experts about the drivers behind these risky decisions: Hannah Schacter, an assistant professor and developmental psychologist at Wayne State UniversityBen Locke, the senior director for Counseling & Psychological Services at Pennsylvania State UniversityMary Karapetian Alvord, director of the private practice Alvord, Baker & Associates who mostly counsels children, teens and young adults. All three experts know college students well.
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Can You Control Your Happiness? New Study Gives A Scientific Backed Answer
Many would agree that happiness is difficult to define and challenging to measure—partly due to its subjective nature. Is it possible to get a scientific handle on such a slippery concept? In happiness surveys, over 80% of people rate their overall life satisfaction as “pretty to very happy,” and comparably 80% also rate their current mood as positive (for example, positive 6–7 on a 10 point scale, where 5 is neutral). A lucky few may even live consistently around a point of 8—although excessively higher scores may actually impede attainment of life success, as measured by wealth, education, or political participation.
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New Content From Current Directions in Psychological Science
A sample of articles on intolerance, social-structure learning, personality change, learned preferences, effects of teachers’ instructional language, and collective emotions.
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All That Performative Environmentalism Adds Up
My newly adopted home state is on fire again: Scorching heat and lightning strikes have sparked dozens of fires across California, burning an area the size of Rhode Island. Iowa is reeling from a deadly derecho. The Mountain West is suffering through a severe drought. Towns and cities all over are experiencing one of the hottest summers on record, if not the hottest. And a hurricane just tore through the Gulf Coast. With climate change making extreme weather events more intense and more common, and Congress continuing to ignore this existential threat, I have tried to do my part. After moving to California, I went on a no-buy streak.
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How Our Brains Numb Us To Covid-19’s Risks — and What We Can Do About It
Back in March, going just about anywhere felt like entering a combat zone. As covid-19 case counts rose across the country, I quaked at the prospect of going to the grocery store. I donned my mask and tried not to inhale as I threaded through the aisles, dousing myself with sanitizer as soon as I got out. But as the pandemic stretched into summer, my vigilance began to flag. Trips to the grocery store started to seem routine again rather than cause for panic. In June, I signed my oldest son up for summer camp — albeit one with campers confined to small groups. And I hope to send both my kids back to the classroom when school officially reopens.
