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‘This Is the Price We Pay to Live in This Kind of Society’
Seeing news of mass shooting after mass shooting can produce both a stress response and a cynical sense that nothing will change. ... The sites of mass shootings have become instantly recognizable markers of tragedy in the geography of recent American history: There’s Columbine, Parkland, Aurora, the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Sandy Hook, and Virginia Tech, among many others. And now there’s the Tops market in Buffalo, and Uvalde. Each of these events has its own particulars—and many shootings, like the (at least) 14 over Memorial Day weekend, get scant individual attention—but together they form a gutting pattern.
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Practical Ways to Alleviate Loneliness and Isolation Among Older Adults
Over 14 million older adults live alone in the U.S., according to the Administration on Aging[1]. Unfortunately, loneliness and isolation are serious issues with deleterious health implications. Both are linked to decreased physical and mental health, as well as increased mortality. In fact, The National Institute on Aging notes loneliness and isolation can lead to higher risk of depression in people as they age. Understanding how loneliness and isolation manifest in real-world scenarios can help you spot the signs in yourself or those you love and know how to help. ...
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Facial Expressions Do Not Reveal Emotions
Do your facial movements broadcast your emotions to other people? If you think the answer is yes, think again. This question is under contentious debate. Some experts maintain that people around the world make specific, recognizable faces that express certain emotions, such as smiling in happiness, scowling in anger and gasping with widened eyes in fear. They point to hundreds of studies that appear to demonstrate that smiles, frowns, and so on are universal facial expressions of emotion. They also often cite Charles Darwin’s 1872 book The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals to support the claim that universal expressions evolved by natural selection.
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2022 Spence Award Mini Episode: Brian Anderson and Habit-Reinforcing Behavior
2022 Spence Award winner Brian Anderson talks about his research on what captures human attention and how that influences behavior.
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How Meditation Could Change the Brain
n a time when traumatic events such as pandemics, shootings and loss seem never-ending, mindfulness can be a tool for feeling capable during periods of uncertainty. "Mindfulness is a collection of practices nowadays, aimed to help most of us cultivate moment-to-moment awareness," said Monica Vermani, a clinical psychologist based in Toronto and author of "A Deeper Wellness: Conquering Stress, Mood, Anxiety and Traumas." "You're not only aware of your body; you're aware of your surroundings and your world," she added. "It forces you to pay attention to life (rather) than get caught up in your head with anxious thoughts, worries and ruminating about the future." ...
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U.S. Kids Are Falling Behind Global Competition, but Brain Science Shows How to Catch Up
On vital measures that predict later success in school and life, small children in the U.S. do worse than kids in comparable countries. This distressing information comes from an Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) study of five-year-olds. For years the OECD has been examining the academic achievement of 15-year-old students from around the world, and recently it extended this work to the younger group. On average, American children had lower literacy and numeracy scores, poorer self-regulation skills, and engaged in fewer acts of cooperation, kindness and other prosocial behaviors than did children in England and Estonia, the other countries studied.
