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A Psychologist Explains Why We Find Some Food Disgusting – and why it Matters
In wealthy societies we’ve become increasingly picky about what we eat. The “wrong” fruits and vegetables, the “wrong” animal parts, and the “wrong” animals inspire varying degrees of “yuck”. ... The disgust system tends to be “conservative” – rejecting valid sources of possible nutrition that have characteristics implying they might be risky, and guiding us towards food choices that are ostensibly safer. Research by University of British Columbia psychologist Mark Schaller and colleagues suggests people who live in areas with historically high rates of disease not only have stricter food preparation rules but more “conservative” cultural traditions generally.
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Why it’s Imperative We All Learn to be ‘Emotion Scientists’
Our lives are saturated with emotions – sadness, disappointment, anxiety, irritation, enthusiasm, and even tranquility. Sometimes – often – those feelings are inconvenient. They get in the way of our busy lives, or at least that’s what we tell ourselves. So we do our best to ignore them. It's everywhere, from the stiff upper lip of our country's Puritan founders to the tough-it-out ethos of schoolyards and playgrounds. We all believe that our feelings are important and deserve to be addressed respectfully and fully. But we also think of emotions as being disruptive and unproductive – at work, at home, and everywhere else. ...
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New Research From Clinical Psychological Science
A sampling of research on depression rates among M-Turkers,
treating the symptoms of
anorexia nervosa, social anxiety and dating, and the use of brain imaging to study worry. -
Psychology explains why Trump supporters shrug at impeachment
Impeachment fills the headlines, yet President Trump’s hard-core supporters so far brush aside the revelations of wrongdoing. It boggles the mind. How can these Americans remain so steadfast? And will they persist? Was Trump right to claim that “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters”? Are Trump’s supporters akin to cult members? Our discipline, social psychology, supplies some answers. ... Widespread acceptance of Trump’s well-documented lies is especially puzzling, but social psychology offers explanations. First is the power of mere repetition (“crooked Hillary,” “witch hunt,” “fake news”).
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The Wisdom Your Body Knows
This has been a golden age for brain research. We now have amazing brain scans that show which networks in the brain ramp up during different activities. But this emphasis on the brain has subtly fed the illusion that thinking happens only from the neck up. It’s fed the illusion that the advanced parts of our thinking are the “rational” parts up top that try to control the more “primitive” parts down below. ... One of the leaders in this field is Stephen W. Porges of Indiana University. When you enter a new situation, Porges argues, your body reacts. Your heart rate may go up. Your blood pressure may change. Signals go up to the brain, which records the “autonomic state” you are in. ...
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Feeding the Green-Eyed Monster: What Happens When Envy Turns Ugly
Envy: it's an unflattering, miserable emotion. And it's universal. All of us, at some time or another, will experience that feeling of wanting what someone else has, and resenting them for having it. Of course, like all human emotions, envy has a purpose. It's a tool for social comparison, one that can alert us to imbalances in the social hierarchy. Sometimes, these feelings of envy can prompt us to improve our lives, says Harvard social psychologist Mina Cikara. "If you have more than what I have, I may be inspired by what you have," she says.
