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A Question for the Holiday Season: Who among Us Identifies with All of Humanity?
Scientific American: The holiday season is a time of giving and receiving, reflection on what is and what could be—and perhaps more than a little guilt. We all want to promote world peace and live in harmony, but what does that really mean? What does the intersection of praxis and theory look like? Is it a bumper sticker on your car, an annual donation to an international aid group, a bi-annual religious service attendance of your choice? New research attempts to quantify some of these philosophical questions. The results could shed light on everything from liberal-conservative differences to conflict resolution between Israel and Palestine.
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For the Old, Less Sense of Whom to Trust
The New York Times: There’s a reason so many older people fall for financial scams, new research suggests. They don’t respond as readily to visual cues that suggest a person might be untrustworthy, and their brains don’t send out as many warning signals that ignite a danger-ahead gut response. The research, published last week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is the first to show that older adults’ vulnerability to fraud may be rooted in age-related neurological changes.
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APS Announces Inaugural Issue of New Journal, Clinical Psychological Science
The Association for Psychological Science and SAGE Publications are pleased to announce the inaugural issue of Clinical Psychological Science (CPS), a unique new journal that highlights cutting-edge research in the field of clinical psychological science. Headed by Founding Editor Alan E. Kazdin, John M. Musser Professor of Psychology and Child Psychiatry at Yale University and Director of the Yale Parenting Center, and a distinguished team of associate editors — Tyrone D. Cannon of Yale University; Emily A. Holmes of MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge; Jill M. Hooley of Harvard University; and Kenneth J.
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Why Old People Get Scammed
Science: Despite long experience with the ways of the world, older people are especially vulnerable to fraud. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), up to 80% of scam victims are over 65. One explanation may lie in a brain region that serves as a built-in crook detector. Called the anterior insula, this structure—which fires up in response to the face of an unsavory character—is less active in older people, possibly making them less cagey than younger folks, a new study finds. Both FTC and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have found that older people are easy marks due in part to their tendency to accentuate the positive.
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Six Books to Build a Dream On
The Wall Street Journal: Now that you have all these ideas about what you'd like to change (whether it's starting an exercise plan, plotting a job hunt, managing your budget or moving elsewhere), here's the book to tell you how to get going: "Changeology: 5 Steps to Realizing Your Goals and Resolutions" by John Norcross. A leading researcher on the psychology of change, Mr. Norcross has identified five distinct stages common to successful behavioral change, which he calls the five P's: psych (getting ready by specifying realistic goals), prep (preparing to take the leap), perspire (taking action), persevere (managing slips) and persist (maintaining change).
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Connecticut School Shooting: 4 Tips to Help Kids Cope
ABC: Alan Kazdin, a professor of child psychology at Yale University, offers four tips for parents to frame that discussion and help their kids cope. Don’t Over-Talk This Parents can easily project their own fears onto their kids. Your kids will likely hear about it, so your child has questions. Answer at the level of the question. Parents shouldn’t dwell on the tragic nature of it, but don’t be evasive. Don’t lie, don’t withhold.
