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A Gentler, Better Way to Change Minds
What is the point of arguing with someone who disagrees with you? Presumably, you would like them to change their mind. But that’s easier said than done: Research shows that changing minds, especially changing beliefs that are tied strongly to people’s identity, is extremely difficult. As one scholar put it, this personal attachment to beliefs encourages “competitive personal contests rather than collaborative searches for the truth.” ...
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It’s Not Just You: ‘Senior Moments’ Became More Widespread During the Pandemic
If you aren’t a senior, but still experiencing ‘senior moments,’ you are in good company, according to recent Wall Street Journal report. “Our brains are like computers with so many tabs open right now,” said Dr. Sara C. Mednick, a neuroscientist and professor of cognitive science at the University of California, Irvine. “This slows down our processing power, and memory is one of the areas that falters.” ‘Senior moments,’ otherwise known as fleeting bursts of forgetfulness, are becoming more commonplace, according to memory experts. ...
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‘It’s Life or Death’: The Mental Health Crisis Among U.S. Teens
One evening last April, an anxious and free-spirited 13-year-old girl in suburban Minneapolis sprang furious from a chair in the living room and ran from the house — out a sliding door, across the patio, through the backyard and into the woods. Moments earlier, the girl’s mother, Linda, had stolen a look at her daughter’s smartphone. The teenager, incensed by the intrusion, had grabbed the phone and fled. (The adolescent is being identified by an initial, M, and the parents by first name only, to protect the family’s privacy.) Linda was alarmed by photos she had seen on the phone. Some showed blood on M’s ankles from intentional self-harm.
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Trauma and Ukraine: The World Health Organization Leveraged Psychological Science to Help Prepare Us for This Moment
Addressing a crisis like this means looking directly at the problem-solving needs that arise in times of war, danger, or difficulty and empowering ourselves to meet these needs.
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Texas Is About to Execute a Woman for Her Daughter’s Death. But She May Well Be Innocent
The clock is ticking. On April 27, the state of Texas is scheduled to execute by lethal injection 53 year-old Melissa Lucio. In 2008, Ms. Lucio was convicted largely on the basis of a confession for the alleged murder of her two-year-old daughter, Mariah. Now her attorneys have filed a clemency petition to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. They point to evidence indicating that the child died from injuries resulting from an accident, not murder. I did not work on this case and am not privy to the entire case file, so I am not in a position to argue for Ms. Lucio’s actual innocence.
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False Confessions: A Current Matter of Life and Death
On April 27, Melissa Lucio is scheduled to be executed in Texas for the alleged murder of her 2-year-old daughter. APS James McKeen Cattell Fellow Saul Kassin explains how the psychological science on false confessions relates to this life-or-death case.
