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Are New Year’s Resolutions Powerful or Pointless?
Almost every year of my adult life, I’ve started the New Year with a set of resolutions that I’ve been determined to keep. The results, predictably, have been variable. In 2021, I mostly kept to my fitness goal of doing one 20-minute HIIT workout each day, but I failed miserably at my aim of quitting social media. According to my weekly screen-time reports, I still spend between two and three hours each day on my phone, much of that time doomscrolling.
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Three Ways to be More Rational This Year
Many people use the New Year to turn over a new leaf - to act in a way that is more rational and in our better interests. Yet we all have to confess this is more difficult than it might seem. Here are three examples from my series - Think with Pinker - of common irrationality traps and how to avoid them. 1. Future you When people contrast what they are "thinking" with what they are "feeling", often what they have in mind is the difference between immediate and longer-term enjoyment. For example - a feast now and a slim body tomorrow; a trinket today and sufficient funds when the rent is due; a night of passion and the facts of life nine months later.
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Experts Call The Pandemic A Collective Trauma. Why Don’t We Talk About It That Way?
When we talk about the pandemic, we talk about stress. Burnout. Uncertainty. Isolation. We don't talk as much about trauma. But a growing number of mental health professionals say that's what people are experiencing as the pandemic drags on — and we may need a new way to talk about what they're going through. NPR's Kat Lonsdorf reports. Psychiatrist, neurologist and author Bessel van der Kolk explains how the brain processes and recovers from trauma. His 2004 book The Body Keeps the Score surged to the top of bestseller lists during the pandemic. ...
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New Research From Clinical Psychological Science
A sample of research on craving and smoking, obsessive compulsive symptoms, morality and refugees, emotional reactivity and depression, climate change and children’s mental health, psychopathy, traumatic memories, and mental health during COVID-19.
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New Research in Psychological Science
A sample of research on information search and choice, intergroup conflict, tactile action, attention and visual search, face learning, noise and anchoring effects, children books and gender, and the impact of teacher mindsets on growth-mindset interventions.
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Haunted-House Experience Scares Up Interesting Insights on the Body’s Reaction to Threats
Dilated pupils, sweating, and a rapid heartbeat are some of the physiological responses that people experience when faced with a threatening situation. New research used the immersive experience of a haunted house to reveal that these responses differ depending on the social context and other factors.
