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How High-School Popularity Follows You Into Adulthood
New York Magazine: Although we don’t talk much about antiquated psychological concepts like the id, ego, superego, and unconscious anymore, we do know that there are plenty of actions we take without thinking—feelings that seem to bubble up from nowhere and ways that we react to life that just seem to be part of our “personality.” Today, we understand that all of these automatic behaviors, feelings, and thoughts are related to specific activity in our brains. Recent research suggests that, in a very literal sense, our brains were built on a foundation of popularity. Read the whole story: New York Magazine
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New Research From Clinical Psychological Science
A sample of new research exploring links between pupillary response and depression following trauma, predictors of postdeployment functioning among combat veterans, the developmental course of borderline personality disorder, and reasoning among delusion-prone individuals.
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A Plan For Raising Brilliant Kids, According To Science
NPR: "Why are traffic lights red, yellow and green?" When a child asks you a question like this, you have a few options. You can shut her down with a "Just because." You can explain: "Red is for stop and green is for go." Or, you can turn the question back to her and help her figure out the answer with plenty of encouragement. No parent, teacher or caregiver has the time or patience to respond perfectly to all of the many, many, many opportunities like these that come along. But a new book, Becoming Brilliant: What Science Tells Us About Raising Successful Children, is designed to get us thinking about the magnitude of these moments. Read the whole story: NPR
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Want to slow down your aging process? Mind-set can be key, oldest seniors say.
The Washington Post: Wilhelmina Delco learned to swim at 80. Harold Berman is in his 67th year practicing law. Mildred Walston spent 76 years on the job at a candy company. And brothers Joe and Warren Barger are finding new spots in their respective homes for the gold medals they’ve just earned in track-and-field events at the National Senior Games. These octogenarians and nonagenarians may not be widely known outside their local communities, but just as with their more famous peers — think Carl Reiner, Betty White, Dr. Ruth (Westheimer) and Tony Bennett — the thread that binds them is not the year on their birth certificate but the way they live. ...
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Wellbeing: Meditation as Medicine
The Arlington Connection: In her dimly lit basement in Great Falls, Mary Beth Kogod sounds a meditation bell that echoes through the room. The 12 people sitting on cushions in a circle around her close their eyes and listen to the gentle sounds of her voice. “If your mind begins to wander, gently guide it back to the sound of my voice,” said Kogod, as she leads the group in a mindfulness meditation session. ... A 2011 study by the Association for Psychological Science showed that meditation can be effective in boosting memory and concentration. Settings for this mind-body practice now range from workplaces to classrooms. Read the whole story: The Arlington Connection
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Your Hands May Reveal the Struggle to Maintain Self-Control
Watching people’s hands as they choose between long-term and short-term options offers a new approach to studying self-control.
