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How to Meet Autistic People Halfway
One of the most widely held beliefs about autistic people — that they are not interested in other people — is almost certainly wrong. Our understanding of autism has changed quite a bit over the past century, but this particular belief has been remarkably persistent.
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Yes, Violent Video Games Trigger Aggression, but Debate Lingers
Intuitively, it makes sense Splatterhouse and Postal 2 would serve as virtual training sessions for teens, encouraging them to act out in ways that mimic game-related violence. But many studies have failed to find a clear connection between violent game play and belligerent behavior, and the controversy over whether the shoot-‘em-up world transfers to real life has persisted for years. A new study published on October 1 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences tries to resolve the controversy by weighing the findings of two dozen studies on the topic. The meta-analysis does tie violent video games to a small increase in physical aggression among adolescents and preteens.
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Big Data Gives the “Big 5” Personality Traits a Makeover
From the ancient Greeks to Shakespeare to Hollywood, humans have attempted to understand their fellow man through labeling and categorization. There was Hippocrates’s blood, phlegm, yellow and black bile; the classic dramatic archetypes of hero, ingenue, jester and wise man; and, of course, Carrie, Charlotte, Samantha and Miranda from the famous HBO series More rigorously, psychologists have worked to develop empirical tests that assess core aspects of personality. The “Big Five” traits (extroversion, neuroticism, openness, conscientiousness and agreeableness) emerged in the 1940s through studies of the English language for descriptive terms.
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Harvard Psychology Professor Discusses How Trauma Affects Memory
NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with clinical psychologist Richard McNally about memory retention following traumatic events in light of the sexual assault accusations brought against Judge Brett Kavanaugh.
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New Research From Clinical Psychological Science
Read about the latest research published in Clinical Psychological Science: Examining the Decoupling Model of Equanimity in Mindfulness Training: An Intensive Experience Sampling Study Adi Shoham, Yuval Hadash, and Amit Bernstein Some researchers posit equanimity, or the attitude of embracing either pleasure or pain without reaction, as a mechanism through which mindfulness contributes to well-being. The “decoupling model” suggests that separating desire (wanting and not wanting) from the hedonic nature (pleasant or unpleasant) of an experience may promote equanimity; that is, values and long-term goals may take the place of pleasure in determining desire.
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Social Class Determines Whether Buying Experiences or Things Makes You Happier
What is the best way to spend money to increase your happiness? A series of studies suggests that it may depend, in part, on how wealthy you are.
