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How the News Changes the Way We Think and Behave
Alison Holman was working on a fairly ordinary study of mental health across the United States. Then tragedy struck. On 15 April 2013, as hundreds of runners streaked past the finish line at the annual
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Where Psychologists Should Fear to Tread on Covid-19, They Don’t
ONSIDER THE FOLLOWING brain teaser: A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total. The bat costs $1.00 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost? A researcher devised the question 15 years ago as a
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Scientists Have Discovered Why We Love Darth Vader
Star Wars has brought us some of the most iconic villains of all time. It’s so much fun to watch Emperor Palpatine’s scheming and Darth Vader’s brutality. But why do we enjoy bad guys so
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From Voldemort to Vader, Science Says We Prefer Fictional Villains Who Remind Us of Ourselves
People may find fictional villains surprisingly likeable when they share similarities with the viewer or reader. [April 22, 2020]
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What Makes a ‘Good Samaritan’ Good? That Opinion Depends on the Beneficiary
Helping a total stranger is generally viewed as morally better and more trustworthy than someone who helps a family member. But this is true only if the helper did not have to choose between those options. [NEWS Feb. 10, 2020]
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Back Page: Never Fear?
It may sound like he’s inducing amnesia, but psychology professor Tom Beckers is actually testing the possibility of targeting and muffling psychologically crippling memories.