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Why 500,000 COVID-19 Deaths May Not Feel Any Different
Why is it so hard to feel the difference between 400,000 and 500,000 COVID-19 deaths—and how might that impact our decision making during the pandemic? Psychologist Paul Slovic explains the concept of psychic numbing and how humans
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‘Right Now Feels So Long and Without Any End in Sight’
Those thoughts, typed into a digital journal on May 30, could stand as an anthem for this tragic pandemic year, a cry recognized around the world without explanation or context. Yet there is plenty of
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Even I Have to Admit That Being Positive is Good For Your Health
I have often admitted here that I’m a pessimist by nature, but even I have to agree that the health evidence in favour of taking a positive view of life is impressive. The most recent
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Five Things Worth Knowing About Empathy
A tortoise lies on its back, legs waving in distress, until a second tortoise crawls up to turn it over. Millions have watched this scene on YouTube, with many leaving heartfelt comments. “Great sense of solidarity,”
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A Smile at a Wedding and a Cheer at a Soccer Game Are Alike the World Over
In the 19th century, French clinician Guillaume-Benjamin-Amand Duchenne posited that humans universally use their facial muscles to make at least 60 discrete expressions, each reflecting one of 60 specific emotions. Charles Darwin, who greeted that
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New Content From Current Directions in Psychological Science
A sample of articles on collective narcissism, narcissism and intelligence, memory coherence and PTSD, responses to others’ scents, attention control, and motivations to ignore feedback.
