For psych teachers ... a nice example of the availability heuristic in operation...people judging reality by easily available images of horrific happenings, rather than data. Anecdotes>Statistics.

James Maas has died, at 86. Jim taught more than 65,000 intro psych students at Cornell, in an 1800-seat hall. He also wrote/spoke widely on sleep. Each November, for some 15 years, I flew to Ithaca to speak to his class and spend time with Jim and his students. He was a great encourager and friend.

For psych teachers: A nifty figure-ground example.

Is Seasonal Affective Disorder a Zombie Idea? “The great tragedy of Science,” observed biologist Thomas Huxley in 1870, is “the slaying of a beautiful hypothesis by an ugly fact.” Yet some ideas, once rooted, believed, and publicized, become hard...

Does seasonal affective disorder—aka wintertime depression—exist? Or is misery a year-round malady? I shine some big data light on the supposed seasonality of sadness. I’m curious: Do you, too, find the data persuasive, or at least suggestive? ow.ly/iUhj50Wio3U

Before surmising that LA is in chaos, consider LA’s vastness (500 sq. miles and 4 million people). Ditto other cities: The media give us few images of planes that land, or protests that are peaceful. If regrettable violence is a pin prick in a city, it may in our minds seem like chaotic devastation.

A gentle reminder as we process protest images this week: Human judgment is easily hijacked by memorable graphic images, such as a burning LA Waygo car, that get replayed over and again. Psych students know the phenomenon as the “availability heuristic” (judging reality by easy-to-picture examples).

An Autism Epidemic? You are an educated reader, so I know that you know that vaccines do not cause autism. However, you probably have also read headlines such as the recent U.S. Health and Human Services release, “Autism...

“Autism Epidemic Runs Rampant,” declared a recent HHS release. Has there actually been an epidemic-level increase in autism rates? Might vaccines be involved even in a small way? For my 2 cents, see community.macmillanlearning.com/t5/talk-psyc...

Is this the time of monsters — or miracles? Headlines warn of a world in collapse, but solutions journalist Angus Hervey finds the overlooked triumphs that never make the news — from the rollout of malaria vaccines to the recovery of sea turtle...

Depressed by today's politics and environmental destruction? Then perhaps treat yourself to 10 minutes of good news (from www.ted.com/talks/angus_...) or sign up for the weekly www.fixthenews.com newsletter.

Better to Be Color-Blind or Racially Aware? The new U.S. Administration has vowed to end diversity initiatives and “forge a society that is color-blind and merit-based.” Do its policies herald a new era in which all are welcome? Does its “color...

What are the arguments for and against today’s new “color-blind” policies? I review some pertinent research. community.macmillanlearning.com/t5/talk-psyc...

We often fear the wrong things, partly by feeling anxious when not in control (as when on a low-risk airline flight vs. driving). Likewise, Waymo robo taxis may feel scarier. But compared w/ human drivers have about 90% fewer property damage and injury claims. storage.googleapis.com/waymo-upload...

Dining Alone In his landmark 2000 book, Bowling Alone, Harvard public policy researcher Robert Putnam documented “the collapse of American community,” marked by declining participation in civic and religious organ...

Social connections boost happiness. Yet adults—especially older adults—are spending more time alone. So, I wondered, does communal senior living enhance late-life well-being? community.macmillanlearning.com/t5/talk-psyc...

For more than 40 years I've lived one block from my city's (Holland, MI) gathering place for assorted small protest gatherings. Today's HandsOff assemblage is multiplies anything previously seen, with streets parked up for blocks around and passing cars tooting their support.

Pandemic's Effects Linger in Americans' Health Ratings After sliding over the past decade, Americans' reports of their own mental and physical health held steady last year at the lowest levels in Gallup's 24-year trend.

More evidence re: teen/young adult mental health decline. In 2004, 48% of 18- to 29-year old U.S. women told Gallup their mental health was “excellent," as did 15% in 2024. For same-age men, the drop was from 49% to 33%. For folks over 50, little change. Source: news.gallup.com/poll/658082/...

Today is the 83rd anniversary of the last use of the Alien Enemies Act, as the WWII exclusion of Japanese Americans began on my home island. For two social psychological lessons from this history, which are applicable to today's happenings, see community.macmillanlearning.com/t5/talk-psyc...

Does Aptitude Testing Support, or Impede, Undergraduate Opportunity? If blessed with excess applicants, how should colleges and universities screen and select those most likely to thrive academically, to graduate, and ultimately to vocationally succeed?   As a general ...

With grade inflation, high school GPA is less predictive of academic success—thus increasing admissions use of extracurricular activities, coached essays, etc. that advantage upscale students. Now, as I report, standardized tests are making a comeback. community.macmillanlearning.com/t5/talk-psyc...

Shared Joy: Rediscovering the Power of Human Connections The drains on our face-to-face relationships are baked into modern life. But we are not helpless.

Some evidence and my 2 cents on the happy power of social connections, from micro relationships to friendships to friendships sealed with commitment (aka marriage, and for both straight and gay folks). ifstudies.org/blog/shared-...

Nidoto Nai Yoni: Let It Not Happen Again Plans to detain millions of undocumented immigrants in “vast holding facilities” evoke déjà vu for us folks native to Puget Sound’s Bainbridge Island. We’ve heard that story before. Bainbridge was gro...

So true… see community.macmillanlearning.com/t5/talk-psyc... , Mr. Takei, and feel free to share.

I'm reading many comments from outraged folks these days (you, too?, and perhaps you're feeling it?). The late Archbishop Desmond Tutu found a silver lining in such: “We are made for goodness. Why else do we get so outraged by wrong?”

Autism Spectrum Disorder Is Increasing—Or Is It? In Exploring Psychology, 12th Edition, Nathan DeWall and I report that autism spectrum disorder (ASD) “is now diagnosed in 1 in 38 children in South Korea, 1 in 54 in the United States, 1 in 66 in Can...

“Autism in American children has skyrocketed,” says an HHS rep, explaining the CDC's undertaking more research on the oft-debunked claim of a vaccine-ASD link. Or is the increase partly a growing labeling of children with communication difficulties? community.macmillanlearning.com/t5/talk-psyc...

Finding Happiness as Social Animals What predicts a happy life? As I explained long ago in The Pursuit of Happiness, there are some things that I might have guessed would matter. But one’s age, gender, or race, for example, matter littl...

Although increasing social malnutrition starves our pursuit of happiness, there, I believe, practical strategies for nourishing our human connections and replenishing joy. community.macmillanlearning.com/t5/talk-psyc...

Is the Teaching of Psychology Liberal or Conservative? Yes! (But Mostly It’s Neither) How might teachers of psychology respond to allegations that their subject undermines conservative values? David Myers has some thoughts.

Some reflections on the teaching of psychology in today's political environment: www.psychologicalscience.org/publications...

It's a familiar social psychological lesson: External threats and shared predicaments promote group unity. www.yahoo.com/news/ukraini...

Declining Youth Well-being in 167 UN Countries. Does Survey Mode, or Question Matter? Founded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, an...

The much-discussed youth well-being decline is global. www.nber.org/papers/w33415

Does A Powerful Social Psychology Principle Explain Why Trump Won? Among the proffered explanations for Donald Trump’s 1.47 percent victory margin over Kamala Harris, the most prominent has been inflation. Pandemic-era inflation did outpace Americans’ earnings growth...

Bewildered by the U.S. presidential outcome? The psychology of how we explain the good and bad events of our lives helps explain why voters elected change. community.macmillanlearning.com/t5/talk-psyc...

For more on the WWII exclusion, from where it all began--and some social psychological lessons being reenacted today, see community.macmillanlearning.com/t5/talk-psyc...

Nidoto Nai Yoni: Let It Not Happen Again Plans to detain millions of undocumented immigrants in “vast holding facilities” evoke déjà vu for us folks native to Puget Sound’s Bainbridge Island. We’ve heard that story before. Bainbridge was gro...

For us Bainbridge Islanders, the proposed U.S. mass immigrant exclusion evokes memories of a prior mass exclusion—and a reminder of psychological lessons concerning misplaced fears, and the benefits of social contact. A story worth retelling: community.macmillanlearning.com/t5/talk-psyc...

The un-celebrity president: Jimmy Carter shuns riches, lives modestly in his Georgia hometown The un-celebrity president: Thirty-seven years after leaving office, Jimmy Carter shuns riches, lives modestly in his Georgia hometown

www.washingtonpost.com/news/nationa... An inspiring example of self-giving humility

86 Stories of Progress from 2024 Not everything that happened this year was terrible.

Needs some good news to cheer you up at the end of 2024? fixthenews.com/86-stories-p...

The Ordinary Explanations Behind the Reported Drone Sightings (Gift Article) As tips roll in, most reported incidents involve piloted planes and hobby drones, not foreign spying or secret programs, officials say.

For psych instructors--a nice example of size-distance misperception, supported by perceptual set (from media publicity) to see distant planes as closer drones? www.nytimes.com/2024/12/16/u...

Therapy for Our Fears—Without Our Awareness Am I no longer young, and still not half-perfect? Let me keep my mind on what matters, which is my work, which is mostly standing still and learning to be astonished. ~ from Mary Oliver’s “Messenger” ...

Psychological science continues to amaze me, most recently with evidence of a stress-free (unconscious!) cure for phobias . . . as I explain in a new essay: community.macmillanlearning.com/t5/talk-psyc...