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Why Do People Defend Unjust, Inept, and Corrupt Systems?
Why do we stick up for a system or institution we live in—a government, company, or marriage—even when anyone else can see it is failing miserably? Why do we resist change even when the system is corrupt or unjust? A new article in Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal published by the Association for Psychological Science, illuminates the conditions under which we’re motivated to defend the status quo—a process called “system justification.” System justification isn’t the same as acquiescence, explains Aaron C.
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Ian Dunbar on dog-friendly dog training
Psychology students curious about animal behavior will certainly find this peek into the popular pets' inner workings a nice little intellectual treat. Empathy sits at the center of forging a healthy, loving and mutually beneficial relationship with a dog. Learning such a valuable lesson in the service of a canine companion holds the potential to carry over into one's interaction with other people as well. Watch the Ted Talk here
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Al Seckel says our brains are mis-wired
Thanks to his extensive work in neurosurgery and cognitive science, Al Seckel possesses an intimate understanding of the brain's over-reliance on perception. Because of this biological tendency, humans are susceptible to believing what illusions tell them. Be sure to watch the video of this lecture rather than simply reading the transcript, as the fantastic visuals greatly highlight how this phenomenon works — and gives people exactly what they want to see. Watch the Ted Talk here
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Positive Memories Sustain Us
Huffington Post: Emotional events are memorable. If I talk to people from my parent's generation, they can all tell you where they were and what they were doing when they heard that President Kennedy had been shot, even though this happened almost 50 years ago. For my generation, the day of the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger as well as the attacks on 9/11 have the same force and vividness in memory. All of this would make it seem as though negative events are particularly memorable. And, of course, there is some reason to want to remember negative things that happened in detail.
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Sheena Iyengar on the art of choosing
No matter if options in question stand as amazingly trivial or earth-shatteringly major, the human brain reacts to choice with an incredibly complicated, interesting series of mental processes. Nurture and other cultural factors, of course, do play a significant role in shaping how individuals condition themselves to make choices, as with emotional and mental states. From this vantage point, Sheena Iyengar showcases the wide spectrum of psychological and sociological phenomena that lead into why people do what they do. Watch the Ted Talk here
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How to Beat the Holiday Blues
ABC News: They say it's the most wonderful time of the year. But for many Americans, the holiday season is the most hectic, most stressful and most demanding. "There's the huge expectation to be jolly and cheerful and there's often a big contrast between how people are actually feeling and how they're expected to feel," said Nadine Kaslow, chief psychologist at Emory University School of Medicine. "A lot of the discomfort of the holidays lays in that discrepancy." The financial strain of gift-giving, the memories of holidays past and the weight of wanting everything to be perfect can take its toll. But managing expectations and keeping things laid back can help stave off the holiday blues.