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How the Intolerable Becomes Acceptable
Public opinion can often seem mercurial. Obamacare was widely unpopular—until it took effect. The Republican tax plan was widely derided when it was proposed and debated, but people now seem to be warming to it. Why the shifts? New research offers one likely answer: Once something becomes real, we are more inclined to view it more positively. "People will often rationalize the status quo," writes University of British Columbia psychologist Kristin Laurin. In the journal Psychological Science, she analyzes public opinion on three divisive issues, and finds acceptance of the final outcome spikes soon after the matter is settled.
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How mass school shootings affect the education of students who survive
A Washington Post analysis found that more than 150,000 students attending at least 170 primary or secondary schools in the United States have experienced a shooting on campus since the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, which is sometimes cited as the first in a string of modern mass school shootings. What happens to these survivors a year, or two, or three later? Is their schooling affected? How have they developed emotionally?
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The Forum @ DC: Integrative Science Tackling Challenges in Government
The Forum @ DC brought together researchers from many disciplines to discuss how scientific research can be used to improve local, state, and national governments.
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Intelligent Machines That Learn Like Children
Machines that learn like children provide deep insights into how the mind and body act together to bootstrap knowledge and skills. Deon, a fictional engineer in the 2015 sci-fi film Chappie, wants to create a machine that can think and feel. To this end, he writes an artificial-intelligence program that can learn like a child. Deon's test subject, Chappie, starts off with a relatively blank mental slate. By simply observing and experimenting with his surroundings, he acquires general knowledge, language and complex skills—a task that eludes even the most advanced AI systems we have today.
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I have 1,605 Facebook friends. Why do I feel so alone?
My name is Hadiya. And sometimes, I feel lonely. Even the people who know me best would be astounded by that assertion. Most people would label me an extrovert. I am confident. I have no trouble striking up a conversation with strangers, and do so — in bars, online, at the coffee shop. I play team sports once or twice a week. I have 1,605 Facebook friends — about 1,300 more than the average user. My life is very busy and full of lectures and concerts, meetings and comedy shows. It’s completely acceptable, even a bit of a brag really, to talk about needing or wanting alone time.
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‘Be Bold:’ Dacher Keltner highlights the importance of emotion and what it takes to be a leading psychologist.
The Beatles once said, “All you need is love,” but it doesn’t take long living a day in the life of a UC Berkeley student to realize that feelings are a lot more complicated than that. College is a time when having an understanding of your own emotional wellbeing is critical to maintaining a happy life. But when faced with the chronic stress, pressure and competition associated with being a student, mitigating these inflammatory conditions can be a resolutely difficult task. Now factor in midterm season. Needless to say, the emotions we feel play a huge role in our lives, and if we don’t adopt a mindful mentality, they can come to dominate who we are as individuals.
