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Psychological Science Behind Stress
Feeling a little stressed out? Whether it’s impending final exams, a business presentation, family troubles or just your daily commute stress consumes many of us. Check out this video about the human stress response featuring Robert Sapolsky, Professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences at Stanford University. As we've evolved, the human stress response has saved our lives. Today, we turn on the same life-saving physical reaction to cope with intense, ongoing stressors - and we can't seem to turn it off. Sapolsky reveals just how dangerous prolonged exposure to stress can be in clips from the National Geographic documentary, "Stress: Portrait of a Killer."
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Torture – Too Severe for Empathy
An interrogation practice is classified as torture when it inflicts severe physical or mental pain. But the people who determine what defines severity aren’t experiencing that pain so they underestimate it. A study in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science found support for the empathy gap, a psychological phenomenon in which people in one emotional state cannot appreciate or predict the state of another who is distressed and in pain. To someone who is full, starvation doesn’t seem that bad.
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41st Annual Meeting of the Jean Piaget Society for the Study of Knowledge & Development
Please join us at the 41st Annual Meeting of the Piaget Society for the Study of Knowledge & Development! Early registration ends on April 15th. In association with the Institute of Human Development, University of California, Berkeley The meeting will take place on June 2–4, 2011 in Berkeley, California, USA (Doubletree Marina Hotel) The program theme for this year is Cultural Supports for Developing Mathematical & Scientific Reasoning Organizers: Rich Lehrer & Leona Schauble (Vanderbilt University) As always, our general program for 2011 includes a wide variety of topics on knowledge and development.
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Play, Parents, and Children’s Stress
Like mother like daughter…unfortunately this may also apply to depression. A study published in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science found that children whose mothers had been depressed at some point and whose parents were hostile when playing with them had higher stress. Experimenters measured three-year-old children on how upset they became by stressful situations (e.g. a stranger approaching to talk to them, giving them a toy box with keys that don’t fit in the lock, or giving them an empty box wrapped up like a present). Half an hour later, the experimenter measured the children’s cortisol levels, a stress hormone.
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Cognitive and Motivation Style Differences Underlying Political Orientation
APS Fellow John Jost of New York University discusses cognitive and motivation style differences underlying political orientation. Just another example of how psychological science plays a role in our everyday lives, including politics. Want more information on this topic? Check out other research done by John Jost: Napier, J.L., & Jost, J.T. (2008). Why are conservatives happier than liberals? Psychological Science, 19, 565-572. Jost, J.T., Nosek, B.A. & Gosling, S.D. (2008). Ideology: Its resurgence in social, personality, and political psychology. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 3,126-136. Wakslak, C., Jost, J.T., Tyler, T.R., & Chen, E. (2007).
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Sneaky Stars and Stripes
Believe it or not, basking in the glow of the grand old flag may shift our political beliefs. A study in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science found that exposure to the American flag led to a shift toward Republican beliefs, attitudes, and voting behavior, for both Republican and Democratic participants.
