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Trying to Cure Depression, but Inspiring Torture
The New Yorker: In May, 2002, Martin Seligman, the Director of the Positive Psychology Center, at the University of Pennsylvania, was giving a lecture at the San Diego Naval Base. It had been sponsored by
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The World Is Not Falling Apart
Slate: It’s a good time to be a pessimist. ISIS, Crimea, Donetsk, Gaza, Burma, Ebola, school shootings, campus rapes, wife-beating athletes, lethal cops—who can avoid the feeling that things fall apart, the center cannot hold?
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Positive Thinking Doesn’t Work; Here’s What Does
New York Magazine: We were told for years, by Oprah and others, that positive thinking was the key to achieving our goals. Now mounting evidence suggests exactly the opposite: that spending a lot of time thinking about
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Thanksgiving and Gratitude: The Science of Happier Holidays
The Wall Street Journal: As the holiday shopping season moves into high gear, it’s easy to get caught up in the rush of spending. But consider this conclusion from recent scientific research: Materialistic people are
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Airport Security; Attitudes to Psychosis; Walking Happy
BBC: Home Secretary Theresa May says the UK is facing a terror threat “perhaps greater than it has ever been”, and this week’s anti-terrorism bill includes tighter airport security. But two psychology professors say current screening
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The Case Against Positive Thinking
The Wall Street Journal: Blame it on Oprah. Positive thinking is touted as the key that unlocks success (remember “The Secret”, which the Oprah Winfrey‘s show helped make an international best-seller?), but it turns out that an
