Psychology

Why We Are Wired to Connect

Mind Matters • October 2013

When we experience social pain — a snub, a cruel word — the feeling is as real as physical pain. That finding is among those

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Secrets of the Criminal Mind

Mind Matters • May 2013

What is science revealing about the nature of the criminal mind? Adrian Raine, a professor at the university of Pennsylvania, is an expert in the

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Brain Games are Bogus

NewYorker.com • April 2013

  A decade ago, a young Swedish researcher named Torkel Klingberg made a spectacular discovery. He gave a group of children computer games designed to boost

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The Nocebo Effect: How We Worry Ourselves Sick

NewYorker.com • April 2013

Many of us hope to find Wi-Fi wherever we go, preferably for free. But some people devote their lives to avoiding Wi-Fi altogether. Sufferers of

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How to Stop Bullying

Mind Matters • February 2013

In January of 2010, a teenage girl named Phoebe Prince walked home from school, let herself into the family apartment and hung herself in a

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The Brilliance of the Dog Mind

Mind Matters • February 2013

Just about every dog owner is convinced their dog is a genius. For a long time, scientists did not take their pronouncements particularly seriously, but

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Autism Inc.

New York Times Magazine • November 2012

When Thorkil Sonne and his wife, Annette, learned that their 3-year-old son, Lars, had autism, they did what any parent who has faith in reason

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Beehive management

Boston Globe • April 2012

FOR THOSE interested in doing a better job of managing people - supporting them, inspiring them to greatness - there is plenty of advice out

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Getting it all Done

Boston Globe • April 2012

AMERICA HAS a time problem. About half of us tell pollsters that we don't have enough time to do what we want. Another survey found

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In godless we don’t trust

Boston Globe • January 2012

THIS CAMPAIGN season, much has been made of Mitt Romney's faith and whether his Mormonism represents an insurmountable barrier in his quest for the presidency. But

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The Power of Introverts

Mind Matters • January 2012

Do you enjoy having time to yourself, but always feel a little guilty about it? Then Susan Cain’s “Quiet : The Power of Introverts

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Control Yourself

Boston Globe • January 2012

OU'VE PROBABLY tried exercise. Maybe you've given Atkins a shot or done time on Weight Watchers. But, even if you've tried a thousand ways to

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The Perfect Gift

Boston Globe • December 2011

THE HIGH season of gifts is now upon us, and it is time to face a few uncomfortable truths: You do not know what most

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Neuroscience Challenges Ideas about Free Will

Mind Matters • November 2011

Do we have free will? It is an age-old question which has attracted the attention of philosophers, theologians, lawyers and political theorists. Now it is

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The Truth about Autism

Boston Globe • November 2011

THERE IS, living among us, a group of people with remarkable intellectual gifts. They excel at spotting patterns despite huge distractions. They are able to discern

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Modern psychology's God problem

Boston Globe • October 2011

THINK ABOUT something that is very important to you. Like the ability to walk, or your vision. Now carefully visualize an entire day without it.

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The Dark Side of Happiness

Boston Globe • October 2011

You can be happy starting today! Don't sit by any longer, while friends and co-workers enjoy the good life. Happiness is yours for the taking:

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The Secret Language Code

Mind Matters • August 2011

Are there hidden messages in your emails? Yes, and in everything you write or say, according to James Pennebaker, chair of the department of psychology

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Psychologists Put "Character" Under Microscope — and it Vanishes

Mind Matters • May 2011

What can science reveal about our “character” — that core of good, or evil, that shapes our moral behavior? The answer, according to a new

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