Psychology

Cup Or Cuppa: You Decide If It's Half-Full Or Learning To Have A Positive Attribution Style

The opposing concepts of optimism and pessimism have a long history. Domino and Conway (2002) note that philosophers who viewed the cosmos as generally hospitable to life were optimistic, while those who viewed the cosmos as indifferent or hostile were pe ...

Article - Kim Wombles - May 14 2011 - 1:22pm

War Games Treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?

You'd think if you were adjusted to the horrors of war you'd be immune to concerns about seeing a therapist but some with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can't bring themselves to deal with it face-to-face. ...

Blog Post - Hank Campbell - May 16 2011 - 1:14pm

'What's Your Sign?' No, Try 'Obama or Palin?' To Find A Mate

Astrology, like everything else from the 1970s except "The Godfather" movies (and maybe "Star Wars") is better left to the past.   It can't realy tell you anything at all about another person. However, a study in the Journal of Pol ...

Blog Post - Hank Campbell - May 19 2011 - 2:32pm

A New Theory On Human Cruelty By Simon Baron-Cohen

Simon Baron-Cohen is best known for his research into autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and his theories on the origins of ASDs, from a failure of theory of mind, to fetal testosterone levels, to the latest formulation of a low empathizing/high systemizing ...

Article - Kim Wombles - May 30 2011 - 5:09pm

Junk Science- Atheists Have Better Sex Lives

Just after Satoshi Kanazawa once again trashed the reputation of fringe field evolutionary psychology, independent psychology researcher Darrel Ray wants to tank clinical psychology. His method for its destruction?  An online survey of people with a ' ...

Blog Post - Hank Campbell - Jun 1 2011 - 7:02pm

An Interview With Simon Baron-Cohen On Zero-Empathy, Autism, And Accountability

Simon Baron-Cohen "sat down with me" this week via email and graciously took the time to answer my questions stemming from  my review  of  his new book,  The Science of Evil,  that appeared on my blogs last week. What follows is a response that i ...

Article - Kim Wombles - Jun 7 2011 - 12:48pm

Poor Sleep Linked To Perceived Racism, Including In White People

Perceptions of racism may cause loss of sleep and perhaps loss of sleep may also impact perceptions of racism. A new study has found that self-reported sleep disturbance correlated to perceived racism, which was increased by 61 percent after adjusting for ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 14 2011 - 10:59am

Simon Baron-Cohen, Empathizing, Systemizing, And Wondering: What's My Q?

Recently, I reviewed Simon Baron-Cohen's new book, The Science of Evil, and interviewed him concerning zero empathy, neurological disorders like autism spectrum disorders and personality disorders like narcissism, borderline, and psychopathy. ...

Article - Kim Wombles - Jun 21 2011 - 6:40am

Peace in the Garden: Michael Shermer and Belief Systems

One of my favorite songs of all time is "In the Garden." I know Willie's not got the prettiest of voices, but I love his version best of all. He lives hard and the gravel in his voice lends a depth to the content of the song that others don& ...

Blog Post - Kim Wombles - Jun 19 2011 - 6:42pm

Canadian Kids Prefer Playmates Of The Same Ethnicity

A study in Canada says Canadian pre-schoolers prefer to play with kids more like them. Are Canadian parents ingraining bias in their kids?  Or French-Canadians?  Hard to know. Participants were recruited from six daycares located in Montreal and its suburb ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 21 2011 - 10:31am