Sunday, July 31, 2011

How Can We Spot a Mass Murderer?

Anatomy of the Norwegian Rampage :

Our Rage Epidemic Spreads to Scandinavia


Why We Shouldn't Be Suspicious of Solitude


What Caused the Oslo Shooting?
How do we make sense of this terrible tragedy?

The Roots of Extremism
Does the ingroup-outgroup bias form the basis of extremism?

Xenophobia: Why We Fear the Unknown
The roots of anti-immigrant sentiment.

Portrait of a Killer
We can't profile our way out of mass murders

The End of Empathy?
Empathy is declining, but is it dead?

Myths of Coping
We all heal from tragedy differently.

Behind the Violence: Mental Illness
From Tucson to Oslo, these men needed help.

The Know-it-all Fallacy: "Yeah, but he's got an answer for that too!"
An ample supply of rationales and opinions worth considering

Finding psychopathy in unexpected places
Uses (and abuses) of psychiatric diagnoses and checklists

Emotional Story-Telling after Stressful Experiences: A Way to Find Meaning
Can writing memoirs transform the meaning of trauma?

Stepping Back from Political Fanaticism
Why we should tone it down.

Anger Disorder: What It Is and What We Can Do About It
Anger Disorder: What It Is and What We Can Do About It

Anger Disorder (Part Two): Can Bitterness Become a Mental Disorder?
Can Bitterness Become a Mental Disorder?

Radical Embitterment: The Unconscious Psychology of Terrorists
What makes someone psychologically susceptible to recruitment by Al-Qaeda?

When Right-Wing Hate Kills
Was Breivik mentally ill, or brainwashed by propaganda?

Handling emergencies: A psychological first-aid kit
Five ways psychology can help in an emergency

Angry Rhetoric is a Response to Uncertainty and Fear
Talk of toning down the talk misses the point...We're WORRIED!

The 27 Club: A Life Cut Short

Could Neuroscience Have Helped Amy Winehouse?


Who's Responsible for Amy's Death?


Why Rock Stars Die at 27


Celebrity Rehab


Topsy Turvy - the Death of Jeret Peterson
We overrate our most popular mental health therapies' effectiveness

The Most Powerful Words Ever Spoken
Do You Need Someone to Talk to?

Thinking about Amy Winehouse at the National Institute on Drug Abuse
Taking certain drugs is like playing Russian Roulette

Did Cavemen Have Addictions, Too?
It's not just celebrities who need "time out" to go back to their roots.

Our Rehab Habit
What's so addictive about the struggles of tedious addicts?

The Good and Evil of Alcohol
Why do people drink? Why do they abstain?

The Key to Alcohol Dependence
Addiction is almost always about trying to fix feeling bad.

Addiction and the Human Car Wreck
The antidote to addiction is learning to tolerate reality.

Why have famous musicians died at 27?
Is there such thing as a "27 Curse"?

The Real Lives of the Romantics? Not So Pretty
The lives of those famous poets were anything but romantic.

Famous People and Their Bad Decisions
Why do famous people often get in such big trouble?

Charlie Sheen and the Science of Stand-Up Comedy
Charlie Sheen and the science of stand-up comedy

The Lonely Creativity of David Foster Wallace
Twelve years before his suicide, David Foster Wallace shared his inner self.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

When Art Heals

You don't have to be Van Gogh or Mozart. Letting your hands play eases depression, aging, and stress.

Draw Out Your Feelings


How Music Keeps You Young


Fired to Write


Unlocking the Mysteries of The Artistic Mind


Prettier in Pictures


Inside Out


Write Away the Blues


Art for Life


Art, Madness and Motherhood
Linda Gray Sexton's Half in Love, Surviving the Legacy of Suicide
http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201107/when-art-heals/art-madness-and-motherhood

Wrestling With Demons: The Spiritual Redemption of Mickey Rourke
Healing the painful past does not mean forgetting it.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201107/when-art-heals/wrestling-demons-the-spiritual-redemption-mickey-rourke

Faith and Fiction, by Jennifer Haupt
Best-Selling Authors Tell What Keeps Them Writing
http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201107/when-art-heals/faith-and-fiction-jennifer-haupt

Emotional Story-Telling after Stressful Experiences: A Way to Find Meaning
Can writing memoirs transform the meaning of trauma?
http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201107/when-art-heals/emotional-story-telling-after-stressful-experiences-way-find-meani

Healing Inspiration
Make those skeletons in your closet dance!
http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201107/when-art-heals/healing-inspiration

How to pick a movie
How to be 70% sure you'll like that movie
http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201107/when-art-heals/how-pick-movie

Hit Me With Music
Can music be the true equalizer?

A Picasso Can Heal You
Who's the artist and who's the psychiatrist?

The Hand-Heart Connection
Making art can ease depression.

Must Poets Be Depressed?
Nope. Meet poets on Prozac.

Art In Bed
If you're laid up, start knitting.

Make Art, Lose Weight?
It's harder to eat when you're covered in glitter.

Getting a Boost from Bach or the Beatles
Do you consider music to be therapy?

Spies, Lies, and Schadenfreude

The scandal engulfing Rupert Murdoch's news empire raises concern about collusion in elite British circles, and one key question about human nature: Why does it feel so good to watch powerful figures fall?


Two Fairly Goodlooking Men in Prison
Can you guess what crime a man will commit from his hair style?

Bridling envy in the age of Facebook
Social status hierarchy negotiation now follows us 24/7

Laugh At Your Own Risk
Why Schadenfreude makes us miserable

Your Pain, My Gain
Your brain's pleasure center lights up when your rival suffers.

Promises promises: When politicians don’t deliver
The harsh reality of the morning after

The Cardinal Sins of Bad Leaders: Revisiting Bosses From Hell
What are the worst sins that a leader can commit?

What’s With All These Big-Time Liars?
Why do people lie and then keep lying?
http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201107/spies-lies-and-schadenfreude/what-s-all-these-big-time-liars

How Power Corrupts Leaders
Why and how does power corrupt leaders?
http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201107/spies-lies-and-schadenfreude/how-power-corrupts-leaders

Do Presidents Lie?
How are great liars and great leaders alike?
http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201107/spies-lies-and-schadenfreude/do-presidents-lie

Just Don't Do It
Actively doing something wrong vs. staying passive.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201107/spies-and-lies/just-dont-do-it

Excuses, excuses, excuses: Why people lie, cheat, and procrastinate
Why do honest people lie, cheat, and make excuses?
http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201107/spies-and-lies/excuses-excuses-excuses-why-people-lie-cheat-and-procrastinate

How to Withstand a Parliamentary Inquiry
Unlike Americans, British media executives play parliamentary hearings well
http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201107/spies-and-lies/how-withstand-parliamentary-inquiry

Psychopathy in Unexpected Places
What our leaders—and office mates—are hiding.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201107/spies-and-lies/psychopathy-in-unexpected-places

Thursday, July 21, 2011

The Art of Failing

The next best thing to success is knowing how to recover from defeat.

The Jerk-Free Zone

How to spot difficult people—and get out of harm's way.

Psychopath Cowboys; Sociopath Herds: A New Theory of How Evil Happens

Dealing with the Put-Downs
Sometimes it really is about them, not you

Fourteen surefire signs that you're dealing with a con artist
Fourteen Surefire Signs That You're Dealing With A Sleazeball

How to Get Rid of Your Boss (without changing jobs)
What if your worst colleague is your boss?

The media's role in perpetuating rape myths: A case study
How headlines reinforce men's rape myths

Managing Difficult People
It's not about them, it's about you.

Tame Your “Horrible Boss”
How to Manage a Big Bad Baby of a Boss

Excuses, excuses, excuses: Why people lie, cheat, and procrastinate
Why do honest people lie, cheat, and make excuses?

Ten Tips to Talk About Anything with Anyone
Even introverts can learn to make small talk

The Perils of Listening Well
Introverts tend to be good listeners, but it can wear us out.

How To Deal With “Multiple Boss Madness”
Learn "Multiple Boss Mastery" and Reduce Job Stress

Is Your Boss a Bully? Take This Test.
Find out if your boss is a bully. Take this test.

Four Steps for Stopping Workplace Bullies
What can leaders do to stop bullies? A lot!

How to Spot a Bad Leader
Learn the tactics used by leaders from hell

The Survival Guide for Dealing with Chronic Complainers
How to deal with chronic complainers

Getting Over a Narcissistic Mother
Repairing the damage from your narcissistic mom.

What Would the Dalai Lama Do?
A Buddhist approach to difficult people.

Childish Antics
How to handle immaturity.

Anger After Injury
Brain trauma makes people hard to talk to.

Boost Your Bond

Sometimes making one small change can do wonders for your love life.

Six ways to identify and fix infidelity in long-term relationships

The Antidote to Anger and Frustration
The power of emotional validation

The Science of Effective Apologies
The science of apologies

Lowering the odds of divorce: Ways to boost your marital longevity
How to beat the odds of divorce

Keeping those romantic bonds alive
What makes long-term relationships last

Reflective giving for a happier marriage
New research sheds light on giving and the modern marriage

The Lazy Way to Stay in Love
Steer your limbic system to sustain romance.

The not-so-empty nest: Coping with kids back home
Having kids at home can be fun but stressful. How can you maximize the fun part?

In Conversation With Jennifer Lauck
On self-protection, longing, childhood, loss, love...and more.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201107/boost-your-bond/in-conversation-jennifer-lauck

4 Common Phrases that Let You Know Your Spouse is Being Passive Aggressive
Fine. Whatever. And other signs of passive aggression in a marriage.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201107/boost-your-bond/4-common-phrases-let-you-know-your-spouse-is-being-passive-aggres

4 Essential Rules for Approaching Couples Conflict
How can you get your partner to be more responsive to your needs?
http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201107/boost-your-bond/4-essential-rules-approaching-couples-conflict

How to Optimize Your Relationship: The 70/70 Compromise
If there's a "magic bullet" for resolving couples conflict, what is it?
http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201107/boost-your-bond/how-optimize-your-relationship-the-7070-compromise

Stop Criticizing Your Mate!--Or, How to Learn What You Already Know
What part of your courtship might be retrievable?
http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201107/boost-your-bond/stop-criticizing-your-mate-or-how-learn-what-you-already-know

Melancholy Marriage: Are We in a Post-Romantic Era?
Low-conflict, low-stress melancholy marriages
http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201106/boost-your-bond/melancholy-marriage-are-we-in-post-romantic-era

The Neuroscience of Relationship Breakups
Is the Pain All in the Brain?
http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201106/boost-your-bond/the-neuroscience-relationship-breakups

Stop Sabotaging Your Bond
Testing your partner creates rifts.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201106/relationship-hurdles/testing-others-can-sabotage-your-relationships

Strengthening Ties
10 ways to reinforce your connection
http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201106/boost-your-relationship/10-truths-keep-your-relationship-healthy

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Famous TV bullies we love to hate

Whether they're misunderstood or just plain mean, here's a roundup of our favorite TV tormentors.



What a man's car says about him

We analyzed a variety of vehicles to see what each one says about the guy sitting in the driver's seat.

http://glo.msn.com/relationships/what-his-car-says-about-him-2946.gallery?gt1=49006


Change Your Job, Change Your Life

Amp up your current position, hop to a new one—or take on two roles to stay satisfied.

When It's Time to Quit


Making the Leap


Can Dual Careers Keep You Happy?


You 2.0


Trapped in a Bad Relationship…With Your Job?


Take This Job And...


What's Your Type?


A Good Fit


Night Shift Workers in a Whole New Light
Will work for sleep. Shift worker disorder is real.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201107/change-your-job-change-your-life/night-shift-workers-in-whole-new-light

Is Your Brain Asleep on the Job?
Without challenge, your brain relies on the same old neuronal ruts
http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201106/change-your-job-change-your-life/is-your-brain-asleep-the-job

5 Ways to Work Smarter, Not Harder
Try these work strategies to relieve stress.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201107/change-your-job-change-your-life/5-ways-work-smarter-not-harder

How to make recommendations work for you
Getting (and writing) great letters of support
http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201107/change-your-job-change-your-life/how-make-recommendations-work-you

Writing a compelling life story in 500 words or less
Nailing the personal statement to tell your life story
http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201107/change-your-job-change-your-life/writing-compelling-life-story-in-500-words-or-le

Graceful Exits: Knowing When the Time is Right for Act Three
How to know when you are ready to move out of the spotlight.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201107/change-your-job-change-your-life/graceful-exits-knowing-when-the-time-is-right-ac

World-Class Violinist Flows into Fiction
Q&A: Eugene Drucker, Emerson String Quartet violinist AND novelist.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201107/change-your-job-change-your-life/world-class-violinist-flows-fiction

Designer Flows from Business to Art
Designer loses herself in flow to create seductive textiles.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201107/change-your-job-change-your-life/designer-flows-business-art

Changing your life and livelihood is hard but worth it
Life changes can be hard, even when they're obviously worth it
http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201107/change-your-job-change-your-life/changing-your-life-and-livelihood-is-hard-worth-

How To Deal With “Multiple Boss Madness”
Learn "Multiple Boss Mastery" and Reduce Job Stress
http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201107/change-your-job-change-your-life/how-deal-multiple-boss-madness

When You're Cut from the Team
5 surefire ways to get back in the game
http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201106/change-your-job-change-your-life/when-youre-cut-the-team

Expand Your Network
Employed or not, book an informational interview today.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201106/change-your-job-change-your-life/expand-your-network

5 Warning Signs of a Deteriorating Workplace
How to tell if your workplace is going downhill fast
http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201106/change-your-job-change-your-life/5-warning-signs-deteriorating-workplace

What Your Next Boss Really Thinks of You
Tips from the other side of the interview table
http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201106/change-your-job-change-your-life/what-your-next-boss-really-thinks-you

Stressed Out, Maxed Out
Stress and burnout rob us of our joy in living.

Friday, July 15, 2011

Intimidated By Doctors?

Physicians and therapists are people, too. They may protect themselves by not getting emotionally attached to ill patients—but come off as cold and uncaring. Worse, when doctors fail to deal with personal problems—or are too busy worrying about the bottom line—it takes a toll on everyone's health.


A cartoon about the surprising results of a patient's x-ray.

The no-touch zone
What has happened to the physical exam?

Physician, Heal Thyself, And Thy Healthcare System
Why Our Current Healthcare System is Woefully Inadequate

What Makes House Happy?
Romantic love is the answer? Really?

When Doctors and Patients Talk
Online discussion forums where doctors and patients talk.

Empowering Patients
How electronic records let us in on what doctors think.

Just Deal With It? Really?
Is this the great new breakthrough? "Just deal with it?"

Are Alternative Healers More Caring?
Why it's not always the medicine itself that matters.

The First Session
A therapist's first time with clients is hard.

The Dark Art of Psychoanalysis? Not!
The stigma of saying you're a shrink.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Scared to Move Forward or Change?

A Surprising Revelation About Fear
Your fear could be telling you to act, right now.



High-status vs. lower status people

We remember high-status people much more easily than those of lower status.

Are Powerful People More Memorable?
How much does the mind care about social status?



Procrastination

Procrastination is a common passive aggressive tactic.

13 Common Phrases to Let You Know Your Child Is Being Passive Aggressive
Does your child have a passive aggressive vocabulary?



Derek Sivers: Keep your goals to yourself

After hitting on a brilliant new life plan, our first instinct is to tell someone, but Derek Sivers says it's better to keep goals secret. He presents research stretching as far back as the 1920s to show why people who talk about their ambitions may be less likely to achieve them.



Everyone, please think of your biggest personal goal. For real. You can take a second. You've got to feel this to learn it. Take a few seconds and think of your personal biggest goal, okay? Imagine deciding right now that you're going to do it. Imagine telling someone that you meet today what you're going to do. Imagine their congratulations and their high image of you. Doesn't it feel good to say it out loud? Don't you feel one step closer already, like it's already becoming part of your identity?

Well, bad news: you should have kept your mouth shut, because that good feeling, now will make you less likely to do it. Repeated psychology tests have proven that telling someone your goal makes it less likely to happen. Any time you have a goal, there are some steps that need to be done, some work that needs to be done in order to achieve it. Ideally, you should not be satisfied until you had actually done the work. But when you tell someone your goal, and they acknowledge it, psychologists have found that it's called a social reality. The mind is kind of tricked into feeling that it's already done. And then, because you've felt that satisfaction, you're less motivated to do the actual hard work necessary. So this goes against the conventional wisdom that we should tell our friends our goals, right? -- so they hold us to it, yeah.

So, let's look at the proof. 1926, Kurt Lewin, founder of social psychology, called this "substitution." 1933, Vera Mahler found, when it was acknowledged by others, it felt real in the mind. 1982, Peter Gollwitzer wrote a whole book about this, and in 2009, he did some new tests that were published.

It goes like this: 163 people across four separate tests -- everyone wrote down their personal goal. Half of them announced their commitment to this goal to the room, and half didn't. Then everyone was given 45 minutes of work that would directly lead them towards their goal, but they were told that they could stop at any time. Now, those who kept their mouths shut worked the entire 45 minutes, on average, and when asked afterwards, said that they felt that they had a long way to go still to achieve their goal. But those who had announced it quit after only 33 minutes, on average, and when asked afterwards, said that they felt much closer to achieving their goal.

So, if this is true, what can we do? Well, you could resist the temptation to announce your goal. You can delay the gratification that the social acknowledgement brings. And you can understand that your mind mistakes the talking for the doing. But if you do need to talk about something, you can state it in a way that gives you no satisfaction, such as, "I really want to run this marathon, so I need to train five times a week, and kick my ass if I don't, okay?"

So audience, next time you're tempted to tell someone your goal, what will you say? Exactly. Well done.

Matt Cutts: Try something new for 30 days

Is there something you've always meant to do, wanted to do, but just ... haven't? Matt Cutts suggests: Try it for 30 days. This short, lighthearted talk offers a neat way to think about setting and achieving goals.



A few years ago, I felt like I was stuck in a rut, so I decided to follow in the footsteps of the great American philosopher, Morgan Spurlock, and try something new for 30 days. The idea is actually pretty simple. Think about something you've always wanted to add to your life and try it for the next 30 days. It turns out, 30 days is just about the right amount of time to add a new habit or subtract a habit -- like watching the news -- from your life.

There's a few things I learned while doing these 30-day challenges. The first was, instead of the months flying by, forgotten, the time was much more memorable. This was part of a challenge I did to take a picture everyday for a month. And I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing that day. I also noticed that as I started to do more and harder 30-day challenges, my self-confidence grew. I went from desk-dwelling computer nerd to the kind of guy who bikes to work -- for fun. Even last year, I ended up hiking up Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. I would never have been that adventurous before I started my 30-day challenges.

I also figured out that if you really want something badly enough, you can do anything for 30 days. Have you ever wanted to write a novel? Every November, tens of thousands of people try to write their own 50,000 word novel from scratch in 30 days. It turns out, all you have to do is write 1,667 words a day for a month. So I did. By the way, the secret is not to go to sleep until you've written your words for the day. You might be sleep-deprived, but you'll finish your novel. Now is my book the next great American novel? No. I wrote it in a month. It's awful. But for the rest of my life, if I meet john Hodgman at a TED party, I don't have to say, "I'm a computer scientist." No, no, if I want to I can say, "I'm a novelist."

(Laughter)

So here's one last thing I'd like to mention. I learned that when I made small, sustainable changes, things I could keep doing, they were more likely to stick. There's nothing wrong with big, crazy challenges. In fact, they're a ton of fun. But they're less likely to stick. When I gave up sugar for 30 days, day 31 looked like this.

(Laughter)

So here's my question to you: What are you waiting for? I guarantee you the next 30 days are going to pass whether you like it or not, so why not think about something you have always wanted to try and give it a shot for the next 30 days.

Thanks.