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Obedience, Power, and Violence
Is an ordinary person capable of committing heinous acts? After the Holocaust (1941-45), many questioned how Nazi soldiers were capable of such senseless murder. Did it take a certain type of person, or did there exist situational factors that enabled their behavior? This historical moment inspired a series of influential psychological studies. Milgram’s Electric Shock…
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The Debate on Simultaneous and Sequential Lineups
Incorrect eyewitness identifications are a serious problem for the justice system. In this post, I describe simultaneous and sequential lineup formats and the ongoing debate over whether one of these formats results in more accurate witness identifications.
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A look behind a changing mind
What’s going on in the brain when someone does change their mind? Understanding neural systems underlying belief maintenance can bring scientists closer to communicating new research in a way that makes people more amenable to updating their beliefs.
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The benefits of multilingual education
How would multilingual education benefit English-language learning (ELL) students?
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A New Direction in Autism Research: Google Cloud
Autism is everywhere and it is great! I’m not referring to the recent CDC estimate that 1 in 68 children in the U. S. are diagnosed with the disorder. Instead, I’m talking about its presence in the news. Most recently, I’ve read that the Vatican is holding an inaugural conference on autism, “The Person…
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New research: From Screen to Green: What happens to kids social skills when they go cold turkey on all media?
The fact is we all stare at screens more than we would like and many of us rely on these tools to communicate with others, even during times when we should be spending quality time with our families and friends. So does all this time staring at screens, which may take time away from looking…
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“Criminally Minded: The Psychology and Law of Culpability” Symposium – May 16, 4pm
Criminally Minded: The Psychology and Law of Culpability Psychology in Action is proud to announce the third annual Psychology Interdisciplinary Events symposium, Criminally Minded: The Psychology and Law of Culpability, to be held Friday, May 16th, 2014, from 4 to 6pm in UCLA’s CNSI Auditorium. The discussion will focus on legal and psychological issues regarding mens rea. The…
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Biased About Biases: The Origins and Growth of Human Conflict
People are increasingly capable of pursuing their disagreements with calm, rational discussion, civil debate, understanding, and efforts to reach acceptable compromises.
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Everything You Need to Know about RDoC: Answers to 5 Commonly Asked Questions
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), a frequently referenced manual of clinical diagnosis published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA), has been called the “Bible” for the field of clinical psychology. Consistent with its prominent role in diagnosis and treatment considerations, research on mental health has traditionally focused on the DSM’s classification…