-
The Politics of Eating and Exercising: Are We Getting It Right?
Eat healthier. Exercise. Our culture is currently full of messages telling us to change our habits, to turn us into a leaner, healthier society. While these messages are easier said than done, they’re perfectly warranted: The Centers for Disease Control reports that childhood obesity has tripled since the 1970s. So what can we do to…
-
A Nation Divided: Partisanship and Morality
It seems that the divide between conservatives and liberals grows sharper every day, especially during election season. But what is the source of this bitter partisanship? Research by Jonathan Haidt and Jesse Graham may begin to provide an answer. Their research suggests that people of different political affiliations are not merely divided over the specific…
-
Swing state neurons?
In a tight election, attention immediately turns to swing voters. Poll analysts swarm them with a barrage of questions to predict which candidate may garner more of their crucial votes. In anticipation of the 2008 election, analysts went one step further and looked not only at swing voters’ survey responses but also their neural responses.
-
Quick Tips for Becoming Poll-Literate
If you’re a political junkie like me, or just a casual election-follower, you’ve probably read a few polls that made your jaw drop. Here are some things a skeptical poll consumer should look for before letting their jaw fully drop. Selection Bias One of the first questions you should ask yourself when you read…
-
Troy Davis: Victim of Eyewitness Testimony
Troy Davis is scheduled to be executed today, charged with murdering a Savannah police officer in 1989. Davis’ execution has been scheduled 4 times, and appealed again and again. The most recent appeal to halt the lethal injection was rejected yesterday and it seems Davis’ attorneys are out of options. The death penalty is a…
-
How effective are political campaign advertisements?
While the media buzz surrounding the 2012 Presidential Election is just starting up, now is as good a time as any to think about how effective political advertisements really are at influencing our candidate choices. Every election season, political candidates shell out thousands and even millions of dollars on televised campaign advertisements. But how persuasive…
-
Science Versus Religion – Mortal enemies or hopeful friends?
The feud between religion and science can be compared to the Montague and Capulet relationship – hateful at times, dismissive often, and bridged rarely, often with tragic results for those who try. A recent article in the journal Science (see Can Science and Religion Get Along?) discussed a controversial panel that aimed to bring together…
-
Child development outcomes with same-sex parents
In November 2010, the Pew Research Center released results of a poll that showed that 43% of people agreed with the statement that gay or lesbian couples raising children are bad for society, 41% believe that it doesn’t make a difference, and only 12% saying that they believed it was good for society. The authors…
-
Those That can not do…Education, teachers and Psychology
I have to admit that before I became an academic, I believed this phrase was true “Those that can not do, teach.” This despite coming from a family of academics. Of course, now that I am on this path, I see that there are many passionate, smart, committed people who could do many other things…