Addiction in Society

Addiction--the thematic malady for our society--entails every type of psychological and societal problem.

Stanton Peele, Ph.D., J.D., has been researching and treating addiction since he wrote Love and Addiction (1975). He also wrote 7 Tools to Beat Addiction. See full bio

September 21, 2009

What Was the Previous World Record (before the Edwards) for Lying and Self-Deception?

Throughout the Edwards affair, John has been willing to resort to any level of lying, and Elizabeth to any level of self-deception, to preserve their images of themselves as a faithful Christian family. Groucho Marx's "Who are you going to believe - me, or your lying eyes," pales next to the Edwards' performance. Read More

September 15, 2009

Was Serena's Outburst Genetic?

When people persistently misbehave and claim that they have uncontrollable impulses, are driven by their natures, or that they can't help themselves, they are implying that they can't change because their behavior is genetically rooted. Read More

September 13, 2009

McEnroe: Serena's Outburst Was Fine

Therapy in anger management and spousal abuse requires removing self-justifications from the abuser's cognitive armor. This never occurs with athletes and other stars. Read More

September 8, 2009

Why Men Rape - The Movie

Women are raped at will in war zones, from Berlin to Darfur. What does this tell us about male-female relationships? Read More

September 3, 2009

How to Confess on TV

Watching Chris Brown "confess" on Larry King is an instructional video for all woud-be TV confessionals. Read More

August 29, 2009

How to Interrogate Terrorists

Getting to know people by sympathetic but hard-boiled questioning is the best way to gain information, as well as to help them. Read More

August 22, 2009

Passing the Baton in Lane: Life Skill or Moral Lesson?

We substitute moral lessons we imagine are occuring for actually teaching kids - and people - things of substance. Read More

August 21, 2009

I Won't See Inglourious Basterds

I don't find the sickening violence in Tarantino films morally justifiable. Read More

August 14, 2009

Why Weren't "Mad Men" Depressed?

In the decades since the 1960s, when the television program "Mad Men" is set, we have made advance after advance in mental health and treatment of emotional disorders. Yet it is hard to argue that we are better of emotionally. Read More

August 12, 2009

Paths to Light and to Darkness in the Addiction Field

Alan Marlatt and I were two psychologists who became involved in the famed early 1980s controversy around controlled drinking treatment for alcoholics. Alan has gone on to make landmark contributions to the addiction field. Others in the controversy encountered tragedy. Read More

Addiction Basics

Millions suffer from debilitating addictions, leaving friends and family to watch them succumb to seemingly uncontrollable urges. Scientists are rethinking the biology and psychology of addiction, providing new clues to treatment.

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