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Apologies To Freud

The psychopathology of everyday life

Environment
Mothers and Daughters: Stepmothers and Mother Nature

Stephanie Newman Ph.D. on June 5, 2012

Spoilers! Don't read on unless you have watched this week’s Episode of Mad Men (512 “Commissions and Fees”), in which all eyes are on Lane Pryce. His desperate act—hanging himself in his office after Don Draper demands his immediate resignation following the discovery of a forged check—represents a dark turn for the show.

Spoilers! Don't read on unless you have watched this week’s Episode of Mad Men (512 “Commissions and Fees”), in which all eyes are on Lane Pryce. His desperate act—hanging himself in his office after Don Draper demands his immediate resignation following the discovery of a forged check—represents a dark turn for the show.

Groupthink
Pop Culture Gets Philosophical

Stephanie Newman Ph.D. on May 30, 2012

So, Matthew Weiner is asking all the big questions: are we nothing but a consumer society, morally bankrupt, spiritually empty, valuing money and acquisitions over relationship? Does groupthink always cause a mass of people to devolve until they are acting in the basest possible way?

So, Matthew Weiner is asking all the big questions: are we nothing but a consumer society, morally bankrupt, spiritually empty, valuing money and acquisitions over relationship? Does groupthink always cause a mass of people to devolve until they are acting in the basest possible way?

Sex
Are We Still A Madonna/Whore Society?

Stephanie Newman Ph.D. on May 21, 2012

Most women in the early to mid 1960s were treated as second class citizens. They were relegated to “female” jobs like teacher, nurse, or secretary. Are things any different today?

Most women in the early to mid 1960s were treated as second class citizens. They were relegated to “female” jobs like teacher, nurse, or secretary. Are things any different today?

Relationships
Mad Men's Don Draper: Just a Motherless Little Boy

Stephanie Newman Ph.D. on April 3, 2012

Present day Mad Men viewers don’t need “Tea Leaves” (the title of Sunday night’s episode) to predict the rude incursion of race riots, political assassinations, and bra burnings that are on the horizon for Don and Megan Draper and Henry and Betty Frances. But the characters have no idea that such game-changers lie in wait.

Present day Mad Men viewers don’t need “Tea Leaves” (the title of Sunday night’s episode) to predict the rude incursion of race riots, political assassinations, and bra burnings that are on the horizon for Don and Megan Draper and Henry and Betty Frances. But the characters have no idea that such game-changers lie in wait.

Bias
Sexism on Mad Men? It's Not Just a Guy Thing

Stephanie Newman Ph.D. on February 28, 2012

Peggy Olson, the only female copywriter at the fictional agency—Sterling, Cooper, Draper, Pryce—identifies with the hostility of her male co-workers.

Peggy Olson, the only female copywriter at the fictional agency—Sterling, Cooper, Draper, Pryce—identifies with the hostility of her male co-workers.

Consumer Behavior
Mad Men, a Show for Armchair Psychologists

Stephanie Newman Ph.D. on February 20, 2012

Mad Men chronicles life in the 1960s, and has captured the imagination of millions of viewers with its glamour and intricate story lines. But beyond that, it's the richly drawn characters stumbling through their lives that get under our skin and keep us invested.

Mad Men chronicles life in the 1960s, and has captured the imagination of millions of viewers with its glamour and intricate story lines. But beyond that, it's the richly drawn characters stumbling through their lives that get under our skin and keep us invested.

Adolescence
Does Technology Harm Teen Relationships?

Stephanie Newman Ph.D. on January 16, 2012

Ask any parent. Stories involving constant texting, silent carpools, and disturbing missives hitting the inbox at 2 a.m., have become commonplace. Teens and their phones are attached at the hip-or palm.

Ask any parent. Stories involving constant texting, silent carpools, and disturbing missives hitting the inbox at 2 a.m., have become commonplace. Teens and their phones are attached at the hip-or palm.