Tinted Lenses

Political correctness has been an endless source of debate for more than 20 years, with conservative critics suggesting that its liberal proponents have infiltrated all aspects of social life, including education, religion, medicine, and business. Curiously, many of these same critics are prone to ignore or even encourage euphemistic language when it serves their own purposes. Read More

Last week I traveled to Ohio to say farewell to one of my graduate school advisors. Tim Brock died on December 20, 2009, after a long illness; he was 74 years old. I worked with Tim from 2001 through 2006, a time when his scientific mind was keenly focused on the psychology of narratives. In that spirit, I want to share stories about this generous, exacting, and creative man. Read More

Rom Houben was involved in a car crash in 1983, then diagnosed and treated as comatose for over 20 years.  He is now reported to be communicating intelligently with his family and hospital staff, claiming that he has been able to "hear, see, feel and think" the whole time, but not able to express himself.  This case is being widely touted as a veritable miracle.

However, at least one of the evidental pillars in Houben's case is highly suspect.  In this post, I discuss why you should be skeptical of the responses from him that are yielded via facilitated communication. Read More

It is hard to know what to say about a tragic incident like the shootings which occurred at Fort Hood, Texas on Thursday.  Indeed, it seems best to say very little until more facts are known, other than to unequivocally condemn the actions of the gunman and try to console the grieving comrades and families of the casualties.  So what do we need to learn before we can prevent a similar tragedy?  In this post, I consider the dangers of making rash conclusions and policy decisions. Read More

With another flu season comes another predictable conversation over the merits of public vaccination programs. Vaccination is one of those thorny issues, like evolutionary theory, where the controversy in public opinion is far greater than is warranted by the controversy in expert opinion. In this post, I discuss some psychological biases that may evoke reluctance to be vaccinated. Read More

After you've studied the science of influence for a few years, it becomes very difficult to view commericals with an unjaundiced eye. The latest to catch my attention is the new youth-oriented campaign for Kraft's Miracle Whip. In this post, I voice my disdain for it and for past campaigns that have similarly traded upon anti-conformist slogans. Read More

Evolutionary theory has long withstood attacks from without and within, and intelligent design (ID) proponents mostly present repackaged versions of these old attacks.  But the common scientific impulse in this case (i.e., "let's have a friendly inclusive debate!") misunderstands the purpose of the ID movement and the tactics of their leadership: by giving them an inch, you create a milestone. Read More

Many observers have readily accepted cyclical models of family violence, substance abuse, and crime, to the point where appeals to "break the cycle" accompany much public information on these issues. It therefore seems odd that we should be relatively squeamish about exploring generational cycles of development and transmission of prejudice. Read More

Humans are blessed (or cursed, depending on your perspective) with simple decision rules that allow us to make quick decisions. Often, the resultant judgment is a 'good enough' but non-optimal choice. Cognitive and social psychologists, as well as political scientists and consumer behaviorists, have labeled a variety of apparent biases that the average person brings to bear when making decisions. In this post, I discuss the influence of apparent objectivity in persuasion, and how advertisers capitalize on our trust. Read More

Last week, in my inaugural blog posting, I brought up the idea of "positive stereotypes" in social contexts (i.e., generalized favorable beliefs about the characteristics shared by social group members), and whether such stereotypes may have unintended negative consequences for the perceivers who use them and the targets who must live up to them. Read More