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An Open Letter to College Freshmen

By Mitchell M. Handelsman, Ph.D. on May 29, 2012 in The Ethical Professor

College is your first professional position! Your instructors are your new bosses, as well as your teachers, your collaborators, and your mentors. Let me explain the implications of your new position as a college student, and this new way of thinking about college: Read More

Writers Write

By Dana S. Dunn, Ph.D. on May 27, 2012 in Head of the Class

Head of the Class is about the teaching of psychology but it is also about other important activities good psychology teachers and researchers (and would-be professionals) pursue. Writing is—or should be—one of these activities. Why? Psychologists and students of psychology need to be able to share ideas, observations, and insights in prose form. Read More

More Teammates or Less Teammates?

By Michael W. Kraus, Ph.D. on May 21, 2012 in Under the Influence

In my brief time in research I have written journal articles authored by as few as two people and as many as six people. Many of those authors have been faculty members (senior researchers who provided me with valuable mentoring), colleagues (graduate students with similar experience and training), and trainees (early researchers learning the research process from me and others). Read More

It's Time to Redefine Green Jobs

By Richard Louv on May 18, 2012 in People in Nature

A new world of potential businesses, careers and roles: psychologists, educators, architects and health professionals who employ nature-based programs and biophilic design to increase health, learning and productivity; urban designers and others who transform cities into engines of biodiversity and human health... Read More

How to Find Your Best Career & Get Paid Doing What You Love

By Preston Ni, M.S.B.A. on May 17, 2012 in Communication Success

Do you love what you do? Most Americans don't. According to CareerFinders.com, four out of five Americans do not have their ideal jobs. The following are three factors that can help you identify your best career. Read More

A Psychoanalyst’s Tell-all Memoir

By Jennifer Kunst, Ph.D. on May 16, 2012 in A Headshrinker's Guide to the Galaxy

You can’t really know what it is like to be in psychoanalysis—unless you actually are in psychoanalysis—until now. Through his fascinating new book, Psychotherapy: Lives Intersecting, retired psychoanalyst Louis Breger and his former patients tell it like it really is. Read More

Summer School

By Dana S. Dunn, Ph.D. on May 9, 2012 in Head of the Class

My spring semester ended two weeks ago. I gave and then graded my finals a week later. So, now my endless summer begins, right? Read More

Are You a Poor Communicator? Stop the Damage and Improve Relationships

By Preston Ni, M.S.B.A. on May 5, 2012 in Communication Success

Communicating with others can be a difficult and frustrating experience. Here are four of the most common mistakes in communication. The good news is that once we become aware of these poor habits, we can change the way we communicate, resulting in improved relationships. Read More

How Harvard and MIT Can Give Away Their Only Product for Free

By Ben Y. Hayden, Ph.D. on May 3, 2012 in The Decision Tree

Harvard and MIT are giving away education in the form of online courses. Will this dilute their brand, or jeopardize their economic success? Read More

The Tools

By Phil Stutz and Barry Michels on May 1, 2012 in The Tools

There’s always a first time. The first time a patient in pain is sitting in front of you and you come up empty, with nothing to offer. Her name was Roberta and her problem was an all too common one. She’d fallen head over heels for a guy at work. They’d started dating and were already talking about moving in together. Everything was fine—except for one small detail... Read More

Through The Looking Glass

By Evelyn Sharenov on April 29, 2012 in Notes from the Frontline

A locked door separates my patients from the rest of the hospital. A window in the door shows what it looks like on the other side. Read More

Chatting Up Culture With Steven Heine: Part I

By Steven B. Jackson on April 26, 2012 in Culture Conscious

In the first half of a two-part interview, renowned cross-cultural psychologist Steven Heine discusses his latest research, shares a critique of Western psychology, and tells us why everyone should care about this stuff. Read More

The Case of the Socializing Supervisee: What Would You Do?

By Mitchell M. Handelsman, Ph.D. on April 24, 2012 in The Ethical Professor

Once again, we give you a chance to face an ethical dilemma and see where you stand. Put yourself in the position of a supervisor—teaching graduate students to be good, ethical, psychotherapists. Read More

Rethinking Psychology: Time for a Reality Check

By Susan Krauss Whitbourne, Ph.D. on April 21, 2012 in Fulfillment at Any Age

Psychology’s popularity rests on its potential to give us insight into our behavior. It’s time to rethink what you thought you knew and open your mind to the field’s most important insights. Read More

Authors, Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You

By James C. Coyne, Ph.D. on April 11, 2012 in The Skeptical Sleuth

Articles published in high-impact journals regularly escape adequate peer review and may not be based on the best evidence. Read More

Every Day Is a School Day

By Dennis O'Donnell on April 10, 2012 in The Locked Ward

How I learned about the history of psychiatric medicine in the Islamic world. Read More

Hurtin'—APPIC Match Is a Disappointment to Many This Year

By Matthew Shanahan, M.Sc. on April 3, 2012 in Living It

Recently, the matching process for pre-doctoral psychology internships ended. With this, so too did the hopes of many for an internship experience next year. As one who is in this boat, I share some reflections about getting through this difficult personal and professional experience. Read More

Sex in the College Classroom

By Mitchell M. Handelsman, Ph.D. on March 27, 2012 in The Ethical Professor

At many institutions, educators do surprisingly little to teach students about sex. From introductory psychology classes to graduate degree training, sex is often overlooked. Read More

Does ‘No Such Thing As Bad Publicity’ Apply To Psychologists?

By Pamela Brown Rutledge, Ph.D., M.B.A. on March 17, 2012 in Positively Media

Psychologists who appear in the media is a topic of much debate, especially since there is no such thing as isolated 'mass' media anymore. Bad publicity is pretty clearly bad for professionals, but no publicity or presence can be bad too when people use the Internet to check the legitimacy of services and information and can’t find you. Read More

The Power of Hello

By Sam Sommers on March 6, 2012 in Science Of Small Talk

Little things make a big difference in social interaction. Data indicate, for example, that smiling is contagious. That employees who smile more have customers who are more satisfied. And even that holding a pen in your teeth so that the ends of your lips curl upward—forcing your mouth into a smile you aren't even aware of—leads you to enjoy what you're doing more. Read More

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