Celebrity vs. Charisma: What’s the Difference?
Kim Kardashian, Oprah Winfrey, Bill Clinton, Madonna, and Mick Jagger are some of the well-known people who are labeled “charismatic” by much of the public. They seem to have that special gift that...
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It’s a Fine Line between Narcissism and Egocentrism
We see the world from the inside out, a fact that leads everyone to be at least somewhat self-centered. The technical term for this is "egocentrism." As a cognitive bias, egocentrism refers to the...
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Anchoring Base Rates
One of the most famous findings in the psychology of prediction is the phenomenon of base rate neglect. People mainly rely on judgments of representativeness. They assign an instance to the category...
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Writing in Italy
On a warm September morning, under the Tuscan sun, our group of writers is sitting on benches along the Piazza Grande, writing about our experience here, in the town of Arezzo.Buzzing happily from our...
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Why Colds Can Make You Feel Amorous
Over at ironshrink.com, reader Mike asked me this question: “Don’t laugh, but I get extremely randy whenever I have a cold. Am I the only one? Why does this happen?”Here’s my answer to Mike...It seems...
View ArticleLearning from Others How to Manage Masculinity
Throughout their lives, men are expected to show or hide certain emotions based on societal norms for masculinity. Masculinity embodies all of the personality attributes that are traditionally...
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A Better Marriage (or Relationship), Part III
Note from Dr. Banschick: This is the third part of a series focusing on enjoying your marriage (or committed relationship), despite all the pressures of living an active life. We hope that you are...
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When Mother’s Day Hurts
I’ve invited a guest writer to join me in writing about Mother’s Day this year. Peg Streep, author of Mean Mothers, co-authored the following piece.As the avalanche of greeting cards and obligatory...
View ArticleA Divorce Takes a Toll on the Relationship between Two Sisters
QUESTION Dear Irene,My sister is two years older than me. We've had a pretty good relationship throughout the years although our teen years have really taken a toll. She moved out of the house with my...
View ArticleWhat about Roswell?
In UFO Crash at Roswell, anthropologist Charles Ziegler narrates the historical events that generated one of the most widely-accepted myths of...
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Will the Trauma of the Pysch Ward Follow Me to the Maternity Ward?
Almost exactly five years ago, as a senior in college, I spent the night in the psych emergency room. Then, a week later, I spent another night in the same ER. The first time, I had naively expected...
View ArticleHunter or Gatherer? - Exploring Your Sexual Approach Style
My patients today are remarkably sophisticated about their relationship issues and are searching for any new information that could help them be more successful. They read self-help books, subscribe to...
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Change Your Perception, Not Your Man
We live in a world of perceptions. New survey research tells us that while stress is still high, people are reporting less stress. Why? They are learning to accept stress and adapt. So why not adopt...
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Single, No Kids, Part 2: Family-Relevant Strengths
[This is Part 2 of a 4-part series on the implications of being single with no kids. Part 1, including the introduction to the series, is here. As you will see, this part is about the personal...
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Brothers Aren't the Half of It!
Why are some siblings so similar and some so different? Identical twins, who share all their genes, are almost invariably more similar than fraternal twins, who are no more closely related than any...
View ArticleI'm not participating in Autism Awareness Month
People beg for help with nonverbal learning disorder (NLD.) It can be overwhelming even when relatively mild and incapacitating when severe. Many people with NLD can't find and/or hold jobs. Many can't...
View ArticleThe Last-Hit Rule of Parenting (and Life)
When I was a child, before I sat down for dinner I used to ritualistically circle the dinner table and hit each of my siblings on the head. Why? No particular reason. I was an idiot and I was a...
View ArticleWhy We Love Mediocrity
It is a sad fact of human nature that we prefer mediocre products over better ones. This is one of our most frustrating qualities but also one of the most fascinating. Instead of bemoaning the fact...
View ArticleBias and the Brain
Each of us carries around a mental map of the world in our heads. Not a geographic map but a map of the social world. These maps are shortcuts that enable us to navigate life with the least amount of...
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