How Do Narcissists Get Ahead?
The last time I discussed some aspects of the dark side of personality, in general. Today, I’d like to focus on the substance of the recent Wall Street Journal article that discussed my work: how can...
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Is [Favorite Politician] Narcissistic Enough To Be President
I expect we all agree that the presidency is not a job for a shrinking violet. We acknowledge that a president without self-confidence would be a disaster in the making. But just how confident do we...
View ArticleThe Continuity Hypothesis of Dreams: A More Balanced Account
The continuity hypothesis of dreams suggests that the content of dreams are largely continuous with waking concepts and concerns of the dreamer. In my previous posts on the continuity hypothesis I have...
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"Lightheartedness" Helps You Cope
Recently I attended a course on Positive Psychotherapy at Harvard Medical School and a lecturer discussed lightheartedness as healing phenomenon. It seemed almost paradoxical that a psychiatrist would...
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How to Put Down that Self-Critic
Do you find that there is a critical voice in your head that follows you around all day and all night? It may pop up as you get out of bed (“Late again!”) or when you look in the mirror (“You look...
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Yoga: Finally One Size Fits All
I used to think, yoga’s great, but it would take an act of Congress and 100 fearless Marines to get me in some of those yoga poses. However, you can do yoga without getting into positions that would...
View ArticleUsing Cognitive Science to Teach Sex Education
Sex is a wonderful thing that has potentially life-altering consequences—particularly for teens. Teen pregnancy can derail educational opportunities. Sexually transmitted diseases from unprotected...
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Why Does a Woman Stay With a Violent Husband?
With the Rice case so much in the news, and the video out there for us to see with our own eyes what actually happened, countless other stories have emerged, people writing in to explain why they...
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Should We Give Our Kids Participation Trophies?
Last month, I was invited on Fox & Friends to discuss participation trophies. Detested by some, celebrated by others, they’ve become a hot topic again after a recent poll at Reason Magazine showed...
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The Complex Cognitive Plane, and a New Measure of IQ
In a previous post, I argued that concepts and concerns, such as free will and determinism, can be complex in the same sense in which numbers can be: in other words, in combining a real with an...
View ArticleThe NFL Condones Mistreatment Of At Least Half Its Fans
If the men of the NFL won't stand up against violence toward women, then the women of the NFL need to.According to Adweek, the Super Bowl was the most watched TV program among women this year. Sure,...
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No Limelight Here: Good Quality Psychotherapy Is Humble Work
When I was in college, I came across a poem—really, a prayer—that made a lasting impression on me. It’s from a little book of Christian poetry by Ruth Harms Calkin. It goes like this (used with...
View ArticleThe Four Pillars of Creativity
Everyone has untapped potential in some creative field. Yet, some individuals have far more of it than others, e. g., Shakespeare, Leonardo Da Vinci, Thomas Edison, or Steve Jobs. Apart from “creative”...
View ArticleOnly Connect: How Colleges Could Work Better
Despite the soul searching regarding the place of a college education in today’s world (Is college worth the cost? What’s a college education for, anyway? Must high school grads go to college?), there...
View ArticleChoosing Relationships
We ordinarily make snap judgments upon meeting someone we do not know, often based on similar attributes of those we have encountered in the past. And, our insight generally proves to be true. But...
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Sometimes a Little Help from Our Friends Hurts
It has been well-documented that perceived support is associated with greater health and well-being1,2. Knowing that you’ll have someone there when you need them is a great comfort. However, the...
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Criminal Justice and the Mentally Ill
As a senior circuit judge, I have the opportunity, if I wish, to substitute in court from time to time. Because of other projects, I rarely do. But a “plea” from a former colleague induced me to spend...
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The Creation of a Bully, the Creation of Anxiety
The third genetic temperamental attribute is Active/Passive in the writing of our ‘play’ of consciousness. We have already seen the influences of “Internalizer/Externalizer” and “Extrovert/Introvert”...
View ArticleAre You in the Precariat?
I learned a new word this week: the "precariat."The term comes from a 2011 book by a British scholar, Guy Standing, who was once a high-up in the United Nations. A play on "proletariat" and...
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The Role of Social Media in Disaster Psychiatry
Disasters, whether unforeseen acts of nature or man-made atrocities, have an adverse impact on the survivors and often cause widespread disruption, displacement, and disability.Epidemiological studies...
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