Archive

Why Has Donald Trump Lost So Much Conservative Support?

Donald Trump has lost the support of many conservatives, a problem that may be explained by his lack of conscientiousness. This trait is more characteristic of conservatives than liberals, which makes it a critical trait for conservative candidates. In the case of Trump, a lack of conscientiousness has likely repelled conservative voters who would otherwise vote Republican in the presidential election. Nevertheless, Trump maintains... / more

Elephants and Donkeys Are Killing The United States: Why We Need Political Diversity

While the opinions expressed in our own social networks may overwhelmingly predict our presidential candidate winning by a landslide, almost half of Americans polled support the candidate we oppose. As Democrats and Republicans have increasingly distanced themselves socially and physically from each other, we have found ourselves doubling down on our own moral superiority and demonizing anyone who doesn't agree with our point of view.  This political polarization may help our own group in the short run,...

Are Perceptions of Election “Rigging” Racialized?

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has departed from the usual norms of campaigning by repeatedly alleging that the November election is “going to be rigged” by his opponents. In recent research, we find that concerns about the fairness of elections in the current era may have an insidious racial component. Specifically, we present evidence indicating that White Americans with more negative attitudes toward African Americans were more likely to see the 2008 and 2012 elections as...

Was that how it happened? Shaping our memory for personal experiences in conversation with others

Conversations with others can alter our memories for life events. Our purpose in relating a story, and how our audience receives it, are factors that influence our selection of what details to include. The account we produce on one occasion may be maintained in subsequent retellings. Ultimately, we may report--and in some case come to believe--narratives that are not entirely factual. In this article, we will discuss research on the processes through which our conversations with...

Mind: A Journey to The Heart of Being Human

What is mind? Is it brain activity resulting in consciousness? Are mind and consciousness synonymous with each other?   Is self-awareness an illness that leads to despair, or is physicality a curse that creates the delusion of separateness leading to alienation and melancholy?                                                   Defining the mind might... / more

What Therapists Say and Why They Say It: Effective Therapeutic Responses and Techniques

The title of this book, What Therapists Say and Why They Say It: Effective Therapeutic Responses and Techniques. might be a bit misleading. At first I thought that this book is dedicated to patients trying to better understand their therapists and I found it quite amusing. However, the subtitle “Effective Therapeutic Responses and Techniques” better catches the essence of the book. It is a compendium of therapeutic techniques, one that catalogs, describes and... / more

It’s not a matter of fashion: How psychological research can revamp common beliefs on lesbian and gay parenting

Lesbian and gay parenting is still controversial and same- sex parents are often subjected to prejudices founded on the belief that parental sexual orientation exposes children to various negative outcomes. On the basis of this concern, a number of studies have compared the developmental outcomes of children with lesbian and gay parents with those of children with heterosexual parents. Both personal and social outcomes have been examined: sexual identity,...

Marginal and Happy – How can people be culturally detached and well adjusted?

Belonging to several cultural groups at the same time can be associated with complex feelings of group membership. In this post, I will provide an explanation for the phenomenon whereby many immigrants marginalize—feel detached from the mainstream culture they live in and the heritage culture they grew up in—while feeling happy. / more

Are conservatives really simple-minded?

The current consensus in psychology is that political conservatives are uniquely simple-minded. Indeed, even the famous critic of political bias and Heterodox contributor Jonathan Haidt (and colleagues) suggested that there is a “consistent difference between liberals and conservatives” on several measurements related to cognitive complexity (Joseph, Graham, & Haidt, 2009, p. 176). / more

Foetus or child? Language and attitudes toward abortion

Due to moral, religious and cultural sensibilities, the topic of abortion still gives rise to controversy in many countries. In this post, I will discuss our research showing how language used in abortion discourse can affect people’s attitudes by changing their attributions of humanity to unborn (Mikołajczak & Bilewicz, 2015). / more