MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'cynicism'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:31:40 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4902420&cid=t_164764_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fphysician-professional-associations-are-not-ivory-tower-elites%2F2011.06.06 “We can destroy ourselves by cynicism and disillusionment, just as effectively as by bombs.” This observation, from the late, great British historian Kenneth Clark, could be a warning sign to the medical profession. Some of the more incendiary commentary in blogs, editorials, and medical publications today display the classic characteristics of cynicism, which is a profound pessimism accompanied by a deep distrust and even the disparagement of the motivations of others. Physician cynics not only direct their anger at the usual suspects – members of Congress, insurance companies, and government “bureaucrats”—but even at their own colleagues, including the leadership of their own professional societies. Now, to be clear, I am not talking about principled disagreement and deba... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4902420 Mon, 06 Jun 2011 11:00:00 +0100 4902420 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4893823&cid=t_164764_136_f&fid=39026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcarolinemfr.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F06%2Fwell-whoop-di-doo.html I found this article a couple of days ago about new targeted drugs for cancer treatment. My first thought well this is new and exciting and provides great promise for the future. Yes, its for smaller groups but as we know cancer is not one disease but hundreds of different diseases this actually makes sense.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifBut then my more cynical side shows up and says 'where is the damn cure?' Maybe I'm tired and not getting enough sleep. Maybe I'm cranky - ask my co-worker yesterday who I finally snapped at (he says he can piss off the pope so it was not a big deal) - maybe I'm stressed. Maybe it was the news that a good friend's husband's colon cancer has returned as well as the news that one of my husband's cousin's cancer has returned as well.Also, this story abou... Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4893823 Sat, 04 Jun 2011 11:07:00 +0100 4893823 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4759045&cid=t_164764_151_f&fid=35818&url=http%3A%2F%2Frecoveryissexy.com%2Frecovery-burnout%2F This article may help you think about the issues involved.Burnout is subtle. It creeps up on you slowly. How do you know if you are burning out?I know well the face of burnout. I found myself questioning my motives, feeling guilty, and being greatly misunderstood. Sometimes I was shamed for not “working the program!”What are the signs of burnout?As a professional counsellor I have researched burnout. According to the best research available on the subject there are three aspects of burnout:1. Perception of Inequity/Unfairness/InjusticeWhen you start to feel like you are getting the short end of the deal, being mistreated, under-appreciated, the program is not working for you… You may be burning out.2. Emotional ExhaustionWhen you start to run out of emotional gas you know something i... Recovery Is Sexy.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4759045 Fri, 22 Apr 2011 15:59:02 +0100 4759045 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4709203&cid=t_164764_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fphysicians-wary-of-healthcare-reform-models-intended-to-save-primary-care%2F2011.04.13 When I talk to internal medicine audiences around the country about the latest health policy flavor of the day – accountable care organizations (ACOs) – a typical reaction is skepticism trending toward cynicism. Many don’t quite get what ACOs are all about and certainly don’t want to be lectured about how they need to re-invent their practices. And they don’t buy the idea that ACOs will somehow save internal medicine primary care. The same can be said, perhaps to a lesser extent, about their reactions to PCMHs (Patient-Centered Medical Homes), P4P ( pay-for-performance), HIT (health information technology), MU (meaningful use), and the whole alphabet soup of other reforms being proposed to reform health care delivery and payment systems. And who can blame them? Older inte... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4709203 Wed, 13 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4709203 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4600598&cid=t_164764_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F03%2F16%2Fkennedy-and-pronin-on-the-spiral-of-conflict%2F A group of  Harvard Law students are blogging over at the Law & Mind Blog.  Here is one of their posts about a chapter by Situationist Contributor Emily Pronin and Kathleen Kennedy (forthcoming in from Situationist Contributor Jon Hanson’s  book, “Ideology, Psychology, and Law”).  The post is authored by HLS student Michael Lieberman. * * * In their chapter, Bias Perception and the Spiral of Conflict, Kathleen Kennedy and Emily Pronin examine what they see as a major cause of breakdowns in negotiation, both small- and large-scale: a tendency of each side to view the other side’s position as biased and preference-driven (rather than based on objective facts). Kennedy and Pronin explain that we tend to see signs of bias all around us – some even posit t... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4600598 Thu, 17 Mar 2011 01:53:16 +0100 4600598 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4498292&cid=t_164764_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F02%2F19%2Fthink-like-a-skeptic%2F In 2009, I was a presenter at the JP Fitness Summit in Kansas City. The summit featured some of the top names in the fitness industry. Topics included any and everything fitness and nutrition related. My presentation addressed a topic that was foreign to many in attendance, “Thinking Skeptically: How to apply skepticism to the fitness industry?” Some of the participants seemed to have a hard time with this line of thought. Skepticism is rarely if ever mentioned in the popular fitness literature. The basic premise is this: learning to question and look for evidence could save fitness enthusiasts a great deal of time, money, and embarrassment. Key points from the lecture The fitness skeptic (“skeptic” is derived from the Greek skeptikos, which means “inquiring&#... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4498292 Sat, 19 Feb 2011 17:49:44 +0100 4498292 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4382804&cid=t_164764_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fvideos.videopress.com%2Fpn0rNzqV%2Fsarah-palin-responds-to-tucson-shooting_hd.mp4 Last week The Situationist asked this question: Was Sarah Palin exhibiting the naive cynicism dynamic in her remarks about the shooting in Tucson (see video)? * * * * * * Several readers responded thoughtfully in brief comments, but Paul Rosenberg provided an outstanding, painstakingly thorough response over at Open Left. We highly recommend his post. * * * For some related Situationist posts, see: “Sarah Palin a Naive Cynic?,” “A Horror Movie for Palinites?,” “The Tragedy in Tucson: What Do You Think?,” “The Great Attributional Divide,” “Naive Cynicism,” “Legal Academic Backlash – Abstract,” “Emily Pronin on the Situation of Bias,” “Asymmetric Introspection and Extrospection,” and “The Si... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4382804 Fri, 21 Jan 2011 04:40:28 +0100 4382804 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4343208&cid=t_164764_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fvideos.videopress.com%2Fpn0rNzqV%2Fsarah-palin-responds-to-tucson-shooting_hd.mp4 Situationist Contributors Adam Benforado and Jon Hanson have written extensively about a dynamic they call “naive cynicism.” Their work explores how dispositionism maintains its dominance despite the fact that it misses so much of what actually moves us. It argues that the answer lies in a subordinate dynamic and discourse, naive cynicism: the basic subconscious mechanism by which dispositionists discredit and dismiss situationist insights and their proponents. Without it, the dominant person schema – dispositionism – would be far more vulnerable to challenge and change, and the more accurate person schema – situationism – less easily and effectively attacked. Naive cynicism is thus critically important to explaining how and why certain legal policies manage to carry the da... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4343208 Wed, 12 Jan 2011 15:34:30 +0100 4343208 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4331067&cid=t_164764_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F01%2F10%2Fthe-tragedy-in-tucson-what-do-you-think%2F The unfolding news and debates about causes and consequences of yesterday’s tragic violence are raising many of the issues and themes common to this blog.  We hoped our readers would weigh in and share their thoughts and reactions to the events themselves and media discourse that has followed:  Bad Apple? Disposition? Context?  Situation? Spiraling conflict? Naive cynicism? Below you’ll find some excerpts from today’s Glen Beck and Rush Limbaugh programs.  What do you think?  Please comment. * * * * * * * * * For a sample of related Situationist posts, see “The Situation of Presidential Death Threats,” “Motivated Skepticism,” “Interview with Professor Eric Knowles,” “Naive Cynicism,” “The Situation of Talk Radio,”... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4331067 Tue, 11 Jan 2011 00:52:15 +0100 4331067 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4249093&cid=t_164764_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F12%2F11%2Fpushback-from-the-left%2F Situationist Contributor Jerry Kang recently posted his thoughtful essay, “Implicit Bias and the Pushback from the Left” (St. Louis University Law Journal, Vol. 54, p. 1139, 2010) on SSRN.  Here’s the abstrct. * * * Over the past three decades, the mind sciences have provided remarkable insights about how our brains process social categories. For example, scientists have discovered that implicit biases – in the form of stereotypes and attitudes that we are unaware of, do not consciously intend, and might reject upon conscious self-reflection – exist and have wide-ranging behavioral consequences. Such findings destabilize our self-serving self-conceptions as bias-free. Not surprisingly, there has been backlash from the political Right. This Article examines so... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4249093 Sat, 11 Dec 2010 04:01:35 +0100 4249093 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4164557&cid=t_164764_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F11%2F15%2Fthe-situation-of-creating-a-consumer-financial-protection%25c2%25a0bureau%2F In the wake of the worst economic crisis in the United States since the Great Depression, there has been a drive to reconfigure the regulatory state and renegotiate the relationship between Americans, business, and government. In a new article, just posted on SSRN, I argue that the ultimate formulation of that relationship turns, to a significant degree, on our basic attributional tendencies, particularly where we look to assign causal responsibility when things go wrong. Who or what engendered the shanty town that appeared in Sacramento, California in 2008?  Who blackened the pelican and closed the beach of Pensacola?  What lies behind the rise in diabetes in elementary school students? The answers that we give drive our remedial responses and our prophylactic measures—and in doing so... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4164557 Mon, 15 Nov 2010 04:01:08 +0100 4164557 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3802458&cid=t_164764_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F07%2F30%2Fattributional-divide-top-10%2F This article, the first of a multipart series, argues that a major rift runs across many of our major policy debates based on our attributional tendencies: the less accurate dispositionist approach, which explains outcomes and behavior with reference to people’s dispositions (i.e., personalities, preferences, and the like), and the more accurate situationist approach, which bases attributions of causation and responsibility on unseen influences within us and around us. Given that situationism offers a truer picture of our world than the alternative, and given that attributional tendencies are largely the result of elements in our situations, identifying the relevant elements should be a major priority of legal scholars. With such information, legal academics could predict which indiv... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3802458 Fri, 30 Jul 2010 04:01:43 +0100 3802458 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3750117&cid=t_164764_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F07%2F14%2Fsituationist-political-science-and-the-situation-of-voters%2F Joe Keohane wrote an outstanding article, “How Facts Backfire: Researchers discover a surprising threat to democracy: our brains,” for the Boston Globe last week.  Here are some excerpts. * * * It’s one of the great assumptions underlying modern democracy that an informed citizenry is preferable to an uninformed one. “Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government,” Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1789. . . . Mankind may be crooked timber, as Kant put it, uniquely susceptible to ignorance and misinformation, but it’s an article of faith that knowledge is the best remedy. If people are furnished with the facts, they will be clearer thinkers and better citizens. If they are ignorant, facts will enlighten them. If they are mistaken, facts w... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3750117 Wed, 14 Jul 2010 05:16:26 +0100 3750117 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3726651&cid=t_164764_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F07%2F06%2Fthe-situation-of-common-sense%2F On April 15, I had the pleasure of participating in a Collaborative training symposium on Implicit Bias and Eyewitness Identification, conducted for Connecticut prosecutors and public defenders.  I spoke on the topic of implicit bias, a core research interest.  It was an interesting conversation, and the engagement was intelligent, thoughtful, and public minded. Afterwards, Chris Nolan, a journalist for the Connecticut Law Tribune, interviewed me over the phone for a long while, and I tried to give him more information about the relevant science and policy implications.  He wrote up an article, which spawned a strident response by Karen Lee Torre. She was pretty darn angry.  She called me a “known left-winger,” “liberal political operative,” “an active Ob... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3726651 Tue, 06 Jul 2010 04:01:56 +0100 3726651 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3662957&cid=t_164764_151_f&fid=35818&url=http%3A%2F%2Frecoveryissexy.com%2Fare-you-burning-out-2%2F This article may help you think about the issues involved. Burnout is subtle. It creeps up on you slowly. How do you know if you are burning out? I know well the face of burnout. I found myself questioning my motives, feeling guilty, and being greatly misunderstood. Sometimes I was shamed for not “working the program!” What are the signs of burnout? As a professional counselor I have researched burnout. According to the best research available on the subject there are three aspects of burnout: 1. Perception of Inequity/Unfairness/Injustice When you start to feel like you are getting the short end of the deal, being mistreated, under-appreciated, the program is not working for you… You may be burning out. 2. Emotional Exhaustion When you start to run out of emotional gas you k... Recovery Is Sexy.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3662957 Tue, 15 Jun 2010 04:44:18 +0100 3662957 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3607556&cid=t_164764_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F05%2F28%2Fnow-what-depression-at-graduation-or-any-transition%2F I read somewhere that a large number of Nobel Prize winners become depressed after receiving their honor because their sense of purpose has been taken away. They have to grieve their pre-Nobel Prize life and find a new way of being, something to get excited about that will get you out of bed in the morning. The same is true, to some extent, when you graduate. With Commencement often comes an emptiness, a sense of loss. Much joy and relief, yes. But also a “what the hell do I do now?” response. For highly sensitive persons like myself, every kind of life transition — be it graduation, a new job, a baby — comes with a few challenges and their offspring. How to gracefully maneuver between point A and point B? Like you would with any other mourning process. Because yo... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3607556 Fri, 28 May 2010 15:45:17 +0100 3607556 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3420538&cid=t_164764_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F03%2F30%2Fthe-trust-gap-why-people-are-so-cynical%2F How do people come to believe that others are so much less trustworthy than themselves? Much as we might prefer otherwise, there’s solid evidence that, on average, people are quite cynical. When thinking about strangers, studies have shown that people think others are more selfishly motivated than they really are and that others are less helpful than they really are. Similarly in financial games psychologists have run in the lab, people are remarkably cynical about the trustworthiness of others. In one experiment people honored the trust placed in them between 80 and 90 percent of the time, but only estimated that others would honor their trust about 50 percent of the time. Our cynicism towards strangers may develop as early as 7 years old (Mills & Keil, 2005). Surprisingly peop... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3420538 Tue, 30 Mar 2010 10:00:16 +0100 3420538 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3262906&cid=t_164764_151_f&fid=35818&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FRecoveryIsSexycom%2F%7E3%2F_-LLHaTRFGI%2F This article may help you think about the issues involved. Burnout is subtle. It creeps up on you slowly. How do you know if you are burning out? I know well the face of burnout. I found myself questioning my motives, feeling guilty, and being greatly misunderstood. Sometimes I was shamed for not “working the program!” What are the signs of burnout? As a professional counsellor I have researched burnout. According to the best research available on the subject there are three aspects of burnout: 1. Perception of Inequity/Unfairness/Injustice When you start to feel like you are getting the short end of the deal, being mistreated, under-appreciated, the program is not working for you… You may be burning out. 2. Emotional Exhaustion When you start to run out of emotional gas you know som... Recovery Is Sexy.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3262906 Thu, 11 Feb 2010 01:59:00 +0100 3262906 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3171966&cid=t_164764_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F01%2F13%2Freporting-social-facts-vs-pining-for-jim-crow-no-comparison-between-reid-and-lott%2F Imagine a scenario. An African American lawyer, we can even call him “Barry,” has applied for a job at a prestigious firm—one that has never before hired a Black person. You eavesdrop on a couple of partners talking about the candidate. Question: Which, if either, of the these overheard comments is the more racist? “I don’t know… Barry’s facing an uphill climb at an all-White firm like this. However, he just might have a shot given the fact that he’s fairly light-complected and doesn’t speak using African American Vernacular English.” * * * “This firm’s going to hell if it hires a Black guy. I wish Strom Thurmond were the head of the hiring committee.” The analogy may be a bit crude. But those paying attention to rec... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3171966 Wed, 13 Jan 2010 14:55:08 +0100 3171966 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3082612&cid=t_164764_151_f&fid=35818&url=http%3A%2F%2Frecoveryissexy.com%2Fare-you-burning-out%2F This article may help you think about the issues involved. Burnout is subtle. It creeps [...] (Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com) Recovery Is Sexy.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3082612 Fri, 11 Dec 2009 19:51:00 +0100 3082612 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2963174&cid=t_164764_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F11%2F05%2Fasymmetric-introspection-and-extrospection%2F Situationist Contributor Emily Pronin recently wrote a very helpful primer on her work on the difference between “How We See Ourselves and How We See Others,” which she published in Science.  Here’s the abstract. * * * People see themselves differently from how they see others. They are immersed in their own sensations, emotions, and cognitions at the same time that their experience of others is dominated by what can be observed externally. This basic asymmetry has broad consequences. It leads people to judge themselves and their own behavior differently from how they judge others and those others behavior. Often, those differences produce disagreement and conflict. Understanding the psychological basis of those differences may help mitigate some of their negative effect... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2963174 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:07:57 +0100 2963174 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2473535&cid=t_164764_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F06%2F11%2Femily-pronin-on-the-situation-of-bias%2F In March of 2008, at the Second Harvard Conference on Law and Mind Sciences, Situationist Contributor Emily Pronin presented her fascinating and important work in a talk titled “Implications of Personal and Social Claims and Denials of Bias.”  Below we have pasted the abstract and the four video segments of her presentation. * * * People’s efforts to make accurate, fair, and sound judgments and decisions often are compromised by various cognitive and motivational biases. Although this is clearly a problem, the solution is less clear due to the fact that people generally deny, and often are literally unaware of, their own commissions of bias – even while they readily impute bias to those around them. I will discuss evidence for this asymmetry in bias perception and for the ... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2473535 Thu, 11 Jun 2009 04:03:51 +0100 2473535 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2389888&cid=t_164764_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F05%2F06%2Fholier-than-thou%2F Benedict Carey had a great piece in the New York Times this week, “Stumbling Blocks on the Path of Righteousness.”  Here are some excerpts. * * * Most people are adamant: They would never do it. Ever. Never deliberately inflict pain on another person, just to obtain information. Ever artificially inflate the value of some financial product, just to take advantage of others’ ignorance. Certainly never, ever become a deadbeat and accept a government bailout. They speak only for themselves, of course. As for others, well, turn on the news: shady bankers, savage interrogators and deadbeats are everywhere. * * * “Well, they gave me this award — the administration did — and I’d sworn I would never take anything from them. But of course there I was, up on stage accepting it... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2389888 Wed, 06 May 2009 04:01:16 +0100 2389888 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2348435&cid=t_164764_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F04%2F18%2Fthe-situation-of-situation-in-employment-discrimination-law-abstract%2F This article puts the debate over social framework expert testimony in context, explaining what the testimony is and the role it has played in employment discrimination litigation, with a particular focus on the way the testimony has been offered in class action suits like Dukes v. Wal-Mart. It explains how the normal rules of evidence law should apply to social framework expert testimony, and under the flexible and permissive standards of the Federal Rules of Evidence, framework testimony offered by a qualified expert should be admissible in many employment class actions. The argument that this kind of evidence should always be excluded is driven as much by a particular view of employment discrimination law as by the governing evidentiary rules. Ultimately, the arguments for blanket exclu... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2348435 Sat, 18 Apr 2009 04:01:39 +0100 2348435 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2272011&cid=t_164764_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F03%2F16%2Fsarah-palin-objectification-reaction-situation%2F Eric Deggans, has a nice article in the Saint Petersburg Times summarizing research by psychologists from Univesity of South Florida, Jamie L. Goldenberg and Nathan A. Heflick.  Their research examined the objectifying effects of thinking about Sarah Palin’s appearance.  Immediately below, you will find excerpts from Deggans’s article.  Below that, you’ll find some reflections from Jamie Goldenberg regarding the negative reaction of some conservative media to her research. * * * Two researchers at the University of South Florida have developed a study that suggests . . . that a random group of Republicans and independents asked to focus on Palin’s attractiveness felt less likely to vote for the GOP ticket in last November’s elections. “The idea is tha... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2272011 Mon, 16 Mar 2009 04:01:07 +0100 2272011 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2222494&cid=t_164764_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2009%2F02%2F27%2Fmad-as-hell-anger-and-the-economy%2F There’s a lot to be angry about these days. ➢ My retirement fund is gone because of the greed of others. ➢ I lost my job while my boss gets a bonus. ➢ I’ve saved all my life, lived within my means and yet the irresponsible guy in default gets bailed out! Angry yet? In the blogosphere lately I’ve noticed the number of angry comments from readers responding to blog posts meant to sooth and uplift people traumatized by the economy. “How dare you make light of what I’m feeling!” sums up the reactions. Here’s the truth: Anger is a good, natural, healthy reaction to anything that can, or has, hurt us. But anger is also a difficult, often frightening, emotion - especially when it is overwhelming. ‘Mad’ can mean ‘insane’ as well as ‘furious.’ Most o... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2222494 Fri, 27 Feb 2009 11:00:36 +0100 2222494 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2035997&cid=t_164764_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F12%2F15%2Fjohn-jost-on-political-psychology%2F Here is an excellent interview by an intern from the Breakthrough Institute of Situationist contributor John Jost. * * * Why is the study of political psychology important? At its best, political psychology has the potential to improve, on the basis of reason and evidence, our political institutions and public policies so that they are more congruent with what we know about human behavior.  Social and political psychologists have, over the decades, offered sophisticated analyses and practical interventions with regard to stereotyping, prejudice, authoritarianism, sexism, aggression, nationalism, terrorism, war, and conflict resolution.  [See Political Psychology book here.] You conclude that fear motivates conservatism, but does this mean progressives should avoid fear-based appeals enti... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2035997 Mon, 15 Dec 2008 04:42:33 +0100 2035997 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1999416&cid=t_164764_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F12%2F01%2Fsituationism-in-the-blogosphere-october-part-iii%2F Discussion with Robert Burton” “In On Being Certain, neurologist Robert Burton challenges his readers to ask one of the most basic—and crucial—of questions: how do we know what we know? With an engaging, conversational style, he tackles the neuropsychological underpinnings of belief and certainty, carefully examining these ubiquitous dynamics in light of what is known about how the mind works.” Read more . . . From Nueronarrative: “The Lucifer Effect: An Interview with Dr. Philip Zimbardo” “Social psychologist [and Situationist contributor] Philip Zimbardo has been studying the anatomy of human psychology for nearly four decades. In the summer of 1971, Dr. Zimbardo created the classic Stanford Prison Experiment, a simulation of prison life that investigated a provocative... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1999416 Mon, 01 Dec 2008 04:01:55 +0100 1999416 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1969493&cid=t_164764_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F11%2F19%2Ftierneys-skepticism-at-the-new-york-times%2F Recently, John Tierney who writes a Science column in the New York Times has shown great skepticism about the concept of implicit bias, how it might be measured (through the Implicit Association Test), and whether it predicts real-world behavior. See, e.g.,  Findings column (Nov. 17, 2008).    I write to make provide praise, critique, and cultural commentary. First, praise.  I praise Tierney’s skepticism, which is fundamental to critical inquiry generally and good science especially.  Serious, critical inquiry is why most of us got into academics, and it’s why you the reader are reading this blog. Second, critique.  But skepticism should not be one-sided.  Tierney’s columns suggest that one side is just asking for good, skeptical science, whereas the other side is... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1969493 Wed, 19 Nov 2008 05:53:39 +0100 1969493 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1876582&cid=t_164764_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F10%2F15%2Fthe-situation-of-polarization%2F Bill Bishop has a recent situationist piece in Slate, “Extremism at McCain Rallies Comes Naturally.”  Here are a few excerpts. * * * College kids who join a conservative fraternity move to the right during their four years in college. Liberals from Boulder asked to discuss some issues of the day, such as global warming and gay marriage, are more liberal at the end of their discussion than before. Racists brought into a room to discuss race grow more intolerant. Social psychologists have conducted scores of these “group polarization” experiments since the ’60s, and they all come to the same finding: Like-minded people in a group grow more extreme in the way they are like-minded. Homogeneity creates extremity—or, in the news of the day, a McCain rally. * * *... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1876582 Wed, 15 Oct 2008 04:01:49 +0100 1876582 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1720621&cid=t_164764_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F08%2F20%2Flegal-academic-backlash-abstract%2F This article is the third of a multipart series. The first part, “The Great Attributional Divide,” argues that a major rift runs across many of our major policy debates based on our attributional tendencies: the less accurate dispositionist approach, which explains outcomes and behavior with reference to people’s dispositions (i.e., personalities, preferences, and the like), and the more accurate situationist approach, which bases attributions of causation and responsibility on unseen influences within us and around us. The second part, “Naive Cynicism,” explores how dispositionism maintains its dominance despite the fact that it misses so much of what actually moves us. It argues that the answer lies in a subordinate dynamic and discourse, naive cynicism: the... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1720621 Wed, 20 Aug 2008 16:00:48 +0100 1720621 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1625603&cid=t_164764_109_f&fid=34795&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsoloshrink.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F07%2Freason-number-7342-to-stick-with-xp-pro.html It was recently discovered that the spell checker in all versions of Vista and Server 2008 was “correcting” writers of words which were actually being spelled correctly. On Friday, July 11, 2008, The Register published an article about this important bug. Full details may be found at the Microsoft Help and Support page for the remedy to this urgent problem and a possible workaround. The words? Friendster Klum Nazr Obama Racicot That’s it. Five words. They must have given as much concern to these five words as was given to “the seven words you can’t say on TV” a number of years ago. Why do I write of the apparent immediate need to correct these five words? The correction is a 56.4 MB download. Still another reason for sticking with XP Pro. Peace, Doc Copyright © 2008, Thomas A.... Solo Shrink blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1625603 Wed, 16 Jul 2008 05:01:00 +0100 1625603 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1531231&cid=t_164764_109_f&fid=34795&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsoloshrink.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F06%2Fus-government-protects-us-from.html You people know I just can’t pass up a chance like this to sing the praises of our government agencies’ efforts to protect us from terrorism. Furthermore, simply tie this article and the privacy and security of Electronic Health Records together and think about it. The following is the text and links directly from the June 18 article in Boing Boing: “US seizes Danish dress-shop's payment to Pakistan in the name of "terrorism" Posted: 18 Jun 2008 05:23 AM CDT Carsten sez, "The owner of a small dress shop in Maribo, Denmark, orders six dresses in Pakistan for a value of $205 and pays by bank transfer - only to find that the transfer is intercepted by the US authorities and the money seized because the seller (fashio.biz) might conceivably support 'terrorism'." "Christa Møllgaard-Hanse... Solo Shrink blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1531231 Thu, 19 Jun 2008 11:27:00 +0100 1531231 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1458840&cid=t_164764_109_f&fid=35677&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainBasedBusiness%2F%7E3%2F294577780%2Fthe_human_brain_destroys_or_pr.html Within your brain lurks five pinch points that stomp out learning success …  and stomp on skill development.Sadly, since dangerous mental triggers often mask as diligence … mental toxins go undetected.Only recently has science shed light on the destructive forces to learners who slip into the following five: 1. Panic: leaves some people overwhelmed in the foothills while their competitors race them to the peaks … unhindered by panic’s mental chains. 2. Procrastination: or foot dragging is  on the rise according to recent studies that also show its power to punch against growth.3. Stress: shrinks the brain and shuts it down … so that learning tools are lost in the process. 4. Cynicism: tends to rob talents and drain innova... BrainBasedBusiness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1458840 Tue, 20 May 2008 22:48:26 +0100 1458840 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1443300&cid=t_164764_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F05%2F14%2Fthe-situation-of-talk-radio%2F This study does not include Public Radio, which by statute is required to provide differing points of view. . . .) KSAC shared another characteristic with other liberal radio stations: It had a tiny, 1,000-watt transmitter. Tough for a little station that barely reached Sacramento’s suburbs to compete with 50,000 watt giant KFBK, whose signal stretches from Chico to Modesto, from Reno to that little town of San Francisco. Despite KFBK reaching millions more potential listeners, KSAC mustered an audience nearly 20 percent that of KFBK’s. (Its ratings were double local conservative station KTKZ, which has a 5,000-watt transmitter.) And Arbitron showed the progressive station’s audience was steadily growing. KSAC was the little station that could. Until it couldn’t. It... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1443300 Wed, 14 May 2008 17:28:37 +0100 1443300 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1429395&cid=t_164764_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F05%2F08%2Fnaive-cynicism-abstract%2F This article explores how dispositionism maintains its dominance despite the fact that it misses so much of what actually moves us. It argues that the answer lies in a subordinate dynamic and discourse, naïve cynicism: the basic subconscious mechanism by which dispositionists discredit and dismiss situationist insights and their proponents. Without it, the dominant person schema — dispositionism — would be far more vulnerable to challenge and change, and the more accurate person schema — situationism — would be less easily and effectively attacked. Naïve cynicism is thus critically important to explaining how and why certain legal policies manage to carry the day. (To download a copy, click here.) * * * For a recent Situationist post illustrating naive cynicism at... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1429395 Thu, 08 May 2008 14:00:27 +0100 1429395 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1426919&cid=t_164764_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F05%2F07%2Fdaily-shows-john-oliver-at-the-pollies%2F “The best political ads have the ability to mislead us, demoralize us, and disenfranchise us from the political process . . . .” ~ John Oliver (Source: The Situationist) The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1426919 Wed, 07 May 2008 21:00:35 +0100 1426919 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1423793&cid=t_164764_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F05%2F05%2Fnaive-cynicism-in-election-2008-dispositionism-v-situationism%2F This post was originally published on April 23rd. Because the “elitism” card continues to played, we thought it worthwhile to republish this post for those who might have missed it the last time. * * * In case you missed it, the last week and a half have been a bit rough for the golden boy from Chicago. To boil down hundreds of hours of cable news commentary, political punditry, and radio talk-showery: Obama called certain working-class Midwesterners bitter, and everyone else called Obama elitist. The conventional wisdom is that Hillary’s success in Pennsylvania last night was at least partially the result of Obama’s remarks. The storm began when, speaking to a private group in San Francisco, Obama offered this take on the effects of economic stagnation in certain p... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1423793 Tue, 06 May 2008 02:00:10 +0100 1423793 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1407418&cid=t_164764_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F04%2F29%2Fthe-great-attributional-divide-abstract%2F This article, the first of a multipart series, argues that a major rift runs across many of our major policy debates based on our attributional tendencies: the less accurate dispositionist approach, which explains outcomes and behavior with reference to people’s dispositions (i.e., personalities, preferences, and the like), and the more accurate situationist approach, which bases attributions of causation and responsibility on unseen influences within us and around us. Given that situationism offers a truer picture of our world than the alternative, and given that attributional tendencies are largely the result of elements in our situations, identifying the relevant elements should be a major priority of legal scholars. With such information, legal academics could predict which indiv... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1407418 Tue, 29 Apr 2008 19:08:44 +0100 1407418 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1394022&cid=t_164764_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F04%2F23%2Fnaive-cynicism-in-election-2008-dispositionism-v-situationism%2F This post is co-authored by Situationist contributors Adam Benforado and Jon Hanson. * * * In case you missed it, the last week and a half have been a bit rough for the golden boy from Chicago. To boil down hundreds of hours of cable news commentary, political punditry, and radio talk-showery: Obama called certain working-class Midwesterners bitter, and everyone else called Obama elitist. The conventional wisdom is that Hillary’s success in Pennsylvania last night was at least partially the result of Obama’s remarks. The storm began when, speaking to a private group in San Francisco, Obama offered this take on the effects of economic stagnation in certain parts of Pennsylvania: “You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the j... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1394022 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 19:26:25 +0100 1394022 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1316788&cid=t_164764_109_f&fid=35677&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainBasedBusiness%2F%7E3%2F254915761%2F10_smart_skills_to_curb_cynics.html He calls in sick more and more. She is secretly looking for another job … even if it means she has to go back to school to upgrade. Familiar? Have you seen people who contribute to toxic work environments? Or have you noticed colleagues who feel victimized by workplace toxics? It doesn’t have to be that way.  Tackle cynicism or bullying from your brain's inside-out and … you end up with smart skills for business growth. People today often describe toxic work settings and yet research shows it needn't be the case in most settings.Unsure of how to move past cynicism or bullying? Why not roll out a cynic’s opposites…  go for profitability …  and win back work ... with the brain in mind. How so?Sm... BrainBasedBusiness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1316788 Thu, 20 Mar 2008 14:29:35 +0100 1316788 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1153975&cid=t_164764_109_f&fid=34795&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsoloshrink.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F01%2Ftoday-in-speech-to-hopeful-nation.html Scientific integrity cannot flourish in an environment of suppression and politically skewed reporting.George "The Walker" Bush Issued a proctomation; "Everything is fine!" Peace, Doc Copyright © 2008, Thomas A. Blood, Ph.D. "See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda." - George W. Bush “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extensi... Solo Shrink blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1153975 Wed, 16 Jan 2008 06:55:00 +0100 1153975 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=811306&cid=t_164764_109_f&fid=35677&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainBasedBusiness%2F%7E3%2F146211946%2Ftone_to_the_finish_line.html In a recent Special Olympics race … the story is told of a  front runner who stopped and helped the person just behind him – after the runner-up slipped and fell. Then these two men ran through the finish line for a standing ovation win - hand in hand. The crowd roared  – and the winners beamed at their accomplishment together. That Special Olympic story reminds me how tone helps your brain to reach your finish lines, in spite of slips and falls along the way. So what stops so many people short of great goals? It often surprises me when people stop reaching for their goals or when they sense others try to stop them. While another person might interfere,  in a longtime family feud say … or a peer may envy your talents, tone can see you past... BrainBasedBusiness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=811306 Mon, 20 Aug 2007 19:21:42 +0100 811306