Prejudice Shapes Interpretation When I read psychology articles, whether in scientific journals or in the news, I always keep my ear tuned for bias. Although generally (probably) unintentional, biases often creep into how we interpret data. There are many books about the misuse of data (examples: How to Lie with Statistics, How to Use (and… Continue reading Assumptions in Psychology Reporting (1)
Psychology made Conscious
Psychological Misinformation: “Traditional” Masculinity
What is masculinity? It is a strange time to be male. Are people who identify as male (such as myself) under threat from emasculating policies? Or, conversely, are people who are born male and continue to endorse maleness given privileges no one else has, inheriting unearned power over everyone else? Both? Neither? What I will… Continue reading Psychological Misinformation: “Traditional” Masculinity
Psychological Misinformation: Emotions
Emotions: Hero or villain? Emotions have often been the turf for a pitched battle over control. This battle is connected to a variety of psychological misinformation. In one camp, people who glorify emotions as the promised land. “If it feels good, it is good,” they say. Willing, or rather eager, to jump into any experience… Continue reading Psychological Misinformation: Emotions
Socialization of Grief
Grief Gap I’ve had a few different posts going for over a month now. But frankly, I haven’t worked on any of them since October. They’ve just sat there. Yes, there was the election, but that’s not why. The reason is I’ve had two deaths of close family members, just 3 days apart from one… Continue reading Socialization of Grief
Election Psychology
A psychological view of the election I was working on finishing up a different post, but then recognized that this will be my last post prior to November’s election. Voting is already underway in some states. As usual, I’m not going to express opinions on who is right, or get into specifics of political policy.… Continue reading Election Psychology
Community-focused article published!
Article published Hi! I want to let you all know about an article of mine that was recently published online, in partnership with the New York State Trauma-Informed Network and Resource Center. The NYS TINRC is a wonderful resource. It connects people trying to find support for challenging circumstances for themselves and people they care… Continue reading Community-focused article published!
Psychological misinformation: Noncompliance
Noncompliance: What is your role in planning your life? While I’m on the topic of assessing how mental health workers assess people receiving services (see the post on insight), let’s discuss a neighboring issue. This one is perhaps more blatant, and certainly more widespread. I’m talking about the use of “compliance” or “adherence.” It is… Continue reading Psychological misinformation: Noncompliance
Psychological Misinformation: Insight
Deconstructing power imbalance in psychology Psychology has been a noble profession in some ways, and quite murky in others. While our aspirations have generally been laudable, our actions can be more problematic. Psychology has often taken advantage of restricting, manipulating, and interpreting science to suit ideas of how the people with power believe things should… Continue reading Psychological Misinformation: Insight
Psychological Misinformation and the Killing of Sonya Massey (cont)
Psychological Misinformation Myths In the context of the horrific death of Sonya Massey, I hope that helping people challenge psychological misinformation can help us make safer responses to each other. In part 1, I described myths regarding how people with mental health diagnoses reason, and whether they are unpredictable or dangerous. Let’s now look at… Continue reading Psychological Misinformation and the Killing of Sonya Massey (cont)
Psychological Misinformation and the Killing of Sonya Massey
What is our social contract? Like many others, I was shocked and horrified to watch, on the news, Sonya Massey get killed. Such a tragic death brings out many strong feelings, and I want to be careful and explicit about which aspects I talk about here. Careful in particular because escalation and violence like I… Continue reading Psychological Misinformation and the Killing of Sonya Massey