Group gender composition: Does it matter?

source When I was younger, I can remember being split into teams in gym class and different tables in art class and having one que...

SWAG: Racial Bias in Pain Perception

Tom Brady is no stranger to pain ( source ) Every Wednesday afternoon, I gather with a bunch of faculty and graduate students at the Univers...

The Daddy Chronicles: What Happened To My Testosterone?

Zoë at two weeks I'm not sure how many of you know this, but on March 19th of this year I became a new daddy. It's hard to describe ...

How to End a Bad Relationship for Good

Sometimes we find ourselves in relationships that make us miserable more than they make us happy, relationships that we know in our hearts a...

SWAG: The American Choice Fixation

Yes. I Exist! ( source ) Every Wednesday afternoon, I gather with a bunch of faculty and graduate students at the University of Illinois to ...

SWAG: Thoughts as Physical Objects

Ideas as Objects ( Source ) Every Wednesday afternoon, I gather with a bunch of faculty and graduate students at the University of Illinois ...

Do it for Future You

Source It's only a month and a half into the New Year, and most of us have already abandoned our New Year's resolutions. We h...

SWAG: I'm good enough, I'm smart enough... and I give up!

wikipedia.org Every Wednesday afternoon, I gather with a bunch of faculty and graduate students at the University of Illinois to discuss a j...

SPSP 2013: How Much Inequality Is Too Much?

“Of all the babies that die every year, what percent should be from the richest 20% and what percent should be from the poorest 20%?” – Mik...

SPSP 2013: Notes For Starting Your Academic Career

“There is no other job that allows you to pursue questions that interests you, and then pay you to do it. But, there are tradeoffs.” –Chuck ...

Tabula Rasa: Do genes influence personality?

wikipedia.org If I were to ask you the simple question, "Do you think that genes influence your personality?" The first thing you ...

Friday Fun: Psychology at the Movies III

www.imdb.com It's been a few months since we last discussed movies on PYM. Since my spouse and I moved to Chambana, we have had a lot of...

Obama or Romney? Leave the decision to your parents!

Tell your parents that obedience  is overrated! (source) Whenever I teach a group of undergraduates I always hope that I will be shaping the...

Friday Fun: Oxytocin and the Zombie Apocalypse

I got your oxytocin right here! ( source ) If you've been watching AMC's riveting series about zombie apocalypse, the Walking Dead ...

Is there a feminine side to dominance?

Is there a female dominance hormone? ( source ) Today on PYM we are pleased to bring you a guest blog from Emily Plutov . Emily is an advanc...

Gender Bias in Academics Continued: An Experimental Test in the Hard Sciences

Why are women underrepresented in the STEM fields? A recent advisory council to the President concluded that at the current rate of training...

For the Love of Humanity: The Psychology of Thinking Globally

Source When was the last time you thought about the fact that you are a member of the human species? For most of us, this aspect of our iden...

Science Utopia: Some Thoughts About Ethics and Publication Bias

Science Utopia, next exit Psychology's integrity in the public eye has been rocked by recent high profile discoveries of data fabricatio...

Status Hierarchies: Do We Need Them?

Emile Durkheim ( source ) I have been studying the topic of social status ever since I started my graduate training. That was in 2004 when G...

A Game of Thrones: Lessons About Status II

Lord Varys, the eunuch ( source ) This week is my first week of teaching a new course at the  University of Illinois . The course is called ...