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...

Do I have the least stressful job in 2013?

About a week ago, Forbes magazine published a list of the least stressful jobs in 2013 ( here ). At the very top of the list was the college...

PYM: Holiday Edition

Looking for your perfect holiday? The holidays are upon us, which can mean family, fun, food, and cheer. But also, stress, anxiety, conflict...

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...

How the Rich are Different from the Poor I: Choice

In the many conversations that F. Scott Fitzgerald had with his friend Ernest Hemingway , Fitzgerald was believed to have said that "...

Marriage equality: What is shifting our opinions?

Source Our president has brought us many first – events that have nudged the collective social psychological typography of our nation. Presi...

It's lonely at the top: Power makes you mistrusting

It's lonely at the top Power is desirable – it helps us achieve goals, frees us from many social constraints, and allows us to be oursel...

An Inconvenient Truth: Race in America (Part I)

source It is an American tragedy whenever an unarmed teenage boy--of any color--is fatally shot. And when you strip down the Trayvon Martin ...

Rue and Racism: Intergroup dynamics and the Hunger Games

  Today we have the second installment of awesome guest blogger Maya Kuehn's posts on the psychology behind the Hunger Games. Check out ...

Neighborly Love: The Psychology of Mr. Rogers

Source Mr. Rogers is undoubtedly one of the most beloved cultural icons in American history. His TV show, Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood , ran...

Is trust Jeremy Lin's secret weapon?

Vintage Linsanity, circa 2006 ( source ) “It’s just us, being us, playing for us.” –Jeremy Lin I’ve got a confession to make: I’ve caught th...

The Psychology of Hazing

Paddle to the back side - a classic hazing strategy Would you join a new club if you knew it meant you had to sing an embarrassing song in p...

Psychological contagion? The mysterious case of LeRoy, NY

LeRoy, NY In a small country town, population 7,500, a cheerleader and honor roll student woke up from an afternoon nap to discover she had ...

The Bachelor: A modern-day replication of the Stanford Prison Experiment?

Bachelor Ben and his ladies. In 1971 a group of Stanford researchers led by psychologist Philip Zimbardo conducted what became a famous stu...

Class Warfare

"I think it's dangerous, this class warfare." -- Mitt Romney (2012 presidential candidate) In the last week or so, everyday Am...

Can the important people in your life help you transcend group differences?

Our significant others (even our X's) influence our new relationships  (source) When I first started graduate school I was enthralled...

The Power of Prejudice: A Class Divided

Do you remember your first brush with prejudice as a child? These students certainly do. A classic in intro social psychology classes, the v...

The Spotlight Effect or You're the Only One Who Knows You're Having a Bad Hair Day

Source Part of the human experience seems to be finding ourselves in highly embarrassing situations. At some time most of us have tripped...

Understanding Mean Girls

Regina from Mean Girls "She's fabulous, but she's evil," social outcast Damian famously says about queen bee Regina Georg...