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Psychology
Decision-making and anxiety in the time of COVID-19
Penn experts discuss the psychology behind decision-making, how anxiety and stress impacts behavior, and share strategies for deciding how to safely reengage with society.
Brain scans of 9- to 11-year-olds offer clues about aggressive, antisocial behavior
Two new papers, one about gray matter, the other about reward behavior, suggest that at the neural level not all conduct problems look the same.
A new approach to aiding Black male trauma survivors
In a collaborative new study between the School of Nursing and Drexel University, researchers have peeled back the layers of what causes and prevents many trauma-surviving Black men from seeking needed professional behavioral health care.
Joseph Kable discusses decision making amidst the pandemic
Joseph Kable, Baird Term Professor of Psychology, seeks to understand how people make decisions by taking a multilevel approach: understanding the process at both the psychological and biological level.
Web-based platforms provide supporting resources for Penn Medicine staff
As health care professionals continue to rise to the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic, Penn Medicine has worked diligently, expeditiously, and compassionately to organize resources for frontline workers.
Police killings and Black mental health
Specialists from across the Penn community discuss the mental health impacts of Black people being subjected to videos of African Americans being killed by the police.
Talking positive psychology and COVID-19 with Larry King
In a free video series co-hosted by James Pawelski, King interviews researchers about coping during the pandemic. In a June 11 event, they’ll speak with actor Kevin Bacon about philanthropy, arts and culture’s role in well-being, and the importance of open dialogue.
Cultivating robust civil dialogue during times of unrest
Through the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Paideia Program, Penn students are learning how to reflect on and engage with subjects like the coronavirus pandemic and the criminal justice system.
To keep firearms safe from children, look to behavioral economics
Mental shortcuts and cognitive biases may factor into whether a gun gets locked up, separate from ammunition. New findings suggest several ways to positively influence this behavior.
Gaze and pupil dilation can reveal a decision before it’s made
These two biomarkers may offer clues into the underlying biological processes at play in decision making, according to research from neuroscientist Michael Platt.
In the News
What is food noise and how do you get rid of it?
According to Thomas Wadden of the Perelman School of Medicine, people taking GLP-1 drugs are finding that daily experiences that used to trigger a compulsion to eat or think about food no longer have that effect.
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Expect to see AI ‘weaponized to deceive voters’ in this year’s presidential election
Cristina Bicchieri of the School of Arts & Sciences says that AI-generated misinformation exacerbates already-entrenched political polarization throughout America.
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Can money buy you happiness? Yes, it can. However…
Research by Matthew Killingsworth of the Wharton School reveals there is no monetary threshold at which money's capacity to improve well-being diminishes.
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Philadelphia hospital program adds psychologists to bridge mental health services for trauma survivors
A new psychology team at the Penn Trauma Violence Recovery Program has provided about 46 survivors with short- and long- term therapy, featuring remarks from Elinore Kaufman and Lily Brown of the Perelman School of Medicine.
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Early humans had ADHD, scientists say after making people play game online
A collaborative study by researchers from Penn suggests that the impulsive component of ADHD may provide a competitive advantage to learn from rivals and “catch” new methods of achievement.
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Why hasn’t the new me shown up yet?
In his book “What You Can Change and What You Can’t,” Martin Seligman of the School of Arts & Sciences says that some personal qualities and habits can’t be changed without extreme difficulty.
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