Personality Pedagogy Newsletter Volume 7, Number 9, May, 2013

Hello and welcome to the seventy-eighth Personality Pedagogy newsletter highlighting what’s new at http://personalitypedagogy.arcadia.edu. For more about the links below and approximately 2,781 other interesting links related to personality, please visit: http://personalitypedagogy.arcadia.edu.

This month’s newsletter is dedicated to my Personality class. It seems that we fell into an interesting habit last semester (I usually have the same students for this two-semester sequence of Social and Personality psychology). At the request of one of the members, before every exam we went around the room and each person said something encouraging out loud to the next person about how they were going to do well on the exam. They said things like, “I don’t know your name, but you’ve never missed a class, you’re going to do great” or “I hear the scritch-scratch of your pencil behind me so I know you’re taking good notes”. It seemed to calm everybody down. Well, research published this month suggests that self-affirmations can increase problem-solving abilities! So, my class was onto something even before the research evidence was in.

Also, this month, we feature a veritable grab-bag of topics, most of them on the newest research findings in personality psychology: everything from personality changes and weight gain, to the 10 most narcissistic US presidents, to making the world a kinder place. There’s a little something for everyone here, including links to the effect named for the man who made a living on that philosophy: P.T. Barnum.

As ever, please pass this newsletter on to interested colleagues and invite them to sign up for future issues and to visit the home of Personality Pedagogy: http://personalitypedagogy.arcadia.edu. Remember, you can view the current newsletter, comment on newsletters, re-read what you missed in previous newsletters, or search all newsletters by checking out our blog at http://personalitypedagogy.wordpress.com and you can even receive Personality Pedagogy newsletters via RSS feed as soon as they are posted, by clicking on the “RSS-posts” button on the bottom right.

Cheers,
Marianne

Marianne Miserandino
miserandino “at” arcadia “dot” edu

1. The Personality Pedagogy Monthly Newsletter

http://personalitypedagogy.arcadia.edu

Sign up here to receive this newsletter delivered to your e-mail inbox once a month! We promise never to share your information with anybody else or to use it for any other purpose than Personality Pedagogy.

2. Self-Affirmation Improves Problem-Solving Under Stress

Research suggests that the identifying and thinking about one’s most important values can increase individuals’ problem-solving abilities. This, according to research by J. David Creswell and colleagues published in “PLOS ONE” and summarized here in “Science Daily”, May 3, 2013.

3. The Biology of Kindness: How it Makes Us Happier and Healthier

Summarizes research by Barbara Fredrickson and colleagues which finds that people who engage in Loving Kindness meditation show great responsiveness of the vagus nerve which plays a role in regulating glucose levels, immune responses, altruistic behavior, and how we connect and bond to one another. From “Time”, May 9, 2013.

4. Bonding with Avatar May Alter Perception of Virtual Reality

“When individuals create their own avatar and modify it, the difficult situations faced by their alter egos may influence the perception of the virtual environment” according to research by Shyam Sundar and colleagues summarized here for PsychCentral, May 6, 2013.

5. Six Ways to Separate Lies From Statistics

Public Policy professors Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers present these ways in which non-experts can separate useful statistics from the lies in this article for “Bloomberg”, May 2, 1013.

6. You’ll Never Learn: A New Marshmallow Test?

Is resisting a “blinking inbox or a buzzing phone” the new marshmallow test of self-discipline? Read about new evidence on self-discipline and multitasking in this article from “Slate”, May 3, 2013.

7. Weight Gain Linked With Impulsively-Related Personality Trait Changes

“People who gain weight are more likely to give in to temptations but also are more thoughtful about their actions, according to a new study” published by Angelina Sutin and colleagues in “Psychological Science” and summarized here, May 6, 2013.

8. The 10 Most Narcissistic U.S. Presidents

“Scott Lilienfeld and his student Ashley Watts recently found evidence that a personality trait called “grandiose narcissism” predicts greatness in U.S. presidents—and also malignancy” in a new study published in “Psychological Science” and summarized here, May 8, 2013.

9. Nice Guys Finish Last. Really? What Does The Research Say?

Eric Barker of the “Barking Up the Wrong Tree” blog weighs the evidence to see if there is any truth to this old adage. When it comes to money, dating and marriage, leadership and life in general, it all depends on what aspect of life you are looking at. Published May 10, 2013.

10. The Times and Troubles of the Scientific Method

“Science is working tirelessly night and day to disprove its own theories about how the universe works (or at least, that’s what science thinks it’s doing). Hank tells us a quick history of how we came to create and adopt the scientific method and then gives us a vision of the future of science (hint: it involves a lot more computers and a lot less pipetting)”. Posted by SciShow, April 29, 2013. (runs 11 minutes, 8 seconds)

11. National African American Photographic Archive

Collects, scans, and makes available to the public “photographs and informative metadata illustrating the daily and work lives and social activities of African Americans.”

12. Dan Ariely: What Makes Us Feel Good About Our Work?

“What motivates us to work? Contrary to conventional wisdom, it isn’t just money. But it’s not exactly joy either. It seems that most of us thrive by making constant progress and feeling a sense of purpose. Behavioral economist Dan Ariely presents two eye-opening experiments that reveal our unexpected and nuanced attitudes toward meaning in our work”. This TEDx talk was Posted April 10, 2013 and runs 20 minutes, 27 seconds.

13. Do You Fear Missing Out?

Obsessive checking of Twitter and Facebook to see what your friends are doing may have led to a new type of fear: FoMO. The fear of missing out is the “concern that others may be having more fun and rewarding experiences than” we are. Read all about it in this summary from “Science Daily”, April 29, 2013.

14. The Fear of Missing Out

Are you of those people who need to check social media constantly to see what their friends are up to? Take this brief test to see how you compare to others in this new fear that others “may be having more fun and rewarding experiences than we are”.

15. Emotional Intelligence Trumps IQ in Dentist-Patient Relationship

IQ may predict who does well in dental school, but EQ predicts who will make the best patient-friendly dentists. This according to research by Kristin Victoroff and colleagues published in the “Journal of Dental Education” and summarized here in “Science Daily”, April 22, 2013.

16. Risk Factor for Depression Can Be Contagious

A particular style of thinking which makes people vulnerable to depression — interpreting the causes of negative events as internal and stable — may actually infect roommates making them more vulnerable to depression six months later. This, according to research published by Gerald Haeffel and Jennifer Hames in the journal “Clinical Psychological Science” and summarized here in “Science Daily”, April 18, 2013.

17. People Present Themselves in Ways That Counteract Prejudices Toward Their Group

“Individuals from stigmatized groups choose to present themselves in ways that counteract the specific stereotypes and prejudices associated with their group”. This, according to a study by Rebecca Neel and her colleagues published in “Psychological Science” and summarized here in “Science Daily”, April 17, 2013.

18. Extroverts and Introverts, Make Way for the Ambiverts

When it comes to who is likely to excel in sales—Extroverts or Introverts—the surprising answer is both! Research suggests that people who have a balance between Introverted and Extroverted tendencies may have the best of both types of people and end up surpassing both at pulling in more revenue. From “Psychology Today”, April 21, 2013.

19. 7 Myths About Happiness

According to happiness researcher Sonja Lyubomirsky, “Nearly all of us buy into what I call the myths of happiness—beliefs that certain adult achievements (marriage, kids, jobs, wealth) will make us forever happy and that certain adult failures or adversities (health problems, divorce, having little money) will make us forever unhappy. Overwhelming research evidence, however, reveals that there is no magic formula for happiness and no sure course toward misery. Rather than bringing lasting happiness or misery in themselves, major life moments and crisis points can be opportunities for renewal, growth, or meaningful change. Yet how you greet these moments really matters.” From “Psychology Today”, March 9, 2013.

20. Favorite Link Revisited: The Barnum Effect

The Barnum Effect Take this test to remind yourself why good personality tests should provide specific feedback…and why horoscopes are so much fun! This online test of 47 questions plus some background demographics gives the appearance of a legitimate personality test. Respondents receive the typical Barnum feedback and rate how accurate it is. The beauty of this on-line version is that students can change some of their answers and see that their description never changes. In the words of Prof. Birnbaum at Fullerton State who developed this page, “Self-validation is no validation”, according to the explanation given here.

Personality Pedagogy Newsletter Volume 7, Number 8, April, 2013

Hello and welcome to the seventy-seventh Personality Pedagogy newsletter highlighting what’s new at http://personalitypedagogy.arcadia.edu. For more about the links below and approximately 2,767 other interesting links related to personality, please visit: http://personalitypedagogy.arcadia.edu.

This month we have a lively mix of topics from smelling personality to the narcissism epidemic to a look at Nietzsche’s famous quip “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger”. Funny, but that just about sums up the end of the semester around here! Here’s hoping the semester ends productively and smoothly (and not too smelly) where you are!!

As ever, please pass this newsletter on to interested colleagues and invite them to sign up for future issues and to visit the home of Personality Pedagogy: http://personalitypedagogy.arcadia.edu. Remember, you can view the current newsletter, comment on newsletters, re-read what you missed in previous newsletters, or search all newsletters by checking out our blog at http://personalitypedagogy.wordpress.com and you can even receive Personality Pedagogy newsletters via RSS feed as soon as they are posted, by clicking on the “RSS-posts” button on the bottom right.

Cheers,
Marianne

Marianne Miserandino
miserandino “at” arcadia “dot” edu

1. The Personality Pedagogy Monthly Newsletter

http://personalitypedagogy.arcadia.edu

Sign up here to receive this newsletter delivered to your e-mail inbox once a month! We promise never to share your information with anybody else or to use it for any other purpose than Personality Pedagogy.

2. The Internet “Narcissism Epidemic”

Could the Internet be making us more narcissistic? Read about how social media — including Facebook activity — correlates with Narcissism.

3. How to Make Love to a Stranger?

One of the quickest ways to gain the benefits of positive emotion is to share a moment or “positivity resonance” with another person, even if that person is a stranger. Researcher Barbara Fredrickson wants us to expand our definition of love and science writer Daniel Tomasulo tells us how in this piece for the “PsychCentral” blog, April 9, 2013.

4. Do Men Have More Varied Personalities Than Women?

“A huge study involving over 12,000 participants across 51 cultures […] has concluded that men tend to have more varied personalities than women. […] men’s personalities showed more variation for four of the Big Five traits: extraversion, openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness. The exception was neuroticism, which tended to vary more widely in women” according to research published in the “Journal of Research in Personality” and summarized here in “BPS Research Digest”, March 25, 2013.

5. Ground Down

Was Nietzsche correct when he said “That which does not kill me makes me stronger”? Apparently not, according to research by David Almeida and colleagues published in 1995 and summarized here in “The Economist”, April 13, 2013.

6. Pursuing Purpose: A Cause or Result of Feeling Connected?

Writing for the “Positive Psychology News Daily”, Genevieve Douglass muses about purpose in life and how it might relate to the three needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. She reviews research which suggests “that a sense of meaning might be embedded in the basic need of relatedness, which both contributes to and results from prosocial behaviors.”

7. Believing Self-Control Predicts Success, Schools Teach Coping

In one DC school, “The boot-camp expectations, the behavioral charts, the pinnies, all point to a calculated attempt to teach students self-discipline, focus, accountability — ultimately, self-control. Schools across the country are responding to a growing body of research that suggests a definitive and disturbing link between low levels of self-control in childhood and serious problems later in life” according to this article from “The Washington Post”, April 11, 2013.

8. How Childhood Hunger Can Change Adult Personality

According to a study published in the “Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry” a sample of children who suffered severe starvation as infants were more anxious, less sociable, less open, and more hostile than those who were more well-nourished. From “Time”, April 11, 2013.

9. Academics Question the Reliability of Neuroscience Research

“New research has questioned the reliability of neuroscience studies, saying that conclusions could be misleading due to small sample sizes.” This according to new research published in “Nature Reviews Neuroscience” and summarized here in “Medical News Today”, April 12, 2013.

10. Aaron Beck On The Future of CBT

“In this video from a recent CBT workshop at the Beck Institute, Dr. Aaron Beck discusses the theory and practice of Cognitive Therapy. He discusses the ways in which the core theory and the therapy have changed since the 1960s and how he believes they will expand and extend in the future. He also discusses how other disciplines, such as neurobiology, have contributed to CT, referencing one of his own studies in 1961 and a 1999 study by researchers in Great Britain. According to Dr. Beck, the future of CBT will likely involve an expansion of the core theory of CT in conjunction with neurobiological findings.” Published by the Beck Institute, February 27, 2013 (runs 7 minutes, 26 seconds).

11. See-Through Brains Clarify Connections

In what has been called “one of the most important advances for doing neuroanatomy in decades” scientists have found a way to reconstruct three-dimensional data from thin slices to create a transparent view of parts of the brain revealing the brain’s neuronal communication networks. Read about the technique here and see a video of the spectacular images it created of the brains of mice (runs 4 minutes, 17 seconds).

12. Can You Smell Personality?

“First impressions matter. This may not come as much of a surprise, but just how quickly we form impressions, and which cues we use to make such rapid judgements” — including smell — “may very much surprise you.” From “The Creativity Post”, April 10, 2013.

13. 2 People Described the Same Person to A Forensic Artist And This is What Happened

This amazing demonstration, actually part of the Dove soap ”Real Beauty” campaign is quite a powerful demonstration of how our own body image may differ from what others see when they look at us. (Runs 3 minutes, 1 second)

14. True Grit

”Getting to that finish line takes stamina and determination. Researchers are working to identify how gritty individuals get things done.” according to this article by Angela Lee Duckworth and Lauren Eskreis-Winkler for the APS ”Observer”, April, 2013.

15. Teaching Students About the Science of Romantic Attachment

Nathan DeWall and David Myers describe a series of activities to help students think about attachment and why our romantic partners may get under our skin. Includes background reading, self-assessment, an out-of-class activity, and discussion topics.

16. Favorite Link Revisited: How to Study Like A Pro: 9 Evidence-Based Study Strategies

The editor of the “Research Digest” published by the British Psychological Society compiled these 9 strategies for a special issue for students. Each of the tips are described and include a link to a summary of the published research which supports the usefulness of the strategy. Strategies include: adopt a growth mindset, sleep well, pace your studies, test yourself, and more.

Personality Pedagogy Newsletter Volume 7, Number 7, March, 2013

Hello and welcome to the seventy-seventh Personality Pedagogy newsletter highlighting what’s new at http://personalitypedagogy.arcadia.edu. For more about the links below and approximately 2,752 other interesting links related to personality, please visit: http://personalitypedagogy.arcadia.edu.

One-hundred and eight years ago today psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl was born in Austria. This would be a good time to reflect upon the lessons on finding meaning Frankl presented in his moving book “Man’s Search for Meaning”. Our first link is to a very moving summary of the book in words and pictures by Maria Popova for her “Brain Pickings” blog.

There are two sides to every story, and this month we present you with the pros and cons of a new initiative endorsed by President Obama this month: The Brain Activity Map. The goal is that neuroscientists will join their efforts to map areas of the brain the way scientists decoded the human genome a few years back. But is it even possible to identify all of the areas of brain function, and is localization even the best way to understand brain functioning? See the links below for more on this controversial proposal.

Speaking of the other side to stories, check out the softer side of B. F. Skinner. Thanks to Michael Britt of “The Psych Files” we have links and sound clips of Skinner discussing compassion, music, a love of reading and other topics. Britt argues that Skinner and his theories are more complicated than you might have first thought.

As ever, please pass this newsletter on to interested colleagues and invite them to sign up for future issues and to visit the home of Personality Pedagogy: http://personalitypedagogy.arcadia.edu. Remember, you can view the current newsletter, comment on newsletters, re-read what you missed in previous newsletters, or search all newsletters by checking out our blog at http://personalitypedagogy.wordpress.com and you can even receive Personality Pedagogy newsletters via RSS feed as soon as they are posted, by clicking on the “RSS-posts” button on the bottom right.

Cheers,
Marianne

Marianne Miserandino
miserandino “at” arcadia “dot” edu

1. The Personality Pedagogy Monthly Newsletter

http://personalitypedagogy.arcadia.edu

Sign up here to receive this newsletter delivered to your e-mail inbox once a month! We promise never to share your information with anybody else or to use it for any other purpose than Personality Pedagogy.

2. Happy Birthday, Viktor Frankl: Timeless Wisdom on the Human Search for Meaning

In recognition of Viktor Frankl’s birthday, science writer Maria Popova summarizes Frankl’s theory and how we create meaning out of purposeful work, love, and courage in the face of difficulty, using excerpts from his work and photos of Frankl and others.

3. Brain Activity Map Proponents Explain Goals of Blood Neuroscience

Science writer Stephanie Pappas explains “Neuroscientists are pushing for a major project that would map the activity of the brain, potentially illuminating the causes of depression, schizophrenia and other major mental health disorders” in this article from “LiveScience”, March 7, 2013.

4. What’s Wrong With the Brain Activity Map Proposal

“With the president suggesting a multibillion-dollar neuroscience effort, a leading neuroscientist explains the deep conceptual problems with plans to record all the brain’s neurons” in this article by Partha Mitra in “Scientific American”, from March 5, 2013.

5. What Was B.F. Skinner Really Like?

According to Michael Britt of “The Psych Files” podcast, “Would you be surprised to learn that B.F. Skinner was a very likable guy and that you may actually be very much in agreement with his ideas? Many people who study psychology have a negative impression of Skinner. Well, I’m about to challenge those impressions by presenting a side of Skinner you probably haven’t been exposed to. In these sound bytes you’ll hear his ideas about learning to play music, about discovery, having fun and becoming the most that you can be.” From episode 191 posted March 11, 2013 (runs 32 minutes, 35 seconds).

6. Skinner on Compassionate Behavior

Michael Britt of “The Psych Files” podcast presents this audio clip of B.F. Skinner on compassion: “Listen to B. F. Skinner as he explains how he believes we can get people to be more compassionate as they deal with old people, prisoners, psychiatric patients and the developmentally delayed (which in his day were referred to commonly as ‘retardates’). Note that he is more in favor of rewarding positive behavior than in implementing ‘aversive controls’ also note that he speaks of how important knowledge is in treating people with these needs” (runs 2 minutes, 31 seconds).

7. Skinner on Learning to Love Reading

Michael Britt of “The Psych Files” podcast presents this audio clip of B. F. Skinner talking about reading. “In another surprisingly “humanistic” interview with B.F. Skinner he discusses what he thinks we can do to make learning to read fun. ‘Fun’? and ‘Skinner’? Yup. There are more sides to Skinner than we sometimes think about after we’ve had only a basic course in psychology” (runs 3 minutes and 31 seconds).

8. Skinner on Learning to Play Music

Michael Britt of “The Psych Files” podcast presents this audio clip of B.F. Skinner talking about learning to play music. As Britt explains, Skinner “has, unfortunately, suffered from a bad reputation. Listen to how he explains his own experiences learning to play the piano and his suggestions for how children might come to love playing music if we introduce it into their lives correctly. If you didn’t know it was his voice you probably wouldn’t guess this was him speaking” (runs 1 minute, 40 seconds).

9. Gender Trouble

Summarizes the work of Judith Butler who argues that gender identity is a social construction.

10. The Bechdel Test For Media Bia

According to the Feminist Frequency website by media critic Anita Sarkeesian: “The Bechdel Test is a simple way to gauge the active presence of female characters in Hollywood films and just how well rounded and complete those roles are. It was created by Allison Bechdel in her comic strip ‘Dykes to Watch Out For’ in 1985″. The test is: (1) Does the film have at least two [named or otherwise central character] women in it, (2) who talk to each other, (3) about something besides a man? (runs 2 minutes, 3 seconds). You and your students can use this test to see how popular movies, especially those winning Oscars or other top awards, fare. See here for a discussion of similar tests for other types of bias in the media.

11. Humanistic Theory and Therapy Applied to the Psychotic Individual

Ann Reitan describes how therapy in general, and humanistic therapy in particular, can be helpful to a psychotic person. Focusing on the theory and techniques of Carl Rogers, and especially his notions of conditions of worth and unconditional positive regard, she describes how therapy could help a person with schizophrenia.

12. The Stories That Bind Us

Writer Bruce Feiler describes research which suggests that the stories families tell about themselves inspire resilience in future generations. From “The New York Times”, March 15, 2013.

13. How You Can Be a Better Storyteller

Eric Barker, of the “Barking Up The Wrong Tree” blog presents this interview with UCLA Film School Professor Howard Suber. Along the way, Suber reveals the power of a narrative to define — and change — our lives. Posted March 4, 2013.

14. Can People’s Personalities Change?

“Instead of personality being set in stone at 30, now evidence is emerging that there is some change. In fact people don’t give exactly the same answers to personality questionnaires at different times in their lives” according to research by Boyce et al., published in “Social Indicators Research” and summarized here in “PsyBlog”, February 25, 2013.

15. World of Warcraft: Why People Play is Linked to their Personality

John Grohol reviews research by Graham and Gosling (2013) which found that people play “World of Warcraft” for different reasons linked to their personality and that the experience of playing is different for people depending on their levels of Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness. Posted March 18, 2013.

16. Favorite Link Revisited: “I Was Not A Lab Rat”

Deborah Skinner’s essay about growing up as the baby in the box.

Personality Pedagogy Newsletter Volume 7, Number 6, February, 2013

Hello and welcome to the seventy-seventh Personality Pedagogy newsletter highlighting what’s new at http://personalitypedagogy.arcadia.edu. For more about the links below and approximately 2,740 other interesting links related to personality, please visit: http://personalitypedagogy.arcadia.edu.

Have you ever wondered what is all the fuss about the “Twilight” series? This month we are pleased to bring you a chapter from Donna Ashcraft’s new book “Deconstructing Twilight”. In it, she takes psychological and feminist approaches to understanding the characters. She and her publisher have graciously agreed to let “Personality Pedagogy” publish Chapter 7 from her book. Here, she analyzes Bella and her relationships with her parents and with Edward to illustrate aspects of Karen Horney’s theory. Ashcroft’s analysis is sure to spark discussion among your fan-students and to get you to think about young adult literature — and personality theories — in a new way.

This month, in honor of using fictional characters as case studies to illustrate personality theories, we revisit one of our favorite links. The NPR program “In Character” presents an in-depth look at more fictional characters suitable for analysis in your personality class.

Finally, I just couldn’t resist throwing in the “World’s Shortest Personality Test” (see link below). My students enjoyed taking it and critiquing it afterwards. We were able to draw on their “results” to see if it matched up to their personality according to a valid measure of the Five Factors. They could readily understand convergent validity and the need for criterion validity through this little demonstration. Try it!

As ever, please pass this newsletter on to interested colleagues and invite them to sign up for future issues and to visit the home of Personality Pedagogy: http://personalitypedagogy.arcadia.edu. Remember, you can view the current newsletter, comment on newsletters, re-read what you missed in previous newsletters, or search all newsletters by checking out our blog at http://personalitypedagogy.wordpress.com and you can even receive Personality Pedagogy newsletters via RSS feed as soon as they are posted, by clicking on the “RSS-posts” button on the bottom right.

Cheers,
Marianne

Marianne Miserandino
miserandino “at” arcadia “dot” edu

1. The Personality Pedagogy Monthly Newsletter

http://personalitypedagogy.arcadia.edu

Sign up here to receive this newsletter delivered to your e-mail inbox once a month! We promise never to share your information with anybody else or to use it for any other purpose than Personality Pedagogy.

2. Deconstructing Twilight

Drawing on classic theorists including Carl Jung, Karen Horney, Erik Erikson, Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers and others, Donna Ashcraft takes a psychological and feminist approach to understanding the “Twilight” characters in her book “Deconstructing Twilight: Psychological and Feminist Perspectives on the Series”. Thanks to her publisher, Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., you can read and download a PDF of Chapter 7 in which she uses Karen Horney’s 10 neurotic needs to understand the dynamics between Bella and her parents, Bella and Edward, and more. The second link takes you to the Amazon.com page for her book.

3. World’s Quickest Personality Test

Are you imaginative, analytical, or suspicious? Richard Wiseman describes how to assess your personality via this quick measure. A fun way to introduce personality testing and the importance of validity to your students. (runs 1 minute, 26 seconds).

4. Men Are From Earth, Women Are From Earth

“From empathy and sexuality to science inclination and extroversion, statistical analysis of 122 different characteristics involving 13,301 individuals shows that men and women, by and large, do not fall into different groups” according to research by Bobbi Carothers and Harry Reis (2013) published in the “Journal of Personality and Social Psychology”. Includes a graphic comparing distributions of men and women on physical strength and masculinity-assertiveness; and a video of Harry Reis explaining their work and what it means (runs 3 minutes, 24 seconds).

5. Willpower Expert Roy Baumeister on Staying in Control

Roy Baumeister explains what willpower is, what depletes our willpower, and how we can manage our willpower to achieve our goals in this interview from “Time”, January 14, 2013.

6. Mistakes Improve Children’s Learning While Building Competence and Autonomy

We need not always protect children from mistakes; mistakes can be part of the learning and discovery process and actually increase learning. Children build competence through mastering challenges, and autonomy though trying new approaches.

7. How to Become Highly Skilled in CBT

“In this video from a recent Beck Institute Workshop, Drs. Aaron and Judith Beck discuss the process of improving as a therapist. Like most skills, excellent therapy skills are achieved over time with good training and experience. Dr. Aaron Beck emphasizes the importance of utilizing patient feedback, as well as learning from colleagues and supervisors. Dr. Judith Beck discusses the importance of keeping an open mind in one’s progression as a therapist, including incorporating new techniques from other fields of therapy within the CBT framework.” Published by the Beck Institute, January 16, 2013.

8. Design Your Own Implicit Association Tests (IAT)

Adam Meade, North Carolina State University, has created this website where researchers can create their own IATs using free open-source software on this website.

9. Research Methods and Statistics Concept Maps

Alexis Grosofsky, Beloit College, created these concept maps of topics typically covered in undergraduate methods and statistics courses. These maps will help students organize material and see the “bigger picture” of how these concepts relate to each other. Each of these 11 maps could be used as an introduction, summary, or quick refresher (opens in PDF format).

10. Teaching Statistics: Not Awful and Boring

Jessica Hartnett, Gannon University, started this blog where she shares online resources for teaching statistic to undergraduates. In her own words: “Most of [the suggestions] are funny. A few of them are serious but engaging. At no point will I suggest that you count M&M colors (although there is nothing wrong with that). Also, I’m not making any money off of this, I just know how hard it can be to teach statistics/research methods and thought I would share what I have.”

11. fMRI: Real-Time Self-Regulation of Emotion Networks

Using fMRI, 8 patients with depression were able to increase activity in areas of the brain related to positive emotion and lowered their depression through neuro(bio)feedback. A control group who went through similar cognitive strategies but without the feedback did not show such improvement. Includes downloadable slides of their findings.

12. Mindfulness neuroscience

Neuropsychologist Deric Bownds summarizes findings from a special issue of the journal “Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience” devoted to meditation and the brain. He describes four possible mechanisms by which meditation works and discusses the problem of control groups and random assignment in meditation research.

13. Do You Know What Determines Your Happiness?

Eric Karpinski, muses on the impact of genetics, external circumstances, and our own actions and thoughts on our happiness. Posted August 11, 2011.

14. Favorite Link Revisited: In Character: Tricksters, Vamps, Heroes, Scamps

“From Darth Vader to Scarlett O’Hara, the best fictional characters reflect something about who we are and how we got here.” In Character, “a [2008] six-month series from NPR, explores indelible American characters from fiction, folklore and pop culture.” Hear experts discuss the psychology of characters such as Vernon Waters (“A Soldier’s Story”), Willie Stark (“All the King’s Men”), Charlotte (“Charlotte’s Web”), Auntie Mame, Uncle Tom, Henry Fleming (“The Red Badge of Courage”), The Joker, Norman Bates, Nancy Drew, Jo March (“Little Woman”), King Kong, Mr. Spock, Carrie (“Sex and the City”), Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Ricky Ricardo, Charlie Brown, Fred Sanford, Indiana Jones, Dora the Explorer, Mama Rose, Hanibal Lecter, Portnoy, Eric Cartman (“South Park”), Walter Mitty, Catwoman, Blanche DuBois, Captain Ahab, Barbie, Harriet the Spy, Hester Prynne (“The Scarlet Letter”), Elmer Gantry, Darth Vader, Gordon Gekko (“Wall Street”), Charlie Chaplin’s Little Tramp, Cookie Monster, George Jefferson, Willy Loman (“Death of a Salesman”), Huckleberry Finn, Scarlett O’Hara, Pollyanna, Holden Caulfield, The Lone Ranger, Lassie, Bugs Bunny, and others.

Personality Pedagogy Newsletter Volume 7, Number 5, January, 2013

Hello and welcome to the seventy-seventh Personality Pedagogy newsletter highlighting what’s new at http://personalitypedagogy.arcadia.edu. For more about the links below and approximately 2,725 other interesting links related to personality, please visit: http://personalitypedagogy.arcadia.edu.

Happy New Year! Happy New Month! And for many of you, Happy New Semester! As much as I hate the darkness of winter here on the East Coast, I do relish the chance to start again with new beginnings. If you are like me, then you will welcome this month’s newsletter filled with new things to refresh and renew your personality psychology classes.

Speaking of happy, we’ve got a bit of a debate of sorts happening in this issue. Check out three of our newest links suggesting that money does buy happiness —  but that there’s more to life than being happy, and judge for yourself.

This month marks 20 years since the first fMRI study was published. To celebrate, the APS journal Perspectives on Psychological Science features a special section in which leading scientists reflect on the contributions this brain scanning technique has made to our understanding of human thought. While not strictly related to personality, the reflections are nonetheless interesting. Check it out here.

Special thanks goes out to Jon Mueller for the link to the Easy Bake Oven controversy (see below). Be sure to check out his newsletter and website if you are interested in teaching social psychology.

As ever, please pass this newsletter on to interested colleagues and invite them to sign up for future issues and to visit the home of Personality Pedagogy: http://personalitypedagogy.arcadia.edu. Remember, you can view the current newsletter, comment on newsletters, re-read what you missed in previous newsletters, or search all newsletters by checking out our blog at http://personalitypedagogy.wordpress.com and you can even receive Personality Pedagogy newsletters via RSS feed as soon as they are posted, by clicking on the “RSS-posts” button on the bottom right.

Cheers,
Marianne

Marianne Miserandino
miserandino “at” arcadia “dot” edu

1. The Personality Pedagogy Monthly Newsletter

http://personalitypedagogy.arcadia.edu

Sign up here to receive this newsletter delivered to your e-mail inbox once a month! We promise never to share your information with anybody else or to use it for any other purpose than Personality Pedagogy.

2. Maslow’s Theory of Self-Actualization, More or Less Actualized

Psychologist Ann Reitan reflects on Abraham Maslow’s notion of self-actualization. First, she explains what it is, then she muses on what it means for different people at different times in their lives, drawing on the work of Eric Erikson. Finally, she suggests that self-actualizing people may find meaning at lower levels of the hierarchy, such as when their needs are being threatened. She gives examples of people who she believed were actualizing while facing death (e.g., Viktor Frankl), fearing for their safety (e.g., Nelson Mandela), losing their freedom (e.g., Ghandi), and experiencing mental illness (e.g., Sylvia Plath). From “Brain Blogger”, January 8, 2013.

3. There’s More to Life Than Being Happy

According to Viktor Frankl, “It is the very pursuit of happiness that thwarts happiness,” and yet Americans and American psychology are obsessed with happiness. Meaningfulness and happiness are not the same thing, and this article draws on new work by Roy Baumeister, Kathleen Vohs, Jennifer Aaker & Emily Garbinsky (2013) to understand the difference. From “The Atlantic”, January 9, 2013. Their forthcoming paper in the “Journal of Positive Psychology” is available here: http://tinyurl.com/b8mbayk (opens in PDF format).

4. Yes, Money Does Buy Happiness: 6 Lessons from the Newest Research on Income and Well-Being

A summary of 6 observations from the paper “The New Stylized Facts about Income and Subjective Well-Being” by Daniel W. Sacks, Betsey Stevenson, and Justin Wolfers. From “The Atlantic,” January 10, 2013.

5. Implicit Assessment of The Five Factors

Researches have hit upon an implicit way of measuring personality, the “semantic misattribution procedure”. “In this initial study, and two more involving nearly 300 participants … participants’ scores on this test for conscientiousness, neuroticism and extraversion correlated with explicit measures of the same traits. The new implicit test also did a better job than explicit measures alone of predicting relevant behaviours, such as church attendance, perseverance on a lab task, and punctuality. The implicit scores for extraversion showed good consistency over 6 months. Finally, the new implicit test showed fewer signs of being influenced by social desirability concerns, as compared with traditional explicit measures.” From “BPS Research Digest”, December 13, 2012.

6. Assessing Personality via Social Media Postings: TruthSerum.com

TruthSerum.com claims to assess personality though people’s social media posts. Users can analyze their own personality and see how they compare to Barak Obama, Mitt Romney, Abraham Lincoln, the Unabomber Ted Kaczynski and some 135 other famous people on Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Machiavellianism, Narcissism, and Psychopathy (aka, Psychoticism).

7. You Can’t See It, But You’ll be a Different Person in 10 Years

“No matter how old people are, they seem to believe that who they are today is essentially who they’ll be tomorrow.” according to the End of History Illusion. According to researcher Daniel Gilbert, “Life is a process of growing and changing, and what our results suggest is that growth and change really never stops … despite the fact that at every age from 18 to 68, we think it’s pretty much come to a close.” You can listen to the original segment and comment by Gilbert here, on the NPR website (runs 3 minutes, 58 seconds) or read a more in-depth summary from the “New York Times” here.

8. Sexism-Free Easy Bake Oven On the Way

Due to the protests started by 13-year old McKenna Pope (here) and backed by big-name chefs including Bobby Flay, and the general public, Hasbro, the makers of the class Easy-Bake, oven will launch a new line of gender-neutral ovens that will feature gender-neutral colors and more boys in their advertisements.

9. Activities Guide: Teaching Ethics in the Introduction to Psychology Course

The Office of Teaching Resources in Psychology (OTRP) is pleased to announce this new resource for teachers by Ana Ruiz and Judith Warchal of Alvernia University. “This 23-page guide presents 17 activities related to ethics for each chapter in a typical Introduction to Psychology text as it integrates the APA Learning Goals and Outcomes for ethics into that course.  For each chapter, the activity lists the student learning outcome, instructions for conducting the activity, materials needed, approximate time required, and a method of assessment.” Activities most relevant to the personality class include APA ethics code jeopardy, research methods, personality testing, and debating controversial topics.

10. Who’s Gay On TV? Dads, Journalists, Investigators, And Footmen

Presents an interesting account of the various portrayals of gays and lesbians found on TV today. Though the number of gays and lesbians has increased in recent years, for some, the portrayals may not be as realistic as they could be. Published January 3, 2013. (also available in audio running 7 minutes, 45 seconds).

11. Gorillas, Watermelons and Sperm: The Greatest Genomes Sequenced in 2012

Scientists identified the genetic codes of some of the world’s most fascinating animals and plants. Check out what they found in this online photo gallery of 8 stunning images posted by “Popular Science”, January 2, 2013.

12. The 12 cognitive biases that prevent you from being rational

A good summary of 12 common flaws in our thinking including the confirmation bias, gambler’s fallacy, neglecting probability, the current moment bias, the anchoring effect, and more.

13. A Chart of Emotions that Have No Names in the English Language

Designer Pei-Ying Lin has created interesting conceptual charts of emotions including one for emotions that have no names in the English language and another for new emotions invented by the Internet.

14. Neurotic People Might Have Better Health Outcomes When They are High in Conscientiousness.

People who are high in Neuroticism and Conscientiousness experience lower levels of Interleukin 6 (IL-6), a biomarker for inflammation and chronic disease; lower body-mass index scores; and fewer diagnosed chronic health conditions. From “Prevention News”, November 2012.

15. Darwin Was Wrong About Dating

New research is beginning to question the long-accepted evolutionary explanation for various mating behaviors. Read about some of the alternative explanations and new data on sex differences in mating strategies, selectiveness, and desire for casual sex. From “The New York Times,” January 12, 2013.

16. Favorite Link Revisited: Careers in Psychology

From the website: “Are you preparing yourself for a career in psychology? Well, you’ve come to the right place! We understand your enthusiasm and eagerness to get started in a growing and lucrative field like psychology. However, we also know how difficult it can be to get started in this field, which is exactly why we’re here.” The site features background information on careers, degree paths, programs, internships, licensure information, interviews with psychology professionals, and more.

Personality Pedagogy Newsletter Volume 7, Number 4, December, 2012

Hello and welcome to the seventy-sixth Personality Pedagogy newsletter highlighting what’s new at http://personalitypedagogy.arcadia.edu. For more about the links below and approximately 2,700 other interesting links related to personality, please visit: http://personalitypedagogy.arcadia.edu.

From giving presents to starting a new class off right in the new year, this month we are happy to present to you 13 links for the 12 days of Christmas (bonus!). Whether you are celebrating this holiday or just taking a break from the usual load of classes and commitments, here at Personality Pedagogy we wish you a happy holiday season and a happy 2013!

As ever, please pass this newsletter on to interested colleagues and invite them to sign up for future issues and to visit the home of Personality Pedagogy: http://personalitypedagogy.arcadia.edu. Remember, you can view the current newsletter, comment on newsletters, re-read what you missed in previous newsletters, or search all newsletters by checking out our blog at http://personalitypedagogy.wordpress.com and you can even receive Personality Pedagogy newsletters via RSS feed as soon as they are posted, by clicking on the “RSS-posts” button on the bottom right.

Cheers,
Marianne

Marianne Miserandino
miserandino “at” arcadia “dot” edu

1. The Personality Pedagogy Monthly Newsletter

Sign up here to receive this newsletter delivered to your e-mail inbox once a month! We promise never to share your information with anybody else or to use it for any other purpose than Personality Pedagogy.

2. The Person Inside the Present: Narcissists Buy to Big Themselves Up

Just as you suspected, “people with narcissistic tendencies want to purchase products, both for others and for themselves, that positively distinguish them — that is, that make them stand out from the crowd” according to research summarized here in “ScienceDaily”, December 17, 2012.

3. Prosocial Personality Battery

56-item and 30-item scales from Penner, L. A., Fritzsche, B. A., Craiger, J. P., & Freifeld, T. S. (1995). Measuring the prosocial personality. In J. N. Butcher, & C. D. Spielberger (Eds.) Advances in personality assessment, (Vol. 12). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Include subscales measuring Social Responsibility (SR), Empathic Concern (EC), Perspective Taking (PT), Personal Distress (PD), Other-Oriented Moral Reasoning (O), Mutual Concerns moral reasoning (M), Self-reported altruism (SRA), Other-oriented empathy (sum of scores on SR, EC, PT, O, M) and Helpfulness (sum of PD (reversed) and SRA).

4. Think Yourself Well

Summarizes research by Barbara Fredrickson and Bethany Kok demonstrating that people with strong muscle tone of the a nerve which regulates that heart “are better than those with low at stopping bad feelings getting overblown. They also show more positive emotions in general. This may provide the missing link between emotional well-being and physical health.” From The Economist, December 8, 2012.

5. Neuroscience Fiction

This article takes a fascinating and critical look at the field of neuroscience and suggests that “The real problem with neuroscience today isn’t with the science (…) it’s with the expectations. The brain is an incredibly complex ensemble, with billions of neurons coming into—and out of—play at any given moment. There will eventually be neuroscientific explanations for much of what we do; but those explanations will turn out to be incredibly complicated. For now, our ability to understand how all those parts relate is quite limited, sort of like trying to understand the political dynamics of Ohio from an airplane window above Cleveland.” By Gary Marcus for “The New Yorker”, December 2, 2012.

6. Promoting Motivation, Health, and Excellence: Ed Deci at TEDxFlourCity

Ed Deci, professor of psychology at University of Rochester and Co-Founder of Self-Determination Theory, describes “two common forms of motivation; autonomous and controlled. He discusses the different results of each form and the implications for aspects of our lives; especially work and relationships” in this TED talk from June 9, 2012 (runs 14 minutes, 6 seconds).

7. Anal Personality? South Korea’s Toilet Culture

The Toilet Culture Park, “the only one of its kind in the world, exhibits a variety of bowls from Korean traditional squat toilets to western bedpans.” Check out this slide show of 11 images from the park. Posted November 23, 2012.

8. The Possible Role of Epigenetics in Sexual Orientation

“Epigenetics — how gene expression is regulated by temporary switches, called epi-marks — appears to be a critical and overlooked factor contributing to the long-standing puzzle of why homosexuality occurs, according to a study, published online in “The Quarterly Review of Biology”, and summarized here in “Medical News Today”, December 13, 2012.

9. General Resources: A Guide to Writing Learning Objectives for Teachers of Psychology (2012)

The Office of Teaching Resources in Psychology (OTRP) is pleased to announce a new resource for teachers: “A Guide to Writing Learning Objectives for Teachers of Psychology (2012)” by Guy A. Boysen of the State University of New York at Fredonia and McKendree University.  The purpose of this 18-page resource is to assist psychology teachers in (a) understanding key terms related to objectives and their assessment, (b) writing behavior-based learning objectives, and (c) evaluating objectives once they are written. The resource includes a table that illustrates how various psychology outcomes can be addressed with objectives at various levels of Bloom’s taxonomy.

10. Commitment-Phobic Adults Could Have Mom and Dad to Blame

“A study of the romantic history of 58 adults aged 22-28 found that those who avoid committed romantic relationships are likely a product of unresponsive or over-intrusive parenting” according to research by Sharon Dekel and Barry Farber published in the “Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease” and summarized here in “ScienceDaily”, December 10, 2012.

11. Scientists Debunk the IQ Myth

“After conducting the largest online intelligence study on record, a Western University-led research team has concluded that the notion of measuring one’s intelligence quotient or IQ by a singular, standardized test is highly misleading, according to research published in the journal “Neuron” and summarized here, in “ScienceDaily”, December 19, 2012.

12. Relative Length of Adults’ Fingers Indicator of Verbal Aggression: Prenatal Exposure to Testosterone Linked

A new study links verbal aggression to prenatal testosterone exposure, using the 2D:4D finger ratio measure to predict verbal aggression. “This study is the first to use this method to examine prenatal testosterone exposure as a determinant of a communication trait” according to the study published in the “Journal of Communication” and summarized here in “ScienceDaily”, November 29, 2012.

13. Bullying by Childhood Peers Leaves a Trace That Can Change the Expression of a Gene Linked to Mood

A recent study suggests that bullying by peers changes the structure surrounding a gene involved in regulating mood, making victims more vulnerable to mental health problems as they age, according to research published in the journal “Psychological Medicine” and summarized here in “ScienceDaily”, December 18, 2012.

14. Favorite Link Revisited: First Day of Class

First Day of Class Beginnings are important says Joyce T. Povlacs of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. This list of 101 Things You Can Do the First Three Weeks of Class which she put together is a catalog of suggestions for college teachers who are looking for a fresh way of creating the best possible environment for learning. (Opens in PDF)

Personality Pedagogy Newsletter Volume 7, Number 3, November, 2012

Hello and welcome to the seventy-fifth Personality Pedagogy newsletter highlighting what’s new at http://personalitypedagogy.arcadia.edu. For more about the links below and approximately 2,700 other interesting links related to personality, please visit: http://personalitypedagogy.arcadia.edu.

This month we discovered a bunch of really amazing videos to illustrate concepts in personality psychology from compassion and resilience to sexual identity to positive psychology and lots more. We’ve even re-run one of our all-time favorites just in time for the holiday season.

Speaking of the holidays, we’ve even got the latest trend in toys, or at least in advertising for toys: gender neutral ads. An affiliate of Toys “R” Us in Sweden has a series of photos in which girls are seen playing with guns and building toys while boys vacuum and iron.

As your semester winds down, we hope you find some good links in this newsletter to get you through.

As ever, please pass this newsletter on to interested colleagues and invite them to sign up for future issues and to visit the home of Personality Pedagogy: http://personalitypedagogy.arcadia.edu. Remember, you can view the current newsletter, comment on newsletters, re-read what you missed in previous newsletters, or search all newsletters by checking out our blog at http://personalitypedagogy.wordpress.com and you can even receive Personality Pedagogy newsletters via RSS feed as soon as they are posted, by clicking on the “RSS-posts” button on the bottom right.

Cheers,
Marianne

Marianne Miserandino
miserandino “at” arcadia “dot” edu

1. The Personality Pedagogy Monthly Newsletter
Sign up here to receive this newsletter delivered to your e-mail inbox once a month! We promise never to share your information with anybody else or to use it for any other purpose than Personality Pedagogy.

2. Gender Neutral Advertising in the Toys “R” Us Catalog in Sweden
“Scandinavian toy retailer Top-Toy, a licensee of the Toys “R” Us brand, has made a bold move in its Swedish catalog this year, working to do away with the guns-for-boys, dolls-for-girls gender system that is a mainstay of the industry. Instead, its catalog is trying to be gender-neutral, reflecting Sweden’s national focus on equality in the workplace and in society.” Check out some of these new images posted by the “Wall Street Journal,” November 29, 2012.

3. The Science of Compassion and Resilience
Psychologist David DeSteno examines the science of compassion and resilience exploring new ideas for “leveraging the mechanisms of the mind that enable them” according to Maria Popova of “Brain Pickings”, October 22, 2012. Runs 18 minutes, 28 seconds.

4. Positive Psychology Teaching Tools
The 19 page resource, by Grant J. Rich, describes collections of readings, edited volumes, and handbooks that might supplement positive psychology textbooks as well as more specialized texts that could supplement seminars on specific positive psychology topics.  Such topics include work, religion, creativity, personality and character strength, health, and development.

5. Sexual Identity, Sexual Orientation, and Sexual Behavior
The “Science of Relationships” blog, written by psychologists, presents this short primer on the differences between the three in the spirit that “understanding will lead to less hate”. Posted October 21, 2012, runs 3 minutes, 49 seconds.

6. What is Positive Psychology? An Animation
According to Nick Standlea, of “Positive Psychology Daily News:” “If you’ve ever struggled to explain positive psychology to a friend or colleague, you are ready to appreciate this short animation by Nick Standlea, a former research associate for Mike Csikszentmihalyi at the Quality of Life Research Center. It’s food for the eyes and ears.” October 31, 2012.

7. Web Center for Social Research Methods
Developed and maintained by William M. K. Trochim of Cornell University, the Web
Center consists of four parts. The Knowledge Base provides information on research design, measurement, and data analysis; Selecting Statistics is an expert system designed to help students determine the most appropriate
statistical analysis for their data; The Simulation Book provides
simulations of common research designs; and Concept Mapping is a guide
to that process.

8. APA Module on Research Methods, Measurement, and Statistics
Stephen Chew “presents on topics such as research methods and measurements used to study behavior and mental processes, ethical issues in research with human and nonhuman animals, and basic concepts in data analysis”. Runs 60 minutes.

9. How to Search APA’s Research Databases
Anne Breitenbach, APA Publications & Databases, put together this primer describing the “host of free teaching tools for psychology research that are perfect for undergraduate students, [including] video tutorials, training webinars and reference guides that will help students learn how to efficiently search scholarly research databases, [and] website materials, podcasts and topic guides that will help them explore psychology and human behavior.”

10. Interactive Teaching Activities for Introductory Biopsychology
The Office of Teaching Resources in Psychology (OTRP) presents these Interactive Teaching Activities for Introductory Biopsychology. This resource by Stephanie L. Simon-Dack “describes 11 simple, interactive activities for biopsychology courses to engage students and illuminate core neurophysiological concepts.  Each activity requires little or no outlay of resources;  most can be implemented in the classroom and take only 10-15 min of class time”. Published November 2012.

11. Personality Theory Lecture Notes
Everett Waters, SUNY Stony Brook, teaches PSY 345: Personality. Check out his course materials here, including his syllabus, readings, slides, and lecture notes on Freud, Jung, Adler, Erikson, Maslow, and Attachment theory.

12. Why Students Love Evolutionary Psychology
“Why Students Love Evolutionary Psychology… and How to Teach It,”by David Buss. Discusses evolutionary psychology — such topics as sexual selection, evolved psychological mechanisms and ultimate and proximate causation — and tools for teaching evolutionary psychology in the classroom. This is one of 7 videos from the APA Education Directorate’s series Videos for Psychology Teachers. The videos are recordings of sessions from the 2012 APA Convention in Orlando, Fla. (runs 45 minute).

13. Introversion Explained via Cartoons
Introvert Chuck Schallhorn, at Teaching High School Psychology, posted these resources about what introverts are like in real life. Included are these 10 visuals and cartoons describing in an often humorous way what it introversion is, and how to interact with introverts if you are an extrovert.

14. Favorite Link Revisited: Psych Elves
Michael Britt, of the Psych Files Podcast, had the temerity to turn these three personality psychologists into Elves. Can you identify them?