Do you believe that economic success is just a matter of having a good work ethic and strong personal motivation? Most people do. But in reality this is a perfect example of the Fundamental Attribution Error and the Self Serving Bias. Attribution Error occurs when we negatively judge the unfortunate circumstances of others as …
Read more “The Economic, Neurobiological, and Behavioral Implications of Poverty.”
In my last post, Halting the Negative Feedback Loop of Poverty: Early Intervention is the Key I looked at the evidence from two quality studies of preschool intervention programs that substantiated a capacity to counteract the impairing impact of growing up in economic deprivation. Both studies, Perry Preschool Program and the Abecedarian Project demonstrated positive …
Read more “Poverty Preventing Preschool Programs: Fade-Out, Grit, and the Rich get Richer”
The United States is the richest nation in the world, nevertheless, 2007 Census data indicates that 17.4% of our children live in poverty. That translates into 1 in 6 kids living in a state of economic deprivation. These huge numbers of our most vulnerable are growing up in circumstances completely beyond their control; yet, they, …
Read more “Halting the Negative Feedback Loop of Poverty: Early Intervention is the Key”
Having a loved one with cancer is a life changing experience. It necessitates coping with the medical demands and perhaps equally challenging, the psychological ones. One of the most curious issues my wife has had to deal with are the things people say. Many people do say the right thing, but often she recounts horrible …
Read more “What not to say to someone with cancer: And what helps”
I have little tolerance for unabashed patriotism. When you look closely at the facts with regard to important quality of life indicators, the good ole US of A falls short in many areas. Life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness and unalienable rights seem to apply more to corporate entities than they do to we the …
Read more “We’re Number 37! USA! USA! USA!”
I find myself in an unfortunate spot. Both my mother and father are suffering from seemingly intractable health problems and my wife was just diagnosed with breast cancer. My parents, each suffering for years with chronic pain have been victimized by aimless care in an over burdened, understaffed, and misguided healthcare system. The maladies of …
Read more “Cancer, Aging, & Healthcare: America, We have a problem!”
The geology of Western and Central New York tells an incredible story, the words of which, are laid out in the rolling hills, picturesque valleys, and the seemingly banal roadside cuts throughout this region. The stunningly beautiful cascading waterfalls of Watkins Glen and Ithaca along with the equally dramatic rock city formations of Cattauraugus and …
We humans are very good at dividing ourselves up into groups. We accomplish this in a multitude of ways. Even within homogeneous groupings we tend to find subtle ways to carve people out. It is far easier however, when people vary by gender, ethnicity, race, class, neighborhood, region, nationality, religion, and/or sexual orientation. For some …
Read more “Where Does Prejudice Come From?”
When I hit the publish button for my last post Cognitive Conservatism, Moral Relativism, Bias, and Human Flourishing I felt a tinge of angst. It took a few days for my rational brain to figure out (or perhaps confabulate) a reason; but, I think I may have. Perhaps it should have been immediately obvious, but …
Read more “When Tribal Moral Communities Collide”
I am a caring and compassionate man with deep concerns about humanity. Of utmost importance to me is the issue of human flourishing, which roughly translated, incorporates wellness, happiness, success, and adaptive functioning not only for the individual, but for society in general. Individual flourishing necessitates societal flourishing and vice versa. One does not rise …
Read more “Cognitive Conservatism, Moral Relativism, Bias, and Human Flourishing”