psychology

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iPhone Versus Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

After buying an iPhone, I have begun to wonder where consumer purchases fit into Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. In 1943, Abraham Maslow proposed a system of human needs in his paper, A Theory of Human Motivation. At the base level, Maslow suggested that humans have physiological needs -- to maintain homeostasis, breathe, and so on. Once those needs are met, the (sane) human seeks safety, then love and belonging, then esteem, then at the top level: self-actualization -- this is where creativity, morality,... READ ON

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Another take on night lights...

The bedrooms of children have always provided a kind of sabbatical for horror story/fairy tale aggressors, so it shouldn't be surprising that someone finally manufactures a night light designed to legitimize children's fears; enter the Blue Moon Night Light. For $29.95 it comes rigged with "14 super bright LEDs" and will make it appear as though your mattress is slightly radioactive. Well, then! I wonder what an all-child focus group would have to say about this product; it seems to me the worst thing... READ ON

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Paris has Japanese tourists running to the Shrink

Just for the record, we're talking about Paris the city, not Paris the celebutante. According to a new Reuters report, every year about a dozen Japanese tourists suffer from "Paris syndrome"-- a condition requiring psychological treatment after the realities of visiting Paris conflict with their romanticized expectations. According to psychologist Yousef Mahmoudia, "A third of patients get better immediately, a third suffer relapses and the rest have psychoses." Apparently, the syndrome affects fragile... READ ON

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Are tall people smarter than short people?

It's a sad fact that tall people make more money than their shorter colleagues. For men and women in the US and UK, for instance, Reuters reports that a "height advantage of four inches equated with a 10 percent increase in wages." But two Princeton University researchers are taking that claim one step further: the pair has released a paper theorizing that the reason that tall people make more has nothing to do with image. Instead, they believe that tall people are simply smarter than... READ ON

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The Best Medicine?

I was surprised how shy you all were on the subject of female aggression earlier in the week"¦ but maybe this will get you talking: a new study on the use of humor in relationships is the cover story of this month's Psychology Today. According to the article, the men who participated in the study "on average perceived more humor in the couples' conversations, but the women produced more humor, contradicting the stereotype that men are the funnier sex." This doesn't... READ ON

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Are Prisons Becoming Asylums?

Frontline has done so many fascinating documentaries for PBS and the latest is no exception. It's called "The New Asylums" and explores the American prison system and asks why there are so manyÂ mentally ill inmates in prison. Although a little less thanÂ 55,000 Americans receive treatment in psychiatric wards, almost ten times that many mentally ill adults are in jails and prisons across the country. Here's a bit from the Frontline website: Of the nearly 2 million inmates being held in prisons and... READ ON