Progressfocused

I interviewed Canadian psychologist Keith Stanovich twice ( here and here ). He has done a lot of groundbreaking work in the fields of rationality and the psychology of reading.  In his new book The Bias That Divides Us: The Science and Politics of Myside Thinking he Stanovich argues that we do not live in a post-truth society. He argues that we rather live in a myside-society. 

A new study shows that inducing an empathetic mindset in teachers through a short online exercise can lead to teachers sending students out of the classroom less frequently.

Underachievement in schools is a persistent problem. What role do students' beliefs about the developability of their own abilities play in this? And can these beliefs be influenced? And what role can teachers play in this? New research provides answers. 

In 1993, Alfie Kohn wrote, “There is a time to admire the grace and persuasive power of an influential idea, and there is a time to fear its hold over us...At the point when objections are not answered anymore because they are no longer raised, we are not in control: we don't have the idea; it has us.” ( Source )  I've known this quote for almost 30 years and I think about it every now and then. Nowadays, this quote also reminds me of Elon Musk. There is surely a time to admire the unimaginable vigor and pioneering vision of this influential figure. But more and more I am reckoning that the time may come when we must become afraid of its hold on us.

Twenty years ago I stopped eating meat because I felt it was better to not eat meat than to eat meat. The reason for stopping was because I had seen something on TV about the way animals were treated in factory farming. My reasoning was that this was pointless cruelty to animals* because we can survive well without eating meat.  Stopping eating meat brought some inconveniences. There was not yet a large supply of meat substitutes in the shops. In addition, it was socially uncomfortable. Many people asked why I stopped eating meat. They also often explained that they themselves liked meat way too much to become vegetarian. 

Depression among young people is a serious problem. Young people with depression do not always have easy access to care. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the risk of depression among young people is thought to have increased. Researchers Jessica Schleider et al. (2021) went in search of easily accessible and fast-acting interventions for this target group.

Are you scarred for life if you have suffered from serious mental problems? Is it 'once an addict, always an addict'? Is a depressed person destined to remain unhappy? You can regularly come across these kinds of gloomy statements.  But in recent years a group of researchers has come up with papers that point to a blind spot. A large proportion of people with serious psychological problems make a full recovery. But this group has remained virtually invisible until now.  Why full-recoverers have been invisible  Mental health researchers and practitioners understandably pay close attention to the symptoms of psychopathology. But, as some researchers have discovered, they underemphasize the good functioning of people who have had psychological complaints. And this has many consequences.  I previously reported on research by Rottenberg et al., (2019) . This study showed that a substantial proportion of people who have suffered from depression fully recover and function well without

Is instilling a growth mindset in students enough to allow them to experience the benefits of growth mindsets? Or is the mindset of the teacher also important? A new study sheds light on this issue.  Growth mindset is related to grades A growth mindset is the belief that intellectual capacities can be developed. A fixed mindset is the belief that intellectual capacities cannot or can hardly be developed.  A fixed mindset encourages students to focus primarily on appearing smart, avoid challenges and give up quickly when faced with adversity. A growth mindset encourages students to focus primarily on learning, seeking challenges and persevering in the face of adversity.  Many studies have previously shown that a growth mindset correlates with academic achievement.  When growth mindset interventions work  Growth mindset interventions work when applied effectively, targeting learners who are vulnerable, and in a context that is supportive ( read more ). These findings in

If you want to improve situations, objects or behavior, you have to think about how you want to do it. Researchers Adams et al. (2021) examined whether people are equally likely to try to achieve those improvements by adding things (additive transformations) or by removing things (subtractive transformations). For example: how do you improve a text? How do you improve a job? How do you improve a recipe? When trying to achieve improvement, are people more likely to add or remove components (words, tasks, ingredients)?