#psychology

#psychology

Psychologist Carl Rogers, one of the most influential therapists of the twentieth century, identified something he called 'conditional regard.' The idea is simple but devastating. When a parent withholds approval or affection unless certain conditions are met, it can deeply affect a child's self-worth and emotional health.

As we plan our next break, research suggests we should look not to far-flung destinations, but to our own backyards. The staycation offers a compelling new model for deep mental restoration. This is not merely staying home, but a curated, intentional break grounded in the psychological science of recovery-one that challenges the notion that distance equals escape. In doing so, it provides a practical approach for rebuilding our cognitive and emotional reserves right where we are.

Before became the dominant lens through which we interpret human suffering-and before resilience became the preferred word for recovery- adaptation was one of the central concepts used to understand how human beings survive, change, prepare, and continue developing under pressure. In early psychology, psychiatry, ethology, and evolutionary biology, adaptation was not a moral term. It was descriptive, not prescriptive. It referred to the organism's capacity to reorganize itself-biologically, emotionally, cognitively, and socially-in response to changing conditions.

Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China, and why do they have a "right of ownership" anyway? There are no written documents, it's only that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats landing there, also. I have done more for NATO than any other person since its founding, and now, NATO should do something for the United States.

Are heroes real, or are they simply stories we tell ourselves? Either heroes are objectively real-brave people who perform extraordinary acts of courage and sacrifice-or heroism is merely in our heads, a social construction shaped by culture, media, and wishful thinking. This debate shows up everywhere: in classrooms, in popular culture, and even among scholars who study heroism for a living.

Everybody seems to have a piece of the planning puzzle, but the key to putting it all together is psychological There are a lot of lads throwing shapes about infrastructure these days. On Wednesday, an ambitious plan was published by the Government and the usual gaggle of tech bros, academics, economists, lawyers, journalists and activists held forth on their favourite subject.

Over the past year, we have been working closely with colleagues here at Boston College to develop a psychologically rich, humanities-informed Creative Writing Master's Program oriented toward professionals and clinicians who want to hone their craft as writers while deepening their understanding of the human psyche. The idea behind this undertaking is simple: Great writing and great thinking go hand in hand, and creative writing is a fundamentally psychological endeavor.

And yet, losing the toss can still leave you with an inexplicable sting of injustice. Your brain insists that it just wasn't fair, even though you know, statistically, it couldn't have been any more impartial. This contradiction between what we know and what we feel is what psychologists call the "illusion of unfairness." It's the human tendency to feel personally wronged by chance.

The expression "AI hallucination" is well-known to anyone who's experienced ChatGPT or Gemini or Perplexity spouting obvious falsehoods, which is pretty much anyone who's ever used an AI chatbot. Only, it's an expression that's incorrect. The proper term for when a large language model or other generative AI program asserts falsehoods is not a hallucination but a "confabulation." AI doesn't hallucinate, it confabulates.

The figure of the witch has always been tied to the gift of seeing the future: the three witches from Macbeth, the powerful volvas (Viking witches), Galadriel the elf in Lord of the Rings, all endowed with a special intuition which in a society that is turning to esotericism on social media to deal with great uncertainty, as evidenced by accounts like @charcastrology and @horoscoponegro it is possible to start thinking you may have these powers as well.

I ask every new patient a question early in treatment: "What is the most important relationship you have?" The answers vary. Many say their child. Others name their spouse or partner. Some say God. All of these relationships matter profoundly, and I don't minimize their significance. But I always challenge the answer, because I believe the most important relationship each of us has is with ourselves.

I felt helpless and hopeless when it came to the environmental destruction that so ravages our world and our social media feeds. I felt that if there was any way I could contribute, even if just a little bit, it was irresponsible of me not to try. When I began to meet with people and interviewed them for my book, I realised quickly that most of the people working on environmental reports with the United Nations, or in climate sciences at universities,

Let's be honest: we've all got that one celebrity, influencer, or podcast host who lives rent-free in our heads. You know their dog's name, their morning routine, their trauma story, and their oat milk brand of choice. You might even find yourself defending them in comment sections like they're your actual friend. Congratulations, you've formed a parasocial relationship. For those who aren't as active on social media, that's a one-sided bond we form with people we don't actually know.

In classical astrology, those born between two signs are typically described as being 50% one sign and 50% the other. It's an appealing idea, but an imprecise one after all. What exactly constitutes that fifty per cent? Through years of observation, comparison, and the collection of real data on individuals born on cusps, I was surprised to discover that these people are not simply "hybrids," but distinct and recognisable personalities, genuine archetypes in their own right.