Speaking of Psychology

Headline issues, from immigration to sexual assault, are causing significant stress for teens and young adults in Generation Z with mass shootings topping the list of stressful current events and more than two-thirds of adults reported feeling major stress about the nation’s future, according to the 2018 APA Stress in America™ report. APA CEO Arthur C. Evans Jr., PhD, explains the findings and shares coping strategies to combat stress. APA is currently seeking proposals for APA 2020, click here to learn more https://convention.apa.org/proposals Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The national conversation on opioids focuses mostly on abuse and overdose deaths but there are millions of Americans using opioids to manage chronic pain. Can integrating psychological approaches into pain care offer some patients low-risk pain treatment options? Beth Darnall, PhD, from Stanford University, explains how psychology and mindfulness can treat pain and help people with chronic pain live better lives. APA is currently seeking proposals for APA 2020, click here to learn more https://convention.apa.org/proposals Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Benjamin Karney, a UCLA social psychology professor and co-director of the UCLA Marriage Lab, dives into the complexities of love and relationships in our fast-paced world. He discusses how economic factors shape marital satisfaction, shedding light on the demand-withdraw dynamic that can lead to conflict. The conversation highlights the distinct challenges faced by diverse couples, including the impact of education on marriage trends among millennials. Karney emphasizes viewing disagreements as collaboration opportunities, making love last amid modern dating challenges.

Smartphones allow us to connect with loved ones, keep us informed and entertained and on time for our meetings, but they are also negatively affecting our attention spans, relationships, sleep and mental health. What if smartphones could be used to monitor our mental health and wellbeing? You guessed it. There’s an app for that. APA is currently seeking proposals for APA 2020, click here to learn more https://convention.apa.org/proposals Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Something Happened In Our Town" is a children’s book about racial injustice from Magination Press, APA’s children's books imprint. The story follows two families — one white, one black — as they discuss the police shooting of a black man in their community. The story aims to answer children's questions about such traumatic events, and to help children identify and counter racial injustice in their own lives. APA is currently seeking proposals for APA 2020, click here to learn more https://convention.apa.org/proposals Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How people interact with robots is influenced by the robots’ characteristics. Whether a robot has eyes or arms or a human-like voice affects our response to them. Jeff Hancock, PhD, has studied the research to date on social robots and learned that robots’ perceived warmth and competence have the strongest effect. APA is currently seeking proposals for APA 2020, click here to learn more https://convention.apa.org/proposals Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Internet of Things devices such as smart televisions and thermostats often lack adequate built-in security, leading to privacy and safety risks not commonly understood by consumers. John Blythe, PhD, argues that a labelling scheme for these devices will provide consumers with a clear picture of the security of an IoT device and help them to choose technology that meets their security and privacy needs. APA is currently seeking proposals for APA 2020, click here to learn more https://convention.apa.org/proposals Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every day, we are all called on to make online security decisions. Psychologist Emma Williams studies the contexts in which we make these decisions in an effort to develop safer practices. APA is currently seeking proposals for APA 2020, click here to learn more https://convention.apa.org/proposals Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Looking at large numbers of social media postings in aggregate can tell us quite a bit about Americans’ mental state. Sharath Guntuku, PhD, has analyzed the language in tweets to identify regional variations in stress and well-being. APA is currently seeking proposals for APA 2020, click here to learn more https://convention.apa.org/proposals Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Social physics is the idea of using statistics to quantify and manage change in culture. This idea inspired the modern national census, but the difficulty of acquiring data limited what could be accomplished. Today’s technology produces a continuous trail of digital breadcrumbs that allow human behavior to be examined even in complex natural environments. Alexander “Sandy” Pentland, PhD, discusses how large-scale studies can be used to predict and shape a wide range of important common behaviors. APA is currently seeking proposals for APA 2020, click here to learn more https://convention.apa.org/proposals Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices