APS Observer Essays
Teaching current directions in psychological science (bimonthly essays in the Association for Psychological Science Observer). These are David’s contributions:
2013
January: Teaching the testing effect, pp. 14-15.
February: Morality matters, p. 35.
March: Teaching students about how simple, positive activities can increase well-being,pp. 36-37.
April: Demonstrating wishful perceiving, p. 51.
May/June: Submitting the teen brain to a student jury, pp. 51, 55.
September: The upside of being down, pp. 39-40.
October: Why smart people can make not-so-smart judgments, pp. 37-38.
November: How psychological science can support smarter medical decisions, pp. 39-40.
December: Thinking smarter about intelligence, pp. 31-32.
2014
January: Does low self-esteem feed depression?, pp. 33-34.
February: Selfish genes or native prosociality, pp. 31-32.
March: Can brief psychological interventions really work?, pp. 27-29.
April: What explains the home-field advantage?, pp. 25-27.
May/June: Teaching sexual orientation, pp. 42-43.
September: Inspiring interest in interests, pp. 43-44.
October: The story of my life and yours: Stability and change, pp. 27-28.
November: The psychology of extremism, pp. 29-30.
December: Lets hear a good word for self-esteem, pp. 33-34.
2015
January: Happy marriages and healthy bodies, pp. 36-37.
February: Health psychology meets neuroscience: Brain<->Body, pp. 35-36.
March: Psychological science meets religious faith, pp. 35-37.
April: How close relationships foster health and heartache, pp. 25-26.
May/June: Feeling good before and after doing bad, pp. 35-36.
September: The powers and perils of optimism, pp. 35-36.
October: Love sees loveliness, pp. 32-33.
December: Does viewing mental disorders as biological phenomena reduce or increase stigma?, pp. 32-33.
2016
January: Following lives through time: As at 7, so at 70?, pp. 36-38.
February: What makes a really smart group?, pp. 36-37.
March: Is narcissism extreme self-esteem?, pp. 35-36.
April: Correcting our stereotype of stereotypes, pp. 33-34.
May/June: The ritual animal, pp. 36-37.
September: Ask and ye shall receive: Underestimating our social power, pp. 36-37.
October: Simulating cultural evolution, pp. 36-37.
November: Conservatives, liberals, and the distrust of science, pp. 35-36.
December: A science of meaning in life, pp. 38-39.
2017
February: People need people: Why close relationships predict health, pp. 42-43.
May/June: To err is human: The psychological science of voting mistakes, pp. 36-37.
September: Misinformation, misconceptions, and our teaching mission, pp. 38-39.
October: Religious engagement and the good life, p. 37.
2018
January: Why people believe in God–or don’t, pp. 34-35.
February: Why people believe conspiracy theories, pp. 32-33.
April: The net result: Do social media boost or reduce well-being?. pp. 42-43.
September: Reflecting on 5 Years of teaching Current Directions (with C. Nathan DeWall), pp. 42-43.
October: How psychological science can influence climate-change attitudes and actions,pp. 28-29.
December: The gaps among us: Understanding and assessing inequality, pp. 38-39.
2019
March: The two-way traffic between sexual and relationship satisfaction, pp. 38-39.
May: The likely aftermath of adversity: harm, resilience, or growth?, pp. 50-51.
October: Digital-media use and mental health: A teachable example of psychological science shining its light, pp. 34-35.
November: Teaching Sleep to the Sleep-Deprived, pp. 36-37.
December: Psychology science’s contribution to a sustainable future, pp. 34-35.
2020
February: Human strengths amid the challenges of poverty, pp. 36-37.
May/June: Teaching social psychology under the coronavirus, pp. 52-53.
September: https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/teaching-current-directions-education-regret, pp. 44-45.
November: The toxic stress stew: Adversity + reactivity + rumination + time, pp. 48-49.
December: Building new cultures of sustainability, pp. 46-47.
2021
March/April: Attending to attentional control, pp. 66-67.
May/June: Pornography’s prevalence, purposes, and perils, pp. 76-77.
September/October: The sociable science of speaking with strangers, pp. 82-83.
November/December: The art of the steal, pp. 84-85.
2021
March/April: When does social networking uplift—and dispirit—us?, pp. 71-72.