We're deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Albert Bandura, one of the most honored and influential psychologists and researchers of his time, and a beloved Macmillan author. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and colleagues.   Bandura was a titan of 20th century psychology,  best known for developing social cognitive theory (also known as social learning theory); the concept of self-efficacy – the idea that a person’s belief in their ability to succeed can shape how they think, act and feel; and his Bobo Doll experiments.    Here is a full obituary from The New York Times.     Macmillan Learning is proud to be the publisher of two of Bandura's books,   Self-Efficiency   (1997) and   Moral Disengagement (2016). Here is a link to one of his last interviews, for the Macmillan-sponsored podcast, PsychSessions. You can also access this re-released PsychSessions episode #124 at your favorite podcast provider. ... View more

Particularly important today after Simone Biles withdraws from team competition in Tokyo Olympics. Going for Gold: How Sport Psychologists are Helping Olympians https://www.apa.org/topics/mental-health/going-for-gold ... View more

Do your students know what makes them happy? They probably think they do, and much what they think is probably wrong. Professor Gilbert will discuss the science of happiness, and tell you about some findings that will surprise your students – and maybe you as well!      WATCH RECORDING ... View more

Five conditions that cause people to abandon happiness: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/when-kids-call-the-shots/202106/why-you-don-t-believe-in-happiness-anymore ... View more

Can privacy coexist with technology that reads and changes brain activity? https://www.sciencenews.org/article/technology-brain-activity-read-change-thoughts-privacy-ethics ... View more

FEBRUARY 25th | 3:00 PM ET Longtime (and recently retired) New Yorker cartoon editor—and former psychology major—Bob Mankoff will join David Myers for a cartoon-illustrated 25-minute presentation (followed by Q&A) on "Taking Humor Seriously." Mankoff will explain the importance of humor and how it relates to every area of psychology: cognition, emotion, personality, mental health, development, relationships, etc. WATCH THE RECORDING ... View more

While close friendships may never change, this article argues that our casual friendships have been seriously challenged - if not completely erased - by the pandemic. Have your friendships changed as a result of covid? https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2021/01/pandemic-goodbye-casual-friends/617839/ ... View more

The good folks at Google have been working from home since March/April 2020. Their “Supporting Employee Mental Health and Well-being” document has a number of handy tips. It opens with this statement. “We are all learning how to cope with a global crisis. Each day, there is a new challenge that we may encounter. Here are a few things that Google is doing to help our people take care of their mental health during these difficult and uncertain times.” While covering Stress and Coping in your Intro Psych course, consider this discussion topic. Discussion Read Google’s “Supporting Employee Mental Health and Well-being” document. Part A. Identify two suggestions in the document that are supported by research that you read about in your textbook. Quote the relevant passages from your textbook. Part B. Identify at least one coping strategy that you read about in your textbook that is not in Google’s “Supporting Employee Mental Health and Well-being” document. If you were revising this document, write a paragraph that would be an appropriate addition. Alternatively, you could turn this into a group project with the goal of creating a “Supporting [Your Institution’s] Mental Health and Well-being” document that would be distributed to the students and employees of your institution. Your students would be using what they learn in your Intro Psych class in a real-world, impactful way. Divide your students into groups of three to five, and give them these instructions. Group Project Read Google’s “Supporting Employee Mental Health and Well-being” document. The goal of this group project is to create a similar document for [your institutions’] students and employees. While Google’s document has five categories, you may choose to use or not use any or all of these categories. Use what you learned in our Stress and Coping chapter to create your recommendations. Each recommendation needs to be evidence-based. Include the reference to at least one peer-reviewed journal for each recommendation. The last page of your document will be a “Works Cited” page. Once each group has submitted their “Supporting [your institution’s] Mental Health and Well-being” document, a representative from each group will meet to take the best recommendations from each group’s document to create a final set of recommendations and make final edits, as needed. This final document will be distributed institution-wide. ... View more

Do your students know what makes them happy? They probably think they do, and much what they think is probably wrong. Professor Gilbert will discuss the science of happiness, and tell you about some findings that will surprise your students – and maybe you as well! WATCH THE RECORDING ... View more

Is pandemic fatigue affecting your motivation as we face the start of a new semester? Learn why and read advice here: https://www.psichi.org/blogpost/987366/363184/Has-COVID-19-Affected-Your-Motivation#.YAcg4MXYrzc ... View more

We are two weeks into the new year! Are your resolutions feeling a little...flat? Here's how to keep them going, psychology style! New podcast from APA: https://www.apa.org/research/action/speaking-of-psychology/behavioral-habits ... View more

Psychological science applied to real-world problems! Covid-19 vaccine stickers could encourage people to get vaccinated http://ow.ly/8wuC50D72Jh ... View more

It used to be that money only made us happier up to a certain point. New research shows that this relationship is changing and getting stronger over time. Why is this happening? http://ow.ly/Hgyt50D2QjZ ... View more

David Myers (Hope College), longtime author of our bestselling introductory psychology resources, offers his insights on the human element of this crisis—our need to belong, why we may be too much, or too little, afraid, and how shared threats affect social behavior.     WATCH RECORDING ... View more

Mask-wearing (or not) continues to be a social psychological goldmine. In this case, let’s take a look at conformity. The social pressure to wear or not wear a mask is pervasive. If you are not wearing a mask but are surrounded by people who are, you can feel the pressure to conform to the group’s behavior and put your mask on. If you are wearing a mask but are surrounded by people who are not, you can feel the pressure to conform to the group’s behavior and take your mask off. Even medical doctors who know the value of wearing masks as a coronavirus transmission preventative can feel the social pressure at a party where no one else is wearing a mask, as described in the New York Times article below. And imagine being at the White House reception for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, a reception where no one was wearing a mask. After covering conformity, provide the following discussion prompt. ******** Part A. Read this New York Times article: “If You See Someone Not Wearing a Mask, Do You Say Something?” (It’s better to link to this September 13, 2020 article in your library database as students may have exceeded their number of free New York Times articles for the month.) From our textbook reading, identify the factors that increase the likelihood of conforming. For each, note whether the factor was present in Dr. Robert Klitzman’s party experience. Provide evidence from the article. Part B. Review these photos taken on September 26, 2020. For each factor that increases the likelihood of conforming, note whether the factor was present. Provide evidence from the photos and article. Part C. Have you had a similar experience where you felt social pressure to wear a mask or not? Describe the experience. Which factors that increase the likelihood of conforming were present for you? Which were absent? Finally, what did you do: conform or not conform? Part D. Lastly, when put in the same position again, would thinking about the factors that increase the likelihood of conforming affect your ability to resist the social pressure? Why or why not? ... View more