Empathy is often talked about in popular culture, particularly within the realms of politics, advertising, and psychology. Articles from ‘Why Empathy May Be Your Most Important Business Skill’ to ‘How to Avoid the Empathy Trap’ are popping up all over the internet. Generally, popular culture labels empathy as a positive,[Read More…]
Tag: Psychology
New year, new you
Setting goals for the new year.
Myers-Briggs’ evolution into the personality gospel
“Throughout college, I was always someone who thought that who you were was a function of what you accomplished,” Merve Emre, associate professor of English at the University of Oxford and author of the book The Personality Brokers, said. Emre, a former assistant professor at McGill, is not alone in[Read More…]
The psychology of fear
For some, Halloween means curling up on the couch and watching a favourite horror movie. The resulting jump scares, hellish demons, and bloody deaths provoke an emotion we are all too familiar with: Fear. “Fear is an emotional state—the unpleasant feeling of being afraid—that emerges when we perceive an imminent[Read More…]
Fact or fiction: What is clinical hypnosis?
When one thinks of hypnosis, images of volunteers on stage responding to different names or stimuli come to mind. However, stage hypnosis is often actually the result of someone “faking it.” Dasha Sandra, a U3 Honors student in the Department of Psychology studying hypnosis and hypnotizability at McGill’s psychological research[Read More…]
mRNA acts as marker in Alzheimer’s patients
Through mathematical modeling and collaboration with scientists at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), McGill researchers, including Rached Alkallas, graduate student in the Department of Human Genetics and the primary author of the seminal study published in Nature Communications, have identified a protein that sharply decreases in patients with[Read More…]
Dealing with tragedy thousands of kilometres away
Tupperware containers in hand, two Mexican McGill students implored hundreds of strangers in Leacock 132 to spare some change to support relief efforts in the wake of the Sept. 19 earthquake in Mexico City. Living away from home is not easy, let alone watching tragedy strike from afar. Challenging routine[Read More…]
Fantastic new science professors and where to find them
As one of the top universities in Canada, McGill boasts top-notch professors—dedicated academics and researchers from all around the world. According to Gregor Fussmann, chair of the Department of Biology, as many as 200 candidates initially apply for a single tenure track position. From these, a search committee identifies a[Read More…]
McGill graduate spearheads PornHub’s new sex ed initiative
Pornhub, the largest online provider of pornography, launched a new initiative website on Feb. 1. Called the Sexual Wellness Center, it is the first sexual education website undertaken by a pornographic website. “At the Pornhub Sexual Wellness Center, we are fully dedicated to your health and education, and to create[Read More…]
McGill researcher finds lying becomes more complex with age
Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology Professor Dr. Victoria Talwar remembers that when she was a child, her mother mistakenly replaced salt with sugar in a blueberry pie. Her friend, who had stayed for dinner, was the first to eat the pie. She ate the entire slice, bite by bite,[Read More…]