A professor of religious studies argues that describing QAnon followers as brainwashed overlooks their role in accepting and spreading potentially dangerous beliefs.
How might a house that comes on the market today affect what you think of this one?
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Cognitive scientists are investigating the ways relative factors like new options and the order they’re presented influence your choices and beliefs.
Medical volunteers have been a common sight in African countries like Zambia since the colonial era.
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These medical volunteers have been closely associated with several kinds of non-human actors, whose behaviour is worth examining in more detail.
These psychological tendencies explain why an onslaught of facts won’t necessarily change anyone’s mind.
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Cognitive shortcuts help you efficiently move through a complicated world. But they come with an unwelcome side effect: Facts aren’t necessarily enough to change your mind.
Those with different perspectives don’t have to butt heads.
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Talking with people who hold different political views doesn’t have to be an exercise in futile rage. Here are some tips to help you peacefully and fruitfully discuss spicy topics.
“Science” makes people think optimistically about the future.
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When you ask Americans what the word ‘science’ brings to mind, a majority respond ‘hope.’ Using this built-in brand can help communicate important science messages.
Imagination and play encourage children to think through hypothetical situations and create new worlds — and even to develop new possibilities for our shared world.
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Superheroes may be able to regenerate and fly through walls, but their supernatural qualities differ from those of spiritual beings that attract religious devotion.
Convictions are where beliefs meet identity. But that can lead to trouble. Our supercharged politics make giving up a conviction feel like an act of self-betrayal and a betrayal of our tribe.
A waxwork likeness of Tom Hanks as Forest Gump at the Hollywood Wax Museum.
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It might appear to many that atheism is a modern idea. However, in parts of Asia, particularly in India, atheism has been part of beliefs for thousands of years.
Psychology research suggests a new tool for your ‘disagreement toolbox.’
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Research suggests people intuitively draw a distinction between what is known and what is believed. Recognizing the difference can help in ideological disagreements.
If you believe that physiotherapy will help your shoulder pain, it probably will.
Don’t fret if your kids are starting to doubt Santa’s magic. Coming to disbelieve is not particularly distressing for them and most come to their own conclusions.
If you disagree with the political slant of the network, it might color your views of others in the room – and change your behavior.
In 2014, in, a small town in northern Israel, Christian worshippers gathered next to a statue of the Virgin Mary, that they said ‘weeps’ oil.
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Throughout Catholic history, miracles have been attributed to Virgin Mary’s power. She is understood to cry not only over the sins of the world, but over the pain she experienced in her earthly life.
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If you’re committed to a belief, it’s hard to let go. Psychology and philosophy provide different ways to think about how skeptics respond to counterevidence.
Dana and David Dornsife Professor of Psychology and Director of the Wrigley Institute for Environment and Sustainability, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences