Dr. Andrea Bonior dives into the world of psychology.
THE ECONOMY: It's impossible to avoid thinking about it, even if your understanding of the world of investment banking is limited to that hot tip of buying low and selling high. But Monday was the worst single day on Wall Street in seven years, and the goings-on have dominated media coverage, and water cooler grumblings, ever since.
Dr. Andrea Bonior dives into the world of psychology.
Much has been written about female oral contraception — aka "The Pill" — in the almost 50 years since it was introduced. But new research has given those discussions a novel twist: Does the Pill, in overriding normal processes of ovulation, take away a woman's natural evolutionary advantages in choosing a biologically-compatible man?
IT WASN'T SUPPOSED to be this way for the ACC.
Three years after completing its expansion to improve its football reputation, there is only one ACC team in this week's AP top 25.
Raise your hand if you thought Wake Forest was the best team in the conference.
OK, No. 20 Wake may not be the ACC's best at year's end, but the league is a dud so far.
Continue Reading "More or Less, ACC Lags Behind in Football" »
Dr. Andrea Bonior dives into the world of psychology.
THE Amethyst Initiative — not a hint-dropping ploy by someone who wants earrings for her birthday, but rather a movement by college presidents — has been gaining momentum and media attention recently. Leaders of more than one hundred American universities, many of them quite esteemed, have banded together in the interest of rethinking the legal drinking age in the United States.
The fact that a young adult can vote and fight in wars several years before they are legally allowed to kick back with a beer has long been a target of hypocrisy charges. Less clear is the exact role that the drinking age has when it comes to on binge-drinking on college campuses, a tremendous and growing problem that is the impetus for the Amethyst Initiative's existence.
Dr. Andrea Bonior dives into the world of psychology.
WHAT IS IT ABOUT THE OLYMPICS that makes people who usually are fans neither of sports nor their country suddenly stay up at all hours for something called the men's modern pentathlon? How is it that those who are normally the first to make jokes about the president suddenly get warm fuzzies when seeing him in the stands of a swimming event?
Why is it that people who would never turn on a domestic sporting event — and may even scoff at the fervor shown for the Skins or the Nats or the Wizards — are suddenly chanting "Go USA!" while some person they had never before heard of dives off a platform? Is it just that watching women's volleyball lets you see almost as much skin as peeping into a locker room?
Dr. Andrea Bonior dives into the world of psychology.
AND THE CHAISES are getting lonely: a new study shows that psychiatrists are relying less on talk therapy and more on medication, a trend fueled in part by insurance limitations and the exploding popularity of prescription medications.
That medication is taking the place of psychotherapy isn't news to anyone who's turned on a television lately ("Ask Your Doctor About Fill-In-The-Blank!") But less well-known are the dangers of relying on pharmaceuticals alone. Not only do some psychiatric medications cause side effects that need to be monitored regularly, but there is evidence that for many common disorders, relying on medication alone can make someone more prone to relapse. It's the band-aid problem: When a person simply takes a pill, they are not necessarily building the techniques, insights, or confidence to change maladaptive patterns — the thoughts, feelings and behaviors that helped bring on their condition in the first place.
COLT BRENNAN IS my new favorite quarterback.
For whatever reason — maybe because it's my job — I stayed tuned in during the second half of the first of five meaningless preseason games for the Redskins Sunday.
Brennan made it worthwhile. He looked every bit the gunslinger we heard he was at Hawaii.
John Madden went positively gaga for the Redskins' third-string quarterback, calling at least two of his passes "perfect."
For perspective, let’s remember Brennan most likely won't see the field once September rolls around. And if he is playing, then something has probably gone terribly wrong.
Yet, at least for a week, there is new cult hero in Washington.
Dubious? Just think back to Babe Laufenberg. Are you too young? OK, everyone knows Gus Frerotte around here.
D.C. loves the backup quarterback; always has, always will.
Brennan took his first steps to some sort of immortality, completing nine of 10 passes, two of which went for touchdowns. Plus, he showed the exuberance of Brett Favre — I almost made it a whole column without mentioning the Packers quarterback.
For fans, that is what the exhibition season is all about. Most starters don't play, and you just hope no big names get injured. Both were true against the Colts.
Wait until Brennan plays at FedEx Field. A new controversy could develop — not for first string, but for Jason Campbell's backup.
Brennan versus Todd Collins? It doesn't get much better than that in August.
Photo by Preston Keres/TWP
CUE UP THE "COPS" THEME SONG! A new study has isolated three specific genes that are associated with violent crime and antisocial behavior. The gene variations, affecting the monoamine oxidase enzyme and dopamine neurotransmitters, were found to affect about 1 percent of the American adolescent male population, but were exceedingly common among those who committed crimes.
Before we start breaking out the biology is destiny platitudes, however, it's important to note that the effects of the genes in question seem to be mediated by the environment. Once again, nature is nothing without nurture.
Dr. Andrea Bonior dives into the world of psychology.
THE RECENT BROUHAHA over a New Yorker cover cartoon depicting some unfounded fears about Barack Obama — or, to hear some people tell it, further inflaming those fears — has engendered a spirited debate in the op-ed pages, talk radio and the blogosphere.
Though I'd need a hazmat suit to touch the argument itself, the psychology of the issue has a fascinating angle: the context and reception of satire. Central to the rants and raves of the cartoon is the question of just who will "get it," and what that getting or not getting will mean for the candidate, the campaign, the sale of magazines, the price of arugula, etc.
WHEN THE BALTIMORE ORIOLES TRADED 2007 All-Star pitcher Erik Bedard to the Seattle Mariners last February in exchange for four minor leaguers and a relief pitcher, Orioles fans expected to witness another rebuilding year in Baltimore.
The players they got didn't see it that way.
"Rebuilding is basically saying an excuse to lose," said Adam Jones, the top centerfield prospect Baltimore received in the trade. "There's nobody in here who has an excuse to lose. We are in the major leagues for a reason, so we just have to go out there and play."
Instead of rebuilding, the Orioles (44-44) are off to their best start since 2005, in large part because of Jones and reliever George Sherrill.
Continue Reading "Good Deal: O's Give Rebuilding a New Look" »
Addison Road
