SMU News Originally Posted: November 17, 2020 DALLAS (SMU) – Understanding the psychology of vaccine acceptance is key to convincing the majority of Americans to take the COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available, says SMU health behavior researcher Austin Baldwin. Pfizer and BioNTech’s Nov. 9 announcement of a promising COVID vaccine candidate, followed by Moderna’s Nov. 16 vaccine announcement, sent stocks soaring and kindled hope across the globe. But a STAT/Harris Poll conducted just days before these announcements found just 58 percent of the American public said they would likely get a COVID vaccine if it lowered their risk by at least half, and those between the ages of 18 and 34 were less likely. Health experts say 70 percent of Americans need to be vaccinated [...]

Parents Magazine Originally Posted: September 2020 While most parents spank their children at some point, experts advise against the disciplinary practice. Learn more about the negative psychological, behavioral, and emotional effects of spanking, and figure out better alternatives for discipline. Few topics spark more debate among parents than spanking. But even though a majority of parents have used physical punishment on their children at some point, according to the including the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), many experts and organizations, have spoken out against it. “Parents who occasionally spank aren't bad people,” explains George W. Holden, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychology at Southern Methodist University and author of Parenting: A Dynamic Perspective, 2nd ed, who has studied the topic for about 25 [...]

SMU News Originally Posted: September 24, 2020 DALLAS (SMU) – Think spending time with your kids and spouse is the key to your happiness? You may actually be happier getting together with your friends, said SMU psychology professor Nathan Hudson. Hudson’s research finds that people report higher levels of well-being while hanging with their friends than they do with their romantic partner or children. In fact, being around romantic partners predicted the least amount of happiness among these three groups, reveals a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.    Hudson stressed, however, that the finding has more to do with the activity than the person it is shared with. That’s because people tend to spend more of their time doing enjoyable activities with friends [...]

Dallas Morning News Originally Posted: September 19, 2020 Holly Bowen, assistant psychology professor at SMU Dallas who specializes in memory issues, for a piece challenging the legitimacy of testimony from interviews conducted while the subject is under hypnosis. Since the inception of criminal investigations, the techniques and procedures used in these inquests have been plagued by pseudoscientific claims. From spectral evidence allowed at the Salem witch trials and phrenologists interpreting bumps on the skulls of criminals, to modern-day polygraphs to detect lying and hypnosis to unlock repressed or forgotten memories, the justice system, and ultimately people’s lives, have too often been dictated by “junk” science. While spectral evidence, phrenology and polygraphs are no longer admissible in court cases, hypnosis continues to be used by law [...]