The mind is always looking out for us, but we don’t have to believe everything that it says.

Most men don’t want to feel like children in their marriages, and most women certainly don’t want to feel like mothers to grown men. So how do so many couples fall into precisely that pattern, and what can they do about it?

Our wonderful, precocious daughter is about to turn five years old. Here are some of the lessons she has taught me along the way.

It feels good to give. Really, it does. It’s hard to feel bad when you’re focused on other people. But in our efforts to be charitable, we psychologists may be creating unintended problems.

Nothing psychology related in this post, just some pictures from a 20-mile hike through Denver.

Many people face seasonal mood problems as fall approaches here in the northern hemisphere. But not all seasonal mood problems look alike, as Sean’s story illustrates.

September is suicide prevention awareness month. The driving force behind suicidal behavior is difficult to comprehend, but understanding the source of suicide is a powerful tool in preventing it.

It is rare that I embrace poetry. As much as I appreciate a well-turned phrase, I’m about as unpoetical as a braying cat on a hot winter’s night. (See what I mean?) But this poem managed to catch even my unrefined eye.

An anonymous reader asked me to investigate recent news reports that certain Christians have smaller brains. Here’s what I discovered... Update: the study's author weighs in.

Some new (old) reasons to think twice before tinkering with your synapses by way of medication.

A few tidbits from the world of psychology, and a nude photo of yours truly.

Reverend Harold Camping’s followers aren’t the first to be disappointed after their doomsday failed to materialize. What happens inside the human mind when prophecy leaves them hanging? Probably something very similar to what transpires in my own mind on a fairly regular basis.

The question comes from Sreed, who wants to know if a person must believe in mental health treatment for it to work. It’s a difficult question to answer because anyone who asks for your trust probably doesn’t deserve it. I could say, “yes, psychology has earned your faith,” but that would contradict the aforementioned maxim. Hmm... this is a tricky one.

A couple of tidbits from the world of psychology and a brief book update.

It has been a quite a while since I’ve posted anything of substance, but it hasn’t been for naught. There are new and exciting things on the horizon.

Is it safe to eat junk food? Kiss your pet? Take an online personality assessment? Check out this new feature.

My usual approach to these questions is to consult the professional literature. But professional journals sometimes disappoint on practical matters like this one, so I decided on a strategy that cannot fail: asking people who are smarter than me. The following are a few ideas from some of my brightest colleagues. They have offered their accumulated wisdom free of charge, so pull up a couch and enjoy.

It happens like clockwork. Every few years, psychology researchers contrive yet another study asserting that conservatives are mentally deficient. This time, the attack comes from evolutionary psychologist Satoshi Kanazawa, and the methodology is atrocious.

So that we can eat and get laid. Sorry. That was crude and entirely unsuitable for Valentine’s Day. Here’s a more professional sounding answer. Our survival involves eating other animals, which means we are participating in an ever-escalating, inter-species arms race. As we develop features for catching them, they develop features for avoiding us. Some think that our intelligence evolved to fill an ecological niche analogous to a cheetah’s speed or a spider’s ability to spin web – it is a highly-developed hunting tool. That’s the inter-species evolutionary explanation. The intra-species theory is much sexier.

There are several factors that may have predisposed you to the night life. And, naturally, my colleagues have tried to determine what your sleep preference says about you. Are you neurotic? Conscientious? Intelligent? Disorganized? Blame your suprachiasmatic nucleus.