A lucky rabbit foot. A glass of wine. A pill. What do these things all have in common? Their effects – whether we do well on a test, whether we mingle at the cocktail party, whether we feel better – all depend on the power of suggestion. In a new article, psychological scientists Maryanne Garry and Robert Michael of Victoria University of Wellington, along with Irving Kirsch of Harvard Medical School and Plymouth University, delve into the phenomenon of suggestion, exploring the intriguing relationship between suggestion, cognition, >>>

COMMENTARY Managers involved in repeated budget and staff cutbacks are hurting. Unfortunately, many don’t have the psychological support they need.Two University of Kansas researchers, education dean Rick Ginsberg and psychology chair Karen Multon, recently charted the stressful effects of the “financial tsunami” on deans and department chairs in higher education.Many public universities in particular have been hit with funding cuts that have forced layoffs, fewer and larger classes, and staff morale problems.The researchers found >>>

Parents are invited to a special presentation on anti-bullying at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the auditorium at Horace Mann Middle School, 224 Oak St. Elizabeth Englander, a professor of psychology at Bridgewater State University, will cover the facts of bullying – what it is and isn’t – the roles of parents, schools and law enforcement in dealing with instances of bullying, and the new research about how parents can protect their children against bullying. Parents are invited to submit anonymous questions here at  http://tinyurl.com/c7jzw3b to be discussed during the presentation. Englander’s >>>