Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics

By Bridget Grenville-Cleave Bridget Grenville-Cleave's website Bridget Grenville-Cleave's email

deomcracy-s_k_s.jpgThe good news is that according to a new study by Inglehart, Foa, Peterson and Welzel (2008), happiness is actually increasing: in this longitudinal study between 1981 and 2007, happiness levels went up in 45 out of 52 countries. And contrary to what you might conclude from Myers’ graph, the US is one of those countries which shows an upward trend in happiness. … Happiness has risen, they suggest, due to increasing democratization over the past 25 years, which means that people increasingly feel they have free choice (e.g. freedom of speech, to travel and in politics) and control over their lives.

Positive Interventions and Disease: Is There A Basis?

By Peter Minich Peter Minich's website Peter Minich's email

Many of those familiar with the treatment of disease and the world of positive psychology can readily appreciate some of the potential applications. Research continues to legitimize the notion that mind and body are connected. It is easy to speculate how positive interventions might augment traditional therapeutics. But can positive psychology alone be effective in treating severe maladies such as organ failure? […]

Sick Patients, Sicker System?

By Peter Minich Peter Minich's website Peter Minich's email

Few procedures are more complex, more demanding than organ transplantation. Few are more satisfying; seeing a patient leave hospital with a new lease on life is incredibly gratifying to those that cared for the patient. This is the world from which I have come and practiced in for over a decade. It is typical of […]