Government, media and people: it’s time to shift our attention to the Corona placebo effect! All of us have spent recent months tackling the crisis and steeling ourselves to deal within the struggle against Corona. Some people have called it a war; many have classed it as the most serious crisis we have ever had to face, and one that is likely to have disastrous and unpredictable effects. Andrea Evers • June 10, 2020
Blessing or Curse? Staying social when you’re a socially anxious teen during Covid-19 Covid-19 presents a unique conundrum for socially anxious teenagers. To reduce anxiety symptoms, exposure to social situations is recommended; yet these situations have moved predominantly into the online sphere. Is this a blessing or a curse for these teens? Anne Miers • June 08, 2020
Learning a new skill while staying at home With a global pandemic forcing us to spend most of our free time at home these days, many of us may have started learning a new skill or have been working on fine- tuning an existing one. Marit Ruitenberg and Ayesha Hamilton • May 27, 2020
A blind spot in recognizing common mental health problems Mental health problems are difficult to signal. Fortunately our awareness about many mental health problems has increased somewhat in recent years. But are we sensitive to anxiety disorders, the most common mental health disorder over the lifespan? Semiha Aydin • May 11, 2020
Coping with negative emotions requires more than positive rephrasing Describing a situation that elicits negative emotions in more positive terms may provide a new perspective and thus attenuate the negative feelings. However, it is not necessarily the feelings that change with positive rephrasing. Esther van den Bos • May 09, 2020
Keeping social distance obliges others to be prosocial too Social distancing is a good example of prosocial behaviour that gives other people a choice. It also strengthens autonomy and self-determination. Niels van Doesum • April 22, 2020
Government, media and citizens: Watch out for the Nocebo Corona Effect We are confronted on a daily basis with news about the Corona virus and its consequences. We read alarming headlines like 'Dutch becoming increasingly anxious about Corona virus' or 'Huge fears and stress about Corona crisis'. Andrea Evers • April 20, 2020
Videoblog: The social brain in middle childhood As humans it is of key importance to form positive social relationships with the people around us. But what role does our brain play in social relationships, and how can genetic and environmental influences explain this? Mara van der Meulen • April 15, 2020
When the mind’s eye is blind: why do some people lack mental imagery? While most of us can experience mental imagery, some people cannot vividly imagine pictures in their mind - and they function just fine. This raises the question: what do we even need mental imagery for? And how problematic is a lack of mental imagery? Ilse van de Groep • April 14, 2020