“You work for the @CollegeBoard?” the bright-eyed teen behind the fast food counter asks. I tell her I sometimes mark #APEnglish tests. “I’m taking three AP classes now!” she says. “After I go to college, I want to be the #POTUS!”

“Unsweetened tea. And can you use this cup?” “You work for the College Board?” the bright-eyed teen behind the fast food counter asks, spying my branded mug. I tell her I sometimes mark #APEnglish tests. “I’m taking three AP classes now!” she says. “After I go to college, I want to be the president!” I give her quick pointers on the essays. Don’t start churning out filler right away. A…

Ring Theory Helps Us Bring Comfort In … and “dump” our own stuff out.

I spent some time listening to someone who was grieving, and who was frustrated by someone else who was also grieving. I could see that these two suffering people weren’t in the same circle of grief — a concept I learned about from someone’s social media post (can’t remember whose). Draw a circle. This is the center ring. In it, put the name of the person at the center of…

Social anxiety is linked to impaired memory for positive social events

People with social anxiety tend to have a harder time remembering social scenarios that end positively, according to new research published in the journal Cognition and Emotion. The study provides more evidence that social anxiety is related to biases in memory. “Prior research has suggested that symptoms of social anxiety are related to memory biases for autobiographical information, and particularly biases for negative social information,” explained study author Mia Romano…