Study: Avoiding blame is smart way to resolve family conflicts

A UT Dallas researcher says there’s a smart way for children and parents to disagree—and it doesn’t involve casting blame. Dr. Jackie Nelson, assistant professor in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, said parents and children who focused discussions on future-oriented planning, rather than accusations and culpability, were more likely to reach a compromise in which both parents’ and children’s goals …

Peter Van Buren – Texas Academics Told to Avoid ‘Sensitive Topics’ to Prevent Angering Armed Students

Here’s another swanky benefit of our out-of-control gun culture: university professors should be aware that their students might shoot them. The Texas state legislature voted last year to allow students to carry concealed handguns into classrooms, dorms, just about anywhere on campus, a practice with roots to when Socrates taught Aristotle. If students packing seems like a bad idea to …

Anxious people more apt to make bad decisions amid uncertainty

New brain evidence provides insight into why highly anxious people are worst at making decisions when things get unpredictable Credit: Illustration by Ian Smiley Highly anxious people have more trouble deciding how best to handle life’s uncertainties. They may even catastrophize, interpreting, say, a lovers’ tiff as a doomed relationship or a workplace change as a career threat. In gauging …