Family Fears: 'Stay at home! If you leave the house you will catch COVID-19' Children are exposed not only to a novel virus but also to their parents’ fears of the virus. Parents’ fears can easily be passed on to their children. How does this happen and can we prevent it? Cosima Nimphy • June 25, 2020
The importance of coffee breaks Coffee breaks with colleagues – what a blast! In the midst of the corona crisis and having to work from home, I realize again how important these small moments are. But why is it so important to have breaks with our colleagues? Susanne Asscheman • June 22, 2020
Taking concrete steps to Open Science How do we move forward with Open Science in psychology, both on the work floor as well as at the policy level? Recently, a group of both junior and senior scientists came together to discuss concrete steps that can be taken now toward an ideal situation in 2030. Eduard Klapwijk • June 16, 2020
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