Winter 2009 (Volume V, Issue 3)

 

Why Make Art?

New research suggests the arts may boost students’ academic performance, but many scientists aren’t convinced. So what are the arts good for these days? This issue considers therapeutic, emotional, cognitive, and other benefits of the arts.

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From The Editors

From the Editors: Winter 2009 (01)

By Jason Marsh | Winter 2009

 

In Brief

Levi Johnston, 18, kisses Trig, brother of his girlfriend Bristol Palin, 17, as he holds him during the Republican National Convention in September. Weeks earlier, Ms. Palin had announced she as pregnant, and that Mr. Johnston was the father.

Parents Don’t Preach (02)

By Jill Suttie | Winter 2009

How can we get teens to practice safe sex?

 

Sick with Happiness (03)

By Alex Dixon | Winter 2009

 

What Happy People Do (04)

By Anna Abramson | Winter 2009

 

Is Happiness Good for Your Health? (05)

By Caroline Wilmuth | Winter 2009

 

Sweet Charity (06)

By Alex Dixon | Winter 2009

 

Can Kids Feel Your Pain? (07)

By Elizabeth Walter | Winter 2009

 

Meditating for a Better Tomorrow (08)

By Linda George | Winter 2009

 

Grow with the Flow (09)

By Anna Luerssen | Winter 2009

 

Playing Favorites (10)

By Kevin LaRose | Winter 2009

 

Guest Column

Yes, You Can (12)

By Daniel Goleman | Winter 2009

New research suggests we can build our willpower.

 

Q&A

Gina Gibney's choreography has been widely presented in the United States and Abroad.

Why We Make Art (13)

By Jason Marsh, Jeremy Adam Smith | Winter 2009

Seven artists explain why they write, rap, take photos, draw, dance, and make movies.

 

Features

Arts and Smarts (14)

By Karin Evans | Winter 2009

At a time when educators are preoccupied with standards, testing, and the bottom line, some researchers suggest the arts can boost students’ test scores; others aren’t convinced. Karin Evans asks, What are the arts good for?

 

The Birth of the Arts (15)

By Ellen Dissanayake | Winter 2009

Throughout our history, humans have felt compelled to make art. Ellen Dissanayake explains why.

 

Wired for Music (16)

By Sarina Rodrigues | Winter 2009

 

Changing our Minds (17)

By Keith Oatley | Winter 2009

By imagining many possible worlds, argues novelist and psychologist Keith Oatley, fiction helps us understand ourselves and others.

 

Art vs. Non-Art (18)

By Keith Oatley | Winter 2009

 

Does Art Heal? (19)

By Meera Lee Sethi | Winter 2009

At Shands HealthCare in Florida, artists and physicians have been partners for 18 years, reports Meera Lee Sethi. Their program is helping to prove the clinical benefits of creativity.

 

Medicine at the Museum (20)

By Meera Lee Sethi | Winter 2009

 

Global Compassion (22)

By Paul Ekman | Winter 2009

A conversation between the Dalai Lama and Paul Ekman

 

Bhutan at a Crossroads (23)

By Mirka Knaster | Winter 2009

Can one of the world’s happiest countries survive the 21st century?

 

Tools for the Greater Good

Everyday Art (21)

By Christine Carter | Winter 2009

Christine Carter reveals six steps for boosting kids' creativity.

 

Book Reviews

Scientists have looked to other primates for the roots of human violence, but other research finds the potential for peace.

Beyond Sex and Violence (24)

By Jeremy Adam Smith | Winter 2009

Sex and War: How Biology Explains Warfare and Terrorism and Offers a Path to a Safer World
by Malcolm Pott s and Thomas Hayden
Benbella Books, 2008, 457 pages

Violence: A Micro-Sociological Theory
by Randall Co llins
Princeton University Press, 2008, 584 pages

 

Book Review: Happiness (25)

By Christine Carter | Winter 2009

by Ed Diener and Robert Biswas-Diener
Wiley-Blackwell, 2008, 304 pages

 

Book Review: Loneliness (26)

By Jill Suttie | Winter 2009

by John T. Cacioppo and William Patrick
W.W. Norton & Company, 2008, 317 pages

 

Book Review: Rock, Paper, Scissors (27)

By Alex Dixon | Winter 2009

by Len Fisher
Basic Books, 2008, 288 pages

 

Book Review: Positive Psychology at the Movies (28)

By Jeremy Adam Smith | Winter 2009

by Ryan M. Niemiec and Danny Wedding
Hogrefe, 2008, 308 pages

 

Pop Culture Review

The HBO series  In Treatment  follows the work of psychotherapist Paul Westin, played by Gabriel Byrne.

Pop Treatment (29)

By Joshua Coleman | Winter 2009

How do TV therapy sessions measure up to real life?

 

Ideas for the Greater Good

Are We Post-Racial Yet? (30)

By Susan T. Fiske | Winter 2009

 

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Greater Good Live

  

When is Stress Good for You?

When is Stress Good for You?

Combining wit with deep knowledge, Robert Sapolsky explains the optimal amount of stress.

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The Greater Good Guide to Mindfulness

The Greater Good Guide to Mindfulness

This invaluable resource, a special benefit for GGSC members, offers insight into what mindfulness is, why it’s important, and how to teach it.

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Pathways to Gratefulness

The Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco
June 23rd 2012, 10am-5pm
Pathways to Gratefulness

Network for Grateful Living presents a summit geared at awakening the practice of gratefulness and grateful living in all of us.

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