I spoke with Dr. Jim Sidanius, the John Lindsley Professor of Psychology and African-American Studies at Harvard University just a couple of days ago. In the time since, I've had some opportunity to re-listen to some of his words and think more about the ideas he had been expressing. Particularly notable for this journey, was … Continue reading Dr. Jim Sidanius and the Origin of Social Dominance Theory →

Dr. Jim Sidanius is a tremendous scholar and a fascinating person. I am grateful to him for the opportunity to hear about his life and how his experiences led to the development of Social Dominance Theory, and the associated instrument, the Social Dominance Orientation, and a number of studies from him and his colleagues integrating … Continue reading Dr. Jim Sidanius and the cross-section of Social Sciences →

I'm preparing to return to the university at the heart of Cambridge, MA tomorrow to meet with an amazing scholar who has defined the processes of bigotry that are pervasive in human and other hominid clades. Immersing  myself in this research I am engrossed, but I am horrified. I want to understand and to meet … Continue reading Hierarchies in Modern Society →

There is precocious and there is Dr. Dan Schacter,  William R. Keenan, jr. Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. One of the most renown cognitive Psychologists working with memory and related processes today. I posted an introduction to Dr. Schacter and some description about his work (with some audio from our discussion) in my previous … Continue reading Dan Schacter, in the beginning →

Yesterday I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Dan Schacter, in William James Hall at Harvard University (Cambridge, MA)! Dr. Schacter introduces himself modestly in the clip above, but he is one of the most influential and renowned memory researchers in the world. He is the William R. Keenan, Jr. Professor of Psychology at … Continue reading Dr. Dan Schacter and the Future of Memory →

In preparation for my next conversation I've been reading a lot about memory. The structure of the representation in the mind; the physical correlates of memory and its encoding in the brain; the processing divisions causing memories to be implicit vs. explicit, some level of specific, some level of generality. With a topic as big … Continue reading Memories, alone in the moonlight →

As described in my previous two posts, Dr. Hal Grotevant and I had a chance to speak extensively. In Dr. Grotevant's words he loves research and is thrilled by investigation, sharing, and efforts to grow our collective understanding of family dynamics (particularly relating to adoption). Nonetheless his "avocation" is music. He is an avid lover … Continue reading Musing musically about research: reflections on Dr. Grotevant and what’s upcoming… →

I recently met with Dr. Hal Grotevant, the Rudd Family Foundation Chair and amazing researcher whose scholarly work focuses on families, adoption, and the processes therein!! For those wishing more familiarity with his work, he has a fantastic career spanning several decades. Some fascinating (and influential) articles from his career include: Grotevant, H. D. (1987). … Continue reading Grotevant and the lure of research →

Yesterday (Aug 3, 2018) I had an opportunity to meet with and interview Dr. Hal Grotevant!!! While ultimately this project is about capturing the voices of influential scholars, the modern history of how our current paradigms and theories have been shaped by these thinkers, there is something very special about completing this first step. Dr. … Continue reading Now it begins (first interview)! →