Psychology

Lisa Joy Tutttle of the Perelman School of Medicine spoke about Penn’s Adult A.D.H.D. Treatment and Research Program, which provides clients with coaching and other support. “We’re really trying to help people develop their own insights and solutions,” she said.

Angela Duckworth of the School of Arts & Sciences wrote about the importance of imbuing young people with a sense of personal agency. “Don’t tell anyone they have complete control of their destiny. That’s not true,” she said. “And yet each of us, no matter our circumstances, has some control, particularly over our own thoughts and actions.”

Clifford Workman, a postdoctoral fellow in the Perelman School of Medicine, co-authored research about the neuroscience of morality. “People are motivated by shared social values that, when held with moral conviction, can serve as compelling mandates capable of facilitating support for ideological violence,” Workman and colleagues wrote.

Charline Russo of the College of Liberal & Professional Studies weighed in on a new pod system that divides professional golf teams into subgroups based on compatibility. She compared the arrangement to World War II troops, the most effective of which were assembled from the same town. “It wasn’t just because they grew up together, there was also that accountability factor,” Russo said. “You didn’t want to go home and admit that you screwed up.”

Research led by Marissa Sharif of the Wharton School found that, when it comes to leisure time, there’s a point of diminishing return. “A moderate amount of discretionary time leads people to be better off or happier compared to having a large amount of free time,” she said. “And that’s because with a large amount of free time, people feel this lacking sense of productivity and purpose.”

Lily Brown of the Perelman School of Medicine spoke about how people can cope with catastrophic events like storms and floods. “I think an important first step is to give yourself space to feel what you need to feel. Because often, in the aftermath of a tragedy, we put our heads down and sort of, you know, grit our teeth, and do whatever we can to survive. And that’s appropriate in the immediate aftermath of a stressor or a trauma like this,” she said.

Research by Marissa Sharif of the Wharton School and colleagues found that leisure time is only psychologically beneficial to a certain extent. “The sweet spot is a moderate amount of free time,” she said. “We found that having too much time was associated with lower subjective wellbeing due to a lacking sense of productivity and purpose.”