Jessica Rea

Thinking, Fast and Slow presents the automatic and effortful cognitive processing routes, which are named system 1 and system 2 by the author.  The book includes descriptions and relatable illustrations of heuristics, biases, and other leaps of reasoning that one applies when cognitively depleted or inattentive.  The comprehensible explanations of the processes, intermixed with sometimes amusing anecdotes of a Nobel laureate’s life  and research, are likely why this book has made its way onto bookshelves of prominent academics and onto the syllabus of behavioural science programs at some of the world’s most prestigious universities.  The irony of the book is that, intentionally or otherwise, the author uses many manipulations of cognition throughout the book that likely deactivate the reader's critical ‘system 2’ thinking. In the science of the mind, there are so many potentially confounding variables that it is rightfully encouraged by those researching this area to be cautious

Had a fairly surreal evening putting the kids to bed this evening. They were given a choice of a Paddington book (often a favourite) or one of ‘granny’s stories’ (the selection of 40 year old Ladybird books my mother in law has kept which are classic stories representing the oppressive and often shocking ideals of the 19th and early 20th centuries). The children chose the latter and selected’The Elves and The Shoemaker’.  ‘This was one of my favourite books as a child’, I told them anticipating another much loved tale not bearing up under the scrutiny of time. It felt quite surreal reading the book as it almost felt like the words resonated with a verbatim memory I had of it.  This was even more strange given that I had completely forgotten the plot. Spoiler alert! The story tells the tale of a couple (shoemakers) living in poverty, they are at the end of their rope and mysteriously get helped by some unknown benevolent force that lifts them out of poverty.  They stay up one evening an

Suicide is the leading cause of death in men under the age of 50 and has affected several men I have known over recent months.  For 18 of the last 20 years  suicide was the leading cause of death for both males (27%) and females (17%) aged 20 to 34  in the UK. As I sat on the sofa this evening watching Frozen 2 with our youngest son, something made me reflect on the importance of what we are teaching our children about what is means to be strong.  The film is a sequel that tells a story of two sisters who embark on a journey together, end up seperated, and conquer the odds independently before becoming reunited. We watched as the first sister faced traversing a stormy sea that had taken the life of her parents.  'Look how strong she is' I said to him.  ' Look how the wave smashes her and she keeps going'.  'Look how strong she is' I continued, 'see how even though she is afraid of the threats facing her, she assesses them, tackles them and keeps going.  S

 Someone recently gave us the board game of Junior Monopoly which my five year old was very keen to play.  Having played Monopoly as a child, I was broadly familiar with the rules but needed to refresh by reading the instructions. The opening line of the instructions read like this: "Have the most money when any other player goes bankrupt (hasn't got the cash to pay rent, buy a property they land on, or pay a Chance card fee)." it continues with stating the object of the game "Zoom around the board, buy every property you land on, collect money and pick up Chance cards. When one player runs out of money, the others count their cash. The player with the most money wins!" Having spent the last 15 years volunteering in homeless shelters and researching the experiences and related psychological impacts of homelessness and socioeconomic inequality, the objective of driving others to the point of bankruptcy and winning as a result of accumulating the most wealth did n

While it isn't necessarily the greatest puzzle of 2020, one of the strangest must be the global panic buying of toilet paper during the coronavirus pandemic. While the mass purchase of toilet paper, rehydration sachets and bottled water would make sense during a cholera pandemic; it flew in the face of reason for something largely understood as a respiratory infection.  I remember grimacing at the peculiarity of offering someone a couple of rolls as a thank you for some second hand toys donated to my three and four year old children during the early days of lockdown. It was walking through the empty aisles of our local Sainsburys, in a slightly vain attempt to get supplies, that I realised a connection that made psychological sense. When people are faced with threatening or uncertain life-events, it can often lead to changes in their personal values.   You may now sensibly find yourself wondering what on earth personal values have to do with toilet paper... Well, values articulate