Participants receive a visit from a traveling alien on a fact-finding mission to learn how beings treat other beings on Earth.
Recommended grades: 4 and up
Time: 20-45 minutes
social psychology
Why the “Starfish Story” Needs an Update
Zoe Weil is a blogger for Psychology Today (PT), and twice a month we share her blog posts here. Enjoy! There’s an oft-told parable about a child rescuing beached starfish by throwing them back into the sea. A pragmatic adult walks by and tells the child that given the hundreds of starfish on the shore,…
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The Power of Positive Peer Pressure
by Marsha Rakestraw A 2012 survey of teen volunteers revealed that the main reason teens volunteer is because their friends are doing it. As social animals we pay attention to what those around us are doing; and because we like to feel part of the “in” crowd, we’re often willing to conform so that we’re…
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5 Assumptions We Should Try to Make About Everyone
by Marsha Rakestraw The recent US election has highlighted a significant divisiveness. And the media and social media have been awash in hate speech and arguments, calls for healing and moving on, judgments, ideas about next steps, and assumptions. Usually when we make assumptions about others, they’re not positive ones. We tend to make split-second…
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Don’t Fall Into the Changemaker Trap That Makes People Resist Positive Change
by Marsha Rakestraw Awhile back I had dinner with some new non-vegan friends and colleagues. I was the only vegan there, and it came out that they’d been a bit concerned that I’d pull out my “vegan police” badge and start lecturing them about their food choices. When I told the person next to me…
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Empower Don’t Paralyze: 6 Tips for Sharing About Global Ethical Issues
by Marsha Rakestraw As I scroll down my Facebook wall, I skim across a horrific image of cruelty that someone has posted, with a caption that merely says “This has to stop!” and no other information. The image is so traumatizing that I quickly skip by it, and even consider hiding that person’s posts from…
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Beating the “Backfire Effect”
by Marsha Rakestraw It seems like common sense that when we learn that previously-believed information is false – when we receive new facts that contradict what we previously thought — then we’ll change our beliefs to fit with the new information. Right? After all, we’re thinking, logical beings. But numerous studies show that’s not the…
Read more »Un Extraterrestre En El Universo Ètico
Un/a extraterrestre tiene una misión a aprender cómo se tratan a la gente y animales y el diálogo se inspira a los estudiantes considerar las inconsecuencias de la sociedad con respecto al tratamiento de seres diferentes. Recomendado para grados 5-9 Duración: 20-45 minutos
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