Carol Tavris
Encyclopedia
Carol Anne Tavris is an American
social psychologist and author
. She received a Ph.D.
in social psychology from the University of Michigan
, and has taught psychology
at the University of California, Los Angeles
and the New School for Social Research. She is a fellow of the American Psychological Association
, the Association for Psychological Science
and the Center for Inquiry
. Her articles, book reviews and op-eds have appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times
, the Times Literary Supplement, and other publications.
and sociology
at Brandeis University
. After Brandeis, she took up graduate study at the University of Michigan. Here she learned about the scientific method
and in her own words, "fell in love with the process of science." She took a year's break from her study to write for the popular magazine Psychology Today, which she returned to after finishing her PhD. At San Diego State College, she taught one of the first courses in women's studies with Carole Wade, who became a frequent collaborator; their first text was "The Longest War: Sex differences in perspective" (1977, revised 1984). When Psychology Today moved to New York, she moved with it, subsequently writing for Human Nature magazine.
, feminism
and criticism of pseudoscience
. Her most well-known book, The Mismeasure of Woman, argues in favor of egalitarian feminism and against theories that advocate biological
reductionism
to explain differences between men and women. The title is a play on Stephen Jay Gould
's The Mismeasure of Man
. The book critiques not only cultural myths about the inferiority of women, but also the ideas of innate female superiority advanced by some groups. The book won the 1992 Distinguished Media Contribution Award from the American Association for Applied and Preventative Psychology. In Anger: The Misunderstood Emotion, published in 1982, she critiques numerous popular assumptions about anger. Contrary to some popular therapies from that time, she argues that venting anger can increase rather than diminish it. At the same time, she advocates a constructive role for anger as a driver of positive social change. She has also co-authored four psychology textbooks with Carole Wade, including The Longest War: Sex Differences in Perspective. Mistakes were made (but not by me)
, co-authored with the social psychologist Elliot Aronson
, uses cognitive dissonance
theory and other ideas from psychological research to explain how people maintain a favorable self-image when their actions harm others. The book uses topical examples including the Bush Administration's justification for its invasion of Iraq
.
On August 21st, 2010 Dr. Tavris was honored with an award recognizing her contributions in the skeptical
field, from The Independent Investigations Group
during its 10th Anniversary Gala.
.
Interviews
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
social psychologist and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. She received a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in social psychology from the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, and has taught psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
at the University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
and the New School for Social Research. She is a fellow of the American Psychological Association
American Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States. It is the world's largest association of psychologists with around 154,000 members including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. The APA...
, the Association for Psychological Science
Association for Psychological Science
The Association for Psychological Science , previously the American Psychological Society, is a non-profit international organization whose mission is to promote, protect, and advance the interests of scientifically oriented psychology in research, application, teaching, and the improvement of...
and the Center for Inquiry
Center for Inquiry
The Center for Inquiry is a non-profit educational organization with headquarters in the United States whose primary mission is to encourage evidence-based inquiry into paranormal and fringe science claims, alternative medicine and mental health practices, religion, secular ethics, and society...
. Her articles, book reviews and op-eds have appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, the Times Literary Supplement, and other publications.
Early career
Tavris grew up in California, the granddaughter of Russian Jews who had immigrated to Chicago. She took her first degree in comparative literatureComparative literature
Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the literature of two or more different linguistic, cultural or national groups...
and sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
at Brandeis University
Brandeis University
Brandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
. After Brandeis, she took up graduate study at the University of Michigan. Here she learned about the scientific method
Scientific method
Scientific method refers to a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on gathering empirical and measurable evidence subject to specific principles of...
and in her own words, "fell in love with the process of science." She took a year's break from her study to write for the popular magazine Psychology Today, which she returned to after finishing her PhD. At San Diego State College, she taught one of the first courses in women's studies with Carole Wade, who became a frequent collaborator; their first text was "The Longest War: Sex differences in perspective" (1977, revised 1984). When Psychology Today moved to New York, she moved with it, subsequently writing for Human Nature magazine.
Notable publications
The themes of Tavris' work include critical thinkingCritical thinking
Critical thinking is the process or method of thinking that questions assumptions. It is a way of deciding whether a claim is true, false, or sometimes true and sometimes false, or partly true and partly false. The origins of critical thinking can be traced in Western thought to the Socratic...
, feminism
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
and criticism of pseudoscience
Pseudoscience
Pseudoscience is a claim, belief, or practice which is presented as scientific, but which does not adhere to a valid scientific method, lacks supporting evidence or plausibility, cannot be reliably tested, or otherwise lacks scientific status...
. Her most well-known book, The Mismeasure of Woman, argues in favor of egalitarian feminism and against theories that advocate biological
Human biology
Human Biology is an interdisciplinary area of study that examines humans through the influences and interplay of many diverse fields such as genetics, evolution, physiology, epidemiology, ecology, nutrition, population genetics and sociocultural influences. It is closely related to...
reductionism
Reductionism
Reductionism can mean either an approach to understanding the nature of complex things by reducing them to the interactions of their parts, or to simpler or more fundamental things or a philosophical position that a complex system is nothing but the sum of its parts, and that an account of it can...
to explain differences between men and women. The title is a play on Stephen Jay Gould
Stephen Jay Gould
Stephen Jay Gould was an American paleontologist, evolutionary biologist, and historian of science. He was also one of the most influential and widely read writers of popular science of his generation....
's The Mismeasure of Man
The Mismeasure of Man
The Mismeasure of Man , by Stephen Jay Gould, is a history and critique of the statistical methods and cultural motivations underlying biological determinism, the belief that “the social and economic differences between human groups — primarily races, classes, and sexes — arise from inherited,...
. The book critiques not only cultural myths about the inferiority of women, but also the ideas of innate female superiority advanced by some groups. The book won the 1992 Distinguished Media Contribution Award from the American Association for Applied and Preventative Psychology. In Anger: The Misunderstood Emotion, published in 1982, she critiques numerous popular assumptions about anger. Contrary to some popular therapies from that time, she argues that venting anger can increase rather than diminish it. At the same time, she advocates a constructive role for anger as a driver of positive social change. She has also co-authored four psychology textbooks with Carole Wade, including The Longest War: Sex Differences in Perspective. Mistakes were made (but not by me)
Mistakes were made (but not by me)
Mistakes Were Made is a non-fiction book by social psychologists Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson, first published in 2007. It deals with cognitive dissonance, self-serving bias and other cognitive biases, using these psychological theories to illustrate how the perpetrators of hurtful acts...
, co-authored with the social psychologist Elliot Aronson
Elliot Aronson
Elliot Aronson is an American psychologist. He is listed among the 100 most eminent psychologists of the 20th Century, best known for the invention of the Jigsaw Classroom as a method of reducing interethnic hostility and prejudice; cognitive dissonance research, and influential social psychology...
, uses cognitive dissonance
Cognitive dissonance
Cognitive dissonance is a discomfort caused by holding conflicting ideas simultaneously. The theory of cognitive dissonance proposes that people have a motivational drive to reduce dissonance. They do this by changing their attitudes, beliefs, and actions. Dissonance is also reduced by justifying,...
theory and other ideas from psychological research to explain how people maintain a favorable self-image when their actions harm others. The book uses topical examples including the Bush Administration's justification for its invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
.
On August 21st, 2010 Dr. Tavris was honored with an award recognizing her contributions in the skeptical
Scientific skepticism
Scientific skepticism is the practice of questioning the veracity of claims lacking empirical evidence or reproducibility, as part of a methodological norm pursuing "the extension of certified knowledge". For example, Robert K...
field, from The Independent Investigations Group
Independent Investigations Group
The Independent Investigations Group is a volunteer-based organization founded by James Underdown in January 2000 at the Center for Inquiry-West in Hollywood, California...
during its 10th Anniversary Gala.
Personal life
Tavris is married to the actor Ronan O'Casey and lives with him in the Hollywood HillsHollywood Hills
The Hollywood Hills is an affluent and exclusive neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, in the southeastern Santa Monica Mountains. It is bound by Laurel Canyon Boulevard to the west, Vermont Avenue to the east, Mulholland Drive to the north, and Sunset Boulevard to the south.-Hollywood Hills...
.
External links
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