Northwestern Events Calendar

Oct
16
2014

Northwestern Symposium on Mind and Society

When: Thursday, October 16, 2014
4:00 PM - 8:00 PM CT

Where: James L Allen Center, Panel- Allen Center; Keynote- Pick-Staiger Hall, 2169 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL 60208 map it

Audience: Faculty/Staff - Student - Public - Post Docs/Docs - Graduate Students

Cost: Free

Contact: Gina Allen   (847) 467-0285

Group: Department of Psychology

Category: Academic

Description:

On Thursday, October 16th, the Psychology Department will host the 2nd Northwestern Symposium on Mind and Society, the premier biennial event of our Department. The Symposium features two key events. Please join us for one or both events. The events are as follows:

PANEL DISCUSSION:

4:00-5:30pm, the Allen Center- The panel discussion will examine social, economic, and neural factors involved in generating emotional well being. The discussion will involve the following outstanding panelists:

James Heckman, Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Professor of Economics, University of Chicago, and Nobel Memorial Prize winner in economics.
Edith Chen, Professor of Psychology, Northwestern University
Lindsay Chase-Lansdale, Frances Willard Professor of Human Development and Social Policy and Associate Provost for Faculty, Northwestern University
Richard Davidson, William James and Vilas Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison

The panel will be moderated by Sandra Waxman, Louis W. Menk Professor of Psychology

The panel discussion will be followed by a reception from 5:30 to 6:30pm.

KEYNOTE LECTURE:

7:00pm at Pick-Staiger Hall- Richard Davidson will deliver the Keynote lecture  presenting research on how human experiences affect brain and behavior, including the neuroscience of meditation.

Richard Davidson is the William James and Vilas Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at University of Wisconsin-Madison. Professor Davidson is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Emotional Life of Your Brain and was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2006. Professor Davidson’s research examines the biology of emotion and the brain’s ability to change itself through mental training and contemplative practices.

Below is the abstract for Professor Davidson’s Public Lecture:

HAPPINESS AS A SKILL: THE BRAIN’S ABILITY TO CHANGE ITSELF THROUGH MENTAL TRAINING

This talk will examine the brain's ability to change itself and enhance emotional well being through mental training and contemplative practices. The presented material will address the concept of neuroplasticity, which is the idea that our behaviors, thoughts, and actions have a robust and measurable effect on brain function and structure. By cultivating positive thoughts and behaviors we literally, at the level of biology, can alter our brain a positive manner. From this perspective, happiness can be viewed as a skill that can be practiced and cultivated.

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