• Question: What's the key to solving life's problems?

    Asked by anon-357949 on 13 Mar 2023.
    • Photo: Emily McDougal

      Emily McDougal answered on 13 Mar 2023:

      If only it was this simple! I think something that psychology can offer is an understanding of why people behave and think a certain way. We are all shaped by our genetics and past experiences. Keeping this in mind can make people more compassionate and understanding, because these factors are often out of a person’s control. It also helps us to reflect on our own thoughts and behaviour. If we can all be more understanding and compassionate towards others, I think that this would help us solve a lot of the problems in the world today!

    • Photo: Joanne Cummings

      Joanne Cummings answered on 14 Mar 2023:

      You’d have to define what a life problem is, and then aim to determine whether an intervention would help. Take for example, a problem in that a significant number of people are not active enough to afford health benefits associated with leading an active life. A behaviour change intervention could be developed that is underpinned by evidence-based techniques to change behaviour.

    • Photo: Hannah Fawcett

      Hannah Fawcett answered on 24 Mar 2023:

      Such a big question! I’m not sure whether psychology can ever give us a neat answer to this. I certainly think that there is something to be said in helping people to reframe ‘problems’ as ‘challenges’ to be overcome and ‘opportunities’ to grow and learn.

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