Author Archives: Laura Akers, Ph.D.

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About Laura Akers, Ph.D.

I'm a research psychologist at Oregon Research Institute, and I'm writing a book about meta-narratives, the powerful collective stories we share about who we are and where we're headed. My interests include beliefs and worldviews, ethics, motivation, and relationships, both among humans and between humans and the natural world.

Mighty Ducks, Under-Dawgs

Posted on 2 December 2023 by Laura Akers, Ph.D.

Yesterday, alas, we may have seen the psychological power of meta-narratives in action, in a different arena than usual – Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, to be more precise. As my readers know by now, meta-narratives are the story-based frameworks … Continue reading →

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Why do we have “human rights”?

Posted on 21 November 2023 by Laura Akers, Ph.D.

Where did we get the idea that all people, not just those most like ourselves, should have basic, fundamental, “self-evident” rights? The historian Lynn Hunt has a theory – she credits the novelist Samuel Richardson. In her book, Inventing Human … Continue reading →

Posted in narrative science | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Shocked by Mary Shelley

Posted on 31 October 2023 by Laura Akers, Ph.D.

Until this month, I had never read Frankenstein. I always thought that I had, but, nope. Dracula is another matter – I bought my first copy from the Scholastic Book Club in sixth grade, and my life revolved around it … Continue reading →

Posted in salience markers | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Biden’s age, Trump’s… everything?

Posted on 13 September 2023 by Laura Akers, Ph.D.

This week, New York Times columnist Frank Bruni asked a very revealing question: Why is the American public so focused on Joe Biden’s age, when Donald Trump is almost as old and has a far less healthy lifestyle and physique? … Continue reading →

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Living in suspense

Posted on 9 May 2023 by Laura Akers, Ph.D.

A few weeks ago, I was eagerly awaiting the final episode of Sanditon. It was a Masterpiece Theater series based on Jane Austen’s unfinished novel of the same name – she’d introduced the characters and the setting, but didn’t live … Continue reading →

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Is it “good”? Or is it “sweet”?

Posted on 12 April 2023 by Laura Akers, Ph.D.

This year on Easter, after a lovely dinner with my partner and son, and after we each looked to see what the Easter Bunny had put in our Easter baskets, we settled down to consider playing the board game Bunny … Continue reading →

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Thinking like a rose

Posted on 2 April 2023 by Laura Akers, Ph.D.

I wonder what roses think about wildflowers that “volunteer” to share their garden without an invitation? That’s a comment one of my readers made in response to my last blog post. I loved that comment, because it sends us off … Continue reading →

Posted in category science | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Wildflowers or weeds?

Posted on 29 March 2023 by Laura Akers, Ph.D.

Wildflowers! Today I got a break from the massively complicated paper I’m writing, and we also had a break in the rain, so I went out to check in with the neighborhood wildflowers. A few years ago, I set myself … Continue reading →

Posted in category science, environmental thought | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Overcoming the temptations of conservatism, with the good people of Cranford

Posted on 12 November 2022 by Laura Akers, Ph.D.

Even for progressives, being “conservative” is not necessarily a bad thing. A great many of us are conservative in at least some ways. Maybe we don’t like to try new foods, or we have some routines we really don’t want … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | 4 Comments

Beyond love/hate binaries

Posted on 15 October 2022 by Laura Akers, Ph.D.

Quick! What do e-cigarettes, fossil fuels, and Downton Abbey all have in common? E-cigarettes are great – if you used to be a heavy smoker and managed to switch your nicotine addiction entirely to e-cigarettes, which are much less likely … Continue reading →

Posted in history, US politics | Tagged , , | 3 Comments