Cognitive Policy Works

Tom Cromption and I are working hard to develop our framework for identity campaigns into a useful set of tools for environmental advocates.  It won’t be long now until the report we’ve been working on goes out into the world (just a few more weeks).  While you wait on the edge of your seats, here’s [...]

This guest article by George Lakoff explores the faulty strategies of Obama’s administration in the health care debate.  It is vital that progressives learn how the political mind works in order to succeed. Barack Obama ran the best-organized and best-framed presidential campaign in history. How is it possible that the same people who did so [...]

The world is in need of some serious change. We all know this. And many people have taken the call personally and seriously. I encourage you to do the same. You can be an engine of creativity. You can be a catalyst for positive change in the world. It all starts when you see yourself [...]

A culture of trust is vital to solving the big problems of our age. Without trust, there can be no hope of real and lasting positive change in the world. Our challenges are too big to solve on our own. We must be able to work together and collaborate on an unprecedented scale to build [...]

I recently had the pleasure of appearing on the Jeff Farias show and would like to share it with you. We talked about the political mind, how people feel about manipulation in politics and consumer culture, and what we can do to transform the political world. The entire show is three hours long and my [...]

The primary mission of Cognitive Policy Works is to put the knowledge and techniques of the behavioral and social sciences into the hands of progressive activists. Clinical psychology in particular has an important role to play in enhancing the tools available to those who are interested in creating positive social change.

Changing our politics will involve significant shifts in political – and interpersonal – culture. This may seem like a truism, yet it is common practice among progressive “political junkies” to place nearly all their attention on electoral campaigns and legislative battles. The assumption seems to be that if only we get more of our people [...]

Obama’s recent reversal of the Bush Administration’s ban on stem cell research offers progressives an opportunity to reflect upon our relationship to religion. We can take this moment to consider how our views of religion differ from those of many conservatives – and how we might start the healing process with these fellow Americans while [...]

In the wake of my recent post in the progressive blogosphere, I find myself thinking a lot about cynicism. The article, “Now What? A Cautionary Note, and an Invitation, to Progressives”, appeared on Truthout.com, outlining the inevitability of letdown after victory, and the need to shift the progressive group identity from underdog to agent of [...]

Exploring the psychology of social change reveals warning signs and opportunities for progressives as Obama takes power. Now that progressives have attained their goal of electing Barack Obama president and established the presence of a political mandate for change and, putatively, progressive ideas, what can we expect will happen next? What do we now need [...]