The Coddling of the American Mind

by Greg Lukianoff

  29. Cantú, N. V. (1996, January 16). Clarification of intercollegiate athletics policy guidance: The three-part test [Dear Colleague letters]. U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/clarific.html

  30. A second way to achieve compliance was to show that the school had “made progress” toward reaching the first standard. A third way was to show that the interest of the underrepresented gender had been “fully and effectively accommodated”—to show that, in practice, there weren’t enough women left wanting to play a sport to field a team. These two options would seem to let schools off the hook for achieving equal outcomes, but, in practice, the only ways to satisfy these standards invited close scrutiny by the Office for Civil Rights, and one of the top goals of any compliance professional is to avoid an investigation by a government agency. The only way to definitively stave off an investigation is to satisfy the first certification method, which is what nearly all schools have chosen to do.

  31. For evidence that schools were being held to the highest standard, see Thomas, K. (2011, April 25). College teams, relying on deception, undermine gender equity. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/26/sports/26titleix.html

  32. Thomas, K. (2011, May 1). Colleges cut men’s programs to satisfy Title IX. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/02/sports/02gender.html

  33. Deaner, Balish & Lombardo (2016). They also report a variety of evidence that prenatal exposure to testosterone for girls correlates with later interest in sports, particularly more typically masculine sports.

  34. Deaner et al. (2012).

  35. Of course, a skeptic could argue that these differences were caused by differences in early-childhood socialization—for example, the fact that in toy stores, the aisles of toys for girls and boys are so different, with much less sporting equipment offered for girls. Perhaps, but efforts to change children’s gendered play behavior by treating them in a gender-neutral or gender-reversed way have a poor history of success; see the sad case of David Reimer, for example, in Burkeman, O., & Younge, G. (2004, May 12). Being Brenda. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/books/2004/may/12/scienceandnature.gender. Toy stores seem to be responding to gendered preferences rather than causing them. And even if gendered sports preferences were caused entirely by early socialization rather than by prenatal hormones, that would not justify requiring universities to insist on equal outcomes, although it would have implications for elementary schools.

  36. Thomas (2011, April 25); see n. 31.

  37. Chang (2018).

  38. Rivlin-Nadler, M. (2013, August 17). More buck for your bang: People who have more sex make the most money. Gawker. Retrieved from http://gawker.com/more-bang-for-your-buck-people-who-have-more-sex-make-1159315115

  39. The actual study indicates that because “sexual activity is considered to be a barometer for health, quality of life, well-being and happiness,” and “health, cognitive and non-cognitive skills and personality are important factors that affect the wage level,” “it is unclear whether this correlation represents a causal relationship.” Drydakis, N. (2013). The effect of sexual activity on wages. IZA Discussion Paper No. 7529. Retrieved from http://ftp.iza.org/dp7529.pdf

  40. Sue et al. (2007), p. 274, define microinvalidations as “communications that exclude, negate, or nullify the psychological thoughts, feelings, or experiential reality of a person of color.”

  41. Gender differences in cognitive abilities are generally small or nonexistent. Gender differences in what people find interesting and enjoyable are often large, consistent across cultures, and related to exposure to prenatal hormones. For a summary of research on gender differences related to occupational choice, see Stevens, S., & Haidt, J. (2017). The Google memo: What does the research say about gender differences? Heterodox Academy. Retrieved from https://heterodoxacademy.org/the-google-memo-what-does-the-research-say-about-gender-differences

  42. Tetlock, Kristel, Elson, Green, & Lerner (2000).

  43. See Nordhaus, T., & Shellenberger, M. (2013, Winter). Wicked polarization: How prosperity, democracy, and experts divided America. The Breakthrough Institute. Retrieved from https://thebreakthrough.org/index.php/journal/past-issues/issue-3/wicked-polarization

  Chapter 12: Wiser Kids

  1. Stevens, S., & Haidt, J. (2018, March 19). The skeptics are wrong: Attitudes about free speech are changing on campus. Heterodox Academy. Retrieved from https://heterodoxacademy.org/skeptics-are-wrong-about-campus-speech

  2. Diamond, A. (2016, November 17). South Korea’s testing fixation. The Atlantic. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/11/south-korean-seniors-have-been-preparing-for-today-since-kindergarten/508031

  3. Diebelius, G. (2018, February 27). Head teacher bans children from touching snow for “health and safety” reasons. Metro News. Retrieved from http://metro.co.uk/2018/02/27/head-teacher-bans-children-touching-snow-health-safety-reasons-7345840

  4. We recognize that some children are targets of true bullying, and adults should neither ignore nor minimize behavior that falls under the definition of bullying. “The widely accepted definition of bullying involves three criteria: 1) Repetition: a child is the target of a pattern of aggressive behavior, or a child engages in a pattern of aggressive behaviors against others. 2) A power imbalance exists between the children involved (the child with more power is aggressive against the child with less power). 3) The aggressive child intends to do the other child or children harm.” Paresky, P. (2016). We’re giving bullying a bad name. Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/happiness-and-the-pursuit-leadership/201604/we-re-giving-bullying-bad-name

  5. Play:groundNYC: built for children, by children. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://play-ground.nyc. For a brief history of adventure playgrounds, visit https://play-ground.nyc/history. To see a video about this kind of playground, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=74vOpkEin_A

  6. Daniel Shuchman is also the chairman of the board of FIRE.

  7. “Let Grow License.” Available at www.LetGrow.org/LetGrowLicense

  8. Of course, the nature of an “abuse of authority” is that it exceeds what is legally allowed; accordingly, we cannot guarantee that someone won’t detain your child. Forming an advocacy group of like-minded parents, and approching local law enforcement to educate them before there’s a dispute may help avoid conflict. Additionally, this is not legal advice; it’s parenting advice. You should consult a licensed attorney in your state/province/country for legal advice.

  9. E. Christakis (personal communication, February 18, 2018).

  10. Grant, A. (2017, November 4). Kids, would you please start fighting? The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/04/opinion/sunday/kids-would-you-please-start-fighting.html

  11. The American Institute for Cognitive Therapy: https://www.cognitivetherapynyc.com

  12. R. Leahy (personal communication, January 23, 2017).

  13. Chansky (2004).

  14. Beck Institute: https://beckinstitute.org. Other CBT resources include David Burns’s classic books Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy (1980) and The Feeling Good Handbook (1999).

  15. Leahy, R. (n.d.). Anxiety files. Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/anxiety-files

  16. PTSD: National Center for PTSD. (n.d.). U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Retrieved from https://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/materials/apps/cpt_mobileapp_public.asp

  17. AnxietyCoach. (n.d.). Mayo Clinic. Retrieved from https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/anxietycoach/id565943257?mt=8. For more information on CBT apps, see ADAA-reviewed mental health apps at https://adaa.org/finding-help/mobile-apps

  18. Mindful Staff (2017, January 11). Jon Kabat-Zinn: Defining mindfulness. Mindful. Retrieved from https://www.mindful.org/jon-kabat-zinn-definin
g-mindfulness

  19. Mindful Schools. (n.d.). Research on mindfulness. Retrieved from https://www.mindfulschools.org/about-mindfulness/research. School-based mindfulness programs are also beneficial. See: Ohio Mental Health Network, Project Aware Information Brief. (n.d.). School-based mindfulness interventions. Retrieved from http://resources.oberlinkconsulting.com/uploads/infobriefs/Final_Mindfulness_Brief_No_3.pdf

  20. Rempel, K. (2012).

  21. Gelles, D. (n.d.). Mindfulness for children. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/guides/well/mindfulness-for-children

  22. Emory-Tibet Partnership (n.d.). CBCT. Retrieved from https://tibet.emory.edu/cognitively-based-compassion-training. And for a program at the University of Massachusetts Medical School that combines CBT with mindfulness (Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy), see: Center for Mindfulness. (n.d.). A mindful way through depression. MBCT: Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Retrieved from https://www.umassmed.edu/cfm/mindfulness-based-programs/mbct-courses

  23. Solzhenitsyn (1975).

  24. TED (Producer). (2011, April 26). On being wrong—Kathryn Schulz [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QleRgTBMX88

  25. We expect that we will have gotten some things wrong in this book, and we will maintain a page of corrections at TheCoddling.com, where we will thank critics for pointing out our mistakes.

  26. H. Cooper (personal communication, February 27, 2018). Also see: Cooper, Civey Robinson, & Patall (2006).

  27. SBS Dateline (Producer). (2014, October 21). No rules school [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1Y0cuufVGI

  28. This can work before school begins in the morning, too. For more information, see Let Grow. (2017, March 4). Let Grow Play Club Final [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/JX2ZG0b9I-U. The seven schools in the Patchogue-Medford school district on Long Island, NY, have been piloting the Let Grow Play Club, which involves almost no adult interference. Lori Koerner, principal at the Tremont Elementary School there, says, “This may have been one of the most amazing experiences in my 28 years in education.” She adds that she saw “No bullying . . . It’s almost like they don’t argue, because they know there’s nobody that’s gonna jump in and help them solve the problem, so they have to just get along.” See: News Desk. (2018, January 25). Pat-Med debuts before school play program. Patchogue Patch. Retrieved from https://patch.com/new-york/patchogue/pat-med-debuts-school-play-program

  29. One option is to have kids keep their phones zipped in a lockable cell phone pouch, which performing artists like comedian Dave Chappelle are beginning to require at their shows. The pouches are distributed upon entry, phones are locked inside, and while everyone still has his or her phone, they are unusable until tapped on an unlocking device and retrieved from the pouch. See, for example, Yondr. (n.d.). How it works. Retrieved from https://www.overyondr.com/howitworks

  30. American Academy of Pediatrics Policy Statement. (2013). The crucial role of recess in school. Retrieved from http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/pediatrics/early/2012/12/25/peds.2012-2993.full.pdf

  31. Intellectual Virtues Academy: http://www.ivalongbeach.org

  32. You can read book reviews, articles, and chapters of Professor Baehr’s books by going to his website: https://jasonbaehr.wordpress.com/research. There you can also download Educating for Intellectual Virtues: An Introductory Guide for College and University Instructors: https://jasonbaehr.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/e4iv_baehr.pdf

  33. International Debate Education Association: https://idebate.org/start-debate-club

  34. Intelligence Squared debates are found at https://www.intelligencesquaredus.org/debates

  35. Reeves, Haidt, & Cicirelli (2018). The book is titled All Minus One: John Stuart Mill’s Ideas on Free Speech Illustrated. A free version of the e-book can be downloaded from HeterodoxAcademy.org/mill

  36. Available at OpenMindPlatform.org

  37. Common Sense Media’s research is available at https://www.commonsensemedia.org/research

  38. Clark, Algoe, & Green (2018).

  39. The nonprofit organizations Common Sense Media and the Center for Humane Technology are working together to shift how technology affects the mind. You can find suggestions for how to reduce the negative effects of smartphone use here: http://humanetech.com/take-control

  40. In general, we oppose overmanaging and over-monitoring kids. But in this case, given the sophistication of the social media companies in manipulating users and given the high levels of self-reported device addiction among teens and the possible links to depression and suicide, we think that the use of external constraints and parental monitoring is appropriate.

  41. People report lower levels of empathy toward conversation partners in the presence of a mobile device. See: Misra, Cheng, Genevie, & Yuan, M. (2014). See also: Nauert, R. (2017, May 25). Parents’ digital distractions linked to kids’ behavioral issues. Psych Central. Retrieved from https://psychcentral.com/news/2017/05/25/parents-digital-distractions-linked-to-kids-behavioral-issues/121061.html

  42. “Regularly sleeping fewer than the number of recommended hours is associated with attention, behavior, and learning problems. Insufficient sleep also increases the risk of accidents, injuries, hypertension, obesity, diabetes, and depression. Insufficient sleep in teenagers is associated with increased risk of self-harm, suicidal thoughts, and suicide attempts.” Paruthi, S., et al. (2016). Recommended amount of sleep for pediatric populations: A consensus statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 12(6): 785–786. Retrieved from https://aasm.org/resources/pdf/pediatricsleepdurationconsensus.pdf

  43. Stanford Medicine News Center. (2015, October 8). Among teens, sleep deprivation an epidemic. Retrieved from https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2015/10/among-teens-sleep-deprivation-an-epidemic.html. See also: Twenge (2017), chapter 4.

  44. Twenge (2017). Also, in Reclaiming Conversation (2015) by MIT professor Sherry Turkle, Turkle reports that one middle school dean told her, “Twelve-year-olds play on the playground like eight-year-olds,” (p. 3). Turkle notes that children are delayed in their ability to read others’ emotions, their friendships are superficial, and there has been a general decline in empathy among college students. See also: Turkle, S. (2015, September 26). Stop Googling. Let’s talk. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/27/opinion/sunday/stop-googling-lets-talk.html

  45. Arnett (2004) wrote about “emerging adulthood” as a new phase of life in the late teens and early twenties, as marriage and parenthood started to arrive later and later in the postwar decades.

  46. Dunn, L. (2017, April 24). Why your brain would love it if you took a gap year. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/noodleeducation/2017/04/24/why-your-brain-would-love-it-if-you-took-a-gap-year/#7d59496e41e2. See also: Southwick, N. (2014, December 2). What do college admissions really think of your gap year? Retrieved from https://www.gooverseas.com/blog/what-do-college-admissions-really-think-of-your-gap-year

  47. Aspen Ideas. (n.d.). A civic rite of passage: The case for national service. Retrieved from https://www.aspenideas.org/session/civic-rite-passage-case-national-service

  48. Service Year Alliance. (n.d.). What we do. Retrieved from http://about.serviceyear.org/what_we_do

  49. McChrystal, S. (2014, November 14). How a national service year can repair America. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/mcchrystal-americans-face-a-gap-of-shared-experience-and-common-purpose/2014/11/14/a51ad4fa-6b6a-11e4-a31c-77759fc1eacc_story.html

  50. Learn more about gap years at https://www.GapYearAssociation.org

  51. Varadarajan, T. (2018, February 16). The free-speech university. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-free-speech-university-1518824261

  Chapter 13: Wiser Universities

 
; 1. To list just a few others, giving only the English translations: Brandeis University: “Truth, even unto its innermost parts”; California Institute of Technology and Johns Hopkins University: “The truth shall make you free”; Colgate University: “For God and Truth”; Howard University: “Truth and Service”; Northwestern University: “Whatsoever things are true”; University of Michigan: “Art, Science, Truth.”

  2. Pew Research Center. (2017, July 10). Sharp partisan divisions in views of national institutions: Republicans increasingly say colleges have negative impact on U.S. U.S. Politics and Policy. Retrieved from http://www.people-press.org/2017/07/10/sharp-partisan-divisions-in-views-of-national-institutions

  3. Marx wrote this line in 1845, in his Theses on Feuerbach, which was published as an appendix to Engels (1888/1976). The quoted line is on p. 65. It is also engraved in English on his tomb, in London.

  4. As we showed in chapter 5, The Evergreen State College changed its mission statement in 2011 to include the phrase “Evergreen supports and benefits from a local and global commitment to social justice . . .” Brown University has considered a similar move, as can be seen in this documentary: Montz, R. (2016). Silence U: Is the university killing free speech and open debate? We the internet documentary. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5uaVFfX3AQ. After the president spoke of Brown’s “bedrock commitment to social justice and equity,” a group of faculty members wrote, “We applaud and are hopeful about the call of the president and provost to unite around a University agenda of social justice.” Brown Faculty Members (2015, November 13). Brown faculty members: Supporting students of color in changing Brown. The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved from http://www.browndailyherald.com/2015/11/13/brown-faculty-members-supporting-students-of-color-in-changing-brown