DrEpstein.com: Building Competencies Worldwide

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STRESS MANAGEMENT Dr. Epstein has developed an innovative competencies approach to stress management. Instead of labeling people's level of stress, he has developed tools to measure the skills people need to fight stress, as well as exercises for building these skills. The Epstein Stress Management Inventory for Individuals (ESMI-i) looks at four basic competencies people need to avoid, reduce, and manage stress. The Epstein Stress Management Inventory for Managers (ESMI-m) looks at ten basic competencies that managers, teachers, parents, and other leaders need to help others to manage stress. Dr. Epstein's approach is proactive, emphasizing stress avoidance and innoculation, rather than stress reduction. Challenging the traditional view that moderate stres s is somehow beneficial, he believes that we can perform optimally without any stress whatsoever. In addition to the test instruments, Dr. Epstein has developed dozens of original games and exercises that teach us the competencies we need to remain stress free. A "mini" ESMI-i test (which does not give separate competency scores) can be taken by clicking here. An abridged ESMI-i test (which does give competency scores) is available in two of Dr. Epstein's recent books: The Big Book of Stress Relief Games (McGraw-Hill) and Stress-Management and Relaxation Activities for Trainers (McGraw-Hill). The unabridged version of the ESMI-i can be taken by clicking here, and the unabridged version of the ESMI-m is available here . Dr. Epstein is available to give lectures on the competencies approach to stress management or, on a limited basis, to lead training seminars that teach the basic skills.

SEXUAL ORIENTATION

In a 2006 article in Scientific American Mind entitled "Do Gays Have a Choice?," Dr. Epstein attempted to answer a troubling question with scientific objectivity. He argued that the terms "gay" and "straight" are problematic, because sexual orientation actually exists on a continuum, with most people feeling attracted to people of both sexes at some point.

His online test, the Epstein Sexual Orientation Inventory (ESOI), allows you to determine where you are on the Sexual Orientation Continuum, and it also reveals your "Sexual Orientation Range," which is an estimate of the degree of choice people have in expressing their sexual orientation.

To take the ESOI free of charge, click here. The test is now available in 12 languages, all of which are listed in the English version.

An article by Dr. Epstein and his colleagues summarizing their findings about sexual orientation with a sample of nearly 18,000 people in 48 countries can be downloaded here.

Published in the Journal of Homosexuality, the study may help ease the pain of people who have doubts about their sexual orientation. It might also lower the volume on the rancorous political debate about whether people can "choose" their sexual orientation. It presents a new theory of sexual orientation - the "Fluid-Continuum Model" - which suggests that sexual orientation is best described by two values: a number indicating where one's sexual orientation lies on the Sexual Orientation Continuum and a number indicating one's Sexual Orientation Range.

Major findings of the study:

1) Sexual orientation is not properly described by two or three category labels; rather, as Kinsey asserted nearly a century ago, sexual orientation exists smoothly on a continuum. It's more like height than eye color. Forcing people to adopt simplistic labels causes many people great distress, because there is necessarily a disconnect between the label they adopt and their actual sexual behaviors, fantasies, and attractions. The new study quantifies the disconnect, which is substantial, and it also confirms that the greater the disconnect, the more stress anxiety people feel about their sexual orientation.

2) Few people - possibly even less than 10 percent of the population - are exclusively straight or gay throughout their lives. Most people experience some degree of same-sex attraction at some point. In a society that was completely free of sexual orientation stigma, most people would probably be bisexual, as Freud suggested a century ago.

3) People differ not only in where their interests anchor on the Sexual Orientation Continuum - their "Mean Sexual Orientation" (MSO) - but also in their "Sexual Orientation Range" (SOR) - roughly, how much flexibility they have in expressing their sexual orientation. Some people have a wide SOR, some a very narrow SOR. This goes to the heart of the debate about how much "choice" people have in expressing sexual orientation - and about how far someone can go in altering his or her sexual orientation. The new study quantifies SOR and shows how it differs by demographic category.

4) Gender differences in sexual orientation are even greater than previously suspected. On average, women are not only more same-sex attracted than men (higher MSOs), they also have larger SORs than men.

5) The Sexual Orientation Continuum looks about the same for people in the U.S. as it does for people in more than 200 countries around the world (in aggregate). This finding is consistent with the assertion made by Sigmund Freud, Alfred Kinsey and others that bisexuality is the human norm.

Dr. Epstein has recently completed a much larger study - the largest study of sexual orientation ever conducted, with more than 1.2 million people in 215 countries and territories - which confirms and extends the previous findings. A paper summarizing the results of this study is currently under review by a scientific journal. The paper also presents a new theory of sexual orientation - Social Pressure Theory - along with mathematical and computational models that express the theory in formal terms.

SiriusXM RADIO

"I’m Deepak Chopra, and you’re listening
to Dr. Robert Epstein. He’ll open your world
to the field of infinite possibilities."

Between 2005 and 2008, Dr. Epstein hosted a program called Psyched!® on SiriusXM Radio, which aired throughout the U.S. and Canada. The show offered an authoritative look at mental health and behavior and featured timely commentaries by Dr. Epstein, informative interviews with thought leaders, and answers to listeners' questions.

"Hi, this is Carrie Fisher, and you're
listening to Dr. Robert Epstein. If you want
sanity, you’ve come to the right place."

On Psyched!® and other programs he has hosted, Dr. Epstein has interviewed more than 200 notable individuals, among them: Jimmy Carter, Laura Bush, Tipper Gore, Dr. Ruth Westheimer (3 times), Jamie Lee Curtis, Steve Allen (twice), Ed McMahon, Susan Sarandon, Carrie Fisher, Maria Shriver, Buzz Aldrin, Mariel Hemingway, U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher (4 times), members of Congress, and presidents of the American Psychological Association and other professional organizations. Journalists from TIME, Newsweek, The New York Times, The Washington Post and other news outlets also joined Dr. Epstein regularly to discuss advances in mental health and the behavioral sciences.

"Hello, this is Fred Rogers from Mr. Rogers
neighborhood, and you're listening to Dr. Robert
Epstein. We’re glad to be your neighbor."

Dr. Epstein's radio career spans 18 years and includes commentaries for NPR's "Marketplace," specials for the Voice of America (broadcast worldwide), local shows and commentaries in San Diego (KPBS and KCEO), nationally broadcast weekly shows on the Cable Radio Network and the Catholic Radio Network, and a live, two-hour, Monday-through-Friday show on eYada.com. In addition to his regular show on Sirius, Dr. Epstein also contributed podcasts (available on iTunes) and one-minute short-form pieces that aired eight times a day.

"Hi this is Marla Maples, and you’re listening
to Dr. Robert Epstein. He may not be as rich as
Donald Trump, but he’s a much better listener."

If you're a radio professional or sponsor interested in developing new programming with Dr. Epstein, call Laura at OutInFront Publicity at 1-206-339-8311.

"This is Dr. Albert Ellis of The Albert Ellis
Institute in New York, and when I get
irrational, I talk to Dr. Robert Epstein, and
I stop my irrationality and start thinking
straight again."

SAMPLE AUDIO FILES

Ed McMahon promo (14 sec)

Marla Maples promo (16 sec)

Buzz Aldrin promo (19 sec)

Carrie Fisher promo (19 sec)

Depression by Profession (60 sec)

Full segment with Dr. Ruth Westheimer and answers to listeners' questions (11 min).

Snippets from previous shows featuring Jimmy Carter, Maria Shriver, Laura Bush, Christie Brinkley and more (6 min).

Podcast: The Truth About Media Violence (7 min)

PEACE

On December 30, 1990, Dr. Epstein published an article in The Washington Post entitled "How About One Day of Peace?," calling for a worldwide armistice on January 1, 2000, the first day of the new millenium. The article was soon reprinted in the International Herald Tribune and other periodicals, including both The Egyptian Gazette and The Jerusalem Post—perhaps an unprecedented occurrence. Dr. Epstein's article and subsequent proposals made by others led to efforts to achieve the millenium-day armistice by more than 1,000 organizations and many prominent individuals, including the United Nations, the U.S. Congress, and Pope John Paul II.

Dr. Epstein continued to be an advocate for peace in editorials he published in Psychology Today during the years he served as editor-in-chief. To view his 2001 article about the 9/11 attack, "Day of Tragedy, Day of Growth," click here. To view his 2003 article, "Of Ants and Men: The Lust for War," click here. To view the original Washington Post article, click here. The full text appears below.

Dr. Epstein has also advanced peace efforts through his founding of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies in 1981. At the time of his retirement as Executive Director in 1990, more than 130 distinguished individuals in 18 countries served on Center boards. The Center's mission is to advance the behavioral sciences and their humane applications to human affairs. Current Center activities are reported at http://behavior.org.

How About One Day of Peace?

Robert Epstein

There are nearly 30 million soldiers in the world, and the United Nations estimates that more than 200,000 of them are children. What's more, many are fighting and dying every day, even when the headlines fail to remind us. A recent yearbook of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute documents 32 major armed conflicts during 1989 alone, with several brutal new wars too new to make the list. In all, more than 20 million people—most of them civilians—have died in armed conflicts around the world since 1945, with no sign of real change.

Total disarmament may be too much to ask for. Self-interest and fear may prevent it forever. Persuasive people will argue the need for aggression or defense or deterrence, and enough people will be persuaded to cause trouble. Remember, too, that war is one of the biggest, most successful businesses in the world, to the tune of nearly a trillion dollars in expenditures each year.

But how about a day, just a single day of peace? Could we not at least try that? No monarchs would fall, no one's borders would be threatened, no one would lose a sale or a job—not in just a day.

January 1st of the year 2000 marks the beginning of a new year, a new decade, a new century, and a new millennium.¹ It is only the second such day in the calendar of human history, and it is within reach, so near we can almost touch it. Most of the people alive today—and the vast majority of all of the children alive today—will witness this extraordinary day.

Why not begin the next thousand years with a day of peace on earth?

For much of the world, the day will be a holiday, anyway. Even if we did no special planning, fighting would slack off. Why not make the moratorium complete?

It will take a great deal of work by many political, religious, and military leaders, many governments, many service organizations, and many private citizens around the world to engineer a global truce, but it's well within the realm of the sober realities under which we live.

How do we convince all of the relevant parties to lay down their arms, and how can we prevent some trigger-happy bully from ruining the day? Should we pay people off who cannot otherwise be persuaded? Should we call out the hit squads? Should we trade wheat —or perhaps even weapons—for cease-fires? Some planning and hard work will yield reasonable answers to such questions. We have nearly a decade. We can do it in that time. It's a reachable goal.

The behavioral sciences tell us that a little goal setting can go a long way. If we work together to create this remarkable day, we will behave better toward each other along the way. We will long for this day and envision this day, and we will be better for it.

If we achieve this day of peace, it will be remembered for all time by all humanity. It will tell us that the cycle of war can be broken, that peace is truly within our grasp, that humanity, with all its flaws and in all its diversity, is good.

And maybe—just maybe—this day without war, this single day of perfect peace, will last another day.

Note

1. Calendar purists may argue for January 1, 2001.

Originally published in The Washington Post, December 30, 1990. ©1990, Dr. Robert Epstein. The article also appears in Dr. Epstein's book, Cognition, Creativity, and Behavior: Selected Essays, under the title "A Day of Peace on Earth."

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