Psychology in Everyday Life: The Psych Files

How many times have you wanted to remember a joke at a party but you just can't? Well, there IS a way to remember jokes and I have got 4 jokes to tell you along with a mnemonic that will help you remember all 4 of them. I challenge you to listen to these 4 jokes, then listen to my mnemonic and then wait a little while and go through the mnemonic and I guarantee that you'll remember all 4 jokes. Remembering anything for more than a few minutes requires not only repetition, but also something else that will make the to-be-remembered thing stick in your head. That thing can be a mnemonic device. In this episode I'll use a combination of the keyword technique, crazy images and a modified approach to the method of loci. I'll use your body to help you remember these jokes. Let's have some fun.

You may have heard that Facebook manipulated the content of user's New Feeds during January of 2012 so that some users saw more positive posts than others, which other Facebook users saw more negative posts. How did this affect these users? Did those who say negative posts become more negative and vice versa? The answer is that the research indicates that some of them - though a very, very few of them - did subsequently write posts that were similar to the ones that saw on their News Feed. How big of an effect is this? Is it unethical? Does agreeing to Facebook's Terms of Use constitute "informed consent". I examine these questions in this episode of The Psych Files.

In episode 217 I asked you to be frank with yourself: does your animal really think? It's easy to believe they do, but if you're going to study this issue scientifically you have to eliminate our human tendency to anthropomorphize - to want to believe that animal actions are motivated by internal states. Well, here's a roundup of a few articles I found in my PsycExplorer app (PsycExplorerHD for iPad) which show exactly what psychologists are doing to find out what exactly is going on (if anything...) in the minds of dogs, cats, rats, chickens and yes fruit flies. Are they really thinking in there? Well, maybe so. These examples certainly convinced me, although it might all depend on what you mean by "thinking" and "feeling". We also find out how we react to those sudden thoughts that jump into our minds - what do they mean? Are thoughts that jump into our mind more significant than thoughts that we actively think about?

Surveys find that psychologists tend to align themselves with a liberal political orientation. Why is that? Are liberal-minded people drawn to human service professions or is there something about working in human services that causes people to become more liberal in their political views? In this episode I propose a few ideas that I think explains why mental health professionals tend to be on the liberal side of the political spectrum. I invite your constructive feedback on these suggestions.

Guess what? There are a good number of positives to growing older. Let's put aside all the negative stereotypes of older folks and realize that they can demonstrate a surprising level of "coolness" about life. There's a certain perspective you get when you're older that's enviable. Older folks have passed many of life's challenges and they can look back with satisfaction. But they also can have a surprising nonchalance about the challenges they face which we - as younger people - often think would make us terribly unhappy. Let's take another look at aging and see it from a different light.

It's easy to find videos on the web of animals showing what appears to be some pretty smart behavior. But is it really "smarts"? How can you tell? In this episode I'll point out examples that look like intelligence but probably aren't - as well as an example of animal behavior that is really hard to dismiss as anything but "smarts". In doing so we'll talk about the behavioral principle of "chaining" - the method by which you can get animals - and humans - to display some pretty sophisticated and complex behavior as the result of reinforcement, prompts and cues.

How can you find the best videos on YouTube? In this video episode of The Psych Files you are going to learn some crazy power tips that will alert you whenever whenever a video from a credible source gets added to a YouTube playlist. You will be the first to know. And you can find out not only by receiving an email, but - if you want - you can also get a phone call when that video is ready for you! Don't waste your time - there are some crazy new ways to efficiently search the web and here is how I do it.

The idea of working from home sounds great - but be aware of the downside. In this episode of The Psych Files I talk about what factors influence your job satisfaction and motivation when you work from home. I also discuss the interesting concept of "emotional labor" - what is it like when you know your boss is watching you and judging whether you are "acting happy" to customers? What's the cost to you of acting in a way that is contrary to how you actually feel?

Have you ever wondered what it was like to be a patient in an "insane asylum"? "Asylums" changed names over the years (including "State Hospital" and "Psychiatric Center") and so did the treatment o fate mentally ill. Hear from Dr. Jennifer Bazar how we went from chaining people up to hydrotherapy to sexual surgery and finally to what is called "moral treatment". A fascinating walk down the history of psychology with an engaging psychology historian.

We all know that adolescence is a time of change and often a tough time for the teen. But what about the parent? Today's parents are often older than years ago, and today's parents are sometimes going through their own self-examination, their own doubts, their own exploration. What happens when you bring those two together? Sometimes a lot of yelling frankly. In this episode I talk about the changes going on in the adolescent and in the older parent and how parents can avoid the yelling and the accusations that only undermine what the teen is going through and how parents can step back and examine themselves. A little understanding can go a long way.

We don't have to pay you to get you to do things - you're already a curious person. How does our attraction to puzzles, questions, and unsolved mysteries get used to get us to click on videos or blog posts? And how can it be used to get students to want to learn? You'll find out that there are ways to get students excited about learning without having to pay them and there are ways to attract people to your content by tapping into their curiosity. Just don't overuse it (watch out UpWorthy) and don't fail to deliver! Hopefully this episode will deliver on introducing you to some new ideas to help you motivate others.

What are the psychological themes in the movie the Matrix? In this episode I talk about connections between the Matrix and Jung's idea of the Collective Unconscious, Joseph Campbell's notion of the Hero's Journey and some recent research that explains why you experience Déjà vu. Also, can you change your whole world by thinking differently about it? Let's find out what psychologists (well at least me) think about this fascinating movie.

We face more moral "dilemmas" in everyday life than maybe we realize. How do we resolve them? In this episode I discuss two interesting moral dilemmas: a) should you employ for-hire crowds of actors to attend your event in order to make it look like you're more popular that maybe you really are? and b) should you place your advertisements on web and print pages in such a way that they don't really look like ads at all? I discuss the moral questions involved in "native advertising". We're all getting really good at using technology to avoid advertisements, but as we all know, "there's no such thing as a free lunch" - companies have to get you to find out about their products and hopefully buy them. But when do we step over the line? Is a little deception okay?

Need to memorize Lawrence Kohlberg's stages of moral development really quickly? This is what you're looking for - a brief audio podcast in which I give you some crazy images that will stick in your mind for a really long time. You'll be surprised at how quickly you'll have the six stages memorized. Some of my listeners have actually said that the mnemonics have stuck in the stuck in their head for years! Whether you are studying for a psychology test or a nursing exam, you will find this a fun and effective way to learn. I challenge you to listen to this episode and then quiz yourself a few hours later. You'll be pleasantly surprised. Let's memorize!

In this actual fake recording we hear how Freud might have handled your call to an anonymous technical support service. Can you identify each of the following Freudian techniques in this episode?

The elaboration likelihood model is complicated name for a not too complicated idea. In this under 2 minute video I explain the key idea.

Would you believe there's a lot of psychology you can fit into a 6 second vine? Well there is. In this video episode I show you a few of there vines I like and which are also good (unintended) demonstrates of a variety of psychological concepts. I think you'll have fun with this one.

Its time to hear from someone who has been diagnosed with autism what life is like. Alex Lowery joins us to talk about growing up with autism - about the heightened sensations, the frustrations of not being understood and what has helped him get to where he is today. At 20, Alex gives talks about his life. I think you'll get some fascinating insights.

In this interview with Paul Brodie, author of Secondhand Autism, we talk about what it is like to grow up in a family with an autistic individual. As you can imagine, there are challenges, but ultimately there lessons to be learned about life. Listen to what Paul has to say about his brother Scott and to what it was like for Paul, his siblings and his parents - what they sacrificed and how they grew from it.

How do you use psychology persuasion techniques to get people to contribute to your cause? That's what I discuss in this episode of The Psych Files. I'm trying to help my friend raise money and in doing so I employed a number of persuasion strategies to get people to help him out and I'm sure these ideas will be helpful to you as well. We'll look at how Cialdini's ideas can be applied to fundraising and we'll look at other topics you may have studied in a psychology class: goal setting, bystander apathy, and the need to generate excitement in order to persuade people to part with their money. I'll also look at the ethics of all this. Is it okay to use these strategies on people? When is it not okay? Hopefully an interesting an useful episode up ahead.

What are psychologists doing watching dancers? They're trying to get a better understanding of how a dancer's emotions affect the way they move. These researchers used some sophisticated equipment - including a motion capture apparatus - to analyze exactly how people moved while they were experiencing different emotional states. I think you'll find what they did and what they found to be quite interesting. If you're interested in dance and psychology you'll get a glimpse of how these two fields can be combined. That's one of the things about psychology: you can apply it to so many areas of life, including dance.

Need to memorize Freud's stages for a test? Here's a mnemonic that should do the trick. This is the audio version of video episode 202 in which the founder of psychoanalysis gives you a mnemonic and explains the 5 stages for you. Make sure to check out these other Psych Files episodes for psychology mnemonics: How to Memorize the Parts of the Brain, How to Memorize Erikson's Eight Stages, and How to Memorize Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development. I love mnemonics here on The Psych Files so if you need to memorize anything else let me know!

Need to memorize Freud's stages for a test? Here's a mnemonic that should do the trick. In this brief video, the founder of psychoanalysis gives you a mnemonic and explains the 5 stages for you. Make sure to check out these other Psych Files episodes for psychology mnemonics: How to Memorize the Parts of the Brain, How to Memorize Erikson's Eight Stages, and How to Memorize Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development. I love mnemonics here on The Psych Files so if you need to memorize anything else let me know!

We know that many people have a tendency to blame victims even when something tragic and unexplainable happens to them. But did you know how easily this blaming can be triggered? If I were to describe a natural disaster and tell you about "mother nature's wrath" would you be more or less willing to help the victims? I'll also talk about two common occurrences in adolescence: the imaginary audience and the personal fable. Find out them in this episode of The Psych Files.

Thank you so much for listening to The Psych Files for the past 6 1/2 years. In this episode I provide a little background on how the podcast started and what has happened as it grew over the years. It just past 8 million downloads and I want to share a few thoughts on this with you.

How do you create a sense of depth in a flat image? In this video I'll show you how to use 5 principles of depth perception to turn a flat image into one that looks like it has depth. I'll be drawing from terms you would learn about in a chapter from a psychology text on Sensation and Perception. We'll have a little fun exploring how we can use what your brain expects to see to trick it into seeing what we want it to see.

A lot of people find psychology interesting. But what is it really like to work in the field? A tough question to answer because the field is so broad. In this episode of The Psych Files podcast I'll share my thoughts on the difference between learning about psychology and actually doing psychology as a career. It's a tough thing to capture because psychologists could spend their day doing psychotherapy, or working with inmates in prison, conducting research with children or doing complex statistical analyses. Some careers in psychology pay well while others pay poorly. A job in psychology can also cause burnout because of the heavy demands. I hope to give you some valuable things to think about it you're thinking about a career in psychology.

Should we stop using "Guys" to refer to groups of women and mixed sex groups? Why do we (particularly men) refer to many objects - like cars and boats - as "she"? Are everyday foods actually "SuperNormal" foods - created to be absolutely irresistible and therefore causing us to be overweight? Is it okay to employ robot to care for our elderly? And finally, how come the ending of a movie can "ruin the whole thing" if it's not a good ending? After all, you enjoyed most of the movie. In this episode I try to address these questions. We'll talk about all these things in this episode of The Psych Files.

Are jail time and new laws the only answers to men's violence against women, children, and other men? Or is there something every man can do to end these tragedies? In an earlier episode of The Psych Files in which I discussed Blaming the Victim, I talked about why there's a tendency to blame victims and to overlook the Optimism Bias that we all share (particularly younger folks). But podcast listener and psychotherapist Jackie Henry felt that I didn't go far enough in that episode, and she was right. We - especially men - need to think carefully about the way we talk about women in our everyday lives. Was that joke really funny? Or was it one of the small ingredients that eventually adds up to - or contributes to - the ongoing violence and lack of empathy that those with power express toward those without it. We take up this important issue in this episode of The Psych files.

Do you need to memorize Piaget's stages for a test? You've found what you're looking for. I'll use some familiar mnemonics ("1 is a bun", etc.) and some wacky images to get those stages - and what during them - into your mind. You'll be able to remember when object permanence occurs, when children are capable of asiimilation and accomdation, abstract and logical thinking, conservation of energy - it's all here. Take the time to watch this video, learn about mnemonics and memorize Piaget's stages of cognitive development once and for all!

What do I/0 psychologists do anyway? Are you interested in this subfield of psychology? Well, here are a few things they DON'T do: they don't do "therapy in the workplace" and they don't do "motivational speaking". It's not what you think. Industrial/Organizational psychology is practiced by professionals who's goal is to make sure that employees are productive and - and here's what I'll focus on in this episode - that job applicants are chosen based upon the skills and personality characteristics that are relevant to the jobs they are applying for. Find out more in this episode of The Psych Files.

There is a lot of talk about mindfulness among psychologists today. Find out what mindfulness is and how it differs from meditation in this episode of The Psych Files. What might you use mindfulness for? Well, in addition to what you might expect - reducing stress - mindfulness training is also being used to improve job satisfaction and productivity. Interested in increasing your score on the GRE? Being more mindful might also help out there as well.

What do psychologists really think about your dreams - do they have meaning? In this episode I talk about what psychologists think today about dreams. You probably know that Freud thought that dreams had a manifest content (the people and things that happened in the dream that you remember) and a latent content (the unconscious meaning of the dream). Do we still think this? Also: can you look up in a book or online to find out what your dreams meant? If you dream about a cat for example - what does this mean? In this episode I explore these questions with author and psychoanalyst Kerry Malawista. She and her colleagues discuss this topic in their book, Wearing My Tutu To Analysis. I'll talk to her and include my own thoughts about whether or not dreams have meaning and whether you should be taking the time to analyze them.

Would you be surprised to learn that B.F. Skinner was a very likable guy and that you may actually be very much in agreement with his ideas? Many people who study psychology have a negative impression of Skinner. Well, I'm about to challenge those impressions by presenting a side of Skinner you probably haven't been exposed to. In these sound bytes you'll hear his ideas about learning to play music, about discovery, having fun and becoming the most that you can be.

Have you ever gotten to immersed in a book or movie that you actually felt like the character? Or you felt the character's pain or joy? Why does this happen? When does this happen? What is it about the book or the movie and its characters that draws us in like this? It's amazing isn't it? To be so moved like this. Psychologists have studied this experience and we have some ideas regarding what factors have to be present in order for this to happen. And would you believe that this understand might help us to combat racism and bullying? Pretty amazing stuff. Join me as I explore what psychologists call "experience taking".

We have some great articles covered in this episode so I hope you find them thought-provoking. We cover four topics, all of which can be relevant to your everyday life. First, a throwback to a previous episode on how to spend your money; experiences only beat out material possessions if they are spent with others. Social settings beat solitary settings every time.Next, did you know a social networking site you frequent may be your approach to impression management? Yes, I am talking about Facebook. Untagging, deleting, and liking certain pages, the site gives you the ability to boost your first impression and prospective employers are treating your wall like a newer, more honest resume.As a college student there are two things I love: procrastinating and sleeping. Our third article revolves around memory and its relation to sleep. No more all nighters cramming for exams; slow wave sleep is the key to memory recall and academic success, but only in young adults.Lastly, we found how smiling can lower dominance in serious situations. If you’re going to get in a fight you better do it with a frown.

Didn't get the flu this past winter? Thank a psychologist. What? Well, it could be that a psychologist was involved in helping health care professionals to do what they know they need to do (but sometimes don't): wash their hands. The issue here is persuasion and motivation: how to we get people to do something - and keep doing it? Health care workers like doctors and nurses can fall prey to the availability heuristic: they can easily remember times when they didn't wash their hands and they didn't get sick so they might develop an "illusion of invulnerability". How do psychologists get involved to solve this problem? Listen to this episode and find out.

How would you like to have an argument? Turns out that learning how to have a good argument might just be the best way to learn to think critically. In this episode I discuss a neat piece of research in which 7 and 8 year olds are taught how to effectively argue. And they do a darn good job of it as it turns out. Perhaps this is the way to teach our young people critical thinking: give them some great books to read - like The Giving Tree - and have them discuss what they think about it. The key ingredient: making sure that they fully understand the point of view of the other person. This'll be fun. I promise. Especially since I've got a couple funny clips from Monty Python's Argument Clinic sketch to help move things along.

Everyone was horrified to hear that an adolescent, Adam Lanza, walked into an elementary school and killed 20 children and 6 adults as well as killing himself. Many people have offered their view as to what was wrong with Adam and about what we could have done and should do to prevent these incidents. In this episode I'll share my concerns over what I think is going wrong with community mental health centers and why they probably would NOT have been able to help Adam, which is the extraordinary focus on productivity - the application of the factory model - to current mental health settings. I also introduce one approach that might help if more mental health centers adopted it, which is the "Sanctury Model".

Transference and Countertransference are two key concepts in psychoanalysis and they are fascinating. If you're interested in the therapy side of psychology - particularly psychoanalysis - this is the episode for you. Kerry Malawista, psychoanalyst and author, along with Anne Adeleman and Catherine Anderson, talks about their new book, "Wearing My Tutu To Analysis". In this episode we focus on two of the stories in the book, which focus on transference and countertransference.

In episode 183 I talked about what critical thinking is and why it's important. Now we talk about why it's so darn hard to teach and to use critical thinking in our everyday lives. In this episode I'll discuss Dr. Daniel Willingham's advice to teachers on what they can do to effectively teach critical thinking - something that couldn't be more important in today's world where misinformation is all around us. Make sure to take a look at the concept map below.

Depression and other mental health problems are often treated with medications which are called Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors and/or Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors. How do they work? I'll show you in this brief video. More free psychology resources at The Psych Files website and podcast: http://www.ThePsychFiles.com

Why does it concern psychologists that the Texas GOP platform recently opposed the teaching of critical thinking? Most of us have been told since we were very young that critical thinking is very important. Psychologists certainly agree and a lot of time spent in most psychology classes is spent learning how to think critically. Why is it such a central part of our classes? And here's a kicker: it might be a lot harder to teach it than we had hoped. Find out why critical thinking is so central to psychology. Sounds kinda dry? I think you'll find this a lot of fun (in a mental kind of way…).

Maybe you've heard of gamification, but how do you do it exactly? How do you use game principles to increase people's motivation when they are doing everyday ordinary activities? Find out in this episode of The Psych Files when I show you how I would gamify an ordinary uHaul drive. Listen as I describe "uWin!". I'll first describe some gamification ideas and then show you how I'd put them to work in this rather ordinary truck driving situation. I'll think you'll have fun.