Psychology in Everyday Life: The Psych Files

Do you have a dull job? Wonder how it can be made more motivating? That's the challenge - how can we make jobs that are typically not much fun (like an assembly line job) more interesting to do? This is one of the challenges facing I/O psychologists and in this episode I discuss the Job Characteristics theory by Hackman and Oldham and apply it to assembly line jobs in China where your iPhone is made and where a record number of suicides have occurred over the past few years. Can we use job redesign to make such jobs more tolerable? 1 Million Workers. 90 Million iPhones. 17 Suicides. Who’s to Blame?

You've probably heard that the so called "Lie Detector" test (the polygraph)doesn't actually detect when you've lied, but rather just takes some physiological measures from your body and these have to be interpreted by experts. Sometimes those experts make mistakes. Join me as I describe a psychological study that tested a new kind of "Lie Detector" - drawings. This study involved Agents, Missions, an Interception, and a mysterious "package". This is psychology? You better believe it.

In this episode I put Jack Lalanne "on the couch". I take selections from several of his vidoes and see what they reveal about his personality. He was clearly passionate about exercise, but what drove this passion? What was his underlying motivation? I suggest that his relationship with his father was crucial to his passion for exercise and fitness. Join me as I do a little armchair psychoanalysis of Jack Lalanne.Jack Lalanne The Ripped and the Righteous

I'll bet you've heard of the expression, "Whatever doesn't kill you...", or "Suffering is good for the soul". Could these expression represent another way that we deal with our own anxiety after we hear about someone else's tragedy? Could they be another way of blaming the victim? In this episode I explore the Justice Motive.

Have you watched the TV show Walking Dead or ever seen a movie about Zombies (perhaps Zombieland or Dawn of the Dead? What is so fascinating about the undead? Why do many of us get a strange pleasure out of seeing a zombie get killed? In this episode I explore that strange part of ourselves which for some reason seems to enjoy watching the undead get really dead.

Can science study love? Are we able to scientifically determine what romance is all about? There seem to be times, particularly when people hold strong beliefs, that we just don't want to hear what scientists have to say. We talk a lot these days about the importance of objectivity, but are people - even scientists - capable of being objective? In this episode I'll talk about the scientific impotence excuse. Another interesting cognitive bias we seem to carry around with us. Walter Cronkite: The Man With America's Trust

In part 2 of my interview with Adele Faber, co-author along with Elaine Mazlish of "How To Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk" we talk about what do do when you've got nothing left emotionally to give to your children, how to handle foul language, how to problem solve with your children, and being authentic with your children about own feelings. Finally, Adele gives her opinion on whether or not we need to be tougher with our children. Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish

Are you familiar with Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish's classic book "How To Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk"? You should be. It's not just for parents. The ideas in this book and in their other books should be required reading for all of us, but especially for parents, therapists and anyone interested in what we can do to better communicate with each other. I think you will be as charmed as I was listening to Adele and I encourage you to listen to part 2 of this interview (to be released in about a week). The Faber Mazlish Website Parent Wonder - good site with a summary of Faber/Mazlish ideas

What do you think of hypnosis? might you be surprised to hear that it has been accepted by the American Psychological Association? Hypnosis has a fascinating and controversial history but today it deserves some respect. Still, it's not a cure-all. Take a trip with me through the history of this fascinating topic on The Psych Files.

Are you embarrassed to take your clothes off in front of your doctor? Most of us are. Well, what if your doctor was a robot? Would this make it easier or harder to remove your clothes? Before you answer - would it matter if the robot looked like a real person or if it looked like R2-D2? That's the question we examine this week on The Psych Files. Video: The influence of robot anthropomorphism on the feelings of embarrassment when interacting with robots Channel N article and video

What part of your brain is lighting up when you're singing? In this episode I take a look at a neat new study that involved having singers lie down in an MRI while their brains were scanned. Take a look at how your cerebellum, your parietal lobe your somato-sentory cortex and your amygdala are all involved in your ability to sing. I'll also look at how mental rehearsal can positively affect how well you perform a task. Kleber, B., Veit, R., Birbaumer, N., Gruzelier, J., & Lotze, M. (2009). The Brain of Opera Singers: Experience-Dependent Changes in Functional Activation. Cerebral Cortex, 20 (5), 1144-1152.Cerebral CortexZarate, J.M. and Zatorre, R.J. (2008). Experience-dependent neural substrates involved in vocal pitch regulation during singing. NeuroImage, 40, 1871–1887.Kleber, B. Birbaumer, N., Veit, R. Trevorrow, T. and Lotze, M. (2007). Overt and imagined singing of an Italian aria. NeuroImage, 36, 889-900.Buonomano DV, Merzenich MM. 1998. Cortical plasticity: from synapses to maps. Annu Rev Neurosci. 21:149-186.Elbert T, Pantev C, Wienbruch C, Rockstroh B, Taub E. 1995. Increased cortical representation of the fingers of the left hand in string players. Science. 270:305-307.Gunji A, Ishii R, Chau W, Kakigi R, Pantev C. 2007. Rhythmic brain activities related to singing in humans. Neuroimage. 34:426-434.Nielsen JB, Cohen LG. 2008. The Olympic brain. Does corticospinal plasticity play a role in acquisition of skills required for high- performance sports? J Physiol. 586:65--70.Opera singing in the brain scanner

Here's a fun piece of psychological research: finding out whether children use statistical information to figure out other people. We know kids are very perceptive and learn quickly. This study shows just how smart they really are. You may also have been told that statistics is just logic and intuition. This study may just convince you of that. Kushnir, T., Xu, F. & Wellman, H. M. (2010). Young children use statistical sampling to infer the preferences of others. Psychological Science, 21,1134-1140.

If you've ever met a famous person you know how exciting that feels. But why? What is it about fame that draws so many people to it? In this episode I examine fame from two very perspectives: the Basking in Reflected Glory theory and Terror Management Theory. Along the way we'll see what this all has to do with the rock band Queen, baseball and Chelsea Clinton's wedding.

Okay, admit it - you have some kind of lucky charm on you, your car or in your house. And if you participate in any sport or performance activity you have some sort of ritual that you believe will help make you more successful. Well guess what - there is research to show that such charms and rituals really do help you perform better. Find out how in this episode of The Psych Files. YouTube: Professor Hood on Superstition

You've probably heard about these Brain Training games. Do they really help you to keep your mind sharp? Will they prevent cognitive decline or slow the effects of alzheimer's disease? In this episode I review some recent studies on the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of these popular games.

Everyone can picture one of those phrenology heads with personality traits drawn into different sections of the cranium. Was there anything to that? Well, not exactly. However, with the use of MRI scans researchers today may have found something just about as good - they may have located where certain personality traits lie in your brain. Travel with me into a 3D brain and let's find out where your personality may lie.

There are many reasons why it is difficult to lose weight, but have you considered how supernormal stimuli might be one of them? In this episode I discuss some of the ideas in the books Waistland and Supernormal Stimuli by Dierdre Barrett. Is it possible that the old saying Everything in Moderation might just be wrong? And will Small Changes really help you to get in shape or are radical changes really the way to go?

For some reason we believe that our memories are accurate. They are far from it. What we remember is a hodge-podge, a patchwork of images, stories, and bits and pieces from our past. In this episode I describe some of the very interesting research showing how our memories can be manipulated in surprising ways. Learn why you loved asparagus as a kid (really you did, really).

Would you be surprised if I told you that your memories of the attacks on September 11, 2001 are inaccurate? How much of what you remember of that day or of other Flashbulb Memories actually happened? Where were you, for example, when the Challenger shuttle blew up? Or when Princess Diana died? Join me as I explore the research that reveals how inaccurate our memories are (no matter how confident we feel). And by the way, was President Bush involved in a conspiracy over the events of September 11? Let's find out.

What do your dog and Shakespeare have in common? Well, they both use a Theory of Mind. Join me for this video episode in which I look at this fascinating idea of theory of mind and the unique and fun research that has been done around it. And yes, you might pick up an idea of how to test your dog to see if your dog can actually read your mind.

What does the movie Shrek have to do with labeling, psychiatric illness and the self-fulfilling prophecy? In this episode I take a close look at the well-known Rosenhan study. This was the study in which pseudopatients pretend to hear voices and on the basis of this they get admitted to psychiatric centers. Then they were told to act normally. It took an average of 19 days for these pseudopatients to be discharged from the hospital and even then they were diagnosed as schizophrenia in remission. Does this study show that psychiatric diagnoses are not only useless but also possibly harmful? Or do we find what we found back in episode 47 on Little Albert, and what we found in episode 36 on Kitty Genovese that what we thought we knew is largely wrong.

In this video episode I show you 10 of what I consider to be the best psychology apps in the app store. There are a lot of apps out there and many are not so good, but in this episode I pick out what I consider to be credible therapy apps, excellent mobile mind mapping tools, relaxation apps, games based on Gestalt principles of psychology, and some of the best 3 dimensional ways to look at the brain.

Have you ever deliberately replaced small words with bigger ones in order to sound more intelligent? Guess what - it usually doesn't work. In a series of studies Daniel Oppenheimer showed that writers actually came across as less intelligent when they used big words where smaller ones would have worked just as well. The bottom line: take the time to understand what you want to say and then say it in plain, ordinary language.

Have you ever been less than truthful in an email? Or perhaps a little more blunt or emotional than you might have been if you delivered your message in person? Why is it that people can sometimes be so mean in their online comments? In this episode I explore why we communicate differently in the online world than we do in person by discussing an article on the finer points of lying online.

A lot of people get into psychology because they think they are good listeners, but are you really a good listener? What does it mean to be a good listener? In this episode I look at a fascinating acting exercise created by Sanford Meisner called the "repetition exercise" which trains actors how to truly listen. Are you as good a listener as these trained actors?

What is it like to live with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or OCD? Listen to this interview with a young woman who deals with OCD every day and you'll get a much better understanding of what OCD is like. You have probably heard of the term OCD and perhaps you've seen shows like Monk or you've seen characters on TV and in the movies who show symptoms of obsessional thoughts or compulsive behaviors and perhaps you've wondered yourself about some of your own thoughts and behaviors.

Do you like working in a group? Most people don't because they're afraid that they'll have to do most of the work (wind up being a sucker) and that other group members won't do their share of the work (free loaders). Want to find out how to avoid this and make your group work productive? Learn how the Agile software development technique can be adapted to your help your next group project be a success.

ecent research on violent video games is pretty conclusive and you're not going to like it. There's good evidence that people if you play violent video games you might be less likely to a) notice aggressive events, b) perceive fewer or less severe injuries, c) feel less sympathy for violence victims, and d) have less negative attitudes towards violence. In this video I take a close look at this research as well as one study which claims the complete opposite: that violent video games are perceived by players as merely "rough and tumble play" and that violence actually enhances performance. Who should you believe?

Little Albert - one of the most famous subjects in the history of psychology - has finally been identified. Researchers spent 7 years tracking down every possible lead in order to discover who John Watson's "Albert B" really was. In this video episode I take you through each step of the extensive detective work to uncover his identity. It's a fascinating, creative, and in the end touching journey. Some never seen before pictures are included. Join me in this episode of The Psych Files.

I interview Dr. Scott Lilienfeld, author of 50 Myths of Popular Psychology and we talk about, a) whether the polygraph actually works, b) whether women really talk more than men, c) does handwriting analysis reveals your personality and d) when you're taking a multiple choice test should you change your first answer or leave it alone? Along the way we also talk about whether the full moon really does make people act strangely (and cause more dog bites). Finally, Dr. Lilienfeld provides his opinion on whether psychotherapists need to be more up-to-date on the scientific research behind the various types of psychotherapy.

In part 2 of my interview with David Buss, he responds to more criticisms of evolutionary psychology. Here's what we cover: a) does evolutionary psychology just give criminals another reason not to take responsibility for themselves?, b) is all the research in evolutionary psychology done on American college students?, c) are evolutionary psychology theories falsifiable? We cover such topics as whether women's mate strategies change depending on where they are in their menstrual cycle? and How does evolutionary psychology might explain homosexuality? and what does evolutionary psychology say about cultural differences in the desire for women with a low waist-hip ratio? All in this episode of The Psych Files.

There has been a lot of criticism of evolutionary psychology. How do researchers respond? One of the leading researchers in this field - Dr. David Buss of the University of Texas responds to these critics in part 1 of this 2 part episode. Find out how he responds to these questions: a) is evolutionary psychology sexist?, b) doesn't evolutionary psychology just give people the ammunition they need to not take responsibility for themselves? c) theories from evolutionary psychology are not falsifiable, this it's not scientific and d) human society is always changing - it hasn't been stable enough long enough for any human behavior to have evolved.

Are celebrities really more narcissistic than you are? Is your Facebook page telling the world that you are a narcissist? And finally: who is Shakespeare's most narcissistic character? I'll give you a hint: the character can be found in Twelfth Night. In this episode of The Psych Files I look at the concept of narcissism and how you can see it in everyday life.

Looking for examples of correlation and causation? You've heard it a million times: correlation doesn't mean causation. Here's a humorous look at this topic that I think really drives home the point. We'll explore whether satisfied workers are more productive and whether living together causes divorce.

Almost everyone has heard of Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, her book On Death and Dying, and her five stages of grief. But are these stages accurate? Could the five stages of grief actually be doing more harm than good? Are they helping us to better understand what dying people go through or are they making it more difficult for us to truly understand and relate to them? Find out in this episode of The Psych Files.

How do the Rorschach, the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) and the House, Tree Person tests work? Do you reveal something about yourself when you tell stories about pictures or tell what you see in an inkblot or even when you do something as seemingly innocent as drawing a picture of a house? In this episode I try to answer these questions as well as show you how a wonderful poem called How It Will End by Denise Duhamel could be an excellent example of psychology in everyday life.

How did you get to be heterosexual? Homosexual? Bisexual? Was it nature or nurture (or both?). Were you born with a sexual orientation or did it develop as you grew? What role did your parents play? In this episode I present the most recent scientific research on the topic of how we develop our sexual preference. You'll find out whether heterosexual men have more testosterone than homosexual men, how most people know their sexual orientation when they are as young as 10 years old, how your third intersitial nucleus might be playing a role and finally, finally, could it something to do with the length of your fingers?

A popular piece of animal research indicates that intelligent male Browerbirds appear to have greater mating success (researcher lingo for sex). The more sensitive birds may also be more preferred by the opposite sex as well. So much for the jocks. Find out about this fascinating research on animals in this video episode of The Psych Files.

Can positive affirmations really help raise your self esteem? People use daily affirmations and money affirmations to help them feel more confident, build their self-esteem and bring positive events into their lives. But do they really work? If not, then what will?

Having trouble raising your children? Join the crowd. There are lots and lots of parenting books out there, but here's one I think you should know about. It's called Raising Children You Can Live With by Jamie Raser. He has an approach to parenting that is not about picking your battles, but about staying out of battles altogether and talking with your child in a way that doesn't lead to shouting, screaming and anger. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Listen to Jamie Raser talk about his ideas in this episode of The Psych Files.

Want to create an online experiment? Here's how to do it. I'll show you can create an experiment using two tools: Wix.com and Google Forms. Using these two tools, you'll be able to get creative and put together an experiment online that others can take. You'll even be able to collect the data. In this episode of The Psych Files I'll use as an example a very do-able recent study which shows that people tend to overestimage the height of a building when they are on the roof looking down to the ground than when they are on the ground looking up to the roof. The explanation for this is that evolutionarily, those who overestimated distances looking down were probably more likely to survive - because they probably backed away from the edge and prevented themselves from falling and killing themselves. Both students and faculty might be interested to see how this study could be set up online.

How does music affect us emotionally? Why do minor chords sound so sad? In this episode of The Psych Files I explore ideas from Daniel Leviton's fascinating book, Your Brain on Music, especially those ideas concerned with what composers do to draw you into their music by first conforming to your musical expectations and then carefully confounding them in order to surprise and delight. I talk with guitarist and composer David Temple to get his perspective on this process as well. Along the way you'll hear excerpts from some fascinating pieces of music and David and I will discuss what makes them so compelling, especially those in the minor key. My My piano playing skills are pretty rough but get ready for some fun.

Well, it's here - episode 100. I take this time to reflect on which episodes have made the most impact on the podcast and the episodes and listeners that have taught me the most. Also, I provide a little background on how the podcast is produced, along with what programs and equipment are used. Thank you to everyone who has emailed me over the years to provide feedback and thanks to everyone else for being listeners and contributing to the success of The Psych Files!

Does your dog have thoughts and feelings? How about your cat? In this episode we find out what scientists have to say about how we should study this question. I also review a fascinating new study by Dr. Alexandra Horowitz of Barnard College who studied whether or not dogs who have that guilty look actually do feel guilty. We take a look at the idea of anthropomorphism and your dog in this episode of The Psych Files.

Do you know your own mate value in the dating world? Curious about evolutionary psychology? In this interview with Dr. David Buss we discuss a number of interesting and controversial topics, such as the matching hypothesis and date rape. Are there evolutionary roots to the battle of the sexes and can we change our behavior? Find out in this interview.

The obedience studies originally conducted by Stanley Milgram (sometimes referred to as the Milgram Shock studies) have finally been replicated in a university setting. Will people obey an authority figure and give a stranger a dangerous shock? Or have things changed in the last 40 years such that people will be more willing to be disobedient to authority? Even if you are familiar with the Milgram Obedience studies I guarantee you will learn something new in this podcast. I certainly did. Don't miss this episode of The Psych Files as I review both the original Milgram obedience study and the new study conducted by professor Jerry Burger at Santa Clara University.

In the last episode you saw me memorize - almost perfectly - a list of 20 top sci-fi movies. How did I do it? In this video learn exactly how the advanced pegword system works. I'll show you how each number becomes a letter, each letter becomes a word and each word becomes an image that will help you memorize just about any size list. Skeptical? You won't be after seeing exactly how it's done.

Did you know there's a mnemonic device that is more powerful than the One is a bun pegword mnemonic? Here's a system you can use for lists that have more than 12 items. In this video I show you the advanced pegword mnemonic system in which every number becomes a letter and a concrete word that you can visualize to help you remember a list of any length. See how to put mental imagery and your memory to work in this video.

How do we learn to act in what are called gender appropriate ways? How did you learn to act like a girl and then a woman? Or like a boy and then like a man? Did you experience either penis envy or womb envy? Did this happen as a result of what Freud would call an oedipal complex or perhaps does our tendency to behave in stereotypical masculine and feminine ways come about more simply as a result of watching other males and females in your family, among your friends and on TV? In this episode of The Psych Files we look at the interesting and complex issue of gender identity.

How can you use psychology to design a website so people are likely to buy products from you? Or design a website so people are likely to donate money to your cause? In this episode Dr Susan Weinschenk discusses some of these ideas from her book Neuro Web Design. Ever thought you could apply brain science to web design? Find out how in this episode of The Psych Files.