Close relationships are essential to our happiness and well-being and are also an important predictor of physical health. Richard Slatcher, PhD, of the University of Georgia, talks about why the support we receive from our partners, family and friends is so important, how we develop these deep ties to each other, and the key ingredients of good and supportive relationships. He also discusses how technology like smartphones and social media is affecting close relationships and his study on “Love ...
Nov 03, 2021•40 min•Ep. 165
Just in time for Halloween, we talk about the psychology of strange stuff – including ghostly visitations, alien abductions, ESP, and more – with Chris French, PhD, head of the anomalistic psychology unit at Goldsmiths, University of London. Dr. French discusses how psychological explanations such as sleep paralysis and inattentional blindness could underlie many people’s paranormal experiences, and the role of skepticism and science in testing and evaluating paranormal claims. Learn more about ...
Oct 27, 2021•40 min•Ep. 164
Is there anything more agonizing than being in limbo? Time may seem to slow to a crawl when you’re waiting for high-stakes news like a hiring decision, a biopsy result – or the end of a pandemic. Kate Sweeny, PhD, of the University of California, Riverside, discusses what makes waiting so stressful, how the stress of waiting differs from other types of stress, the relationship between waiting and worrying, and strategies people can use to lessen anxiety and make waiting easier. Learn more about ...
Oct 20, 2021•28 min•Ep. 163
Stoic. Self-reliant. Unemotional. For many men, these watchwords of traditional masculinity still hold powerful sway. Men are less likely than women to seek help for mental health issues, they die by suicide more often, and they commit and are the victims of more homicides. Ronald F. Levant, EdD, discusses how cultural expectations of masculinity affect men’s mental and physical health, how our ideas of masculinity have changed over time and what psychologists have learned about how to reach out...
Oct 13, 2021•37 min•Ep. 162
For many people, the stereotypical image of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is an 8-year-old boy who can’t sit still in class. But in recent decades, scientists have gained a more sophisticated understanding of the causes and lifelong consequences of the disorder. Margaret Sibley, PhD, of Seattle Children’s Hospital, talks about the biological underpinnings of ADHD, what researchers have learned about how it manifests in childhood, adolescence and adulthood, treatment options, and why t...
Oct 06, 2021•27 min•Ep. 161
On hot-button topics such as climate change, vaccines and genetically modified foods, science denial is rampant – and it crosses party and ideological lines. What are the psychological forces that lead people to disbelieve scientific consensus? Is science denial worse than it’s ever been? How have the internet and social media changed the landscape of science skepticism? Psychologists Barbara Hofer of Middlebury College and Gale Sinatra of the University of Southern California, authors of the bo...
Sep 29, 2021•37 min•Ep. 160
What can you learn from the science of behavior change that can help you make the changes you want to see in your life? Katy Milkman, PhD, a professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and author of the book “How to Change,” discusses the importance of accurately identifying the behavioral roadblocks standing in your way, how specific strategies such as “temptation bundling” and creating fresh starts can help you achieve your goals, how to turn laziness to your advantage by...
Sep 22, 2021•42 min•Ep. 159
Human memory is imperfect – we all misplace our keys, forget acquaintances’ names and misremember the details of our own past. Daniel Schacter, PhD, a professor of psychology at Harvard University, discusses why memory is so fallible, the causes and consequences of the most common memory errors, how memory changes as we age, and how memory is tied to our ability to plan for the future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 15, 2021•42 min•Ep. 158
This week marks 20 years since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Researchers call this kind of shared disaster a “collective trauma.” Roxane Cohen Silver, PhD, of the University of California Irvine, who studies collective trauma and led a multi-year study on the mental and physical health effects of 9/11, discusses that research and how what we learned in the aftermath of 9/11 can inform our response to the COVID-19 pandemic, hurricanes, wildf...
Sep 08, 2021•38 min•Ep. 157
What is power? Why do people seek it and how do they get it? Is it human nature to abuse power? And how might power – or powerlessness – affect our health and wellbeing? Dacher Keltner, PhD, psychology professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and author of the book “The Power Paradox: How We Gain and Lose Influence,” discusses these and other questions. Links Greater Good Science Center The Power Paradox: How We Gain and Lose Influence Speaking of Psychology Listener Survey Learn mor...
Sep 01, 2021•37 min•Ep. 156
The mental health of athletes has been in the news a lot this year, thanks to Olympians Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles. The attention may be new, but the field of sport psychology is not. How do sport psychologists work with athletes? How might athletes’ mental health affect the public perception of mental health? As a mental performance consultant for the U.S. Paralympic team and a former competitive gymnast, Dr. Jamie Shapiro understands the challenges athletes face. Speaking of Psychology - Lis...
Aug 25, 2021•37 min•Ep. 155
“Eureka moments” have led to some of humanity’s greatest achievements in science, medicine, mathematics and the arts. But they’re not always that dramatic -- we’ve nearly all had the experience of solving a nagging problem in a flash of insight when we’re least expecting it. John Kounios, PhD, a professor of psychology at Drexel University, discusses how does this type of creative insight differs from more analytical thinking, where creative insight comes from in the brain, and how can you encou...
Aug 18, 2021•44 min•Ep. 154
Just in time for Friday the 13th, we discuss the psychology of superstition with Stuart Vyse, PhD, author of the book “Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition.” Vyse discusses the origins of some popular superstitions, the psychological purposes superstition serves, and whether or not it’s possible that your lucky charm or pre-game ritual might actually help you perform better. Listener Survey - https://www.apa.org/podcastsurvey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adc...
Aug 11, 2021•39 min•Ep. 153
Speaking of Psychology is taking a one-week summer break, so we’re revisiting one of our favorite episodes from the past year. In February, we talked to University of California, Berkeley psychologist Alison Gopnik about how children’s brains are optimized to explore the world and the implications that this has for human evolution, how we think about the purpose of childhood, how we raise and educate our children, the role of grandparents in teaching the next generation, and even how we might de...
Aug 04, 2021•46 min
The word “burnout” has become ubiquitous -- it seems to sum up the stress and exhaustion and disaffection that many of us are feeling this year. But are workers really more burned out than ever? And what does the term burnout actually mean? How does burnout differ from fatigue or stress? How do you know if you’re burned out? And what can individuals, employers and society do to combat workplace burnout? Dr. Christina Maslach answers these and other questions. Listener Survey - https://www.apa.or...
Jul 28, 2021•30 min•Ep. 152
More than 4% of people have some form of synesthesia, a neurological condition that causes senses to link and merge. People with synesthesia may taste words, hear colors, or see calendar dates arrayed in physical space. Dr. Julia Simner, a professor of neuropsychology at the University of Sussex in the U.K., discusses the many forms of synesthesia, how synesthetes experience the world, and what scientists have learned from brain imaging studies about synesthesia. She also discusses her research ...
Jul 21, 2021•39 min•Ep. 151
These days, many companies use assessments such as personality tests as part of the hiring process or in career development programs. Fred Oswald, PhD, director of the Organization and Workforce Laboratory at Rice University, discusses why companies use these tests, what employers and workers can learn from them, and how new technologies, including artificial intelligence, are changing workplace assessments. Listener Survey - https://www.apa.org/podcastsurvey Learn more about your ad choices. Vi...
Jul 14, 2021•44 min•Ep. 150
Do you ever feel like a phony? Like you’re not really qualified for the job you’re doing, despite your achievements? Those are signs of the impostor phenomenon, also called impostor syndrome. Dr. Lisa Orbé-Austin, a counseling psychologist and career coach in New York City, and Dr. Kevin Cokley, a University of Texas at Austin psychology professor who studies the impostor phenomenon among ethnic minority students, discuss where impostor feelings come from, the repercussions they can have in peop...
Jul 07, 2021•34 min•Ep. 149
Many Americans are headed back to the office this summer, but fault lines are emerging between some companies’ expectations for in-person work and their employees’ desire to continue working remotely. Tsedal Neeley, PhD, a professor at Harvard Business School and author of “Remote Work Revolution: Succeeding from Anywhere,” discusses the future of the post-pandemic office, how the pandemic has changed office culture and how employees and companies can both thrive in the new world of remote and h...
Jun 30, 2021•35 min•Ep. 148
Over the past decades, the focus of LGBTQ activism has shifted and evolved, from the AIDS crisis in the 1980s to the fight for marriage equality to the focus on transgender rights today. Peter Hegarty, PhD, author of the book “A Recent History of Lesbian and Gay Psychology: From Homophobia to LGBT,” discusses how psychological research has reflected and responded to these changes, how it has helped move the needle in the fight for LGBTQ rights in the U.S. court system, and his own research on “a...
Jun 23, 2021•49 min•Ep. 147
Is psychology research in a crisis or a renaissance? Over the past decade, scientists have realized that many published research results, including some classic findings in psychology, don’t always hold up to repeat trials. Brian Nosek, PhD, of the Center for Open Science, discusses how psychologists are leading a movement to address that problem, in psychology and in other scientific fields, by changing the way that research studies get funded, conducted and published. Listener Survey - https:/...
Jun 16, 2021•42 min•Ep. 146
Guns killed nearly 44,000 Americans in 2020, a higher number than in any other year in the past two decades. Meanwhile, a spate of mass shootings in the spring brought gun violence to the forefront of the national conversation again. Susan Sorenson, PhD, director of the Ortner Center on Violence and Abuse at the University of Pennsylvania, discusses what we know about the causes and consequences of gun violence in the United States and whether research can offer any insight into how to prevent i...
Jun 09, 2021•32 min•Ep. 145
Is your sleep schedule a mess lately? You’re not alone. The stress and disrupted routines of the past year have taken a toll on our sleep. Jennifer Martin, PhD, a professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and spokesperson for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, discusses how sleep affects our physical and mental health, what the pandemic has done to our sleep patterns, and effective behavioral treatments and advice that can help us get a good night’s rest. Links Jennifer Marti...
Jun 02, 2021•30 min•Ep. 144
One year ago this week, George Floyd was murdered on camera by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. To mark the anniversary of Floyd’s death, we talked to Cedric Alexander, PsyD, a clinical psychologist and former police chief, about community policing, racial bias in policing, how communities and policymakers might rethink the role of police officers in ensuring public safety, and what can be done to restore trust between police departments and the communities that they serve. Links Cedric...
May 26, 2021•38 min•Ep. 143
Zoom, Facebook, group text messages: This past year, technology has sometimes felt like the glue that’s kept many of our relationships alive. More and more, we talk to each other with technology in between us. Jeff Hancock, PhD, director of the Social Media Lab at Stanford University, discusses how this is affecting human communication, including whether people are more likely to lie online, whether the versions of ourselves that we present on social media are authentic, how artificial intellige...
May 19, 2021•33 min•Ep. 142
In recent years, research on the power of growth mindset has made the leap from the psychology lab to popular culture. Growth mindset is the belief that a person’s intelligence and abilities can grow and improve with practice, and researchers have found that brief exercises that increase growth mindset can help keep students motivated when they face challenges, improve their grades, and even increase college graduation rates. But scaling up those interventions from the research lab to diverse re...
May 12, 2021•32 min•Ep. 141
For people with Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory, or HSAM, every day is memorable. Ask them what they were doing on this date 10 years ago, and they’ll be able to tell you. Markie Pasternak, one of the youngest people identified with HSAM, and Michael Yassa, PhD, director of the Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory at the University of California Irvine, talk about what it’s like to have this ability, what we know about how the brains of people with HSAM store and retrieve t...
May 05, 2021•39 min•Ep. 140
What if the way you think about your brain and how and why it functions is just plain wrong? Lisa Feldman Barrett, PhD, a professor of psychology at Northeastern University and author of the book “7 ½ Lessons About the Brain,” discusses myths about the brain and her theory that it evolved not to think but to control our bodies, and that emotions are not something we experience, but things that the brain creates in order to make sense of the signals it receives from the world. Are you enjoying Sp...
Apr 28, 2021•39 min•Ep. 139
Over the past several years, climate change has moved from an abstract idea to a reality in many Americans’ lives – a reality that we are increasingly worried about. An APA survey found that two-thirds of American adults said that they felt at least a little “eco-anxiety,” defined as anxiety or worry about climate change and its effects. Dr. Thomas Doherty, a clinical and environmental psychologist in Portland, Oregon, and Dr. Ashlee Cunsolo, a public health researcher who studies how environmen...
Apr 21, 2021•36 min•Ep. 138
Despite the fact that so many people profess to dislike making small talk, it turns out that talking to strangers and acquaintances can actually strengthen our mental health and enrich our lives. What do we gain from meeting new people? What have we been missing out on this past year as COVID-19 has restricted these social interactions? And how can we become better at talking to strangers? We discuss these questions with Gillian Sandstrom, PhD, a senior lecturer in psychology at the University o...
Apr 14, 2021•42 min•Ep. 137
