Do you remember the last time you woke up during the work week without an alarm clock? When you didn’t need caffeine to get going? If you can’t, you’re certainly not alone. Most of us fall short of the recommended seven to eight hours of sleep nightly and an estimated 50 million to 70 million Americans of all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds suffer from sleep-related problems, according to the American Sleep Apnea Association. Our guest, Robin Haight, PsyD, a clinical psychologist in private p...
Mar 11, 2020•38 min•Ep. 102
Drinking is ubiquitous in American culture today. It’s hard to go out and not see people imbibing. In the midst of all this booze, there is a burgeoning movement in the opposite direction: Sobriety is having a moment in the spotlight. For the sober-curious crowd, this can mean taking a break from alcohol for a set period or it can mean quitting altogether. Either way, according to addiction researcher and psychologist Katie Witkiewitz, PhD, stopping drinking even for a short period can be benefi...
Feb 26, 2020•43 min•Ep. 101
Ghosting is a heartbreaking fact in the modern dating world. It’s when a friend or someone you’ve been dating disappears from contact with no explanation. Ghosting can shatter self-esteem and hurt just as much as physical pain. Our guest is psychologist Jennice Vilhauer, PhD, who wrote the popular Psychology Today articles “Why Ghosting Hurts So Much” and “Did the Internet Break Love?” Join us online August 6-8 for APA 2020 Virtual . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Feb 12, 2020•36 min•Ep. 100
Fear about the coronavirus has gripped the world. While nearly all cases have been in China, that has not stopped people in other countries from worrying. This new illness certainly is frightening and needs attention, but it’s important to note that far more people die from an illness that’s all too familiar – the seasonal flu. Why are we so afraid of this novel coronavirus when we are much more likely to catch the flu? Our guest, Baruch Fischhoff, PhD, is a professor at Carnegie Mellon Universi...
Feb 10, 2020•26 min
Even though winter can be a bear, most of us just bundle up, get through it or embrace it and find ways to get outside and stay active. But as many as six out of every 100 people in the U.S. experience Seasonal Affective Disorder, known as SAD. It’s more than just the winter blues – it can be very difficult for people who suffer from it and this stretch of winter, January and February, tends to be the most brutal. Our guest is Kelly Rohan, PhD, a Seasonal Affective Disorder expert who is leading...
Jan 29, 2020•40 min•Ep. 99
While television shows about hoarding are quite popular and the term has now been embedded into our general lexicon, there is still a lot about hoarding disorder that is not well understood. Hoarding disorder is complex, difficult to treat and causes a lot of pain and suffering for people who have it and their loved ones. Our guest is Julie Pike, PhD, a clinical psychologist in private practice who treats people with hoarding disorder. She has appeared on the Discovery/TLC show, “Hoarding: Burie...
Jan 15, 2020•34 min•Ep. 98
Lose 20 pounds. Begin a meditation practice. Save $1,000 a month. 2020 is here and many people are fired up about their New Year’s resolutions. No matter how jazzed people are about their resolutions at the start of the new year, most are doomed to fail soon after the New Year afterglow wears off. There are people, however, who make resolutions, stick with them and succeed. How do they do it? Our guest for this episode is Pauline Wallin, PhD, a psychologist in private practice in Pennsylvania an...
Jan 01, 2020•40 min•Ep. 97
This special episode features a report by APA’s Kim Mills, who attended the first-ever International Summit on Psychology’s Contributions to Global Health in Lisbon, Portugal, in November. The summit – sponsored by APA and the Association of Portuguese Psychologists -- brought together leaders of psychological associations from more than 40 nations on five continents to explore ways of applying psychological science to the global problem of climate change. Watch the video - https://youtu.be/UHD1...
Dec 24, 2019•7 min
Experiencing positive transformation after trauma is known as post-traumatic growth. People who experience post-traumatic growth may develop a new appreciation of life, newfound personal strength, see an improvement in their relationships, see new possibilities in life and undergo spiritual changes. Why do some people experience such profound positive changes after enduring something terrible and others don’t? Our guest for this episode is Richard Tedeschi, PhD, who developed the academic theory...
Dec 18, 2019•52 min•Ep. 96
Concern and care for others’ feelings are virtues we seek to instill in our children, yet they are sorely lacking in many adult Americans today. There’s scientific research to back up the notion that Americans are caring less for others and more about themselves. Our guest is Sara Konrath, PhD, an associate professor of philanthropic studies at Indiana University and director of the Interdisciplinary Program on Empathy and Altruism Research. We’ll be exploring why empathy is declining and what w...
Dec 04, 2019•46 min•Ep. 95
To mark Veterans Day 2019, in this episode we are discussing the mental health challenges that many veterans deal with, some of the latest psychological research into their care and the complexities of modern warfare and its effect on veterans. Our guests are Rajeev Ramchand, PhD, a fellow at the Bob Woodruff Foundation, who researches the prevalence, prevention and treatment of mental health and substance use disorders in veterans and other populations, and Terri Tanielian, MA, a senior behavio...
Nov 20, 2019•58 min•Ep. 94
Gregory Kratzig, PhD, is an adjunct professor of psychology at the University of Regina in Saskatchewan, Canada and a global expert in simulation-based training, particularly in the world of law enforcement. He has used virtual reality to train first responders to drive emergency vehicles and to help police officers make the best decisions when they're faced with choosing whether to use force. Join us online August 6-8 for APA 2020 Virtual . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/a...
Nov 13, 2019•19 min
Do you ever get the feeling at work that you're being watched? To a certain degree you are and it's possible that you will soon be tracked even more closely by your employer whether that's through video surveillance, GPS location tracking or Internet monitoring. If that disturbs you, you're not alone. Our guest for this episode is David Tomczak, a product solutions consultant for a global professional services firm and a PhD candidate at The George Washington University. He researches the influe...
Nov 11, 2019•20 min
What psychological purpose does nostalgia serve? Is it good or bad? Are we more nostalgic today in our hectic, connected world? Is there such a thing as the “good ‘ol days”? Here to help explain is Dr. Krystine Batcho, professor of psychology at LeMoyne College in Syracuse, New York. She’s an expert on nostalgia and developed the Nostalgia Inventory, a survey that assesses proneness to personal nostalgia. Join us online August 6-8 for APA 2020 Virtual . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit me...
Nov 06, 2019•43 min•Ep. 93
There's been a great deal of media attention focused on shootings in which a white police officer fired on a black or non-white suspect. Psychology has for years performed research to determine whether racial hostility plays a role in such shootings. These studies have usually entailed having participants sit in front of a computer screen and respond to images of suspects who pop up holding a gun or a benign object such as a wallet or a can of soda. These experiments are helpful. But is there a ...
Nov 04, 2019•34 min
Getting children to eat healthy meals is a challenge many parents face but what if virtual reality could help? Researchers at the National Institute of Health are using new technology to understand why parents feed their kids the foods they do and to help them make smarter food choices for the health of their children. Our guest for this episode is psychologist Susan Persky, PhD, head of the Immersive Virtual Environment Testing Unit where she applies virtual reality to biomedical research. Join...
Oct 30, 2019•24 min
Cameras are playing a greater and greater role in law enforcement, whether that means cameras placed on dashboards in police cruisers or cameras that officers wear as part of their uniforms. But how effective are cameras in police encounters? What do they tell us about police-citizen interactions and do cameras ever lie? Our guest for this episode is Nick Camp, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University. His primary research focus examines racial disparities in the everyday encounters...
Oct 28, 2019•18 min
The spaces we are in every day influence our mood and well-being whether we are aware of it or not. Creating spaces to make us feel our best is a hot topic – in community planning, in the office and on HGTV. Sally Augustin, PhD, an environmental psychologist who is a principal at Design with Science, a design consultation firm, discusses how to design spaces to optimize well-being. Join us online August 6-8 for APA 2020 Virtual . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Oct 23, 2019•38 min•Ep. 92
Have you ever wondered why drivers don't get carsick? If you've ever been seasick, are you curious to know what causes it and what, if anything, can be done to stave it off? Dr. Arnon Rolnick is a clinical and experimental psychologist from Israel where he directs Rolnick's Institute for Advanced Psychotherapy and studies psychophysiology and the integration of technology and psychology. Rolnick spent 20 years as a psychologist in the Israeli Navy developing various methods to improve sailors' p...
Oct 21, 2019•28 min
Russell Shilling, PhD, guest host for Speaking of Psychology and Chief Scientific Officer for the American Psychological Association, sits down at APA2019 to talk with Kaitlyn Roose and Shawn Doherty, PhD, to discuss the psychology of esports, the benefits of gaming on higher level cognition, and the culture of video games. Join us online August 6-8 for APA 2020 Virtual . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Oct 16, 2019•46 min
Our memories may not be as reliable as we think. Once we experience an event, most of us likely assume that those memories stays intact forever. But there is the potential for memories to be altered or for completely false memories to be planted, according to Elizabeth Loftus, PhD. Loftus, a distinguished professor at the University of California, Irvine, is an expert on human memory and she discusses how our recollections of events and experiences may be subject to manipulation. Join us online ...
Oct 09, 2019•18 min•Ep. 91
Human Trafficking occurs when individuals are economically exploited through force, fraud or coercion for labor or commercial sex. Worldwide, it is estimated that almost 25 million people are robbed of their freedom and human dignity through trafficking- trafficking is akin to slavery. It is difficult to determine how many people are trafficked in the US but it occurs here and includes both citizens and foreign nationals. Women, children, the economically vulnerable, persons with disabilities an...
Oct 02, 2019•36 min
From automation, to artificial intelligence to employee surveillance, technology is rapidly changing the way we work. It’s raising ethical questions, concerns about the future of the job market and blurring the lines between the personal and professional. Tara Behrend, PhD, associate professor of industrial-organizational psychology and director of the Workplaces and Virtual Environments lab at The George Washington University, explains what the future of work will look like. Join us online Augu...
Sep 25, 2019•39 min•Ep. 90
Discipline in pre-K through 12 schools is not doled out equally, as black students, boys and students with disabilities are suspended and expelled at much higher rates than other students, according to a report released last year by the Government Accountability Office. These types of harsh discipline can have dire consequences on a child’s future, including putting him or her at a higher risk of falling into the school-to-prison pipeline. Guests Amanda Sullivan, PhD, associate professor of educ...
Sep 11, 2019•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 89
About 6% of U.S. women ages 15 to 44 experience infertility, with many of those reporting that infertility is the most upsetting experience of their lives. Dr. Angela Lawson helps us separate fact from fiction when it comes to infertility, a complicated and often uncomfortable topic that people don’t always talk about. Join us online August 6-8 for APA 2020 Virtual . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Sep 04, 2019•36 min
Why do some people buy so much, while others shun that lifestyle for simplicity or to save? How do brands reach into our psyches to get us to pull out our wallets and credit cards? What are some of the motivations behind companies that try to appeal to our sense of social responsibility to get us to spend? Our guest is psychologist Kit Yarrow, PhD, an expert on consumer behavior and professor emerita at Golden Gate University in San Francisco. She studies why and how people shop and buy and how ...
Aug 28, 2019•48 min•Ep. 88
Fake news, 2017’s word of the year and recent edition to the Oxford English Dictionary, has become a widespread problem. This episode of Speaking of Psychology discusses how this phenomenon of intentionally spreading fabricated content and presenting it as factual is impacting our views of the world and why that matters. Recorded live at APA 2019 in Chicago with Vaile Wright, PhD, as guest host. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Aug 21, 2019•29 min
Some of us recall high school as being filled with fun parties, football games and flirting while others think back to that time with a shudder and are just glad it’s over. But is it really over? Does our social status as teens follow us for the rest of our lives? Can we raise today’s children and teens differently in our ever-status-obsessed culture? Our guest is Mitch Prinstein, PhD, distinguished professor of psychology and neuroscience and director of clinical psychology at the University of...
Aug 14, 2019•34 min•Ep. 87
Why do some people scarf down anchovies by the pound while others recoil at the thought of a tuna fish sandwich? Why do the textures of certain foods, like mushrooms, turn people off? Not only is taste a biologically complex experience, it is quite psychological. Our guest is psychologist Linda Bartoshuk, PhD, an international leader in taste research, who is the Bushnell professor of food science and human nutrition at the University of Florida and director for psychophysical research at the un...
Jul 31, 2019•53 min•Ep. 86
The crisis at the U.S. southern border shows no signs of stopping and the system designed to serve immigrants and refugees is overwhelmed and ill-prepared to handle the influx of people. Psychologists all around the country have been moved to help with the growing humanitarian crisis by providing mental health and advocacy services and forensic psychological evaluations to these vulnerable people. Our guest for this episode is psychologist Claudette Antuña, PsyD, a volunteer forensic psychologic...
Jul 17, 2019•43 min•Ep. 85
