Over the past several months, millions of newly remote workers have found themselves juggling work and family responsibilities from hastily improvised home offices. Kristen Shockley, PhD, a professor of psychology at the University of Georgia, discusses her research on how these new teleworkers are adapting and talks about what the pandemic may mean for the future of remote work. Join us online August 6-8 for APA 2020 Virtual. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 17, 2020•28 min•Ep. 109
For more than a week, protestors have filled the streets of cities and towns across the United States and even around the world, demanding an end to racial injustice and police brutality in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. Lauren Duncan, PhD, a professor of psychology at Smith College and an expert on the psychology of protest and collective action, discusses why this is happening right now and what motivates people to come together to demand change. Join us online August 6-8 for APA 2020...
Jun 10, 2020•37 min•Ep. 108
Why are some people more susceptible to conspiracy theories than others? Do people actually panic during disasters, like the pandemic? And are the brains of liberals and conservatives physiologically different? Dr. Jay Van Bavel, who directs NYU’s Social Perception and Evaluation Lab, answers these and other questions. Episode Links Jay Van Bavel, PhD APA COVID-19 Resources Speaking of Psychology Join us online August 6-8 for APA 2020 Virtual. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm...
May 27, 2020•32 min
As we enter month No. 3 of living under the COVID-19 lockdown, parents and their kids may be getting on each other’s nerves. Parents working from home may be battling with their children – and each other - for computer access. As youngsters try to finish their school year via remote learning, they may be upset that there will be no summer camp this year, and certainly no big out-of-town vacation. Dr. Earl Turner, an expert on child psychology, offers more tips for coping, keeping families safe a...
May 20, 2020•25 min•Ep. 107
With most of us still following shelter-in-place rules, getting mental health care for people who need it can be a challenge. Fortunately, many psychological practitioners have been offering telemental health services for years, using electronic and telecommunications technologies to engage in psychotherapy virtually or by phone. APA’s Dr. Jared Skillings explains how to get this care and discusses how it compares to traditional face-to-face therapy. Join us online August 6-8 for APA 2020 Virtua...
May 13, 2020•22 min
The coronavirus is keeping us from experiencing some of the deepest and most meaningful rituals of our lives, from graduations to weddings to funerals. What is this doing to us psychologically? How important are rituals to our mental health and well-being? Dr. Michael I. Norton, a professor of business administration at the Harvard Business School, talks about the many rituals he has studied and their roles within our lives. Episode Links APA COVID-19 Information and Resources Michael I. Norton,...
May 06, 2020•23 min•Ep. 106
College and university students around the country are dealing with distance learning as their campuses have been forced to close during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Sian Beilock, a psychologist and president of Barnard College in New York, explains how her school is helping students finish the academic year and prepare for the fall. For instances, classes are being offered multiple times a day to accommodate students in different time zones and a small number of students have been allowed to shel...
Apr 29, 2020•23 min
The COVID-19 pandemic is putting new and unforeseen pressures on all of us. Whether it’s trying to telework while the kids are screaming in another room or dealing with the loss of a job, this new normal is taxing our inner resources. Dr. Ann Masten, a professor in the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota, has spent more than 40 years studying human resilience. She offers insights and tips on how to tap your inner resilience and build it in your own family. Join us onlin...
Apr 22, 2020•33 min•Ep. 105
While we do not have a complete national picture, data from a few states and cities are showing that COVID-19 is disproportionately infecting African Americans and Latinos. Why is this so? And what can we do to alleviate these skewed proportions and flatten the curve. Listen to what APA’s Dr. Brian Smedley has to say about the underlying reasons for these disparities and what we need to do to mitigate them. Join us online August 6-8 for APA 2020 Virtual. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit m...
Apr 17, 2020•23 min
The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was identified in January. By March, most of us had been strongly advised – if not ordered -- to keep at least 6 feet away from other people in public and pretty much to confine ourselves to our homes. Since many of our regular activities and pastimes are now off-limits, what are we doing to fill the time? Are we bored yet? Are if we are bored, is that a problem? Dr. Erin Westgate, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Florida,...
Apr 15, 2020•41 min
Are you worried about your financial future in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic? Even before the coronavirus struck, many of us were prone to do unwise things with our money. What, if anything, is the pandemic doing to that very human tendency? How can we work against our worst financial instincts while our lives are so chaotic? Our guest, Dr. Brad Klontz, is a financial psychologist and a certified financial planner. He is also an associate professor of practice in financial psychology and beh...
Apr 08, 2020•27 min•Ep. 104
Turn on the evening news or open a newspaper these days and there’s virtually nothing but COVID-19 coverage. The story is moving as rapidly as the coronavirus itself. To discuss what we should be doing as we learn more about the virus, we have invited back Dr. Baruch Fischhoff, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University and an expert on public perception of risk and human judgment. He talks about what we know now that we did not know when he first spoke to APA and recommends finding trusted sourc...
Apr 02, 2020•28 min
The new coronavirus has upended our lives, compelling us to stay in our homes, keep our social distance and be wary of everything we touch. Some of us are teleworking but others have lost jobs. This global pandemic touches everyone and it is causing many of us to feel stress, anxiety and hypervigilance. Our guest, Dr. Lynn Bufka, senior director of practice research and policy at the American Psychological Association, and a practicing psychologist herself, has helpful advice for coping, adjusti...
Mar 30, 2020•28 min•Ep. 104
You may have heard about the internet debate on inner monologues recently. It all started from a tweet that went viral. That tweet said that some people have an internal narrative, and some don’t. What ensued were thousands of comments, retweets and news stories on the topic. Turns out that people have a lot to say about their inner voices. According to our guest for this episode, University of Michigan psychology professor Dr. Ethan Kross, it’s not exactly that simple. He says every healthy per...
Mar 25, 2020•41 min•Ep. 103
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/ad...
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 meg...
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
