Pre-Occupied

Maddy and Zenon talk to Sai Auelua-Toomey, a down-to-earth and deeply knowledgeable doctoral student at Stanford University. Sai gives us first-hand insight into his discoveries about romantic racism. We also discuss the role of identity in academia and research, Sai's cross-cultural research experiences, and the future of diversity on college campuses. Send us an email at hosts@pre-occupied.com!...

Our intrepid hosts venture out of academia and into business to learn from Dr. Kizzy Parks , founder and CEO of several successful businesses and Ph. D. industrial organizational psychologist. Listeners will enjoy Dr. Parks's exciting life journey, inspiring perspective on life, and practical advice for anyone who wants to make a living by starting a business. Send us an email at hosts@pre-occupie...

In this episode, Maddy and Zenon interview Dr. Francine Dolins , a professor of comparative psychology at the University of Michigan-Dearborn . Dr. Dolins shared experiences with us that ranged from pursuing an education in England to following lemurs through the jungles of Madagascar. We also discuss how Dr. Dolins's research on spatial cognition can relate to humans with spatial reasoning impair...

The hosts set the stage for upcoming episodes with a bit of background information about their own inclinations toward psychology, their friendship, and the podcast's conception.  Send us an email at hosts@pre-occupied.com ! Follow us on Twitter @PreOccPodcast ! Follow us on Instagram @PreOccPodcast ! Like us on Facebook ! Visit us at pre-occupied.com !

We each read and discussed a research article to review some recent research. Maddy talked about a study reviewing the perception of dark humor during and after the Hurricane Sandy crisis, and Zenon discussed an article about babies' moral expectations when watching bear puppets stealing from one another. Maddy read McGraw et al. (2014): https://doi.org/f575tt Zenon read Stavans and Baillargeon (2...

In Episode 18, Zenon and Maddy interview Dr. Myles Durkee , a warm, insightful professor at the University of Michigan and expert on the psychology of racial identity. Dr. Durkee shares his findings from his studies about "acting White" – what it looks like, why it happens, and its consequences. We also talk about what a more equitable field of psychology would look like and the role of psychology...

Dr. Marie Waung , an engaging, funny, and deeply knowledgeable professor at the University of Michigan-Dearborn , returns to the show to share her experiences in I/O scholarship and academia. We discuss personality in the workplace, the science of resume building, balancing an academic career, and loving what you do. The Holland Code Assessment and a brief history of I/O psychology are also discus...

Maddy and Zenon come together over Zoom with Mrs. Krista Siefert to discuss the pathogen that's swept both the nation and the world over the past six months.  The novel coronavirus has affected not only the physiological health of millions of people, but also the psychological health of everyone in a country that's experiencing lockdowns or economic hardship. Mrs. Siefert tells us what it's l...

Zenon and Maddy talk to Mrs. Krista Siefert, a school psychologist with Farmington Public Schools. We discuss special education, the diagnosis of ADHD, and violence prevention on the individual and district-wide level. We also discuss how school psychologists advocate for evidence-based change in a wider context. Send us an email at hosts@pre-occupied.com! Follow us on Twitter @PreOccPodcast! Like...

Maddy and Zenon talk to Dr. Sarah Tannenbaum of Harvard Medical School-affiliated Judge Baker Children's Center in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Tannenbaum gives us keen insight into the world of a child mental health expert. We talk about the doctoral journey, finding your drive, and what it means to be an advocate for mental health. We also discuss a few of the evidence-based practices used to trea...

Zenon and Maddy are back in Ann Arbor talking to Dr. Thad Polk , a cognitive neuroscientist and Arthur F. Thurnau Professor at the University of Michigan . His interdisciplinary research combines tactics from neuroimaging and computational modeling to better understand cognitive architecture. Dr. Polk and his team use innovative methods in cognitive neuroscience to create detailed, holistic mental...

Maddy and Zenon interview Dr. Laura Richardson of Massachusetts General Hospital . Dr. Richardson is an authentic, compassionate, and deeply insightful outpatient therapist. In this interview, we discuss the evolution of patient-therapist relationships, elaborate on the applications of attachment theory, and think critically about the importance of our connections with others. Send us an email at...

Maddy and Zenon talk to Scott Greenspan , a candidate in the University of Massachusetts-Amherst 's PhD program in School Psychology and doctoral intern at Harvard Medical School-Affiliate Judge Baker Children's Center . Scott reveals what it's like to be a doctoral student balancing research , employment, self-care, and his personal life. We also discuss the intersection of physical exercise, LBT...

We got the opportunity to talk with Dr. Michelle Stein of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School , a practicing psychologist and professor of psychiatry. The interview focused on what it's like to work as a psychologist in a hospital setting, her work on the SCORS-G, and the use of projective tests in clinical assessment.  Here is the SCORS-G manual from which we read the T...

Maddy, Zenon, and Dr. John Porcerelli discuss defense mechanisms—what they look like, how we use them, and why we use them. Dr. Porcerelli is an engaging, sharp, and incredibly knowledgeable professor of psychology at The University of Detroit Mercy , where he directs the psychology clinic. He shares his winding path from apathetic high school student to pro boxer to accomplished researcher, profe...

We got to interview Dr. Jim Sexton, who holds Ph. D.s in Clinical and Social Psychology. He's currently a professor at George Washington University's Psy. D. program and a practicing clinician . His answers lent insight into a wide range of topics within the fields of both his Ph. D.s, such as building rapport with clients, identifying subconscious biases in oneself as a clinician, and the hidden...

This is the second half of our interview with Ms. Andrea Broadwater , a therapist from Ann Arbor, Michigan with experience in clinical research, crisis care, and independent practice. In this episode, Ms. Broadwater talks about setting boundaries in therapy, giving back, tele-mental health, and the future of therapy. In the discussion, we talk about transference and countertransference, the subtle...

This is the first half of our interview with Ms. Andrea Broadwater , a therapist from Ann Arbor, Michigan with experience in clinical research, crisis care, and independent practice. In this episode, Ms. Broadwater talks about her background, her current clinical work, self-care, and her theoretical orientation.  In our discussion, we talk about what therapy is, how change occurs in therapy,...

We talked with Dr. Caleb Siefert , a professor at the University of Michigan-Dearborn , personality researcher, practicing clinician, and former neuromarketing consultant. We got to ask him about the life of a consulting psychologist, how psychology informs marketing, and how his current roles as a professor, researcher, and clinician inform and benefit each other.  In our discussion, we gave...

We got to talk to Dr. Daniel Weissman of the University of Michigan about a wide variety of topics, including choosing a career path, research with dolphins, computational modeling, and much more. We also got to hear about Dr. Weissman's own research on attention and the methods he uses to measure attention.  If you want to learn more about attention, check out this module from the Noba Proje...

As students at the University of Michigan-Dearborn , we got to talk to four different professors about what they do and how their fields relate to each other. Here's who all we talked to: Dr. Marie Waung is an industrial-organizational psychologist. Her current research involves developing the capability of autonomous shuttles to interpret human behavior and the psychological effects of the employ...

We talked to Dr. Robin Edelstein of the University of Michigan . She researches how personality influences peoples' interpersonal relationships. She's also a member of division 8 of the APA, the Society for Personality and Social Psychology . We also talked about personality tests, attachment styles, and other related topics.  If you want to learn more about personality psychology, this YouTu...

We spoke with Dr. Marie Waung , an industrial-organizational psychologist and professor at the University of Michigan-Dearborn , about the field of psychology in general and the skills one can acquire by studying psychology. Maddy & Zenon also talked about the history of psychology, research on career anxiety, and some basic terms & concepts to prepare listeners for the interview. Some of...