Psychology in Everyday Life: The Psych Files

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 i...

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...

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 wi...

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 anthropomorphis...

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 w...

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).  Youn...

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: Prof...

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 you...

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 r...

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...

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...

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 br...

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...

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...

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 suc...

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 re...