Speaking of Psychology

Few of us will make it through life without losing someone we love. Mary-Frances O’Connor, PhD, of the University of Arizona, discusses howneuroscience can help us to better understand grief and resilience after loss, why grief is different from depression, effective therapy for grief, whether it’s possible to experience grief over the death of a celebrity, and how to support people when they are...

Anger is a normal human emotion, a natural reaction when you feel that something or someone has done you wrong. But anger can also turn violent and dangerous, can ruin relationships and can interfere with our health and happiness. Howard Kassinove, PhD, of Hofstra University, and Raymond “Chip” Tafrate, PhD, of Central Connecticut State University, discuss the difference between healthy and harmfu...

Most of us think we know what a psychopath looks like. The word brings to mind images of horror movies and criminals. But psychopathy is far more common than most people realize, and actually hard to recognize in other people. Abigail Marsh, PhD, of Georgetown University, discusses what researchers have learned about the causes of psychopathy and effective treatments for it, how to recognize psych...

March 11 marks two years since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. With another variant waning, many people are hoping, yet again, to close the book on COVID and move on. But what if there’s a different way to think about life after loss? Pauline Boss, PhD, author of “The Myth of Closure: Ambiguous Loss in a Time of Pandemic and Change,” talks about what we have learned abo...

Our brothers and sisters are our first friends and first rivals, and the relationships that we have with our siblings are often the longest lasting relationships of our lives. Laurie Kramer, PhD, of Northeastern University, and Megan Gilligan, PhD, of Iowa State University, talk about how our siblings influence our lives from childhood through adulthood, how parents can help foster close relations...

Why do intelligent people give money to self-proclaimed psychics or get sucked into Ponzi schemes? Why are most of us so bad at judging risk? Journalist, psychologist and professional poker player Maria Konnikova, PhD, author of the “The Biggest Bluff” and “The Confidence Game,” talks about why anyone can fall for a con, the psychology of risk, and how her knowledge of psychology did—and didn’t—he...

Despite how common mental illness is, people with mental illness often keep their diagnosis a closely guarded secret in the face of widespread stigma and discrimination. Patrick Corrigan, PhD, editor of APA’s journal Stigma and Health, discusses where this stigma comes from, how it affects people’s lives, why it’s important for those with mental illness to share their stories, and whether or not c...

Most of us expect the intensity of new love to fade over time. But some couples remain deeply in love for the long haul, even after years or decades together. What sets those relationships apart? Are some couples just lucky? Or are there things that you can do to sustain love, or rekindle it, in any long-term relationship? Dr. Arthur Aron, of Stonybrook University, discusses what the science says...

Why do people like to watch scary movies or listen to sad songs? We do we run marathons and raise children, even though both of those pursuits come with struggle and pain? Dr. Paul Bloom discusses why suffering is linked to meaning in life, the connection between pleasure and pain, and the difference between chosen and unchosen suffering. Links Paul Bloom, PhD - https://psychology.yale.edu/people/...

As an adult, making new friends – and maintaining old friendships – can be tough. Life is busy and friends end up taking a backseat to other relationships and responsibilities. Dr. Marisa Franco, psychologist and friendship expert, talks about how to make new friends and strengthen and rekindle old friendship ties, why Americans’ friendship networks are shrinking, the differences between men’s and...

Super-recognizers have an extraordinary ability to recognize faces – they can pick faces they’ve seen only briefly out of a crowd and can recognize childhood acquaintances they haven’t seen in decades. Dr. Josh Davis, a professor of applied psychology at the University of Greenwich, and super-recognizer Kelly Desborough, discuss the origins of this ability, why you can’t train yourself to be a sup...

We’ve all had good reason to feel anxious over the past two years. But sometimes, anxiety is more than a normal response to stress. Anxiety disorders are among the most common of all mental health disorders, affecting an estimated 15% to 20% of people at some point in their life. Dr. Bunmi Olatunji, director of the Emotion and Anxiety Research Lab at Vanderbilt University, discusses the emotions t...

More than 20 percent of U.S. adults suffer from some form of chronic pain. For many, effective treatment remains elusive, with medications and even surgeries giving little in the way of relief. But in recent years, psychologists’ research has begun to suggest that at least for some people, the answer to chronic pain may come not from healing the body but from treating the mind. Dr. Tor Wager, of D...

Many people around the world have lost their sense of smell this past year due to COVID-19. Before the pandemic, scientists had already begun to gain a deeper understanding of how sophisticated our sense of smell is and how it is intertwined with our mental and physical health. Now, the pandemic is giving that research new urgency. Pamela Dalton, PhD, of the Monell Chemical Senses Center, discusse...

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 l...

Just in time for toy-buying season, Dr. Barry Kudrowitz, a toy designer and professor of product design at the University of Minnesota, and Dr. Doris Bergen, a professor emerita of educational psychology at Miami University in Ohio, discuss the psychology of toys. What makes something a good toy? Why do some toys stand the test of time while others fizzle out after one season? How has technology c...

For most people lucky enough to live a long life, aging comes with some cognitive decline. But memory loss isn’t inevitable. Some people -- “SuperAgers” -- have memory abilities that remain intact into their 80s, 90s and even beyond. Emily Rogalski, PhD, head of the SuperAger study at Northwestern University, talks about what sets these SuperAgers apart, how their brains differ from the brains of...

Does shopping bring you joy? Or do you feel a bit of pain and regret every time you have to make a purchase? Many of us will be shopping for gifts in the upcoming weeks -- whether we enjoy it or not. Scott Rick, PhD, of the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, discusses how our emotions drive our buying behaviors, why some people spend money so easily while others find it so difficult...

The role that animals can play in improving people’s mental health has garnered increased attention in recent years -- from service dogs for PTSD to emotional support animals on planes to therapy dogs in offices. Dr. Maggie O’Haire, a psychologist at the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine, discusses animal-assisted interventions for veterans with PTSD and children with autism, what s...

For thousands of years, people have turned to religion to answer questions about how to lead a happy, moral and fulfilling life. David DeSteno, PhD, a psychology professor at Northeastern University and author of the book “How God Works,” discusses how the structures and traditions of religion contribute to people’s well-being, what behavioral scientists can learn from studying religion, and how t...

The vast majority of U.S. teens have access to a smartphone and at least one social media account, and recent headlines seem to confirm parents’ worst fears about the effects of all that time spent online. But psychologists’ research suggests that there are nuanced answers to the question of how social media affects teens’ mental health and well-being. Linda Charmaraman, PhD, director of the Youth...

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 t...

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, a...

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...

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 id...