Speaking of Psychology

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...

For many people, the stereotypical image of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is an 8-year-old boy who can’t sit still in class. But in recent decades, scientists have gained a more sophisticated understanding of the causes and lifelong consequences of the disorder. Margaret Sibley, PhD, of Seattle Children’s Hospital, talks about the biological underpinnings of ADHD, what researchers have...

On hot-button topics such as climate change, vaccines and genetically modified foods, science denial is rampant – and it crosses party and ideological lines. What are the psychological forces that lead people to disbelieve scientific consensus?  Is science denial worse than it’s ever been? How have the internet and social media changed the landscape of science skepticism? Psychologists Barbara Hof...

What can you learn from the science of behavior change that can help you make the changes you want to see in your life? Katy Milkman, PhD, a professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and author of the book “How to Change,” discusses the importance of accurately identifying the behavioral roadblocks standing in your way, how specific strategies such as “temptation bundling”...

Human memory is imperfect – we all misplace our keys, forget acquaintances’ names and misremember the details of our own past. Daniel Schacter, PhD, a professor of psychology at Harvard University, discusses why memory is so fallible, the causes and consequences of the most common memory errors, how memory changes as we age, and how memory is tied to our ability to plan for the future. Learn more...

This week marks 20 years since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Researchers call this kind of shared disaster a “collective trauma.” Roxane Cohen Silver, PhD, of the University of California Irvine, who studies collective trauma and led a multi-year study on the mental and physical health effects of 9/11, discusses that research and how what we...

What is power? Why do people seek it and how do they get it? Is it human nature to abuse power? And how might power – or powerlessness – affect our health and wellbeing? Dacher Keltner, PhD, psychology professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and author of the book “The Power Paradox: How We Gain and Lose Influence,” discusses these and other questions. Links Greater Good Science Cente...

The mental health of athletes has been in the news a lot this year, thanks to Olympians Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles. The attention may be new, but the field of sport psychology is not. How do sport psychologists work with athletes? How might athletes’ mental health affect the public perception of mental health? As a mental performance consultant for the U.S. Paralympic team and a former competiti...

“Eureka moments” have led to some of humanity’s greatest achievements in science, medicine, mathematics and the arts. But they’re not always that dramatic -- we’ve nearly all had the experience of solving a nagging problem in a flash of insight when we’re least expecting it. John Kounios, PhD, a professor of psychology at Drexel University, discusses how does this type of creative insight differs...

Just in time for Friday the 13th, we discuss the psychology of superstition with Stuart Vyse, PhD, author of the book “Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition.” Vyse discusses the origins of some popular superstitions, the psychological purposes superstition serves, and whether or not it’s possible that your lucky charm or pre-game ritual might actually help you perform better. Listener...

Speaking of Psychology is taking a one-week summer break, so we’re revisiting one of our favorite episodes from the past year. In February, we talked to University of California, Berkeley psychologist Alison Gopnik about how children’s brains are optimized to explore the world and the implications that this has for human evolution, how we think about the purpose of childhood, how we raise and educ...

The word “burnout” has become ubiquitous -- it seems to sum up the stress and exhaustion and disaffection that many of us are feeling this year. But are workers really more burned out than ever? And what does the term burnout actually mean? How does burnout differ from fatigue or stress? How do you know if you’re burned out? And what can individuals, employers and society do to combat workplace bu...

More than 4% of people have some form of synesthesia, a neurological condition that causes senses to link and merge. People with synesthesia may taste words, hear colors, or see calendar dates arrayed in physical space. Dr. Julia Simner, a professor of neuropsychology at the University of Sussex in the U.K., discusses the many forms of synesthesia, how synesthetes experience the world, and what sc...