Speaking of Psychology

The idea of a machine that can read your thoughts sounds more like science fiction than actual science. But in recent years, it’s come closer to reality. Kenneth Norman, PhD, of Princeton University, talks about how scientists decode thoughts from patterns of brain activity, what we can learn about thinking, learning and memory from this research, how it could be useful in mental health treatment,...

The desire to belong is a fundamental part of human nature. Geoffrey Cohen, PhD, of Stanford University, talks about how feeling like an outsider can harm us; why threats to belonging drive problems as varied as achievement gaps and political polarization; and how to boost people’s sense of belonging, especially among those most at risk of feeling like outsiders. LInks Geoffrey Cohen, PhD Speaking...

When you feel time-poor, endless hours of free time might sound like the ultimate luxury. But psychologists’ research suggests that it’s not simply the amount of time that you have, but how you spend it, that determines your happiness. Cassie Holmes, PhD, discusses whether there’s an ideal amount of free time, how to increase your sense of “time affluence” and how tracking your time can help you l...

For many Americans, the past two-and-a-half years have been a time of economic turmoil. Anna Gassman-Pines, PhD, of Duke University, talks about how job loss, unstable work schedules and other hardships affect workers, their families and even entire communities, and about how working families – particularly low-wage workers – fared through the pandemic. Links Anna Gassman-Pines, PhD Speaking of Ps...

There’s a common stereotype is that teenagers’ brains are immature and underdeveloped, and that teens are “hard-wired” to take unwise risks and cave to peer pressure. But psychologists’ research suggests these negative stereotypes are unfounded and that the teen years are a time opportunity and growth as well as risk. Eva Telzer, PhD, explains why teens take more risks and why that risk-taking is...

We live in a nation awash with cheap, easy-to-get calories, mostly from highly processed convenience foods. Now, some researchers argue that these foods may actually be addictive – just like cigarettes or alcohol. Ashley Gearhardt, PhD, of the University of Michigan, talks about why highly processed foods may trigger addiction, the difference between addiction and simply liking to indulge in treat...

Do you ever feel like a phony? Like you’re not really qualified for the job you’re doing, despite your achievements? Those are signs of the impostor phenomenon, also called impostor syndrome. Dr. Lisa Orbé-Austin, a counseling psychologist and career coach in New York City, and Dr. Kevin Cokley, a University of Texas at Austin psychology professor who studies the impostor phenomenon among ethnic m...

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...

Borderline personality disorder is one of the most frequently diagnosed personality disorders, and one of the most misunderstood. Carla Sharp, PhD, of the University of Houston, discusses how BPD is diagnosed, defined and treated, how family members can help children and adults with BPD, and how the disorder fits in with researchers’ evolving understanding of personality disorders in general.   Li...

Most parents want to raise their children to be honest adults, so the first time that they catch their child in a lie it may come as an unpleasant surprise. But psychologists’ research has found that lying is a normal part of childhood. In fact, it’s a developmental milestone. Victoria Talwar, PhD, of McGill University, talks about why kids lie, how lying is tied to cognitive development, how chil...

The idea that people have biases that operate below the level of conscious thought is uncomfortable. But decades of research have found that many people who would never consciously agree with prejudiced statements against Black people, LGBTQ people or women can nonetheless harbor implicit biases toward these groups and others. Mahzarin Banaji, PhD, one of the pioneers of implicit bias research, ta...

Perfectionism might seem like a minor hurdle to overcome – or even a welcome personality trait. But perfectionism is different from simply striving for excellence and perfectionistic people are at higher risk for anxiety, depression and other mental health disorders. Perfectionism researcher Gordon Flett, PhD, and clinical psychologist Bonnie Zucker, PsyD, discuss where perfectionism comes from, w...

How much insight do people have into why they behave the way they do? Science journalist Shankar Vedantam, host of the Hidden Brain podcast and author of “Useful Delusions: The Power and Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain,” talks about why he is fascinated by the paradoxes of human behavior, what it takes to bring the popular podcast to life, and why it’s important to show the public the challeng...

For those of us who speak only one language, the idea of learning twenty or thirty sounds impossible. But there are “hyperpolyglots” who have managed this remarkable feat. Evelina Fedorenko, PhD, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, discusses what sets polyglots apart and what scientists might learn from studying them. She also discusses how language is processed in the brain, why it’s so...

Dozens of states are poised to outlaw or dramatically restrict abortion if the Supreme Court overturns its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. Antonia Biggs, PhD, a social psychologist at the University of California San Francisco, talks about the results of the Turnaway Study, which examined how receiving an abortion – or being denied one – affects mental health and well-being, the effects of laws that li...

We all keep secrets – on average, people have about 13 secrets at any one time, five of which they have never told another person. Psychologist Michael Slepian, PhD, of Columbia Business School, talks about what types of secrets people keep, why keeping a secret bottled up inside can harm us, how keeping secrets -- or sharing them -- affects people’s relationships with each other, how we decide wh...

Digital interventions that promise to help you achieve your health and fitness goals are everywhere. But do these apps work and are they a useful public health tool? Gary Bennett, PhD, director of the Duke University Global Digital Health Science Center, discusses how digital interventions can help address obesity and other public health challenges, how to find apps that are effective and backed b...

The past two years have taken a heavy toll on the health, mental health and well-being of people of color, who have suffered disproportionately from the COVID-19 pandemic while also facing what some call a second pandemic of racism. Riana Elyse Anderson, PhD, a clinical psychologist and professor at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, discusses why racism is like a virus and what c...

Dissociative identity disorder – which many people recognize by its former name, multiple personality disorder – is one of Hollywood’s favorite psychology-related topics, with a decades-long history of movie and TV portrayals, most recently in this spring’s “Moon Knight.” But in real life, DID does not look like it does on the screen. Bethany Brand, PhD, of Towson University, discusses why it is m...

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic scrambled our social connections, Americans were worried about an epidemic of loneliness. Louise Hawkley, PhD, principal research scientist at NORC at the University of Chicago, talks about the difference between being alone and being lonely, how loneliness can harm our health, whether we really are lonelier than ever these days, and how to identify and address th...

Over the past couple of decades, our devices have become our constant companions. More and more, we live in a digital, virtual world. Dr. Sherry Turkle, MIT professor and founding director of the MIT Initiative on Technology and Self, discusses how digital communication has affected our ability to talk to each other, how conversation itself changed in the digital age, why she thinks social media i...

Art is universal – there has never been a human society without it. But we don’t always agree on what makes for good art, or even what makes something art at all. Ellen Winner, PhD, of Boston College, talks about how psychology can help answer the question “What is art?” why even non-experts can tell the difference between a child’s painting and an abstract masterpiece, why art forgeries bother us...

Most people realize that being sedentary is bad for your physical health. But exercise – or the lack of it – can affect our cognitive health as well. Jenny Etnier, PhD, of the University of North Carolina Greensboro, discusses how exercise improves memory, the cognitive benefits of physical activity, the importance of youth sports and the downside of hyper-competitive youth sports culture. Links:...

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, more than 4 million Ukrainians have had to flee the country as refugees, more than 6 million others have been internally displaced, and tens of millions more have lived through shelling and other traumas. Laura Murray, PhD, of the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, talks about mental health care during war and other disasters, what prov...

The American Psychological Association’s most recent Stress in America survey found record high levels of stress among Americans of all ages. Dr. George Slavich, director of the UCLA Laboratory for Stress Assessment and Research, discusses how stress affects our brain, body and immune system, why it’s important to measure a person’s lifetime exposure to stress, and strategies to manage stress and...