Speaking of Psychology

Latest Episodes:

Encore - What is it like to remember every day of your life, with Michael Yassa, PhD, and Markie Pasternak Dec 22, 2021

Show notes

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 like to have this ability, what we know about how the brains of people with HSAM store and retrieve this vast amount of autobiographical information, and what studying this unique ability can teach us more generally about how memory works.

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Psychology takes toys seriously, with Barry Kudrowitz, PhD, and Doris Bergen, PhD Dec 15, 2021

Show notes

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 changed the way kids play with toys? Does gender affect kids’ toy choices? And do we ever grow out of toys?

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The secret to being a “SuperAger,” with Emily Rogalski, PhD Dec 08, 2021

Show notes

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 people who age in a more typical way, and what might we learn from studying SuperAgers that could, potentially, help the rest of us to age better.

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Tightwads and spendthrifts: How emotions drive our shopping behavior, with Scott Rick, PhD Dec 01, 2021

Show notes

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, whether “retail therapy” actually works and why Black Friday sales are so irresistible.

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Exploring the human-animal bond, with Maggie O’Haire, PhD Nov 24, 2021

Show notes

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 science has to say about the human-animal bond, the difference between service animals, therapy animals and emotional support animals, whether regular household pets may also affect our health and well-being – and why we all enjoy cat videos so much.

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What can science teach us about the benefits of religion? With David DeSteno, PhD Nov 17, 2021

Show notes

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 those lessons can be applied outside the context of religious belief.

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Keeping teens safe on social media, with Linda Charmaraman, PhD Nov 10, 2021

Show notes

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, Media and Wellbeing Research Lab at the Wellesley Centers for Women, discusses how teens use social media today, its impact on their mental health, and what parents, educators and others can do to maximize its benefits and minimize its potential harms.

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How close relationships keep us healthy and happy, with Richard Slatcher, PhD Nov 03, 2021

Show notes

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 technology like smartphones and social media is affecting close relationships and his study on “Love in the time of COVID-19.”

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Ghosts, Ouija boards and ESP: psychology and the paranormal, with Chris French, PhD Oct 27, 2021

Show notes

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, and the role of skepticism and science in testing and evaluating paranormal claims.

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Waiting, worrying and dealing with uncertainty, with Kate Sweeny, PhD Oct 20, 2021

Show notes

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 worrying, and strategies people can use to lessen anxiety and make waiting easier.

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