Stanford Psychology Podcast - Stanford Psychology

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144 - Sandra Matz: AI, Social Media, And Data Privacy Jan 09, 2025

Show notes

Eric chats with Sandra Matz, Associate Professor of Business at Columbia Business School. Sandra is a renowned computational social scientist, using AI and big data to study human behavior and preferences. Sandra was named as one of the Poets & Quants 40 under 40 Business School Professors in 2021.

In this episode, Eric and Sandra discuss Sandra’s new book “Mindmasters” on how companies and academics are using AI to predict and shape people’s personalities. They discuss how to align AI with human preferences, how social media is harnessing our attention, how to protect our privacy as AI is becoming more and more powerful, and whether to use or avoid AI friends and therapists.

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Links:

Sandra’s new book Mindmasters
Sandra’s website
Sandra’s Google Scholar
Eric's website
Eric's X @EricNeumannPsy
Podcast X @StanfordPsyPod
Podcast Substack https://stanfordpsypod.substack.com/
Let us know what you think of this episode, or of the podcast! stanfordpsychpodcast@gmail.com

143 - Casey Kenyon Brown: Can Your Relationships Make You Depressed? Dec 05, 2024

Show notes

This week, Enna chats with Dr. Casey Kenyon Brown, Professor at Georgetown University in the Department of Psychology and the Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience. She has received numerous honors and awards, including the prestigious Pathway to Independence Award from the National Institute on Aging and the Rising Star Award from the Association for Psychological Science.

Casey’s research examines how we share, understand, and influence one another’s emotions. She’s interested in how these interpersonal emotional processes are beneficial for healthy aging, and how these processes may go awry and contribute to depression.

In this episode, Casey shares her journey in psychology, talks about her research on emotion and relationships, and provides advice on how we can build strong connections with people we love.

Please join our substack (https://stanfordpsypod.substack.com/) to stay connected with our community of listeners from all over the world! If you found this episode interesting, please consider leaving us a good rating. It just takes a minute but will allow us to reach more listeners to share our love for psychology.

Casey’s Lab Website: https://careslab.facultysite.georgetown.edu/

Casey’s Lab Twitter: @CARESlab_GU

Casey’s paper on empathy and shared depression: https://doi.org/10.1177/21677026221141852

Enna’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ennayuxuanchen/

Enna’s Twitter: @EnnaYuxuanChen

Podcast Contact: stanfordpsychpodcast@gmail.com

Podcast Twitter: @StanfordPsyPod

142 - Meet the Hosts: Kate Petrova Nov 21, 2024

Show notes

Adani chats with Kate Petrova, one of the first hosts of the Stanford Psychology Podcast and a fourth-year Ph.D. student in psychology at Stanford University. In this special episode from our Meet the Host series, Kate shares her journey into research and science communication, and how she grappled with the ups and downs of graduate school! She also discusses the value and challenges of interdisciplinarity, what affective science is and could look like in the future, and what most excites her about that picture!
If you found this episode interesting at all, subscribe on our Substack and consider leaving us a good rating! It just takes a second but will allow us to reach more people and make them excited about psychology.
Kate’s website: https://www.kpetrova.com/home
Kate’s twitter: @kate_ptrv
Kate’s paper on The Future of Emotion Regulation Research: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42761-023-00222-0
Kate’s first episode with her advisor, Dr. James Gross: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4pSGtdQmywj2ubmFAeaDL5?si=1ZFsw45OQGKvWClAG6VYQg
Adani’s website: https://www.adaniabutto.com
Adani’s Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/adani.bsky.social
Podcast Twitter @StanfordPsyPod
Podcast Substack Stanford Psychology Podcast
Let us know what you thought of this episode, or of the podcast! :) stanfordpsychpodcast@gmail.com

141 - Michael Schwalbe and Geoff Cohen: When Politics Trumps Truths Nov 07, 2024

Show notes

Anjie chats with Dr. Michael Schwalbe and Dr. Geoff Cohen. Michael is a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University, from which he also received his PhD in social psychology. Geoff is a Professor of Psychology and the James G. March Professor of Organizational Studies in Education and Business at Stanford University. His research examines the processes that shape people’s sense of belonging and self-concept, and the role that these processes play in various social problems. In this episode, Michael and Geoff shared their most recent work on biases we have when consuming political news: people were more likely to believe and share news aligned with their political beliefs, compared to news that was true, even when the headlines were outlandishly fake. They also talked about the implications of these biases for democracy, misinformation, and how we might counteract our own tendencies to favor agreeable but untrue information.

Michael & Geoff’s paper: https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2025-33892-004.html

Stanford Report's coverage on the paper: https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2024/10/new-study-shows-that-partisanship-trumps-truth
Michael’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelschwalbe/

Geoff’s lab website: http://cohenlab.stanford.edu

Geoff’s personal website: https://www.geoffreylcohen.com/bio

Anjie’s: website: anjiecao.github.io

Anjie’s Twitter @anjie_cao

Podcast Twitter @StanfordPsyPod

Podcast Substack https://stanfordpsypod.substack.com/

Let us know what you thought of this episode, or of the podcast! :) stanfordpsychpodcast@gmail.com

140 - Julia Chatain: Embodied Learning and Educational Technology in Mathematics and Beyond Oct 24, 2024

Show notes

Adani chats with Dr. Julia Chatain, Senior Scientist at the Singapore-ETH Centre of ETH Zürich. Julia is a computer scientist and learning scientist responsible for building a new research program, “Future Embodied Learning Technologies” (FELT), focusing on exploring AI-powered embodied learning interventions to support low-progress learners and learners with special needs, both at the cognitive and the affective levels. Before that, she led the EduTech group at ETH Zürich, conducting Research and Development of educational technology through co-design with lecturers and students, with a focus on XR, AI-supported learning, and accessibility.
In this episode, Adani and Julia discuss Julia’s recent work on embodied learning in mathematics, much of which was part of her doctoral research at ETH Zürich conducted with her advisors Prof. Manu Kapur and Prof. Robert Sumner. They also dive into her journey that led her to where she is now, and discuss what she is currently working on at the Singapore-ETH Centre and beyond!
If you found this episode interesting at all, subscribe on our Substack and consider leaving us a good rating! It just takes a second but will allow us to reach more people and make them excited about psychology.
Julia’s website: https://juliachatain.com/
Julia’s paper on Grounding Graph Theory in Embodied Concreteness with VR: https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000583039
Singapore-ETH Centre’s website: https://sec.ethz.ch/
Julia’s Twitter @JuliaChatain
Adani’s website: https://www.adaniabutto.com/
Adani’s Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/adani.bsky.social
Podcast Twitter @StanfordPsyPod
Podcast Substack https://stanfordpsypod.substack.com/
Let us know what you thought of this episode, or of the podcast! :)
stanfordpsychpodcast@gmail.com

139 - Susan Carey: Becoming a Cognitive Scientist Oct 10, 2024

Show notes

Anjie chats with Dr. Susan Carey. Susan is an Emeritus Professor of Psychology at Harvard University and one of the most influential figures in the field of developmental psychology. Her groundbreaking research focuses on conceptual change and how knowledge systems develop throughout childhood. Susan has received numerous prestigious awards, including the William James Fellow Award from the Association for Psychological Science, the David Rumelhart Prize for significant contributions to human cognition, and the Atkinson Prize in Psychological and Cognitive Sciences from the National Academy of Sciences. In this episode, Susan reflects on her journey into cognitive science, discusses the evolution of her research on children's conceptual understanding, and shares valuable advice for aspiring graduate students and young faculty.

Susan’s memoir: https://www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-devpsych-040622-091723

Susan’s personal website: https://www.harvardlds.org/our-labs/carey-lab/susan-carey/

Anjie’s: website: anjiecao.github.io

Anjie’s Twitter @anjie_cao

Podcast Twitter @StanfordPsyPod

Podcast Substack https://stanfordpsypod.substack.com/

Let us know what you thought of this episode, or of the podcast! :) stanfordpsychpodcast@gmail.com

138 - Hal Hershfield: Connecting with Your Future Self for a Better Tomorrow Sep 26, 2024

Show notes

This week, Enna chats with Dr. Hal Hershfield, Professor of Marketing, Behavioral Decision Making, and Psychology at UCLA Anderson School of Management. In 2017, Hal was recognized as a 40 under 40 best business school professor. This year, he was voted as faculty of the year by MBA students at UCLA.

Hal studies how thinking about time transforms the emotions and alters the judgments and decisions people make. His research concentrates on the psychology of long-term decision making and how time affects people’s lives — specifically at a moment when Americans are living longer and saving less.

Hal earned his PhD at Stanford Psychology under the mentorship of Dr. Laura Carstensen, who is Enna’s PhD advisor currently. In this episode, Hal shares his journey in psychology, talks about his research on time and decision making as well as his recent book, Your Future Self: How to Make Tomorrow Better Today, an insightful and entertaining guide to grow into our ideal selves.

Hal’s website: https://www.halhershfield.com/

Hal’s book: https://www.halhershfield.com/yourfutureself

Hal’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hal-hershfield/

Hal’s Twitter: @HalHershfield

Enna’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ennayuxuanchen/

Enna’s Twitter: @EnnaYuxuanChen

Podcast Contact: stanfordpsychpodcast@gmail.com

Podcast Twitter: @StanfordPsyPod

137 - Kelsey Lucca: Unpacking the Development of Exploration and Exploitation Jul 25, 2024

Show notes

Anjie chats with Dr. Kelsey Lucca. Kelsey is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Arizona State University. She directs the Emerging Minds Lab, where she leads her team to investigate cognitive development during infancy and early childhood, with a focus on the development of curiosity, social cognition, communication, and problem solving. In this episode, Kelsey chats about one of her recent papers “Developmental differences in children and adults’ enforcement of explore versus exploit search strategies in the United States and Turkey”. She also shares her personal journey into developmental science.

Kelsey’s lab website: https://www.emergingmindslab.org/

Kelsey’s Lab twitter: @EmergingMindsAZ

Kelsey’s paper: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/desc.13520

Anjie’s: website: anjiecao.github.io

Anjie’s Twitter @anjie_cao

Podcast Twitter @StanfordPsyPod

Podcast Substack https://stanfordpsypod.substack.com/

Let us know what you thought of this episode, or of the podcast! :) stanfordpsychpodcast@gmail.com

136 - Meet the Hosts: Bella Fascendini Jul 11, 2024

Show notes

Anjie chats with Bella Fascendini, a long time host of the Stanford Psychology Podcast and an incoming Ph.D. student in psychology at Princeton University. In this special episode from our Meet the Host series, Bella shares her journey into cognitive science and science communication, offering valuable tips for those considering graduate school or pursuing science communication. She also discusses one of her coolest work experiences —working with Penguin—and how it has shaped her current path.

If you found this episode interesting at all, subscribe on our Substack and consider leaving us a good rating! It just takes a second but will allow us to reach more people and make them excited about psychology.

Bella’s website: https://www.bellaxfascendini.com/

Bella’s twitter: @BellaFascendini

Bella’s first episode: https://www.stanfordpsychologypodcast.com/episodes/episode/4cea0f37/27-david-lagnado-how-causal-reasoning-can-help-us-make-better-judgments-and-solve-criminal-cases

Anjie’s: website: anjiecao.github.io

Anjie’s Twitter @anjie_cao

Podcast Twitter @StanfordPsyPod

Podcast Substack https://stanfordpsypod.substack.com/

Let us know what you thought of this episode, or of the podcast! :) stanfordpsychpodcast@gmail.com

135 - Jake Quilty-Dunn: The Language of Thought Hypothesis in Cognitive Science Jun 27, 2024

Show notes

Joseph chats with Prof. Jake Quilty-Dunn, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the Department of Philosophy and the Center for Cognitive Science Rutgers University. Prof. Quilty-Dunn works primarily in philosophy of mind and cognitive science. Much of his research concerns distinctions between kinds of mental representations (such as iconic and discursive formats), mental processes (such as inference and association), and mental systems (such as perception and cognition). He also has broad research interests in philosophy of language, aesthetics and early modern philosophy.

In this episode Joseph and Dr. Quilty-Dunn chat about the language of thought (LoT) hypothesis. They discuss the history of the idea, how the LoT differs from natural language, how it shows up in perception and cognition, how it compares to rival formats, and the extent to which it is learnable in development.

References:

Quilty-Dunn, J., Porot, N., & Mandelbaum, E. (2023). The best game in town: The reemergence of the language-of-thought hypothesis across the cognitive sciences. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 46, e261

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