The Psych Files - Michael Britt

Latest Episodes:

Ep 239: Racial Divide: Why Does It Happen? How We Can Fix It May 04, 2015

Show notes

Why does conflict emerge as it did in Baltimore last week, among the police and the African-American community? Is it caused by poor parenting? Poverty? Joblessness? I provide a psychological perspective on the situation. I look at how stereotypes develop and conflict among groups develops. The solution is complex but the theories on these two issues give us some insight into what has to happen to resolve the problems.

Ep: 238: A Robot's Gender, Act Like A Girl and Be A Man Apr 10, 2015

Show notes

Does it matter if a robot looks male or female? You might not think so, but are we perpetuating stereotypes if if we create a robot that looks "feminine" to help the elderly aren't we continuing the stereotype that these types of jobs are "women's" jobs? If we create "masculine" looking robots to work outside and do adventurous, heavy lifting jobs aren't we discouraging young women from entering such jobs? Something to think about. Also, have you ever said (like I have) "Like a girl"? What effect does that have on young girls? Isn't it, upon reflection, a derogatory thing to say - implying that girls are weak and uncoordinated? And how about "Be a man" - doesn't that encourage young boys to distance themselves from their feelings?

Ep 237: What is Misophonia? More on La Cage, Empathy, and the Milgram Studies Mar 19, 2015

Show notes

Does the sound of other people's mouth noises really drive you crazy? Honestly, it does to me. Things like lip smacking, swallowing, cracking and crunching really annoys me. If it annoys you too then you're not alone. Learn about misophonia in this episode. Also, a little more about my experiences playing Albin/Zaza in the musical La Cage Aux Folles, more on how we develop empathy for others and finally a new interpretation for what really was going on in the Stanley Milgram shock studies.

Ep 236: My Cross-Dressing Experience in La Cage Aux Folles Feb 23, 2015

Show notes

I was recently cast as "Albin" in the musical La Cage Aux Folles and it has given me the unique opportunity to have to learn how to act more effeminate and to cross dress. As a psychologist who obsesses about the "psychology of everyday life" you can imagine how I've been thinking about what there is to learn from this experience. The show goes up in less than a week but I wanted to share my experiences thus far and talk about issues such as gender roles and why I think the movie (La Cage Aux Folles or the American version which is called "The Birdcage") and the musical have been so popular.

Ep 235: Body Swapping - Now We Can Make You FEEL Like Someone Else Jan 28, 2015

Show notes

What if you could swap bodies with someone else? What would it be like to be someone of the opposite sex? A different race? We're getting darn close to being able to do that with new techniques like the Rubber Hand Illusion, the Enfacement illusion, and now the Full body illusion. You can now virtually switch bodies with someone else and thanks to our mirror neurons and other brain systems, you can have a very different sense of body ownership. Come listen to me talk about the latest research on this topic and some potential intriguing applications to problems like bullying.

Ep 234: Transvestism - Is It Normal? What Is Normal Anyway? Jan 08, 2015

Show notes

A small number of men cross dress and many movies and broadway shows feature cross dressers (transvestites), so obviously many people find it fascinating and those who cross dress typically enjoy it. Why? What does it mean about the people who do it? I was recently cast as Albin/ZaZa in the musical version of the movie "La Cage Aux Folles" so I've been doing a lot it recently. I decided to take a closer look at cross dressing and see what psychologists think about it. Along the way, I'll also look at some of the ways we determine how or if a behavior, thought or feeling is "abnormal"

Ep 233: While Policemen and Black Victims - What's Really Going on? Dec 18, 2014

Show notes

In the US, we've experienced a number of recent incidences of white policemen shooting black men. What's going on? Are these more examples of prejudice and discrimination or unprovoked attacks on police? How do we know what really happened? In this episode of The Psych Files we look at how key social psychological theories are on display in these incidences: false memories, attribution biases, blaming the victim and social identity theory.

Ep 232: Psychologists Involved in Torture: What Will We Do About It? Dec 10, 2014

Show notes

You may have heard from the US Senate report on Terrorism and Interrogations that a small group of psychologists were involved in the interrogations of detainees from the 9/11 incident. How could psychologists, who have a long tradition of concern and adherence to ethical standards in the treatment of others, become involved in such activities? Is it justified? More important: would YOU have become involved in these activities in the swirl of confusion and fear after the attacks? We examine these issues in this episode of The Psych Files.

Ep: 231: Multiple Personalities, and Tips on Getting People to Help Dec 04, 2014

Show notes

Is there such a thing as a person having multiple personalities? The idea makes for great headlines and fascinating talk shows, but what's the real story? I talk about that in this episode of The Psych Files along with giving tips on how maximize the chances that you'll get help in an emergency and answer the question: is the new generation of teens lazy?

Ep 230: Questionable Research - With A Famous Psychologist Involved Nov 21, 2014

Show notes

Might you be able to rid yourself of an illness by "turning back the clock"? That is, by immersing yourself in a time in your life when you were not ill? Psychology has always struggled to separate itself from those who would "borrow" good ideas and take them too far or twist them in ways that promise people too much. We're now more sensitive than ever about how psychological research is conducted and there are a lot of questions about a proposed new study by Ellen Langer that seems to be skirting some serious ethical issues in order to carry out a study with cancer patients - a study that could be done much less elaborately than is planned. Is this groundbreaking research, or as James Coyne suggests, quackery? We'll find out what's going on in this episode of The Psych Files.

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