The Psych Files - Michael Britt

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Episode 104: Can Positive Affirmations Improve Your Self Esteem? Sep 10, 2009

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Can positive affirmations really help raise your self esteem? People use daily affirmations and money affirmations to help them feel more confident, build their self-esteem and bring positive events into their lives. But do they really work? If not, then what will?

Episode 103: Raising Children - Interview with Author Jamie Raser Aug 30, 2009

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Having trouble raising your children? Join the crowd. There are lots and lots of parenting books out there, but here's one I think you should know about. It's called Raising Children You Can Live With by Jamie Raser. He has an approach to parenting that is not about picking your battles, but about staying out of battles altogether and talking with your child in a way that doesn't lead to shouting, screaming and anger. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Listen to Jamie Raser talk about his ideas in this episode of The Psych Files.

Episode 102 (video): How to Create an Online Experiment Aug 24, 2009

Show notes

Want to create an online experiment? Here's how to do it. I'll show you can create an experiment using two tools: Wix.com and Google Forms. Using these two tools, you'll be able to get creative and put together an experiment online that others can take. You'll even be able to collect the data. In this episode of The Psych Files I'll use as an example a very do-able recent study which shows that people tend to overestimage the height of a building when they are on the roof looking down to the ground than when they are on the ground looking up to the roof. The explanation for this is that evolutionarily, those who overestimated distances looking down were probably more likely to survive - because they probably backed away from the edge and prevented themselves from falling and killing themselves. Both students and faculty might be interested to see how this study could be set up online.

Episode 101: The Psychology of Music: The Role of Expectations and Minor Chords Aug 01, 2009

Show notes

How does music affect us emotionally? Why do minor chords sound so sad? In this episode of The Psych Files I explore ideas from Daniel Leviton's fascinating book, Your Brain on Music, especially those ideas concerned with what composers do to draw you into their music by first conforming to your musical expectations and then carefully confounding them in order to surprise and delight. I talk with guitarist and composer David Temple to get his perspective on this process as well. Along the way you'll hear excerpts from some fascinating pieces of music and David and I will discuss what makes them so compelling, especially those in the minor key. My My piano playing skills are pretty rough but get ready for some fun.

Episode 100: Reflections on 100 Episodes of The Psych Files Jul 20, 2009

Show notes

Well, it's here - episode 100. I take this time to reflect on which episodes have made the most impact on the podcast and the episodes and listeners that have taught me the most. Also, I provide a little background on how the podcast is produced, along with what programs and equipment are used. Thank you to everyone who has emailed me over the years to provide feedback and thanks to everyone else for being listeners and contributing to the success of The Psych Files!

Episode 99: Animal Emotions - Does Your Pet Really Have Feelings? Jul 15, 2009

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Does your dog have thoughts and feelings? How about your cat? In this episode we find out what scientists have to say about how we should study this question. I also review a fascinating new study by Dr. Alexandra Horowitz of Barnard College who studied whether or not dogs who have that guilty look actually do feel guilty. We take a look at the idea of anthropomorphism and your dog in this episode of The Psych Files.

Episode 98: Evolutionary Psychology - An Interview with Dr. David Buss Jun 20, 2009

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Do you know your own mate value in the dating world? Curious about evolutionary psychology? In this interview with Dr. David Buss we discuss a number of interesting and controversial topics, such as the matching hypothesis and date rape. Are there evolutionary roots to the battle of the sexes and can we change our behavior? Find out in this interview.

Episode 97: Stanley Milgram Obedience Study Finally Replicated Jun 08, 2009

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The obedience studies originally conducted by Stanley Milgram (sometimes referred to as the Milgram Shock studies) have finally been replicated in a university setting. Will people obey an authority figure and give a stranger a dangerous shock? Or have things changed in the last 40 years such that people will be more willing to be disobedient to authority? Even if you are familiar with the Milgram Obedience studies I guarantee you will learn something new in this podcast. I certainly did. Don't miss this episode of The Psych Files as I review both the original Milgram obedience study and the new study conducted by professor Jerry Burger at Santa Clara University.

Episode 96 (video): Mnemonics Advanced: The Pegword System Part 2 May 27, 2009

Show notes

In the last episode you saw me memorize - almost perfectly - a list of 20 top sci-fi movies. How did I do it? In this video learn exactly how the advanced pegword system works. I'll show you how each number becomes a letter, each letter becomes a word and each word becomes an image that will help you memorize just about any size list. Skeptical? You won't be after seeing exactly how it's done.

Episode 95 (video): Mnemonics Advanced: The Pegword System Part 1 May 25, 2009

Show notes

Did you know there's a mnemonic device that is more powerful than the One is a bun pegword mnemonic? Here's a system you can use for lists that have more than 12 items. In this video I show you the advanced pegword mnemonic system in which every number becomes a letter and a concrete word that you can visualize to help you remember a list of any length. See how to put mental imagery and your memory to work in this video.

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