Opinion Science
Episodes
#57: Media, Norms, and Social Change with Sohad Murrar
28 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sohad Murrar studies how media and norms affect people's opinions about social groups. Does media representation matter? Can infotainment aimed a...
#56: Receptiveness to Other Opinions with Julia Minson
14 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Julia Minson studies the psychology of disagreement. In particular, she's been working to understand what sorts of people are receptive to other ...
#55: Stereotypes at the Intersection with Chris Petsko
31 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Chris Petsko studies which stereotypes come to mind in a given moment. He's a social psychologist and postdoctoral scholar at Duke University. I ...
#54: Influence is Your Superpower with Zoe Chance
17 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Zoe Chance is an assistant professor of marketing at the Yale School of Management. Prior to Yale, she managed a $200 million segment of the Barbie br...
BONUS: "Best" of Opinion Science (2021)
09 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Another year in the books! Sure, there was a lot of wild stuff in 2021--an insurrection, COVID vaccine rollouts, a new president, another installment ...
#53: Influence on the Ground with Brian Ahearn
03 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Brian Ahearn specializes in applying the science of influence in everyday situations. He is one of only a dozen individuals in the world who currently...
Giving and Getting Good Gifts [Rebroadcast]
20 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This is a rebroadcast of Episode 27: Giving and Getting Good Gifts (December 21, 2020).It’s that time of year when winter holidays send people on a ...
#52: Applying Behavioral Science with Melina Palmer
06 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Melina Palmer is founder and CEO of The Brainy Business, which provides behavioral economics consulting to businesses of all sizes from around the wor...
#51: On Debate with Harish Natarajan, Dan Zafrir, & Noa Ovadia
22 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This episode follows up on the previous episode of Opinion Science about IBM's Project Debater. If you haven't already, be sure to check out...
#50: To Persuade is Human?
08 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In 2019, IBM introduced the world to Project Debater: an AI system that could go up against humans to debate anything. In this episode, we trace Proje...
#49: Inoculating Against Persuasion with Josh Compton
25 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Josh Compton studies how “inoculating” people against persuasion can make them more resistant to arguments they encounter later. Dr. Compton is an...
#48: "Selling" Social Science with Daniel Pink
11 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel Pink is a bestselling author who uses social science research to explore big questions about what it means to be human. He’s written six book...
#47: Moral Foundations & Political Opinion with Jesse Graham
27 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Jesse Graham studies human morality and what it means for our political opinions. He’s an Associate Professor of Management at the Eccles School of ...
#46: Polling 101 with Ashley Amaya
13 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Ashley Amaya is a senior survey methodologist at Pew Research Center. She has a PhD in Survey Methodology and is an expert when it comes to pollin...
Portraits: "Just Because You Asked" (Vanessa Bohns)
06 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In a new occasional series on Opinion Science, Portraits gives a snapshot of insights in social science. This week, Dr. Vanessa Bohns shows us how we...
#45: How Kids Judge with Larisa Heiphetz
30 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Larisa Heiphetz studies how kids think about religion and morality. She’s an assistant professor of psychology at Columbia University where she runs...
#44: The Contact Hypothesis
16 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How can we make the world less prejudiced? Research from the social sciences hints at a promising solution. This week, we do a deep dive on “The Con...
#43: Values with Greg Maio
02 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Greg Maio studies human values. He’s a professor of psychology at the University of Bath in England.* He also co-wrote the popular textbook, The Psy...
#42: Thinking with Richard Nisbett
19 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Richard E. Nisbett has spent his career studying how people think. He is an emeritus professor of Psychology at the University of Michigan, and his re...
#41: Taking Social Science into the World with Neil Lewis Jr.
05 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Neil Lewis Jr. doesn’t just study social questions—he studies them in the places where they matter. He’s an assistant professor of communication...
#40: Explaining Brains with Alie and Micah Caldwell
21 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Alie and Micah Caldwell produce the YouTube channel, Neuro Transmissions. Their videos present the basics of neuroscience and psychology in an accessi...
#39: Social Media Polarization with Chris Bail
07 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Chris Bail is a computational social scientist. He wrangles the data that our social interactions leave behind to better understand how ideas spread. ...
#38: American Islamophobia with Nazita Lajevardi
24 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Nazita Lajevardi studies public opinion relating to Muslim Americans. She’s a political scientist and attorney at Michigan State University. In 2020...
#37: Influence with Robert Cialdini
10 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Robert Cialdini is an internationally recognized expert on the science of influence. His book Influence is one of the most influential business an...
#36: Negotiation with Kwame Christian
26 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Kwame Christian is an attorney and negotiation expert. He's the director of the American Negotiation Institute where he and his team offer traini...
#35: Ambivalence with Iris Schneider
12 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Iris Schneider studies the psychology of "ambivalence," which is when we can see both the pros and cons of something. Oftentimes researc...
#34: Opinions of Ourselves with Ken DeMarree
29 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Ken DeMarree studies how opinion science applies how we see ourselves. He’s an associate professor of psychology at the University at Buffalo. In ou...
#33: Liking What Helps You with David Melnikoff
15 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
David Melnikoff studies how our goals affect how we feel about things. When stuff helps us reach a goal, we like it…even if it’s not the kind of t...
#32: Moralizing and Attention with Ana Gantman
01 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Ana Gantman studies how people process moral stuff. She’s an assistant professor at Brooklyn College, and she finds that our attention is often ...
#31: The Language of Opinion with Matt Rocklage
15 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Matt Rocklage studies the words we use to express opinions. He’s an assistant professor of marketing the University of Massachusetts-Boston. In ...
#30: "Us vs. Them" with Jay Van Bavel
01 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Jay Van Bavel studies how our social identities shape the way we see ourselves and the people around us. He’s an associate professor of psychology a...
#29: Hype with Michael F. Schein
18 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Michael F. Schein is a writer, speaker, and founder of the marketing agency, MicroFame Media. In his new book, The Hype Handbook, he explores the anti...
#28: When Money Buys Happiness with Lara Aknin
04 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Lara Aknin studies what makes people happy. In particular, she’s spent a lot of time looking at how being generous can improve one’s well-being. S...
BONUS: "Best" of Opinion Science (2020)
28 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Although 2020 will be remembered mostly for annoyances and deeply tragic events, one thing that kept me going this year was starting this podcast. Bei...
#27: Giving and Getting Good Gifts
21 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It’s that time of year when winter holidays send people on a buying spree as they collect gifts to give to every friend, family member, and acquaint...
#26: Intersectional Role Models in STEM with India Johnson and Eva Pietri
07 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Two guests! Drs. Eva Pietri and India Johnson stop by to share the important work they’re doing together on the power of role models for underrepres...
#25: Geography of Bias with Eric Hehman
23 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Eric Hehman studies the geography of bias. Lots of research has looked at the prejudice that lives in an individual person’s head, but Eric look...
#24: Persuasion via Story-Telling with Melanie Green
09 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Melanie Green studies stories. She’s a professor of Communication at University of Buffalo, and for years she’s been looking into whether stories ...
#23: Polling Young Voters with Kristen Soltis Anderson
26 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Kristen Soltis Anderson is a pollster and co-founder of Echelon Insights. For five years, she co-hosted the podcast, The Pollsters, she hosts the Siri...
#22: Political Persuasion with Alex Coppock
12 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Alex Coppock is an assistant professor of Political Science at Yale University. His research considers what affects people's political beliefs, e...
#21: More Influence Than You Realize with Vanessa Bohns
28 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Vanessa Bohns studies the difference between how much influence people have and how influence they think they have. On the podcast, we talk about her ...
New Episodes on the Way!
21 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Just a quick word about new episodes on the way and a switch to biweekly shows. Learn more about Opinion Science at http://opinionsciencepodcast.com/ ...
BONUS: Good Accidents with Elliot Aronson
07 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Elliot Aronson has seen a long and influential career in social psychology. Aronson got his PhD in 1959 from Stanford University, working with Leon Fe...
BONUS: Dissonance and the New Look with Joel Cooper
31 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Last week's special episode on cognitive dissonance pulled together interviews with several people who are experts in the field. Joel Cooper is o...
#20: The Cognitive Dissonance Episode
24 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In 1957, Leon Festinger published A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance. Along with a collection of compelling experiments, Festinger changed the landscape...
#19: Political Humor as Persuasion with Danna Young
17 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Dannagal Young studies political humor. She pulls together psychology, communications, and political science, to understand how political satire w...
#18: Health Communication with Allison Earl
10 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Allison Earl studies the challenges of getting health information to people who need it. Her research looks at how people react defensively to informa...
#17: How We Think About Animals with Kristof Dhont
03 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Kristof Dhont studies the psychology behind humans’ complicated feelings about animals. In particular, his research looks at how the existence of “...
#16: Implicit Bias with Mahzarin Banaji
27 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Mahzarin Banaji is a professor of psychology at Harvard University. In the 90s, she and her colleagues pioneered the research in social psychology on ...
#15: Political Campaigning with Joe Fuld (ft. Pavan Parikh)
20 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Joe Fuld founded the political consulting firm, The Campaign Workshop, and he also co-hosts the podcast, "How to Win a Campaign." In this ep...
#14: Certainty with Zakary Tormala
13 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Zakary Tormala is a professor of behavioral science and marketing at Stanford University’s business school. He studies how people can become cer...
#13: Fake News with Gordon Pennycook
06 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Gordon Pennycook studies why people share misinformation. His research has used many techniques to understand people’s ability to judge the accu...
#12: Comedy + Science with Shannon Odell
29 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Shannon Odell is a comedian and neuroscientist, and she uses comedy as a tool to teach people about science. She’s done this through hosting live sh...
#11: Opinions Across Cultures with Sharon Shavitt
22 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Sharon Shavitt is a professor of marketing at the University of Illinois. Her research has looked at consumer behavior from lots of angles, and sh...
#10: Policing, Race, and Advocacy with Deion Hawkins
14 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Deion Hawkins is an assistant professor of Communication Studies at Emerson College. He uses in-depth interviews with members of a community to unders...
#9: Systemic Racism with Phia Salter
08 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Phia Salter takes a cultural psychology approach to studying racism. She’s an associate professor of Psychology at Davidson College, and in this epi...
#8: Opinions Online with William Brady
01 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
William Brady studies how messages spread online--especially on social media sites. By mixing psychology experiments with analyses of millions of mess...
#7: Neither Liberal nor Conservative with Nathan Kalmoe
25 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Nathan Kalmoe is a political scientist at Louisiana State University. He studies public opinion and mass political behavior. In 2017 he co-authored th...
#6: Film Criticism with Alissa Wilkinson (ft. Cody Duckworth)
18 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Alissa Wilkinson is a film critic and culture reporter for Vox and an associate professor of English and Humanities and The King's College in New...
#5: Perceived Bias with Laura Wallace
11 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Laura Wallace studies what happens when people perceive a communicator as biased. In this episode, we talk about why bias is different from trustworth...
#4: Climate Change Communication with Matt Goldberg
04 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Matt Goldberg is a soon-to-be associate research scientist at the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. He uses established research from the ...
#3: "Disgusted" with Yoel Inbar
27 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Yoel Inbar is a social psychologist at University of Toronto. He studies the feeling of disgust and how it shapes people's moral judgments. We ta...
#2: Good vs. Bad with Jehan Sparks
20 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Jehan Sparks studies how positive vs. negative information informs our opinions. One of the things she looks at is something called a "negativity...
#1: Word of Mouth with Jake Teeny
13 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week I talk to Jake Teeny about his research on word of mouth. When do people pass their opinions along to others? Jake tells me that businesses ...
Introducing "Opinion Science"
03 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Coming Soon: The Opinion Science PodcastVisit opinionsciencepodcast.com for more.I’m Andy Luttrell, and I’m excited to introduce the Opinion Scien...