Speaking of Psychology

How living with secrets can harm you, with Michael Slepian, PhD

08 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We all keep secrets – on average, people have about 13 secrets at any one time, five of which they have never told another person. Psychologist Mich...

Can an app improve your health? With Gary Bennett, PhD

01 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Digital interventions that promise to help you achieve your health and fitness goals are everywhere. But do these apps work and are they a useful publ...

Racism, racial discrimination and mental health, with Riana Elyse Anderson, PhD

25 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The past two years have taken a heavy toll on the health, mental health and well-being of people of color, who have suffered disproportionately from t...

What is dissociative identity disorder? With Bethany Brand, PhD

18 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Dissociative identity disorder – which many people recognize by its former name, multiple personality disorder – is one of Hollywood’s favorite ...

Are we in a ‘loneliness pandemic’? With Louise Hawkley, PhD

11 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic scrambled our social connections, Americans were worried about an epidemic of loneliness. Louise Hawkley, PhD, princ...

Is technology killing empathy? With Sherry Turkle, PhD

04 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Over the past couple of decades, our devices have become our constant companions. More and more, we live in a digital, virtual world. Dr. Sherry Turkl...

What psychology has to say about art, with Ellen Winner, PhD

27 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Art is universal – there has never been a human society without it. But we don’t always agree on what makes for good art, or even what makes somet...

How exercise benefits the brain, with Jenny Etnier, PhD

20 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Most people realize that being sedentary is bad for your physical health. But exercise – or the lack of it – can affect our cognitive health as we...

Surviving the trauma of war in Ukraine, with Laura Murray, PhD

13 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, more than 4 million Ukrainians have had to flee the country as refugees, more than 6 million others hav...

How to keep stress from harming your health, with George Slavich, PhD

06 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The American Psychological Association’s most recent Stress in America survey found record high levels of stress among Americans of all ages. Dr. Ge...

How grieving changes the brain, with Mary-Frances O’Connor, PhD

30 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Few of us will make it through life without losing someone we love. Mary-Frances O’Connor, PhD, of the University of Arizona, discusses howneuroscie...

How to Keep Anger from Getting the Best of You with Howard Kassinove, PhD, and Raymond “Chip” Tafrate, PhD

23 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Anger is a normal human emotion, a natural reaction when you feel that something or someone has done you wrong. But anger can also turn violent and da...

Why psychopathy is more common than you think, with Abigail Marsh, PhD

16 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Most of us think we know what a psychopath looks like. The word brings to mind images of horror movies and criminals. But psychopathy is far more comm...

Ambiguous loss and the “myth of closure,” with Pauline Boss, PhD

09 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

March 11 marks two years since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. With another variant waning, many people are hoping, yet ag...

How our siblings influence our lives, with Laurie Kramer, PhD, and Megan Gilligan, PhD

02 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our brothers and sisters are our first friends and first rivals, and the relationships that we have with our siblings are often the longest lasting re...

Poker, con artists and the psychology of risk and deception, with Maria Konnikova, PhD

23 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Why do intelligent people give money to self-proclaimed psychics or get sucked into Ponzi schemes? Why are most of us so bad at judging risk? Journali...

Fighting the stigma of mental illness, with Patrick Corrigan, PsyD

16 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Despite how common mental illness is, people with mental illness often keep their diagnosis a closely guarded secret in the face of widespread stigma ...

What makes love last? With Arthur Aron, PhD

09 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Most of us expect the intensity of new love to fade over time. But some couples remain deeply in love for the long haul, even after years or decades t...

Why we choose to suffer, with Paul Bloom, PhD

02 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Why do people like to watch scary movies or listen to sad songs? We do we run marathons and raise children, even though both of those pursuits come wi...

Why is it so hard for adults to make friends? With Maris Franco, PhD

26 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As an adult, making new friends – and maintaining old friendships – can be tough. Life is busy and friends end up taking a backseat to other relat...

The people who never forget a face, with Josh Davis, PhD, and Kelly Desborough

19 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Super-recognizers have an extraordinary ability to recognize faces – they can pick faces they’ve seen only briefly out of a crowd and can recogniz...

What is anxiety and how can we treat it effectively? With Bunmi Olatunji, PhD

12 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve all had good reason to feel anxious over the past two years. But sometimes, anxiety is more than a normal response to stress. Anxiety disorder...

Healing pain by treating the mind, with Tor Wager, PhD

05 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

More than 20 percent of U.S. adults suffer from some form of chronic pain. For many, effective treatment remains elusive, with medications and even su...

Encore - Unlocking the mysteries of smell, our most underappreciated sense, with Pamela Dalton, PhD

29 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Many people around the world have lost their sense of smell this past year due to COVID-19. Before the pandemic, scientists had already begun to gain ...

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

22 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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...

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

15 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

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

08 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

For most people lucky enough to live a long life, aging comes with some cognitive decline. But memory loss isn’t inevitable. Some people -- “Super...

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

01 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

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

24 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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...

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

17 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Keeping teens safe on social media, with Linda Charmaraman, PhD

10 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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’ wor...

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

03 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Close relationships are essential to our happiness and well-being and are also an important predictor of physical health. Richard Slatcher, PhD, of th...

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

27 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Just in time for Halloween, we talk about the psychology of strange stuff – including ghostly visitations, alien abductions, ESP, and more – with ...

Waiting, worrying and dealing with uncertainty, with Kate Sweeny, PhD

20 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 decisi...

Men, masculinity and mental health, with Ronald F. Levant, EdD

13 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Stoic. Self-reliant. Unemotional. For many men, these watchwords of traditional masculinity still hold powerful sway. Men are less likely than women t...

ADHD among children and adults, with Margaret Sibley, PhD

06 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

For many people, the stereotypical image of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is an 8-year-old boy who can’t sit still in class. But in recen...

The psychology of science denial, doubt and disbelief, with Gale Sinatra, PhD, and Barbara Hofer, PhD

29 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

On hot-button topics such as climate change, vaccines and genetically modified foods, science denial is rampant – and it crosses party and ideologic...

How science can help you change your behavior for the better with Katy Milkman, PhD

22 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What can you learn from the science of behavior change that can help you make the changes you want to see in your life? Katy Milkman, PhD, a professor...

The seven sins of memory, with Daniel Schacter, PhD

15 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Human memory is imperfect – we all misplace our keys, forget acquaintances’ names and misremember the details of our own past. Daniel Schacter, Ph...

Twenty years after 9/11, what have we learned about collective trauma? With Roxane Cohen Silver, PhD

08 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week marks 20 years since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Researchers call this kind of sha...

Power: How you get it, how it can change you, with Dacher Keltner, PhD

01 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What is power? Why do people seek it and how do they get it? Is it human nature to abuse power? And how might power – or powerlessness – affect ou...

Sport psychology, peak performance and athletes’ mental health, with Jamie Shapiro, PhD

25 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The mental health of athletes has been in the news a lot this year, thanks to Olympians Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles. The attention may be new, but th...

Creativity, insight and “eureka moments,” with John Kounios, PhD

18 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“Eureka moments” have led to some of humanity’s greatest achievements in science, medicine, mathematics and the arts. But they’re not always t...

The psychology of superstition, with Stuart Vyse, PhD

11 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Just in time for Friday the 13th, we discuss the psychology of superstition with Stuart Vyse, PhD, author of the book “Believing in Magic: The Psych...

Encore: How children’s amazing brains shaped humanity, with Alison Gopnik, PhD

04 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Speaking of Psychology is taking a one-week summer break, so we’re revisiting one of our favorite episodes from the past year. In February, we talke...

Why we’re burned out and what to do about it, with Christina Maslach, PhD

28 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The word “burnout” has become ubiquitous -- it seems to sum up the stress and exhaustion and disaffection that many of us are feeling this year. B...

Tasty words, colorful sounds: How people with synesthesia experience the world, with Julia Simner, PhD

21 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

More than 4% of people have some form of synesthesia, a neurological condition that causes senses to link and merge. People with synesthesia may taste...

Can a personality test determine if you’re a good fit for a job? With Fred Oswald, PhD

14 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

These days, many companies use assessments such as personality tests as part of the hiring process or in career development programs. Fred Oswald, PhD...

How to overcome feeling like an impostor, with Lisa Orbé-Austin, PhD, and Kevin Cokley, PhD

07 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Do you ever feel like a phony? Like you’re not really qualified for the job you’re doing, despite your achievements? Those are signs of the impost...

Back to the office? The future of remote and hybrid work, with Tsedal Neeley, PhD

30 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Many Americans are headed back to the office this summer, but fault lines are emerging between some companies’ expectations for in-person work and t...

The history of LGBTQ psychology from Stonewall to now, with Peter Hegarty, PhD

23 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Over the past decades, the focus of LGBTQ activism has shifted and evolved, from the AIDS crisis in the 1980s to the fight for marriage equality to th...

How ‘open science’ is changing psychological research, with Brian Nosek, PhD

16 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Is psychology research in a crisis or a renaissance? Over the past decade, scientists have realized that many published research results, including so...

What do we know about preventing gun violence? With Susan Sorenson, PhD

09 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Guns killed nearly 44,000 Americans in 2020, a higher number than in any other year in the past two decades. Meanwhile, a spate of mass shootings in t...

COVID 19, Insomnia, and the Importance of Sleep, with Jennifer Martin, PhD

02 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Is your sleep schedule a mess lately? You’re not alone. The stress and disrupted routines of the past year have taken a toll on our sleep. Jennifer ...

The future of policing one year after George Floyd's death, with Cedric Alexander, PsyD

26 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

One year ago this week, George Floyd was murdered on camera by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. To mark the anniversary of Floyd’s death, w...

Technology is changing how we talk to each other, with Jeff Hancock, PhD

19 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Zoom, Facebook, group text messages: This past year, technology has sometimes felt like the glue that’s kept many of our relationships alive. More a...

Can a “growth mindset” help students achieve their potential? With David Yeager, PhD

12 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In recent years, research on the power of growth mindset has made the leap from the psychology lab to popular culture. Growth mindset is the belief th...

What is it like to remember every day of your life? With Michael Yassa, PhD, and Markie Pasternak

05 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Your Brain Is Not What You Think It Is, with Lisa Feldman Barrett, PhD

28 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What if the way you think about your brain and how and why it functions is just plain wrong? Lisa Feldman Barrett, PhD, a professor of psychology at N...

How to cope with climate anxiety, with Thomas Doherty, PsyD, and Ashlee Cunsolo, PhD

21 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Over the past several years, climate change has moved from an abstract idea to a reality in many Americans’ lives – a reality that we are increasi...

Why you should talk to strangers, with Gillian Sandstrom, PhD, and Jon Levy

14 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Despite the fact that so many people profess to dislike making small talk, it turns out that talking to strangers and acquaintances can actually stren...

Suicide Prevention, with Jill Harkavy-Friedman, PhD

07 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It’s too soon to know what effect the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the suicide rate in the United States, but even before the pandemic, that rate ha...

What Makes Things Funny? With Peter McGraw, PhD

31 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What is it about puns that tickles our funny bone? Or dad jokes? How about a person slipping on a banana peel? What could possibly tie all these very ...

How the threat of disease has shaped human behavior, with Mark Schaller, PhD

24 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The COVID-19 pandemic is a grim reminder that infectious diseases have been a danger throughout human history–so much so that the threat of infectio...

What COVID-19 is teaching us about the importance of smell, with Pamela Dalton, PhD

17 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Many people around the world have lost their sense of smell this past year due to COVID-19. Before the pandemic, scientists had already begun to gain ...

How We’re Coping One Year into the Pandemic, with Vaile Wright, PhD

10 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

When the world shut down in March 2020, few people imagined how different things would still look one year later – or that more than 500,000 America...

How meditation can help you live a flourishing life, with Richard Davidson, PhD

03 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Meditation practices date back thousands of years and are a part of nearly every major religion. But it’s only in the past couple of decades that re...

What studying twins can teach us about ourselves, with Nancy Segal, PhD

24 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

From movie plots to ad campaigns to viral videos, if they feature twins, they grab our attention every time. But it’s not only the general public w...

How children's amazing brains shaped humanity, with Alison Gopnik, PhD

17 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As a species, humans have an extra-long childhood. And as any parent or caregiver knows, kids are expensive—they take an extraordinary amount of tim...

The science of relationships, with Gary Lewandowski, PhD

10 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

For psychologists, romance, attraction and love are not just the stuff of poetry – they’re also a subject for research. What are the qualities of ...

Can “brain training” games sharpen your mental skills? With Aaron Seitz, PhD

03 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Who among us wouldn’t want to improve his or her brain? To see better, to hear better or to improve one'​s memory? The field of brain training has...

What is it like to be face blind? With Joe DeGutis, PhD, and Sadie Dingfelder

27 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

After a lifetime of thinking that she was just a little bit bad at remembering people, Sadie Dingfelder learned that she had prosopagnosia, a disorder...

Positive Psychology in a Pandemic, with Martin Seligman, PhD

20 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Over the past 20 years, the field of positive psychology has grown from a fledgling idea to a worldwide movement. Positive psychology is the scientifi...

Why people believe in conspiracy theories, with Karen Douglas, PhD

13 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This past year, COVID-19 and the U.S. elections have provided fertile ground for conspiracy theories—with sometimes disastrous consequences. Karen D...

How the Science of Habits Can Help Us Keep Our New Year’s Resolutions, with Wendy Wood, PhD

06 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Many of us are brimming with good intentions right now, determined to eat more healthily, get organized or fulfill our other New Year’s resolutions....

Encore: Why boredom is surprisingly interesting, with Erin Westgate, PhD

30 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We’re taking a holiday break, so we’re revisiting one of our favorite episodes from this past year. Back in the spring we talked to University of ...

Why America's bitter politics are like a bad marriage, with Eli Finkel, PhD

16 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

These days, Republicans and Democrats don't just disagree with each other's political opinions -- many view members of the other party as immoral and ...

Exploring psychology’s colorful past, with Dr. Cathy Faye, PhD

02 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The simulated shock generator for Stanley Milgram’s famed studies on obedience, artifacts from the Stanford Prison Experiment, and a curious machine...

The Holiday Blues, with Elaine Rodino, PhD

24 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

For many people, the holiday season can be a time of stress rather than joy even in the best of times. And this year, of course, the holidays will be ...

Does Diversity Training Work? With Calvin Lai, PhD

18 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In our increasingly diverse country, many workplaces have implemented diversity training programs aimed at fostering cohesion, mutual respect and un...

Why Gen Z is Feeling So Stressed, with Emma Adam, PhD

04 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

More than one-third of young adults ages 18 to 23--the older members of Gen Z--said that their mental health was worse right now than at the same time...

How to recognize and combat ‘fake news,’ with Dolores Albarracin, PhD

28 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

When you open the newspaper, turn on the nightly news or scroll the Internet, is what you are reading and seeing true? How do you know? What is “fak...

Will People Accept a COVID-19 Vaccine? With Gretchen Chapman, PhD

21 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Scientists are racing to develop a safe, effective, vaccine for COVID-19 – but will people be willing to take it when it's available? We already hav...

What Drives Voter Behavior? With Jon Krosnick, PhD

07 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Many Americans see this as the most consequential election in recent American history. What will shape voters’ decisions and actions this year? Jon ...

How to Choose Effective, Science-based Mental Health Apps, with Stephen Schueller, PhD

23 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Among the thousands of apps that aim to help people with everything from stress to anxiety to PTSD to sleep problems, how many are based on solid scie...

The Challenges Faced by Women in Leadership with Alice Eagly, PhD

09 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

With U.S. Senator Kamala Harris as the Democrats’ choice for vice presidential nominee, the challenges faced by female political candidates are back...

How to Have Meaningful Dialogues Despite Political Differences with Tania Israel, PhD

26 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

As the 2020 election cycle heats up, so will conversations among family, friends and acquaintances on opposite ends of the political spectrum. The Uni...

Survival of the Friendliest with Brian Hare, PhD

12 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Compared with other animals, dogs are brilliant in one important way: They can understand and communicate with us, their human companions. Brian Hare,...

Reopening Schools in a Pandemic with Heidi Schweingruber, PhD

29 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

With the start of the 2020-2021 school year just weeks away, politicians, parents, health officials, school officials, teachers’ unions and other gr...

Psychedelic Therapy with Roland Griffiths, PhD

15 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Psilocybin, LSD and other psychedelic drugs were once considered promising treatments for depression, anxiety and other mental health ailments. Now, a...

The Invisibility of White Privilege with Brian Lowery, PhD

01 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The protests against racial injustice that have made headlines over the past month may be prompting some white Americans to consider—perhaps for the...

The Challenge of Telework During COVID-19 with Kristen Shockley, PhD

17 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Over the past several months, millions of newly remote workers have found themselves juggling work and family responsibilities from hastily improvised...

The Psychology of Protest and Activism with Lauren Duncan, PhD

10 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

For more than a week, protestors have filled the streets of cities and towns across the United States and even around the world, demanding an end to r...

How the Social and Behavioral Sciences Explain Our Reactions to COVID-19 with Jay Van Bavel, PhD

27 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Why are some people more susceptible to conspiracy theories than others? Do people actually panic during disasters, like the pandemic? And are the bra...

Parenting Through the Pandemic with Erlanger Turner, PhD

20 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

As we enter month No. 3 of living under the COVID-19 lockdown, parents and their kids may be getting on each other’s nerves. Parents working from ho...

Bonus Episode: How to Obtain Teletherapy During the Pandemic with Jared Skillings, PhD

13 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

With most of us still following shelter-in-place rules, getting mental health care for people who need it can be a challenge. Fortunately, many psycho...

COVID-19 and the Loss of Rituals, Formation of New Ones with Michael Norton, PhD

06 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The coronavirus is keeping us from experiencing some of the deepest and most meaningful rituals of our lives, from graduations to weddings to funerals...

Bonus Episode: How Students and Academia Are Navigating COVID-19 with Sian Beilock, PhD

29 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

College and university students around the country are dealing with distance learning as their campuses have been forced to close during the COVID-19 ...

The Role of Resilience in the Face of COVID-19 with Ann Masten, PhD

22 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The COVID-19 pandemic is putting new and unforeseen pressures on all of us. Whether it’s trying to telework while the kids are screaming in another ...

Bonus Episode: Why is COVID-19 Disproportionately Affecting Black and Latino Americans with Brian Smedley, PhD

17 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

While we do not have a complete national picture, data from a few states and cities are showing that COVID-19 is disproportionately infecting African ...