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Episode 124: Flashbulb Memories – Are They As Accurate As We Think?

Would you be surprised if I told you that your memories of the attacks on September 11, 2001 are inaccurate? How much of what you remember of that day or of other Flashbulb Memories actually happened? Where were you, for example, when the Challenger disaster occurred? Or when Princess Diana died? Join me as I explore the research that reveals how inaccurate our memories are (no matter how confident we feel). And by the way, was President Bush involved in a conspiracy over the events of September 11? Let’s find out.

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Episode 123 (video): What Does Your Dog Know About You?

What do your dog and Shakespeare have in common? Well, they both use a Theory of Mind. Join me for this video episode in which I look at this fascinating idea of theory of mind and the unique and fun research that has been done around it. And yes, you might pick up an idea of how to test your dog to see if your dog can actually read your mind.

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Episode 121: Top 10 Psychology Apps for the iPad, iPhone, & iPod

  • April 7, 2010
  • 28 Comments

In this video episode I show you 10 of what I consider to be the best psychology apps in the app store. There are a lot of apps out there and many are not so good, but in this episode I pick out what I consider to be credible therapy apps, excellent mobile mind mapping tools, relaxation apps, games based on Gestalt principles of psychology, and some of the best 3 dimensional ways to look at the brain.

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Episode 120: Big Words Make You Look LESS Intelligent

  • March 28, 2010
  • 8 Comments

Have you ever deliberately replaced small words with bigger ones in order to sound more intelligent? Guess what – it usually doesn’t work. In a series of studies Daniel Oppenheimer showed that writers actually came across as less intelligent when they used big words where smaller ones would have worked just as well.

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Episode 119: Are You Lying in that Email?

  • March 23, 2010
  • 0 Comments

Have you ever been less than truthful in an email? Or perhaps a little more blunt or emotional than you might have been if you delivered your message in person? Why is it that people can sometimes be so mean in their online comments?

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Episode 118: Are You REALLY Listening? Sanford Meisner, Acting and Psychology

  • March 12, 2010
  • 13 Comments

A lot of people get into psychology because they think they have good listening skills, but are you really a good listener? What does it mean to be a good listener? In this episode I look at a fascinating acting exercise created by Sanford Meisner called the “repetition exercise” which trains actors how to truly listen. Are you as good a listener as these trained actors?

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Episode 117: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder – An Interview with Bobbi

  • February 22, 2010
  • 16 Comments

Listen to this interview with Bobbi, a young woman who deals with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder every day and you’ll get a much better understanding of what OCD is like. You have probably heard of the term OCD and perhaps you’ve seen shows like Monk or you’ve seen characters on TV and in the movies who show symptoms of obsessional thoughts or compulsive behaviors and perhaps you’ve wondered yourself about some of your own thoughts and behaviors. Learn more about OCD in this episode of The Psych Files.

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Episode 116: Social Loafing – Don’t Be a Sucker or a Free Loader!

  • February 12, 2010
  • 5 Comments

Do you like working in a group? Most people don’t because they’re afraid that they’ll have to do most of the work (wind up being a sucker) and that other group members won’t do their share of the work (free loaders). Want to find out how to avoid this and make your group work productive? Learn how the Agile software development technique can be adapted to your help your next group project be a success.

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Episode 115 (Video): Violent Video Games – What Does the Research Say?

  • January 22, 2010
  • 27 Comments

Recent research on violent video games is pretty conclusive and you’re not going to like it: there’s good evidence that people if you play violent video games you might be less likely to a) notice aggressive events, b) perceive fewer or less severe injuries, c) feel less sympathy for violence victims, and d) have less negative attitudes towards violence. In this video I take a close look at this research.

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