Episode 94: How Do You Learn to Act Like a Man/Woman? Gender Identity and Gender Scripts

How do we learn to act in what are called "gender appropriate" ways? How did you learn to act like a girl and then a woman? Or like a boy and then like a man? Did you experience either penis envy or womb envy? Or did you learn to act like you do by watching males and females on TV? In this episode of The Psych Files we look at the interesting and complex issue of gender identity.

Episode 93: Your Brain on a Website

How can you use psychology to design a website so people are likely to buy products from you? Or design a website so people are likely to donate money to your cause? In this episode Dr Susan Weinschenk discusses some of these ideas from her book Neuro Web Design. Ever thought you could apply brain science to web design?

Episode 92: Having Passion For Your Work is Overrated

  • April 23, 2009
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Everyone tells you that you should have “passion for your work”. Personally, I think that’s a bunch of malarky, balderdash and hooey. And much of it could be the fault of psychologists. You might actually enjoy work that you never dreamed could make you happy.

Episode 91: The Psychology of Effective Meetings

  • April 13, 2009
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Do you hate meetings as much as I do? Business people and students often hate meetings and group projects because it’s hard to get everyone to participate and it’s hard to just get things done. I talk with professional project manager April Montana who shares with you some of her secrets to making group members get things done.

Episode 90: The Learning Styles Myth: An Interview with Daniel Willingham

  • March 29, 2009
  • 38 Comments

Guess what? There’s no such thing as learning style (the theory that each of us has a preferred way to learn new ideas. There are many supposed kinds of learning styles, such as a visual learning style, an auditory style, kinesthetic, etc.). Don’t believe it? Neither did I at first. I was sure for a long time that I personally had a visual learning style. Now I’m not so sure anymore. Listen to this interview with professor and author Daniel Willingham as he and I discuss the topic of learning styles.

Episode 88: Sexual Harassment: Who is Most Likely to be a Victim?

Who is most likely to be a victim of sexual harassment? Is it the attractive female secretary? The attractive female employee by a man who is higher up in the organizational hierarchy? These are the stereotypes that many people hold but there may be qualities that some women have that make some men uncomfortable and this may result in sexual harassment.

Episode 87: Manhood: Are You A “Real Man”?

  • February 27, 2009
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Why does it seem that males in many cultures have to “prove” their manhood? Do women have to prove their womanhood? Why is this and what happens when men feel like they are less than a man? In this review of a recent research article entitled, “Precarious Manhood”, we take a look at this intriguing issue.