It’s easy to find videos on the web of animals showing what appears to be some pretty smart behavior. But is it really “smarts”? How can you tell? In this episode I’ll point out examples that look like intelligence but probably aren’t – as well as an example of animal behavior that is really hard to dismiss as anything but … Read More
Ep 192: An Example of How Psychoanalysts Really Interpret Dreams
What do psychologists really think about your dreams – do they have meaning? In this episode I talk about what psychologists think today about dreams. You probably know that Freud thought that dreams had a manifest content (the people and things that happened in the dream that you remember) and a latent content (the unconscious meaning of the dream). Do … Read More
Ep 187: I’d Like to Have an Argument Please (critical thinking part 3)
How would you like to have an argument? Turns out that learning how to have a good argument might just be the best way to learn to think critically. In this episode I discuss a neat piece of research in which 7 and 8 year olds are taught how to effectively argue. And they do a darn good job of … Read More
Ep 184: Critical Thinking (Part 2) – Important? Yes. But Can We Teach It?
In episode 183 I talked about what critical thinking is and why it’s important. Now we talk about why it’s so darn hard to teach and to use critical thinking in our everyday lives. In this episode I’ll discuss Dr. Daniel Willingham‘s advice to teachers on what they can do to effectively teach critical thinking – something that couldn’t be … Read More
Ep 183: Critical Thinking – Important? Yes. But Can We Teach It?
Why does it concern psychologists that the Texas GOP platform recently opposed the teaching of critical thinking? Most of us have been told since we were very young that critical thinking is very important. Psychologists certainly agree and a lot of time spent in most psychology classes is spent learning how to think critically. Why is it such a central … Read More
EP 177: Why You Hate Psychology – Media Bias and Misunderstandings about How Science Works
In this follow-up to episode 176 I discuss two more reasons why I believe some people either don’t like or just distrust psychology: 1) the belief that it is not a science, and 2) the belief – created by the media – that psychologists make a lot of money for giving out common sense advice. I hope you’ll see that … Read More
EP 176: Why Psychology Annoys You: Clearing Up Self Esteem and Positive Thinking
Why do so many people have a negative attitude about the field of psychology? I think there are a handful of reasons and here I talk about two of them: the so-called “self-esteem movement” and the “positive thinking” movement. Are psychologists responsible for why “kids today” appear to be so self-centered? Do psychologists think that changing yourself is as simple … Read More
Ep 174: The First Replication of Daryl Bem’s Research on Psychic Phenomenon
Have psychologists recently found evidence for the existence of psychic ability? Last year, well-known psychologist Daryl Bem published an article called Feeling the Future in which he describes a number of studies, all of which provided support for a kind of phi phenomenon he calls “retroactive influence”. The research appeared in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. The article … Read More
Ep 168: Reliability – the Foundation of Any Good Test
Can you tell your personality from what flavor ice cream you like? There are lots and lots of so called Personality tests on the web. How do you know when you’ve come across a good one? For example, are the inner workings of your personality revealed in the playlists you have on your smartphone or mp3 device? In this episode … Read More
Ep 165 (video): Psychological Research Under Fire: What Can We Do About It?
What’s going on with Psychology? There have been a number of reports about poorly conducted or completely fraudulent research in the field such as this one that appeared in the New York Times. Well, there’s bad research in all fields, but psychology, which has through its history struggled for scientific credibility, is particularly sensitive to this issue and many psychologists … Read More
