Little Albert – one of the most famous subjects in the history of psychology – has finally been identified. Researchers spent 7 years tracking down every possible lead in order to discover who John Watson’s “Albert B” really was. In this video episode I take you through each step of the extensive detective work to uncover his identity. It’s a fascinating, creative, and in the end touching journey. Some never seen before pictures are included. Join me in this episode of The Psych Files.
Episode 103: Raising Children – Interview with Author Jamie Raser
Having trouble raising your children? Join the crowd. There are lots of parenting books, but here’s one you should know about: “Raising Children You Can Live With” by Jamie Raser. He has an approach to parenting that is not about “picking your battles”, but about staying out of battles altogether and talking with your child in a way that doesn’t lead to shouting, screaming and anger. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
Episode 101: The Psychology of Music: The Role of Expectations and Minor Chords
How does music affect us emotionally? Why do minor chords so sad? In this episode of The Psych Files I explore ideas from Daniel Leviton‘s fascinating book, Your Brain on Music, especially those ideas concerned with what composers do to draw you into their music by first conforming to your musical expectations and then carefully confounding them in order to surprise and delight.
Episode 96 (video): The Phonetic Peg Word System Part 2
In the episode 95 you saw me memorize – almost perfectly – a list of 20 top sci-fi movies. How did I do it? In this video learn exactly how the advanced pegword system works which will enable you to memorize almost any size list.
Episode 95 (video): Advanced Mnemonics: Phonetic Peg Word System Part 1
Did you know there’s a mnemonic device that is more powerful than the "One is a bun" pegword mnemonic? In this video I show you the advanced pegword mnemonic system in which every number becomes a letter and a concrete word that you can visualize to help you remember a list of any length.
Episode 90: The Learning Styles Myth: An Interview with Daniel Willingham
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 86 (video): Educational Games
Can games really be educational? They are certainly addictive and engaging. Can we harness this aspect of games and use it to learn? In this video I show you why I believe the answer is yes. Let’s talk about what really good teaching is and what really good games are like. Then I take you on a brief tour of what I believe are some of the best examples of great educational games.
Episode 85: How to Make Learning Fun Again – Constructivism and Democratic Schools – Part 2
What the heck is constructivism anyway? In this episode I explore that topic with Dr. Eugene Geist. We also explore what some would consider a radical concept in education: democratic schools. What would happen if we let children decide how they wanted to learn? Complete Chaos? Or an exciting new way to get students involved in and taking responsibility for learning?
Episode 77: Lost at School – An Interview with Ross Green Part 2
For some kids, time out may actually be a reward because of the popularity it provides for them from other kids. If you’re worried that time out is not helping, and the end of that road can only be jail, then you need to listen to Dr. Ross Green talk about Collaborative Problem Solving.
Episode 73: On the Folly of….A Classic Article
On The Folly of Rewarding A While Hoping For B is a well known article by Steven Kerr that appeared in The Academy of Management Executive. Want an example of how insightful Steven Kerr was with this article that is still relevant today? Look no further than the US election and Comedy Central.
