There are too many knee-jerk, brief (and incorrect) explanations for why the US is experiencing such a rise in hatred and violence. Claiming that violent perpetrators are “mentally ill” is wrong. We have research and we understand the dangerous path that some young men get involved in and which ultimately leads them to violence. The right answers are more subtle, … Read More
Ep 330: Trouble Sleeping? Psychologist Dr. Shelby Harris’ Approach to Treating Insomnia
I haven’t talked about sleep problems yet here on the Psych Files so I brought in the perfect person to talk to us about sleep and insomnia. Dr. Shelby Harris has written the Woman’s Guide to Overcoming Insomnia and I learned a lot about how Cognitive Behavioral therapy is applied to this specific problem. Dr. Harris also has some tips … Read More
Ep 329: Beauty and the Beast: Psychological Themes
Resources We are the Beast: On Toxic Masculinity and Social Responsibility in Disney’s Beauty and the BeastToxic Masculinity in “Beauty and the Beast”How to Fight Toxic MasculinityCats Do ScienceDog Spies
Ep 328: Authenticity – Is There a Hidden You?
Have you ever wondered if you’re really being true to some inner person of yours? Wondered if there isn’t someone else inside that you that you’re supposed to be actualizing? Guess what? Maybe not. What is authenticity anyway? That’s what we’ll explore in this episode, along with a discussion of some of the doubts being cast on the famous Stanford … Read More
Ep 327: The Team Behind Q – World’s First Genderless Digital Voice
In the last episode I talked about the potential downside to having most of our digital assistants speak to us using a female voice. “Q” – will give us an option. Here’s my interview with Emil Rasmussen, who will give you some of the background behind Q and his hopes for the future of Q. Resources Genderless Voice Twitter feedThe … Read More
Ep 326: Giving Voice To Our Digital Assistants
Why do our digital assistants such as Alexa, Google Home, Siri and Cortana have “feminized” voices and what are the effects of this trend? That’s what I explore in this episode. Are there negative effects of using female voices in the devices we talk to and who talk to us? Are there alternatives? Turns out there is an alternative – … Read More
Ep 325: Love Your Work? Someone Will Take Advantage of That
It’s ingrained in western society that people should find work they really enjoy – work that fulfills a passion. If you’re lucky enough to have found work you’re passionate about you ought to know that there is a dark side. People who know that you’re doing the work because you love it might just take advantage of that. In this … Read More
Ep 324: Put Your Love Life on Automatic
In this episode I cover a few interesting topics. First, have you ever “blanked out” in front of an audience? I recently did and I was determined to find out why this happened. I found some answers in a great book called Stop Talking, Start Influencing. Also I’ll tell you about the memorization strategies I used in a recent play … Read More
Ep 323: Computer Programmers: Obsessed With Efficiency
Do you have your own little “tricks”? That is, ways of doing things that are faster than how you used to do them? Well, congratulations, you’re something of an efficiency expert. And if you can picture an assembly line of people putting products together, then you’ve seen one way of increasing productivity. But some of us are really, really obsessed … Read More
Ep 322: An Introduction to Cross Cultural Psychology
Why is it okay – in some cultures – to jaywalk, while in others you could get arrested for jaywalking? Why was marijuana was sold – legally – for years in the streets of Amsterdam when it is only now become legal in the US? The reason: some cultures are what author Michele Gelfand calls “loose” and others are “tight”. … Read More
