Speaking of Psychology

What happens when people gather in crowds ? whether for political rallies, protests, football games or religious pilgrimages? Stephen Reicher, PhD, of St. Andrew?s University in Scotland, discusses why ?mob mentality? is a myth; other misconceptions about crowd behavior; the role of leaders in groups and what can we learn from re-examining some classic psychology studies on obedience to authority; and what we?ve learned about leaders, followers, group identity and collective behavior from the COVID-19 pandemic.

For transcripts, links and more information, please visit the Speaking of Psychology Homepage.

Factitious disorder, more commonly known as Munchausen syndrome, is a mental health disorder in which people fake serious illness to gain sympathy, attention and support. A related disorder, Munchausen by proxy, or factitious disorder imposed on another, is a form of abuse in which caregivers make up or induce illness in their children. Psychiatrist Marc Feldman, MD, and psychologist Janet Cahill, PhD, discuss researchers? evolving understanding of these disorders, how common they are, the phenomenon of ?Munchausen by internet? where people lie to strangers online, and whether there are any effective therapies for these disorders.

For transcripts, links and more information, please visit the Speaking of Psychology Homepage.

The lives of young adults look far different than they did a generation ago: The average age at which people marry and have children is higher than ever, and rising housing costs mean more young adults are living with parents. Laurence Steinberg, PhD, of Temple University, talks about how these changes are affecting the relationship between parents and their grown children, what young adults wish their parents understood about their lives, and how parents and adult children can resolve conflicts and build a strong relationship together.

For transcripts, links and more information, please visit the Speaking of Psychology Homepage.

Congress and state legislators are considering laws to restrict teen social media use, and school districts are suing social media companies for harming kids? mental health. Are parents and policy makers right to be so concerned? Jacqueline Nesi, PhD, of Brown University, talks about the research on social media and teens? mental health, whether it?s possible to be addicted to social media, what teens themselves think about social media, and what parents can do to help their kids use social media in a healthy way.

For transcripts, links and more information, please visit the Speaking of Psychology Homepage.

Researchers who study eating disorders sometimes call them the silent epidemic. Despite the stereotype that these disorders afflict only young white women, the truth is that they occur among people of all ages, genders, ethnicities, races, shapes and sizes. Cheri Levinson, PhD, of the University of Louisville, discusses myths about eating disorders, how our toxic diet culture combined with genetic vulnerability can spur eating disorders, what treatments are available, and how researchers are using new technologies to come up with more effective personalized treatments and expand access to care.

For transcripts, links and more information, please visit the Speaking of Psychology Homepage.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has been a treatment option for people with major depression since it was approved by the FDA in 2008. Today, it is also used to treat obsessive compulsive disorder and anxiety and for smoking cessation. Sarah ?Holly? Lisanby, MD, director of the Noninvasive Neuromodulation Unit at the National Institute of Mental Health, talks about how TMS works and recent advances in TMS treatment, as well as other brain stimulation treatments such as electroconvulsive therapy. Writer Diana Daniele also offers her perspective on how TMS helped her overcome treatment-resistant depression.

For transcripts, links and more information, please visit the Speaking of Psychology Homepage.

Very few people do their jobs entirely on their own. For most of us, doing our job well means being part of a well-functioning team. Eduardo Salas, PhD, of Rice University, talks about the key ingredients of highly effective teams, the difference between team training and team building, what to consider when working on a remote team, the role of team leaders, and how industries such as aviation and medicine ? where breakdowns in teamwork can have dire consequences ? have evolved in their approach to teamwork.

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For transcripts, links and more information, please visit the Speaking of Psychology Homepage.

While ageism may be one of the last socially acceptable biases, research shows that aging often comes with positive changes. And by believing in and propagating negative myths about aging, we can do ourselves real harm. Dr. Manfred Diehl, a lifespan developmental psychologist at Colorado State University, dispels the myth that growing older involves primarily loss and decline and explains how much control we have over how well we age.

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For transcripts, links and more information, please visit the Speaking of Psychology Homepage.

About one in 36 children in the U.S. has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Geraldine Dawson, PhD, of Duke University, discusses why the number of diagnoses has risen so steeply in recent years, why it?s more common in boys than girls, and how research using artificial intelligence and brain biomarkers is making it possible to detect autism risk at younger ages than before ? even in infancy.

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For transcripts, links and more information, please visit the Speaking of Psychology Homepage.

Forget the stereotype of a good-bye party in the break room followed by endless days on the golf course. Today, workers are staying on the job longer and taking on more ?bridge employment,? or post-retirement jobs.

Mo Wang, PhD, of the University of Florida, talks about what these shifts mean for modern retirement, how retirement can affect people?s mental and physical health, and what workers ? even those who still have many years left in the workforce ? can do now to help set themselves up for a happy retirement in the future.

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For transcripts, links and more information, please visit the Speaking of Psychology Homepage.

Recently released CDC data found that teen girls are experiencing startling levels of sadness and violence -- nearly 1 in 3 had seriously considered suicide and 57 percent felt persistently sad or hopeless. The report also found high levels of distress among LGBQ+ teens. Dr. Kathleen Ethier, director of the CDC?s Division of Adolescent and School Health, discusses what?s behind this crisis in teen mental health, why girls seem to be suffering more than boys, and what parents, peers, schools and communities do to help teens cope.

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In just a few years, psychedelics have gone from being a symbol of the 1960s counterculture to being touted as highly promising mental health treatments. Dr. Albert Garcia-Romeu, PhD, of Johns Hopkins University, talks about whether the research backs up the hype; the state of psychedelic therapy research for PTSD, depression, addiction and other mental health disorders; how psychedelics work in the brain and mind; and whether psychedelic treatments are likely to be approved in the U.S. any time soon.

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For transcripts, links and more information, please visit the Speaking of Psychology Homepage.

Hypnosis is more than just a stage trick. Psychologists and other researchers have found that it can be useful in treating pain, anxiety, and a range of other physical and mental health problems. David Patterson, PhD, of the University of Washington, talks about what?s happening in people?s bodies and brains when they?re hypnotized, whether anyone can be hypnotized, the differences between stage hypnosis and hypnosis in therapy, the physical and mental health problems it can help address, and what to look for to find a qualified practitioner.

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What makes for a good life? What makes for a happy life? Marc Schulz, PhD, associate director of the 85-year-old Harvard Study of Adult Development, talks about what researchers have learned from the world?s longest scientific study of happiness about relationships, money, success and what really leads to a happy life. 

For more information and transcripts visit Speaking of Psychology.

Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed by all your stuff? If so, you're not alone. In recent years, a thriving decluttering industry has sprung up to help us deal with our ever-accumulating piles of things. Dn. Joseph Ferrari, PhD, of DePaul University, talks about why we accumulate so much stuff and why we find it so hard to deal with it, what the research says about clutter, stress and anxiety, and the best ways to get started clearing the clutter in your home.

Being a parent can be tough these days. Dozens of books and articles offer competing answers to questions from how to help siblings get along to how much screen time is too much, and every decision you make feels important. It's no wonder that many parents feel tired, stressed, and unsure of whether they're doing a good job. Tim Cavell, PhD, and Lauren Quetsch, PhD, authors of Good Enough Parenting: A Six-Point Plan for a Stronger Relationship With Your Child, talk about what ?good enough parenting? means and why it?s a worthy goal, why nurturing the parent-child relationship is parents? most important job, why science backs the old adage ?choose your battles wisely,? and how to develop loving, supportive relationships with your kids that will stand the test of time.

More info: Tim Cavell, PhD, Lauren Quetsch, PhD, Good Enough Parenting: A Six-Point Plan for a Stronger Relationship With Your Child, and Speaking of Psychology home page.

These days, most of us live our lives tethered to our computers and smartphones, which are unending sources of distraction. Research has shown that over the past couple of decades people?s attention spans have shrunk in measurable ways. Gloria Mark, PhD, of the University of California Irvine, talks about how the internet and digital devices have affected our ability to focus, why multitasking is so stressful, and how understanding the science of attention can help us to regain our focus when we need it.

Learn more: Gloria Mark, PhD, Speaking of Psychology Home Page

Up to 4% of people in the U.S. have bipolar disorder, but as common as this mood disorder is, it is also often misunderstood. Psychologist and researcher David Miklowitz, PhD, and writer and mental health advocate Terri Cheney talk about what it?s like to live with bipolar disorder; how it?s diagnosed; and what researchers have learned about effective treatments including therapy and medication.


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David Miklowitz, PhD


Terri Cheney

 

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All day, every day, we have to make decisions, from what to have for breakfast to how to spend our money to whether to evacuate ahead of a hurricane. Psychologists? research is helping us understand why people make the decisions they do, from trivial choices to life-and-death ones. Decision scientists Lace Padilla, PhD, and Hannah Perfecto, PhD, discuss why people make bad decisions, how even small changes in the way choices are presented can nudge us to make different ones, and how can decision researchers? findings could best be deployed in the real world.


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Lace Padilla, PhD


Hannah Perfecto, PhD


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Almost everyone lies occasionally, but for a small percentage of people, lying isn't something that they do every once in a while -- it's a way of life. Drew Curtis, PhD, of Angelo State University, and Christian L. Hart, PhD, of Texas Woman?s University, authors of a new book on pathological lying, talk about what drives ?big liars? to lie, why they believe pathological lying should be classified as a mental health disorder, whether liars really are more prevalent in some professions, such as politics and sales, and how you can recognize lies and protect yourself from being duped.

 

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Drew Curtis, PhD

 

Christian L. Hart, PhD

 

Pathological Lying: Theory, Research and Practice by Drew A. Curtis and Christian L. Hart, APA Books

 

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Specific phobias ? such as fear of heights, needles, flying or spiders ? affect up to 13 percent of people at some point in their lives. Clinical psychologist Dr. Martin Antony, PhD, of Toronto Metropolitan University, talks about the difference between a fear and a phobia, where phobias come from, what the most common phobias are, and the effective therapies and strategies that can help people overcome them.

 

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Martin Antony, PhD


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The things that we own can be central to our identity, part of how we see ourselves and how other people see us. Russell Belk, PhD, of York University, talks about the role our possessions play in our lives; what drives collectors to collect items as disparate as stamps, art and Pez dispensers; how the word ?possessions? can encompass physical, digital and even completely intangible items; and how has the rise of the sharing economy is changing the way people think about the importance of ownership.


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Super-recognizers have an extraordinary ability to recognize faces?they can pick faces they?ve seen only briefly out of a crowd and can recognize childhood acquaintances they haven?t seen in decades. Josh Davis, PhD, a professor of applied psychology at the University of Greenwich, and super-recognizer Kelly Desborough discuss the origins of this ability, why you can?t train yourself to be a super-recognizer, how super-recognizers compare with facial-recognition algorithms, and why police departments and security organizations are interested in working with super-recognizers.

Just in time for toy-buying season, Barry Kudrowitz, PhD, a toy designer and professor of product design at the University of Minnesota, and Doris Bergen, PhD, a professor emerita of educational psychology at Miami University in Ohio, discuss the psychology of toys. What makes something a good toy? Why do some toys stand the test of time while others fizzle out after one season? How has technology changed the way kids play with toys? Does gender affect kids? toy choices? And do we ever grow out of toys?

Nearly three years after the COVID-19 pandemic began, millions of Americans are still living with the effects of the virus. Neuropsychologists Tracy Vannorsdall, PhD, and Rowena Ng, PhD, talk about the cognitive and mental health symptoms of long COVID, what treatments are available, and the most pressing questions that researchers need to answer to get help to patients who need it.


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Tracy Vannorsdall, PhD

Rowena Ng, PhD

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Our life experiences shape the way that our brain processes sound, and sound is deeply intertwined with everything from our ability to read to our cognitive health as we age. Dr. Nina Kraus, of Northwestern University, talks about why we undervalue our sense of hearing; why musicians, athletes and bilingual people often have superior sound-processing abilities; why sound is crucial to language and reading; and how unwanted noise can harm not only our ears but also our brain.

From kindergarten through college, very few students are taught a crucial skill set ? how, exactly, to study effectively. Regan Gurung, PhD, and John Dunlosky, PhD, authors of ?Study like a Champ: The Psychology-based Guide to ?Grade A Study Habits,? talk about the biggest studying myths, which study techniques work and which don?t, and why finding studying difficult can be a sign that you?re doing it right.


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Regan Gurung, PhD

John Dunlosky, PhD

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Are you suffering from news overload? Do you find yourself doomscrolling when you should be sleeping, eating, playing with your kids or doing your job? Do you feel hounded by algorithms that keep sending you more bad news? Media psychologist Don Grant, PhD, and Markus Brauer, PhD, of the University of Wisconsin, discuss why it?s so hard to shut off the news spigot and what you can do to cope with media overload while still staying informed.

More Americans than ever before are single -- about half of American adults are unmarried and close to three in 10 are not in a committed relationship. Geoff MacDonald, PhD, of the University of Toronto, talks about how relationship status is related to well-being, whether there is a societal stigma against singles, and why there is so much more research on being in a happy relationship than there is on being happily single.

Questions of fairness, justice and morality might seem unique to humans. But research suggests that non-human animals notice inequality as well. Dr. Sarah Brosnan, of Georgia State University, talks about how non-human primates and other animals react to unfair situations, why we humans care so much about fairness, and how studying non-human animals can help us better understand how our human sense of justice evolved.

Apologies have the potential to heal relationships, soothe hurt feelings and even begin to address historical wrongs. But they?re not always easy to offer. Karina Schumann, PhD, of the University of Pittsburgh, discusses why apologies matter, what makes for a good, effective apology and what makes for a bad one, whether women really do apologize more than men, what to do when someone wants to apologize to you but you?re not ready to forgive them, and the role of institutional and government apologies in addressing historical injustice.

Over the past few years, the number and variety of cannabis products legally available to American consumers has soared. Ziva Cooper, PhD, of the UCLA Center for Cannabis and Cannabinoids, talks about how researchers are exploring both the potential health benefits and the risks of marijuana, CBD and more, aiming to make sure that the science keeps up with policy changes and the evolving marketplace.


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Ziva Cooper, PhD

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When relationship issues arise -- around money, fidelity, kids or even just coping with the stress of everyday life -- couple therapists can help partners work through them together. Couple and family psychologist Anthony Chambers, PhD, talks about how couple therapy works, when it?s useful, when couples are most likely to break up, and why it?s helpful to think of talking with your partner as a game of catch rather than a tennis match.


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Anthony Chambers, PhD

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We all know the feeling of scrambling at the last minute to finish a task that we could have and should have tackled much sooner. Fuschia Sirois, PhD, of Durham University, talks about why procrastination is an emotion regulation problem, not one of laziness or poor time management skills; how it can harm our mental and physical health; why it?s so tied up with guilt and shame; and how self-compassion can help us overcome it.  


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Fuchsia Sirois, PhD

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Americans have become accustomed to tragic headlines of mass shootings in schools, grocery stores and other public places ? these shootings still shock, but they no longer surprise. Jillian Peterson, PhD, of Hamline University, talks about research on what drives most mass shooters, why thinking of mass shootings as suicides as well as homicides can suggest new ways to combat them, and what can be done in schools, workplaces and elsewhere to make the next mass shooting less likely.

 

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Jillian Peterson, PhD

 

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Psychologists? research has found that it?s not the nuances of policy debates that drive voter behavior but instead how voters feel about candidates and political parties -- and whom they trust to share their values. Drew Westen, PhD, of Emory University, talks about how emotions drive our political behavior, what makes for an effective political speech or ad campaign, and what role political messaging may be playing in shaping our increasingly polarized public discourse. 

 

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Drew Westen, PhD

 

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The idea of a machine that can read your thoughts sounds more like science fiction than actual science. But in recent years, it?s come closer to reality. Kenneth Norman, PhD, of Princeton University, talks about how scientists decode thoughts from patterns of brain activity, what we can learn about thinking, learning and memory from this research, how it could be useful in mental health treatment, and more.

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Kenneth Norman, PhD

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The desire to belong is a fundamental part of human nature. Geoffrey Cohen, PhD, of Stanford University, talks about how feeling like an outsider can harm us; why threats to belonging drive problems as varied as achievement gaps and political polarization; and how to boost people?s sense of belonging, especially among those most at risk of feeling like outsiders.


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Geoffrey Cohen, PhD

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When you feel time-poor, endless hours of free time might sound like the ultimate luxury. But psychologists? research suggests that it?s not simply the amount of time that you have, but how you spend it, that determines your happiness. Cassie Holmes, PhD, discusses whether there?s an ideal amount of free time, how to increase your sense of ?time affluence? and how tracking your time can help you live a happier life.     Links     Cassie Holmes, PhD Speaking of Psychology Home Page

For many Americans, the past two-and-a-half years have been a time of economic turmoil. Anna Gassman-Pines, PhD, of Duke University, talks about how job loss, unstable work schedules and other hardships affect workers, their families and even entire communities, and about how working families ? particularly low-wage workers ? fared through the pandemic.

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There?s a common stereotype is that teenagers? brains are immature and underdeveloped, and that teens are ?hard-wired? to take unwise risks and cave to peer pressure. But psychologists? research suggests these negative stereotypes are unfounded and that the teen years are a time opportunity and growth as well as risk. Eva Telzer, PhD, explains why teens take more risks and why that risk-taking is sometimes beneficial, why parents have more influence than they think, and how social media and other technology use may be affecting teens? behavior and development.

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We live in a nation awash with cheap, easy-to-get calories, mostly from highly processed convenience foods. Now, some researchers argue that these foods may actually be addictive ? just like cigarettes or alcohol. Ashley Gearhardt, PhD, of the University of Michigan, talks about why highly processed foods may trigger addiction, the difference between addiction and simply liking to indulge in treats, who is most at risk for food addiction, and more.


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Do you ever feel like a phony? Like you?re not really qualified for the job you?re doing, despite your achievements? Those are signs of the impostor phenomenon, also called impostor syndrome. Dr. Lisa Orbé-Austin, a counseling psychologist and career coach in New York City, and Dr. Kevin Cokley, a University of Texas at Austin psychology professor who studies the impostor phenomenon among ethnic minority students, discuss where impostor feelings come from, the repercussions they can have in people?s lives, and what you can do to address imposter feelings.

More than 4% of people have some form of synesthesia, a neurological condition that causes senses to link and merge. People with synesthesia may taste words, hear colors, or see calendar dates arrayed in physical space. Dr. Julia Simner, a professor of neuropsychology at the University of Sussex in the U.K., discusses the many forms of synesthesia, how synesthetes experience the world, and what scientists have learned from brain imaging studies about synesthesia. She also discusses her research on other sensory differences such as misophonia, an extreme aversion to specific sounds.

Borderline personality disorder is one of the most frequently diagnosed personality disorders, and one of the most misunderstood. Carla Sharp, PhD, of the University of Houston, discusses how BPD is diagnosed, defined and treated, how family members can help children and adults with BPD, and how the disorder fits in with researchers? evolving understanding of personality disorders in general.

 

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Carla Sharp, PhD

 

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Most parents want to raise their children to be honest adults, so the first time that they catch their child in a lie it may come as an unpleasant surprise. But psychologists? research has found that lying is a normal part of childhood. In fact, it?s a developmental milestone. Victoria Talwar, PhD, of McGill University, talks about why kids lie, how lying is tied to cognitive development, how children understand the morality of lying (including the ?gray areas? of keeping secrets and tattling), and how parents can encourage truth-telling and honesty in their children. 

 

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Victoria Talwar, PhD

 

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The idea that people have biases that operate below the level of conscious thought is uncomfortable. But decades of research have found that many people who would never consciously agree with prejudiced statements against Black people, LGBTQ people or women can nonetheless harbor implicit biases toward these groups and others. Mahzarin Banaji, PhD, one of the pioneers of implicit bias research, talks about where implicit biases come from, the difference between implicit bias and prejudice, and which biases have lessened ? and which have not ? in recent years.     Links     Mahzarin Banaji, PhD     Speaking of Psychology Home Page

 

Perfectionism might seem like a minor hurdle to overcome ? or even a welcome personality trait. But perfectionism is different from simply striving for excellence and perfectionistic people are at higher risk for anxiety, depression and other mental health disorders. Perfectionism researcher Gordon Flett, PhD, and clinical psychologist Bonnie Zucker, PsyD, discuss where perfectionism comes from, why it?s an increasing problem, how it affects people?s mental and physical health and how to treat it.

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Gordon Flett, PhD

Bonnie Zucker, PsyD

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How much insight do people have into why they behave the way they do? Science journalist Shankar Vedantam, host of the Hidden Brain podcast and author of ?Useful Delusions: The Power and Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain,? talks about why he is fascinated by the paradoxes of human behavior, what it takes to bring the popular podcast to life, and why it?s important to show the public the challenges as well as the triumphs of science.

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For those of us who speak only one language, the idea of learning twenty or thirty sounds impossible. But there are ?hyperpolyglots? who have managed this remarkable feat. Evelina Fedorenko, PhD, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, discusses what sets polyglots apart and what scientists might learn from studying them. She also discusses how language is processed in the brain, why it?s so much easier for kids to learn languages than adults, the relationship between language and thought and how we can think without language, and more.

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Ev Fedorenko, PhD
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