Psychology in Everyday Life: The Psych Files

Ep 201: Mother Nature and Blaming the Victim

We know that many people have a tendency to blame victims even when something tragic and unexplainable happens to them.  But did you know how easily this blaming can be triggered?  If I were to describe a natural disaster and tell you about...

Ep 200: Reflections on the 200 Show

Thank you so much for listening to The Psych Files  for the past 6 1/2 years.  In this episode I provide a little background on how the podcast started and what has happened as it grew over the years.  It just past 8 million downloads...

Ep 199: Depth Perception - How Your Brain Sees What's Not There

How do you create a sense of depth in a flat image?  In this video I'll show you how to use 5 principles of depth perception to turn a flat image into one that looks like it has depth.  I'll be drawing from terms you would learn about in a...

Ep 198: What's it Like to Work in Psychology?

A lot of people find psychology interesting.  But what is it really like to work in the field?  A tough question to answer because the field is so broad.  In this episode of The Psych Files podcast I'll share my thoughts on the...

Ep 197: Using the Word Guy for Women, Robots Helping the Elderly and Supernormal Foods

Should we stop using "Guys" to refer to groups of women and mixed sex groups?  Why do we (particularly men) refer to many objects - like cars and boats - as "she"?  Are everyday foods actually "SuperNormal" foods - created to be absolutely...

Ep 196: What Men Need to Do to End Violence Against Others

Are jail time and new laws the only answers to men's violence against women, children, and other men?  Or is there something every man can do to end these tragedies?  In an earlier episode of The Psych Files in which I discussed Blaming the...

Ep 195: How To Memorize Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development

Do you need to memorize Piaget's stages for a test?  You've found what you're looking for.  I'll use some familiar mnemonics ("1 is a bun", etc.) and some wacky images to get those stages - and what during them - into your mind.  You'll...

Ep 194: What Do I/0 Psychologists Really Do? Testing and Evaluation

What do I/0 psychologists do anyway?  Are you interested in this subfield of psychology?  Well, here are a few things they DON'T do: they don't do "therapy in the workplace" and they don't do "motivational speaking".  It's not what you...

Ep 193: Mindfulness Benefits on Tests and at Work

There is a lot of talk about mindfulness among psychologists today. Find out what mindfulness is and how it differs from meditation in this episode of The Psych Files.  What might you use mindfulness for?  Well, in addition to what you might...

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...

Ep 191: What Was B. F. Skinner Really Like?

Would you be surprised to learn that B.F. Skinner was a very likable guy and that you may actually be very much in agreement with his ideas?  Many people who study psychology have a negative impression of Skinner.  Well, I'm about to...

Ep 190: Why Do You Get So Absorbed in that Book (or Movie)?

Have you ever gotten to immersed in a book or movie that you actually felt like the character?  Or you felt the character's pain or joy?  Why does this happen?  When does this happen?  What is it about the book or the movie and its...

Ep 189: The Psych Files Brief #6 - Facebook Untagging, Money and Happiness, and Memory and Aging

We have some great articles covered in this episode so I hope you find them thought-provoking. We cover four topics, all of which can be relevant to your everyday life.  First, a throwback to a previous episode on how to spend your money;...

Ep 188: Psychologists Are Keeping You From Getting the Flu

Didn't get the flu this past winter?  Thank a psychologist.  What?  Well, it could be that a psychologist was involved in helping health care professionals to do what they know they need to do (but sometimes don't): wash their...

Episode 72 (video): Memorize the Parts of the Brain mp4 version

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...

Ep 186: The Shootings at Newtown - Could We Have Prevented It?

Everyone was horrified to hear that an adolescent, Adam Lanza, walked into an elementary school and killed 20 children and 6 adults as well as killing himself.  Many people have offered their view as to what was wrong with Adam and about what we...

Ep 185: The Dynamics of Therapy: Transference and Counter Transference: An Interview with Kerry Malawista

Transference and Countertransference are two key concepts in psychoanalysis and they are fascinating.  If you're interested in the therapy side of psychology - particularly psychoanalysis - this is the episode for you.  Kerry Malawista,...

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