Psychology in Everyday Life: The Psych Files

What Can We Do To End Anti-Gay Bullying in Schools? Episode 148

What can we do to end bullying against gays?  There is a shocking increase in the number of young homosexuals who are commit suicide.  Many anti-bullying programs don't work and in this episode I talk to Dr. Elizabeth J. Meyer of Concordia...

On Yawning, Swearing, Credit Cards and Sex: Psych Files Brief #1

In this first "Psych Files Brief" episode, we look at whether swearing actually reduces your sensation of pain (ever stub your toe?), whether or not vertical stripes actually do make you look thinner (no surprise - the answer is no), whether you're...

Borderline Personality: What is it? Could Your Cell Phone Help Deal With It?

Borderline Personality Disorder is a difficult disorder to understand and treat.  Briefly, people who suffer from BPD tend to have a heightened sensitivity to rejection.  When they feel that they are being rejected they can react with strong...

Episode 145: Why a Tiger Mom Approach to Parenting Does NOT Work

Feeling guilty about not being a "Tiger Mom" (or Dad)?  Let me give you 3 reasons why you don't have to feel that way.  Get yourself ready for the next time that someone says that you (or parents in general) have to be tougher on our...

Episode 144: The Drowsy Chaperone Holds the Key to Life!

Americans spend billions of dollars on self-help products each year, but does someone else hold the answers to your questions about what your life is all about?  Join me as I discuss a fascinating book called If You Meet The Buddha On The Road,...

Episode 96 (video): The Phonetic Alphabet Part 2

In this video you’ll learn exactly how the phonetic alphabet system works. In the last episode you saw me memorize – almost perfectly – a list of 20 top sci-fi movies. How did I do it? I’ll show you how each number becomes...

The Phonetic Alphabet Part 1

Episode 143: EMDR - An Interview with Founder Francine Shapiro

Curious about EMDR? Listen to this interview with the founder of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, Dr. Francine Shapiro talk about EMDR and how it is different from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).  This is an intriguing and...

Episode 142: How To Make Jobs More Satisfying and Motivating

Do you have a dull job?  Wonder how it can be made more motivating?  That's the challenge - how can we make jobs that are typically not much fun (like an assembly line job) more interesting to do?  This is one of the challenges facing...

Episode 141: Psychology Gets Smart: A New Kind of Lie Detector?

You've probably heard that the so called "Lie Detector" test (the polygraph)doesn't actually detect when you've lied, but rather just takes some physiological measures from your body and these have to be interpreted by experts.  Sometimes those...

Episode 140: Psychoanalyzing Jack Lalanne

In this episode I put Jack Lalanne "on the couch".  I take selections from several of his vidoes and see what they reveal about his personality.  He was clearly passionate about exercise, but what drove this passion? ...

Episode 139: Blaming the Victim in Reverse - the Justice Motive

I'll bet you've heard of the expression, "Whatever doesn't kill you...", or "Suffering is good for the soul".  Could these expression represent another way that we deal with our own anxiety after we hear about someone else's tragedy? Could they...

Episode 138: Zombies - 6 Reasons Why Are We So Fascinated By Them

Have you watched the TV show Walking Dead or ever seen a movie about Zombies (perhaps Zombieland or Dawn of the Dead?  What is so fascinating about the undead?  Why do many of us get a strange pleasure out of seeing a zombie get killed? In...

Episode 137: Objectivity and the Scientific Impotence Excuse

Can science study love?  Are we able to scientifically determine what romance is all about?  There seem to be times, particularly when people hold strong beliefs, that we just don't want to hear what scientists have to say.  We talk a...

Episode 136: Adele Faber Interview on Parenting (Part 2)

In part 2 of my interview with Adele Faber, co-author along with Elaine Mazlish of "How To Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk" we talk about what do do when you've got nothing left emotionally to give to your children, how to handle...

Episode 135: Adele Faber Interview on Parenting (Part 1)

Are you familiar with Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish's classic book "How To Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk"?  You should be.  It's not just for parents.  The ideas in this book and in their other books should be...

Episode 134: Hypnosis - Myth and Reality

What do you think of hypnosis? might you be surprised to hear that it has been accepted by the American Psychological Association?  Hypnosis has a fascinating and controversial history but today it deserves some respect.  Still, it's not a...

Episode 133: Replace Your Doctor With a Robot?

Are you embarrassed to take your clothes off in front of your doctor?  Most of us are.  Well, what if your doctor was a robot?  Would this make it easier or harder to remove your clothes?  Before you answer - would it matter if the...

Episode 132: Opera on the Brain

What part of your brain is lighting up when you're singing? In this episode I take a look at a neat new study that involved having singers lie down in an MRI while their brains were scanned. Take a look at how your cerebellum, your parietal lobe your...

Episode 131: Even Children Do Statistics!

Here's a fun piece of psychological research: finding out whether children use statistical information to figure out other people.  We know kids are very perceptive and learn quickly. This study shows just how smart they really are.  You may...