Psychology in Everyday Life: The Psych Files

Michael Britt

Learn how theories in psychology affect you in everyday life. Upbeat and interesting podcasts from experienced psychology teacher Michael Britt give you a bit more insight into you and your life.

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390 episodes
Updated Thursday

Episodes390

Newest first

Nov 22, 2009 · 28 min
Episode 110: Narcissism Among Celebrities, on Facebook and in Shakespeare
Are celebrities more narcissistic than you are? Is your Facebook page telling the world that you are a narcissist? And finally: who is Shakespeare's most narcissistic character? I'll give you a hint: the character can be found in Twelfth Night.
Nov 11, 2009 · 6 min
Episode 109: Correlation and Causation
Looking for examples of correlation and causation? You've heard it a million times: correlation doesn't mean causation. Here's a humorous look at this topic that I think really drives home the point.
Oct 26, 2009 · 30 min
Episode 108: More Harm Than Good? Kubler-Ross' Five Stages of Grief
Almost everyone has heard of Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, her book On Death and Dying, and her five stages of grief. Are these stages accurate? Are they helping us understand what dying people go through or could be they be making it more difficult?
Oct 18, 2009 · 34 min
Episode 107: Freud, Projective Tests and .... Poetry
How do the Rorschach, the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)? Do you reveal something about yourself when you tell stories about pictures or what you see in an inkblot or even when you do something as seemingly innocent as drawing a picture of a house?
Oct 12, 2009 · 32 min
Episode 106: Your Sexual Orientation - How Did It Develop?
How did you get to be heterosexual? Homosexual? Bisexual? Were you born with a sexual orientation or did it develop as you grew? In this episode I present the most recent scientific research on the topic of how we develop our sexual preference.
Sep 25, 2009 · 12 min
Episode 105 (video): Smart Birds are More Successful with the Ladies
A popular piece of animal research indicates that intelligent male Browerbirds appear to have greater mating success. The more sensitive birds may also be more preferred by the opposite sex as well. Find out about this fascinating research on animals.
Sep 10, 2009 · 23 min
Episode 104: Can Positive Affirmations Improve Your Self Esteem?
Can positive affirmations help raise your self esteem? People use daily affirmations and money affirmations to help them feel more confident and build their self-esteem. Do they really work? If not, then what will?
Aug 30, 2009 · 30 min
Episode 103: Raising Children - Interview with Author Jamie Raser
Having trouble raising your children? There are lots of parenting books, but here's one you should know about. It's called Raising Children You Can Live With by Jamie Raser. Listen to Jamie Raser talk about his ideas in this episode of The Psych Files.
Aug 24, 2009 · 12 min
Episode 102 (video): How to Create an Online Experiment
Want to create an online experiment? I'll show you can create an experiment using two tools: Sproutbuilder and Google Forms. I'll use a classic experiment on the unreliability of eyewitness testimony as the subject for my online experiment.
Aug 1, 2009 · 44 min
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.
Jul 20, 2009 · 49 min
Episode 100: Reflections on 100 Episodes of The Psych Files
Well, it's here - episode 100. I reflect on which episodes have made the most impact on the podcast and the episodes and listeners that have taught me the most. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the success of The Psych Files!
Jul 15, 2009 · 25 min
Episode 99: Animal Emotions - Does Your Pet Really Have Feelings?
Does your dog have thoughts and feelings? How about your cat? In this episode we find out what scientists have to say about how we should study this question. I also review a fascinating new study by Dr. Alexandra Horowitz of Barnard College.
Jun 20, 2009 · 39 min
Episode 98: Evolutionary Psychology - An Interview with Dr. David Buss
Do you know your own mate value in the dating world? Dr. David Buss and I discuss interesting and controversial topics, such as the matching hypothesis and date rape. Are there evolutionary roots to the battle of the sexes and can we change our behavior?
Jun 8, 2009 · 39 min
Episode 97: Stanley Milgram Obedience Study Finally Replicated
The obedience studies originally conducted by Stanley Milgram have finally been replicated in a university setting. Will people obey an authority figure and give a stranger a dangerous shock? Or have things changed in the last 40 years?
May 27, 2009 · 26 min
Episode 96 (video): Mnemonics Advanced: The Pegword System Part 2
In the last episode you saw me memorize - almost perfectly - a list of 20 top sci-fi movies. In this video learn exactly how the advanced pegword system works.
May 25, 2009 · 18 min
Episode 95 (video): Mnemonics Advanced: The Pegword System Part 1
Did you know there's a mnemonic device that is more powerful than the One is a bun pegword mnemonic? Here's a system you can use for lists that have more than 12 items. See how to put mental imagery and your memory to work in this video.
May 19, 2009 · 26 min
Episode 94: How Do You Learn to Act Like a Woman or like a Man?
How do we learn to act in what are called gender appropriate ways? How did you learn to act like a girl and then a woman? In this episode of The Psych Files we look at the interesting and complex issue of gender identity.
May 13, 2009 · 45 min
Episode 93: Your Brain on a Website
How can you use psychology to design a website so people are likely to buy products from you? Dr. Susan Weinschenk discusses some of these ideas from her book Neuro Web Design. Find out how in this episode of The Psych Files.
Apr 24, 2009 · 16 min
Episode 92: Passion For Your Work is Overrated
Everyone tells you that you should have "passion for your work". Personally, I think that's a bunch of malarky, balderdash and hooey. You might actually enjoy work that you never dreamed could make you happy.
Apr 14, 2009 · 33 min
Episode 91: The Psychology of Effective Meetings
Do you hate meetings as much as I do? How do you make them work? In this episode of The Psych Files I talk with professional project manager April Montana who shares with you some of her secrets to making group members get things done.

Psychology in Everyday Life: The Psych Files

Episode 110: Narcissism Among Celebrities, on Facebook and in Shakespeare

Episode 109: Correlation and Causation

Episode 108: More Harm Than Good? Kubler-Ross' Five Stages of Grief

Episode 107: Freud, Projective Tests and .... Poetry

Episode 106: Your Sexual Orientation - How Did It Develop?

Episode 105 (video): Smart Birds are More Successful with the Ladies

Episode 104: Can Positive Affirmations Improve Your Self Esteem?

Episode 103: Raising Children - Interview with Author Jamie Raser

Episode 102 (video): How to Create an Online Experiment

Episode 101: The Psychology of Music: The Role of Expectations and Minor Chords

Episode 100: Reflections on 100 Episodes of The Psych Files

Episode 99: Animal Emotions - Does Your Pet Really Have Feelings?

Episode 98: Evolutionary Psychology - An Interview with Dr. David Buss

Episode 97: Stanley Milgram Obedience Study Finally Replicated

Episode 96 (video): Mnemonics Advanced: The Pegword System Part 2

Episode 95 (video): Mnemonics Advanced: The Pegword System Part 1

Episode 94: How Do You Learn to Act Like a Woman or like a Man?

Episode 93: Your Brain on a Website

Episode 92: Passion For Your Work is Overrated

Episode 91: The Psychology of Effective Meetings