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

Aug 15, 2022 · 32 min
What Can We Do To End Anti-Gay Bullying in Schools?
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 University...
Aug 15, 2022 · 19 min
How To Create a Human-Like Voice
Have you used Siri, Hey Google, or Alexa? These voice-enabled digital assistants are pretty cool and getting smarter, but why do some of them sound more like a "person" than others? What is it about your voice that makes people believe that there is a...
Aug 8, 2022 · 22 min
Want to Swap Bodies?
What if you could swap bodies with someone else? What would it be like to be someone of the opposite sex? A different race? We’re getting darn close to being able to do that with new techniques like the Rubber Hand Illusion, the Enfacement illusion,...
Jun 18, 2022 · 23 min
Manhood: Are You A "Real Man"?
Why does it seem that males in many cultures have to prove their manhood? Do women have to prove their womanhood? Why is this and what happens when men feel like they are less than a man? In this review of a recent research article entitled,...
May 19, 2022 · 16 min
Testosterone Doesn't Necessarily Cause Men to be Aggressive
Most of us assume that one of the reasons men tend to act aggressively is that men have higher levels of testosterone. Let's take a look at this "testosterone myth" because this isn't always the case. In fact, in some cases, the higher levels of...
May 10, 2022 · 26 min
The Secret Life of Pronouns - an Interview with James Pennebaker
What do you reveal about yourself in the way you use the smallest and seemingly most insignificant words you use every minute? That's the focus of Dr. James Pennebaker's fascinating book and one of the most interesting psychology books of 2011: The...
May 10, 2022 · 24 min
In the Movies, Why Does the Woman Always Have to Die? And Other Gender Stereotypes
What can we learn from an old, dusty book I found in the basement? Well, if that book is about gender role stereotypes then there's a lot of things to uncover that explain why boys and girls act the way they do. In this episode we get an example of...
May 4, 2022 · 13 min
Owning Bipolar: A Conversation with Michael Pipich - Part 2
This is part 2 of my interview with Michael Pipich, author of the book, Owning Bipolar. In this part of the interview Michael discusses his therapeutic approach to treating Bipolar Disorder. If you have been diagnosed with bipolar or know someone who...
May 4, 2022 · 20 min
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 things...
Apr 26, 2022 · 21 min
Owning Bipolar: A Conversation with Michael Pipich - Part 1
Bipolar (previously known as "manic depression") is often a difficult disorder to diagnose, much less to live with. If you have been diagnosed with bipolar or know someone who has, this episode is for you. Michael Pipich brings his 30 years of...
Apr 18, 2022 · 19 min
Why Do You Talk To Your Dog Like That? And Does It Understand You?
Alright, let’s all admit it – we talk to our pets in that funny pet voice. “Who’s a good dog?” Well, there’s been a lot of research on your use of this voice to talk to your dog as well how you talk to babies. What exactly are you doing...
Apr 14, 2022 · 34 min
Trauma Recovery with Dr. Matt Jaremko
If you’re suffering from the effects of a trauma in your life or know someone who is, then listen to Dr. Matt Jaremko talk about his new book with Beth Fehlbaum called Trauma Recovery: Sessions With Dr. Matt. Dr. Jaremko’s approach to therapy with...
Apr 12, 2022 · 24 min
The Psychology of A Quiet Place and Mission Impossible
Did you see the movie A Quiet Place? How about Mission Impossible? It’s always fun to analyze movies from a psychological perspective and that’s what I do in this episode. A Quiet Place has a lot of family dynamics issues going on but Mission...
Mar 25, 2022 · 20 min
Motivational Interviewing and the TV Show Columbo
Hopefully you've watched the TV show Columbo. Curious about what this character has to do with psychology? You'd be surprised. In this episode I analyze Columbo in terms of the psychological technique called motivational interviewing. I also take a...
Mar 19, 2022 · 13 min
It's So Fluffy!
Have you ever seen something so cute you just want to squeeze it - to death? Or a child so cute you want to pinch it's cheeks really hard? Why do we have these odd, powerful, opposite feelings? It's called "cute aggression" and we'll try to explain it...
Mar 6, 2022 · 32 min
Personal Space Invasion: What Happens When Someone Invades Your Personal Space?
Do feel slightly uncomfortable in the bathroom? How does the presence of others in the bathroom affect you? What about places other than the bathroom? How close is too close? A psychological study was done in 1976 in which psychology researchers hid...
Feb 25, 2022 · 34 min
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...
Feb 18, 2022 · 20 min
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...
Feb 18, 2022 · 18 min
The Team Behind Q – World’s First Genderless Digital Voice
Here’s my interview with Emil Rasmussen, who will give you the background behind the genderless voice called Q and his hopes for the future of Q.
Feb 1, 2022 · 21 min
Ep 276: "Because I Said So" Doesn't Work for Teens
How many times when a parent is arguing with a teen has the parent either said - or wish they could say - "Do it because I said so!". As a parent myself, I've had more than a few of those times. But it just doesn't work - especially with teenagers. In...

Psychology in Everyday Life: The Psych Files

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

How To Create a Human-Like Voice

Want to Swap Bodies?

Manhood: Are You A "Real Man"?

Testosterone Doesn't Necessarily Cause Men to be Aggressive

The Secret Life of Pronouns - an Interview with James Pennebaker

In the Movies, Why Does the Woman Always Have to Die? And Other Gender Stereotypes

Owning Bipolar: A Conversation with Michael Pipich - Part 2

An Example of How Psychoanalysts Really Interpret Dreams

Owning Bipolar: A Conversation with Michael Pipich - Part 1

Why Do You Talk To Your Dog Like That? And Does It Understand You?

Trauma Recovery with Dr. Matt Jaremko

The Psychology of A Quiet Place and Mission Impossible

Motivational Interviewing and the TV Show Columbo

It's So Fluffy!

Personal Space Invasion: What Happens When Someone Invades Your Personal Space?

Computer Programmers: Obsessed With Efficiency

Giving Voice To Our Digital Assistants

The Team Behind Q – World’s First Genderless Digital Voice

Ep 276: "Because I Said So" Doesn't Work for Teens