Author and actor Jared Kelner discusses using the DSM in acting, benefits of incorporating acting techniques in therapy, appearing on a show, and the origin of their popular podcast.

You have no doubt asked yourself this question after watching a play: "How did those actors memorize all those lines?". In previous episodes of The Psych Files I have discussed a few of the techniques actors use to do this, but on this episode I have an interview with a professional actor, Jared Kelner, who wrote a fascinating book exactly on this topic. It's called, naturally, "Line?". If you're interested in psychology, memory, and how actors accomplish the amazing feat of memorization - especially for long plays containing many many lines (perhaps for a Shakespearean play). Here are the answers. 

You've probably heard about these Brain Training games. Do they really help you keep your mind sharp? Will they prevent cognitive decline as you get older or will they slow the effects of Alzheimer's disease? In this episode I review some recent studies on the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of these popular games.

Another of my episodes on mnemonic techniques you can use for just about any purpose. I recently discovered a pegword system in a great book called, "Line?". It's a book for actors that was written by a memory expert like myself, Jared Kelner. Check out his book on Amazon. In this episode I demonstrate how this memory tool works and how an actor might apply it to memorize a famous speech from Shakespeare's comedy, Twelfth Night. A very fun little system. I show how the system could be sued to memorize the firs t three lines of the speech, but it certainly could be used to remember the entire speech.

Might you be able to rid yourself of an illness by "turning back the clock"? That is, by immersing yourself in a time in your life when you were not ill? We know that thinking about things in a positive way - which we sometimes call "reframing" can make us feel and act differently, and we know that the "placebo effect" is real, but how far can these ideas be taken Psychology has always struggled to separate itself from those who would "borrow" good ideas and take them too far or twist them in ways that promise people too much. We're now more sensitive than ever about how psychological research is conducted and there are a lot of questions about a proposed new study by Ellen Langer that seems to be skirting some serious ethical issues in order to carry out a study with cancer patients - a study that could be done much less elaborately than is planned. Is this groundbreaking research, or as James Coyne suggests, quackery? We'll find out what's going on in this episode of The Psych Files. And by the way, what the heck is the nocebo effect? We find out.

Where do our emotions come from? From our thoughts? Or do they begin somewhere else – like in our bodies? This week we look at the work of James-Lange, Cannon-Bard, and Schachter and Singer. Also, I review two classic studies in the history of psychology: the Suproxin study (the basis for the well known (two factor theory of emotion) and the Suspension Bridge study. This week the Good, the Bad and the Ugly….Betty of emotions. Oh yes, and what does the TV show Ugly Betty have to do with all this? Find out this week on The Psych Files.

In part 2 of my interview with Dr. Anna Vagin, she talks about some of the videos she uses to help kids and teens better understand the emotions and challenges of characters in the videos and how those characters dealt with their difficult situations. The videos are a launching point for discussion and insight into the clients' own lives.

In part 1 of my interview with Anna Vagin, Ph.D. we talk about how she uses games and videos as part of her work with children and adolescents. I think you’ll be surprised how Dr. Vagin uses short videos she finds on YouTube in her sessions. These are not games or videos that were designed to be used in this way, but she has carefully scoured YouTube to find videos that help youngsters connect with their emotions and to better understand others. What’s additionally interesting is that Dr. Vagin’s Ph.D. is not in psychology but rather in Speech and Language Pathology. Ever thought of that as a career path – a way to help people in their lives? I think you’ll find this episode very interesting.

How can we use a little psychology to get you to slow down when you’re driving? You’d be surprised. Very often road signs like “Slow” or a posted speed limit of, say 20 mph does not work. Drivers go past these signs and nothing bad happens so after a while they’re ignored. We try to make it more personal with signs say, “Drive as if your kids live here”, but often that doesn’t work. How about something trickier: what if we enlisted the help of those 3D sidewalk artists? What could they possibly do? You’ll find out.

Here’s a new piece of weight-loss advice: eat on a crinkly plate! Um…sounds weird. It is kinda, but we’ll explore why this might be a good bit of advice. We’ll also take a minute and a half sound byte from the TV show Luther and wring all kinds of critical-thinking goodies from it. We’ll discover why it might be a total waste of time for you to read about how other people became successful (or happy or have a better marriage or whatever else you might want). All those advice-giving books could be a waste of time. It has to do with our self-esteem and confirmation biases. We’ll have some fun.