Psychology in Everyday Life: The Psych Files

It's easy to find videos on the web of animals showing what appears to be some pretty smart behavior. But is it really "smarts"?  How can you tell? In this episode I'll point out examples that look like intelligence but probably aren't - as well as an example of animal behavior that is really hard to dismiss as anything but "smarts".  In doing so we'll talk about the behavioral principle of "chaining" - the method by which you can get animals - and humans - to display some pretty sophisticated and complex behavior as the result of reinforcement, prompts and cues.  

How can you find the best videos on YouTube?  In this video episode of The Psych Files you are going to learn some crazy power tips that will alert you whenever whenever a video from a credible source gets added to a YouTube playlist.  You will be the first to know.  And you can find out not only by receiving an email, but - if you want - you can also get a phone call when that video is ready for you!  Don't waste your time - there are some crazy new ways to efficiently search the web and here is how I do it.

The idea of working from home sounds great - but be aware of the downside.  In this episode of The Psych Files I talk about what factors influence your job satisfaction and motivation when you work from home.  I also discuss the interesting concept of "emotional labor" - what is it like when you know your boss is watching you and judging whether you are "acting happy" to customers?  What's the cost to you of acting in a way that is contrary to how you actually feel?

Have you ever wondered what it was like to be a patient in an "insane asylum"?  "Asylums" changed names over the years (including "State Hospital" and "Psychiatric Center") and so did the treatment o fate mentally ill.  Hear from Dr. Jennifer Bazar how we went from chaining people up to hydrotherapy to sexual surgery and finally to what is called "moral treatment".  A fascinating walk down the history of psychology with an engaging psychology historian.

We all know that adolescence is a time of change and often a tough time for the teen.  But what about the parent?  Today's parents are often older than years ago, and today's parents are sometimes going through their own self-examination, their own doubts, their own exploration.  What happens when you bring those two together?  Sometimes a lot of yelling frankly.  In this episode I talk about the changes going on in the adolescent and in the older parent and how parents can avoid the yelling and the accusations that only undermine what the teen is going through and how parents can step back and examine themselves.  A little understanding can go a long way.

We don't have to pay you to get you to do things - you're already a curious person.  How does our attraction to puzzles, questions, and unsolved mysteries get used to get us to click on videos or blog posts?  And how can it be used to get students to want to learn?  You'll find out that there are ways to get students excited about learning without having to pay them and there are ways to attract people to your content by tapping into their curiosity.  Just don't overuse it (watch out UpWorthy) and don't fail to deliver!  Hopefully this episode will deliver on introducing you to some new ideas to help you motivate others.

What are the psychological themes in the movie the Matrix?  In this episode I talk about connections between the Matrix and Jung's idea of the Collective Unconscious, Joseph Campbell's notion of the Hero's Journey and some recent research that explains why you experience Déjà vu.  Also, can you change your whole world by thinking differently about it?  Let's find out what psychologists (well at least me) think about this fascinating movie.

We face more moral "dilemmas" in everyday life than maybe we realize.  How do we resolve them?  In this episode I discuss two interesting moral dilemmas: a) should you employ for-hire crowds of actors to attend your event in order to make it look like you're more popular that maybe you really are? and b) should you place your advertisements on web and print pages in such a way that they don't really look like ads at all?  I discuss the moral questions involved in "native advertising".   We're all getting really good at using technology to avoid advertisements, but as we all know, "there's no such thing as a free lunch" - companies have to get you to find out about their products and hopefully buy them.  But when do we step over the line?  Is a little deception okay?

Need to memorize Lawrence Kohlberg's stages of moral development really quickly?  This is what you're looking for - a brief audio podcast in which I give you some crazy images that will stick in your mind for a really long time.  You'll be surprised at how quickly you'll have the six stages memorized.  Some of my listeners have actually said that the mnemonics have stuck in the stuck in their head for years!  Whether you are studying for a psychology test or a nursing exam, you will find this a fun and effective way to learn.  I challenge you to listen to this episode and then quiz yourself a few hours later.  You'll be pleasantly surprised.  Let's memorize!

In this actual fake recording we hear how Freud might have handled your call to an anonymous technical support service.  Can you identify each of the following Freudian techniques in this episode?