People Who Read People: A Behavior and Psychology Podcast

I thought it'd be interesting to read a very dumb book from 1969 called "Face Reading: A Guide to How the Human Face Reveals Personality, Sexuality, Intelligence, Character, and More." It's about finding meaning in people's physical facial characteristics; not about reading emotions or expressions. To be clear: this is a very bad book with no sense/logic to it, basically astrology-like, and I'm reading it because I was curious what it said and thought some other people would find it interesting. I'm generally curious about the weird things people believe; also curious about some stereotypes that were present about facial characteristics in the 60s era. I thought it was an interesting relic and some other people might also think so.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I ruthlessly interrogate an 8-year-old about her belief in Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and other magical creatures.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A piece I wrote for my Defusing American Anger Substack (learn more at american-anger.com) about the psychological aspects of how toxic conflict grows and builds. When you see the self-reinforcing aspects of conflict, it helps you also see the importance of working to reduce political contempt (even as you may have various fears and grievances and anger about your political opponents). If you have skepticism about the ideas in this piece, I would ask you if you'd be willing to read my ebook on this topic, Defusing American Anger. If you want a free copy, email me via my american-anger.com website and I'll send you one. This is an extremely serious problem and I think to help solve it we need more people to consider ideas that may, at first, make them uncomfortable.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a recent Fox News interview, Trump was asked whether he thought there would be chaos and violence if he won the election, and his response included mentioning that, if necessary, the National Guard or other military might be needed. Many framed this response as indicating that Trump would go after his political opponents and those who opposed him using the military, leaving out the context that the question asked was about election-related violence. I discuss what this incident can teach us about our toxic political divides. Topics discussed include: Republican-side grievances and how incidents like this relate; how conflict leads us to filter things in more pessimistic and negative ways; the self-reinforcing nature of toxic political polarization; the importance of trying to understand your opponents’ narratives; how understanding doesn’t require agreeing; Trump’s “bloodbath” language and similar highly negative reactions to that; the ease with which we can be biased without even realizing it, and more. Learn more about my polarization work at american-anger.com. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the documentary Money Electric, filmmaker Cullen Hoback put forth the theory that developer Peter Todd was Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious creator of Bitcoin. In this episode, I talk to cryptocurrency expert Jeremy Clark (pulpspy.com)  about this theory, with a focus on the language and behavior of Peter Todd. We discuss: the 2010 forum post by Peter Todd that forms the backbone of Hoback’s theory; Peter’s behavior in the film when confronted, which many people saw as suspicious and strange; the difficulties of relying on nonverbal behavior for clues; and how simple, neat, and exciting stories can attract us. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the Nextdoor app, a fake account succeeded in getting some personal info from me before I realized they were a scammer. I discuss how that scam went down, share an audio call I had with the scammer, and give some tips for spotting online scammer behaviors and traits. These tips are focused on online marketplace scams but should be applicable for a lot of online scammers in general.  Learn more and sign up for a premium subscription at PeopleWhoReadPeople.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality test is used by many organizations and consultants, but it's been criticized by many as pseudo-science that's unhelpful, and even harmful. I talk to Randy Stein, who has researched the Myers Briggs and personality tests in general. Topics discussed include: the reasons people object to the Myers Briggs test; the downsides of personality tests that group people into boxes (as opposed to using a spectrum-like approach); the Forer effect, where people often believe that vague descriptions apply to them; the downsides of labeling ourselves and others; how the complexity of a question can wrongly seem like deepness; how Myers-Briggs relates to the more scientifically respected "Big Five" personality traits. We also talk about Randy's research on political polarization, showing how we can be drawn to being the opposite of a disliked group. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dive into the fascinating world of poker tells with insights from an expert! Discover how eye movements and betting patterns reveal confidence or deception. Learn the crucial differences between low and high-stakes behaviors, and why context matters in reading these signals. Strategies for high-stakes players to conceal tells are shared, along with real-life scenarios that highlight how verbal and physical cues can indicate players’ true intentions. Get ready to sharpen your skills in understanding not just poker, but human interaction!

This is my third episode about Chase Hughes, the self-titled “#1 expert in behavior and influence.” My first episode about him examined his early deceptions and exaggerations, and his involvement in pick-up artistry and vitamin supplement sales. In this one, I talk about how Chase’s work relates to Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and NLP-related hypnosis. Long story short: Chase has used the NLP trainer template but repackaged it with a military/secret-agent/MK-Ultra-type spin. I examine the connections between NLP and Chase’s content. I also attempt to explain why Chase (and people like him) can acquire good reviews and fans, despite so much of it being obviously silly and also expensive. I also examine Chase’s recent promoting of supplements sold by a chiropractor. And I talk about the various people who've promoted Chase, from influential podcasters to Dr. Phil to his fellow Behavior Panel members, and why there seems to be such a lack of interest in these people examining his background and claims. A later episode will focus specifically on behavior analysis and the Behavior Panel. This episode is focused squarely on NLP/hypnosis. Topics discussed in this video include: how Chase’s concepts relate to NLP; what NLP is and why people attend those seminars; my own personal experiences working for an NLP trainer; how NLP seminars relate to other experiential/transformational multi-day seminars; good/neutral aspects of NLP/hypnosis/influence type content and training; the many influential people who’ve promoted Chase; why these things can impress people despite being so obviously silly and strange; what a hypnosis expert had to say about Chase's stuff; why behavior-analysis and influence/hypnosis-type offerings lend themselves to exaggerated claims; and more.   Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many surveys and headlines have claimed there's a large percentage of Americans who support political violence. Some estimates have been around 25% – and some have gone as high as 40%! This is very scary; it ramps up fears of a violent and chaotic American future, and even fears of a civil war. But political polarization researchers like my guest Sean Westwood have shown that many people are massively overstating the problem. And that overstatement is leading to hysterical and unhelpful framings and debates. Worst of all, these exaggerated fears can even contribute to a self-reinforcing cycle… a self-fulfilling prophecy. Topics discussed include: what the faulty surveys and studies are missing; how bad survey design (ambiguous questions, or leading questions) can lead to faulty estimates; what more accurate survey results tell us; how exaggerated fears can contribute to a self-fulfilling prophecy; and why people embrace and promote overly pessimistic narratives. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices