Two Guys on Your Head

Having a pet is a big responsibility. Pets can be expensive, wake you up in the middle of the night, limit your travel plans, and bring home gifts that aren’t quite what you asked Santa for. Yet, we love them, they bring us joy, and they are really wonderful for us psychologically. In this episode of Two Guys on Your Head Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke talk about the reasons why pets are so important to our mental health. The post Why We Love Our Pets appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

What is the evolutionary benefit of laughter? In this episode of Two Guys on Your Head Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke explore why we laugh. The post Why We Laugh appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

It’s that time of the year when we resolve to drink less, exercise more, save money, etc. It may feel really good to intend to do “better” in the new year, but as Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke discuss in this episode of Two Guys on Your Head, real change takes planning and hard work. Why is that? It turns out we have no idea why we do most of the things we do on a daily basis. And as long as our behaviors are driven by factors that operate below our conscious awareness, we may not know how to change. As the Two Guys point out, effective change can happen when we start from the outside in. When we look at our environments first we can make space and cultivate relationships that help us become our best selves. The post Making Change Stick appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

Sometimes we put off celebrating until we achieve a big goal instead of taking a moment to enjoy the little achievements along the way, and that’s a problem. In this episode of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke discuss the evolutionary reasons behind the importance of celebration, gratitude, and achievement. The post Celebration appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

Writer’s block! That phrase might induce panic and a recollection of a familiar experience. It’s a very common phenomenon. So what is it? In this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke explain the ins and outs of how and why we sometimes get stuck – and what we can do to help ourselves in those difficult situations. The post How To Crush Writer’s Block (Rebroadcast) appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

What causes us to choke under pressure, especially when we’re playing a sport? Why is it that when we start paying close attention to how we’re performing a motor skill, like running or speaking, we tend to mess it up? In this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markaman and Dr. Bob Duke talk about the significance of the brain mechanisms that support fluid performance and why it’s important to not think too much about them. The post Attention and Performance appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

If you’re in a leadership position you know you have to make some difficult decisions. Some of those decisions might put you in the doghouse for a while, but if you are motivated by the good of the group as opposed to the need to be liked, things tend to work out better. In this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke talk about the psychology of leadership and being liked. The post Why It’s Not Always About Being Liked When You’re a Leader (Rebroadcast) appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

For many of us, Thanksgiving means spending time with our families and carrying out traditions that we’ve practiced for years. While it can be very stressful, messy, and challenging to spend time with family members you don’t see very often, it can also be a beautiful time of re-centering. Traditions serve a psychological function. By repeating the same traditional activity with the same group of people over the years, we construct a chronological record of who we’ve been before – and who we are now. It’s a hidden way of staying in touch with the consistent elements of our identities, and it allows us to track ourselves as we develop and change. Traditions give us an opportunity to become psychologically close to the person that we used to be in childhood, or adolescence – or even as recently as last year. And that’s something to be thankful for. As always, Drs. Bob Duke and Art Markman are carving it up. The post The Psychology of The Holiday Traditions (Rebroadcast) appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

We evolved to believe what we are told, however, we did not evolve in an environment with mass media. This is what makes the spread of misinformation so insidious and effective. In this week’s episode of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke talk about why we believe lies. The post Why We Believe Lies appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

There are many ways in which reading enriches our lives, but we may overlook some of the most important. In this week’s episode of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke conclude their exploration into the psychology of reading. The post The Psychology of Reading (Part II) appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.