PsychCrunch

This is Episode 20 of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology.  What can psychology teach us about dealing with pain? Our presenter Ginny Smith learns that swearing can have a pain-reducing effect, and puts the theory to the test with an experiment on editor Matthew Warren. Ginny also hears about how virtual reality could provide a welcome distraction to patients suffering from chronic pain. Our guests, in order of appearance, are: Dr Richard Stephens, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Keele University, and Dr Sam Hughes, Research Fellow in pain neuroimaging at King’s College London. Episode credits: Presented and produced by Ginny Smith, with additional content from Matthew Warren and Sana Suri. Mixing and editing Jeff Knowler. PsychCrunch theme music Catherine Loveday and Jeff Knowler. Art work Tim Grimshaw. Background reading for this episode: Managing limb pain using virtual reality: a systematic review of clinical and experimental studies, a paper by Priscilla G Wittkopf and colleagues, is free to access thanks to our sponsors Routledge Psychology. Research mentioned in this episode includes: Swearing as a response to pain Swearing as a response to pain-effect of daily swearing frequency Swearing as a response to pain: Assessing hypoalgesic effects of novel “swear” words Attenuation of capsaicin-induced ongoing pain and secondary hyperalgesia during exposure to an immersive virtual reality environment Both Research Digest and The Psychologist have plenty of posts on pain in the archives, including: Encouraging self-compassion may help people with chronic pain lead more active, happier lives Super altruists (who’ve donated a kidney to a stranger) show heightened empathic brain activity when witnessing strangers in pain Women who practice submissive BDSM displayed reduced empathy and an atypical neural response to other people’s pain What’s different about the brains of the minority of us who feel other people’s physical pain? Watching someone suffer extreme pain has a lasting effect on the brain Does it matter whether or not pain medication is branded? Pain at Christmas: Ella Rhodes reports from the British Neuroscience Association’s Christmas symposium 5 minutes with… Dr Harbinder Sandhu: A large trial aims to help people with chronic pain taper their opioid use The pain of youth: Line Caes and Abbie Jordan call for creativity in research design with adolescents living with chronic health conditions Big Picture: Portraits of pain: Measuring pain with drawings Pain – the backdrop of our lives: Ella Rhodes reports from a conference at UCL

This is Episode 19 of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology.  Do we worry too much about screen time? The issue of screen use by children and teenagers is rarely out of the headlines, and institutions including the World Health Organization have recommended specific limits on screen time for the youngest age groups. But what does the science actually say about the effects of screen time? To find out, our presenter Ella Rhodes talks to Dr Amy Orben, Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge and winner of the 2019 BPS award for Outstanding Doctoral Research, who has explored the psychological effects of screen time in her research.  Episode credits: Presented and produced by Ella Rhodes, journalist for The Psychologist, with help from the Research Digest and Psychologist teams. Mixing and editing by Jeff Knowler. PsychCrunch theme music by Catherine Loveday and Jeff Knowler; additional music by Ketsa. Artwork by Tim Grimshaw. Background resources for this episode:  Screen Time, Laptop Bans, and the Fears that Shape the Use of Technology for Learning, a paper by Dr Torrey Trust in the Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, is free to access thanks to our sponsors Routledge Psychology. The work by Amy Orben and her colleagues discussed in this episode includes: The association between adolescent well-being and digital technology use Screens, Teens, and Psychological Well-Being: Evidence From Three Time-Use-Diary Studies How Much Is Too Much? Examining the Relationship Between Digital Screen Engagement and Psychosocial Functioning in a Confirmatory Cohort Study Social media’s enduring effect on adolescent life satisfaction Here are the WHO guidelines on screen time mentioned at the beginning of the podcast. Both The Psychologist and Research Digest have a number of articles on screen time and media effects, including: The Psychologist Presents… Screen time debunked A transcript of Professor Andrew Przybylski’s session with editor Jon Sutton at Latitude Festival in summer 2019. Seeing screen time differently Jon Sutton reports from a one-day event on research, policy and communication in a digital era, held out the Wellcome Collection in London in 2018. 'There are wolves in the forest…' Professor Andrew Przybylski picks three myths around screen time – and how science, and some common sense, can help. What is actually behind the screen? Ella Rhodes reports on last year's parliamentary report from the Science and Technology Committee. ‘Games have helped me a lot throughout my life’ Annie Brookman-Byrne interviews Dr Pete Etchells, Reader in Psychology and Science Communication at Bath Spa University, about his book Lost in a Good Game: Why We Play Video Games and What They Can Do For Us. Amy Orben honoured Dr Orben wins the British Psychological Society's Award for Outstanding Doctoral Research. Link Between Teens’ Time On Digital Devices And Lower Wellbeing Is “Too Small To Merit Substantial Scientific Discussion” Abstaining From Social Media Doesn’t Improve Well-Being, Experimental Study Finds These Violent Delights Don’t Have Violent Ends: Study Finds No link Between Violent Video Games And Teen Aggression Hard-core players of violent video games do not have emotionally blunted brains

This is Episode 18 of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. Can psychology help us become more creative? Our presenter Ginny Smith learns how we can develop our creativity with practice, and discovers that our best “Eureka” moments often come when we step away from the task at hand. She also investigates how members of the public fare with the riddles psychologists use to study creative problem solving — see how you get on at home. Our guests, in order of appearance, are: Professor James C Kaufman, an educational psychologist at the University of Connecticut and author of several books on creativity, and Dr Gillian Hill, a lecturer in psychology at the University of Buckingham and member of the CREATE research team. Episode credits: Presented and produced by Ginny Smith. Mixing and editing Jeff Knowler. PsychCrunch theme music Catherine Loveday and Jeff Knowler. Art work Tim Grimshaw. Background reading for this episode: James C Kaufman’s paper Creativity Is More Than Silly, More Than Art, More Than Good: The Diverse Career of Arthur Cropley is free to view thanks to our sponsors, Routledge Psychology. We have dozens of posts on creativity in the Research Digest archives, including: Thinking About Their Multiple Identities Boosts Children’s Creativity And Problem-Solving Skills Here’s What The Evidence Shows About The Links Between Creativity And Depression The Four Ways To Promote Creativity In Children Come More Naturally To Some Mothers Than Others How Keeping A Dream Diary Could Boost Your Creativity Psychologists Have Devised A Test For Measuring One-Year-Olds’ Creativity Teams Are More Creative When Their Leader Is Confident In Her Or His Own Creativity New Study Finds Strength Of Imagination Not Associated With Creative Ability Or Achievement And over at The Psychologist, check out Rocky Horror Pixel Show, in which Arne Dietrich explores the problems in figuring out how creativity is represented in the brain.

This is Episode 17 of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. Can psychology help make running more enjoyable? Our presenter Christian Jarrett speaks to several experts about various strategies including "cognitive reappraisal" and the benefits of taking part in organised runs. He also hears how some of us are genetically disposed to find running less enjoyable than others, and why that isn't an excuse for giving up. Our guests, in order of appearance, are: Dr Grace Giles (US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center, Natick), Dr John Nezlek (SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Faculty in Poznan and College of William & Mary, Williamsburg VA), Dr Marzena Cypryańska (SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Warsaw), and Professor Eco de Geus (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam). Episode credits: Presented and produced by Christian Jarrett. Mixing and editing Jeff Knowler. PsychCrunch theme music Catherine Loveday and Jeff Knowler. Art work Tim Grimshaw. Key research mentioned in this episode: A mental technique called “cognitive reappraisal” makes long-distance running feel easier Runners Get A Wellbeing Boost From Participating In Organised Races Hate sport? Maybe it’s because you have the genes that make exercise feel awful

Ella Rhodes, journalist for The Psychologist magazine, delves into the growing body of research exploring aphantasia – a condition she has personal experience of. While most people can see images formed in their minds people with aphantasia draw a blank, what might this mean for autobiographical memory, face perception and imagination?  Our guests, in order of appearance, are: Zoe Pounder at the University of Westminster and Professor Adam Zeman at the University of Exeter.  Background resources for this episode:  This man had no idea his mind is "blind" until last week. Mental rotation performance in aphantasia. Loss of imagery phenomenology with intact visuo-spatial task performance: a case of "blind imagination". Lives without imagery – Congenital aphantasia. The neural correlates of visual imagery vividness – An fMRI study and literature review. The neural correlates of visual imagery: A co-ordinate-based meta-analysis. On Picturing a Candle: The Prehistory of Imagery Science. The Eye’s Mind - Zeman’s apahantasia research project. A scientific measure of our visual imagination suggests it is surprisingly limited Episode credits: Presented and produced by Ella Rhodes. Mixing Jeff Knowler. Music Sincere Love by Monplaisir. PsychCrunch theme music Catherine Loveday and Jeff Knowler. Art work Tim Grimshaw.

This is Episode 15 of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology.  Mindfulness is everywhere these days, but is it really as beneficial as it's often made out to be? Our presenter Ginny Smith hears from clinical psychologist Dr Catherine Wikholm(co-author of The Buddha Pill: Can Meditation Change You?); she visits the Cambridge Buddha Centre to meet people who have taken up mindfulness meditation; and she discusses some of the latest mindfulness research trials with Professor Barney Dunn, a clinical psychologist at Exeter University. Some of the evidence is indeed promising, and mindfulness meditation could offer a cost-effective way to help many people with mental health problems. However, Ginny also discovers that many trials are ongoing, mindfulness is not risk free, and it may not suit everyone.   Some of the studies mentioned in this episode: Mechanisms of action in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) in people with physical and/or psychological conditions: A systematic review. How do mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and mindfulness-based stress reduction improve mental health and wellbeing? A systematic review and meta-analysis of mediation studies Mindfulness Training Increases Momentary Positive Emotions and Reward Experience in Adults Vulnerable to Depression: A Randomized Controlled Trial Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy compared with maintenance antidepressant treatment in the prevention of depressive relapse or recurrence (PREVENT): a randomised controlled trial The Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) in Real-World Healthcare Services The effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a mindfulness training programme in schools compared with normal school provision (MYRIAD): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial Unwanted effects: Is there a negative side of meditation? A multicentre survey The Buddha Pill: Can Meditation Change You? Relevant studies and articles from our own archive: The Psychology of Mindfulness, Digested Brainwave evidence hints at benefits from a school mindfulness programme Brief mindfulness training does not foster empathy, and can even make narcissists worse Experienced meditators have enhanced control over their eye movements This is what eight weeks of mindfulness training does to your brain Mindfulness meditation increases people’s susceptibility to false memories Just fifteen minutes of mindfulness meditation can improve your decision making How meditation alters the brain Episode credits: Presented and produced by Ginny Smith. Mixing Jeff Knowler. PsychCrunch theme music Catherine Loveday and Jeff Knowler. Art work Tim Grimshaw.

This is Episode 14 of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. Can psychology help your cooking taste better? Our presenter Ginny Smith hears about the importance of food presentation, pairing and sequencing, and how our perception of food is a multi-sensory experience. She and her friends conduct a taste test using "sonic seasonings" that you can also try at home. Our guests, in order of appearance, are: Professor Debra Zellner at MontClaire State University and Professor Charles Spence at Oxford University. Background resources for this episode: The multisensory perception of flavour The supertaster who researches supertasting Wine tastes like the music you’re listening to Plating for pleasure: Debra Zellner at TEDxMontclair Do Appetizers Whet or Ruin Your Appetite? Episode credits: Presented and produced by Ginny Smith. Mixing Jeff Knowler. PsychCrunch theme music Catherine Loveday and Jeff Knowler. Art work Tim Grimshaw.

This is Episode 13 of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. Can psychology help us to learn better? Our presenter Christian Jarrett discovers the best evidence-backed strategies for learning, including the principle of spacing, the benefits of testing yourself and teaching others. He also hears about the perils of overconfidence and the lack of evidence for popular educational ideas like "learning styles" and "brain gym". Our guests, in order of appearance, are: Nate Kornell, associate professor at Williams College; Paul Howard-Jones, author of Evolution of the Learning Brain(find out more), and professor of neuroscience and education at the University of Bristol; and Abby Knoll, doctoral student at Central Michigan University. Background reading for this episode: It feels as though we learn better via our preferred learning style, but we don’t “Another nail in the coffin for learning styles” – students did not benefit from studying according to their supposed learning style The secret to remembering material long-term How to study Learning by teaching others is extremely effective – a new study tested a key reason why Physically active academic school lessons boost pupils’ activity levels and focus Engaging lecturers can breed overconfidence 'The story of learning begins with the story of life' From brain scan to lesson plan Episode credits: Presented and produced by Christian Jarrett. Mixing and editing Jeff Knowler. PsychCrunch theme music Catherine Loveday and Jeff Knowler. Art work Tim Grimshaw.

This is Episode 12 of PsychCrunch the podcast from the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. Download here. Can psychology help us to be funnier? Our presenter Ginny Smith hears how a key ingredient of humour is "incongruity" and the surprise of unexpected meanings. Individual words too can be amusing, but actually most of the time we laugh not because we've seen or heard a joke, but as a natural part of friendly interaction. Our guests, in order of appearance, are: Cardiff University neuroscientist Dean Burnett, author of The Happy Brain; psychologist Tomas Engelthalerat the University of Warwick, who co-authored a paper on the funniest words in English; and "stand up scientist" Sophie Scottat UCL, who gave the 2017 Christmas lectures on the neuroscience of voices, speech and laughter. Background reading for this episode: Research on jokes in the Research Digest archive Research on laughter in the Research Digest archive Engelthaler's study of the funniest words in the English language Special issue of The Psychologiston humour Do psychologists have a particular taste in comedy? Episode credits: Presented and produced by Ginny Smith. Mixing Jeff Knowler. PsychCrunch theme music Catherine Loveday and Jeff Knowler. Art work Tim Grimshaw.

This is Episode 11 of PsychCrunch the podcast from the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. Can psychology help us get a better night's sleep? Our presenter Ginny Smith hears how worry about sleep is sometimes more of a problem than lack of sleep itself. She gives us some evidence-backed sleep tips and finds out about "sleep engineering" – deliberately manipulating the sleep process to aid memory and enhance its health benefits. Our guests are Professor Kenneth Lichstein at the University of Alabama and Professor Penny Lewis at the University of Cardiff. Background reading for this episode: “Insomnia identity” – misbelieving you’ve got sleep problems can be more harmful than actual lack of sleep BBC News: Sleep engineering: Cardiff scientists working on designer rest Targeted memory reactivation of newly learned words during sleep triggers REM-mediated integration of new memories and existing knowledge Also, find many more studies on sleep and dreaming in our archive. Episode credits: Presented and produced by Ginny Smith. Mixing and editing Jeff Knowler. PsychCrunch theme music Catherine Loveday and Jeff Knowler. Art work Tim Grimshaw.