PsychCrunch

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.

It's been a while coming, but this is Episode 10 of PsychCrunch the podcast from the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. Can psychology help us avoid procrastinating and get on with the important things we know we should be doing? Our presenter Christian Jarrett hears about what causes procrastination, how to stop it, and whether it has any upsides. Also, we put the psychologists on the spot and ask whether they've managed to cure their own procrastination. Our guests are the world experts in the psychology of procrastination Professor Tim Pychyl at Carleton University and Dr Fuschia Sirois at the University of Sheffield. Studies discussed or alluded to in the episode: A critique of the construct validity of active procrastination I forgive myself, now I can study: How self-forgiveness for procrastinating can reduce future procrastination Procrastination and Stress: Exploring the Role of Self-compassion Procrastination and the Priority of Short-Term Mood Regulation: Consequences for Future Self Also, find more studies on procrastination that we've covered at Research Digest, and Prof Pychyl has further relevant resources at www.procrastination.ca.  Episode credits: Presented and produced by Dr Christian Jarrett. Mixing and editing Jeff Knowler. PsychCrunch theme music Catherine Loveday and Jeff Knowler. Additional music: Lynne Publishing, composer Stefan Wolfgang Bode via Pond5. Art work Tim Grimshaw.

This is Episode 9 of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. Can psychology help us work together better in teams? Our presenter Christian Jarrett hears about the benefits of appointing a "meta-knowledge champion" for the team, making sure everyone has contact with the team's "extra miler", and why you should think carefully about the physical space that you do your teamwork in. Our guests in order of appearance: Dr Julija Mell (Essec Business School), Dr Alex Fradera (Research Digest writer), and Dr Katherine Greenaway (University of Queensland). Studies discussed in the episode: Why your team should appoint a "meta-knowledge" champion – one person who’s aware of everyone else’s area of expertise Team effectiveness is disproportionately influenced by your group’s best performer or "extra-miler" Minimalist, anonymous rooms are probably not a good place to do teamwork In home or at home? How collective decision making in a new care facility enhances social interaction and wellbeing amongst older adults Related resources from The Psychologist: Towards Healthier Meetings and An Interview With Dr Craig Knight: Taking Back Control Of Your Space Episode credits: Presented and produced by Dr Christian Jarrett. Mixing and editing Jeff Knowler. Vox pops Ella Rhodes. PsychCrunch theme music Catherine Loveday and Jeff Knowler. Additional music Zander Sehkri/Zeroday Productions (via Pond5). Art work Tim Grimshaw.

Brian Earp, a researcher affiliated with Oxford and Yale, delves into the thorny issue of trust in psychological studies. He shares insights on the replication crisis, highlighting the implications of failed attempts to replicate notable findings like power posing and the Macbeth effect. Brian reflects on the importance of adaptability in scientific beliefs and the need for constructive critiques within academia. His candid discussion encourages researchers to embrace their own negative findings, underscoring the value of integrity in psychological research.

This is Episode Seven of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society's Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. Can psychology give you a competitive edge in sport? Our presenter Christian Jarrett learns about the importance of having the right competitive mindset, and how to use self-talk and positive imagery to boost your sporting performance. Our guests, in order of appearance, are George Hanshaw (International Sport Achievers and HanshawPerformance.com), Marc Jones (Staffordshire University) and Sanda Dolcos (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign). Studies discussed in the episode include: Cardiovascular indices of challenge and threat states predict performance The inner speech of behavioral regulation: Intentions and task performance strengthen when you talk to yourself as a You Effect of self-talk and imagery on the response time of trained martial artists. Episode credits: Presented and produced by Christian Jarrett. Mixing engineer Jeff Knowler. PsychCrunch theme music Catherine Loveday and Jeff Knowler. Additional music Vincent Pedulla and Jeffrey Peterson (via Pond5). Art work Tim Grimshaw.

This is Episode 6 of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society's Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. Have you ever sent a sarcastic email or text message and discovered to your horror that the recipient thought you were being literal? If so, this episode is for you! Research Digest editor Christian Jarrett speaks to Dr Ruth Filik (University of Nottingham), lead author of a recent study into how emoticons and punctuation can help you convey written sarcasm more effectively. After listening, you'll realise those little winking faces ;-) are no laughing matter. Seriously!  Research discussed in this episode includes:  How and when to send sarcastic emails and texts, according to science Emotional responses to irony and emoticons in written language: Evidence from EDA and facial EMG Episode credits: Presenter/editor Dr Christian Jarrett. Mixing Dr Catherine Loveday and Jeff Knowler. Art work Tim Grimshaw. PsychCrunch is sponsored by Routledge Psychology.

This is Episode Five of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society's Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. In this episode we explore whether psychology can help us learn a new language.We hear about research showing the benefits of music training to language learning, and how it may be possible to boost your learning of foreign words while you sleep. Our presenter Christian Jarrett also hears about the anxiety that many people feel when trying to speak a foreign language and why it's so important to just give it a go!Our guests in order of appearance are Dr Christina Gkonou of the University of Essex, Dr Sylvain Moreno, Director of Canada's Digital Health Hub at Simon Fraser University, and Professor Björn Rasch at the University of Fribourg.  Among the research studies that we talk about in this episode are:  Short-Term Music Training Enhances Verbal Intelligence and Executive Function Foreign languages easier to learn when they're sung rather than spoken Boosting Vocabulary Learning by Verbal Cueing During Sleep Episode credits: Presenter/editor Dr Christian Jarrett. Producer Dr Lorna Stewart. Mixing Dr Catherine Loveday and Jeff Knowler. Music: Go Maman. Art work Tim Grimshaw.

This is Episode Four of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society's Research Digest. In this festive episode we explore whether psychology can help us with gift giving.  Our presenter Christian Jarrett and his guests discuss the benefits of giving "giver-centric" gifts; how recipients like to receive gifts on their wish lists; why ethical or pro-social gifts are sometimes not so warmly received; and the two words that can salvage that awkward situation when a gift doesn't go down too well.  Our guests in order of appearance are Lisa Cavanaugh USC Marshall School of Business, Lara Aknin of Simon Fraser University, and Alex Fradera, contributing writer to the BPS Research Digest blog.  The studies discussed in this episode, in order of appearance, are: Give a piece of you: Gifts that reflect givers promote closeness Give them what they want: The benefits of explicitness in gift exchange When doing good is bad in gift giving: Mis-predicting appreciation of socially responsible gifts Moments of truth in gift exchanges: A critical analysis of communication indicators used to detect gift failure Episode credits: Presenter/editor/producer Dr Christian Jarrett. Vox pops Ella Rhodes. Music and mixing Dr Catherine Loveday and Jeff Knowler. Jingle Bells vocals Joe Loveday. Art work Tim Grimshaw.

On October 1, 2015 Dr Christian Jarrett (Editor, BPS Research Digest) met with Dr Jon Sutton (Editor, The Psychologist magazine) to debate Michael Jackson's legacy. This is their full argument! Excerpts from their debate about MJ appear in Episode Three of PsychCrunch, which explored whether psychology can help you to win an argument.