Speaking of Psychology

By American Psychological Association

What's Speaking of Psychology about?

"Speaking of Psychology" is an audio podcast series highlighting some of the latest, most important and relevant psychological research being conducted today. Produced by the American Psychological Association, these podcasts will help listeners apply the science of psychology to their everyday lives.

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Encore - Tasty words, color...

08.03.2022

More than 4% of people have some form of synesthesia, a neurological condition that causes senses to link and merge. People with synesthesia may taste words, hear colors, or see calendar dates arrayed in physical space. Dr. Julia Simner, a ...

Speaking of Psychology episodes:

08.03.2022 Encore - Tasty words, colorful sounds - How people with synesthesia experience the world, with Julia Simner, PhD More than 4% of people have some form of synesthesia, a neurological condition that causes senses to link and merge. People with synesthesia may taste words, hear colors, or see calendar dates arrayed in physical space. Dr. Julia Simner, a ...
07.27.2022 What is borderline personality disorder? With Carla Sharp, PhD Borderline personality disorder is one of the most frequently diagnosed personality disorders, and one of the most misunderstood. Carla Sharp, PhD, of the University of Houston, discusses how BPD is diagnosed, defined and treated, how family members can help children ...
07.20.2022 The truth about why kids lie, with Victoria Talwar, PhD Most parents want to raise their children to be honest adults, so the first time that they catch their child in a lie it may come as an unpleasant surprise. But psychologists’ research has found that lying is a normal ...
07.13.2022 Can we unlearn implicit biases? With Mahzarin Banaji, PhD The idea that people have biases that operate below the level of conscious thought is uncomfortable. But decades of research have found that many people who would never consciously agree with prejudiced statements against Black people, LGBTQ people or women ...
07.06.2022 Perfectionism: When good is never good enough, with Gordon Flett, PhD, and Bonnie Zucker, PsyD Perfectionism might seem like a minor hurdle to overcome – or even a welcome personality trait. But perfectionism is different from simply striving for excellence and perfectionistic people are at higher risk for anxiety, depression and other mental health disorders. ...
06.29.2022 Revealing the Hidden Brain, with Shankar Vedantam How much insight do people have into why they behave the way they do? Science journalist Shankar Vedantam, host of the Hidden Brain podcast and author of “Useful Delusions: The Power and Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain,” talks about why ...
06.22.2022 Why can some people speak dozens of languages? with Ev Fedorenko, PhD For those of us who speak only one language, the idea of learning twenty or thirty sounds impossible. But there are “hyperpolyglots” who have managed this remarkable feat. Evelina Fedorenko, PhD, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, discusses what sets ...
06.15.2022 Abortion and mental health, with Antonia Biggs, PhD Dozens of states are poised to outlaw or dramatically restrict abortion if the Supreme Court overturns its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. Antonia Biggs, PhD, a social psychologist at the University of California San Francisco, talks about the results of ...
06.08.2022 How living with secrets can harm you, with Michael Slepian, PhD We all keep secrets – on average, people have about 13 secrets at any one time, five of which they have never told another person. Psychologist Michael Slepian, PhD, of Columbia Business School, talks about what types of secrets people ...
06.01.2022 Can an app improve your health? With Gary Bennett, PhD Digital interventions that promise to help you achieve your health and fitness goals are everywhere. But do these apps work and are they a useful public health tool? Gary Bennett, PhD, director of the Duke University Global Digital Health Science ...
05.25.2022 Racism, racial discrimination and mental health, with Riana Elyse Anderson, PhD The past two years have taken a heavy toll on the health, mental health and well-being of people of color, who have suffered disproportionately from the COVID-19 pandemic while also facing what some call a second pandemic of racism. Riana ...
05.18.2022 What is dissociative identity disorder? With Bethany Brand, PhD Dissociative identity disorder – which many people recognize by its former name, multiple personality disorder – is one of Hollywood’s favorite psychology-related topics, with a decades-long history of movie and TV portrayals, most recently in this spring’s “Moon Knight.” But ...
05.11.2022 Are we in a ‘loneliness pandemic’? With Louise Hawkley, PhD Even before the COVID-19 pandemic scrambled our social connections, Americans were worried about an epidemic of loneliness. Louise Hawkley, PhD, principal research scientist at NORC at the University of Chicago, talks about the difference between being alone and being lonely, ...
05.04.2022 Is technology killing empathy? With Sherry Turkle, PhD Over the past couple of decades, our devices have become our constant companions. More and more, we live in a digital, virtual world. Dr. Sherry Turkle, MIT professor and founding director of the MIT Initiative on Technology and Self, discusses ...
04.27.2022 What psychology has to say about art, with Ellen Winner, PhD Art is universal – there has never been a human society without it. But we don’t always agree on what makes for good art, or even what makes something art at all. Ellen Winner, PhD, of Boston College, talks about ...
04.20.2022 How exercise benefits the brain, with Jenny Etnier, PhD Most people realize that being sedentary is bad for your physical health. But exercise – or the lack of it – can affect our cognitive health as well. Jenny Etnier, PhD, of the University of North Carolina Greensboro, discusses how ...
04.13.2022 Surviving the trauma of war in Ukraine, with Laura Murray, PhD Since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, more than 4 million Ukrainians have had to flee the country as refugees, more than 6 million others have been internally displaced, and tens of millions more have lived through shelling and other ...
04.06.2022 How to keep stress from harming your health, with George Slavich, PhD The American Psychological Association’s most recent Stress in America survey found record high levels of stress among Americans of all ages. Dr. George Slavich, director of the UCLA Laboratory for Stress Assessment and Research, discusses how stress affects our brain, ...
03.30.2022 How grieving changes the brain, with Mary-Frances O’Connor, PhD Few of us will make it through life without losing someone we love. Mary-Frances O’Connor, PhD, of the University of Arizona, discusses howneuroscience can help us to better understand grief and resilience after loss, why grief is different from depression, ...
03.23.2022 How to Keep Anger from Getting the Best of You with Howard Kassinove, PhD, and Raymond “Chip” Tafrate, PhD Anger is a normal human emotion, a natural reaction when you feel that something or someone has done you wrong. But anger can also turn violent and dangerous, can ruin relationships and can interfere with our health and happiness. Howard ...
03.16.2022 Why psychopathy is more common than you think, with Abigail Marsh, PhD Most of us think we know what a psychopath looks like. The word brings to mind images of horror movies and criminals. But psychopathy is far more common than most people realize, and actually hard to recognize in other people. ...
03.09.2022 Ambiguous loss and the “myth of closure,” with Pauline Boss, PhD March 11 marks two years since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. With another variant waning, many people are hoping, yet again, to close the book on COVID and move on. But what if there’s a different way ...
03.02.2022 How our siblings influence our lives, with Laurie Kramer, PhD, and Megan Gilligan, PhD Our brothers and sisters are our first friends and first rivals, and the relationships that we have with our siblings are often the longest lasting relationships of our lives. Laurie Kramer, PhD, of Northeastern University, and Megan Gilligan, PhD, of ...
02.23.2022 Poker, con artists and the psychology of risk and deception, with Maria Konnikova, PhD Why do intelligent people give money to self-proclaimed psychics or get sucked into Ponzi schemes? Why are most of us so bad at judging risk? Journalist, psychologist and professional poker player Maria Konnikova, PhD, author of the “The Biggest Bluff” ...
02.16.2022 Fighting the stigma of mental illness, with Patrick Corrigan, PsyD Despite how common mental illness is, people with mental illness often keep their diagnosis a closely guarded secret in the face of widespread stigma and discrimination. Patrick Corrigan, PhD, editor of APA’s journal Stigma and Health, discusses where this stigma ...
02.09.2022 What makes love last? With Arthur Aron, PhD Most of us expect the intensity of new love to fade over time. But some couples remain deeply in love for the long haul, even after years or decades together. What sets those relationships apart? Are some couples just lucky? ...
02.02.2022 Why we choose to suffer, with Paul Bloom, PhD Why do people like to watch scary movies or listen to sad songs? We do we run marathons and raise children, even though both of those pursuits come with struggle and pain? Dr. Paul Bloom discusses why suffering is linked ...
01.26.2022 Why is it so hard for adults to make friends? With Maris Franco, PhD As an adult, making new friends – and maintaining old friendships – can be tough. Life is busy and friends end up taking a backseat to other relationships and responsibilities. Dr. Marisa Franco, psychologist and friendship expert, talks about how ...
01.19.2022 The people who never forget a face, with Josh Davis, PhD, and Kelly Desborough Super-recognizers have an extraordinary ability to recognize faces – they can pick faces they’ve seen only briefly out of a crowd and can recognize childhood acquaintances they haven’t seen in decades. Dr. Josh Davis, a professor of applied psychology at ...
01.12.2022 What is anxiety and how can we treat it effectively? With Bunmi Olatunji, PhD We’ve all had good reason to feel anxious over the past two years. But sometimes, anxiety is more than a normal response to stress. Anxiety disorders are among the most common of all mental health disorders, affecting an estimated 15% ...
01.05.2022 Healing pain by treating the mind, with Tor Wager, PhD More than 20 percent of U.S. adults suffer from some form of chronic pain. For many, effective treatment remains elusive, with medications and even surgeries giving little in the way of relief. But in recent years, psychologists’ research has begun ...
12.29.2021 Encore - Unlocking the mysteries of smell, our most underappreciated sense, with Pamela Dalton, PhD Many people around the world have lost their sense of smell this past year due to COVID-19. Before the pandemic, scientists had already begun to gain a deeper understanding of how sophisticated our sense of smell is and how it ...
12.22.2021 Encore - What is it like to remember every day of your life, with Michael Yassa, PhD, and Markie Pasternak For people with Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory, or HSAM, every day is memorable. Ask them what they were doing on this date 10 years ago, and they’ll be able to tell you. Markie Pasternak, one of the youngest people identified ...
12.15.2021 Psychology takes toys seriously, with Barry Kudrowitz, PhD, and Doris Bergen, PhD Just in time for toy-buying season, Dr. Barry Kudrowitz, a toy designer and professor of product design at the University of Minnesota, and Dr. Doris Bergen, a professor emerita of educational psychology at Miami University in Ohio, discuss the psychology ...
12.08.2021 The secret to being a “SuperAger,” with Emily Rogalski, PhD For most people lucky enough to live a long life, aging comes with some cognitive decline. But memory loss isn’t inevitable. Some people -- “SuperAgers” -- have memory abilities that remain intact into their 80s, 90s and even beyond. Emily ...
12.01.2021 Tightwads and spendthrifts: How emotions drive our shopping behavior, with Scott Rick, PhD Does shopping bring you joy? Or do you feel a bit of pain and regret every time you have to make a purchase? Many of us will be shopping for gifts in the upcoming weeks -- whether we enjoy it ...
11.24.2021 Exploring the human-animal bond, with Maggie O’Haire, PhD The role that animals can play in improving people’s mental health has garnered increased attention in recent years -- from service dogs for PTSD to emotional support animals on planes to therapy dogs in offices. Dr. Maggie O’Haire, a psychologist ...
11.17.2021 What can science teach us about the benefits of religion? With David DeSteno, PhD For thousands of years, people have turned to religion to answer questions about how to lead a happy, moral and fulfilling life. David DeSteno, PhD, a psychology professor at Northeastern University and author of the book “How God Works,” discusses ...
11.10.2021 How social media affects teens’ mental health and well-being, with Linda Charmaraman, PhD The vast majority of U.S. teens have access to a smartphone and at least one social media account, and recent headlines seem to confirm parents’ worst fears about the effects of all that time spent online. But psychologists’ research suggests ...
11.03.2021 How close relationships keep us healthy and happy, with Richard Slatcher, PhD Close relationships are essential to our happiness and well-being and are also an important predictor of physical health. Richard Slatcher, PhD, of the University of Georgia, talks about why the support we receive from our partners, family and friends is ...
10.27.2021 Ghosts, Ouija boards and ESP: psychology and the paranormal, with Chris French, PhD Just in time for Halloween, we talk about the psychology of strange stuff – including ghostly visitations, alien abductions, ESP, and more – with Chris French, PhD, head of the anomalistic psychology unit at Goldsmiths, University of London. Dr. French ...
10.20.2021 Waiting, worrying and dealing with uncertainty, with Kate Sweeny, PhD Is there anything more agonizing than being in limbo? Time may seem to slow to a crawl when you’re waiting for high-stakes news like a hiring decision, a biopsy result – or the end of a pandemic. Kate Sweeny, PhD, ...
10.13.2021 Men, masculinity and mental health, with Ronald F. Levant, EdD Stoic. Self-reliant. Unemotional. For many men, these watchwords of traditional masculinity still hold powerful sway. Men are less likely than women to seek help for mental health issues, they die by suicide more often, and they commit and are the ...
10.06.2021 ADHD among children and adults, with Margaret Sibley, PhD For many people, the stereotypical image of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is an 8-year-old boy who can’t sit still in class. But in recent decades, scientists have gained a more sophisticated understanding of the causes and lifelong consequences of the ...
09.29.2021 The psychology of science denial, doubt and disbelief, with Gale Sinatra, PhD, and Barbara Hofer, PhD On hot-button topics such as climate change, vaccines and genetically modified foods, science denial is rampant – and it crosses party and ideological lines. What are the psychological forces that lead people to disbelieve scientific consensus? Is science denial worse ...
09.22.2021 How science can help you change your behavior for the better with Katy Milkman, PhD What can you learn from the science of behavior change that can help you make the changes you want to see in your life? Katy Milkman, PhD, a professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and author ...
09.15.2021 The seven sins of memory, with Daniel Schacter, PhD Human memory is imperfect – we all misplace our keys, forget acquaintances’ names and misremember the details of our own past. Daniel Schacter, PhD, a professor of psychology at Harvard University, discusses why memory is so fallible, the causes and ...
09.08.2021 Twenty years after 9/11, what have we learned about collective trauma? With Roxane Cohen Silver, PhD This week marks 20 years since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Researchers call this kind of shared disaster a “collective trauma.” Roxane Cohen Silver, PhD, of the University of California Irvine, ...
09.01.2021 Power: How you get it, how it can change you, with Dacher Keltner, PhD What is power? Why do people seek it and how do they get it? Is it human nature to abuse power? And how might power – or powerlessness – affect our health and wellbeing? Dacher Keltner, PhD, psychology professor at ...
08.25.2021 Sport psychology, peak performance and athletes’ mental health, with Jamie Shapiro, PhD The mental health of athletes has been in the news a lot this year, thanks to Olympians Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles. The attention may be new, but the field of sport psychology is not. How do sport psychologists work ...

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