Why Do We Do That?

2. Why do we do things that are bad for Us?


Listen Later

Ella Al-Shamahi is joined by psychologist Prof Laurence Steinberg and DJ / presenter Arielle Free to explore why we are drawn to do things that are bad for us. If our evolutionary purpose is to survive long enough to pass on genes, why do we knowingly put our lives at risk? Ella delves into a theory called costly signalling which may explain why we do risky things when there are others watching – is it just a way of showing off good genes? Dr Laurence Steinberg, Professor of Psychology at Temple University talks about dopamine sensitivity, brain imaging and our biological drive to take more risks during adolescence.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Why Do We Do That?By BBC Radio 4

  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6

4.6

27 ratings


More shows like Why Do We Do That?

View all
More or Less by BBC Radio 4

More or Less

885 Listeners

Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4 by BBC Radio 4

Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4

2,103 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

2,095 Listeners

No Such Thing As A Fish by No Such Thing As A Fish

No Such Thing As A Fish

4,858 Listeners

Great Lives by BBC Radio 4

Great Lives

484 Listeners

BBC Inside Science by BBC Radio 4

BBC Inside Science

414 Listeners

Curious Cases by BBC Radio 4

Curious Cases

826 Listeners

The Life Scientific by BBC Radio 4

The Life Scientific

237 Listeners

Word of Mouth by BBC Radio 4

Word of Mouth

52 Listeners

CrowdScience by BBC World Service

CrowdScience

476 Listeners

Sliced Bread by BBC Radio 4

Sliced Bread

136 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

3,151 Listeners

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford by Pushkin Industries

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

5,152 Listeners

The world, the universe and us by New Scientist

The world, the universe and us

113 Listeners

Sideways by BBC Radio 4

Sideways

72 Listeners