Everything's Psychology

Professor Ian Walker, Professor of Psychology and Head of the School of Psychology at Swansea University, talks to me about the psychology of cycling. We also discuss how you can change people's transport behaviour, what it means to be a ‘mindful traveller’, and if it's actually safer not to wear a helmet when cycling.

Find out more about Professor Walker's work at www.drianwalker.com

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I chat with renowned psychologist Professor Robert Epstein about how search engines are modern Skinner boxes, manipulating our choices and even our beliefs. Hear about how his research over the last 12 years shows how tech corporations such as Google and Facebook are employing techniques from behaviourism to manipulate our beliefs and opinions to influence global politics and beyond.

In the show, Robert mentions the following websites:

http://myprivacytips.com/

https://aibrt.org/

https://americasdigitalshield.com/

Robert's choice of browser: https://brave.com/

Robert's choice of email: https://proton.me/mail

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Dive into the science that shapes our lives as I chat to experts to uncover unexpected areas where psychology influences us.

Are search engines manipulating your beliefs? Could getting kinky improve your relationship? And why do people become obsessed with cycling?

From vulnerability to vampires, and from cats to craft beer, subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts to explore if actually, Everything’s Psychology.

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It's time for a makeover, and a new name.

I want the podcast to be able to dive into the psychology behind our everyday lives and speak with incredible minds about a range of amazing topics. Limiting the podcast to the areas of psychology that influences design is too narrow and so I want to expand it. And with that, I felt that it needed a name change.

So, welcome to Everything’s Psychology! 

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You can watch the video of this episode on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@EverythingsPsychology

Recorded live at the Etch Summer Summit 2019, this episode takes a quick look at how our own brains could be the hidden persuader when it comes to making decisions. Are you really in control over the choices you make, or has your brain just made you think you are? Five studies from psychology build on each other to make you doubt every decision you've ever made.

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You can watch the video of this episode on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@EverythingsPsychology

In this follow-up to the last episode on resolutions, I’m delighted to be joined by eminent psychologist and author of ‘Self-Help Without the Hype’, Dr Robert Epstein. We chat more about the idea of self-management, behaviourism and behavioural psychology and how it relates to today’s digital world.

Our chat moves through topics such as Epstein’s own experiences working alongside BF Skinner, the innovative (and quirky) practices which Skinner applied to himself, the relevance of behavioural psychology today and the association with behavioural economics. We also discuss Dr Epstein’s work on privacy online, his hypothesis of the Search Engine Manipulation Effect and how Google could be modifying our online environment to shape our behaviour.

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You can watch the video of this episode on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@EverythingsPsychology

A resolution isn’t just for January, we make them all the time. But not only do most of us find it hard to stick with our personal resolutions, designers and design teams are often now at the heart of creating self-improvement apps, websites and products. So it’s no longer just about changing ourselves, a designer can often help others change too.

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You can watch the video of this episode on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@EverythingsPsychology

We know about placebos when it comes to medication, but could there be an equivalent in design? Could the effects of design actually be an illusion and could processes like co-design compound the placebo effect?

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When is it better to make something harder for people to read? The idea of purposefully making something difficult may go against our natural intuition, but there are times when our brain needs to slow down and design can help. I also talk to interaction designer, Matt Jackson, about applying disfluency into real-world projects.

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What's this about then? Where did it come from and who's it for? This short episode explains the history of Designer Psychology and the transition from ¡Design Thinkers! Sorry for a rather self-indulgent opener, but it gave me the chance to practice getting the audio sounding sharp before we really get going.

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You can watch the video of this episode on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@EverythingsPsychology