Human Potential Lab

I’m really excited to have Ayishat Akanbi on the podcast today. Ayishat is a writer and fashion stylist based in London. Personal reflection has guided her approach of reminding us of our commonalities instead of our differences. Not just for social awareness but also self-awareness, Ayishat resists the black and white thinking that can lead to divisive socio-political discourse and is comfortable “in the grey”.

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Today it’s great to have Dr. Richard Haier on the podcast. Dr. Haier is Professor Emeritus in the School of Medicine at the University of California, Irvine. His research investigates structural and functional neuroanatomy of intelligence using neuroimaging.

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Today it’s great to have the political psychologist Lilianna Mason on the podcast. Dr. Mason is associate professor of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland, College Park, and author of Uncivil Agreement: How Politics Became Our Identity.

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In this episode, I talk with Geoffrey Miller, an American evolutionary psychologist, researcher, and author about elements of evolutionary psychology such as virtue signaling, altruism, sexual selection, and their role in the evolution of human nature.

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Today it’s great to have Dr. Martin Seligman on the podcast. Dr. Seligman is a leading authority in the fields of positive psychology, resilience, learned helplessness, depression, optimism, and pessimism.

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In this episode I discuss habits with social psychologist Wendy Wood-- how to break the bad ones, create good habits, and how to make them actually stick.

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In this episode of The Psychology Podcast I chat with Coach Pete Carroll about how to win with meaning, purpose, and love.

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Today it’s great to have the cultural psychologist Michele Gelfand on the podcast. Dr. Gelfand is a Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland, College Park. Gelfand uses field, experimental, computational, and neuroscience methods to understand the evolution of culture– as well as its multilevel consequences for human groups. In addition to publishing numerous articles in many prestigious scientific outlets, she is the author of Rule Makers, Rule Breakers: How Tight and Loose Cultures Wire the World.

In this episode we discuss:

• What are social norms?
• The difference between tight and loose cultures
• The advantages vs. disadvantages of tight vs. loose cultures
• Why did tight vs. loose cultures evolve in the first place?
• How chronic threat produces a tight culture
• Real vs. perceived (imagined) threats
• How cross-cultural psychology is expanding 
• The interdisciplinary expansion of the study of social norms
• How organizations can be tight vs. loose
• Why the ambidexterity of an organizational culture matters
• Why people welcomed ISIS in some contexts
• How to anticipate radical shifts in culture around the world in ways that can be predictable
• How people differ in terms of what is perceived a threat
• The potential for meaningful conversation across the political divide
• The importance of persevering in science
• How understanding differing cultural codes can help us navigate and negotiate them
• How can modifying a nation’s norms address protracted social problems?
• Why Michele is so excited to be in the field now more than ever
• How these contexts can breed negative behaviors
• Why we need to exert more control to achieve the Goldilocks principle
• Why we need to be mindful of social norms
• Why Michele is hopeful that we can recalibrate social norms that facilitate greater cooperation among cultures

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“A little self-care goes a long way. Honoring your sensitivities is an act of self-love.”

Today it’s so great to have Dr. Judith Orloff on the podcast. Dr. Orloff is the New York Times best-selling author of The Empath’s Survival Guide: Life Strategies for Sensitive People. Her new book Thriving as an Empath, along with its companion The Empath’s Empowerment Journal, offers daily self-care tools for sensitive people  Dr. Orloff is a psychiatrist, an empath, and is on the UCLA Psychiatric Clinical Faculty. She synthesizes the pearls of traditional medicine with cutting edge knowledge of intuition, energy, and spirituality. Dr. Orloff also specializes in treating empaths and highly sensitive people in her private practice. Dr. Orloff’s work has been featured on The Today Show, CNN, Oprah Magazine, the New York Times and USA Today. Dr. Orloff has also spoken at Google-LA and has a TEDX talk.

• The gift of being different
• How empaths are “emotional sponges”
• How empaths can be misdiagnosed
• The importance of being aware of the “phases of nature” and the “cycles of light”
• Treasure your sensitivity
• Identify the signs of being overwhelmed with stimulation
• You are allowed to have peace
• The new paradigm of being a man
• The sacredness of commitment
• Why the past doesn’t control you
• The importance of setting boundaries
• The joy of not overthinking
• How to hold space for someone without having to fix them
• Getting in touch with the “magical part of your being”
• Being willing to feel loss in order to move on
• Go where the light is
• How to shield yourself from toxic people
• How to stop caring about other people’s opinions of us

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Today it’s great to have David Yaden on the podcast. Dr. Yaden is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Johns Hopkins Medicine. His research focus is on the psychology, neuroscience, and pharmacology of transformative and self-transcendent experiences. He is currently focusing on the therapeutic potential of psychedelics. His scientific and scholarly work has been covered by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, New York Magazine, and NPR.

In this episode we discuss:

• The applicability of self-transcendent experiences to the current moment
• The definition of self-transcendent experiences
• Andrew Newberg’s pioneering work on the neuroscience of self-transcendent experiences
• Abraham Maslow’s role in the history of the scientific investigation of self-transcendent experiences
• The “everyperson’s spiritual experience”
• The two main components of awe
• The main characteristics of awe
• Awe vs. flow
• The role of technology in triggering self-transcendent experiences
• The triggers of self-transcendent experiences
• The limitations of interventions to induce self-transcendent experiences
• How we can seek out little moments of awe, gratitude, and mindfulness
• How psilocybin can induce very intense self-transcendent experiences
• The potential for psychedelic therapy sessions
• The neuroscience underlying the therapeutic benefit of psychedelics
• How psychedelic experiences can impact our connection with close others
• David’s personal self-transendent experience
• Davis’ interest in studying intense interventions
• David’s study of the philosophy of psychology

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