Dr. Rob Tarzwell talks about his experience being a psychiatric doctor in ER (emergency room) settings, and the challenges of evaluating and diagnosing patients. Topics include: strategies for distinguishing psych disorders from other conditions; the nature of self and consciousness and how that relates to psych issues; and the impact and meaningfulness of the language used to describe mental issues. We discuss some specific examples of people who've behaved in offensive ways and the psychological factors that can be present. And we talk about personality disorders and what those are. 

Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.   

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A talk with psychologist and expert on cursing Timothy Jay about some lesser known factors involved in people saying offensive things. This episode has a focus on the phenomenon of videos widely shared on social media showing people saying or doing offensive things (including racist rants). We discuss factors that can nfluence offensive behavior, including Tourette's Syndrome, brain disorders like Alzheimers, substance abuse, mental illness, and personality disorders. Topics discussed include: how cursing can be governed by a different part of the brain than “normal” language; the nature of Tourette’s Syndrome, and why some TS sufferers (a small percentage) exhibit offensive language or behavior and most do not; why people with mental illness and/or personality disorders may lash out in aggressive and offensive ways as a coping mechanism; how we as a society need more understanding and empathy for the factors that can lead to outrageous and offensive behavior; social media's role in making conflict and taboo-transgression into entertainment.

Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.   

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An interview with psychology researcher Neguine Rezaii about her work using machine learning to predict conversion in teenagers from prodromal symptoms to psychotic episodes. The two language patterns found in the subjects' speech were 1) a low semantic density (i.e., little meaning), and 2) speech related to sound or voices. Topics discussed include: how exactly they determined “low meaning"; how the algorithm found, on its own, indicators related to sound-related speech content; the future of using machine learning and automatic diagnosis tools in psychology and therapy; theories that might help explain these findings.

Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.   

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I talk with Marcel Just about his research using fMRI brain imaging to identify brain activity associated with specific thoughts: for example, identifying that a subject is thinking about an apple, or about death. Dr. Just and his team have been twice featured on the show "60 Minutes." Topics discussed include: the nature of human thought; how much is our consciousness individual thoughts vs many things firing at once?; why brain activity for specific thoughts and emotions trigger specific areas of the brain in consistent, predictable ways; why thoughts and emotions activate the same types of patterns for so many people, even across language divides; how fMRI works and why it is a good choice for this type of work (versus EEG, for example); the state of this technology, its potential applications, and what its practical limitations are.

Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.   

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A talk with Dr. Brian Baer, a skilled translator, about indicators in an English language text that the author may be native-Russian (for example, missing articles, wrong verb tenses, "collocations", and more). Baer also talks about the nature of language in general, and his work as a translator.

Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.   

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A talk with Dr. Rob Tarzwell about his research using SPECT neuroimaging to find indicators of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This work was voted by Discover Magazine as one of the top 20 science stories of 2015. Topics discussed include: the ways physical harm to the brain (e.g., traumatic brain injury) shows up differently in brain imaging compared to more psychological conditions like PTSD or depression; the differences between different types of brain imaging (PET, SPECT, fMRI) and their strengths and weaknesses; Tarzwell's research showing the effects of therapy in brain scans.

Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.   

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A talk with Jason Simmons (aka Master Roshambollah), an experienced Rock Paper Scissors player. Simmons discusses how serious RPS players try to read and influence the behavior of their opponents. Topics discussed: common physical indicators (i.e., “tells) that give you clues of what an opponent will throw; verbal and visual methods for influencing an opponent’s throw; format/structure of RPS competitions; why some players use randomizing strategies to level the playing field versus tough opponents; gambling at Rock Paper Scissors.

Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.   

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A talk with Brendan Bartholomew, a San Francisco bus driver and writer. Brendan talks about how understanding human behavior plays an important role in his duties as a city bus driver. Topics discussed: the importance of thinking ahead about potential pedestrian/traffic dangers; how bus drivers know who’s waiting for a bus and who’s not; thoughts on handling unruly and/or mentally ill passengers; how modern rideshare and scooter traffic have changed things for bus drivers.

Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.  

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A talk with Dr. Christopher Moyer, PhD, about measuring skin conductance, also called electrodermal activity (EDA) and galvanic skin response (GSR): what it is, what it's thought to measure, and how it's been used in psychology research, including his own research. Dr. Moyer is a counseling psychologist who has published research on the anxiety-reducing effects of massage therapy and the neurological effects of meditation. Topics: electrodermal activity, galvanic skin response (GSR), psychological research, massage therapy, meditation, polygraphs and lie detectors. 

Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.   

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A talk with Polina Vorozheykina, a software engineer based in Portland who is skilled at social deduction games like Secret Hitler, Werewolf/Mafia, Resistance, and Avalon. We do a review of the rules of the game Secret Hitler, and Polina talks about common behaviors/tells that can give away information (e.g., length of time looking at cards; consistency of claims; talkativeness; body language; use of language, and more).

Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.   

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