Psychology In Action Podcast

We are back! For Season 2 of the Psychology in Action Podcast, we are interviewing graduate students to discuss their ongoing research and lives at school. For our first episode, we interviewed João Guassi Moreira, MA, CPhil, a soon-to-be doctor working with Dr. Jen Silvers at UCLA. We discuss some of João's awesome projects, his views on mentorship, the future of science, and much more. A great scientist, an even better guy -- this was a treat!

For our fifteenth episode, we sat down with Dr. PJ Lamberson (UCLA) to discuss mathematical modeling. How does a virus like COVID-19 spread, and what can we do to slow it down? How different is the spread of "viral" information on social media? Dr. Lamberson digs into the nuts and bolts, explaining how we can use models to understand the things that happen in our everyday lives.

For our fourteenth episode, we sat down with Dr. Diana Tamir (Princeton), Dr. Katie Young (King's College), and Dr. Livia Tomova (MIT) to discuss all things COVID-19. How do our brains process social isolation? How different are our social worlds during this crisis? What are the measurable effects of COVID-19 on our mental health?

These researchers are leading the charge -- come hear what they have to say!

Applying for the National Science Foundation's Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP)can be a really stressful time! As the deadline approaches, PIA's own Stacy Shaw and Mark Straccia discuss some tips and tricks for strengthening your application (0:50). Then, Ben sits down with Dr. Janet Tomiyama, a reviewer for the NSF GRFP, to discuss her insights into the review process and what to watch out for (32:30). Whether you are currently applying for this award, thinking about maybe applying in the future, or simply want some insights into the grant review process, this episode is a great listen for scientists from any field.

For our twelfth episode, we sat down with Dr. Janet Tomiyama to discuss dieting, weight stigma, and how stress physiology impacts our health. Why doesn't dieting work? Is stress eating a real thing? How do social pressures affect our bodies and make weight loss even more difficult? And why does our society we even care about weight loss when it's so loosely related to overall health outcomes?

Whether you know it or not, you've almost certainly considered the topics of Dr. Tomiyama's research. And like her, maybe some day you, too, can jump-start your research career with a quote from Oprah.

Russ Poldrack is back! For our eleventh episode, we sat down with Dr. Poldrack to discuss his book, The New Mind Readers: What Neuroimaging Can and Cannot Reveal about Our Thoughts. Our conversation addresses a number of the most pressing questions in psychology and neuroscience today. Why can we de-code some cognitive functions in the brain, but not others? How might we use neuroimaging to guide personalized medicine? What can we do to ensure our science is conducted in the most reproducible and rigorous ways? And is it really necessary to study the brain in order to understand human behavior?

For a related discussion, check out our previous conversation at: www.psychologyinaction.org/psychology-in-action-1/2018/5/27/episode-7-russ-poldrack

For our tenth episode, we interviewed Dr. Antonio Damasio, Chair in Neuroscience, Professor of Psychology, Philosophy, and Neurology, and Director of the Brain and Creativity Institute at USC. Among his many accomplishments, Dr. Damasio has written a number of critically-acclaimed books, beginning with Descartes’ Error and continuing most recently with The Strange Order of Things: Life, Feeling, and the Making of Cultures. A central idea of this new book is homeostasis — how do emotions keep us within biological ranges that are conducive to life? How have different cultures emerged to serve these same homeostatic goals? Is consciousness even possible without emotions? And what, if anything, can we learn about ourselves by studying bacteria? We also discuss the research that led Dr. Damasio to these conclusions, as well as his single bet for the next big scientific breakthrough.

For our ninth episode, we interviewed Dr. Jen Silvers, Assistant Professor of Psychology at UCLA. Dr. Silvers is a social and affective neuroscientist who studies emotion regulation and early life adversity. How do past experiences shape the cognitive strategies we use in daily life? Why are rates of depression and anxiety rising among college teens? What are the impacts of family separation policies on immigrant children and their developing brains? And why in the world would a professor choose to live in undergraduate housing?

For our eighth episode, we interviewed Dr. Kate Mills, Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Oregon. Dr. Mills is a developmental neuroscientist focusing on adolescent social and cognitive functioning. Why is adolescence such a critical developmental period? What can society do to nurture healthy adolescent development? Does using the internet destroy your brain? What is it like to be an early-career scientist starting out in such a competitive field? Dr. Mills provides the answers.

For our seventh episode, we interviewed Dr. Russ Poldrack, Professor of Psychology at Stanford University and Director of the Stanford Center for Reproducible Neuroscience. Dr. Poldrack is a leading expert in cognitive neuroscience, so we discussed some of the most pressing questions in the field to-date. How good are we at capturing individual differences in patterns of brain activation? Can we infer psychological information about someone from these patterns? What's it like to have yourself scanned over 100 times just for fun (and for the sake of rigorous science)? Dr. Poldrack also gave us a sneak preview of his upcoming book, "The New Mind Readers: What Neuroimaging Can and Cannot Reveal about Our Thoughts." There's so much to learn from this episode -- what are you waiting for?