Most parents want to raise their children to be honest adults, so the first time that they catch their child in a lie it may come as an unpleasant surprise. But psychologists’ research has found that lying is a normal part of childhood. In fact, it’s a developmental milestone. Victoria Talwar, PhD, of McGill University, talks about why kids lie, how lying is tied to cognitive development, how children understand the morality of lying (including the “gray areas” of keeping secrets and tattling), and how parents can encourage truth-telling and honesty in their children. 

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Victoria Talwar, PhD

Speaking of Psychology Home Page

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Perfectionism might seem like a minor hurdle to overcome – or even a welcome personality trait. But perfectionism is different from simply striving for excellence and perfectionistic people are at higher risk for anxiety, depression and other mental health disorders. Perfectionism researcher Gordon Flett, PhD, and clinical psychologist Bonnie Zucker, PsyD, discuss where perfectionism comes from, why it’s an increasing problem, how it affects people’s mental and physical health and how to treat it.

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Gordon Flett, PhD

Bonnie Zucker, PsyD

Speaking of Psychology Home Page

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How much insight do people have into why they behave the way they do? Science journalist Shankar Vedantam, host of the Hidden Brain podcast and author of “Useful Delusions: The Power and Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain,” talks about why he is fascinated by the paradoxes of human behavior, what it takes to bring the popular podcast to life, and why it’s important to show the public the challenges as well as the triumphs of science.

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The Hidden Brain

Speaking of Psychology Home Page

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For those of us who speak only one language, the idea of learning twenty or thirty sounds impossible. But there are “hyperpolyglots” who have managed this remarkable feat. Evelina Fedorenko, PhD, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, discusses what sets polyglots apart and what scientists might learn from studying them. She also discusses how language is processed in the brain, why it’s so much easier for kids to learn languages than adults, the relationship between language and thought and how we can think without language, and more. Links Ev Fedorenko, PhD Speaking of Psychology Home Page

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Dozens of states are poised to outlaw or dramatically restrict abortion if the Supreme Court overturns its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. Antonia Biggs, PhD, a social psychologist at the University of California San Francisco, talks about the results of the Turnaway Study, which examined how receiving an abortion – or being denied one – affects mental health and well-being, the effects of laws that limit access to abortion, and what a post-Roe future might look like.

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Antonia Biggs, PhD The Turnaway Study Speaking of Psychology Home Page

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We all keep secrets – on average, people have about 13 secrets at any one time, five of which they have never told another person. Psychologist Michael Slepian, PhD, of Columbia Business School, talks about what types of secrets people keep, why keeping a secret bottled up inside can harm us, how keeping secrets -- or sharing them -- affects people’s relationships with each other, how we decide whom we can trust with our secrets, and whether other people can tell when we’re holding something back. Links Michael Slepian, PhD The Secret Life of Secrets Speaking of Psychology Homepage Sponsor Newport Healthcare

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Digital interventions that promise to help you achieve your health and fitness goals are everywhere. But do these apps work and are they a useful public health tool? Gary Bennett, PhD, director of the Duke University Global Digital Health Science Center, discusses how digital interventions can help address obesity and other public health challenges, how to find apps that are effective and backed by research, the challenge of weight stigma, and more. Links Gary Bennett, PhD Speaking of Psychology Homepage

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The past two years have taken a heavy toll on the health, mental health and well-being of people of color, who have suffered disproportionately from the COVID-19 pandemic while also facing what some call a second pandemic of racism. Riana Elyse Anderson, PhD, a clinical psychologist and professor at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, discusses why racism is like a virus and what can be done to help people deal with race-based traumatic stress and to protect children against its harmful effects. Links

Riana Elyse Anderson, PhD Speaking of Psychology Homepage Sponsor Newport Healthcare

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Dissociative identity disorder – which many people recognize by its former name, multiple personality disorder – is one of Hollywood’s favorite psychology-related topics, with a decades-long history of movie and TV portrayals, most recently in this spring’s “Moon Knight.” But in real life, DID does not look like it does on the screen. Bethany Brand, PhD, of Towson University, discusses why it is more subtle than TV and movie portrayals would lead viewers to believe, what is happening in the brains of patients who experience it and what treatments are available.

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