The Mind Society

What makes us smart? This is the overarching question that Dr. Sam Gershman is researching at this lab in Harvard's psychology department. How is it that we make so many mistakes as humans, such as certain cases of cognitive biases or heuristics, but on the other hand there are accounts of human cognition that suggest that we're somewhat close to functioning optimally? Is there a way to reconcile these two conflicting concepts? Dr. Gershman is investigating just that. During our discussion, he provides insight into how two sets of biases specifically (inductive and computational) are error-inducing and, simultaneously, make rational sense. What's most interesting is that his computational cognitive neuroscientific work isn't just limited to humans. He also looks at single-celled organisms to study their ability to learn. The findings he uses from these specimens provide additional fuel to theories and a richer understanding of how humans might neurobiologically acquire knowledge as well. Our conversation delves deep into a myriad of topics that will leave you in awe at how we get to be as smart as we are. 

Two significant, yet rarely discussed in the mainstream, psychological phenomena are heuristics and cognitive biases. Heuristics, also known as “mental shortcuts”, are used to help us make judgements and, thus, decisions without having to exhaust a lot of mental energy. These sets of simple and efficient rules are an evolutionary adaptation meant to help us; however, in certain situations these rules are erroneous, thereby creating cognitive biases. Cognitive biases are an individual’s subjective construction of reality that influences the way they perceive and behave in the world. When cognitive biases can become harmful is when they lead to illogical interpretations and perceptual distortions of their immediate environment, leading to irrationality. We see this in a preference over one group versus another, towards people more like us, and in negotiations situations where “anchoring” is present, such as car leasing or purchasing. Cornell-based and Stanford-trained, Dr. Tom Gilovich has spent decades studying about what all of this means and why understanding heuristics and biases are so important to navigate the world more effectively. Listen to our conversation to hear his insights and more. 

As a developing child, one of our most important tasks is to make meaning of the world around us. We do it subconsciously, picking up on small minute details of our social environment, collecting them in a mental database, and putting them through a meaning-making process. This is a simplistic way of describing our process of knowledge acquisition. With the help of Dr. Yarrow Dunham, a Harvard-trained, Yale-tenured professor of psychology, we’re provided a nuanced insight into what processes take place in the realm of intergroup social cognition. How do children make sense of socially constructed entities, such as the paper we use as currency and the diplomas that can represent our educational self-worth? How do we determine fairness between in-group and out-group members? And how do culturally specific biases play a role? All of these questions make up just a sliver of what Dr. Dunham is set to investigate. We’ll touch on these topics and more during our conversation.

We all experience an intricate range of emotions daily. Yet what kind of roles do they play in our close relationships? How do our abilities to read emotions in other people affect the quality of these connections? Moreover, how does it affect our own cognition? Does it have the potential to interrupt or facilitate our own lives? These are the types of questions that Dr. Margaret Clark has been working on answering in her lab at Yale. Besides her decorated background in social psychology and academia, she’s actively working towards understanding the processes that promote supportive close interpersonal relationships. She believes emotions play a significant role in how these interactions play out. However, our emotions don’t just “happen”, Dr. Clark argues that we construct them. Hear more about this constructivist theory of emotions and much more during our conversation.

Memories make up an integral part of the human experience. We use them to steer clear of potentially risky or harmful future situations or to even evoke a sense of joy and happiness in the present from reflecting on positive past experiences. They influence our everyday decisions and judgements. But how reliable are our memories? Do we really remember everything exactly the way they happened? Dr. Daniel Schacter, a faculty professor and researcher at Harvard, investigates exactly these types of inquiries. He’s one of the nation’s top experts in memory, and his book, The Seven Sins of Memory, explains that although we are prone to, and often experience, memory failures, it’s exactly how evolution intended. Surprisingly, Dr. Schacter argues that memory may be much more about the future than the past, contrary to what we usually consider memories to be – “of the past”. We discuss false memories and false crime confessions, along with the notion that we construct our memories based on past experiences, current knowledge and beliefs. Listen to all of these riveting topics and more during our conversation.

As a preeminent expert in emotional intelligence and personality psychology, Dr. John D. Mayer (University of New Hampshire) has spent decades understanding the features of personality through the current group of intelligences that exist. At the genesis of his research, he partnered with Peter Salovey, Yale’s President since 2013, and David Caruso to study the intricacies of these intelligences, specifically emotional. Before emotional intelligence became the current trendy state many strive towards, Dr. Mayer shares his journey towards the popularization of the word combination and how many people early on didn’t give it much attention. He also elaborates on a new term called “people-centered intelligence”, which primarily includes personal and emotional, and explains how this term is slightly different, yet possibly more important than its peers. Listen to why this may be along with us covering more topics during our conversation.

Dr. Daniel Casasanto has a knack for explaining complex and abstract concepts in a such a digestible way that you’re left leaving the conversation inspired. And this comes at no surprise. After receiving his PhD in Cognitive Science from MIT and currently a professor and active researcher at Cornell, he’s spent almost two decades exploring how language, culture, and bodily experiences influence the way people think, feel, and make decisions. By exploring how people with different experiences think differently, we can better understand universal processes by which people turn concrete interactions with their environment into abstract thoughts. During our conversation, he shares his insight into how language affects our perception and relativity of time, how our right- or left-handedness affects our subconscious understanding of what is good, and how these same hand tendencies affect our approach-avoidance behavior. We discuss all this and more.

With a Ph.D. from Yale and currently on the psychology faculty at Cornell, Dr. David Pizarro has been investigating the correlations between our emotional states on thinking and deciding for almost two decades. More specifically, he’s been researching how emotions, such as anger, disgust, and fear, impact the ways we process information, remember events, and generate moral judgments of others. We take a deep dive into what disgust is and how that word has shaped our interpretation of experiences, both generally and interpersonally. During our conversation, Dr. Pizarro shares his fascinating findings linking a person’s unique “disgust sensitivities” to political orientation, aversion to change, and the small clues into their personality. These exact sensitivities suggest ways in which we perceive and judge others, especially from a moral perspective. Ever wonder how your tongue may play a role in determining which direction you might lean morally? We discuss all of this and more

Dr. Ellen Langer has been considered by many as the "mother of mindfulness". As the first tenured female professor of psychology at Harvard, she's spent over 40 years studying what exactly being mindful means and how to cultivate it for personal and interpersonal good. During our conversation, Dr. Langer shares the different studies that she's been working on these past years and most recently, along with where her research is going. She's an unwavering force within the world of psychology, and perhaps it's because her mantra, "uncertainty should be the rule, not the exception", has provided her with the grit and understanding to weather any type of storm. She provides invaluable takeaways on how to harness mindfulness and what the solution is to some of our mindless problems. We discuss all of this and more.

Welcome! The Mind Society lecture series was created to be a reliable source for anyone looking to understand the workings of the mind on an abundantly deeper level. Featuring scholars from top institutions such as Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, you'll hear engaging conversations presenting the latest findings on thought-provoking topics ranging from mental disorders, trauma, relationships, to mindfulness and more. The format of each episode is designed to conduct a deep dive into specific psychological topics and highlight its relevant takeaways so that you leave with a richer understanding. We hope this series provides an opportunity for its audience to gain knowledge, generate inspiration, and cultivate further curiosity into why we, and the people around us, are the way we are.