The Psych Files

The idea of working from home sounds great - but be aware of the downside. In this episode of The Psych Files I talk about what factors influence your job satisfaction and motivation when you work from home. I also discuss the interesting concept of "emotional labor" - what is it like when you know your boss is watching you and judging whether you are "acting happy" to customers? What's the cost to you of acting in a way that is contrary to how you actually feel?

Have you ever wondered what it was like to be a patient in an "insane asylum"? "Asylums" changed names over the years (including "State Hospital" and "Psychiatric Center") and so did the treatment of the mentally ill. Hear from Dr. Jennifer Bazar how we went from chaining people up to hydrotherapy to sexual surgery and finally to what is called "moral treatment". A fascinating walk down the history of psychology with an engaging psychology historian.

We all know that adolescence is a time of change and often a tough time for the teen. But what about the parent? Today's parents are often older than years ago, and today's parents are sometimes going through their own self-examination, their own doubts, their own exploration. What happens when you bring those two together? Sometimes a lot of yelling frankly. In this episode I talk about the changes going on in the adolescent and in the older parent and how parents can avoid the yelling and the accusations that only undermine what the teen is going through and how parents can step back and examine themselves. A little understanding can go a long way.

We don't have to pay you to get you to do things - you're already a curious person. How does our attraction to puzzles, questions, and unsolved mysteries get used to get us to click on videos or blog posts? And how can it be used to get students to want to learn? You'll find out that there are ways to get students excited about learning without having to pay them and there are ways to attract people to your content by tapping into their curiosity. Just don't overuse it (watch out UpWorthy) and don't fail to deliver! Hopefully this episode will deliver on introducing you to some new ideas to help you motivate others.

What are the psychological themes in the movie the Matrix? In this episode I talk about connections between the Matrix and Jung's idea of the Collective Unconscious, Joseph Campbell's notion of the Hero's Journey and some recent research that explains why you experience Déjà vu. Also, can you change your whole world by thinking differently about it? Let's find out what psychologists (well at least me) think about this fascinating movie.

We face more moral "dilemmas" in everyday life than maybe we don't realize. How do we resolve them? In this episode I discuss two interesting moral dilemmas: a) should you employ for-hire crowds of actors to attend your event in order to make it look like you're more popular than you really are? and b) should you place your advertisements on web and print pages in such a way that they don't really look like ads at all? I discuss the moral questions involved in "native advertising". You'll find some unique examples of Kohlberg's stages of moral development.

Need to memorize Lawrence Kohlberg's stages of moral development really quickly? This is what you're looking for - a brief audio podcast in which I give you some crazy images that will stick in your mind for a really long time. You'll be surprised at how quickly you'll have the six stages memorized. Some of my listeners have actually said that the mnemonics have stuck in the stuck in their head for years! Whether you are studying for a psychology test or a nursing exam, you will find this a fun and effective way to learn. I challenge you to listen to this episode and then quiz yourself a few hours later. You'll be pleasantly surprised. Let's memorize!---------------Want to master the tricks to a great memory? As you know, I’m a huge fan of mnemonics and how useful they can be, so I’ve brought all of my episodes on this topic together, as well as created brand new episodes, to put together a course on how to use memory techniques to improve your memory. Whether you use the info to improve grades on your next e

In this actual fake recording we hear how Freud might have handled your call to an anonymous technical support service. Can you identify each of the following Freudian techniques in this episode?

Would you believe there's a lot of psychology you can fit into a 6 second vine? Well there is. In this video episode I show you a few of there vines I like and which are also good (unintended) demonstrates of a variety of psychological concepts. I think you'll have fun with this one.

Its time to hear from someone who has been diagnosed with autism what life is like. Alex Lowery joins us to talk about growing up with autism - about the heightened sensations, the frustrations of not being understood and what has helped him get to where he is today. At 20, Alex gives talks about his life. I think you'll get some fascinating insights.

In this interview with Paul Brodie, author of Secondhand Autism, we talk about what it is like to grow up in a family with an autistic individual. As you can imagine, there are challenges, but ultimately there lessons to be learned about life. Listen to what Paul has to say about his brother Scott and to what it was like for Paul, his siblings and his parents - what they sacrificed and how they grew from it.

How do you use psychology persuasion techniques to get people to contribute to your cause? That's what I discuss in this episode of The Psych Files. I'm trying to help my friend raise money and in doing so I employed a number of persuasion strategies to get people to help him out and I'm sure these ideas will be helpful to you as well. We'll look at how Cialdini's ideas can be applied to fundraising and we'll look at other topics you may have studied in a psychology class: goal setting, bystander apathy, and the need to generate excitement in order to persuade people to part with their money. I'll also look at the ethics of all this. Is it okay to use these strategies on people? When is it not okay? Hopefully an interesting an useful episode up ahead.

Need to memorize Freud's stages for a test? Here's a mnemonic that should do the trick. This is the audio version of video episode 202 in which the founder of psychoanalysis gives you a mnemonic and explains the 5 stages for you. Make sure to check out these other Psych Files episodes for psychology mnemonics: How to Memorize the Parts of the Brain, How to Memorize Erikson's Eight Stages, and How to Memorize Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development. I love mnemonics here on The Psych Files so if you need to memorize anything else let me know!

We know that many people have a tendency to blame victims even when something tragic and unexplainable happens to them. But did you know how easily this blaming can be triggered? If I were to describe a natural disaster and tell you about "mother nature's wrath" would you be more or less willing to help the victims? I'll also talk about two common occurrences in adolescence: the imaginary audience and the personal fable. Find out them in this episode of The Psych Files.

A lot of people find psychology interesting. But what is it really like to work in the field? A tough question to answer because the field is so broad. In this episode of The Psych Files podcast I'll share my thoughts on the difference between learning about psychology and actually doing psychology as a career. It's a tough thing to capture because psychologists could spend their day doing psychotherapy, or working with inmates in prison, conducting research with children or doing complex statistical analyses. Some careers in psychology pay well while others pay poorly. A job in psychology can also cause burnout because of the heavy demands. I hope to give you some valuable things to think about it you're thinking about a career in psychology.

Should we stop using "Guys" to refer to groups of women and mixed sex groups? Why do we (particularly men) refer to many objects - like cars and boats - as "she"? Are everyday foods actually "SuperNormal" foods - created to be absolutely irresistible and therefore causing us to be overweight? Is it okay to employ robot to care for our elderly? And finally, how come the ending of a movie can "ruin the whole thing" if it's not a good ending? After all, you enjoyed most of the movie. In this episode I try to address these questions. We'll talk about all these things in this episode of The Psych Files.

Are jail time and new laws the only answers to men's violence against women, children, and other men? Or is there something every man can do to end these tragedies? In an earlier episode of The Psych Files in which I discussed Blaming the Victim, I talked about why there's a tendency to blame victims and to overlook the Optimism Bias that we all share (particularly younger folks). But podcast listener and psychotherapist Jackie Henry felt that I didn't go far enough in that episode, and she was right. We - especially men - need to think carefully about the way we talk about women in our everyday lives. Was that joke really funny? Or was it one of the small ingredients that eventually adds up to - or contributes to - the ongoing violence and lack of empathy that those with power express toward those without it. We take up this important issue in this episode of The Psych files.

What do I/0 psychologists do anyway? Are you interested in this subfield of psychology? Well, here are a few things they DON'T do: they don't do "therapy in the workplace" and they don't do "motivational speaking". It's not what you think. Industrial/Organizational psychology is practiced by professionals who's goal is to make sure that employees are productive and - and here's what I'll focus on in this episode - that job applicants are chosen based upon the skills and personality characteristics that are relevant to the jobs they are applying for. Find out more in this episode of The Psych Files.