The Psych Files

A whole bunch of fascinating studies in this episode of The Psych Files! I cover the "Red Dress Effect", what exactly we're looking for in the facial characteristics of our leaders, how dark rooms might make you more likely to cheat, and how "contagious yawning" really works. Join me on this jaunt down some of the recent and fun research coming out of the fascinating field of psychology.

You probably know that sites like Facebook are using the information they have about you - like your age, gender and interests - to serve up ads that are most likely to appeal to you. That's a little bit harmless and perhaps even helpful. But how about the more subtle filtering that is going on that you may not be aware of? Search engines are using information they have about you to show you news that these search tools think will most likely appeal to you based on your previous search activities. The problem with that? You might find yourself living in a bubble - sheltered from ever hearing about things you might not agree with, but which might also open your mind a bit and make you what your parents always wanted for you - to be "well-rounded".

Guess What? Bad news: if you've ever been overweight and you're trying to lose weight it's even harder than you think. Yikes. Pretty de-motivating. However, let's see what motivational psychologists would have to say about this. How to keep from throwing up your hands at the whole effort.

What do you reveal about yourself in the way you use the smallest and seemingly most insignificant words you use every minute? That's the focus of Dr. James Pennebaker's fascinating book and one of the most interesting psychology books of 2011: The Secret Life of Pronouns. If you're fascinated by language then you'll find this episode especially interesting.

Just about everyone finds poop disgusting right? So who finds it not so disgusting? Would you believe women in their 20s who are in the middle of their menstrual cycle, and who have motherhood as one of their goals in life? Disgust has become quite a popular topic in psychology lately. Join me as I discuss one of the more interesting studies that looks at how the intensity of our emotions can be affected by our nonconscious goals. MOre interesting than you might think really. And certainly not to be poo-pooed at…

Do animals smile? Do they feel emotions and if so how many kinds of feelings do they share with us? In this episode we also take a look at the probiotics in yogurt - how do they affect your thinking and do they might help protect you from stress. It turns out that these probiotics increase the production of the neurotransmitter GABA which helps quiet down your neurons. I also talk about the work of female psychologists: Carol Dweck on the psychology of success, and and a tribute to Evelyn Hooker whose research helped in removing homosexuality from the DSM in 1973.

In episode 160 I discussed the first 2 ideas on how to spend your money wisely. In this episode I'll talk about 4 more great ideas on how to get the most from your money and 2 things you have to be careful about. Get the latest findings from positive psychologists like Elizabeth Dunn

Looking for a self-help book with some meat? One that won't insult your intelligence with flowery words and hyped up promises and pseudoscience? Take a look at the book Redirect by psychologist and author Tim Wilson. Redirect will give you a lot to think about and some new insights into human nature.

What's Wrong With a Little Gossip? While some research points out that gossipers are in general disliked, there is an upside: sharing negative gossip can actually help two people like each other better. In this episode we'll find out the benefits of sharing a tasty piece of negative gossip. The Licensing Effect If you take supplements you need to hear this news about how you might be using your taking of the supplements to "license" other activities that aren't so good for your health. Evidence in Favor of Affirmations? In a previous episode on self affirmations I presented some strongly negative evidence. However, in this study there might be a role for affirmations - especially in helping people with social anxiety to feel a bit more confident.

But I studied!! Don't be frustrated with low grades. If you study RIGHT you will get good grades. What does that mean to study right? I've got 5 techniques that will help you get better grades and one very important warning about something you may be doing that you have to stop! Find out how to study right in this episode of The Psych Files.

You hear a lot these days about how pets make us happy. This is called the "pet effect". But is it so? The answer appears to be a qualified yes. But in what ways do pets make us happy? How strong is their effect on our lives? Also, how about religion? We also hear that religious people are happier, but is this true everywhere in the US or everywhere in the world? Why does religion make us happy and in what societies are people likely to benefit from this "religion effect"? Finally, some helpful advice on getting into grad school.

What do you have to do to get into grad school in Psychology? A lot of people apply. Who ARE these people and how are you going to stand out among them? Meet one future grad student - Erin Breedlove - who is a college junior and she's already positioned herself very well for grad school. How did she do it? What is she doing that you ought to do? And how, of all things, is she using Twitter to get into grad school?

Is cuddling good - especially for men - in marriage? Do baths make you feel less lonely, is Google really making you stupid, how does your body language affect your feelings, and....is that your cell phone vibrating? In this 2nd Psych Files brief I take a look at some of the more interesting psychological research circling around the web this past month.

The trial of accused child murdered Casey Anthony is over and Casey was found not guilty. Most people are extremely upset because she appeared to be guilty for many reasons. I give you 5 reasons why Casey Anthony might not be guilty. None of these are based on evidence, but instead on what might be going on inside your mind that made you think she was guilty. Caution: open mindedness required!

What is the REAL reason why you either support or oppose gay marriage? We may give logical reasons for our opinions, but the roots behind your opinion lies - where else? - in your past. So let's dive into your mind as we always do here in the Psych Files and learn how our attitudes develop over time and how strong attitudes especially come to be held.

How does Behavior Modification work? Find out in this episode as I interview Scott Milford, author of the Behavior and Motivation website. If you're about how to apply Psychology to everyday life then this is the guy to show you how he does it. In this episode we talk about how to get kids to practice the piano, but you'll quickly see how this approach could be applied to all kinds of other life challenges. Scott developed his approach over many years of working with young people both at the piano and with at-risk adolescents in school. See how Psychology can be put to work!

Piaget's concept of object permanence is essential to understand. But how did they study this idea among 1 year olds? Obviously children can't tell you that they believe that something no longer exists when they can't see it, so how do we know what is going on inside a child's mind? How about this challenge: do animals also understand object permanence? If you've ever seen your cat or dog look under or around objects for a lost toy then yes - you've seen that they do understand object permanence. How can you study object permanence - or a related idea called "expectancy violation" - in animals? Let's take a look in this 150 episode of The Psych Files.

You've probably heard of many times when people knew that someone was hurt or might be hurt and they did not help. How can we prevent that from happening? You may have learned about bystander apathy and the concept of diffusion of responsibility. But now what do we DO with what we know? How can we put that knowledge into action? Meet Vicky Banyard and see what she and her colleagues at the University of New Hampshire are doing with a program called Bring in the Bystander.

What can we do to end bullying against gays? There is a shocking increase in the number of young homosexuals who are commit suicide. Many anti-bullying programs don't work and in this episode I talk to Dr. Elizabeth J. Meyer of Concordia University about what can be done. No one should be bullied and we all need to care about those who are bullied to the point of considering suicide.

In this first Psych Files Brief episode, we look at whether swearing actually reduces your sensation of pain (ever stub your toe?), whether or not vertical stripes actually do make you look thinner (no surprise - the answer is no), whether you're more likely to run up that credit card when you're feeling low, and why is it (and when is it) that yawns become contagious?