Some birds talk, but do they understand you? With Irene Pepperberg, PhD

Who among us wouldn’t want to improve his or her brain? To see better, to hear better or to improve one'​s memory? The field of brain training has attracted controversy as commercial companies have heavily marketed brain training products that aren’t necessarily backed by science. But some researchers believe that brain training research does hold promise for developing games that can help people -- including older adults who want to keep their memories sharp, athletes who want to improve their performance and other populations. Are you enjoying Speaking of Psychology? We’d love to know what you think of the podcast, what you would change about it, and what you’d like to hear more of. Please take our listener survey at www.apa.org/podcastsurvey. Links Aaron Seitz, PhD UCR Brain Game Center for Mental Fitness and Wellbeing Music Game-Music-01 by Michael-DB via Freesound.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

3 Feb 202126min

After a lifetime of thinking that she was just a little bit bad at remembering people, Sadie Dingfelder learned that she had prosopagnosia, a disorder more colloquially known as face blindness. Harvard psychologist Joe DeGutis, PhD, who runs the research study that Dingfelder participated in, joins her to discuss how people with face blindness see the world, why it’s such an interesting disorder to study, and promising treatments that his lab is exploring.  Are you enjoying Speaking of Psychology? We’d love to know what you think of the podcast, what you would change about it, and what you’d like to hear more of. Please take our listener survey at www.apa.org/podcastsurvey. Links Joe DeGutis, PhD Boston Attention and Learning Lab Music "Mystery" by ispeakwaves courtesy of freesound.org Sponsor APA 2020 Virtual Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

27 Jan 202141min

Over the past 20 years, the field of positive psychology has grown from a fledgling idea to a worldwide movement. Positive psychology is the scientific study of the strengths that enable individuals and communities to thrive. Former APA president Martin Seligman, PhD, a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and the founder of positive psychology, joins us to discuss what positive psychology has to say about flourishing in tough times, such as a pandemic.  Are you enjoying Speaking of Psychology? We’d love to know what you think of the podcast, what you would change about it, and what you’d like to hear more of. Please take our listener survey at www.apa.org/podcastsurvey. Links Martin Seligman, PhD The Hope Circuit by Martin Seligman, PhD Music New York Jazz Loop by FoolBoyMedia via Freesound.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

20 Jan 202148min

This past year, COVID-19 and the U.S. elections have provided fertile ground for conspiracy theories—with sometimes disastrous consequences. Karen Douglas, PhD, of the University of Kent in the United Kingdom, discusses psychological research on how conspiracy theories start, why they persist, who is most likely to believe them and whether there is any way to combat them effectively. Are you enjoying Speaking of Psychology? We’d love to know what you think of the podcast, what you would change about it, and what you’d like to hear more of. Please take our listener survey at www.apa.org/podcastsurvey. Links Karen Douglas, PhD APA Monitor on Psychology Music Futuristic Suspense Ambience by tyops via freesound.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

13 Jan 202136min

Many of us are brimming with good intentions right now, determined to eat more healthily, get organized or fulfill our other New Year’s resolutions. But by February we’ll have reverted back to our old ways. Why is it so difficult to make these lasting behavioral changes? Wendy Wood, PhD, of the University of Southern California, discusses the research on how habits drive our behavior, why habits are so difficult to break, and how we can harness the power of habit to make the behavioral changes we want. We’d love to know what you think of Speaking of Psychology, what you would change about it, and what you’d like to hear more of. Please take our listener www.apa.org/podcast survey. Links Wendy Wood, PhD Music Jazz Music Loop by anechoix via freesound.org   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

6 Jan 202134min

We’re taking a holiday break, so we’re revisiting one of our favorite episodes from this past year. Back in the spring we talked to University of Florida psychologist Erin Westgate about the surprisingly fascinating topic of boredom. What is boredom? Is it always bad to be bored? What can we do to infuse even boring times with meaning?  Links Erin Westgate, PhD Music "Emotional Piano" by tictac9 via freesound.org.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

30 Dec 202041min

These days, Republicans and Democrats don't just disagree with each other's political opinions -- many view members of the other party as immoral and even abhorrent. Eli Finkel, PhD, a social psychologist at Northwestern University in Chicago, led a group of social scientists who published a paper in the journal Science about the causes and consequences of this deepening rift. Finkel studies American politics, romantic relationships and the intersection of those two concepts. He joins us to discuss the rise of political sectarianism and why the current state of American politics is like a bad marriage. Links Eli Finkel, PhD Political sectarianism in America Music "Tension Orchestra Chords" by Frankum via Freesound.org Sponsor APA 2020 Virtual Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

16 Dec 202027min

The simulated shock generator for Stanley Milgram’s famed studies on obedience, artifacts from the Stanford Prison Experiment, and a curious machine called a psychograph that promised to read your personality by measuring the bumps on your head--all of these items are on display at the Cummings Center for the History of Psychology at the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio. The center’s mission is to preserve and interpret psychology’s historical record. Director Cathy Faye, PhD, talks about the center’s collection and how she and her staff work to preserve psychology’s past as well as document its present. Links Cathy Faye, PhD Cummings Center for the History of Psychology   Music Expressions of the Mind by ShadyDave via freesound.org Sponsor APA Virtual 2020 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2 Dec 202033min