Who cares? What's the point?
39 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 5 years ago -We have so many talented researchers around the globe, all trying to understand how the mind works and how we can harness its full potential for the benefit of ourselves, the people around us and the planet. But, because of the way the science system works we have ended up with a gigantic amount of untapped knowledge about how the mind and brain works, that sits unused in dusty journals on University library shelves - because very few people read them. Partly this is down to access – more often than not, you have to pay to read these. But partly its because, well, why would you bother? They tend to be dry, soulless publications, written by academics for academics. This podcasts changes that. When I was a PhD student, one of the slides me and a few of my fellow students included in every presentation we did said this; 'Who cares? What's the point?" This encouraged us to really double down and focus on why anyone should care about the research we were doing. This podcast will do the same thing. I will invite psychologists from around the world to tell us briefly about their research, and then I will prompt them to answer those two questions – who cares? And what’s the point, focusing on the possible implications of their work. This way, you get to hear stories about how the brain works, without putting your mind to sleep.
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Episodes
Can meditation help us to do good?
November 19, 2018 09:42 - 32 minutes - 29.5 MBMany people think that meditation can not only have an impact on stress and illness, but can also improve prosociality. But meditation and prosociality are multi-dimensional constructs: so what exactly are we talking about here? Listen to my conversation with Dr Ute Kreplin at the School of Psychology, Massey University in New Zealand as we talk about her research examining this link, and how the way stadies are carried out can affect the sorts of results they report and how we need to be...
How the sting of rejection shapes the pleasure of revenge
November 19, 2018 09:33 - 36 minutes - 33.8 MBWhat is revenge? How can we understand this dark emotion? The sayings, ‘revenge is sweet’ and that ‘revenge is a dish best served cold’ are revealing. Listen to my conversation with David Chester, Assistant Professor at the Psychology Department of Virginia Commonwealth University, as I talk with him about his programme of research over the past few years looking at dimensions of revenge and how we relate to this complex emotion. We also touch upon the idea of social pain and loneliness, h...
Mental health research: Male footballers, LGB Youth, and Acceptance & Commitment Therapy psychoeducation
November 19, 2018 04:52 - 40 minutes - 37.4 MBWelcome to this special conference edition of Who cares? What's the point? In January 2018, I traveled to Cardiff in Wales, UK for two days to participate in the British Psychological Society's Division of Clinical Psychology Annual Conference. When I was there, I was fortunate enough to talk with three researchers about the fascinating work they were doing. So, this show has not one, but three interviews and research topics. First, you'll hear me talking with Dr Susan Wood on male profe...
How do you choose a mental health app for your smartphone?
November 19, 2018 04:43 - 39 minutes - 36.1 MBAt some times in our lives, we might want to get support with our mental health and wellbeing. Perhaps we are struggling with a particular issue, or maybe we want to be proactive and take steps to make sure we are adopting healthy practices to keep us on top of things. This days, we have our smartphones with us almost all the time, and this is a natural place for many people to turn to for support or inspiration. But how do you go about choosing a mental health or wellbeing app? And do you ...
What's behind the rising tide of anger on the internet?
November 19, 2018 04:35 - 32 minutes - 29.8 MBRecent local and world events seem to have triggered, or perhaps have reflected and amplified increasingly polarised views. These views can be expressed online in ways that come across as angry and appear seemingly everywhere - so much so that many websites have turned off their channels for community participation because they have become too difficult to manage. Against the background of verbal attacks becoming all too frequent online, join me as I talk with Ryan Martin, Psychology Chair...
Home alone: Why people believe others' social lives are richer than their own
November 19, 2018 04:06 - 26 minutes - 24.5 MBPeople usually tend to over-estimate their own capabilities and qualities compared to others. For examples, people tend to believe they are more intelligent, trustworthy, moral and happier than others, as well as making better leaders, and drivers. However, when it comes to thinking about our social lives, what little we know seems to indicate that we think other people have more rich, vibrant and satisfying social lives than we do ourselves. Join me as I talk with Sebastian Deri - postgra...
Do teachers believe in "neuromyths" just as much as everyone else?
November 19, 2018 04:01 - 37 minutes - 26 MBThere are some commonly held misconceptions in the general public about how the brain works and how it affects how we learn - these are often called "neuromyths." We know that the general public can fall prey to these much of the time, but what about our educators? And if teachers believe in these neuromyths, what does it mean for how they teach, or how schools allocate their resources? And can we protect against falling for these neuromyths by better training? Join me as I talk with Kell...
The number of photos we take has increased hugely. How does this change our experience of life?
November 19, 2018 03:56 - 38 minutes - 26.8 MBFor many of you listening to this podcast, taking photos of things and people in our lives has become much more common, as well as documenting our experiences of life. Understanding how the act of taking photos may get in the way of or increase our pleasure in these activities seems like an important topic for research. Implicitly, we may hear the message that we should stop taking so many photos and just be in the moment and enjoy our experiences without trying to record everything. But is...
The language of ageism, and how we use it against ourselves
November 19, 2018 03:50 - 28 minutes - 23.2 MBThere has been a lot of recent attention on gender pay equity, the re-emergence of racism in western societies, and how youth mental health has been an increasing concern in recent years. However, the way we talk about older people, and indeed, how older people view and talk about themselves is also revealing of deeper attitudes and biases. Join me as I talk with Assoc Prof Dr Tracey Gendron, based in the Department of Gerontology in the School of Allied Health Professions at Virginia Comm...
Regulations of love: How to feel better when relationships end
November 19, 2018 03:44 - 32 minutes - 29.6 MBMost people will experience a relationship break up. They can be hard to get over. One way to manage this is to try to actively decrease the feelings of love you have for your ex-partner? But does this work? Do people believe they can control their feelings of love in this way? Can you actually do this? Join me as I talk with Asst Prof Dr Sandra Langeslag, based at the Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri - St Louis. We talk about how she tested three strategies fo...
4 in 5 people experience a mental health disorder by midlife. What do we know about those who don't?
November 19, 2018 03:37 - 40 minutes - 37.2 MBYou might be familiar with the often quoted statistic that 1 in 4 or 1 in 5 people experience mental health difficulties. What you might not be aware of is that is the answer if people are answering about what they are experiencing at that particular point in time. Long-term studies following the same people over time show that more than 4 out of 5 people (actually 87%) have experienced a mental health disorder by the time they reach age 38. This radically changes our understanding, meaning...
Can the news media play a key role in triggering psychological reactions to terrorism?
November 19, 2018 03:30 - 34 minutes - 31.5 MBIn July 2011, Anders Breivik killed 77 adults and children in a bombing in Oslo and a subsequent shooting on a nearby island where the Norwegian Labor Party's youth organisation was having their summer camp. I talk with Dr Bertel Hansen of the Department of Political Science at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark about the impact of that event in Norway on the incidence of trauma- and stressor-related disorders in the neighbouring country of Denmark, and discuss this with respect to of ...
Scared behind the wheel: How driving anxiety may influence our health and wellbeing
November 19, 2018 03:24 - 34 minutes - 31.6 MBLearning to drive has been a rite of passage in many societies for decades. For many, it is a central part of their everyday lives, especially if they live in rural areas, or where other alternatives aren't as practical or appealing. But what happens if we become anxious about driving? How might that shape our lives and wellbeing? In this show I speak with Dr Joanne Taylor, Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology at Massey University in New Zealand. Here is the link to the paper we t...
Creating consciousness: Our brain's top-down, bottom-up framework for making sense of the world around & within us
November 19, 2018 03:17 - 43 minutes - 39.4 MBConsciousness is a curious and complex phenomenon. There are many ideas about what consciousness means and how it comes about, but I came across a compelling and relatively simple argument when I attended TEDFest this year - where the TED2017 conference was livestreamed for TEDx conference organisers from around the world, all convened in New York. In this show I speak with Dr Anil Seth, Professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Sussex in the UK. He is also...
The surprising upsides of worrying
November 19, 2018 03:10 - 30 minutes - 27.8 MBWorrying can be described as the process of unpleasant thoughts that keep coming back and cause us to be anxious or distressed. Although it's certainly true that worrying is often seen as a problem, there is increasing evidence that it can also be seen in positive ways too. In this show I speak with Associate Professor Kate Sweeny from the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Riverside in the USA. Here is the link to the paper we talk about in this week's show: htt...
If we write our name on an object, will we recycle it or trash it?
November 19, 2018 03:05 - 31 minutes - 29 MBIf you drink coffee and buy that in a shop, the barista might call out your name - which may be written on your disposable cup - when it's ready. Does the fact that your name is written on the cup have an influence on whether you choose to recycle it or not? Even if they spelled your name wrong? Everyday, we make decisions about whether to keep or dispose of objects that we have purchased or obtained. Often, the decision can boil down to whether we recycle or trash the object in question. ...
1747 people talk about their experience taking antidepressants
November 19, 2018 02:59 - 28 minutes - 26.1 MBAbout 1 in 9 adult New Zealanders receive a prescription for antidepressants each year. Although we think they are generally helpful for people, we know surprisingly little about what it might be like to take them. This week I speak with Associate Professor Dr Kerry Gibson from the School of Psychology at the University of Auckland in New Zealand to find out more. Here is the link to the paper we talk about in this week's show: https://bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s128...
Do we fear death less after a near-death experience?
November 19, 2018 02:54 - 36 minutes - 33 MB'Near-death experiences' come up often in films and novels - the idea of a 'white light' or experiencing meeting loved ones from years before. But are there common aspects to these experiences? And what sorts of consequences might they have once you have them? This week I speak with Dr Natasha Tassell-Matamua, Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology at Massey University, New Zealand to find out more. Here is the link to the paper we talk about in this week's show: http://www.tandfonli...
We know that divorce and health are linked - but how exactly does this link work?
November 19, 2018 02:48 - 33 minutes - 30.5 MBIt is pretty well established that the experience of marital; separation and divorce is a risk for a range of poor health outcomes, even many years after the event. But how are these events linked? Although the association is established, the pathway between the two is not well understood. In this episode, I talk with Professor David Sbarra, in the Department of Psychology at the University of Arizona in the USA, where he is also the Director of Clinical Training in the Doctoral Program in ...
How climate change affects us mentally and socially, whether you believe in it or not
November 19, 2018 02:42 - 40 minutes - 37.2 MBWhen you think about climate change- psychology and mental health may not be the first thing that you think of. However, the two are very much connected. As well as possible mental health disorders such as anxiety or depression, psychological responses to climate change such as fatalism, fear, helplessness and resignation are growing. These responses might be keeping us from addressing the core causes of and developing solutions for our changing climates and the consequences of this, as wel...
How do 3-4 year olds think about hide and seek?
November 19, 2018 02:36 - 26 minutes - 24.7 MBHave you played hide and seek with a small child and found them in seconds as they sit in the middle of the room with their eyes covered, convinced that you can't see them? In this episode, I talk with Asst Professor Henrike Moll, in the Department of Psychology at the University of Southern California in the USA. In this conversation, we focus on Henrike's work looking at the social-cognitive development of pre-schoolers and how they appear to apply a principle of bidirectional social inte...
When we think about our own death, do we become more open to religious ideas?
November 19, 2018 02:27 - 47 minutes - 43.7 MBDo we become more religious when we think about our own death. Or at least, less religiously skeptical? In this episode, I talk with Dr. Jonathan Jong, currently a Research Fellow at Coventry University, and Deputy Director of the Brain, Belief and Behaviour group there. He is also the Research Coordinator of the Institute for Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of Oxford. In this conversation, we focus on Jonathan's PhD work - in New Zealand - on understanding the lin...
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No! It's a key discovery about how human memory is related to motion
November 19, 2018 02:18 - 41 minutes - 37.7 MBIn this episode, I talk with Mark Schurgin, Graduate Fellow based in the Visual Thinking Lab at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, USA. We talk about Mark's work combining his experience and knowledge of vision research memory, investigating how basic knowledge that we have about how the world works - our 'core knowledge' supports our memory about objects. We talk more about how Mark discovered this, and implications for processes such as machine learning for autonomous self-driving veh...
How do people with multiracial (or multicultural) backgrounds navigate their social identity?
November 19, 2018 02:01 - 30 minutes - 27.8 MBIn this episode, I talk with Dr. Sarah Gaither, Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University in the USA. In this conversation, we focus on Sarah's work on understanding multiracial identities and the costs and benefits of navigating that social terrain. Here is the link to the paper we talk about in this week's show: https://sites.duke.edu/dukeidlab/files/2016/08/MultiracialIdentityReview.Gaither.CDPS_.2015.pdf Here is the abstract for some cont...
Do people prefer psychotherapy to drug therapy?
November 19, 2018 02:01 - 35 minutes - 32.7 MBAround 1 in 5 people quit therapy early, and that rate seems higher if people given pharmacotherapy alone. In this episode, I talk with Dr Joshua Swift, Assistant Professor in Psychology, based at Idaho State University in the USA. In this conversation, we focus on Joshua's work with his colleagues on treatment refusal and premature termination in psychotherapy, pharmacotherapy, and their combination. Here is the link to the paper we talk about in this week's show: http://www.apa.org/pubs...
To sleep or not to sleep? That is the on-call question
November 19, 2018 01:54 - 43 minutes - 40.1 MBIn this episode, I talk with Professor Sally Ferguson, based at the Appleton Institute in Adelaide, Australia, and Deputy Dean of Research in the School of Human Health and Social Sciences at Central Queensland University. In this conversation, we focus on Sally's work on the effects of restricted sleep on performance for people who are on-call. Here is the link to the paper we talk about in this week's show: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301279364_On-call_work_To_sleep_or_not...
Why do we tend to pick objects in the centre?
November 19, 2018 01:46 - 35 minutes - 32.5 MBIn this episode, I talk with Dr Ute Kreplin who is based at Massey University's School of Psychology in New Zealand. In this conversation, we focus on Ute's work on the Centre Stage effect. Here is the link to the paper we talk about in this week's show: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265386572_Looking_behaviour_and_preference_for_artworks_The_role_of_emotional_valence_and_location Here is the abstract for some context: The position of an item influences its evaluation, with...
What do we know about the nocebo effect and how it works?
November 19, 2018 01:39 - 31 minutes - 28.5 MBIn this episode, I talk with Rebecca Webster who is based at King's College in the University of London, UK. In this conversation, we focus on Rebecca's work on s systematic review on the 'nocebo effect' - what it is and how it might work. We also talk about what researchers mean when they talk about a systematic review. Here is the link to the paper we talk about in this week's show: https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/a-systematic-review-of-factors-that-contribute-to-noc...
Is human language underpinned by gestures?
November 19, 2018 01:32 - 43 minutes - 40 MBIn this episode, I talk with Emeritus Professor Michael Corballis, who is based at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. Professor Corballis is an internationally acclaimed scholar and one of his most recent accolades is the ward of the Rutherford Medal by the Royal Society of New Zealand. In this conversation, we focus particular on Michael's ideas about how gestures may have been the precursors for spoken language development in humans. Here is the link to the paper we talk about in...
Is there a link between dehydration and our experience of pain?
November 19, 2018 01:24 - 31 minutes - 28.5 MBIn this episode, I talk with Dr Toby Mundel of the School of Sport and Exercise Science at Massey University in New Zealand. We talk about his recent work investigating the relationship between people's hydration levels and their experience of pain. Here is the link to the research study we talk about in this week's show: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/psyp.12610/abstract Here is the abstract for some context: Chronic pain is a prevalent health issue with one in five people ...
Does turning the clocks back for winter-time lead to a higher rate of depression?
November 19, 2018 01:17 - 24 minutes - 22.3 MBIn this episode, I talk with Dr Bertel Teilfeldt Hansen of the Department of Political Science at Copenhagen University in Denmark. We talk about his involvement in this project looking at the impact of clock changes in winter-time on the incidence in depression, and how he got involved in the research. The abstract for the paper can be found here. http://journals.lww.com/epidem/Abstract/publishahead/Daylight_savings_time_transitions_and_the.98946.aspx Daylight savings time transitions af...
How young women use food to make friends at school
November 19, 2018 01:12 - 24 minutes - 22.8 MBIn this episode, I talk with Dr Eva Neely, Lecturer at the School of Public Health at Massey University, here in Wellington, New Zealand. The abstract to her paper can be found here: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/HE-03-2015-0012 Purpose – Food practices, including associated routines, rituals, and habits, are an unexplored area in school health promotion. The purpose of this paper is to fill this gap through exploring how food rituals act as vehicles for young people t...
How to tell the difference between fact and fiction on a 'post-truth' internet
November 19, 2018 01:06 - 39 minutes - 36.3 MBWe find it difficult to tell the difference between fake and real news. We create 'bubbles' and echo chambers on our computers and smartphones, which make it even more difficult. Listen to how we can start breaking that down so we can get less biased information, and become more aware of our blindspots. In this episode, I talk with Professor Sam Wineburg at the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University in the USA. We talk about his involvement a project looking at how people ev...
Mapping the link between biodiversity and our wellbeing
November 19, 2018 00:55 - 19 minutes - 17.8 MBIn this episode, I talk with Laurie Parma of The Department of Psychology at the University of Cambridge in the UK. We talk about her involvement in development if the NatureBuzz app - a citizen science / crowdsourcing endeavor. The text accompanying the project can be found here: https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/does-nature-make-you-happy-crowdsourcing-app-looks-at-relationship-between-the-outdoors-and A new app will crowdsource data to help scientists understand the relationship be...
What do we know about sleep paralysis?
November 19, 2018 00:47 - 31 minutes - 29.2 MBIn this episode, I talk with Associate Professor Brian Sharpless of the American School of Professional Psychology, Argosy University, Washington DC, USA. We talk about his recent work understanding and developing treatment recommendations for sleep paralysis - a surprisingly common but little-understood phenomenon Some of Brian's original work can be found here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4958367/ Here is the abstract for some context: This review summarizes the empir...
Emoji and emoticons: Do we mimic what we see?
November 19, 2018 00:35 - 33 minutes - 30.5 MBIn this episode, I talk with Dr Michael Philipp of the School of Psychology, Massey University in New Zealand. We talk about his recent study on emoji and emoticons in computer-based communications. Michael's original abstract can be found here on p.51: http://www.psychology.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2014-handbook-for-email.pdf Here is the abstract for some context: Emoticons reduce semantic ambiguity and express emotional meaning in written communication. Our fluency in processing emot...
What do we know about the idea of creepiness?
November 19, 2018 00:25 - 27 minutes - 25.2 MBIn this episode, I talk with Professor Frank McAndrew of Knox College, a liberal arts college in Illinois, USA. We talk about his recent study trying to get a grip on how people understand the concept of creepiness. Frank's original paper can be found here: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0732118X16300320 Here is the abstract for some context: Surprisingly, until now there has never been an empirical study of “creepiness.” An international sample of 1341 individuals re...
Father's parenting stress and toddler language development
November 19, 2018 00:12 - 21 minutes - 19.7 MBIn this episode, I talk with Associate Professor Claire Vallotton of Michigan State University in the USA. We talk about the relationship father's parenting stress and language and cognitive development. Claire's original paper can be found here: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/icd.1984/abstract Here is the abstract for some context: Despite numerous studies on parenting stress suggesting negative influences on parent–child interactions and children's development, the majorit...
What influence could climate change have on human aggression?
November 18, 2018 23:58 - 22 minutes - 20.7 MBIn this first episode, I talk with Dr Matt Williams, Lecturer in Psychology at Massey University here in New Zealand. We talk about the relationship between temperature and aggressive behaviour and assault, particularly with respect to climate change. Matt's original paper can be found here: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10584-015-1438-7 Here is the abstract for some context: A number of previous studies have reported a positive relationship between ambient temperature and...