Have psychologists recently found evidence for the existence of psychic ability? Last year, well-known psychologist Daryl Bem published an article called Feeling the Future in which he describes a number of studies, all of which provided support for a kind of phi phenomenon he calls “retroactive influence”. The research appeared in the Journal of Personality [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Why aren’t rich people happier than those with less money? We think money will bring happiness, but research in the area of positive psychology has consistently found that having more money does NOT make us happier. Find out how to spend your money the right way so that it really can bring happiness into your [...]
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 [...]
Don’t be frustrated with low grades. If you study RIGHT you will get good grades. What does that mean to study right? How do you improve your study skills? I’ve got 5 techniques that will help you get better grades, develop effective study skills, and I’ll give you one very important warning about something you [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
We all take shortcuts when we are making decisions. And in those shortcuts often lie our mistakes. In this episode find out the difference between the availability and representativeness heuristics, as well as the “Take the Best“, Hindsight, and the Base Rate Neglect (Fallacy) heuristics. Lots of examples of these heuristics at work are included. [...]
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.
