The Psych Files
Mental
The Psych Files is a podcast for anyone who wonders why we do what we do. Experienced educator Michael Britt, Ph.D., in an upbeat and friendly style, shows you how ideas from the field of psychology apply to everyday life. If you are a life-long learner, a student or a teacher, you will find his 20-30 minute episodes enjoyable and educational. Over 14 million episodes have been downloaded to date with over 100,000 people listening every month. See what all the talk is about!
Location:
New York, NY
Description:
The Psych Files is a podcast for anyone who wonders why we do what we do. Experienced educator Michael Britt, Ph.D., in an upbeat and friendly style, shows you how ideas from the field of psychology apply to everyday life. If you are a life-long learner, a student or a teacher, you will find his 20-30 minute episodes enjoyable and educational. Over 14 million episodes have been downloaded to date with over 100,000 people listening every month. See what all the talk is about!
Twitter:
@mbritt
Language:
English
Website:
http://www.thepsychfiles.com
Episodes
New Podcast You're Going to Love
8/12/2019
I talk about tech many times here on The Psych Files so where do I learn about Phone Addiction, Voice Assistants, Smart Watches and so forth? By listening to tech podcasts. There's a new one out I really like. It's called Waveform with MKBHD and I've got a clip from the show to listen to. I'm already learning a lot so check it out! Click here (http://bit.ly/WaveformPF) to subscribe to Waveform with MKBHD
Duration:00:09:33
Ep 329: Beauty and the Beast: Psychological Themes
7/17/2019
I'll bet you're like me and you enjoyed the Disney musical Beauty and the Beast. As wonderful a story it is, let's take a moment just to acknowledge that there are some themes in the show that are, well, not so nice. I’ll take a look at this show from an angle of toxic masculinity in the Gaston character and possibly co-dependency in the relationship between Belle and the Beast. I promise - it'll still be fun.
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Want to master the tricks to a great memory?
As you know,...
Duration:00:27:03
Ep 327: The Team Behind Q - World's First Genderless Digital Voice
6/19/2019
In the last episode I talked about the potential downside to having most of our digital assistants speak to us using a female voice. "Q" - will give us an option. Here's my interview with Emil Rasmussen, who will give you some of the background behind Q and his hopes for the future of Q.
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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...
Duration:00:18:44
Ep 326: Giving Voice To Our Digital Assistants
6/5/2019
Why do our digital assistants such as Alexa, Google Home, Siri and Cortana have "feminized" voices and what are the effects of this trend? That's what I explore in this episode. Are there negative effects of using female voices in the devices we talk to and who talk to us? Are there alternatives? Turns out there is an alternative - a "genderless" voice. What does that sound like? Tune in to find out as we explore gender roles, expectations and equality.
I’d Blush If I CouldWe tested...
Duration:00:24:11
Ep 323: Computer Programmers: Obsessed With Efficiency
4/17/2019
Do you have your own little “tricks”? That is, ways of doing things that are faster than how you used to do them? Well, congratulations, you’re something of an efficiency expert. And if you can picture an assembly line of people putting products together, then you’ve seen one way of increasing productivity. But some of us are really, really obsessed with efficiency and often those people are computer programmers. Some of them, as you’ll hear from Clive Thompson (author of “Coders: The Making...
Duration:00:38:07
Ep 322: An Introduction to Cross Cultural Psychology
4/3/2019
Why is it okay - in some cultures - to jaywalk, while in others you could get arrested for jaywalking? Why was marijuana was sold - legally - for years in the streets of Amsterdam when it is only now become legal in the US? The reason: some cultures are what author Michele Gelfand calls "loose" and others are "tight". Here's my first episode on cross-cultural psychology and I think you're going to really enjoy listening to professor Gelfand to find out how our culture's norms shape our...
Duration:00:38:30
Introducing One Plus One
2/19/2019
Every great collaboration is a love story. It’s intense. Passionate. Along the way, there are flashes of love, hate, pride, ego, ambition, and brilliance. This is One Plus One, the show about the spark that drives two original thinkers to ultimate success. We’ll unearth the stories of Paul McCartney & John Lennon, Frida Kahlo & Diego Rivera, Beyonce & Jay-Z, Shaq & Kobe, and many more, and learn what it is about their chemistry that led them to greatness. Subscribe to One Plus One today at...
Duration:00:10:38
Ep 310: How To Memorize Psychiatric Medications
9/18/2018
Having a hard time memorizing psychiatric medications and which disorder they are used to treat? These memory tricks will get them into your head in minutes - and they'll stick so you can get a better grade on your test. I've got ways to remember 12 medications like Zoloft, Prozac, Ritalin, Adderall, Lithium, and more - and which diagnosis (Depression, Anxiety, Psychosis, etc.) the drug is used to treat. Don't spend hours in rote memorization - use these memory tools...
Duration:00:33:17
Ep 307: Do Those i-Statements Actually Work and Did Koko Really Use Language as We Do?
7/10/2018
Remember those "i-statements" you're supposed to use when you get mad at someone? "I feel ____ when you ____ because ____". Does that actually work? Does talking in this way resolve problems better and not get the other person defensive? We're going to find out. Also, Koko the gorilla died recently. But did she really master sign language? Or is there less to this story than first appears? In this episode we put on our critical thinking caps and take a look.
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Want to...
Duration:00:35:47
Ep 304: Guess What? Testosterone Doesn't Neccessarily Cause Men to be Aggressive
5/5/2018
Most of us assume one of the reasons men tend to act aggressively is that men have higher levels of testosterone. Let's take a look at this "testosterone myth" because this isn't always the case. In fact, in some cases, the higher levels of testosterone actually cause men to be MORE NICE than usual. Don't believe it? Let's take a look at what author Robert Sapolsky has to teach us about the true and subtle effects of testosterone. I think you'll be surprised.
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Want to...
Duration:00:21:15
Ep 301: The Role of CTE in the Life of Aaron Hernandez
3/15/2018
You have probably heard a lot about football and CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy), the brain degeneration that results from repeated head impacts. One of the worst cases so far of CTE was found in the brain of football player Aaron Hernandez. The Oxygen network produced a fascinating account of Hernandez's life entitled Aaron Hernandez Uncovered and I was asked to participate in a panel discussion with other podcasters in which I talk about CTE as well as Toxic Masculinity. Here's the...
Duration:00:58:05
Ep 300: Jazz Piano Improv - How Do They Do That?
2/24/2018
Ever wonder how the fingers of really experienced pianists who are improvising seem to fly across the keyboard? How do they know where their fingers are going? How can they think that fast? In this episode I'll tell you about some of what the brain is doing when pianists play the piano. Maybe you'll be inspired to start playing yourself....?
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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...
Duration:00:27:39
Ep 299: How Smart Do You Want Your Fitness Tracker to Be?
1/11/2018
Fitness tracking devices are getting smarter. They’re going to have to get a lot smarter if they are going to be powerful tools in your quest to be fit. But how much more “smart” do we really want them to get? Today they keep track of your steps and heart rate, but if your fitness tracker “knew” how you were thinking and whether you were saying things to yourself that are de-motivating (“I’ll never get in shape anyway…”) it might be more effective in getting you off the couch. But do you...
Duration:00:35:07
Ep 298: Nudge Your Way to Better Health
12/13/2017
How can psychologists get you to lead a healthier life? We all have "noble intentions" when it comes to eating well and exercising regularly, but those intentions often don't last too long and you're back to your old unhealthy ways. We can lecture you again about the benefits of healthy eating and exercise, or we can try to "nudge" you toward healthier eating. In this episode I talk about a articles that appeared in the journal Health Psychology about how subtle influences can be used to...
Duration:00:48:00
Ep 297: The Movie Coco - What's the Psychology Behind It?
12/5/2017
Have you seen the movie Coco? You should - it's a very moving story. But if you pay attention to the music you'll notice that the melody to the son "Remember Me" is played in several different ways - each with a very different effect on the psyche. In this episode I examine the psychology of this music. A;ong the way we'll see how minor chords and musical repetition affect, of all things, the release of dopamine in the brain.
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Want to master the tricks to a great...
Duration:00:16:22
Ep 296: The Psychology and the Research Behind Why Some People are Angry when Athletes Take a Knee
11/2/2017
What is the psychology and the research behind why many people are angry about athletes “taking a knee” during the playing of the national anthem? Part of the explanation lies in what’s called the “empathy deficit” that people in power can sometimes display. That is, those in higher social classes in societies are often not able to correctly interpret the facial expressions and gestures of people in lower social classes. Don’t believe it? In this episode I go through the research on how this...
Duration:00:31:04
Ep 295: How Can the Ordinary Person Be Inspirational?
10/17/2017
It's often asked: why don't we make heroes out of everyday people? Well, what makes some people's stories inspirational and other not? Let's say you want to inspire young people to make the most of their lives - how do you do that? What stories are the best to tell or what videos are likely to be shared the most? We'll tap into the latest psychological research to find out.
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Want to master the tricks to a great memory?
As you know, I’m a huge fan of mnemonics and...
Duration:00:24:12
Ep 293: Emotional Intelligence - How Is It Taught?
10/4/2017
One of the hardest challenges as we grow up is to know how we feel and to understand how others feel. The next step after we're aware of our feelings is knowing how we're going to best act on them. That's the essence of Emotional Intelligence and in this episode, school psychologist and author Kyle Carlin talks about a book he has written called Bug and Boo. It's a charming story about a young girl and her imaginary friend, but it's also a tool to help parents, educators and therapists help...
Duration:00:27:39
Ep 292: Yes, Computers Can Guess Your Sexual Orientation
9/20/2017
On this episode I talk about a several psych topics, including what computer programs look at when they try to guess your sexual orientation - and they are really accurate at doing so. Also: anxiety blankets and the musical Hairspray - what do we reveal about ourselves sometimes when we don't even know it!
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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...
Duration:00:30:35
Ep 291: How Important is Your Name? Maybe A Lot
9/6/2017
What do you think of your name? Like it? Do you prefer a nickname or do you prefer when people call you by your full name? Why do you think people have these preferences? That's what we're looking at in this episode - research showing that other people (and yourself) might be shaping you to actually look like and act like your name. It's not a conspiracy - it's science. I also look at the latest research on exercise and how it is that one day's exercise might just make the next day a whole...
Duration:00:25:22