Stanford Psychology Podcast

Eric chats with Paul Rozin, Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. Paul is one of the world’s leading experts in a variety of fields, ranging from cultural to moral to social psychology. He has twice been a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford, is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and recipient of the American Psychological Association Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award for 2007. In this episode, Paul gives an update on his influential 2001 paper “Social Psychology and Science: Some Lessons from Solomon Asch,” which criticized the way psychology was conducted at the time (and is still being conducted today). In a far-reaching conversation, Eric and Paul discuss what natural and social sciences can learn from each other, why psychology should identify with both, what Paul’s relationship with Solomon Asch was like, why people’s tendency to focus on the negative is especially dangerous in the moral domain, and what it is like studying ethnic conflicts. Finally, Paul announces his new and upcoming book!If you found this episode interesting at all, consider leaving us a good rating! It just takes a second but will allow us to reach more people and make them excited about psychology.Links:Paul's Solomon Asch PaperEric's websiteEric's Twitter @EricNeumannPsyPodcast Twitter @StanfordPsyPodLet us know what you thought of this episode, or of the podcast! :) stanfordpsychpodcast@gmail.com

In this episode, Natalia, a former CSLI intern, chats with Erica Yoon, the teaching coordinator for the CSLI Summer Internship Program. Along with hearing from other former interns, they go over the structure and overarching goals of the program, and how it fits into the overall mission of the Center for the Study of Language and Information (CSLI). Erica is particularly excited about attracting diverse students to the program and offers some insight into the application process.  For more information on CSLI, you can visit the center's webpage (https://www-csli.stanford.edu/) or follow the official Twitter feed (@StanfordCSLI). For detailed information about applying to the summer internship, please visit the application page (https://www-csli.stanford.edu/csli-summer-internship-program-2022)The CSLI Internship Program is headed by Michael  Frank (Principal Investigator) and Christopher Potts (Co-Principal Investigator). It is funded by the NSF's Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program (Award #1950223).Special thanks to participating alumni:Nicholas Wright, College of William & MaryJiayi Wang, Boston UniversityJon Saad-Falcon, Georgia Institute of TechnologyShayan Hooshmand, Columbia University

Eric chats with Kelly McGonigal, a health psychologist and lecturer at Stanford who specializes in understanding the mind-body connection. She is the best-selling author of The Willpower Instinct and The Upside of Stress. Her TED talk, "How to Make Stress Your Friend," is one of the most viewed TED talks of all time, with over 27 million views. Kelly’s latest book, The Joy of Movement, explores why physical exercise is a powerful antidote to the modern epidemics of depression, anxiety, and loneliness. In January 2020, Oprah Magazine named Kelly the first ever O! Visionary, people whose groundbreaking way of seeing the world mean a better future for us all. In this episode, Eric and Kelly chat about science communication, and the joys and challenges that come from engaging with the public about the latest findings from psychology at a time where many distrust science, and where psychologists themselves have become skeptical about the accuracy of their findings.If you found this episode interesting at all, consider leaving us a good rating! It just takes a second but will allow us to reach more people and make them excited about psychology.Links:Kelly's latest book The Joy of MovementKelly's TED talk on stressKelly's Twitter @kellymcgonigalEric's websiteEric's Twitter @EricNeumannPsyPodcast Twitter @StanfordPsyPodLet us know what you thought of this episode, or of the podcast! :) stanfordpsychpodcast@gmail.com

Kate chats with James Gross, Professor of Psychology at Stanford University and the director of the Stanford Psychophysiology Lab. His work focuses on emotions: What they are, how they unfold over time, and how people regulate them in different contexts. In this episode, James shares insights from a recent study examining the effects of brief emotion regulation interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic across 87 countries. James also discusses the broader implications of his work and talks about how people can learn to work with their emotions instead of fighting against them. Paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-021-01173-x 

Eric chats with Jillian Jordan, Assistant Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. Jillian’s work has focused on human morality and the role that reputation plays in shaping cooperative behavior. Her fascinating research has integrated methods from psychology, behavioral economics, and evolutionary game theory and has been featured in outlets such as the New York Times, Washington Post, and The Guardian. In this episode, Jillian discusses her new paper on the Virtuous Victim Effect: victims of wrongdoing are seen as more moral than nonvictims. She explains this finding with what is called the Justice Restoration Hypothesis: seeing victims as morally good people makes the wrongdoing seem unjust, which motivates people to help the victim and punish the perpetrator. Jillian then chats about the philosophy guiding her research, and why appealing to people’s concerns about how others see them can be a powerful way to make the world a better place.If you found this episode interesting at all, consider leaving us a good rating! It just takes a second but will allow us to reach more people and make them excited about psychology.Links:Jillian's paperJillian's Twitter @Jill_JordEric's websiteEric's Twitter @EricNeumannPsyPodcast Twitter @StanfordPsyPodLet us know what you thought of this episode, or of the podcast! :) stanfordpsychpodcast@gmail.com

In this episode, Anjie chats with Dr. Michal Strahilevitz. Michal is currently a marketing professor at Saint Mary’s College of California. Her research focuses on how emotions affect decision-making in a variety of contexts. In addition to being an enthusiastic researcher, Michal is an amazing teacher. She has won teaching awards from three different universities. blogs for Psychology Today and is often quoted in the global media outlets. She is particularly passionate about helping people become happier, healthier, and more resilient. In today's episode, Michal shares her journey both creating and teaching her favorite course: The Science of Happiness and Well-Being. To hear from five scholars whose research and teaching focuses on happiness, watch Michal’s recent panel discussion on this topic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_Az9N0eBUY Learn More About Michal and her Work:Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/contributors/michal-ann-strahilevitz-phd and https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/your-money-and-your-heart Saint Mary’s College Profile: https://works.bepress.com/michal-strahilevitz/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marketingprof/ Twitter: @MarketingProf Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marketingprof/ 

Eric chats with Abigail Marsh, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Georgetown. Her work has focused on phenomena as diverse as empathy, altruism, aggression, and psychopathy. In 2017,  Abby published her book, The Fear Factor, describing her fascinating research with extreme altruists on the one hand and individuals with psychopathy on the other. She is the former President of the Social and Affective Neuroscience Society. In this episode, Abby challenges the common assumption that individualism means selfishness. Instead, she has found that individualism predicts more kindness, just like being healthy and wealthy predicts being kinder to others. Eric and Abby discuss if our understanding of individualism is wrong, if kindness might look different in individualistic versus collectivistic cultures, and if people are too cynical these days.If you found this episode interesting at all, consider leaving us a good rating! It just takes a second but will allow us to reach more people and make them excited about psychology.Links:Abby's paperAbby's book The Fear Factor Abby's Twitter @aa_marshEric's websiteEric's Twitter @EricNeumannPsyPodcast Twitter @StanfordPsyPodLet us know what you thought of this episode, or of the podcast! :) stanfordpsychpodcast@gmail.com

Eric chats with Scott Barry Kaufman, cognitive scientist and humanistic psychologist renowned for a series of groundbreaking books such as Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined, Wired to Create, and, most recently, Transcend. Scott is founder and director of the Center for the Science of Human Potential and has taught various classes at universities such as Columbia, Yale, NYU, and the University of Pennsylvania. He hosts the #1 psychology podcast in the world, “The Psychology Podcast,” with over 20 million downloads. He has written for outlets such as The Atlantic, Scientific American, and Harvard Business Review. In this episode, Scott discusses his latest research on what he calls the “light triad.” While many researchers have been concerned with what is called the “dark triad,” encompassing features of everyday psychopaths, Scott and his co-authors have started to investigate what makes for an everyday saint. Eric and Scott discuss that we have more everyday saints among us than we think and that everyone is a mix of everyday saint and psychopath.If you found this episode interesting at all, consider leaving us a good rating! It just takes a second but will allow us to reach more people and make them excited about psychology.Links:Scott's article on the light triad in the Scientific AmericanScott's paper on the light triadScott's Twitter @sbkaufmanEric's websiteEric's Twitter @EricNeumannPsyPodcast Twitter @StanfordPsyPodLet us know what you thought of this episode, or of the podcast! :) stanfordpsychpodcast@gmail.com

Eric chats with Erin Westgate, Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Florida. The work from Erin’s lab has focused on topics such as thinking for pleasure and boredom and has been featured in outlets such as the New York Times, CNN, and the BBC. Erin has famously found that people would rather shock themselves than sit alone with their thoughts for a few minutes! In this episode, Erin discusses the question we all have in mind when we hear about this finding: Why? More precisely, what makes thinking often so unpleasant? And how can we make it more pleasurable? How can we avoid boredom? And should we avoid it in the first place?If you found this episode interesting at all, consider leaving us a good rating! It just takes a second but will allow us to reach more people and make them excited about psychology.Links:Erin's paper Erin's Twitter @ErinWestgateEric's websiteEric's Twitter @EricNeumannPsyPodcast Twitter @StanfordPsyPodLet us know what you thought of this episode, or of the podcast! :) stanfordpsychpodcast@gmail.com

Eric chats with Robert Sapolsky, Stanford Professor of Biology, Neurology, and Neurosurgery. Robert is a world-renowned academic and author of highly successful books such as A Primate’s Memoir, Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers, and Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst. His Stanford lectures were among the first to be made available online across the entire university and have been watched tens of millions of times. Robert is a MacArthur “Genius” Fellow. He is a highly engaging teacher and lecturer, not least because of his wonderful sense of humor. In this episode, Robert announces his upcoming (yet-to-be-written) book “Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will.” Robert discusses when and how he came to give up his belief in free will, and why we all should if we want to live in a fairer society. However, Eric and Robert also discuss some alluring upsides of believing in free will, and Robert acknowledges he’d love to swallow the blue pill, allowing him to believe in free will again.If you found this episode interesting at all, consider leaving us a good rating! It just takes a second but will allow us to reach more people and make them excited about psychology.Links:Robert's latest book BehaveEric's websiteEric's Twitter @EricNeumannPsyPodcast Twitter @StanfordPsyPodLet us know what you thought of this episode, or of the podcast! :) stanfordpsychpodcast@gmail.com