Stanford Psychology Podcast

Jacqueline Gottlieb, Professor of Neuroscience at Columbia University, discusses the ambiguity of uncertainty, challenges traditional views on decision-making, and explores the influence of personality traits on information gathering. She also delves into the role of emotions in dealing with uncertainty and highlights the importance of curiosity and exploration in artificial intelligence and understanding human behavior.

Dr. Michal Kosinski, Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior at Stanford University, discusses his research on theory of mind in Large Language Models (LLMs) and reasoning biases. They explore emergent properties in LLMs, the importance of theory of mind in language, testing theory of mind in LLMs, cognitive bias in solving tasks, reasoning vs intuition in language models, and the use of theory of mind tasks in LLMs. They also touch on artificial networks rediscovering human mechanisms and the guest's scientific journey.

Anjie chats with Dr. Joshua Hartshorne, an assistant professor of psychology at Boston College where he directs the Language Learning Laboratory. He studies language learning from a variety of aspects, including but not limited to: bootstrapping language acquisition, relationship between language and commonsense, as well as the critical periods in learning new languages. In this episode, they chat about Josh’s recent work on second language acquisition: “Will children learn English faster if their native language is similar to English?”. Josh also shares some insights on the best way to teach language to kids and adults.If you found this episode interesting at all, subscribe on our Substack and 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.Josh’s paper: https://l3atbc-public.s3.amazonaws.com/pub_pdfs/Yun%20et%20al%202023.pdfJosh’s personal profile: https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/schools/mcas/departments/psychology/people/faculty-directory/joshua-hartshorne.htmlJosh’s lab website: http://l3atbc.org/index.htmlAnjie’s: website: anjiecao.github.ioAnjie’s Twitter @anjie_caoPodcast Twitter @StanfordPsyPodPodcast Substack https://stanfordpsypod.substack.com/Let us know what you thought of this episode, or of the podcast! :) stanfordpsychpodcast@gmail.com

Prof. Steve Fleming and Dr. Nadine Dijkstra explore the distinction between reality and imagination, discussing a recent study on perceptual reality monitoring. They delve into the role of signal strength in distinguishing reality from imagination and discuss the implications for mental health and court cases. They also share their personal journeys in science and emphasize the importance of perseverance in scientific research.

Dr. Bryan Brown discusses the potential of virtual reality in science education, exploring its ability to engage students and make science culturally relevant. He shares insights from a study conducted with elementary students, highlighting the benefits of VR in enhancing understanding and immersion in scientific concepts. The podcast also delves into the concept of culturally relevant pedagogy and its impact on effective learning, as well as the value of VR in education by bringing context and immersive experiences. The implementation of culturally relevant pedagogy is explored, with a focus on understanding students' specific learning environments. Lastly, the potential benefits and limitations of VR in science education are discussed, including hands-on learning opportunities and cost-efficient approaches.

Josh Jackson, Assistant Professor of Behavioral Science at University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, discusses the co-evolution of culture and psychology. Topics include morality across cultures, understanding kindness, the impact of social media, and Josh's academic journey.

Dr. Sho Tsuji discusses her work on modeling how babies acquire language efficiently. She explains the importance of a computational perspective and shares her insights on large language models. The podcast explores the significance of computational models in language acquisition, introduces the Skella framework, and discusses learning algorithms and cultural diversity.

George Mashour, Professor and Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Michigan, discusses the study of psychedelics, defining psychedelic drugs, comparing altered states of consciousness, and prominent theories of consciousness. He explores shared connectivity patterns in the brain under the influence of psychedelics and anesthetics. Mashour reflects on their personal journey and the importance of rigor and learning from the past in psychedelic research.

Matt Abrahams, leading expert in communication, discusses public speaking, stage fright, and his upcoming book. Overrated advice, reducing filler words, and being engaging on and off stage are explored. The role of humor in communication and translating academic research for non-academic audiences are also discussed. The chapter concludes by exploring career paths for psychology graduates in communication and teaching, as well as improving podcast engagement and connection.

Gillian Sandstrom, Senior Lecturer in the Psychology of Kindness, discusses the misconceptions and benefits of talking to strangers. She explores fears and interventions, lasting changes after engaging with strangers, conversation starters, cultural considerations, societal norms, and flexibility of social norms in social interactions.