Just in time for Halloween, we talk about the psychology of strange stuff – including ghostly visitations, alien abductions, ESP, and more – with Chris French, PhD, head of the anomalistic psychology unit at Goldsmiths, University of London. Dr. French discusses how psychological explanations such as sleep paralysis and inattentional blindness could underlie ... Show More
Mar 11
How to become more patient, with Sarah Schnitker, PhD
Life is full of situations -- and people -- that try our patience, from a standstill traffic jam to an obstinate preschooler who won’t put on her shoes. Sarah Schnitker, PhD, talks about why patience can be so hard to come by; whether modern life and modern technology have made u ... Show More
35m 13s
Mar 4
Incentivizing recovery: Why contingency management works to treat addiction, with Lara Coughlin, PhD, and Michael McDonell, PhD
More than half of drug overdose deaths in the U.S. involve stimulants like methamphetamine and cocaine. There are no medications to treat stimulant addiction, but there is a behavioral treatment that works: contingency management, which involves offering tangible, immediate rewar ... Show More
45m 29s
Feb 25
Catching fire: What goes viral and why? With Jonah Berger, PhD
Why do some ideas, products, news stories and trends spread like wildfire, while others disappear? Jonah Berger, PhD, discusses the science of what catches on; the psychological forces that drive word of mouth, including social currency and high-arousal emotions like awe and ange ... Show More
41m 33s
Jun 2024
The Psychology of The Paranormal - Carl Jung
Since early childhood, Carl Jung experienced paranormal phenomena, that is, phenomena that are beyond the scope of scientific understanding. They were virtually commonplace in Jung’s family. Jung’s personal experiences with the paranormal would set him on a quest to find an expla ... Show More
48m 34s
Oct 2019
Richard Wiseman on lying, luck and the paranormal
How do you tell if someone is lying? When Richard Wiseman, Professor of the Public Understanding of Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire, conducted a nationwide experiment to identify the tell-tale signs, the results were surprising. If you want to spot a liar, don’t loo ... Show More
28m 21s
Apr 2020
STBYM Halftober Monsterfest Playlist, Episode 8: Demon in the Halls of Sleep
Halftober Monsterfest is about to get even weirder. Explore the basics of incubus and succubus myths, a few international variants and the possible biological, psychological and neurological explanations for these paranormal encounters. Learn more about your ad-choices at https:/ ... Show More
1h 16m
Oct 2020
SYSK Selects: How Ghosts Work
<p>According to a 2009 poll, more Americans believe in ghosts than don't. But what are ghosts exactly? If they do exist, what are they made of and why are they hanging around? In this classic episode airing for Halloween, Josh and Chuck explore both sides of the divide between be ... Show More
43m 3s
Oct 2023
Do you know about ghosts? 👻
In this episode, we discover why you might have thought you saw a ghost. We found out that many cultures, even if they are far apart, have tales about ghosts or spirits. We looked at ghosts from a science perspective and learned that sometimes our eyes and brains play tricks on u ... Show More
28m 1s