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
Jul 9
Why can’t you remember being a baby? With Nicholas Turk-Browne, PhD
Why can’t you remember your first birthday party? Or the house you lived in at age 2? Nicholas Turk-Browne, PhD, talks about new studies that suggest that babies and toddlers may form early memories; why we aren’t able to retrieve them as adults; and how evolving brain imaging te ... Show More
42m 42s
Jul 2
How to be happier, with Sonja Lyubomirsky, PhD
Want to be happier? Some of our happiness level is due to genes or life circumstances, but research shows much of it is within our control. Sonja Lyubomirsky, PhD, talks about the habits and mindsets that lead to lasting happiness, the complex relationship between money and happi ... Show More
35m 30s
Jun 25
The psychology of wealth, empathy and entitlement, with Paul Piff, PhD
Can money make you mean? Most of us like to think we’d stay grounded if we were to become wealthy, but psychologists’ research suggests that money, status and power shape people’s beliefs and behavior – sometimes in surprising ways. Paul Piff, PhD, of the University of California ... Show More
45 m
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
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 belie ... 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