logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2022
54m 56s

Separating Yourself from the Pack

Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam
About this episode
Have you ever gotten into a heated argument about politics? Maybe you’ve said something you're not proud of during game night with friends, or booed the opposing team at a sporting event. Psychologist Mina Cikara studies what happens in these moments — when our mindset shifts from “you and me” to “us and them.” This week on the show, Mina shares the profound ... Show More
Up next
Jul 6
Waking Up Your Spiritual Brain: Part 2
Last week, we talked with psychologist Lisa Miller about the science of spirituality. Today, we explore what those ideas can look like in everyday life. Miller explains why moments of connection, spiritual practices, and even periods of suffering can sometimes open the door to de ... Show More
1h 33m
Jun 29
Waking Up Your Spiritual Brain: Part 1
Food, safety, and strong relationships are essential to our survival. Psychologist Lisa Miller says our brains also crave something else: transcendence. She suggests that spirituality is a universal human capacity, and that feeling connected to something larger than ourselves may ... Show More
50m 5s
Jun 22
Stepping Out of the Shadows
Why does one bad experience have the power to overshadow an otherwise good day? Psychologist Alison Ledgerwood explores the negativity bias, the deeply human tendency to hold on to what went wrong and overlook what went right. She explains why our minds are drawn to losses and th ... Show More
1h 28m
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2024
The Psychology of Politics
<p>In this episode of the Mindset Mentor podcast, we’re diving deep into the psychology behind our political beliefs and why they can feel so intense and polarizing. Ever wondered why you and your friends seem to live in different realities when it comes to politics? 🤔 Discover ... Show More
17m 51s
Jan 2019
146 - Tribal Psychology (rebroadcast)
<p>The evidence is clear that humans value being good members of their tribes much more than they value being correct. We will choose to be wrong if it keeps us in good standing with our peers.<br /><br />In this episode, we explore how that affects politics and science communica ... Show More
1h 5m
Jul 2022
237 - Reactance - Michele Belot
<p>New research suggests people on opposite sides of wedge issues want to listen to each other. We are each eager to hear differing opinions and understand opposing views, and when we do it can change our minds (at least a little), but only when we aren't triggered by the psychol ... Show More
40m 22s
Nov 2017
Mind Games
How to make people like you, why you should lick rocks, and what an awkward person is really thinking. Angela Duckworth (Grit author) is co-host; Mike Maughan (Qualtrics) is live fact-checker. 
47m 46s
Aug 2023
Ep20 "Why does your brain care more about some people than others?"
Why do we so naturally form ingroups and outgroups? And what does that have to do with evolution, monkeys, Greeks, psychopaths, Syndrome E, and propaganda posters? Join Eagleman to learn why our brains are so wired for tribalism, what the consequences are for the world, and how a ... Show More
38m 16s
Jul 2022
Discrimination & Gaslighting
As a minority, have you ever raised an eyebrow at a comment someone made? Unsure if it had racist undertones or not? Dealing with feeling like you're being dramatic or reading too deeply into it? In this episode, we talk about our experience being outside of our community bubble ... Show More
1h 25m
Jun 2020
The War For Kindness
Feeling you belong to a group can be great - but it also has a darker side, leading us down an unhappy path of hatred and violence towards people with different identities and backgrounds.Dr Laurie Santos talks to Mina Cikara - whose homeland descended into a bloody civil war - a ... Show More
35m 1s
Dec 2021
Changing Our Minds
Admitting we're wrong is painful--even seen as a sign of weakness. But what if we take a more flexible approach? This hour: how rethinking ideas can be good for our brains and our relationships. Guests include former GOP congressman Bob Inglis, organizational psychologist Adam Gr ... Show More
50m 52s
May 2025
can friends survive a political divide?: new enemy unlocked
podmothers sephy & wing enter the chat: spiralling on opinions, morals, and political differences, managing expectations for yourself and others, failure, redirection, and knowing when to change course. ✷see more ✷ youtube @sephyandwing ✷ instagram @sephyandwing ✷ tiktok @sephyan ... Show More
52m 37s