Psychologists’ research has found that it’s not the nuances of policy debates that drive voter behavior but instead how voters feel about candidates and political parties -- and whom they trust to share their values. Drew Westen, PhD, of Emory University, talks about how emotions drive our political behavior, what makes for an effective political speech or a ... Show More
Apr 15
Tip or skip? What drives our tipping behavior, with Michael Lynn, PhD
Tipping has long been a part of service culture in the U.S., but in the last few years, the number of places where we're asked to tip has multiplied. Social psychologist and tipping researcher Michael Lynn, PhD, discusses “tip creep” and how digital payment screens are reshaping ... Show More
26m 22s
Apr 8
The psychology of spending, debt and budgeting, with Abigail Sussman, PhD
Buy now, pay later plans have skyrocketed in popularity in recent years, adding yet another variable to consider when making spending decisions. Abigail Sussman, PhD, discusses the psychological biases that influence how we spend, budget and borrow, including why splitting paymen ... Show More
34m 14s
Apr 1
Why babies laugh, with Gina Mireault, PhD
Before babies have the words to tell us what they're thinking, they can laugh. Developmental psychologist Gina Mireault, PhD, explains how she sets up a “baby comedy club” in her lab; what babies find funny and why; when babies start trying to make other people laugh; and what st ... Show More
29m 21s
Jun 2022
How Political Language Is Engineered — with Drew Westen and Frank Luntz
Democracy depends on our ability to choose our political views. But the language we use to talk about political issues is deliberately designed to be divisive, and can produce up to a 15-point difference in what we think about those issues. As a result, are we choosing our views, ... Show More
36m 41s
Jul 2020
Brian F. Harrison, "A Change is Gonna Come: How to Have Effective Political Conversations in a Divided America" (Oxford UP, 2020)
The United States takes pride in its democratic model and the idea that citizens deliberate in a process to form political opinions. However, in recent years, division and partisanship have increased while deliberation and the actual discussion of competing ideas have decreased. ... Show More
54m 3s
Jul 2023
Tarek Younis, "The Muslim, State, and Mind: Psychology in Times of Islamophobia" (Sage, 2022)
Mental health is positioned as the cure-all for society’s discontents, from pandemics to terrorism. But psychology and psychiatry are not apolitical, and neither are Muslims. This book unpacks where the politics of the psy-disciplines and the politics of Muslims overlap, demonstr ... Show More
35m 49s