Speaking Of Psychology

Getting children to eat healthy meals is a challenge many parents face but what if virtual reality could help? Researchers at the National Institute of Health are using new technology to understand why parents feed their kids the foods they do and to help them make smarter food choices for the health of their children. Our guest for this episode is psychologist Susan Persky, PhD, head of the Immersive Virtual Environment Testing Unit where she applies virtual reality to biomedical research. Join us online August 6-8 for APA 2020 Virtual. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cameras are playing a greater and greater role in law enforcement, whether that means cameras placed on dashboards in police cruisers or cameras that officers wear as part of their uniforms. But how effective are cameras in police encounters? What do they tell us about police-citizen interactions and do cameras ever lie? Our guest for this episode is Nick Camp, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University. His primary research focus examines racial disparities in the everyday encounters between police officers and citizens. Join us online August 6-8 for APA 2020 Virtual.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The spaces we are in every day influence our mood and well-being whether we are aware of it or not. Creating spaces to make us feel our best is a hot topic – in community planning, in the office and on HGTV. Sally Augustin, PhD, an environmental psychologist who is a principal at Design with Science, a design consultation firm, discusses how to design spaces to optimize well-being. Join us online August 6-8 for APA 2020 Virtual. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have you ever wondered why drivers don't get carsick? If you've ever been seasick, are you curious to know what causes it and what, if anything, can be done to stave it off? Dr. Arnon Rolnick is a clinical and experimental psychologist from Israel where he directs Rolnick's Institute for Advanced Psychotherapy and studies psychophysiology and the integration of technology and psychology. Rolnick spent 20 years as a psychologist in the Israeli Navy developing various methods to improve sailors' performance and well-being under conditions intended to make them seasick. He is also working on a book exploring how virtual psychotherapy can open new ways to study the roles of the body and brain in therapy. Join us online August 6-8 for APA 2020 Virtual.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Russell Shilling, PhD, guest host for Speaking of Psychology and Chief Scientific Officer for the American Psychological Association, sits down at APA2019 to talk with Kaitlyn Roose and Shawn Doherty, PhD, to discuss the psychology of esports, the benefits of gaming on higher level cognition, and the culture of video games. Join us online August 6-8 for APA 2020 Virtual.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our memories may not be as reliable as we think. Once we experience an event, most of us likely assume that those memories stays intact forever. But there is the potential for memories to be altered or for completely false memories to be planted, according to Elizabeth Loftus, PhD. Loftus, a distinguished professor at the University of California, Irvine, is an expert on human memory and she discusses how our recollections of events and experiences may be subject to manipulation. Join us online August 6-8 for APA 2020 Virtual.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Human Trafficking occurs when individuals are economically exploited through force, fraud or coercion for labor or commercial sex. Worldwide, it is estimated that almost 25 million people are robbed of their freedom and human dignity through trafficking- trafficking is akin to slavery. It is difficult to determine how many people are trafficked in the US but it occurs here and includes both citizens and foreign nationals. Women, children, the economically vulnerable, persons with disabilities and runaway youth are disproportionately impacted. Understanding what trafficking is and how to respond is critical. Our guest for this episode is psychologist Kalyani Gopal, PhD, a clinical psychologist and Executive Director of SAFE (Sex Trafficking Awareness, Freedom and Empowerment). Join us online August 6-8 for APA 2020 Virtual. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From automation, to artificial intelligence to employee surveillance, technology is rapidly changing the way we work. It’s raising ethical questions, concerns about the future of the job market and blurring the lines between the personal and professional. Tara Behrend, PhD, associate professor of industrial-organizational psychology and director of the Workplaces and Virtual Environments lab at The George Washington University, explains what the future of work will look like. Join us online August 6-8 for APA 2020 Virtual. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Discipline in pre-K through 12 schools is not doled out equally, as black students, boys and students with disabilities are suspended and expelled at much higher rates than other students, according to a report released last year by the Government Accountability Office. These types of harsh discipline can have dire consequences on a child’s future, including putting him or her at a higher risk of falling into the school-to-prison pipeline. Guests Amanda Sullivan, PhD, associate professor of educational psychology at the University of Minnesota, and Ivory Toldson, PhD, professor of counseling psychology at Howard University, are experts on discipline disparities in pre-K to 12 schools. Join us online August 6-8 for APA 2020 Virtual. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

About 6% of U.S. women ages 15 to 44 experience infertility, with many of those reporting that infertility is the most upsetting experience of their lives. Dr. Angela Lawson helps us separate fact from fiction when it comes to infertility, a complicated and often uncomfortable topic that people don’t always talk about. Join us online August 6-8 for APA 2020 Virtual.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why do some people buy so much, while others shun that lifestyle for simplicity or to save? How do brands reach into our psyches to get us to pull out our wallets and credit cards? What are some of the motivations behind companies that try to appeal to our sense of social responsibility to get us to spend? Our guest is psychologist Kit Yarrow, PhD, an expert on consumer behavior and professor emerita at Golden Gate University in San Francisco. She studies why and how people shop and buy and how companies can best meet consumer needs. APA is currently seeking proposals for APA 2020 sessions, learn more at http://convention.apa.org/proposals Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fake news, 2017’s word of the year and recent edition to the Oxford English Dictionary, has become a widespread problem. This episode of Speaking of Psychology discusses how this phenomenon of intentionally spreading fabricated content and presenting it as factual is impacting our views of the world and why that matters. Recorded live at APA 2019 in Chicago with Vaile Wright, PhD, as guest host. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Some of us recall high school as being filled with fun parties, football games and flirting while others think back to that time with a shudder and are just glad it’s over. But is it really over? Does our social status as teens follow us for the rest of our lives? Can we raise today’s children and teens differently in our ever-status-obsessed culture? Our guest is Mitch Prinstein, PhD, distinguished professor of psychology and neuroscience and director of clinical psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who wrote "Popular: Finding Happiness and Success in a World That Cares Too Much About the Wrong Kinds of Relationships.” APA is currently seeking proposals for APA 2020 sessions, learn more at http://convention.apa.org/proposals Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why do some people scarf down anchovies by the pound while others recoil at the thought of a tuna fish sandwich? Why do the textures of certain foods, like mushrooms, turn people off? Not only is taste a biologically complex experience, it is quite psychological. Our guest is psychologist Linda Bartoshuk, PhD, an international leader in taste research, who is the Bushnell professor of food science and human nutrition at the University of Florida and director for psychophysical research at the university’s Center for Smell and Taste. APA is currently seeking proposals for APA 2020 sessions, learn more at http://convention.apa.org/proposals Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The crisis at the U.S. southern border shows no signs of stopping and the system designed to serve immigrants and refugees is overwhelmed and ill-prepared to handle the influx of people. Psychologists all around the country have been moved to help with the growing humanitarian crisis by providing mental health and advocacy services and forensic psychological evaluations to these vulnerable people. Our guest for this episode is psychologist Claudette Antuña, PsyD, a volunteer forensic psychological evaluator at the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project where she provides pro-bono evaluations that have helped hundreds of immigrants. Read the Monitor on Psychology article on this topic: http://www.apa.org/advocacy/immigration/tackling-immigration-crisis APA is currently seeking proposals for APA 2020 sessions, learn more at http://convention.apa.org/proposals Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Suicide rates in the U.S. climbed in all but one state from 1999 to 2016, according to a CDC report from June 2018. This alarming report and notable celebrity suicide deaths like Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade have pushed this topic further into the national spotlight. Psychologist Samuel Knapp, EdD, discusses the factors that cause people to die from suicide, the effects of past trauma on mental health and how psychologists can successfully treat suicidal patients. Suicide is the cover story for the July/August issue of the Monitor on Psychology, APA’s magazine for members. Read the story at apa.org/Monitor. APA is currently seeking proposals for APA 2020 sessions, learn more at http://convention.apa.org/proposals Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The clothes we put on everyday tell a story about who we are to the world and can have a major impact on our emotions and mood. Cognitive psychologist Carolyn Mair, PhD, who created the psychology of fashion department at the London College of Fashion at the University of the Arts London, explains the psychology behind our fashion choices and why psychologists are needed to help solve some of the biggest challenges facing the fashion industry now and in the future. APA is currently seeking proposals for APA 2020 sessions, learn more at http://convention.apa.org/proposals Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every day in America, 130 people die from overdosing on opioids and an estimated two million people around the country are grappling with opioid addiction and it is devastating families and communities. In the face of these grim statistics, APA CEO Arthur C. Evans Jr., PhD, explains how psychologists can offer new solutions to help end the opioid epidemic, including non-pharmaceutical treatment for pain and other interventions. APA is currently seeking proposals for APA 2020 sessions, learn more at http://convention.apa.org/proposals Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Americans spend nearly half of the day interacting with screens of all kinds -- smartphones, televisions and computers, according to a recent Nielsen report. While these technologies have made our lives better in many ways, it is easier than ever to become addicted to screens. Guest Adam Alter, PhD, author of "Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked" discusses the dark side of screen time and how our devices are affecting our well-being and happiness. APA is currently seeking proposals for APA 2020 sessions, learn more at http://convention.apa.org/proposals Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anxiety among teens and young adults is rising, and studies have shown that it has skyrocketed in girls. One study found that the number of girls who often felt nervous, worried or fearful jumped by 55 percent over a five-year period. What factors are behind rising stress and anxiety in girls and what can we do about it? Our guest is Dr. Lisa Damour, a clinical psychologist and executive director of Laurel School’s Center for Research on Girls. She has a new book out called "Under Pressure: Confronting the Epidemic of Stress and Anxiety in Girls." APA is currently seeking proposals for APA 2020 sessions, learn more at http://convention.apa.org/proposals Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices