Psychology Takeaway Podcast

 

Episode 49 Special Podcast on the Corona virus.

Jim and Ralph talk about the negative consequences of panic, stress and anxiety with personal reactions to COVID 19. Catastrophizing behavior has influences on the immune system which may make an individual more likely to contract the disease.

 

Here is a link to the book Ralph recommended, Rumor, Fear and the Madness of Crowds: https://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=as_li_qf_sp_sr_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=tedtalkpsycho-20&keywords=Rumor Fear and the Madness of Crowds&index=aps&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=xm2&linkId=e994126347b538d0ab3cdc7f5ae3c7a2. It costs $9.95.

For the latest active map of the spread of COVID 19 go to John’s Hopkins. https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=center+for+systems+science+and+engineering+johns+hopkins

Here is a link to the Bill Gates Ted Talk that we mentioned: https://www.ted.com/talks/bill_gates_the_next_outbreak_we_re_not_ready?language=en

In 2014, the world avoided a global outbreak of Ebola, thanks to thousands of selfless health workers -- plus, frankly, some very good luck. In hindsight, we know what we should have done better. So, now's the time, Bill Gates suggests, to put all our good ideas into practice, from scenario planning to vaccine research to health worker training. As he says, "There's no need to panic ... but we need to get going."

 

 

Motivation Part Two: Goals and Barriers to Goals

Today, Jim and Ralph talk about goals, barriers to achievement and reaction to frustrations. They discuss why some individuals withdraw, some act out and others flourish in similar environments.

LEARN MORE

What does make us change our actions? Tali Sharot reveals three ingredients to doing what's good for yourself. Dr. Tali Sharot is a neuroscientist at University College London and the director of the Affective Brain Lab. She is a faculty member of the department of Experimental Psychology, and a Visiting Professor at Harvard Medical School. Her research focuses on how emotion, motivation, and social factors influence our expectations, decisions, and memories.

https://youtu.be/xp0O2vi8DX4

 

Career analyst Dan Pink examines the puzzle of motivation, starting with a fact that social scientists know but most managers don't: Traditional rewards aren't always as effective as we think. Listen for illuminating stories -- and maybe, a way forward.

https://youtu.be/rrkrvAUbU9Y

 

Podcast Series on Motivation

Why do we do what we do? Jim and Ralph begin discussing motivation by establishing some basic definitions. They talk about motivation in terms of internal (pull motivation) and external (push motivation). They talk about how motivation affects your behavior in ways you may not have ever considered.

Episode 47 Motivation Part One: Push Me, Pull You.

Ralph and Jim are joined by neuropsychologist Dr. Reid Skeels as they search for the physical location of the elusive memory engram.

Learn More: Here is a link to a Ted Ed lesson on H.M. – the men without a memory: https://youtu.be/KkaXNvzE4pk

Memory Part Four - Jim and Ralph present three different schemas, or ways of thinking about memory formation. They go on to discuss and provide examples of seven areas where memory fails *"The Seven Sins of Memory"

Episode 44 Memory Part 3 Jim and Ralph discuss whether memory lapses as people age are a sign of Alzheimer's or other medical pathology. We go on to present seventeen ways that you can improve your memory.

Learn more.

Here are some practical suggestions to improve memory: https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=improving+your+memory+psychology

The Psychology of Forgetting: https://www.verywellmind.com/forgetting-about-psychology-2795034

Enhance Your Memory: https://www.apa.org/topics/learning/enhance-memory

Memory and aging: https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/do-memory-problems-always-mean-alzheimers-disease

Signs of Alzheimer’s Disease: https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/what-are-signs-alzheimers-disease

 

 

 

Jim and Ralph focus on forgetting.

Learn more - How to improve your memory: https://www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-living/how-to-improve-your-memory.htm

 

The Puzzle of Memory.

Memory is the most widely studied area in psychology, but we still don’t understand memory perfectly. Why, for example could the Bards of old hold in their minds thousands of lines? Today most children have difficulty recalling a 20 line poem!  However, they can repeat dialog from Frozen or Star Wars verbatim.

In this series Jim and Ralph will discuss what we do know and give suggestions as to how you might use this knowledge to improve your own memory.

 

Learn more

Psychologist Elizabeth Loftus studies memories. More precisely, she studies false memories, when people either remember things that didn't happen or remember them differently from the way they really were. It's more common than you might think, and Loftus shares some startling stories and statistics, and raises some important ethical questions we should all remember to consider.

: Here is a Ted Talk by memory expert Elizabeth Loftus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB2OegI6wvI

Here is a book you may be interested in Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything ; it is available from amazon at: https://amzn.to/2PZWh6I, and cost around $11.00. If you purchase I through our Amazon link t we get a few pennies to help keep these Podcasts coming to you free of charge.

Stress Part Four. Ralph and Jim present some concrete suggestions for dealing with stress.

 

Send Jim an e-mail requesting your free copy of Protecting Your Family's Health - his e-mail address is or contact Ralph at

Episode 40 - Stress Part Three. Jim and Ralph discuss the Industrial Psychologist's Job Characteristic Model and find that jobs in teaching, nursing and policing are way over the top when it comes to being stressful!

We present the General Adaptation Syndrome and show that persistent chronic stress is more harmful that acute stress. We leave our listeners with two factors to help them cope. More on coping with stress in our next Podcast.