Shows / Why We Do What We Do
Why We Do What We Do
We explain popular and weird, little-known ideas in psychology. Whether you are a little curious about psychology, or a student, or even a professional, we have something for everyone.
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Episodes
Why We Do What We Do150 | Montessori Schooling (Part 1)
This episode will walk you through the history and development of Maria Montessori’s method of education. Her pedagogy focuses on two fundamental approaches to…
Why We Do What We Do149 | Understanding Dyslexia
The rise in incidents of dyslexia is likely due to better awareness and diagnostic tools, as well as increased emphasis in schools on reading skills. Although…
Why We Do What We Do148 | False Memories: The Mandela Effect
Is it Jiff Peanut Butter or Jiffy Peanut Butter? Turns out, Vader never said, "Luke, I am your father." Retellings that become popular that incorrectly…
Why We Do What We Do147 | Criminal Profiling
Authority has long tried to narrow the pool of suspects in a crime. Eventually, police turned to psychologists to help understand the person so that they could…
Why We Do What We Do146 | Right and Left Brain Personality
Most people know that the right brain left brain personality attribution is a silly myth. But do you know where it comes from? Largely started out of research…
Why We Do What We Do145 | Imposter Syndrome
Why do some accomplished people feel insecure about themselves? Turns out the vast majority of people who have achieved fame, success, responsibility, or other…
Why We Do What We Do144 | Default Mode Network of the Brain
Popular neuropsychology has identified that there is increased activity in a particular network of the brain when we are "at rest." The question we ask is…
Why We Do What We Do143 | How to Tell if Someone is Flirting With You | Why We Do What We Do
Turns out we are absolutely abysmal at determining if someone is trying to flirt with us. To begin with, it is important to note that flirting is about the…
Why We Do What We Do142 | Altruism | Why We Do What We Do
Do intentions matter to determine if an action is altruistic? Depends on who you ask. Actually, historical writers on altruism are fraught with subjective…
Why We Do What We Do141 | Are Kids Losing Their Attention Span? | Why We Do What We Do
Yet another generation of fussy adults are concerned about how kids are so distracted these days that they have atomically-sized attention spans, rivaling that…
Why We Do What We Do140 | Sensory Integration Therapy | Why We Do What We Do
Likey to ruffle some feathers, this episode is a discussion about the science of the sensory integration therapy approach. This is NOT an indictment of…
Why We Do What We Do139 | Berserkers | Why We Do What We Do
Berserkers may or may not have been real people. There is evidence to suggest they did exist. But they were elite warriors who belonged to a tribal lifestyle…
Why We Do What We Do138 | Why People Do Stupid Things (Part 2) | Why We Do What We Do
This continues and concludes our discussion on why people do the "stupid" things that they do. Again, mostly they don't. This was particularly challenging…
Why We Do What We Do137 | Why People Do Stupid Things (Part 1) | Why We Do What We Do
Happy New Year! To keep this a fun and easy episode, we simply enumerated some things that people do that appear to be "stupid." In an exercise in…
Why We Do What We Do136 | Psychedelics in Therapy With Stu Law (Part 3) | Why We Do What We Do
Happy Holidays! We didn't mention the holidays when we recorded because I wasn't sure what the publishing schedule was going to be at the time that we recorded…
Why We Do What We Do135 | Psychedelics in Therapy With Stu Law (Part 2) | Why We Do What We Do
We follow our conversation from the previous episode with a discussion more about how psychedelics work on our psychology through our language. This is where…
Why We Do What We Do134 | Psychedelics in Therapy With Stu Law (Part 1) | Why We Do What We Do
Psychedelics have an interesting history in medicinal uses. They have been used for good and for ill. This discussion is both optimistic and cautionary. If we…
Why We Do What We Do133 | Prion Diseases | Why We Do What We Do
Prions are misfolded proteins that mostly occur in the brain. Prions can cause other proteins to misfold, which rots the brain away and results in death…
Why We Do What We Do132 | The Ghosts of Limbs Past: Phantom Limb Pain | Why We Do What We Do
When a limb is lost or removed, most people report feeling a sensation of pain in the area where that body part used to be... even though it's gone! Long…
Why We Do What We Do131 | Lead Poisoning Our Brains | Why We Do What We Do
Lead has been used as cosmetics, sweetener, a contraceptive, and a host of other things. We even discovered it was detrimental to our health, but ramped up…
Why We Do What We Do130 | The Psychology of Humor (Our Funniest Episode Ever!) | Why We Do What We Do
Special guest, Stu Law, has studied humor and comedy as a hobby and somewhat more directly in his career. He has evaluated what makes us laugh and come to the…
Why We Do What We Do129 | Tapping Meridian Points | Why We Do What We Do
Serious psychologists have recommended using tapping meridian points as legitimate psychological therapy. So we decided to explore the history and science of…
Why We Do What We Do128 | Zombie Bugs | Why We Do What We Do
Our final Halloween themed episode dives into real-life zombies. Besides being horrifyingly disturbing, these brainless parasites pose an interesting conundrum…
Why We Do What We Do127 | Sleep Paralysis: Demons and Ghosts in the Night | Why We Do What We Do
The penultimate installment of our creepy psychology themed month of October is a breakdown of sleep paralysis. The experience we have when we begin to drift…
Why We Do What We Do126 | Where Our Superstitions Come From | Why We Do What We Do
Our third installment of our creepy psychology themed month of October discusses what superstitions are and where they come from. Furthermore, even people who…
Why We Do What We Do125 | Why People Like Horror Movies | Why We Do What We Do
People watch scary movies around Halloween and other times of the year. Many horror films are produced every year. What is this strange fascination that people…
Why We Do What We Do124 | Crying Wolf: Clinical Lycanthropy | Why We Do What We Do
Clinical Lycanthropy is the mental health condition in which people believe that they turn into an animal of some kind, commonly werewolves. The evidence and…
Why We Do What We Do123 | Seizure Disorders | Why We Do What We Do
Our brains are a complex network of neurons that connect all of the parts of our body together. So if the electrochemical signals fire sporadically then there…
Why We Do What We Do122 | Brain Food | Why We Do What We Do
Many people make exaggerated claims about the neurological benefits of specific foods and then charge you for their consultation expertise, their dietary…
Why We Do What We Do121 | A Brief Introduction to Punishment | Why We Do What We Do
Punishment is neither good nor bad, but it can be positive or negative. Puzzle that one out! There is a technical use o of the term and concept of punishment…
Why We Do What We Do120 | Sign Language With Primates | Why We Do What We Do
Many point to the uniqueness of humans in their language. Others suggest that we just haven't found a way to teach language to other species. This all changed…
Why We Do What We Do119 | Twin Studies | Why We Do What We Do
Twin studies have been a staple in psychological research for over a century. But many people don't know about the critical assumptions implicit in conducting…
Why We Do What We Do118 | Positive and Negative Reinforcement in Schools | Why We Do What We Do
Students experience positive and negative reinforcement throughout their school day. Some of this reinforcement is specifically delivered by teachers, and some…
Why We Do What We Do117 | Who Still Uses Behavior Modification? | Why We Do What We Do
Recent pundits have voiced their alarm and concern over the use of behavior modification strategies to create "addictive" patterns of behavior. Who are the…
Why We Do What We Do116 | Why Are Some People Picky Eaters? | Why We Do What We Do
Why are some people picky eaters, while others are adventurous? Is it evolution? Parenting? Some combination of the two? This isn't a discussion on…
Why We Do What We Do115 | Leaning Over the Edge: The Call of the Void | Why We Do What We Do
Many of us have had the experience of looking over the edge and wondering what it would be like to jump or fall. We don't actually want to, but we are curious…
Why We Do What We Do114 | A Little Bit Country, A Little Bit Rock 'N Roll: The Psychology of Music Preference | Why We Do What We Do
People often have seemingly inexplicable taste in music. What is it that that drives us toward our music preferences? Have you ever felt persecuted for your…
Why We Do What We Do113 | You Know Less Than You Think: The Dunning-Kruger Effect | Why We Do What We Do
A common cognitive bias we have is that we tend to think that we are better informed and experienced in things that we really are. The examples are practically…
Why We Do What We Do112 | Expelled: Racial Inequality in School Discipline | Why We Do What We Do
Schools might be as segregated today as they have ever been. Learn more with Dr. Kent McIntosh as he lends his expertise on racial inequality…
Why We Do What We Do111 | Too Many Choices! Option Paralysis | Why We Do What We Do
Sometimes we find ourselves faced with so many options that we choose to do nothing at all. What is with going on with that? Shane and Abraham discuss the…
Why We Do What We Do110 | Diagnosing Mental Health Disorders | Why We Do What We Do
One of the most controversial and interesting topics in psychology is understanding how we diagnose mental health disorders. Shane and Abraham explain the…
Why We Do What We Do109 | The Downfall of Mental Hospitals | Why We Do What We Do
The setting: terrible hospital conditions and a poor understanding of mental health disorders. The solution: move patients out of the hospitals and into the…
Why We Do What We Do108 | How to Study | Why We Do What We Do
Cramming for a test? Find yourself struggling to remember things that you just ready when studying for class? Just interested in getting better at a particular…
Why We Do What We Do107 | Child Development Part 2: Birth Through the First Two Years | Why We Do What We Do
Returning for a second discussion of the initial stages of human development, RyanO and Abraham discuss the various birthing processes. In addition, we talk…
Why We Do What We Do106 | Child Development Part 1: Pregnancy | Why We Do What We Do
Abraham and RyanO discuss some remarkable facts about pregnancy and how learning begins while in the womb. There are basic facts and conceptual issues…
Why We Do What We Do105 | What's Going On With Weighted Vests? | Why We Do What We Do
Some people use clothing with weights added on children to “help” them manage their challenging behaviors. This is commonly used with children with an autism…
Why We Do What We Do104 | Why We Do What We Do Turns 2! | Why We Do What We Do
Bullying is an interesting problem in schools. What is it? Is it over-recognized or under-recognized? What works in reducing bullying? This week we are joined…
Why We Do What We Do103 | Bullying in Schools with Dr. Scott Ross and Brooke Wagner | Why We Do What We Do
Bullying is an interesting problem in schools. What is it? Is it over-recognized or under-recognized? What works in reducing bullying? This week we are joined…
Why We Do What We Do102 | Did Behaviorism Kill Research on Emotions? | Why We Do What We Do
Author Frans De Waal claimed on national radio that behaviorism killed research on emotions for most of the 20th century. What a remarkable achievement!…
Why We Do What We Do101 | Multi-Tasking is Hard | Why We Do What We Do
How well can humans multi-task? A lot less than we'd like to believe. Shane and Abraham describe what is really going on when we try and multi-task, why we are…
Why We Do What We Do100 | Fad Treatments for Autism | Why We Do What We Do
This week Shane, RyanO and Abraham welcome on the ABA Inside Track crew for our 100th episode covering some of the weirdest, ineffective, and potentially…
Why We Do What We Do099 | How We Know What We Know | Why We Do What We Do
This week Shane, RyanO and Abraham tackle Epistemology - or the study of how we know what we know! Remember that you can reach us directly at 775.525.0908, at…
Why We Do What We Do098 | Homeopathy Treatment for Mental Health | Why We Do What We Do
Remember that you can reach us directly at 775.525.0908, at info@wwdwwdpodcast.com, through the comments below OR on social via @wwdwwdpodcast or…
Why We Do What We Do097 | I'm So Sorry! Why We Apologize | Why We Do What We Do
Apologizing is an interesting thing that we do. What do we get out of apologizing? What do we get out receiving them? Abraham and Shane discuss how and why we…
Why We Do What We Do096 | The Mozart Effect | Why We Do What We Do
This week Abraham and RyanO talk about the Mozart effect, which suggests that "listening to Mozart (and some other iterations!) makes you smarter." Listen and…
Why We Do What We Do095 | How Alcohol Makes Us Feel Drunk | Why We Do What We Do
Every wonder why and how alcohol makes us feel drunk? Ryan and Abraham explain what is in alcohol and how it interacts with our brain to cause us to feel…
Why We Do What We Do094 | False Confessions | Why We Do What We Do
Shane and Abraham tackle the how and why of false confessions. Why do people "confess" to crimes they didn't commit? To what extent do law enforcement officers…
Why We Do What We Do093 | Animal Aggression Part 2 With Hannah Branigan & Ryan Cartlidge | Why We Do What We Do
This episode we continue our fascinating discussion with Hannah Branigan of the "Drinking from the Toilet" podcast, and Ryan Cartlidge of the "Animal Training…
Why We Do What We DoBONUS | Join the Team! | Why We Do What We Do
We’re looking for some assistance on the podcast. If you think you fit what we’re looking for, then send us an email! Listen in, and remember that you can…
Why We Do What We Do092 | Animal Aggression Part 1 With Hannah Branigan & Ryan Cartlidge | Why We Do What We Do
This week we welcome on Hannah Branigan and Ryan Cartlidge to talk about animal aggression. Make sure to check out their podcasts…