Reimagining Psychology

Dec 20 2024 27 ep. 33 mins

Reimagining Psychology Podcast artwork

Psychology's an important science, one that can really help us live better lives day-to-day. In this podcast we look at what parts of this science work well, and what parts don't. If we dare to look closely, we can find ways to improve it. Join us in a mind-blowing journey to a behavioral science for the 21st century.

Science Society & Culture

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Why Did the Chicken?

Dec 20 2024 17 mins

One of the confusing things about addiction is that the addict seems to be voluntarily choosing things that are really hurtful - not just for the addict, but for the people they care most about. The same confusion comes up when we see the executives of addiction-based companies voluntarily making choices that harm their customers. Why? We ask ourselves. How could they act that way?

Habits and the Environment

Nov 25 2024 13 mins

The behaviorist movement in psychology in the early 1900s provided a number of benefits. The behaviorists’ precise measurement of stimulus and response lent psychology a scientific cachet. And precise measurement led to the development of the technology of behavior control that has been quite valuable in a practical sense. At the same time, the decision to ignore the subjective e

The Behaviorist Hangover

Nov 18 2024 12 mins

The word “psychology” literally means the scientific study of the mind, or psyche. A little over a century ago, psychologists were in fact avidly studying the mind, mental life, and the subjective experience of self. The most brilliant psychologists of the era – most prominently William James and Robert Woodworth – were assembling knowledge of a broad range of phenomena, pu

Awareness of Child Sexual Abuse

Nov 17 2024 11 mins

Freud's Electra theory and the later False Memory Syndrome (FMS) idea both served to discredit women’s memories of having been sexually abused as children. Freud’s theory held that women who remembered abuse were actually reporting their own childhood fantasies of sexual interaction with their fathers. Many decades later, as Freud's theory was losing its popularity, the FMS ide

When Habits Turn Screechy

Nov 14 2024 12 mins

Parasitic patterns in behavior are self-reproducing and detrimental to both individuals and society. We can think of these rogue patterns as "behavioral screeches" They're like the feedback loop of a microphone and loudspeaker, where control is lost, and the screech becomes self-sustaining. These screechy habits are not just theoretical but are observable in animals placed in restr

The Craziness of Social Media Bubbles

Nov 14 2024 20 mins

To spend time on social media is to be bombarded with craziness. The informational silos of social media seem to amp up weirdness, bad logic, conspiracy theories, crackpot ideas, extremism and hatred. But why? The information age was supposed to bring enlightenment, not psychosis. What happened? What happened is a business model. The craziness within informational silos generates h

Comparing Addictions to Cancer

Nov 12 2024 17 mins

Addicted individuals – alcoholics, for example – behave in ways that are counterproductive both for themselves and those they care most about. Trying to explain these rogue habits in terms of their benefit doesn’t seem to work. We need a new insight. Oddly, comparing rogue habits to cancer may help. The way self-destructive patterns pop up in our behavior is reminiscent of th

The True Roots of Addiction

Nov 07 2024 20 mins

Conventional wisdom tells us that exposure to chemical substances causes addictions. With repeated use of substances, we develop a dependence that becomes difficult to manage. But there are problems with this simple explanation. There are far more addictions that involve no substances – so-called “process addictions” – than those that are substance related. And the process

Alcoholism: A Parasitic Habit?

Nov 06 2024 15 mins

Most of us have fallen into problematic habits. They seem benign at first, but soon begin to wiggle out of our control, taking on a life of their own. They turn into parasites, sucking the life out of us, twisting our lives out of shape. Alcoholism is the poster child of this kind of wayward habit. As the old Japanese saying goes, “First the man takes a drink; then the drink take

Bringing Immunity to AI, Part Three

Apr 28 2024 30 mins

Do Chatbots Need Love? Is there anything in the architecture of AI systems that would justify and support the development of loving relationships with humans? “Bringing Immunity to Artificial Intelligence,” Part Three is the conclusion of a series about ducking a strange form of illness that affects not only humans, but potentially AI entities as well. I'm Tom Whitehead, A prac