Psychology in Everyday Life: The Psych Files
Learn how theories in psychology affect you in everyday life. Upbeat and interesting podcasts from experienced psychology teacher Michael Britt give you a bit more insight into you and your life.
- Update frequency
- every 8 days
- Average duration
- 25 minutes
- Episodes
- 321
- Years Active
- 2007 - 2025
Why Are We So Polite to AI?
When we say "please" or "thank you" to ChatGPT, we're witnessing the remarkable power of human social psychology in action. Our brains have developed such deeply ingrained social scripts over million…
The Song "Yesterday," Manhood, and the Fear of Vulnerability
In this episode of The Psych Files, I explore the fascinating intersection between music, psychology, and gender roles through subtle lyric changes in Paul McCartney’s timeless song, “Yesterday.” I f…
Lost in the Click: Exploring the Browser Doorway Effect
Have you ever switched to a new browser tab, only to find yourself staring at a blank page and wondering why you opened it in the first place? This c…
Beck's Cognitive Distortions: An AI-Powered Learning Activity
In my recent exploration of artificial intelligence, I stumbled upon a fascinating article entitled, “Instructors as Innovators: a Future-focused Approach to New AI Learning Opportunities, With Prom…
Paralyzed by Fear: Exploring Tonic Immobility in Sexual Assault
Cloning Voices: Scary Maybe, But Also Therapeutic?
I'm about as worried as anyone else about how the new tools for cloning voices could be used by "bad actors" to clone the voices of politicians to make them say things they never said and possibly fu…
The Psychology of Music: The Role of Expectations and Minor Chords
How does music affect us emotionally? Why do minor chords sound so sad? In this episode of The Psych Files I explore ideas from Daniel Leviton's fascinating book, Your Brain on Music, especially thos…
My 3 Favorite Psych Articles This Week - March 8, 2024
In this episode of The Psych Files, host Michael Britt explores three fascinating new psychology studies. First, research found that making hospital alarms more musical could help prevent dangerous m…
From Insane Asylum to Psychiatric Center: A Brief History
When we look back at the history of psychiatric care, it’s evident that practices and treatments have evolved tremendously over the years. Dr. Roger Christenfeld, the Research Director of the Hudson …
Episode 104: Can Positive Affirmations Improve Your Self Esteem?
Can positive affirmations help raise your self esteem? People use daily affirmations and money affirmations to help them feel more confident, build their self esteem and bring positive events into th…
Episode 64: Self Help Book - How To Tell if It's Any Good
Self Help books: why are there so many out there? How do you choose? Can they cure depression? Help you lose weight? Stop smoking? Can they replace psychotherapy? Find out how to weed out the best se…
How to Remember Names
It's hard to remember names - here's how to do it. You'll use your imagination and some weird imagery - but this works.
Here's another great use of mnemonics. I'll give you a bunch of people's names…
Part 2: How Do Actors Memorize All Those Lines?
Here is part 2 of my interview with author and actor Jared Kelner. In this episode he tells how he uses the DSM (Diagnotic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) in his work as an actor. We also…
How Do Actors Memorize Lines? Interview With Jared Kelner
You have no doubt asked yourself this question after watching a play: "How did those actors memorize all those lines?". In previous episodes of The Psych Files I have discussed a few of the technique…
Do Brain Training Games Work?
You've probably heard about these Brain Training games. Do they really help you keep your mind sharp? Will they prevent cognitive decline as you get older or will they slow the effects of Alzheimer's…
How Actors Use the "Number-Shape" Mnemonic Technique
Another of my episodes on mnemonic techniques you can use for just about any purpose. I recently discovered a pegword system in a great book called, "Line?". It's a book for actors that was written b…
Questionable Research - With A Famous Psychologist Involved
Might you be able to rid yourself of an illness by "turning back the clock"? That is, by immersing yourself in a time in your life when you were not ill? We know that thinking about things in a posit…
Human Emotions: The Two Factor Theory
Where do our emotions come from? From our thoughts? Or do they begin somewhere else – like in our bodies? This week we look at the work of James-Lange, Cannon-Bard, and Schachter and Singer. Also, I …
Games and Videos as Therapeutic Tools: Dr. Anna Vagin (part 2)
In part 2 of my interview with Dr. Anna Vagin, she talks about some of the videos she uses to help kids and teens better understand the emotions and challenges of characters in the videos and how tho…
Using TableTop Games and Videos in Therapy: Interview with Anna Vagin
In part 1 of my interview with Anna Vagin, Ph.D. we talk about how she uses games and videos as part of her work with children and adolescents. I think you’ll be surprised how Dr. Vagin uses short vi…