Season 2, Episode 6 Who says humor doesn’t belong in the classroom? Not Professor Benjamin White, whose comic chops turn ordinary Psychology lessons into a study of the human wit. While White emphasizes he doesn’t moonlight as a comedian, he actively plays for laughs throughout his courses and says it benefits his students. Join White as he discusses the psychology and neuroscience of humor—a talk so engaging, you won’t be heckling!    Guest Biography Benjamin White is a Professor of...

Season 2, Episode 5 Who says humor doesn’t belong in the classroom? Not Professor Benjamin White, whose comic chops turn ordinary Psychology lessons into a study of the human wit. While White emphasizes he doesn’t moonlight as a comedian, he actively plays for laughs throughout his courses and says it benefits his students. Join White as he discusses the psychology and neuroscience of humor—a talk so engaging, you won’t be heckling!    Guest Biography Benjamin White is a Professor of...

Season 2 Episode 3 Our obsession with crime shows reveals a strong public interest in disturbing murderous acts. Professor of Forensic Psychology Dr. Katherine Ramsland doesn’t just watch these shows, she lives them. In fact, she has someone she’d like to introduce you to—and 10 people she can’t. Listen to Dr. Ramsland’s harrowing account of her face-to-face interviews with convicted serial killer Dennis Rader as she dissects the mindset and motives that led to 10 innocent lives gruesomely...

Season 2, Episode 4 You know those moments: when you spark up a new idea, and you can just imagine the cartoon lightbulb flashing above your head. Well, according to brain research by Dr. Katherine Ramsland, an actual spark occurs in the right temporal lobe when you’re feeling rather brilliant. More than a matter of shifting your thoughts, these “snaps” have a three-step process—and Dr. Ramsland wants you to take control of them. Here, Professor Jeffrey Armstrong returns for part two of his...

Season 2 Episode 2 Whether we are eating at noisy, crowded restaurants or going to eardrum-damaging concerts, there's a psychological explanation for our odd preferences: habituation and sensitization. In this podcast, we’ll discuss the universal principle of habituation, and how high intensity stimulation provides recovery from it—in other words, sensitization. Tune in—without damaging your eardrums—to hear more on Season 2, Episode 2 of The Neuro Transmission!    Guest...

Season 2 Episode 1 Those 3rd, 4th and 5th slices of pizza just aren’t as glorious as the very first bite. Why? Because there's a psychological explanation for our odd preferences: habituation. In this podcast episode, we’ll discuss the universal principle of habituation. “It’s a force of habit” will take on a whole new meaning, and you’ll want to get in the habit of tuning into The Neuro Transmission!   Guest Biography: Professor of Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, has...

Episode 5, Part 2 Why should we teach Epigenetics in Intro Psych? Many Intro Psych faculty feel like teaching epigenetics takes them outside of their comfort zone, but this podcast not only makes a case for why we need to teach it but also how someone unfamiliar with genetics can come up to speed quickly. Epigenetics helps us explain why psychologists no longer say nature VERSUS nurture, but rather talk about nature and nurture as constantly interacting. Engaging examples of epigenetics,...

Episode 5, Part 1 What is love? This question is usually asked by poets, playwrights, and other artists, but today’s neuroscientists have a lot to say about the matter, too. This podcast looks at how the brain distinguishes between liking, love, and sexual desire, and why we are attracted to “that special someone” out of the billions of people on the planet. Once a relationship happens, though, it’s just as important to see what psychological sciences says about what makes it keep going....

Episode 4, Part 2 Do you want to be happy? Of course you do. But what makes people happy? Is it wealth?   Health? Marriage? Purpose in life? All of the above? Psychology was slow to the party when it came to studying what makes people happy. It wasn’t until the 1990s with the emergence of a new movement in psychology, called positive psychology, that serious research attention was focused on understanding the factors contributing to human happiness and well-being. Positive psychology was a...

Episode 4, Part 1 Students often say that they spend many hours reading their textbooks and attending classes, but their grades don’t reflect the work that they do. Success is not simply a function of the time you put into your courses, but how well you use that time. Developing more effective study skills can help you become a more effective learner and get the most from your courses. In this podcast, psychologist Jeff Nevid shows how effective learning is a skill you can acquire that will...

Episode 3, Part 2 E-portfolios have become popular in recent years. Tune in to learn about e-portfolio assignments and their benefits and challenges for both professors and students. Guest Biography: Tanya Martini obtained her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of Toronto and is a Professor ----more----of Psychology at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario. In addition to introductory psychology, she also teaches research methods and a capstone course designed to...

Episode 3, Part 1 Skills-based learning is an important part of what is being fostered during your Psychology degree, but for many undergraduates it is not "front and center." Instead, students tend to focus their attention on the subject matter when they take courses; that is, they're much more concerned with course content (what's written in the textbook, or presented in lecture) than they are with transferable job-related skills. Tune in to find out how your skills in Psychology translate...

Episode 2, Part 2 Psychology is the most popular major in the country, but what can I do with my major if I do not go to grad school? How can I find my career path and maximize the skills I developed through out my time studying Psychology? Tune in to find out more! Guest Biography: Ellen E. Pastorino (Ph.D. in School Psychology, Florida State University) is a developmental psychologist who----more---- teaches psychology classes at Valencia Community College in Orlando, Florida. Dr. Pastorino...

Episode 2, Part 1 Psychology is the most popular major in the country, but what should you do when you finish your undergrad? What are some of the facts around majoring in Psychology? What are the myths? Tune in and learn what you can do with a Psychology degree after you graduate. In this podcast we will cover what skills matter and how you can achieve your goals. Tune in to find out more! Guest Biography: Ellen E. Pastorino (Ph.D. in School Psychology, Florida State University) is a...

Episode 1, Part 2 Sexual activity is often regarded as among the most private of activities, negotiated by two individuals on the basis of their own individual desires and values. Idealistic treatments describe the two individuals as potentially equal and interchangeable. In this podcast, we discuss sexual negotiations in the context of a cultural system in which men and women play different roles resembling buyer and seller—in a marketplace that is ineluctably affected! Tune in to hear more...

Episode 1, Part 1 In part one of this episode of The Neuro Transmission, we explore surprising experimental effects relating to the power of the human need to belong. Guest Biography: Roy F. Baumeister is currently the Eppes Eminent Scholar and Professor of Psychology at Florida State University. ----more----He received his Ph.D. in social psychology from Princeton in 1978 and did a postdoctoral fellowship in sociology at the University of California at Berkeley. He spent over two decades at...