Psychology in Everyday Life: The Psych Files

This is part 2 of my interview with Michael Pipich, author of the book, Owning Bipolar. In this part of the interview Michael discusses his therapeutic approach to treating Bipolar Disorder. If you have been diagnosed with bipolar or know someone who has, this episode is for you. Michael Pipich brings his 30 years of experience together in his book, Owning Bipolar.

What do psychologists really think about your dreams – do they have meaning? In this episode I talk about what psychologists think today about dreams. You probably know that Freud thought that dreams had a manifest content (the people and things that happened in the dream that you remember) and a latent content (the unconscious meaning of the dream). Do we still think this? Also: can you look up in a book or online to find out what your dreams meant? If you dream about a cat for example – what does this mean? In this episode I explore these questions with author and psychoanalyst Kerry Malawista. She and her colleagues discuss this topic in their book, Wearing My Tutu To Analysis. I’ll talk to her and include my own thoughts about whether or not dreams have meaning and whether you should be taking the time to analyze them.

Bipolar (previously known as "manic depression") is often a difficult disorder to diagnose, much less to live with. If you have been diagnosed with bipolar or know someone who has, this episode is for you. Michael Pipich brings his 30 years of experience together in his new book, Owning Bipolar. In part 1 of my interview with him, we discuss what exactly is bipolar and why it is difficult to diagnose.

Alright, let’s all admit it – we talk to our pets in that funny pet voice. “Who’s a good dog?” Well, there’s been a lot of research on your use of this voice to talk to your dog as well how you talk to babies. What exactly are you doing with your voice? And most importantly, does your dog know what the heck you’re saying? Does it help to talk this way? Let’s find out.

If you’re suffering from the effects of a trauma in your life or know someone who is, then listen to Dr. Matt Jaremko talk about his new book with Beth Fehlbaum called Trauma Recovery: Sessions With Dr. Matt. Dr. Jaremko’s approach to therapy with trauma victims is straightforward and respectful. It’s about helping survivors get their confidence back and move forward. Individuals suffering from PTSD of many kinds will find this episode especially helpful. Students of psychology will also see how the ideas of Albert Bandura and Arnold Lazarus come together in a fascinating therapeutic technique.

Did you see the movie A Quiet Place? How about Mission Impossible? It’s always fun to analyze movies from a psychological perspective and that’s what I do in this episode. A Quiet Place has a lot of family dynamics issues going on but Mission Impossible? You’d be surprised. We’ll look at such things as family therapy, the identified patient, sexism and even correlational statistics. Let’s have some fun.

Hopefully you've watched the TV show Columbo. Curious about what this character has to do with psychology? You'd be surprised. In this episode I analyze Columbo in terms of the psychological technique called motivational interviewing. I also take a look at the criminal lineup scene in the Jennifer Garner movie, "Peppermint". I also explain why you remember how to ride a bike but can't remember where you put your cell phone. Along the way we learn about Semantic vs. Procedural memory.

Have you ever seen something so cute you just want to squeeze it - to death? Or a child so cute you want to pinch it's cheeks really hard? Why do we have these odd, powerful, opposite feelings? It's called "cute aggression" and we'll try to explain it in this episode. 

Do feel slightly uncomfortable in the bathroom? How does the presence of others in the bathroom affect you? What about places other than the bathroom? How close is too close? A psychological study was done in 1976 in which psychology researchers hid in men's bathrooms to observe...well, you'll find out. Learn more about personal space in this episode of The Psych Files.

Do you have your own little “tricks”? That is, ways of doing things that are faster than how you used to do them? Well, congratulations, you’re something of an efficiency expert. And if you can picture an assembly line of people putting products together, then you’ve seen one way of increasing productivity. But some of us are really, really obsessed with efficiency and often those people are computer programmers. Some of them, as you’ll hear from Clive Thompson (author of Coders: The Making of a New Tribe and the Remaking of the World) have even developed ways to make their love lives more efficient! Sounds impossible but I think you’ll enjoy hearing what some coders are up to. Why are they obsessed with efficiency? Do they score highly on Conscientiousness in the Big Five personality score? Would Frederick Taylor – founder of scientific management – feel a kindred spirit in them? Let’s find out.

Why do our digital assistants such as Alexa, Google Home, Siri and Cortana have “feminized” voices and what are the effects of this trend? That’s what I explore in this episode. Are there negative effects of using female voices in the devices we talk to and who talk to us? Are there alternatives? Turns out there is an alternative – a “genderless” voice. What does that sound like? Tune in to find out as we explore gender roles, expectations and equality.

Here’s my interview with Emil Rasmussen, who will give you the background behind the genderless voice called Q and his hopes for the future of Q.

How many times when a parent is arguing with a teen has the parent either said - or wish they could say - "Do it because I said so!". As a parent myself, I've had more than a few of those times. But it just doesn't work - especially with teenagers. In this episode I explore the classic three parenting styles first described by Diana Baumrind in 1971. Then I share my reasons why "Because I Said So" won't work especially in the teen years when teens typically have a low self esteem and a strong desire to believe they are right in the way they interpret the world.

Have you seen the musical The Fantasticks? Not only does it have wonderful music but it also has pearls of wisdom.  Oh yea, and gender issues. In this episode I talk about the psychology inside this wonderful musical

You probably know that sites like Facebook are using the information they have about you - like your age, gender and interests - to serve up ads that are most likely to appeal to you. That's a little bit harmless and perhaps even helpful. But how about the more subtle filtering that is going on that you may not be aware of? Search engines are using information they have about you to show you news that these search tools think will most likely appeal to you based on your previous search activities. The problem with that? You might find yourself living in a bubble - sheltered from ever hearing about things you might not agree with, but which might also open your mind a bit and make you what your parents always wanted for you - to be "well-rounded".