Tag: Psychology

The Takeaway

Sex ed goes mobile and melodramatic

Friday, February 13, 2009

Sex education has gone mobile. Anywhere that you can get a phone signal, you will be able to watch safe-sex soap operas on your cell phone. We’ve been seeing safe-sex campaigns for years, but now that they are smaller and harder to see, will the direct-to-cell phone message finally reach young women of the dangers of HIV / AIDS, STDs and pregnancy? Fred Mogul, reporter for WNYC, joins us this morning to explain.

For more information, head to the website.

India has gotten in on the safe sex campaigns, too, and in typical Bollywood style it is a very long ad.

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The Takeaway

Neuroeconomics: This is your financial system on drugs

Friday, February 06, 2009

Neuroscientist Dr. Gregory Berns has likened America’s financial system to a drug addict. If the drug is money, and if the financial sector is in withdrawal, what would the stimulus package mean for Wall Street? We turn to Dr. Berns for his prognosis. Dr. Berns is the Director of the Center for Neuropolicy at Emory University and the author of Iconoclast: A Neuroscientist Reveals How to Think Differently.

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The Takeaway

Ten years after the death of Amadou Diallo, questions still persist

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

Ten years ago today, four New York City police officers shot at Amadou Diallo 41 times, hitting him with 19 bullets. Diallo, a 22-year old immigrant from West Africa was unarmed. The officers, all charged with second-degree murder, were eventually acquitted. One of the many unanswered questions surrounding the Diallo shooting is: If Amadou Diallo were an unarmed white man would he have been shot at? That’s a question that Joshua Correll has been trying to answer since 2002. Correll is an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Chicago. His primary line of research uses videogame simulation of police encounters to examine racial bias in shoot/don't-shoot decisions. He joins us to discuss his results.

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The Takeaway

Returning vets and violent crimes

Friday, January 02, 2009

The extended wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are creating a large class of soldiers returning with emotional trauma. This trauma is leading to an increasing number of servicemen implicated in violent crimes. This trend is starting to raise alarms. Today, the New York Times reports that the secretary of the Army is considering a review of all of its soldiers involved in violent crimes since returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Dan Frosch co-authored the story and joins The Takeaway from Denver where Fort Carson is a small slice of a big story

For more about this troubling situation, read Dan Frosch and Lizette Alvarez's article in today's New York Times.

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The Takeaway

A snowball's chance in this economy: How one bad economic decision can lead to others

Friday, January 02, 2009

These days it seems that economists are the go-to people to explain many of the world’s ills, from sub-prime lending to credit default swaps to Ponzi schemes to the bad, emotionally charged decisions that we make with our own money. Dan Ariely, a behavioral economist, has some first-hand insight into how one self-destructive financial decision can thrust us into a downward spiral of many bad decisions. Dan Ariely is the James B. Duke Professor of Behavioral Economics at Duke University and author of Predictably Irrational.

What bad economic decisions have you made? Tell us!

"Whenever you think of a situation where your emotion can get the best out of you, it's good to get a person between you and that decision."
— Professor Dan Ariely on how to make better financial decisions

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The Takeaway

It's not you, it's your choice in film

Monday, December 22, 2008

It's what women of the world have always suspected and what men of the world have always known. Watching romantic comedies may lead to unrealistic expectations in relationships. Now, psychologist Bjarne Holmes joins us in a discussion about the media, archetypes, and if soul-mates really do exist.
"Just because fairy tales have told that over generations doesn't mean it's right."
— Bjarne Holmes on relationships

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The Takeaway

Remembering a man who couldn't

Friday, December 05, 2008

A man known only as H.M. is the reason we know as much as we do about the brain.

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The Takeaway

Reaping the health benefits of gratitude with the science of thankfulness

Thursday, November 27, 2008

There may be measurable, scientific benefits to the American tradition of giving thanks. Jeffrey Froh, Assistant Psychology Professor at Hofstra University, talks with us about the measurable physical benefits of being grateful.
"Students who counted blessings were less likely to report headaches, stomach aches, pains in the body."
—Jeffrey Froh, on the positive effects of counting your blessings

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The Takeaway

For veterans, virtual reality treatment addresses very real trauma

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

There are now over 800,000 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. Of those, roughly 300,000 have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, but only half of these veterans have been professionally treated for their trauma. Traditional "exposure therapy" treatments help veterans get a handle on their experiences by having them relive them, using methods like talk therapy, guided visualizations, and others. Modern technology has recently begun making strides as effective treatment for 21st century combat. Software known as "Virtual Iraq" allows soldiers, through simulation, to become desensitized to deep-rooted traumatic experiences.
"It's a very challenging treatment. It's designed to raise stress levels. It's designed to do it in a controlled, therapeutic way, so that the trauma survivor can feel that they can manage the strong emotions that come with the memory."
—Dr. Michael Kramer on using virtual reality to treat PTSD

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The Takeaway

"Cyberchondria," or when a little medical knowledge is a dangerous thing

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

In another sign the English language is evolving, you can add a new word to your vocabulary: "cyberchondria." It's the term for what happens when you go looking up your health symptoms online and wind up coming to the worst conclusion. A new survey by Microsoft showed this phenomenon on the rise. The Takeaway is joined by Cary Cooper, professor of Psychology and Health at Lancaster University in the UK, to look at why you're as likely to conclude your headache is from a brain tumor as from caffeine withdrawal.
"Americans are particularly symptom-driven."
— Cary Cooper

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The Takeaway

"Change"

Friday, November 07, 2008

President-elect Barack Obama's message of "change" transformed the election. It was so infectious that even his opponents adopted the mantra. Now, how does the next president keep "change" alive?

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The Takeaway

The myths of undecided voters

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Guest: William G. Jacoby, Professor of Political Science at Michigan State University and a research scientist at the University of Michigan

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The Takeaway

Blame evolution for our urge to skewer Wall Street

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

How many times have you heard the phrase, “Life’s not fair?” And yet, we haven’t let it stop us from trying to make everyone equal. We right wrongs, punish evil-doers, stop injustice. But what explains our urge to retaliate or our need to stick it to Wall Street for the subprime mess? It turns out it’s all in our genes, baby. New York Times science reporter Benedict Carey talks about the evolution behind retaliation, and our primal urge to make the world a little fairer.

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The Takeaway

A formula for measuring spin in the presidential debates

Monday, September 29, 2008

Politicians are masters at spinning their words to boost their appeal. Which candidate in this year’s presidential election uses the most spin? The Takeaway talks to David Skillicorn, a computer science professor Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

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The Takeaway

Personality traits and musical preferences

Monday, September 08, 2008

A recent study suggests that the kind of music we prefer may have less to do with taste ( or lack thereof) and more to do with our personalities. For example, being a fan of opera could indicate that you are a gentle soul, with high self esteem and a creative bent. Other genres have other implications, as Professor North has researched.

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The Takeaway

Can't make up your mind about the candidates? Chances are you already have!

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Are you still ambivalent about the presidential candidates? A new study says that, subconsciously, you’re much less torn than you think you are. Test your ambivalence with the U.S. Election 2008 Implicit Association Test.

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The Takeaway

Debate grows over the over-interpretation and misuse of fMRI scans

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Function MRI, or fMRI, promises to map and discover new patterns of brain activity that were previously inaccessible. But are scientists so caught up in the possibilities of modern neuroscience that they are missing something?

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The Takeaway

The next stage in warfare: mind control

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Guest: Dr. Jonathan Moreno, a bioethicist and professor of medical ethics at the University of Pennsylvania and the author of “Mind Wars: Brain Research and National Defense.”

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The Takeaway

Men run faster, jump higher, get stronger after taking (placebo) growth hormone

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Takeaway science correspondent and science writer Jonah Lehrer, author of "Proust Was a Neuroscientist"

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The Takeaway

"Complicated grief" is a new medical condition affecting one million Americans

Thursday, August 07, 2008

Get over it! The old adage reinforces the commonly-held belief that grief is a controllable social condition. However, scientists believe "complicated grief," a physical condition that affects a distinct part of the brain, could be affecting about one million Americans.

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