Episode 18

09/09/19 • 20 min

This is Episode 18 of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology.

Can psychology help us become more creative? Our presenter Ginny Smith learns how we can develop our creativity with practice, and discovers that our best “Eureka” moments often come when we step away from the task at hand. She also investigates how members of the public fare with the riddles psychologists use to study creative problem solving — see how you get on at home.

Our guests, in order of appearance, are: Professor James C Kaufman, an educational psychologist at the University of Connecticut and author of several books on creativity, and Dr Gillian Hill, a lecturer in psychology at the University of Buckingham and member of the CREATE research team.

Episode credits: Presented and produced by Ginny Smith. Mixing and editing Jeff Knowler. PsychCrunch theme music Catherine Loveday and Jeff Knowler. Art work Tim Grimshaw.

Background reading for this episode:

James C Kaufman’s paper Creativity Is More Than Silly, More Than Art, More Than Good: The Diverse Career of Arthur Cropley is free to view thanks to our sponsors, Routledge Psychology.

We have dozens of posts on creativity in the Research Digest archives, including:

Thinking About Their Multiple Identities Boosts Children’s Creativity And Problem-Solving Skills

Here’s What The Evidence Shows About The Links Between Creativity And Depression

The Four Ways To Promote Creativity In Children Come More Naturally To Some Mothers Than Others

How Keeping A Dream Diary Could Boost Your Creativity

Psychologists Have Devised A Test For Measuring One-Year-Olds’ Creativity

Teams Are More Creative When Their Leader Is Confident In Her Or His Own Creativity

New Study Finds Strength Of Imagination Not Associated With Creative Ability Or Achievement

And over at The Psychologist, check out Rocky Horror Pixel Show, in which Arne Dietrich explores the problems in figuring out how creativity is represented in the brain.

This is Episode 18 of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology.

Episode credits: Presented and produced by Ginny Smith. Mixing and editing Jeff Knowler. PsychCrunch theme music Catherine Loveday and Jeff Knowler. Art work Tim Grimshaw.

Background reading for this episode:

James C Kaufman’s paper Creativity Is More Than Silly, More Than Art, More Than Good: The Diverse Career of Arthur Cropley is free to view thanks to our sponsors, Routledge Psychology.

We have dozens of posts on creativity in the Research Digest archives, including:

Thinking About Their Multiple Identities Boosts Children’s Creativity And Problem-Solving Skills

Here’s What The Evidence Shows About The Links Between Creativity And Depression

The Four Ways To Promote Creativity In Children Come More Naturally To Some Mothers Than Others

How Keeping A Dream Diary Could Boost Your Creativity

Psychologists Have Devised A Test For Measuring One-Year-Olds’ Creativity

Teams Are More Creative When Their Leader Is Confident In Her Or His Own Creativity

New Study Finds Strength Of Imagination Not Associated With Creative Ability Or Achievement

And over at The Psychologist, check out Rocky Horror Pixel Show, in which Arne Dietrich explores the problems in figuring out how creativity is represented in the brain.

Previous Episode

Episode 17

This is Episode 17 of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology.

Can psychology help make running more enjoyable? Our presenter Christian Jarrett speaks to several experts about various strategies including "cognitive reappraisal" and the benefits of taking part in organised runs. He also hears how some of us are genetically disposed to find running less enjoyable than others, and why that isn't an excuse for giving up.

Our guests, in order of appearance, are: Dr Grace Giles (US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center, Natick), Dr John Nezlek (SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Faculty in Poznan and College of William & Mary, Williamsburg VA), Dr Marzena Cypryańska (SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Warsaw), and Professor Eco de Geus (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam).

Episode credits: Presented and produced by Christian Jarrett. Mixing and editing Jeff Knowler. PsychCrunch theme music Catherine Loveday and Jeff Knowler. Art work Tim Grimshaw.

Key research mentioned in this episode:

Next Episode

Episode 19

This is Episode 19 of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology.

Do we worry too much about screen time? The issue of screen use by children and teenagers is rarely out of the headlines, and institutions including the World Health Organization have recommended specific limits on screen time for the youngest age groups. But what does the science actually say about the effects of screen time?

To find out, our presenter Ella Rhodes talks to Dr Amy Orben, Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge and winner of the 2019 BPS award for Outstanding Doctoral Research, who has explored the psychological effects of screen time in her research.

Episode credits: Presented and produced by Ella Rhodes, journalist for The Psychologist, with help from the Research Digest and Psychologist teams. Mixing and editing by Jeff Knowler. PsychCrunch theme music by Catherine Loveday and Jeff Knowler; additional music by Ketsa. Artwork by Tim Grimshaw.

Background resources for this episode:

Screen Time, Laptop Bans, and the Fears that Shape the Use of Technology for Learning, a paper by Dr Torrey Trust in the Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, is free to access thanks to our sponsors Routledge Psychology.

The work by Amy Orben and her colleagues discussed in this episode includes:

Here are the WHO guidelines on screen time mentioned at the beginning of the podcast.

Both The Psychologist and Research Digest have a number of articles on screen time and media effects, including:

The Psychologist Presents... Screen time debunked A transcript of Professor Andrew Przybylski’s session with editor Jon Sutton at Latitude Festival in summer 2019.

Seeing screen time differently Jon Sutton reports from a one-day event on research, policy and communication in a digital era, held out the Wellcome Collection in London in 2018.

'There are wolves in the forest...' Professor Andrew Przybylski picks three myths around screen time – and how science, and some common sense, can help.

What is actually behind the screen? Ella Rhodes reports on last year's parliamentary report from the Science and Technology Committee.

‘Games have helped me a lot throughout my life’ Annie Brookman-Byrne interviews Dr Pete Etchells, Reader in Psychology and Science Communication at Bath Spa University, about his book Lost in a Good Game: Why We Play Video Games and What They Can Do For Us.

Amy Orben honoured Dr Orben wins the British Psychological Society's Award for Outstanding Doctoral Research.

Link Between Teens’ Time On Digital Devices And Lower Wellbeing Is “Too Small To Merit Substantial Scientific Discussion”