The Psychology Podcast

We’re re-releasing one of our favorite episodes from the past year with Lisa Feldman Barrett.

Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett is among the top one percent most cited scientists in the world for her revolutionary research in psychology and neuroscience. She is a University Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Northeastern University. She also holds appointments at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, where she is Chief Science Officer for the Center for Law, Brain & Behavior.

Her books include Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain and How Emotions are Made. She has published over 240 peer-reviewed, scientific papers appearing in Science, Nature Neuroscience, and other top journals. Dr. Barrett has been called “the most important affective scientist of our time”.

In this episode, I talk to renowned neuroscientist Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett about emotions and the brain. She reveals what the true function of the brain is⎯and it’s not for thinking. We also discuss the impact of past experiences on our cognition and what we can do to overcome our own detrimental patterns. Further into our discussion, Dr. Lisa challenges the traditionally held view that emotions are universal. In her own theory of constructed emotion, she argues that variability in emotional expression exists due to socialization and language differences. We also touch on the topics of hallucinogens, culture, education, relationships, and authoritarianism.

Website: lisafeldmanbarrett.com

Twitter: @LFeldmanBarrett

Topics

00:01:42 Lisa’s interest in clinical psychology

00:03:53 A biological approach to emotions

00:06:29 Why do we have a neocortex?

00:14:49 The default mode network

00:21:47 The brain is not for thinking

00:25:06 Authoritarianism during economic hardship

00:32:04 Psychological entropy

00:35:33 The brain weather forecast

00:44:16 The mind-brain problem

00:47:37 Relationships are reflexive

00:51:46 Emotional expression isn’t universal

00:58:35 Why you shouldn’t trust psychology textbooks / 6 universal emotions?

01:03:03 Reaching out to Paul Ekman

01:10:42 The theory of constructed emotion

01:16:49 The role of socialization and language in emotions

01:23:43 The never-ending domain-general vs domain-specific debate in cognitive science

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Today we welcome Michael Bungay Stanier, the Founder of Box of Crayons. He is the author of the best-selling book The Coaching Habit, with over a million copies sold. He was a Rhodes Scholar and in 2019 was named the #1 thought leader in coaching. Michael has a masters degree in Philosophy from Oxford, a law degree and a BA with highest honors from the Australian National University. His latest book is called How to Begin.

In this episode, I talk to Michael Bungay Stanier about how to begin. When we set goals, the most popular framework that often comes to mind is the idea of SMART goals. Instead of starting with what’s measurable, Michael urges us to start with what’s important. He shares his criteria for identifying what a worthy goal is, as well as advice on how to stay committed to that worthy goal. We also touch on the topics of coaching, empathy, change, and community.

Website: www.mbs.works

Twitter: @mbs_works

Topics

02:22 About Box of Crayons

03:20 Michael’s interest and expertise in coaching

07:15 The Coaching Habit

12:20 “SMART goals are dumb”

16:32 What is a worthy goal?

23:19 The magic is in the drafting

25:50 Before action, learn to commit

30:27 Adaptive change vs technical change

33:01 Calling in the directions

37:51 Stick with the journey

43:20 Celebrate the journey

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“There are two ideas about safe spaces. One is a very good idea, and one is a terrible idea. The idea of being physically safe on a campus, not being subjected to sexual harassment and physical abuse, or being targeted for something specifically for some sort of hate speech... I’m perfectly fine with that. But there’s another that is now ascendent, which I just think is a horrible view, which is ‘I need to be safe ideologically, I need to be safe emotionally, I just need to feel good all the time. And if someone says something that I don’t like, that is a problem for everyone else, including the administration.’ I think that is a terrible idea for the following reason: I don’t want you to be safe ideologically. I don’t want you to be safe emotionally. I want you to be strong. That’s different. I’m not going to pave the jungle for you. Put on some boots, and learn how to deal with adversity. I’m not going to take all the weights out of the gym. That’s the whole point of the gym. This is the gym.”

— Anthony Van Jones

Today we have Jonathan Haidt on the podcast. Dr. Haidt is a social psychologist at New York University’s Stern School of Business. Dr. Haidt’s research examines the intuitive foundations of morality, and how morality varies across cultures— including the cultures of American progressive, conservatives, and libertarians. Haidt is the author of The Happiness Hypothesis, and of The New York Times bestseller The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion. His third book, co-authored with Greg Lukianoff, is called The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting up a Generation for Failure.

In this episode we discuss:

• “The tumultuous years” on college campuses from 2015-2017
• Wisdom and its opposite
• The three great untruths
• The main aims of Heterodox Academy
• The importance of exposing students to opposing views on campus
• The detrimental effects of moral amplification
• How moral foundations theory helps explain political divides
• The common humanity of liberals and conservatives
• The psychological function of having a common enemy
• How social media amplifies tribalism
• The rise of antifragility
• The net effect of “callout culture”
• The importance of play in early childhood
• The importance of cognitive behavioral therapy and sharpening your intuitions
• The importance of both racial/ethnic minority diversity and viewpoint diversity
• How to help young people flourish in college

Links

Heterodox Academy

Wisdom as a classical source of human strength: Conceptualization and empirical inquiry

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Today it’s great to chat with Ed Catmull. Ed is the co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios and former president of Pixar Animation and Disney Animation. He has been honored with five Academy Awards, including the Gordon E. Sawyer Award for lifetime achievement in the field of computer graphics. He received his Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Utah and is the author of Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces that Stand in the Way of True Inspiration. He lives in San Francisco with his wife and children.

Topics

[1:04] Ed’s childhood growing up in Utah in the 50s

[3:57] Ed’s entry point into the field of animation

[7:30] The evolution of computer graphics

[12:20] How Ed broke barriers in his field

[15:21] Ed’s encounters with Silicon Valley and emerging technologies

[20:29] Ed’s interactions with Steve Jobs

[34:36] How to create a sustainable creative culture

[43:22] Ed describes his leadership style

[46:01] How to protect the creative process and handle internal conflict

[56:33] What it means to take risks at Pixar

[1:03:32] The core principles that make Pixar so creative

[1:10:17] How to lead an effective team

[1:13:13] The appeal of anthropomorphic characters in animation

[1:16:20] The impact of the pandemic on Pixar

[1:24:40] Ed’s opinion on cancel culture

[1:26:30] Ed’s thoughts on the future of animation

[1:33:00] Diversifying Pixar

[1:37:32] Ed’s complete inability to visualize (aphantasia)

[1:40:38] Ed’s thoughts on the field of education

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Vanessa Van Edwards is a self-described “recovering boring and awkward person,” whose latest book, Captivate: The Science of Succeeding with People, provides simple ways to decode people and level-up your relationships and networking abilities. It’s an especially practical episode, which features a handful of actionable strategies to be more effective in the social realm. We discuss research surrounding charisma, eye contact, hand gestures, relaxing one’s voice, and conquering social anxiety! To learn more about Vanessa, visit her website scienceofpeople.com.

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