Shows
The Mikhaila Peterson PodcastFrom Incel to Harvard, Neuroscientist on Gender Dysphoria and College Politics | Adam Omary EP 206In this episode, I’m joined by cognitive neuroscientist, Adam Omary. This guy is extremely smart so be prepared. We had an interesting conversation about his experience growing from an incel to Harvard graduate student, his experience learning to socialize, the Twin Study, the effects of prenatal hormones during brain development, the causes of gender dysphoria, how cortisol affects the brain, recovering from puberty blockers, and much more. Enjoy!
Adam Omary is a Psychology Ph.D. student at Harvard University, where he conducts research in the Affective Neuroscience & Development Laboratory under the mentorship of Dr. Leah Somerville. He attended th...2024-07-231h 26
The Harvard Salient Podcast#4 - Adam Omary: Harvard PhD Student Studying PsychologyAdam Omary is a Psychology Ph.D. Student in the Affective Neuroscience and Development Laboratory at Harvard University. His research centers on how hormones influence brain development and sex differentiation during sensitive windows of pubertal and perinatal development. Before coming to Harvard, Adam received his B.A. in Cognitive Science and M.S. in Biostatistics at the University of Southern California, where he studied brain and cognitive development in children with congenital adrenal hyperplasia, a rare intersex disorder.02:46 Introduction03:41 Adam's Journey to Harvard and Interest in Neuroscience13:39 Free Will, Consciousness, and Artificial Intelligence2024-04-261h 17
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #98: Dr. Lixing Sun - The Evolution of Lying
Dr. Lixing Sun is a Distinguished Professor of Biology at Central Washington University, and author of The Liars of Nature and the Nature of Liars: Cheating and Deception in the Living World.
In this episode we talk about the evolution of lying and deception as distinct strategies. Lying organisms actively alter truth by displaying false signals, whereas deception occurs by exploiting cognitive biases to trick others. We talk about lying and deception in a wide range of species, from insects, to fish, to reptiles, to primates, and finally, humans. We discuss the role of deception in sexual selection, evolutionary...2023-04-211h 18
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #97: Dr. Mark Moffett - Society from Ants to Humans
Dr. Mark Moffett is an ecologist and author of several books including Adventures Among Ants and The Human Swarm.
In this episode we talk about social behavior in species ranging from ants, to lizards, to chimpanzees, to humans, and their similarities and differences. We talk about intelligence as typically individually-defined, as well as distributed “hive mind” intelligence in simple species like ants, where each ant can function like a neuron in a whole-brain network. We also discuss the evolution of human sociality and compare our propensity for peace and aggression to chimpanzees and bonobos, and our u...2023-04-1057 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #96: Dr. Ovul Sezer - Comedy & Impression Management
Dr. Ovul Sezer is a behavioral scientist, Assistant Professor of Management and Organizations at Cornell University, and stand-up comedian.
In this episode we talk about the psychology of comedy and Ovul’s research on impression (mis)management. We discuss effective and ineffective forms of communication, balancing confidence and humility, and the importance of first impressions in social and professional relationships. We also talk about the psychology of virtue signaling, humble bragging, and navigating impression management in the modern social media age.
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The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #95: Dr. Edouard Machery - Free Will, Value, & Decision Making
Dr. Edouard Machery is a Distinguished Professor at the University of Pittsburgh and Director of the Center for Philosophy of Science. He's published over 150 articles and book chapters on a diverse range of topics including the philosophy of cognitive science, moral psychology, the utility of evolutionary theory and neuroscience for understanding cognition, folk psychology, and experimental philosophy.
In this wide-ranging episode we talk about Edouard’s research on cross-cultural differences in conceptions of free will and determinism, free will and moral responsibility, and how we define a rational agent. We also talk about neuropsychological research on...2023-03-271h 04
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #94: Dr. Scott Grafton - The Neuroscience of Goal-Directed Movement
Dr. Scott Grafton is a Distinguished Professor of Psychological & Brain Sciences at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He directs the Action Lab, which focuses on the neuroscience of goal-directed movement.
In this episode we discuss Dr. Grafton’s background in neurology research, and the historical progression of integrating the neuroscience of movement, perception, and goal-setting. We talk about how modern neuroimaging techniques replicated and expanded upon findings from early neuropsychological studies of brain damage, and how Dr. Grafton uses dense-sampling techniques to scan individual’s brains repeatedly over short intervals, to study how learning chang...2023-03-2152 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #93: Dr. Deon Benton - Is Learning Innate?Dr. Deon Benton is an Assistant Professor of Psychology and Human Development at Vanderbilt University, where he runs the Computational Cognitive Development Lab.
In this episode we talk about the interacting forces of nature and nurture that give rise to human children’s tremendous ability for learning, language development, causal reasoning, and social cognition. Deon describes his past and future research on cognitive development in infants and young children, as well as experimental paradigms for how to measure infant attention, such as through eye-tracking. We talk about how infant statistical learning can be modeled computationally, and the di...2023-03-111h 09
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #92: Dr. Alan Fiske - Kama Muta: Being Moved by LoveDr. Alan Fiske is a Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at UCLA, where he co-directs the Kama Muta Lab, and the author of several books including Structures of Social Life, Virtuous Violence, and Kama Muta: Discovering the Connecting Emotion.
In this episode we talk about Alan’s career as an anthropologist, the research which led to his books, and the social mechanisms which give rise to both peace and violence in human societies. Finally, we talk about Alan’s research on kama muta.
Kama muta is Sanskrit for “being moved by love”. Alan defines kama muta as “Kama...2023-03-041h 01
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #91: Dr. Dan Conroy-Beam - The Evolution & Computations of Mating PsychologyDr. Dan Conroy-Beam is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Dan uses an evolutionary and computational perspective to understand mate choice and mating relationships. Specifically, he is interested in how mate preferences are integrated with one another computationally in order to make mating decisions as well as the decision rules people use to navigate their mating markets and their relationships. Dan's work combines agent-based modeling of mate choice with studies of real couples to compare and explore candidate models for how people evaluate potential mates, pursue partners, and regulate their relationships. Learn more...2023-02-2557 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #90: Dr. Rob Henderson - Luxury Beliefs & Status SignalsDr. Rob Henderson is a psychologist best known for his research on luxury beliefs.
In this episode, we talk about risk and resilience factors for success in America, including growing up in stable two-parent households. Rob shares how his experience growing up in the foster care system and his military service primed him for identifying luxury beliefs of the upper class during his studies at Yale and Cambridge. We discuss how luxury beliefs confer status upon elites, but disproportionately harm people in poor and working-class communities. As a case-study, we talk about changing norms surrounding monogamy and c...2023-02-181h 12
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #89: Dr. C. Sue Carter - Sex, Love, & OxytocinDr. C. Sue Carter is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia and Distinguished Research Scientist at Indiana University, where she also holds an Emerita position as Rudy Professor of Biology and was formerly Director of the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction. She is a Fellow and past President of the International Behavioral Neuroscience Society, and is known for her pioneering work on oxytocin, the love hormone, and its role in parental care and romantic pairbonding.
In this episode we discuss how neuroendocrinology research has evolved over the course of Dr. C...2023-02-132h 15
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #88: Dr. Adam Morris - Mindfulness & Decision MakingDr. Adam Morris is a cognitive scientist and Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Psychology at Princeton University.
In this episode we talk about Adam’s research on the connections between mindfulness, decision-making, and introspection. We talk about the cognitive mechanisms involved involving in weighing pros and cons of your decisions, how various decision-making strategies may be computationally modeled, and how there may be a disconnect between people’s interoceptive beliefs about their decision-making processes, and what they actually do. Lastly, we talk about the science of mindfulness, and Adam’s ongoing research plans of an intervention study to test w...2023-02-0445 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #87: Dr. Brynn Sherman - Sleep, Stress, & MemoryDr. Brynn Sherman is a cognitive neuroscientist and postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Pennsylvania.
In this episode we talk about Brynn’s research on the interaction between statistical learning and memory errors, and how memory is studied using behavioral tasks and neuroimaging. We discuss the distinction between episodic memory and semantic memory, memory encoding and consolidation, and between knowing and remembering. We also discuss Brynn’s more recent research on the effects of stress and sleep on memory, and how these effects manifest in the brain.2023-01-2846 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #86: Dr. Michael Levin - Animal Regeneration, Learning, & MemoryDr. Michael Levin is a developmental and synthetic biologist at Tufts University, where he is the Vannevar Bush Distinguished Professor and director of the Allen Discovery Center and Tufts Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology.
In this episode we talk about Mike’s research, which ranges from studying the molecular biology of cancer, to the bioelectrics of limb regeneration, to memory and higher-order cognition. Mike describes the overall theme of his research as understanding the embodied nature of cognition in organic and synthetic systems, and the philosophical implications of this worldview. We discuss a wide variety of to...2023-01-2154 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #85: Dr. Daniel Schacter - The Seven Sins of MemoryDr. Daniel Schacter is a Professor of Psychology at Harvard University where he runs the Schacter Memory Lab, and author of The Seven Sins of Memory.
In this episode we talk about the history of memory research over the last 100+ years, beginning with simple behavioral tasks and up to modern neuroimaging. Dr. Schacter overviews different dimensions of memory scientists have identified, including episodic vs. semantic, implicit vs. explicit, and the processes of encoding, consolidation, retrieval, and reconsolidation. We then discuss each of The Seven Sins of Memory: Transience, Absent-Mindedness, Blocking, Misattribution, Suggestibility, Bias, and Persistence. Lastly, Dr...2023-01-1459 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #84: Dr. Joshua Greene - Moral Psychology & PragmatismDr. Joshua Greene is a psychologist, philosopher, Professor at Harvard University, and author of Moral Tribes: Emotion, Reason, and the Gap Between Us and Them.
In this episode we talk about Josh’s early research on moral psychology, specifically trolleyology. He describes his empirical research on the famous trolley problem thought experiment in philosophy, and how people generally approach these problems via two different modes of reasoning: slow and rational, and fast and emotional. We talk about the evolutionary origins of these distinct moral cognitive processes, and an alternative framework to utilitarianism known as deep pragmatism. Lastly, Jo...2023-01-0553 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #83: Dr. Dorsa Amir - Child Development, Evolution, & CultureDr. Dorsa Amir is a psychologist, anthropologist, and postdoctoral research fellow at the University of California, Berkeley.
In this episode we talk about child development and decision-making through the interdisciplinary lenses of anthropology, psychology, evolutionary biology, and behavioral economics. We talk about some of Dorsa’s theoretical research on how human environments have changed across cultural and evolutionary histories, and how plasticity in child development allows humans to adapt to various forms of environmental threat, deprivation, and uncertainty. We also talk about Dorsa’s experimental and cross-cultural research on child decision-making, and how these adaptive behaviors also vary...2022-12-2253 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #82: Dr. Anita Collins - The Music AdvantageDr. Anita Collins is an award-winning educator, researcher and writer in the field of brain development and music learning. She is the author of The Lullaby Effect: The Science of Singing to Your Child and The Music Advantage: How Learning Music Helps Your Child’s Brain and Wellbeing.
In this episode we talk about the neuroscience of music education, and the brain and cognitive benefits of musical training in children and adults. Anita describes how music is unique in that it combines multiple modalities of the brain including auditory processing, visual processing, fine motor control, strategic planning, an...2022-12-0954 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #81: Dr. Samuel Gershman - What Makes Us SmartDr. Samuel Gershman is a Professor of Psychology at Harvard University, where he directs the Computational Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory. He is also the author of What Makes Us Smart: The Computational Logic of Human Cognition.
In this episode we discuss Sam’s book, and the central argument that human brains are computers that must operate based on both limits of information and limits of computational power. These limits are what lead to biases, but Sam stresses that biases in human cognition, such as falling for optical illusions, are in fact what make us smart. We talk about so...2022-12-0339 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #80: Dr. Frank von Hippel - The Chemical AgeDr. Frank von Hippel is a Professor of Ecotoxicology and Environmental Health Sciences at the University. He is the host of his own successful podcast, The Science History Podcast, and author of The Chemical Age.
In this episode we talk about Frank’s own field of ecotoxicology, the study of environmental toxins and their effects on humans and other animals, and Frank’s book The Chemical Age. We discuss the pros and cons of advancements in chemistry, from advancements in medicine and agriculture to chemical warfare and the environmental harms of industrialization. We also talk about what make...2022-11-161h 01
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #79: Dr. Robert Epstein - The Case Against AdolescenceDr. Robert Epstein is a longtime psychology researcher and professor—a distinguished scientist who is passionate about educating the public about advances in mental health and the behavioral sciences. The former editor-in-chief of Psychology Today, Dr. Epstein is currently Senior Research Psychologist at the American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology. He is also the founder and Director Emeritus of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies in Massachusetts. He is also the author of The Case Against Adolescence, and its updated release Teen 2.0.
In this episode we discuss Dr. Epstein’s case against adolescence, the argument that hist...2022-11-091h 38
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #78: Dr. Jason Mitchell - The Neuroscience of MindreadingDr. Jason Mitchell is a Professor of Psychology at Harvard University, where he directs the Social Cognitive & Affective Neuroscience Laboratory. His research uses a combination of neuroimaging and behavioral measures to investigate the cognitive processes that support inferences about the psychological states of other people and introspective awareness of the self.
In this episode we introduce social neuroscience as a field of research at the intersection between social psychology and cognitive neuroscience, and discuss the neuroscience of mindreading. Mindreading, in this context, refers to our social cognitive capacity for thinking about the thoughts and feelings of others...2022-11-0250 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #77: Dr. Bryce Huebner - Embodied, Micro, & MacrocognitionDr. Bryce Huebner is the Provost’s Distinguished Associate Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown University, where he conducts research connecting philosophy of mind, cognitive science, biology, and moral psychology.
In this episode we talk broadly about what it means to be conscious, and how cognition and emotion are governed by bodily processes. Bryce and I discuss how philosophy of mind ought to be informed by the biological limitations that give rise to complex thought, how much of our thought and behavior revolves around maintaining homeostasis and satisfying conflicting motivations, and how both nature and nurture give rise to...2022-10-2655 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #76: Dr. Randolph Nesse - Good (Evolutionary) Reasons for Bad FeelingsDr. Randolph Nesse is a Professor Emeritus in the Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, and the Institute for Social Research at The University of Michigan, and one of the pioneers of the field of evolutionary psychiatry. He is the Founding President of The International Society for Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health, and author of the book Good Reasons for Bad Feelings.
In this episode we talk about the field of evolutionary psychiatry, and more broadly about the evolution of both negative emotions such as fear and anxiety and positive emotions such as happiness. We talk about how...2022-10-1256 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #75: Dr. Steven Pinker - Why Rationality MattersDr. Steven Pinker is a Cognitive Scientist and the Johnstone Family Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, a Humanist of the Year, a recipient of nine honorary doctorates, one of Foreign Policy’s “World’s Top 100 Public Intellectuals” and Time’s “100 Most Influential People in the World Today,” and the bestselling author of 12 books including The Language Instinct, How the Mind Works, The Blank Slate, The Better Angels of Our Nature, Enlightenment Now, and most recently, Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scare, and Why...2022-10-0556 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #74: Dr. Ilan Dar-Nimrod - Genetic Essentialism & ExistentialismDr. Ilan Dar-Nimrod is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Sydney, and an expert on how people reason about genetic causes of behavior, the psychology of gender and sexuality, and the existential psychology of death.
In this episode we talk about psychological essentialism, the belief that people have an innate “essence,” and how over time, as society has become more secular, people have become genetically essentialist. We talk about how genetic essentialism is associated with more sympathy for wrongdoers, due to lower beliefs in free will. We also talk about how essentialism is associated with...2022-09-2852 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #73: Dr. Imac Zambrana - Language Development & Social LearningDr. Imac Zambrana is an Associate Professor of Education at the University of Oslo, and an expert in the study of children’s language development, social cognition, and social learning. She is also the Chief Scientific Officer at Nordic Neurotech, which aims to use virtual reality to help with psychological and medical research.
In this episode we discuss Imac’s research on childhood language development, and how this process is influenced by social learning, such as through the pointing gestures of parents. We also discuss children’s learning more broadly, including intrinsic and extrinsic motivations for learning, breadt...2022-09-211h 27
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #72: Dr. Valerie van Mulukom - Imagination, Memory, & BeliefDr. Valerie van Mulukom is an Assistant Professor at Coventry University’s Centre for Trust, Peace, and Social Relations, and a Research Associate at the University of Oxford’s Centre for the Study of Social Cohesion. Her research spans a broad range of topics, roughly unified within the cognitive and evolutionary science of imagination, memory, and belief.
In this episode we talk about Valerie’s early cognitive research on imagination and memory, and her more recent research on belief, including religious, secular, and conspiracy beliefs. We talk about how cognitive heuristics such as social learning bias evolved and sh...2022-09-1446 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #71: Dr. Anna Lembke - Pain, Pleasure, & DopamineDr. Anna Lembke is a Professor of Addiction Medicine at Stanford University, Program Director of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Fellowship, and Chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic. She is a diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, a diplomate of the American Board of Addiction Medicine, and the bestselling author of the books Drug Dealer, MD – How Doctors Were Duped, Patients Got Hooked, and Why It’s So Hard to Stop, and Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence.
In this episode we talk about what dopamine is and how it g...2022-08-3153 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #70: Dr. Alan Levinovitz - Nature, Goodness, & UncertaintyDr. Alan Levinovitz is an Associate Professor of Religion at James Madison University, and author of Natural: How Faith in Nature's Goodness Leads to Harmful Fads, Unjust Laws, and Flawed Science.
In this episode we talk about Alan’s book Natural, and attempt to understand why people gravitate towards assuming what is natural is good, what is unnatural is bad, and how people come up with ideas of naturalness in the first place. We contrast examples such as “unnatural” foods and medicines improving our lives, and “natural” diseases harming us, to make the case that what is natural ma...2022-08-2458 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #69: Dr. Frans de Waal - Sex & Gender in PrimatesDr. Frans de Waal is a primatologist and the C. H. Candler Professor in the Psychology Department of Emory University and Director of the Living Links Center at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center. He has been elected to the (US) National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences. He’s the author of several bestsellers including Chimpanzee Politics, Good Natured, Our Inner Ape, The Age of Empathy, Mama’s Last Hug, and most recently, Different: Gender Through the Eyes of a Primatologist.
In this episode, we talk...2022-08-1755 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #68: Dr. Kim Meidenbauer - Environmental Neuroscience & Social CognitionDr. Kim Meidenbauer is a social, cognitive, and environmental neuroscientist, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Chicago, and incoming Assistant Professor at Washington State University. Her research focuses on how the physical environment influences brain development, and in turn, our cognition, emotion, and social behavior.
In this episode we talk about Kim’s research on how physical environmental stressors, such as heat exposure, influence our brains and predict social behavior, including crime rates. Additionally, we talk about the positive effects of greenspace, spending time in nature, on development and mental health, and how these effects can be m...2022-08-1055 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #67: Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar - The Science of HappinessDr. Tal Ben-Shahar is a psychologist, best-selling author of the books Happier and Being Happy, and co-founder of the Happiness Studies Academy.
In this episode we talk about the science of happiness, its roots in positive psychology, and what psychology commonly gets wrong about happiness. We talk about how happiness is neither synonymous with pleasure nor the “just fine” state of not being unhappy. We talk about mismatches between our current environment and our ancestral environment, and how lack of exercise, poor nutrition, and poor social bonds contribute to the epidemic of unhappiness. We talk about anti-fragility, mean...2022-08-0250 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #66: Dr. Sofie Valk - Social Neuroscience & GeneticsDr. Sofie Valk is a neuroscientist, Head of the Cognitive Neurogenetics Lab at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, and Research Group Leader at the Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Brain and Behavior (INM-7), Research Centre in Jülich, Germany, where she studies the interplay of genetic factors and social behavior on brain structure.
In this episode, we talk about Sofie’s background in neuroscience and cognitive science, her PhD research on how brain structure relates to empathy and theory of mind, and her current research on genetic factors relating to brain development and...2022-07-2734 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #65: Dr. Courtney Hilton - Music & CognitionDr. Courtney Hilton is a cognitive scientist and postdoctoral research fellow at The Music Lab at Harvard University.
In this episode we talk about Courtney’s background as a musician and transition into cognitive science, and how musical cognition is studied in humans. We discuss evolutionary theories of whether music evolved for socially adaptive purposes or as a byproduct of language, how certain universal acoustic patterns such as higher pitch during play and in speaking to children, and lower pitch to signal dominance during conflict, may have given rise to the different emotions music can elicit, and ho...2022-07-2056 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #64: Dr. W. Keith Campbell - Narcissism, Ego, & The Hero’s JourneyIn this episode, we talk about all things narcissism: from its manifestations (grandiose vs. vulnerable), behavioral patterns, personality traits, status and reward seeking, genetic and social determinants of narcissism, the role of technology and social media use in fueling narcissism, and narcissism as an evolutionary adaptation to certain ecological niches. We also discuss Dr. Campbell’s research on “geek culture” and how this relates to status seeking and narcissism, and how narcissism relates to the hero’s journey and costly fitness indicators in evolutionary theory. Lastly, we discuss the inverse of narcissism, imposter syndrome and intellectual humility, how arousal theory a...2022-07-1356 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #63: Dr. Mark Ho - Mental Representation & Problem SolvingDr. Mark Ho is a Cognitive Scientist and Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Princeton University. His research provides insights into human planning and social cognition by developing computational theories (e.g., using probabilistic models, reinforcement learning, neural networks) and testing those theories experimentally with people.
Learn more about Mark’s work at: https://markkho.github.io/
In this episode we discuss Mark’s recent research on value-guided construals (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04743-9), and how the problem of navigation relies not just on devising a path to your destination, but also how deta...2022-07-0755 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #62: Dr. Isabelle Brocas - Neuroeconomics & Decision MakingDr. Isabelle Brocas is an economist, neuroscientist, Professor at the University of Southern California, and co-director of the Los Angeles Behavioral Economics Laboratory and the Theoretical Research in Neuroeconomic Decision Making Institute.
In this episode we discuss, broadly, how neuroeconomics emerged as an interdisciplinary field combining economics and neuroscience in order to better explain what makes humans rational or irrational in different situations. We discuss game theory, the concept of rationality, Isabelle’s own research on neurodevelopment and strategic decision-making in children, the nature and nurture debate in the context of the development of economic reasoning, and fi...2022-06-2958 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #61: Dr. Andy Norman - Mental Immunity & Infectious IdeasDr. Andy Norman is a philosopher, Director of the Humanism Initiative at Carnegie Mellon University, Founder of the Cognitive Immunology Research Collaborative, and author of Mental Immunity: Infectious Ideas, Mind-Parasites, and the Search for a Better Way to Think.
In this episode we discuss Andy’s book and the concept of mental immunity, the evolved system in our mind used to combat mind-parasites, much like the body’s immune system combats physical pathogens. We cover a variety of topics including mental heuristics, ingroup-outgroup bias, cultural selection of memes, conspiracy thinking, truth seeking, fixed vs. growth mindsets, and the...2022-06-2250 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #60: Dr. Iris Berent - How We Reason About Human NatureDr. Iris Berent is a Professor of Psychology and Director of the Language & Mind Lab at Northeastern University. She is also the author of several books including The Blind Storyteller: How We Reason About Human Nature.
In this episode we discuss Iris’ early work on language development, and how innate capacities for language inspired Iris to study our beliefs about innate parts of human nature. We talk about intuitive dualism, the tendency for us to separate mind from body in how we reason about our own cognition and behavior, and essentialism, our tendency to believe that our bo...2022-06-1554 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #59: Dr. Gary Laderman - Death, Spirituality, & CultureDr. Gary Laderman is the Goodrich C. White Professor of American Religious History and Cultures at Emory University, and the author of numerous books on death, spirituality, and culture, including Don’t Think About Death.
In this episode we talk about Gary’s research on cultural perspectives on death throughout American history, including throughout the Civil War and after the development of the funeral industry. We discuss the role spirituality and religion play in conceptions of death, cross-culturally, and how conceptions of what is sacred extend beyond the traditionally religious. We also talk about how psychedelics and othe...2022-06-1059 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #58: Dr. Fiery Cushman - Moral Psychology, Luck, & PunishmentDr. Fiery Cushman is a Professor of Psychology and Director of the Moral Psychology Research Lab at Harvard University.
In this episode, we talk about the distinction and overlap between moral psychology and experimental moral philosophy research, universalist vs. relativist moral values, the evolution of cooperation, whether individuals look to themselves or the state to punish moral transgressors, aggression as it relates to moral virtue, and virtue signaling. We also discuss topics of Fiery's own research including motivation for punishment of moral transgressions, the phenomenon of moral luck, and punishment of bad luck outcomes as used to...2022-06-011h 05
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #57: Dr. Erik Nook - How Language & Emotion InteractDr. Erik Nook is a clinical psychologist, neuroscientist, and Assistant Professor of Psychology at Princeton University.
In this episode we discuss the philosophy and early history behind the study of emotions, and outline several schools of thought including constructivism. Erik and I talk about individual differences in emotion processing, how language influences the way we represent and regulate our emotions, emotional development in children and adolescents, and how Erik's personal experiences as a clinician have shaped his research on the interaction between emotion and language. 2022-05-2555 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #56: Dr. Christian Nawroth - Farm Animal Cognition & Animal WelfareDr. Christian Nawroth is an applied ethologist and a postdoctoral research fellow at the Institute of Behavioral Physiology in the Research Institute for Farm Animal Biology.
In this episode, we discuss Christian's research on farm animals, including goats and pigs, and what this research tells us about their intelligence, social cognition, memory, and decision making. We also talk more broadly about the aims of such farm animal research, and contrast basic science research with the goal of better understanding animals to improve their welfare, with animal research conducted with the goal of improving efficiency in food production. L...2022-05-1357 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #55: Dr. Sami Yousif - Spatial Cognition & Teleological BeliefDr. Sami Yousif is a cognitive psychologist and MindCORE postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Pennsylvania.
In this episode we dive deep into two topics among Sami's wide range of research experiences: spatial cognition and teleological belief.
We discuss spatial cognition, imagistic vs. propositional vs. coordinate representations of space and navigation, the development of spatial reasoning in children, and how spatial cognition differs between humans and animals.
We also discuss teleology, or the explanation for the purpose of things, and how teleological beliefs differ across individuals and across framing of questions. In par...2022-05-0354 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #54: Dr. Adam Green - The Neuroscience of Creativity, Belief, & Free WillDr. Adam Green is a cognitive neuroscientist and the Provost's Distinguished Associate Professor of Psychology at Georgetown University, where he directs the Lab for Relational Cognition. He is the Founder and President of the Society for the Neuroscience of Creativity, and Editor-In-Chief of the Creativity Research Journal.
In this episode we discuss Adam's expertise in creativity research, the extent to which creativity is innate or can be learned, whether creativity is a unidimensional or multidimensional construct, and how creativity manifests in the brain. We additionally discuss some of Adam's recent and ongoing work on the neuroscience of b...2022-04-0647 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #53: Dr. Megan Peters - Perception, Metacognition, & UncertaintyDr. Megan Peters is a cognitive neuroscientist and an Assistant Professor of Cognitive Sciences at the University of California, Irvine, where she directs the Cognitive & Neural Computation Lab.
In this episode we discuss Megan's background in cognitive science, and a research path which allowed her to combine interests in computation with philosophical questions about human subjective experiences. In a wide-ranging conversation we discuss how consciousness and subjective experience might arise from a collection of neurons, the phenomenology of perception, human perception and decision-making under uncertainty, unconscious perceptions, metacognition and confidence about our subjective experiences, and how metacognition d...2022-03-301h 01
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #52: Dr. Bill von Hippel - The Evolution of Social IntelligenceDr. Bill von Hippel is an evolutionarily social psychologist and a Professor of Psychology at the University of Queensland, Australia. He is also the author of The Social Leap: The New Evolutionary Science of Who We Are, Where We Come From, and What Makes Us Happy.
In this episode we discuss The Social Leap, a journey through over 6 million years of human evolution: from our moderately intelligent, moderately social chimpanzee-like ancestors, to the hyper-intelligent, hyper-social species we are today. Bill and I discuss a number of revolutions and selection pressures that led to our evolution, including environmental c...2022-03-2357 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #51: Dr. Nilam Ram - The Human Screenome ProjectDr. Nilam Ram is a Professor of Psychology and Communication at Stanford University, and one of the founders of the field of screenomics: the new interdisciplinary field of research based on the time-series analysis of screens and digital behavior.
In this episode, we discuss Nilam's background in finance and quantitative psychology, the use of longitudinal research methods to examine changes in behavior and cognition throughout the lifespan, and the use of experience sampling methods in developmental science. As smartphones became more pervasive, Nilam describes the rise of mobile sensing methods in psychology, eventually leading to the birth o...2022-03-1646 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #50: Dr. Abigail Marsh - The Neuroscience of Empathy & AltruismDr. Abigail Marsh is a Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Georgetown University, where she directs the Laboratory on Social and Affective Neuroscience. She is also the author of The Fear Factor: How One Emotion Connects Altruists, Psychopaths, and Everyone In-Between.
In this episode, we discuss Abby's background in social psychology, and a life-changing experience of hers that motivated inquiry into the nature of costly altruism. In a wide-ranging conversation we discuss the neural correlates of empathy (or lack thereof) in psychopaths and altruistic kidney donors, animal research on care and evolutionary theories of empathy, the role...2022-03-021h 33
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #49: Dr. Glenn Fox - The Neuroscience of LeadershipDr. Glenn Fox is a faculty member at the University of Southern California's Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, in the Marshall School of Business. His current projects focus on neural systems for emotion regulation, high stakes training, and developing entrepreneurial mindset skills in founders and business leaders. Glenn is also the Director and Founder of the USC Found Well Initiative which aims to understand and promote entrepreneurial mindset in founders and business leaders.
In this episode we discuss Glenn's background bridging neuroscience and business in understanding human decision-making, and the neuroscience behind several traits important for...2022-02-2346 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #48: Dr. Aaron Sell - The Evolution of AngerDr. Aaron Sell is an evolutionary psychologist and Assistant Professor of Psychology & Criminology at Heidelberg University with expertise in the evolution of anger, aggression, and hatred. In this episode we discuss how these different emotions are psychologically distinct, their evolutionary adaptiveness, and the "mismatch" between experiencing these emotions in tribal settings and in our modern interconnected world.2022-02-1658 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #47: Dr. Cedric Boeckx - The Neurobiology of LanguageDr. Cedric Boeckx is a biolinguist and Research Professor at the Catalan Institute for Advanced Studies at the University of Barcelona. In this episode we discuss Cedric's research background, talk about what language is, from a scientific perspective, how it evolved in humans, and how it can be studied through cognitive psychology, computational modeling, and the human fossil record.2022-02-0752 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #46: Dr. Robert Barton - Primate Brain EvolutionDr. Robert Barton is a Professor of Anthropology at Durham University who studies primate brain evolution and cognition.2022-02-0358 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #45: Dr. Edward Slingerland - The History of AlcoholDr. Edward Slingerland is a Distinguished University Scholar and Professor of Philosophy at the University of British Columbia and author of Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization. In this episode we talk about his book Drunk and dive into the history of alcohol, its health and societal benefits and costs, competing evolutionary theories as to why humans like alcohol, and how alcohol use changed with the rise of modern distillation technologies. Learn more about Edward's work and find his book at: https://www.edwardslingerland.com/drunk2022-01-2645 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #44: Dr. Andrew Knoll - A Brief History of Earth: Four Billion Years in One HourDr. Andrew Knoll is the Fisher Professor of Natural History at Harvard University, and author of A Brief History of Earth: Four Billion Years in Eight Chapters. In this episode, we further condense those four billion years into one introductory-level conversation. Dr. Knoll walks us through Earth's early history and the evolution of life on Earth, his background in geology, and research examining what Earth's early history can tell us about how life evolved. For more in-depth coverage of these topics, see Dr. Knoll's book: https://www.amazon.com/Brief-History-Earth-Billion-Chapters/dp/0062853910
2022-01-1947 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #43: Dr. Nicholas Christakis - Network Science & Public HealthDr. Nicholas Christakis is a physician, sociologist, network scientist, and Sterling Professor of Social and Natural Science, Internal Medicine & Biomedical Engineering at Yale University. He is also the author of numerous books including Blueprint: The Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society, and Apollo’s Arrow: The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live.
In this episode we discuss Dr. Christakis' background in medicine, and his transition into network science: the study of social networks, how they form, change, and interact to shape our behavior. We discuss how network science can be understood both fro...2022-01-1246 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #42: Dr. Mark Solms - The Neuropsychology of Dreams, Feeling, & ConsciousnessDr. Mark Solms is a neuropsychologist, Professor at the University of Cape Town, and author of The Hidden Spring: A Journey to the Source of Consciousness. In this episode we discuss Dr. Solms' background in neuropsychology, the overlap between modern neuropsychology and psychoanalysis, and Dr. Solms' early research on dreaming. We then discuss the illusive nature of consciousness, Dr. Solms' central arguments in The Hidden Spring that consciousness is evolutionarily ancient and grounded in feeling, and modern attempts of using quantitative methods to tackle the mystery of consciousness.
0:00:04 Introduction to Dr. Mark Solms and his interest in c...2022-01-051h 12
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #41: Dr. Jeremy DeSilva - First Steps: How Walking Upright Made Us HumanDr. Jeremy DeSilva is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at Dartmouth College, and author of the book First Steps: How Walking Upright Made Us Human. He is a paleoanthropologist, specializing in the locomotion of the first apes (hominoids) and early human ancestors (hominins). His particular anatomical expertise-- the human foot and ankle-- has contributed to our understanding of the origins and evolution of upright walking in the human lineage.
In this episode we discuss Jeremy's book First Steps and his research on the evolution of human locomotion: from quadruped apes to upright humans. We additionally discuss how...2021-12-2957 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #40: Dr. Randy Thornhill - Parasite-Stress Theory & The Evolution of ConservatismDr. Randy Thornhill is an evolutionary biologist and a Distinguished Professor of Biology Emeritus at the University of New Mexico. He is a pioneering researcher of parasite-stress theory, which describes how pathogens have throughout history shaped our behavior and values.
In this episode we discuss parasite-stress theory and the behavioral immune system, and how conservative values are cross-culturally associated with regional parasite prevalence. Additionally, we discuss these findings in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and how advancements in sanitation throughout history may have given rise to more liberal ideals. 2021-12-2254 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #39: Dr. Beth Smith - Infant Neuromotor DevelopmentDr. Beth Smith is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Southern California where she directs the Infant Neuromotor Control Laboratory. Dr. Smith's research focuses on the development of neural control of movement during infancy and evaluates interventions for neural and functional development in infants with or at risk for developmental delay.2021-12-1848 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #38: Dr. Katie Bottenhorn - Neuroinformatics & Women's HealthDr. Katie Bottenhorn is a neuroscientist and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Southern California. In this episode we talk about Katie's background in neuropsychology, the methodological aspect of neuroinformatics, and Katie's dissertation research focusing on how hormonal fluctuations during the menstrual cycle impact women's brains. Additionally, we discuss gender imbalances in STEM fields such as neuroscience, and compare large sample neuroimaging studies to deep phenotyping approaches featuring a large number of scans within a small sample.
Timestamps:
0:00 - Introduction
0:46 - Pursuing psychology and chemistry as an undergrad
3:33 - Neuroimaging vs we...2021-12-1241 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #37: Dr. Babak Hemmatian - Natural Language Processing & Political DiscourseDr. Babak Hemmatian is a cognitive scientist and postdoctoral research fellow at the Beckman Institute of the University of Illinois. His research focuses on using natural language processing techniques to analyze natural discourse, such as social media posts, as they relate to personal and political beliefs. In this episode we discuss Babak's background in computational cognitive science, his PhD research analyzing how Reddit and Twitter users' perspectives on the legalization of gay marriage and marijuana use changed over time, and the ethics of collecting data from social media users. 2021-12-0851 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #36: Dr. David Geary - The Evolution of Human Sex DifferencesDr. David Geary is a cognitive developmental and evolutionary psychologist and Curators' Distinguished Professor and a Thomas Jefferson Fellow at the University of Missouri. He is an expert in children's mathematical development and the evolution of human sex differences. 2021-12-061h 09
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #35: Dr. Mark Schaller - The Behavioral Immune SystemDr. Mark Schaller is a Professor of Psychology at the University of British Columbia and one of the pioneering researchers of the behavioral immune system. 2021-12-011h 00
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #34: Dr. Rosalind Arden - Intelligence in Humans & DogsDr. Rosalind Arden is a behavioral geneticist, Research Fellow at the London School of Economics, and an expert in the study of intelligence. In this episode we discuss the genetic and environmental factors that influence human intelligence, and Rosalind's pioneering work studying intelligence in dogs.2021-11-2552 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #33: Dr. Arik Kershenbaum - The Zoologist's Guide to the GalaxyDr. Arik Kershenbaum is an evolutionary biologist and lecturer at the University of Cambridge with expertise in studying animal communication. In this episode we discuss his book, The Zoologist's Guide to the Galaxy, and the many universal features of evolution and communication that we might expect to find in alien life. 2021-11-1757 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #32: Dr. Julia Marshall - The Development of CooperationDr. Julia Marshall is a postdoctoral researcher at Boston College, where she studies children's cooperative development, moral development, and desire to punish. In this episode we discuss Julia's background in psychology, how moral values can be studied empirically in children, the developmental factors that lead to the desire to punish and cooperate, and compare children's and adults' prosocial norms. Learn more about Julia's work at: https://www.juliaannemarshall.com/
Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction 0:25 - What first got Julia interested in psychology 3:48 - How is morality studied empirically? 6:41 - Are children's moral beliefs innate, or socially constructed? 7:37 - Children a...2021-11-1050 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #31: Dr. Ryan Boyd - Natural Language Processing, Personality, & BehaviorDr. Ryan Boyd is a computational social and behavioral scientist at Lancaster University. In this episode, we discuss Ryan's background in psychology, his transition from experimental to computational psychology, and his exposure to natural language processing. Additionally, we discuss how natural language processing research can be used to analyze text and predict personality, behavior, and authorship. Finally, we discuss the ethics of data collection on social media, and forms of data science that may be used to protect privacy. 2021-11-0755 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #30: Dr. Danbee Kim - Field Neuroscience & CuttlefishDr. Danbee Kim is the pioneer of field neuroscience: the non-invasive neuroscientific study of animals in their natural habitats. In this episode we discuss Danbee's motivation to create field neuroscience, the amazing neurobiology of cuttlefish, and Danbee's field neuroscience work on cuttlefish and humans for her PhD dissertation. She currently works at the UK-based company NeuroGears, focusing on building collaborative projects that use storytelling and interactive experiences to help people apply scientific methods of understanding to their daily lives. Learn more about Danbee's work and find her graphic novel "The First VIRS" at: http://www.danbeekim.org/2021-11-031h 05
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #29: Dr. Brad Duchaine & Sarah Herald - Face Processing DisordersDr. Brad Duchaine is a Professor of Psychology at Dartmouth College, where he runs the Social Perception Lab. Sarah Herald is a Psychology PhD Student working in the Social Perception Lab. In this episode we talk about the neuropsychology of social perception, facial recognition, and face processing disorders including prosopagnosia (the inability to recognize faces) and prosopometamorphopsia (PMO; distortions in face perception). Learn more about their research, and get in contact for a research study if you or someone you know has a face processing disorder at: https://lab.faceblind.org/index.html2021-10-3044 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #28: Dr. Manoj Doss - The Neuroscience of Episodic Memory & PsychedelicsDr. Manoj Doss is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research at Johns Hopkins University. In this episode we discuss his background in neuropsychopharmacology and his research studying the effects of psychedelic drugs on episodic memory and cognition. 2021-10-2753 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #27: Dr. Kevin Mitchell - Innate: How the Wiring of Our Brains Shapes Who We AreDr. Kevin Mitchell is an Associate Professor of Genetics and Neuroscience at Trinity College Dublin. In this episode we discuss his background in genetics and neuroscience, the evolution of cognition, and the interplay of genes and environment in shaping human behavior, philosophy of mind, and his book Innate: How the Wiring of Our Brains Shapes Who We Are. Learn more about Kevin's work at: https://www.kjmitchell.com/2021-10-251h 06
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #26: Dr. Eric Schwitzgebel - Belief, Consciousness, & CrazyismDr. Eric Schwitzgebel is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Riverside. In this episode we discuss his thoughts on "in-between" beliefs, moral philosophy, and why most theories of consciousness are crazy.2021-10-201h 09
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #25: Dr. David McKemy - The Neurobiology of PainDr. David McKemy is a Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Southern California. He is an expert in the neurobiology of pain. 2021-10-1348 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #24: Dr. Tor Wager - Affective Neuroscience & BeliefDr. Tor Wager is a Professor of Neuroscience at Dartmouth College, where he runs the Cognitive & Affective Neuroscience Laboratory and conducts research on emotion and belief. Learn more about his work at: https://sites.dartmouth.edu/canlab/2021-10-0651 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #23: Dr. Edward Hagen - Biological Anthropology, Evolutionary Medicine, & LeadershipDr. Edward Hagen is a Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology at Washington State University. In this episode we discuss the field of anthropology, evolutionary approaches to studying mental health and substance use, and the evolution of leadership.
Video available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW3g4ElSF3c&lc=UgzzkXB9wQ24E2OZYgx4AaABAg
Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction 0:26 - What is anthropology? 4:51 - How Ed became interested in biological anthropology 7:15 - How anthropologists differ from historians 9:33 - Evolutionary approaches to human behavior 17:00 - Studying mental health through the lens of evolutionary psychology 25:12 - The "mismatch hy...2021-09-291h 14
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #22: Dr. Oriel FeldmanHall - Social Neuroscience, Morality, & AltruismDr. Oriel FeldmanHall is a social affective neuroscientist and an Assistant Professor at Brown University, where she studies the neural basis of human social behavior, with a focus on morality, altruism, and socio-emotional decision-making. Learn more about Oriel's work at: http://www.feldmanhalllab.com/
In this episode we discuss Oriel's background in psychology, her research on moral decision-making and altruism, and how these subjective constructs are operationalized and measured in neuroscience. We also discuss her current and future work of studying the neural basis of social cognitive mapping. 2021-09-2252 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #21: Dr. Debra Lieberman - Evolutionary Psychology, Disgust, & MoralityDr. Debra Lieberman is an evolutionary psychologist and an Associate Professor at the University of Miami. In this episode I interview Debra about her background in psychology, common misconceptions about evolutionary psychology, her research on the role disgust plays in our moral values, and why phenomena such as prosocial behavior and gratitude evolved. 2021-09-1555 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #20: Dr. William Ngiam - Visual Working Memory & Open ScienceDr. William Ngiam is a cognitive neuroscientist and postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Chicago, where he studies visual working memory. Learn more about his work at: https://williamngiam.github.io/
In this episode we discuss William's background in neuroscience, the neural mechanisms behind visual working memory, and what cognitive psychology tells us about the philosophy of perception. Additionally, we discuss William's involvement in the open science movement and the reproducibility crisis in science, better termed the "credibility revolution." 2021-09-081h 07
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #19: Dr. Richard Tremblay - The Development of AggressionDr. Richard Tremblay is an Emeritus Professor of Pediatrics, Psychiatry, and Psychology at the University of Montreal and one of the world's leading experts on childhood aggression. In 2017 he received the Stockholm Prize in Criminology for his work on studying the developmental origins of aggression in children and his intervention studies meant to improve the developmental trajectories of delinquent children.
In this episode we discuss Dr. Tremblay's background in psychology and his large-scale longitudinal studies of the development of aggression in children which showed that aggression is most frequent in toddlers, and declines with age. We additionally...2021-09-011h 01
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #18: Dr. Johnna Swartz - Adolescent Brain Development & Mental HealthDr. Johnna Swartz is an Assistant Professor of Human Development at the University of California, Davis. Learn more about her research at: https://swartzlab.faculty.ucdavis.edu/
In this episode we discuss Johnna's background in psychology and neuroscience, her ongoing research examining the neural correlates of depression in adolescents cross-culturally, and what neuroscience teaches us about mental health. 2021-08-251h 07
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #17: Dr. Michael Serra - Learning, Memory, & MetacognitionDr. Michael Serra is an Associate Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at Texas Tech University. Learn more about his research in the Learning and Metacognition Lab here: http://webpages.acs.ttu.edu/mserra/
In this episode we discuss the cognitive and neural basis behind learning and memory, Michael's work researching metacognition in the context of education, and what cognitive psychology teaches us about how to be better learners. 2021-08-181h 11
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #16: Dr. Jakub Szymanik - Logic, Language, & ComputationDr. Jakub Szymanik is an Associate Professor in the Institute for Logic, Language and Computation at the University of Amsterdam.
In this episode we discuss natural language processing, artificial intelligence, and Jakub's research on forms of linguistic cognition such as quantifiers and categorical reasoning. 2021-08-121h 02
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #15: Dr. Katie Gordon - Clinical Psychology & Suicide PreventionDr. Katie Gordon is a licensed clinical psychologist, co-host of the Psychodrama Podcast, and the author of The Suicidal Thoughts Workbook. Learn more about her work and find her book and podcast at: https://kathrynhgordon.com/
In this episode we discuss Katie's background in clinical psychology, her work as a therapist, suicide prevention, and tips for managing mental health.
Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction 0:59 - How Katie became interested in clinical psychology 2:37 - Introduction to psychology research 4:35 - Working in a mental hospital before grad school 5:37 - How to manage one's own emotions when working with suffering pat...2021-08-0452 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #14: Dr. Nadia Chernyak - How Children Quantify FairnessDr. Nadia Chernyak is an Assistant Professor of Cognitive Sciences at the University of California, Irvine. In this episode we discuss her research on children's moral development, conceptions of fairness and inequality, and the role numeracy skills play in these conceptions. Learn more about Dr. Chernyak's research at: https://www.dosclab.com/
Video available at: https://youtu.be/MOjgJGU-KW4
Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction 0:35 - How Nadia became interested in studying moral and social development 1:48 - Psychology vs. philosophy 2:48 - Conducting psychological experiments with young children 4:06 - Inequalities perceived by young children and even monkeys 8:55 - When and h...2021-07-2857 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #13: Dr. Felipe De Brigard - Imagination & Modal CognitionDr. Felipe De Brigard is a Professor of Philosophy, Psychology, and Neuroscience at Duke University, where he runs the Imagination and Modal Cognition Lab. Learn more about his research at: https://www.imclab.org/
In this episode we discuss Felipe's background in philosophy and neuroscience, his research on imagination and counterfactual thinking, and the role of memory in consciousness.
Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction 0:29 - Felipe's background in philosophy and neuropsychology 1:58 - Bridging philosophy and cognitive neuroscience in his PhD 3:41 - Neuroscience as an applied medical field vs. a theoretical study of the mind 9:00 - The rise of ex...2021-07-2250 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #12: Dr. Essi Viding - Psychopathy & Antisocial BehaviorIn this episode I interview Dr. Essi Viding, Professor of Developmental Psychopathology at University College London and author of Psychopathy: A Very Short Introduction. We discuss her research on the development of antisocial behavior, the degree to which psychopathic traits are influenced by genetic and environmental factors, and early-intervention strategies which may help improve the developmental trajectory of antisocial children.2021-07-1448 min
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #11: Dr. Zlatan Damnjanovic - Logic & Philosophy of MathematicsIn this episode I interview Dr. Zlatan Damnjanovic, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Southern California. We discuss his research in logic and the philosophy of mathematics, the epistemological of whether the languages of logic and math are universal or man-made, and the historical development of formal systems of logic and mathematics. Additionally, we discuss the paradox logical systems necessarily being either incomplete or inconsistent without the fundamental axiom of truth-preservation (i.e., not contradicting oneself).
Video available at: https://youtu.be/pfLqUJvIBLI 2021-07-081h 06
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #10: Dr. Carlos Cardenas-Iniguez - Social Stratification & Environmental NeuroscienceIn this episode I interview Dr. Carlos Cardenas-Iniguez, neuroscientist and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Southern California. We discuss his background in cognitive neuroscience, his transition to researching the influence of social and environmental factors on the brain, and his current work in environmental neuroscience. Additionally, we discuss issues in science including the operationalization of variables, identity, (statistical) power, and group stratification.2021-06-281h 21
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #9: Dr. Mark Goulston - Surgical Empathy & The Importance of ListeningDr. Mark Goulston is a psychiatrist, former UCLA professor with expertise in suicide prevention, former FBI and police hostage negotiation trainer, inventor of the therapeutic technique of Surgical Empathy, bestselling author of 9 books, and host of the My Wakeup Call podcast.
In this episode we discuss Dr. Goulston's books "Just Listen" and "Get Out of Your Own Way." In addition, Dr. Goulston shares stories from his training as a psychiatrist and discusses the technique of surgical empathy in both clinical and personal settings.
Video available at: https://youtu.be/R9dONx1DhVc
Learn m...2021-06-211h 08
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #8: Dr. Daniel Lapsley - Moral Psychology & DevelopmentIn this episode I interview Dr. Daniel Lapsley, Professor of Psychology at Notre Dame University. We discuss the overlap between philosophy and experimental psychology in the study of morality, early psychological theories of moral development including those of Piaget and Kohlberg, modern perspectives on moral psychology including Haidt's Moral Foundations Theory, and the value of intellectual humility.
Video available at: https://youtu.be/4KNK4l4oNkA 2021-06-111h 10
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #7: Dr. Vera Gluscevic - Dark Matter, Dark Energy, & CosmologyIn this episode I interview Dr. Vera Gluscevic, Gabilan Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Southern California. We discuss her background in astrophysics and her research in cosmology, the beginnings of our Universe, the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy, and touch briefly on metaphysics and the probabilistic nature of the quantum world.2021-06-011h 10
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #6: Dr. Alex Bezzerides - Evolution Gone Wrong: Why Our Bodies Work (Or Don't)In this episode I interview Dr. Alex Bezzerides, Professor of Biology at Lewis-Clark State College, about his book Evolution Gone Wrong: The Curious Reasons Why Our Bodies Work (Or Don't). We discuss his background in biology, inspirations for the book, our evolutionary past, and the trade-offs that come with adaptation: from the benefits of walking on two feet and having large brains, to the pains of backache and childbirth.
Find his book here: https://www.amazon.com/Evolution-Gone-Wrong-Curious-Reasons/dp/1335690050/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=2021-05-271h 11
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #5: Dr. Cecilia Heyes - Cognitive Gadgets: The Cultural Evolution of ThinkingIn this episode I interview Dr. Cecilia Heyes, Professor of Psychology at Oxford University, about her book Cognitive Gadgets: The Cultural Evolution of Thinking. We discuss her background in animal research, the nature vs. nurture debate, culture as an evolutionary process, and discuss various "cognitive gadgets" such as literacy and imitation, which Heyes argues are not biologically programmed, but culturally evolved feats of cognition.
Find her book at: https://www.amazon.com/Cognitive-Gadgets-Cultural-Evolution-Thinking/dp/06749801582021-05-051h 08
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #4: Dr. Toby Mintz - Psycholinguistics & Early Language DevelopmentIn this episode I interview Dr. Toby Mintz, Professor of Psychology and Linguistics at the University of Southern California. We discuss language in the context of cognitive science: from artificial intelligence to human language development, and discuss his research on language acquisition in infants and children.
Video available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQoO1KopuLM
Papers discussed:
Mintz, T. H. (2003). Frequent frames as a cue for grammatical categories in child directed speech. Cognition, 90(1), 91-117.
Mintz, T. H. (2005). Linguistic and conceptual influences on adjective acquisition in 24-and 36-month-olds. Developmental Psychology, 41(1), 17.2021-04-291h 00
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #3: Dr. Frank Manis - Literacy Development & The Dynamic ChildIn this episode I interview Dr. Frank Manis, Professor of Psychology at the University of Southern California and author of The Dynamic Child. We discuss his early career studying literacy development and dyslexia, his textbook and MyVirtualChild program, and his thoughts on the field of developmental psychology.
Video available at: https://youtu.be/9CLnqbtlhYs2021-04-231h 08
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #2: Dr. Megan Herting - Environmental Neuroscience & Brain DevelopmentIn this episode I interview Dr. Megan Herting, neuroscientist and professor of Preventive Medicine at the University of Southern California. We discuss her early career and transition from behavioral neuroscience in rats to humans, recent studies in neuroimaging and environmental neuroscience, and the importance of science education and holism.
Papers discussed:
Cserbik, D., Chen, J. C., McConnell, R., Berhane, K., Sowell, E. R., Schwartz, J., ... & Herting, M. M. (2020). Fine particulate matter exposure during childhood relates to hemispheric-specific differences in brain structure. Environment International, 143, 105933.
Campbell, C. E., Mezher, A. F., Eckel, S. P., Tyszka...2021-04-151h 02
The Nature & Nurture PodcastNature & Nurture #1: Dr. Jonas Kaplan - Cognitive Neuroscience, Belief, & ConsciousnessIn this episode I interview Dr. Jonas Kaplan, cognitive neuroscientist and co-director of the Brain and Creativity Institute at the University of Southern California. We discuss his early career and inspirations, his favorite studies, and the neural underpinnings of belief and consciousness.
Video available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2cTprF6_u8
Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction 0:40 - How Jonas first became interested in neuroscience 2:00 - Jonas describes an experience in college which changed his views on consciousness 3:40 - Jonas describes his college studies and research 5:57 - Jonas describes his graduate school experience 11:10 - Left br...2021-04-131h 09