Noggin - The Simple Psychology Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Can you recall an experience where you were so in the zone doing something that time was flying by? That is a flow experience, which is the topic of today's episode. We discuss what a flow experience is, how to achieve it, and how it can help your life.

References:

Jackson, S. (1995). Factors influencing the occurrence of flow state in elite athletes. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 7, 138–166.

Payne, B. R., Jackson, J. J., Noh, S. R., & Stine-Morrow, E. A. L. (2011). In the zone: Flow state and cognition in older adults. Psychology and Aging, 26(3), 738–743. Nakamura, J., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2014). The concept of flow. In Flow and the foundations of positive psychology (pp. 239-263). Springer, Dordrecht.

How are you feeling right now? Today we discuss the benefits of naming the emotions we are currently experiencing. Spoiler alert: We talk about "Inside Out".

References:

Kircanski, K., Lieberman, M. D., & Craske, M. G. (2012). Feelings into words: Contributions of language to exposure therapy. Psychological science, 23(10), 1086-1091.

Vlasenko, V. V., Rogers, E. G., & Waugh, C. E. (2021). Affect labelling increases the intensity of positive emotions. Cognition and Emotion, 35(7), 1350-1364.

Mindfulness is something that comes up a lot in the psychological world. But what is it? How is it practiced? What kind of benefits can it have? These are some of the questions we answer about mindfulness in today's episode.  References:  Steffen, P. R., & Larson, M. J. (2015). A brief mindfulness exercise reduces cardiovascular reactivity during a laboratory stressor paradigm. Mindfulness, 6(4), 803-811. Basso, J. C., McHale, A., Ende, V., Oberlin, D. J., & Suzuki, W. A. (2019). Brief, daily meditation enhances attention, memory, mood, and emotional regulation in non-experienced meditators. Behavioural brain research, 356, 208-220. mybestself101.org 

We are back with another full episode this week! We hope you have enjoyed our meditation bonus episodes. We will continue to upload those periodically. This week we discuss the difference between religiosity and spirituality, and what distinct benefits they offer according to the research. 

Hello friends! This week on Noggin we have another meditation for you. This exercise can be completed before you go to bed, or anytime throughout your day when you need a moment to relax. So sit back, press play, and get ready to relax. 

As promised in last week's episode on compassion and self-compassion, today's bonus episode is meant to help you practice compassion toward others and compassion toward yourself. This meditation can be something you listen to regularly as you develop your compassion muscles. We hope you enjoy this special bonus episode! 

What is the difference between self-pity, self-indulgence, and self-compassion? What are the benefits of being compassionate towards others? Today we talk about Dr. Kristen Neff's research on compassion and self-compassion, and how it can benefit your life. We also discuss Dr. Neff's argument for self-compassion over self-esteem. 

References: 

Weng, H. Y., Lapate, R. C., Stodola, D. E., Rogers, G. M., & Davidson, R. J. (2018). Visual attention to suffering after compassion training is associated with decreased amygdala responses. Frontiers in psychology, 9, 771.

Neff, K. D. (2011). Self‐compassion, self‐esteem, and well‐being. Social and personality psychology compass, 5(1), 1-12.

https://self-compassion.org/the-three-elements-of-self-compassion-2/

https://positivepsychology.com/compassion-meditation/#scripts

We love to think that we act rationally most of the time, especially when it comes to the choices we make with our money. However, behavioral economics tells us that humans are notoriously irrational when dealing with money. Today we dive into two basic behavioral economic principles and discuss things to be aware of when it comes to money. 

References: 

Worchel, S., Lee, J., & Adewole, A. (1975). Effects of supply and demand on ratings of object value. Journal of personality and social psychology, 32(5), 906.

Novemsky, N., & Kahneman, D. (2005). The Boundaries of Loss Aversion. Journal of Marketing Research, 42(2), 119–128.

What if we told you that the view from your hospital window could play a role in your recovery from surgery? Today we talk about the benefits of spending time in natural spaces. 

References: 

Ulrich, R. S. (1984). View through a window may influence recovery from surgery. science, 224(4647), 420-421.

White, M. P., Alcock, I., Grellier, J., Wheeler, B. W., Hartig, T., Warber, S. L., ... & Fleming, L. E. (2019). Spending at least 120 minutes a week in nature is associated with good health and wellbeing. Scientific reports, 9(1), 1-11.

What is the difference between correlation and causation? How can researchers actually know when one thing CAUSES another? We received questions like these in response to our episode on reading fiction. So, today we discuss how researchers can establish causality as we revisit the research on reading fiction.