Why We Do What We Do – Details, episodes & analysis

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Why We Do What We Do

Why We Do What We Do

Abraham

Science
Education
Society & Culture

Frequency: 1 episode/6d. Total Eps: 494

Spreaker
We explain popular and weird, little-known ideas in psychology. Whether you are a little curious about psychology, or a student, or even a professional, we have something for everyone.

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  • 🇬🇧 Great Britain - socialSciences

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  • 🇺🇸 USA - socialSciences

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  • 🇺🇸 USA - socialSciences

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Imitation Imitation

Episode 386

mercredi 25 septembre 2024 • Duration 57:27

It is easy to dismiss some behaviors as "just" imitation. However, this is a crucial developmental skill that we rely on throughout our lifetimes. We explore the philosophy of what imitation is, how it develops, and when people struggle with it. 

Recommendations
Holidays (09/25/24)
  • Banned Websites Awareness Day
  • Binge Day
  • Comic Book Day
  • Math Story Telling Day
  • National Bakery Day
  • National Cooking Day
  • National Food Service Employees Day
  • National Lobster Day
  • National One-Hit Wonder Day
  • National Psychotherapy Day
  • National Research Administrators Day
  • National Tune Up Day
  • World Ataxia Awareness Day
  • World Dream Day
  • World Pharmacists Day
  • World School Milk Day
  • Banned Books Week
  • Deaf Dog Awareness Week
  • International Interpreters and Translators Week
  • Minimally Invasive Surgery Week
  • National Dog Week
  • National Farm Animals Awareness Week
  • Sea Otter Awareness Week
  • Tolkien Week
  • National Hispanic Heritage Week
  • Remember to Register to Vote Week
Links and References:
  1. https://www.mayinstitute.org/news/acl/asd-and-dd-child-focused/what-is-imitation-and-why-is-it-important/#:~:text=Imitation%20is%20a%20crucial%20aspect,and%20peers%20perform%20these%20behaviors.
  2. https://jacobsfoundation.org/why-imitation-in-early-childhood-is-crucial/




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Mini: Neoliberalism

lundi 23 septembre 2024 • Duration 15:14

Neoliberalism is a a name that might be misleading. It is not "liberal" as in left-wing politics. We will describe what neoliberalism is and offer our own ideas about its proposal.

Support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcast

Links and References: 


Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/why-we-do-what-we-do--3419521/support.

The Electoral College pt. 1

Episode 381

mercredi 21 août 2024 • Duration 53:19

The electoral college is a strange system in the United States by which the president is "chosen" by a slate of people who represent the will of the voters, except when it doesn't. In this first episode, we explore the history of the electoral college and some of the unique instances in which a president achieved office without the majority of votes from the people because this system allows it. Next time, we will unpack the arguments for and against the electoral college. 

Recommendations

Holidays for 08/21/2024:
  • Spumoni Day
  • Finance Brokers Day
  • Brazilian Blowout Day
  • International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism
  • Internet Self Care Day
  • National Medical Dosimetrist Day
  • Poet’s Day
  • Senior Citizen’s Day
  • World Goat Day
  • Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over (Week)
  • Minority Enterprise Development Week
  • National Aviation Week
  • Little League World Series
  • Hayden Panettiere’s bday


Links and References: 
  1. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/its-time-to-abolish-the-electoral-college/
  2. https://saveourstates.com/blog/yes-other-countries-have-electoral-colleges-too
  3. https://people.howstuffworks.com/10-countries-besides-us-have-electoral-colleges.htm
  4. https://www.usa.gov/electoral-college
  5. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2016/11/22/among-democracies-u-s-stands-out-in-how-it-chooses-its-head-of-state/
  6. https://www.archives.gov/electoral-college/history#:~:text=The%20Founding%20Fathers%20established%20the,popular%20vote%20of%20qualified%20citizens.
  7. https://www.heritage.org/the-essential-electoral-college/the-current-threat#:~:text=If%20the%20Electoral%20College%20was%20eliminated%2C%20the%20power%20to%20elect,voice%20of%20smaller%20populated%20states.
  8. https://stanfordmag.org/contents/should-we-abolish-the-electoral-college
  9. https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2019/05/23/killing-electoral-college-means-rural-americans-would-be-serfs-column/3770424002/
  10. https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/publications/youraba/2019/october-2019/q--the-electoral-college--is-it-open-for-interpretation-by-the-c/
  11. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/09/25/majority-of-americans-continue-to-favor-moving-away-from-electoral-college/
  12. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fi7uownWRmQ
  13. https://youtu.be/ajavsMbCapY?si=vXojc85LpkmDbCrb
  14. https://www.history.com/news/presidents-electoral-college-popular-vote


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Wokeism

Episode 310

mercredi 19 avril 2023 • Duration 01:14:30

Wokeism has a much longer history than you might think and its original meaning has been appropriated and obfuscated beyond recognition. We break down the defintiion, the current application, and level a critical lens at "woke" culture. Warning: We discuss a few awful people doing awful things.
Vocab: Pejorative.

Recommendations:

Links and References:
  1. https://www.vox.com/culture/21437879/stay-woke-wokeness-history-origin-evolution-controversy
  2. https://www.nationalworld.com/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/what-does-woke-mean-definition-woke-culture-2023-3215758
  3. https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/2167/stop-w-o-k-e-act
  4. https://scholarworks.uttyler.edu/dsjel/vol2/iss3/1/
  5. https://shareok.org/handle/11244/326817
  6. https://formationreimagined.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Church-membership-has-fallen-below-the-majority-for-the-first-time-The-Washington-Post.pdf
  7. https://diversity.social/wokeism-woke-culture/


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The Psychology of Swearing

mercredi 12 avril 2023 • Duration 01:01:34

Swearing involves the use of taboo words considered coarse, blasphemous, or otherwise unacceptable in polite or formal speech to accentuate a statement. Contrary to the myth that frequent swearing reflects a poverty of vocabulary, research shows that people who use taboo words tend to have larger vocabularies and higher verbal fluency. Swearing serves different functions like expressing emotions, creating humor, and constructing identity. Additionally, some researchers believe swearing can provide stress relief in upsetting situations, like when one stubs their toe.

Recommendations

Links and References:
  1. https://people.howstuffworks.com/backward-evolution-swear-words.htm
  2. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2015/06/26/2ba794c6-1abc-11e5-ab92-c75ae6ab94b5_story.html
  3. https://www.proquest.com/openview/c9bc23a0134b3d738b563383c931be06/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=31040
  4. https://pure.ulster.ac.uk/ws/files/86158666/Swearing_and_perceptions_of_the_speaker.pdf
  5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kd-Sa_3iBVA
  6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAkPudcbNz0
  7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1F90W40t6g
  8. https://list.co.uk/news/9980/interview-jim-jefferies-im-the-rosa-parks-of-cnt
  9. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2001/01/20/station-fined-for-playing-the-whole-slim-shady/6bf0d192-4e57-4341-96cd-ae4c5534f86c/
  10. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S038800011400151X
  11. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00723/full
  12. https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13423-022-02202-0
  13. https://word.tips/us-states-curse-words-map/


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Facilitated Communication Pt. 3: The Damage

mercredi 5 avril 2023 • Duration 01:03:57

In this third and final installment of our discussion about Facilitated Communication, we explain why Facilitated Communication is not only ineffective, it is actively harmful, even fatally. Facilitated Communication is dangerous and does not work.
WARNING: This episode contains discussions of sexual abuse and violence.

Recommendations
Links and References
  1. https://neuroclastic.com/logical-fallacies/
  2. https://www.asha.org/policy/ps2018-00352/
  3. https://www.facilitatedcommunication.org/organizations-opposing-fc
  4. Jacobson, J. W., Mulick, J. A., & Schwartz, A. A. (1995). A history of facilitated communication: Science, pseudoscience, and antiscience science working group on facilitated communication. American Psychologist, 50(9), 750–765. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.50.9.750
  5. https://raisingchildren.net.au/autism/therapies-guide/facilitated-communication#:~:text=Facilitated%20communication%20is%20based%20on,they%20can%20use%20these%20tools.
  6. https://notanautismmom.com/2022/01/04/asha-position-statement-fc-rpm/
  7. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2020/01/02/autism-center-specialist-autistic-symptoms-spectrum-disorder-spell-to-communicate/4077034002/
  8. https://i-asc.org/
  9. https://www.facilitatedcommunication.org/
  10. https://cen.acs.org/biological-chemistry/infectious-disease/How-COVID-19-has-changed-the-culture-of-science/99/i3
  11. https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/facilitated-communication-is-still-pseudoscience/
  12. https://behavioralobservations.com/what-is-facilitated-communication-session-199-with-jason-travers/
  13. https://www.theskepticsguide.org/podcasts/episode-876
  14. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2020/01/02/autism-center-specialist-autistic-symptoms-spectrum-disorder-spell-to-communicate/4077034002/
  15. https://theconversation.com/its-time-to-stop-exposing-people-to-the-dangers-of-facilitated-communication-95942#:~:text=FC%20can%20mask%20the%20true,for%20sex%2C%20or%20other%20crimes.
  16. Thompson, T. (1994). Review of Communication Unbound by Douglas Biklen. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 98, 670-673.
  17. https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/pseudoscience/who-doing-pointing-when-communication-facilitated
  18. https://cen.acs.org/biological-chemistry/infectious-disease/How-COVID-19-has-changed-the-culture-of-science/99/i3


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Facilitated Communication Pt. 2: The Science

mercredi 29 mars 2023 • Duration 01:00:26

The follow-up to the history of Facilitated Communication. How can we determine if the messages typed by an individual with little or no previous language experience is coming from them or their facilitator? Simply. This episode describes the experiments that cleverly demonstrated the nature of the Facilitated Communication dynamic. It was very one-sided. Only one-sided in fact. Check out part two of the FC trilogy.

Recommendations
Links and References
  1. https://neuroclastic.com/logical-fallacies/
  2. https://www.asha.org/policy/ps2018-00352/
  3. https://www.facilitatedcommunication.org/organizations-opposing-fc
  4. Jacobson, J. W., Mulick, J. A., & Schwartz, A. A. (1995). A history of facilitated communication: Science, pseudoscience, and antiscience science working group on facilitated communication. American Psychologist, 50(9), 750–765. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.50.9.750
  5. https://raisingchildren.net.au/autism/therapies-guide/facilitated-communication#:~:text=Facilitated%20communication%20is%20based%20on,they%20can%20use%20these%20tools.
  6. https://notanautismmom.com/2022/01/04/asha-position-statement-fc-rpm/
  7. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2020/01/02/autism-center-specialist-autistic-symptoms-spectrum-disorder-spell-to-communicate/4077034002/
  8. https://i-asc.org/
  9. https://www.facilitatedcommunication.org/
  10. https://cen.acs.org/biological-chemistry/infectious-disease/How-COVID-19-has-changed-the-culture-of-science/99/i3
  11. https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/facilitated-communication-is-still-pseudoscience/
  12. https://behavioralobservations.com/what-is-facilitated-communication-session-199-with-jason-travers/
  13. https://www.theskepticsguide.org/podcasts/episode-876
  14. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2020/01/02/autism-center-specialist-autistic-symptoms-spectrum-disorder-spell-to-communicate/4077034002/
  15. https://theconversation.com/its-time-to-stop-exposing-people-to-the-dangers-of-facilitated-communication-95942#:~:text=FC%20can%20mask%20the%20true,for%20sex%2C%20or%20other%20crimes.
  16. Thompson, T. (1994). Review of Communication Unbound by Douglas Biklen. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 98, 670-673.
  17. https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/pseudoscience/who-doing-pointing-when-communication-facilitated
  18. https://cen.acs.org/biological-chemistry/infectious-disease/How-COVID-19-has-changed-the-culture-of-science/99/i3


Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/why-we-do-what-we-do--3419521/support.

Facilitated Communication Pt. 1: Magic Keyboard History

mercredi 22 mars 2023 • Duration 01:01:48

Being as charitable and honest as we can, facilitate communication is an ineffective pseudoscience. We explore the history, the claims, and a careful discussion of the general procedures. We handle this first discussion gently. Next episode, the gloves come off.

Recommendations
Links:
  1. https://neuroclastic.com/logical-fallacies/
  2. https://www.asha.org/policy/ps2018-00352/
  3. https://www.facilitatedcommunication.org/organizations-opposing-fc
  4. Jacobson, J. W., Mulick, J. A., & Schwartz, A. A. (1995). A history of facilitated communication: Science, pseudoscience, and antiscience science working group on facilitated communication. American Psychologist, 50(9), 750–765. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.50.9.750
  5. https://raisingchildren.net.au/autism/therapies-guide/facilitated-communication#:~:text=Facilitated%20communication%20is%20based%20on,they%20can%20use%20these%20tools.
  6. https://notanautismmom.com/2022/01/04/asha-position-statement-fc-rpm/
  7. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2020/01/02/autism-center-specialist-autistic-symptoms-spectrum-disorder-spell-to-communicate/4077034002/
  8. https://i-asc.org/
  9. https://www.facilitatedcommunication.org/
  10. https://cen.acs.org/biological-chemistry/infectious-disease/How-COVID-19-has-changed-the-culture-of-science/99/i3
  11. https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/facilitated-communication-is-still-pseudoscience/
  12. https://behavioralobservations.com/what-is-facilitated-communication-session-199-with-jason-travers/
  13. https://www.theskepticsguide.org/podcasts/episode-876
  14. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2020/01/02/autism-center-specialist-autistic-symptoms-spectrum-disorder-spell-to-communicate/4077034002/
  15. https://theconversation.com/its-time-to-stop-exposing-people-to-the-dangers-of-facilitated-communication-95942#:~:text=FC%20can%20mask%20the%20true,for%20sex%2C%20or%20other%20crimes.
  16. Thompson, T. (1994). Review of Communication Unbound by Douglas Biklen. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 98, 670-673.
  17. https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/pseudoscience/who-doing-pointing-when-communication-facilitated
  18. https://cen.acs.org/biological-chemistry/infectious-disease/How-COVID-19-has-changed-the-culture-of-science/99/i3


Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/why-we-do-what-we-do--3419521/support.

Seizure Alert Dogs

mercredi 15 mars 2023 • Duration 56:10

Seizure alert animals, like dogs, help during and after seizures and require training and upkeep. They aren't just pets and may stay with their owner for 8-9 years. The animals recognize seizures through sudden shifts in behavior and intense pacing, whining, or licking. Researchers also explore capturing seizure-associated scents. So, if you see a dog licking you intensely, it might be detecting something more exciting than just sweat or crumbs.

Recommendations

Links
How to Train a Seizure Alert Dog - Medical Mutts Service Dogs Inc.
Seizure Alert Dogs | Epilepsy Foundation
Seizure Alert Service Dogs | Epilepsy Warning Dogs | CPLhttps://k94life.org/seizure-alert/(k94life.org)
*Dog alerting and/or responding to epileptic seizures: A scoping reviewhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6279040/pdf/pone.0208280.pdf(nih.gov)


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Ancestral Hallucinations: The Bicameral Mind

Episode 304

mercredi 8 mars 2023 • Duration 57:13

A highly controversial speculative hypothesis. Julian Jaynes read ancient texts and arrived at a unique and wholly original hypothesis: Our ancestors did not have consciousness. He reasoned that their brains did not work in concert as ours do today and instead they "hear" the messages from one hemisphere as the ethereal voice of gods. Is there evidence for this? Have we learned something knew about human psychology? We weigh in on the relatively utility of Jaynes' bicameral mind, for what it's worth.

Recommendations
  • Abraham: Track your miles per gallon
  • Shane: Gift cards


Links:
  1. https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1977/5/12/the-lonely-odyssey-of-julian-jaynes/
  2. https://www.julianjaynes.org/about/about-jaynes-theory/overview/
  3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?
  4. https://www.academia.edu/7100194/Julian_Jaynes_and_the_Promise_of_the_Other_Psychology_Cultural_Historical_Approaches_to_Psyche
  5. https://youtu.be/ll12kPSi1Xc


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