It turns out that forgetting is a feature, not a bug. In this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markaman and Dr. Bob Duke talk about the many ways forgetting is more important than we may think, especially when it comes to what we remember.
The Psychology, Science and Performance of Play
Turns out that understanding the why and how of play in our everyday lives is a serious business, but still a lot of fun! Listen back as Rebecca McInroy, Art Markman and Bob Duke of Two Guys on Your Head join Alison Preston, Kirk Lynn, and Sarah Abraham for a special presentation at the Texas Science Festival on the psychology, science, and performance of play!
Math, Music, and The Brain
There are some things that just feel like they’re true. For example, the idea that people who are gifted musicians are also good at learning math, or vice versa.
However, there isn’t any data that suggests that there are any links in the brain between these proclivities. As Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke talk about in this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, we underestimate the role emotions play in what we believe to be true.
Protect Your Boredom
It seems that people today carry with them the constant mantra, “I’m so busy.” And as it can be tough to juggle work, kids, and life in general, a lot of that feeling of being overwhelmed may be our own fault.
In this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markaman and Dr. Bob Duke talk about the value of boredom, and how to get the most out of your downtime to feel more in control and less stressed.
How To Give a Great Talk
It turns out you don’t have to be exceptionally witty or charming to give a great talk, you just need to be you. And it doesn’t hurt, as Dr. Art Markman, and Dr. Bob Duke, discuss in this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, to follow a few other tips as well.
Learning and The Brain
OpenAI is previewing a new tool called ChatGPT that uses AI to generate text based on prompts. This raises a wide variety of questions. In the last episode of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman, Dr. Bob Duke, and Rebecca McInroy explored the relationship between competence vs. comprehension. In part II we ask, what psychological benefit is there when we choose to do the work ourselves?
Competence vs. Comprehension
OpenAI is previewing a new tool called ChatGPT that uses AI to generate text based on prompts. This raises a wide variety of questions, many of which can be better understood when we look at what Dr. Art Markman, and Dr. Bob Duke, explore in this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, with Rebecca McInroy; the relationship of competence vs. comprehension.
How To Reframe Stress
In our last episode, we talked about how stress and discomfort aren’t always negative. Sometimes you can harness your energy by learning to reframe the negative feelings, but how do we do that?
In this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman, Dr. Bob Duke, and Rebecca McInroy talk about the process of reframing stressful situations and why it’s important.
Reframing Stress
Stress and discomfort aren’t always negative. Sometimes you can harness your energy by learning to reframe the negative feelings. As Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob discuss in this episode of Two Guys on Your Head, some new research by Ayelet Fishbach and her colleagues suggests that doing this can help you get more done.
Why We Love Our Pets
Having a pet is a big responsibility. Pets can be expensive, wake you up in the middle of the night, limit your travel plans, and bring home gifts that aren’t quite what you asked Santa for. Yet, we love them, they bring us joy, and they are really wonderful for us psychologically.
In this episode of Two Guys on Your Head Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke talk about the reasons why pets are so important to our mental health.
Why We Laugh
What is the evolutionary benefit of laughter? In this episode of Two Guys on Your Head Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke explore why we laugh.
Making Change Stick
It’s that time of the year when we resolve to drink less, exercise more, save money, etc. It may feel really good to intend to do “better” in the new year, but as Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke discuss in this episode of Two Guys on Your Head, real change takes planning and hard work. Why is that?
It turns out we have no idea why we do most of the things we do on a daily basis. And as long as our behaviors are driven by factors that operate below our conscious awareness, we may not know how to change. As the Two Guys point out, effective change can happen when we start from the outside in. When we look at our environments first we can make space and cultivate relationships that help us become our best selves.
Celebration
Sometimes we put off celebrating until we achieve a big goal instead of taking a moment to enjoy the little achievements along the way, and that’s a problem.
In this episode of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke discuss the evolutionary reasons behind the importance of celebration, gratitude, and achievement.
How To Crush Writer’s Block (Rebroadcast)
Writer’s block! That phrase might induce panic and a recollection of a familiar experience. It’s a very common phenomenon. So what is it?
In this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke explain the ins and outs of how and why we sometimes get stuck – and what we can do to help ourselves in those difficult situations.
Attention and Performance
What causes us to choke under pressure, especially when we’re playing a sport? Why is it that when we start paying close attention to how we’re performing a motor skill, like running or speaking, we tend to mess it up?
In this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markaman and Dr. Bob Duke talk about the significance of the brain mechanisms that support fluid performance and why it’s important to not think too much about them.
Why It’s Not Always About Being Liked When You’re a Leader (Rebroadcast)
If you’re in a leadership position you know you have to make some difficult decisions. Some of those decisions might put you in the doghouse for a while, but if you are motivated by the good of the group as opposed to the need to be liked, things tend to work out better.
In this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke talk about the psychology of leadership and being liked.
The Psychology of The Holiday Traditions (Rebroadcast)
For many of us, Thanksgiving means spending time with our families and carrying out traditions that we’ve practiced for years.
While it can be very stressful, messy, and challenging to spend time with family members you don’t see very often, it can also be a beautiful time of re-centering.
Traditions serve a psychological function. By repeating the same traditional activity with the same group of people over the years, we construct a chronological record of who we’ve been before – and who we are now. It’s a hidden way of staying in touch with the consistent elements of our identities, and it allows us to track ourselves as we develop and change.
Traditions give us an opportunity to become psychologically close to the person that we used to be in childhood, or adolescence – or even as recently as last year. And that’s something to be thankful for.
As always, Drs. Bob Duke and Art Markman are carving it up.
Why We Believe Lies
We evolved to believe what we are told, however, we did not evolve in an environment with mass media. This is what makes the spread of misinformation so insidious and effective. In this week’s episode of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke talk about why we believe lies.
The Psychology of Reading (Part II)
There are many ways in which reading enriches our lives, but we may overlook some of the most important. In this week’s episode of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke conclude their exploration into the psychology of reading.
The Psychology of Reading (Part I)
Many of us enjoy reading novels but rarely do we ask ourselves why we prefer one over another. In this week’s episode of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke talk about the psychology of reading.