psychology

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 HeadDr. 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.

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.

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.

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 HeadDr. 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.

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.

Brain Games and Learning

You can go to the gym and work out your quads, your biceps, or your balance and isolate those muscle groups to focus on the improvement of those areas of function with work.

So it’s not too far of a stretch to assume if we exercise specific areas of our brains might we see improvement in functions as well, right?  Unfortunately, it’s not quite so simple.

But have so many brain-training systems like Lumosity become so popular?

On this week’s Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke will demystify the process of brain function improvement and illustrate the effectiveness of brain training programs.

Texas Standard: October 26, 2022

Governor Abbott extends a COVID-19 disaster declaration for Texas as a majority of states move the other direction. We’ll have the latest. Other stories we’re tracking: a stay of execution for a Texas death row inmate turns the spotlight on a tactic used by police to extract confessions…not all of them true. Also as election day approaches the nuts and bolts of voting machines: often at the center of disinformation claims. And how bout them…ticket prices? If you want to see the Astros in the world series it’s gonna costa ya, big time. We’ll hear how much. And the barbecue capitol of Texas heats up for an event that’s truly smokin. All that and much more today on the Texas Standard:

The Social Components of Healing

Healing from an injury, suffering a loss, or struggling with a mental illness, can be isolating, and yet many of us don’t take the time or know how to ask about where our friends, colleagues, or loved ones are in their process of healing from or dealing with these challenges; and that’s a problem. In this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman, and Dr. Bob Duke talk about the social components of healing and why they’re important.