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PODCAST

Why We Do What We Do

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

science social sciences

All Episodes

51:42

Golden Goose Awards

Why We Do What We Do ·

2025/06/11

Science is not perfect, because it is human. But it is strives for correction, unlike almost any other human institution or endeavor. Much of what science does at the basic level can feel absurd, esoteric, and pointless. Sometimes, it is. But funding basic scientific research is the reason we have made more progress in the last 150 years than the previous 3,000 years combined. Let's continue making strides forward with our values in mind: fund basic science research!RecommendationsAbraham: The

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14:18

Mini: Scoville Scale

Why We Do What We Do ·

2025/06/09

The Scoville scale is a method for measuring the heat of capsaicin-laden food. This is the amount of sugar water needed to entirely dilute the spice. But, we say it more elegantly than that. Let the spice flow!Join our supporter's club: www.patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcastLinks and

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74:37

Makeup

Why We Do What We Do ·

2025/06/04

Lots of people smear colored dyes into the skin of their face almost every day. It's so commonplace, we hardly give it a second thought. We explore the history of makeup, and the psychology of this cultural practice. There are different motives for wearing makeup. We enumerate some of them here. It's not so simple as a lot of peope might try to make it out to be. RecommendationsAbraham: Love, Death, and Robots (Season 4; https://www.netflix.com/title/80174608)Shane: Alien: Romulus

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18:10

Mini: Science Cheat-Prevention

Why We Do What We Do ·

2025/06/02

A trending strategy to bolster the interpretation of scientific results is to "pre-register" a study. This is publicly declaring your methods and data analysis procedures prior to beginning the research. Another advantage is that this means null results are more likely to be published. However, it may also inhibit attention to unexpected discovery. We'll briefly describe what pre-registering is, the pros and the cons. Join our membership group! www.patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcastLinks and

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67:05

The End is Nigh!

Why We Do What We Do ·

2025/05/28

We are all gonna die! Some day :) Top 10, or 12 or something times that humans incorrectly predicted the end of the world! People have been doing this for a long, LONG time. Why do we love predicting the end of times? Is it money? Fame? Power? Mental Illness? A little of column A, a little of column B? We'll do our best to list some major would-be world-ending events that didn't end the world and why humans predicted them in the first place. RecommendationsAbraham: Sound of Metal (movie

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25:01

Mini: Stuck in a Music Rut

Why We Do What We Do ·

2025/05/26

Music is an important part of many people's childhood. Early, we start soaking up everything we hear and give equal opportunity to select the things we'll like. Later, we can't seem to move on from those early experiences. Why do we get stuck in a music rut and lose motivation to find new music... or do we?Support us on patreon! (www.patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcast)Links and

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82:01

Nostalgia: Masturbation (The Original DIY)

Why We Do What We Do ·

2025/05/21

Years ago we talked about the science of masturbation (yes, ther's a science). Amazingly, there are some updates in the research on masturbation, so we decided it was time for an update. Fair WARNING: Episode contains expllcit, sexual descriptions. Listen in!support us: www.patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcastRecommendationsAbraham: Tokaido (https://stonemaiergames.com/games/tokaido/)Shane: Pet Symmetry - Big Symmetry (https://open.spotify.com/album/4Qt9subXSihAzylWq7dI8q?si=t5hlGJS2ScaCwE7tZGaakA)Holidays

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20:20

Mini: SIDS

Why We Do What We Do ·

2025/05/19

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) used to be escalating toward crisis. However, a public health campaign was able to effectively influence behaviors and significantly reduced instances of SIDS. So, what is going on with SIDS? Why does it happen? What can do to prevent it? We'll quickly explain what is known about this frightening condition. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/why-we-do-what-we-do--3419521/support.

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70:08

Autism Rising

Why We Do What We Do ·

2025/05/14

There have been some wildly inaccurate claims in the news lately about autism and autistic people. There is a specific political agenda making the case that rates of autism are rising. Further, recent comments from RFK jr. have motivated us to respond and critique his asinine behavior. Autism is part of the human condition. Vaccines don't cause autism. We make an empassioned case against the misinformation ecosystem.RecommendationsAbraham: Deafheaven - “Lonely People With Power”

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14:23

Mini: Catch 'em Being Good

Why We Do What We Do ·

2025/05/12

Facilitating prosocial behavior is something humans have struggled with for a long time. We unfortunately discovered that coercion was effective at directing some behaviors to some degree. This lead to a pervasive tendency to focus on punishment to try to influence behavior, as opposed to reinforcement and encouragement. This is a guide for shifting emphasis back toward acknowledging what's working as a more effective behavior management strategy.Join our patreon club

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79:29

Privatize This!

Why We Do What We Do ·

2025/05/07

A lot of engenuity has come out of various human endeavors over time. One system by which invention is motivated is the competition of capitalism. Thus, many people laud capitalism and private enterprise as the solution to most or all problems. We wanted to explore the motivations and science behind the management of a system that is government operated compared to a system that is privately operated to look for effects on human behavior and society. Turns out, the answers are

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19:52

Mini: Airplane Boarding

Why We Do What We Do ·

2025/05/05

Airlines have tried various methods to herd people onto a plane efficiently. Governing a lot of moving people is tricky. Which methods work to get people boarded? Did you know there is no standard way to do this? We'll break down the issues with boarding. Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcastLinks and References:https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/by_the_numbershttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/there-are-quicker-ways-to-board-a-plane-so-why-dont-airlines-use-them/Become a

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55:48

Teaching Literacy pt 2

Why We Do What We Do ·

2025/04/30

Last episode we spent a lot of time discussing some history about text-based communication in general, so we barely touched on the concepts you would need to get started teaching reading. This episode, we describe most of the remaining phonetic rules to teach reading in the bizare code that is the English language. Recommendations: Abraham: Sinners (https://slate.com/culture/2025/04/sinners-movie-michael-b-jordan-horror-how-scary.html) Shane: Spaceships over Glasgow by Stuart Braithwaite

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16:46

Mini: Middle Names

Why We Do What We Do ·

2025/04/28

How many names do you have? In America, it is very common to have three names, with the second name, called the "middle name," being a way to honor family, or just sound cool. We explain the history and uses of middle names. Listen in and support us if you can: www.patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcastLinks and

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55:42

Teaching Literacy pt 1

Why We Do What We Do ·

2025/04/23

We are giving away the secret sauce. This is how to teach reading in Enlighs and how to do it efficiently. It's the rare trifecta of quick, cheap, and good. This first discussion needs to first carefully explain what reading is so that it is clear how teaching it works. Come back for part two to hear the builk of the sequence of curriculum. RecommendationsMetal Lords: https://www.netflix.com/title/81207588Shane: Bon Iver - SABLE,fABLE

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13:58

Mini: Release the Hostage

Why We Do What We Do ·

2025/04/21

The idea of holding someone hostage had to start somewhere. Actually, it started much more peacefully than what it evolved into. This episode is an exploration of the history of a word by reviewing Norse mythology. It is a blast, if we do say so ourselves. You're welcome.Join our membership group:

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66:07

Journalism vs. the World

Why We Do What We Do ·

2025/04/16

Special guest, journalist Ben Miller, joins us to talk about journalism compared to other forms of "news" and the importance of journalism to a functioning democracy. What do we do to combat the slew of misinformation propogated by real and false "journalists?" Ben has some ideas. Listen in and share your thoughts with us. RecommendationsA Complete Unknown (https://www.searchlightpictures.com/a-complete-unknown)Doctor Sleep by Stephen King (https://stephenking.com/works/novel/doctor-sleep.html) Join

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15:09

Mini: Stress Balls

Why We Do What We Do ·

2025/04/14

Everyone knows these squishly, novelty door prizes. Stress balls are touted as being able to help reduce your stress via the mechanical action of squeezing. Do they work to this end? Maybe! We'll explain in this brief, Monday mini. Join our membership: www.patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcastLinks: Yüksel & Güneş (2024). The Effect of Stress Ball on Anxiety and Pain Levels in Angiography: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Cardiovascular Therapeutics.

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64:22

The Benefits of Massage

Why We Do What We Do ·

2025/04/09

A lot is made of the potential benefits of massage. Unfortunately, the camp has established firm roots to a lot of other pseudoscience. There seems to be legitimate benefits to getting massage, even beyond the fact that they make us feel good. Let's do the good science to see how we can leverage massage to help the people who would benefit from it the most. And booooo pseudoscience.RecommendationsAbraham: My Old Ass (https://www.mgm.com/movies/my-old-ass)Shane: Whiplash

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16:07

Mini: Author Book-Signings

Why We Do What We Do ·

2025/04/07

A signed copy of a first edition book might fetch you a high price down the road. But why? How does a signature increase the resale value of a book when it doesn't even increase the MSRP of a book? Is it even worth it for authors to spend dozens or even hundreds of hours signing books? We talk about the effect of authors signatures on books and why it increases the value and desirability. Join our supporter group!www.patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcastLinks and

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