SciShow Psych

  • Premiered: Mar 2017
  • Episodes: 398
  • Followers: 1
  • Running
  • YouTube
  • at 15
  • Documentary

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Season 2020
2020x1
3 Big Things We Learned About the Brain in 2019
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 02, 2020
We’ve learned a lot about how the human brain works, but there are still new discoveries and mysteries each year, and 2019 was no exception. We learned pretty big things, from internal .. show full overview
2020x2
Your Brain's Secret to Freestyling
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 06, 2020
Ever wonder how that guitarist nailed that solo or how your favorite rapper can roll out so many lyrics while making it look easy? Beside lots of practice, your brain has a few tricks.
2020x3
Why You're More Afraid of Sharks Than Cows
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 09, 2020
ons of people are afraid of sharks, but the reasons have a lot more to do with how our brains deal with risk than anything to do with these super cool sea critters. Heads up: This video contains footage of sharks.
2020x4
Placebos Work Even if You Know They’re Placebos!
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 13, 2020
Placebos can alleviate all sorts of symptoms, but there's debate about their usage from an ethical standpoint. Of course, a doctor can't tell a patient they're taking placebos or they won't work anymore... or will they?
2020x5
Being a Messy Person Has Its Perks
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 16, 2020
You might thing that being neat and tidy is the best way to get stuff done, but being messy actually has its perks.
2020x6
What If Your Body Didn't Paralyze You During Sleep?
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 20, 2020
Our body is supposed to be paralyzed during REM sleep, but REM sleep behavior disorder might not allow you to stay in bed. It could even cause you to act out your dreams in real life.
2020x7
When Insomnia Becomes Deadly
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 23, 2020
For most people, insomnia won't kill you. But in one very rare, very specific case, not only is it deadly, it's lurking in your genes.
2020x8
What We Often Get Wrong About the Brain's "Language Centers"
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 27, 2020
About 150 years ago, scientists found the two main areas that are responsible for language production and comprehension in the brain. But it turns out they might have over-exaggerated what these parts actually do.
2020x9
Rorschach: Psychology’s Most Controversial Test
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 30, 2020
For decades, people have used the Rorschach Test to diagnose mental illnesses and determine personality traits, which hasn't always been the best idea. But modern studies suggest that .. show full overview
2020x10
Are Colors Real?
Episode overview
Air date
Feb 03, 2020
The sky is blue, but according to whom? Could the rules of our language affect the way we perceive color?
2020x11
When Blindsight is 20/20
Episode overview
Air date
Feb 06, 2020
We tend to think of physical blindness like a blindfold, but it’s much more complicated than that, and in some instances, people who have lost their vision can still "see" subconsciously.
2020x12
Valentine's Day Is Bad for Relationships (and That's a Good Thing)
Episode overview
Air date
Feb 10, 2020
Scientists have found that Valentine's Day can have a negative impact on relationships and the holiday-related obligation to be lovey-dovey may have something to do with it.
2020x13
You Can Inherit Fear?
Episode overview
Air date
Feb 13, 2020
Everyone is afraid of something, and traditionally, we’ve thought that fears are learned. But the key to understanding some fears could lie in our DNA.
2020x14
The Bizarre Future of Stroke Treatment
Episode overview
Air date
Feb 17, 2020
Even with rapid action, strokes can lead to lasting brain damage. So researchers are developing new techniques like freezing brains to buy time and using using parts of pork bladders to regrow brain tissue.
2020x15
Why More Choices Don't Make You Happy
Episode overview
Air date
Feb 20, 2020
We're surrounded by choices in life, but psychologists have found that having those choices doesn't necessarily make us happy.
2020x16
Magenta Is All In Your Head
Episode overview
Air date
Feb 24, 2020
The world is full of colors. Almost all of them can be described by a wavelength of visible light, but there are some colors out there that are just in your head!
2020x17
Why Can’t I Remember My Dreams?
Episode overview
Air date
Feb 27, 2020
Everyone has dreams, but some people are better at remembering them than others. Scientists aren't sure why we dream, but remembering them has a lot to do with the activity in your brain, and with how well you sleep.
2020x18
Why Do We Get the Spins When We’re Drunk?
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 02, 2020
If you're old enough to drink, you may have had a few too many cocktails and suddenly everything is spinning. Strange as it might seem, that’s not because the alcohol you drank is messing with your brain! So what causes the spins?
2020x19
Why Psychology Tells Us What We Already Know
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 05, 2020
Hindsight bias skews our interpretation of events and information, making it seem like they were predictable or just not that surprising. This bias can cause some real problems, but the .. show full overview
2020x20
How Bad Helmets Gave Us a Map of Vision
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 09, 2020
The Brodie helmet, widely used during the first World War, had some serious design flaws, . But thanks to those flaws we now have a staggeringly accurate map of the brain.
2020x21
Engrams: Where Your Brain Keeps Memories
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 12, 2020
A memory isn’t stored in your brain in a neat little package, but is instead spread across a pattern of cells in different regions. What's more, understanding this process could open the .. show full overview
2020x22
How You Affect Other People’s Brain Waves - Inter-Brain Connections
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 16, 2020
Scientists know that things like people’s heart rates, breathing, and even footfalls tend to line up when they’re doing things together, but we're learning that even the electrical activity in your brain can sync up too!
2020x23
Hemispatial Neglect: When Half Your World Disappears
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 19, 2020
Losing half of the world sounds like a weird, abstract dream state. But for those that develop hemispatial neglect, that’s exactly what happens, without them even realizing it.
2020x24
Schizophrenia May Be an Autoimmune Condition
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 23, 2020
Schizophrenia affects 20 million people worldwide, and we don’t exactly know how it develops, or what causes it yet. However, some research has found that it might be an autoimmune condition.
2020x25
What Does Gum Disease Have to Do With Alzheimer's?
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 26, 2020
Regular brushing and flossing might not just keep your mouth in good shape—they might also be good for your brain.
2020x26
What Parental Burnout Looks Like (and How to Avoid It)
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 30, 2020
Raising children is not easy, and parents can get burnt out just like anyone else. But research shows that parental burnout seems to be unique compare to other kinds of burnouts.
2020x27
What Social Distancing Actually Is & What it Means for Mental Health
Episode overview
Air date
Apr 02, 2020
Social distancing is a time-honored, low-tech tool for slowing the spread of contagious pathogens. But it can also take a toll psychologically. Luckily, there are ways to mitigate these .. show full overview
2020x28
Why Death Photography Is So Helpful for Grief
Episode overview
Air date
Apr 09, 2020
Grief is a universal human experience. In the 1800s families around the world took pictures of their loved one’s bodies to cope with their loss, and today, researchers have found .. show full overview
2020x29
The Overlooked Connection Between ADHD and Sleep
Episode overview
Air date
Apr 16, 2020
People with ADHD often have problems getting to sleep, but is it the ADHD symptoms that causes the lack of sleep or lack of sleep that cause ADHD symptoms?
2020x30
Equine Therapy: Why Horses Might Make Great Therapy Animals
Episode overview
Air date
Apr 23, 2020
Psychologists have been using animals in therapy for a long time, but cats and dogs aren’t the only options. Hippotherapy, also known as equine therapy, uses horses in therapies for everything from cerebral palsy to PTSD.
2020x31
When Did Modern Behavior Evolve?
Episode overview
Air date
Apr 30, 2020
Scientists often use the phrase “anatomically modern humans” to describe the point when our ancient ancestors looked like us. But when did humans become behaviorally modern?
2020x32
3 Ways Physics Can Help Us Understand the Brain
Episode overview
Air date
May 07, 2020
Brains are mysterious! Living brains are particularly tough to study, but sometimes scientists can use techniques from other disciplines to get a clearer picture. Here are some ways .. show full overview
2020x33
Why Dancing Is So Helpful for Parkinson's
Episode overview
Air date
May 14, 2020
For millions of people with Parkinson’s disease, movement becomes much harder. But researchers have found that dance therapy may help them both physically and mentally.
2020x34
Why the Pandemic Has Us Buying Roller Skates and Baking Bread
Episode overview
Air date
May 21, 2020
A lot of people have been pretty cooped up lately and it’s starting to bring out some strange desires in people. What context can psychology offer to help us understand what might be going on?
2020x35
Borderline Personality Disorder: Sorting Fact From Fiction
Episode overview
Air date
May 28, 2020
There are so many persistent myths about Borderline Personality Disorder. But, the reality of being quote “borderline” is much more nuanced — and hopeful.
2020x36
Why Is Everyone Having Vivid Dreams Right Now?
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 04, 2020
Vivid dreams have gotten pretty common during the Covid-19 pandemic and there’s a good psychological reason for that.
2020x37
The Surprising Link Between Allergies and Suicide
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 11, 2020
Our mood is influenced in many ways by our environment, and researchers have discovered a possible connection between the pollen in our air and a rise in suicide.
2020x38
Animal Personalities Are More Like Ours Than You Might Think
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 18, 2020
If you’ve ever been around animals, you know they can have different personalities, but there’s one trait that scientists used to believe was uniquely human.
2020x39
Why Is It So Hard to Let Go of Grudges?
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 25, 2020
We all have some displeasing memories from the past that still make our blood boil. Why are those grudges so hard to let go of?
2020x40
Why You Don't Really Know the Size of a Walrus
Episode overview
Air date
Jul 02, 2020
When you imagine a walrus, you probably picture it way smaller than it actually is. It’s because our brains meddle with our senses in more ways than you might expect.
2020x41
Why Do You Always Have Room for Dessert?
Episode overview
Air date
Jul 09, 2020
No matter how full you are, it seems you can find room for dessert. It’s not your imagination, and once you understand why, you’ll see how you can use this weird quirk of your appetite to your advantage!
2020x42
Forget Angry: Here’s How Hunger Makes You Impulsive
Episode overview
Air date
Jul 16, 2020
You may feel a bit grumpy when you're hungry, but hunger can affect us in more powerful ways than we realize.
2020x43
Why Do Some Words Sound So... Lumpy?
Episode overview
Air date
Jul 27, 2020
Some words just SOUND like the thing they refer to. But are these associations come from the specific culture we were raised in, or is there something more fundamental going on here?
2020x44
How to Write Directly on the Brain
Episode overview
Air date
Jul 30, 2020
Scientists have found a way to hack the visual process and generate shapes directly on the brain, so a person can see them without using their eyes.
2020x45
5 Myths You've Probably Seen on TV
Episode overview
Air date
Aug 06, 2020
There are some persistent myths about human psychology that appear on TV all the time. But people are complicated, and a lot of times, what we (and these shows) take to be true about human nature… may not be as accurate as we think.
2020x46
What Whistled Speech Tells Us About How the Brain Interprets Language
Episode overview
Air date
Aug 13, 2020
You can find groups of people from all over the world who communicate full conversation by whistling. And neuroscientists found how our brain works with whistled language is mind-blowing.
2020x47
3 Friendly Robots Improving Our Social Lives
Episode overview
Air date
Aug 20, 2020
You might think of robots as unfeeling, and maybe even kind of cold, but some robots are specifically programmed to help people improve their social skills and emotional health. Here are a few that might make really good pals!
2020x48
Why We Love Movie Villains (According to Psychology)
Episode overview
Air date
Aug 27, 2020
Sometimes we find ourselves falling for the cute vampire or German bank robber, and this might say a lot about how we think about ourselves.
2020x49
Studying the Brain with... Quantum Mechanics?
Episode overview
Air date
Sep 03, 2020
Quantum mechanics may not seem like it has anything to do with human psychology, but some psychologists are starting to borrow concepts from the field to help make human behavior more predictable.
2020x50
Why Is It So Hard to Remember Things Right Now?
Episode overview
Air date
Sep 10, 2020
If you feel like you’ve been more forgetful than normal recently, you’re definitely not alone. Your memory can have a lot to do with what's happening around you.
2020x51
How Psychics Exploit Our Cognitive Biases
Episode overview
Air date
Sep 17, 2020
A fortuneteller's ability to read your future might seem magical, but those “psychic powers” have way more to do with psychology than the supernatural.
2020x52
How Losing Your Job Changes You
Episode overview
Air date
Sep 24, 2020
Unexpectedly losing a job is hard, but it can also change you in the long term, setting off a cycle that may be hard to break out of, and leaving lasting effects on the way you see and interact with the world.
2020x53
We Don't All Have a "Mind's Eye" | Aphantasia
Episode overview
Air date
Oct 01, 2020
Some people don’t have or use visual imagination, or the “mind’s eye.” Many with this condition, called aphantasia, might not even realize that they’re experiencing the world .. show full overview
2020x54
How Political Questions Mess with Your Brain
Episode overview
Air date
Oct 08, 2020
It’s an election year, which means you’ve probably been bombarded with polls asking you questions about candidates and issues. But is information the only thing pollsters are after? .. show full overview
2020x55
Identity Politics: How All Your Identities Sway Your Vote
Episode overview
Air date
Oct 15, 2020
People throw out the term "identity politics" as a way to say that someone is wrong, but the truth is, it's something that affects the way all of us vote.
2020x56
How Paintings Help You See the World Differently
Episode overview
Air date
Oct 22, 2020
Emerging research suggests that paintings might be more than just pretty pictures: how we process what we see in paintings might also impact the way we process the world around us.
2020x57
Why Ouija Boards Are So Convincing
Episode overview
Air date
Oct 29, 2020
If you've ever played with a ouija board, you might have gotten the spooky sensation of an other worldly presence. But really, that's just your brain playing tricks on you.
2020x58
How Fake Internet Accounts Divide Us and How to Stop Yourself From Falling for Them
Episode overview
Air date
Nov 05, 2020
The people behind fake posts can rely on a few tricks to get you on board. But there are ways to spot them, and ways to avoid falling for what they have to say.
2020x59
Why It's So Hard to Admit You're Wrong | Cognitive Dissonance
Episode overview
Air date
Nov 12, 2020
Sometimes our behavior and our beliefs just… don’t match. And a lot of times this mismatch can lead to stress. What’s happening in our brains when we’re inconsistent? Can we learn anything from this discomfort?
2020x60
Why Are Some U.S. Cities Declaring Racism a Public Health Crisis?
Episode overview
Air date
Nov 19, 2020
In addition to being a serious social issue, racism is also a serious challenge to public health. In fact, over the last year and a half, dozens of cities have declared racism a public .. show full overview
2020x61
Magic Isn't Magic: It's Psychology
Episode overview
Air date
Nov 26, 2020
Magicians have a handy ace up their sleeve: Your brain, and they're not the only ones who know how to use it.
2020x62
Why You Shouldn't Always Trust Your Gut | The First Instinct Fallacy
Episode overview
Air date
Dec 03, 2020
You've probably been told at some point or another to "trust your gut", but is that actually good advice?
2020x63
The Dark Side of Disgust
Episode overview
Air date
Dec 10, 2020
We’re all super familiar with the feeling we get when we smell rotten food or see gross bodily fluids. But this visceral emotion does a lot more than that, and it’s important understand to how the darker side of disgust can influence us.
2020x64
This Jawless Fish Could Help Treat Brain Diseases
Episode overview
Air date
Dec 17, 2020
You might expect to find these fish at the core of an ancient, distant asteroid, but we find them instead on Earth. That doesn’t mean they aren’t special, though. In fact, their immune .. show full overview
2020x65 Season finale
5 Psychology Videos to Prep for Next Semester | Compilation
Episode overview
Air date
Dec 24, 2020
This episode has no summary.
2020x65
Why We Respond to Disasters with Altruism
Episode overview
Air date
Dec 31, 2020
The idea that humans react to disasters by losing control and acting selfishly is all too prevalent, especially in movies and television. But recent studies on altruism may provide .. show full overview

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