Best Joseph Tajaran Podcasts (2024)

1
Dating Deal Breakers (Survey Results) 16:25

11d ago16:25

16:25

We surveyed over 600 people on their dating deal breakers. We provided a list of 29 potential deal breakers and asked participants to select all that would end a relationship for them Question’s we’ll answer: What are the most common deal breakers in dating? How does it differ by: Gender Relationship Status Sexuality Some key highlights: Heavy drin…

1
Big Kiki or Big Bouba Energy? (Kiki/Bouba Effect) 20:04

25d ago20:04

20:04

The Kiki-Bouba effect is a phenomenon where people tend to associate certain sounds with specific shapes. When shown a sharp, angular shape and a soft, rounded shape, and asked which is named "Kiki" and which is "Bouba," most people will label the sharp shape as "Kiki" and the rounded shape as "Bouba." This effect suggests that there is a universal…

1
What Makes a Lamp Masculine / Feminine? (Survey Results) 18:40

1M ago18:40

18:40

We surveyed over 500 people on the masculinity and femininity of different table lamps. Yup… Questions we’ll answer: What’s the most masculine lamp? What’s the most feminine lamp? What makes a lamp either masculine or feminine? Some key takeaways: Lamps do have gendered associations Masculine lamps tend to have: Straight lines / hard edges, Darker …

1
How Movie Theaters Trick You Into Buying Popcorn (Decoy Effect) 14:44

2M ago14:44

14:44

The decoy effect is a trick used in marketing to make you choose a more expensive option by adding a third, less attractive choice. For example, if you're deciding between a small and a large popcorn, and a medium popcorn is added at a price just below the large, you'll likely go for the large because it seems like a better deal compared to the med…

1
Perceptions of Anime Fans (Survey Results) 21:27

2M ago21:27

21:27

What do people think about anime fans? Do people prefer subbed or dubbed? We surveyed people on their impressions of anime and whether they think being an anime fan makes you cooler or lamer. Questions We Answer: How popular is anime? Do people prefer subbed or dubbed? How’s being an anime fan affect impressions? What age groups do people think ani…

1
What Your Phone’s Background Image Says About You (Survey Results) 14:51

3M ago14:51

14:51

We conducted a survey to learn whether your phone’s background image can act as a “window to the soul.” In other words, whatever is most important to your wellbeing will most likely be your phone background. So if you want to get to know someone, take a look at their phone background. Questions we answer: What are the most common phone backgrounds?…

1
What is Beauty? (Order and Complexity) 20:48

3M ago20:48

20:48

Beauty = Order and Complexity. Think of the architecture of your favorite museum versus the architecture of a mundane apartment building. Why is one beautiful and the other isn’t? For something to be beautiful, it must have the right balance of order and complexity. Order refers to the structured, organized, and predictable aspects of an object or …

1
If You Close Your Eyes at the Dentist, You Probably Prefer Sex with Lights Off (Survey Results) 22:27

4M ago22:27

22:27

Is your preference for lights on/off during sex correlated with whether you keep your eyes open or closed at the dentist? How does this differ by gender? We surveyed 500 people on these topics. Psych PhD Chris Cole and cohost Joseph Tajaran discuss the results in this episode of Psych Papers. Key Findings: People are generally split on whether they…

1
Raising a Chimp Alongside a Baby (The Ape and the Child) 30:38

4M ago30:38

30:38

In the 1930’s, a baby chimpanzee was raised as a sibling to a 10-month old infant. Winthrop Kellogg treated the the ape, Gua, as similarly as possible to his own son, Donald. They were dressed, bathed, fed, and taught in the same manner; they both wore diapers and shoes, had similar play toys, and both received a kiss goodnight. Kellogg examined th…

1
Analysis of Rotten Tomatoes Movie Reviews 22:07

5M ago22:07

22:07

We analyzed Rotten Tomatoes Movie Ratings and discuss our findings. The scraped dataset has data on 1.1 million reviews from 17.7k movies from 1914–2020. Here’s a sample of our findings: Documentaries were the highest rated movie genres, followed by “Art House & International, Drama”. Horror genres were ranked lowest. “Action & Adventure, Drama” an…

1
When Children Become Aware of Their Own Bodies (Shopping Cart Study) 22:18

5M ago22:18

22:18

The Shopping Cart Study investigates how toddlers develop awareness of their own bodies. Developed by Chris Moore and colleagues in 2007, the task examine when a sense of self develops in babies. At what age do children begin to understand how their bodies interact with the world? The shopping cart task involves tying a small rug onto the back of a…

1
When Do Children Recognize Themselves in a Mirror? (The Rouge Test) 17:44

6M ago17:44

17:44

In developmental psychology, the Rouge Test is used to test self-recognition in children. We discuss the origins and significance of this classic test which assesses a child’s ability to identify themselves in a mirror. Developed by Gordon Gallup Jr in 1970, using rouge makeup, an experimenter discreetly puts a red dot on the child’s face. Then the…

1
Why People Believe Horoscopes and Mediums (The Barnum Effect) 24:17

6M ago24:17

24:17

The Barnum Effect is the tendency for people to accept vague and general personality descriptions as highly accurate and personally meaningful. “Barnum statements” are general characterizations that people believe to be true about themselves, even though these statements could apply to just about anyone. It’s commonly exploited in astrology / horos…

1
What Sports Do Rich Kids Play? (Survey Results) 18:58

7M ago18:58

18:58

How do sports and income relate? Specifically, how do the sports you played in high school relate with your household income. Which sports do more educated parents have their kids play? We surveyed 500 US high school graduates about what sports they played in high school, their parents’ household income, and their parents’ highest education achieve…

1
Why Do Children Make Scale Errors? 17:25

7M ago17:25

17:25

Scale errors refer to a hilarious phenomenon in developmental psychology where young children make errors in judging the relationship between the size of an object and the size of their own body. What this looks like is a child seriously trying to sit in a doll house chair, trying to get inside of like a hot wheels car, and trying to put doll shoes…

1
How People Perceive Aesthetic Designs 23:56

8M ago23:56

23:56

Joseph Tajaran (Designer & Chris’s friend) and Chris Cole (Psych PhD) go over how aesthetics impact functionality in design. More specifically, they go over the aesthetic-usability effect and specific examples of how this happens in design: Contour Bias: people are biased towards curved over sharp forms Ockham’s Razor: the philosophy of leveraging …

1
How do food preferences differ by gender? (Survey Results) 35:03

8M ago35:03

35:03

Why do men prefer black coffee? We ran a survey of over 500 people to see how their food preferences and gender interact. Psych PhD Chris Cole and cohost Joseph Tajaran review the results in this episode of Psych Papers. The food takes we surveyed are: How do you like your coffee? Pancakes vs waffles? For buffalo wings: blue cheese vs ranch? For bu…

1
An Analysis of Joe Rogan Fans (Survey Results) 26:16

9M ago26:16

26:16

Is being a Joe Rogan fan a red flag in dating? Do Democrats or Republicans like Joe Rogan more? Why do Joe Rogan haters dislike him so much? We conducted a quantitative survey of 1000 people and analyzed how people think about Joe Rogan. Psych PhD Chris Cole and cohost Joseph Tajaran discuss the results in this episode of Psych Papers. Here are som…

1
3 Debunked Psychology Concepts (Power Posing, 10% Brain Myth, Opposites Attract) 20:07

9M ago20:07

20:07

Psych PhD Chris Cole and cohost Joseph Tajaran go over 3 popular myths in psychology that have been debunked. Power posing: The idea that body language can influence confidence and behavior. 10% brain myth: The misconception that we only use 10% of our brains. Opposites attract: The idea that people with contrasting personalities are drawn to each …

1
When ethics become a luxury (Good Samaritan Study) 22:33

10M ago22:33

22:33

The Good Samaritan Study shows most people forget about ethics/virtues when they’re preoccupied. Seminary students were less likely to help someone in need if they were in a rush. And it didn’t even matter if they were actively thinking about ethics and virtues. Psych PhD Chris Cole and cohost Joseph Tajaran discuss the Good Samaritan Study conduct…

1
Exploring Child Development: Object Permanence, Theory of Mind, & Conservation 19:01

10M ago19:01

19:01

How do infants develop the cognitive super powers that enable them to navigate the world? Psych PhD Chris Cole and cohost Joseph Tajaran discuss our 3 favorite developmental psychology concepts. Object permanence: The understanding that objects continue to exist even when no longer visible. Develops between 7-12 months of age. Tested with the A-Not…

1
5 Ways Psychologists Induce Social Exclusion 31:23

11M ago31:23

31:23

How do psychologists induce social exclusion in participants? Psych PhD Chris Cole and cohost Joseph Tajaran discuss 5 ways psychologists have induced feelings of social exclusion in participants. Methods broadly fall into 3 categories: 1) having participants interact other individuals; 2) having participants interact with computer-controlled avata…

1
Who’s Lonelier? Liberals or Conservatives? (Survey Results) 28:56

11M ago28:56

28:56

We surveyed over 600 people on their loneliness and compare their scores across personality traits and demographic groups. How does loneliness differ between men and women? Dog vs cat people? Social media users vs non-social media suers? Psych PhD Chris Cole and cohost Joseph Tajaran learn that most people are generally equally and moderately lonel…

1
The Pit of Despair / Depression in Monkeys (Harlow’s Monkey Study Pt 2) 27:04

11M ago27:04

27:04

Harlow created the Pit of Despair to produce an animal model of human clinical depression. Monkeys were isolated in the chambers for up to a year, having zero interaction with the outside world. Expectedly, these social animals came out quite disturbed… Psych PhD Chris Cole and cohost Joseph Tajaran discuss Harry Harlow’s early life, the multiple v…

1
Which Boys’ and Girls’ Names Would Win in a Fight? (Survey Results) 23:13

12M ago23:13

23:13

How important is your name to your identity? In this episode, we review the history of names and our follow-up research on how much people like their names; whether name length influences name liking; and which boys’ names and girls’ names would win in a fight. We found that people tend to like their names more when they are longer (more characters…

1
The Mouse Massacre (Carney Landis Facial Expressions Experiment) 23:06

12M ago23:06

23:06

How does a study on facial expressions turn into a study on obedience to authority? It started as research to examine whether people have common facial expressions when experiencing different emotions—but then it turned into something much darker, making it one of the most unethical psychology studies. Psych PhD Chris Cole and cohost Joseph Tajaran…

1
Trolley Problem: All Dogs in the World vs One Person (Survey Results) 16:56

1y ago16:56

16:56

If an out-of-control trolley was heading straight for a dog tied to the tracks, but you could pull a lever to divert the trolley onto a track with a person tied to the tracks, would you do it? What if it was a hundred dogs? How about all the dogs in the world? Psych PhD Chris Cole and cohost Joseph Tajaran discuss the follow-up research we conducte…

1
Psychology of why people don’t help in emergencies (Bystander Effect) 25:55

1y ago25:55

25:55

If you witness an emergency, would you intervene? What if other people were present? Research shows most people wouldn’t help if others are around. Psych PhD Chris Cole and cohost Joseph Tajaran discuss the bystander effect, Kitty Genovese, and the research surrounding these topics conducted by Darley and Latané in 1968. Researchers were interested…

1
8 Ways Psychologists Have Manipulated Aggression 25:45

1y ago25:45

25:45

How is aggression induced and measured in psychology research? Psych PhD Chris Cole and cohost Joseph Tajaran discuss 5 ways psychologists have measured aggression and 3 ways they’ve induced aggression. From pouring hot sauce on a victim’s meal to sticking pins in a voodoo doll of your significant other, researchers have gotten creative in measurin…

1
Judges’ verdicts can be swayed by lunch (Hungry Judge Effect) 24:38

1y ago24:38

24:38

Are judicial rulings based solely on laws and facts? While judges are supposed to be rational, mechanical, and deliberative, they are also humans and are prone to being “hangry”. Psych PhD Chris Cole and cohost Joseph Tajaran discuss the “The Hungry Judge Effect” where researchers Danziger, Levav, and Avnaim-Pesso tested this idea in the context of…

1
Leading questions can alter your memory (Car Crash Experiment) 24:55

1y ago24:55

24:55

How reliable are our memories of past events? Are there situations in which we can’t trust our own memories? Psych PhD Chris Cole and cohost Joseph Tajaran discuss the Car Crash Memory Experiment (Loftus & Primer, 1974) which tested whether a leading question can influence a person’s memory of an event. Can you implant memories based on how you ask…

1
Children will imitate aggressive adults (Bandura’s Bobo Doll Study) 25:58

1y ago25:58

25:58

How do children learn aggressive behaviors? How much do we imitate the behaviors of others? Psych PhD Chris Cole and cohost Joseph Tajaran discuss Bandura’s Bobo Doll Experiment (1961) which tested whether children will imitate an adult physically abusing a “Bobo Doll.” Follow-Up Research: How much does physical resemblance matter when it comes to …

1
She taught third graders what racism feels like (Blue Eyes Brown Eyes Study) 35:56

1y ago35:56

35:56

How do we learn how to treat others? Can prejudice be learned? Can it be unlearned? What would that look like in a third grade classroom? Psych PhD Chris Cole and cohost Joseph Tajaran discuss educator and activist Jane Elliot's "Blue Eyes Brown Eyes" study. Elliot wanted to identify if prejudice could be learned by dividing her class into 2 arbitr…

1
The nature of love… in monkeys (Harlow’s Monkey Study) 35:04

1y ago35:04

35:04

What is the nature of love? How does love develop between an infant and a caregiver? Psych PhD Chris Cole and cohost Joseph Tajaran discuss Harlow’s Monkey Experiment (1958). Harlow tested monkeys on cloth and wire mothers to examine what are the precise ingredients needed for a loving infant-caregiver bond to form. And what is thei r relative impo…

1
Humans conform to obviously wrong answers (Asch Line Conformity Test) 31:12

1y ago31:12

31:12

In what situations do humans conform to the group? When will we change our attitudes and behaviors merely to fit in? We go over the "Asch Conformity Test." Conducted in 1951, it explored whether people will conform to an obviously incorrect response when the group is an agreement of the obviously incorrect response. Follow-Up Research: We facilitat…

1
How do you know when you’re full? (Bottomless Soup Bowl Study) 37:07

1y ago37:07

37:07

How do people know when they're full? It might be more complicated than simply listening to your body. Visual cues, such as seeing the number of bowls of soup you've eaten, may contribute to this phenomenon. We review the "Bottomless Soup Bowl" study (Wansink et al., 2005). Follow-Up Research: What does the sound of a flute taste like? We surveyed …

1
They conditioned FEAR into an infant (Little Albert Study) 38:51

1y ago38:51

38:51

How do we develop fears? Are they innate or do we learn them? We talk about Watson's dubious Little Albert study (1920). Watson and his team tested if they could condition fear into an infant named Albert using classical conditioning (e.g., Pavlov's dog). Homeboy basically bangs on loud sounds to make a baby cry. Messed up stuff. Follow-Up Research…

1
People obeyed orders to shock an innocent person (Milgram Obedience to Authority) 46:52

1y ago46:52

46:52

Would the average person commit a heinous act if they were ordered by an authority figure? Psych PhD Chris Cole and cohost Joseph Tajaran discuss the infamous "Milgram obedience to authority experiment (1963)." In this study, psychologist Stanley Milgram wanted to learn about whether the average person would commit an immoral act if an authority fi…

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