Professor Dan Cable and comedian Akin Omobitan unearth social science’s hidden gems by “funpacking” peer-reviewed articles and sharing their choice findings!
What costs would you pay to reduce burnout? Dan and Akin discuss research looking into the possibility of combating stress and emotional exhaustion by encouraging employees create and use self-reflective job titles.
- Research Paper: 'Job Titles as Identity Badges: How Self-Reflective Titles Can Reduce Emotional Exhaustion' by Adam Grant, Justin Berg and Dan Cable
With a focus on the colour black, Dan and Akin squeeze a research paper that looks into whether behaviour and judgement is significantly impacted simply dependant on choosing to wear the colour black. Culture, sports and misguided decision making for all.
- Research Paper: 'The Dark Side of Self and Social Perception: Black Uniforms and Aggression in Professional Sports' by Mark G. Frank and Thomas Gilovich
"The self is not static." It's rather the opposite, in fact. Over the course of our lives, one of the things we're guaranteed to do is change. Dan and Akin squeeze a study which looks whether or not a person can change based on how they imagine the people (and things) they encounter.
- Research Paper: 'Simulating Other People Changes the Self' by Meghan Meyer, Zidong Zhao and Diana Tamir
Imagine a workplace policy that improves the performance of all employees, whilst levelling the career and life playing field for mothers. Dan and Akin review a research paper which focuses on the effects of remote working.
- Research Paper: 'Discretionary Remote Working Helps Mothers without Harming Non-mothers: Evidence from a Field Experiment' by Eliot L. Sherman
Dan and Akin take on the age-old debate of talent vs. hard work, but from the perspective of how each is perceived, and therefore appreciated. When armed with insights uncovered by science, can individual better sell their skills to the world?
- Research Paper: 'Naturals and Strivers: Preferences and Beliefs about Sources of Achievement' by Chia-Jung Tsay and Mahzarin Banji
Ever tried to improve your life? We would hope so! Dan and Akin offer a little motivation as the duo talk the science of habits and what's going on psychologically when we try to form new ones.
- Research Paper: 'How are Habits Formed: Modelling Habit Formation in the Real World' by Phillipa Lally, Cornelia van Jaarsveld, Henry Potts and Jane Wardle
Looking to buy someone the perfect gift? Science backs the well-aged saying, "It's the thought that counts." However, the problem is that we it comes to buying gifts, the thought is that the more we spend, the more it counts. Akin and Dan break down a study that finds givers and receivers are just as happy when less money is spent.
- Research Paper: 'Money Can't Buy Love: Asymmetric Beliefs about Gift Price and Feelings of Appreciation' by Francis Flynn and Gabrielle Adams
Is it exploitation if you love it? Dan and Akin sit down to discuss research that scientifically exposes the dark side of believing your work is your calling.
- Research Paper: 'The Call of the Wild: Zookeepers, Callings and the Double-edged Sword of Deeply Meaningful Work' by J. Stuart Bunderson and Jeffery A. Thompson
The Dunning-Kruger Effect exposes a common yet surprising flaw of the human mind: the less we know about something, the less capable we are of knowing how little we know, which causes us to think we know more than we do. Confused? That's a good thing! Dan and Akin explain.
- Research Paper: 'Unskilled and Unaware of it: How Difficulties in Recognizing One's Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments' by Justin Kruger and David Dunning
The Spotlight Effect is the psychological phenomenon that finds people overestimate the extent to which their actions and appearance are noted by others. Everything is illuminated in the episode.
- Research Paper: 'The Spotlight Effect in Social Judgment: An Egocentric Bias in Estimates of the Salience of One's Own Actions and Appearance'
