Mark Brandt studies a bunch of things. He’s an assistant professor of psychology at Michigan State University. These days, he’s been exploring how we can think about belief systems as a network of interconnected opinions. Using mathematical simulations that specify how people’s opinions can be connected, Mark and his team have been able to establish a core model that explains a bunch of findings...
David McRaney is an author and host of the podcast You Are Not So Smart. In June, he’s releasing a new book—How Minds Change: The Surprising Science of Belief, Opinion, and Persuasion (you can pre-order it now). In the book, David goes on a wild journey to understand the mechanics of persuasion. He combines research in psychology with stories of persuasion on the ground to arrive at an...
Sohad Murrar studies how media and norms affect people’s opinions about social groups. Does media representation matter? Can infotainment aimed at reducing misconceptions really work? In this episode, Sohad gives us a glimpse into what the research says, her own experiences consulting with Hollywood creatives, and how conveying social norms can be a potent way of addressing prejudice...
Julia Minson studies the psychology of disagreement. In particular, she’s been working to understand what sorts of people are receptive to other opinions and how our perceptions of other people’s receptiveness can improve conversations. Dr. Minson is an Associate Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of government.Some things that come up in this episode:...
Chris Petsko studies which stereotypes come to mind in a given moment. He’s a social psychologist and postdoctoral scholar at Duke University. I talk with Chris about his “lens-based account of intersectional stereotyping,” which argues that we can only pay attention to one social identity at a time. As a result, the stereotypes that come to mind depend on the one...
Zoe Chance is an assistant professor of marketing at the Yale School of Management. Prior to Yale, she managed a $200 million segment of the Barbie brand at Mattel. In February, she’s releasing her first book: Influence Is Your Superpower. In this episode, we talk about Zoe’s winding road to becoming a business school professor, the class she teaches at Yale on influence and...
Another year in the books! Sure, there was a lot of wild stuff in 2021–an insurrection, COVID vaccine rollouts, a new president, another installment in the Tiger King franchise…and my daughter was born! But through it all, we had Opinion Science. This year saw a bunch of new listeners, amazing guests, and some ambitious episodes. Your support has meant a lot. So even though I’m...
Brian Ahearn specializes in applying the science of influence in everyday situations. He is one of only a dozen individuals in the world who currently holds the Cialdini Method Certified Trainer® (CMCT) designation, and he teaches the psychology of persuasion and influence as it applies to sales and other aspects of our lives. He’s the author of Influence PEOPLE, which was named...
This episode was originally released on December 21, 2020. It’s that time of year when winter holidays send people on a buying spree as they collect gifts to give to every friend, family member, and acquaintance. And you’d think that after so many years of giving gifts for all sorts of holidays, we’d be pretty good at it. Right? Well, not according to research in psychology. In this episode, we...
Melina Palmer is founder and CEO of The Brainy Business, which provides behavioral economics consulting to businesses of all sizes from around the world. Her podcast, The Brainy Business, has downloads in over 160 countries and is used as a resource for teaching applied behavioral economics for many universities and businesses. In this episode, I talk to Melina about how she got...
I'm a social psychologist.