368 episodes

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.

Why We Do What We Do Abraham

    • Science
    • 4.6 • 77 Ratings

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.

    Sex Addiction

    Sex Addiction

    You've seen the title of this episode, so now that we have your attention: sex addiction! What are the psychometric criteria by which sex becomes an addiction? Further, who does this impact? The answers to this are both not what you might think. Turns out, there is a lot of history of "puritan"-like stigmatization around the "appropriate" amount of sex and with whom. 

    Links and References: 
    https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22690-sex-addiction-hypersexuality-and-compulsive-sexual-behaviorhttps://www.sexaddict.com/six-types-of-sex-addicts/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3960064/https://sexualhealthalliance.com/nymphomedia-blog/a-brief-history-of-sex-addictionhttps://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12119-012-9136-3https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/women-who-stray/201510/who-is-the-real-father-sex-addictionhttps://azri.org/sex-addiction/what-are-the-different-types-of-sex-addictions/https://www.news-medical.net/health/Sexual-Dysfunction-History.aspxRecommendations
    Abraham: Fallout (https://www.amazon.com/Fallout-Season-1/dp/B0CN4HV16N)Shane: Dracula by Bram Stoker (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17245.Dracula)


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    • 1 hr 1 min
    Mini: Shampoo

    Mini: Shampoo

    Humans haven't had shampoo for very long in our relative history. What about our ancestors, what did they do without shampoo? Animals don't seem to require shampoo. What is this weird practice and what would happen if we gave it up? This mini investigates Big Shampoo!

    Links and References
    https://books.google.com/books/about/An_Uncommon_History_of_Common_Things.html?id=bcaXzXPP8ooChttps://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319848#takeaway

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    • 10 min
    Harm Reduction

    Harm Reduction

    Humans have been engineering strategies to reduce the risks of life for as long as humans have been engineering everything. As it relates to addiction, harm reduction is a stragegy that emerged to help prevent the spread of disease and has been successfully applied to supporting people with chemical dependency. We explore the criticisms, concerns, and science behind harm reduction. 

    Recommendations
    Abraham: Cocaine Bear (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14209916/)Shane: Charles Bukowski - Hollywood (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38505.Hollywood)Bonus: National Harm Reduction Coalition (https://harmreduction.org/)
    Links: 
    https://youtu.be/Llm5vVybJWw?si=MtwfI2gl_ZYq_mulhttps://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/harm-reductionhttps://www.hhs.gov/overdose-prevention/https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/harm-reductionhttps://harmreduction.org/about-us/principles-of-harm-reduction/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0306460396000421https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02791072.2001.10400463https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0196064420313871https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11606-021-06904-4https://academic.oup.com/smr/article-abstract/10/1/3/6880246https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0230886https://accp1.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jcph.1937https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16203323/Walley AY, Xuan Z, Hackman HH, et al. Opioid overdose rates and implementation of overdose education and nasal naloxone distribution in Massachusetts: interrupted time series analysis. BMJ. 2013;346:f174. doi:https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.f174https://americanaddictioncenters.org/harm-reductionAspinall, E. J., Nambiar, D., Goldberg, D. J., Hickman, M., Weir, A., Van Velzen, E., . . . Hutchinson, S....

    • 1 hr 17 min
    Mini: Why We Lottery

    Mini: Why We Lottery

    Welcome to our new episode format, the mini! Although this is our second one, we are still excited to be exploring this new way of doing episodes. This discusion explores how lotteries came to be and why we pursue them with such vigor.



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    • 16 min
    War on Drugs

    War on Drugs

    The saga continues as we explore the historical policy blunder that was the "War on Drugs." What lead to the development of this idea? We review the distinction between what was stated and what actually happened, and, of course, who won the war? spoiler it was drugs. 

    Recommendations
    Abraham: Speechify App (https://speechify.com/?source=fb-for-mobile&via=nguyen-linh-nam&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwiMmwBhDmARIsABeQ7xRZ-vEPaqs8c7IAr7jeYUXdDNtP0Wgtf92Chyk99jyGJIJ9V8rSv1QaAtWbEALw_wcB)Shane: Amber Brooke Farms (https://amberbrookefarms.com/blueberry-festival/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwiMmwBhDmARIsABeQ7xR6jxy-33SjkhqahM3-YTrIh3z-c_FCR06EM3mfz9EAH1FvdLQtTFQaAuB5EALw_wcB) Links and References: 
    https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/archive/special/9712/ch01p1.htmhttps://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/big-white-lie-cia-and-cocainecrack-epidemichttps://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/drugs/special/cia.htmlhttps://enditforgood.com/content/50th-anniversary-of-war-on-drugs-it-never-worked-different-approach-needed/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwnv-vBhBdEiwABCYQA7Yhc5ZPj339VVFmO9fUz9zl41doaebUygZeBcV8DjPpe1oUcuLykxoC6p8QAvD_BwEhttps://drugpolicy.org/drug-war-stats/?ms=5J1_24GoogleGrant&utm_source=GoogleSEM&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=SEM&sc=&cid=7011K000001tKzkQAE&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwnv-vBhBdEiwABCYQA2Kns_vgVsD_DDHjq1R4xdIuy6j8gKrWRcCowl1mY0qFXrhlz2wCqxoCbyUQAvD_BwEhttps://cdn.penalreform.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/PRI_war-on-drugs-briefing_March-2013.pdfhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9302017/https://civilrights.org/blog/americas-war-on-drugs-50-years-later/https://www.npr.org/2021/06/17/1006495476/after-50-years-of-the-war-on-drugs-what-good-is-it-doing-for-us

    Become a...

    • 1 hr 7 min
    Mini: Clapping

    Mini: Clapping

    Welcome to our first ever new episode format that we are trying out. These miniature episodes will be supplemental, additional episodes that we release every week alongside our normal full-length episodes. This first installment is exploring the weird tradition of people slapping peices of our flesh together to show appreciation. We started recording these quite a while ago, so, apologies if there are some somewhat dated references...  Enjoy!

    Links: 
    https://www.theatreinparis.com/blog/why-are-we-clapping-a-history-of-applause#:~:text=The%20meaning%20of%20clapping%20is,in%20response%20to%20being%20aroused.https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/cutting-edge-leadership/202201/why-we-clap-the-psychology-applause#:~:text=Clapping%20can%20be%20a%20sign,a%20universal%20body%20language%20signal.https://books.google.com/books/about/An_Uncommon_History_of_Common_Things.html?id=bcaXzXPP8ooC

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

    • 9 min

Customer Reviews

4.6 out of 5
77 Ratings

77 Ratings

Name's Robin ,

Funny, and thorough

I listened to your episode on colour deficiency and I was captured by how well you explain all the possible misinterpretations. You don’t leave room for system 1 thinking when you define your terms. You are clear. You are succinct. Which I appreciate as a hopefully logical person.

atnaflan ,

Relooking at ABA

I really appreciate the work you are already putting into this series first two episodes and I am excstatuc to listen to more. Discussing the problems and changes with ABA is an incredibly important conversation and I appreciate your research and dedication to think critically.

Ddub417 ,

That laugh tho

Elmer Fudd meets machine gun?

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