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What does psychology miss when it treats racism as only an individual bias? In this special live episode, Dr. Phia Salter and Dr. Glenn Adams join us to discuss critical race psychology, and how psychological science can better account for systems of power while still asking psychological questions. This live episode was recorded at the Society for Personality and Social Psychology's Critical Perspectives in Psychology Preconference; thanks to organizers Drs. Jada Copeland, Keturah Ragland, Phia Salter, and Mikaela Spruill.

How can we better understand the brain as a dynamic, multi-scale system? Dr. Giulia Baracchini shares her work using fMRI to study the brain’s fluctuations, and what measures of variability can reveal about how the brain functions. We discuss how ideas from complex systems science help make sense of brain activity across multiple scales, and why moving beyond single-level explanations is key to understanding how different levels of the brain interact. Dr. Baracchini also shares the unexpected places she draws inspiration from to study complex systems, including architecture!

How do babies learn to navigate diversity in their social worlds? Dr. Hyesung Grace Hwang shares her infant neuroscience (EEG) work showing that early “bias” might be less about emotions (like fear or disklike) and more about attention and information processing. We discuss how the environment, specifically neighborhood diversity shapes infants’ brain responses, and the changing cues kids use as they get older to reason about nationality.

What makes for a great conversation? Dr. Sebastian Spear shares his research using hyperscanning (neuroimaging on multiple brains at once) to study people's brains during real conversations. We discuss differences in conversations between friends and strangers, and why exploration might be the crucial piece making for good conversations. Beth and Ava defend the underrated art of small talk.

How can dissociation lead to positive and negative outcomes, and how does it affect an individual? Dr. Anikó Kusztor joins us this week to discuss the results of dissociation, and how they vary from person to person. Ava and Beth recount their personal dissociative experiences and contemplate where they fall on the spectrum of dissociation.

What is beauty, and just how subjective is it? Dr. Aenne Brielmann joins us this week to discuss how our minds react when we see or find something beautiful. Ava and Beth discuss the age old question in terms of how emotion affects perception, and further dive into the philosophy of beauty.

How do you handle tough emotions? Do you deal with things on your own or with support from others? Dr. Razia Sahi joins us to explore why leaning on others might be more powerful than we think. She shares her research on social emotion regulation, showing that when someone helps us reframe a difficult situation, it can be even more effective than doing it alone, and how the emotional benefits can last well beyond the moment. From reappraisal and validation to hand-holding and voice tone, we explore the many ways others can help us navigate difficult emotions. Beth and Ava discuss differences in how people might prefer to give and receive social support.

What really is addiction—and can we actually get addicted to our phones? Dr. Keanan Joyner joins us to discuss how addiction works from both a biological and social lens. He shares insights from his lab’s research on drug use, genetics, and disinhibition, and explains why substance abuse isn’t just about individual choice. Ava and Beth also discuss screen use, dopamine, and what counts as “real” addiction. Plus, Dr. Joyner shares why EEG studies often exclude Black participants, and what his lab is doing to change that.

Have you ever seen a robot that looks almost human, but something feels a bit off? Did it make you feel unsettled, and maybe a bit creeped out? Dr. Yulia Vaitonytė joins us to discuss her research on this phenomenon of the uncanny valley. She unpacks the brain and perceptual cues behind this eeriness, and tells us why certain kinds of imperfections might actually help robots appear more real. Beth & Ava play a game to see if they can recognize real faces from artificially generated ones.

Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is a ground-breaking technique that uses electrical impulses to treat conditions like epilepsy and depression through electrodes implanted in the brain. In this episode we are joined by Dr. Saurabh Sonkusare to learn about how DBS works and how it can be used in psychiatry and research. Ava and Beth discuss how DBS research findings may have implications for philosophical ideas of the self.

What comes to mind when you hear the term “objectively reasonable”? In this episode, Dr. Mikaela Spruill joins us to discuss how legal standards in criminal justice aren't as neutral as they may seem. We discuss how social stratification and lived experience influence jurors' priors, the idea of legal objectivity, and why diverse juries matter.

Have you ever wondered how the built environment effects your mood? Is it true that red rooms make you angry? This week we sit down with Dr. Isabella Bower to discuss her on research on how the built environment can impact our mental health. Dr. Bower shares how the colour and size of rooms may influence us and how we should think about designing the built environment for mental health. Beth and Ava share how they feel that space effects them.

How do our beliefs about ourselves and the world influence the way we learn and make decisions? Dr. Hayley Dorfman joins us to discuss how internal representations like sense of control shape our learning processes. We discuss the interplay between reinforcement learning and Bayesian inference, how agency beliefs impact learning from positive and negative feedback, and how these processes change across different developmental stages/

This week on Minds Matter both Ava and Beth chat with Dr. Nina Rajcic about her work using LLMs in her art practice giving us a new perspectives for thinking about AI. Dr. Rajcic talks about her work and how its meaning has changed as LLMs continue to develop. We share our thoughts about the future of AI in both tech and art.

In a very special episode, our very own Beth Fisher tells us all about optimism! Beth shares what optimism is, how her recent research shows psilocybin can boost optimism in rats, and what this might mean for humans. We also discuss how optimism shapes our engagement with the world, and if and when it can become too much of a good thing.