About this episode
We all like to throw around terms that describe human behavior — “bystander apathy” and “steep learning curve” and “hard-wired.” Most of the time, they don’t actually mean what we think they mean. But don’t worry — the experts are getting it wrong, too. SOURCES: Sharon Begley , senior science writer for Stat at The Boston Globe . Jerome Kagan , emeritus professor of psychology at Harvard University. Bibb Latané , social psychologist and senior fellow at the Center for Human Science. Scott Lilienfeld , professor of psychology at Emory University. James Solomon , director and producer of The Witness . RESOURCES: “ Tech Metaphors Are Holding Back Brain Research ,” by Anna Vlasits ( Wired , 2017). Can’t Just Stop: An Investigation of Compulsions , by Sharon Begley (2017). The Witness , film by James Solomon (2016). “ Fifty Psychological and Psychiatric Terms to Avoid: a List of Inaccurate, Misleading, Misused, Ambiguous, and Logically Confused Words and Phrases ,” by Scott Lilienfeld, Katheryn Sauvigne, Steven Jay Lynn, Robin Cautin, Robert Latzman, and Irwin Waldman ( Frontiers in Psychology , 2015). SuperFreakonomics , by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner (2011). Fifty Great Myths of Popular Psychology , by Scott Lilienfeld, Steven Jay Lynn, John Ruscio, and Barry Beyerstein (2009). Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain , by Sharon Begley (2007). “ Kitty, 40 Years Later ,” by Jim Rasenberger (The New York Times, 2004). “ 37 Who Saw Murder Didn’t Call the Police ,” by Martin Gansberg ( The New York Times , 1964). EXTRAS: " Academic Fraud ," series by Freakonomics Radio (2024). “ This Idea Must Die ,” Freakonomics Radio (2015). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.