Episode 05 | Interview with Dr Robert Epstein
In this follow-up to the last episode on resolutions, I’m delighted to be joined by eminent psychologist and author of ‘Self-Help Without the Hype’, Dr Robert Epstein. We chat more about the idea of self-management, behaviourism and behavioural psychology and how it relates to today’s digital world.
Our chat moves through topics such as Epstein’s own experiences working alongside BF Skinner, the innovative (and quirky) practices which Skinner applied to himself, the relevance of behavioural psychology today and the association with behavioural economics. We also discuss Dr Epstein’s work on privacy online, his hypothesis of the Search Engine Manipulation Effect and how Google could be modifying our online environment to shape our behaviour.
Show notes
Here’s some of the papers, articles and links we mentioned in this episode.
You can follow Dr Epstein on Twitter https://twitter.com/DrREpstein
Listen to Dr Epstein’s 2019 STEM interview https://www.ihmc.us/stemtalk/episode-89/
For more on Dr Epstein’s work on privacy:
‘Self-Help Without the Hype’ by Dr Robert Epstein https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1134887.Self_Help_Without_The_Hype
‘Skinner as Self-Manager’ by Dr Robert Epstein https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1284070/pdf/jaba003000300545.pdf
‘Walden Two’ by BF Skinner — Amazon link
You can read more about BF Skinner here: https://www.bfskinner.org/archives/biographical-information/
Beshears, J.B., Choi, J. J., Harris, C., Laibson, D., Madrian, B. C., & Sakong, J. (2018) Which Early Withdrawal Penalty Attracts the Most Deposits to a Commitment Savings Account.
