Social media is commonly branded as one of the key factors responsible for deteriorating mood and mental health, especially in adolescents – but is the science in agreement? Join us as we delve into the double-edged sword that is social media, and take a closer look at the magnitude of its well documented relationship with outcomes such as well-being, depression, loneliness, and body image. We discuss why social media can have such an effect – positive or negative – on our mental health, and uncover some of the factors that determine whether social media is good or bad for us.

📊 Key research studies we discussed:

• Lonely people use Facebook, rather than Facebook makes its users lonely: Does Facebook make you lonely? A meta analysis (Computers in Human Behaviour, 2014)
• The assumption that social media use has severe detrimental consequences is not well supported by existing evidence: Are social media ruining our lives? A review of meta-analytic evidence (Review of General Psychology, 2019)
• Higher levels of depression are associated with greater upward social comparisons: Is social network site usage related to depression? A meta-analysis of of facebook-depression relations (Journal of Affective Disorders, 2019)
• No clear evidence that increased social media use is responsible for decreased face-to-face interaction: Social media use, social displacement, and well-being (Current Opinion in Psychology, 2022)
• Time spent on social media is associated with reduced social connection and well-being, but only when used passively: Social media intensity, social connection, and user well-being: The moderating role of passive social media use (Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 2023)
• Taking a social media break results in less positive emotions for active users, and has no effect for passive users: Taking a break: The effect of taking a vacation from Facebook and Instagram on subjective well-being (PloS One, 2019)

📱 Connect with us on Instagram, Threads, and Twitter @getbrighterpod

We thank the South West Doctoral Training Partnership for supporting this podcast and Rhannan Lacey for audiography, videography, and production.

Money makes the world go around - but how rational and smart are we with our money decisions? Science shows that our upbringing, surroundings, and past experience can expose us to a series of biases that makes us less smart with money than we might think! Join us as we uncover a series of money mistakes and bust a bunch of money myths, all in the hope of making you better informed about the psychology of money.

📊 Key research studies we discussed:

• Lottery winners only marginally happier than paraplegics: Lottery winners and accident victims: Is happiness relative? (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1978)
• Emotional wellbeing plateaus at $75K/year: High income improves evaluation of life but not emotional well-being (PNAS, 2010)
• Spending on others makes us feel better than on ourselves: Spending money on others promotes happiness (Science, 2008)
• Time-saving purchases make us happier than material ones: Buying time promotes happiness (PNAS, 2017)
• Women underestimate their financial knowledge, men overestimate it: Overconfidence and investment: An experimental approach (Journal of Corporate Finance, 2017)
• Losing is emotionally twice as potent as winning: Neural markers of loss aversion in resting-state brain activity (NeuroImage, 2017)

📚 Books and other resources:

• The Psychology of Money (Morgan Housel, 2020)

📱 Connect with us on Instagram, Threads, and Twitter @getbrighterpod

We thank the South West Doctoral Training Partnership for supporting this podcast and Rhannan Lacey for audiography, videography, and production.

Is there such a thing as a ‘highly motivated person’, or is motivation something that can be cultivated by our social surroundings? In this episode, we discuss some of the key motivators that drive us to engage in health behaviour, perform in the workplace, and achieve academically. We also discuss some science-backed standards for defining your goals by considering both their content (what is it you want to achieve?) and framing (what is the intention behind your goal?)

📊 Key research studies we discussed:

• Interventions that increase autonomy support improve physical and psychological health due to increases in self-determination: A meta-analysis of self-determination theory-informed intervention studies in the health domain (Health Psychology Review, 2021)
• Meta-analysis identifying the job-design characteristics associated with the satisfaction of psychological needs and positive work outcomes: Integrating motivational, social, and contextual work design features (Journal of Applied Psychology, 2007)
• Facilitation of psychological needs via teaching practice is essential to the achievement of student learning outcomes: Autonomy, competence, and relatedness in the classroom (Theory and Research in Education, 2009)
• In 90% of studies, specific and challenging goals lead to higher performance than easy or 'do your best' goals: Goal setting and task performance: 1969–1980 (Psychological Bulletin, 1981)
• Intrinsic and extrinsic life goals are associated with separable outcomes: Further examining the American dream (Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 1996)
• Critical review of use of the SMART mnemonic for setting physical activity goals: The (over)use of SMART goals for physical activity promotion (Health Psychology Review, 2023)

📚 Books and other resources:

• Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behavior (Edward Deci and Richard Ryan, 1985)
• A Theory of Goal Setting & Task Performance (Edwin Locke and Gary Latham, 1990)
• There’s a S.M.A.R.T way to write management’s goals and objectives (George Doran, 1981)

📱 Connect with us on Instagram, Threads, and Twitter @getbrighterpod

We thank the South West Doctoral Training Partnership for supporting this podcast and Rhannan Lacey for audiography, videography, and production.