198: Geoffrey Miller on Signaling, Mating, and Morality
The Psychology Podcast with Scott Barry Kaufman
Release Date: 06/11/2020
206: Chloé Valdary on Love & Race
The Psychology Podcast with Scott Barry Kaufman
Today it is great to have Chloé Valdary on the podcast. After spending a year as a Bartley Fellow at the Wall Street Journal, Chloe developed the Theory of Enchantment, an innovative framework for socioemotional learning, character development and interpersonal growth that uses pop culture as an educational tool in the classroom and beyond.
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205: Robert Sutton on Good Leaders vs. Bad Leaders
The Psychology Podcast with Scott Barry Kaufman
Today it’s great to have Robert Sutton on the podcast. Sutton is Professor of Management Science and Engineering and Professor of Organizational Behavior by courtesy at Stanford. He co-founded the Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP) and the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design which everyone calls the d.school. Sutton received his PhD in Organizational Psychology from the University of Michigan and has served on the Stanford faculty since 1983.
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204: Chip Conley on Wisdom, Midlife, and Peak Experience
The Psychology Podcast with Scott Barry Kaufman
Today it's great to have Chip Conley on the podcast. Chip is a New York Times best-selling author who helped Airbnb's founders turn their fast-growing tech start-up into a global hospitality brand. In his book Wisdom at Work: The Making of a Modern Elder, he shares his unexpected journey at midlife, from CEO to intern, learning about technology as Airbnb's Head of Global Hospitality and Strategy, while also mentoring CEO Brian Chesky.
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203: Creating a Living Masterpiece with Michael Gervais
The Psychology Podcast with Scott Barry Kaufman
Today it’s great to have Dr. Michael Gervais on the podcast. Dr. Gervais is a world-renowned high-performance psychologist and industry visionary. Over the course of 20 years, working with world leading performers, Dr. Gervais has developed a psychological framework that allows people to thrive in pressure packed environments.
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202: Uncancellable with Katie Herzog and Jesse Singal
The Psychology Podcast with Scott Barry Kaufman
Today it’s great to have Katie Herzog and Jesse Singal on the podcast. Together, Herzog and Signal co-host the Blocked and Reported Podcast.
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201: Keeping it Real with Ayishat Akanbi
The Psychology Podcast with Scott Barry Kaufman
I’m really excited to have Ayishat Akanbi on the podcast today. Ayishat is a writer and fashion stylist based in London. Personal reflection has guided her approach of reminding us of our commonalities instead of our differences. Not just for social awareness but also self-awareness, Ayishat resists the black and white thinking that can lead to divisive socio-political discourse and is comfortable “in the grey”.
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200: Richard Haier on the Nature of Human Intelligence
The Psychology Podcast with Scott Barry Kaufman
Today it’s great to have Dr. Richard Haier on the podcast. Dr. Haier is Professor Emeritus in the School of Medicine at the University of California, Irvine. His research investigates structural and functional neuroanatomy of intelligence using neuroimaging.
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199: How Politics Became Our Identity with Lilliana Mason
The Psychology Podcast with Scott Barry Kaufman
Today it’s great to have the political psychologist Lilianna Mason on the podcast. Dr. Mason is associate professor of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland, College Park, and author of Uncivil Agreement: How Politics Became Our Identity.
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198: Geoffrey Miller on Signaling, Mating, and Morality
The Psychology Podcast with Scott Barry Kaufman
In this episode, I talk with Geoffrey Miller, an American evolutionary psychologist, researcher, and author about elements of evolutionary psychology such as virtue signaling, altruism, sexual selection, and their role in the evolution of human nature.
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197: From Learned Helplessness to Learned Hopefulness with Martin Seligman
The Psychology Podcast with Scott Barry Kaufman
Today it’s great to have Dr. Martin Seligman on the podcast. Dr. Seligman is a leading authority in the fields of positive psychology, resilience, learned helplessness, depression, optimism, and pessimism.
info_outlineToday it’s great to have Geoffrey Miller on the podcast. Geoffrey Miller is the author of Virtue Signaling (2019), Spent (2009), and The Mating Mind (2001), the co-author of Mate/What Women Want (2015), and the co-editor of Mating Intelligence (2007). He has a B.A. from Columbia and a Ph.D. from Stanford. He's a tenured evolutionary psychology professor at the University of New Mexico; and has also worked at the University of Sussex, the Max Planck Institute for Psychological Research, University College London, London School of Economics, U.C.L.A., and NYU Stern Business School.
He researches evolutionary psychology, sexuality, consumer behavior, behavior genetics, intelligence, personality, creativity, humor, and mental disorders. He's has over 110 academic publications, and has given over 200 invited talks in 16 countries. His research has been featured in Nature, Science, Time, Wired, New Scientist, The Economist,The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Psychology Today, on NPR and BBC radio, and on CNN, PBS, Discovery Channel, Learning Channel, National Geographic Channel, BBC, and Channel 4.
Time Stamps
[0:35] Dr. Miller’s background and his book, The Mating Mind
[2:53] Understanding Signaling Theory
[6:10] Connecting Signaling Theory to sexual selection
[10:41] Common misconceptions about Signaling Theory
[12:41] Functions and social benefits of signaling
[14:01] Creativity as signals
[15:39] Dr. Miller shares about cognitive emotions
[17:42] How social media helps intellectual curiosity
[20:34] Connection between social rewards and sexual selection
[23:06] How self-esteem tracks perception of social value
[27:56] How Machiavellianism and sociopathy create a “trap” of finding followers
[29:30] “Pick up artists” and their life hacks on courtship and dating
[33:06] Effective influencing and courtship vs. Machiavellianism
[35:18] Human beings as “ideological animals”
[39:06] How individual differences create beliefs, ideologies, and values
[43:07] Distinguishing cheap talk and virtue signaling
[47:07] Differences between empathy and effective altruism
[49:29] Cognitive biases and utilitarian thinking
[54:09] Effective altruism vs. psychopathy
[57:03] Discrimination of neurodivergent people
[1:02:45] Impact of gifted people on society moving forward
[1:04:49] Dr. Miller on teaching a course on polyamory and open sexuality
[1:07:11] Pair bonding and monogamy in human evolution
[1:11:49] How monogamous and polyamorous people can learn from each other
[1:12:43] So what is polyamory?
[1:14:30] Dr. Miller on writing a new book about ethical polyamory
[1:16:20] Existential and extraterrestrial threats from an effective altruist perspective