Super Awesome Science Show: New Year’s rehabilitation

Have you made a New Year’s resolution? If so, how long do you think it’ll last? Most resolutions end up being a losing battle.

On this week’s podcast episode of the Super Awesome Science Show, we pledge to get to the bottom of why resolutions don’t work and how this behaviour isn’t too far off from someone trying to kick a habit.

First, we talk with Dr. Lalatendu Acharya at Purdue University. He studies consumer behaviour in health ranging from eating habits to HIV spread. He tells us that the holiday season may be the reason for our inability to make a resolution work. We also may need more than just willpower to achieve our goals.

We next hear from Courtney Bir, a doctoral student at Purdue University. She’s studying how we lie to others to make ourselves look good. It’s known as social desirability bias, although she calls it the Hermione Effect, and it can stand in the way of making and keeping a resolution.

In our SASS class, we find out from Dr. Lizzy Pope at the University of Vermont how the grocery store may be our worst enemy when it comes to sticking to a diet. Her research has shown that while we may tend to buy healthier after the holidays, the amount of bad stuff remains the same.

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Twitter: @JATetro

Email: thegermguy@gmail.com

Guests:

Dr. Lalatendu Acharya, Purdue University
Website: https://www.purdue.edu/hhs/csr/directory/faculty/acharya_lalatendu.html

Courtney Bir, Purdue University
Twitter: @courtney_bir
Website: https://ag.purdue.edu/agecon/Pages/GradStudents/birc.aspx

Dr. Lizzy Pope, University of Vermont
Twitter: @lizzypope
Website: https://www.uvm.edu/cals/nfs/profiles/lizzy_pope_phd_rd

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