What's going on up there?

Why are we so quick to assume that someone’s actions reflect who they are, rather than what might be happening around them?In this episode, Grace is joined by Chartered Psychologist James Meachin to explore the fundamental attribution error – our tendency to explain other people’s actions through their personality, intentions, or character, while overlooking situational pressures and context.From missed deadlines and unanswered messages to first impressions and public stereotypes, James unpacks why this bias is so common, even when we have clear information about the circumstances. They also discuss what the research tells us, why we are more forgiving of our own behaviour than others’, and how a simple “situational check” can prevent us jumping to conclusions. References:Jones, E. E., & Harris, V. A. (1967). The attribution of attitudes. Journal of experimental social psychology, 3(1), 1-24.Ross, L. (1977). The intuitive psychologist and his shortcomings: Distortions in the attribution process. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 10, pp. 173–220). Academic Press. 

Most poor decisions are not made by reckless people. They are made by capable people at the wrong moment – when they are tired, stressed or have consumed alcohol.In this episode, Grace is joined by Chartered Psychologist Louise Weston to look beyond the headlines about drinking in Parliament to ask a bigger question: what gets in the way of good judgement?Together, they explore how fatigue, stress and cognitive overload can make us more reliant on assumptions and mental shortcuts, and what individuals can do to create the conditions for fairer, more thoughtful decisions.References:Fiske, S. T., & Taylor, S. E. (1984). Social Cognition. Random House.Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Conspiracy theories are everywhere. They come up in everyday conversation, online, and increasingly in mainstream debate. We have seen claims that COVID vaccines were being used to implant tracking devices, that climate change is a hoax created by hidden interests, or that major events like 9/11 were secretly planned from the inside. But what makes them so compelling? In this episode, Grace is joined by Professor Binna Kandola OBE to explore why these ideas are so appealing right now. Not by asking whether they are true or false, but by looking at what psychology tells us about how people think under uncertainty, threat, and distrust. They talk about how conspiracy theories form, how they change over time, and, most importantly, what the research suggests helps reduce their pull.References:Bad News Game: https://www.getbadnews.com/en van der Linden, S., Thompson, B.-S., & Roozenbeek, J. (2023). Editorial—The truth is out there: The psychology of conspiracy theories and how to counter them. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 37(2), 252–255. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.4054

Why do we dream — and do our dreams really mean anything?From flying through the air to your teeth falling out, dreams can feel intensely real, even when they make no logical sense.In this episode, Grace is joined by Chartered Psychologist Dr Jo Kandola to explore the psychology behind our dreams. They examine what happens in the brain during sleep and why dreams can be so strange.Drawing on Freud’s influential ideas alongside contemporary dream research, they explore the role of REM sleep, where dreams come from, and whether these strange nighttime stories reveal anything about our waking lives.Are dreams meaningless brain noise, hidden messages from the unconscious, or something in between?References:Freud, S. (1900). The Interpretation of Dreams.Hobson, J. A., & McCarley, R. W. (1977). The Brain as a Dream State Generator: An Activation-Synthesis Hypothesis of the Dream Process. American Journal of Psychiatry, 134(12), 1335–1348.Horikawa, T., Tamaki, M., Miyawaki, Y. and Kamitani, Y. (2013) ‘Neural decoding of visual imagery during sleep’, Science, 340(6132), pp. 639–642.Leckie, L., Bershad, A.K., Heppler, J., McClay, M., Rappe, S. and Foster, J.G. (2024) The content and structure of dreams are coupled to affect.

When performance slips, replacing the person at the top can feel like the obvious answer. From Prime Ministers and CEOs to football managers, leadership turnover is often seen as the fastest route to change.But does changing a leader actually improve performance, or does it simply create the feeling that something is being done?In this episode, Grace is joined by Chartered Psychologist Stuart Duff to unpack why we are so quick to replace leaders. Together, they explore the psychological forces behind leadership change — from the illusory truth effect and fundamental attribution error to the romance of leadership.Drawing on research from politics, business and sport, they ask why we so readily blame individual leaders while overlooking systems, culture and circumstances, and examine what really happens after leaders are replaced.

Do mistakes make us look bad, or more human?In this episode, Grace is joined by Chartered Psychologist James Meachin to explore why a small blunder can sometimes increase likeability rather than damage it. Drawing on classic research into the pratfall effect, they discuss how mistakes can make highly capable people seem more relatable, approachable, and real.A sharp, practical conversation on why mistakes are not always a problem, and why your response can matter just as much as the blunder itself.References:Aronson, E., Willerman, B. & Floyd, J. The effect of a pratfall on increasing interpersonal attractiveness. Psychon Sci 4, 227–228 (1966). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03342263Goksel, S., Sezer, O., & Berman, J. Z. (2026). Transcending embarrassment: On the reputational benefits of laughing at yourself. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000477

What does it really take to be a good astronaut?In this episode, Grace is joined by Chartered Psychologist Louise Weston to explore the psychology of space work, from the personality traits linked to astronaut success to the team dynamics that shape performance in isolated, high-pressure environments.Drawing on research from space missions and Mars simulation studies, they discuss how communication, conflict, stress and motivation influence team effectiveness, and why diverse crews perform better under pressure.From astronaut selection to the future of Mars exploration, this episode looks at what space can teach us about resilience, teamwork, and human performance when the stakes are highest.References:Pena I, Chen H (2025) Exploring team dynamics and performance in extended space missions using agent-based modeling. PLoS One 20(10): e0332496. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0332496

If you’re reading this in the middle of a heatwave, you’ve probably already noticed your brain isn’t firing on all cylinders. The good news is, it’s not just you.In this episode, Grace is joined by Professor Binna Kandola OBE to explore the growing body of research showing that as temperatures rise, our ability to do demanding mental work can start to decline.Together, they unpack why complex cognitive tasks are especially vulnerable, what this means for organisations and education, and how heat is likely to become an increasingly important issue in the years ahead.They also discuss what workplaces, schools and universities can do differently — from improving airflow to rethinking when demanding work, meetings and exams are scheduled.References:Ebi, K.L., Capon, A., Berry, P., Broderick, C., de Dear, R., Havenith, G., Honda, Y., Kovats, R.S., Ma, W., Malik, A. and Morris, N.B. (2021) ‘Hot weather and heat extremes: health risks’, The Lancet, 398(10301), pp. 698–708.PLOS Climate (no date) ‘Cumulative exposure to urban heat can affect the learning capacity of students and penalize the vulnerable and low-income young population: A systematic review’, PLOS Climate. Available at: https://journals.plos.org/climate/article?id=10.1371/journal.pclm.0000618 (Accessed: 26 June 2026).Thompson, R., Hornigold, R., Page, L. and Waite, T. (2018) ‘Associations between high ambient temperatures and heat waves with mental health outcomes: a systematic review’, Public Health, 161, pp. 171–191.Zeng, P., Sui, Y., Liu, Y., Xu, H., Cheng, D., Che, Y. and Helbich, M. (2025) ‘Heat risk during hot weather is associated with poorer self-reported mental health: A cross-sectional study in Shanghai, China’, Cities, 164, p. 106078.