May 10, 2023

EP. 318 — Why Do We Gossip? with Dr. Meltem Yucel

You didn’t hear it from us, but this week’s episode is so juicy that you’ll want to tell everyone about it. Dr. Meltem Yucel joins Jonathan to dish on gossip: why it’s irresistible, what it reveals about our moral and social codes, and how we can use it to our benefit. Come for the drama, stay for the drama. (Are we the drama?)

Dr. Meltem Yucel is a Postdoctoral Associate at Duke University’s Department of Psychology and Neuroscience. She researches the development of social cognition and morality, specifically focusing on how and when children become moral beings. She is also the founder of www.PsychResearchList.com with the goal of making Psychology more accessible to students from all backgrounds by making the hidden curriculum of higher education more visible.

You can follow Dr. Yucel on Twitter @DrMeltemYucel, on Instagram @drmeltemyucel, and on LinkedIn @nazlimeltemyucel. Her website is meltemyucel.com.

Follow us on Instagram @CuriousWithJVN to join the conversation. Jonathan is on Instagram @JVN.

 

Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com.

 

Find books from past Getting Curious guests at bookshop.org/shop/curiouswithjvn; we’ll be updating it soon with more releases!

 

Our executive producer is Erica Getto. Our editor is Andrew Carson. Production support from Julie Carrillo and Chris McClure.

 

Our theme music is “Freak” by QUIÑ; for more, head to TheQuinCat.com

Transcript

Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness & Meltem Yucel   JVN [00:00:04] We’ve all been there. You tell your friend a secret, and then suddenly everyone knows your business. Or maybe a friend told you something that’s a secret. And, well, it’s not like the person you shared it with is even in the same city. I don’t know, I’ve never done that. I’m like, the best secret keeper ever. Everyone knows that about me. Ooh! Or maybe a text about you comes to your phone by accident. Nightmare. Gossip. It’s in schools, offices, extended families. Everyone wants to talk about it! So welcome to the show, Dr. Meltem Yucel, who is a postdoctoral associate at Duke University’s Department of Psychology and Neuroscience. She researches the development of social cognition and morality, specifically focusing on how and when children become moral beings. She also founded an amazing website: PsychResearchList.com, where people can find incredible resour

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