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Video 1: What I learned from 100 Days of Rejection
Description: Jia Jiang adventures boldly into a territory so many of us fear: rejection. In this inspiring TED Talk, he recounts how seeking out rejection for 100 days--from asking a stranger to borrow US$100 to requesting a “burger refill” at a restaurant--he desensitized himself to the pain and shame that rejection often brings and, in the process, discovered that simply asking for what you want can open up possibilities where you expect to find dead ends.

Video 2: Beware Online “Filter Bubbles”
Description: When you search for information online, do you assume everyone gets the same search results? Well, think again. As web companies strive to tailor their services (including news and search results) to our personal tastes, there's a dangerous unintended consequence: We get trapped in a “filter bubble” and don't get exposed to information that could challenge or broaden our worldview. In this illuminating, and at times scary TED Talk, Eli Pariser argues powerfully that this will ultimately prove to be bad for us and bad for democracy.

Audio 1: Social Loafing: Don’t Be a Sucker or a Freeloader!
Description: Do you like working in a group? Most people don’t because they’re afraid that they’ll have to do most of the work (wind up being a sucker) and that other group members won’t do their share of the work (free loaders). Want to find out how to avoid this and make your group work productive? Learn how the Agile software development technique can be adapted to your help your next group project be a success. From The Psych Files podcast.

Audio 2: How to Get People to Be Creative
Description: Do “Blue Sky” brainstorming sessions actually produce anything creative? If you’ve ever sat around with a group of people and tried to “just come up with something creative,” you probably found that it’s pretty hard. We actually don’t think that creatively when we’re told to just “throw things out there” and “nothing will be judged.” It’s often more productive to give people a certain constraint on what they can say. Hear how one researcher used as her inspiration the famous children’s book “Green Eggs and Ham” to come up with a pretty neat research study on creativity. From The Psych Files podcast.

Audio 3: Models of Effective Leadership: Joan of Arc, Alexander the Great, and Ginger the Chicken?
Description: What makes for an effective leader and how can you improve your leadership skills? Well, who’s the best role model for a leader? How about a chicken? In this episode of The Psych Files, we examine the film Chicken Run to see how the character Ginger embodies the best qualities of a leader. I know--sounds a little weird, but I guarantee you’ll come away with a better understanding of leadership and some of the top leadership theories.