Keyword: impulse control

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The Hidden Forces Behind Every Decision June 24, 2014

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Giullian Gioiello, Lisa Arnone
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Personal Growth & Change

Emotions quietly hijack our choices before we even know it. Armand DiMele, joined by Lisa Arnone, LCSW, and co-host Giullian Gioiello, walks through a catalog of cognitive and emotional biases, from anchoring and the bandwagon effect to choice-supportive thinking, showing how pausing to reflect remains the most practical corrective.

Jealousy and the Limits of Self-Awareness September 22, 2010

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, The Mind & Neuroscience

Jealousy strips away self-awareness faster than almost any other emotion, and Armand DiMele argues that is no accident. He traces the biological roots of jealousy, explains the neuroscience of introspection (gray and white matter in the prefrontal cortex), and shows why even sophisticated people collapse into blame when hormones or threat responses take over.

The Social Rules of Manners and Etiquette September 23, 2009

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Sherri Siegel
Category: Society, Culture & Current Events, The Mind & Neuroscience

Why do manners exist, who gets to have them, and what happens when the brain can no longer enforce them? Armand DiMele and Dr. Sherry Siegel, M.D. trace etiquette from dementia and autism to class inequality and road rage, arguing that good manners are ultimately a function of time, neurological capacity, and self-awareness.

The Science of Willpower April 2, 2008

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Personal Growth & Change, The Mind & Neuroscience

Willpower is a finite chemical resource, not a moral virtue. Armand DiMele draws on research by Roy Baumeister to show how blood sugar fuels self-control, why tackling multiple goals at once backfires, and how treating willpower like a muscle allows it to grow over time.

Free Will Versus Determinism January 10, 2007

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Roberta Maria Atin
Category: Meaning, Spirituality & Philosophy, The Mind & Neuroscience

Do we truly choose our lives, or are we shaped by genes, culture, and forces beyond our awareness? Armand DiMele and co-host Roberta Maria Atti work through fatalism, determinism, and the neuroscience of repeated self-defeating patterns, arguing that understanding these forces can loosen their grip on us.

Intermittent Explosive Disorder August 23, 2006

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Christine Ulrich, Kent Robinshaw
Category: Addiction & Compulsion, Emotions & Inner Life

Explosive anger affects far more people than assumed, with some studies finding it in over 10 percent of the population. Armand DiMele and colleagues Christine Ulrich and Kent Robinshaw examine the biology of rage, the passive-aggressive partners who enable it, why victims stay, and how therapy and medication can help.

Rough Childhoods and Impulse Control April 12, 2006

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Roberta Maria Atti
Category: Addiction & Compulsion, Personal Growth & Change

Rough childhoods don’t just wound emotionally, they physically reshape the brain, and that is the root of impulse control problems. Armand DiMele and co-host Roberta Maria Atti trace how early neglect stunts neuronal development and drives behaviors from theft and violence to binge eating and self-cutting, with a striking detour into what starvation studies reveal about compulsion.

The Psychology of Impulse Control April 11, 2006

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Addiction & Compulsion, Emotions & Inner Life

Armand DiMele traces impulsive behavior from everyday impulse buying and advertising to serious disorders including mania, antisocial personality, and addiction. He argues that reduced sensitivity to consequences is the common thread, and that awareness alone is a powerful first antidote.

Thinking as Emotional Discharge Undated

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Ben Starr, Giullian Gioiello
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, The Mind & Neuroscience

Thinking is not neutral reflection but a behavior the mind uses to discharge uncomfortable feelings before they overwhelm us. Armand DiMele walks through his feelings-impulses-behaviors model, with co-hosts Giullian Gioiello and Ben Starr, and a caller’s story about a protest march illustrates how beauty and solidarity can break through emotional shutdown.

Finding Someone Strong Enough to Hold You Undated

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Barbara Jessen, Carolee, Dr. Scott Baum, Keith, Leora, Sippy
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Family & Parenting

Why do so many people seek partners or authority figures who can overpower their worst impulses? Armand DiMele builds on earlier research by Scott Baum about fathers and invisible male roles to explore how unresolved inner rage drives partner choice, avoidance of intimacy, and the surprising relief some people find in external discipline.