Psychology Life Lessons is a podcast where we listen in on conversations with psychology experts and try to extract life lessons, and maybe a little wisdom.
In this episode, Dr. Dan Lannin has a conversation with Drs. Luke Russell and Chang Su-Russell from Illinois State University. Luke studies resilience in relationships, and especially within families of divorce and stepfamilies. Chang studies development in early childhood and socialization to being a sibling and topics like race/ethnicity, and death/dying.
The conversation starts with a discussion of narratives, and how the stories we tell influence our identity and even the lives of our families. Dan’s jaw drops when Luke tells a story of how he talked to himself in college when he looked in the mirror. Chang talks about the importance of meeting basic psychological needs like autonomy, competence, and relatedness–core aspects of Self-Direction Theory.
Importantly, in this episode we learn that Chang once spent a month in Tibet, and that Luke would enjoy a quiet evening with Genghis Khan.
Dr. Luke Russell
Dr. Luke Russell is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences at Illinois State University. His research investigates how individuals living in diverse family structures (single-parent, post-divorce, stepfamilies) foster resilience and maintain family-members’ health and well-being. He also studies how broader social institutions (e.g., health care systems, schools, and government agencies) can function as supportive resources for such families. He teaches courses in communication and helping skills, family public policy, and enduring issues for couples and families.
You can follow Dr. Russell on Twitter
Dr. Chang Su-Russell
Chang Su-Russell earns a Ph.D. in human development and family studies from the University of Missouri. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences at Illinois State University. Her research focuses on the socialization of very young children in challenging contexts, including two major lines of research: parents’ socializing children through the discussions of challenging issues (race and deaths) in response to current societal-political events; parents’ socializing children transition to siblinghood in mainland China in the context of post-one-child policy.
She is a Co-Chair of Asian/Asian American Families Focus Group and the Communication Specialist for the Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Families Section at National Council on Family Relations. Currently, she serves on the Editorial Board for Journal of Family Psychology.
Disclaimer: the content on this site is for informational or educational purposes only, and does not substitute professional medical advice or consultations with healthcare professionals. Additionally, the opinions and viewpoints expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the entities that employ the host or guests.
Psychology Life Lessons 