The Science of Personality Podcast

Why are we drawn to what scares us? Jackie Sahm and Blake Loepp talk morbid curiosity with Dr. Coltan Scrivner at America's Most Haunted Hotel, the 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, in this spooky season episode of The Science of Personality.

Dr. Coltan Scrivner is a professor of psychology at Arizona State University, a horror entertainment producer and consultant to Hollywood horror productions, and the author of Morbidly Curious: A Scientist Explains Why We Can't Look Away, the book that put morbid curiosity on the map.

Take the Morbid Curiosity Test

Buy Coltan's Book Morbidly Curious: A Scientist Explains Why We Can't Look Away

Timestamps:

00:00 Welcome to America's Most Haunted Hotel + meet Dr. Coltan Scrivner
08:58 What is morbid curiosity?
11:08 Building the Morbid Curiosity Scale: the four types
19:30 Take Coltan's Morbid Curiosity Test: what the scale predicts
27:19 The paranormal subscale: agent detection, not belief in ghosts
29:00 Why some people can't stand horror: disgust sensitivity and anxiety
32:03 Horror as "homebrew exposure therapy": how scary stories calm anxiety
43:03 The evolution of morbid curiosity: predator inspection
48:00 Does morbid curiosity change with age?
51:21 Dark minds, soft hearts: are horror and true crime fans less empathetic?
1:00:12 Lightning round: scariest movies, Darwin, and life in Eureka Springs
1:09:08 Bigfoot, ghosts (real or imagined?)
1:12:40 Why we're drawn to dangerous people, and promote them into leadership
1:25:56 What makes the Crescent Hotel America's most haunted hotel

In the latest episode of The Science of Personality, Blake and Jackie kick off the annual spooky season episodes with a very special guest who they had no idea until just recently was a bit of an expert on the topic of witches and witchcraft. As part of some of her coursework at Harvard, Hogan CEO Allison Howell researched this topic extensively, making her the perfect guest to chat with us on a subject that has intrigued, fascinated, and terrified people across the globe for centuries.

In the latest episode of The Science of Personality, Blake and Jackie are joined by Christopher Duffy, Hogan's director of strategic accounts, and Jennifer Lowe, Hogan's director of solution delivery and learning, for a fascinating journey through Hogan history and lore. Having a combined nearly 60 years of Hogan experience, Chris, Jennifer, and Jackie have worked directly with some of the world's largest organizations, and this episode explores their favorite client projects, their biggest challenges, and their favorite tales from their time at Hogan.

In the latest episode of The Science of Personality, Blake and special cohost and guest, Jackie Sahm, talk about the things we get wrong about people. Jackie has spent her entire career at Hogan, starting as an intern while in the IO psychology program at the University of Tulsa. From there, she worked her way up to consultant, then to Hogan’s director of global learning, and eventually landing in her current role as Hogan’s VP of integrated solutions. Over the course of that journey, Jackie has seen just about every challenge an organization can face when it comes to people and talent development. In this episode, Blake taps into that knowledge and experience with a wide variety of questions that shine a light on what we get wrong about people

In the latest episode of The Science of Personality, Blake and special cohost Jackie Sahm, Hogan’s VP of integrated solutions, are joined by Alexander Haslam, PhD, professor of psychology at the University of Queensland, to discuss the topic of Zombie Leadership. This term, coined by Alex and his co-authors, Matt Alvesson, PhD, and Stephen Reicher, PhD, refers to an equally fascinating and destructive phenomenon currently plaguing the global workforce. So, that begs the question: What is Zombie Leadership? What are these undead ideas that continue to walk among us, refusing to die? Check out our conversation with Alex and find out.

Cheers, everybody.

In this special episode of The Science of Personality, Ryne and Blake interview guests in person at the 2026 Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) Conference in New Orleans. Featured guests include:

Adrian Furnham, PhD, world-renowned psychologist and author

Looking Beyond Engagement and Really Tackling the Organizational Disconnect in Modern Work Psychology

Irina Cozma, PhD, organizational psychologist and executive coach, Hogan Coaching Network

Designing Work for Humans with a Specific Focus on Inclusion, Fulfillment, and Fun

Laura Heaton, PhD, vice president of talent development, Penske Transportation Solutions

AND

Ron Festa, PhD, president, New Heights Consulting

Binge-Worthy Leadership Development and Enhancing our Learning Through Popular TV Series

Kevin Impelman, PhD, principal consultant, Summit Leadership Partners

Leadership and the Human Capital Advantage in Private Equity

In the latest episode of The Science of Personality, Ryne and Blake are joined by David Condon, PhD, director of Hogan’s newly formed Science of Personality Institute, to discuss his new role and vision for this exciting and innovative extension of the Hogan brand.

In this special episode of The Science of Personality, Ryne and Blake interview guests in person at the 2026 Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) Conference in New Orleans. Featured guests include:

Gillian Hyde, managing director & chief psychologist, Psychological Consultancy Ltd.

The Leaders We Have vs. The Leaders We Want

Janine Waclawski, PhD, co-founder and managing partner, Maestro Consulting

Rethinking Talent Management and Challenging Conventional Assumptions

Nikita Mikhailov, chief neuroticism officer, Goodness of Psychology

All Things Psychometrics

In the latest episode of The Science of Personality, Ryne and Blake talk about America’s upcoming 250th anniversary through the lens of Hogan’s point of view on leadership. More specifically, they dive into the core leadership principles that a successful democracy requires and also explore the uniqueness of governments as organizations.

In this special episode of The Science of Personality, Ryne and Blake interview guests in person at the 2026 Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) Conference in New Orleans. Featured guests include:

Allan Church, PhD, co-founder and managing partner, Maestro Consulting

The Great AI Debate: Where AI Fits and Where It Doesn’t

Allison Howell, CEO, Hogan Assessments

The Leadership Divide: Hogan’s Global Leadership Effectiveness Survey Findings

Brent Holland, PhD, director of talent assessment, Mondelez International

Hogan History: The Early Days of the Company

In the latest episode of The Science of Personality, Ryne and Blake are joined by Hogan Assessments founder and president, Robert Hogan, PhD, to talk about his new book, Personality and the Secret Life of Organizations. If you’ve listened to even one episode of this podcast, it is highly likely you have been impacted by this man because that’s the magnitude of his legacy on personality psychology. So, we were thrilled to have him on this episode to talk about the book and learn more about what he means by “the secret life of organizations.”

Buy the book: Personality and the Secret Life of Organizations

In the latest episode of The Science of Personality, Ryne and Blake are joined by Melvyn Payne, Commercial Director at Advanced People Strategies, one of Hogan’s fabulous distributors in the UK, to talk about finding the right balance between team engagement and psychological safety. More specifically, we look at the role personality plays through the lens of Hogan data. This is something Melvyn and his team at APS have made a priority recently as they continue to deliver best-in-class team solutions for their vast client portfolio.

In the latest episode of The Science of Personality, Ryne and Blake are joined by Hogan’s Managing Director of Asia Pacific, Krista Pederson, and Hogan Senior Consultant in the APAC region, Nicole Dickie, to discuss the findings of Hogan’s Global Leadership Effectiveness Study. Anyone who uses Hogan’s personality assessments or listens to this podcast knows that identifying effective leaders is at the core of what we do at Hogan. The study, which compares personality assessment data from over 21,000 executives in Hogan’s global database with survey responses from nearly 10,000 full-time employees across more than 120 markets, revealed some really incredible insights, including a striking disconnect between the characteristics executives display and the qualities employees say define effective leadership. Krista and Nicole were two of the key people to get this study off the ground, and they join us in this episode to discuss the findings now that the results are in.

The Leadership Divide: Global Insights on Who Leads vs. Who Should

In the latest episode of The Science of Personality, Ryne and Blake are joined by author Gustavo Razzetti, who has written multiple best-selling books, including Remote Not Distant: Design a Company Culture to Thrive in a Hybrid Workplace, Stretch for Change: How to Improve Your Change Fitness and Thrive in Life, and his latest book, Forward Talk: The Bold New Method for Getting Teams Unstuck, hits shelves and online stores today on May 5th. In this episode, we talk with Gustavo about courageous conversations people must have in the workplace to avoid team derailment and to help teams thrive through productive conflict. This is at the core of his new book and we’re thrilled to have him on the podcast to discuss this very important topic.

Buy Forward Talk: The Bold New Method for Getting Teams Unstuck

In the latest episode of The Science of Personality, Ryne and Blake are joined by Dr. Victoria Grady, Associate Professor of Management at George Mason University's Costello College of Business, to talk about change. More specifically, we dive into the psychology behind why people respond to change the way they do. Change affects us all, but how it affects us varies widely. Some find change to be personally disruptive or destructive, while others seem to just roll with the punches. So, what’s going on here? We discuss that and so much more with Victoria in this episode.

To learn more about Victoria, check out her TEDx Talk here.

In the latest episode of The Science of Personality, ChatGPT interviews Ryne and Blake about personality, leadership, and team dynamics. Yes, you read that correctly. Ryne and Blake answer 10 questions generated by ChatGPT in what turned out to be a fun and thought-provoking discussion prompted by one of the world's most popular AI engines.

In the latest episode of The Science of Personality, Ryne and Blake are joined by world-renowned author and journalist, Jack El-Hai, to discuss the personality of evil, with a specific focus on the personalities of authoritarians and fascists. This was the focus of his best-selling 2013 book, The Nazi and the Psychiatrist, which inspired the 2025 movie, Nuremberg, currently streaming on Netflix, which features not one, but two Academy Award winning actors. In the movie Russell Crowe plays the part of Nazi war criminal Hermann Göring and Rami Malek plays the role of Douglas Kelley, the US Army psychiatrist assigned to evaluate the personalities and mental capacities of high-ranking Nazis leading up to the Nuremberg trials. Again, this was all inspired by Jack’s book which Pulitzer Prize-winning author Gilbert King describes as “a harrowing narrative that brilliantly probes the depths of evil.” So, that begs the question: What is the personality of evil?

Buy the Book: The Nazi and the Psychiatrist

In the latest episode of The Science of Personality, Ryne and Blake talk about one of the top headlines in the media today that isn’t going anywhere in the foreseeable future: With the exponential proliferation of artificial intelligence and its impact on the global workforce, what skills will humans need to remain relevant and employed? Opinions vary on what that impact will look like. Some think AI is coming for all of our jobs and will sooner rather than later deem human workers unnecessary. Others think we’re on the verge of an AI bubble and the technology is starting to plateau. And then there’s those who realistically, or at least optimistically, see a future somewhere in between. Ryne and Blake discuss this and so much more in this new episode.

In the latest episode of The Science of Personality, Ryne and Blake are joined by Nigel Nicholson, PhD, author and Emeritus Professor of Organizational Behavior at London Business School, to talk about unique individuality, which is the focus of his new book, Unique You: How Individuality Works and Why It Matters. Although Nigel’s esteemed career as a business psychologist has focused on things like the application of evolutionary theory in business and management, educational innovation, and coaching political and business leaders, the topic of individual differences has fascinated him for much of his life, making him the perfect guest for this topic.

Click here to buy Unique You: How Individuality Works and Why It Matters

In the latest episode of The Science of Personality, Ryne and Blake are joined by Peter Harms, PhD, a Frank Schultz Professor of Management at the University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Business, to talk about the history and psychology of underdogs. World history is littered with stories and legends of people or groups of people who have defied the odds in the face of almost sure defeat, making them the closest thing to immortal a human being can fathom outside of religion and deities. But how do they accomplish these incredible feats? How do they find a way to make the impossible possible? Peter and Ryne have been interested in the topic of underdogs for quite some time, and they unpack their thoughts and theories in this episode.