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Cognitive
Biased Perception, the Spiral of Conflict, and the Role of the Mediator
February 12, 2015
The word "Truth" etched in the pieces of this sculpture on Canyon Road in Santa Fe If we disagree with someone, we typically...
February 12, 2015
The word "Truth" etched in the pieces of this sculpture on Canyon Road in Santa Fe If we disagree with someone, we typically...
When to Sell with Facts and Figures, and When to Appeal to Emotions
February 11, 2015
When should salespeople sell with facts and figures, and when should we try to speak to the buyer’s emotional subconscious, instead? When do you talk to Mr. Intuitive, and when to Mr. Rational? I’d argue that too often, selling to Mr. Rational leads to analysis paralysis, especially for complex products or services. And yet many of us continue to market almost exclusively to Mr. Rational. The result is that we spend too much time chasing sales opportunities that eventually stall out. We need...
February 11, 2015
When should salespeople sell with facts and figures, and when should we try to speak to the buyer’s emotional subconscious, instead? When do you talk to Mr. Intuitive, and when to Mr. Rational? I’d argue that too often, selling to Mr. Rational leads to analysis paralysis, especially for complex products or services. And yet many of us continue to market almost exclusively to Mr. Rational. The result is that we spend too much time chasing sales opportunities that eventually stall out. We need...
If Your Boss Thinks You’re Awesome, You Will Become More Awesome
February 10, 2015
If your boss thinks you’re awesome, will that make you more awesome? This question came to us recently, when we were working with the top three levels of management in a multinational. When asked to rate their direct reports on 360 evaluations, some managers consistently rated everyone higher, and others consistently lower, than the average. We wondered if this was a result of bias, and what effect it had on the people who worked for them. To understand this better we looked at a larger set of 360 data...
February 10, 2015
If your boss thinks you’re awesome, will that make you more awesome? This question came to us recently, when we were working with the top three levels of management in a multinational. When asked to rate their direct reports on 360 evaluations, some managers consistently rated everyone higher, and others consistently lower, than the average. We wondered if this was a result of bias, and what effect it had on the people who worked for them. To understand this better we looked at a larger set of 360 data...
Neutral, Biased, or Both? Discursive Construction of a Mediator’s Dual Role
January 27, 2015
Within a theoretical and methodological framework based on critical discourse analysis and the principle of the objective, and using recordings from a civil case concerning an inheritance dispute, this article explores how a mediator in China employed various discursive strategies to foster conflict resolution and construct a dual role. On the one hand, he tried to maintain an impartial stance, but on the other he violated neutrality by acting selectively against one party. I suggest that the mediator,...
January 27, 2015
Within a theoretical and methodological framework based on critical discourse analysis and the principle of the objective, and using recordings from a civil case concerning an inheritance dispute, this article explores how a mediator in China employed various discursive strategies to foster conflict resolution and construct a dual role. On the one hand, he tried to maintain an impartial stance, but on the other he violated neutrality by acting selectively against one party. I suggest that the mediator,...
Bringing Us Closer to the Blueprints of the Brain
January 25, 2015
I’ve got a piece in today’s Observer about the amazing science of doing functional brain imaging and behavioural studies with babies while they are still in the womb to see the earliest stages of neurocognitive development. Brain development during pregnancy is key for future health, which is why it gets checked so thoroughly during prenatal examinations. But neuroscientists have become increasingly interested in how the activity of the brain becomes progressively integrated and synchronised...
January 25, 2015
I’ve got a piece in today’s Observer about the amazing science of doing functional brain imaging and behavioural studies with babies while they are still in the womb to see the earliest stages of neurocognitive development. Brain development during pregnancy is key for future health, which is why it gets checked so thoroughly during prenatal examinations. But neuroscientists have become increasingly interested in how the activity of the brain becomes progressively integrated and synchronised...
Why Dieting Is So Hard
January 25, 2015
New year, new you. For many people, a new you really means a new diet, shorn of white carbs, fried foods and ice cream. (Losing weight is, by far, the most popular New Year’s resolution.) Alas, the new you has to struggle against the habits of the old you, which knows perfectly well how delicious French fries taste. Most diets fail because the old you wins. Why is the new you so weak? A recent study in Psychological Science by Deborah Tang, Lesley Fellows and Alain Dagher at McGill University...
January 25, 2015
New year, new you. For many people, a new you really means a new diet, shorn of white carbs, fried foods and ice cream. (Losing weight is, by far, the most popular New Year’s resolution.) Alas, the new you has to struggle against the habits of the old you, which knows perfectly well how delicious French fries taste. Most diets fail because the old you wins. Why is the new you so weak? A recent study in Psychological Science by Deborah Tang, Lesley Fellows and Alain Dagher at McGill University...
Long-Held Belief About How Memory Works Challenged by Exciting New Research
January 25, 2015
It should be possible to restore the memories of people in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, scientists at UCLA have announced. This is because long-term memory is not stored at the synapses — the connections between brain cells which are destroyed in Alzheimer’s disease — as neuroscientists have long thought. Professor David Glanzman, who led the study, said: “Long-term memory is not stored at the synapse. That’s a radical idea, but that’s where the evidence leads. The...
January 25, 2015
It should be possible to restore the memories of people in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, scientists at UCLA have announced. This is because long-term memory is not stored at the synapses — the connections between brain cells which are destroyed in Alzheimer’s disease — as neuroscientists have long thought. Professor David Glanzman, who led the study, said: “Long-term memory is not stored at the synapse. That’s a radical idea, but that’s where the evidence leads. The...
TEDx Talk on “The Dark Side of Free Will”
January 24, 2015
Gregg Caruso on "The Dark Side of Free Will"
January 24, 2015
Gregg Caruso on "The Dark Side of Free Will"
Using a Smartphone For One Day Has Transformative Impact On The Brain
January 24, 2015
Using smartphones profoundly changes the way the thumb and brain work together, a new study finds. The electrical activity in a smartphone user’s brain spikes when their fingertips are touched, in comparison to an old-school phone user, the researchers found. And the more people use their smartphones, the greater the spike in activity across the cortex. Dr. Arko Ghosh, who led the study, said: “I was really surprised by the scale of the changes introduced by the use of smartphones. I...
January 24, 2015
Using smartphones profoundly changes the way the thumb and brain work together, a new study finds. The electrical activity in a smartphone user’s brain spikes when their fingertips are touched, in comparison to an old-school phone user, the researchers found. And the more people use their smartphones, the greater the spike in activity across the cortex. Dr. Arko Ghosh, who led the study, said: “I was really surprised by the scale of the changes introduced by the use of smartphones. I...
The Jobs With The Highest Rates of Depression
January 22, 2015
Here is the full list of the jobs with the highest levels of depression along with the percentage of people suffering from depression or a condition which involves depression, like bipolar disorder: Local/Intercity Passenger Transit — 16.19% Real Estate — 15.65% Social Services — 14.60% Miscellaneous Manufacturing Industries — 14.25% Personal Services — 14.25% Legal Services — 13.44% Environmental Quality/Housing — 13.42% Membership Organizations — 13.28% Security...
January 22, 2015
Here is the full list of the jobs with the highest levels of depression along with the percentage of people suffering from depression or a condition which involves depression, like bipolar disorder: Local/Intercity Passenger Transit — 16.19% Real Estate — 15.65% Social Services — 14.60% Miscellaneous Manufacturing Industries — 14.25% Personal Services — 14.25% Legal Services — 13.44% Environmental Quality/Housing — 13.42% Membership Organizations — 13.28% Security...
