Psychology
Empathy Can Be Too Much of a Good Thing
September 13, 2017
Empathy is critical to being a good negotiator. You must address the other person’s needs and wants in order to reach an agreement. Being emotionally cut off from others is not a recipe for negotiation success. On the other hand being too tuned in to others’ emotions can weigh you down and overwhelm you. An article in Lifehacker has some suggestions on how to keep a balance. Author Melanie Pinola suggests using two tools to protect ourselves: clear boundaries and a shift in perspective...
September 13, 2017
Empathy is critical to being a good negotiator. You must address the other person’s needs and wants in order to reach an agreement. Being emotionally cut off from others is not a recipe for negotiation success. On the other hand being too tuned in to others’ emotions can weigh you down and overwhelm you. An article in Lifehacker has some suggestions on how to keep a balance. Author Melanie Pinola suggests using two tools to protect ourselves: clear boundaries and a shift in perspective...
What Do You Want?
September 12, 2017
It’s one of the first questions a lawyer should be asking a client in an initial meeting or as part of a more thorough process assessment. What is the potential client’s goal? Oddly, most lawyers in their initial meeting or consultation never ask this key question. For people involved in a dispute, the sooner you answer this question with clarity, the better off you will be in the long run. That clear answer is crucial to setting the course for the best way to approach your dispute. ...
September 12, 2017
It’s one of the first questions a lawyer should be asking a client in an initial meeting or as part of a more thorough process assessment. What is the potential client’s goal? Oddly, most lawyers in their initial meeting or consultation never ask this key question. For people involved in a dispute, the sooner you answer this question with clarity, the better off you will be in the long run. That clear answer is crucial to setting the course for the best way to approach your dispute. ...
Learning More About Yourself Could Help You Better Understand Others
September 10, 2017
As social creatures, accurately recognising and understanding the mental states of others (their intentions, knowledge, beliefs, etc.) is crucial to our social bonds and interactions. In fact, in today’s multi-cultural world and strongly divided political climate, this skill – known as Theory of Mind – is perhaps more important than ever. A recent study published in the Journal of Cognitive Enhancementproposes that an effective way to develop our Theory of Mind lies in learning to better...
September 10, 2017
As social creatures, accurately recognising and understanding the mental states of others (their intentions, knowledge, beliefs, etc.) is crucial to our social bonds and interactions. In fact, in today’s multi-cultural world and strongly divided political climate, this skill – known as Theory of Mind – is perhaps more important than ever. A recent study published in the Journal of Cognitive Enhancementproposes that an effective way to develop our Theory of Mind lies in learning to better...
Empirical Efficacy of Doctor Apologies
September 8, 2017
While parents may teach their children to apologize to someone whom they have mistakenly harmed, as a general rule (owing to evidentiary rules) attorneys do not usually proffer similar advice to clients (defendants) confronting civil litigation. Partly in an effort to more closely align legal rules to better align with what many moms and dads demand from kids, in the medical malpractice context a growing number of states have adopted "apology laws." "The basic rationale behind apology laws is that...
September 8, 2017
While parents may teach their children to apologize to someone whom they have mistakenly harmed, as a general rule (owing to evidentiary rules) attorneys do not usually proffer similar advice to clients (defendants) confronting civil litigation. Partly in an effort to more closely align legal rules to better align with what many moms and dads demand from kids, in the medical malpractice context a growing number of states have adopted "apology laws." "The basic rationale behind apology laws is that...
Why We Forget Names (But Not Faces)
September 6, 2017
“I never forget a face,” Groucho Marx famously said. (“But in your case I’ll make an exception,” went the punchline.) Groucho’s memory for faces may be legendary, but it’s really not that extraordinary. In fact, humans are quite good at recognizing faces they’ve seen before. And there’s an evolutionary reason for this. Not only humans but also many other social animals recognize their group mates by their faces. We even have dedicated machinery in the brain for processing...
September 6, 2017
“I never forget a face,” Groucho Marx famously said. (“But in your case I’ll make an exception,” went the punchline.) Groucho’s memory for faces may be legendary, but it’s really not that extraordinary. In fact, humans are quite good at recognizing faces they’ve seen before. And there’s an evolutionary reason for this. Not only humans but also many other social animals recognize their group mates by their faces. We even have dedicated machinery in the brain for processing...
Increase the meaningfulness of your work by considering how it helps others
September 5, 2017
When we find our work meaningful and worthwhile, we are more likely to enjoy it, to be more productive, and feel committed to our employers and satisfied with our jobs. For obvious reasons, then, work psychologists have been trying to find out what factors contribute to people finding more meaning in their work. Top of the list is what they call “task significance”, which in plain English means believing that the work you do is of benefit to others. However, to date, most of the evidence for the importance...
September 5, 2017
When we find our work meaningful and worthwhile, we are more likely to enjoy it, to be more productive, and feel committed to our employers and satisfied with our jobs. For obvious reasons, then, work psychologists have been trying to find out what factors contribute to people finding more meaning in their work. Top of the list is what they call “task significance”, which in plain English means believing that the work you do is of benefit to others. However, to date, most of the evidence for the importance...
The Increasing Value of Social Skills
September 4, 2017
The progress of technology is best measured by our obsolescence: we have a knack for creating machines that are better than us. From self-driving trucks to software that reads MRIs, many of our current jobs will soon be outsourced to our own ingenious inventions. And yet, even as the robots take over, it’s clear that there are some skills that are still best suited for human beings. We might be irrational, distractible and bad at math, but we are also empathetic, cunning and creative. Robots...
September 4, 2017
The progress of technology is best measured by our obsolescence: we have a knack for creating machines that are better than us. From self-driving trucks to software that reads MRIs, many of our current jobs will soon be outsourced to our own ingenious inventions. And yet, even as the robots take over, it’s clear that there are some skills that are still best suited for human beings. We might be irrational, distractible and bad at math, but we are also empathetic, cunning and creative. Robots...
Gratitude and Attitude: A Simple Way to Make Yourself Happier
August 20, 2017
Being present in the moment is key to feeling grateful because you take the time to tune into your life and be more aware. If you start embracing gratitude, your relationships can be better, you may feel more in control, and it may help get you through tough times. Gratitude is easy when things are going well, but we may start to feel invulnerable. On the other hand, it’s hard to see the upside when things start going sour, and your world is turning upside down. One way to appreciate where you are is to give...
August 20, 2017
Being present in the moment is key to feeling grateful because you take the time to tune into your life and be more aware. If you start embracing gratitude, your relationships can be better, you may feel more in control, and it may help get you through tough times. Gratitude is easy when things are going well, but we may start to feel invulnerable. On the other hand, it’s hard to see the upside when things start going sour, and your world is turning upside down. One way to appreciate where you are is to give...
Of Perception, Impasse and A**holic Behaviours – Creating Movement in Our Minds
August 18, 2017
The study of bias tells us that we tend to be quick to label others. Therefore, the people who are creating impasse are often seen as “difficult”, “unreasonable, “stubborn” or even an “a**hole”. And this is not just a common response but an understandable one. After all, we are never the unreasonable one, it’s always the other person who is the idiot that refuses to be reasonable. It should not be surprising that the same thoughts are running through the other person’s mind about...
August 18, 2017
The study of bias tells us that we tend to be quick to label others. Therefore, the people who are creating impasse are often seen as “difficult”, “unreasonable, “stubborn” or even an “a**hole”. And this is not just a common response but an understandable one. After all, we are never the unreasonable one, it’s always the other person who is the idiot that refuses to be reasonable. It should not be surprising that the same thoughts are running through the other person’s mind about...
Time, Money and Happiness
August 18, 2017
The BBC News service posted an interesting article (July 25, 2017) entitled “Time, not material goods, ‘raises happiness’” by Helen Briggs. The article discusses a study in which individuals reported greater happiness when they paid others to do their chores. Dr. Elizabeth Dunn, a psychology professor at the University of British Columbia in Canada conducted a series of surveys and from them, concluded that “…people who spend money to buy themselves more free time are happier- that is they...
August 18, 2017
The BBC News service posted an interesting article (July 25, 2017) entitled “Time, not material goods, ‘raises happiness’” by Helen Briggs. The article discusses a study in which individuals reported greater happiness when they paid others to do their chores. Dr. Elizabeth Dunn, a psychology professor at the University of British Columbia in Canada conducted a series of surveys and from them, concluded that “…people who spend money to buy themselves more free time are happier- that is they...
