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Psychology
Ten Best Practices for Mediators Derived from Neuroscience
July 21, 2017
Start mediations with a short caucus session with each party immediately before joint session (“Early Caucus”). To reduce stress, focus at the start of every mediation on: Building trust and rapport, Fostering a sense of control for parties, and Establishing an atmosphere of security and calm. Acknowledge and normalize stress as well as emotions. Give parties time (at least 30 minutes) to recover from strong emotions and stressful situations before engaging in decision-making...
July 21, 2017
Start mediations with a short caucus session with each party immediately before joint session (“Early Caucus”). To reduce stress, focus at the start of every mediation on: Building trust and rapport, Fostering a sense of control for parties, and Establishing an atmosphere of security and calm. Acknowledge and normalize stress as well as emotions. Give parties time (at least 30 minutes) to recover from strong emotions and stressful situations before engaging in decision-making...
Willingness-to-Pay and Willingness-to-Accept Are Probably Less Correlated Than You Think
July 19, 2017
Willingness to pay (WTP) and willingness to accept (WTA) a monetary amount for a lottery should be closely related. In data from an incentivized survey of a representative sample of 3,000 U.S. adults, we find that WTA and WTP for a lottery are, at best, weakly correlated. Across all respondents, the correlation is slightly negative. For the subgroups that we examine, the correlation is almost always small, typically statistically insignificant, and often negative. The exception is respondents who score...
July 19, 2017
Willingness to pay (WTP) and willingness to accept (WTA) a monetary amount for a lottery should be closely related. In data from an incentivized survey of a representative sample of 3,000 U.S. adults, we find that WTA and WTP for a lottery are, at best, weakly correlated. Across all respondents, the correlation is slightly negative. For the subgroups that we examine, the correlation is almost always small, typically statistically insignificant, and often negative. The exception is respondents who score...
The Psychology and Neurobiology of Mediation
July 19, 2017
Perhaps the most common problem in mediation is that people take the conflict personally and the outcome of the mediation...
July 19, 2017
Perhaps the most common problem in mediation is that people take the conflict personally and the outcome of the mediation...
Article on Psychological Factors in Estate Planning
July 17, 2017
John Guerin & L. Paul Hood Jr. recently published an Article entitled, Chapter 18: Psychological Factors in Estate...
July 17, 2017
John Guerin & L. Paul Hood Jr. recently published an Article entitled, Chapter 18: Psychological Factors in Estate...
The Most Important Communication Skill You Will Ever Need
July 16, 2017
Everyone’s experienced those awkward social moments when there’s an overly long pause in the conversation or you’ve inadvertently interrupted the other person. These social gaffes can occur in face-to-face interactions, but are far more likely to happen when you’re on the phone with your conversation partner because you can’t read nonverbal signals of facial expression or body language. Even video chats can be punctuated with uncomfortable silences and the feeling that you’ve spoken...
July 16, 2017
Everyone’s experienced those awkward social moments when there’s an overly long pause in the conversation or you’ve inadvertently interrupted the other person. These social gaffes can occur in face-to-face interactions, but are far more likely to happen when you’re on the phone with your conversation partner because you can’t read nonverbal signals of facial expression or body language. Even video chats can be punctuated with uncomfortable silences and the feeling that you’ve spoken...
The Scientific Link Between Popularity And Dishonesty
July 12, 2017
I meet many of these parents when they show up in the courtroom jury box, ready to perform their civic duty. “Do any of you consider...
July 12, 2017
I meet many of these parents when they show up in the courtroom jury box, ready to perform their civic duty. “Do any of you consider...
How To Use Voice Pitch To Influence Others In Seconds
July 11, 2017
There is something about the voice which is effective in communicating status. Lowering the pitch of your voice in the first few seconds of an interaction can help you influence others, new research finds. Those who lowered their voice were also seen as more prestigious and admirable by their peers in the study.
July 11, 2017
There is something about the voice which is effective in communicating status. Lowering the pitch of your voice in the first few seconds of an interaction can help you influence others, new research finds. Those who lowered their voice were also seen as more prestigious and admirable by their peers in the study.
New Research Explains Why Overthinking Can Hinder Creativity
July 8, 2017
Researchers in the UK have discovered that using a targeted electric current to temporarily suppress a particular region of the frontal lobes called the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) helps to break the mental constraints linked to “rut-like thinking.” This process also increased creativity. The findings from researchers at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) and Goldsmiths University of London were published June 7 online ahead of print in the journal Scientific Reports. The...
July 8, 2017
Researchers in the UK have discovered that using a targeted electric current to temporarily suppress a particular region of the frontal lobes called the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) helps to break the mental constraints linked to “rut-like thinking.” This process also increased creativity. The findings from researchers at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) and Goldsmiths University of London were published June 7 online ahead of print in the journal Scientific Reports. The...
Why Should We Slow Down? The Lost Art of Patience
July 7, 2017
Finally, while we view the speed of obtaining and transmitting information or goods as a necessity, slowing this down can aid in comprehension and appreciation of the message. Today, there are parts of our life that emphasize the benefits of being slow, ranging from a “slow food movement” to “slow parenting” to “slow jogging” to the mindful slowing associated with a meditation. We also sometimes enjoy having to be patient, and delayed gratification, in which we need to wait in order to enjoy...
July 7, 2017
Finally, while we view the speed of obtaining and transmitting information or goods as a necessity, slowing this down can aid in comprehension and appreciation of the message. Today, there are parts of our life that emphasize the benefits of being slow, ranging from a “slow food movement” to “slow parenting” to “slow jogging” to the mindful slowing associated with a meditation. We also sometimes enjoy having to be patient, and delayed gratification, in which we need to wait in order to enjoy...
When Emotion Meets Thinking
July 6, 2017
The intriguing finding was that creativity did not depend only on emotion (happy or sad), or only on the thinking mode (big-picture or detailed) that participants were in. Creativity depended on the combination of participants' detail mindset and their mood. Participants who were first primed to be in a "big picture" frame of mind (looking for the bigger configuration in the letters) and were also encouraged to be in a positive mood (rather than a sad mood) were more creative in the uses of a brick...
July 6, 2017
The intriguing finding was that creativity did not depend only on emotion (happy or sad), or only on the thinking mode (big-picture or detailed) that participants were in. Creativity depended on the combination of participants' detail mindset and their mood. Participants who were first primed to be in a "big picture" frame of mind (looking for the bigger configuration in the letters) and were also encouraged to be in a positive mood (rather than a sad mood) were more creative in the uses of a brick...
