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Cognitive
Busy People Bounce Back From Missed Deadlines
May 20, 2016
They say that if you want to get something done, you should ask a busy person. A new paper that's analysed data from a popular productivity app appears to back up this folk wisdom in a specific way – busier people are better at dealing with missed deadlines. Keith Wilcox at Columbia University and his colleagues analysed task deadline and completion data from over 28,000 users of the productivity app (they don't state the name of the app, but it sounds a bit like i done this). In total, the data...
May 20, 2016
They say that if you want to get something done, you should ask a busy person. A new paper that's analysed data from a popular productivity app appears to back up this folk wisdom in a specific way – busier people are better at dealing with missed deadlines. Keith Wilcox at Columbia University and his colleagues analysed task deadline and completion data from over 28,000 users of the productivity app (they don't state the name of the app, but it sounds a bit like i done this). In total, the data...
This Is Your Brain On A Breakup
May 15, 2016
Cognitive neuroscientists at Columbia University compared brain images of participants looking at picture of their exes to brain images of individuals prodded with a hot probe. The researchers found that same brain regions—the insula and anterior cingulate cortex—lit up when ruminating over a lost love as when experiencing physical pain. Another study, by researchers Lucy Brown and Helen Fisher, scanned the brain activity of 15 young adults who had experienced a recent unwanted breakup and reported...
May 15, 2016
Cognitive neuroscientists at Columbia University compared brain images of participants looking at picture of their exes to brain images of individuals prodded with a hot probe. The researchers found that same brain regions—the insula and anterior cingulate cortex—lit up when ruminating over a lost love as when experiencing physical pain. Another study, by researchers Lucy Brown and Helen Fisher, scanned the brain activity of 15 young adults who had experienced a recent unwanted breakup and reported...
Uncertainty Is More Stressful Than Pain, Say Neurologists
May 12, 2016
A recent study found that a small possibility of receiving a painful electric shock causes people more stress than knowing for sure that a shock was on the way. Researchers asked participants to guess whether a snake hid beneath a rock, while measuring stress levels. If a participant guessed incorrectly and turned over a rock with a snake beneath it, he received a small electric shock on the hand. While current research focuses on the negative impacts of stress, there may be benefits, too. The researchers...
May 12, 2016
A recent study found that a small possibility of receiving a painful electric shock causes people more stress than knowing for sure that a shock was on the way. Researchers asked participants to guess whether a snake hid beneath a rock, while measuring stress levels. If a participant guessed incorrectly and turned over a rock with a snake beneath it, he received a small electric shock on the hand. While current research focuses on the negative impacts of stress, there may be benefits, too. The researchers...
Shadow of the Contract: How Contract Structure Shapes Inter-Firm Dispute Resolution
May 12, 2016
This paper investigates how contract structure influences inter-firm dispute resolution processes and outcomes by examining a unique dataset consisting of over 150,000 pages of documents relating to 102 business disputes. We find that the level of contract detail affects the type of dispute resolution approach that is adopted when conflict arises, and that different approaches are associated with different costs for resolving the dispute. We also find that the effect of contract choice on dispute...
May 12, 2016
This paper investigates how contract structure influences inter-firm dispute resolution processes and outcomes by examining a unique dataset consisting of over 150,000 pages of documents relating to 102 business disputes. We find that the level of contract detail affects the type of dispute resolution approach that is adopted when conflict arises, and that different approaches are associated with different costs for resolving the dispute. We also find that the effect of contract choice on dispute...
Repetition May Be Key in Mediation’s Teachable Moments
May 10, 2016
We’re not all quick studies. During a mediation session you may need to give the same message several times, in different ways, for a party to accept what you’re saying. Research in advertising shows that you normally need to be exposed to a product at least seven times before you would consider buying it. In a mediation you frequently need to convince parties (and sometimes their attorneys) to consider ideas and approaches that are not only different but the opposite of what they want to believe....
May 10, 2016
We’re not all quick studies. During a mediation session you may need to give the same message several times, in different ways, for a party to accept what you’re saying. Research in advertising shows that you normally need to be exposed to a product at least seven times before you would consider buying it. In a mediation you frequently need to convince parties (and sometimes their attorneys) to consider ideas and approaches that are not only different but the opposite of what they want to believe....
Testosterone Decreases The Ability To Feel Empathy By Interrupting Brain Networks
May 9, 2016
Whenever there’s a quarrel, fist-fight or bar brawl, testosterone usually has something to do with it. Famous for fuelling aggression, this male sex hormone is the prime suspect behind the human tendency towards antagonism, and with good reason. According to a new study in the journal Psychoneuroendicinology, testosterone reduces connectivity in brain regions responsible for feeling empathy towards others and incorporating this sentiment into our decision-making. Led by scientists from Utrecht...
May 9, 2016
Whenever there’s a quarrel, fist-fight or bar brawl, testosterone usually has something to do with it. Famous for fuelling aggression, this male sex hormone is the prime suspect behind the human tendency towards antagonism, and with good reason. According to a new study in the journal Psychoneuroendicinology, testosterone reduces connectivity in brain regions responsible for feeling empathy towards others and incorporating this sentiment into our decision-making. Led by scientists from Utrecht...
Anxiety: 10 Fascinating New Insights You Should Know
May 6, 2016
Why anxious people are agreeable, the supplement that reduces anxiety, dangers of anxiety drugs, the benefits of optimistic thinking and more… Ten new psychology studies reveal why some people are anxious, how to reduce anxiety and much more. 1. Why anxious people are too agreeable 2. Omega-3 supplementation reduces anxiety 3. Optimistic thinking benefits the anxious brain 4. Being neurotic predicts anxiety 5. Get enough REM sleep 6. Online therapy for anxiety 7. The neurocircuitry...
May 6, 2016
Why anxious people are agreeable, the supplement that reduces anxiety, dangers of anxiety drugs, the benefits of optimistic thinking and more… Ten new psychology studies reveal why some people are anxious, how to reduce anxiety and much more. 1. Why anxious people are too agreeable 2. Omega-3 supplementation reduces anxiety 3. Optimistic thinking benefits the anxious brain 4. Being neurotic predicts anxiety 5. Get enough REM sleep 6. Online therapy for anxiety 7. The neurocircuitry...
Do We Need to Conduct a Personality Assessment Before We Can Mediate Effectively?
May 3, 2016
Recently, I had two back to back mediations which ended very differently. The first was triggered when an employer challenged...
May 3, 2016
Recently, I had two back to back mediations which ended very differently. The first was triggered when an employer challenged...
The Curious Robot
April 28, 2016
Curiosity is the strangest mental state. The mind usually craves certainty; being right feels nice; mystery is frustrating. But curiosity pushes back against these lesser wants, compelling us to seek out the unknown and unclear. To be curious is to feel the pleasure of learning, even when what we learn is that we’re wrong. * * * The implication, of course, is that curiosity is a defining feature of human development, allowing us to develop “domain-specific” talents – speech, tool use,...
April 28, 2016
Curiosity is the strangest mental state. The mind usually craves certainty; being right feels nice; mystery is frustrating. But curiosity pushes back against these lesser wants, compelling us to seek out the unknown and unclear. To be curious is to feel the pleasure of learning, even when what we learn is that we’re wrong. * * * The implication, of course, is that curiosity is a defining feature of human development, allowing us to develop “domain-specific” talents – speech, tool use,...
Handled Properly An Objection May Help Seal the Deal
April 27, 2016
As talented and as wonderful an attorney you may be, chances are pretty slim that every one of your settlement proposals was immediately accepted. There was at least one objection and possibly many of them to most of your proposals. Since you can’t make everyone happy all the time, what’s the best way to respond to an objection? When you get an objection to your proposal take it as a good sign. The person is interested, engaged and may be motivated to find a way around the problem in order...
April 27, 2016
As talented and as wonderful an attorney you may be, chances are pretty slim that every one of your settlement proposals was immediately accepted. There was at least one objection and possibly many of them to most of your proposals. Since you can’t make everyone happy all the time, what’s the best way to respond to an objection? When you get an objection to your proposal take it as a good sign. The person is interested, engaged and may be motivated to find a way around the problem in order...
