The science of protecting people’s feelings: why we pretend all opinions are equal It’s both the coolest — and also in some ways the most depressing — psychology study ever. Indeed, it’s so cool (and so depressing) that the name of its chief finding — the Dunning-Kruger effect — has at least halfway filtered into public consciousness. In the classic 1999 paper, Cornell researchers David Dunning and Justin Kruger found that the less competent people were in three domains — humor, logic, and grammar — the less likely they were to be able to recognize that. Or as the researchers put it: We propose that those with limited knowledge in a domain suffer from a dual burden: Not only do they reach mistaken conclusions and make regrettable errors, but their incompetence robs them of the ability to realize it. Dunning and Kruger didn’t directly apply this insight to our debates about science. So why do I bring this classic study up now? Yes, that’s right — we’re all right, nobody’s wrong, and nobody gets hurt feelings. But that’s not what happened. So why do we do this?
Money Makes You Less Rational Than You Think Kinja is in read-only mode. We are working to restore service. Two year ago, Berkeley researchers showed that people who drive expensive vehicles are four times more likely to cut off drivers of lower status vehicles. The researchers concluded that higher social class can predict increased unethical behavior. This supports my theory that Lexus drivers are the worst. if I get cut off, its almost always by a Lexus. Flagged In my experience people in luxury brands tend to drive without regard for other drivers, usually driving erratically (very slow then very fast, similar to people that are texting; swerving around without checking lanes, never signalling, drifting out into the middle of an intersection during a red light then not going when the light turns green; generally like self-important pricks) people in expensive sporty looking cars tend to drive more aggressively, cutting people off, etc.
m.fastcompany If you Google “morning routine,” you’ll receive more than 24 million search results, and for good reason: Early risers seem to get more done and live happier lives. Some of the most successful entrepreneurs understand the benefits of having an early-morning routine: Starbucks’s Howard Schultz, GE’s Jeff Immelt, and Xerox’s Ursula Burns are just some of the early birds famous for rising before 6 a.m. to get ahead on their work. But a morning routine is only half of a productive day; the other is the evening routine that precedes it. Here are seven evening routines of famous and successful creatives, and how you can apply them to your own life. Swedish Director Ingmar Bergman Read Before Bed “Do you know what moviemaking is? One study by the University of Sussex found that just six minutes of reading a day is enough to reduce stress by 68%--an excellent excuse to start curling up with a good book before you turn in for the evening. Composer Ludwig Van Beethoven Went To Bed Early
How to Cope with Uncomfortable Uncertainty Joy is not the only experience that people try to avoid, to their detriment. Many people cannot tolerate the feeling of uncertainty, and according to mounting evidence, this fear affects mood and health. Intolerance of uncertainty is linked with mental disorders such as anxiety and depression, researchers confirmed in a paper in the June 2013 issue of the Journal of Clinical Psychology; their results also revealed a strong link to panic disorder. People with this fear try to feel more certain with strategies such as excessive checking, planning and reassurance seeking, worry and rumination, and avoidance of unfamiliar situations. A combination of therapeutic strategies can help people whose fear of uncertainty is holding them back.
Why Teens Are Impulsive, Addiction-Prone And Should Protect Their Brains By NPR Staff Teens can’t control impulses and make rapid, smart decisions like adults can — but why? Research into how the human brain develops helps explain. In a teenager, the frontal lobe of the brain, which controls decision-making, is built but not fully insulated — so signals move slowly. “Teenagers are not as readily able to access their frontal lobe to say, ‘Oh, I better not do this,’ ” Dr. Jensen, who’s a neuroscientist and was a single mother of two boys who are now in their 20s, wrote The Teenage Brain to explore the science of how the brain grows — and why teenagers can be especially impulsive, moody and not very good at responsible decision-making. “We have a natural insulation … called myelin,” she says. This insulation process starts in the back of the brain and heads toward the front. “The last place to be connected — to be fully myelinated — is the front of your brain,” Jensen says. Interview Highlights On why teenagers are more prone to addiction On marijuana’s effect on IQ
The (Only) 5 Fears We All Share Vitalii Nesterchuk/Shutterstock President Franklin Roosevelt famously asserted, "The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself." I think he was right: Fear of fear probably causes more problems in our lives than fear itself. That claim needs a bit of explaining, I know. Fear has gotten a bad rap among most human beings. Medical experts tell us that the anxious feeling we get when we're afraid is a standardized biological reaction. Fear, like all other emotions, is basically information. And there are only five basic fears, out of which almost all of our other so-called fears are manufactured. Extinction—the fear of annihilation, of ceasing to exist. That's all—just those five. Think about the various common labels we put on our fears. Some other emotions we know by various popular names are just aliases for these primary fears. Shame and guilt express the fear of—or the actual condition of—separation and even ego-death. Fear is often the base emotion on which anger floats.
Lasting Relationships Rely On 2 Traits Gottman wanted to know more about how the masters created that culture of love and intimacy, and how the disasters squashed it. In a follow-up study in 1990, he designed a lab on the University of Washington campus to look like a beautiful bed-and-breakfast retreat. He invited 130 newlywed couples to spend the day at this retreat and watched them as they did what couples normally do on vacation: cook, clean, listen to music, eat, chat, and hang out. And Gottman made a crucial discovery in this study—one that gets at the heart of why some relationships thrive while others languish. Throughout the day, partners would make requests for connection, what Gottman calls “bids.” For example, say that the husband is a bird enthusiast and notices a goldfinch fly across the yard. The wife now has a choice. People who turned toward their partners in the study responded by engaging the bidder, showing interest and support in the bid.
5 Mental Traps Relationships Can't Escape Let’s look at five mental traps that can mess up intimate relationships. I’ll share an antidote for each. If you catch yourself in one or more of these, you can take steps on your own to break free and develop an appealing calm composure. You may see your mate in some of these traps, but you don’t have to call them to your mate's attention and put his or her nose to the fire. At the end of this post, you’ll find the common threat that connects each trap. 1. If your partner caters to your every wish, you’ve found a robot, not a mate. People can upset themselves by imposing demands and expecting immediate compliance. But our demands are not always obvious. 2. The verb to be, in its different forms, seems harmless enough. This identity thinking distorts a complex person. As an antidote, practice substituting objective statements for identity statements. 3. When you awfulize—such as telling yourself, "It’s awful that my mate inconveniences me—you use language that exaggerates a situation.
La morte dell'individualità L’idea che siamo individui dal pensiero libero ha plasmato la società occidentale per secoli. I dati però ci mostrano che ciò che domina realmente è il pensiero di gruppo. Per gran parte della nostra storia ci è stato insegnato che la verità e la morale vengono da Dio e dal Re, e che il libero arbitrio è solo una questione teologica. Nel 1700 ciò ha iniziato a cambiare e si è fatta strada, nei sistemi di credenze delle alte sfere, l’idea che gli esseri umani sono individui liberi con una libertà di scelta razionale. Nel corso del tempo i concetti di razionalità e individualità hanno profondamente modellato i governi e le culture dell’Occidente. Ma fino a che punto siamo individui con libertà di pensiero ? Una recente ricerca sta iniziando a scoprire il grado in cui ci comportiamo come individui indipendenti. Per sviluppare questa nuova scienza sono stati studiati dei veri e propri laboratori viventi. La logica dietro a tutto questo è semplice.
Negativity bias Negativity bias is the psychological phenomenon by which humans have a greater recall of unpleasant memories compared with positive memories. People are seen to be much more biased to the avoidance of negative experiences. They seem to behave in ways that will help them avoid these events. With this, humans are much more likely to recall and be influenced by the negative experiences of the past.[1] History[edit] The capacity to put more weight on negative entities than positive ones likely evolved for an important reason: to keep us out of harm’s way. The concept of negativity bias is not new. This phenomenon has recently been researched by psychologists Roy F. According to Rozi and Royzman, there are four ways in which humans and animals show to give greater weight to negative entities. Research[edit] One study was done by John Cacioppo, a Ph.D. professor formerly at Ohio State University. Explanations[edit] Research suggests many explanations behind the negativity bias. See also[edit]
Hacking Into Your Happy Chemicals: Dopamine, Serotonin, Endorphins and Oxytocin | Thai Nguyen Image Credit: Pixabay. We might not have a money tree, but we can have a happiness tree. Dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin and endorphins are the quartet responsible for our happiness. Being in a positive state has significant impact on our motivation, productivity, and wellbeing. Here are some simple ways to hack into our positive neurochemicals: Dopamine Dopamine motivates us to take action toward goals, desires, and needs, and gives a surge of reinforcing pleasure when achieving them. Break big goals down into little pieces -- rather than only allowing our brains to celebrate when we've hit the finish line, we can create a series of little finish lines which releases dopamine. Instead of being left with a dopamine hangover, create new goals before achieving your current one. Serotonin Serotonin flows when you feel significant or important. Reflecting on past significant achievements allows the brain to re-live the experience. Oxytocin Endorphins
What’s Your Personal Productivity Style? Find Out Here. by Carson Tate Big Think Edge is a video-driven platform that catalyzes happiness and performance in professional environments by cultivating leadership, creativity, and self-knowledge. Learn more about Big Think Edge. When it comes to managing distractions at work, I want you not simply to survive those distractions, but thrive through them because you’re working from your personal Productivity Style. As a refresher course: Your personal Productivity Style is your personal approach to planning and allocating effort across goals, activities, and time periods. There are four different Productivity Styles: Prioritizer, Planner, Arranger, and Visualizer. A Prioritizer is that guy or gal who will always defer to logical, analytical, fact-based, critical, and realistic thinking. The Planner is the team member who thrives on organized, sequential, planned, and detailed thinking. An Arranger prefers supportive, expressive, and emotional thinking. Image courtesy of iStock
Future - How human culture influences our genetics You shouldn't be able to drink milk. Your ancestors couldn't. It is only in the last 9,000 years that human adults have gained that ability without becoming ill. Children could manage it, but it was only when we turned to dairy farming that adults acquired the ability to properly digest milk. It turns out that cultures with a history of dairy farming and milk drinking have a much higher frequency of lactose tolerance – and its associated gene – than those who don't. Drinking milk is just one of example of the way that traditions and cultural practices can influence the path of our evolution. Another example of how culture influences our genes is the relationship between yam farming and malaria resistance. But there are some people who seem to have a natural defense force. Here's what's interesting: those communities that farm yams have much higher rates of the sickle-cell gene than nearby communities with different agricultural practices.