Psych Stuff – March 2023

Time for another quarterly round-up of articles, videos and resources that are based on psychology.

What to do with a wailing baby?

Confession: babies howl at the very sight of me, so I’m the last person to give advice. Thankfully, Karen Hopkin’s much better qualified to share why babies wail and what to do to calm the little darlings. I found Karen’s article eye-opening. You can read her piece for Scientific American, or listen to the brief podcast. 

Got a worried teen as exam season’s looms?

Emma Young of the British Psychological society has compiled a wealth of psychological research to help before, during and after those exams. Good luck.

What’s your why?

Susan David often writes and talks about walking. I love her definition of courage: “Courage is fear walking”.  Now she’s encouraging us to get “Walking your why”. That’s when we live by our values. Susan’s questions should get you thinking. Nir Eyal has something to say about values: “they are attributes of the person you want to be.” – so, if you’re you’re unsure of your values, think about that person / people you want to be more like.

Compassion – what managers need right now

Many of us have had some tough times in the past years. Rather than commanding, great managers bring compassion to their interactions with colleagues. Compassion may be a value you work with as an manager – and if you do, not only will your team will benefit from your actions, they are more likely to be loyal to the team, the organisation – and you.