Psych stuff round-up

Here’s one of my occasional round-ups of psychology reporting and studies that I hope you’ll find useful.

Which is more likely to foster wellbeing – introversion or extraversion?
Here we go again…Whilst readers who tend towards extraversion may be thinking, ‘obvs, wellbeing’s all about being outgoing and talkative’, and more introverted people may be thinking, ‘be more extravert? What do you think headphones are for?’, if this research is proven we may all benefit from being a bit more extrovert. Note: this research comes from California and the authors admit, “introversion is generally not regarded as desirable or advantageous in U.S. culture”. This introvert thinks the BPS report worth a read all the same.

Clarity about psychopathy and leaders…well, some
In ‘Are Psychopathic Leaders Effective or Harmful?’, I/O at work reports on an extensive analysis of multiple studies about psychopathy in the workplace. Yes, leaders with psychopathic tendencies can be effective and yes, there’s a gender bias to how leaders’ behaviour is perceived. No, they’re unlikely to be what are known as ‘transformational leaders’.

Does our early relationship with our parents affect our behaviour at work?
Oh yes. Our attachment style influences how we behave as both manager and managed. It also affects how we respond emotionally to distressful events in the workplace. Read the APS Minds for business report on the research in ‘How Connections with Co-workers Affect Our Reaction to Toxic Management’.

Want to know more about attachment styles? The School of Life has a handy video intro and a questionnaire.

How to reduce mistakes and unforced errors?
‘Develop a personal early warning system to avoid making bad leadership choices’ focuses on leaders’ unforced errors when the going gets tough; for example, when they lose a key member of the team and their workload piles up. Many of us will relate to the examples of unforced errors, but too many can lead to derailment. Find straight-talking tips and a diagnostic tool in S+B’s article.

Why do some shapes seem angry and others calming?
BPS Research Digest reports on research distilled from five studies at Harvard University. So that’s why death metal bands have jagged branding, apparently. Might prompt a rethink of that infographic you’ve been working on…

You can read my previous round-up here.

 

Dawn is the author of ‘The Feedback Book’ and ‘How to be Zoomly at work’

 

 

 

Copyright Zoomly
Just so you know…if you share this post in its entirety, it’s very much appreciated.
Please don’t copy it and pass it off as your own.

 

Image credits: Elegant Psychology and Mental Health logo concept – krustovin-Depositphotos

Comments are closed.