Summer psych stuff
From time to time I trawl through recent posts and research on psychology. There’s a lot out there, so here’s my selection.
Worried? Worried about being worried?
Worry. There’s a lot of it about at the moment. Some things we can’t change – but we can change our responses. I like these no-nonsense steps based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to take control of worry, from Dr K.
How can you benefit from keeping a journal?
I’ve written about the benefits of keeping a journal before.
Whilst we’re on the topic of writing, research finds that reflecting on the ‘chapters’ of our life can boost our self-esteem, reports BPS Research Digest.
The benefits of the ‘beginner’s mind’
As the author of this Psyche article observes, ‘We don’t like discovering we’re wrong or ignorant because it dents our self-esteem’ – so how can we acknowledge what we don’t know and be more open to ideas? Stick with it: the four key points are well worth a read.
Narcissism in teams
In personal relationships, narcissism can have a harmful effect on others. What about teams? What’s the impact on performance if there is an ‘I’ in a team? I/O breaks this down, based on recent research that studied National Basketball Association teams’ composition and performance, with interesting implications for incentives.
Adolescent brains are awesome
If you have or know any kids who are curious about their brains, you might want to take a look at ‘Frontiers for Young Minds’. It’s a journal that not only publishes papers written about and for kids – they get to review them too. I’m sure the adolescents in your life will be thrilled to know their grey matter decreases annually during this phase of development. They may also relish the pointers for teachers.
Can kids be trusted with a friend’s secret?
As we’ve all learned the hard way, sharing a confidence is a sure way to damage a relationship. Intriguing research with pre-schoolers and school age children finds the age at which secrets are kept in the bag.
WFH routines: advice and predictions from Mr Predictably Irrational
Dan Ariely’s Q&A column for the Wall Street Journal is always worth a look. What’s his advice about WFH boundaries? Does he think we’ll all go back to our old routines, such as buying coffee on the way to work? Find out here. BTW, here’s a handy intro (or recap) on how our brain plays tricks on us in this BBC short video. Enjoy!
Dawn is the author of ‘The Feedback Book’ and ‘How to be Zoomly at work’
