My blog about getting ahead in work and life with tips from the world of social psychology
It’s not just you– emotions are confusing. They are hard to describe in words, difficult to point at, and perhaps best (or worst) of of all, they feel a lot. Humor me for a second, think about anger–when was the last time you felt deeply angry? What did it feel Read more…
You probably know someone with anxiety or depression; a friend, a loved one, a colleague, maybe even yourself. And no wonder, the world often seems all too enthusiastic to doll out stuff to get anxious or depressed about: ever scarier and impactful climate change, a loneliness epidemic, political upheaval, economic Read more…
Over the past decade, online data has become deeper and more prevalent than ever. We’ve shifted towards online services and systems, and users–just normal people like you and me–have become the main creators of internet content in the “Web 2.0.” As a result we now know exponentially more about people Read more…
You’ve probably seen it on book covers. Heard about it on podcasts. Maybe watched a few TED talks about it. “Grit” is a touted buzzword of industry, performance, and inspiration that has taken the world by storm over the last 10 years. You don’t have to try too hard to Read more…
You might have heard or seen people call out the Dunning-Kruger effect. It sounds fancy, psychology-ey, and probably something you’ve heard name dropped in conversation and had to nod your head making a show of understanding but in reality have no idea on God’s green earth what they’re talking about…or Read more…
When it comes to important life skills, reading is very near the top of the list. Few other skills are so universal and vital—so much so it’s easy to forget that reading is a skill at all. Literacy is the foundation upon which people acquire, build, and communicate all varieties Read more…
We think we know what’s up. Maybe not in those exact terms, but we all think this about ourselves on some level—that we know how the world is and, importantly, that: We. Are. Right. That’s not necessarily a problem in and of itself. Confidence and standing up for what you Read more…
When I worked in health care, I had to get CPR training. Now, if you’ve never done CPR training before, basically you show up at a conference room with a bunch of slightly-too-realistic dummies. The instructor walks you through the steps and eventually sets everyone to practicing. What follows is Read more…
You’re in your mid-Monday meeting. You and your team have been running up against this problem for a week. Now, it’s problem solving time. “There are no wrong answers” you remember someone saying as you begin. Yeah right—they always say that. You hear the usual solutions put forward. They’ll work, Read more…
5/18/18 Forward: A Revisit Looking back, this research paper was a little too on-point for the events and revelations that would dominate the news within the next year or so. I wrote this paper in the Fall of 2016, a year or two before the #metoo movement gained prominence and Read more…