Description: I was not intending to post three conceptually focused pieces (another one, a third one) when I sat down at my computer this week. By conceptual, I mean looking at articles that ask us if we are looking at or thinking about some aspect of human psychological functioning properly or whether a different conceptual… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Group Processes
Hey Google (Alexa, Siri)! Should We Gender Our Technology?
Description: Do inanimate objects have a gender? Well while your quick answer to this question might be no, of course not, it is worth thinking about the question a bit more deeply. Since ancient times, for example, ships have been referred to as female (as ‘shes’). Why? Well, the word ship comes from the Latin… Read more »
More Corner Cutting: Cheating These Days
Description: Did you hear about the two men who were caught trying to cheat t win a fishing tournament by stuffing their catch with lead weights? How many other examples of people cheating at sports, at chess, financially, have you run across recently? Is there more of it going on these days or are we… Read more »
Is Parenting Universal?
Description: Imagine (if it is not the case for you already) that you are about to become a parent for the first time and you are trying to figure out how you are going to approach the challenges and, hopefully, joys, of being a parent. Boil it down to one or two questions by starting… Read more »
Remote Work and Mental Health
Description: Sometimes you may run across references to large scale studies that take broad, general looks at parts or sectors of the population and sometimes those large survey studies take a look at aspects of mental health. Before taking the results of such studies at face value it is well worth taking a moment or… Read more »
Can Criticism be Positive?
Description: If you cannot say something nice say nothing at all! Did you ever get that advice? It is possibly good advice for young children who are learning how to “play nice” together but what about in adulthood and especially what about in work settings where you might be training or managing others or working… Read more »
The Psychology of Blame
Description: I do not know if you have been tracking it but my friends and family in and around Ottawa have drawn my attention to the protest/occupation on central Ottawa by the Truckers’ Convoy. The group is comprised of people opposed to the recent vaccination requirements for cross border passage by truckers and demanding an… Read more »
Are Other People Hell or the Key to Happiness?
Description: Perhaps without realizing who it belonged to, you have likely hear Jen Paul Sartre’s line from the play he wrote in 1944 that goes “Hell is other people”. Without diving into his existential philosophy, you can see some applicability of this line to the world we are currently living in today (particularly in terms… Read more »
Black Friday and Boxing Day Sales: Yah or Yuck?
Description: Are you a devotee of either Back Friday or Boxing Day Sales? If so, or if not (and it does seem to be a rather binary choice) why do you think that is? What is it that you like or do not like about the sales? Of course, it could be the bargains (if… Read more »
Campfires Are in Your Genes
Description: What does sitting around a campfire with friends do for you? Yes, it can keep you warm, it can give you something to do after dark when camping with minimal artificial light, it can give you a chance to exchange scary stories but what can it also do for your physical and possibly mental… Read more »
Books for Success!
