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 »
Posts Categorized: Social Influence
Predicting Personality from Twitter Posts? Hmmm…
Description: How accurately do you think you could predict peoples’ Big Fiver personality profiles by reviewing their twitter posts? Really, pick a percentage! Are peoples’ Twitter personalities different than those they show in face-to-face interactions? Now, with your number picked (assuming it was not a zero), think about what you would look for in your… Read more »
This is Your Brain on Revenge
Description: I have been re-watching Game of Thrones recently and as a result have seen a great many depictions of acts of revenge (if you have not watched the series, you can trust me on this). Now it is a bit of a leap to jump from Game of Thrones to the “real world” but… Read more »
Admitting Uncertainty and Trust are Related: Ask a 4-year-old!
Description: Regardless of what you thought of the events surrounding the so-called Freedom Convoy in Canada’s capital of Ottawa over the past 3 weeks it was very clear that there are quite a few people who do not trust that the government is giving them the right information and advice or doing the right thing… Read more »
How Trustworthy are Personality Tests? Or is That the Right Question?
Description: Want to find out about yourself? You can take a personality test. But before you do, consider whether you will be able to trust the results. Are the accurate? Stable? Predictive of how you will behave in future? How would you go about answering those questions? Well, you could just throw caution to the… 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 »
Review and Then Dig Into Social Media Use
Description: There has been a lot of discussion in the media about social media and about whether or not it is potentially harmful to young people and particularly to teenage females. I have posted a number of times regarding articles looking at this question (Link 1, Link 2, Link 3, Link 4, Link 5). Throughout… Read more »
Population Behavior Change via Nudging is Good and Effective, Right? Maybe NOT
Description: What is a nudge? Might be a slight poke in the arm used to get someone’s attention or to announce your arrival to a friend who had their back turned to you. But more than a tap, nudges more typically are thought of as things that get people moving in a particular direction. As… Read more »
Psychological Drivers of Misinformation Belief: A Not So New But Critical Topic
Description: Given our direct and media shared experiences surrounding recent events such as the COVID pandemic, American elections and related capital events, climate change and much else you cannot be unaware of the phenomenon of misinformation and related beliefs. You may be aware of concerns over social media “echo chambers” that become sole sources for… Read more »
Vaccine Hesitancy 201
Description: We are all very tired of talking about and worrying about Covid and its many issues and yet we are also, as I write this, wondering what the Omicron variation is going to do to our ability to cope and manage individually, withing our communities and especially within our medical systems. Any sort of… Read more »
Books for Success!
