Posts tagged Psychology
Starbucks' Power Over Us Is Bigger Than Coffee: It's Personal
Interesting. I’ve not seen the mentioned changes in any UK store yet—and I hope I don’t—but it would bring about a significant shift in how Starbucks is perceived.
The Guardian review of 'The Righteous Mind' by Jonathan Haidt
Ian Birrell:
Drawing on everything from advertising to anthropology, he argues that liberals are driven by a morality based on compassion, the desire to fight oppression and, to some degree, fairness. Conservatives have a broader set of six “moral tastes”, sharing such concerns but balanced by the binding foundations of loyalty, authority and sanctity.
It is, he says, as if the left has three taste buds but the right has six. While the right can “taste” issues such as compassion and fairness, the left struggles to embrace patriotism or religion, seeing traditional institutions and hierarchies as obstacles to their fight for liberty and equality. Haidt calls this “the conservative advantage”.
Indeed, he goes further, saying that western progressives seeking a secular, rational society are out of step with the vast majority of people on the planet.
I started reading this book earlier this week and am thoroughly enjoying it. In many ways it feels like a passionate plea for people to take the time to understand each other and with that open up channels of respect and tolerance.
The difference willpower makes
Roy Baumeister and John Tierney:
People with stronger willpower are more altruistic. They’re more likely to donate to charity, to do volunteer work, and to offer their own homes as shelter to someone with no place to go. Willpower evolved because it was crucial for our ancestors to get along with the rest of the clan, and it’s still serving that purpose today. Inner discipline still leads to outer kindness.
I mentioned a few months ago that I was interested in reading this book and, though it’s taken me a while, I finally finished it last night.
Honestly, it’s been one of the most enjoyable books I’ve read in quite a while. Each chapter is filled with so many insights on topics ranging from decision making to finances, to parenting and dieting. And, for a book of this type, it’s thoroughly practical too. I can’t remember the last time I found myself highlighting so many sections of a book.
The premise of the book is this: Willpower is like a muscle that can be strengthened with practice and improved over time. The latest laboratory work shows that self-control has a physical basis to it and so is dramatically affected by simple things such as eating and sleeping - to the extent that a life-changing decision may go in different directions depending on whether it’s made before or after lunch.
It was intriguing to see, as part of their conclusion, the link between willpower and altruism as quoted above. All in all, the point that the books seems to make is that if we want to have a better life, and if we want to live in a better work, then willpower needs to be a muscle that we take time to develop and build up.
All in all, highly recommended and a definite thumbs up from me.
Willpower: Rediscovering Our Greatest Strength
Publishers description of the book Willpower:
Can you resist everything except temptation? In a hedonistic age full of distractions, it’s hard to possess willpower - or in fact even understand why we should need it. Yet it’s actually the most important factor in achieving success and a happy life, shown to be more significant than money, looks, background or intelligence. This book reveals the secrets of self-control. For years the old-fashioned, even Victorian, value of willpower has been disparaged by psychologists who argued that we’re largely driven by unconscious forces beyond our control. Here Roy Baumeister, one of the world’s most esteemed and influential psychologists, and journalist John Tierney, turn this notion on its head. They show us that willpower is like a muscle that can be strengthened with practice and improved over time. The latest laboratory work shows that self-control has a physical basis to it and so is dramatically affected by simple things such as eating and sleeping - to the extent that a life-changing decision may go in different directions depending on whether it’s made before or after lunch. You will discover how babies can be taught willpower, the joys of the to-don’t list, the success of Alcoholics Anonymous, the pointlessness of diets and the secrets to David Blaine’s stunts. There are also fascinating personal stories, from explorers, students, soldiers, ex-addicts and parents. Based on years of psychological research and filled with practical advice, this book will teach you how to gain from self-control without pain, and discover the very real power in willpower. The results are nothing short of life-changing.
This looks like a really fascinating read! I’ve sent a sample to my iPad and will check it out soon hopefully. I’ve not heard of it before; has anyone else read it and got any thoughts?
The New Humanism
Fascinating article by David Brooks in the New York Times opinion pages.
When we raise our kids, we focus on the traits measured by grades and SAT scores. But when it comes to the most important things like character and how to build relationships, we often have nothing to say. Many of our public policies are proposed by experts who are comfortable only with correlations that can be measured, appropriated and quantified, and ignore everything else.
Yet while we are trapped within this amputated view of human nature, a richer and deeper view is coming back into view. It is being brought to us by researchers across an array of diverse fields: neuroscience, psychology, sociology, behavioral economics and so on.
This growing, dispersed body of research reminds us of a few key insights. First, the unconscious parts of the mind are most of the mind, where many of the most impressive feats of thinking take place. Second, emotion is not opposed to reason; our emotions assign value to things and are the basis of reason. Finally, we are not individuals who form relationships. We are social animals, deeply interpenetrated with one another, who emerge out of relationships.
