Archive for the ‘Psychology’ Category

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Why We Make Mistakes: The myth of multi-tasking

March 16, 2010

In this and a couple of preceding and subsequent posts, I’m excerpting the 13 reasons from:

Why We Make Mistakes, Joseph T. Hallinanm, Broadway Books 2009

Today, we add reason #5 to the list.

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The errors we make can be explained through 13 lessons:

1. We look but don’t always see.

2. We all search for meaning.

3. We connect the dots.

4. We wear rose-colored glasses.

* * * * *

5. We can walk and chew gum — but not much else.

Whether we’re on foot or behind the wheel, our attention is continually being divided by the tasks we try to juggle, such as listening to iPods, talking on cell phones, and tapping away on BlackBerrys.

Most of us believe our brains can work in the same way that computers multitask. Although multi-tasking has become a hallmark of the modern workplace, it is also one of the great myths of the modern age. We may think we are focusing on several activities at once, but our attention is actually jumping back and forth between tasks.

Not even a computer, by the way, can multitask; it actually switches back and forth between several tasks several times per second, thus presenting the illusion that all of the tasks are being performed at once.

Our minds provide us with the same illusion.

the gains we think we make by multitasking are often illusory. This is because the brain slows down when it has to juggle tasks.

Switching from task to task also creates other problems. One such problem is that we forget what we are doing — or planned to do. In some cases, the forgetting rate can be as high as 40 percent.

Another cost to multitasking is downtime. When we’re working on one thing and are interrupted, it takes us a while to refocus on what we were originally working on.

Workplace studies have found that it takes up to 15 minutes for us to regain a deep state of concentration after a distraction, such as a phone call.

Divided attention can also produce a dangerous condition known as inattentional blindness. In this condition, it is possible for an individual to look directly at something and still not see it.

One example, driver distraction, is now considered a much more frequent cause of auto accidents than safety officials once believed. When switching from task to task, drivers need downtime to recover.

* * * * *
Next up: Wrong frame of mind …

Posted in Decision-making, Problem solving, Psychology | Leave a Comment »

Why we make mistakes …

March 15, 2010

In this and a couple of subsequent posts, i’ll be excerpting  the 13 reasons from:

Why We Make Mistakes, Joseph T. Hallinanm, Broadway Books 2009

Today, the first 4 reasons on the list

* * * * * *

When it comes to making mistakes, the cause is overwhelmingly attributed to human error.

Whether it’s airplane crashes (70 percent), car crashes (90 percent), or workplace accidents (90 percent), humans are usually to blame.

However, in many cases, our mistakes are not entirely our fault. All of us are afflicted with certain systemic biases in the way we see, remember, and perceive the world around us, and these biases make us prone to commit certain types of errors.

The errors we make can be explained through 13 lessons:

1. We look but don’t always see.

When it comes to human error, this kind of mistake is so common that researchers have given it its own nickname: “a looked but didn’t see” error. When we look at something — or at someone — we think we see all there is to see. But we don’t. Often times, we miss important details, some small and some larger.

2. We all search for meaning.

A recent poll of 3,000 people found that one-fourth of them couldn’t remember their own phone numbers, and two-thirds couldn’t recall the birthdays of more than three friends or family members.

When it comes to hiding places, people also mistakenly believe that the more unusual a hiding place is, the more memorable it will be. However, the opposite is actually true: Unusualness actually makes a hiding place more forgettable. The key to a good hiding place is making a quick connection between the thing being hidden and the place in which it is hidden.

The same holds for passwords.  While associated meanings may make them easier to hack, they’re certainly more memorable if they have personal meaning.

3. We connect the dots (prematurely).

The moment we experience a flicker of recognition, the brain does something similar to connecting the dots that we didn’t know it was connecting. These types of subtle connections are very powerful — and very common. 

Once we “see” a pattern developing we hurry it to its logical conclusion — sometimes erroneously — regardless of contrary indicators that may surface.

4. We wear rose-colored glasses.

Hindsight isn’t 20/20.

In remembering our own actions, we all tend to wear rose-colored glasses. Without intentionally trying to distort the record, we are prone to recalling our own words and deeds ina light that is more favorable than an objective record would show.

In fact, the tendency to see and remember in self-serving ways is so ingrained in us — and so subtle — that we often have no idea that we’re doing it.

* * * * *

Next up: The myth of multi-tasking …

Posted in Decision-making, Problem solving, Psychology | Leave a Comment »

“Damn, I got the silver” … “Yea, I got the bronze”

March 2, 2010

Punch line: Research by three U.S. academics, who analyzed heat-of-the-moment reactions, medal-stand temperament and interviews of Olympians, shows that bronze-medal winners, on average, are happier with their finishes than silver medalists.

* * * * *

Excerpted from USA Today: Analysts: Bronze medal leads to more happiness than silver

Take silver, and you tend to fixate on the near miss.

Score bronze, and you are thankful you were not shut out altogether.

Psychologists described it as counterfactual thinking.

“It’s like a student who gets a B, missing an A by one point. The B’s no longer that good.” 

“Same way when you miss your flight by five minutes. You say, ‘Well, I could have made up five minutes somehow.’ If you get close to it, you think, ‘There are things I could have done.’

“I don’t know whether we learn that type of thinking about what we could have done or if it’s something that’s wired into us.”

Full article:
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/vancouver/2010-02-22-bronze-vs-silver_N.htm

Thanks to RSJ and EAH for feeding the lead

Posted in Psychology | Leave a Comment »

Clinically speaking, is Pres. Obama a narcissist ?

January 27, 2010

Anti-Obamanites often characterize the President as a narcissist.  Is he?

Below is one clinician’s criteria for slotting somebody as a narcissist.  All are narcissistic tendencies.

A score of 10 out of 13 slots somebody as an “overt maladaptive narcissist”.  That sounds pretty bad.

If the State of the Union gets boring tonight, pull out the list and score the President along these criteria.
 

image

Source: Disarming the Narcissist: Surviving & Thriving With the Self-Absorbed by Wendy T. Behary

Posted in Psychology | 1 Comment »

From The Numerati … the biology of personality

August 4, 2009

Ken’s Take:  Don’t blame me ! My personality is derived from my body chemistry. 

Perhaps, this is how marriage blood tests should be applied …

* * * * * 

From: The Numerati, Stephen Baker, Haughton Mifflin, 2008 

In the late 1990s, researchers began looking into the biology of personality: the genes, neurotransmitters, and specifically, the hormones.

A theory emerged at four different hormones — estrogen, testosterone, dopamine, serotonin – mold personalities.

People with lots of dopamine are likely to be “Explorers” — optimistic risk takers. Explore issues words like excite, spirit, dream, fire, and search. Explorers have a tendency to fly off in different directions the minute they get bored. They get into relationships fast, wonder how they got there, and then try to weasel their way out.

Serotonin breeds “builders” who tend to be calm and organized and work well in groups. Builders have a tendency to talk about law, honor, limits, and honesty. Builders like to keep finances in order, map out vacations, and make sure the cats get their latest battery of rabies shots.

People brimming with testosterone — two thirds of whom are men — our “directors”. They are analytical, logical, and often musical. Directors focused largely on the physical world and over use words like aim, measure, strong, and hard. They also talk a lot about “thinking.”

People high in estrogen are at the “negotiators.” They are verbal and intuitive, and a good people skills. Negotiators talked about links, bonds, love, team, and participation. Negotiators are smooth talking, problem solvers who patched together friendships.

* * * * *

When it comes to relationships,

  • Negotiators gravitate towards directors, and vice versa.
  • Explorers are attracted to negotiators.
  • No-nonsense builders are often drawn to explorers, who helped them “lighten up.”

* * * * *

Posted in Book Summaries, Personality, Psychology | 1 Comment »

From The Numerati … the biology of personality

August 4, 2009

Ken’s Take:  Don’t blame me ! My personality is derived from my body chemistry. 

Perhaps, this is how marriage blood tests should be applied …

* * * * * 

From: The Numerati, Stephen Baker, Haughton Mifflin, 2008 

In the late 1990s, researchers began looking into the biology of personality: the genes, neurotransmitters, and specifically, the hormones.

A theory emerged at four different hormones — estrogen, testosterone, dopamine, serotonin – mold personalities.

People with lots of dopamine are likely to be “Explorers” — optimistic risk takers. Explore issues words like excite, spirit, dream, fire, and search. Explorers have a tendency to fly off in different directions the minute they get bored. They get into relationships fast, wonder how they got there, and then try to weasel their way out.

Serotonin breeds “builders” who tend to be calm and organized and work well in groups. Builders have a tendency to talk about law, honor, limits, and honesty. Builders like to keep finances in order, map out vacations, and make sure the cats get their latest battery of rabies shots.

People brimming with testosterone — two thirds of whom are men — our “directors”. They are analytical, logical, and often musical. Directors focused largely on the physical world and over use words like aim, measure, strong, and hard. They also talk a lot about “thinking.”

People high in estrogen are at the “negotiators.” They are verbal and intuitive, and a good people skills. Negotiators talked about links, bonds, love, team, and participation. Negotiators are smooth talking, problem solvers who patched together friendships.

* * * * *

When it comes to relationships,

  • Negotiators gravitate towards directors, and vice versa.
  • Explorers are attracted to negotiators.
  • No-nonsense builders are often drawn to explorers, who helped them “lighten up.”

* * * * *

Posted in Book Summaries, Personality, Psychology | 1 Comment »

According to psycho-analysts, what do Obama, Sanford, and Palin have in common?

July 9, 2009

According to some political-psyche pundits and news reports: they’re all narcissists. 

Some have gone a step further and presumptuously diagnose them as having  Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD), which is also called pathological narcissism.  (Details below)

* * * * *

When I heard the term the second or third time, I got curious.

Initially, I thought that NPD was a made-up talk show slur.  But, I did some digging and discovered that Narcissistic Personality Disorder really does exist as a documented pathology. 

Below are its diagnostic criteria and the “so whats” of the pathology. 

Worth reading …

* * * * *

Pathological Narcissism: How do you know ?

People may be  clinically diagnosed as having Narcissistic Personality Disorder if they exhibit at least 5 of the following attitudes and behaviors:

1. Have an exaggerated sense of self-importance; obsess over appearance and image

2. Are preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love

3. Believe they are  “special” and can only be understood by other special or high-status people

4. Require excessive admiration; crave the spotlight; expect to be recognized as superior to others.

5. Have a sense of entitlement; expect special treatment and automatic compliance with their wishes

6. Selfishly take advantage of others to achieve their own ends; lie, deceive, and manipulate; believe rules of morality don’t apply to them

7. Lack empathy; fail to recognize or sympathize with other people’s feelings and needs.

8. Are often envious of others and believe that others are envious of them; covet others’ relationships and possessions.

9. “Act out”: present arrogant, patronizing, contemptuous, risky, self-destructive behaviors or attitudes; when caught and confronted, blame bad behavior on other people and burdensome circumstances, show little conscience or true remorse. 

Excerpted from:
http://www.halcyon.com/jmashmun/npd/dsm-iv.html

* * * * *

Pathological Narcissism: So what ? 

Most people are somewhat narcissistic.

A healthy level of narcissism is a mature, balanced love of oneself coupled with a stable sense of self-worth and self-esteem. A healthy narcissist has a proportionate and realistic appraisal of his achievements and traits, and respects interpersonal boundaries.

Pathological narcissism is marked by an immature or impaired sense of one’s “true self” and situational reality that is exaggerated into a fraudulent, compensatory self-image

Down deep, a  pathological narcissist is usually deficient in self-esteem or self-worth.  He draws esteem and worth from the attention and admiration of others  Hence, the pathological narcissist is in constant pursuit of recognition and adoration, relishes the spotlight, and habitually preys his environment for more dependable admirers

Pathological narcissism is often a reaction to abnormal environments and situations (e.g., abuse, trauma, smothering, etc.), the repression of overwhelming memories and experiences, and the suppression of inordinately strong negative feelings (e.g., hurt, envy, anger, or humiliation).

Pathological narcissism is addictive and dysfunctional.  Pathological narcissists are obsessed by delusions of grandeur, superiority, and perfection – in life and love. As a result, they present themselves as image-obsessed (flawlessness) and very competitive (win at all cost).  They want to be at center stage, and when others might be merely motivated, they are strongly compelled. They are driven, relentless, tireless, and ruthless. They strive and fight and learn and climb and create and think and devise and design and conspire. They need to be in control of their relationships and environments.

Pathological narcissists are prone to self-defeating and self-destructive behaviors. They often abandon their commitments, careers, and relationships in mid-stream – losing interest, giving up, moving on.

Sub-consciously, a pathological narcissist may masochistically frustrate his deepest desires and drives; obstruct his own efforts; alienate his friends and sponsors; provoke figures in authority; actively (but unconsciously) seek, submit and relish mistreatment;  incite anger or rejection; engage in risky and improper behavior — all without conscience or true remorse.

Pathological Narcissism: What’s the prognosis?

While Narcissistic Personality Disorder can sometimes be moderated with psycho-therapy. the “prognosis is generally not good”.  That is, the likelihood of recidivism (i.e. repeat behavior) is very high and progressive (i.e.  it gets worse}. 

Excerpted from:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/narcissistic-personality-disorder/DS00652/DSECTION=symptoms

* * * * *

Best online medical summary of NPD – from the Mayo Clinic:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/narcissistic-personality-disorder/DS00652

* * * * *

Final shots; Obama, Sanford and Palin may be narcissists, but pundits shouldn’t be throwing around the term “Narcissistic Personality Disorder “ lightly.  It’s a real pathology.  Not to be taken lightly.

* * * * *

Posted in Psychology, Relationship Skills | 4 Comments »

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