​When Men Behave Badly: The Hidden Roots of Sexual Deception, Harassment, and Assault
Author: David M. Buss
ISBN: 978-0-316-41935-2
 
APA Style Citation
Buss, D.M. (2021). When men behave badly: The hidden roots of sexual deception, harassment, and assault. Little Brown, Spark, New York, N.Y.
 
Buy This Book
https://www.amazon.com/When-Men-Behave-Badly-Harassment/dp/0316419354
 

​Book Description
David Buss, a well-known evolutionary psychologist, tackles the challenging subject of conflict between the genders based on natural inclination and desires for reproductive success. Men generally need to know women for a shorter period of time before they are ready to have a physically intimate relationship. Women would generally prefer to wait to get to know the person better before taking a relationship to the physical level. Buss contends that this delay is because women want to be certain that their potential child has a father who can provide for potential offspring. Buss explains these behaviors as a cost-analysis system. A woman must invest time to carry a child to their birth and provide nourishment after birth. A man, however, can never be entirely certain that a child is his (without genetic testing). To improve the chances of passing his genes to the next generation, he may want to create many possibilities to pass his genes along; this is how Buss explains that men tend to have more intimate partners than women. These different approaches create conflict between the sexes and often need clarification about what people want in a relationship. Buss is careful not to excuse any behavior but rather explain, based on an evolutionary lens, why these conflicts may occur. 
 
Buss warns that men with what he deems the “Dark Triad” characteristics may take these behaviors to a dangerous and sometimes violent level. The Dark Triad personality characteristics include narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. Narcissists care only about themselves and their wishes and will go to great lengths to satisfy their own desires. Machiavellianism is marked by the desire to exploit and manipulate others. Psychopathology involves a lack of empathy and indifference to the suffering of others. These traits exacerbate differences between sexes. Men with these characteristics are often smooth and are often portrayed as “the bad boy.” While women may initially be drawn to confident and poised individuals, this can quickly go downhill. These characteristics often lead to flattery, deception and exploitation of their partners. The Dark Triad characteristics are more likely than other personality characteristics to lead to violence in relationships. Buss explains that these behaviors still exist because it is a way to draw in a partner and then keep them by manipulation and exploitation. Once again, Buss is careful not to condone these behaviors but rather explain why they exist and have persisted.
 
Cross-cultural research demonstrates that men prefer more sexual partners (desired average 1.87 over the next month) than women (.078 over the next month). Biological sex was more important than sexual orientation in the results of this study. While most assume that people of similar levels of attractiveness are likely to wind up with one another, Buss finds that men tend to overestimate their attractiveness. This misperception can lead to disappointment when things do not work out as they expect in the dating market. Research in attraction has long demonstrated that individuals of similar physical attractiveness often partner with one another. When men are unrealistic about their own levels of attractiveness, they are often disappointed by their potential mates, and they are then more likely to treat relationships as a casual and perhaps not exclusive relationship. Women generally try to mate with the top 20% of males, which allows these males to have multiple relationships because of the number of options for relationships. This also leaves many men without any mating partners. Much of what is discussed in introductory psychology courses regarding evolutionary psychology dates back to Charles Darwin and the mating of finches. David Buss is one of the most well-known evolutionary psychologists of the modern era and presents much evidence that evolutionary factors regarding mating are very much present today.
 
Other Related Resources
Podcast: The Michael Shermer Show: Interview with David Buss
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/181-david-buss-when-men-behave-badly-the-hidden-roots/id1352860989?i=1000521802892
 
 
Psychological Figures and Concepts
Dan Ariely
David Buss
Charles Darwin
 
Post-traumatic stress disorder
 

Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art
Author: James Nestor
ISBN:  976-0-7352-1361-6
 
APA Style Citation
Nestor, J. (2020). Breath: The new science of a lost art. Riverhead Books.
 
Buy this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Breath-New-Science-Lost-Art/dp/0735213615
​

​Book Description
We breathe thousands of times per day, but according to James Nestor, at least half of the population is doing it wrong. Nestor is a science writer who has been studying the research behind breathing better. He has found endless evidence dating back thousands of years and proposes some simple approaches to modifications in breathing that can lead to living with fewer ailments, diseases, and sleep disorders.
 
Primarily, and perhaps, most importantly, Nestor recommends breathing through the nose whenever possible. The nose serves as a filter and humidifies the air as it travels toward the lungs. Those who breathe through the mouth are more susceptible to illnesses and respiratory problems. Long-term mouth breathing can even change the shape of the face by narrowing the mouth and making it more difficult to breathe deeply. Mouth breathing can also lead to crooked teeth and a slack jaw. This slack jaw creates problems, such as snoring and sleep apnea. Over many generations, human faces have become longer and narrower, which often limits the air that comes into the body. Further, some people undergo plastic surgery procedures that slim their nose and nasal passages, inhibiting their ability to breathe well. Wide faces and broad jaws help facilitate larger airways and smoother breathing. 
 
While it is more difficult to breathe through the nose, it leads to 20 percent more oxygen than breathing through the mouth. Nestor examines skulls from all over the world and notices the differences between modern skulls and ancient skulls. The teeth of modern peoples no longer fit into their mouths as faces have gotten thinner. While this might be aesthetically pleasing, it is not beneficial for our health. Orthodontists indicate the thinning of the mouth increases the necessity for teeth straightening. Nestor notes that ancient skulls all had straight teeth because there was more room in the mouth, which also led to more room in the air pathways.
 
Nestor uses himself as a subject with Stanford sleep researchers. In the first part of the study, he lives for two weeks with silicon balls placed in his nasal passages, forcing him to become a mouth breather. Nestor’s partner in the study is Anders Olsen, from Sweden, who has long been interested in research on breathing. Each day the two take their pulse and other vitals and wear a device that measures oxygen in the blood and heart rate. The men try to go about their normal day but feel sluggish and tired when forced to mouth breathe. Nestor also records any sleep apnea episodes and audio throughout the night, along with a night vision security camera to track his movements. On the first night of the mouth breathing study, Nestor’s snoring increased by 1300 percent, and his sleep apnea increased four times. 
 
In the second part of the study, Nestor tapes his mouth shut while he sleeps to keep his nasal breathing continuing while he sleeps. While this is difficult at first, it becomes more and more of a habit as he gets used to leaving the tape on his mouth night after night. Within a day of changing to nose breathing, Nestor’s and Olsen’s vital signs returned to normal. Nestor explains that when we are mouth breathing, we are placing undue strain on our bodies and causing ailments that could easily be prevented.
 
Nestor recommends practicing breathing better by breathing in the nose for 5.5 seconds, holding the breath for as long as possible, and then exhaling for 5.5 seconds. With practice, these long, deep breaths become more of a habit. When we breathe deeply, we activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps calm the body. This is in contrast to short, shallow breaths, which occur when somebody is hyperventilating or experiencing an asthma attack. In this case, the sympathetic nervous system causes a fight-or-flight response, causing the body to panic. We should use all of our lungs to take deep, long breaths, and we should expel all of that air before intaking new air. Nestor encourages counting when breathing in, holding the air as long as possible, and then counting to five or six while expelling that air. Again, he emphasizes the importance of breathing in using the nose 
 
This slow breathing is also known as resonant breathing and has many of the same health benefits as meditation. Some Olympic swimmers and marathon runners have significantly improved their performance using this method. Alternate nasal breathing is another method used in many ancient yoga practices. Hold one side of the nose closed while breathing deeply, holding the breath, and then letting go. Sitting upright by elongating the spine and trying to touch the shoulder blades will open up the chest. Each technique that Nestor recommends comes from years of research and is backed by science. The book ends with many recommendations for better breathing and, thus better health. Practice can make these breathing techniques them become routine over time. Nestor recommends we do this for the myriad of short- and long-term health benefits.
 
Other Related Resources
James Nestor Website
https://www.mrjamesnestor.com
 
Breathing Exercises with James Nestor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itlRu-nTd9s
 
The Guardian: How one hour of slow breathing changed my life: James Nestor
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/jul/26/every-breath-you-take-the-lost-art-of-breathing
 
Lewis Howes Podcast: The truth about breathing and why you are doing it wrong.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD2PNVzzoZY
 
CBC Sunday Magazine: How we breathe has major impacts on our body, James Nestor’s recommendations for improving it.
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/sunday/the-sunday-magazine-for-january-17-2021-1.5874646/how-we-breathe-has-major-impacts-on-our-body-james-nestor-has-recommendations-to-improve-it-1.5874681
 
Stephanie’s business books: Three lessons from James Nestor’s book breath
https://medium.com/stephs-business-bookshelf/three-lessons-from-the-book-breath-by-james-nestor-272c9f56b7a8
 
 
Psychological Figures and Concepts
Anxiety
Autonomic nervous system
Fight-or-flight
Neuropsychology
Parasympathetic nervous system
Sleep apnea
Stress
Sympathetic nervous system

The Undoing Project
Author: Michael Lewis
ISBN: 978-0-393-35477-5
 
APA Style Citation
Lewis, M. (2017). The undoing project. W.W. Norton & Company.
 
Buy This Book
https://wwnorton.com/books/The-Undoing-Project

Book Description
This story starts with two brilliant men on their own, who become an inseparable pair, and finally experience a tragic breakup. Author Michael Lewis, shares the remarkable story of Danny Kahneman and Amos Tversky in The Undoing Project. The story leaves the reader rooting for the pair at times, and struck at other times by the human nature of self-doubt and competitiveness that kept these two apart.
 
Danny Kahneman’s story starts with the German occupation of Paris and his family’s move to Palestine in 1946. It was in Israel that Danny built his own identity. After graduating from Hebrew University with a degree in psychology, he was required to serve in the Israeli army. He was assigned to the psychology unit. Danny was responsible for evaluating candidates for officer training school. The interview method of new recruits often led to a general impression, and he wanted to avoid human judgment. He created a personality test and the scores on the personality test predicted the recruit’s success at any job. The results became known as the “Kahneman score.” With minor adjustments it is still used today. He also helped the Israeli Air Force train fighter pilots and taught a course on perception. Danny was known as a genius in the classroom, but outside of the classroom, he was insecure. His mood was volatile and criticism often set him off. In 1965, he went to the University of Michigan for postdoctoral study. He was going to return to Hebrew University, but when his tenure was refused, he went to Harvard. He eventually put his feelings aside and returned to Hebrew University and studied attention.
 
Amos Tversky was an Israeli paratrooper, who was well-respected by his peers. When Hebrew University forced him to pick a concentration, he chose psychology. He rarely took notes and often taught himself. While in school, he came across a paper on the economic theory of decision-making that sparked his interest. In 1961, he left for the University of Michigan due to a lack of teachers at Hebrew University. In 1966, Amos returned to Israel with a wife and new interests.
 
Even though Amos and Danny were both at the University of Michigan at the same time, they rarely crossed paths. They didn’t seem to mix well together and often argued. The two met for a few lunches, but then went their separate ways. In 1969, both had returned to Hebrew University and in a twist of fate became inseparable. Two people with totally different personalities became soul mates. Danny thought he was always wrong, and Amos was sure he was right. Danny’s office was a mess, while Amos had a pencil on his desk. As they wrote together, you could hear laughter coming from the room. Amos helped Danny feel confident. They also taught a class together at Hebrew University, but it didn’t go very well from Danny’s point of view. They either finished each other’s sentences or were competing with one another. Their relationship was intense.
 
In 1973, Arab countries attacked Israel. Despite being abroad at the time, Amos and Danny headed back home to fight another war. They were both assigned to the psychology field unit where they were tasked to improve morale. With enthusiasm, they headed out to the battlefield. Danny would jump from the car and question people. He had the gift of finding solutions to problems when others failed. They analyzed the garbage left by the soldiers and supplied them with what they really wanted (canned grapefruit). They also looked at how tank drivers learned better in small bursts of time. Amos helped create a questionnaire to diagnose psychological trauma. While they were both excited about decision-making before the war, they lost faith in decision analysis after the war. How could the Israeli intelligence fail to anticipate the attack? Danny was beginning to realize decisions were made on stories, not numbers.
 
Soon after, Danny and Amos appear to have lose their way. They went back and forth on ideas and struggled to follow through. At one point Danny remembers Amos declaring, “We’re finished with judgement. Let’s do decision making.” By 1975, the two were working on risk-value theory. This was Amos’s field, so he did most of the talking. They explored the isolation effect and framing. It was during this time that Danny left his family and declared his love to Anne Treisman. Anne refused to move to Israel, so Danny moved to take a position beside her in Vancouver. Amos and Danny’s relationship began to crack.
 
For most of the 1980s, Amos was a professor of behavioral science at Stanford University and Danny was at the University of British Columbia. They agreed to take turns flying to visit each other on weekends. Danny was working on new ideas, and while Amos seemed interested, he didn’t contribute. Danny shared his new work on the rules of undoing and was excited about receiving the glory. When asked after a talk about where the ideas came from, Amos said, “Danny and I don’t talk about these things.” To Danny this was the beginning of the end of them. When asked about Amos, Danny said they were no longer working together. Danny began to collaborate with someone else on a paper. Meanwhile, Amos was sprinting around giving his own lectures and talking with the Soviet Union. Amos was interested in Danny’s thoughts, but they were no longer in the same room. With the separation, ideas became more personal, which was not the case when the two began working together. There was tension and they struggled to collaborate.
 
In 1983, the two were approached by a Harvard psychiatrist, Miles Shore, who was writing a book on people who worked together for at least five years and produced interesting work. Danny shared how it was hard since he got married and moved to North America. Amos was vague, but many of the problems had happened since leaving Israel. Danny admitted feeling like he was in Amos’s shadow. However, it was believed that the worst was behind them, and they would move forward together. In 1984, Amos received the MacArthur “genius” grant. Even though the work was done with Danny, his name was not mentioned. Amos was the brilliant one and Danny was the careful one. Danny noticed the sole attention Amos was receiving for their joint work.
 
Throughout the 1980s, they appeared to be still working together. Their work was being criticized, but it failed to bring them together. Danny disliked conflict and would not review papers that made him angry. Amos embraced conflict. He wanted to write an article, to demonstrate the power of heuristics. His favorite vignette was about Linda (see activity). Danny gave the “Linda problem” to 12 students at his university, and all fell for it. When giving participants just the two alternatives being tested, 85% still insisted Linda was more likely to be a bank teller in the feminist movement. They wrote a paper and ended the argument about whether the mind reasoned probabilistically. The paper was jointly written, but it was painful for the two.
 
In 1986, Danny moved to Berkley and soon after went into a depression. He saw Amos often, but it was causing more pain. He wrote a letter to Amos acknowledging their relationship had changed. Danny wanted Amos to correct the perception that they were not equal partners. However, Amos lashed out and hurt Danny deeply when he shared that Harvard had wanted only him and not the both of them.  Danny left Berkley for Princeton and wanted Amos out of his mind. Amos was hurt and couldn’t understand the need for the distance. Amos still wanted to write a book together, but in Danny’s mind, they were over.
 
In 1993, Amos asked Danny to help him silence a critic. Danny was more sympathetic and wanted to reason with the critic. He agreed to help as a friend, but was soon miserable. Danny was staying with Amos in New York when he had a dream that he was told he only had six months to live and he didn’t want to be working on this garbage. When he told Amos of the dream, he scolded him and said he would expect him to finish this with him. Shortly after this incident, Danny read a list of new members of the National Academy of Sciences, to which Amos belonged for nearly a decade, and his name was still not on the list. Danny was hurt and walked out on his friend. Three days later, Amos called and told him he had malignant melanoma. He had six months to live. In May, he gave his final lecture at Stanford and few even guessed that he was ill. Danny spoke to Amos almost daily leading up to his death. They were writing together, but Amos died before they could finish their last project. He died on June 2, 1996.
 
In 2002, Danny won the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for his work in applying psychology to economics, especially in the areas of judgment and decision-making under uncertainty. The two disciplines of psychology and economics have struggled to work together. But from the work of these two greats came the discipline “behavioral economics.” In addition, the US government has become sensitive to framing and loss aversion. The food pyramid turned into MyPlate and Americans could more easily see a healthy diet thanks to psychology. Amos and Danny’s work showed economists and policymakers the importance of psychology. It had practical importance and was not just stuff done in a lab.
 
Note: If recommending this book to students, be aware there is a limited amount of swear words used in the book.
 
Other Related Resources
New York Times- From Michael Lewis, the Story of Two Friends Who Change How we Think About How We Think
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/06/books/review/michael-lewis-undoing-project.html
The New Yorker- The Two Friends Who Changed How We Think About How We Think
https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-two-friends-who-changed-how-we-think-about-how-we-think
Psychological Concepts and Figures
Sigmund Freud
Danny Kahneman
Kurt Lewin
George Miller
Walter Mischel
B.F. Skinner
Edward Thorndike
Amos Tversky
 
Algorithm
Anchoring adjustment
Aptitude tests
Behaviorism
Behavioral economics
Cognitive bias
Cocktail party effect
Framing
Gambler’s fallacy
Gestalt psychology
Halo effect
Heuristics (availability and representativeness)
Hindsight bias
Hypnosis
Isolation effect
Mϋller-Lyer optical illusion
Myers-Briggs personality test
Peak-end rule
Reference point
Purkinje effect
Regression to the mean
Reinforcement
Sample size
Similarity
Selective listening
Subliminal perception

Give and Take: Why helping others drives our success
Author: Adam Grant
ISBN: 978-0-670-02655-5
 
APA Style Citation 
Grant, A. (2013). Give and take: Why helping others drives our success. Penguin Book.
 
Buy This Book
https://www.amazon.com/Give-Take-Helping-Others-Success/dp/0143124986
​

​Book Description
Adam Grant discusses the potential benefits and drawbacks of being a giver, matcher or taker. We can all think of individuals who fall into each of these given categories, and Grant sets out to determine how each of these types of individuals fares in a competitive environment. What he finds is somewhat surprising. Grant examines students in the first year of medical school and finds that those who are identified as “givers” wind up at the bottom of their medical school class. In large part, this occurs because they are spending time helping others instead of focusing on their own work. Takers, on the other hand, wind up on top because they are utilizing their most generous classmates to help them prepare for exams. Matchers wind up in the middle as they will help others if they believe that in the future, that favor can be returned. These results may cause you to believe that givers are often taken advantage of to their own detriment. Grant does find evidence that givers make, on average, 14 percent less than takers, who are far more likely to aggressively negotiate their salaries. 
 
Givers however, often have unseen advantages. They are likely to benefit from dormant ties, having done a favor for someone years before, when the giver needs something in return, people are more than happy to help out. Givers do not help others out with this intention in mind, and that becomes clear to others who appreciate their genuine assistance. Givers are willing to provide with no expectation of reciprocity. Matchers, on the other hand, let reciprocity drive their decisions to help (or not) others. Conversely, takers often “kiss up and kick down.” They look for ways that others can help them get ahead and often treat those who cannot give them an advantage with disdain. Samuel Johnson once wrote, “The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.” Grant gives the example of the disgraced former CEO of Enron Kenneth Lay, who filled his company’s annual reports with photos of himself. His leadership at Enron became about himself (a telltale sign of a taker) rather than the company and how the company could do good for others and benefit its shareholders. Takers burn bridges over time, looking out only for themselves and seeking out others whom they can use to their own benefit and then discard after those benefits no longer bear any returns. 
 
Famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright is a classic taker. He took advantage of clients, charging them exorbitant amounts of money to build what he wanted, disregarding their requests. He had his associates do most of the work but rarely gave them credit and often did not pay them, believing the opportunity to work with him was payment enough. Eventually, people stopped working with him, and he earned fewer and fewer commissions over time, leaving him nearly destitute. Grant indicates that takers may be geniuses, but givers are genius makers.
 
Givers are happy to rely on the expertise of others and give them recognition without fearing that the abilities of others poorly reflect on themselves. The taker wants to claim all of the credit for themselves and often put others down both privately and publicly. Givers enjoy mentoring, they like finding diamonds in the rough and helping smooth out the edges. Givers are also more likely to demonstrate grit and recognize it in others, they, on the whole, work harder and longer than matchers and takers.
 
There are downfalls to being a giver, and Grant points to the potential for burnout, but givers often thrive when helping others, and the five-minute rule is one that many high-powered givers practice. If helping someone out takes less than five minutes it should be done almost immediately. This short time commitment can serve a great benefit to others and can be executed quickly by the giver. Much research has now demonstrated that helping others is a main factor in increasing happiness, so these small actions serve as a win-win for both the giver and the person they are helping. A bit more work from givers provides benefits for both themselves and others.
 
Givers may be more prone to being taken advantage of, so they must recognize agreeable takers who seem sincere but are only looking out for themselves. Givers often initially give more than they receive but do not seem bothered by this. Once they figure out where to best focus their energies and can identify people who may be taking advantage of their generosity they fare better. In some cases, givers must be more assertive to stand up to unrelenting takers. However, successful givers are happy to stop helping takers when they realize it takes away from helping those who can genuinely benefit and do good for others because of their assistance. Givers advance themselves without cutting others down and find ways to expand the pie so that everyone benefits. 
 
Grant returns to the medical school in the fifth year and finds, at this point, the givers are on top of the class. Over the many years, medical students spend together, they realize whom they can count on for help and who is in it just for themselves. This causes the takers to be rejected and isolated, whereas the givers benefit from their generosity towards others and people are more than happy to return a favor or help them out. Givers create a ripple effect of success around them, and while they may seem to lose out in the short run, it often serves to the advantage of both themselves and others in the long run. It takes time for people to understand what givers have to offer, and Grant likens it to losing the 100-yard dash but winning the marathon. 
 
Other Related Resources
Adam Grant’s Webpage for Give and Take
https://adamgrant.net/book/give-and-take/
 
Give and Take Quiz by Adam Grant
https://adamgrant.net/quizzes/give-and-take-quiz/
 
YouTube Are you a Giver or a Taker? 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyXRYgjQXX0
 
Why should you be a giver?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zl-jqIoAxEw
 
Psychological Figures and Concepts
Dan Ariely
Elliot Aronson
Susan Cain
Raymond Cattell
Robert Cialdini
Angela Duckworth
Jonathan Haight
Daniel Kahneman
Daniel Pink
Robert Rosenthal
Herbert Simon
Frans De Waal
 
Cognitive dissonance
Commoner’s dilemma
Common identity
Empathy
Fight-or-flight
Grit
Motivation
Reciprocity
Responsibility bias
Self-fulfilling prophecy
Sunk-cost fallacy
 
 
 
 
 

Brain Hacks:  Life-Changing Strategies to Improve Executive Functioning
​Author: Lara Honos-Webb, PhD
ISBN number: 13. 978–1641521604
 
APA Style Citation
Honos-Webb. (2018). Life-changing Strategies to Improve Executive Functioning. Althea Press.
 
Buy This Book
BRAIN HACKS: Life-Changing Strategies to Improve Executive Functioning: Honos-Webb PhD, Lara: 9781641521604: Amazon.com: Books

Book Description
According to the APA dictionary, executive function refers to a wide range of high-level cognitive processes (planning, decision-making, problem-solving, action sequencing, task assignment and organization, effortful and persistent goal pursuit, inhibition of competing impulses, flexibility in goal selection, and goal-conflict resolution. These skills often involve language, judgment, abstraction, concept formation, logic, and reasoning). They are related to neural networks in the frontal lobes and especially the prefrontal cortex.
 
Although there is no definitive set of executive functions (researchers define them differently), in Brain Hacks, the author focuses on five specific areas of executive functioning: focus and attention, planning and organization, cognitive flexibility, emotional regulation, and impulse control. Each of the areas is interconnected, and increasing one ability will improve the others. The author is a practicing clinical psychologist who shares her ideas for improving executive functioning across multiple areas. The text begins with short yes/no questionnaires for each of the five executive functioning areas.
 
Sample Questions from the Organization and Planning Executive Function Assessment

• Do you have multiple calendars or apps to manage your time, yet use them infrequently?
• Do you miss out on opportunities because you forget to follow up or track important contacts you have made?
• Do friends, teachers, or family members complain that your space is sloppy?

 
By counting the number of yes responses, students will have a general idea of which of these areas of executive functioning are the most likely sources of challenges or problems. The areas with lower numbers of yes responses are areas of greater strength.    
 
The book provides specific exercises and methods to improve each area of executive functioning, which can be incorporated into classroom activities and projects. Improving in these areas of functioning, according to author Lara Honos-Webb increases personal, academic, and professional success. Improving executive functioning also can lead to increased work-life balance, reduced stress, and improved relationships. The exercises emphasize how small, continual efforts over time create meaningful growth. 
 
Each chapter emphasizes a separate area of executive functioning, provides a summary and background information, including psychological and biological influences, and ends with a bulleted list of key takeaways. There is also a series of exercises, tips, and special “brain hacks” to improve executive functioning. Brain hacks are tips for using the mind’s innate abilities to learn and improve to the greatest advantage. The book is designed as a tool to be used continually instead of being read once as inspiration and is laid out efficiently to find ways to increase functioning in everyday life mindfully. In the psychology classroom, the “brain hacks” and exercises can become engaging classroom activities and projects that allow students to apply what they learn in a personal manner. These activities can be spread across various units in a psychology course, including motivation and emotion, stress and health, neuroscience, memory, clinical, and developmental to increase student engagement and build metacognitive skills.

Psychological Figures and Concepts
Cognitive flexibility
Emotional regulation
Executive functioning
Exposure therapy
Fixed mindset
Focus and attention
Growth mindset
Impulse control
Metacognition
Motivation
Multitasking
Neuroplasticity
Planning and organization
Prefrontal cortex
Resilience
Working memory

​Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning
Authors: Peter C. Brown, Henry Roediger and Mark A. McDaniel
ISBN: 978-0-674-72901-8
 
APA Style Citation
Brown, C.B., Roediger, H., & McDaniel, M. (2014). Make it stick: The science of successful learning. Harvard University Press.
 
Buy This Book
https://www.amazon.com/Make-Stick-Science-Successful-Learning/dp/0674729013
 

Book Description
Peter Brown, Henry Roediger, and Mark McDaniel set out to give practical advice on strategies to study more efficiently and effectively. Often, students spend hours poring over material while using rote memorization to cram information into their memories before a large exam. Cognitive science has demonstrated that these strategies are ineffective, but change has been slow to move to more effective strategies. Make it Stick sets out to dispel myths of learning that many use but to little effect, and instead replace these methods with more effective strategies that have been vetted and supported by research.
 
Educators hope that students remember content for exams, but more generally, almost any educator will speak to the importance of applying the content to practical situations and critical thinking skills. This book is for any student or educator who wants to implement successful study strategies that lead to long-term retention.
 
The interleaving process allows students to see how seemingly disparate topics are related. If a psychology class teaches parts of the brain in the biological bases of behavior chapter, they can review these concepts in the memory chapter and again in the clinical chapter. By reviewing the content and finding the relationship between concepts, students understand that information does not exist in silos, and that the information can be applied in multiple settings. Interleaving can also occur when practicing skills, recursive skills applied in different ways can help students transfer these skills to novel situations. If an educator practices the skill of writing an FRQ, students can practice mini-FRQs at the start of the course, complete verbal FRQs via short videos, and apply the same FRQ skill in partners or small groups.
 
Information can be layered and reviewed until students master both content and skill.
Students often sit in class and claim to understand what the teacher says. They can look at flashcards and read their notes, but when it comes time to take the exam, they often still struggle to retrieve the content. Retrieval practice must involve the testing effect in which students actually test themselves on what they know or do not know. Teachers can conduct class discussions in which students take notes but test themselves at the end of the class and write down everything they can remember. What they cannot recall will guide their studying as they have a clear path and focus on what they still need to study. This can also be done electronically with online quizzing sites or paper and pencil exit slips. These tests need not be extensive; a few questions can often allow both instructor and student to understand better where students need extra support in their learning. Using mnemonics can also support student learning by serving as a quick retrieval cue to bring back the information to be remembered. Buzz words or visual analogies are also helpful to achieve this goal. 
 
Once a major assessment has been given, time should be provided to reflect on what students have or have not mastered. They should examine the incorrect questions and review the options to determine the correct response. They should write down what confused them and then continue to explain how they will remember this concept in the future. This metacognition alone has been demonstrated to improve student understanding of the material. Learning is taking place by focusing on what still needs to be understood and thinking deeply about how that can be achieved.
 
Students should also be careful to check their biases, such as confirmation bias or overconfidence, that may now allow them to understand and process all available data. 
Multitasking is a tremendous suck of time, and changing between tasks necessitates that the student reorientates themselves around the task at hand. The Pomodoro method asks students to set a timer for 25 minutes in which they are solely focused on a singular task. This efficiency should allow for more concentration, and the effect will be to create a better project in less time than if multitasking. After the 25 minutes are up, the student can take a break, text a friend, have a snack, or engage in another activity that they enjoy. 
 
We know that when students use rote memorization to recall information, it is ineffective. Instead, they should try to make the material relevant to their own lives. This semantic encoding provides a deeper processing level and leads to long-term information retention. Any opportunity to demonstrate how material is relevant to the individual (self-referent effect) will create a deeper level of understanding.
 
Finally, students who cram for an exam may remember information the next day for a test, but they will find that this information is not retained in the long term. Distributed practice or studying in small chunks is an effective way to transfer information into long-term memory. All things being equal, a student who spends 4 hours studying in 30-minute chunks should perform better and remember information longer than if they were to study for 4 hours straight.
 
Make It Stick provides learning strategies that are backed by cognitive science and that have been demonstrated to be effective. These strategies can be applied or amended to apply to all content areas and across all grade levels. 
 
Psychological Figures and Concepts
Carol Dweck
Howard Gardner
William James
Daniel Kahneman
B.F. Skinner
Robert Sternberg
Paul Tough
 
Confirmation bias
Consolidation
Context-dependent learning
Distributed practice
Effortful processing
Elaboration
False consensus effect
Feedback
Fluid Intelligence
Flynn effect
Framing effect
Free recall
Forgetting curve
Hindsight bias
Information processing model
Interleaving
Metacognition
Misinformation effect
Mnemonic devices
Neurogenesis
Overconfidence
Repetition
Retrieval practice
Self-fulfilling prophecy
Spaced practice
Synaptic pruning
Systems 1 and 2
Testing effect
Trial and error
Varied practice
Working memory
 
 
Other Resources
Book Website
https://www.retrievalpractice.org/make-it-stick
 
APA Blog: Takeaways from Make it Stick
https://blog.apaonline.org/2020/02/19/takeaways-from-make-it-stick-the-science-of-successful-learning/
 
Online Learning Insights
https://blog.apaonline.org/2020/02/19/takeaways-from-make-it-stick-the-science-of-successful-learning/
 
Experience Life: Make it Stick: How to Learn Effectively
https://blog.apaonline.org/2020/02/19/takeaways-from-make-it-stick-the-science-of-successful-learning/
 
The Scope of Science: 3 Study Tips from the Book Make it Stick
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyHAjVJlGFo
 

Generation Sleepless: Why Tweens and Teens Aren’t Sleeping Enough and How We Can Help Them
Author: Heath Turgeon and Julie Wright
ISBN-10:‎ 0593192133
ISBN-13:‎ 978-0593192139
 
APA Style Citation
Turgeon, H. & Wright, J. (2022). Generation sleepless: Why tweens and teens aren’t sleeping enough and how we can help them. Penguin Random House LLC.
 
Buy This Book
https://www.amazon.com/Generation-Sleepless-Tweens-Sleeping-Enough/dp/0593192133
​

​Book Description
What if you could easily enhance your focus, remember more, make stronger decisions, control your emotions and interact better with others, and get sick less often? All it takes is sleep! The benefits of sleep are endless. The father of sleep medicine, William Dement, once described sleep as life’s mood music. If you get good sleep, your background music is positive, and the world is seen through an optimistic lens. However, when sleep deprived, your background music becomes negative, and the world becomes dark and gloomy. We know that sleep is important for babies and children, but what about teenagers? The answer is, yes! Sleep is necessary for the important reconstructive processes of pruning and myelin formation. We have all heard the stereotype that teens are lazy and unmotivated. However, teens’ sleep clock starts to change in middle school. They generally can’t fall asleep until 11 p.m., and want to sleep until at least 8 a.m. Contrary to negative stereotypes, it has nothing to do with laziness. In addition, they have been accused of spending too much time on screens and are struggling with mental health issues. Yet, these symptoms are also associated with a lack of sleep. The first part of Generation Sleepless: Why Tweens and Teens Aren’t Sleeping Enough and How We Can Help Them focuses on the science of the teenage brain and sleep. Teens today are the most sleep-deprived we have ever seen. By some estimates, only five percent of teens get the necessary sleep on school nights.
 
The book’s second part provides the tools to improve teens’ sleep. Teenagers can start to regain their sleep loss by simply adding 30 minutes a night, totaling 2.5 hours by the end of the school week. The book provides lots of helpful hints to becoming a sleep-forward family. One of the greatest sleep predictors of adolescent sleep is the family’s sleep habits. Adolescents with parent-set, earlier bedtimes have the best indicators of positive mental health.
 
Teens simply do not get enough sleep! It might be due to the perfect storm of their shifting biology, technology, academic pressure, early high school start times, and the myth that sleep is a luxury rather than a necessity. Teens need 9-10 hours of sleep, not the current average of 6.5 hours of sleep they are typically getting on a school night. When teens sleep for only 6 hours, they are missing a quarter of their night’s sleep and half their REM sleep. The problem is often that we don’t see the issues associated with sleep loss. Instead, we see anxiety, depression, ADHD, apathy and underperformance, and drug use. Many teens and parents don’t recognize sleep loss as a problem. Sleep deprivation is a real problem and the signs include: waking up more than once a week, sleeping two hours or more on weekends, falling asleep quickly during passive events or morning hours, having low energy, being irritable, having a lack of interest, drinking caffeine or vaping, and late-afternoon or evening naps. A study found almost 10% of seniors in the U.S., say they have fallen asleep behind the wheel.
 
Middle childhood (6-10 years) is the ideal time for good sleep. But by middle school, many have lost their healthy sleep habits, and by age 15 most are sleep deprived. The child’s brain is known for its growth period, but the adolescent brain is going through an equally important stage of growth. During adolescence, the brain is beginning a new wave of brain reorganization. The prefrontal cortex is becoming stronger and efficient. Thanks to pruning, the unused neural connections are dying off and others are strengthening. While pruning is in process, myelin encases the pathways and increases speed. The authors use the analogy of how a town with small roads over time lays down major highways connecting places that are frequented. The flashy, billion-dollar upgrade happens largely while asleep. Brain cells in the frontal lobe are connecting to the limbic system during sleep. Many scientists believe that sleep deprivation during adolescence may permanently alter brain development and behavior. When you are not getting enough sleep it raises the risk of mental health issues, increases stress levels, decreases memory storage, and hampers learning and academic success. With less sleep, there are more risky behaviors. The higher powers of reasoning and impulse control are compromised. Teens, especially 15 to 16-year-olds, feel dopamine more intensely, leading to thrill-seeking and addictive behaviors. When you are getting enough sleep, neurotransmitters are released to increase positive emotion and focus, hormones strengthen and repair muscles, and the immune system works properly. Proper sleep leads to a healthy metabolism, positive eating behaviors, and weight management. Sleep is necessary to encode information from short-term memory to long-term memory.
 
Sleep is controlled by the circadian rhythm or the “master clock” that keeps time and creates the 24-hour cycle. Kids have a natural cycle of falling asleep by 8 p.m. and waking by 6 a.m. But the teenager has a “sleep phase delay” of two hours or more. It is hard for many teens to fall asleep before 11 p.m. Sleep is also controlled by the homeostatic sleep drive that increases the pressure to sleep, the longer you are awake. As adenosine, the by-product of burning energy, levels increase, you are more likely to sleep. The circadian rhythm works to give you a burst of energy late afternoon to help counteract the homeostatic sleep drive and keep you away into the evening. This is why you feel drowsy mid-afternoon and then get a second wind. Not only is the teen circadian rhythm delayed, but the sleep pressure builds more slowly across the day and the teen’s second wind happens around 9 p.m. The teen’s biology is working against the schedule created for them.
 
Teens are faced with several additional factors that contribute to their sleep problems. Teens suffer from a social jet lag, where their brain’s clock and the outside world are not aligned. When students sleep on different schedules during the school week and break, it is equivalent to flying cross-country twice a week. They face similar side effects of feeling hungry, tired, and out of sorts. Some additional symptoms include: daytime fatigue, weight gain, concentration issues, digestive problems, moodiness, negative thoughts, chronic health conditions, insomnia, and family conflict. In 2011, the smartphone gained popularity, and now over 95% of teens have smartphones or access to them. While many studies are finding a negative correlation between digital media and well-being, the fine print is also showing that screen time is connected to sleep loss. Sleep debt is a consequence of too much technology and the two share the same symptoms. The light from the screen tricks the body into keeping you awake. Technology also creates flow and keeps teens engrossed where they lose track of time. Smartphones have become the new teddy bear. Around 90% of teens have at least one device in their sleep environment. A final piece to the puzzle is early school start times and academic overload. Currently, over half of the public schools in the U.S. start during the 7 a.m. hour. When teens wake up at 5 a.m. to get ready for school, it is equivalent to an adult waking up at 3 a.m. Research has shown that when schools shift to later start times, students continued to go to bed at the same time, but had more time to sleep in the morning. There is resistance to changing school start times, but the benefits have been proven.
 
So, what can you do? While it may feel like there is no possibility for change, there is! The authors use the second part of the book to help teenagers and families create a plan of action. At home, teens can choose to limit time on homework, rethink commitments, understand sleeps benefits, and remember the power of a FOND family. The acronym stands for family rituals, open play, nature, and downtime. Parents set the example for their children. The authors go further by providing examples of how to take a sleep-forward approach as a family. They talk about how to use family meetings to set up an environment and schedule for success. They also provide the five habits of happy sleepers. Individuals can create a sleep bubble with the five habits that spell SLEEP. First, Set your sleep times. Regularity is important. Second, Lay out your three routines. Select two routines before sleep, and one after sleep to provide a cushion around your sleep bubble. Third, Extract your sleep stealers. Identify what is stealing your sleep and remove them, while also paying attention to environmental cues that enhance sleep. Fourth, Eliminate light and make your bedroom a cave. A wind-down time of decreased light an hour before bed can be especially helpful. Fifth, Practice a sleep-friendly daytime. What happens during the day impacts your night. Pay attention to early sunlight, exercise, daytime foods, caffeine, alcohol, bedtime snacks, and smart napping. This advice sounds amazing and you want teens to implement it right away, but it is important to recognize the need for teen motivation and independence. Instead invite teens to learn, brainstorm, and problem-solve around their own sleep issues. Point out the value of good sleep to students and let them decide to make the changes on their own. The authors provide a more clear and effective communication method called ALP. Attune- pause, listen, and lead with empathy. Limit-set- set and hold reasonable limits on a consistent basis. Problem-solve- help teens come up with their own solutions. Sleep is easy to dismiss because we are unconscious when it happens. However, it is a very important process for teens. Give the five habits, all five, a try for two weeks to create a sleep bubble that promotes natural sleeping powers.
 
Other Related Resources
Authors’- Press
https://www.thehappysleeper.com/press
 
Authors’ Website- Happy Sleeper
https://www.thehappysleeper.com/
 
Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School- Resources section
https://sleep.hms.harvard.edu/resources
 
Psychological Concepts and Figures
William Dement
Ivan Pavlov
 
Adenosine
Adolescence
Amygdala
Circadian rhythm
Cognitive-behavioral therapy
Creativity
Delayed gratification- Marshmallow experiment
EEG
Evolutionary perspective
Excitatory vs. inhibitory
Flow
Frontal lobes
Glial cells
Habits
Homeostatic sleep drive
Hormones- Leptin, Ghrelin
Immune system
Learned helplessness
Light therapy
LTP
Melatonin
Memory
Mental health
Myelin sheath
Negative reinforcement
Neurotransmitters- Serotonin, Dopamine
NREM
Paleo-sleep
Plasticity
Prefrontal cortex
Pruning
Puberty
Punishment
Rebound sleep
REM
Reticular activating system
Sensitive period
Sleep bubble
Sleep debt
Sleep deprivation
Sleep disorders
Sleep spindles
Social jet lag
Suprachiasmatic nuclei
Unconditional positive regard

Cultural DNA: The Psychology of Globalization
Author: Gurnek Bains
ISBN-10: ‎ 9781118928912
ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1118928912
 
APA Style Citation
Gains, G. (2015). Cultural DNA: The psychology of globalization.
 
Buy This Book
https://www.amazon.com/Cultural-DNA-Globalization-Gurnek-Bains/dp/1118928911
​

Book Description
How can humanity be alike and different at the same time? Humans express similar fears, challenges, desires, and motivations. However, if we oversimplify with stereotypes or assume that everyone is the same, these assumptions can become problematic. Humans do have different behaviors and preferences, and seeing the individual for who they are is helpful. But exaggerating these differences is also problematic. Author, Gurnek Baines, explores the cultural DNA of eight regions around the world, including North America, Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East, India, China, Europe, Latin America, and Australia. He explains cultural DNA as “the deeply grained aspects of culture that are replicated over generations rather than biological differences.” While he acknowledges biological factors, he points out the environmental challenges that each culture faced historically. He uses primary data, secondary sources of information, and explanatory research as his evidence. While the discussion of culture can be a sensitive topic, his exploration of the main regions has the reader analyzing culture on a deeper level. He hopes to foster empathy and respect and have readers question their implicit bias.
 
Each chapter of the book explores a particular region more in-depth. Baines describes the founders and their effects. In his “looking ahead” section of each chapter he summarizes the gifts each culture offers the world and some attributes to be addressed so the gifts do not hold them back in a changing world.
 
America- The Change-Makers
Gifts

• Culture of change-makers, embrace the new
• Positivity and optimism, tolerance of plurality, preparedness to take risks, functionality

 
Sub-Sahara Africa: Under Nature’s Shadow
Gifts

• Energy, daily joy, laughter, intellectual flexibility, creativity, live in the moment
• Human relationships are valued, interdependence
• Desire to control the environment, used to nature being extreme and unpredictable

 
India: Beyond this World
Gifts

• Preference for thinking, talking, and perceiving, as well as looking within
• Diversity and nonviolence
• Business strengths in IT, pharmaceutical research, finance

 
Middle East: Ambivalence and Uncertainty in the Modern Age
Gifts

• Intellectualism, openness to learning, respect for knowledge
• Commercial instinct and skills

 
China: The Seekers of Harmony
Gifts

• A striving for balance and harmony
• Introverted

 
Europe: The Equal Society
Gifts

• Deep sense of equality, tolerance of individuality, rigorous and systematic approach to thinking
• Environmental mastery and resulting dynamic creativity

 
Latin America: The Ever-Changing Melting Pot
Gifts

• Challenging power and rebellion; movement to more open, balanced, and transparent systems
• Resourcefulness, flexibility, creativity, collaboration

 
Australia: Mateship in a Far-Off Land
Gifts

• Practical-mindedness, pulling together, incredible resilience in difficult conditions

 
Other Related Resources
Gurnek Bains- CEO and Founder of Global Future
https://ourglobalfuture.com/about-us/

People Matters-Big Interview with Gurnke Bains
https://www.peoplematters.in/article/strategic-hr/big-interview-gurnke-bains-11601
 
Psychological Concepts and Figures
Charles Darwin
Sigmund Freud
Carl Jung
Abraham Maslow
Walter Mischel
 

Tales From Both Sides of the Brain: A Life in Neuroscience
Author: Michael S. Gazzaniga
ISBN-10: ‎0062228803
ISBN-13: 978-0062228802
 
APA Style Citation
Gazzaniga, M.S. (2015). Tales from both sides of the brain: A life in neuroscience. HarperCollins.
 
Buy This Book
https://www.amazon.com/Tales-Both-Sides-Brain-Neuroscience/dp/0062228803
​

Book Description
Michael Gazzaniga stated, “Science results from a profoundly social process.” Tales From Both Sides of the Brain: A Life in Neuroscience is an autobiography about his research, but also the friendships, opportunities, and professional moves Dr. Gazzaniga made as he changed how we think of the brain. He shares his story of how scientists are a blend of both scientific and personal life experiences. The book focuses on six split-brain patients that helped change much of what is known in cognitive neuroscience. As he quickly points out, while much of scientific work is routine, the discoveries are still exciting! His story is one with a beginning and middle, but no end.
 
Gazzaniga’s early days started at Caltech, under Dr. Roger Sperry. While Gazzaniga was the novice, Sperry was the pro in split-brain research. Most of Sperry’s work was done with cats, but he was a great surgeon and fiercely competitive. Under Sperry’s guidance, Gazzaniga moved from studying animals to human patients in 1962. Their first human patient was William (Bill) Jenkins. They had to figure out the basics of how to test someone with a split brain. The left half of the body sends MOST information about touch to the right hemisphere. However, the mere presence or absence of being touched goes to both hemispheres. They used the visual system because it was simple and highly lateralized. The two had their differences, but when Sperry won the Nobel Prize in 1981, Gazzaniga wrote an appreciation article for him published in Science magazine.
 
Research shows that the left brain specializes in speech and language processes, while the right brain specializes in visual tasks. However, many split-brain patients used external self-cueing to help unify some of their disconnected information. Most eventually gained control of their ipsilateral (same-side) arm. It was this dual control of both the contralateral (opposite-side) and ipsilateral (same-side) that made it hard to evaluate the specialization of the left and right brains. Gazzaniga had no idea how rich split-brain research would become until more cases were added to the pool, and these newer cases were complicating. Like an old married couple…subtle cueing between the two is going on all the time. Similarly, half of the brain is living next to the other half and the ability of split-brain patients to look as if they were integrated develops over time. The two mental systems were being forced to share the same resources, and somehow, they worked it out.  This made it hard to do the research.
 
Gazzaniga’s professional career involved many moves. Wanting his own lab, he moved to the University of California, Santa Barbara. He was both a teacher and researcher, and quickly moved up to department chair. It was here that he began his closest lifelong friendship with David Premack. During this time, he also led his first interdisciplinary forum. Dr. Gazzaniga wanted to be associated with a medical center to see a wider range of neurological patients and with a little east coast fever, he moved to New York. There he set up a weekly lunch with Leon Festinger for the next 20 years. It was his friendships with Premack and Festinger that helped him continually reassess his and Sperry’s claim that there were two minds in one brain. Once again, Gazzaniga was on the move. This time to Dartmouth. His graduate student was Joseph LeDoux and they created a mobile lab to go to the patients. It was a time of new patients, discoveries, and insights. It was discovered that the left brain was an interpreter. When the left brain had no clue what was going on, it would try to explain it away. Gazzaniga moved again to Cornell University Medical College and convinced LeDoux to join him. Together they continued to complete critical experiments to understand the brain. It was in New York that Gazzaniga met up with George Miller. While he found him and his office intimidating, they quickly became friends and together launched cognitive neuroscience, the study of how the brain creates the mind. An important part of Gazzaniga’s academic life was holding special meetings in special places. He led an annual, weeklong conference. When he moved back to Dartmouth, he brought with the Cognitive Neuroscience Institute and created the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. But the west coast was calling and Gazzaniga moved to the University of California, Davis. His patients traveled to him and he did a PBS special hosted by Alan Alda. Dr. Gazzaniga continued his training of the next generation by holding an annual conference, and publishing their work in one large reference book. He also helped with efforts to build a database for brain imaging experiments done around the world. He requested researchers submit data in order to be published in the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. It ended up not working out, but was a great step for more public communication.
 
While science has always been important to Gazzaniga, he is also interested in many other issues. Early on as a graduate student, he hosted a political debate on campus that garnered much attention. He credits this first experience to his ability to organize future scientific meetings and help translate complicated topics for public communication. Over the next several decades, Gazzaniga and his second wife, Charlotte, hosted somewhere around 300 dinner parties. These social gatherings played a significant role in the field of cognitive neuroscience. He also talked his friend, the political commentator, into interviewing his friends (e.g., B.F. Skinner, Premack, Festinger) on his show Firing Line. He became interested in public affairs and wrote on the problem of crime prevention. Gazzaniga also served on the President’s Council of Bioethics and worked to help answer the embryo question- when human life begins? Pursuing diverse issues has always been important to him.
 
Gazzaniga’s story is one of science, people, and experiences. He concludes with reminding the reader the story has not ended. While some of the easy, low-hanging fruit, has been picked in neuroscience, there are still more answers to find.
 
Other Related Resources
Author's Website- University of California, Santa Barbara
https://people.psych.ucsb.edu/gazzaniga/michael/
Lessons Learned from a Life in Science
https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/lessons-learned-from-a-life-in-science

Psychological Figures and Concepts
Paul Broca
Noam Chomsky
Leon Festinger
Clever Hans
David Hubel
Daniel Kahneman
Karl Lashley
Joseph LeDoux
Kurt Lewin
Margaret Mead
George Miller
Daniel Pinker
David Premack
Stanley Schachter
B.F. Skinner
Roger Sperry
Endel Tulving
Robert Zajonc
 
Attention
Basic research
Bioethics
Blindsight
Brain plasticity
Cognitive dissonance
Cognitive neuroscience
Confabulation
Contralateral vs. ipsilateral control
Corpus callosum
EEG
Embryo
Episodic memory
fMRI
Global aphasia
IRB
Korsakoff’s syndrome
Lateral ventricles
MRI
Parallel processes
Semantic memory
Split-brain research
Synesthesia
Syntax
Theory of mind
Top-down vs. bottom-up processing
WAIS

​Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism
Author: Amanda Montell
ISBN:  978-0-06-299315-1
 
APA Style Citation
Montell, A. (2021). Cultish: The language of fanaticism. Harpers Collins Publishers.
 
Buy This Book
https://www.amazon.com/Cultish-Language-Fanaticism-Amanda-Montell/dp/0062993151
 

​Book Description
When you think of cults, some names come to mind immediately, such as Heaven’s Gate, Jonestown, Waco. Each of these cults were led by a charismatic and powerful leader who used persuasive language and controlling techniques to isolate and manage their followers. Amanda Montell explores the language used in these cult and cult-like environments that expand to pyramid schemes and athletic groups, such as SoulCycle. She argues that each of these groups have a particular language that those on the outside do not understand. This language can work to build a sense of community, but it can also lead to isolation as the individuals interact more and more only with those who share the same “language”. Sometimes language can be inspirational as in athletic teams that push their members to their physical limits. Or it can be more destructive when it is used to deflect questions and further ingratiate members by asking them to ramp up their commitment, as in Scientology. While Montell clarifies that language does not cause someone to believe something they do not want to believe, it does give them a way to support and express ideas they are already open to. Some aspects of cultish life have made it into the public vernacular. “Drinking the Kool-Aid,” which essentially means buying into what someone is saying is a reference to the more than three hundred Jonestown members (children included) who died after drinking a concoction of Kool-Aid mixed with cyanide as federal authorities were closing in on the group.
 
Montell has long had an interest in cults because her father had grown up in the cult Synanon. He was eventually able to extricate himself by sneaking off to attend high school. He had the added advantage of working in a science lab, which taught him to question the beliefs of those around him by applying the scientific method to what he was being asked to believe. Montell poses that the increase in athletic fads that border on cult-like behavior and expectations come from the human need to belong to a group and feel affiliated with others. People are less likely to be involved in organized religion than ever before and she suggests this may account for increased membership in other types of group activities that work together towards a common goal. Membership provides identity, purpose and belonging. 
 
Surprisingly, the most typical person who joins a cult is a middle class, well-educated individual. Members are often gradually drawn in by a shared belief or common experience. This eventually leads to an “us” and “them” mentality in which members of the group must ban together against those from the “outside” who are trying to disband or break up the group. Leaders of cults often use psychological manipulation, which can lead to financial and sexual manipulation. In Synanon (the cult Montell’s father belonged to) there was a mandatory activity called “the Game”. This ritualistic weekly activity had people called out publicly for personal violations or missteps that could later be used against the person. 
 
Once a person’s entire identity and resources are connected to the group, it is difficult for a person to leave even if they start to question some of the practices. There is often a sense of hero worship towards the cult leaders. Members dare not ask questions or raise concerns as this would identify them as disloyal and come with serious repercussions. Confirmation bias is a powerful force that often keeps those inside of cults from questioning the practice and language used, while those outside of the cult are shocked by the level of delusion demonstrated by members. Even if members do start to question the beliefs of the cult, they often fall prey to the sunken cost fallacy meaning they have given everything they have to the cult and so desperately want what they believe to be true they remain in the group. 
 
Montell closes the book with many examples of cult-like behavior from the way in which pyramid schemes work to the latest workout fads that share a common language, ingratiate themselves to members, and make promises that their workout will transform people’s lives. Many of these programs are built on a hierarchy intended to keep people who are trying to work their way up or who have already gained some status and are looking to make it to the next level of the organization. Montell acknowledges the draw of the sense of community that may be part of joining any organization, but warns against language meant to manipulate or isolate. She also encourages readers to check what they think they know and if the group really represents the ideals and belief system of the individual. She believes that by understanding how cults work to draw people in, we can better fight against being manipulated against our will. 
 
Other Related Resources
Preacher Boys Podcast interview with Amanda Montell 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m78Eqc9orYQ
 
WGN News Interview with Amanda Montell
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMGHw1xRqy4
 
The Atlantic: We Choose Our Cults Everyday
https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2021/06/review-cultish-amanda-montell-language-fanaticism/619165/
 
Podcast and Blog about Cults
https://thecultishshow.com
 
Psychological Figures and Concepts
Solomon Asch
Albert Bandura
Daniel Kahneman
Phillip Zimbardo
 
Amygdala
Anti-depressants
Cognitive dissonance
Confirmation bias 
Conformity
Control group
Dissociation
Dopamine
Endorphins
Frontal cortex
Foot-in-the-door
Group therapy
Heuristics
In-group bias
Obedience
Out-group bias
Oxytocin
Placebo
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Pseudoscience
Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
Sunken cost fallacy
 
 

​Educated: A Memoir
Author: Tara Westover
ISBN:  978-0-399-59052-8
 
APA Style Citation
Westover, T. (2018). Educated: A memoir. Random House.
 
Buy This Book
https://www.amazon.com/Educated-Memoir-Tara-Westover/dp/0399590501
 

​Book Description
Tara Westover’s book describes her upbringing in an ultra-religious, paranoid, and isolated household in rural Idaho. Because of Tara’s father’s paranoia, the household lived mostly off grid. Tara’s mother made medicinal herbs for other families who did not trust traditional medicines and served as a midwife for families who did not want to go to the hospital or did not want the requirement of registering their newborn for a social security card involving recognition from the government. Tara’s father ran a scrap metal business from of their property and was occasionally hired out to do construction work. Tara and her siblings were homeschooled, which mostly involved reading a few old textbooks in their basement. 
 
Tara was the youngest in her family and some of her siblings got married early to others in their ultraconservative church, while others drove trucks, and one brother went off to study at university, which outraged her father essentially ending their relationship. Tara began working in the family scrap yard at a young age with metal being flung over her head and her father expecting her to use and operate heavy mechanical equipment as her older brothers had done. Safety protocols were non-existent and cuts from the metal were frequent, as were accidents with equipment that could have easily been avoided. Tara’s father was badly burned and nearly died and her mother often served as a pseudo-surgeon because of the families refusal to go to the local hospital after a scrap metal injury. 
 
Tara discovered a love for singing and performed at church, as well as in a number of local plays. Surprisingly, her father supported this and encouraged her signing but her attire often had to be modified to adhere to the strict requirements for how females in the church should dress.
 
In addition to the lack of education and dangerous back-breaking work, Tara faced abuse by her older brother. While her brother often supported her and encouraged her, he would fly into a rage and pull her by the hair, put her head in the toilet, or find other ways to abuse her both emotionally and physically. Eventually, she put a lock on her door to protect herself and while it was evident to all in the family that the abuse was occurring, neither of her parents intervened to stop it. 
 
By the time Tara was a teenager, she decided she also wanted to attend university and studied independently for her SAT in order to score high enough to attend. Her father knew she was studying but did little to support her perhaps believing that she would not get in. She did.  
 
When Tara arrived at Brigham Young University (BYU) a whole separate world opened up to her. While she did not have the type of clothes or behaviors as others (washing and cleaning up the apartment became sources of tension with her roommates), she did excel at her studies and worked hard to catch up on all that she had missed out on. Basic historical facts had been distorted in her world and she had never done much writing, so she had to work hard to meet the expectations of the university.
 
Despite the distance from her family, they expected Tara to adhere to the same conservative standards as when she was growing up. She felt tension between her new and old worlds and began to question the teaching of her parents, as well as the neglect, denial, and abuse that had taken place. She earned a scholarship, which allowed her to stay at school and eventually attended graduate school at Trinity College in Cambridge. Despite her outstanding academic record, she still felt uncomfortable in social situations and still lacked funds for stylish clothing or knowing how to behave in novel situations. 
 
Tara eventually attended graduate school at Harvard and found new confidence in her academic abilities and in calling out her family for not intervening while she suffered abuse at the hands of her older brother. While her older sister confided that he had done the same to her, she was mute when it came time for a family confrontation. Tara’s father did not believe the accusation even though he had witnessed the abuse himself. Her brother harassed Tara and threatened to kill her or hire an assassin, still her parents did not believe her. Eventually, she cut them out of her life but was able to rekindle a relationship with some of her other brothers. 
 
She recalls her tragic upbringing no longer as a harrowing story of terror and isolation, but now describes it as “An Education.”
 
Other Related Resources
PBS NewsHour- “Educated” author Tara Westover answers your questions (extended version)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvYg_gp0JPc
 
Aspen Institute- Educated: A Conversation with Tara Westover
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2XWYT-t47E
 
National Public Radio Interview with Tara Westover
https://www.npr.org/2022/02/10/1079882235/author-tara-westover-says-we-need-to-consider-how-people-have-been-educated
 
Vogue: Tara Westover on living off the Grid
https://www.vogue.com/article/tara-westover-memoir-educated-vogue-march-2018-issue
 
Oprah’s podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tara-westover-educated/id1264843400?i=1000437295457
 
 
 
Psychological Figures and Concepts
Bipolar disorder
Paranoia
Schizophrenia
 

The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business
Author: Erin Meyer
ISBN-10: ‎1610392507
ISBN-13: 978-1610392501
 
APA Style Citation
Meyer, E. (2014). The culture map: Breaking through the invisible boundaries of global business. New York, NY: PublicAffairs.
 
Buy This Book
https://www.amazon.com/Culture-Map-Breaking-Invisible-Boundaries/dp/1610392507/ref=asc_df_1610392507/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312006100296&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=16864645460974634994&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9018727&hvtargid=pla-406163964393&psc=1
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Book Description
Looking at culture is not always easy and it can be challenging to hear cultural stereotypes about one’s own culture. Stereotypes are also problematic as they can lead to bias and discrimination. There are individual differences in every culture and it is important to not make assumptions about individual traits based on where individuals are from. However, assuming culture doesn’t matter is also problematic. Cultural stereotypes can help reduce our cognitive load. Being aware of cultural differences can improve communication and effectiveness, especially for those involved in international business.  In "The Culture Map", author Erin Meyer shares eight scales that map the world’s cultures and helps create a better understanding of how each culture functions. It is important to note that each graph provides norms for a culture, but individual differences are still important to consider. Individuals can map their own culture on these graphs, and then compare and relate to other cultures.
 
The first scale is about communication. Cultures are classified as having either low-context or high-context communication. Cultures with low-context communication, such as the United States, assume a low level of shared context and want simple and clear communication. Messages are accepted at face value and repetition is valued. Cultures with high-context communication, such as Iran, assume a high level of shared context and do not need explicit communication. Individuals often read between the lines and messages are implied. This difference in communication could be especially important when emailing.
 
The second scale is about evaluating performance and providing feedback. Cultures are classified as either providing direct or indirect evaluation. Cultures that provide direct negative feedback, such as Germany, often upgrade by providing stronger words before or after feedback, such as “absolutely” or “totally.” Negative feedback is blunt and honest and may be given in front of others. Cultures that provide indirect feedback, such as Thailand, often downgrade, by providing words that soften the criticism, such as a “little” or “maybe.” American culture is in the middle of the scale.  Stereotypes about how a culture speaks is often associated with their position on the communication scale as opposed to the evaluation scale. When working with other cultures it is important to take into consideration their position on both the communication and evaluation scales.
 
The third scale is about persuasion. Cultures are classified as either principle-first (deductive reasoning) or applications-first (inductive reasoning). Cultures that use deductive reasoning, such as France, often begin with facts and later support or explain the conclusion as necessary. The preference for a business meeting might be to start with a summary and discussions are practical and concrete in nature. Individuals may want to know why the boss is making a request before moving on. Cultures that use inductive reasoning, such as the United States, often begin with the theory before the facts. The preference for a business meeting would be to start with a theoretical argument before reaching a conclusion. Individuals focus less on the why and more on the how.
 
The fourth scale is about leadership, hierarchy, and power. The leading scale classifies cultures as either egalitarian (lower power) or hierarchal (high power). In egalitarian cultures, such as Denmark, the distance between a boss and their employee is low and the boss is seen as equal. Communication often skips the hierarchy. The boss riding a bike to work may symbolize equality. Many cultures claim to prefer egalitarian, but evidence suggests the opposite. In hierarchal cultures, such as China, the distance between a boss and their employee is high. The boss leads from the front and status is valued. Communication follows a hierarchy. The boss riding a bike to work may cause embarrassment. Americans believe they are egalitarian but often fall more in the middle of the scale.
 
The fifth scale is about decision making. Cultures are classified as either consensual or top-down. Consensual countries, such as Germany, make unanimous group decisions. Top-down countries, such as Nigeria, have decisions made by individuals who are in a position of power. Many cultures that are egalitarian are also consensual decision-makers. The American culture is more of an outlier because it combines egalitarian leadership with top-down decision making. Germany is also an outlier combining hierarchal leadership with consensual decision making. Japan is even more unique with strong hierarchal leadership and very strong consensual decision making.
 
The sixth scale is about trust. Cultures are classified as either task-based or relationship-based. Task-based countries, such as the United States, build trust through business-related activities. Work relationships are quickly formed and easily broken. Personal relationships do not impact business interactions because “business is business.” Relationship-based countries, such as Brazil, build trust through sharing meals and meeting in communal areas. Work relationships form slowly and on a deeper level.  Personal relationships enhance business interactions because “business is personal.” American culture can be tricky to understand on this scale. There are team-building activities and icebreakers, but once the relationship is created often individuals get down to business. American work relationships are often based on function and practicality. Icebreakers are rarer in relationship-based cultures because relationships are built more slowly and on deeper emotional levels. It is important to note that being friendly is not the same as being relationship-based. American are more likely to smile at strangers, but later when they don’t follow through it may be interpreted as being hypocritical.
 
The seventh scale is about disagreeing productively. Cultures are classified as either confrontational or avoiding confrontation. Cultures viewed as confrontational, such as France, view debate as a positive attribute. Open disagreement is seen as appropriate and does not hurt the relationship. Cultures viewed as avoiding confrontation, such as Japan, view debate as negative to the group. Open disagreement is seen as inappropriate and harmful to group harmony. The Unites States fall somewhere in the middle. It is also important to note that emotional expressiveness is not the same as being comfortable with openly disagreeing. For example, Peru is seen as having an emotionally expressive culture, but people strongly avoid open disagreement because it may destroy a relationship.
 
The final scale is about scheduling and perception of time. Cultures are classified as being linear-time or flexible-time. Linear-time cultures, such as Germany, approach projects sequentially. The focus is on the deadline and schedule. Being prompt and having good organization is valued. Flexible-time cultures, such as India, approach projects in a fluid and changing manner. Interruptions are accepted and there are many balls in the air at once. The focus is on flexibility and adaptation. The American culture leans more to linear-time.
 
Remember it is not always about where a culture is located on the scale, but rather its relative location to another culture. Knowing where a culture is mapped on these eight scales is the starting point to successful interactions. But it goes well beyond the awareness of culture. Having more information about how a culture functions may help avoid miscommunication and frustration. The Culture Map also helps to better understand the multi-dimensional ways in which cultures interact with one another. Check out the book for successful strategies for working with people from all different cultures.
 
Other Related Resources
Author's Websites
https://erinmeyer.com/books/the-culture-map/

Harvard Business Review
https://hbr.org/2014/05/navigating-the-cultural-minefield

Global Leadership Network-Video
https://globalleadership.org/videos/leading-others/the-culture-map-2?locale=en

Psychological Concepts and Figures
Kurt Lewin
 
Active listening
Cultural norm
Cultural relativity
Culture
Deductive reasoning
Dialectical reasoning
Emotional expressiveness
Hierarchy
In-group
Low or high-context communication
Out-group
Personality
Persuasion
Relationship-based
Stereotypes
Task-based

10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voices in my Head, Reduced Stress, without Losing my Edge, and found Self-Help that actually Works
Author: Dan Harris
ISBN: 978-0-06-291760-7
 
 
APA Citation: Harris, D. (2014) 10% Happier: How I tamed the voices in my head, reduced stress, without losing my edge, and found self-help that actually works. Harper Collins, New York, N.Y.
 
 
Buy This Book 
https://www.amazon.com/10-Happier-Revised-Self-Help-Works/dp/0062917609/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1B5K18DUIKJP9&keywords=10%25+happier&qid=1646527637&sprefix=10%25+happier%2Caps%2C91&sr=8-1
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​Book Description
Dan Harris is perhaps best known from his time as an anchor and correspondent for World News Tonight and Nightline. Dan found himself in an incredibly competitive industry where everyone was vying to get more air time and to have their stories picked up and covered. As a young correspondent Harris learned many beneficial and some difficult lessons from more senior news correspondents like Peter Jennings and Diane Sawyer. He became a better anchor correspondent as a result and found himself moving up to bigger and more public jobs. Despite the outward appearance of thriving in his professional career, Harris was besieged by feelings that he did not belong, he experienced nearly constant stress and anxiety as a result of his high pressure career coupled with memories of the traumas he had witnessed as a war correspondent. Harris starting using drugs was finding ways in which to temporarily alleviate his stress and anxiety while becoming increasingly more dependent on illegal substances. Eventually, this caught up to Harris and he experienced a panic attack on air. While the network was supportive, Harris knew he needed to make a change and went to see a therapist who made the connection between the drug use and the on-air panic attack.
 
Fear for losing his career that he had fought so hard for made Harris explore alternatives to slowing the constant chatter in his brain. Harris began reading much about mindfulness and meditation but when he initially tried to clear his mind and live in the present moment he could not focus even for a few minutes. Instead, he found himself  thinking of the next project or the next newscast. Consistent with his journalistic nature, Harris sought out experts in the field, some of whom were selling their followers of false hope and other like the Dali Lama and Dr. Park Epstein that Harris found more authentic and honest about the challenges of meditation. Harris tried to make time each day for meditation and eventually found that his practice was slowly improving. In order to make a more significant difference, Harris attended a 10 day silent retreat to focus his energies on improving his practice further and perhaps experience a breakthrough. While the first few days were excruciating, on day 4, Harris did have his breakthrough becoming completely lost in the practice and more finely attuned to the happenings in his environment. Harris felt great happiness in the moment much like what he had been reading about for years. 
 
This breakthrough was enough for Harris to continue his practice with a new renewed vigor. He even convinced the network to do  series of stories in mindfulness and meditation. Many co-workers and his family reported that he was easier to get along with and more patient since he began regularly practicing meditation. Some people gave Harris grief for his newfound passion and he often felt embarrassed when defending his practice. He found that he was better able to manage the stress in his job and was able to enjoy the moment without chasing the next job opportunity. He eventually began telling other who asked that meditation was not a cure all, but on the whole he would describe himself as about 10% Happier. He found that this piqued the interest of his colleagues and friend many of whom began the practice for themselves. 
 
More recently Harris has resigned from ABC new to work on his 10% happier podcast and app in an effort to help as many people as possible find a more peaceful and Happier existence. He encourages those new to the discipline to give themselves credit for clearing their mind even for a few moments and to keep practicing even if it sometimes feels like they are not making any progress as with time they will improve.
 
 
 
 
Psychological Figures and Concepts
Sigmund Freud
 
Addiction
Anxiety
Depression
Mindfulness
Medication
 
 
Other Related Resources:
 
10% Happier App
https://www.tenpercent.com
 
10% Happier podcast
https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast
 
10% Happier Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/tenpercenthappier/?hl=en
 
Dan Harris talk at Google
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dt5Qv9tUObI
 
Everyday Mindfulness with Jon Kabat Zinn
https://www.mindful.org/everyday-mindfulness-with-jon-kabat-zinn/
 
The Guardian: The Master of Mindfulness
https://www.mindful.org/everyday-mindfulness-with-jon-kabat-zinn/
 
TED talk Jon Kabat Zinn
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vr2ATJkxzGA
 

Think Again: The Power Of Knowing What You Don’t Know
Author: Adam Grant
ISBN: 978-1984-4878-106
 
APA Style Citation
Grant, A. (2021). Think again: The power of knowing what you don’t know. Viking, Penguin Random House; New York, New York.
 
Buy the Book
https://www.amazon.com/Think-Again-Power-Knowing-What/dp/1984878107
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​Book Description
Adam Grant a psychologist at the Wharton School argues that being wrong can lead to growth and development, perhaps even more than being right. Grant uses research and real-life examples to demonstrate the significant challenges of unlearning what we think we know and then relearning and refining that knowledge. He compares the overconfidence cycle, which consists of pride, conviction, confirmation and desirability biases and validation to the rethinking cycle, which consists of humility, doubt, curiosity and discovery. The author contends that the rethinking cycle is consistent with scientific research and will result in growth and new learning, while the overconfidence cycle will likely result in stunted learning and limitation on being able to incorporate new information into our knowledge base. While change can be difficult, those who insist that new ideas never work are likely to remain caught in a cycle in which change prevents learning. This can relate to cognitive or physical tasks. An Olympic swimmer who has learned a stroke incorrectly will have to work harder to unlearn the ineffective stroke and then learn the correct technique if they want to continue to improve. 
 
Confirmation bias is a powerful force that pushes us to look for information that reaffirms what we think we know. Grant proposes that many of us are stranded on Mt. Stupid, because we think we know more than we do. The more we know, the more we realize we do not know, and this itself can be a growth  experience. Grant titles a chapter, The Joy of Being Wrong, and describes how participants who scored highest on Henry Murray’s early IQ tests actually enjoyed the process of finding out that their previously held beliefs were incorrect. 
 
Changing an individual’s thinking is challenging enough but changing a groups thinking can be even more challenging. Often in the highest performing groups there is much task conflict (in which people disagree about ideas and opinions) but lower relationship conflict than in lower performing groups. Grant uses the example of the Wright brothers, who often fought about the design of a plane that would work, but were open to one another’s new ideas. Grant calls the absence of conflict apathy and finds that this happens most often because it is the path of least resistance. 
 
If we want to change someone’s mind to have them come around to our way of thinking, we must also be open to changing our own minds. This can start to occur by having genuine curiosity and asking questions. For those who remain resistant, Grant proposes by asking the person who is hesitant to change, “What evidence would change your mind?”, if the answer is “nothing” then there is no point in continuing to debate the person because they have closed themselves to any new learning. This can be seen in individuals who refuse to acknowledge the science behind the benefits of vaccines. Some of these individuals lost their lives because of their insistence on clinging to erroneous beliefs.
 
Previous held beliefs about people and the groups to which they belong can create an in-group and out-group bias often seen in sporting rivalries. Fans often make assumptions about the personal characteristics of the opposing team, which Grant claims are ridiculous because the members and managers/coaches of the team change. He argues that you are rooting for the clothes because if your favorite players switch teams, they immediately become the enemy. To overcome the stereotype, we must question the stereotype and then circle back to question our original beliefs. 
 
Grant touts the benefits of becoming a great listener. This skill is a show of respect and care for the speaker and allows people the time to reflect on their own views. Grant explains how rethinking can be introduced in educational settings and argues that good teachers introduce new thoughts but great teachers introduce new ways of thinking. He describes the process of creating multiple drafts of a paper, drawing, or other piece of work based on feedback from peers. The student then looks at the changing progress overtime to see the change and improvement of the final product. Creating an environment in which errors are celebrated as learning opportunities creates the opportunity to try new things, even if they are initially loaded with mistakes. This also helps create an atmosphere of collaboration and respect. Constructive criticism must be viewed as helpful momentum to move forward and learn more. Grant suggests creating a challenge network of trusted colleagues who provide honest feedback in an effort to improve a product.
 
Other Related Resources
Author’s website
https://www.adamgrant.net/book/think-again/
 
Rotman School of Management: Interview with Adam Grant
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWjf8XIoENQ
 
Quillette: Six Great Ideas from Adam Grant’s Think Again
https://quillette.com/2021/05/28/six-great-ideas-from-adam-grants-think-again/
 
Blinklist: Key Insights from Think Again
https://www.blinkist.com/en/books/think-again-en
 
Psychological Concepts and Figures
Daniel Goleman
George Kelly
Henry Murray
 
Belief perseverance
Confirmation bias
Conformity
Defense mechanism
Dunning-Kruger effect
Emotional intelligence
Fight-flee-freeze
Grit
Group polarization
In-group bias
Meditation
Mindfulness
Organizational psychology
Out-group bias
Overconfidence
Prejudice
Stereotypes
 
 
 
 
 

Why We Act: Turning Bystanders into Moral Rebels
Author:  Catherine A. Sanderson, PhD
ISBN:  9780674241831

APA Style Citation
Sanderson, C. A. (2020). Why we act: turning bystanders into moral rebels. Belknap Press Harvard University. 

Buy This Book
https://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Act-Turning-Bystanders/dp/0674241835

Book Description
 
Author Catherine Sanderson, Chair of Psychology at Amherst College, has published over 25 journal articles, several trade books, four university-level textbooks, as well as textbooks for middle and high school students. Her research has received funding from the National Science Foundation and National Institute of Health for her work on topics ranging from social norms, health, parenting, bystander apathy, heroism, health, and longevity.
 
In Why We Act, Sanderson explores the various factors that explain why good individuals engage in bad behavior, fail to act when faced with the bad behavior of others, and how this inaction leads to more bad behavior. She explores bad behavior, including bullying in school and unethical workplace behavior, corporate fraud, political corruption, sexual harassment, and the inaction of bystanders. Her book also explores individuals who are more likely to act, who she calls moral rebels, and what we can learn from their examples.
 
In Part 1, The Silence of Good People the book explores what Sanderson calls the myth of monsters and the various reasons good people engage in bad behavior or fail to intervene. She combines classic research in social psychology (e.g., Philip Zimbardo, Stanley Milgram) and modern neuroscience research to explore the impact of deindividuation, obedience to authority, and gradual escalation of both bad behavior and inaction. Research indicates that gradual escalation plays an important role in unethical behavior due to the foot-in-the-door effect. For example, she cites examples of corporate fraud that began with small unethical actions but slowly built to substantial unethical and criminal behaviors. The author compares this to findings in Milgram’s study that began with small “shocks” and gradually escalated to extremely dangerous ones. This section also explores research on social loafing in various settings. For example, restaurants add a minimum gratuity or tip to bills for larger groups. This is because, left to their own devices, individuals contributing to a group bill are likely to tip poorly because they believe the group will not notice their contribution amount. The text also offers current research on other reasons behind the phenomenon of social loafing, the bystander effect, and diffusion of responsibility, including the cost of helping, ambiguity, connection, and the influence of social groups.
 
In Part 2, Bullies and Bystanders, the author explores these different roles (bully and bystander) in various contexts. For example, the author discusses bullying in schools and how most students who witness bullying do not stand up for the victim but actively watch. It is also disturbing to note that more students join in the bullying than intervene. Neuroscience research partially explains this lack of intervention — deviating from the group activates the same areas of the brain as physical pain. Research has revealed that students who intervene in cases of bullying have social capital (e.g., support from peers or teachers, social skills, or high social status in the group). This may seem counterintuitive, as earlier research found that bullies often have high social status. Researchers believe bullying is a social tool, and only a few students at the very top of the social hierarchy have enough security in their level of popularity to stand up for the bullied students. In addition to high social status, research has found that other factors predict if a student will stand up for bullied students, including high levels of self-confidence and self-efficacy. The section on bullying in schools ends with research on how to reduce bullying in schools. Subsequent sections address bullying and bystander apathy in university and career settings.
 
In Part 3, Learning to Act, the book explores developing moral courage and tactics for becoming a moral rebel. Key characteristics of moral rebels include a lack of social inhibition and high levels of empathy. Sanderson provides a range of examples for resisting the pressures of conformity, social loafing, and the bystander effect. Regarding building moral rebels, the author suggests developing a belief in change and practicing strategies for speaking up as a bystander. She recommends paying attention to the “small stuff” because of the effect of the foot-in-the-door phenomenon on how small acts can easily build to increasingly more unethical responses. She provides tools for building empathy, widening the in-group, utilizing ethical leaders, finding a friend, shifting social norms, and changing the culture.
 
Why We Act provides a research-based explanation for bad behavior and addresses how that research can be used to train individuals to stand up to bullying in schools, online, and in the workplace. By acknowledging the forces that prevent individuals from intervening or engaging in unethical behaviors, it is possible to build strategies for resilience and resistance.
 
Other Related Resources
 
Author Catherine Sanderson’s website
https://sandersonspeaking.com/
 
Author Catherine Sanderson’s TEDx talk – The Psychology of Inaction (17:42)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_Lmf7ZT_04
 
Author Catherine Sanderson - The Psychology of Courage and Inaction
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMPDkPU1hps
 
Resources for the Teaching of Social Psychology
http://jfmueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/crow/
 
Psychological Figures and Concepts
Solomon Asch
Albert Bandura
Carol Dweck
Kitty Genovese
Bibb Latane
Stanley Milgram
Philip Zimbardo
 

ADHD 2.0: New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction—from Childhood through Adulthood
Author: Edward M. Hallowell, M.D., and John J. Ratey, M.D.
ISBN-10: ‎0399178732
ISBN-13: 978-0399178733
 
APA Style Citation
Hallowell, E & Ratey, J. (2021). ADHD 2.0: New science and essential strategies for thriving with distraction—from childhood through adulthood. New York, NY: Ballantine Books.
 
Buy This Book
https://www.amazon.com/ADHD-2-0-Essential-Strategies-Distraction/dp/0399178732
​

Book Description
Authors Edward Hallowell and John Ratey are psychiatrists who have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Their personal knowledge both in the field and in life offer a valuable perspective on ADHD, a condition that occurs in at least 5 percent of the population. ADHD is often misunderstood as individuals who are lazy or disrespectful, a condition that children will grow out of, or a condition created by pharmaceutical companies. The authors hope to dispel these myths and see the strengths of this condition, while focusing on some tools for management. Hallowell and Ratey often explain ADHD with the analogy, “A person with ADHD has the power of a Ferrari engine but with bicycle-strength breaks. It’s the mismatch of engine power to breaking capability that causes the problems. Strengthening one’s brakes is the name of the game.”
 
ADHD is different for everyone, but there are some commonalities. Some of these indicators include distractibility, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. Optimism and creativity have also been associated with ADHD. Rather than a deficit of attention, there is actually an overabundance of attention that can be challenging to control. There can also be an intolerance of boredom and a need for stimulation. There is often a set of contradictory tendencies, such as a lack of focus mixed with hyperfocus or procrastination mixed with a surge of productivity. This is just a sampling of the telltale signs of ADHD. As for the cause of ADHD, there is a highly genetic component and certain environmental stressors, such as lack of oxygen at birth, early infections, or other brain functioning problems. The mother’s behavior during pregnancy can also raise the risk for ADHD. Another explanation is the modern lifestyle that has been training our brains to go faster, multi-task more frequently, and require constant stimulation. The authors introduce a new term called VAST: the variable attention stimulus trait. This term refers to individuals with ADHD symptoms, but not meeting the criteria for a diagnosis. The term is also meant to shift away from attention deficit to the variability of attention and detoxify the label of ADHD. The focus has often been on the problematic side of the condition, but there are useful tendencies associated with ADHD as well.
 
Hallowell and Ratey provide the brain basics and explain current research findings. They walk the reader through the task-positive network (TPN) and default mode network (DMN) and take care to explain the difference between a neurotypical brain and someone with ADHD. They also explain the cerebellum and vestibular system’s connection to ADHD. The cerebellum is involved in physical balance, but it has also been found to control emotional equilibrium. By working doing exercises to increase balance, it has helped control the braking power needed with ADHD. Hallowell and Ratey share a particularly powerful case study of a young boy in China who was struggling with ADHD. After his mother attended a talk done by Dr. Hallowell, the two corresponded through email to set up a treatment program. The treatment program was set up based on connection, education, a strength-based model, and balance exercises. Within a few short weeks there was great improvement for the child.
 
Several chapters are dedicated to providing a better understanding what helps with ADHD and offer tools for therapy. Not feeling understood and a lack of connection often plague individuals with ADHD. Tips are provided for creating rich social connections. Boredom is the kryptonite for those with ADHD and many problematic behaviors become present when bored. But it is the strengths that are often ignored. A strength-based model is about identifying and using those strengths while being appropriately challenged. Creating the right environment can be powerful. This includes organization and daily structure, proper nutrition and sleep, surrounding oneself with positivity, and finding the right type of help. Behavioral therapy, such as applied behavioral analysis (ABA), has been found particularly helpful to develop a new set of skills, and social learning for adjusting to social situations. Exercise has also been found to be beneficial to improve mood and motivation and maintain focus. Studies have found that after just 20 or 30 minutes of moderately paced exercise subjects have increased their focus. Using brain breaks in the classroom is encouraging movement. To enhance balance, yoga and meditation have also been found helpful. The authors also acknowledge the tool many fear, which is medication. The use of stimulants has been found effective on average 70 to 80 percent of the time. The authors encourage using a risk/benefit analysis and discussing the medication options currently available. They explain the difference between methylphenidate and amphetamine medications. Many wonder why the use of stimulants for a hyperactive brain, but that stimulants raise the levels of dopamine and norepinephrine, both of which are not balanced in the ADHD brain. Hallowell and Ratey point out the stimulants stimulate the brain’s brakes, providing more control. They also discuss stimulant-like drugs, outlier drugs, and the concern of addiction and abuse.
 
ADHD is not the same for everyone. With the power of knowledge and a better understanding of the condition, hopefully individuals can learn to reframe their thoughts and actions. Rather than seeing all of the problems, there are also strengths associated with ADHD. There is amazing potential, creativity, and energy. The authors leave the reader with, “Each of us finds a different way; there is no one right way. But what a liberating message it is for all of us to know that no brain is the best, and each of us has the magnificent, lifelong chance to find our own brain’s special way.”
 
Other Related Resources
Dr. Hallowell, The Hallowell ADHD Centers
https://drhallowell.com/2020/12/18/21444/

ADHD 2.0: A Conversation with Author Ned Hallowell
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7_R7EXTYNA

Distraction Podcast: ADHD 2.0 Reveals New Science and Strategies
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rgb7bzfE__I

WHYY PBS, "ADHD 2.0" with Dr. Edward Hallowell
https://whyy.org/episodes/adhd-2-0-with-dr-edward-hallowell/

Psychological Concepts and Figures
Ivan Pavlov
B.F. Skinner
 
Addiction
Amphetamines
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
Behaviorist movement
Cerebellum
Creativity
Dopamine
Epigenetics
GABA
Gratitude
Heritability
Longitudinal study
Meditation
Nature v. nurture
Neuroplasticity
Norepinephrine
Rumination
Sleep apnea
Social learning
Applied behavioral analysis (ABA)
Stimulants
Task-positive network (TPN)
Default mode network (DMN)
Variable attention stimulus trait (VAST)
Vestibular system

Prepare for the AP Psychology Exam While Playing a Game with iScore5!
 
iScore5 AP Psych is an app dedicated to helping students score high marks on the AP examination.  The app makes exam review entertaining and engaging for students. The creators have designed an app that functions as a game and helps students master over 800 vocabulary words for AP Psychology.  The app, however, goes beyond merely learning basic vocabulary by challenging students to master multiple-choice questions in levels of increasing difficulty.  The questions have all been written by experienced AP Psychology teachers or College professors of psychology, all of whom are also AP exam readers.
 
The interactive interface of the app is easy to navigate, and students may choose to return to study mode to practice basic vocabulary at any point during the game.  The app records a running score allowing students to monitor their progress and better understand the concepts they will need to know for the exam.  Within each level, including the study mode, the questions and practice items are organized according to units and allow for the targeted study of specific areas in the AP curriculum.
 
The app is also an effective way for students to prepare for classroom unit exams, midterms, and finals.  Because it is portable and easily accessed by phone or tablet, students are more likely to review more often than with traditional review books.  Even if students only have five or ten minutes to review at a time, this will result in an impressive increase in knowledge of psychology content due to the spacing effect.
 
How to Play!
 
Study Level: 800 key concepts for students to master organized by AP Psychology unit are presented in a flashcard format.  The study level is available for review at any level of the game. 
 
Level 1:  Vocabulary questions are organized by each of the AP Psychology units and presented in a multiple-choice format.  Level 1 provides 20 terms at a time for each unit, so it is recommended that students play this level often as the app generates a different set of terms each time the student plays.
 
BONUS:  Between each of the levels, students can answer 20 multiple-choice questions for additional points based on the work of famous psychologists mentioned in the official College Board AP Psychology course outline, and the bonus option is available at all levels.
 
Levels 2, 3, and 4:  These levels contain a set of multiple-choice questions in an AP format for each of the 14 AP Psychology units. Each level increases the level of difficulty:  level 2 (general understanding), level 3 (intermediate difficulty), and level 4 (advanced).  The correct answer to each question is explained regardless of whether or not the student answered correctly.
 
 
           
Level 5:  The final level consists of a 100-question sample AP Psychology exam.  Students are given the same amount of time they will have during the official AP Psychology exam (1 hour and 10 minutes) and provides them with their total score.   
 
FRQ Practice:  In addition to all of the levels and practice multiple choice questions, the app also includes two practice Free Response Questions and rubrics.
 
The iscore5 AP Psych app provides students with a fun and entertaining way to review for the exam.  Because all of the questions are crafted by expert AP Psychology teachers and university psychology professors, the quality of the questions is very similar to what will be seen on the AP exam.  Additionally, the app features a Leaderboard that allows students to see how they are doing compared to others if they choose.
 
Get the App!
The iScore 5 AP Psych app is now available for $4.99 in the iTunes app store for Apple or Google Play for Android.
iTunes  https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/iscore5-ap-psych-2016/id1084611907?mt=8
Google Play  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.iscorePysch
 
Volume Discounts
The link to the volume purchase program that Apple provides to educational institutions will allow a school to purchase multiple apps (more than 20) at a discounted price.  The details of the Apple volume discount program can be found at the following link.
https://volume.itunes.apple.com/store
https://support.google.com/edu/play/answer/3396716?hl=en
 
Other Apps Available from iScore5
The iScore5 company also offers review apps for other Advanced Placement topics, including AP American Government and Politics, AP World History, and AP Human Geography.  Visit the main iScore website for information about these other programs: http://www.iscore5.com.
 
Social Media
For more information about iScore5 AP Psych, visit the company website or follow them on Facebook and Twitter.  Look for review material and study tips to appear on Facebook and Twitter to help students and instructors prepare for the exam.
 
Website:
http://www.iscore5.com/apreg-psychology.html
 
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/iScore5APPsych/?fref=nf
 
Twitter: 
https://twitter.com/iScore5APpsych
​

Committed: Dispatches from a Psychiatrist in Training
Author: Adam Stern MD
ISBN:  978-035843-4733
 
APA Style Citation
Stern, A. (2021). Committed: Dispatches from a psychiatrist in training. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing, New York, N.Y.
 
Buy This Book
https://www.amazon.com/Committed-Dispatches-Psychiatrist-Adam-Stern/dp/0358434734
​

​Book Description
Adam Stern takes the reader through his four-year clinical psychiatry residency program at Harvard Medical School. Because the field of psychiatry culminates in a medical degree, Stern must complete rotations in the pediatric and cardiac wards and work in the emergency psychiatric wards. Stern is at first concerned that he is not as qualified as his other classmates who have been admitted to the prestigious program at Harvard but quickly realizes that each of his classmates has their own areas of expertise and other areas in which their learning curve is steep. 
 
The hours and expectations for residents are exhausting, often working 20-hour shifts and sleeping for only a few hours each night. The few moments of socialization are generally spent with those in the program. Stern quickly learns the hierarchy, which generally involves first-year residency students completing the most menial tasks and far more paperwork than he ever thought possible. He describes his frustration while working on rotations, such as the cardiac and pediatric wards, feeling like he is wasting precious time on information and skills that he will not use. He is equally skeptical when he is assigned to work with a doctor providing electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)to depressed patients who are not helped by medications. Stern becomes a convert when he sees the incredible progress that some of these patients make after the ECT treatment. Stern goes on to describe the terrible feeling of guilt associated with losing a patient to suicide and his feelings of usefulness when he sees the same patients returning to the psychiatric ward over and over again. He describes trying to overcome the skepticism that some people have about seeing a psychiatrist and finding the right balance between talk therapy and medication. 
 
Outside of the hospital, the residents are still enrolled in classes. Stern, at first, was skeptical about a seminar titled “becoming a psychologist,” which he labeled as a “feelings class.” This group allowed students to share their experiences, challenges, and victories. The group would remain together for the length of the program. Despite his original hesitancy, the people in this group became some of his closest friends and a group that depended on one another for practical and emotional support. This group understood the stress and emotional turmoil that came with the program and were there to support and help each other. By the end of the program, Stern and the others came to depend on their “feelings” class as a lifeline. 
 
The evolution that Stern went through in these four years was transformational. He admits he felt like an imposter in his first year with his fellow students, more experienced doctors, and patients. By his fourth year, he acknowledged that he still had much to learn but realized that he had chosen the right path and was just as capable as his other high-achieving classmates. He realized that he will not be able to “cure” every patient he sees, but he is dedicated to doing the best he can. This is an informative book for those interested in pursuing a career related to medicine or psychiatry/psychology. It provides a behind-the-scenes look at the real day-to-day life of the path of becoming a psychiatrist and how it requires full commitment. Dr. Stern goes on to practice at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and is an assistant professor at the Harvard School of Medicine. 
 
Other Related Resources
Author’s website
https://www.adamsternmd.com
 
Twitter feed
https://twitter.com/adamphilipstern
 
Interview with Adam Stern with the Boston Public Library and the State Library of Massachusetts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgeIPLWQwKo
 
Psychology Today: Finding the line between Connection and Avoidance
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/stern-talk/202112/finding-the-line-between-connection-and-avoidance
 
Psychology Today: Our Mental Healthcare System is Broken, but we can fix it
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/stern-talk/202106/our-mental-healthcare-apparatus-is-broken-we-can-fix-it
 
Good Therapy: Psychiatry 101: How to Become a Psychiatrist
https://www.goodtherapy.org/for-professionals/personal-development/become-a-therapist/article/psychiatry-101-how-to-become-psychiatrist
 
Become with lantern: How to Become a Psychiatrist
https://www.learnhowtobecome.org/psychiatrist/
 
Psychological Figures and Concepts
Erik Erikson
Sigmund Freud
 
Autonomy v. shame and doubt
Anxiety
Cognitive-behavioral therapy
Depression
ECT therapy
Intimacy v. isolation
Neurology
Paranoia
Psychiatry
Psychology
Psychopharmacology
Psychotherapy
Schizophrenia
Social anxiety
Suicide
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
 
 

Atomic Habits:  An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
Author:  James Clear
ISBN 9780735211292
 
APA Style Citation
Clear, J. (2018). Atomic habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones. Avery, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
 
Buy This Book
https://www.amazon.com/Atomic-Habits-James-Clear-audiobook/dp/B07RFSSYBH
​

Book Description
 
James Clear's book Atomic Habits provides an engaging guide to help students use behavioral psychology, biology, and neuroscience principles to create new positive habits or reduce or eliminate problematic habits. In addition to practical guidance to increase the likelihood of positive habits while deterring bad habits, the book is filled with inspiring stories of how small changes can lead to dramatic results. The idea behind atomic habits is that a small but consistent change in behavior can have dramatic results, just like how an atomic describes something very small that can be the source of immense power. 
 
Atomic Habits breaks habits into a four-stage process: cue, craving, response, and reward. In the first stage, a cue, similar to the stimulus in operant conditioning, serves as a trigger for a voluntary behavior. Over time, individuals learn that particular cues predict the arrival of reinforcements or punishments if specific actions are taken. As a result, our minds regularly scan the environment for cues about potential rewards. The cue, in turn, creates a craving.
 
Stage two of the habit loop, craving, represents the motivational drive that supports habits. The drive or craving is not for the specific action it triggers but the change in the person's physiological state that it generates. For James Clear, the craving is not to look at our phones or YouTube videos but the desire to be entertained. Cues and cravings, of course, are personalized, and what creates a motivational drive for some people would not be noticed by others.
 
The third step is the response which will ultimately become the habit because it is followed by the final step of reward. The reward increases the chances of the behavior occurring in the future in response to the same cue creating the final piece of the habit loop. According to James Clear, the response occurs to gain a reward. We are programmed to seek out rewards because they are satisfying (fulfill the craving) and teach us what actions are important to remember in the future.
 
The four stages form a repeating neurological feedback loop that leads to automatic habits. The mind is always searching for cues in the environment, making predictions, trying various responses, and monitoring and learning from the outcomes. If the cue, craving, response, or reward are insufficient, a habit will not form. For example, if you avoid or eliminate the cue, a craving will not develop. If you reduce a craving, you will lack motivation for a response. If you make the response difficult, you will be unable to complete the behavior, eliminating the reward. If the reward does not satisfy the craving, you will be less likely to engage in the response.
 
James Clear divides the four stages into two distinct phases for habit change. Phase one, the problem phase, includes the cue and craving and provides you with the information that something should change. Phase two, the solution phase, includes the response and reward and voluntary action to execute change.
 
Atomic Habits offers ways to use the four stages and how our brain learns to develop positive habits and eliminate negative ones in the form of James Clear's Four Laws of Behavior Change: make it obvious, make it attractive, make it easy, and make it satisfying. The author describes each law as a lever that makes creating positive habits easy and engaging in bad habits extremely difficult when tilted in the correct direction. For each stage of the habit process, there is a corresponding law for creating a positive habit. For eliminating a negative habit, the goal is to reverse the law.   

For the first law, make it obvious, James Clear points out, that automatic habits go unnoticed, so changing our unwanted behavior involves increasing our awareness. He uses the example of the Japanese railway system's method of Pointing-and-Calling. For example, when a train arrives at a signal, the operator will point at the signal and say out loud, "signal is green." This process is a safety system and reduces accidents by 30 percent. When New York City adopted a modified version of this system, incorrectly berthed subways dropped by 57 percent. The process of pointing-and-calling can be used to increase awareness of non-conscious habits drawing our attention. This increased awareness can prevent bad habits from sneaking up on us. A recommendation for bringing awareness to our behaviors is the creation of a habit scorecard. To create a Habit Scorecard, simply make a list of your daily habits and then label each habit as effective (+), ineffective (-), or neutral (=).
 
Two ways to make a new habit obvious are to use the habit scorecard to create an implementation strategy or to use habit stacking. Because two of the most common cues are time and location, these can be paired with intention. For example, "I will [Behavior} at [Time] and in [Location] is the implementation intention formula. With habit stacking, you simply pair a new habit you wish to establish with an existing habit (see Habit Scorecard). The habit stacking formula is, "After [Current Habit], I will [New Habit.]  For example, "when I get out of bed, I will stretch for five minutes." Because location is a powerful cue, it helps to organize your environment to make cues for habits you wish to make more obvious and make cues for habits you want to stop. For example, if you want to practice a new hobby more, place the supplies you need in an area where you often spend your free time. Conversely, if you want to reduce a habit, place cues for that behavior in areas where you spend less time. If you find you are not finishing your work, put your phone in another room for a couple of hours.
 
In the case of the second law, make it attractive, utilize temptation bundling to make your new habits more attractive by pairing the habit you want to create with a habit you need to do. This is the next step after habit stacking.

1. After I [Current Habit], I will [Habit I need].
2. After [Habit I Need]. I will [Habit I Want].

 
If you want to look at social media, but you need to exercise more, set up habit stacking.

1. After taking out my phone when I get home, I will complete two one-minute planks (need).
2. After I complete two one-minute planks, I will check my Instagram (want).

 
Ultimately, the goal is to look forward to doing the planks because it will mean you can scroll through your Instagram. Because dopamine rewards drive habits when dopamine increases, so does the motivation or craving. The anticipation of a reward (not its fulfillment) creates the drive for action, and temptation building helps make new habits more attractive. With habits you want to eliminate, the key is to make them unattractive by highlighting the benefits of avoiding a bad habit. Because habits become more attractive if paired with positive emotions and less attractive when paired with negative emotions.
 
The third law of habit creation is to make it easy. Practice is the most effective learning method, not planning, so creating new habits requires acting. What matters most is not the amount of time engaged in a habit but the number of times you have performed it. Additionally, to make a new habit easy, it is important to consider the law of least effort, or the idea that we often are pulled by the options that require the least about of work. Making a habit easy works by decreasing the friction associated with it, making it easy to act and engage in the desired activity quickly. As always, the opposite is true for decreasing a negative or ineffective habit. If you want to work out at the gym after work more, pack your workout gear and place it by the door. If you want to eat healthier at work, prep your meals over the weekend and pack them individually, so you have easy access during the week. Finally, to make habit creation easy, embrace the two-minute rule. Start a new habit small – by engaging in the desired activity for only two minutes. Atomic Habits suggests scaling your new habit from very small to very hard. 
 
According to James Clear, the fourth law, make it satisfying, is the cardinal rule of behavioral change because reinforced behaviors are likely to be repeated, which is the basis of habit creation. Immediacy is also important because behaviors that are reinforced immediately are more likely to be repeated, and behaviors immediately followed by punishment will decrease. Habit creation works best if we can find a way to feel immediately successful. The first three laws of atomic habits (make it obvious, attractive, and easy) create an initial behavior. However, the fourth law (make it satisfying) leads to replication and habit development. James Clear recommends using a habit tracker to create visual evidence of your progress to encourage habit formation. Another way to strengthen habit creation is to utilize an accountability partner or a habit contract.
 
The book also includes a final section titled Advanced Tactics to help you maximize your odds of success by playing to your strengths and utilizing the psychology of motivation. The author also includes short sections to apply the theory of atomic habits to specific focus areas, including business and parenting. Atomic Habits provides students with a step-by-step practical way to apply cognitive-behavioral, social, health, neuroscience, and motivational psychology theories to transform their habits, reduce stress, and achieve their goals. Consider using this book to revitalize a unit on learning and provide students with a practical application for the learning theories they are studying.
 
Other Related Resources
 
Author James Clear's website
https://jamesclear.com/
 
James Clear: Atomic Habits: How to Get 1% Better Every Day - James Clear
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_nzqnXWvSo
 
Atomic Habits Summary – 20 Lessons
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2YEiDTLjvg
 
Psychological Figures and Concepts
Solomon Asch
Charles Darwin
Viktor Frankl
Carl Jung
Robert Plomin
David Premack
B.F. Skinner
Edward Thorndike
 
Conditioning
Dopamine
Flow
Habit
Happiness
Long-term potentiation
Mindset
Operant conditioning
Premack's principle
Proximity
Reinforcement
Social norms
Yerkes-Dodson law

Chatter: The Voice in Our Head, Why It Matters, and How to Harness It
Author: Ethan Kross
ISBN-10: ‎0525575235
ISBN-13: 978-0525575238
 
APA Style Citation
Kross, E. (2021). Chatter: The voice in our head, why it matters, and how to harness it. New York, NY: Crown.
 
Buy This Book
https://www.amazon.com/Chatter-Voice-Head-Matters-Harness/dp/0525575235
​

Book Description
Do you ever want that inner voice that plays in your head to stop? While introspective thoughts can be beneficial, the inner critic can quickly rear its ugly head when the thoughts turn to chatter, which consists of cyclical negative thoughts and emotions. Ethan Kross, author of Chatter: The Voice in Our Head, Why It Matters, and How to Harness It, studies how those internal conversations can be used to improve your life. He compares his job to being a mind mechanic. When internal thoughts turn negative, individuals need to recognize when they become problematic and have the proper tools to quiet the chatter.
 
Talking to oneself is a normal part of life, but it also has its downfalls. Language lets us identify our emotions and discover how to handle a situation. As humans, it allows us the powerful ability to mentally travel in time. It also allows us to control ourselves and our emotions. So how does talking to oneself go wrong? Anyone who has become skilled at a learned task can fall victim to chatter. Kross shares stories of athletes that have fallen victim to that inner critic. The internal conversation influences attention and causes what was once an involuntary action to become the focus of our attention, which can then lead to overanalysis. When we ruminate, we end up focusing our attention on that negative inner voice AND what we are doing. The author points out how challenging it is to read after getting into a fight. It doesn’t seem to work well for anyone! We also want to talk to others about our negative experiences. The more intense the emotion, the more we want to talk about it. Unless in involves shame, then we want to keep in confidential. But it is sharing those negative experiences that pushes sympathetic listeners away because we tend to miss the warning signs of how annoying we are. The chatter can lead to talking too much, which can then alienate those we confide in the most.  Social media provides a positive experience, but can also become problematic for several reasons. In real life we can manage emotions with the passage of time. However, when we are at the peak of frustration, our connectivity allows us to share those negative experiences in the moment before we have a moment to calm down. It is also human nature to compare ourselves to others. As we passively scroll through others’ filtered versions of themselves posted online, we can start to become envious and negative emotions take over. This emotional pain registers the same way in our brain as physical pain.
 
Perspective taking is key to quieting our inner voice. Kross uses the analogy of your mind being a lens and the inner voice being a button that can zoom either in or out. He explains how when we get stressed or the inner voice starts to ruminate, we lose the ability to zoom out. By adding some distance to our thoughts, we can then change those thoughts. The author shared Walter Mischel’s famous marshmallow research, where waiting for two marshmallows led to positive results rather than having a lack of impulse control and immediately eating the marshmallow. This research led to the understanding that people have tools to control themselves. Kross also mentioned Aaron Beck’s therapy technique known as “distancing” where individuals are taught to scrutinize their thoughts. While some people have negatively associated this with avoidance, the key is to actively explore the thought from a distance. The recommendation is to imaginatively visualize oneself from afar. Research has explored the impact of immersion versus distancing. Immersers who viewed an event from the first-person perspective got stuck in their emotions. While, distancers who viewed an event from a broad perspective, had more positive feelings and were better able to control their stress response. By teaching people to see the big picture, it reduced their chatter. Mental distancing also led to increased wisdom regardless of age. Even journaling for a 15-minute time period about a negative experience was helpful. While narrating the story, the author created distance. The point of view is also key to quieting chatter. Using the first-person singular pronouns signaled negative emotions. Instead using third person or saying your name can force you to step back and refocus more objectively. Examples of LeBron James or Malala talking in third person during interviews helped provide distance from the event. Even shifting to the generic or universal second-person “you” can help provide the necessary psychological distance.
 
Those around you can influence chatter as well. Sharing emotions can often hurt more than it helps. Research has found that talking to others about negative experiences doesn’t help us recover in any meaningful way. Co-rumination can quickly change from support to inciting the inner voice. Advice at the wrong time from others can propel inner talk and undermine self-efficacy. Instead, Kross recommends invisible support. Rather than making someone feel like they can’t cope on their own, providing invisible support could be doing housework to ease their stress or offering broadening advice that is not explicitly directed at the person experiencing the negative thoughts. This invisible support is especially helpful when the person with negative thoughts is under evaluation or preparing to be.  Affectionate touch or comforting objects can be beneficial as well.
 
It is not just the people that surround you, but also the physical environment that influences chatter. Kross references trees and grass as mental vitamins that help manage our stressors. Research has found attention improved after taking a walk with nature as opposed to an urban landscape. And it doesn’t matter the time of year! If access to nature is problematic, photos and videos work too. One study even found that nature sounds helped enhance attention. Uplifting emotional awe occurs when we come across something powerful that we can’t really explain. It has been linked to physical and psychological benefits. Another interesting finding involves how order in our physical environment can quiet the chatter even though there is no direct connection between creating an organized world and the cause of the inner chaotic thoughts. Just reading about the world described as an orderly place has been found to reduce anxiety.
 
The mind is a powerful thing. Placebos help with chatter. Even nondeceptive placebos have worked for allergy symptoms, lower back pain, ADHD, and depression. Superstitions and rituals also help quiet the chatter. Rituals can come from culture, but can also be personalized. To become a ritual there needs to be a rigid sequence of behaviors that are performed in the same order. They appear to work because they divert attention, provide a sense of order and control. Rituals also make us feel connected, provide us with awe, and activate the placebo effect. Many engage in rituals without even knowing.
 
Kross makes it clear that he is not advocating for an avoidance of negative states. They just can’t consume you. Not all introspection is bad, but individuals need to recognize when they become problematic and have the proper tools to quiet the chatter. He points out that chatter is a part of our culture. Parents provide children with chatter support and create the culture they are immersed in at home. He also recognizes the need to teach these tools to children, after a college student pointed out learning them in college seems a little too late. Kross has created a toolbox for middle school and high school curriculum, but leaves the reader with their own toolbox that can be used right away to quiet the chatter.
 
Other Related Resources
Author's Website
https://www.ethankross.com/chatter/

Center for Positive Organizations- Michigan Ross. Chatter: The Voice in Our Head, Why it Matters, and How to Harness It
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3V33_f3yVn8

​ISR Insights Speaker Series: The Voice in Our Head, Why It Matters, and How to Harness It
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jleW_eTWVHA

​Next Big Idea Club
https://nextbigideaclub.com/magazine/chatter-voice-head-matters-harness-bookbite/26713/

Psychological Concepts and Figures
Aristotle
Aaron Beck
Joseph Breuer
Sigmund Freud
William James
Daniel Kahneman
Franz Anton Mesmer
Walter Mischel
Lev Vygotsky
 
Active listening
Adrenaline
Animal magnetism
Anxiety
Associative connections
Attention
Attention restoration therapy
Catharsis
Contact
Cortisol
Dreams
EEG
Empathy
Evolution
Free association
Frequency illusion
Gene expression
Hippocampus
Hypothalamus
Hysteria
Identity
Inner speech
Introspection
Loss aversion
Magic number
MRI
Neurons
Neuroscience
OCD
Oxytocin
Parkinson’s disease
Placebo
Polygraph
Prefrontal brain
Reciprocity
Rumination
Self-control
Self-efficacy
Stress
Temporal distancing
Tend and befriend
Wisdom
Working memory