You’re Not Listening: What You’re Missing and Why It Matters
Author: Kate Murphy
ISBN-10: 1250779871
ISBN-13: 978-1250779878
 
APA Style Citation
Murphy, K. (2019). You’re not listening: What you’re missing and why it matters. Celadon Books.
 
Buy This Book
https://www.amazon.com/Youre-Not-Listening-Missing-Matters/dp/1250779871
​

Book Description
In today's fast-paced culture, the art of listening is often overshadowed by the clamor of speaking. However, author Kate Murphy argues that listening may, in fact, be more crucial than speaking. Listening transcends mere auditory reception; it entails attentiveness and thoughtful response. Through effective listening, individuals can revolutionize their lives, fostering wisdom and deep connections with others. Murphy delves into the research on listening and shares insights gleaned from various interviews.
 
Loneliness Epidemic: Researchers warn of a growing epidemic of loneliness in modern society, affecting individuals despite their online connections. The essence of connectedness lies in reciprocal listening and response. Instances like the hiring of actors by companies in Japan to provide companionship highlight the dire consequences of a lack of genuine listening. Loneliness is a pervasive issue that impacts individuals regardless of gender or age. Generation Z, being the first to grow up immersed in digital screens, faces heightened levels of loneliness compared to other generations.
 
Neuroscience of Listening: Studies utilizing fMRI scans have unveiled a significant correlation between the synchronization of brain activity in both speaker and listener and the effectiveness of communication. This phenomenon underscores the profound influence of our social interactions on cognitive processes. Attachment theory sheds light on this, suggesting that our capacity for listening and forming connections in adulthood is deeply rooted in early experiences. From the moment we are born, there exists an innate desire for our brains to sync with others, laying the foundation for how we perceive, think, and react based on the individuals we listen to and connect with throughout our lives. Our upbringing undoubtedly shapes our initial approach to relationships, but it does not determine our destiny. Through conscious effort and practice, people can improve their listening skills.
 
Challenges of Listening: Defining listening proves challenging, but curiosity emerges as a crucial element. Securely attached individuals exhibit curiosity and a greater openness to new information and experiences, mitigating loneliness. In long-term relationships, there's a tendency for individuals to lose their curiosity about each other, leading to a lack of attentive listening. Assumptions often act as barriers, hindering genuine understanding. True listening goes beyond mere nods or surface-level responses; it involves providing descriptive and evaluative feedback. It's a skill that requires awareness, focus, and experience to decipher the underlying messages effectively.
 
Obstacles to Effective Listening: The speech-thought differential highlights our tendency to think faster than others speak, leading to mental distractions during conversations. Effective listening involves constantly evaluating the validity of others' messages and understanding their motivations. Listening to opposing views triggers a response similar to being chased by a bear, as evidenced by brain scans showing heightened activity in threat-response regions. Individuals with an overactive amygdala find it particularly difficult to engage in careful listening. However, embracing opposing views is essential for personal growth. Coping with contradictory ideas and gray areas is essential for personal growth and understanding.
 
Self-Listening and Internal Dialogue: The way you engage in internal dialogue significantly influences how you perceive and interpret others' words. Individuals with a critical inner voice may interpret external communication differently from those with a tendency to blame others internally. Despite its importance, people often avoid introspection. Cognitive behavioral therapy offers strategies to modify self-talk, thereby enhancing interpersonal understanding and communication. When someone shares their feelings, it's important to provide support rather than solutions. Good listeners understand the value of asking meaningful questions and recognize that individuals reveal their true selves through their words and actions.
 
Physical and Emotional Aspects of Listening: The interplay between auditory processing, attention spans, and social dynamics reveals the intricate relationship between communication, distraction, and interpersonal connections in modern society. The right-ear advantage highlights the complexities of language comprehension and emotional perception. While, distractions, exemplified by declining attention spans and incessant device usage, undermines meaningful communication. Embracing silence emerges as a counterbalance, with cultures like Japan and Nordic countries valuing it as a sign of deeper relationships.
 
In conclusion, the skill of listening, often neglected in today's digital age, holds immense transformative power. Through genuine listening, individuals can combat loneliness, foster understanding, and deepen connections with others. Developing exceptional listening skills requires awareness, patience, and consistent practice akin to honing a sport or musical instrument. While total mastery may be unattainable, everyone can benefit from the effort!
 
Other Related Resources
Author’s Website
https://www.journalistkatemurphy.com/
BookLab by Bjorn- 7 Key Lessons from You’re Not Listening by Kate Murphy | Book Review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Biw7NUJVo84
The Guardian- You’re Not Listening by Kate Murphy review – a modern epidemic of self-absorbed talk
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/jan/11/youre-not-listening-kate-murphy-review

Psychological Concepts and Figures
Judith Coche
Charles Darwin
Sigmund Freud
Carl Jung
Daniel Kahneman
Jean Piaget
Carl Rogers
Oliver Sacks
Amos Tversky
Robert Zajonc
 
Active listening
Algorithms
Amygdala
Auditory cortex
Closeness-communication bias
Cognitive behavioral therapy
Cognitive complexity
Cohort
Collective monologue
Confirmation bias
Conversational sensitivity
Couples group therapy
Dopamine
Dunbar’s number
Expectancy bias
fMRI
Focused interview
Linguistic relativity
McGurk Effect
Qualitative research
Quantitative research
Secure attachment
Self-monitoring
Social exchange theory
Vestibular system
Wernicke’s area

The Science of Learning: 99 Studies That Every Teacher Needs to Know, 2nd Edition
Authors: Edward Watson and Bradley Busch 
ISBN-13: 978-0367620790
​
APA Style Citation
Busch, B, and Watson, E. (2020). The Science of Learning: 99 Studies That Every Teacher Needs to Know (2nd ed.). Routledge.

Buy This Book
https://www.amazon.com/Science-Learning-Studies-Every-Teacher/dp/0367620790

​

Book Description
The Science of Learning explores research in educational and cognitive psychology and how it can be applied to help students learn better. It points out that despite the vast amount of research in this area, teachers often need help finding and interpreting lengthy and complex academic papers.
 
For example, the results of one study in the book looked like this in the journal:

Authors Edward Watson and Bradley Busch aim to spark and inform discussions about the science of learning and its application in classrooms. They provide practical insights for teachers' professional development, including specific examples such as adjusting teaching methods based on research findings, implementing retrieval practices, and incorporating regular breaks for improved focus and energy.
 
The book's layout simplifies complex research, making it accessible to educators and students. Understanding the research is essential, but implementing it is another challenge. The authors take a study and delve deeper into practical implementation methods and potential obstacles and challenges teachers may encounter.
 
The book presents essential research findings from various fields relevant to education, each structured like an episode of the TV show "Friends," such as "The one about how much we forget" or "The one about cognitive load." Each study includes detailed sections comprising a short description of the study, main findings, related research, and classroom implications. Many studies also feature quantitative and qualitative data displayed in graphs, charts, and images to enhance understanding.
 
Additionally, the book offers separate sections titled "Tips for improving memory," "Tips for improving mindset, motivation, and resilience," "Tips for improving self-regulation and metacognition," "Tips for students," "Tips for teachers' attitudes, expectations, and behaviors," "Tips for parents," and "Tips for overcoming thinking biases." These sections provide practical strategies based on the research findings to support educators, students, and parents in various aspects of teaching and learning.
 
Furthermore, the book includes a section titled "When the Science of Learning Meets the Art of Teaching," which delves into key topics such as retrieval practice, creating a growth culture, developing independent learners, managing mobile phones, mastering classroom management, fostering a home environment that aids learning, and enhancing self-awareness through self-reflection.
 
Finally, the book concludes with a complete reference list of all studies cited, providing readers access to further information and resources. Through its engaging presentation and actionable insights, "The Science of Learning" will help students review and apply research in psychological science. For teachers of AP Psychology, this book is an excellent source to help students develop science practices related to research methods, statistics, and data interpretation. 

​Other Related Resources
Author’s website
https://www.innerdrive.co.uk/about-us/who-we-are/
 
InnerDrive Blog
https://blog.innerdrive.co.uk/
 
InnerDrive Education Resources
https://www.innerdrive.co.uk/education-resources/
 
Video describing the author’s five favorite educational studies
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SDGPmWciAE
 
Psychological Figures and Concepts
Academic buoyancy
Cognitive load
Dunning-Kruger effect
Effort contagion
Forgetting curve
Growth mindset
IKEA effect
Impostor syndrome
Interleaving
Köhler effect
Metacognition
Mindset
Motivation
Planning fallacy
Primacy effect
Proactive interference
Pygmalion in the classroom
Resilience
Retrieval practice
Retroactive interference
Schema theory
Self-fulfilling prophecy
Self-regulated learning
Social rejection
Spacing effect
Spotlight effect
Talent bias
Transfer of learning
Working memory
 
 

Book Description
Chip and Dan Heath have made a name for themselves in the field of decision-making with books like Switch, Made to Stick, and The Power of Movement. In Upstream, Dan Heath goes it alone (but dedicates the book to his brother) to address how to identify and defuse problems before they grow and become unmanageable. Health incorporates many of the topics from their other books to help identify problems. The book is broken into three main sections: the factors that force people into downstream thinking, the questions upstream leaders must ask, and ways in which to identify new problems and push even further upstream.
 
 
Health opens with a story about the travel site Expedia. In 2012, the company received 20 million calls regarding travel itineraries. This cost the company $100 million, and they needed to find a way to get customers what they needed while also decreasing call volume and these costs. They used a three-pronged approach: an automated telephone option to resend a travel itinerary, change how emails were sent to avoid spam filters and make the website more user-friendly so customers could solve the problem on their own. 
 
Expedia decreased the percentage of callers from 58% to 15%. Health explains this as an upstream solution to a problem, rather than continuing to wait for the calls. Expedia found a way to reduce call volume, thereby saving the company millions of dollars each year.  Similarly, police and medical personnel spend most of their time engaged in reactive behaviors when time could be spent “upstream” to prevent criminal activity or health conditions before they occur or before they become dangerous.
 
Health calls out the field of psychology for only intervening after individuals are experiencing a mental health episode, using drugs, or experiencing trouble in a relationship. He proposes that we should identify those who might be at risk early and then create interventions so that the problems never arise. The average expense related to health care in most countries is $1 spent upstream to $2-3 spent downstream. In the United States, the ratio is 1 to 1, making our system far more reactive (downstream) and thus far more expensive because medical conditions are not treated until they become full-blown problems. In Norway, for example, a family will pay nothing for the prenatal visits or the birth of a child, making visits more accessible and resulting in less high cost and dangerous complications at birth. 
 
When problems are identified early proactive interventions can help improve peoples. So much time is spent trying to repair what is broken, but Heath recommends looking to the source, and fixing that to make and even larger impact.
 
Other Related Resources
Author’s website
https://heathbrothers.com/books/upstream/
 
Video: Dan Health Upstream Heros
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Edoj7cF5QKs
 
Podcast: Upstream thinking and moment making
https://www.goodlifeproject.com/podcast/dan-heath/
 
Psychological Figures and Concepts
Availability heuristic
Functional fixedness
Inattentional blindness
Habituation
Mental set
Selective attention
 

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma
Author: Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D.
ISBN-10: 0143127748
ISBN-13: ‎978-0143127741
 
APA Style Citation
Van Der Kolk, B. (2014). The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma. Penguin Books.
 
Buy This Book
https://www.amazon.com/Body-Keeps-Score-Healing-Trauma/dp/0143127748
​

Book Description
Traumatic events are disturbing experiences that create negative emotions and reaction. Trauma not only affects those directly exposed to it but also those around the individuals who have experienced trauma. Research reveals that trauma leads to physiological changes in the brain and body. This newfound knowledge offers potential avenues to prevent and perhaps reverse the damage caused by trauma. The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma serves as a guide to understanding trauma and urges us to acknowledge its impact on lives and encourage the development of treatments and prevention strategies.
 
The text begins with a look back on the rediscovery of trauma. Many lessons have been learned about trauma, including from the return of Vietnam veterans, the American Psychiatric Association’s diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder, and the use of brain imaging tools. We have also learned from research on learned helplessness in dogs, research on stress hormones, and the pharmacological and neuroscience revolutions. Each advancement in various scientific fields teaches us more about how trauma impacts our lives.
 
The brain and body are impacted by trauma. The author summarizes the function of specific brain parts and provides appropriate analogies. For example, the limbic system acts as the cook withing the brain. The thalamus stirs the input into an autobiographical soup and then passes it on the amygdala and frontal lobes. During trauma the floodgates are open, which can lead to sensory overload. The amygdala is the brain’s smoke detector and identifies whether incoming information is important for survival. If threatened, it messages the hypothalamus to activate the stress hormone system in the autonomic nervous system to set off a whole-body response. The medial prefrontal cortex, in the frontal lobe, is the watchtower that offers a view from above and tries to warn when not to react to false alarms of stress. Bottom-up regulation can adjust the autonomic nervous system, through breath, movement, or touch. Top-down regulation, such as through mindfulness and yoga, can enhance the watchtower’s oversight of the body’s sensations. This knowledge is central to better understanding and treating traumatic stress. Being stuck in survival mode, energy is spent on unseen enemies with little room left for nurturing, care, imagination, planning, playing, or learning. New approaches to treatment need to engage the safety system of the brain before trying to promote new ways of thinking.  Many traumatized patients report not feeling whole areas of their body and a lack of self-awareness. The author walks through the explanation of why this is happening and the connection to the brain. The body keeps the score and mind-body communication is central to emotion regulation. 
 
The author goes on to explain the minds of children and trauma. He carefully reviews disorganized attachment, memories, and the flood of sensations. With further research, a better understanding began to unfold. As the DSM III was being revised, the author conducted even more research and presented the results to the work group responsible for suggesting revisions for the new addition.  Even though the work group voted to create a new trauma diagnosis, it was not added to the DSM III. The author feels as if an entire group of abused and neglected children were being ignored just as many of our veterans were before PTSD was introduced back in 1980.  Soon after, a large study of adverse childhood experiences, now known as the ACE study, revealed that traumatic life experiences during childhood and adolescence are far more common than expected. It also found that adverse experiences were interrelated, even though they were usually studied separately. High ACE scores correlated with higher workplace absenteeism, financial problems, high-risk activities, and greater chances of suffering from any of the 10 leading causes of death in the United States. Ongoing stress on the body keeps taking its toll. The surgeon general's report on smoking and health in 1964 started a legal and medical campaign that forever changed daily life and long-term health for millions. Yet, the findings from the ACE study have not had similar results. Those experiencing trauma are in the same circumstances and receiving the same treatments as they were decades ago. 
 
Developmental trauma is a hidden epidemic.  The author points out the need to correctly define what is going on and do more than develop new drugs or focus on finding the gene responsible. In 2001, the National Child Traumatic Stress Network was set up and has grown to be a collaborative network with hundreds of centers nationwide.  But 82% of the traumatized children seen in the Network do not meet the diagnostic criteria for PTSD.  Their behaviors often lead to diagnoses, such as Oppositional Defiant Disorder and ineffective treatments, such as medication, behavioral modification, or exposure therapy. A core work group began to draft a proposal for an appropriate diagnosis called developmental trauma disorder (DTD) for the DSM-5, but once again was met with resistance. Feedback received included “...no new diagnosis was required to fill a missing diagnostic niche.” Shortly after the APA rejected DTD for inclusion in the DSM, thousands of clinicians from around the country sent small contributions to the trauma center to conduct a field trial to further study DTD.  That support allowed for the interviewing of hundreds of kids, parents, foster parents, and mental health workers at five different Network sites with scientifically constructed interview tools.  
 
Traumatic memories are different. The marks left by traumatic experiences are organized not as cohesive, rational stories, but rather as fragmented sensory and emotional pieces encompassing images, sounds, and physical sensations. The author explores the history and scientific interest regarding trauma. He explains the origins of the talking cure, WWI soldiers and shell shock, Nazis, false memory syndrome, repressed memory, and remembering the trauma with all of the associated effects. Recovery from trauma includes dealing with hyperarousal, mindfulness, and building relationships. Learning how to breathe calmly and remaining in a state of relative relaxation, even while accessing painful memories is an essential tool for recovery. It would make an enormous difference if those working with children, especially teachers and parents were trained in emotional regulation techniques. Traumatized individuals need to enhance their executive functioning and self-regulation. There is no one treatment of choice for trauma. The author explores sensory motor therapy, parent-child interaction therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, flooding, virtual reality therapy, systematic desensitization, medication, EMDR, yoga, internal family systems therapy, psychomotor therapy, and neurofeedback.
 
Even though there have been great advances in understanding and treating trauma, it is still a public health issue. The author argues it is one of the greatest threats to our nation’s well-being. The most promising prospect for children who have experienced trauma, abuse, or neglect lies in receiving a quality education within schools where they are acknowledged and understood. In such schools, they can develop a sense of control over their lives and learn the important skills of self-regulation, self-awareness, and communication. Schools have a pivotal role in fostering resilience and offering secure connections that are essential for meaningful lives. Resiliency stems from knowing that what you do makes a difference. Activities like sports, music, dance, and theater not only foster a sense of agency and community but also immerse children in novel challenges and unfamiliar roles. Just like adults, children should grasp the satisfaction of pushing their abilities to the limit.
 
Many individuals who have experienced trauma have gained strength and learned to survive. They have entered loving relationships, gained employment, and become role models in their communities. Some of the greatest political and social advancements have grown from trauma. Trauma is a public health issue and the author urges us to respond by acknowledging its impact on lives and encouraging the development of treatments and prevention strategies.
 
Other Related Resources
Author’s Website
https://www.besselvanderkolk.com/resources/the-body-keeps-the-score
 
What is Trauma? The author of “The Body Keeps the Score” explains | Bessel van der Kolk | Big Think
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJfmfkDQb14
 
Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2023/08/02/body-keeps-score-grieving-brain-bessel-van-der-kolk-neuroscience-self-help/

​Psychological Concepts and Figures
John Bowlby
Charles Darwin
Paul Ekman
Sigmund Freud
Joseph LeDoux
Henry Murray
Ivan Pavlov
Jean Piaget
Martin Seligman
Richard Soloman
 
Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE)
Amygdala
Brain waves
Cognitive-behavioral therapy
Cortisol
Depersonalization
Desensitization
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM)
Diagnostic labels
Dissociative identity disorder (DID)
Endorphins
Epigenetics
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EDMR)
Flooding
Learned helplessness
Medical model
Mindfulness
Mirror neurons
Neurofeedback
Neuroplasticity
Pharmacology
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Prozac
Reciprocity
Repressed memory
Resilience
Self-awareness
Thematic apperception test (TAT)
Trauma
Virtual-reality therapy
Yoga

​Study Like A Champ: The Psychology-Based Guide to ‘Grade A’ Study Habits
Author: Regan A.R. Gurung and John Dunlosky
ISBN: 978-1-4338-4017-3

​APA Style Citation
Gurung, R. A. R., & Dunlosky, J. (2023). Study like a champ: the psychology-based
guide to grade A study habits. American Psychological Association. 

Book Description
This book is a must-read for high school and college students and educators alike. Study Like a Champ opens with a research-based answer to the frequent student question, “What do I need to do to get an A?” Written by psychology professors and longtime advocates for high school psychology. Regan A.R. Gurung, Ph.D., a​nd John Dunlosky Ph.D. The book is packed with practical tips for studying smarter, not harder, and lays out a method for students to plan, monitor, and evaluate their learning for optimal success. The book debunks many firmly held myths about how to study commonly held by students and illustrates effective and empirically based methods for improving study habits and academic results. The authors also address commonly held teacher myths, including the learning pyramid that proposes the amount of learning by students is correlated with the instructional strategy used. Lecture is depicted as having the worst outcomes for student learning retention. This myth causes teachers to avoid lectures out of concern for decreased student learning. Like many methods, lectures can be effective or ineffective depending on the quality and topics discussed. The authors discuss how active learning, such as teaching others or discussion, can sometimes be successful but also how many versions of active learning, such as group work and problem-solving out loud, can harm learning.

Throughout the text are numerous surveys that students can take to evaluate their practices and suggestions for how to utilize scaffolding to build better study habits. This is based on current research conducted by the authors. Each chapter ends with Key Training Tips to stick your landing and Go for the Gold recommendations highlighting advanced reading related to the topics presented.
Chapter one, titled, So You Think You Know How to Study? Let’s FoK About it, challenges students to evaluate their study habits to determine and compare them with evidence-based best practices. Fok, according to cognitive psychology, is a feeling of knowing that exists for any class, assignment, or topic and can be strong or weak. Unfortunately, cognitive science finds that FoKs are often inaccurate. Individuals can feel that they know something well and find out from an assessment that it was not the case or vice versa. This chapter has an excellent survey for students to evaluate their current study habits, Start Now: How Are Your Study Habits? The chapter then lays out in a compare/contrast style what helps learning based on research as opposed to what does not help learning based on research. The authors help students who use habits less supported by research improve those habits. Although highlighting and rereading (commonly used student study habits) do not support learning, even these habits can be improved. The authors suggest having students highlight strategically by indicating the areas they want to study more and following up on those areas using other methods. Rereading should not be a major strategy and works best if it is part of distributive study.
Subsequent chapters help students plan, monitor, and evaluate their learning and apply specific strategies to their classes and busy schedules. Important methods discussed in the book include self-assessments of metacognition, tools for utilizing class time, effective notetaking, spaced or distributive study, retrieval practice methods, interleaving, worked examples, and winning strategies for combining specific tactics. These practical methods are tied to supporting research, effective graphics, and student self-evaluations throughout each section.
The final chapter is an essential discussion of healthy behaviors and how to cope effectively with the rigorous course schedule and additional commitments modern students face. This book is an excellent tool for teachers that can be used to help students apply findings from psychological science to improve their learning.

Other Related Resources
 
Speaking of Psychology: American Psychological Association Podcast --
“How to Learn Better Using Psychology, with Regan Gurung, Ph.D., and John Dunlosky, Ph.D.”

Psych Sessions Podcast: Convos About Teaching N’ Stuff  Gurung and Dunlosky: Study Like a Champ

​Follow @studychamp22 on Instagram or TikTok — Practical science-based tips from the book to help students study more effectively. The feed includes many compelling graphics to use to highlight research on studying.https://www.instagram.com/studychamp22/https://www.tiktok.com/@studychamp22Inside the Mind of a

Master Procrastinator, TED Talk — Show students this engaging TED Talk by writer Tim Urban after they take the survey in the Open Your Class with This Today activity to get a sense of their current relationship to the topic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arj7oStGLkU
 
Top 20 Principles for Pre-K to 12 Education ­­
This booklet, produced by the American Psychological Association, clearly outlines the most effective methods for teaching and learning.
The Top 20 are categorized into five areas of psychological functioning:
Thinking and learning: How do students think and learn?
Motivation: What motivates students?
Social-emotional learning: Why are social context, interpersonal relations, and emotional well-being important to student learning?
Classroom management: How can classroom behavior best be managed?
Assessment: How can teachers effectively assess student progress?
Link to Top 20

Psychological Figures and Concepts
Hermann Ebbinghaus
John Hattie
William James
Walter Mischel

Avoidant coping
Blocked practice
Burnout
Conceptual knowledge
Cornell method
Cued recall
Distributed/spaced practice
Encoding
Emotion-focused coping
Flashcard plus method
Feeling of knowing (FoK)
Homeostasis
Hypothalamus
Interleaving
Key-word mnemonics
Massed practice
Matrix method
Meditation
Mental health
Meta-analysis
Method of loci
Mindfulness
Mindset (growth v. fixed)
Motivation
Multitasking
Overconfidence
Pomodoro method
Problem-focused coping
Procrastination
Retrieval practice
Rumination
Test-enhanced learning
Transfer tests
 

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

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
 

​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
 
 

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
​

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

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
​

​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
 
 
 
 
 

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

Make Just One Change
Authors: Dan Rothstein and Luz Santana
ISBN-13: 978-1612500997
ISBN-10: 1612500994
 
APA Style Citation
Rothstein, D & Santana, L. (2011). Make just one change. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.
 
Buy This Book
https://www.amazon.com/Make-Just-One-Change-Questions/dp/1612500994
​

​Book Description
How would you describe a student-centered classroom? One answer might include students doing the thinking, talking, and producing. Teachers have all been faced with the sound of crickets after they ask, “Are there any questions?” Perhaps it is because students don’t know how to ask questions. Make Just One Change offers the Question Formulation Technique for the teacher’s toolbox to help students learn how to ask questions.
 
The authors, Rothstein and Santana, recognized the need to be taught how to ask the right questions in school. They were impacted by parents commenting on how they couldn’t help their children with their school work because they didn’t know what questions to ask. The traditional education system has focused on teacher questions and student answers for too long. Instead, all students should learn how to ask questions and teachers can easily incorporate this skill into their lessons. After years of experimenting, the authors have landed on a six-step process that helps students exercise their questioning muscle for future growth. The strategy focuses on divergent thinking (multiple answers), convergent thinking (narrowing of options), and metacognition (thinking about your thinking). With these new skills, students will have an easier time writing essay, reading texts, identifying research questions, designing experiments, participating in Socratic seminars, creating homework assignments, and preparing for tests.
 
When students can ask questions, it improves their ownership in learning, engagement, learning outcomes, and confidence. The Question Formulation Technique helps with teamwork skills and classroom management. It promotes democracy and turn students into life-long learners. It has also been found effective with at-risk students, especially minorities to bridge the achievement gap.
 
A short summary of the six core components has been provided below.
 

1. Question Focus or QFocus

Rather than the traditional prompt, the QFocus is a stimulus to kickstart student questions. It can be a short statement or a visual aid, but it must have a clear focus and NOT be a question. Also, it should stimulate new thinking and stay away from teacher bias. While creating the QFocus, teachers should keep in mind the goal of the lesson and what students will be doing with their questions.
 

1. Produce Questions

Before students start producing questions, it is important to introduce the four essential rules. Each of them have value, and all must be followed. First, ask as many questions as you can. This provides students the authority to ask their questions. Second, do not stop to discuss, judge, or answer the questions. This creates a safe space, along with supporting efficiency, equalizing, and an opening to ideas. Third, write down every question exactly as it is stated. This levels the playing field so all voices can be heard and respected. As a teacher, we know how challenging this can be because we often paraphrase for students. However, students need to practice being able to scribe as accurately as possible. Finally, change any statement into a question. This brings the focus back to questions not statements. Remember, producing questions takes courage. We’ve all heard, “I know this is a stupid question, but…” By following the four rules, students will be provided a safe place to explore the skill of questioning. 
 
After explaining the rules, teachers should help facilitate a discussion on the challenges of using these rules.  Students will discuss the challenges in small groups in order to draw attention to the rules and participate in metacognition. After the discussion, students will start to produce their own questions. The teacher should monitor students and remind them of the rules. If necessary, starters to questions can be provided, such as what, when, or how. However, it is very important to not give examples or questions while supporting students because they will feel there is a correct way of questioning.
 

1. Identify Closed- vs. Open-ended Questions

The type of question asked shapes the information received. The teacher should begin with differentiating closed- vs. open-ended questions. Then, students will review their questions and classify them with either a C or O. After, the teacher will facilitate a discussion on the advantages and disadvantages of both types of questions. Finally, students will practice switching 1-2 of each type of question to its counterpart.  Students may struggle with this step, so the teacher can provide some starters again. Question stems for open-ended questions often start with why or how, whereas closed-ended questions start with is, do, or can. There is value to both types of questions and one may be more helpful than another in certain situations. It is important for students to recognize the value and practice being able to change their questions to the other type. While students are producing and categorizing their questions, they are practicing divergent thinking. When they transition to listing advantages and disadvantages and changing their questions, they have moved on to metacognition and convergent thinking.
 

1. Prioritize Questions

This step is a very important, but often overlooked part of the process. Students must prioritize on a regular basis, such as time management between homework and peers or next steps for a long-term project. As many teachers know, this can be quite challenging for the adolescent brain. For this step, students will discuss, compare, analyze, and prioritize their questions down to three based on the teacher’s criteria (e.g., what students would like to focus on, most important information to students, specific purpose, information to explore further). In addition, students must provide a rationale for their prioritized questions that will be shared with the larger group. The teacher should support students by reminding them of the criteria and validate the reports with a neutral tone, such as “thank you.” When providing what is meant to be positive feedback, such as “great question,” this makes students think there is a correct way of questioning that the teacher is looking for. Students may struggle with this process, but hopefully they will come to a consensus and utilize their convergent thinking.
 

1. Provide Next Steps

Now it will be established what students will do next. The question formulation technique can be used at the beginning, middle, or end of a class or unit. In the beginning it might be used as a starter, to review yesterday’s topic, guide new research, assess knowledge gaps, or shape a future lesson. In the middle it might be used to shape homework, prepare for tests, or identify student misconceptions. In the end, it might be used to review the lesson, prepare for final reports, or set a new research agenda. The next steps are diverse and can be varied throughout the year. When students are using the questions for the purpose set by the teacher, they are practicing their convergent thinking.
 

1. Reflection

The final step has students reflect on the entire process and participate in metacognition. Teachers will develop questions for students to respond to focused on what the student learned, how they learned, and how they feel. The format of reflection also needs to be decided, whether it will be written or discussion based. Sometimes there may not be enough time and teachers remove this step. However, enhancing metacognitive skills for students should not be skipped.
 
Other Related Resources
Right Question Institute
https://rightquestion.org/resources/make-just-one-change/
 
The Brainwaves Anthology: Dan Rothstain- Teach Students to Ask Their Own Questions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOGbA9LocAk
 
The Brainwaves Anthology: Luz Santana- The Right Question Institute
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NP24l3jCwo
 
TEDxSomerville- Dan Rothstein: Did Socrates Get it Wrong?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JdczdsYBNA
 
Harvard EdCast- Make Just One Change
https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/11/11/harvard-edcast-make-just-one-change
 
Psychological Concepts and Figures
Howard Gardner
Carl Jung
Robert Sternberg
 
Creativity
Convergent thinking
Divergent thinking
Implicit memory
Metacognition

Powerful Teaching: Unleash the Science of Learning
Author: Pooja K. Agarwal and Patrice M. Bain
ISBN-13: 978-1119521846
ISBN-10: 111952184X
 
APA Style Citation
Agarwal, P. & P. Bain. (2019). Powerful teaching: Unleash the science of learning. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
 
Buy This Book
https://www.amazon.com/Powerful-Teaching-Unleash-Science-Learning/dp/111952184X
​

​Book Description
During this challenging time across the globe many teachers are asking themselves reflective questions in the midst of distance learning, such as “Are my students learning?” and “Are my teaching strategies effective and backed by research?” While these questions are a common practice, they are even more evident during times like these. Check out the Open Class with This Tomorrow Activity for an idea of using metacognition with your students. The authors of Powerful Teaching: Unleash the Science of Learning guide you through effective classroom practices based on the cognitive science of learning.
 
Empirical research supports the use of four powerful teaching strategies: retrieval practice, spaced practice, interleaving, and feedback-driven metacognition. Use of these four strategies in the classroom boost engagement, increase higher-level thinking, and result in student learning. Each of the tools are quick, easy, and free to implement in your classroom. Authors Pooja Agarwal and Patrice Bain provide great examples and model the power tools throughout the book. For example, Power Up boxes are scattered throughout the text and encourage the reader to stop and apply what they are learning. You can use your own learning to help increase student learning.
 
The first powerful teaching strategy is retrieval practice where students pull information out of their memory. When we think of learning we often think of getting information IN, but perhaps we need to start thinking of getting it back OUT. Consider what type of retrieval practices do you use in your classroom besides formative and summative assessments? The authors use the analogy of a filing cabinet to compare these three terms. Retrieval practice is like organizing your files for the next time you need them, while formative assessment is like taking a quick look at what is inside the files, and summative assessment is like taking an inventory of the entire file drawer. Retrieval practice should really be used as a learning strategy as opposed to an assessment strategy, and it should be kept at no or low-stakes. Some retrieval practice strategies for the classroom include: brain dumps, two things learned, retrieval-taking, retrieval guides, and mini-quizzes. Authors Agarwal and Bain explain each strategy and how they implemented them in their classroom. They also reviewed research-based tips that support retrieval practice. Remember the cognitive science of learning supports each of these power tools.
 
The second powerful teaching strategy is spaced practice, referring to spreading out practice as opposed to crammed learning. Students need to be exposed to material and then refreshed on a regular basis. The authors suggest several strategies including pre-tests, blasts from the past, and big basket quizzes. A blast from the past can simply be listing a concept from last week and students then turn and talk about it. The key to learning is to allow a little time for forgetting to occur, but not too much. Students will often feel uncomfortable when they cannot quickly recall information. It is important to help them embrace this feeling and learn from it.
 
The third powerful teaching strategy is interleaving. This is mixing up closely related topics where students must differentiate material. It is not about presenting material in different ways or mixing up chapters. Instead it is about having students discriminate items that are very close to one another or connecting current content back to previously learned content in order to see the connections between them. For example, in psychology class having students compare the types of amnesia versus the types of interference. All the terms are close to one another and takes thoughtful consideration to differentiate.
 
The final powerful teaching strategy is feedback, which allows students to know what they know versus what they do not know. As students increase their metacognition they become more familiar with their learning and build their confidence. Students should make judgments of learning where they predict their future memory and they should make confidence judgments where they report their confidence in past learning. When they make these types of judgments, they should be aware of overconfidence and the illusion of fluency and illusion of confidence. Just because they are confident in their learning does not mean that it was accurate. We all know someone who studied for hours but then did poorly on an assessment. Agarwal and Bain review the research-based recommendations for feedback and offer several strategies including: retrieval cards, metacognition sheets, breathe and retrieve, and metacognition line-up. The metacognition sheet strategy is offered in our classroom activity to open your class with tomorrow.
 
These four main power tools should be used often and can be combined. If you are already providing low-stake quizzes, why not add elaborative feedback? If you are already spacing material, why not add interleaving of similar concepts? A specific example that can use multiple power tools is the power ticket where students provide three facts for topics covered in class across varying times. Using a power ticket for material from last week and the past unit can really enhance student learning. Most of these ideas sound wonderful, but as a teacher you may be thinking of implementation. Questions that come to mind include: how much time do they take, how much extra grading, how much do they cost, will I still be able to cover all of my material, what if the tools don’t help my students, can I use the tools with my diverse learners, and where do I start? The authors emphasize how all of the tools are quick, easy, and free to implement in your classroom. The tools will work and you just have to start with using one; it is better than using none.
 
Powerful teaching helps your students find success but these tools can also help reduce anxiety and strengthen community. Often in classrooms retrieval is infrequent, connected to high-stakes, and results in only a correct or incorrect answer. By providing an environment with regular retrieval practice with no or low-stakes, students begin to embrace desirable difficulties and take more chances on their learning. As you introduce the power tools you want to spark a conversation about learning, model the tools, and help students understand why they work. Students should be using the tools both inside and outside of the classroom. The flash forward strategy is also offered in our classroom activity to open your class with tomorrow. Before you close this academic year, use this quick but powerful strategy to learn from your students and inspire you for next year.
 
Now that your powerful teaching toolbox is filling up, what about everyone else? Authors Agarwal and Bain provide guidance for sharing these tools and building toolboxes with parents, students, and colleagues. Each step of the way they provide examples and research-based strategies. If you are ready to explore your own learning and teaching, check out Powerful Teaching:  Unleash the Science of Learning. During these challenging times of distance learning, continue to reflect on what works. Check out the Open Class with This Tomorrow Activity for an idea of using metacognition with your students.
 
 
Other Related Resources
Book website
https://www.powerfulteaching.org/
 
Author website- Pooja Agarwal
https://www.poojaagarwal.com/powerfulteaching
 
Author website- Patrice Bain
https://www.patricebain.com/
 
Psychological Concepts and Figures
Anxiety
Brain dumps
Cognition
Cognitive science
Concept mapping
Correlations
Desirable difficulty
Elaborative feedback
Encoding
Errorless learning
Feedback
Free-recall
Higher-order thinking
Hypercorrection effect
Illusion of fluency
Interleaving
Meta-analysis
Metacognition
Mnemonics
Overconfidence
Research
Retrieval
Retrieval practice
Savings
Serial position effect
Social-emotional learning
Spaced practice
Storage
Surveys
Testing effect
Transfer (Near or Far)
 

​Range:  Why Generalists Triumph in A Specialized World
Author: David Epstein
ISBN:978-0735214491
 
APA Style Citation
Epstein, D. (2019). Range:  Why Generalists triumph in a specialized world.  New York, NY:  Riverhead books.
 
Buy This Book
https://www.amazon.com/Range-Generalists-Triumph-Specialized-World/dp/0735214484/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=range&qid=1578144141&sr=8-1
 

​Book Description
We live in a world of hyper specialization.  Children often start their violin or piano lessons as young as age 3 or 4.  They start their preferred sports often just as young, and by the time they reach high school, teenagers are told they must concentrate on what they want to do in the future and focus all of their effort in one particular area.  If people realize they have gone down the wrong path, they are often told that they must persevere for fear of “being behind” if they switch areas of study or they just stick with it because of all of the work they have already put in.  David Epstein, the author of Range, believes that this advice is misguided.  Epstein argues that the greatest triumphs come from having experience in multiple fields and casting one’s net widely so as to draw upon different sources when trying to solve a problem.  Epstein believes the benefit of Range rather than hyper specialization is that it can give people a different perspective and approach that those in a single area of specialization are not able to see.  This can result in great insight and more thorough and complete decision-making.

Those who specialize later are often better suited for the careers they eventually select, and as a result, they are also generally more passionate and productive in their roles.  Epstein presents many examples of how experience in a single field can limit how one approaches a new problem.  The need for conformity and groupthink can limit consideration of all possible outcomes in a situation and can, in cases such as NASA's space shuttle Challenger explosion, lead to deadly results.  Epstein cites examples of fire firefighters who lost their lives fighting fires because their specialized training taught them never to drop their equipment, but when fighting a fast-moving fire, dropping one’s equipment might actually save their life.  

Epstein points to Tiger Woods, who seemed to be a child prodigy at golf, as an example of early and focused practice.  Many parents use this example to apply to their own children, but they overlook other athletes such as Tom Brady, who participated in football, baseball, basketball, and karate as a child and then had to choose between playing college football or basketball.  Often those with specialized early training peak early or move away from their area of specialization because their parents selected their instrument/sport/activity for them rather than the child selecting their specialty based on experimentation in many different fields.  Epstein challenges the 10,000-hour rule by arguing that the amount of practice time is not a good measure of exceptionality, in music, for example, those who know how to play multiple instruments can draw on their knowledge from their different experiences to add depth to their performance.  Epstein argues that the “sampling period” in which one explores many different interests will serve people well in future unknown situations.  Many jazz musicians or musical improv masters never had formal training in music but learned from watching others and then experimenting.  This experimentation necessitated intense and conscious thought about what was working (or not), but because of the lack (at least initially) of formal training, there was never a single “correct” way of doing things which allowed for more creativity later in their work.  

Epstein does not dismiss the importance of expertise but rather presents situation after situation in which someone with a different perspective who challenged the conventional wisdom. Individuals with diverse backgrounds are often able to see a situation in a new light and offer a solution that in many cases is successful and one that the “experts” could not see.  Epstein points out that scientists who have been inducted into the highest national academies are likely to have hobbies and interests outside of their field of study.  “Nobel laureates are at least twenty-two times more likely to partake as an amateur actor, dancer, magician, or other type of performer.”  This breath can support new insights that those obsessively focused on a single area may miss.  Epstein cites Steve Jobs, who took calligraphy courses, which ultimately informed his design aesthetics and fonts that would become part of the now infamous Mac design.  These individuals avoid cognitive entrenchment by applying their knowledge in one area and applying it creatively to another.  

Nearly 75% of today’s college students will go into a career unrelated to what they studied in college.  Epstein’s argument takes on more importance as those with a wide array of experiences should allow them to be better equipped to adapt and adjust to novel problems and situations.  Epstein applies his findings to classroom environments and suggests that in many classrooms, teachers are making learning “too easy” by giving students hints towards the right answer without having them work through the frustration of not knowing and having to figure something out on their own.  Epstein also recommends ‘interleaving’ in which instructors demonstrate (or ask students to) look for connections between different units of study or even across disciplines.  

Epstein refutes the old adage of “winners never quit," he believes that if something is not interesting or if one is not passionate about a particular area, they should pursue something new. The “late bloomers” may actually prove to be the most well-suited for the area they finally land on, and their earlier experiences may give them a leg up even on those whose sole focus has been single-mindedly on one area of study.  

Other Related Resources
Book website
https://www.davidepstein.com/the-range/

An introduction to Range by David Epstein
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmoMmK7qKt4

Epstein and Gladwell discuss Range at MIT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cQJH3aj4YY


Psychological Concepts and Figures

Charles Darwin
Angela Duckworth
James Flynn
Daniel Gilbert
Daniel Kahneman
Walter Mischel
Amos Tversky

Analytical thinking
Catharsis
Chunking
Cognitive bias
Conformity
Congruence
Creativity
Distributed practice
Functional fixedness
Groupthink
Incongruence
Lateral thinking
Raven’s Progressive Matrices
Statistical significance
Tabula rasa (blank slate)
The Ebbinghaus illusion
The Flynn effect
The Marshmallow Test
Trial and error 
Savants

​Author:  Carmine Gallo
ISBN: 978-1-250-04112-8

APA Style Citation
Gallo, Carmine (2014). Talk Like TED:  The 9 Public-Speaking Secrets of the World’s Top Minds.  New York: St. Martin’s Press.

Buy This Book
​​www.amazon.com/Talk-Like-TED-Public-Speaking-Secrets/dp/1250041120

Book Description
The TED Conference, which stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design, has been around since 1984 but did not become well known until they began posting videos of their trademark 19-minute presentations online for free.  Author Carmine Gallo is a communications expert and the author of the bestselling book, The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs.  Gallo examined over 500 TED presentations and added insights from research on persuasion and communication to generate a list of the critical aspects of highly engaging presentations. Talk Like TED offers nine key public-speaking tips utilized in some of the most well-known presentations.  The tips for giving great talks are organized into three broad categories:  Emotional (they touch the heart), Novel (they teach something new), and Memorable (they present ideas in a unique manner).  As teachers, we frequently deliver content to students in a presentation form, and this book can provide a variety of tools to use to increase student engagement and learning.  Each chapter describes a method used in the most successful TED talks including specific examples and insight from the speakers. One of the best aspects of this book was stopping periodically to watch the amazing TED talks discussed in the book!
 
EMOTIONAL
The first third of the book is devoted to the three tips in the category related to emotional factors that “touch the heart.”  In chapter one, “Unleash the Master Within,” the author discusses the importance of choosing topics to discuss in which you have personal passion and interest.  According to the author, “the first step to inspiring others is to make sure you are inspired yourself.”  An excellent example of a TED talk that exemplifies passion was given by University of Waterloo Economics professor Larry Smith titled, “Why You Will Fail to Have a Great Career.”  Smith discusses that although college students are told to pursue their passion most will not because “You’re afraid to pursue your passion.  You’re afraid to look ridiculous.  You’re afraid to try.  You’re afraid you may fail.”
https://www.ted.com/talks/larry_smith_why_you_will_fail_to_have_a_great_career
 
Neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor gave one of the most watched TED talks of all time (about 20 million views).  The talk illustrates how having a strong emotional connection with the material leads to increased audience engagement.  Bolte Taylor’s talk is compelling because it involves a personal connection and exceptional storytelling.  TEDster Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor offers advice for teachers and other presenters, and that is to tell a story and demonstrate your passion for the topic. According to Bolte Taylor, “When I was at Harvard, I was the one winning the awards.  I wasn't winning the awards because my science was better than anyone else’s.  I was winning because I could tell a story that was interesting and fascinating and it was mine, down to the detail.”
http://www.ted.com/talks/jill_bolte_taylor_s_powerful_stroke_of_insight 
 
 
Chapter two discusses how to “Master the Art of Storytelling” by illustrating how effective speakers utilize narratives to make an emotional connection with the audience.  For example, TED speaker Brene Brown famously begins her topic by defending qualitative research she conducts with the statement that “Stories are data with a soul.”  Effective storytelling engages each listener individually and allows them to become emotionally attached and to the ideas being presented.  Some of the most effective TED storytellers are discussed in this chapter including Brian Stevenson’s talk, “We Need to Talk About an Injustice” which led to the longest standing ovation in TED history (see earlier Books for Psychology Class post on his book Just Mercy).  The 1,000 attendees at Stevenson’s talk collectively donated $1 million dollars to his nonprofit, the Equal Justice Institute.  Stevenson raised $55,000 for every minute he spoke that day.  This TED talk was given without the aid of a PowerPoint, visuals, or props of any kind – a testament to the power of story. 
https://www.ted.com/talks/bryan_stevenson_we_need_to_talk_about_an_injustice
 
Another tip for an effective persuasive presentation according to the author, is to utilize Aristotle’s three components of effective persuasion ethos, logos, and pathos in the most effective ratio. Ethos refers to the credibility and credentials of the speaker, logos is the use of logic and data to make effective arguments, and pathos is the ability to appeal to the emotions of the audience.  When the author of the book analyzed the content of Brian Stevenson’s TED talk, he found it was 10 percent ethos, 25 percent logos, and 65 percent pathos or emotional appeal. Despite being 65 percent of pathos Stevenson’s talk has been rated as one of the most persuasive of all time. One of the ways the book recommends inserting pathos or emotional appeal is by including extreme moments. Dan Ariely, a psychologist and behavioral economist at Duke, introduces his talk on how research shows that people are predictably irrational with a dramatic personal story of his recovery from an injury that left him burned over 70 percent of his body.  Ariely’s talk is an excellent addition to the research unit for illustrating the need to test beliefs that are held intuitively through careful research methods. 
https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_ariely_on_our_buggy_moral_code/transcript?language=en#t-102037
 
In chapter three, the author describes how effective TED presenters can use body language and verbal delivery to engage with the audience in a manner that feels authentic and conversational instead of an impersonal lecture to a large group.  The four elements of verbal delivery addressed in this section are rate, volume, pitch, and the effective use of pauses for emphasis.  One of the examples of effective nonverbal communications is a 2012 TED talk by a former Army general and U.S. secretary of state Colin Powell on the importance of providing children with structure early in life.  His speech is broken down to illustrate how particular gestures corresponded with the words he used during his speech. 
 
Another amazing TED talk that powerfully uses gestures to strengthen an argument was given by Ernesto Sirolli titled, “Want to help someone?  Shut up and listen!” is also broken down to highlight the expert use of gestures.  Sirolli’s talk discusses how his failure to listen led to failure for his NGO project designed to help increase food production in rural Zambia.  The project involved teaching people living in southern Zambia to grow Italian tomatoes and other vegetables.  Because the local population was uninterested, the NGO paid them to grow the vegetables.  Sirolli and his team were surprised that agriculture was not being used in this fertile region with excellent weather and soil.  According to Sirolli, instead of asking the people living there why they did not grow crops, they said, "Thank God we're here." Just in the nick of time to save the Zambian people from starvation." The result was that everything grew extremely well and we were telling the Zambians, "Look how easy agriculture is." When the tomatoes were nice and ripe and red, overnight, some 200 hippos came out from the river, and they ate everything. It was then that Sirolli asked the Zambians, “My God, the hippos!" and the Zambians said, "Yes, that's why we have no agriculture here." When Sirolli asked, “Why didn't you tell us?" the Zambians replied, "You never asked."
https://www.ted.com/talks/ernesto_sirolli_want_to_help_someone_shut_up_and_listen
 
NOVEL
The second section of the book explains three aspects that contribute to an effective presentation because it is new and unique.  Kevin Allocca, who studies YouTube trends, stated this perfectly when he pointed out that in an era when two days’ worth of video is uploaded every two minutes, it is only the truly unique and original ideas that capture the attention of the online audience. 
 
The topic of chapter four, “Teach Me Something New,” describes how the best TED talks find a way to introduce new ideas or perspectives.  The author suggests that the titles of some of the most frequently viewed TED talks promise to teach something new such as “Schools Kill Creativity” (Sir Ken Robinson), “How Great Leaders Inspire Action” (Simon Sinek), “The Surprising Science of Happiness” (Dan Gilbert), “The Power of Introverts” (Susan Cain), “8 Secrets of Success” (Richard St. John), and “How to Live Before You Die” (Steve Jobs).  Martha Burns, a professor at Northwestern, teaches how to use neuroscience to be a better educator and highlights the biology behind the “buzz” we experience when learning something in her powerful TEDx talk.  One of the best examples of teaching something novel is Hans Rosling's talk that makes statistics and correlations exciting and meaningful.  Rosling, an expert on global health, animates correlational data regarding health and wealth in a powerful demonstration.  You can view his entire talk at ted.com or view the abbreviated version titled:  200 countries, 200 years, 4minutes.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbkSRLYSojo
 
Novel presentations, according to chapter five, “Deliver Jaw-Dropping Moments,” in which presenters capture the attention and imagination of their audiences by using dramatic demonstrations or surprises.  Some of the most dramatic moments or “hooks” at TED talks have included Bill Gates releasing mosquitos and Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor who opens her talk by holding a human brain that is still attached to the spinal cord.  “Wow” moments can also come from a single shocking statistic.

• “This country is very different today than it was 40 years ago. In 1972 there were 300,000 people in jails and prisons. Today there are 2.3 million.  The United States now has the highest rate of incarceration in the world.”

Bryan Stevenson
 

• “Why are we ignoring the oceans?  If you compare NASA’s annual budget to explore the heavens, that one-year budget would fund NOAA’s budget to explore the world's oceans for 1,600 years.” 

Robert Ballard
 

• “One in a hundred regular people is a psychopath.  So there are 1,500 people in this room. Fifteen of you are psychopaths.”

Jon Ronson
 
Successful TED talks also hook new viewers by creating memorable headlines, which turn into sound bites that are often spread across social media.  TED even has a Twitter handle devoted to the catchy, memorable quotes that are likely to generate public attention (@TEDQuote). 
 

• “There’s zero correlation between being the best talker and having the best ideas.”

Susan Cain
 

• “Don’t fake it till you make it.  Fake it till you become it.”

Amy Cuddy
 

• “Numbers are the musical notes with which the symphony of the universe is written.”

Adam Spencer
 
Chapter six highlights how the ability to “Lighten Up” by using appropriate and genuine humor can increase audience engagement.  The book provides numerous tips for adding humor to presentations, including quotes, short video clips, and anecdotes.
 
MEMORABLE
The final third of the book is dedicated to various ways to make your ideas and your presentation memorable.  Chapter seven, “Stick to the 18-Minute Rule,” explains why all TED talks are limited to 18 minutes.  This key rule was established because it allows enough time for thoughtful analysis, yet short it is enough to maintain audience engagement.  Research shows that information is remembered better if it is organized into related chunks, this has led TED to recommend that presentations be centered around three main areas or points that support one large overarching idea.  This concept can be applied to classroom presentations as well by limiting direct instruction to shorter chunks broken up with time for reflection and formative practice.  The 18-minute rule forces researchers to create a focused message that maintains attention levels, and that does not create what researchers call “cognitive backlog” or the problem in which too much information prevents the successful transfer of ideas.  There are also numerous other TED rules of three such as the Three A’s of Awesome:  Attitude, Awareness, and Authenticity which were shared by award-winning blogger and author of the Book of Awesome, Neil Pasricha in a TEDx talk.  https://www.ted.com/talks/neil_pasricha_the_3_a_s_of_awesome 
Kevin Allocca, a YouTube trends manager studies why some videos go viral, and others do not.  According to Allocca, 48 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute, yet only a few will have millions of views.  In Allocca’s TED talk, he explains the three factors that contribute to the success of a video:  tastemakers, communities of participation, and unexpectedness.  Of course, there is also the three-minute TED talk titled “TED in 3 Minutes,” which has been given by individuals such as Arianna Huffington and New York Times tech columnist David Pogue.  The original three-minute talk was given by Terry Moore who showed the audience a better way to tie their shoes, which has been viewed more than 1.5 million times.  The rule of three suggests

1. Creating a Twitter-friendly headline
2. Support the headline with three key messages
3. Reinforce the three messages with stories, statistics, and examples

 
Chapter eight describes how effective speakers can “Paint a Mental Picture with Multisensory Experiences” and engage as many of the senses of audience members as possible.   For example, the best TED talks use memorable images, not excessive text on slides.  One of the major tips is for creating better more effective PowerPoint presentations by avoiding too much text and instead relying more on memorable images and other visuals.  One of the worst ways to present is PowerPoint karaoke in which the speaker reads text aloud off of the screen. The chapter includes several examples of successful TED talks that show the words being used by the presenter alongside a description of the images being displayed to audience members.  A powerful example of how words are delivered alongside dramatic images is Lisa Kristine’s TED talk about the hardships of indigenous peoples and the reality of the 27 million individuals living in modern-day slavery. https://www.ted.com/talks/lisa_kristine_glimpses_of_modern_day_slavery
 
The final tip for making your presentation memorable, “Stay in Your Lane,” is outlined in chapter nine. Staying in your lane means that your presentations need to be authentic and honest and speak from the heart.  One of the tips offered for “staying in your lane” is to practice by giving your presentation to a friend or family member first because when you have a close relationship with someone, you are more likely to show who you are. 
 
Talk Like TED is an excellent guide full of practical ideas for making your presentations, activities, and demos more engaging and effective.  The book is also an opportunity to learn about some amazing TED talks you may not have heard of before.  TED talks can be shown in class, assigned as homework to facilitate class discussions or offered as opportunities for students who want to expand their understanding of a particular area of psychology.  Another interesting way to use TED talks is to execute the demos or activities presented by a particular TED talk in class, and then after hooking students on the content, let your students know how to access the entire TED talk. Because many TED presenters are also authors, TED talks can be used to stimulate interest for students to read books related to their favorite TED talks or pursue research projects in areas related to what they watched. 
 
Other Related Resources
 
Author’s Website
Carmine Gallo’s website offers articles, videos, and links to other books.
http://gallocommunications.com/books/talk-like-ted-2/
 
The Top 20 TED Talks of All Time
http://www.ted.com/playlists/171/the_most_popular_talks_of_all?gclid=CjwKEAjwtNbABRCsqO7J0_uJxWYSJAAiVo5LuME8Z7o2-Ki6OahJAA2Liq3mJcpOAdNcrtYR4zRz0RoCKgPw_wcB
 
How to Sound Smart in Your TED Talk
Comedian Will Stephen’s take on how to give a TED talk and impress your audience.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S0FDjFBj8o
 
 
Psychological Figures and Concepts
Dan Ariely
Aristotle
Paul Bloom
Jill Bolte-Taylor
Lera Boroditsky
Susan Cain
James Flynn
Daniel Gilbert
Malcolm Gladwell
Sydney Jensen
George Miller
Daniel Pink
Hans Rosling
 
10,000 Hour Rule
Altruism
Amygdala
Analogies
Dopamine
Dual-Coding Theory
Flashbulb Memory
Flynn Effect
Genius
Hippocampus
Imagery
Introversion
Linguistic Determinism
Linguistic Relativity
Magic Number 7 Plus or Minus 2
Multitasking
Neuroplasticity
Nonverbal Communication
Persuasion
Positive Emotion
Self-Esteem
Statistics 

Buy This Book
​www.amazon.com/Animal-Madness-Inside-Their-Minds/dp/1451627017

​

The Hope Circuit: A Psychologist’s Journey from Helplessness to Optimism
Author:  Martin E.P. Seligman
ISBN-10: 1610398734
ISBN-13: 978-1610398732

APA Style Citation
Seligman, M. (2018). The hope circuit: A psychologist’s journey from helplessness to optimism. New York, NY: Public Affairs.
 
Buy This Book
https://www.amazon.com/Hope-Circuit-Psychologists-Helplessness-Optimism/dp/1610398734
​

Book Description
The Hope Circuit is the personal story of Martin Seligman.  Seligman used his position at the APA to transform American psychology from focusing on weakness to looking at strengths. Rather than being driven by the past he created a new psychology of hope based on the future.  The field is now known as Positive Psychology.
 
Beginning
Seligman was born to Jewish parents and strongly identified as Jewish.  As a young boy he was intelligent and well-liked by teachers.  Even though Marty had top grades, he was denied a promotion due to anti-Semitic sentiments.  Eventually, this also led to his rejection to Harvard. Seligman ultimately attended Princeton. He started taking philosophy classes, but got caught up in the rigor (internal validity) versus reality (external validity) debate. The summer before his senior year, he completed his first lab work in psychology studying the effects of electric shock as punishment. The rat study led to his first publication in a top journal. Soon after he was granted a fellowship to study experimental psychology and a fellowship to study analytic philosophy. He was at a crossroads and needed to decide whether he wanted to be a psychologist or a philosopher.

He was a natural psychologist and decided to start down the road of psychology.  It was during a meeting at University of Pennsylvania that Dick Soloman said, “I think the dogs in my lab are helpless, and I don’t know why.”  This statement stuck with Marty for years and presented one of the first of many paths in his career.  From 1964-67, Seligman did research on learned helplessness. He published helplessness (outlining his cognitive theory) with limited criticisms. However, learning theorists, fearing the cognitive storm, quickly went on the defense especially with animals. His research involved shocking dogs, which was called into question due to ethical concerns. After the experiment the dogs were taken to a park and set free. Marty does not know their fate, but thinks of them often. After finishing the PhD program, Marty took a job as assistant professor of psychology at Cornell University. His assertive personality kept him distant from others and he was not always well-liked. Despite his negativity, he was ambitious and surrounded by devoted students and followers. In 1967, he was introduced to psychiatry by Joe Wolpe who took him under his wing and gave him first look at mental illness. It was then that Seligman drifted from a learning psychologist to a clinical psychologist.
 
Becoming 
Seligman continued teaching at Cornell and his passion for psychology came across in his teaching. After reading an article by John Garcia he opened a new career path once again. Marty shared his “sauce béarnaise” taste aversion story with his students and it became one of the “most publicized meals since the Last Supper.” Seligman became known for his work on learned helplessness and biological constraints.  He extended his work to evolutionary preparedness for phobias and OCD.   At this point in his life, he paid little attention to his personal life, was seen as self-obsessed, and classified himself as anxious and depressed.  Meanwhile, learned helplessness was being replicated in rats, mice, goldfish, cats, and cockroaches based in part on the work Seligman had done with dogs.

Marty’s life took a turn when he received the Guggenheim Fellowship and became visiting professor at the Institute of Psychiatry of the Maudsley and Bethlem Hospitals, run by Hans Eysenck. He met Suzanne, a PhD student, and fell in love. Soon after he left his wife and two children for Suzanne. It was also at this time that his first trade book, Helplessness, was published. When questioned publicly about his research he invited the critic to collaborate. Together, with his research group, they worked to define the “depressive attributional style” for internal, stable, global bad events. This new style was called “pessimism” and hypothesized as a risk factor for depression. In 1980, his relationship with Suzanne ended and Marty was a 38-year-old bachelor with major depression. Seligman reinvested himself into college life. He and a friend formed “Chicken Dinner Club” where twelve of the liveliest faculty from all disciplines were invited to dinner once a month. He wanted to create an environment similar to the one he experienced in college; an intellectual environment filled with faculty and students. Then, he became director of his department and could no longer straddle the natural and social sciences or basic and applied science. He believed scientific psychology was meaningful only if it applied to human problems and he became the advocate of applied psychology. His research took new turns into the world of business and predicting sports.  He also explored the connection between cancer and helplessness.
 
Being
Seligman bought a large house and hoped to one day make it a home. Mandy, a new graduate student, caught Marty’s attention. Despite being 17 years older, once divorced, and not ideal marriage material, he asked her to marry him. They were married one year later. She was the love of his life and mother to five of his children. She made the house a home. At the age of 46, he changed his life and spent more time with his wife and thought about the good in life.

In 1990, Seligman’s publishing career took hold. He wrote Learned Optimism and presented evidence-based exercises to raise optimism and decrease depression. Next, he wrote Optimistic Child to help teach optimism in middle school and lower the risk for depression and anxiety. Then he wrote a book that changed his life. He wrote the book What You Can Change and What You Can’t. It was a guide to major disorders and major treatments. At the time, evaluation of psychotherapy was unclear. It was concluded that the effectiveness studies were a decent guide and efficacy studies were not. Marty was seen as a traitor by his academic colleagues, but a hero with therapists.

Building on his support from therapists, Marty ran for president of the American Psychological Association (APA) and won. He used this new position to lead the charge for positive psychology. Together with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Marty spent his 1998 New Year’s vacation inventing positive psychology. They created a name, secured funding, and worked to find leaders in the field. Positive psychology launched at the end of 1999. From there, the research led into writing a DSM of good character and virtue.  At this point, Seligman was 60 years old and flourishing. His life was filled with love, work, and play.  By 2001, there was a Positive Psychology Center and a master’s degree of applied positive psychology (MAPP) by 2005. The Authentic Happiness website was created and five elements (PERMA) of positive psychology were identified.

Seligman started positive education; prevention being better than therapy. The first Penn Prevention Program for children began.  He began to train teachers and measure how well it worked. His work had a giant boost from Angela Duckworth (who joined Penn as a grad student in 2002). She wanted to explore how self-discipline compared with IQ in predicting success. Seligman would go on to create a positive education program in Australia. The program was taught to teachers first and had a huge effect of providing rejuvenation for teachers. The prevention program was then extended to the UK, Bhutan, Mexico, and Peru.
Seligman’s story took a turn with his work for the government. In 2002, he was asked by the CIA how the research on learned helplessness could help captured Americans resist and evade torture and interrogation. He was never asked about using his research with detainees.  He was also invited to the Pentagon to address mental illness that plagued the army. He decided to teach and measure resiliency and positive psychology for the army. Seligman helped create a 120-item Global Assessment Tool (GAT) and pilot a program to teach signature strengths, build strong relationships, and use effective praise. Penn received a $31 million contract to train U.S. Army personnel in resilience and positive psychology. While this caught a lot of criticism, it was a sole-sourced no-bid contract because no other entities besides Penn could compete for the contract. More recently Marty’s work has turned to protective factors against physical illness. Studies have shown optimism mattered above all factors in preventing heart disease.  Prospection, the mental activity of envisioning future scenarios about our lives, is an important factor.  Thanks to the U.S. Army consolidating personnel and medical records he has the data for longitudinal studies. That coupled with data from Twitter has found that changing what you think and what you say, might be the royal road to physical health.  Marty is looking to the future rather than the past. Philosophy may once again join with psychology. He is exploring prospection, creativity, and consciousness.

Seligman’s original learned helplessness research has been turned upside down. His collaborator, Steve Maier, was retrained as a neuroscientist and studied brain circuits in rats. Steve showed that being helpless was a natural, unlearned, default response to prolonged shock. He found that it was not helplessness, but control and mastery that were learned.  The hope is that we can learn- and teach- that future bad events can be controlled, and this will help buffer against helplessness and anxiety. The story of the hope circuit comes amidst a foggy, painful state. Seligman’s friend Jack Templeton died and the night before the funeral Marty had significant pain from a cyst on his spine. He woke from a deep sleep, and knew that the circuit Steve found was the hope circuit. He was able to attend Jack’s funeral that day. When he was asked to give the eulogy, he added “I want to tell Jack what happened to me this morning. Jack and I talked often about a science of hope and its relation to faith. Between science and religion one can grasp everything. Jack wanted there to be a hope circuit in the brain and I can tell him now that there is.” He delivered the eulogy and went home to bed for days.

​In Seligman’s lifetime, psychology has shifted away from behaviorism and turned more seriously toward cognition, evolution, and the brain. In addition, attention has shifted from weaknesses and focusing on one’s past to strengths and the possibilities of the future.   As president of the APA he led the charge to change psychology.  Marty has transformed from a learning psychologist to a clinical psychologist and now a positive psychologist. His personal life has gained fulfillment. He is no longer a pessimist and skeptic. His personal and professional story is one of change and for the better.
 
Other Related Resources
Learned Helplessness Article
https://ppc.sas.upenn.edu/sites/default/files/learnedhelplessness.pdf
 
APA- Old Problem, New Tools
https://www.apa.org/monitor/2009/10/helplessness
 
What is Learned Helplessness?
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325355.php#in-children
 
Learned Helplessness Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFmFOmprTt0
 
TED Talk: Martin Seligman- The New Era of Positive Psychology
https://www.ted.com/talks/martin_seligman_the_new_era_of_positive_psychology/transcript?language=en    
 
Psychological Concepts and Figures
Gordon Allport
Albert Bandura
Aaron (Tim) Beck
Mary Whiton Calkins
Noam Chomsky
Mihaly (Mike) Csikszentmihalyi
Charles Darwin
Angela Duckworth
Little Hans
Erik Erikson
Hans Eysenck
Sigmund Freud
John Garcia
William James
Carl Jung
Richard Lazarus
Elizabeth (Beth) Loftus
Abraham (Abe) Maslow
Walter Mischel
Ivan Pavlov
Jean Piaget
Robert (Bob) Rescorla
Dave Rosenhan
Julian Rotter
BF (Fred) Skinner
Edward L. Thorndike
Edwin Twitmyer
Margaret Washburn
John B. Watson
Joe Wolpe
Wilhelm Wundt
 
Amygdala
Anxiety
APA
Appraisal theory
Archetypes
Attachment
Availability error
Avoidance learning
Basic vs. applied psychology
Biological constraints and preparedness
Brain circuitry
Catastrophic thought
Clinical psychology
Cognitive therapy
Cohort effect
Confounding characteristics
Consciousness
Coping
Creativity
Cross-sectional vs. longitudinal
Demand characteristics
Depression
Depressive attributional style (pessimism)
Determinism
DSM and UnDSM
Duchenne smiles
Eating disorders
Eclectic therapy
Efficacy vs. effectiveness research
Ethics
Evidence-based therapy
External vs. internal validity
Fight or flight
Flow
Free will
Generativity
Heritability
Heuristics
Hope circuit
Introspection
Law of effect
Learned helplessness
Learned optimism
Locus of control
Memory
Natural selection
OCD
PERMA
Phobias
Placebo
Positive psychology
Posttraumatic growth
Psychiatry
Psychotherapy
Puzzle box
Random assignment
Reflexes
Resilience
Self-discipline
Self-efficacy
Serotonin
Skepticism
Taste aversions
Thorazine
VIA Signature Strengths Test
Well-being

Deviate:  The Science of Seeing Differently
Author:  Beau Lotto
ISBN:  978-1-474-60033-7
 
APA Style Citation
Lotto, B (2017).  Deviate:  The science of seeing differently.  London:  Weidenfeld & Nicolson, Orion Publishing Group Ltd.
 
Buy this Book 
https://www.amazon.com/Deviate-Science-Differently-Beau-Lotto/dp/1478909161
​

​Book Description
We often think of perception as the sum of our sensory inputs, but Beau Lotto turns that on its head and suggests that what you view as reality is, in fact, based in large part on prior expectations of what you see, hear, touch taste and smell.  In Deviate, Lotto sets out to help us understand how our brain processes new information and makes meaning of it.  Lotto’s research into neuroscience allows him to utilize his 25 years of research experience, much comes from the Lab of Misfits, which he founded at the Science Museum of London to explore, “how we see and why we see what we do.”  Lotto indicates that the word Deviate has many negative connotation, but in fact, he proposes that nothing new ever occurs without active doubt.  Lotto purports that deviance is a positive way of looking at the world through a different perspective, which can lead to a broader understanding of reality.  
 
Lotto points to the famous dress incident that was an internet sensation a few years back.  While some were convinced that the dress was blue and black, others were convinced that it was white and gold.  Everyone saw the same dress, but came away with different perceptions.  More recently, the “Laurel/Yanny” phenomenon caused the same uproar, but for auditory rather than visual perception.  We often believe that our truth is the same as others.  As Plato illustrates in the Allegory of the Cave, we may never know the truth unless we can perceive something from all perspectives, which is impossible because of our prior experiences with the world.  Our reality is highly subjective; Lotto makes the analogy to driving in a mobile home and taking in information through our senses by looking out the windows.  We can move the mobile home to get a better view, but we will never experience the whole of something without stepping outside of the mobile home.  
 
Similarly, our experiences no matter how extensive, will never give us a full view of the world so, in order to make sense of our daily experiences, we must rely not just on our senses, but also on our prior knowledge. Without this mechanism, our world would be chaos because our mind could not keep up with the onslaught of incoming information. If you are reading subtitles as you watch a movie, and run across the word f*%@ing, you have a pretty good idea that something vulgar has been said, even though most of the word is made up of symbols.  Letters only take on meaning based on our prior learning and use of combining letters into words and words into meaningful units.  
 
 
 
Russians perceive red with greater discrimination than English speakers because the word choices in the Russian language are more nuanced in this area.  Similarly, many English speakers cannot roll a Spanish r and do not hear the difference because they have not encountered these sounds before.  We now know that Western societies differ in their eye movements from those from Eastern societies.  Asians extract visual information more holistically, while Westerners view objects more analytically.  Lotto argues that, “context is everything” and indicates that we must learn not what to see but rather how to look in order to gain a more complete understanding of the world in which we live.  Our prior experiences can also change our internal biological mechanisms. This was demonstrated by a famous study conducted by Rosenzweig in which rats were placed into either an enriched or deprived environment for ten weeks.  At the conclusion of the study, those in an enriched environment had a thicker cerebral cortex, while those in the deprived environment had a thinner cerebral cortex with fewer neural connections.  These types of life experiences have unfortunately been found in humans from Romanian orphanages and cases of severe neglect often with similar results.  In some cases, when removed from these environments, the children caught up to normal developmental landmarks but their memory, inhibition, and visualization still lacked behind others.  
 
Our brains allow us to imagine the world and its possibilities as we experience it like no one else. We can create new perceptions by creating stories as children often do.  These can seem realistic and add to our future interpretations of the world.  We sometimes misperceive the world, perhaps imagining motion where none exists, such as in the phi phenomenon or the autokinetic effect.  Because of our cognitive biases, Lotto argues that we do not have access to reality but we can use this lack of reality to unleash creativity and see the world in new and different ways that will continue to allow for new inventions and thinking unbounded by expectations.  Travel opens our minds to new realities, and if one cannot travel, they can travel in their mind, which can achieve similar results.  Lotto uses the example of the backward brain bicycle (see resources) to demonstrate how we can learn to change our brain with continual practice.  We can look for reasons that do not support our existing schemas but rather, challenge what we think we know.  We can question others and ask why we should believe what we think we know instead of giving into the confirmation bias.  Lotto refers to this as courageous intervention.  This courageous intervention is what Lotto means when he encourages us to Deviate.
 
 
Psychological Figures and Concepts 
Charles Darwin
Rene Descartes
John Gottman
Carl Jung
Plato
 
Additive color mixing
Auditory cortex
Autokinetic effect
Cerebral cortex
Cerebral hemispheres
Cognitive maps        
Cognitive rehearsal
Cognitive scientists
Confirmation bias
Conformity
Conscientiousness
Creativity
Delusion
Dopamine
Empiricism
Epigenetics
Evolution
fMRI
Grey matter
Habituation
Illusion
Mindfulness
Neurons
Neurogenetics
Neural networks
Neuroscience
Random sampling
Rubber hand illusion
Perceptual neuroscience
Phenotype
Phi phenomenon
Priming
Sensory receptors
Tabula rsa
Thalamus
Trial and eror
Visual cliff
Visual cortex
Wavelengths
 
Other Related Resources:
Talks at Google:  Beau Lotto “Deviate”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQUgGg9XzbQ
 
Lab of Misfits
https://www.labofmisfits.com/our-team
 
Deviate:  The Science of Seeing Things Differently
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZc0oWjA3Ho
 
Big Think
https://bigthink.com/u/beau-lotto
 
The Washington Post:  Why our Grasp of Reality is Fragile
https://www.washingtonpost.com
 
Apple Podcasts:  The Science of Seeing Differently
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-38-beau-lotto-deviate-the-science-of-seeing-differently/id1011637188?i=1000385502985
 
Quartz:  A neuroscientist explains why we can’t see the world objectively
https://qz.com/973116/a-neuroscientist-explains-why-we-evolved-to-be-curious/
 
Backward Brain Bicycle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFzDaBzBlL0