Psychology Archives

Cognitive Shortcuts: The Dangers of Speed Thinking

What are cognitive shortcuts? What role do they play in survival? What are the dangers inherent in shortcut thinking? Our brains have developed shortcuts of thinking that allow us to react quickly and decisively to threats. Unfortunately, these shortcuts often lead us to believe many things without fully thinking them through. As a result, our views of the world are often based on misunderstandings and biases we unwittingly hold. We’ll consider a few of these misunderstandings and biases below.

Embrace Grace: How to Be Open Without Seeking

How do you embrace grace? What happens when you do? Psychiatrist M. Scott Peck, in his book The Road Less Traveled, explains that it is important to embrace grace along the path of your spiritual evolution. Grace isn’t something you can search for, but it’s something you should prepare yourself to receive. When it arrives, it brings meaning to every part of your life. Keep reading to learn how to embrace grace.

When Love Is Real: 6 Signs of Genuine Love

When love is real, how do you know? What is it like? Often we throw around the word “love” too easily. Sometimes we use it with all seriousness—yet our definition is seriously wrong. It’s important to know what genuine love is, as it is a huge aspect of life. Keep reading to learn how to know when love is real.

The 3 Barriers to Spiritual Evolution: Overcome Them

What gets in the way of spiritual evolution? How can you overcome these obstacles? According to psychiatrist M. Scott Peck, the purpose of life is spiritual evolution. In The Road Less Traveled, he identifies three forces that get in the way: laziness, evil, and the suffering of awareness. An understanding of these obstacles can help you overcome them. Keep reading to learn about these roadblocks to spiritual evolution.

Reproducibility Project: Decision-Making Under Risk

What is the Reproducibility Project? How does it illustrate decision-making under risk? We don’t always think in terms of risk, and maybe that’s why we’re prone to making irrational decisions. But what if we worked on keeping risk at the forefront of our minds? That’s what Thinking in Bets is all about. Author Annie Duke uses the Reproducibility Project as an example of decision-making under risk, showing how thinking in bets can produce more effective decisions. Keep reading to learn about decision-making under risk.

Make It Stick: Book Overview & Key Takeaways

What is the book Make It Stick about? How can applying the book’s lessons help become more effective at learning? In their book Make It Stick, co-authors Henry L. Roediger III, Mark A. McDaniel, and Peter C. Brown teach you the strategies that help you achieve the two primary goals of learning: to understand and remember what you learn so you can use your knowledge in future situations. Drawing from a vast number of research studies, they discuss the most effective learning strategies and caution against learning techniques that turn out to be counterproductive. Read all about the key concepts

How to Get Rid of Negative Thoughts Spiritually

Do you want to know how to get rid of negative thoughts spiritually? What advice can help Christians handle negative thinking? Many of us are consumed with negative thoughts, and we’ve bought into the lie that we can’t control them. We live as victims of toxic thinking, trapped in depression and defeat. In her book Get Out of Your Head, Jennie Allen argues that this is the spiritual war of our generation, a battle between you and the enemy of your mind (and soul). Keep reading to find out how to get rid of negative thoughts spiritually.

Emotional Marketing: Why It’s So Effective

What is emotional marketing? How does it work? What types of emotions should you target? Emotional marketing involves appealing to the emotions of customers, specifically targeting strong feelings like anger, anxiety, awe, amusement, and excitement. Triggering these strong emotions will make people want to talk about your product and will therefore increase sales. Learn how emotional marketing works below.

The Two Types of Motivation: Type X vs. Type I

What are the two types of motivation? Which type of motivation is more sustainable? In psychology, motivation is primarily categorized into two types: extrinsic and intrinsic. Intrinsic motivation is a natural, internal drive to engage in an activity, whereas extrinsic motivation is driven by external factors (e.g. financial rewards). While extrinsic rewards can motivate behavior in the short term, intrinsic motivation is more sustainable in the long term. In this article, we’ll look at the psychology behind intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and why intrinsic rewards are more sustainable in the long run.

Sympathetic Joy: Happiness Is Contagious

What is sympathetic joy? How do you master sympathetic joy meditation? Sympathetic joy is the practice of deriving satisfaction from untainted happiness for other people. This applies to loved ones, strangers, and even enemies. You can master sympathetic joy meditation by picturing others, and imagining something good happening to them that will bring them happiness. Read on to learn how to master sympathetic joy meditation.