Psychology Archives

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.

To Mobilize an Idea, Appeal to Self-Interest

What is the key to getting people to onboard with an idea? How do communicate an idea in such a way that gets people to not only listen to it, but act on it? If you want people to hear your idea and act on it, show them how they will benefit. Ultimately, you can use this appeal to self-interest to get them to care about something else. Continue reading to learn how to make your message stick with an appeal to self-interest.

Nassim Taleb: Rare Events Are Not That Rare

Can you think of a rare event—that happened either in history or in your personal life? Looking back, how likely is it to it happen again? More generally, do you think people under- or overestimate the likelihood of rare events? Rare events happen infrequently enough that we sometimes are lulled into believing they’re rarer than they actually are so that when they do happen, we are more surprised than we should be. According to Nassim Taleb, the author of Fooled by Randomness, people tend underestimate the likelihood of rare events for these reasons: 1) we don’t properly interpret the past,

Learning Comprehension: Understand, Don’t Memorize

What exactly is learning comprehension? What role does comprehension play in learning? Is there anything you can do to comprehend and absorb new knowledge faster and more effectively? In the context of learning, comprehension refers to gaining a deep understanding of the underlying principles in order to understand how they apply to different situations. There are two steps to improving your comprehension of the learning material: 1) rule learning and 2) structure building. Learn more about how you can put them to use to help you learn and study more effectively.

Religion and Mental Illness: Are They Connected?

What is the relationship between religion and mental illness? Is a belief in God a sign of psychopathology? Psychiatrist M. Scott Peck explores the connection between religion and mental illness in his book The Road Less Traveled. Examining the stories of two different women—one a theist and the other an atheist—Peck determines that dogmatism, rather than particular beliefs, is a more likely cause of psychopathology. Read more to learn about the connection between religion and mental illness.