Psychology Archives

Cognitive Bias in Negotiation: Use It Strategically

What role does cognitive bias play in negotiation? What biases have the greatest impact on your and your counterpart’s decision-making? In negotiation, cognitive bias plays a crucial role in how we receive information and determine our best interests. And as a skilled negotiator, you can take advantage of universal human cognitive biases to frame your position in a way that makes it optimally attractive to your counterpart. In this article, we’ll discuss how to use two cognitive biases (the framing effect and the loss aversion bias) to steer a negotiation in your desired direction.

Why Do We Feel Shame & How Can We Overcome It?

Why do we feel shame? What are some healthy methods of handling shame and how can Brené Brown’s advice help? In her TED Talk The Power of Vulneraility, Brené Brown discusses what causes shame, how shame develops from childhood, and provides five methods for handling shame. Only when you overcome shame can you start to embrace wholehearted living. Continue reading for Brené Brown’s discussion about shame.

Napoleon Hill: How to Outwit the Six Ghosts of Fear

How do you learn how to outwit the six ghosts of fear? What are the 6 basic fears in Think and Grow Rich? You can learn how to outwit the six ghosts of fear by recognizing fear as a state of mind and replacing your fears with positive alternate thinking. The six basic fears are poverty, criticism, poor health, loss of a loved one, old age, and death. You will overcome fear when you conquer each of these ghosts. Read on to learn how to outwit the six ghosts of fear.

Committed Sex: It Doesn’t Have to Be Boring

Are commitment and desire mutually exclusive? Do you think it’s possible to maintain sexual desire in a lifelong relationship? Many couples therapists think that it’s normal for desire to fade and that lust is immature or based on fear of commitment. But according to psychotherapist Esther Perel, you can have both commitment and desire in the same relationship, they just may not always take place at the same time. Here is what Esther Perel has to say about committed sex.

3 Myths About Vulnerability and Emotional Armor

What are the three most common myths about vulnerability? What is emotional armor and why is it a barrier to wholehearted living? In Brené Brown’s TED Talk, The Power of Vulnerability, she discusses the three myths around vulnerability: that vulnerability is weakness, that shame can be handled in private, and that vulnerability is not necessary to build trust. In order to avoid being vulnerable, many will cloak themselves in emotional armor, which prevents them from living wholeheartedly. Continue reading for more information about the vulnerability myths and emotional armor.

Sex and Intimacy: How to Have the Best of Both Worlds

Are sex and intimacy mutually exclusive? In what way do they contradict each other? Is there a way to bridge the gap? Sex and emotional intimacy may seem at odds with each other but they don’t have to be. According to couples therapist Esther Perel, you can have the best of both worlds—passionate sex and emotional intimacy. In this article, we’ll discuss the clash between sex and intimacy and how to balance the two.

Never Split the Difference: Book Review (Chris Voss)

Is Never Split the Difference worth reading? What is the main factor, according to its author Chris Voss, that drives decision-making in a negotiation? Chris Voss’s 2016 book Never Split the Difference (with co-writing assistance from Tahl Raz) was seen as an important contribution to the literature of negotiation theory and strategy. Voss’s main thesis is that good negotiation happens on the emotional level of the brain, not the rational level. This Never Split the Difference book review takes a look at the book’s inspiration and background, intellectual context, and its key strengths and weaknesses.

The Best Negotiation Questions in an Interrogation

What questions should you ask in a negotiation to get the information you need from your counterpart? Should you ask “why” questions? According to Chriss Voss, a former FBI hostage negotiator, the best questions to ask your counterpart during negotiation are open-ended “how” or “what” questions. Unlike the accusatory “why” questions, these questions lead them along to the conclusion that you want them to reach—all the while convincing them that your desired solution is their idea. Keep reading to learn about the power of open-ended negotiation questions, why they work, and how to use them to your advantage.

Social Media’s Impact on Mental Health & Development

What is social media’s impact on mental health? In what ways is social media delaying the emotional development of children? In their book, The Coddling of the American Mind, Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff explore how social media is delaying the emotional development of young people and causing depression, anxiety, and self-harm. This is due to the fact that prolonged time spent on these apps is transforming the digital world into the “real” world. Keep reading to learn about social media’s impact on mental health.

How Visualizing Your Goals Can Turn Against You

Do you believe that visualizing your dreams can help you make them a reality? What if it has the opposite effect? You might have heard self-help gurus talk about the power of visualizing your goals. While visualizing the desired final outcome of your efforts could be helpful in keeping your goals top of mind, too much visualization can actually have the opposite effect. Here is why goal visualization can sometimes be a double-edged sword.