The World's Best Book Summaries
How does confirmation bias skew your judgment? Why is it important to seek the opposing viewpoint when making important decisions? In decision-making, confirmation bias leads us to overlook crucial information about our options. One way to resist your confirmation bias is to hunt for information that contradicts your existing beliefs. Here’s how seeking out opposing views can help you override confirmation bias and make better decisions.
How did Rupi Kaur’s experience of sexual abuse shape her poetry? What do Kaur’s poems express about trauma? In one of her bestselling books of poetry, The Sun and Her Flowers, Rupi Kaur gives readers a raw, painful glimpse into her experience with sexual abuse. Her writing reveals three different perspectives on this traumatic experience. Read on for an explanation of the three perspectives on Rupi Kaur’s sexual abuse.
Are you responsible for your own feelings? What is the scientific explanation of biology and emotions? Neuroscientist and psychologist Lisa Feldman Barrett created the new “theory of constructed emotions” after an in-depth examination of past psychological experiments. Barrett’s findings reveal that you are responsible for your own feelings because emotions are not innate—they’re constructed by you. Read on to learn why you are responsible for your own feelings, according to Barrett’s theory of emotions.
What is confirmation bias? How does confirmation bias skew your decision-making? Confirmation bias is the psychological term for our tendency to search for and favor information that underscores our existing beliefs. In decision-making, confirmation bias causes us to ignore information that supports our non-preferred options, even if those options are better. Here are some strategies for overcoming the pull of confirmation bias in decision-making.
What does psychological research say about innate emotions? Why are innate emotions now considered to be an outdated concept? Where do your emotions actually come from? In her book, How Emotions Are Made, Lisa Feldman Barrett analyzes and critiques outdated concepts of human emotions, developing a new theory based on neuroscience and her background in psychology. Barrett’s research shows that innate emotions are an outdated illusion of past experiments. Read on to learn why innate emotions don’t exist and where emotions actually come from, according to Barrett.
Do your perfectionist tendencies cause you to procrastinate? How does perfectionism prevent you from getting things done? Sometimes we procrastinate because we’re worried about what can go wrong with a task or project. This happens especially when we demand perfection from ourselves. But perfectionism only exacerbates procrastination by making you more stressed. Here’s how perfectionism drives procrastination and what to do about it.
Does everyone have trauma from childhood? How can suppressed emotions from your childhood affect your adult relationships? The source of your suffering may lie hidden in your unconscious, where traumas from your past—and your family’s past—are stopping you from being truly happy and free. Childhood trauma can reverberate throughout your entire life, preventing you from forming healthy relationships in adulthood. Surviving childhood trauma is a lifelong journey, but some deep traumas may never heal fully. Keep reading to learn about the roots of childhood trauma, how it manifests itself in adulthood, and the steps you can take towards healing.
Want to learn how to be more optimistic? How can you become an optimist if you’re naturally pessimistic? In Martin Seligman’s book, Learned Optimism, Seligman explains how you don’t have to live your life being pessimistic just because you weren’t conditioned to be an optimist. Seligman believes anyone can learn optimism by cultivating a balanced mindset. Read on to learn Seligman’s advice for how to be more optimistic, including a short exercise at the end.
What does emotional development mean in early childhood? Why is emotional development so important for children, according to psychology? Lisa Feldman Barrett’s book, How Emotions Are Made, explains a new theory of emotions, according to Barrett’s background in neuroscience and psychology. Barrett’s new theory of constructed emotions impacts the meaning and importance of emotional development for young children. Read on to find out the meaning of emotional development in early childhood, according to Barrett’s new theory.
Do you base your decisions on emotions or facts? Why is objectivity important in decision-making? When we make decisions, we’re prone to confirmation bias—seeking information that confirms our existing beliefs and biases. This prevents us from making credible predictions by distorting how we interpret information, leading to suboptimal decisions. Here are two simple rules for objective decision-making.