‘Applying Psychology’ at Psychology, Philosophy and Real Life, Page 9

A study at the University of Bonn shows that when the boss keeps breathing down your neck, your motivation plummets. The psychology of trust and the psychology of working under explicit performance targets turn out to be such that managers who ‘trust’ induce, on average, a higher performance and hence earn higher economic payoffs than those who ‘control’.

Trying to lose weight, be less nervous when speaking publicly or improve in some other way? One strategy that can help is to switch your point of view from the first-person to a third-person perspective when reviewing your progress, according to a series of studies conducted at Cornell University.

What relevance do therapy or counselling or psychology have to the way we understand the broader world around us and our place in it? (Originally published October 2004.)

In case you thought there was little to separate the two leading candidates for the Presidency of the United States, just consider them in terms of psychology of leadership: the two are as different as night and day. (Originally published October 2004.)

Reactions to the publication of photos showing Iraqi prisoners being abused by coalition soldiers can be viewed from the perspective of national self concept — and of a missed opportunity to reflect on what it means to be human. A companion article on Human Behaviour in Experiments and the Iraq Prison Photos explores common features of human behaviour in prison-type environments. (Originally published September 2004.)