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The science of introverts and the workplace
The Washington Post: In the years since Susan Cain published “Quiet,” several other bestselling business authors have joined her effort to weed from that genre the “extrovert ideal”—the bold, outspoken personality type that many self-help books idolize. That ideal, Cain says, took root in organizations in the 20th century and has since hurt the way we identify leaders, award promotions and even structure our meetings. Cain spoke with Lillian Cunningham, editor of the Post’s On Leadership section, about what it would look like to cultivate the assets that introverts bring to the workplace. ...
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Older Workers Should Think Young
The Wall Street Journal: At age 42, Shona Sabnis is one of the "older" workers in the New York office of public-relations firm Edelman. Though she prides herself on being able to get along with most people, she is sometimes puzzled by the actions of her 20-something co-workers who, in turn, don't understand why the senior vice president of public affairs likes to distribute physical newspaper clippings. While dealing with a situation at the office, Ms. Sabnis was told by a junior co-worker that she should be handling her client differently. It wasn't phrased as a suggestion, which surprised her since she knew the co-worker wasn't that familiar with the account.
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Poker pros’ arms betray their hands
ScienceNews: No bluff: In high-stakes matches, a poker face may not be good enough. Players may have to develop “poker arms” as well. When shown two-second video clips of the arms and hands of top players making bets in the World Series of Poker, college students did well at judging who was playing a strong hand and who wasn’t, say psychology graduate student Michael Slepian of Tufts University in Medford, Mass., and his colleagues. But when viewing videos of only poker pros’ upper bodies or faces during bets, students couldn’t correctly predict whether players held good or bad cards, the researchers report Sept. 12 in Psychological Science. Read the whole story: ScienceNews
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Testosterone Promotes Reciprocity in the Absence of Competition
Boosting testosterone can promote generosity, but only when there is no threat of competition, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The findings show that testosterone is implicated in behaviors that help to foster and maintain social relationships, indicating that its effects are more nuanced than previously thought. “Testosterone may mediate competitive and potentially antisocial behavior when social challenges or threats need to be confronted and handled,” explains lead researcher Maarten Boksem of Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) in the Netherlands.
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Qui sont les sadiques ordinaires? (Who are the everyday sadists?)
Le Figaro: Oui, les sadiques sont bien parmi nous! Une étude menée par les Dr Delroy Paulhus et Erin Buckels, professeurs et chercheurs en psychologie à l'université de Colombie britannique (Canada), a permis d'établir que certainsindividus apparemment adaptés en société étaient animés de pulsions sadiques. Sans être des serial killers ou des déviants sexuels, ces individus se délectent davantage que d'autres lorsqu'ils font souffrir quelqu'un. On peut alors parler là d'un «sadisme ordinaire» du type de celui qui, par pur plaisir, pousse certains ados à harceler une victime sur Internet ou des employés de bureau à se moquer quotidiennement d'un collègue timide.
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Gratitude Is About the Future, Not the Past
The Huffington Post: When life's got you down, gratitude can seem like a chore. Sure, you'll go through the motions and say the right things -- you'll thank people for help they've provided or try to muster a sense of thanks that things aren't worse. But you might not truly feel grateful in your heart. It can be like saying "I'm happy for you" to someone who just got the job you wanted. The words and the feelings often don't match. This disconnect is unfortunate, though. It comes from a somewhat misguided view that gratitude is all about looking backward -- back to what has already been. But in reality, that's not how gratitude truly works.
