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An Expert Take on Performing Under Pressure
The Wall Street Journal: University of Chicago psychology professor Sian Beilock has spent years investigating how people perform under pressure—and how they can avoid the dreaded choke. The research has proved useful in her own life. For example, to boost her concentration, she might take a walk outside before a big meeting. And if she experiences the beating heart and sweaty palms of anxiety before a speech, she talks herself into thinking they’re signs that she’s excited and ready to go—not that she’s about to flop. “I’ve started practicing a lot of what I preach,” she says. Read the whole story: The Wall Street Journal
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Comfort food doesn’t have to be a guilty pleasure
The Washington Post: Food is supposed to make us feel good — content, fulfilled, connected. It’s meant to comfort us physically by easing hunger and bringing satisfaction, and emotionally by bonding us to others as we share in the experience of a meal. It works that way from the start, when as babies we fill our bellies blissfully in the arms of a nurturing caregiver. There is no guilt involved then. But somewhere along the road to adulthood, the notion of comfort food takes a wrong turn — it becomes something we crave, even obsess over, but ultimately feel bad about eating. It comes with a moral judgment — often described as “sinful.” We are being “good” when we avoid it.
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As New Year’s resolutions begin to fade away, what are the best ways to ensure new habits stick?
St. Louis Public Radio: Another January 1 has come and gone. Now we’ve entered the doldrums of February. So, how are those New Year’s resolutions going? On Monday’s St. Louis on the Air, we discussed how to form habits that actually stick with Henry “Roddy” Roediger, a Washington University psychology professor. Roediger is co-author of “Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning.” Read the whole story: St. Louis Public Radio
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Words Can Sound “Round” or “Sharp” Without Us Realizing It
Our tendency to match specific sounds with specific shapes, even abstract shapes, is so fundamental that it guides perception before we are consciously aware of it.
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Can a Caffeine Buzz Improve Driving Safety?
A study conducted by the Australian Department of Defence finds that caffeine significantly improved driving performance in sleep-deprived individuals – even after 40 straight hours of wakefulness.
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The Tricky Psychology of Holding Government Accountable
The Atlantic: I spoke with Tetlock about when being held accountable leads people to make more careful decisions and when it doesn’t, and what lessons this suggests for the public’s ability to hold government accountable. A lightly edited and condensed transcript of our conversation is below. Julie Beck: What are the conditions where being held accountable makes people consider other points of view, and when does it not really change how people make decisions? Philip Tetlock: It virtually always influences how people make decisions, but it’s not always good. Accountability is a multidimensional concept. It refers to who must answer to whom for what under what ground rules.
