May 10, 2018

This Or That: How Useful Are Dichotomies Really?

May 10, 2018/ John

Last week I posted an article about prevention vs promotion thinking, and how most people will largely fall into one category or the other, which you can read here. A lot of people really resonate with this kind of thinking, because it makes everything simple. The simpler things are the better we like to feel we understand things, especially when it comes to human motivation and behavior. But is this kind of dichotomous thinking always a good thing?

May 03, 2018

Which One Are You? Promotion and Prevention Focus

May 03, 2018/ John

If you ask most people, they'll tell you there are two types of people on this earth: one with x quality and one with y quality. There are people who love cats and people who love dogs, people who are masculine and people who are feminine, and people who drink coffee every morning and

April 26, 2018

Are You Irrational? Behavioral Economics Explains Decision-Making

April 26, 2018/ John

Do you consider yourself an irrational person? Most people would say no, they're a highly rational person. This is because we usually don't like to perceive ourselves in a seemingly negative light. Rationality is defined as "the quality of being based on or in accordance with reason or logic". However, we are human and with that comes human thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. So surprisingly

April 19, 2018

Can You Convince Me? The Art Of Persuasion

April 19, 2018/ John

Have you ever been in an argument with someone and thought to yourself, "Why can't they just see my side?" The frustration we’re faced with when trying to persuade somebody else is widely experienced across the world. Persuading someone to see your side on something is sometimes a quite difficult thing to do, but

October 25, 2017

Why Are All My Friends Getting Married? Relationship Contingency And Marriage

October 25, 2017/ John

Does it seem like everyone you know is either in a relationship, married, or engaged? In an age where we use social media daily to present the idealized versions of our own lives to the entire world, we're constantly inundated with relationship statuses, proposals, wedding pictures, and other romantic gestures that have those

October 04, 2017

Mass Shootings and Mental Illness

October 04, 2017/ John

After a terrible and horrifically tragic event like a mass shooting people instinctively look for answers. Some sort of reasoning, something that makes sense in this seemingly insane and senseless act. News coverage of these events often focuses on either the victims of the shooting and their families or the shooter themselves. When the stories focus on the shooter they almost always