New – depressing – research on the Impostor Phenomenon

I’ve written before about the imposter syndrome, the idea that a person can have any success is due to external circumstances or just luck and chance and people will find out soon. New research shows that even under real-life conditions the phenomenon can appear regardless of age, gender, and intelligence. In short: The Impostor Phenomenon… Read More New – depressing – research on the Impostor Phenomenon

Maybe we should meet IRL: Virtual communication curbs creative idea generation

A new study by Brucks and Levav published in Nature examined the effects of meeting online versus in person in relation to creative idea generation. They did both a lab and a field experiment. In the laboratory experiment, we randomly assigned half of the pairs to work together in person and the other half to… Read More Maybe we should meet IRL: Virtual communication curbs creative idea generation

Depressing find: Working, studying in ‘off’ hours can harm motivation

Wait, is blogging working or not? If so, I could be in trouble as working a nontraditional schedule, and checking in at all hours of the day, night and weekends, is not necessarily a good thing. No shit, Sherlock: Working during non-standard (vs. standard) work time harms intrinsic motivation. This is driven by upward counterfactual… Read More Depressing find: Working, studying in ‘off’ hours can harm motivation

Productivity gurus are probably incorrect when they talk about doing tasks and the biological clock

“Changing your daily schedule to better suit your biological clock may help you become more productive. Discover when your peak times might be.” I found this claim here, but there is much, much more. But is this correct? New research says ‘probably not’, although the amount of test persons is not that big, to be fair. From the… Read More Productivity gurus are probably incorrect when they talk about doing tasks and the biological clock

What’s the best way to improve a sad mood? The answer may surprise you…

Ok, sorry for the clickbait title, but the answer did surprise me: it may be whatever skill you think you’re best at! When I thought a bit further it became a No shirt, Sherlock-example. From the press release: Think you’re good at mindfulness techniques? Then that may work best for you. Or do you believe… Read More What’s the best way to improve a sad mood? The answer may surprise you…

Four strategies how we deceive ourselves to keep a positive self-image

Maybe we tell the biggest lies to ourselves? Ok, that’s maybe too harsh, but still. Deceiving yourself is normal and can be useful in the short term; but not in the long term. This new study by a team of philosophers examined self-deception and found four strategies we use to keep a positive self-image. From… Read More Four strategies how we deceive ourselves to keep a positive self-image

Can your personality affect your job performance?

Well, it depends on your job tells a meta-meta-analysis of multiple meta-analyses of the five big personality traits and examined their effect on job performance. The study in short: Occupational characteristics moderate relations of personality and performance in major occupational groups. Personality–occupational performance relations differ considerably across nine major occupational groups. Traits show higher criterion-related… Read More Can your personality affect your job performance?