Articles from everywhere
Understanding the American demographic
Sitting safely in Norway, reading about the American election in various major global news outlets, it is hard to understand how Trump won the GOP primary, let alone is head to head with Clinton in the race for the Whitehouse. Clearly, there is something I have not...
On the arena and style of discourse in Social Psychology.
Social psychology is having a rough time now, with replication studies questioning the validity of several well known and cited studies, by central figures in the field. Is the field alone with these problems? Probably not. Andrew Gelman presents some relevant factors...
Famous and influential psychology studies that fail replication
While most authors of the original research argue for reasons why the replication failed, they seem to do so in order to defend themselves, and against suspicion of poor research in the first part. (or that which worse is) When reading such defenses, it is easy to...
Research at Google on what makes teams effective
Research into team effectiveness at Google has shown that the single most important factor is the extent team members feel psychologically safe. Second order of importance shows that team member dependability, role clarity, meaning of work and real impact of work also...
When “cultural fit” is just code for “people like us”
Good HBR article on how :"Hiring for cultural fit can thwart diversity". https://hbr.org/2016/04/why-hiring-for-cultural-fit-can-thwart-your-diversity-efforts
How to manage for collective creativity
Harvard professor Linda Hill presents her findings on characteristics of leaders / situations that inspire consistent creative thinking and progress. Three key capabilities are: Creative Abraision, Creative Resolution and Creative Agility. See her HBR...
Multiperson prisoners dilemma game: cooperation emerges in small groups
A simulation study shows that cooperation can emerge as the dominant strategy in a "tragedy of the commons game" when: groups are small there is long term memory (So as to weed out those who cheat.) As this is a computer simulation game, one has to wonder if human...
The power of well designed teams: Brian Uzzi
In this talk, Brian Uzzi presents his research on teams and collaboration, and shows: that established teams suffer from sunk costs, in that people want to leverage team specific resources to the max (such as knowing how each other work) to the detriment of including...
Controlling for confounding variables
Confounding variables are nothing new, so controlling form them are common. However, as this paper shows, a lot of these controls are flawed, calling into question the validity of the results. SEM is proposed as part of the solution. ...
How to increase job satisfaction though task, relationship and cognitive crafting
A 20 minute interview with Amy Wrzesniewski at Yale University, discussing how our attitudes to our job determine our level of satisfaction. http://www.npr.org/2016/03/28/471859161/how-to-build-a-better-job
Place in- and structure of network more important than size
The extent information takes hold and is spread depends on the "Majority illusion"; which means: whether other people in the network believes most other people have the information. (Who wants to be the odd one out?) Worth noting, this is independent of whether it is...
On procrastination and preparing for an event..
Brilliant and hilarious description with fantastic graphics of how to think of the level of preparation for a talk, and on procrastination in the process! http://waitbutwhy.com/2016/03/doing-a-ted-talk-the-full-story.html
We are all susceptible to behavioral biases, here is a list of common ones
There are MANY behavioral biases, and their books, Kahneman, Ariely and Thaler (to name a few) explain what lies behind these biases. Fantastic books! However, sometimes a list of some common ones are welcome; in this article, 61 are presented....
Randomized control trial: The gold standard or overrated?
While randomized control trial (RCT) have long been seen as the epitome of evidence based research, having served to modernize the field of medicine, this article questions its use to test social policy. The argument is that where RCT's come into their own when...
Can algorithms replace academics?
In this video, Phil Parker at INSEAD argues for the use of computer programs / algorithms to help answer questions that have typically been done by academics; citing a computers ability to search through mounds of data and find trends and commonalities. He further...
“How to Build an Economic Model in Your Spare Time” by Hal R. Varian
The first academic book I got when I started at McGill was “Intermediate Microeconomics: A modern approach” by Hal Varian. It got me hooked on the subject. He is now both “Chief economist” at Google, and professor at Berkeley; and still does brilliant research....
Richard Nisbett: Crusade against multiple regression analysis.. and more
Edge is a forum where great minds can meet and discuss their ideas; the quality of the content is first rate, though unlike a TED talk, they are less structured, less tight, and thus, more fill. In this video, Richard Nisbett talks about why he dislikes multiple...
12 Traits of Persuasive People
You are more persuasive than you think you are -- learn the powerful secrets of persuasiveness. http://www.inc.com/lolly-daskal/12-powerful-secrets-of-really-persuasive-people.html?cid=em01011week39day24a There are people who are very good at getting other...
Science Of Persuasion
http://www.influenceatwork.com This animated video describes the six universal Principles of Persuasion that have been scientifically proven to make you most effective as reported in Dr. Cialdini's groundbreaking book, Influence. This video is narrated by Dr. Robert Cialdini and Steve Martin, CMCT (co-author of YES & The Small Big).
Learn the Six Key Principles of Persuasion
Robert Cialdini presents his six principles https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFdCzN7RYbw
Energizers and de-energizers at work: A social network analysis study
The people we work with are a great source of inspiration, or demotivate; some fill us with energy, others drain it. These are the results from a study by Gerbasi et. al. (2015) "Destructive de-energizing relationships: How thriving buffers their effect on...
Science: The pursuit of ignorance
"In science knowing a lot of stuff doesn't make you a scientist ... knowing a lot of stuff is what helps you get to: Ignorance" He goes on to say that science is about knowing where in a dark room to look for a black cat. Worth watching to get an idea of what research...
Two inaugural lectures on the respective research interests of by my advisors
BI has started recording lectures held here, both by internal professors, and by guests, and make them available on their YouTube stream. This means that the lecture held by the Nobel Laureate Robert Merton on pensions is freely available; and I do recommend it!...
Stress is bad for you – TED
Stress, or pressure can be good for us, in the short term, by helping us focus and muster energy and mental resources to solve a given challenge. When stress endures over time, it becomes harmful. Watch this four minute TED video to see just how bad it is! ...
Good and evil nudging
Nudging has been all the rage since Richard Thaler introduced the concept some years ago... and the British and American government started their 'nudge units' to encourage citizens to make better decisions. In this article Thaler presents examples of how nudging is...
Social Ties in Academia: A Friend is a Treasure
My takeaway from the article: Encourage my two advisers to become editors of prestigious journals! This extract from the conclusion says a lot: The social effect is particularly relevant for former PhD students and university colleagues of the editor; for instance,...
Why companies do not learn: HBR
https://hbr.org/2015/11/why-organizations-dont-learn Topics include mindset responsibility and time for planning and reflection
Podcast: NPR The hidden brain
Great podcast of about 25 minutes where they discuss psychology research. There is a theme for each episode, and my favorite part is when the host and Daniel Pink get 2 x 1 minute each to present a relevant research article on the topic. First episode was about...
20 cognitive biases that influence your decisions
Unfortunately made as a graphic, but worthwhile remembering! http://www.businessinsider.com/cognitive-biases-that-affect-decisions-2015-8?utm_source=feedly
“Rethinking Management Scholarship” From editor in AMJ 2014
What they now want to publish. in short: The excitement comes from the balanced interpretation of the mission “to publish empirical research that tests, extends, or builds management theory and contributes to management practice.” In broader discussions on management...
B-Schools Aren’t Bothering to Produce HR Experts -HBR
The point is summed up in this paragraph: The lack of research interest in HR stems partly from carving up the topic into so many subfields. There are separate associations for labor economists, sociologists, and psychologists that look at the same problems, but these...