MindMap-Writing With Flair

MindMap-Writing With Flair
Author: Shani Raja

Elements of Writing

1. Simplicity
2. Clarity
3. Elegance

Good writing

1. Clear in its expression
2. Writing flows
3. Capturing interest

Bad writing

1. Boring
2. Does not capture your imagination
3. Ambiguity
4. Clunky

4 Reasons for writing

1. Inform
2. Entertain
3. Persuade
4. Inspire

Mindset of Elite writer

1. Think deeply of the word you are writing
2. Have a very strong intention on how to connect to your audience [values, beliefs and perception]
3. Keep it real.  Be real and genuine.  Aim is to communicate not to impress. Cut out over the top word
4. Your presentation should be sleek. Consistency of punctuation, uppercase, quotation marks, commas. Attention to details.

Secret source of flair [distinctive/stylish]

1. Simplicity
2. Clarity
3. Elegance

Rules

1. Never repeat ideas if not needed
2. Clash of principles, choose

The Secret Sauce of Flair

1. Think deeply about every single word
2. Have a strong intention to connect with your audience
3. Keep it real
4. Be slick with the presentation
5. The secret sauce is simplicity, clarity and elegance
6. Be flexible with the principles

SIMPLICITY

Simplicity: How to be economical about your work

1. Use shorter words. Never use a long word when you can use a short word.
   Use “use” instead of utilize
   Use “get” instead of obtain
   Use “about” instead of approximately
   Use “show” instead of demonstrate
   Use “buy” instead of acquire
2. Use longer word only when it is necessary
3. Break the short word rule to show distinction
4. Any word that can go, must go
5. Less is really is more
6. Aim to create the strongest mental picture
7. Avoid “which is”
8. Use fewer words whenever feasible
9. Use every single word in a consistent way

Repetitions

1. Repeating a point, avoid it
2. Duplication is a bad look in writing
3. Avoid “as I mentioned” unless it is really needed for emphasis
4. Make a point clearly
5. Ruthlessly delete any ideas that are repeated
6. Aim to make a unique point in every sentence

Overcomplicating Things

1. Writer overcomplicate things
2. Simplify things as much as possible
3. Avoid double negative.
   Ex, He was not certain that he wouldn’t make a mess of it.
   Correct: He thought he might make a mess of it.
   Ex. It wasn’t that John didn’t care about Jenny. He just didn’t love her.
   Correct: John care about Jenny but didn’t love her.
4. Double negative gives the reader unnecessary strain
5. Don’t give the reader an extra step to get to the point. It produces a painful experience
6. Don’t multiply entities beyond necessities. Tagging to words that makes it longer
7. Simplify an overly complex sentence

Ex: It is the Singapore-based company’s first Australian deal since investing in gourmet food concept store chain Jones The Grocer
Correct: It is the Singapore-based company’s first Australian deal since investing in gourmet chain Jones the Grocer
Ex: Kevin Rudd became the leader of the Commonwealth of Australia.
Correct: Kevin Rudd became Australia’s leader

1. Simplify individual words
   Ex: toward instead of towards, profit instead of profits
2. Steer clear of unnecessary words
3. Avoid bloated words, cut it all down
4. Don’t make simple points sound more complex than they are
5. Don’t force reader to unwind what you’ve said
6. Make reading your work as painless as possible

Plainer is Better

1. Aim to keep your writing as plain and familiar-sounding as possible

Too Much Information

1. Be acutely sensitive to what your audience cares about
2. Know when to cut off the information tap

Redundant Words

1. Avoid weak words that don’t say much
2. Avoid redundant words that don’t say anything
3. Avoid hedging words that sap authority

Overstretching Words

1. Be aware of sentences that go on too long
2. Avoid too many sub clauses
3. Break up sentences and play around with word order to eliminate them

Active vs Passive

1. Prefer active to passive sentences
2. Active sentences make comprehension quicker
3. Active sentences help pictures for more quickly

Reversing into Sentences

1. Avoid backing into sentences
2. Backing into sentences slows down comprehension
3. An exception is where reversing in helps vary the rhythm

Unnecessary Ceremony

1. Remove pointless capital letters
2. Say what you want to say without embellishment

CLARITY
Fuzzy Thinking

1. Bad writing often stems from fuzzy thinking
2. First get clear of what you are trying to say
3. Prevent the reader’s mind going blank
4. Spell things out, don’t force readers to make inferences

Jargon

1. Strike out anything that smells of jargon
2. Avoid excessive abstraction
3. Shun clichés or common phrases that come quickly to mind

Ambiguity

1. Ambiguity is one of the biggest killers of comprehension
2. Fix any sentence where more than one interpretation is possible

Crisp Distinction

1. Make abundantly clear what you are comparing
2. Use punctuation to help sharpen comparison

Removing Clutter

1. Convert official language into layman’s terms
2. Move down anything that doesn’t need to be said immediately

Mixing Tenses

1. Smoot out all conflicting time elements

Misplaced Modifiers

1. Pay special attention to words that modify other words
2. Don’t just throw modifier down; place them carefully

Curly Sentences

1. Untangle sentences to the furthest extent possible
2. Don’t force readers to do mental gymnastics

This and That

1. Be specific about what ‘this’ and ‘that’ are
2. ‘This’ and ‘these’ are better for something coming; ‘that’ and ‘those’ are better for referring back
3. Consider deleting ‘that’ where possible

“It” vs “They”

1. Prefer to use ‘it’ for entities
2. Be consistent with singular and plural reference

ELEGANCE

House Style

1. Establish syntax and format rules that define your brand
2. Consistency in style makes writing look more professional and authoritative

Unsightly Widows

1. Avoid stray words at the end of paragraphs that create imbalance

Pristine Paragraphs

1. Neat paragraphs reflect clear thinking
2. Have an organizing principle behind switching to a new paragraph
3. Don’t create paragraphs of massively varying size

Word Echos

1. Try not to repeat a substantive word in the same sentence
2. Repeating a word in close proximity can look lazy

Alternative Words

1. Keep alternatives handy for often-repeated words
2. At the very least, leave as much distance between alternatives as possible

Parallel Ideas

1. Keep ideas parallel to avoid a jarring effect
2. Be especially sensitive to qualitative differences between ideas

Narrative Elegance

1. View your writing as blocks of ideas
2. Organize the blocks in the most elegant order
3. Arrange the points within each block logically

Writing With Flair
How To Become An Exceptional Writer
Elite Writing Checklist

✓ Do I use simple, familiar words throughout?
✓ Have I eliminated all jargon and clichés, hedging?
✓ Have I avoided repeating words, points?
✓ Have I gone into too much detail anywhere?
✓ Have I avoided ambiguity?
✓ Do I avoid making simple points sound complicated?
✓ Are all my distinctions/comparisons crisp?
✓ Can I cut out any more words?
✓ Are any sentences too long, or contain too many sub-clauses?
✓ Do I use the active voice?
✓ Do I avoid reversing into sentences?
✓ Are my tenses consistent?
✓ Do I avoid word echoes?
✓ Does my writing reflect clear, logical thinking?
✓ Will a reader be forced to reread anything?
✓ Have I removed all the unnecessary clutter?
✓ Have I got to the point immediately?
✓ Do I have a logical narrative structure?
Elite Writer’s
Checklist
✓ Do I steer the reader through my narrative?
✓ Are all ideas within a sentence neatly ordered?
✓ Are my paragraphs suitably arranged?

Mindmap-Wisdom Checklist

Mindmap-Wisdom Checklist

• Wisdom/Intelligence
  • Wisdom is the ability to apply knowledge, experience, understanding or common sense and insight
  • Intelligence is the ability to comprehend; to understand and profit from experience
• Wisdom from above
  • pure
  • peace-loving
  • gentle
  • open to reason
  • full of mercy and good fruits
  • impartial
  • sincere
  • be pure, be peace-loving, be open to reason, be full of mercy, be impartial, be sincere
• Wisdom from somewhere else
  • jealousy
  • selfish ambition
  • boastful
  • untruthful
  • earthly
  • demonic
  • disorder
  • morally reprehensible 

    delete jealousy, delete selfish ambition, delete boasting, delete being untruthful/dishonest, delete being so earthly/worldly, delete being demonic, delete disorder, delete being morally reprehensible [vicious]

Mindmap-WinningWithAccountability

Mindmap-WinningWithAccountability

• Assessment
  • My Organization’s Language: We use very specific deadlines when discussing upcoming work.

    My Organization’s Language: We are clear about what outcomes we are working to create.

    My Organization’s Language: Roles and responsibilities are clearly defined when we assign tasks

    My Organization’s Behavior: Our Team members deliver projects exactly as they had been requested (deliverable).

    My Organization’s Behavior: Our team delivers “on time, every time” in the eyes of our internal and external customers.

    My Organization’s Behavior: Our team members take responsibility for their own outcomes and performance.

    My Influence: I give constructive input to my teammates in an emotionally intelligent way, even if it may be tough for them to hear.

    My Influence: I receive “first hand” constructive input from my teammates when I have failed to meet their expectations.

    My Influence: I participate in meetings and other interactions where I may influence the mood and commitment of other people.

• Performance Management Process
  • Strategic Plan
    • Vision
    • Mission
    • Goals
    • Core Values
  • Planning
    • Position Planning
    • Settin performance standards
  • Managing
    • Team communication
    • Day-to-day feedback and recognition
    • Analysis of behavior
    • Feedback coaching
    • Investigative coaching
    • Performance coaching
    • Disciplinary action
  • Evaluation and Goal Setting
    • Assessment of job performance
    • Setting employee strategic goals
    • Setting personal development goals(work related)
    • Performance improvement plans/goals
    • Holding employees accountable
• Advantages of Frontloading Accountability by Setting Goals and Expectations
  • Performance increases.
  • Resources better allocated when everyone knows their role.
  • Job satisfaction increases.
  • Trust grows and relationships are strengthened.
  • Outcomes improve qualitatively and quantitatively.
• How Everything Fits Together
  • PLAN-Establish priorities and goals linked to vision and mission. Establish department, unit and discipline goals linked to college priorities.

    EXECUTE-Deliver programs and services.

    ASSESS-Assess goal achievement.

    REFLECT-Analyze and use results to plan further improvements. Make changes as required.

• The Secret of Successful Organizations
  • Install accountability on the front end to
  • Nurture better relationships
  • Eliminate surprises
  • Increase job satisfaction and job performance
  • Improve productivity and effectiveness
• Functional Competencies
  • Competency is behavior/skill required for success.
  • Functional competency is behavior/skill related to job type or department.
  • Competency establishes expected behavior/skill level.
• Personal Development Goals
  • Enhance knowledge, skills, abilities and behaviors.

    Improve work performance in current role.

    Enhance ability to compete for future opportunities.

    Aligned with a competency or a core value.

    Improvements result from reading, taking classes, attending seminars, hands-on practice, project or task team work.

• The Power of Intention
  • Focus on helping individual perform at a higher level.
  • Focus on helping the individual succeed.
  • Remember the role of the coach is to help the individual and the team succeed!
• Clear Expectations
  • Paint a picture.
  • Are measureable.
  • Clearly understood by receiver and sender of request.
  • Replace ambiguity with specificity.
• Getting Specific
  • Date and time specificity creates clarity.
  • Deadline is when work is due.
  • Timeline is when the work will get done.
  • Timeline is more important than deadline.
  • Time management is critical.
  • Include relevant information and details.
  • Paint the picture of the outcome.
• Ensuring Clear Expectations
  • Determine if individual can reflect the essence of what you said.
  • Ask “How do you interpret what I just said?”
  • Ask “What does this look like to you when it is done?”
  • Clear Expectations PRACTICE ACTIVITY
• Definition of Accountability- Moving Strategy to Reality
  • Willingness to accept responsibility for one’s actions
  • Commitments that “in the eyes of others” have been kept.
  • Continually asking “How am I doing?”
  • Sender and receiver provide crystal clear expectations. Both are responsible.
  • About high performance not fear or stress.
• Creating Accountability
  • Clear expectation
  • Getting specific
  • Establishing ownership
  • Going public
• Follow Up Techniques for Enhanced Accountability
  • Schedule tasks/actions as meetings on your calendar and commit to them like other meetings.
  • Use calendar tool in Windows to document dates to check in or track progress.
  • Review the timeline periodically to ensure it is still reasonable.
  • Share accountability by checking in and encouraging/coaching between milestones.
  • Develop relationships.
  • Use the language of specificity.
• Something to Think About
  • Start a crusade in your organization-Have the courage to learn, the vision to lead and the passion to share.
• Unit Plans
  • Goals
  • Outcomes/Objectives
  • Measures and Findings
• Strategic Goals
  • Aligned to support the strategic plan.
  • Based on the goals of the department /work group.
  • Specific tasks and activities.
• Setting Goals
  • Descriptive title
  • Identify results
  • Include measurement criteria to determine successful completion
  • Date expected to be completed
  • Indicate which competency, core value or strategic goal it supports
• Clear Expectations Through SMARTER Goals
  • S-Specific-break down into specific pieces

    M-Measureable-quantitative or qualitative way to identify change or improvement

    A-Attainable-resources, materials, skills, time available

    R-Results Oriented and move us closer to the outcome or goal. Aligned with the strategic plan. Describes what the process or service will look like and/or how the customer will be impacted after the goal is complete.

    T-Trackable and Time-oriented-set milestones/follow up dates and expected completion date

    E-Ethical-Legal, moral and in alignment with core values

    R-Recorded-Record or persons should be in place from which/whom the employee may seek guidance.

• Establishing Ownership
  • Each task has one owner.
  • Buck stops with project owner (manager) even if you delegate every task.
  • Model ownership yourself.
  • Competency first, bandwidth(time) second.
• Going Public/Sharing Accountability
  • Accountability begins when someone else knows about task.
  • Establish accountability partner to check-in.
  • Accountability goes upstream and downstream.
  • Go first and share your commitments with others downstream.
  • Communicate the truth (with tact and diplomacy!) upstream.
  • Accountability builds relationships. Develop relationship capital in good and bad times.
• The Manager’s Role in Accountability
  • Frontload expectations with clear expectations, clear dates/times, clear ownership and shared understanding.

    Use your power to focus on the solution (reverse a negative direction).

    Look in the mirror and self-evaluate.

    Align thoughts and feelings with desired outcomes/goals.

    Model what you wish to achieve.

• What to Ask When Things Go Wrong
  • Did I communicate clear expectations?
  • Did I include the right people in initial discussions?
  • What could I have done better?
  • Continuous Improvement PRACTICE ACTIVITY
• Next Steps
  • Develop list of preliminary goals for yourself (without detail today-add detail when get back to office)

    Develop goals with your team/team members.

    Review your calendar-How did recent commitments compare to language of specificity?

    Make corrections where specificity is lacking-add missing information and details; paint the picture of a successful outcome.

    Share your commitments so others can hold you accountable.

    Model accountability with others.

• About The Book
  • Title: Winning With Accountability
  • Author: Henry J. Evans
  • Chapters: 8
  • Pages: 96
  • ISBN: 978-0981924205

MindMap-TRIZ Problem Solving Method

MindMap-TRIZ Problem Solving Method

• A. IDENTIFY AND DOCUMENT THE PROBLEM
  • Describe the system:
    • System name
    • Structure
    • Function
    • Environment
  • Describe the problem:
    • Problem name
    • Mechanism causing the problem
    • Undesired consequences of the problem
    • Problem history
    • Other systems with similar problems
    • Alternatives
  • Ideal vision
  • Available resources
  • Available changes (limitation)
  • Criteria for solution acceptance
  • Project data and business environment
• B. PROBLEM FORMULATION
  • Build the graphical description of the problem (diagram)
  • Formulate directions
• C. PRIORITIZE DIRECTIONS
  • Set priorities of action item
• D. DEVELOP CONCEPTS
  • Generate ideas with system operators
  • Combine ideas into concepts
• E. EVALUATE RESULTS
  • Identify and solve secondary problems
  • Predict and eliminate potential failure (use IFP)
  • IFA- Inventive Failure Analysis:
    • Invert the problem,
    • Amplify inverted problem
    • Search for solutions
    • Formulate hypothesis and task for their verification
    • Correct the failure
  • Use IFP-Ideation Failure Prediction
    • 1. Invert the problem
    • 2. Create Ideal Scenarios
    • 3. Generate Failure Screnarios
    • 4. Prevent Failures
• Compiled By:
  • Rigel Arcayan
  • blindcaveman.wordpress.com

MindMap-ReliabilityHandbook

MindMap-ReliabilityHandbook

• Basic Reliability Concept
  • Goal
    • MTBF=Long
    • MTTR=Short
    • MTR=Short
    • MTBI=Less
  • Reliability Program Plan
    • Immediate issues
    • Reactive reliability engineering
      • Overall process
      • Reliability engineering metrics with examples
      • Fault vs. failure
      • Pareto plot
      • Uptime and Availability
      • MTBF, MTBA, MTBI
      • MTTR, MTR
  • Design For Reliability Process
    • 1. Initial Design
    • 2. Developmental Testing: Failure Mode Discovery
      • 2.1. Root Cause Analysis
      • 2.2. Development of Corrective Actions
      • 2.3. Corrective Action Review and Approval
      • 2.4. Assignment of Fix Effectiveness Factors
      • 2.5. Verification of Corrective Actions
    • 3. Final Design: Meets Requirement
    • 4. Demonstration Testing
  • Reliability Life Cycle
    • 1. Reliability Specification
    • 2. Reliability Design
    • 3. Reliability Verification
    • 4. Reliability Maintenance
    • 5. Reliability Audit
    • NOTE: Cannot effectively “Test-in” reliability on Step 5. Too late.
  • Phases of Reliability Process
    • Phase1: Set Reliability Goals
      • Establish reliability goals, such as “X” Reliability at “Y%” confidence after “N” operations or time on “Z” performance parameter for the product.

        Risk Mitigation planning – QFD / FMEA

        Reliability Metrics: generate quantitative, measurable failure definitions

        Operating environments: define the operating environment that encourages a failure event.

        In General, 65% of Life Cycle Cost is Fixed at This Stage

    • Phase2: Develop System Models
      • Identify the reliability system elements (subsystem & components)

        Construct a block diagram for each system element

        Identify critical components and failure potentials within each system element (i.e. the x’s)

        Allocate the reliability metrics to the lowest level

        Benchmark the current design with this model.

        Determine acceleration or deceleration (mitigation) factors (i.e.temperature, loads, cycles, etc.)

        Identify potential improvements to reliability, cost, features based on the analysis. Assess tradeoffs associated with each.

        System Modeling

    • Phase3: Design Product for Reliability
      • Apply robust design simulation tools
      • Determine Key Control Parameters (KCP’s) and Key Noise Parameters(KNP’s).
      • Map reliability requirements to critical performance or process elements
      • Use tools analytically & experimentally on the KCP’s & KNP’s
      • Conduct life predictions through reliability modeling.
      • Develop risk mitigation plans, including analysis of service and warranty issues.
      • In General, 85% of Life Cycle Cost is Fixed at This Stage
    • Phase4: Perform Reliability Verification
      • Develop reliability test strategies
        • Internal
          • – short term
          • – long term
        • External (Field tests, Beta sites, etc.)
          • – short term
          • – long term
        • Accelerated Testing
          • – HALT/ HASS
          • – failure mode testing ( Address FMEA/FTA concerns)
        • Compliance (Safety) Testing
          • – agencies
          • – customers
      • In General, 95% of Life Cycle Cost is Fixed at This Stage
    • Phase5: Implement Production and Field Reliability Systems
      • Establish Audit Program
      • Process verification
      • Product verification
      • Establish FRACAS a system
      • Correlate field data with all test results
      • Identify means for collecting continuous data (not just failure data).
      • In General, 98% of Life Cycle Cost is Fixed at This Stage
    • NOTE: Design for Reliability Should be Integrated into the Design Process
  • Legacy Product Reliability Growth Process
    • Phase1: Review Historical Data
      • Review historical endurance data
      • Review field RMAs
      • Review customer environment & application
    • Phase2: Analyze Field & In-house Endurance Test Data
      • Develop product Fault Tree Analysis
      • Identify and pareto observed failure modes
    • Phase3: Develop Reliability Profile & Goals
      • Develop P-Diagram and System Block Diagram
      • Generate Reliability plots for operational endurance
      • Allocate reliability goals to key subsystems
      • Identify reliability gaps between existing product & goals for each subsystem
    • Phase4: Develop & Execute Reliability Growth Plan
      • Determine root cause for all identified failures
      • Redesign process or parts to address failure mode pareto
      • Validate reliability improvement through accelerated life testing & field betas
      • Allocate key part and subassembly CTQs to suppliers
    • Phase5: Institute Reliability Validation Program
      • Implement design and process firewalls & sensors to hold design robustness
      • Develop and implement long-term reliability validation audit
  • 12 Steps: Creating FMECA
    • 1. Learn about the system
      • Know about the system
      • Understand the system
      • Identify key characteristics of the system
      • Identify key subsystem, components
    • 2. Set the level of the analysis
      • be aware that FMECA is a bottom up technique of problem solving
      • define the scope of the system to study
      • ask the following questions:
        • how components can fail?
        • what are the causes of failure
    • 3. Describe the desired functions
      • Know the function of the system
      • Know the purpose of the system
    • 4. Review and rationalise the functions
    • 5. List all potential failure modes
    • 6. Review and rationalise failure modes against functions
    • 7. Describe the potential effects of each failure
    • 8. Describe the potential causes of each failure
    • 9. Describe the current controls
    • 10.Assess criticality
    • 11.Take corrective action
    • 12.Standardise the actions taken
• Reliability Definitions
  • Fault: anything that has gone wrong
  • Failure: an equipment problem
  • All failures are faults
    • Examples:
      • 1. If a transport system stops due to particles that are normal to the process, then it is a failure (and a fault).

        2. a wrench left inside the equipment, then it’s a fault but not a failure.

  • All time: either “uptime” or “downtime”
  • Uptime: either operating or idle time
    • Uptime (hours) « availability (%)
  • Downtime: either PM, or Unscheduled Maintenance (Repairs)
  • MTTR (mean time to repair) applies to PM and to UM
  • Equipment Availability
    • The probability that the equipment will be in a condition to perform its intended function
  • Total Time
    • Operation Time
      • Uptime
        • Manufacturing Time
          • Productive Time
          • Standby Time
      • Downtime
        • Unscheduled Down Time
        • Scheduled Down Time
  • Assist: an unplanned interruption where
    • Externally resumed (human operator or host computer), and
    • No replacement of parts, other than specified consumables, and
    • No further variation from specifications of equipment operation
  • Machine Availability
    • Specification: Availability >85%
    • Typical performance: 90%
  • Failure: unplanned interruption that is not an assist
  • # of interrupts = # of assists + # of failures
  • MTBF: Mean Time Between Failures [hours]
  • MTBA: Mean Time Between Assist
  • MTBI: Mean Time Between Interrups
  • MTBF = Interval / (number of failures)
  • MTBA = Interval / (number of assists)
  • MTBI = Interval / (number of interrupts)
  • MTTR: Mean Time To Repair
    • The average elapsed time (not person hours) to correct a failure and return the equipment to a condition where it can perform its intended function, including equipment test time and process test time (but not maintenance delay).
  • MTR: Mean Time to Restore
    • Includes maintenance delays
  • Reliability Engineering Metrics
    • Fault vs. failure: all failures are faults
    • Pareto plot: location and function, sample size of several
    • Uptime and Availability: time is up or down
    • MTBF, MTBA, MTBI: I = F + A
    • MTTR, MTR: working time vs. clock time
  • DFMEA: Design Failure Mode and Effect Analysis
  • DFR: Design for Reliability
  • HALT: Highly Accelerated Life Testing
    • Stress levels are increased as far as failures occur.

      Therefore this method is considered as a qualitative accelerated test method.

      The purpose is to support DFMEA for complex design where traditional brainstorming is not sufficient and there is a risk that existing design guidelines do not cover new technology and/or features under design verification

  • HASS: Highly Accelerated Stress Testing
    • PoF and HALT techniques are employed to expedite the time between any potential failures and corrective actions
  • OPE: Operational Test and Evaluation
  • PoF: Physics of Failure
    • Physics of Failure (PoF) analyses provide a science-based approach to reliability that utilizes modeling and simulation to design-in reliability. The analyses use computer-aided design tools to model the root causes of failures such as fatigue, fracture, wear and corrosion. The basic approach involves the following:
      • 1. Identifying potential failure mechanisms (chemical, electrical, physical, mechanical, structural or thermal processes leading to failures); failure sites; and failure modes even before formal testing is complete.

        2. Identifying the appropriate failure models and their input parameters, such as material characteristics, damage properties, manufacturing flaw and defects, etc.

        3. Determining where variability exists with respect to each design parameter.

        4. Computing the effective reliability function.

        5. Accepting the current design or proposed design with new corrective action, if the estimated reliability exceeds the goal over the simulated time period.

        6. Proactively incorporating reliability into the design process by establishing a scientific basis for evaluating new materials, structures, and electronics technologies.

        7. Using generic failure models, where appropriate, that are as effective for new materials and structures as they are for existing designs.

        8. Encouraging innovative, cost-effective design through the use of realistic reliability assessment

  • LIRP: Low Rate Initial Production
    • Level of Maturity
  • RCA: Root Cause Analysis
    • purpose of the root cause analysis is to find the exact reason why the item failed
  • QALT: Quantitative Accelerated Lifetime Testing
  • RBD: Reliability Block Diagram
    • models are often used to describe the relationship between the system components in order to determine the reliability of the system as a whole
  • IFR: Instantaneous Failure Rate
    • hazard rate
  • V&V Verification and Validation
  • FMEA: Failure Mode and Effect Analysis
    • 1. a failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) is a procedure in operations management for analysis of potential failure modes within a system,

      2. conducted to classify the failure modes by severity or determine of the effect of failures on the system.

      3. provides an analytical approach when dealing with potential failure modes and their associated causes.

      4. identification of potential failure modes and causes provides engineers with the information needed to alter the development/manufacturing process in order to optimize the tradeoffs between

      • 1. safety
      • 2. cost
      • 3. performance
      • 4. quality
      • 5. reliability.

      5. provides an easy tool to determine which risk has the greatest concern, and thereby what action is needed to prevent a problem before it arises.

      6. provides development of robust process specifications to ensure the end product will meet the predefined reliability requirements

  • FMECA: Failure Mode and Effect Criticality Analysis
    • 1. is an extension of the FMEA.

      2. FMECA is a reliability evaluation and design review technique that examines the potential failure modes within a system or lower piece-part/component level, in order to determine the effects of component level failures on total equipment or system level performance.

      3. Each hardware or software failure mode is classified according to its impact on system operation success and personnel safety.

      4. FMECA uses inductive logic (a process of finding explanations) on a “bottom up” system hierarchy and traces up through the system hierarchy to determine the end effect on system performance.

      5. Maximum benefits are seen when FMECA is conducted early in the design cycle rather than after the design is finalized.

      Inputs. The FMEA/FMECA requires the following basic inputs:

      • 1. Item(s)
      • 2. Function(s)
      • 3. Failure (s)
      • 4. Effect(s) of Failure
      • 5. Cause(s) of Failure
      • 6. Current Control(s)
      • 7. Recommended Action(s)

      RPN: Risk Priority Number

      • 1. Rate the severity of each effect of failure.

        2. Rate the likelihood of occurrence for each cause of failure.

        3. Rate the likelihood of prior detection for each cause of failure (i.e. the likelihood of detecting the problem before it reaches the end user or customer).

        4. Calculate the RPN by obtaining the product of the three ratings:

        RPN = Severity x Occurrence x Detection

      FMECA Process Checlist

      • 1. Is the system definition/description provided compatible with the system specification? Inaccurate documentation may result in incorrect analysis conclusions

        2. Are ground rules clearly stated? These include approach, failure definition, acceptable degradation limits, level of analysis, clear description of failure causes, etc.

        3. Are block diagrams provided showing functional dependencies at all equipment piece-part levels? This diagram should graphically show what items (parts, circuit cards, subsystems, etc.) are required for the successful operation of the next higher assembly

        4. Does the failure effect analysis start at the lowest hardware level and systematically work to higher piece part levels? The analysis should start at the lowest level appropriate to make design changes (e.g. part, circuit card, subsystem, etc.)

        5. Are failure mode data sources fully described? Specifically identify data sources, including relevant data from similar systems

        6. Are detailed FMECA worksheets provided? Do the worksheets clearly track from lower to higher hardware levels? Do the worksheets clearly correspond to the block diagrams? Do the worksheets provide an adequate scope of analysis? Worksheets should provide an item name, piece-part code/number, item function, list of item failure modes, effect on next higher assembly and system for each failuremode, and a critically ranking. In addition, worksheets should account for multiple failure piece-part levels for catastrophic and critical failures.

        7. Are failure severity classes provided? Are specific failure definitions established? Typical classes are (see MIL-STD-882D for details): Catastrophic (life/death) Critical (mission loss) Marginal (mission degradation) Minor (maintenance/repair)

        8. Are results timely? Analysis must be performed early during the design phase not after the fact

        9. Are results clearly summarized and comprehensive recommendations provided? Actions for risk reduction of single point failures, critical items, areas needing built-in test (BIT), etc.

        10. Are the results being communicated to enhance other program decisions? Critical parts, reliability prediction, derating, fault tolerance

      Quantitative Criticality Analysis Method.

      • Define the reliability/unreliability for each item, at a given operating time.

        Identify the portion of the item‟s unreliability that can be attributed to each potential failure mode.

        Rate the probability of loss (or severity) that will result from each failure mode that may occur.

        • Calculate the criticality for each potential failure mode by obtaining the product of the three factors:

        Mode Criticality = Item Unreliability x Mode Ratio of Unreliability x Probability of Loss

        • Calculate the criticality for each item by obtaining the sum of the criticalities for each failure mode that has been identified for the item.

        Item Criticality = SUM of Mode Criticalities

      Qualitative Criticality Analysis Method.

      • Rate the severity of the potential effects of failure.

        Rate the likelihood of occurrence for each potential failure mode.

        Compare failure modes via a Criticality Matrix, which identifies severity on the horizontal axis and occurrence on the vertical axis.

      Software FMECA

      • 1. Break the software into logical components, such as functions or tasks

        2. Determine potential failure modes for each component

        • (e.g., “software fails to respond” or “software responds with wrong value”)

        3. Using a failure mode table, use the failure modes to fill in the Software FMECA worksheet

        4. Determine all possible causes for each failure mode

        • (e.g. “logic omitted/implemented incorrectly”, “incorrect coding of algorithm”, “incorrect manipulation of data”, etc),

        5. Determine the effects of each failure mode at progressively higher levels (assume inputs to the software are good)

        6. Assign failure rates; occurrence, severity and detectability values; and calculate the Risk Priority Number (RPN)

        7. Identify all corrective actions (CAs) that should be, or have been, implemented, plus all open item

        sFMECA Table

        • Index No
        • Unit
        • Function
        • Failure Mode
        • Possible Failure Causes
        • Effects on
          • Unit
          • SubSystem
          • System
        • Fail Rate
        • Occurence
        • Severity
        • RPN
  • FTA: Fault Tree Analysis
    • 1. systematic methodology for defining a specific undesirable event (normally a mission failure) and determining all the possible reasons that could cause the event to occur

      2. logical, top-down method aimed at analyzing the effects of initiating faults and events upon a complex system

      3. utilizes a block diagram approach that displays the state of the system in terms of the states of its components.

      4. tasks are typically assigned to engineers having a good understanding of the interoperability of the system and subsystem level components

      5. The top level events in the Fault Tree are typically mission essential functions (MEFs) of the system, which should be defined in the system‟s Failure Definition / Scoring Criteria (FD/SC).

      6. If a component failure results in a loss of one of these mission essential functions, then that failure would be classified as an Operation Mission Failure (OMF), System Abort (SA) failure,

      7. The idea behind the Fault Tree is to break down each one of the MEFs further and further until all failure causes of components and subcomponents are captured.

      FTA Software

      • Fault Tree Analysis for Systems Containing Software.
        • To be most effective, a system-level FTA must consider software, hardware, interfaces and human interactions.

          Top-level undesired events may be derived from:

          • 1. Engineering judgment based on what the system should ultimately not do
          • 2. Problems known from previous experience, or from historical “clue lists”
          • 3. Outputs of a FMEA – or a FMECA
          • 4. Information from a Preliminary Hazard Analysis
      • The basic steps for performing a FTA for software (same as for hardware) are as follows:
        • 1. Definition of the problem
        • 2. Analysis Approach
          • a. Identify the top-level event
          • b. Develop the fault tree
          • c. Analyze the fault tree
        • i. Delineate the minimum cut set
        • ii. Determine the reliability of the top-level event
        • iii. Review analysis output
  • FRB: Failure Review Board
  • FPRB: Failure Prevention Review Board
    • 1. The FPRB is chaired by the Program Manager and generally incorporates key members from across several areas of the program development process.

      2. The board reviews and approves each proposed corrective action and determines the effectiveness of the fix by assigning a fix effectiveness factor.

      3. If the corrective action is approved, the fixes are implemented and effectiveness verified.

      4. Should the corrective actions not be approved, the root causes are analyzed to determine improvements or other potential fixes

  • FRACAS: Failure Reporting and Corrective Action System
    • Purpose: closed-loop process whose purpose is to provide a systematic way to
      • 1. report
      • 2. organize
      • 3. analyze failure data
    • Failure Reporting.
      • – Failures and faults that occur during developmental or operational testing or during inspections are reported.

        – The failure report should include

        • 1. identification of the failed item,
        • 2. symptoms of the failure
        • 3. testing conditions,
        • 4. item operating conditions
        • 5. time of the failure.
    • Failure Analysis.
      • – Each reported failure is analyzed to determine the root cause.

        – A FRACAS should have the capability to document the results and conclusions of the root cause analysis.

    • Design Modifications.
      • – Details of the implemented corrective actions for each failure mode should be documented. The precise nature of the design change should be captured as well as date of implementation.
    • Failure Verification.
      • – All reported failures need to be verified as actual failures by repeating the failure or evidence of failure, such as a leak or damaged hardware.

        – This verification needs to be tracked within the FRACAS.

  • FTA Example:
    • Wafer Unable To Move To The Next Step
      • Loss of Wafer Location
        • Wafer Sensor Detection Failed
        • Wafer Sensor Board Failed
      • Loss of Wafer: Wafer Break
        • Actual Wafer Break
        • Partial Wafer Break
  • MEF: Mission Essential Function
  • OMF: Operation Mission Failure
  • SA: System Abort
  • FD: Failure Definition
  • SC: Scoring Criteria
• Book: Design For Reliability
  • About the Book
    • Title: Design For Relibility
    • Authors: Raheja/Gullo
    • Chapters: 18
    • Pages: 334
  • 1 Design for Reliability Paradigms 1
    • Dev Raheja
    • Why Design for Reliability? 1
      • 1. The science of reliability has not kept pace with user expectations.

        2. Many corporations still use MTBF (mean time between failures) as a measure of reliability, which, depending on the statistical distribution of failure data, implies acceptance of roughly 50 to 70% failures during the time indicated by the MTBF.

        3. No user today can tolerate such a high number of failures. Ideally, a user does not want any failures for the entire expected life!

        4. The life expected is determined by the life inferred by users, such as 100,000 miles or 10 years for an automobile, at least 10 years for kitchen appliances, and at least 20 years for a commercial airliner.

        5. Most commercial companies, such as automotive and medical device manufacturers, have stopped using the MTBF measure and aim at 1 to 10% failures during a self-defined time. This is still not in line with users’ dreams.

        6. The real question is: Why not design for zero failures if we can increase profits and gain more market share? Zero failures implies zero mission-critical failures or zero safety-critical system failures.

        7. As a minimum, systems in which failures can lead to catastrophic consequences must be designed for zero failures.

        8. There are companies that are able to do this. Toyota, Apple, Gillette, Honda, Boeing, Johnson & Johnson, Corning, and Hewlett-Packard are a few examples.

        9. The aim of design for reliability (DFR) is to design-out failures of critical system functions in a system. The number of such failures should be zero for the expected life of the product.

        10. Some components may be allowed to fail, such as in redundant systems

    • Reflections on the Current State of the Art 2
      • 1. Reliability is defined as the probability of performing all the functions (including safety functions) satisfactorily for a specified time and specified use conditions.

        2. The functions and use conditions come from the specification.

        3. If a specification misses or is vague 60% or more of the time, the reliability predictions are of very little value. This is usually the case

        4.The second big issue is: How many failures should be tolerable? Some readers may not agree that we can design for zero critical failures, but the evidence supports the contrary conclusion. We may not be able to prevent failures that we did not foresee, but we can design out all the critical failure modes that we discover during the requirements analysis and in the failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA).

        5. In over 30 years’ experience, I have yet to encounter a failure mode that cannot be designed-out. The cost is usually not an issue if the FMEA is conducted and the improvements are made during the early design stage.

        6. The time specified for critical failures in the reliability definition should be the entire lifetime expected.

    • The Paradigms for Design for Reliability 4
    • Summary 13
    • References 13
  • 2 Reliability Design Tools 15
    • Joseph A. Childs
    • Introduction 15
    • Reliability Tools 19
    • Test Data Analysis 31
    • Summary 34
    • References 35
  • 3 Developing Reliable Software 37
    • Samuel Keene
    • Introduction and Background 37
    • Software Reliability: Definitions and Basic Concepts 40
    • Software Reliability Design Considerations 44
    • Operational Reliability Requires Effective Change Management 48
    • Execution-Time Software Reliability Models 48
    • Software Reliability Prediction Tools Prior to Testing 49
    • References 51
  • 4 Reliability Models 53
    • Louis J. Gullo
    • Introduction 53
    • Reliability Block Diagram: System Modeling 56
    • Example of System Reliability Models Using RBDs 57
    • Reliability Growth Model 60
    • Similarity Analysis and Categories of a Physical Model 60
    • Monte Carlo Models 62
    • Markov Models 62
    • References 64
  • 5 Design Failure Modes, Effects, and Criticality Analysis 67
    • Louis J. Gullo
    • Introduction to FMEA and FMECA 67
    • Design FMECA 68
    • Principles of FMECA-MA 71
    • Design FMECA Approaches 72
    • Example of a Design FMECA Process 74
    • Risk Priority Number 82
    • Final Thoughts 86
    • References 86
  • 6 Process Failure Modes, Effects, and Criticality Analysis 87
    • Joseph A. Childs
    • Introduction 87
    • Principles of P-FMECA 87
    • Use of P-FMECA 88
    • What Is Required Before Starting 90
    • Performing P-FMECA Step by Step 91
    • Improvement Actions 98
    • Reporting Results 100
    • Suggestions for Additional Reading 101
  • 7 FMECA Applied to Software Development 103
    • Robert W. Stoddard
    • Introduction 103
    • Scoping an FMECA for Software Development 104
    • FMECA Steps for Software Development 106
    • Important Notes on Roles and Responsibilities with Software
    • FMECA 116
    • Lessons Learned from Conducting Software FMECA 117
    • Conclusions 119
    • References 120
  • 8 Six Sigma Approach to Requirements Development 121
    • Samuel Keene
    • Early Experiences with Design of Experiments 121
    • Six Sigma Foundations 124
    • The Six Sigma Three-Pronged Initiative 126
    • The RASCI Tool 128
    • Design for Six Sigma 129
    • Requirements Development: The Principal Challenge to System
    • Reliability 130
    • The GQM Tool 131
    • The Mind Mapping Tool 132
    • References 135
  • 9 Human Factors in Reliable Design 137
    • Jack Dixon
    • Human Factors Engineering 137
    • A Design Engineer’s Interest in Human Factors 138
    • Human-Centered Design 138
    • Human Factors Analysis Process 144
    • Human Factors and Risk 150
    • Human Error 150
    • Design for Error Tolerance 153
    • Checklists 154
    • Testing to Validate Human Factors in Design 154
    • References 154
  • 10 Stress Analysis During Design to Eliminate Failures 157
    • Louis J. Gullo
    • Principles of Stress Analysis 157
    • Mechanical Stress Analysis or Durability Analysis 158
    • Finite Element Analysis 158
    • Probabilistic vs. Deterministic Methods and Failures 159
    • How Stress Analysis Aids Design for Reliability 159
    • Derating and Stress Analysis 160
    • Stress vs. Strength Curves 161
    • Software Stress Analysis and Testing 166
    • Structural Reinforcement to Improve Structural
    • Integrity 167
    • References 167
  • 11 Highly Accelerated Life Testing 169
    • Louis J. Gullo
    • Introduction 169
    • Time Compression 173
    • Test Coverage 174
    • Environmental Stresses of HALT 175
    • Sensitivity to Stresses 176
    • Design Margin 178
    • Sample Size 180
    • Conclusions 180
    • Reference 181
  • 12 Design for Extreme Environments 183
    • Steven S. Austin
    • Overview 183
    • Designing for Extreme Environments 183
    • Designing for Cold 184
    • Designing for Heat 186
    • References 191
    • 13 Design for Trustworthiness 193
    • Lawrence Bernstein and C. M. Yuhas
    • Introduction 193
    • Modules and Components 196
    • Politics of Reuse 200
    • Design Principles 201
    • Design Constraints That Make Systems Trustworthy 204
    • Conclusions 210
    • eferences and Notes 211
  • 14 Prognostics and Health Management Capabilities to Improve Reliability 213
    • Louis J. Gullo
    • Introduction 213
    • PHM Is Department of Defense Policy 216
    • Condition-Based Maintenance vs. Time-Based Maintenance 216
    • Monitoring and Reasoning of Failure Precursors 217
    • Monitoring Environmental and Usage Loads for Damage
    • Modeling 218
    • Fault Detection, Fault Isolation, and Prognostics 218
    • Sensors for Automatic Stress Monitoring 220
    • References 221
  • 15 Reliability Management 223
    • Joseph A. Childs
    • Introduction 223
    • Planning, Execution, and Documentation 229
    • Closing the Feedback Loop: Reliability Assessment, Problem Solving, and Growth 232
      • References 233
  • 16 Risk Management, Exception Handling and Change Management 235
    • Jack Dixon
    • Introduction to Risk 235
    • Importance of Risk Management 236
    • Why Many Risks Are Overlooked 237
    • Program Risk 239
    • Design Risk 241
    • Risk Assessment 242
    • Risk Identification 243
    • Risk Estimation 244
    • Risk Evaluation 245
    • Risk Mitigation 247
    • Risk Communication 248
    • Risk and Competitiveness 249
    • Risk Management in the Change Process 249
    • Configuration Management 249
    • References 251
  • 17 Integrating Design for Reliability with Design for Safety 253
    • Brian Moriarty
    • Introduction 253
    • Start of Safety Design 254
    • Reliability in System Safety Design 255
    • Safety Analysis Techniques 255
    • Establishing Safety Assessment Using the Risk Assessment Code
    • Matrix 260
    • Design and Development Process for Detailed Safety Design 261
    • Verification of Design for Safety Includes Reliability 261
    • Examples of Design for Safety with Reliability Data 262
    • Final Thoughts 266
    • References 266
  • 18 Organizational Reliability Capability Assessment 267
    • Louis J. Gullo
    • Introduction 267
    • The Benefits of IEEE 1624-2008 269
    • Organizational Reliability Capability 270
    • Reliability Capability Assessment 271
    • Design Capability and Performability 271
    • IEEE 1624 Scoring Guidelines 276
    • SEI CMMI Scoring Guidelines 277
    • Organizational Reliability Capability Assessment Process 278
    • Advantages of High Reliability 282
    • Conclusions 283
    • References 284
• Compiled By:
  • Rigel Arcayan
  • blindcaveman.wordpress.com

Mindmap-ProblemSolving

Mindmap-ProblemSolving

• Tools in Focus
• Problem Solving Methods
  • Problem Solving Elements
    • problems
    • analysis
    • hypotheses
    • research
    • goals
    • shortcomings
    • improvements
    • options
    • plans
    • criticism
    • results
  • IDEAL
    • Identify Problems and Opportunities
    • Define Alternative Goals
    • Explore Possible Strategies
    • Anticipate and Act
    • Look and Learn
  • Problem Solving Template
    • problems
    • analysis
    • goals
    • plans
  • How to Solve It
    • Understand the problem
    • Make a plan
    • Carry out the plan
    • Look back on your work
• Problem Solving Tools
  • general tools
    • work backwards
  • creativity tools
    • Morphological Table (Tree)
      • • …
      • …
      • • buoyancy
          • helium
          • hydrogen
          • methane
          • hot air
          • vacuum
        • stability
          • ribs
          • vertical frame
          • semi-rigid keel
          • foam filling
        • energy souce
          • kerosene
          • hydrogen
          • solar energy
          • rechargeable battery
    • Modification List
      • combine / separate
      • add / subtract
      • rearrange
      • reverse
      • single / double / multiply
      • hide / show
      • construct / deconstruct
      • maximize / minimize
      • speed up / slow down
      • trust / suspect
      • substitute
      • adapt
      • put to other uses
      • introduce / eliminate
    • Stimulus Analysis
      • Orchestra
      • Internet
      • Sailing Boats
      • Bakery
      • Eagles
      • Painting
      • Trees
      • Furniture
      • Shakespeare
      • Cinema
  • analysis tools
    • Questions: 5W2H
      • what?
      • why?
      • who?
      • where?
      • when?
      • how?
      • how many?
    • SWOT analysis
      • Strengths
      • Weaknesses
      • Opportunities
      • Threat
    • 5 Whys
      • <why? 1st=”” cause=””>
        • <why? 2nd=”” cause=””>
          • …
    • top-down analysis
    • Research
      • internet
      • libraries
      • ask experts
  • revision tools
    • shortcomings & improvements
      • shortcomings
      • improvements
    • review
• Instructions
  • Adapt this map!
  • Meaning of icons
    • o
      • template branches
    • o
      • info branches
    • o
      • link to web resources
    • o
      • details missing
  • Use text notes
  • Use full screen mode
  • Links to further sources
    • ~ Wikipedia article on Problem Solving

      ~ Wikipedia article on Creative Problem Solving

      ~ Mycoted

  • How to write documents with Freeplane
    • Write text branches
    • Apply a filter
    • Export branches to text document
• Motivate Yourself
  • quotes
    • Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out Robert Collier
    • A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.
    • Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises. Demosthenes
  • music
  • videos
• Tool Repository
  • general tools
    • PDCA
      • Plan
      • Do
      • Check
      • Act
    • Eight Disciplines Problem Solving
      • Use a Team
      • Define the Problem
      • Implement and verify Interim Actions
      • Identify and Verify Root Causes
      • Choose and verify Permanent Corrective Actions (PCAs)
      • Implement and validate PCAs
      • Prevent recurrence
      • Congratulate your Team
  • creativity tools
    • SCAMPER
      • S – Substitute
      • C – Combine
      • A – Adapt
      • M – Modify
      • P – Put to another use
      • E – Eliminate
      • R – Reverse
    • Osborn’s Checklist
      • Put to other uses? As it is?… If modified?..

        Adapt? Is there anything else like this? What does this tell you? Is the past comparable?

        Modify? Give it a new angle? Alter the colour, sound, odour, meaning, motion, and shape?

        Magnify? Can anything be added, time, frequency, height, length, strength? Can it be duplicated, multiplied or exaggerated?

        Minify? Can anything be taken away? Made smaller? Lowered? Shortened? Lightened? Omitted? Broken up?

        Substitute? Different ingredients used? Other material? Other processes? Other place? Other approach? Other tone of voice? Someone else?

        Rearrange? Swap components? Alter the pattern, sequence or layout? Change the pace or schedule? Transpose cause and effect?

        Reverse? Opposites? Backwards? Reverse roles? Change shoes? Turn tables? Turn other cheek? Transpose ‘+/-‘?

        Combine? Combine units, purposes, appeals or ideas? A blend, alloy, or an ensemble?

    • Morphological Table (text note table)
  • analysis tools
    • break problem into smaller parts
    • finding patterns
      • choose right perspective
      • spatial structures
      • boxes and their content
      • look for analogies
      • mathematical concepts
      • iterations
      • introduce auxiliary elements
      • use microscopes / macroscopes
      • hidden structures
      • consider ALL information
      • look at opposites
      • consider inversions
      • consider additions / subtractions
      • consider minimizing / maximizing
  • revision tools
    • devil’s advocate
    • write a summary
  • meta-tools
    • develop new tools
  • motivational items
    • quotes
      • A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. ~ Sir Winston Churchill

        It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit. –- Harry Truman

        The dreamers are the saviors of the world. — James Allen

        We are all inventors, each sailing out on a voyage of discovery, guided each by a private chart, of which there is no duplicate. The world is all gates, all opportunities. Ralph Waldo Emerson

MindMap-PDSA Cycle (Plan, Do, Study, Act)

MindMap-PDSA Cycle (Plan, Do, Study, Act)

• PDSA-Actual
  • Problem Statement
  • Background
  • 5 Why Analysis
  • Countermeasures
  • Implement Countermeasures
• PLAN
  • 1. Clearly and objectively state the problem
  • 2. Give some background and context so that everyone can gain a common understanding
  • 3. Conduct “5Why” analysis to identify root causes
  • 4. Brainstorm countermeasures and create hypothesis to test them.
• DO
  • 5. Follow the scientific method to test the hypothesis
  • 6. Change things and if the change is not good, change it again until it is better
  • 7. Rather than waiting for one perfect solution, try many small things that can be done quickly.
  • 8. Gather the facts (data) based on direct observation of the experiment.
• STUDY
  • 9. Face the facts
  • 10. Reflect carefully on what worked and what did not work with the experiment.
  • 11. In each case, ask “Why?” until there is clear understanding of what was the and what was not
• ACT
  • 12. If the countermeasures were effective, make the new method a standard that can be audited and maintained.

    13. If the same countermeasure can be applied to the similar problems to benefit others, do so.

    14. Observe the new current condition and set new targets towards the ideal condition, return to Plan

    15. If the countermeasure is not effective, repeat the cycle beginning with the Plan Phase.

• Compiled By:
  • Rigel Arcayan
  • blindcaveman.wordpress.com

MindMap-OnWritingWell

MindMap-OnWritingWell

• On Writing Well
• Chapter 1 – The Transaction
  • Any method that helps people say what they want to say is the right method for them.
• Chapter 2 – Simplicity
  • Strip every sentence to its cleanest components.
  • Writers must therefore constantly ask: What am I trying to say?
• Chapter 3 – Clutter
  • Clutter is the laborious phrase that has pushed out the short word that means the same thing.
  • Look for clutter in your writing and pune it ruthlessly.
• Chapter 4 – Style
  • The point is that you have to strip your writing down before you can build it back up.
  • A writer is obviously at his most natural and relaxed when he writes in the first person.
  • Sell yourself, and your subject will exert its own appeal.
• Chapter 5 – The Audience
  • You are writing for yourself. Don’t try to visualize the great mass audience.” – p. 27
  • Simplify, prune, and strive for order.” – p. 28
• Chapter 6 – Words
  • Notice the decisions that other writers make in their choice of words and be finicky about the ones that you select from the vast supply.” – p. 37

    Make a habit of reading what is being written today and what has been written before.

    Writing is learned by imitation.” – p. 37

    Get in the habit of using dictionaries. My favorite for handy use isWebster’s New World

    Dictionary, Second College Edition, . . .” – p. 37

    An excellent guide to these nuances is Webster’s Dictionary of Synonyms.” – p. 37-38

    If all your sentences move at the same plodding gait, which even you recognize as deadly but don’t know how to cure, read them aloud.” – p. 38

• Chapter 7 – Usage
  • All of this merely confirms what lexicographers have always known: that the laws of usage are relative, bending with the taste of the lawmakers.” – p. 44
• Chapter 8 – Nonfiction as Literature
  • What I am saying is that I have no patience with the snobbery that accompanies “literature” —

    The snobbery which says that nonfiction is only journalism by another name, and that journalism by and name is a dirty word.” – p. 57

• Chapter 9 – Unity
  • All writing is ultimately a question of solving a problem.” – p. 59

    Therefore ask yourself some basic questions before you start. For example: “In What capacity am I going to address the reader?” (Reporter? Provider of information? Average man or woman?)

    “What pronoun and tense am I going to use” “What style?” (Impersonal reportorial?

    Personal but formal? Personal and casual?) “What attitude am I going to take toward the material?” (Involved? Detached? Judgmental? Ironic? Amused?)

    “How much do I want to cover?” “What one point do I want to make?”” – p. 62

    Decide what corner of your subject you’re going to bite off, and be content to cover it well and stop.” – p. 63

    As for what point you want to make, every successful piece of nonfiction should leave the reader with one provocative thought that he or she didn’t have before. Not two thoughts, or five — just one.” – p. 63

• Chapter 10 – The Lead
  • The most important sentence in any article is the first one.” – p. 65

    salvation often lies not in the writer’s style but in some odd fact he was able to discover.”

    you should always collect more material than you will use.” – 69

    look for your material everywhere, not just by reading the obvious sources and

    interviewing the obvious people.” – p. 69

    But narrative is the oldest and most compelling method of holding somone’s attention; every body wants to be told a story. Keep looking for ways to couch your information in narrative form.” – p. 72

• Chapter 11 – The Ending
  • The perfect ending should take the reader slightly by surprise and yet seem exactly right to him.” – p. 76

    When you’re ready to stop, stop. If you have presented all the facts and made the point you want to make, look for the nearest exit.” – p. 77

    Something that I often do in my own work is to bring my story full circle–to strike at the end an echo of a note that was sounded at the beginning.” – p. 79

• Chapter 12 – The interview
  • Learn to ask questions that will elicit answers about what is most interesting or vivid. . . ” p. 81

    Never go into an interview without doing whatever homework you can.” – p. 86

    Make a list of likely questions–it wil save you the vast embarrassment of going dry in midinterview.”- p. 86

    Your ethical duty to the person being inteviewed is to present his position accurately.” – p. 89

    But after that your duty is to the reader. He or she deserves the smallest package.” – p. 89

    But becareful where you break the quotation. Do it as soon as you naturally can, so that the reader knows who is talking, but not where it destroys the rhythm or the sense.” – p. 91

• Chapter 13 – Writing About a Place
  • We don’t want him to describe every ride at Disneyland, or tell us that the Grand Canyon is awesome, or that Venice has canals.

    If one of the rides at Disneyland got stuck, if somebody fell into the awesome Grand Canyon, that would be worth hearing about.” – p. 95

    As a writer you must keep a tight rein on your subjective self–the traveler touched by new sights and sounds and smells–and keep an objective eye on the reader.” – p. 95

    If a phrase comes to you easily, look at it with deep suspicion–it’s probably one of the innumerable cliches that have woven their way so tightly into the fabric of travel writing that it takes a special effort not to use them.” – p. 96

    Eliminate every such fact that is a known attribute. . . Find details that are significant. They may be important to your narrative; they may be unusual, or colorful, or comic, or entertaining. But make sure they are details that do useful work.” – p. 96

• Chapter 14 – Bits & Pieces
  • Use active verbs unless there is no comfortable way to get around using a passive verb.” – p.108

    Most adverbs are unneccessary. You will clutter your sentence and annoy the reader if you choose a verb that has a precise meaning and then add an adverb that carries the same meaning.” – p. 109

    Most adjectives are also unnecessary. Like adverbs, they are sprinkled into sentences by writers who don’t stop to think that the concept is already in the noun.” – p. 110

    Pune out the small words that qualify how you feel and how you think and what you saw: ‘a bit,’ ‘a little,’ ‘sort of,’ ‘kind of,’ ‘rather,’ ‘quite,’ ‘very,’ ‘too,’ ‘pretty much,’ ‘in a sense,’ and dozens more.

    They dilute both your style and your persuasiveness.” p . 111

    The exclamation point. Don’t use it unless you must to achieve a certain effect.” – p. 112

    The dash is used in two different ways. One is to amplify or justify in the second part of the sentence a thought you have stated in the first part.

    We decided to keep going–it was only 100 miles more and we could get there in time for dinner.’ . . . The other use involves two dashes, which set apart a parenthetical thought within a longer sentence.

    She told me to get in the car- -she had been after me all summer to have a haircut–and we drove silently into town.'” – p.

    Learn to alert the reader as early as possible in a setence to any change in mood from the pervious sentence.” – p. 113

    Your style will obviously be warmer and truer to your personality if you use contractions like

    “I’ll” and “won’t” when they fit comfortably into what you’re writing.” – p. 115

    Don’t overstate.” – p. 115

    If the reader catches you in just one bogus statement that you are trying to pass off as true, everything you write thereafter will be suspect.” – p. 116

    The best solutions simply eliminate “he” and its connotations of male ownership by using other pronouns or by alternating some other component of the sentence.

    “We is a handy replacement for “He”; “our” and “the” can often replace “his.” – p. 119

    Instead of talking about what “the writer” does and the trouble he gets into, I found more places where I could address the writer directly (“You’ll often find . . . “).” – p. 120

    Keep your paragraphis short, especially if you’re writing for a newspaper or a magazine that sets its type in a narrow width.” – p. 120

    Dictated sentences tend to be pompous, sloppy, and redundant.” – p. 121

    Surprisingly often a difficult problem in a sentence can be solved by simply getting rid of it.”- p. 122

    the effortless style is achieved by strenuous effort and rewriting. The nails of grammar and syntax are all in place; the english is as good as the writer can make it, and the total piece has a design that pulls the reader along from start to finish.” – p. 123

    Taste is the instinct to know what works and to avoid what doesn’t.” – p. 125

    The best way to learn to write is to study the work of the men and women whoare doing the kind of writing you want to do.” – p. 127

    Writing that will endure tends to consist of words that are short and strong; words that anesthetize are words of three, four and fivfe syllables, mostly of Latin origin, many of them ending in “ion” and embodying a vague concept.” – p. 129

• Chapter 15 – Science, Technology and Nature
  • You just can’t assume that your readers know what you assume any boob knows, or that they still remember what was once explained to them.” – p. 133

    Describing how a process works is valuable for two reasons. First, it forces you to make sure you know how it works. Then it forces you to take the reader through the same sequence of ideas and deductions that made the process clear to you.” – p. 133

    imagine science writing as an upside-down pyramid. Start at the bottom with the one fact that a reader must know before he can learn any more.

    The second sentence broadens what was stated first, making the pyramid wider, and the third sentence broadens the second, so that gradually you can move beyond mere fact into significance and speculation. . . ” – p.134

• Chapter 16 – Business Writing
  • Remember that what yhou write is often the only chance you’ll get to present yourself to someone whose business you want. If what you write is ornate or pompous or fuzzy, that’s how you’ll be perceived.” – p. 156

    be yourself when you write. You will stand out as a real person among the robots. . .” – p.

• Chapter 17 – Sports
  • [The best sportswriters] avoid the exhausted sysnonyms and strive for freshness elsewhere in constructing a sentence.” – p. 160
• Chapter 18 – Criticism
  • A distinction should therefore be made between a ‘critic’ and a ‘reviewer.'” – p. 173

    As a reviwer your job is more to report than to make an aesthetic judgment.” – p. 173

    a critic should like–or, better still, love–the medium he is reviewing. The reader deserves

    a lifelong movie buff who will bring along a reservoir of knowledge, passion and prejudice.” -p. 174

    Don’t give away too mujch of the plot. Tell readers just enough to let them decide whether it’s the kind of story they tend to enjoy, but not so much that you will kill their eventual enjoyment.” – p. 174

    use as much specific detail as possible. This avoid dealing in generalities, which, being generalities, mean nothing.” – p. 174

    A final caution is to avoid the ecstatic adjectives that occupy such disproportionate space in every critic’s quiver–words like ‘enthralling’ and ‘luminous.'” – p. 175

• Chapter 19 – Humor
  • if you’re trying to write humor, almost everything you do is serious.” – p. 187

    The writer must find some comic device–satire, parody, irony, lampoon, nonsense–that he can use to disguise his serious point.” – p. 189

• Chapter 20 – Writing About Yourself
  • If you’re a writer, give yourself permission to tell us who you are.” – p. 209

    nobody should use it without posting in full view a surgeon general’s warning:

    EXCESSIVE WIRING ABOUT YOURSELF CAN BE HAZARDOUS TO THE HEALTH OF THE WRITER AND THE READER.” – p. 210-211

    To write a good memoir you must become the editor of your own life, imposing on an untidy sprawl of half-remembered events a narrative shape and an organizing idea. Memoir is the art of inventing the truth.” – p. 212

    But the most interesting character in a memoir, we home, will turn out to be the person who wrote it.” – p. 217

• Chapter 21 – Writing with a Word Processor
  • In short, the word processor can concentrate your mind on the craft of writing, revising and editing–much more powerfully than this has ever been possible, because your words are right in front of you in all their infiinite possibility, waiting to be infinitely reshaped.” – p. 228

    I commend one thought to you as you dip your toe in the computer culture: You are more competent than you think you are.” – p. 232

    Like many writers, I don’t like to write; I like to have written.” – p. 233

    Remember that the two main virtues of writing are clarity and simplicity. Look for clutter and pune it out. Read your sentences aloud. Do they sound like you? If they don’t, fiddle with them until they do.” – p. 234

• Chapter 22 – Trust Your Material
  • one question you should ask at the start of every article or book is: How strong a presence should you be in your presentation of the facts?” – p. 236

    Trust your material. And when you go forth to gathher that material, trust yourself.” – p. 243

• Chapter 23 – A Writer’s Decisions
  • Readers can process only one idea at a time, and theey do it in linear sequence. Much of the trouble that writers get into comes from trying to make one sentence do too much work. Never be afraid to break a long sentence into two short ones, or even three.” – p. 246

    Don’t give readers of a magazine piece more inormation than they require; if you want to tell more, write a book or write for a scholarly journal.’ – p. 247

    Readers should always feel that you know more about your subject than you’ve put into writing.” – p. 253

• Chapter 24 – Write as Well as You Can
  • You must find some way to elevate your act of writing into an entertainment. Usually this means giving the reader an enjoyable surprise. Any number of methods will do the job; humor, anecdote, paradox, an unexpected quotation, a powerful fact, an outlandish detail, a circuitous approach, an elegant arrangement of words. These seeming amusements in fact become your ‘style.'” – p. 267

    You will only write as well as you make yourself write.” – . 273

MindMap-Notes-VisualMeeting

MindMap-Notes-VisualMeeting

• Core Idea
  • Imagine
    • Imagine the problem to solve
    • Explore the pattern
    • Store chunks of information
    • Find the pattern
  • Vision
    • Listen
    • Visualize
    • See
    • Talk
  • Values
  • Action
  • Results
• Meetings
  • Purpose of Meeting
    • Launch a team
    • Make decision
    • Track/Guide progress
    • Lead change process
  • Meeting starts in our imagination
  • Visualize meeting purposes and objectives
  • You can’t control thinking but can guide it
  • Tools for visual meetings
    • Display
    • Mapping
    • Diagramming
  • Visions to action
    • Roadmap
    • Gameplan
    • Progress map
    • Task list
    • Journey charts
    • Dashboards
  • Power of visual meetings
    • Sparking imagination
    • Thinking Big picture
    • Engaging people actively
    • Supporting group memory and productivity
  • Why Meetings?
    • Why are we here?
    • Who are you?
      • What might you be asking
    • What are we doing?
      • How are we going to do it?
  • Models
    • Who is there?
    • Who are you?
    • What are we doing?
    • How are we going to do it?
  • Types of meeting
    • Welcoming new members
    • Initial session
    • Brainstorming and design
    • Annual meeting
    • Visioning session
    • Problem solving
    • Learning session
    • Decision making
    • Project kickoff
    • Board retreat
    • Virtual team meeting
• Learning
  • Learning Cycle
    • Imagination with intentions and task focus
    • Exploration and engagement
    • Thinking/pattern finding
    • Decision to move to action and application
• Thinking
  • Process of finding connection
  • Solving problems
  • Revealing a design
  • Setting the criteria for decision
  • The Thinking Process
    • What are the simplest/the most fundamental elements
    • Work towards the most complex
  • 4 Ways To Get Started
    • Personal visualization using journal/sketchbook
    • One on one meeting
    • Graphic template
    • Let others draw
  • Thinking Exercises
    • Doodle faces
    • Spontaneous drawing
    • Mind mapping
    • Spontaneous writing
      • write a question and answer w/out thinking
    • Trace drawing
    • Note taking
    • landscapes
• 4WH
  • Who?
  • What?
  • When?
  • Where?
  • How?
• Journaling
  • Draw setting charts
  • Practice bullet points
  • Play with lines and borders
  • Doodle little people
  • Play with cartoon bubble
  • Take notes in a different format
• Push and Pull
  • Push
    • asserts itself
    • changes things by adding context
    • Rule based
    • Guidelines
    • Creates resistance
    • ex. Powerpoint is a push
  • People feel pushed by
    • Instructions
    • Dense contents
    • Predesigned formats
    • Confrontation/attacks
    • Decision
    • Evaluation
    • Proposal
  • People feel pulled by
    • Open questions
    • Simple images
    • Silence
    • Moving back out of the way
    • Blank paper/blank spaces
    • Open hand drawn charts
    • Uncertainty
    • Breakdown in agenda
• Brainstorming
  • Rules
    • Suspend judgment
    • Speak whatever occurs
    • Don’t edit, same ideas ok
    • Write down all ideas
    • Work quickly
  • Types of Brainstorming
    • List brainstorming
    • Howto or I wonder
    • Sticky notes wall
    • Vision breakout
    • Improvise
      • make things up
    • Discuss/propose
  • 5 Steps
    • Understand the problems
    • Identify success criteria
    • Brainstorm solution
    • Pick best solution
    • Implement solution
• Storyboarding
  • Break information down
  • Arrange in narrative flow
  • Look at the big picture
• Idea Mapping
  • add central idea in the middle
  • Identify something connected
  • create branch
  • keep adding branches
  • Purpose
    • to stimulate thinking
    • to think linearly
• Visioning Process
  • Preparing
  • Exploring and learning
  • Agreeing on current realities
  • Opening to a vision
  • Creating strategies
  • Implementing change
  • Living the vision
  • Exercise
    • Write your career histories, 15years
    • Write your career future, 5 years
• SWOT
  • Strength
  • Weakness
  • Opportunities
  • Threats
• Change
  • How to change
    • Go beyond brainstorm session
    • Come to shared agreement
    • Unite what step to begin
  • stress tension=creative tension
  • Creative people
    • they have the capacity to keep themselves in the space of creative tension long enough to create extraordinary results

      each day, they make progress

      structural tension drives creative action

      they have an appetite for creative tension and hold their visions while exploring every way possible to change current reality

  • Agreeing on Action Plan
    • Where are we now?
    • Where do we want to go?
    • How do we get there?
    • What are the success factors?
• Team Performance
  • Flow of action
  • Flow of energy
  • Flow of information
  • Flow of operation
  • Models
    • Orientation
      • Why here?
    • Trust building
      • Who are you?
    • Goal clarification
      • What are we doing?
    • Commitment
      • How will we do it?
    • Implementation
      • Who does what/when/where?
    • High performance
      • WOW
    • Renewal
      • Why continue?
  • Decision Funnel
    • Proposal for action
    • Dot vote
    • Hi/Lo graphs
    • Agree
• Visual Problem Solving
  • Use frequency checklist
  • Use scatter diagrams
  • Use pareto charts
  • Use fishbone diagram
  • Use histogram
  • Use flow charts
  • Use control charts

MindMap-Notes-Creative Writing

MindMap-Notes-Creative Writing

• Book Information
  • Title
    • Get Started in Creative Writing
  • Author
    • Stephen May
  • ISBN
    • 978-1444103180
  • Chapters
    • 20
  • Pages
    • 319
  • My Rating
    • 5 Stars
• Writing Rules
  • Don’t preach
  • Don’t pad
  • Don’t repeat yourself
  • Don’t be discouraged
  • Don’t be pessimistic
• Writing Sources
  • List of jobs
  • List of places
  • Places you lived
  • People you’ve worked with
  • Hobbies and Interests
  • Names/Job interest of people you know
  • Autobiography
• Simple Advices
  • Specialize
  • Use an unusual angle
  • Use humor
  • Think about all points to include
  • Sort
  • Plan
  • Write the list in a draft
  • Choose a snappy title
  • Double check all your facts
  • Put your article in the drawer and wait [incubate]
  • Write a second draft
  • Get feedback
• Imagination and Writing Exercise
  • a still of life-slow down your life
  • have a sense of place
  • write about a desire
  • drip feed your history
  • write about people
  • evoke and inform
  • inform and evoke
  • less is more
  • one incident/event, write about it
  • think if can add to the sum of human knowledge
  • be honest
  • have social interaction
  • create a persona
• Stand and Stare Exercise
  • Think of an object
  • Think of a place
  • Think of an event
  • Think of a hometown

MindMap-MI Recovery

MindMap-MI Recovery

• Cardiac Diet
  • Eat
    • Bagel Breakfast
    • Coffee
    • Pasta, Rice, whole grain breads
    • Skim or 2% Milk
    • Low Fat cheeses and yogurt
    • Ice Milk or sherbet
    • Fresh Fruits
    • Vegetables-fresh, steamed, boiled, grilled, without sauces
    • Lean Meat-skinless poultry and fish, roasted, grilled, baked, not fried
    • Egg Whites
    • Margarine made with canola, corn, sesame oils
    • Liquid margarine
  • Avoid
    • Whole Milk, cream
    • Regular ice cream
    • More than 3 whole eggs per week
    • Fatty meats
    • Hot dogs, sausages, bacon
    • Butter, lard or shortening
    • Sauces and gravies
    • Salad dressings made with mayonnaise, cream, cheese
    • Fried Foods
    • Foods made with MSG
    • Tips-Lowering Fat
    • Use non stick cookware, vegetable oil spray instead of butter
    • Trim visible fat off meat or poulty before cooking
    • Broil, roast, bake or steam your meat, poultry or fish instead of frying
    • Have a meatless meal once a week
    • Use Fat free versions of anything
    • Use 2 egg whites instead of 1 whole egg in baking
    • Use herbs and spices and vinegars for flavoring foods instead of sauces
• Mind and Spirit
  • Continue Daily Devotional
  • Prayer
  • Act per the guidance of the Holy Spirit
  • Celebrate Life-EVERYDAY
  • View MI as another proof of Psalm91 (many cases already in my life)
  • Share MI experience as a “Warning Sign” to ALL-Life is too short, live it everyday.
• Cardiac Rehab
  • Monitor Workout Data
  • Monitor Heart Rate
  • Monitor Blood Pressure
  • Monitor Sleep Hours
  • Monitor Weight Daily
• Problem Analysis
  • What is it?
    • 100% occlusion of Left Anterior Descending Artery causing no blood flow to the myocardium.

      What was suppose to happen?

      Blood supposed to flow/circulate with ZERO obstruction to the heart.

  • What actually happened?
    • Left Anterior Descending artery was 100% blocked, Zero flow to the heart.
  • Why did it happen that way?
    • Unknown source of blockage in the entrance of LAD.
    • Hypothermia (20081104 2.4Mile Cold swim)-triggered an event-Thrombosis
    • Thrombosis–>Up blood viscosity–>Blood clot–>100% occlusion LAD–>MI
  • What will we do to improve the way we do it next time?
    • Implement cardiac diet, low fat and cholesterol
    • Regular exercise (no changes).
    • Yearly comprehensive medical checkup.
• Fitness
  • Monthly Time Trial
  • Annual Rosedale Ride-65 Miles
  • Annual Austin 5K Swim
  • Annual Outlaw 100 Mile Bike Ride
  • Weekly Long Distance Swim-2.4 Miles Non Stop
  • Weekly Long Distance Cycling-40Miles
• Medication
  • Effient, reduce blood clots,1x/day
  • Lisinopril-20mg, BP med, ACE inhibitor, 1x/day,
  • Coreg-20mg, BP/Heart med, 1x/day
  • Aspirin, 325mg, Blood thinner, 1x/day
  • Lovaza, Omega-3
  • Nitroglycerin, .4mg, Dilate artery during chest pain, as needed

Mindmap-Mindfulness

Mindmap-Mindfulness

• Definition: Mindfulness
  • A simple way of relating to our experience, which can have profound impact on painful, negative experiences we encounter.
• Characteristics of mindfulness
  • Involves:
  • Stopping
  • Paying attention
  • Becoming aware of present moment realities
  • Not judging whatever is happening as ‘good’ or ‘bad’
• Definition
  • “The non-judgemental observation of the ongoing stream of internal and external stimuli as they arise”. Ruth Baer (2003)

    “Keeping one’s consciousness alive to the present reality” (Thich Nath Hanh, 1976)

    “Mindfulness is simply the knack of noticing without comment whatever is happening in your present experience” Guy Claxton (1990), p.18

• Relevance of Mindfulness Practice to Emotional Distress
  • Creates a “holding environment”
  • Mindfulness gives us a safe “platform” from which to observe
  • Practice enables us to stay safely with distress until it disperses
  • Mindfulness steadies and grounds us
• Mindfulness in Psychotherapy
  • 1. Awareness
  • 2. Of present experience
  • 3. With acceptance
  • All three components are required for a moment of full mindfulness. (Germer et al., 2005)
• What Mindfulness is Not
  • Not a relaxation exercise
  • Not a way to avoid difficulty
  • Not a way to by-pass personality problems
  • Not about achieving a different state of mind
• What Mindfulness is About
  • Being present to our experience however distressing or upsetting it may be
  • Brings us closer to difficulties but without becoming caught up in our reactions to difficulties
  • It is a slow, gentle coming to grips with who we are
  • Settling in to our current experience in a relaxed, alert, open-hearted way
• Mindfulness in Action Techniques
  • These techniques are useful for bring mindfulness into the activities of everyday life.

    They also are a good place to start with clients who have very low impulse control and distress tolerance.

    Linehan (2003 pp170-171 & 174-175) describes a number of these techniques as a way of developing distress tolerance in her “Skills Training Manual for Treating Borderline Personality Disorder”

• Mindfulness in action techniques include:
  • Focusing awareness of an aspect of a physical habit that previously has largely been outside of conscious awareness e.g.

    Noticing how tight you hold the steering wheel when driving.

    Being aware of what happens to your breathing or voice tone in an argument.

    Focusing awareness on the breath when a specified environmental cue occurs.

    This technique has been described in detail by Thich Nhat Hanh (1991 pp22-30 ).

    The cues we might use include:

    • Waiting for phone to be answered
    • Waiting at a red traffic light
    • Walking
    • Listening to Music
    • Getting Dressed

    Detailed awareness of the mental phenomena associated with cravings or urges such as thoughts, physical sensations and feelings.

    This is different to urge surfing as this technique includes no expectation that the craving will be outlasted.

• A. Informal Mindfulness Exercises
  • Mindfulness in Your Morning Routine

    Pick an activity that constitutes part of your daily morning routine, such as brushing your teeth, shaving, or having a shower.

    When you do it, totally focus on what you are doing: the body movements, the taste, the touch, the smell, the sight, the sound etc.

    For example, when you’re in the shower, notice the sounds of the water as it sprays out of the nozzle, and as it hits your body as it gurgles down the hole.

    Notice the temperature of the water, and the feel of it in your hair, and on your shoulders, and running down our legs.

    Notice the smell of the soap and shampoo, and the feel of them against your skin.

    Notice the sight of the water droplets on the walls or shower screen, the water dripping down your body and the steam rising upwards.

    Notice the movements of your arms as you wash or scrub or shampoo.

    When thoughts arise, acknowledge them, let them be, and bring your attention back to the shower.

    Pick an activity such as ironing clothes, washing dishes, vacuuming floors, and do it mindfully.

    For example, when ironing clothes: notice the color and shape of the clothing, and the pattern made by the creases, and the new pattern as the creases disappear.

    Notice the hiss of the steam, the creak of the ironing board, the faint sound of the iron moving over the material.

    Notice the grip of your hand on the iron, and the movement of your arm and your shoulder.

    If boredom or frustration arises, simply acknowledge it, and bring your attention back to the task at hand.

    When thoughts arise, acknowledge them, let them be, and bring your attention back to what you are doing.

• B. Informal Mindfulness Exercises
  • Take Ten Breaths

    1. Throughout the day, pause for a moment and take ten slow, deep breaths. Focus on breathing out as slowly as possible, until the lungs are completely empty, and breathing in using your diaphragm.

    2. Notice the sensations of your lungs emptying and your ribcage falling as you breathe out. Notice the rising and falling of your abdomen.

    3. Notice what thoughts are passing through your mind. Notice what feelings are passing through your body.

    4. Observe those thoughts and feelings without judging them as good or bad, and without trying to change them, avoid them, or hold onto them. Simply observe them.

    5. Notice what it’s like to observe those thoughts and feelings with an attitude of acceptance.

• C. Notice Five Things
  • This is a simple exercise to center yourself, and connect with your environment. Practice it throughout the day, especially any time you find yourself getting caught up in your thoughts and feelings.

    1. Pause for a moment

    2. Look around, and notice five things you can see.

    3. Listen carefully, and notice five things you can hear.

    4. Notice five things you can feel in contact with your body. (E.g. your watch against your wrist, your trousers against your legs, the air upon your face, your feet upon the floor, your back against the chair etc)

• D. Informal Mindfulness Exercises
  • Noting or Describing as a Mindfulness Skill

    Noting or describing (ie silently putting words to your experience) can be a useful mindfulness skill.

    This can be incorporated into any mindfulness exercise. Some clients find it very useful, particularly if they are often distracted by thoughts or feelings.

    For instance, when feelings arise you can silently note ‘feelings’ (ie silently say the word ‘feelings’ in your mind).

    Or you could use a phrase like, ‘it’s a feeling’.

    Or you can be much more specific, and note each individual feeling by name, eg ‘anger’, ‘boredom’, ‘calm’.

    When thoughts arise, you can silently note ‘thinking’ (ie silently say the word ‘thinking’ in your mind).

    Or you could use a phrase like, ‘it’s a thought’.

    Or you can be much more specific, and note your thoughts by category, eg ‘judging’, ‘worrying’, ‘analyzing’, ‘remembering’, ‘fantasizing’. Or more simply: ‘anxious thought’, ‘sad thought’, ‘neutral thought’; ‘thought about the future’, ‘thought about the past’ etc.

    A similar process can operate informally throughout the day. For example, in a tense work situation, you might observe a feeling of anxiety and simply note it as ‘I’m feeling anxious’ or ‘I’m noticing a feeling of anxiety’.

• Note 3 categories only
  • 1. sensations (ie stuff you can feelin your body)
  • 2. thoughts (ie words you can hear in your head)
  • 3. images (ie picture you can see in your head)

MindMap-12 Rules of Investing

MindMap-12 Rules of Investing

• 1. An attempt at making a quick buck often leads to losing much of that buck.
  • The people who suffer the worst losses are those who overreach.
  • If the investment sounds too good to be true, it is.
  • The best hot tip I’ve found is “there is no such thing as a hot tip.”
• 2. Don’t let a small loss become large.
  • Don’t keep losing money just to “prove you are right.”
  • Never throw good money after bad (don’t buy more of a loser).
  • When all you’re left with is hope, get out.
• 3. Cut your losers; let your winners ride.
  • Avoid limited-upside, unlimited-downside investments.
  • Don’t fall in love with your investment; it won’t fall in love with you.
• 4. A rising tide raises all ships, and vice versa. So assess the tide, not the ships.
  • Fighting the prevailing “trend” is generally a recipe for disaster.
  • Stocks will fall more than you think and rise higher than you can imagine.
  • In the short run, values don’t matter.
• 5. When a stock hits a new high, it’s not time to sell something that is going right.
  • When a stock hits a new low, it’s not time to buy something that is going wrong.
• 6. Buy and hold doesn’t ALWAYS work.
  • If stocks don’t seem cheap, stand aside.
• 7. Bear markets begin in good times. Bull markets begin in bad times.
  • Bull market – a financial market of a group of securities in which prices are rising or are expected to rise. Bull markets are characterized by optimism, investor confidence and expectations that strong results will continue.

    Bear market – a market condition in which the prices of securities are falling, and widespread pessimism causes the negative sentiment to be self-sustaining.

• 8. If you don’t understand the investment, don’t buy it.
  • Don’t be wooed. Either make an effort to understand it or say “no thanks.”
  • You can’t know everything, so don’t stray far from what you know.
• 9. Buy value, and sell hysteria.
  • Paying less than the underlying asset’s value is a proven successful investing strategy.
  • Buying overvalued stocks has proven to under perform the market.
  • Neglected sectors often offer good values.
  • The “popular” sectors are often overvalued.
• 10. Investing in what’s popular never ends up making you any money.
  • Avoid popular stocks, fad industries and new ventures.
  • Buy an investment when it has few friends.
• 11. When it’s time to act, don’t hesitate.
  • Once you’re in, be patient and don’t be rattled by fluctuations.
  • Stick with your plan… but when you make a mistake, don’t hesitate.
  • Learn more from your bad moves than your good ones.
• 12. Expert investors care about risk; novice investors shop for returns.
  • If you focus on the risks, the returns will eventually come for you.
  • If you focus on the returns, the risks will eventually come for you.
• Courtesy: Steve Sjuggerud, InvestmentU.com

MindMap-GAF

MindMap-GAF

• What is GAF?
  • Global Assessment of Function

    The GAF is a 100-point tool rating overall psychological, social and occupational functioning of people over 18 years of age and older. It excludes physical and environmental impairment.

    The GAF is included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) in the section on multi-axial assessments.

    ~ http://www.ct.gov/dmhas/LIB/dmhas/MRO/Kaxis.pdf

• GAF Scoring:
  • 91-100
    • Superior functioning in a wide rage of activities, life’s problems never seem to get out of hand, is sought out by others because of his or her many qualities. No symptoms.
  • 90-81
    • Absent or minimal symptoms, good functioning in all areas, interested and involved in a wide range or activities, socially effective, generally satisfied with life, no more than everyday problems or concerns.
  • 80-71
    • If symptoms are present they are transient and expectable reactions to psychosocial stresses; no more than slight impairment in social, occupational, or school functioning
  • 70-61
    • Some mild symptoms OR some difficulty in social, occupational, or school functioning, but generally functioning pretty well, has some meaningful interpersonal relationships.
  • 60-51
    • Moderate symptoms OR any moderate difficulty in social, occupational, or school functioning.
  • 50-41
    • Serious symptoms OR any serious impairment in social, occupational, or school functioning.
  • 40-31
    • Some impairment in reality testing or communication OR major impairment in several areas, such as work or school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood.
  • 30-21
    • Behavior is considered influenced by delusions or hallucinations OR serious impairment in communications or judgment OR inability to function in all areas.
  • 20-11
    • Some danger or hurting self or others OR occasionally fails to maintain minimal personal hygiene OR gross impairment in communication.
  • 10-1
    • Persistent danger of severely hurting self or others OR persistent inability to maintain minimum personal hygiene OR serious suicidal act with clear expectation of death.
• GAF Online Training
  • ~ http://depts.washington.edu/washinst/Resources/CGAS/GAF%20Index.htm
• GAF-Psychological Index-Short Description:
  • 100 Superior functioning

    90 Minimal symptoms; good functioning

    80 Transient and expected reaction to stress

    70 Mild psychological symptoms

    60 Moderate psychological symptoms; has clear mental problems to those who know him/her well

    50 Serious psychological symptoms; moderately depressed mood, moderate lethargy, severe phobia

    40 May have hallucinations or delusions; however, probably realizes they are not a part of reality

    30 Behavior is considerably influenced by delusions or hallucinations; severely depressed mood

    20 Gross Impairment in Thinking and communication; largely incoherent or mute; very disorganized, bizarre thinking

    10 Thinking is totally disorganized; completely incoherent or mute; unable to focus attention for even a few seconds

• GAF-Social Skills Index-Short Description:
  • 100 Outstanding social skills

    90 Good social skills

    80 No more than slight impairment in social skills

    70 Some difficulty with social skills

    60 Moderate difficulty with social skills; moderately awkward socially

    50 Serious impairment in social skills; no friends, but some peer relationships

    40 Attempts to approach others quickly leads to embarrassing situations

    30 Acts grossly inappropriately toward others, e.g., openly masturbates

    20 Very few social skills; acts very shockingly inappropriate in front of others, such as smearing feces

    10 Few if any social skills; extremely vulnerable to victimization

• GAF-Violence Index-Short Description:
  • 100 No violence or aggression

    90 No more than everyday conflicts

    80 No more than slight problem with anger

    70 Mild problems with anger and thoughts that life may not be worth living

    60 Moderate problems with anger and some evidence that self-destructive thoughts may be present

    50 Serious problems with anger; occasionally hits someone; occasional suicidal ideation

    40 Real danger or hurting self or others; hitting or biting someone is not unusual; suicidal gesture within the last month

    30 Often hitting or biting others; suicidal attempt without clear expectation of death during the last month

    20 Frequently violent; very real danger or hurting self or others; serious thoughts of killing someone; constant suicidal preoccupation

    10 Persistent danger of severely hurting self or others; little or no control of impulses to hurt self or others

• GAF-ADL-Occupation Index-Short Description: Activities of Daily Living
  • 100 Superior work skills

    90 Good work skills

    80 No more than slightly impaired work skills

    70 Mild difficulty with work

    60 Moderate impairment with work

    50 Serious impairment with work; unable to keep a job for more than a few weeks

    40 Major impairment with work; unable to work at a job for any significant period

    30 No job and unable to independently maintain a home

    20 Gross impairment in skills needed to perform ALDs and tasks at home; almost totally unable to follow simple instructions

    10 Demonstrates almost no ADL skills; totally unable to follow instructions

• GAF-Substance Abuse Index-Short Description:
  • 100 Model for abstinence

    90 No more than average problems

    80 No more than slight impairment; smokes cigarettes

    70 Mild impairment due to substance abuse; heavy smoker

    60 Moderate difficulty in functioning due to substance abuse

    50 Behavior and/or lifestyle is considerably influenced by substance abuse

    40 Major impairment in several areas due to substance abuse

    30 Drugs or alcohol pervade one’s thinking and behavior; injection of heroin or cocaine into one’s veins daily

    20 Functioning is extremely impaired by daily use of drugs, such as LSD, PCP, cocaine, heroin or inhalants

    10 One’s life is totally controlled by drugs or alcohol; clear evidence that drugs or alcohol will lead to severe physical harm or death

• GAF-Medical Index-Short Description:
  • 100 Superior medical health

    90 Good medical health

    80 Minimal and transient medical problems

    70 Mild functional impairment due to medical problems

    60 Moderate functional impairment due to medical problems

    50 Serious functional impairment due to medical problems

    40 Major impairment in several areas due to medical problems

    30 Behavior and/or lifestyle is considerably impaired by medical problems

    20 Major medical problems confine one to bed all of the time and intensive treatment is required to prevent rapid progression to death

    10 Chronic medical incapacity requiring basic life support; chronic vegetative or near vegetative state

• GAF-Ancillary Index-Short Description:
  • 100 Superior life situation

    90 Good life situation

    80 Somewhat more than average life situation problems

    70 Mild life situation problems

    60 Moderate difficulty with life situation; high risk for jail or homelessness

    50 Serious difficulty with life situation; threats of moderate violence in one’s environment

    40 Major problems with life situation; real danger of being injured in one’s environment

    30 Frequent mild to moderate physical injuries from violence in one’s environment

    20 Major ancillary problems, e.g., one is in a very dangerous homeless or jail situation all of the time; unable to obtain basic food, shelter and/or clothing

    10 One’s life is continually at serious risk due to lack of basic resources or because of extremely high level of violence in one’s environment

• GAF-Psychological Index-Long Description
  • 100 Superior Psychological Functioning/Coping, no psychological impairment; life’s everyday problems never seem to lead to any significant anxiety or depression. No Symptoms.

    90 Absent or Minimal Symptoms (e.g., mild anxiety before an exam), good psychological functioning in all areas; interested and involved in a wide range of activities; generally satisfied with life; no more than everyday problems or concerns.

    80 If Symptoms Are Present, They Are Transient and Expected Reaction to Psychosocial Stressors (e.g., upset by breakup with girlfriend; difficulty concentrating after family argument; mild preoccupation with problems; a woman has many friends, functions extremely well at a difficult job, but says “The stress is too much.”); not considered to have mental problems by those who know him/her.

    70 Some Mild Symptoms (e.g., depressed mood with mild insomnia, occasional truancy, theft within the household, difficulty trusting others, mild insensitivity to the feelings and needs of others), but generally functioning fairly well; however, those who know him/her well might express some concerns about his/her mental state.

    60 Moderate Symptoms (e.g., flat affect and circumstantial speech, occasional panic attacks; frequently preoccupied; moderate impairment in attention span); moderate insensitivity to the feelings and needs of others; to those who know him/her well it is clear the he/she has mental problems.

    50 Serious Symptoms (e.g., moderately depressed mood, moderate lethargy, severe obsessional rituals, severe phobia, severe sexual perversion, moderate problems with anorexia/bulimia, frequent shoplifting, frequent anxiety attacks, moderately guarded, mild but definite manic syndrome).

    40 Major Psychological Impairment; some impairment in reality testing or communication (e.g., speech is at times illogical, obscure, or irrelevant; moderate paranoia; may have hallucinations or delusions; however, probably realizes they are not a part of reality); major impairment in several areas, such as judgment, thinking, or mood (e.g., depressed man avoids friends, neglects family, and is not motivated to work or moderate negative symptoms of schizophrenia); even to those who do not know him/her well would likely consider him/her to have mental problems.

    30 Behavior Is Considerably Influenced by Delusions or Hallucinations; appears to be responding to hallucinations; serious impairment in communication or judgment (e.g., sometimes incoherent, thinking is occasionally grossly inappropriate); severely depressed mood; withdrawn with few spontaneous communications; inability to function in almost all areas (e.g., stays in bed all day and does not care for own living space; no job, home, or friends due to paranoia, poor motivation, social withdrawal, extremely poor insight and/or being almost totally insensitive to the feelings and needs of others); at times attention span is markedly impaired; Severe Sociopathic Behaviors Have Lead to Multiple Arrests; severe sexual perversion toward prepubescent children.

    20 Thinking and Communication Are Generally Grossly Impaired; manic excitement or catatonia; largely incoherent or mute; generally markedly impaired attention span; occasionally fails to maintain minimal personal hygiene due to severe lethargy or very disorganized, bizarre thinking (e.g., too lethargic to attempt to wipe food off one’s shirt; smears feces for bizarre, delusional reasons).

    10 Thinking Is Totally Disorganized; totally insensitive to the feelings and needs of others; completely incoherent; completely mute, extremely catatonic; persistent inability to maintain minimal personal hygiene or minimal safety due to totally disorganized thinking or Very Severe Lethargy; unable to focus attention for even a few seconds; chronic, self-induced vomiting has lead to a very life threatening situation.

• GAF-Social Skills Index-Long Description
  • 100 Superior Social Skills; is sought out by others because of his or her outstanding social/communication skills; has many friends and no difficulty making new friends. No Symptoms.

    90 Good Social Skills; no difficulty being pleasant and engaging; good communication skills; Socially Effective.

    80 No More Than Slight Impairment in Social Skills; slightly inappropriate social behavior leads to infrequent interpersonal conflicts; no more than slight difficulty maintaining several friendships.

    70 Some Difficulty with Social Skills (e.g., mild difficulty knowing how to share with others, show sympathy for others and/or understand feelings of others); social skills are not obviously impaired; generally functioning fairly well; has some meaningful interpersonal relationships.

    60 Moderate Difficulty with Social Skills (e.g., conflicts with peers due to inappropriate teasing or other inappropriate social behavior; attempts to be pleasant and engaging are usually moderately awkward; moderate difficulty knowing what to say even when talking with friends; moderate difficulty knowing how to share with others, show sympathy toward others and/or understand feelings of others); Hardly Any Friends Because of Problems with Social Skills; communications are understandable but vague.

    50 Serious Impairment in Social Skills; Has No Friends Because of Clearly Impaired Social Skills; However, Has Some Peer Relationships, Despite Social Skills Being Clearly Impaired; frequent conflicts with peers or co-workers because of inappropriate social behavior; conversations are often socially inappropriate; great difficulty communicating thoughts and feelings; unable to introduce self and a second person without clear difficulty; frequently intrusive; inappropriate, non-sexual touching.

    40 Major Impairment in Social Skills; Attempts to Approach Others Quickly Leads to Embarrassing Situations; no friends and virtually no peer relationships because of poor social skills; unable to appropriately engage in almost any social activity; continually intrusive with little understanding of the inappropriateness of the behavior; major acts of socially inappropriate behavior Leads to Being Assaulted, being fired from work or expelled from school; Great Difficulty Recognizing or Coping with Inappropriate Sexual or Aggressive Advances by Others; great difficulty recognizing that his/her sexual advances are not welcome.

    30 Acts Grossly Inappropriately Toward Others; virtually no understanding of the feelings of others, how to share with others and/or how to show sympathy toward others; conversations with others are grossly inappropriate; unaware of or ignores most social norms as manifested by openly masturbating, inappropriate sexual touching, etc.

    20 Very Few Social Skills; generally unable to communicate in an organized, understandable way, uses short phrases or gestures to get basic needs met; acts very shockingly inappropriate in front of others, such as smearing of feces or making sexual advances toward young children; however, may have some understanding that such behavior is inappropriate.

    10 Few If Any Social Skills; unable to communicate in an organized, understandable way; shows no apparent awareness of social norms (e.g., doesn’t realize that it is inappropriate to grab food or cigarettes from others); Extremely Vulnerable to Victimization (e.g., has no understanding of the inappropriateness and/or dangers of approaching strangers or assaulting others; needs constant care and supervision to prevent client from getting into dangerous social situations).

• GAF-Violence Index-Long Description
  • 100 No Evidence of Violence to self or others; very satisfied with life; life’s problems never seem to lead to any inappropriate anger, frustration or conflicts. No Symptoms.

    90 No Significant Evidence of Violence to self or others; generally satisfied with life, no more than everyday problems or conflicts (e.g., an occasional argument with family members).

    80 No More Than Slight Problems with anger and irritability; if symptoms are present, they are transient and expectable reactions to psychosocial stressors (e.g., occasional “blow-up” with family members or friends; mild anger after family argument); no suicidal ideation.

    70 Mild Symptoms (e.g., mild problems with anger and irritability; occasional thoughts of violent behavior; thoughts that life may not be worth living); symptoms are not interfering significantly with client’s functioning; Severely Assaulted Others or Serious Suicidal Attempt Over Five Years Ago; however, for years, has had no significant problems with violence or self-harm.

    60 Moderate Difficulty with Anger and Irritability (e.g., moderate conflicts with peers or co-workers due to anger and hostility; occasional threats of violent behavior); some evidence that self-destructive thoughts may be present. Murdered Someone Over Ten Years Ago; however, for many years, has had no significant problems with violence.

    50 Serious Problems with Anger and Irritability; moderate threats of violence; becomes verbally threatening when needs/demands are not immediately met or when pushed to do something; Occasionally Hits Someone; Occasional, Relatively Minor, Sexual Assault; Occasional Suicidal Ideation; non-suicidal self-abuse, such as burning self with cigarettes or cutting self superficially; not felt to be a real danger of seriously hurting self or others; however, some precautions including close observation may be indicated.

    40 Major Problems with Anger and Irritability; Some Real Danger of Hurting Self or Others; violent outbursts toward family and neighbors; frequent threats of violence; hitting or biting someone is not unusual; occasionally difficult to redirect from aggressive behavior; induces much fear of physical assault in others; Single Suicidal Gesture Within the Last Month; moderate suicidal ideation; actively making plans to hurt self or others; set a relatively minor fire within the last three months or is having fire setting impulses with history of setting one or two minor fires.

    30 Often Hitting or Biting Others; becomes physically aggressive when needs are not immediately met; suicidal attempt without clear expectation of death during the last month; frequent suicidal preoccupation; actively following through with plans to hurt self or others (e.g., obtaining a gun, pills, rope, etc.); At Times Close Observation or Restraints May Be Necessary to Prevent Serious Harm to Self or Others.

    20 Frequently Violent; very real danger of hurting self or others; serious thoughts of killing someone; attempted to very violently harm or violently rape someone within the last month; Constant Suicidal Preoccupation; However, Client is Felt to Have Some Control of the Suicidal Impulses; two or more suicidal attempts without clear expectation of death within the last month; close observation to prevent harm to self or others may be required 1 or 2 days a week.

    10 Persistent Danger of Severely Hurting Self or Others; attempted to kill someone within the last month; attempted to very violently harm or violently rape a child within the last month; set a fire within the last month with intent of hurting others; serious suicidal attempt within the last month with clear expectation of death; Little or No Control of Impulses to Hurt Self or Others; expressing loss of control of command hallucinations to hurt self or others; 1-to-1, at arms length observation and/or physical restraint for prevention of serious harm to self or others may be required 3 or more days a week; Murdered Someone Within the Last Two Years.

• GAF-ADL-Occup. Index-Long Description
  • 100 Superior ADL-Occupational Skills in a Wide Range of Activities (e.g., in school, on the job, as a homemaker, pursing a complicated hobby); superior workmanship; work challenges never seen to get out of hand; is sought out by others because of his or her work skills. No Symptoms. Skills are consistent with that expected of a successful college graduate.

    90 Good Skills in All ADL-Occupational Activities; no more than average difficulties with any work assignment. Absent or minimal symptoms. Skills are consistent with that expected of a successful high school graduate.

    80 No More Than Slight Impairment in Occupational Skills or Skills in School; having slight difficulty performing at an average level; slight difficulties with routine chores, work assignments or schoolwork assignments; slight impairment in workmanship.

    70 Mild Difficulty with Occupational Skills or Skills in School (e.g., minor difficulty following instructions, workmanship is somewhat sloppy), But Generally Functioning Fairly Well.

    60 Moderate Difficulty with Occupational Skills or Skills in School (e.g., probably employed; however, has trouble carrying through assignments; some difficulty problem solving or following instructions; some difficulty driving a car; some difficulty knowing how to budget money; some difficulty maintaining a home or apartment).

    50 Serious Impairment in Occupational Skills or Skills in School (e.g., unable to keep a job from more than a few weeks due to poor occupational skills; almost failing in school; moderate difficulty following instructions; moderately sloppy workmanship); needs supervision when shopping for food; some difficulty using public transportation; some difficulty preparing self a reasonable, family-style meal; some difficulty ordering, eating properly, tipping, etc. in a regular restaurant; some difficulty making a long distance phone call.

    40 Major Impairment in Occupational Skills or Skills in School (e.g., unable to work at a job for any significant period or do routine housework due to poor work skills; failing in school due to poor academic skills); needs supervision to use public transportation; mild to moderate difficulty ordering and eating in a fast food restaurant; poor understanding of how to budget money.

    30 No Job and Unable to Independently Maintain a Home due to serious impairment in skills needed to perform ADLs and tasks at home; serious difficulty following instructions; needs some supervision to prepare simple meals for self, such as a sandwich and beverage; needs supervision to dress self, make a local phone call, follow a very simple self-medication procedure; needs constant supervision to complete more complicated ADLs (e.g., operating a washer and dryer); very sloppy workmanship; some difficulty responding appropriately to a fire alarm; difficulty finding way back from short errands.

    20 Gross Impairment in Skills Needed to Perform ADLs and Tasks at Home (e.g., needs some supervision to maintain minimal personal hygiene; is almost totally unable to follow simple instructions; needs supervision to feed self; Unable to Function Independently (e.g., needs constant supervision to complete most simple tasks; does not know the value of money; unable to dial 911 in an emergency; unable to find way back from short errands).

    10 Demonstrates Almost No ADL Skills (e.g., is totally unable to follow instructions; unable to complete most tasks even with constant supervision; may even have to be physically assisted to complete a task, including eating or dressing. Persistent Inability to Maintain Minimal Personal Hygiene; considerable external support (e.g. nursing care and supervision) is needed to prevent client from accidentally harming self (e.g., wandering into traffic, danger of seriously burning self when attempting to cook or when smoking); unable to appropriately respond to a fire alarm.

• GAF-Medical Index-Long Description
  • 100 Superior Medical Health; physical exam and laboratory tests are normal, including no significant weight problem; illnesses never seem to affect him or her; few if any problems with even common medical problems (e.g., colds, headaches, indigestion, constipation, diarrhea); virtually never has to miss work or school due to medical problems; exercises regularly; on no medication, except may take a prophylactic medication, such as a multivitamin; doesn’t wear glasses/contacts; No Significant Medical Problems or Symptoms.

    90 Good Medical Health; has few if any medical problems; physical exam and laboratory test reveal no more than minor abnormalities; illnesses seldom seem to affect him or her; average difficulties with common medical problems (e.g., colds, headaches, indigestion, constipation, diarrhea); wears glasses/contacts that correct minor visual problems; wears dentures; only occasionally misses work or school due to medical problems; occasionally needs OTC medication.

    80 IF Medical Problems Are Present, They Are Transient and Cause Minimal Impairment In Social, Occupational or School Functioning; somewhat more than average missing work or school due to medical problems; impairment in mobility, use of hands or hearing that is Totally Corrected by the use of a prosthesis, hearing aids, etc.; mild obesity or mild emaciation; occasional urinary incontinence due to organic problems.

    70 Mild Medical Problems Which May Cause Some Difficulty in Social, Occupational or School Functioning; however, generally functioning fairly well; missing no more than about one to two weeks a year from work or school due to medical problems; mild impairment in mobility, speech, use of hands, vision or hearing despite use of prosthesis, glasses, hearing aids, etc.; chronic illness, however, has few if any overt signs or symptoms of the illness (e.g., mild asthma, mild hypertension, mild diabetes, mild arthritis; mild dysphagia; epilepsy easily controlled with medication; mild tardive dyskinesia); requires medical follow-up several times a year; taking prescription medication on a daily basis.

    60 Moderate Difficulty in Social, Occupational or School Functioning Due to Medical Problems; missing no more than about one month a year from work or school due to medical problems (e.g., moderate asthma, moderate hypertension, moderate diabetes, moderate COPD, mild to moderate hyponatremia secondary to polydipsia, HIV positive, chronic hepatitis, mild cerebral palsy, mild cystic fibrosis, mild hemophilia, mild angina on exertion); medical problems requiring daily or weekly monitoring and treatments beyond p.o. medications (e.g., injections, blood levels, nebulizer, physical therapy); needs bladder bag.

    50 Serious Impairment in Social, Occupational or School Functioning Due to Medical Problems; serious impairment in mobility, speech, use of hands, vision or hearing despite use of prosthesis, glasses, hearing aids, etc.; considered a serious risk for falling; only partially controlled epilepsy; equipment is needed for mobility (e.g., wheelchair, portable oxygen); Medical Problems Prevent One from Driving a Car.

    40 Major Impairment in Several Areas (such as work or school or family relations) because of medical problems; missing about two months a year or more from work or school due to medical problems; medical problems results in major impairment in mobility, speech, use of hands, vision, or hearing despite use of prosthesis, glasses, hearing aids, etc.; frequently confined to bed or wheelchair because of chronic medical problems.

    30 Behavior and/or Lifestyle Is Considerably Impaired by Medical Problems; very serious medical problems confine one to bed or wheelchair most of the time (e.g., very symptomatic cases of diseases such as metastatic cancer, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy or AIDS); chronic failure of a major body system (e.g., heart, lung, kidney, liver); on dialysis for kidney failure.

    20 Major Medical Problems Confine One to Bed All of the Time and intensive, continuous medical treatment is required without which one would rapidly progress to death (e.g., Late Stages of metastatic cancer, multiple sclerosis; AIDS, etc.); chronic, near terminal failure of a major body system (e.g., heart, lung, kidney, liver); quadriplegic.

    10 Chronic Medical Incapacity Requiring Basis Life Support (e.g. ventilator); removal of life support would rapidly lead to death; patient in chronic vegetative or near vegetative state; persistent delirium or coma.

• GAF-Ancillary-Index-Long Description
  • 100 Superior Life Situation; currently in or has ready access to ideal living environment (neighborhood, home, school, work, etc.); superior financial resources for his/her needs; no legal problems; extremely safe environment; No Significant Ancillary Problems or Symptoms.

    90 Good Life Situation; has few if any ancillary problems; no more than minor problems with living environment, financial resources and/or legal problems, e.g., occasionally living environment doesn’t fully meet one’s needs, rare late payment on a bill, rare parking or traffic ticket.

    80 If Ancillary Problems Are Present, They Are Transient and Cause No More Than Minimal Difficulty with one’s Living Situation, Financial Resources or the Law; somewhat more than average problems with one’s living environment, financial resources or legal problems.

    70 Mild Ancillary Problems, e.g., Some Difficulty in one’s Living Environment, Financial Resources or with the Law; mild difficulty paying bills/credit cards; mild difficulty with parking or traffic tickets; occasional mild verbal violence in one’s environment; However, Generally Safe Living Situation.

    60 Moderate Difficulty with Living Situation, Finances or the Law; high risk for being in a dangerous homeless or jail situation; criminal charges place one at high risk of incarceration; no stable residence and/or income, often having to move from one living situation to another; moderate difficulty paying bills/credit cards; Evaluation and/or Disposition Is Being Made for Nonviolent Criminal Activity (e.g., trespassing, stealing, defacing/destruction of property, or lewd behavior); Evaluation and/or Disposition Is Being Made for Competency to Make Decisions Concerning Person, Estate and/or Treatment.

    50 Serious Problems with Living Situation, Finances and/or the Law; frequent risks or threats of moderate violence in one’s environment; Evaluation and/or Disposition Is Being Made for Relatively Minor, But Violent or Dangerous Criminal Activity, (e.g., minor assault, threats to do physical harm, driving while under the influence, sexually touching someone or exposing oneself); Serious Placement Difficulties, Even When Ready for Placement.

    40 Major Problems with Living Situation, Finances and/or the Law; Some Real Danger of Being Physically Injured in one’s Environment; Evaluation and/or Disposition Is Being Made for Very Violent Criminal Activity (e.g., vicious assault, attempted rape, attempting to molest a child, arson).

    30 Lifestyle Is Considerably Influenced by Ancillary Problems; one is in a very dangerous homeless or jail situation most of the time; unable to obtain basic food, shelter and/or clothing; frequent, mild to moderate physical injuries from violence in one environment.

    20 Major Ancillary Problems (e.g., One Is in a Very Dangerous Homeless or Jail Situation All of the Time); at times one’s life is at serious risk due to lack of resources for basic food, shelter and/or clothing or because of high level of violence in one’s environment; Evaluation and/or Disposition Is Being Made for Extremely Serious Criminal Charges (e.g., attempted murder, vicious rape, viciously molesting a child).

    10 Living/Financial Situation Is Totally Inadequate; one’s life is continually at serious risk due to lack of basic food, shelter and/or clothing or because of extremely high level of violence in one’s environment; Evaluation and/or Disposition Is Being Made for the Most Extreme Charges of Violence (e.g., murdering anyone, very viciously harming or very viciously raping a child, arson with intent of hurting

• GAF Questions:
  • 100 Perfect Condition

    90 Absent or Minimal Symptoms and no Impairment in Functioning

    90 Group H Criteria: -Minimal or absent symptoms (e.g., mild anxiety before an examination)

    90 Good functioning in all areas and satisfied with life

    90 Interested and involved in a wide range of activities

    90 Socially effective

    88-90 No psychological symptoms and no problems of living or functioning

    84-87 Minimal symptoms and no everyday problems

    81-83 Minimal symptoms and some everyday problems

    80 Some Transient Mild Symptoms or temporary Mild Impairment in Functioning

    80 Group G Criteria: -Mild symptoms are present, but they are transient and expectable reactions to psychosocial stressors (e.g., difficulty concentrating after family argument).

    80 Slight impairment in social, work, or school functioning (e.g., temporarily falling behind in school or work).

    78-80 EITHER mild symptom(s) OR mild impairment in social, work or school functioning

    74-77 Mild impairment in more than one area of social, work or school functioning

    71-73 BOTH mild symptoms AND slight impairment in social, work & school functioning

    70 Some Persistent Mild Symptoms or persistent Mild Impairment in Functioning

    70 Group F Criteria: -Mild symptoms are present that are NOT just expectable reactions to psychosocial stressors (e.g., mild or lessened depression and/or mild insomnia)

    70 Some persistent difficulty in social, work or school functioning (e.g., occasional truancy, theft within the family, or repeated falling behind in school or work)

    70 But has some meaningful interpersonal relationships

    68-70 EITHER mild persistent symptoms OR mild difficulty in social, work, or school functioning

    64-67 Mild persistent difficulty in more than one area of social, work or school functioning

    61-63 BOTH mild persistent symptoms AND some difficulty in social, work, and school functioning

    60 Moderate Symptoms or Moderate Impairment in Functioning

    60 Group E Criteria: -Moderate symptoms (e.g., frequent, moderate depressed mood and insomnia and/or moderate ruminating and obsessing; or occasional anxiety attacks; or flat affect and circumstantial speech; or eating problems and below minimum safe weight without depression).

    58-60 EITHER moderate depressed mood, symptoms OR moderate difficulty in social, work, or school functioning

    54-57 Moderate difficulty in more than 1 area of social, work or school functioning

    51-53 BOTH moderate symptoms AND moderate difficulty in social, work, and school functioning

    50 Some Serious Symptoms or Serious Impairment in Functioning

    50 Group D Criteria: -Serious impairment with work, school or housework if a housewife or househusband (e.g., unable to keep job or stay in school, or failing school, or unable to care for family and house)

    50 Frequent problems with the law (e.g., frequent shoplifting, arrests) or occasional combative behavior

    50 Serious impairment in relationships with friends (e.g., very few or no friends, or no current friends)

    50 Serious impairment in judgment (including inability to make decisions, confusion, disorientation)

    50 Serious impairment in thinking (including constant preoccupation w/thoughts, distorted body image, paranoia)

    50 Serious impairment in mood (including constant depressed mood plus helplessness and hopelessness, or agitation, or manic mood)

    50 Serious impairment due to anxiety (panic attacks, overwhelming anxiety)

    50 Other symptoms: some hallucinations, delusions, or severe obsessional rituals

    50 Passive suicidal ideation

    48-50 1 of the criteria in Group D

    44-47 2 of the criteria in Group D

    41-43 3 of the criteria in Group D

    40 Major Impairment in Several Areas of Functioning

    38-40 4 of the criteria in Group D

    34-37 5 of the criteria in Group D

    31-33 6 of the criteria in Group D

    30 Inability to Function in Almost All Areas

    30 Group C Criteria: -EITHER Suicidal Preoccupation or frank suicidal ideation with preparation

    30 OR behavior considerably influenced by delusions or hallucinations

    30 OR serious impairment in communication (sometimes incoherent, acts grossly inappropriately)

    30 OR profound stuporous depression

    28-30 7 of the criteria in Group D

    24-27 8 of the criteria in Group D

    20-23 9 of the criteria in Group D

    21 1 of the criteria in Group C

    21 Suffering from Neglect or in Danger of Hurting Self or Others

    20 Suffering from Neglect or in Danger of Hurting Self or Others

    20 Group B Criteria: -Suicide attempts without clear expectation of death

    20 Some severe violence or self-mutilating behaviors

    20 Severe manic excitement, or severe agitation and impulsivity

    20 Occasionally fails to maintain minimum personal hygiene (e.g., diarrhea due to laxatives, or smearing feces)

    20 Urgent/emergency admission to the present psychiatric hospital

    20 In physical danger due to medical problems (e.g., severe anorexia or bulimia and some spontaneous vomiting or extensive laxative/diuretic/diet pill use, but without serious heart or kidney problems or severe dehydration and disorientation)

    18-20 1-2 of the criteria in Group B

    14-17 3-4 of the criteria in Group B

    11-13 5-6 of the criteria in Group B

    10 Immediate Danger from Serious Neglect or Self-Injurious Behavior

    10 Group A Criteria: -Serious suicidal act with clear expectation of death (e.g., stabbing,

    10 shooting, hanging, or serious overdose with no one present

    10 Frequent severe violence or self-mutilation

    10 Extreme manic excitement, or extreme agitation and impulsivity (e.g., wild screaming, ripping the stuffing out of a bed mattress)

    10 Persistent inability to maintain minimal personal hygiene

    10 Urgent/emergency admission to present psychiatric hospital

    10 In acute, severe danger due to medical problems (e.g., severe anorexia or bulimia with heart or kidney problems)

    8-10 1-2 of the criteria in Group A

    4-7 4 of the criteria in Group A

    1-3 5-6 of the criteria in Group A

    0 0

• GAD-7 Anxiety Assessment [Generalized Anxiety Disorder]
  • Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by the following problems?
  • 1. Feeling nervous, anxious or on edge
  • 2. Not being able to stop or control worrying
  • 3. Worrying too much about different things
  • 4. Trouble relaxing
  • 5. Being so restless that it is hard to sit still
  • 6. Becoming easily annoyed or irritable
  • 7. Feeling afraid as if something awful might happen
  • Scoring:
    • 0-Not at all

      1-Several Days

      2-More than half the days

      3-Nearly everyday

      Scores of 5, 10, and 15 are taken as the cut off points for mild, moderate, and severe anxiety, respectively.

      When used as a screening tool, further evaluation is recommended when the score is 10 or greater.

      Using the threshold score of 10, the GAD-7 has a sensitivity of 89% and a specificity of 82% for generalised anxiety disorder.

      It is moderately good at screening three other common anxiety disorders – panic disorder (sensitivity 74%, specificity 81%), social anxiety disorder (sensitivity 72%, specificity 80%), and post-traumatic stress disorder (sensitivity 66%, specificity 81%).

  • ~ http://www.phqscreeners.com/
• PHQ-9 Depression [Patient Health Questionnaire]
  • 1. Little interest or pleasure in doing things.

    2. Feeling down, depressed, or hopeless.

    3. Trouble falling or staying asleep, or sleeping too much.

    4. Feeling tired or having little energy.

    5. Poor appetite or overeating.

    6. Feeling bad about yourself — or that you are a failure or have let yourself or your family down.

    7. Trouble concentrating on things, such as reading the newspaper or watching television.

    8. Moving or speaking so slowly that other people could have noticed? Or the opposite — being so fidgety or restless that you have been moving .around a lot more than usual.

    9. Thoughts that you would be better off dead or of hurting yourself in some way.

    Scoring:

    • 0-Not at all

      1-Several Days

      2-More than half the days

      3-Nearly everyday

      Scores of 5, 10, and 15 are taken as the cut off points for mild, moderate, and severe anxiety, respectively.

      NOTE: If your answer on Question 9 is not 0, please seek help immediately. This is a known marker for suicide.

      0 – 4 Depression Severity-None, Treatment-None

      5 – 9 Depression Severity-Mild, Watchful waiting; repeat PHQ-9 at follow-up

      10 – 14 Depression Severity-Moderate, Treatment plan, considering counseling, follow-up and/or pharmacotherapy

      15 – 19 Depression Severity-Moderately Severe, Active treatment with pharmacotherapy and/or psychotherapy

      20 – 27 Severe Immediate initiation of pharmacotherapy and, if severe impairment or poor response to therapy, expedited referral to a mental health specialist for psychotherapy and/or collaborative management

    ~ http://www.phqscreeners.com/instructions/instructions.pdf

    ~ http://www.phqscreeners.com/

• PHQ-15 Physical Symptoms [Patient Health Questionnaire]
  • 1. Stomach pain
  • 2. Back pain
  • 3. Pain in your arms, legs, or joints (knees, hips, etc.)
  • 4. Menstrual cramps or other problems with your periods WOMEN ONLY
  • 5. Headaches
  • 6. Chest pain
  • 7. Dizziness
  • 8. Fainting spells
  • 9. Feeling your heart pound or race
  • 10. Shortness of breath
  • 11. Pain or problems during sexual intercourse
  • l2. Constipation, loose bowels, or diarrhea
  • 13. Nausea, gas, or indigestion
  • 14. Feeling tired or having low energy
  • 15. Trouble sleeping
  • Scoring:
    • This is calculated by assigning scores of 0, 1, and 2 to the response categories of ―not at all, ―bothered a little, and ―bothered a lot,
• Cases:
  • Case #1-Sheri, GAF Score: 63-83
    • Sheri is a 47 year old African American female with Borderline Personality Disorder. She has a history of substance abuse. She has a long history of crisis contacts, mostly around her depression and relationship issues. She entered a Dialectical Behavioral Program about a year ago. Since that time, she has had only one crisis contact and no self-abusive behaviors. Sheri broke up with her boyfriend about six months ago and has been single ever since. She has been in a women’s support group for the past five months. She has maintained a job for the past 18 months and is seen as an “excellent waitress.” She says that, aside from some minor conflicts with her sister, her life is going well in all areas.
  • Case #2-Chia, GAF Score: 51-70
    • Chia is a 68-year-old Asian woman who is diagnosed with Schizophrenia. She entered mental health services 18 months ago when her family could no longer manage her behavior. An Asian Mental Health Specialist has been working with Chia and her family to understand the biological basis of her disorder. The specialist also included a spiritual leader from their community to assist with the process. Chia is stable on her medications and has been participating in activities in the Asian community with her family for the past few months.
  • Case #Victor, GAF Score: 2-16
    • Victor is a 48-year-old Caucasian male who had his leg amputated while serving in Vietnam. He is diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Paranoia. Victor has had suicidal ideation since his time in the service. His family lives in the Midwest and he has not had any contact with them for over five years. He is currently homeless and was released 3 days ago from a 8-day psychiatric hospitalization after a serious suicide attempt. He has been using drugs and alcohol for the past three days and is threatening suicide again.
  • Case #3-Marie, GAF Score: 31-41
    • Marie is a 35 year-old Hispanic female living in a rural agricultural community. She has been diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Psychosis. She has auditory and olfactory hallucinations. Marie lived with her father after two failed marriages, both involving domestic violence. Her father is an elderly migrant farm worker who cannot care for her any longer. She was recently discharged from a 21-day community hospitalization. Marie is tentatively stable in her Section 8 housing with a caregiver in her home 6 hours daily to assist with chores and meals. She is sporadically attending the local day treatment program.
  • Case #4-Robert, GAF Score: 13-33
    • Robert is a 71 year-old Caucasian male with a full-scale IQ of 83. He is obese, incontinent, and suffers from esophageal reflux, which causes him to choke. He has Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from severe sexual and physical abuse by his alcoholic stepfather. He is unable to maintain his own hygiene and needs assistance with his ADLs. Robert has been getting increasingly agitated and verbally aggressive towards his new male in-home caregiver.
  • Case #5-Jake, GAF Score: 15-35
    • Jake is a 20 year-old Caucasian male who had his first psychotic break last year. He is diagnosed as Schizophrenic but has refused medications. His grandparents are currently paying for his apartment. Jake smokes marijuana 4-7 times a week. He had enrolled in the auto-body program at the local community college but is being dropped from registration due to poor attendance. The majority of his thinking revolves around delusions regarding government conspiracies. Jake has no friends and spends most of his time camping up in the woods.
  • Case #6-Rick, GAF Score: 43
    • Rick is a 54 year-old, African-American, male with a diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder with paranoid features. His onset of symptoms coincided with his service in Vietnam. Rick was married when he was 27 years old and was divorced just over a year later. He has dated sporadically, but has not had a relationship in 8 years. He lives in a trailer on his parent’s property. His parents are supportive and set clear boundaries. They are also supporting his 92 year-old grandmother and are having a difficult time with Rick’s level of stress and anxiety. Rick is resistant to mental health services. He just lost the factory job he had obtained six weeks ago. He has a meeting next week with the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation.
  • Case #7-Geraldo, GAF Score: 59-79
    • Geraldo is a 52 year-old Mexican male. He was raised in Mexico, his mother died when he was 3 years old and he left home at 9 years-old to escape his abusive father. He is diagnosed with Paranoid Personality Disorder. He is medication compliant and works successfully at his own local landscaping business. He is divorced but has frequent visits with his 14 year-old daughter.
  • Case #8-Rebecca, GAF Score: 67
    • Rebecca is a 23 year-old Asian American female. She is currently diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. From 11-17 years old, she was psychiatric hospitalized on five occasions due to suicide attempts. She is currently employed at the local mall, is returning to the University next semester, and has been dating her current boyfriend for over six months. Rebecca reports this is the most stable her life has been since she can remember. She also acknowledges a low level of anxiety and depression as the structure and stability continues.
  • Case #9-Abby, GAF Score: 38-58
    • Abby is a 29 year-old Caucasian female. She is bulimic with a history of hospitalizations. She is also diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Abby has a 13 year-old daughter whom her parents adopted ten years ago. Her apartment is not very well kept, she is isolating from her family and friends, and her job is in jeopardy due to her frequent absences.
  • Case #10-Ted, GAF Score: 39-59
    • Ted is a 52-year-old Caucasian male with Schizoaffective Disorder. He had a severe decompensation four years ago where he attempted to stab a County Designated Mental Health Professional who was evaluating him for involuntary detention to a state hospital. He was just released from the Legal Offender Unit of the state hospital six months ago. Ted is in a supported housing placement since his release and is stable on his medications. He is seeing his outpatient psychiatrist monthly for medication management and has been attending a day treatment program for the past month. Ted’s thinking is relatively clear. He reports no significant relationships outside of the contact and support he receives from his mother and brother. He also notes a low level of depression and a general lack of interest in daily activities.
  • Case #11-Delia, GAF Score: 47-67
    • Delia is a 64 year-old Caucasian woman with Paranoid Personality Disorder. She was discharged eight months ago after two years in the state psychiatric hospital. She was placed in a supported living home with four other women. In the past two months, Delia has learned the bus system and goes shopping and on outings several times a week. Her children are shocked by her improved functioning and her granddaughter is visiting her every Sunday. In the next few weeks, Delia and her roommate will join the local senior center.
  • Case #12-Jared, GAF Score: 57-77
    • Jared is a 26 year old Caucasian male who has been deaf since birth. He spent most of his childhood and adolescents living at a school for the deaf. His mother later learned he had been physically, emotionally, and sexually abused at the boarding school. He has been diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Atypical Psychosis. He is currently stable on medication, he is receiving mental health services with the assistance of an interpreter, and has his own apartment. Although he still feels stressed in social situations, he wants to prepare to enroll in the local community college.
  • Case #13-Melinda, GAF Score: 33-53
    • Melinda is a 43 year-old Native American female. She has been diagnosed with Schizoaffective Disorder and is borderline Mildly Mentally Retarded. She reports a long history of sexual abuse. For the past several weeks she has been making allegations of sexual abuse by staff at her housing facility. The allegations have been proven to be unsubstantiated. She has medical issues with diabetes and a hyperthyroid condition but is medically stable.
  • Case #14-Thom, GAF Score: 19-39
    • Thom is a 36 year-old Caucasian male with Psychosis. He has severe and chronic delusions that revolve around religious and somatic themes. Thom has been incarcerated many times with various assault charges, the most recent being life-threatening to the victim. His mother has been very supportive throughout the years and has been a strong advocate for Thom. He was released from jail to a community placement two weeks ago. His psychiatrist says that his mediations are stable. Thom does not like the facility he is residing in. He is maintaining, but in becoming increasingly agitated. His case manager is visiting him daily and researching other housing options. Thom said he is “coping okay” but wants to move out as soon as possible. He is not capable of working at this point in time.
  • Case #15-Frances, GAF Score: 9-19
    • Frances is a 51 year-old Hispanic/Native American female with Schizophrenia – paranoid type. From 1967, she was hospitalized 19 times over ten years. When she decompensates, she becomes psychotic and very assaultive. She currently lives in a congregate care facility. Historically, her placement has been in jeopardy with her frequent disruptions. Her medications were adjusted again 2 months ago and she has been more aggressive and recently assaulted her roommate with her dinner tray and had to be restrained.
  • Case #16-Alice, GAF Score: 27-47
    • Alice is an 85 year-old African American woman who lives in an older adult housing complex. She has been diagnosed with Delusional Disorder – persecutory type. Alice has always struggled with medication noncompliance. Her delusions historically have been fixed on people poisoning her food. Alice is becoming increasingly more agitated, is isolating, and her weight has noticeably dropped again over the past two weeks.
  • Case #17-Colin, GAF Score: 35-55
    • Colin is a 31 year-old Caucasian male. He lived with his family until he was 26 years old. There was a long history of domestic violence in his home growing up. Five months after he moved out, his mother passed away. Colin has a history of substance abuse and schizophrenia. He has been medication compliant for the last several years and is currently in substance abuse treatment, though he is early in his recovery process. Colin struggles with his hygiene issues and has been unable to hold a job. He spends some time with his father but really wants to develop more peer relationships and a normal social life
  • Case #18-Kim, GAF Score: 20-40
    • Kim is a 31 year old Caucasian female with Major Depression. She has a history of heavy alcohol abuse and has been in inpatient chemical dependency treatment programs. Her family of origin has a long history of mental illness and chemical dependency on both sides. She is currently in a co-dependent relationship with an abusive boyfriend. Kim’s mother tries to support her, but is regularly involved in heavy alcohol use. Kim is on the verge of losing another job and is expressing suicidal ideation, but has agreed to a “no harm” contract.
  • Case #19-Sam, GAF Score: 40-60
    • Sam is a 42 year old Caucasian male with Schizophrenia, paranoid type. He has had a history of disappearing for months at a time since his late teens. He has several assault charges for Domestic Violence with a series of girlfriends. He was on probation and was released 2 months ago after completing all of the court requirements. Sam is currently in recovery and is actively participating in AA meetings. Sam is stabilizing with his compliance to his medication regimen. He continues to maintain contact with his ex-probation officer and several staff at the state psychiatric hospital. He is trying to get a job but has not had any response back at this point.
• GAF Quick Guide [Excel Version]
  • ~ https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/80421698/QuickGuide-GeneralAssesmentFunction.xls
• GAF Quick Guide [.pdf Version]
  • ~ https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/80421698/GAF-QuickReference.pdf
• Compiled By:
  • Rigel Arcayan
  • blindcaveman.wordpress.com

MindMap-Field Notes

MindMap-Field Notes

• Why Field Notes
  • To gain insights
  • To learn from experience
  • To document life
• Contents
  • Date, Time and Place of observation
  • Specific facts, numbers, details of what happened
  • Sensory impression: sights, sounds, textures, smells, taste
  • Personal responses
  • Specific words, phrases, summaries of conversation
  • Questions about people or behaviors
  • Page Number
• 4 Major Parts
  • 1. Jotting down brief words
  • 2. Detailed description
  • 3. Analysis of what you learned
  • 4. Reflection of what you learned

MindMap-FaultTree-Unhappiness

MindMap-FaultTree-Unhappiness

• 2. The lust of the eyes
  • after unlawful objects

    may design unchaste [immoral] and lascivious [driven by lust] looks

    eyes full of adultery, and whereby adultery is committed

    may intend a sinful curiosity of seeing vain sights, and shows, with which the eye of man is never satisfied

    the sin of covetousness

    the objects of which are visible things gold, silver, houses,lands, possessions

    which sin is drawn forth and cherished by the eyes

    indeed a covetous man has little more satisfaction than the beholding his substance with his eyes

    which he takes much sinful pleasure

    Failure Effect: Going after vain and empty things

    • going after vain and empty things
    • looking
    • being in the wrong place
    • doing something you are not suppose to do
      • broken relationship
      • health problems
      • complicated relationship
      • loss of opportunities
      • loss of job
      • loss of friends
      • loss of spouse
      • eyes of men are never satisfied
        • unsatisfied
          • unhappiness
• 3. The pride of life
  • ambition of honor,
  • ambition of places
  • ambition of high titles, as in the Scribes and Pharisees
  • ambition of grand living
  • living in a luxurious and pompous manner [Puffed up with vanity]
  • in rich diet
  • costly apparel
  • having fine seats
  • having palaces and stately buildings
  • craving for numerous attendance [LAM Syndrome, look at me]
  • Failure Effect: Going after pride
    • produces vanity and vexation of spirit
    • waste resources
    • waste effort
    • waste time
    • missed opportunities
    • lost opportunities
    • encounter many difficulties in the process
      • unable to obtain wants
        • unsatisfied
          • unhappiness
• 1. The lust of the flesh
  • the corruption of nature
  • the fountain of all sin
  • indwelling sin, the flesh
  • corrupt principle which lusts against the Spirit
  • various lusts of the flesh, fleshly lusts, which war against the soul
  • also called worldly lusts
  • a lust of the body
  • the lust of uncleanness
  • all unchaste/immoral desires
  • promiscuous thoughts
  • impure words
  • unethical actions
  • fornication
  • adultery
  • rape
  • incest
  • sodomy
  • all unnatural lusts
  • unnecessary eating
  • drinking
  • gluttony
  • drunkenness
  • excess of wine
  • Indulge (one’s appetite) to satiety
  • rioting-state of disorder involving group violence
  • reveling-celebrate noisily, often indulging in drinking
  • engage in uproarious festivities
  • all the sensual pleasures of life
  • gratification of the carnal mind and the lusts of it
  • Failure Effect: Going after the flesh
    • being in the wrong place
    • drawn to sin/temptations
    • the body is dishonored
    • sickness/disease
    • mental anguish
    • soul is destroyed
    • doing something you are not suppose to do
      • broken relationship
      • health problems
      • complicated relationship
      • loss of opportunities
      • loss of job
      • loss of friends
      • loss of spouse
      • wound, dishonor and reproach brought on the character
        • unsatisfied
          • unhappiness

MindMap-FaultTreeAnalysis

MindMap-FaultTreeAnalysis

• 1. Identify the objective for the FTA.
  • phrased in terms of a failure of the system to be analyzed
  • characterize mission failure
• 2. Define the top event of the FT.
  • the event for which the failure causes will be resolved
  • defines the failure mode of the system
• 3. Define the scope of the FTA.
  • the scope must be defined
  • indicates which of the failure and contributors will be included/not included
  • includes boundary conditions for the analysis
    • initial states of components
    • assumed inputs
    • the system to be analyzed
    • modes of operation
    • interfaces to other systems
• 4. Define the resolution of the FTA.
  • detailed cause of failure
  • example: faiure to operate-elaborate on this
  • identify major component
  • identify major component and failure
• 5. Define ground rules for the FTA.
  • define ground rules
  • procedures and nomenclature
  • modeling ground rules
    • component failure
    • human error
    • common cause of failure
• 6. Construct the FT.
  • actual construction of the fault tree
• 7. Evaluate the FT.
  • evaluate each basic event
  • be quantitative if available
• 8. Interpret and present the results.
  • test the fault tree
  • must provide tangible impication such as a fix

MindMap-Educational Psychology

MindMap-Educational Psychology

• About The Book
  • Title: Educational Psycholgy
    • ~ http://education.purduecal.edu/Vockell/EdPsyBook/index.html
  • Author: Ed Vockell
    • ~ http://education.purduecal.edu/faculty/vockell/
• Generative Teaching Model
  • To teach students that learning with understanding is a generative (active) process.

    To teach students that success in school begins with a belief in themselves, in their abilities, and in the value of effort.

    To teach students to attend to the processes of constructing meanings for instruction and for subject matter.

    To teach students to generate meaning for what they are studying. Teachers can do this by first learning what models, preconceptions, learning strategies, attitudes, and beliefs the students possess that are relevant to what the teachers are trying to teach; designing instruction that will enable the students to generate relationships among subject-matter concepts and between their models, knowledge, etc. (from Step a) and subject matter; and teaching students metacognitive or self-control strategies that are useful for directing their own cognitive and affective thought processes.

• 8 Phases of Learning
  • 1. Attention: Alertness
    • learning is not likely to occur in the absence of attention. Attention is essential for getting information into the working memory and keeping it active there. Therefore, the first phase in the learning process is that the learner must focus attention on the learning activity. Although this is listed as the “first phase,” attention must be maintained throughout the other phases as well
  • 2. Expectancy
    • During this phase, the learner develops an expectancy that something desirable will happen as a result of the proposed learning process. The result is a motivation to engage in the subsequent phases of the learning process.
  • 3. Retrieval to Working Memory
    • Retrieval of Relevant Information to Working Memory. The learner retrieves from long-term memory the structures that will be helpful in learning new information or solving problems that have been encountered.
  • 4. Selective Perception
    • Selective Perception. During this phase the learner focuses attention on the essential features of the instructional presentation. It is not always possible for teachers to ascertain by simple inspection where students are focusing attention; and learners often fail to learn because they have focused on the wrong information. Failures at this selective perception can occur either because the presentation inadequately draws attention, because the learner fails to direct attention, or because of a combination of both of these reasons. A frequent source of faulty selective perception is a fundamental misconception about the topic under consideration: the learner may think he/she is focusing on the correct information, when in reality this is a mistake.
  • 5. Encoding: Entry to LTM
    • Entry of Information into Long-Term Storage. During this phase the learner encodes the information – that is, transfers the information into longterm memory by relating it to information that is already stored there.
  • 6. Responding
    • During this phase the learner retrieves and actively uses the information that has been stored in long-term memory. The learner demonstrates through an active performance that the learning has taken place.
  • 7. Feedback
    • During this phase the learner determines the degree to which the performance during the previous phase was satisfactory. When the feedback indicates acceptable performance, this usually serves as reinforcement to the learner. Students who evaluate themselves negatively or extrinsically are likely to develop an orientation toward extrinsic motivation, which is likely to interfere with achievement.
  • 8. Cueing Retrieval
    • During this phase the learner practices recalling or applying the information after it has been initially learned in order to enhance retention of the information or to transfer the learning beyond its original context to a new application.
• Examples of Failures
  • Student ignores teacher.
  • Student is falling asleep.
  • Teacher doesn’t specify objectives
  • Student’s culture doesn’t value stated goal.
  • Student not ready to receive information from lesson.
  • Attention deficit disorder causes failure to attend.
  • Discipline problems cause distractions.
  • Teacher or materials fail to direct attention.
  • Student fails to encode.
  • Student’s background does not supply necessary structures.
  • Student’s misconception causes faulty acquisition.
  • Student fails to practice a skill or concept.
  • Subsequent information interferes with earlier learning.
  • Learning disability interferes with response
  • It’s unrealistic to expect learner to perform.
  • Teacher fails to provide feedback.
  • Student doesn’t recognize or like feedback.
  • Student receives no direction from feedback.
  • Student gets feedback on wrong task.
  • Student cannot find key to trigger recall.
  • Student learns, but then forgets
  • Student is restricted to original context.
  • Student relies on rote memory rather than understanding.
• Solutions for Failures
  • Change stimuli.
  • Call for attention.
  • Increase level of arousal
  • State objectives.
  • Employ principles of motivation.
  • Understand culture and individual differences.
  • Review prerequisite knowledge.
  • Teach missing skills
  • Treat disorder.
  • Use effective management and discipline techniques.
  • Use Media to direct attention.
  • Use long-term memory strategies.
  • Teach culture or adapt to student’s culture.
  • Confront and clarify misconceptions.
  • Provide practice opportunities, wait time, learning probes, etc.
  • Prevent retroactive interference.
  • Treat disability.
  • Have a model perform the behavior and receive feedback
  • Provide feedback.
  • Teach self regulation.
  • Make sure reinforcement is reinforcing.
  • Use corrective feedback – not just negative feedback.
  • Make sure tests are valid.
  • Use distributed practice.
  • Use overlearning.
  • Use variety of examples during instruction.
  • Teach metacognitive strategies.
• Ignoring the developmental levels of learners
  • Mathematics
    • children simply memorize and misapply algorithms instead of understanding the process
  • Science
    • most science textbooks abound with concepts that are too abstract for their intended audiences, absolutely all major science organizations and nearly all science educators vehemently preach against such nonsense
  • Discipline
    • teachers or parents continue to use these techniques long past the time when the children have developed the appropriate cognitive structures to deal with their behavior problems in a more mature way. With self-discipline, as with any other type of learning, it is important to take into consideration the existing structures and the level of thinking of which the child is capable
  • Behavior Modification
    • As cognitive structures and levels of thinking change, learners will revise what they consider to be pleasant or unpleasant situations. Many educators make the mistake of over-generalizing what they think they know about consequences that will reinforce or punish the learners they deal with.
  • Motivation
    • An important aspect of modern motivation theory is that learners devise attributions for pleasant and unpleasant consequences that follow their behavior. What learners assimilate and accommodate from their environment influences their attributions, and hence their motivation. For example, a child who possesses a cognitive structure of himself as “bad at arithmetic” may assimilate a simple high grade on a paper as an indication of luck. On the other hand, if the grade were accompanied by feedback specifically tailored to that child, this may lead to an accommodation that may revise this negative cognitive structure and lead to higher levels of motivation
  • Early Education
    • Parents and educators are mistakenly taking childhood away from children. They are removing play from preschool and early education experiences and emphasizing academic topics instead. While this pressure toward academic achievement may initially sound beneficial, it could actually backfire – not only by causing emotional stress (as many people suspect) but also by making it less likely that young children will lay the proper foundation of cognitive structures for subsequent academic growth. In other words, the active involvement inherent in play enables children to assimilate numerous objects, ideas, and activities into their existing structures and to make appropriate accommodations to form new schemata. Reducing opportunities for play may result in either very few cognitive structures available for future use or very superficial structures that have been applied to very few concrete examples.
• Development of Social Skill
  • learners must also develop social and affective skills.

    social skills enable students to get along together

    to communicate ideas

    inappropriate communication and lack of social skills were the most frequently cited reasons for failure of persons with mental retardation to obtain, perform, and maintain good jobs

• Models of social knowledge acquisition
  • Environmental
    • cultures, sanctions, other environmental factors
  • Physiological
    • short attention span would get different information
  • Information Processing
    • encoding of social information
  • Social Knowledge
    • influence and be influenced by what he/she already knows
  • Motivation
• What Moves You? p271
  • 1. If you can pass a simple, ten-item, multiple-choice test at the end of this chapter, we’ll refund the entire cost of this textbook – and let you keep it besides!

    2. If you can pass a simple ten-item multiple-choice test at the end of this chapter, you’re about average.

    3. If you cannot pass a simple ten-item multiple-choice test at the end of this chapter, you’re really pretty stupid.

    4. If you can understand and apply the principles discussed in this chapter, you’ll be able to motivate your students more effectively.

    5. If you can understand and apply the principles discussed in this chapter, you’ll be able to motivate those students who have been thus far so impervious to your efforts.

    6. If you cannot understand and apply the principles discussed in this chapter, you’ll never really be much good as a teacher.

    7. This chapter includes humor and some very practical examples.

• Motivation
  • getting someone moving

    motivation is concerned with the factors that stimulate or inhibit the desire to engage in a behavior

    motivation is strongest when the urge to engage in a behavior arises from within the learner rather than from outside pressures

    The will to learn is an intrinsic motive, one that finds both its source and its reward in its own exercise

    The will to learn becomes a “problem” only under specialized circumstances like those of a school, where a curriculum is set, students are confined, and a path fixed. The problems exist not so much in learning itself, but in the fact that what the school imposes often fails to enlist the natural energies that sustain spontaneous learning…

    extrinsic motivators may lead to merely short-range activity while actually reducing long-range interest in a topic.

    it is essential that extrinsic motivators be backed up by intrinsic motivators or that the extrinsic motivation become internalized

    if this does not happen, the result is likely to be a reduction in the very behavior we want to promote.

    intrinsic motivation-what people will do without external inducement

    intrinsic motivation-will engage for no reward other the interest and enjoyment

• Factors that promotes intrinsic motivation
  • Challenge
    • People are best motivated when they are working toward personally meaningful goals whose attainment requires activity at a continuously optimal (intermediate) level of difficulty.
      • Set personally meaningful goals.
      • Make attainment of goals probable but uncertain.
      • Give enroute performance feedback.
      • Relate goals to learners’ self esteem.
  • Curiosity
    • Something in the physical environment attracts the learner’s attention or there is an optimal level of discrepancy between present knowledge or skills and what these could be if the learner engaged in some activity.
      • Stimulate sensory curiosity by making abrupt changes that will be perceived by the senses.

        Stimulate cognitive curiosity by making a person wonder about something (i.e., stimulate the learner’s interest).

  • Control
    • People have a basic tendency to want to control what happens to them.
      • Make clear the cause-and-effect relationships between what students are doing and things that happen in real life.

        Enable the learners to believe that their work will lead to powerful effects.

        Allow learners to freely choose what they want to learn and how they will learn it.

  • Fantasy
    • Learners use mental images of things and situations that are not actually present to stimulate their behavior.
      • Make a game out of learning.
      • Help learners imagine themselves using the learned information in real- life settings.
      • Make the fantasies intrinsic rather than extrinsic.
  • Competition
    • Learners feel satisfaction by comparing their performance favorably to that of others.
      • Competition occurs naturally as well as artificially.
      • Competition is more important for some people than for others.
      • People who lose at competition often suffer more than the winners profit.
      • Competition sometimes reduces the urge to be helpful to other learners.
  • Cooperation
    • Learners feel satisfaction by helping others achieve their goals.
      • Cooperation occurs naturally as well as artificially.
      • Cooperation is more important for some people than for others.
      • Cooperation is a useful real-life skill.
      • Cooperation requires and develops interpersonal skills.
  • Recognition
    • Learners feel satisfaction when others recognize and appreciate their accomplishments.
      • Recognition requires that the process or product or some other result of the learning activity be visible.

        Recognition differs from competition in that it does not involve a comparison with the performance of someone else.

• Reinforcement and Punishment
  • 1. It is far better to use intrinsic (natural) rather than extrinsic (artificial) reinforcement and punishment. This is because intrinsic, natural reinforcers will always be available to learners, whereas extrinsic, artificial consequences may disappear once the learner leaves the instructional setting.

    2. When natural reinforcers are not available, it is often necessary to use artificial consequences to motivate learners. But when artificial, extrinsic motivation is employed, it should always be backed up by natural, intrinsic motivation. Otherwise, the motivation is likely to be only temporary, and the long-range impact may be an actual loss of motivation.

    3. Only consequences that the learner himself or herself perceives to be reinforcing will motivate that learner.

    4. There are numerous incentives and consequences competing for a learner’s attention at any given time. The factors that the learner perceives to have the strongest combined influence will usually determine the learner’s course of action.

    5. Many of the factors that motivate students lie largely beyond the direct control of the teacher and others in the educational system.

• Affective Components of Motivation
  • People will engage more often and more eagerly in behaviors related to topics, people, and events toward which they have approach tendencies.

    People will engage more often and more eagerly in behaviors related to topics. people, and events that have high positive valence.

    People will engage more often and more eagerly in behaviors related to topics. people, and events regarding which they have positive attitudes.

• Physical Aspects of Motivation
  • Motivation is not entirely a psychological concept. In addition to an intellectual and emotional interest, a person’s tendency to engage in a behavior is at least partially determined by the person’s physiological state

    A major physiological factor is level of arousal, which refers to the overall readiness of the human organism to engage in activity.

    Increase Levels of Arousal

    • 1. introduce topics in an interesting manner;

      2. use humor during lectures;

      3. avoid talking in a monotone;

      4. encourage numerous different students to participate in class discussions;

      5. call on students in an unpredictable rather than predetermined order;

      6. raise questions to which students are eager to learn or discover answers;

      7. vary the style or order of presentation – avoid doing everything in thesame order every day;

      8. give tests or quizzes at appropriate intervals, so that students feel constantly accountable for what they learn;

      9. move around the room rather than standing stiffly behind a podium;

      10. give breaks during long class sessions

    Decrease Levels of Arousal

    • 1. talk in a monotone;

      2. lecture from a text of which the students already have an exact copy;

      3. give the entire presentation themselves, without letting anyone ask questions or contribute insights;

      4. do the same thing in the same order every day;

      5. skip breaks when students need them;

      6. give students the impression that they will not be held accountable for their learning until some time in the vaguely distant future.

    Factors Affecting the Levels of Arousal

    • Eating, too much sugar can raise the levels of arousal too high to learn effectively
    • Sleeping habits can interfere the levels of arousal
      • too much tv viewing
      • students have to work, less sleep
      • students has to commute in long hours
      • neighborhood is too noisy
    • Evening classes, teachers are already tired of teaching
    • Weather, summer is too hot and winter is too cold
    • Classroom furniture is uncomfortable, provokes fatigue or too comfortable-induces sleep

    White Line Fever in the classroom

    • 1. Sit in the front of the classroom. This has a couple of benefits:
      • Being right under the eyes of the teacher is likely to stimulate your urge to stay alert.
      • You won’t be able to see the other students behind you, whose drowsiness could become contagious.

      2. Ask questions during class (or answer them).

      3. If the teacher reads directly from the book, don’t read it yourself prior to the class.

      4. Take notes.

      5. Find something interesting to do. Play a game, if necessary, by focusing partly on the teacher’s mannerisms.

      6. Sit near an open window. Brush the snow off your desk, if necessary.

      7. Stretch your legs once in a while to get the blood circulating.

      8. Avoid any of the following:

      • sitting near other students who are likely to give external signs of their own low level of arousal.

        focusing on the teacher’s most hypnotic mannerisms.

        ingesting food or drinks that induce relaxation.

        sitting in a seat that is too comfortable (if there are any such seats in your classroom).

        sitting in a seat that is very uncomfortable (an uncomfortable seat can raise level of arousal for a short class, but fatigue will lower your level of arousal during a long session).

      9. Most importantly, try to find something interesting about the subject matter. Then you can rely on yourself and the subject matter (instead of the teacher) to stimulate your level of arousal.

• Cognitive Aspect of Motivation
  • teachers should make important ideas as interesting as possible
  • contain surprising information,
  • are related to personal goals of the readers, and
  • contain human interest elements.
• Needs and Motivation
  • Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
    • Basic Needs
      • Physiological needs-food, clothing, shelter, water
      • Safety needs
      • Belonging
      • Self esteem
    • Growth Needs
      • Need to know and understand
      • Aesthetic needs
      • Self-actualization needs

    Human behavior is stimulated by the urge to satisfy basic and growth needs

    Maslow lists four basic needs and three growth needs

    These needs are hierarchical

    lower level needs must be at least temporarily satisfied before learners can be motivated by higher needs.

    • a hungry person is not likely to be motivated by esteem needs

      a person with very low self esteem is not likely to be motivated by the need to know and understand.

      a child whose parents are going through a painful divorce is likely to feel oppressed by esteem needs, belongingness and love needs, and even safety needs that are likely to be more important than the ordinary classroom motivations

    Basic needs are essential to physical and psychological well-being.

    Once these needs are satisfied, the motivation to satisfy them diminishes, or even vanishes for a while.

    Growth needs, on the other hand, can never be satisfied completely.

    When these needs are partly fulfilled, the need to fulfill them may become even greater.

    Needs related to personality development and self-actualization

    Strategies for dealing withe needs

    • 1. Understand these needs as thoroughly as possible and either work around them or take them into consideration when developing motivational strategies and lesson plans.
      • For example, by knowing that a child feels threatened by gangs in his neighborhood and understanding the severity of the child’s concern about safety, a teacher can be more empathetic toward that child and better able to help him learn, even though the teacher is unable to alleviate the child’s obsessive concern about safety.

      2. Help satisfy these needs. This is the logic behind giving breakfasts and lunches to hungry students. In some cases, it is impossible to satisfy the need completely, but a partial solution may still enable the student to be motivated by higher motives.

      • For example, if a teacher or school system can make the classroom a truly safe and secure place, then a child who has sincere and serious concerns about his safety outside the school can still have his safety needs temporarily satisfied within the walls of the school and be motivated by higher needs while in school.

      3. Show how learning the subject matter of school can help satisfy the learner’s needs.

      • If hungry people can learn to grow food, this will satisfy an important need. A child whose safety is threatened will be motivated to learn verbal skills if she believes that these skills will enable her to escape from or avoid the dangers that lurk in her environment.
• Self-Efficacy
  • Self-Efficacy
    • Efficacy-Capacity or power to produce a desired effect

      People are likely to engage in activities to the extent that they perceive themselves to be competent at those activities. With regard to education, this means that learners will be more likely to attempt, to persevere, and to be successful at tasks at which they have a sense of efficacy.

      When learners fail, this may occur because they lack the skills to succeed or because they have the skills but lack the sense of efficacy to use these skills well.

  • Factors that are likely to reduce students’ feelings of positive selfefficacy:
    • 1. lock-step sequences of instruction that may cause some children to get lost along the way,
    • 2. ability groupings that further diminish the self-efficacy of those in lower ranks, and
    • 3. competitive practices in which many students are doomed to failure from the start.
  • Increase Self-Efficacy
    • 1. helping learners set specific, attainable goals;

      2. modeling cognitive strategies that include statements of self-efficacy;

      3. helping the students focus feedback on the successful application of effort to achieve useful subskills;

      4. supplying positive incentives; and

      5. encouraging students to verbalize effective task strategies.

• Attribution Theory
  • Attribution-Assigning some quality or character to a person or thing; assigning to a cause

    emphasizes the idea that learners are strongly motivated by the pleasant outcome of being able to feel good about themselves

    it emphasizes that learners’ current self-perceptions will strongly influence the ways in which they will interpret the success or failure of their current efforts and hence their future tendency to perform these same behaviors

    the explanations that people tend to make to explain success or failure can be analyzed in terms of three sets of characteristics:

    Attribution Theory Explanations:

    • 1. the cause of the success or failure may be internal or external. That is, we may succeed or fail because of factors that we believe have their origin within us or because of factors that originate in our environment.

      2. the cause of the success or failure may be either stable or unstable. If the we believe cause is stable, then the outcome is likely to be the same if we perform the same behavior on another occasion. If it is unstable, the outcome is likely to be different on another occasion.

      3. the cause of the success or failure may be either controllable or uncontrollable. A controllable factor is one which we believe we ourselves can alter if we wish to do so. An uncontrollable factor is one that we do not believe we can easily alter.

    An internal/external factor can be

    • 1. controllable (we can control our effort by trying harder) or

      2. uncontrollable (most people cannot easily change their basic intellectual ability or change from being an introvert to being an extrovert).

      3. external factor can be controllable (a person failing a difficult course could succeed by taking an easier course) or uncontrollable (if calculus is difficult because it is abstract, it will still be abstract no matter what we do).

    An important assumption of attribution theory is that people will interpret their environment in such a way as to maintain a positive self-image.

    They will attribute their successes or failures to factors that will enable them to feel as good as possible about themselves.

    When learners succeed at an academic task, they are likely to want to attribute this success to their own efforts or abilities

    When they fail, they will want to attribute their failure to factors over which they have no control, such as bad teaching or bad luck.

    The basic principle of attribution theory as it applies to motivation is that a person’s own perceptions or attributions for success or failure determine the amount of effort the person will expend on that activity in the future.

    4 Factors Related to attribution theory

    • 1. Ability is a relatively internal and stable factor over which the learner does not exercise much direct control.

      2. Task difficulty is an external and stable factor that is largely beyond the learner’s control.

      3. Effort is an internal and unstable factor over which the learner can exercise a great deal of control.

      4. Luck is an external and unstable factor over which the learner exercises very little control.

    Students will be most persistent at academic tasks under the following circumstances:

    • 1. if they attribute their academic successes to either:
      • internal, unstable, factors over which they have control (e.g., effort)

        internal, stable, factors over which they have little control but which may sometimes be disrupted by other factors (e.g., ability disrupted by occasional bad luck); and

      2. if they attribute their failures to internal, unstable factors over which they have control (e.g., effort).

    Motivation Guidelines

    • 1. If we want students to persist at academic tasks, we should help them establish a sincere belief that they are competent and that occasional imperfections or failures are the result of some other factor (such as bad luck or a lack of sufficient effort) that need not be present on future occasions.

      2. It is not beneficial for students to attribute their successes entirely to ability. If they think they already have all the ability they need, they may feel that additional effort is superfluous. The ideal attribution for success is, “I succeeded because I am a competent person and worked hard.”

      3. When students fail, they are most likely to persist and eventually succeed if they attribute their failure to a lack of appropriate effort. Therefore, it is extremely important that when students perceive themselves as unsuccessful teachers help them develop the conviction that they can still succeed if they give it their best shot. (Note that it is important to define effort appropriately, as in guideline 5.)

      4. It is extremely hazardous to motivational health for students to fail repeatedly after making a serious effort at academic tasks.

      • When this happens, they will either
        • (a) stop believing they are competent, or
        • (b) stop attributing their failure to lack of effort.

        Both of these outcomes are likely to reduce persistence at the academic tasks. It is important, therefore, to arrange tasks so that students who work hard are able to perceive themselves as successful.

      5. It is important to define effort correctly and for the learners to internalize an accurate concept of effort. In practical terms effort is most usefully defined as devoting effective academic learning time to the task. Just trying harder or spending more time doing ineffective activities does not constitute effort. It is extremely important to make this distinction. If we use another definition of effort, when we tell children that their failures are a result of a lack of effort, we run the risk of leading them to believe that they have an internal, stable characteristic called laziness, over which they have no control. This will reduce motivation. Another way to say this is that it is possible and desirable for students to believe that even though they have “worked hard,” they have not yet put forth their best effort. If we can show students ways to improve their efforts – and there are almost always ways to channel their energies more effectively – then we can enable them to have an accurate perception that increased effort is likely to pay off.

      6. Excessively competitive grading and evaluation systems are likely to impair the learning of many students. Competition will encourage students to persist only to the extent that they believe additional effort will enable them to succeed within the competitive atmosphere. In many instances, success in competition is completely beyond the learner’s control – no matter how hard a learner works, another more competent and equally energetic competitor is likely to win.

      7. It is useful to evaluate students at least partly (but not exclusively) on the basis of their effort. This does not mean that the weakest students in a class should receive the highest grades simply because they may spend more time trying to master the subject matter. Ideally, course assignments should be arranged so that diligent work actually leads to academic success, and the teacher’s evaluation should help students see this connection.

      8. In general, it is best for students to believe that it is their own behavior rather than external circumstances that leads to success or failure. Researchers refer to this as having an internal locus of control. While it is good for students to have a realistic understanding of what’s happening around them, research shows that the most successful students have a tendency to overestimate the degree to which their own behavior leads to success or failure 9. When students have a conviction that they lack ability, it is necessary to take steps to circumvent or overcome this conviction. Such students are likely to repudiate successes. For example, when they do well, they are likely to have a sincere conviction that they were “just lucky.” It is difficult to alter this conviction. Changing this conviction is tantamount to altering the learner’s self-concept, and this cannot be accomplished in a short time. There are many approaches available to teachers, including the following:

      • a. Find areas in which the learner perceives himself or herself as successful, and show connections between that area and the topic currently under consideration.

        b. Use guidelines discussed in chapter 8 to enhance the learner’s self-concept.

        c. Focus heavily on effort as the factor critical to success.

    Other Motivation Guidelines

    • 1. Learning goals are set by individuals who seek to increase their competence.
      • People who emphasize learning goals are likely to seek challenges, if they believe the challenges will lead to greater competence; and they tend to respond to failure by increasing their effort

        It is good to encourage students to set and pursue learning goals rather than performance goals.

      2. Performance goals, on the other hand, are set by individuals who seek to gain favorable judgments or to avoid unfavorable judgments in the eyes of others.

      • People who emphasize performance goals are likely to avoid challenges unless they are certain they can succeed, and they tend to respond to failure with feelings of learned helplessness and self-handicapping

        It is often undesirable to emphasize performance goals; but schools, parents, and society often overemphasize them to the detriment of learners.

      3. Learned helplessness refers to the expectation, based on previous experience, that one’s actions cannot possibly lead to success.

      • Performance goals are much more likely than learning goals to lead to ability rather than effort attributions and to result in feelings of learned helplessness.

        Recommend encouraging students to focus primarily on learning goals, while keeping performance goals in perspective by enjoying recognition without letting it become an overriding concern.

        Teachers can accomplish this by focusing on learning rather than normative comparisons when reinforcing students

      4. Self-handicapping occurs when learners create impediments that make good performance less likely.

      • Impediments
        • Something immaterial that interferes with or delays action or progress
        • Any structure that makes progress difficult

        Examples of impediments include

        • drug and alcohol use,
        • refusing to practice, study
        • reporting excessive symptoms, and reducing effort.

        These impediments may sound just plain foolish, but they are very real and actually serve to protect the person’s sense of self-competence.

        If the self-handicapping person does poorly, his explanation for this failure lies in the impediment.

        If the person does well, his success is exalted, because he overcame the impediment.

        Since the impediments interfere with learning, they have the overall effect of reducing motivation and performance.

        Self-handicapping is likely to become prominent during adolescence. Since it occurs most often among persons with an overriding concern with their competence image, this problem can best be minimized by focusing on effort attributions and by helping learners develop secure feelings of self-efficacy

        Self-handicapping may be imposed or at least supported by a learner’s culture or subculture or by the atmosphere of the school.

        For example, adolescents may handicap themselves by reducing their effort because they feel that studying hard will be viewed as an undesirable form of competition with their peers.

        Likewise, African-American students may reduce their effort because they resist conforming to the norms of the oppositional culture

      Self-Handicapping Attributions

      • Students use the principles of attribution theory itself as a means of self-handicapping.

        For example, students who think they will fail a difficult test may be inclined to refrain from studying for that test. Their thinking goes like this:

        • 1. If I study hard but fail, I will look and feel incompetent. That is, if I give my best effort and fail, everyone will know that I don’t have the ability to do well on this test.

          2. If I study hard and pass, the hard work will reduce the glory of my success. People will think I had to work hard in order to succeed. If I were really smart, I wouldn’t have to work so hard.

          3. If I don’t study but fail, I can explain this failure by noting that I haven’t even tried. If I haven’t tried, then I can have the internal assurance that I could have succeeded if I had really tried. I may fail the test, but at least no one will have evidence that I’m stupid.

          4. If I don’t study but still manage to succeed, then people will know that I’m a genius. The only explanation for my success would have to be that I have really high ability.

        This kind of reasoning is counterproductive, of course, because the objective reality is that a person who expends less effort is actually less likely to be productive.

      Expectancy-valence models

      • A person’s motivation to achieve a goal depends on a combination of the value of that goal (its valence) and the person’s estimation of the likelihood of success.

        The combination of expectancy and valence interacts with attribution theory in complex ways. For example, under certain circumstances, a high probability of success can actually reduce motivation.

        In most cases, a person will expend more effort when there is a moderate (rather than high or low) probability of success

      Self-worth theory Covington

      • Combines ideas related to self-efficacy, attribution theory, and learned helplessness.

        It focuses on the notion that people are largely motivated to do what it takes to enhance their reputation in various areas.

        Learners engage in objectively counterproductive activities such as setting goals that are far too high or too low, reducing effort, and procrastinating, in the often illusory hope that they will feel better about themselves if they refrain from putting forth their best effort and risking failure.

    Important Caution

    • 1. It is important to define effort clearly and correctly when helping students make effort attributions for their failures

      2. what we want to promote is not purely effort attributions, but rather strategic effort attributions – that is, learners need to believe that working hard in a particular way is what leads to success

      3. consistently helping students make strategic effort attributions, we can encourage them to view failures as problem solving situations in which the search for an improved strategy becomes the main focus of attention

• Self Motivation
  • 2 Types of People
    • 1. Seeking Success
      • motivation increases following failure
      • most strongly motivated by tasks that have a medium level of difficulty
      • more likely to set realistic goals
    • 2. Avoiding Failures
      • decrease their efforts after failing at a task
      • prefer either very easy or very difficult tasks
      • set goals for themselves that are unrealistically easy or difficult
  • Self-Motivated
    • refer to students who become easily motivated to learn, without much external persuasion

      likely to be the best learners

      Self-motivation is not an innate characteristic, but rather is learned in much the same fashion as the metacognitive skills

  • Characteristics of Intrinsically versus Extrinsically Motivated Learners
    • 1. If perceived ability is low, extrinsically motivated students are more likely to quit after failure.

      2. If the task is mundane or algorithmic, the extrinsically motivated student may be superior to the intrinsically motivated student.

      3. If the task is conceptual or requires higher level thinking skills, the intrinsically motivated student is likely to be superior to the extrinsically motivated student.

      4. The intrinsically motivated student is more likely to apply effective metacognitive strategies and “deeper” study strategies.

      5. The intrinsically motivated student is more likely to select problems and subgoals of moderate difficulty, whereas the extrinsically motivated student is more likely to select the easiest problems and subgoals.

      6. The intrinsically motivated student is more likely to take risks and to explore freely.

      7. If the task is complex, the intrinsically motivated student is more likely to employ logical and efficient performance strategies.

      8. Students who have previously been extrinsically motivated to engage in a particular activity are less likely to engage in that activity when external incentives are no longer available.

      9. Intrinsically motivated students are more likely than extrinsically motivated students to be able to handle artificial rewards without experiencing negative consequences.

  • Strategies for Promoting Intrinsic Motivation
    • Control
      • Promote the learners’ sense of control over activities
        • 1. Minimize extrinsic constraints on the activity. (If an activity is of initial intrinsic interest, avoid adding superfluous extrinsic control. If an activity is of low intrinsic interest, use minimal sufficient external control.)

          1. Reduce extrinsic constraints over time. (If it is necessary to use external pressures or incentives, fade these over time.)

          2. Minimize the salience of extrinsic constraints. (Make the constraints seem logical; and embed them in the activity itself, if it is possible to do so.)

    • Challenge
      • Provide students with a continuously challenging activity.
        • 1. Help students set goals of uncertain attainment, and give feedback regarding current status of accomplishments. (Help students short-term and long-term goals at intermediate levels of difficulty. Also help students set multiple levels of goals, so that students at different levels will feel motivated and so that students can move on to new goals as they attain earlier goals. )
    • Curiosity
      • Provoke the learners’ curiosity.
        • 1. Highlight areas of inconsistency and incompleteness and focus on paradoxes or possible simplifications that will provoke the interest of the learners.

          2. Focus on activities, domains of knowledge, persons, and problems that are already of interest to the learners.

    • Contextualization
      • Highlight the functionality of the activity.
        • 1. Present the activity in a natural, interesting context.
        • 2. Present the activity in a simulation or fantasy context of interest to the student.
• Social Aspect of Motivation
  • Human beings do not act in isolation; their behavior is often strongly influenced by their associations with other people.

    The dynamics of classroom interactions is often an important feature in student motivation.

    Classroom goal structure – the reward structure prevalent in a learning situation.

    • 1. A competitive goal structure
      • is one in which learners perceive that they will be rewarded based on comparisons with other learners.

        One person can win in a competition only if another loses.

        The goal of students in a competitive classroom is to do better than their classmates.

    • 2. An individualistic goal structure
      • is one in which learners perceive themselves as working for their own rewards.
      • In this environment, students need not be concerned about what anyone else is accomplishing.
      • Their goal is to meet the standards which they or the teacher have established.
    • 3. A cooperative goal structure
      • is one in which learners perceive that they are working together with other students to gain rewards.

        In this environment, a student’s success depends on the comparable success of other students.

        An important goal of students in a cooperative classroom is to encourage and enable other students to succeed.

    Competitive environments

    • Take advantage of the apparently natural inclination of human beings to develop and enhance their own self-esteem by comparing their own performance to that of others.

      There is considerable evidence that especially for extremely high-performing students competitive environments stimulate higher levels of learning and performance than would be likely to occur in non-competitive environments. In the field of sports, it is a truism that teams are likely to improve when their competition improves.

      The role of competition is likewise obvious in business: competitors encourage businesses to provide their best products and services.

      Competition plays a comparable role in education: many students thrive on favorable comparisons to other students.

      Schools that introduce academic competitions (e.g., science bowls) that are similar to athletic events often find that students benefit tremendously from the motivation and recognition that accompany the competition.

    Problem with competition

    • We often tend to ignore the downside. When everyone is forced to compete, losers often lose more than the winners gain.

      In sports, the losers often simply quit the team or give up the sport; in business, the losers go out of business.

      In school, the losers are often required to keep on losing. Constant exposure to failure in competitions is likely to lead to learned helplessness – an extremely debilitating form of failure avoidance (discussed earlier). Therefore, it is important to be selective in the use of competition.

    Benefits

    In spite of its downside, competition has advantages which make it desirable for at least occasional use in instructional settings. The following guidelines are useful:

    Use competition only with those students who are likely to benefit from it. In general, this means to use competition only with students who have a chance to win. However, people vary in their attitudes toward winning and losing. I know of one person who became a state racquetball champion after losing nearly all his games for two years – he simply wanted to win and felt that the best way to become good was to play good competition. Likewise, many readers know people who were willing to be last in a “good” school because they knew that this would make them more successful “in the real world. The important point is that it is improper to use competition as a motivational tool when it is likely to backfire – and consistent losses at competitions usually do weaken motivation.

    Structure the competition so that all participants have a good chance of winning. There are many ways to do this: ask different questions to people of different abilities; arrange the students in teams so that abilities even out; or introduce an element of chance into the competition.

    Have students compete against themselves rather than against other students. By evaluating students on the basis of their own personal gains, we can give everyone an opportunity to succeed. In fact, since the weakest students have the most room for improvement, this procedure can even give an advantage to the very students who are usually at a disadvantage.

    Combine competitive environments with cooperative environments in order to derive the benefits of both. Have students work together on a team to compete against other teams. If a competition will reward combined group scores on a test, then a weak student who raises his score from 60% to 80% can contribute more to a team than a strong student who raises her score from 90% to 100%. (Cite Slavin, 19xx)

    Reward effort and improvement as well as pure performance. This does not mean to reward effort and improvement instead of performance – reward effort and improvement as well as performance.

• Motivation Pointers-Teachers
  • 1. Focus as much as possible on intrinsic rather than extrinsic factors to motivate learners.

    2. Look at motivation from the perspective of the person being motivated, not from your own or from some other perspective.

    3. Take steps to understand the motivational perspectives of learners by communicating with them, by establishing rapport, by understanding their individual and group needs, and by learning about their cultural heritage.

    4. Be aware that learners may be motivated by many goals in addition to the objectives of the instructional unit, and adjust instruction accordingly.

    5. Don’t guarantee success. Rather, make it clear that students are likely to succeed if they put forth appropriate effort.

    6. Communicate goals clearly to learners, so that learners themselves can direct their own motivational energies toward attaining these goals.

    7. Set up learning situations with an optimal degree of discrepancy. For example, a learner should already know enough about a topic to see that it would be enjoyable to lean a little more.

    8. Help learners see clear cause-and-effect relationships between their own actions and obtaining desired benefits.

    9. Arrange events so that learners feel that they have freely chosen to perform productive activities – not that they have been coerced into doing so.

    10. Create environments in which learners can vividly fantasize using academic skills in realistic or enjoyable settings.

    11. Use competition in such a way as to help those who succeed at it, while minimizing negative impacts on those who lose.

    12. Use cooperation rather than competition in situations where it would be more productive.

    13. Use recognition to motivate learners by making their successful activities or products visible to others.

    14. Present learning opportunities in an environment that is likely to evoke positive feelings and emotions. Most importantly, avoid conducting learning activities in settings that are likely to evoke negative feelings.

    15. When physiological arousal is too high, take steps to lower it.

    16. When physiological arousal is too low, take steps to increase it.

    17. Help learners satisfy their basic needs, so that they can be motivated by higher needs.

    18. Encourage learners to attribute both their academic successes and failures to effort, which is an internal, unstable factor over which they have control.

    19. Encourage students to be motivated by the urge to master important skills rather than by achieving favorable comparisons with other students.

    20. Encourage students to put forth effort, but define effort properly. Effort refers to the productive use of time. Putting in more hours does not necessarily reflect greater effort. Sometimes students need to learn to make proper effort.

    21. Focus as much as possible on achieving success, as opposed to avoiding failure.

    22. Have realistic, positive expectations for your students.

    23. Be aware of the possibility of negative stereotypes and avoid letting these influence your expectations or the goals you set for students.

    24. Promote self-motivation among learners.

• Motivation Pointers-Parents
  • 1. Encourage your child to look for intrinsic benefits that will arise from learning a certain subject matter. If necessary, go and find out what these benefits are, and then communicate them to your child.

    2. Realize that your child is likely to look at life differently than you (no matter how wonderful your values are), and you can help motivate your child only to the extent that you can see life from his or her perspective.

    3. Don’t try to motivate your child by saying things like “This is easy!” or “Anyone can do this!” Say something like, “You can do it, if you work at it.”

    4. Help your child come to the belief that honest effort will almost always pay off. Honest effort means using time productively. Sometimes it is necessary to learn how to use time productively. That’s part of effort.

    5. Avoid saying, “You’re not trying!” Instead, say, “Is there anything you can do to help improve your performance?” Then help the learner find ways to spend additional time productively.

    6. Help your child understand the goals of every unit of instruction, so that he or she can direct personal motivational energies toward attaining those goals.

    7. Help your child see clear cause-and-effect relationships between his or her own actions and obtaining desired benefits.

    8. Help your child set competitive goals wisely. Avoid having him or her rely on the failure of other children in order to feel successful. Encourage competition with his or her own past performance.

    9. Encourage your child to set cooperative as well as competitive goals. Help your child realize that contributing to the success of a group is a worthwhile goal.

    10.Recognize the successes of your child by finding ways to make his or her successful activities or products visible to yourself and to others in your family.

    11.Minimize negative competition among the members of the family.

    12.When your child is excessively excited or anxious about something in school, take steps to lower physiological arousal.

    13.When your child is excessively bored, sleepy, or unconcerned about something in school, take steps to increase physiological arousal.

    14.Help your child satisfy basic needs (e.g., hunger and safety), so that he or she can focus on higher needs.

    15.Avoid calling attention the intelligence or basic ability of your child. It is good that your child should believe that he or she is competent, but complacency is harmful. A child’s conviction that he or she is incompetent is even more destructive.

    16.Encourage your child to attribute his or her academic successes and failures to effort.

    17.Focus as much as possible on achieving success, as opposed to avoiding failure.

    18.Have realistic, positive expectations for your child.

    19.Be aware of the possibility of negative stereotypes and avoid letting these influence your expectations or the goals you set for child.

    20.Promote self-motivation by your child.

• Motivation Pointers-Students
  • 1. Know why it is worthwhile to study a unit of instruction. If it’s not obvious what you can do with the information, ask someone. When you find reasons, relate them to things you care about. You can study any subject more effectively if you have a personal intrinsic interest in it.

    2. If you cannot find an intrinsic reason to study a unit of instruction, find an extrinsic incentive. For example, make a game out of it or find a way to relate it to some other goal.

    3. Be aware that a subject matter doesn’t have to be the most important thing in the world to make it worthwhile.

    4. Admit the possibility that the intrinsic value of some subject matter may become obvious later in your life. What you work for extrinsically now may become intrinsically useful later in life.

    5. Make it easier for your teachers to do their part in motivating you. Do this by communicating with them, by establishing rapport, and by helping them understand your individual and group needs.

    6. Find out exactly what the goals are for a unit of instruction, so that you can direct your own energies as efficiently as possible toward reaching those goals.

    7. Look for cause-and-effect relationships between your own actions and attaining success. Then repeat in the future what has worked in the past.

    8. Vividly fantasize using academic skills in realistic or enjoyable settings.

    9. Don’t overemphasize competition. It is unreasonable for everyone to expect to be the winner in every competition. Usually, for one person to win, many have to try to win, but lose. Often it is better to compete with your own past performance than with the performance of other students.

    10.Realize the value and pleasure of cooperation in learning situations. Sometimes it is more fulfilling to help your group reach a goal than to surpass the other members of the group at attaining that goal.

    11.Try to learn in a setting that is likely to arouse positive feelings and emotions. Most importantly, avoid conducting learning activities in settings that are likely to evoke negative feelings.

    12.When your physiological arousal is too high, take steps to lower it.

    13.When your physiological arousal is too low, take steps to increase it.

    14.Try to satisfy your basic needs (such as hunger and safety), so that you can focus on higher needs when its time to study.

    15.Focus primarily on how your effort pays off at academic activities. Resist attributing your success or failure either to your basic ability (or lack of it) or to luck.

    16.Define effort properly. Effort refers to the productive use of time. Putting in more hours does not necessarily reflect greater effort. Sometimes you may need to learn useful techniques that enable you to make the proper effort for a task.

    17.Focus as much as possible on achieving success, as opposed to avoiding failure.

    18.Have realistic, positive expectations for yourself.

    19.Be aware of the possibility that teachers may have negative stereotypes about you or people like you, and avoid letting these influence your own expectations or goals.

• Principles of Motivation and Problems
  • 1. It is better to rely on intrinsic rather than extrinsic motivation.
    • Only consequences that the learner himself or herself perceives to be reinforcing will motivate that learner.
      • Work to understand the perspective of the learner through communication and rapport.

      Teacher may not have control of intrinsic motivators.

      • Understand and apply principles of personality and developmental psychology.

      Intrinsic motivator may not currently be of interest to the learner.

      • Work to gain control through communication and rapport.
      • Seek help from others who do control intrinsic motivators.
      • Promote self motivation.
      • Clarify and demonstrate the intrinsic value of the outcome.
      • State learning outcomes in specific, behavioral terms.
      • Use prestigious models.
      • Foster affective attachment to the outcome.
      • Understand and promote developmental principles.
      • Use artificial incentives until intrinsic incentives become possible.

    2. When natural consequences are not available, it is often necessary to use artificial consequences to motivate learners.

    • Artificial motivators run counter to the previous principle.
      • Use artificial reinforcers that are as close to natural as possible.
      • Back up artificial reinforcers with natural reinforcers.
    • Teacher may not know of or have control over effective artificial reinforcers.
      • Work to gain control of natural reinforcers through communication and rapport.
      • Seek help from others who do control extrinsic motivators.
      • Promote self-motivation.

    3. Human beings have brains and personalities that make their motivations extremely complicated.

    • Teacher may not understand the complexity of the thoughts and feelings of students.
      • Foster understanding through communication and rapport.
      • Develop cultural and multicultural familiarity.
    • Various aspects of intellect and personality conflict with one another and with desired outcomes.
      • Understand and apply principles of attribution theory.
      • Understand and apply principles of achievement motivation.
      • Seek input from experts who do understand more than you do.

    4. There are numerous incentives and consequences competing for a learner’s attention at any given time.

    • Competing outcomes may distract learner from desired outcome.
      • Remove competing outcomes.
      • Reduce incentive value of competing outcomes.
      • Increase incentive value of desired outcome.
      • Remove competing outcomes.
    • Learner may actually be motivated more by a competing, undesirable outcome.
      • Apply disincentives for competing outcomes.
      • Increase incentive value of desired outcome.

    5. Social interactions with others influence the motivation of learners.

    • Interactions with other students may detract from motivation.
      • Understand and apply the principles of group dynamics.
      • Develop positive group atmosphere through communication and rapport
      • Solicit help from other students.
      • Employ cooperative learning.
      • Use competition and recognition effectively.
      • Communicate and establish rapport with the family of the learner.
    • Interactions with environment outside learning situation may detract from motivation.
      • Develop cultural and multicultural familiarity.
    • Interactions with teacher may detract from learning.
      • Avoid accidental misapplications of principles of behavior modification.
      • Avoid negative expectancies.
      • Develop positive expectancies.

    6. Physiological factors influence motivation.

    • Excessively low level of arousal may interfere with tendency to learn.
      • Use variety in presentations.

        Use high interest material in presentations.

        Use humor in presentations.

        Avoid psychological states related to low levels of arousal (tiredness, digestion after meals, warm rooms, etc.)

    • Excessively high level of arousal may interfere with tendency to learn.
      • Emphasize familiar routines and elements that are constant.
      • Refrain from introducing topics or information that may arouse anxiety.
      • Use desensitization or other techniques to reduce anxiety.
      • Avoid information overload.
• Factors of Motivation
  • Individual Factors
    • challenge
      • where the learner is motivated to attain a goal
    • curiosity
      • where the learner is motivated by a physical stimulus or by a cognitive discrepancy
    • control
      • where the learner is motivated by the need to be in control of his/her environment
    • fantasy
      • where learners are motivated by mental images of situations not actually present
  • Interpersonal factors
    • competition
      • where the learner is motivated by comparisons with other learners
    • cooperation
      • where the learner is motivated by an urge to help others perform productively
    • recognition
      • where the learner is motivated by having others appreciate his/her accomplishments
• Meaning of Effort
  • Effort can be defined as the degree to which one schedules and allocates sufficient time to master a topic or solve a problem and employs strategies to use that time as productively as possible in order to maintain a high rate of engagement and a high rate of success or understanding.
• Memory/Info Processing-#6
  • Short Term Memory Process
    • (1) continuously rehearse it, so that it stays there;
    • (2) move it out of this area by shifting it to long-term memory; or
    • (3) move it out of this area by forgetting it.
  • Information Processing
    • 1. Receive Information
    • 2. Store information
    • 3. Integrate information
    • 4. Retrieve information
    • 5. Use information
  • short-term memory-working memory
    • limited capacity
    • we can attend to only about seven items at a time.
  • long-term memory-stores information for a long time.
    • The advantage-we do not have to constantly rehearse information to keep it in

      no restrictive limit on the amount of information we can store

      information stays there for a long time – perhaps permanently!

      To make use of this information in long term memory, we must move it back to our working memory, using a process called retrieval.

  • ADD-learning problem (the attention deficit disorder)
    • occur when learners are unable to screen out irrelevant information and admit to working memory only input that is potentially productive
  • current focus of attention
    • occurs when we are able to devote a minimal amount of attention from our working memory to select what is important from the sensory register, while merely monitoring the context for other key information
  • two problems that can occur as information moves from the sensory register to working memory:
    • 1. Not enough input may move forward
      • (that is, information may be forgotten before it has ever had a chance to be remembered). This problem is solved by training the senses to register information accurately and by having meaningful related information actively available in working memory and easily accessible in long-term memory.
    • 2. Too much input may move forward
      • (that is, the working memory may be overwhelmed by excessive input that it cannot handle). This problem is solved by screening information effectively.
  • Help the Learner Transfer Information Correctly from the External Source into the Sensory Register.
    • 1. Make sure the information is clearly available in the first place. (Don’t use faulty materials that render information partially unintelligible. Speak clearly. Draw diagrams that the students can see. Speak in a language that the students can understand.)

      2. Minimize factors that will interfere with the proper reception of information in the sensory register.

      3. Repeat the presentation more than a single time. It’s actually unlikely that any information will be perfectly received, and redundancy will reduce errors. (Repetition is also useful for other reasons.)

      4. Check to verify whether the information has been received correctly.

• Working Memory
  • Human beings do all their active thinking and problem solving in working memory. The quality of the input into working memory and of the operations that go on there determine the quality of learning and problem solving

    Three critical phases in the effective use of working memory

    • (1) getting information correctly into this short-term area

      (2) handling the information appropriately while it is there

      (3) moving information correctly from working memory to long-term storage, and using the information in working memory to generate some kind of output.

    Five ways to deal with limitations in the capacity of working memory:

    • 1. Feed into the working memory only small amounts of new information at a time. Learners can do this by focusing their attention effectively.

      2. Clear unneeded, old information out of the working memory to make room for the new information. Our brains perform this service for us automatically – almost as soon as we stop focusing tention on the information.

      3. “Chunk” several pieces of information together, so that several individual pieces comprise a single chunk. This strategy will be discussed later in this section.

      4. Efficiently and rapidly shuttle information into and out of working memory.

      5. Use additional devices to supplement human memory. For example, if we record a phone number on a piece of paper, we don’t have to store it in memory. If a teacher projects a map or a diagram on a screen, then it takes little effort for the learners to bring it into working memory – they can just look at any part of the image in front of them.

    What to Do to Help the Learner Transfer Information Correctly From the Sensory Register to the Working Memory

    • 1. Point out specifically the important elements in the presentation.

      2. Minimize factors that will interfere with attention.

      3. Repeat the presentation more than a single time. It’s actually unlikely that any information will be transferred perfectly on a single occasion, and redundancy will reduce errors. (Repetition is also useful for other reasons.)

      4. Check to verify whether the information has been attended to and transferred correctly.

    What to Do to Help the learner accurately retain the information in working memory as long as it is needed to work with it.

    • 1. Keep the number of pieces of information small enough to work with. Either present information in small segments or employ chunking to convert larger amounts into smaller number of pieces of information.

      2. Keep attention constantly focused on the information under consideration. For example, if the information is projected onto a screen or written on a page in front of the student, this minimizes the demand on working memory.

      3. Rehearse the information often while the student is working on it. Rephrase key points often enough to keep them active in working memory.

      4. Allow the learner to have access to the information whenever it is needed. If the information is not in long-term memory or cannot be retrieved, it is foolish to deny the learner access to this information.

      5. Move the information to long-term memory as soon as possible, and help the learner retrieve the information to working memory whenever it is needed. Help the learner retrieve the information easily so that it is almost as good as present in working memory.

• Long Term Memory
  • A major goal of education is to help learners store information in long-term memory and to use that information on later occasions in order to effectively solve problems. There are actually three different types (or aspects or parts) of long-term memory

    Three Different Types of Long Term Memory

    • Episodic memory
      • 1. Episodic-Of writing or narration; divided into or composed of episodes; Occurring or appearing at usually irregular intervals

        2. Refers to our ability to recall personal experiences from our past.

        3. When we recount events that happened during our childhood, a ballet we saw last week, or what we ate for breakfast, we are employing our long-term episodic memory.

        4. As its name suggests, this aspect of memory organizes information around episodes in our lives.

        5. When we try to recall the information, we attempt to reconstruct these episodes by picturing the events in our minds.

        6. Episodic memory enables us to recall not only events, but also information related to those events.

    • Semantic memory
      • 1. Semantic-Of or relating to meaning or the study of meaning

        2. Stores facts and generalized information.

        3. It contains verbal information, concepts, rules, principles, and problem-solving skills.

        4. While episodic memory stores information as images, semantic memory stores information in networks or schemata.

        5. Information is most easily stored in semantic memory when it is meaningful – that is, easily related to existing, well-established schemata.

        6. When we retrieve information from schematic memory, we mentally follow paths.

        7. By using information on numerous occasions after it has been initially learned, we solidify the connections among elements of information, make it easier to retrieve when we need to use it, and make it more likely that this information will be available to help us accept and store additional information in the future.

    • Procedural memory
      • 1. Procedural-Of or relating to procedure

        2. Refers to the ability to remember how to perform a task or to employ a strategy.

        3. The steps in various procedures are apparently stored in a series of steps, or stimulus response pairings.

        4. When we retrieve information from procedural memory, we retrieve one step, which triggers the next, which triggers the next, etc.

    Two major problems related to the use of long-term memory:

    • 1. to transfer the information accurately to long-term memory
    • 2. to retrieve the information accurately.

    Encoding or elaboration

    • primary strategy for transferring information from working memory into long-term memory

      refer to the process of relating information to other information that is already stored in long-term memory.

    Enhance Long Term Memory

    • 1. Meaningfulness
      • 1. Key ingredient that facilitates long-term storage

        2. This term refers not to the inherent interest or worthiness of information, but rather to the degree to which it can be related to information already stored in our long-term memory.

        3. One concept or piece of information is more meaningful than another if the learner can make a larger number of connections between that piece of information and other information already in long-term memory

        4. Critical factor in storing information, one of the most important strategies for promoting long-term storage and retrieval of information is to have the student learn it in a meaningful context

        5. Refers to the number of connections between new and old information

        6. One of the best ways to promote meaningfulness is for the learner to have an abundance of information related to a topic already well organized in longterm memory.

        7. Example, a person with ten pieces of information in long-term memory related to a topic will have a better chance of treating the topic meaningfully than will a person with only one related piece of information stored in memory. In other words, this is another case of “the rich getting richer.”

        8. For example, a student who has recently viewed West Side Story, who has a friend who has been recently involved in a romantic attachment against the objections of his parents, who has already read three other Shakespearean tragedies, and who has a rich vocabulary will find it much easier to understand and retrieve information about Romeo and Juliet than an equally intelligent peer with no background knowledge related to the play.

        9. Possessing information related to a topic will not help students learn and retain new information unless they activate this information and bring it to bear on the topic at hand.

      2. Advance organizers

      • 1. An advance organizer is an introductory statement about a topic that supplies a structure for the new information and relates it to information already in long-term memory.

        2. For example, while introducing a unit on the Civil War, a teacher might say, “Remember that we have found that wars usually occur because of a combination of political and economic factors….”

        3. Likewise, when teaching adult students how to use an electronic database management program, a teacher might say, “An electronic database is very much like a system of index cards….” or “A telephone directory is one type of non-electronic database.

        4. Imagine that the phone directory could easily be searched by either name, phone number, or address….”

        5. These introductory comments enable the learners to activate information that may not otherwise be available during the learning process and therefore to make connections that they would not have been likely to make had they not received the prior advice to activate this information.

      3. Orienting Question

      • 1. alternative to the advance organizer

        2. the teacher (or textbook writer) asks questions to stimulate the learner to think about information that is likely to be helpful in understanding and organizing the information the learner will encounter.

        3. To be effective, the stimulus to generate prior, related knowledge has to be perceived as worthwhile by the learner

      4. Elaborative Interrogation

      • 1. requires learners to give explanations or to in some other way expand upon the information they have been examining

        2. For example, I could first explain elaborative interrogation to you and then ask you, “Why do you suppose it works?” If you would invent an answer of your own, you would be more likely to remember what this concept is than if I simply gave you the answer. Why do you suppose this is the case?

        3. learners should learn to ask their own questions or search their own minds for related knowledge, even when they are engaged in learning activities that are otherwise highly unstructured.

      5. Analogies

      • 1. often serve as informal but effective advance organizers.

        2. Sometimes the analogy is conveyed very informally.

        3. For example, simply telling students that what they are looking at is a pie graph may be enough to activate in the minds of young math students what they already know about dividing pies and to apply this to interpreting pie graphs.

        4. In other cases, the teacher will find it useful to present the analogy more systematically.

      6. Diagrams and models

      • 1. Offer another way to help learners to organize information and relate it to existing information.

        2. Diagrams and models often serve this useful purpose, it is often useful to help learners interact with them

        3. It is also very useful for students to diagram information themselves, in order to see the relationships more clearly and thereby transfer the information more adequately to long-term memory.

        4. Outlining the key concepts of a unit of instruction can provide similar benefits.

      7. Elaboration

      • 1. Students elaborate on material by connecting it to material already in their own minds.

        2. Any technique that enables the learner to connect current information to existing information is likely to increase its meaningfulness and hence the ease with which it can be transferred to and later recalled from long-term memory.

        3. Everyone involved in the instructional process – teacher, student, textbook writer – can facilitate the recall of information and its availability for use in problem solving by enabling learners to make information more meaningful – that is, to act upon the information in such a way as to see connections between what the learner is learning and what is already in the learner’s mind.

      8. Summaries

      • 1. Do these summaries help readers learn and later recall the information?

        2. Actually, many readers skip the summaries, because they “have already learned that information.”

        3. However, if these summaries are well written and properly employed by readers, they can serve as a basis for ascertaining that the information has been fully understood and properly related to other material. For these benefits to occur, the readers must actively look for connections between what the summary says and what is available in their long-term memories.

      9. Underlining/Highlighting

      • 1. Many college students underline or highlight key concepts while reading their textbooks.

        2. Does underlining stimulate effective learning and subsequent recall of information?

        3. The answer seems to be that underlining works if it is done properly – otherwise, it may actually inhibit learning.

        4. The right way is to underline very few sentences and ideas.

        5. The wrong way is to underline so many sentences and ideas that the pen or marker is really serving as a pointing device.

        6. By underlining a smaller amount of information, the learner is forced to actively process the ideas while selecting those most worthy of being underlined.

        7. It is this active processing that increases the meaningfulness of the text.

      What to Do To Help the Learner Transfer the Information Accurately from Working Memory to Long-Term Memory.

      • 1. Treat the information actively rather than passively. Interact with the information in meaningful ways: ask yourself questions about it, have the learner diagram it, outline it, etc.

        2. Look for relationships between the new information and other information that is already in long-term memory.

        3. Look for differences between the new information and other information that is already in long-term memory.

        4. Use mnemonic strategies.

      Enhancing Long Term Memory-Key Points

      • 1. The key point of this section is that information is stored in the long-term memory in a structured fashion – with elements of knowledge chained together or organized in schemata related to specific topics.

        2. Information is likely to be effectively entered into long-term memory (and available for subsequent retrieval) to the extent that the learner actively interacts with the information in working memory.

        3. It is impossible to actively interact with information without making connections with existing information, and these connections facilitate storage of information – even if the learner is unaware that information is being transferred to long-term memory.

        4. A large amount of permanent learning occurs automatically, without conscious effort on the part of the learner.

        5. In other instances, the learner may make deliberate attempts to transfer information to long-term memory, as by using the mnemonic strategies described later in this chapter, or by using the metacognitive strategies described in the next chapter.

• Recalling Information
  • Two problems that can occur with regard to making use of previously learned information:
    • 1. Transferring the information accurately to long-term memory. This problem is solved by encoding the information as efficiently as possible.

      2. Retrieving the information accurately.

      If the information has been encoded effectively, this problem is already partially solved.

      In addition, it is important to practice retrieving the information.

      Otherwise, fading or distortion may occur.

    What to Do to Help the Learner Retrieve Information Accurately From Long-Term Memory to Working Memory.

    • 1. Review or use the information frequently.
    • 2. Look for differences between current and past information.
    • 3. Restore the information as actively as possible.
    • 4. Use mnemonic strategies.

    Repeated practice

    • 1. An effective technique for enhancing both short-term and longterm memory, and if the information coming from working memory is more coherent, it is likely to fit in more smoothly with what’s already in long-term memory. 2. 2. Repeated practice is likely to result in overlearning, which makes the working memory more efficient, since less attention needs to be devoted to individual components of tasks that have become automatic.

      3. In addition, practice helps long-term memory by integrating information more effectively with other information and by minimizing the chances that it will fade from memory.

      4. Remember that the term practice does not refer merely to rote recitation.

      5. Using information in order to understand other concepts or to solve problems constitutes practice; and such practical applications make it more likely that useful information can be retrieved later, when it is needed.

      6. Practice while learning is part of phases 6 and 7 of learning (responding and reinforcement and the related feedback loops).

      7. Practice after learning is the major role of phase 8 (cueing retrieval).

    Review or Repition

    • Repeating the various steps in the transfer of information serves two major purposes:

      1. inaccuracies can be noted and corrected

      2. information can be overlearned and connections can be solidified.

      While repetition is important, the repeated practice need not consist of the boring duplication of identical activities.

      Varying the context or the wider picture not only increases interest, it also makes possible a greater degree of meaningfulness and transfer of learning.

• Forgetting
  • Forgetting/Reason
    • 1. The most frequent reason for forgetting information is difficulty in transferring it from working memory to long-term memory.

      2. In addition, we can forget because of an inability to recall information that is in long-term memory.

  • Fading
    • 1. Occurs when we can no longer recall information from our memory because of disuse.

      2. In short-term memory, fading can occur very rapidly – in some cases after just a few seconds.

      3. When information fades from working memory, it disappears because the short-term space was needed for other incoming information.

  • How to prevent Fading
    • 1. by continuing to focus attention on the information

      2. by constantly rehearsing it

      3. by transferring it to long-term memory

      4. by encoding the information as meaningfully as possible

      5. by frequently retrieving it

      6. by actively restoring it whenever we do retrieve it

      7. by using effective memory search strategies

      Once information has been transferred to long-term memory, most theorists believe that it is stored there permanently.

      When information fades from long-term memory, what really fades is the link; that is, we cannot find a way to retrieve it – it’s there, but we just can’t find it.

  • Interference
    • 1. Occurs when information gets confused with other information in our long-term memory.

      2. Interference can occur either retroactively or proactively

      3. Retroactive interference occurs when previously learned information is lost because it is mixed up with new and somewhat similar information.

      4. For example, if you learn the contents of this chapter today, new information presented to you tomorrow could cause you to become confused about the contents of this chapter.

      5. A history student could study the causes and events of the American Revolutionary War and understand these thoroughly.

      6. Several weeks later the student could study the causes and events of the American Civil War.

      7. If the student thereafter had trouble remembering the causes and events of the Revolutionary War, this would be an example of retroactive interference.

  • Retroactive interference
    • 1. Occurs when information works backwards to interfere with earlier information – just as a retroactive pay raise given in July might work backwards to influence pay days from January to June.
  • Proactive interference
    • 1. Occurs when current information is lost because it is mixed up with previously learned, similar information.

      2. For example, you could have trouble learning the contents of this chapter because it conflicts with preconceived notions in your mind regarding the same topic.

      3. Returning to the history example described earlier, if the student who had learned about the Revolutionary War thereafter studied the Civil War and had trouble remembering the events of the Civil War, this would be an example of proactive interference.

  • Distortion
    • 1. Refers to the misrepresentation of information that occurs when an imperfect image is recalled from long-term memory.

      2. It is not really a separate type of forgetting, but rather a combination of the previous three types.

      3. For example, when I returned to a high school reunion, I once discovered that many of my vivid recollections of my baseball career were distorted.

      4. I had clear memories of various heroic achievements, which I had dutifully narrated to my wife and children, and I firmly believed these to be true.

      5. Written and verbal evidence at the reunion repudiated my testimony.

      6. What seems to have happened is that some of the less pleasant aspects had faded from my memory.

      7. In addition, I apparently reconstructed a few situations in my post-game mental analyses, and when I tried to recall the incidents after several intervening years I tended to remember these more pleasant fantasies in place of the true accounts of the games.

      8. Likewise, although I passed a test on atomic fusion and fission a long time ago, when one of my children recently asked me a question about fusion, I gave an answer that blended the two concepts.

  • Suppression.
    • 1. This is a term derived from Freudian psychotherapy that refers to the subconscious urge from within our personalities to obliterate unpleasant or threatening information from our memories.

      2. For example, an adolescent who had been abused as a child may be unable to recall specific instances of abuse, even though these were numerous, because he had suppressed them.

      3. Suppression is not an important cause of forgetting in most classroom settings.

      4. If a student says she forgot her Spanish “because she hated the teacher,” her forgetting is probably because she has avoided contact with the subject matter rather than because of an emotional trauma.

• Compiled By:
  • Rigel Arcayan
  • blindcaveman.wordpress.com

MindMap-DSM-IV-Personality Disorder

MindMap-DSM-IV-Personality Disorder

• About The Book
  • Title: Handbook of Diagnosis and Treatment of DSM-IV Personality Disorder
  • Author: Len Sperry
  • ISBN: 0-203-43909-0
  • Chapters: 11
  • Pages: 297
• Personality Disorder
  • Antisocial
    • Triggering Event: Social standards and rules.

      Behavioral Style: Impulsively angry, hostile, cunning; forceful, risk-taking, thrill-seeking; temper, verbally or physically abusive.

      Interpersonal Style: Antagonistic to belligerent; slick” and calculating; highly competitive and poor losers; distrustful of others. ”

      Cognitive Style: Impulsive, inflexible, and externally oriented; hard-nosed, realistic, and devious; acting-out defense.

      Feeling Style: Glib, shallow, superficial; avoid softer” emotions (i.e. warmth and intimacy) which connote weakness. ”

      Temperament: Ill-tempered infantile pattern; aggressive, impulsive adult pattern.

      Attachment Style: Fearful and dismissing.

      Parental Injunction: The end justifies the means.” ”

      Self-View: I’m cunning and I’m entitled to get what I want.” They view themselves as strong, competitive self-reliant energetic and tough.

      World View: Life is devious and hostile and rules keep me from fulfilling my needs. Therefore I’ll bend or break them because my needs come first and I’ll defend any efforts to be controlled or degraded.” ”

      Maladaptive Schemas: Mistrust/abuse; entitlement; insufficient self-control; defectiveness; emotional deprivation; abandonment; social isolation.

      Optimal DSM-IV-TR Criteria: Criminal, aggressive, impulsive, irresponsible behavior.

  • Avoidant

    • Triggering Event: Demands for close interpersonal relating and/or social and public appearances.

      Behavioral Style: Shy, mistrustful, aloof; apprehensive; socially awkward; controlled, underactive behavior; feelings of emptiness and depersonalization.

      Interpersonal Style: Guardedly tests others; rejection sensitive as self-protectant; desires acceptance but maintains distance; has basic interpersonal skills, but fears using them.

      Cognitive Style: Perpetual vigilance; thoughts easily distracted by hypersensitivity

      Feeling Style: Shy and apprehensive.

      Temperament: Irritable.

      Attachment Style: Preoccupied and fearful.

      Parental Injunction: We don’t accept you and probably nobody else will either.

      Self-View: I’m inadequate and frightened of rejection.” Chronically tense , fatigued self-conscious; devalue their achievement self-critical. ”

      World View: Life is unfair. People reject and criticize me but I want someone to like me. Therefore be vigilant demand reassurance and if all else fails fantasize and daydream.

      Optimal DSM-IV-TR Criteria: Avoids occupational activities that involve significant interpersonal contact, fearing criticism, disapproval, or rejection.

  • Borderline

    • Triggering Event : Expectation of meeting personal goals and/or maintaining close relations.

      Behavioral Style : Hemophiliacs” of emotion; resentful acting out; helpless, dysphoric, empty void; irregular circadian rhythms (sleep-wake, etc.).

      Interpersonal Style : Paradoxical—idealizing and clinging vs. devaluing and oppositional; rejection sensitivity- abandonment and depression; separation anxiety as prime motivator; role reversal.

      Cognitive Style : Inflexible, rigid; abstraction—grandiosity and idealization, splitting; reasons by analogy: doesn’t learn from experience; external loss of control-blaming; poorly developed evocative memory.

      Feeling Style : Extreme lability of mood and affect.

      Temperament : Dependent type: passive infantile pattern—low autonomic nervous system reactivity. Passive-aggressive type: difficult” infantile pattern-” affect irritability.

      Attachment Style : Disorganized.

      Parental Injunction : If you grow up (parent). Overprotective or demanding or ” inconsistent parenting.

      Self-View : I don’t know who I am or where I’m going.” Identity problems involving gender, career, loyalties, and values. Self-esteem fluctuates with current emotion.

      World View: People are great. No good. No, it’s not. If life doesn’t go my way, I can’t tolerate it. Don’t commit to anything.

      Maladaptive Schemas : Abandonment; defectiveness; abuse/mistrust; emotional deprivation; social isolation; insufficient self-control.

      Optimal DSM-IV-TR Criteria : Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment.

  • Dependent

    • Triggering Event : Expectations of self-reliance and/or being alone.

      Behavioral Style : Docile, passive, nonassertive, lack of self-confidence.

      Interpersonal Style : Pleasing; self-sacrificing; clinging, compliant; expect others to take responsibility.

      Cognitive Style : Suggestible: Pollyanna-like about interpersonal relations; overprotective—the too good parent.” ”

      Feeling Style : Pleasant but anxious, timid, or sad when stressed.

      Temperament : Low energy level; fearful, sad, or withdrawn during infancy; melancholic.

      Attachment Style : Preoccupied.

      Parental Injunction : You can’t do it by yourself.” ”

      Self-View : I’m nice but inadequate (or fragile).” Self-doubting. ”

      World View: Others are here to take care of me” (because I can’t do it myself) ”

      Maladaptive Schemas : Defectiveness; self-sacrifice; approval-seeking.

      Optimal DSM-IV-TR Criteria : Needs others to assume responsibility for most major areas of his or her life.

  • Histrionic

    • Triggering Event : Opposite sex relationships.

      Behavioral Style : Charming/excitement-seeking; labile, capricious, superficial.

      Interpersonal Style : Attention-getting/manipulative; exhibitionistic/ flirtatious.

      Cognitive Style : Impulsive, thematic, field-dependent; avoid awareness of their hidden dependencies.

      Feeling Style : Exaggerated emotional display.

      Temperament : Hyper responsive infantile pattern externally oriented for gratification.

      Attachment Style : Preoccupied.

      Parental injunction : I’ll give you attention when you do what I want.

      Self-View : I need to be noticed”; externally oriented for gratification.

      World View: Life makes me so nervous so I’m entitled to special care and consideration.

      Maladaptive Schemas : Approval-seeking; emotional deprivation; defectiveness.

      Optimal DSM-IV-TR Criteria : Uncomfortable in situations in which they are not the center of attention.

  • Narcissitic

    • Triggering Event : Evaluation of self.

      Behavioral Style : Conceited, boastful, snobbish; self-assured, self-centered, pompous; impatient, arrogant, thin-skinned.

      Interpersonal Style : Disdainful, exploitive, irresponsible; socially facile but without empathy; use others to indulge themselves.

      Cognitive Style : Cognitive expansiveness and exaggeration; focus on images and themes: take liberties with facts; persistent and inflexible.

      Feeling Style : Self-confidence—narcissistic rage.

      Temperament : Active and responsive; special talents, attractiveness,

      : early language development.

      Attachment Style : Fearful and dismissing.

      Parental Injunction : Grow up and be wonderful—for me.” ”

      Self-View: I’m special and unique and I’m entitled to extraordinary rights and privileges whether I’ve earned them or not.” ”

      World View: Life is a banquet table to be sampled at will. People owe me admiration and privilege. Therefore I’ll expect and demand this specialness.” ”

      Maladaptive Schemas : Entitlement; defectiveness; emotional deprivation; insufficient self-control; unrelenting standards.

      Optimal DSM-IV-TR Criteria : Have grandiose sense of self-importance.

  • Obsessive

    • Triggering Event: Authority, unstructured situations, and/or demands of intimate and close relations.

      Behavioral Style: Workaholic, dependable, stubborn, possessive; procrastination, indecisive, perfectionistic.

      Interpersonal Style: Autocratic to peers and subordinates but deferential to superiors; polite and loyal.

      Cognitive Style: Constricted—rule-based, unimaginative; assertive (defiance) vs. pleasing (obedience).

      Feeling Style: Grim and cheerless, feeling avoidance.

      Temperament: Irritable, difficult, or anxious.

      Attachment Style: Preoccupied.

      Parental Injunction: You must do/be better to be worthwhile.

      Self-View: “I’m responsible if something goes wrong.” See themselves as reliable, competent, righteous

      World View: Life is unpredictable and expects too much. Therefore be in control be right and proper and don’t make mistakes

      Maladaptive Schemas: Unrelenting standards; punitiveness; emotional inhibition.

      Optimal DSM-IV-TR Criteria: Shows perfectionism that interferes with task completion.

  • Paranoid

    • Triggering Event: Close interpersonal relationships and/or personal queries.

      Behavioral Style: Guarded, defensive, and hypervigilant; resistant of external influence; chronically tense because constantly mobilized against perceived threats.

      Interpersonal Style: Distrustful, secretive, isolated; blaming; provocative, counterattacking, hypersensitive.

      Cognitive Style: Mistrusting, preconceptions; tendency to disregard evidence to the contrary; may become conspiratorial or delusional under stress.

      Feeling Style: Aloof, humorless; restricted affect, jealous; easily provoked.

      Temperament: Narcissistic type: active, hyperresponsive. Compulsive type: irritable. Passive-aggressive type: affective irritability.

      Attachment Style: Fearful.

      Parental Injunction: You’re different. Keep alert. Don’t make mistakes.”

      Self-View: I’m so special and different. I’m alone and no one likes me because I’m better than others. ”

      World View: Life is unfair ,unpredictable and demanding. It will sneak up and harm you. Therefore be wary counteract trust no one and excuse yourself from failure by blaming others.” ”

      Maladaptive Schemas: Abuse/mistrust; defectiveness.

      Optimal DSM-IV-TR Criteria: Suspects, without sufficient basis, that others are exploiting, harming, or deceiving him or her.

  • Schizoid

    • Triggering Event: Close interpersonal relationships.

      Behavioral Style: Slow and monotonous speech; lethargic, inattentive, nonspontaneous.

      Interpersonal Style: Minimal human” interests and friends; “cold fish”; fades into social background; rarely responsive to others’ feelings or actions; isolative and content to remain aloof. ”

      Cognitive Style: Cognitively distracted in thinking and communications; easily derailed and tangential; absent-minded; minimally introspective.

      Feeling Style: Aloof, indifferent.

      Temperament: Passive and anhedonic infantile pattern.

      Attachment Style: Dismissing.

      Parental Injunction: Who are you? What do you want?” ”

      Self-View: I’m a misfit from life, so I don’t need anybody.” ” I’m indifferent to everything.”

      World View: Life is a difficult place and can be harmful. Therefore trust nothing and keep a distance from others so that you won’t get hurt.” ”

      Maladaptive Schemas: Social isolation; emotional deprivation; defectiveness; subjugation; undeveloped self.

      Optimal DSM-IV-TR Criteria: Neither desires nor enjoys close relationships, including being part of a family.

  • Schizotypal

    • Triggering Event : Close interpersonal relationships.

      Behavioral Style : Eccentric, erratic, bizarre speech; markedly peculiar but not incoherent; tends to drift from job to job.

      Interpersonal Style : Socially isolative, peripheral relationships; with apprehension or apathy; if married, relationship is utilitarian and superficial.

      Cognitive Style : Cognitive slippage scattered, ruminative; engages in magical thinking, superstitious.

      Feeling Style : Hypersensitive, hostile, and aloof; may experience intense social anxiety.

      Temperament : Schizoid type: passive infantile pattern. Avoidance type: fearful infantile pattern.

      Attachment Style : Fearful and dismissing.

      Parental injunction : You’re a strange bird.” ”

      Self-View : I’m on a different wavelength than others.” Experience of being “selfless empty, estranged, depersonalization, dissociation.

      World View: Life is strange and unusual and others have special magic intentions. Therefore observe with caution while being curious.” ”

      Maladaptive Schemas : Alienation; abandonment; dependence; vulnerability to harm.

      Optimal DSM-IV-TR Criteria : Odd thinking and speech: behavior or appearance that is odd, eccentric, or peculiar.

• Personality Style

  • Triggering Event

    • Antisocial : Social standards and rules.
    • Avoidant: Demands for close interpersonal relating and/or social and public appearances.
    • Borderline: Expectation of meeting personal goals and/or maintaining close relations.
    • Dependent: Expectations of self-reliance and/or being alone.
    • Histrionic: Opposite sex relationships.
    • Narcissitic: Evaluation of self.
    • Obsessive: Authority, unstructured situations, and/or demands of intimate and close relations.
    • Paranoid: Close interpersonal relationships and/or personal queries.
    • Schizoid: Close interpersonal relationships.
    • Schizotypal: Close interpersonal relationships.

  • Behavioral Style

    • Antisocial : Impulsively angry, hostile, cunning; forceful, risk-taking, thrill-seeking; temper, verbally or physically abusive.

      Avoidant: Shy, mistrustful, aloof; apprehensive; socially awkward; controlled, underactive behavior; feelings of emptiness and depersonalization.

      Borderline: Hemophiliacs” of emotion; resentful acting out; helpless, dysphoric, empty void; irregular circadian rhythms (sleep-wake, etc.).

      Dependent: Docile, passive, nonassertive, lack of self-confidence.

      Histrionic: Charming/excitement-seeking; labile, capricious, superficial.

      Narcissitic: Conceited, boastful, snobbish; self-assured, self-centered, pompous; impatient, arrogant, thin-skinned.

      Obsessive: Workaholic, dependable, stubborn, possessive; procrastination, indecisive, perfectionistic.

      Paranoid: Guarded, defensive, and hypervigilant; resistant of external influence; chronically tense because constantly mobilized against perceived threats.

      Schizoid: Slow and monotonous speech; lethargic, inattentive, nonspontaneous.

      Schizotypal: Eccentric, erratic, bizarre speech; markedly peculiar but not incoherent; tends to drift from job to job.

  • Interpersonal Style

    • Antisocial : Antagonistic to belligerent; slick” and calculating; highly competitive and poor losers; distrustful of others. ”

      Avoidant: Guardedly tests others; rejection sensitive as self-protectant; desires acceptance but maintains distance; has basic interpersonal skills, but fears using them.

      Borderline: Paradoxical—idealizing and clinging vs. devaluing and oppositional; rejection sensitivity- abandonment and depression; separation anxiety as prime motivator; role reversal.

      Dependent: Pleasing; self-sacrificing; clinging, compliant; expect others to take responsibility.

      Histrionic: Attention-getting/manipulative; exhibitionistic/ flirtatious.

      Narcissitic: Disdainful, exploitive, irresponsible; socially facile but without empathy; use others to indulge themselves.

      Obsessive: Autocratic to peers and subordinates but deferential to superiors; polite and loyal.

      Paranoid: Distrustful, secretive, isolated; blaming; provocative, counterattacking, hypersensitive.

      Schizoid: Minimal human” interests and friends; “cold fish”; fades into social background; rarely responsive to others’ feelings or actions; isolative and content to remain aloof. ”

      Schizotypal: Socially isolative, peripheral relationships; with apprehension or apathy; if married, relationship is utilitarian and superficial.

  • Cognitive Style

    • Antisocial : Impulsive, inflexible, and externally oriented; hard-nosed, realistic, and devious; acting-out defense.

      Avoidant: Perpetual vigilance; thoughts easily distracted by hypersensitivity

      Borderline: Inflexible, rigid; abstraction—grandiosity and idealization, splitting; reasons by analogy: doesn’t learn from experience; external loss of control-blaming; poorly developed evocative memory.

      Dependent: Suggestible: Pollyanna-like about interpersonal relations; overprotective—the too good parent.” ”

      Histrionic: Impulsive, thematic, field-dependent; avoid awareness of their hidden dependencies.

      Narcissitic: Cognitive expansiveness and exaggeration; focus on images and themes: take liberties with facts; persistent and inflexible.

      Obsessive: Constricted—rule-based, unimaginative; assertive (defiance) vs. pleasing (obedience).

      Paranoid: Mistrusting, preconceptions; tendency to disregard evidence to the contrary; may become conspiratorial or delusional under stress.

      Schizoid: Cognitively distracted in thinking and communications; easily derailed and tangential; absent-minded; minimally introspective.

      Schizotypal: Cognitive slippage scattered, ruminative; engages in magical thinking, superstitious.

  • Feeling Style

    • Antisocial : Glib, shallow, superficial; avoid softer” emotions (i.e. warmth and intimacy) which connote weakness. ”

      Avoidant: Shy and apprehensive.

      Borderline: Extreme lability of mood and affect.

      Dependent: Pleasant but anxious, timid, or sad when stressed.

      Histrionic: Exaggerated emotional display.

      Narcissitic: Self-confidence—narcissistic rage.

      Obsessive: Grim and cheerless, feeling avoidance.

      Paranoid: Aloof, humorless; restricted affect, jealous; easily provoked.

      Schizoid: Aloof, indifferent.

      Schizotypal: Hypersensitive, hostile, and aloof; may experience intense social anxiety.

  • Temperament

    • Antisocial : Ill-tempered infantile pattern; aggressive, impulsive adult pattern.

      Avoidant: Irritable.

      Borderline: Dependent type: passive infantile pattern—low autonomic nervous system reactivity. Passive-aggressive type: difficult” infantile pattern-” affect irritability.

      Dependent: Low energy level; fearful, sad, or withdrawn during infancy; melancholic.

      Histrionic: Hyper responsive infantile pattern externally oriented for gratification.

      Narcissitic: Active and responsive; special talents, attractiveness,

      Obsessive: Irritable, difficult, or anxious.

      Paranoid: Narcissistic type: active, hyperresponsive. Compulsive type: irritable. Passive-aggressive type: affective irritability.

      Schizoid: Passive and anhedonic infantile pattern.

      Schizotypal: Schizoid type: passive infantile pattern. Avoidance type: fearful infantile pattern.

  • Attachment Style

    • Antisocial : Fearful and dismissing.
    • Avoidant: Preoccupied and fearful.
    • Borderline: Disorganized.
    • Dependent: Preoccupied.
    • Histrionic: Preoccupied.
    • Narcissitic: Fearful and dismissing.
    • Obsessive: Preoccupied.
    • Paranoid: Fearful.
    • Schizoid: Dismissing.
    • Schizotypal: Fearful and dismissing.

  • Parental Injunction

    • Antisocial : The end justifies the means.” “
    • Avoidant: We don’t accept you and probably nobody else will either.
    • Borderline: If you grow up (parent). Overprotective or demanding or ” inconsistent parenting.
    • Dependent: You can’t do it by yourself.” “
    • Histrionic: I’ll give you attention when you do what I want.
    • Narcissitic: Grow up and be wonderful—for me.” “
    • Obsessive: You must do/be better to be worthwhile.
    • Paranoid: You’re different. Keep alert. Don’t make mistakes.”
    • Schizoid: Who are you? What do you want?” “
    • Schizotypal: You’re a strange bird.” “

  • Self-View

    • Antisocial : I’m cunning and I’m entitled to get what I want.” They view themselves as strong, competitive self-reliant energetic and tough.

      Avoidant: I’m inadequate and frightened of rejection.” Chronically tense , fatigued self-conscious; devalue their achievement self-critical. ”

      Borderline: I don’t know who I am or where I’m going.” Identity problems involving gender, career, loyalties, and values. Self-esteem fluctuates with current emotion.

      Dependent: I’m nice but inadequate (or fragile).” Self-doubting. ”

      Histrionic: I need to be noticed”; externally oriented for gratification.

      Narcissitic: I’m special and unique and I’m entitled to extraordinary rights and privileges whether I’ve earned them or not.” ”

      Obsessive: “I’m responsible if something goes wrong.” See themselves as reliable, competent, righteous

      Paranoid: I’m so special and different. I’m alone and no one likes me because I’m better than others. ”

      Schizoid: I’m a misfit from life, so I don’t need anybody.” ” I’m indifferent to everything.”

      Schizotypal: I’m on a different wavelength than others.” Experience of being “selfless empty, estranged, depersonalization, dissociation.

  • World View

    • Antisocial : Life is devious and hostile and rules keep me from fulfilling my needs. Therefore I’ll bend or break them because my needs come first and I’ll defend any efforts to be controlled or degraded.” ”

      Avoidant: Life is unfair. People reject and criticize me but I want someone to like me. Therefore be vigilant demand reassurance and if all else fails fantasize and daydream.

      Borderline: People are great. No good. No, it’s not. If life doesn’t go my way, I can’t tolerate it. Don’t commit to anything.

      Dependent: Others are here to take care of me” (because I can’t do it myself) ”

      Histrionic: Life makes me so nervous so I’m entitled to special care and consideration.

      Narcissitic: Life is a banquet table to be sampled at will. People owe me admiration and privilege. Therefore I’ll expect and demand this specialness.” ”

      Obsessive: Life is unpredictable and expects too much. Therefore be in control be right and proper and don’t make mistakes

      Paranoid: Life is unfair ,unpredictable and demanding. It will sneak up and harm you. Therefore be wary counteract trust no one and excuse yourself from failure by blaming others.” ”

      Schizoid: Life is a difficult place and can be harmful. Therefore trust nothing and keep a distance from others so that you won’t get hurt.” ”

      Schizotypal: Life is strange and unusual and others have special magic intentions. Therefore observe with caution while being curious.” “

  • Maladaptive Schemas

    • Antisocial : Mistrust/abuse; entitlement; insufficient self-control; defectiveness; emotional deprivation; abandonment; social isolation.

      Borderline: Abandonment; defectiveness; abuse/mistrust; emotional deprivation; social isolation; insufficient self-control.

      Dependent: Defectiveness; self-sacrifice; approval-seeking.

      Histrionic: Approval-seeking; emotional deprivation; defectiveness.

      Narcissitic: Entitlement; defectiveness; emotional deprivation; insufficient self-control; unrelenting standards.

      Obsessive: Unrelenting standards; punitiveness; emotional inhibition.

      Paranoid: Abuse/mistrust; defectiveness.

      Schizoid: Social isolation; emotional deprivation; defectiveness; subjugation; undeveloped self.

      Schizotypal: Alienation; abandonment; dependence; vulnerability to harm.

  • Optimal DSM-IV-TR Criteria

    • Antisocial : Criminal, aggressive, impulsive, irresponsible behavior.

      Avoidant: Avoids occupational activities that involve significant interpersonal contact, fearing criticism, disapproval, or rejection.

      Borderline: Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment.

      Dependent: Needs others to assume responsibility for most major areas of his or her life.

      Histrionic: Uncomfortable in situations in which they are not the center of attention.

      Narcissitic: Have grandiose sense of self-importance.

      Obsessive: Shows perfectionism that interferes with task completion.

      Paranoid: Suspects, without sufficient basis, that others are exploiting, harming, or deceiving him or her.

      Schizoid: Neither desires nor enjoys close relationships, including being part of a family.

      Schizotypal: Odd thinking and speech: behavior or appearance that is odd, eccentric, or peculiar.

• Treatment
  • Antisocial
    • diagnosis is reserved for individuals over age 18

      focus on helping the individual understand the nature and consequences of his disorder so he can be helped to control his behavior

      need to repeatedly confront the patient’s minimization and denial of antisocial behavior

      avoid exploratory or insight-oriented forms of psychotherapy

      focus on here-and-now behavior

      analyzing unconscious material from the past

      Relaxation exercises and a merging intervention

      reduce the amnestic barriers that maintained this compartmentalization

      improved daily functioning

      set guidelines for the patient’s involvement, including regular attendance, active participation and completion of any necessary work outside of office visits

      help the patient understand how he creates his own problems and how his distorted perceptions prevent him from seeing himself the way others view him

      develop trust between patients

      establish rapport

      work gradually to establish trust

      explicitly acknowledge the antisocial individual’s strengths and capabilities

      refrain from pressing the individual to acknowledge weaknesses

      focusing on specific problem situations with problem-solving

      behavioral strategies is suggested

      Therapists must be aware of their own feelings and remain vigilant to prevent their emotional responses to their patients from disrupting the therapy process

      anticipate their emotions and present an attitude of acceptance without moralizing

      point out that continuing in therapy

      identifying any remaining distress that the individual may be denying or minimizing

      anticipate consequences of their actions

      shift therapeutic focus to automatic thoughts and underlying schemas is possible

      focus shifts to the social pressures the individual faces due to continued antisocial behavior

      sensitize patients to people, places, and circumstances

      social skills training is a relatively potent bottom-up treatment strategy

  • Avoidant
    • long-term psychotherapy

      individual therapy is usually the preferred modality, group therapy can be useful if the client can agree to attend enough sessions

      focus on improving poor self-esteem

      encourage social interaction

      take a more detailed evaluation than usual, while doing so in a relatively unobtrusive fashion

      be sensitive to nonverbal cues of the client

      psychotherapy is usually most effective when it is relatively short-term and oriented toward finding solutions to specific life problems

      solid therapeutic relationship founded with good rapport and listening to the client is important to the therapist’s effectiveness.

  • Borderline
    • Psychotherapy is nearly always the treatment of choice for this

      stabilize mood swings

      show different coping skills, emotion regulation skills

      encourage new important changes in a person’s life

      teach the client how to learn to better take control of their lives, their emotions, and themselves through self-knowledge, emotion regulation, and cognitive restructuring

      help distinguish between reality from their own misperceptions of the world and their surrounding environment

      focus on social learning theory and conflict resolution

      target lowering overwhelming regular cognitive functioning

      target and expose faulty cognitions

      avoid labeling them as “trouble-makers.”

      Provide a structured therapeutic setting

      help patient realize away from “black-and-white” terms

      be aware of this “all-or-nothing” lability most often found in individuals with this disorder and be careful not to validate it

      tolerate repeated episodes of primitive rage, distrust, and fear

      Uncovering is to be avoided in favor of bolstering of ego defenses

      allow the patient to be less anxious

      The goals of therapy should be in terms of life gains toward independent functioning, and not complete restructuring of the personality.

      learn to be like a rock when dealing with a person who has this disorder

      should offer his or her stability to contrast the client’s lability of emotion and thinking

      be aware of client’s constant demands on a clinician, the constant suicidal gestures, thoughts, and behaviors, and the possibility of self-mutiliating behavior

      Treatment, therefore, is also likely to be somewhat lengthy in duration, typically lasting at least a year for most

  • Dependent
    • psychotherapy is the treatment of choice

      effective psychotherapeutic approach is one which focuses on solutions to specific life problems

      the shorter the length of the therapy the better to server as the litmus test

      self-reliant failure – should not be seen as a therapeutic failure during treatment, solution-focused is the criteria

      Examining the client’s faulty cognitions and related emotions

      understand lack of self-confidence, autonomy versus dependency

      Assertiveness training and other behavioral approaches

      Aggressive self-assurance; given to making bold assertions

      use the act of affirming, asserting or stating something

      termination of therapy is important

      should not allow the patient to use new symptoms to keep therapy

      goal is to end a relationship at an agreed-upon time and way

      the client should be reinforced for the positive gains made in therapy

      encouraged the patient to explore their new-found autonomy or improved management of their anxious feelings

  • Histrionic
    • Psychotherapy, as with most personality disorders, is the treatment of choice

      Group and family therapy approaches are generally not recommended

      individual who suffers from this disorder often draws attention to themselves and exaggerates every action and reaction

      People with disorder often come across as “fake” or shallow in their interpersonal relationships with others

      Therapy should generally be supportive and good rapport

      be “rescuer” role, in which the therapist will be asked to constantly reassure and rescue the client from daily problems

      therapist will be perceived as sexually attractive to the patient

      Boundary issues in relationships and a clear delineation of the therapeutic framework are relevant and important aspects of therapy

      take advantage of matter-of-fact and realistic assessment of situations and problems

      Solution-focused therapy is often appropriate

      Most therapy approaches should not be focused on the long-term, personality change of the individual

      focus on short-term alleviation of difficulties within the person’s life

      must explicitly state up-front at the onset of therapy to dismiss any thoughts the client may have of a “magical” cure for this disorder

      Suicidal behavior is often apparent in a person, be aware

      Suicidality should be assessed on a regular basis and suicidal threats should not be ignored or dismissed

      Suicide sometimes occurs when all that was intended was a gesture, so all such thoughts and plans should be taken with the same seriousness as with any other disorder

      Self-mutilation behavior may also be present in this disorder and should also be taken seriously as an issue of importance to discuss within therapy

      Self-mutilation is a gesture of “help me”

      watch for usual exaggeration of events and problems by the patient

      discover the unrealistic expectations and fears associated with many behaviors and thoughts

      histrionic personality disorder will emphasize attractiveness (“style over substance”) in their lives and relationships

      discuss alternatives and trying out new behaviors may be helpful

      point out, in session, when the client is using shallow criteria in which to judge another

      patient should eventually look to be able to identify shallow criteria themselves throughout their lives

      avoid insight and cognitive-oriented approaches, generally largely ineffective in treatment

      Help the client to examine interactions from a more objective point of view and emphasizing alternative explanations for behavior

      Examining and clarifying a client’s emotions are also important components of therapy

      Clinicians will often experience reactions to treating this disorder, because of the dramatic nature of the patient.

      Because of this possibility, therapists should be more attuned to their own feelings within the therapy setting

      Ensure that they are treating the patient fairly and with respect

  • Narcissitic
    • differential diagnosis includes:

      1. histrionic personality disorder

      2. antisocial personality disorder

      3. paranoid personality disorder

      Axis I syndromes:

      1. acute anxiety reactions

      2. dysthymia

      3. hypochondriasis

      4. delusional disorders

      Treatment Goals:

      1. short term

      2. crisis oriented

      3. long term and focused on personality restructuring

      Crisis-oriented psychotherapy- focuses on alleviation of the symptoms such as anxiety, depression, or somatic symptoms associated with the narcissistic injury or wound.

      Longer-term therapy often involve restructuring of personality

      1. increasing empathy [Understanding and entering into another’s feelings] [“the capacity to think and feel oneself into the inner life of another person”] [when one is able to step into the shoes of another, to see the world through the other’s eyes that one is able to generate a response that is authentic, accurate, and fitting]

      2. decreasing rage [A feeling of intense anger]

      3. decrease cognitive distortions

      4. increase the individual’s ability to mourn losses

      5. increase valuing of others

      6. use confrontation

      7. use mirroring technique

      8. decrease entitlement

      9. decrease envy

      10. heal incomplete self-structure

      11. use transmuting internalization

      12. use expressive psychotherapy the therapeutic effort focuses on the negative transference in which early manifestations of anger are explored and interpreted

      13. explore the individual’s exquisite sensitivity to the therapist’s empathic failures and the importance of therapeutically exploring this vulnerability

      14. use predictive interpretation.

      15. abandon entitlement and grandiosity

      16. expand ego functions, skills, and capacities [supportive psychotherapy]

      17. teach the individual to become a better narcissist

      18. shows the individual how excessive self-adoration actually interferes with the ability to receive more realistic, wanted, and needed adoration from others

      19. awareness of self-deficit-increasing the individual’s self-esteem and self-cohesion

      20. awareness and anticipation of personal vulnerability to injury, shame, and disappointment; containment

      21. ability to modulate affects [have an effect upon], especially narcissistic rage; and adaptation

      22. behavioral interventions

      23. focus between increasing responsibility for behavior

      24. decreasing cognitive distortions and dysfunctional affects such as rage reactions

      25. developing healthier attitudes and beliefs

      26. decrease black-white thinking

      27. exercise relating to others

      28. use roleplay and roler reversal

      29. new statements of belief, such as “others’ feelings count too,”

      30. decrease demands for approval and special treatment

      31. use social skill training/reflect specific skill deficits

      32. identify maladaptive schemas and planning specific strategies and interventions

      33. use imagery exercises, empathic confrontation, homework assignments, and “limited reparenting” (i.e., a form of corrective emotional experience)

      34. learning to tolerate his or her faults

      35. internalize this empathic affirmation of self

      36. Empathy affirmation

      37. learn self-regulation.

      Core Problem of Narcissist:

      1. anger

      2. envy

      3. distorted self-sufficiency

      TRANSMUTING INTERNALIZATION-The growth-producing process by which patients are able to internalize the needed selfobject functions and to acquire the missing self structure

      THE SELF OBJECT-means the experience of another – more precisely, the experience of impersonal functions provided by another – as part of the self

      1. analysis of defense and resistance

      2. unfold selfobject transference

      3. establish emphatic intuneness between self and selfobject on mature adult level

      3 Treatent Objectives

      1. developing a collaborative working relationship

      2. socializing the individuals to the cognitive theory and model of treatment

      3. agreeing on treatment goals.

      components of grandiosity

      1. hypersensitivity to criticism

      2. emphatic deficits

      5 Maladaptive schemas

      1. entitlement—that is, the belief that one is superior to others and not bound by the rules and norms that govern normal social interaction;

      2. emotional deprivation—that is, the belief that one’s desire for emotional support will not be met by others;

      3. defectiveness—that is, the belief that one is defective, bad, unwanted, or inferior in important respects;

      4. unrelenting standards—that is, the belief that striving to meet unrealistically high standards of performance is essential to being accepted and avoiding criticism;

      5. insufficient self-control— that is, the belief that one is incapable of self-control and frustration tolerance

  • Obsessive
    • Supportive-Expressive Theraphy
    • Expose extreme feelings of insecurity and uncertainty
    • switch from impossible expectations for self and others to more realistically achievable ones
    • avoid qualifying and quantifying descriptions of perfections
    • focus on real feeling and expression limit intellectual discussions of emotions
    • focus on recent events
    • Schema-focused approach
    • target dysfunctional conditions
    • target restricted behavioral reportoires
    • target negative affective dispositions
    • target issues related to attachment and identity
    • goal-modify and restructure maladaptive schemas that underlie behaviors and effects
    • maladpative schemas: unrelenting standards, punitiveness, emotional inhibitions
    • step#1-establish a collaborative working relationship
    • target rigidity
    • target feeling of avoidance
    • target maximizing of interpersonal relationships
    • develop a closer relationship very slowly
    • introduce to cognitive theory of emotion [thoughts dictates emotion]
    • identify dysfunctional thoughts
    • refute dysfunctional thoughts
    • setting agenda
    • prioritize problems
    • problem solving
    • thought-stopping
    • target rumination, procrastination and indecisiveness
    • use flooding
    • use desensitization
    • use response prevention
    • use satiation training [The act of achieving full gratification]
    • don’t dwell in the past or future
    • practice/emphasize here and now exercise
    • avoid the fear of making mistakes
    • encourage risk taking and decision making
    • avoid the need for absolutes and certainties to make decision
    • achieve some degree of balance and compromise
    • avoid thinking that you are superhuman
    • function as fallible humans [likely to fail or make errors]
    • identify/avoid anticipatory anxiety
    • accept anxiety is a part of life and will occur throughout life
    • inflate self-esteem
    • identify constricted emotions
    • think/go back to general function of self when under attack by obessesion
  • Paranoid
    • psychotherapy is the treatment of choice

      Individuals with paranoid personality disorder, however, rarely present themselves for treatment

      emphasizes a simple supportive, client-centered approach will be most effective.

      Rapport-building with a person who has this disorder will be much more difficult than usual because of the paranoia associated with the disorder.

      Early termination, therefore, is common.

      As the therapy progresses, the patient will likely begin to trust the clinician more and more.

      The client then will likely begin disclosing some of his or her more bizarre paranoid ideation.

      Be careful to balance being objective in therapy and with regards to these thoughts

      Care must be used not to challenge the client too firmly or risk the individual leaving therapy permanently

      Control issues should be dealt with in much a similar manner, with great care

      paranoid beliefs are delusion and not based in reality, arguing them from a rational point of view is useless

      Challenging the beliefs is also likely to result in more frustration on both the part of the therapist and client

      be more keenly aware of being straight-forward with this individual

      Subtle jokes are often lost on them and allusions to information about the client not received directly from the client’s mouth will raise a great deal of suspicion

      avoid trying to have the patient sign a release of information for information not essential to the current therapy.

      Items in life which usually wouldn’t give most people a second thought can easily become the focus of attention to this client

      care must be exercised in discussions with the client.

      An honest, concrete approach will likely gain the most results, focusing on current life difficulties

      Clinicians should generally not inquire too deeply into the client’s life or history, unless it’s directly relevant to clinical treatment.

      Long-term prognosis for this disorder is not good.

      Individuals who suffer from this disorder often remain afflicted with prominent symptoms of it throughout their lifetime.

      It is not uncommon to see such people in day treatment programs or state hospitals. Other modalities, such as family or group therapy, are not recommended.

  • Schizoid
    • Treatment of choice is individual psychotherapy.

      People with this disorder are unlikely to seek treatment unless they are under increased stress or pressure in their life.

      Treatment will usually be short-term in nature to help the individual solve the immediate crisis or problem.

      The patient will then likely terminate therapy.

      Goals of treatment most often are solution-focused using brief therapy approaches.

      The development of rapport and a trusting therapeutic relationship will likely be a slow, gradual process

      People who suffer from this disorder often maintain a social distance with people in their lives, even those close to them

      The clinician should work to help ensure the client’s security in the therapeutic relationship.

      Acknowledging the client’s boundaries are important and the therapist should not look to confront the client on these types of issues.

      Long-term psychotherapy should be avoided because of its poor treatment outcomes

      Psychotherapy should focus on simple treatment goals to alleviate current pressing concerns or stressors within the individual’s life.

      Cognitive-restructuring exercises may be appropriate for certain types of clear, irrational thoughts which are negatively influencing the patient’s behaviors.

      The therapeutic framework should be clearly defined at the onset.

      Stability and support are the keys to good treatment with someone who suffers from schizoid personality disorder.

      The therapist must be careful not to “smother” the client and be able to tolerate some possible “acting-out” behaviors.

      Group therapy may be an alternative treatment modality to examine, although it is usually not a good initial treatment choice.

      A person who suffers from this disorder who is assigned to group therapy at the onset of therapy will likely terminate treatment prematurely.

      Encourage to tolerate of being in a social group.

      Person graduating from individual to group therapy, they may have enough minimal social skills and abilities to tolerate group much better.

      People who suffer from this disorder see little to no reason for social interactions

      Patient will be quite quiet in group, contributing little to others and offering little of themselves.

      This is to be expected and the individual who has schizoid personality disorder

      They should not be pushed into participating more fully group until he or she is ready and on their own terms.

      Group leaders must be careful to help protect the individual from criticism from other group members for their lack of participation.

      tolerate the initially-silent member with this disorder, the individual may gradually participate more and more, although this process will be very slow and drawn out over months.

      the patient may eventually, “reveal a plethora of fantasies, imaginary friends, and fears of unbearable dependency – even of merging with the therapist.

      Oscillation between fear of clinging to the therapist may be followed by fleeing through fantasy and withdrawal.

      These types of feelings must be normalized by the clinician and brought into proper focus in the therapeutic relationship.

  • Schizotypal
    • As with most personality disorders, schizotypal personality disorder is best treated with some form of psychotherapy.

      Individuals with this disorder usually distort reality more so than someone with Schizoid Personality Disorder.

      As with Delusional Disorder and Paranoid Personality Disorder, the clinician must exercise care in therapy to not directly challenge delusional or inappropriate thoughts.

      A warm, supportive, and client-centered environment should be established with initial rapport.

      As with Avoidant Personality Disorder, the individual lacks an adequate social support system

      usually avoids most social interactions because of extreme social anxiety.

      The patient often reports feelings of being “different” and not “fitting in” with others easily, usually because of their magical or delusion thinking.

      There is no simple solution to this problem.

      Social skills training and other behavioral approaches which emphasize the learning of the basics of social relationships and social interactions may be beneficial.

      Consider group therapy as the client progresses. Such a group should be for this specific disorder, though, which may be difficult to form or find in smaller communities.

• Compiled By
  • Rigel Arcayan, 20131128
  • blindcaveman.wordpress.com
  • ~ https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/80421698/QuickGuide-DSM-IV-PersonalityDisorder.xls
  • ~ https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/80421698/BookSummary-DSM%20IV-Diagnosis%20and%20Treatment.pdf

MindMap-Simplified Problem Solving

MindMap-Simplified Problem Solving

• DEFINE
  • Problem Statement: Be specific.
  • Goal Statement
  • Examples:
  • To live happily ever after.
  • To be with my family.
• MEASURE
  • What is the Current situation?
  • Why are you moving?
  • What is wrong with my current location?
  • What are my options?
  • List of Potential Issues (Causes)
• ANALYZE
  • Root Causes Identified
  • How were the Root Causes listed above identified / verified?
  • Fishbone Diagram (C&E Diagram)
  • Onsite inspection (Process Map)
  • Technical Material Analysis
  • Expert Comments
  • Brainstorming
  • Benchmarking
  • 5-Why/Root Cause Analysis
  • Drill Down Matrix
  • Graphical Analysis
  • Correlation/Scatter Plots
• IMPROVE
  • Possible Solutions / Corrective Actions
  • Results of Pilot/Trial Run of Solutions
• CONTROL
  • How is the fix being maintained?
  • Preventative Actions

Mindmap-Book: WinningWithAccountability

Mindmap-Book: WinningWithAccountability

• Assessment
  • My Organization’s Language: We use very specific deadlines when discussing upcoming work.

    My Organization’s Language: We are clear about what outcomes we are working to create.

    My Organization’s Language: Roles and responsibilities are clearly defined when we assign tasks

    My Organization’s Behavior: Our Team members deliver projects exactly as they had been requested (deliverable).

    My Organization’s Behavior: Our team delivers “on time, every time” in the eyes of our internal and external customers.

    My Organization’s Behavior: Our team members take responsibility for their own outcomes and performance.

    My Influence: I give constructive input to my teammates in an emotionally intelligent way, even if it may be tough for them to hear.

    My Influence: I receive “first hand” constructive input from my teammates when I have failed to meet their expectations.

    My Influence: I participate in meetings and other interactions where I may influence the mood and commitment of other people.

• Performance Management Process
  • Strategic Plan
    • Vision
    • Mission
    • Goals
    • Core Values
  • Planning
    • Position Planning
    • Settin performance standards
  • Managing
    • Team communication
    • Day-to-day feedback and recognition
    • Analysis of behavior
    • Feedback coaching
    • Investigative coaching
    • Performance coaching
    • Disciplinary action
  • Evaluation and Goal Setting
    • Assessment of job performance
    • Setting employee strategic goals
    • Setting personal development goals(work related)
    • Performance improvement plans/goals
    • Holding employees accountable
• Advantages of Frontloading Accountability by Setting Goals and Expectations
  • Performance increases.
  • Resources better allocated when everyone knows their role.
  • Job satisfaction increases.
  • Trust grows and relationships are strengthened.
  • Outcomes improve qualitatively and quantitatively.
• How Everything Fits Together
  • PLAN-Establish priorities and goals linked to vision and mission. Establish department, unit and discipline goals linked to college priorities.

    EXECUTE-Deliver programs and services.

    ASSESS-Assess goal achievement.

    REFLECT-Analyze and use results to plan further improvements. Make changes as required.

• The Secret of Successful Organizations
  • Install accountability on the front end to
  • Nurture better relationships
  • Eliminate surprises
  • Increase job satisfaction and job performance
  • Improve productivity and effectiveness
• Functional Competencies
  • Competency is behavior/skill required for success.
  • Functional competency is behavior/skill related to job type or department.
  • Competency establishes expected behavior/skill level.
• Personal Development Goals
  • Enhance knowledge, skills, abilities and behaviors.

    Improve work performance in current role.

    Enhance ability to compete for future opportunities.

    Aligned with a competency or a core value.

    Improvements result from reading, taking classes, attending seminars, hands-on practice, project or task team work.

• The Power of Intention
  • Focus on helping individual perform at a higher level.
  • Focus on helping the individual succeed.
  • Remember the role of the coach is to help the individual and the team succeed!
• Clear Expectations
  • Paint a picture.
  • Are measureable.
  • Clearly understood by receiver and sender of request.
  • Replace ambiguity with specificity.
• Getting Specific
  • Date and time specificity creates clarity.
  • Deadline is when work is due.
  • Timeline is when the work will get done.
  • Timeline is more important than deadline.
  • Time management is critical.
  • Include relevant information and details.
  • Paint the picture of the outcome.
• Ensuring Clear Expectations
  • Determine if individual can reflect the essence of what you said.
  • Ask “How do you interpret what I just said?”
  • Ask “What does this look like to you when it is done?”
  • Clear Expectations PRACTICE ACTIVITY
• Definition of Accountability- Moving Strategy to Reality
  • Willingness to accept responsibility for one’s actions
  • Commitments that “in the eyes of others” have been kept.
  • Continually asking “How am I doing?”
  • Sender and receiver provide crystal clear expectations. Both are responsible.
  • About high performance not fear or stress.
• Creating Accountability
  • Clear expectation
  • Getting specific
  • Establishing ownership
  • Going public
• Follow Up Techniques for Enhanced Accountability
  • Schedule tasks/actions as meetings on your calendar and commit to them like other meetings.
  • Use calendar tool in Windows to document dates to check in or track progress.
  • Review the timeline periodically to ensure it is still reasonable.
  • Share accountability by checking in and encouraging/coaching between milestones.
  • Develop relationships.
  • Use the language of specificity.
• Something to Think About
  • Start a crusade in your organization-Have the courage to learn, the vision to lead and the passion to share.
• Unit Plans
  • Goals
  • Outcomes/Objectives
  • Measures and Findings
• Strategic Goals
  • Aligned to support the strategic plan.
  • Based on the goals of the department /work group.
  • Specific tasks and activities.
• Setting Goals
  • Descriptive title
  • Identify results
  • Include measurement criteria to determine successful completion
  • Date expected to be completed
  • Indicate which competency, core value or strategic goal it supports
• Clear Expectations Through SMARTER Goals
  • S-Specific-break down into specific pieces

    M-Measureable-quantitative or qualitative way to identify change or improvement

    A-Attainable-resources, materials, skills, time available

    R-Results Oriented and move us closer to the outcome or goal. Aligned with the strategic plan. Describes what the process or service will look like and/or how the customer will be impacted after the goal is complete.

    T-Trackable and Time-oriented-set milestones/follow up dates and expected completion date

    E-Ethical-Legal, moral and in alignment with core values

    R-Recorded-Record or persons should be in place from which/whom the employee may seek guidance.

• Establishing Ownership
  • Each task has one owner.
  • Buck stops with project owner (manager) even if you delegate every task.
  • Model ownership yourself.
  • Competency first, bandwidth(time) second.
• Going Public/Sharing Accountability
  • Accountability begins when someone else knows about task.
  • Establish accountability partner to check-in.
  • Accountability goes upstream and downstream.
  • Go first and share your commitments with others downstream.
  • Communicate the truth (with tact and diplomacy!) upstream.
  • Accountability builds relationships. Develop relationship capital in good and bad times.
• The Manager’s Role in Accountability
  • Frontload expectations with clear expectations, clear dates/times, clear ownership and shared understanding.

    Use your power to focus on the solution (reverse a negative direction).

    Look in the mirror and self-evaluate.

    Align thoughts and feelings with desired outcomes/goals.

    Model what you wish to achieve.

• What to Ask When Things Go Wrong
  • Did I communicate clear expectations?
  • Did I include the right people in initial discussions?
  • What could I have done better?
  • Continuous Improvement PRACTICE ACTIVITY
• Next Steps
  • Develop list of preliminary goals for yourself (without detail today-add detail when get back to office)

    Develop goals with your team/team members.

    Review your calendar-How did recent commitments compare to language of specificity?

    Make corrections where specificity is lacking-add missing information and details; paint the picture of a successful outcome.

    Share your commitments so others can hold you accountable.

    Model accountability with others.

• About The Book
  • Title: Winning With Accountability
  • Author: Henry J. Evans
  • Chapters: 8
  • Pages: 96
  • ISBN: 978-0981924205

Mindmap-Book Summary-ToFlourishOrDestruct

Mindmap-Book Summary-ToFlourishOrDestruct

• About To Flourish or Destruct
  • Date Read: Novemeber 28, 2015
  • Author: Christian Smith
  • ISBN: 978- 0- 226- 23200- 3
  • 353 pages
  • MyRating: 5 Stars
• Introduction
  • 1. What basic motivations andinterests generate and direct human action?

    2. What is by nature good forhuman beings— that is what are real human goods ?

    3. How should weunderstand and explain the lack of goodness— sometimes even the defi nitedestructiveness and evil— that are so prevalent and damaging in human life?

    4. Why do people do anything they do?

    5. What moves or compels peopleto action?

    6. What does anyone do when they wake up from sleeping and why dothey do that and not something else?

    Motivating This Inquiry

    4 Standard Accounts and a Fifth Upstart

    • 1. dependent norm- followers
      • This approach which takes a macroperspective assumes that the primary fact of social life is “society ” on which individualpeople are dependent through socialization for the cultural and institutionalnorms values and meanings that govern their goals choices and behaviors

        People are the cultural products of their societies

    • 2. materialist group- interest seekers
      • This approach6 i n t roduc t ionalso takes a macroperspective assuming a kind of rational egoism in partialsolidarity operating at the group level which produces collectivities that allywith and vie against each other in order to increase their mostly material shared advantages. 681 6

        This view emphasizes objective material interests that dividehuman social groups social institutions as fi elds of struggle on which arewaged the confl icts of contending groups to realize their interests and unstablesituations of domination oppression subordination and exploitationthat result. -131 6

    • 3. rationallyacquisitive individuals.
      • This approach shifts down from the macro- to themicroview.

        the primary unit of human life is the autonomous selfinterested rational individual choice maker who spends his or her life engagedin strategic decision making and actions designed to increase materialwell- being power security domination of others and social status

        “Society”here is the aggregate of relatively stable sets of social exchanges thatarise from individual actions.

    • 4. communicative interactingmeaning- makers 321 6
      • This approach largely rejects the previous models emphasizinginstead the continuous fl ow of microinteractions among purposive symbol- wielding agents who are most basically seeking to construct andsustain meaningful defi nitions of reality identities and respectable relationshipsin their lives.

        “Society” here is the aggregation of empirical patternsof interactions among meaning- constructing actors

    • 5. evolved neuro- genetic- biochemical behavers
      • In this approach humans areassumed to be nothing more than biological organisms that happen to embodymore highly evolved (that is more complex and capable) functionscompared to other biological organisms.

        Those organisms and their functionsare best understood and explained by reducing their complexity to theirmost elementary genetic neural and chemical parts and processes 26 6

        Reproductivefi tness in processes of evolutionary natural selection determines andexplains the nature and behavior of all living organisms including humansand their social lives. 26 6

        People and their societies are the complex products ofbiologically grounded forces of natural selection 26 6

    The Personalist Alternative 6

    • Personalist theory claims that all adequate understandings of human lifemust take seriously the fact that human beings are persons and not somethingelse.

      This requires that we understand what persons are what distinguishesthem from nonpersonal entities 6

      It is not enough to know something abouthuman bodies or genetics or social interactions. We need to understand moreof the fullness of what it means to be a person. Only by understanding thepersonhood of human beings will we adequately be able to understand andexplain people and their social relations because humans cannot be properlyunderstood apart from their personhood. 6

    Personalism’s Promise

    Other Theoretical Resources

    critical realism

    • Critical realism believes in ontological realism epistemic perspectivalism and judgmental rationality all held together

    ontological realism

    • that human knowledge aboutreality is always historically and socially situated and conceptually mediated

    epistemic perspectivalism

    • it is nonetheless normally possible forhumans over time to improve their knowledge about the real to adjudicaterival accounts and so to make justifi ed truth claims about reality

    Human Nature?

    • “human nature” is anantiquated term for many often associated with illegitimately essentialistviews of humanity if not archaic religious doctrines of human sin or optimistic

      “essentialistic

      Human beings are not exempt from these regularities. We humansinvolve and function through and up to certain natural characteristics capacities tendencies and limitations that do not depend for existence on humanbeliefs and cultural practices— which by contrast we should think ofas “mind dependent” and “constructed.” 29 4 6

      Humans have a nature a humannature as I mean that here. It is human nature for instance to tend stronglyto seek to avoid death (except under the pathological condition of severe depression) just as it is natural for human bodies to seek to repel threats tohealth and to heal themselves when infected or injured. 29 4 6

      The fi tting response to a certaintruth being abused is not to deny the truth wholesale but to condemn andreject that abusive use to stop abusing it now and to be more careful to understandand use it properly. 29 140 6

    The Purpose of Theory

    Why Ontology? 33

    Final Thoughts 34 22 6

    • Social science’s greatest value rather is to serve as a mediumof self- refl exivity for human persons and societies. We humans are not onlythe subjects of our actions but also often the objects of our own knowledge refl ection and evaluation. We not only think and evaluate as selves we alsothink about and evaluate ourselves as selves 34 6
• Chapter-1. Critical Realist Personalism—Some Basics
  • The center and touchstone of personalist social theory is the human person.

    The Reality of the Person -94 6

    • The most basic belief underlying personalist theory is that human personsare real entities with ontological being that exist in nature -94 6

      Persons and personhoodare not mere names we give to gesture toward something that seemsreal but in fact is a mere appearance or fabrication. By calling ourselves “persons”we are not simply evoking a fi ction of folk psychology that has no substantialreferent. 4 6

      The word “persons” refers to real entities that which wehumans ontologically are. 4 6

      Personhood is a real thing what philosophers calla “natural kind.” 4 6

      Persons have being naturally as a particular kind of entitywith characteristic capacities features and tendencies that are distinct fromnonpersonal entities. 4 6

      Persons are one particular part of the larger order ofreality in the nature of things. 4 6

      They are not human cultural constructions(although our theories about them which is different from the “them” aboutwhich we have theories are human constructions 4 6

      the personhoodof persons cannot be disaggregated in a reductionistic operation tosome lesser or simpler collection of parts without a loss of ontological essentials 4 6

      The personhood of persons is irreducible.3 So when we ponder what relatedto human social life might be real what actually exists what belongs toa human social ontology human persons are among them as primary facts 6

      Human life never could be constructed and lived in some places or times ina way in which personhood was absent. Where there are living humans wefi nd persons.4 That is because personhood is a particular natural and centralaspect of human being 6

    The Centrality of Persons

    A Realist View of Reality

    • The real
      • The real as noted above is what exists— material nonmaterial andsocial entities that have structures and capacities. The real exists whether weknow or understand it. It possesses objective being apart from human awarenessof it even when parts of it are not expressed in existential actuality
    • Theactual
      • Theactual by contrast is what happens as events in the world when entities thatbelong to the real activate their powers and capacities. The actual happensin time and space whether any person experiences it or not.
    • The empirical
      • The empirical by contrast again consists of what we humans experience or observe eitherdirectly or indirectly. By defi nition empirical matters are actualities that areobserved or felt. Thus what we observe (the empirical) is not identical to allthat happens (the actual).

        The actual comprises much more than the empirical.And neither the actual nor the empirical are identical to all that hasexistence (the real).

    The empirical is always a subset of the actual and the actual is the outcome ofoperations of entities that belong to the real. The three must not be confl atedor else we fall into problems 11 -1

    level of personhood

    • bodies
    • organs
    • cells
    • molecules
    • atoms

    personhood

    • own nature
    • capacities
    • tendencies
    • persons also interact andoperate

    entity 1 -1

    • An entity is simply something that has existence that has beingand so is and exists. The word “entity” derives from the Latin word ens meaning being. 1 -1

    The Ontology of Personhood – -1

    What are humans? -96 -1

    • humans are most importantly persons -96 -1

    What is a person? -96 -1

    • What are the important components capabilities tendencies goods purposes and limitations of persons?

      To be a personis to possess and experience qualities of depth multiplicity and intricacythat could never be fully transparent or fathomed. – -1

      The personhood of humansentails so many dimensions powers goods interests activities enigmas and paradoxes that persons can never be fully described determined orcontrolled. – -1

      Human personhood cannot therefore be compacted down to oneor a few key features that could supposedly represent the essence or simplicityor resolution of persons – -1

      By “person” I mean the particular kind of being thatunder proper conditions is capable of developing into (or has developedinto) a conscious refl exive embodied self- transcending center of subjectiveexperience durable identity moral commitment and social communication who— as the effi cient cause of his or her responsible actions andinteractions— exercises complex capacities for agency and intersubjectivityin order to develop and sustain his or her own incommunicable self in lovingrelationships with other personal selves and with the nonpersonal world 140 -1

    What does human social life consist?

    What are its key component parts?

    How arethey ordered and disordered?

    What causal powers do different kinds of socialentities possess?

    What consequences in human life do they produce?

    The Emergence of Personhood

    Emergence involves the following

    • 1. two or more entities that exist at a “lower” level interact or combine

      2. that interaction or combination serves as the basis of some new realentity that has existence at a “higher” level.

      3. the existence of the newhigher- level entity is fully dependent upon the two or more lower- level entitiesinteracting or combining as they have and could not exist without themdoing so.

      4. the new higher- level entity nevertheless possesses characteristicqualities (for example structures qualities capacities textures powers)that cannot be reduced to those of the lower- level entities that gave riseto the new entity possessing them

    Personhood is emergent

    The personal nature of human beings is notsome discrete substance residing somewhere inside the human body that inprinciple could be spatially located in some organ or other bodily area

    Nor ispersonhood an independent being or spirit that could be separated from theliving body.

    The best surgeon could not locate and remove the personhoodfrom humans.

    The best exorcist could not “cast out” the person from a humanbeing or body even assuming that exorcisms happen

    Personhood is anemergent fact of human existence “arising” emergently from living activehuman bodies and in each case infusing and partially governing living human bodies. 622 -1

    Living humans therefore do not “have” persons somewhere insideof them.

    Living humans are persons

    Their own vital life principles presentin and as bodies from the very start proactively develop bodily groundedcapacities and functions that give rise through emergence to full expressionsof personhood

    The emergent nature of personhood means that persons cannot beequated directly with the various human capacities and functions thatthrough emergence give rise to them

    Personhood cannot be reduced forexample to human capacities for rational thought language use or meaningmaking.

    Personhood instead is that which proactively brings the latter capacitiesinto being and function. Just as the characteristic features and capacitiesof water (liquidity capacity to dissolve salt ability to extinguish fi res and soon) cannot be properly explained by merely looking at hydrogen and oxygenas individual substances human personhood cannot be understood as themere collection of certain human capacities

    Personhood emerges as its ownontological reality sui generis in relation to those capacities and the empiricalrealization and expression of personhood depends on their unfolding andexercise. But personhood cannot be reduced to those capacities

    two ways emergenceoperates

    proactive

    • With proactive emergence the emergent entity involves some governing agency and power to cause thedevelopment and behavior of the relationally interacting parts on which theemergent entity is dependent for being. 133 -1

      With responsive emergence by comparison some agent other than the emergent entity causes parts to interactrelationally which then constitutes the emergent entity 133 -1

      A simple example ofresponsive emergence is an inkjet or laser printer. The printer is an emergentreality consisting of more than the sum of its printer parts and possessingcausal powers to effect changes in the world such as printing clean words ona page. But the emergent printer was not the agent that caused the printerto create itself. The agent was the printer manufacturer. The printer existsthrough emergence because another agent the manufacturer designed andassembled printer parts in such a way to produce an emergent printer that itknew would be a printer and print. Emergence here is responsive insofar as itexists as a response to the operations another’s agency achieves. Responsivelyemergent entities are thus the objects of emergent processes and outcomescaused and guided by another agent. 327 -1

    responsive

    • proactive emergence involves cases in which the agency of the emergent operations resides in or is the emergent entity itself -48

      Here theemergent entities are the subjects of the emergent processes and outcomeson which they depend. -161 -1

      for example the emergent bodily life of a tiger.The tiger’s bodily organism as a single whole is in fact emergent from therelation of its various body parts and could not exist apart from them. Butthose body parts were developed and coordinated in the fi rst place by thetiger’s life organism. Before the parts ever existed the tiger existed at fi rst asa single- cell organism. The whole of its unifi ed life precedes and producesthe parts. And that organism contained within itself the capacity as a selfgoverningand self- developing agent of life of its own life to draw on nourishment develop its parts and coordinate them together in such a way asto produce emergently the normal mature tiger organism it becomes.

    Human persons are proactively— not responsively— emergent realities

    • Persons are not subsequent products of purely physical processes the fi naloutcomes of a temporal series of events governed by other agents at the endof which persons emerge.

    Against Reductionism

    • Reductionism is a ruinous move many thinkers in various sciences make.Its approach is to claim that an emergent entity can be best understood andexplained by reducing it to its lower- level component parts from which theentity came through emergence into being and then proposing a descriptionor explanation only with reference to those parts and not the emergentnew whole.

      reductionism asserts that an emergent reality is in factnothing but the parts from which the reality emergently came into being andcan only be explained in terms of them— an act of radical and unacceptablecompaction.

      What does reductionism look like when applied to humans?

      Humanbeings one version of reductionism says are nothing but the material elements(carbon hydrogen and such) that compose them.

      Human minds anotherasserts are nothing but packs of neurons and neurotransmitters. Onereductionist sees nothing in the experience of human love but the operationof hormones and pleasure neurotransmitters at work –

      Another sees little elsein human behavior than selected- upon genes pushing people to act in certainways. –

      another claims that human morality amounts to nothing but culturalinventions designed to promote domination and social control –

      Otherreductionist approaches argue that human social relationships are simplymeans by which resources fl ow through social networks or that all apparentacts of kindness altruism and generosity are nothing but self- interestedstrategies to indirectly maximize pleasure or reproductive fi tness. –

      Reductionist claims take this standard form:

      • “I know that you and otherpeople normally think that P is really a complex matter of A B C . . . X Y and Z. But I as a scientist who knows the real truth of the matter tell youinstead that P is really nothing but e” (or k or s or whatever other oversimplified idea).

        Reductionism squashes complicated emergent complexity intoits simple preemergent components and then thinks that its account betterdescribes and explains reality.

        Reductionism’s fatal move is to fail to see all ofthe new properties capacities and tendencies that come into being at higherlevels of reality through processes of emergence which do not exist at thelower levels of reality from which the higher comes emergently into being

        Reductionism proceeds as if emergence simply does not happen— and inignoring emergence it misrepresents reality. It says in its most ridiculousform that water is really “nothing but” H and O for instance. 289

        But doing thatfails to see one of the most important factors at work in the way things actuallyare which produces the kind of reality we have 289

        In the case of water itfails to see that the covalent bonding of H2 and O bring into being an entirelynew substance— water— with properties capacities tendencies and limitationsof its own that do not exist at the level of H and O. 483

      It takes a world that is multidimensionally differentiated complex and stratifi ed and turns it into a simple fact or operation. It takes beingsthat are absolutely invaluable and turns them into $4.50 worth of material

      Personalism

      • Personalism insists that “nothing- but” reductionism is unacceptable becauseit mis- recognizes the way reality is put together and mis- describes the very realityit claims to illuminate and explain

        It pronounces on reality with a stunningobliviousness to emergence and falsifi es everything important that emergenceproduces.

        When applied to persons reductionism must especially beresisted and denounced because it inevitably depersonalizes human beings

        personalism says is not only bad science but also a moral crime

      Personal Centers with Purpose

      • Persons are by nature “centers with purpose.”

        To be a person that is reasonablywell developed in existential expression is to exist and operate as a governingcenter of consciousness and action oriented toward pursuing certainpurposes.

        The centeredness of persons is what enables us to coordinate andintegrate the immense number of sensory cognitive affective volitional andother inputs experiences and outlooks into relatively unifi ed singular livesand life projects.

        centeredness of persons

        • sensory
        • cognitive
        • affective
        • volitional
        • experiences
        • outlooks into relatively unifi ed
        • singular livesand life projects

        persons are centers means

        • That persons are centers means that they are not mere conglomerations inventories or compilations of diverse features. There is at the core of theperson a centering interior focal point of personal being consciousness andactivity.

          Persons exhibit structures of internal organization that provide a hubor nucleus of coherence and continuity of awareness and action.

          It is notthat persons are perfectly unifi ed harmonized or consistent internally. Weare not.

          Personal being involves certain degrees of internal disconnection disjuncture and lack of integration among parts

          People’s structures of beliefand patterns of behavior for example do not always consistently add up.

          The normally developed person by contrast operates primarilyout of a deep single centered nucleus of being self- governance andself- direction. -25

        Personal centers also have natural purposes 40

        • unfashionable theidea might be in science today personalism holds that personal human lifereally involves natural purposes real teleological ends that properly belong topersons by nature. 40

          many people’s purposes in life are culturallylearned and so vary across social contexts— one person purposes to be arock star another to fulfi ll their life in the untouchable caste 40

          They are alsomore basic than the kinds of purposes just noted (see chapter 5). Sometimespeople think and behave in ways that deny or violate these real natural anduniversal human purposes. But that itself does not make them unreal unnatural or nonuniversal. 235

          It simply means that those people are thinking andliving in denial or violation of the real nature of their personhood. That (livingin denial of reality) too is a real capacity of human personal being whichis sometimes actualized empirically 235

        Ontological Being and Existential Realization 557

        Ontology

        • Ontology is the philosophical study of the nature of being becoming existence or reality as well as the basic categories of being and their relations. Traditionally listed as a part of the major branch of philosophy known as metaphysics ontology deals with questions concerning what entities exist or may be said to exist and how such entities may be grouped related within a hierarchy and subdivided according to similarities and differences. Although ontology as a philosophical enterprise is highly theoretical it also has practical application in information science and technology such as ontology engineering.

        Personalism insists that all living human beings are ontologically persons fully and completely with all of the implications the status of personhoodentails.

        Personal being in fact is what develops through the maturing humanbody from the start of life toward its own greater actualization and expression moving through proactive emergence toward realizing and enacting itsessential nature in human development over the life course.

        What varies in human life -318

        • What varies in ehuman life then is not the being of personhood which belongs to the realand exists either completely or not at all. What varies rather is the extent towhich that real personhood is actualized realized and expressed somethingthat concerns not the real but the actual and empirical. -318

        Real personhood example 4

        • Real personhood can in some abnormal instances remain signifi cantlyunrealized in the realm of the actual although below a certain threshold ofrealization life stops and personhood perishes 4

          A fetus that because of geneticanomalies stops growing properly for example will encounter severe limitsto the actualization of his or her real personal being and may die as a resultof body dysfunctions. 4

          A severely physically and mentally disabled child maylive much longer but will also face profound limits on his or her potentialto bring to full actualization his or her ontologically real personhood 4

          Thedisabled child is fully a person but the degree of actual realization and expressionof that real personhood will be constrained. 4

          real personhoodthat has already been signifi cantly realized in life experience can alsolater become severely damaged or deteriorated in the extent of its actualizationand expression. 4

          brilliant “renaissance woman” who is a scholar anartist and an athlete for example may as a result of an automobile accidentfall into a coma. As a living human she remains 100 percent a person evenwhile in a coma but the realization and expression of her personhood inactuality has become radically damaged and may never return

          the 100 percent

          • In most lives the 100 percent ontologically real personhood of living humans fi nds itself more or less ableto signifi cantly develop realize express and enjoy his or herself in actuality.The more that is able to happen the better it is and the more the humangood is potentially achieved

          flourishing persons 105 34

          • human persons— unlessthey are radically damaged— naturally possess within the province of theirgiven personhood all of the necessary “equipment” to become and live asfl ourishing persons. 105 34

            Persons normally come into being in the world naturallyequipped with all of the necessary potential systems capacities andteleological orientation to develop into fully realized persons 105 34

            The componentsand powers required for persons to develop the full realization of theirpersonhood come innate with the person from the start— although thosepowers are sometimes diminished in cases of persons who are radically damaged. 168 34

            Persons do not need subsequent to their conception anything from theoutside that is necessary and essential for their personhood per se. All dimensionsof human personhood come “fully installed ” so to speak in inconceivablycompact and dense potencies given from the fi rst hour of life. 34

            Nothingsubstantively new to personhood per se needs to be added from outside.What persons need from the outside are humanly and materially nurturingenvironments in which their natural innate capacities for personhood candevelop grow in health mature and thrive 34

          degree of the empirical development and realization 34

          • 1. absolute real being 34
          • 2. variable empirical actualization and expression of that being 34

          nurturing contexts

          • Personhood comes already provided in full and completebeing- in- potential bundled in unimaginable density in the natural componentsof the human body

            Personhood comes once fi rst established as inherent“equipment” that only needs in the course of natural developmentto unfold evolve and become mature and shaped well by the right kind ofhuman and material environments.

            What persons crucially need from theoutside then are nurturing contexts to foster the greater realization of personhood.In short human personhood per se once conceived is ontologicallyself- given self- existent self- carrying and self- developing even thoughcontextually and developmentally persons are extraordinarily dependent onexternal environments for proper nurture love and training

      Persons in Social Relations

      nurturing human

      • love
      • protection
      • nourishment
      • teaching
      • development
      • recognition
      • affi rmation
      • direction
      • discipline

    humans are social animals

    • 1. humans are dependently social creatures.
      • They are necessarily social in this sense becausefrom the start of life to its end humans depend on other humans for sustenance nurturance protection fellowship

        people are dependenton other people simply to survive and grow

        Without any social relationshipsfrom the start human persons would wither and die 522 34

        Sociality is thus a functionalrequirement of survival and health for the kind of embodied animalthat humans are. 522 34

    • 2. human are constitutionally social 651 34
      • living in social relationshipswith other persons expresses what persons are. -96 34

        Social relationships are notsimply instrumental means to sustain life and health. They are that too butthey are much more. -96 34

        It is not the case that if only people could be materiallyself- suffi cient then they would not need other people to be persons -96 34

        To be aperson is constitutionally in part “to develop and sustain one’s own incommunicableself in loving relationships with other personal selves.” -96 34

    personal social relationships

    • family
    • clan
    • kin
    • neighborhood
    • village
    • town
    • school
    • team

    persons are the products of their societies 34

    • people acquire their personhood through their social relationships 34

      People’spersonhood in its ontological reality is a natural fact of their human being from start to end. 34

      all living human beings are persons. This being thecase it is impossible for society to be the source of our personhood 34

      Socialrelationships and institutions do not confer create or construct persons anymore than they do brains 34

      Persons are a natural kind of ontological realityoriginating in innate human being at the start of life and developmentallyunfolding in time- space existence. So the standard sociological mantra that“people are social constructions” is wrongheaded 34

    Causal Realism 196 34

    Critical realist personalism is causally realist 34

    That means believing thatcauses of states of affairs and events exist even when we cannot see them 34

• Chapter-2. Rethinking Motivations for Action
  • Human motivations questions 3
    • Why does any person do anything? 3

      When people wake up from sleep what dothey do with the hours ahead of them and why? 3

      By “do” I mean a wide rangeof activities in which humans engage extending from somewhat mindlesshabitual motions to purposeful determined actions. Is what people do coordinatedtoward any larger ends? 3

      Are humans trying to accomplish somethingparticular with the spending of their lives? 3

      Or are people’s activities random disorganized or arbitrary? 3

  • Human actions are motivated 3
  • Do Motivations Matter? 3 395 34
  • What makes people act the way they do? 4 – 34
  • Causal Examples 4
    • Events happen in reality because forces exerted by real entities that havethe causal capacities and powers to bring about those events cause them 4

      All of these events arecaused. 4 34

      Atoxic vapor is given off by ammonia because chlorine added to it produces achemical reaction that releases chloramine. 4

      A door breaks open because thepolice kick it in. 4

      A savings and loan bank goes bankrupt because its depositorsmake a rush on the bank to withdraw their money 4

  • Expenditure of energy 4
    • Events happen because some entities possess the causal capacities toproduce the events capacities that various environmental conditions trigger 4

      Understanding the entities in reality and how their causal powers produceevents is what science is about. Furthermore the causal production of eventsrequires the ongoing expenditure of energy to sustain them 4

  • order to disorder 4
    • Nature tends to move from order to disorder in any isolated system 4

      maintaining order structure process or action requires the ongoing conversionand expenditure of energy from some contributing system. Thingsdo not simply happen. 4

      All movements are moved. Events require energyactivatedeffi cient causes to bring them about 4 335 34

  • What are Events 4 46
    • Human actions practices and habits are events 4 46

      They are not uncaused but are caused by something or other 4 46

      If we wish to understand and explainthem we need to understand what causes them. 4 46

      Involves identifyingthe specifi c sources and types of energy expended that function as the efficient causes of people’s actions practices or habits. 4 46

  • producingthe action 5 -282 34
    • Some seem to believe that social forces cause human actions in ways that do not require motivations as causes. Theidea of motivated human action by contrast says that some important process or force operating within actors— some capacity to exert causal powersto generate action that operate by or within human subjective consciousnessand intention— provides the energy that plays an important role in producingthe action.3 5 -282 34
  • features of human subjectivity 5
    • desires 5
    • beliefs 5
    • emotions 5
  • Motivated actions 5
    • are movements that are caused by expenditures of energyderived from systems internal to conscious human beings and governedin some way by human subjective capacities 5
  • 4 Motivation Skeptics Theory 5
    • 1. social determinism 5
      • actions are not caused by internal or subjective personal motives but rather by macro- or microsituational social forces impingingupon people from the outside 5
    • 2. hermeneutical purism 5
      • Others might say that when it comes to human life (as opposed to nonhumanobjects) identifying causes is simply the wrong and inappropriate form of explanation that human life is really about meaningful symbols and interpretationsand interactions not actions that are “mechanically” caused in the way chemical reactions are caused. 5
    • 3. empirical pessimism 5
      • Other skeptics say that the vast majority of what people do in life is not obviously ends- oriented that people do not seem to pay much direct attention to what they are doing that human doings are more like simple happenings than goal- driven undertakings and that people are often terrible at discerning the optimal means to attain desired ends and explaining the reasons fortheir actions to others 5
    • 4. doubtful decoupling 5 333 34
      • others keptics about motivations point to weak associations between what people say they value believe and desire and the ways they actually behave when itcomes to matters that should be influenced by those same values beliefs and desires. Let us label this view “doubtful decoupling.” 5 333 34
  • Objection to Motivation Skeptics 5 526 32
    • 1. Social determinism 5 526 32
      • The firstobjection to motivation (social determinism) presupposes a false dichotomyand unnecessary zero- sum opposition between personal and social causes ofaction 5 526 32

        It fails to recognize that social causal forces normally work in conjunctionwith and through processes of personal motivations 5 526 32

        Causal infl uencesof social contexts provide or confront actors with opportunities constraints information incentives norms expectations routines costs benefi ts pubre t h i n k i ng mot ivat ion s for ac t ion 65lic moralities and the like which are normally processed by human agentsalso engaged in motivated action. 5 656 32

        So structure and agency are not mutuallyexclusive competing forces in social life. 5 656 32

        Social structure is the emergentproduct of acting persons engaged in ongoing (usually) motivated activity.8Social determinism gives us no good reason to doubt that people’s motivationsoften cause their actions 5 656 32

    • 2. Hermeneutical purism 6 -93 32
      • Hermeneutical purism assumes a false distinction between how explanationworks in human and nonhuman realms 6 4 32

        Hermeneutical purists confusethe idea that certain important explanation- relevant aspects of human lifediffer from nonhuman life (which is true) with the more comprehensive andindefensible claim that human actions cannot be causally explained 6 4 32

        Thatrelates to a false dichotomy between symbolic meanings and causal forces 6 11 32

        Human beliefs desires purposes and cultural meanings are causally powerfulforces in personal and social life 6 11 32

        Among humans meanings have causalpowers to help generate action. 6 140 32

        A causal social science does not need to be and should not be mechanistic(in a bad sense) deterministic materialistic or scientistic 6 140 32

        Causation andhuman agency are not zero- sum rivals but when understood properly notonly coexist but also require each other for action and explanation 6 140 32

    • 3. Empirical pessimism 6 463 32
      • The third possible objection empirical pessimism appeals to observationsthat are often true about human action yet which do not tell us thatmotivations do not cause actions 6 528 32

        That conclusion does not follow from theempirical evidence. People are indeed often distracted confused ineffi cient and inarticulate when it comes to their activities 6 528 32

        Sometimes people’s behaviorsdo not seem very purposive instrumental or rationally deliberated. Sowhat? That does not eliminate motivated human actions. 6 528 32

        It only tells us that our theory of motivations must account for the dimensions of motivatedaction that are habituated uneconomical and operating below discursiveconsciousness 7 – 32

    • 4. Doubtful decoupling 7 6 32
      • the doubtful decoupling view also rightly notes a recurring fact ofhuman life: people’s verbal professions seem often to not closely match theiractions. 7 6 32

        People often say that they value X but then fail to act in ways thatwould accomplish X 7 6 32

        Again however that does not make motivations irrelevantto action. 7 6 32

        It merely tells us that the processes involved are more complexthan a simple “motive ? action” model would suggest 7 6 32

        The skepticism ofdoubtful decoupling also often begins by expecting a strong relationship betweensocial survey and interview measures of “values” or “beliefs” and people’sreal motivations— an often- unwarranted assumption 7 6 32

        Sometimes theseeming disconnect between people’s professions and actions is not becausethese are not connected in people’s lives but because social scientists’ methodsare often poor at identifying and measuring people’s real motivations 7 6 32

  • human life iscomplicated 7 168 32
    • research overdecades has shown moderate associations between professed values and intentionsand people’s actions.14 But even when the claims are not overstated there are good reasons— having to do with multiplicity and complexity—why people’s actions may not closely match their professed values beliefs and goals. People are usually trying to negotiate the implications of myriadvalues beliefs and goals (not just the one that a survey asked about) whichoften creates confl icting purposes and compromises decision making. Thatdoes not mean that actions are not motivated but simply that human life iscomplicated 7 168 32
  • The Reality of Motivated Action 7 32
    • Human behavior and action come in a variety of types and expressions. Someof it like sneezing snoring having seizures tics surges of adrenalin nocturnalemissions obsessive- compulsive disorders and (in certain circumstances)screaming in fright is essentially involuntary 7 622 32

      motivations 8 390 32

      • causal energy and direction the organized patterning of people’s desires beliefs and emotions provide that move people to choose initiate andoften persist in particular actions or general strategies in specifi c contexts 8 390 32

      3 Components of motivated action 8 390 32

      • G = Goal Intention 8 390 32

        P = Person 8 390 32

        A = Action 8 390 32

        The desire to employ the means of A cause P to do A 8 390

        1. There is some goal G that person P affectively desires or intends to bring about 8 390 32

        2. Person P believes that by performing action A he or she will likely help achieve G 8 650 32

        3. this (i) emotionallyladen desire or intention for G (ii) belief in the causal effects of A regardingG and (iii) desire to employ the means of A cause P to do A. 8 650 32

      What then are“reasons? 9 –

      • Reasons are considerations that justify or explain certain actions to actors and others 9 –

      Two Types of Reasons 9

      • normative 9
        • Motivated actions can be thought of as actions that are carried out by actorswho can in principle provide normative reasons for them 9

          The reasonsgiven thus provide an account for why an actor acted as he or she did insofaras the reasons tell why the actor thought certain considerations counted infavor of the action 9

      • explanatory 9
        • consist of an account of the explanatory reasons making theactions intelligible 9

      The Ontology of Motivations 9

      • Human motivations for action are real and important. But what are they? Ofwhat do they consist? The human capacity to engage in motivated action isgrounded in the real multiple and interacting natural powers and tendenciesof normal human personhood 9 76

        Human persons naturally possess the capacitiesthat interact and combine to produce the causal mechanisms by whichmotivations produce actions 9 76

        The ability tendency even inevitability of humansto act on the basis of action- generating motivations is thus a natural inbuilt feature of the nature of normal human persons 9

        Persons conceivedas “centers with purpose” require and give rise to motivated action. 9

      Warning on Motivations 9 333

      • Motivations are real routinely experienced and acted upon by all normal human actors they cannot be observed by others and emprically accessible outside of one’s own experience. 9 333

        Nobody can directly look at touch hear or taste other people’s motivations per se.28 They existat a “deep” level of reality within the subjectivity of persons.29 9 333

        Motivations can also beindirectly observed and measured by their observable effects and by the (admittedlyfallible) reports of human agents 80 -91

        Social scientists can furthermorebelieve in the existence and power of motivations for action by means of“inference to the best explanation” (IBE) considering all of the relevant factorsinvolved 80 -91

      Human motivations to action consist of combinations of 3 Items 9 333

      • Beliefs 9 333
        • a premise or proposition that people consciously or tacitly regard to be true 80 39

          beliefs are mentalattitudes of a certain kind directed toward premises or propositions specifi -cally those that are taken to be true 80 39

          Beliefs concern what is traditionallylabeled the cognitive aspect of mental life 80 39

          “Beliefs” arecommonly thought to be something like “propositional ideas that people activelyconsider adopt refl ect upon and readily express when questioned”—the sort of thing one might expect as a confession of faith by an educated committed Protestant. But that is only one possible kind of human belief and an unusual one at that. 80

          In fact beliefs come in a broad range of forms.32Philosophy provides a helpful hint here. When philosophers use the word“beliefs ” they simply mean the specifi c kind of mental attitude toward thingspeople regard as true 80

          Those beliefs may be mindful or thoughtless vehementlydefended or taken for granted as obvious refl ected upon or acceptedwithout consideration and objectively veritable or false 80

      • Desires 81 2
        • Human desires encompass a wide range of personal subjectiveorientations to objects conditions and experiences 81 2

          astate of embodied mind or “pro attitude” that combines attraction and willtoward some object state of being or experience 81 2

          Desires concern what wastraditionally labeled the “conative” aspect of mental life 81 2

          We must for anadequate theory of motivated human action understand human “desires” ina broad enough way to account for the actual range of kinds of them thatpeople have and the different ways those desires enter into the motivationalprocess 81 2

          Clearly desires (at least those of which we are aware) are subjectivelyfelt states yet they are also grounded in the biological substrate of thebody and brain. 81 2

          For some people “desires” means something like pressingyearnings cravings longings or passions that exist in conscious awarenessand that can be expressed in words if necessary 81 2

          Examples 81 2

          • “I really want to buy a newcar” 81 2
          • “I cannot resist ordering the chocolate cheesecake” 81 2

          Many desiresoperate in people’s lives without their conscious awareness immediaterefl ection or capacity to be communicated with words. 81 131

          Sometimes peoplehave desires that are literally unconscious that have roots in relationshipsand experiences far beyond the access of normal memory or refl ection (suchas for example the un- self- refl ective knee- jerk reaction of resisting all authorityfi gures). 81 131

          Sometimes people have signifi cant desires that operate farin the background of their fi eld of focused awareness that are rarely if everrecognized in the course of ordinary life yet in principle are susceptible toretrieval inspection evaluation and revision (such as people’s cravings forrecognition and status or physical affection) 81

          Then again people often havemany diffuse unfocused or generalized (though not strictly unconscious)desires that can nonetheless prove to be causally powerful in life (such as aninterest in novelty and unconventional experiences or the general wish tobanish all insecurity and disorder in relationships). 81

          Desires too can be selfishand unselfi sh. A good theory of human motivations needs to adopt thisbroader view of the nature of human desires both to be adequate to the realityand to be explanatorily satisfying when it comes to causes and outcomes 81 648

      • Emotions 82 -293
        • Many theories do not include emotions as constitutive partsof motivations.

          Emotions are complex psycho- physiological experiences orstates that environmental and biochemical forces generate

          Emotions concernwhat is traditionally labeled the affective aspect of mental and bodily life 82 –

          Emotional experiences or states entail some kind of physiological arousal thatis often (but not always) meaningfully interpreted in conscious awarenessand expressed in culturally appropriate behaviors 82 –

          Both the physical bodyand subjective awareness are involved in emotions. 82 –

          Various neurotransmittersand hormones such as dopamine serotonin and norepinephrine arecentrally involved in emotions 82 –

          Emotions have incredibly complex relationsto physiological operations of the brain as the underlying material substrateof affective subjective experiences.

          Emotions are also often consciouslyinterpreted as to their kind cause and signifi cance. People normally try toregulate the expression and experience of their emotions to fi t culturally normativeexpectations.

      • human emotions-basic and universal
        • happiness
        • sadness
        • surprise
        • fear
        • disgust
        • anger
      • Emotions
        • The etymological origins of the English word “emotion” are closely relatedto the word “motivation 82

          Emotions can powerfully propel actions and inhibitactions as they shape motivations in complex ways 82

          Emotion properserves to facilitate or regulate action 82 352

          Emotions are integrally enmeshedin the basic motivational processes of “anticipatory states and seeking systems 82 352

          Emotions involve a “power of teleology” involved in the “establishedfact” that “emotions . . . motivate. . . . 82 352

          Emotions are essentially implicatedin our capacity to live a coherent and reasonably well- regulated life; unlessyou care your life will be a mess; and whether or not you care is surprisinglyneatly attested by your galvanic skin response 82 352

          Emotions are “judgments of the body” that can be nonpropositionaland subjectively felt that help people both “know that” about life and“know how” to live life all of which helps comprise and govern motivationsfor action 82 481

          Emotions can be or help make up the cause of something wedo 82 481

          fairly robust fact about emotions that each of them goes together with one or several spontaneous action tendencies that if unchecked will result in action 82 676

          emotions as a “substantive psychological category”64 belong toa proper account of the ontology of human motivations 82 676

          Motivations areconstituted in part by human emotions -136

      ontology of motivations – 3 Faculties

      • 1. cognitive – of or being or relating to or involving cognition the cognitive part of the brain measures intelligence; The psychological result of perception and learning and reasoning

        2. conative – drives how one acts on those thoughts and feelings.

        3. affective – deals with emotions

  • The Teleological Orientation of Motivations
    • Teleology-(philosophy) a doctrine explaining phenomena by their ends or purposes

      Theory-we cannot rightly explain the actions ofpeople and institutions by reference to their supposed functional contributionto the telic end of the survival and well- being of “society” as a whole— acritique

      rational choice

      • the primary explicit exponents of teleologyin human life are rational choice theorists who presuppose that all people areoriented toward the end of increasing if not maximizing their benefi ts rewards or utility

        human activity is oriented toward the (greater) realization achievement or fulfi llment of desired goods 5

        the (greater) accomplishment of thosegoods lies in the future in the distance ahead in life

        The structure of thehuman motivational condition therefore is teleological that is oriented towardthe achievement of some unrealized future end (although the goodspursued are much more complex and specifi c than the “rewards” of rationalchoice theory)

        Human life is oriented toward certain ends which motivationsprovide the energy direction and focus to realize or fulfi ll. We commitno theoretical crime by thinking teleologically. But we need to focus thetelic emphasis of our theories not on “society” (as with functionalism) but onpersons on what they are trying to achieve in their lives— and by extension institutions insofar as they are constructed sustained led and representedby persons and so can be rightly said to be purposively pursuing ends

        To getit right we must also properly specify the telic ends toward which personslive. Rational choice theory is not wrong in believing that people are teleologicallymotivated. It is wrong primarily in the combination of narrownessor vagueness of the ends it assumes people are motivated to achieve

  • Adequate Complexity 463
    • Multiplicity and Incommensurability. We can start by recognizing that motivationsare irreducibly multiple and often incommensurate 39

      Motivationsare potentially complementary or confl icting but never unitary or simple 39

      no realistic or useful theory ofhuman motivations can proceed on the assumption that all signifi cant motivationscan be reduced to one single underlying latent or general basic ormegamotivation 39

      it has been common in the historyof social science for theories to posit or focus on one dominant if not exclusive interest or motivation. 168

      Monomotivational assumptions are standard insociology for example if and when motives are actually addressed 168

      Socialized norms

      • Marxism
        • Marxism for example posits the centrality of control over materialproduction

        Symbolic interactionism

        • Symbolic interactionism emphasizes either the generation andsustaining of intersubjective meanings or alternatively the maintenance ofcredible public moral identities

        Ethnomethodology

        • Ethnomethodology stresses the motivationto create orderly communications

        Hedonic theories

        • Hedonic theories claim that all motivationslead back to the “pleasure principle

        Rational choice theory

        • Rational choice theory posits rationalegoism’s motivation to maximize benefi ts and rewards relative to costs presuming that all ends and goods can be fi t on a commensurate scale of utility 622

        Many confl ict- based theories are built onthe assumption that humans are universally and for all practical purposes exclusively driven in actions to increase their wealth power security andstatus

        wealth

        power

        security

        status

      Downside of Monomotivational Theory 3

      • Monomotivationaltheories oversimplify and ultimately fail to explain social life without havingto engage in major conceptual and empirical qualifi cations or contortions 3

        They usually prove in the end to be either empirically false or theoreticallyvacuous or tautological 3

      Human Motivation has multiple sources 3

      • theory of motivated action must recognize that humanmotivations even basic motivations are multiple 3

        Human action is usuallydeployed to try to satisfy numerous different often competing motivations 3

        Motivations are also complex 3

        They do not usually organize into simple orneat sets but are instead fraught with complications intricacies and diffi culties 3

        the multiplicity and variety of many actual human motivations whether basic or otherwise are sometimes not commensurate in that theyentail enough qualitative differences between them that they cannot be compared weighted or evaluated on shared scales of importance consequence or value. 3

        different sorts of motivations often conglomerate intoclusters or sets that are more or less internally coherent 68

        Sometimes differenthuman motivations complement each other and so can be satisfi ed with oneaction or set of actions. 198

        human motivations for action are not singular simple easilycomparable or routinely convergent in their action- implications the ordinarybusiness of living life turns out to be not simple or easily focused and negotiated 520

        Daily life consists signifi cantly of people managing the innumerablecausal energies and directions of myriad sorts of motivations that push and pull in different directions for different reasons and with different intensities kinds and durations of force 650

        Normal human existence thus involves managingpersonal subjective “coordination and control centers” that processimmense fl ows of perceptions defi nitions associations desires emotions evaluations and the like in order to deploy adequately functional plans ofaction

        coordination and control centers

        • flows of perceptions
        • definitions
        • associations
        • desires
        • emotions
        • evaluations

        Constant Sorting Out

        • mixed motives
        • decision trade- offs
        • ethical dilemmas
        • temptations
        • compromises
        • mental self- control
        • suppression of desires
        • sublimation
        • displacements
        • denials
        • rationalizations
        • self- talk

        Overwhelmed Explained

        • Overloaded personal systems of motivationsmanagement are also in part why people become “overwhelmed” in life andneed rest sleep and diversion to recover and make better decisions and takebetter actions
  • Variance in Conscious Awareness
    • Human motivations for action also varyin the extent to which they are represented in conscious awareness beingsometimes conscious and entailing focused concentration sometimes habituatedand latent in consciousness and sometimes unconscious and even denied.84

      conscious

      habituated

      latent

      unconscious

      denied

      “I really want to pass this test ”

      Others operate further in the background of conscious attentiveness such as those compelling one’s driving to work (which is motivated even though people rarely have to explicitly think “I need to get into my carand drive to work now in order to perform my job so that I can sustain myselffi nancially”)

      a desire to succeed as a surgeon asa means to impress a demanding parent for whom one never felt quite goodenough.

      Motivations can move people even when they are not at the centerof their minds’ consciously focused attention.

      three levels of human un consciousness

      • 1. Focused Conciousness
        • Of all human sentient cognitive affective and volitionalactivity we have reason to believe that focused consciousness— that aboutwhich people have direct attentive awareness— involves lesser amounts ofcontent and mental activity 528

          The human capacity for focused conscious attentionand mental processing is highly limited and consumes large amountsof subjective resources. 528

        2. Habitual Automatic Routinized

        • the human capacity for habitual automatic routinized mentaland physical activity is vast

          Humans enjoy immense capacities to effi -ciently process mental activity and deploy bodily actions without having tofocus on them while they operate “in the background

          Human interests areable to organize a variety of habits and routines that operate on “automaticpilot.

          This dramatically increases the amount of activity in which humansare able to engage despite the limited capacities of focused consciousness 333

        human subjectivityalso includes a dimension that is inaccessible to the actor’s consciousawareness at any particular point in time— although in principle with work elements of the unconscious are capable of being brought to consciousness

        3. Unconscious

        • This human unconscious is real active and often causally potent
        • But in itsdeep subjectivity it remains beyond the access and inspection of consciousawareness
        • the boundary separating the unconscious from the habitualis somewhat porous

      emotional“transference”

      • A massive amount of human action is not but is rather habitual inertial and routinized or driven by subconscious processes such as emotional“transference” or the operation of an unacknowledged defense mechanisms.

        Most human actions that are habituated and latent in consciousnessnevertheless have origins in motivated purposive action; and the original andoften current motivations generating them usually can when questioned bebrought to awareness and explained.

        Much human action is habitual

        Most habitual actions are motivated. Most actions on “automaticpilot” once had to have been put on automatic pilot by a motivation that producedthat effect.

        “The beliefs informing the action do not disappear merelybecause they are not consciously refl ected upon each time. . . . Our beliefs andintentions can be variously located within our consciousness

        And whenwhat eventually became habitual— what people “can do in their sleep”— wasfi rst being learned the actions involved took some conscious focused deliberate motivated effort to acquire and execute. 39

      Habitual acts 361

      • Habitual acts . . . are merely “decayed” versions of earlier “true” actions andobviously have to be understood as such. If therefore conduct as presentlyperformed appears to lack any accompanying subjective meaning it is stillthe case that it must have been so accompanied at the point in the past whenthe actor learnt how to do it. The action characteristics of habitual conductnecessarily stem from the same source as those for “true” action— that of themind of the actor 361

      “developed”habits mindlessly

      • Many people’s habits have also been intentionally chosen and purposefullyformed to help achieve some desired outcome. Social scientists sometimestalk about people’s habits as if they are bad- to- neutral behaviors. People inthis view are seen as having “fallen into” habits or having simply “developed”habits mindlessly

        habits are viewed as larger social practices oflife— “the habitus”— imposed by social orders on individuals who then actthem out.

        Habits sometimes are practices intentionally taken on by persons thathelp to achieve the realization of goods 685

        Habits in short can express virtues(as well as vices) 0 3

      Motivated unconscious actions 0

      • “Motivated unconscious actions” also exist. Many human actions thatare driven by unconscious or denied motivations have biographical sourcesin the consciously experienced world and may be susceptible with help tobeing surfaced for examination and evaluation 0

        Actions whose motivationsare inaccessible to consciousness also normally have temporal connections toreal- world facts events and relationship even if in the distant past 0

        Not all ofthe human unconscious needs to be understood in terms of a Freudian psychodynamicmodel— contemporary psychology takes us well beyond that 0

        Most of the content of the human unconscious is not random or preprogrammed 0

        Most has been embedded in areas of the mind beyond consciousinspection by past experiences living in the world potentially going as farback as infancy— indeed arguably accumulating in human brain structuresfor millions of years of human history 0

        unconsciously motivated actionsare not compelled by free- fl oating random or materially determined forces but by dynamics that in principle may be traced back to experiences perceptions and reactions rooted in lived reality 0 341

        This means that people’s actionscan be motivated even when the motives are unconscious 0 341

      Variance in Intensity of Importance and Commitment 0 389

      • Motivations alsovary in the extent to which they are important to the persons who hold them 0 583

        That variance operates on a continuum from persons hardly caring aboutthem to their being life commitments for which actors are prepared to die 0 583

        People can be motivated in ways that refl ect the smallest of interests importance and commitments 0 583

        people may be willing to “give it shot ” but are also ready to quickly abandon the action with little sense of loss 0 583

      Variance in Temporal Durability 1 -100

      • Motivations for action vary in their durabilityover time on a spectrum from highly fl eeting motivations to highlystable and long lasting. 1 -100

        Some motivations are brief impulses that quicklypass whether or not they are satisfi ed. 1 -100

        Others stick with people for variousperiods of time and then eventually are satisfi ed or fade 1 -100

        Yet other motivationsare long enduring sometimes permanent in human personalities governingfundamental personal orientations and strategies over entire lifetimes 1 -100

        Theories of motivated action that constrain the motivational time horizonsto some artifi cially “typical” range (P wanted X P worked to get X P got X)underestimate the capacity for both fl eeting and lifelong motivations to generatesignifi cant action in different contexts and ways 1 -100

      Variance in Internal Coherence of Motivational Sets 1 -100

      • Specifi c motivationsfor action vary in their coherence with other personal motivations differingin the degree to which they are isolated from or well integrated into largerwebs or structures of personal motivation systems 1

        Nothing in a realist theoryof motivated human action requires that any of people’s particular motivesare well integrated into or driven by the force of a coherent bounded organized systematic scheme of ideas or desires. 1

        Particular motivations maybe linked to coherent ideologies or worldviews. They may belong to largersystems of compatible desires and beliefs. But they need not be 1

        Oftentimesparticular motives are not. 1

        Motivations can be integrated but they can alsobe idiosyncratic 1

        They may cohere in a larger structure of ideas and wants or they may operate in what seem to be random or inconsistent ways. Weneed not predetermine the coherence level of people’s motives as a standardfor being considered real or important but instead see systemic coherence asan open question. 1

        A motivation is a motivation if it moves action regardlessof how random incoherent contradictory consistent or integrated it maybe in relation to other motivations 1

      Variance in Degree of Internalization 1

      • Human motivations for action alsovary in the extent to which they are personally internalized or are prompted orhighlighted by infl uences outside the person. 1 528

        Some motivations (“intrinsic”)are central to integrated personal selves and are the basis of self- determinedactions. 1 528

        These internalized motivations prompt voluntary actions becauseof the inherent satisfaction for the actor of the motivated activities per se 1 528

        Other motivations (“extrinsic”) are more externally prompted and driven triggered and directed by actors situations and rewards outside of the personalactor beyond the enjoyment of the activities in and of themselves 1 528

        These can include what some scholars call amotivational states external regulation introjected regulation identifi ed regulation integrated regulation and intrinsic regulation.1 2 –

        But even when they lean in an extrinsic direction such motivated actions are not simply replaced by the determinative powerof “social forces ” as if in a zero- sum game. Again social forces normallywork on and through the real motivations of persons. 2 –

      Variance in Intentionality of Appropriation 2 –

      • Motivations also vary in thedegree to which they are actively or passively learned or adopted on a spectrumfrom passive absorption through unconscious acquisition to embracethrough purposeful choice. 2 39

        Not all motivations for action need to be of thesort that are purposefully considered and intentionally embraced by the peoplewho are moved by them to action 2 39

        Many motivations for action are internalizedthrough a variety of means over long periods of time includingways about which the persons involved have limited awareness and control 2 39

        Motivations are not limited to those that people appropriate with full awarenessand intention with regard to their purpose power and consequences 2 39

      Solitary and Repeated Actions 2 39

      • Motivations also vary in the extent to whichthe activities they cause are solitary or repeated in patterns of action or practices. 2 39

        Motivated actions vary across a spectrum of degrees of repetition fromsingular isolation to continual reiteration. 2 39

        Motivated actions may be isolated performed only once. 2 39

        Most actions however are not singular but come aspatterned repeated practices 2 39

      Temporal Development 2 298

      • Motivations are also often complex when considered in their temporal formation.An adequate theory of motivations needs to describe the complexityof motives when viewed in “cross- sectional” light (synchronically) and alsoto take a temporal view that describes how motivations develop within time(diachronically). 2

        Motivations often form in a multifaceted developmentalprocess of strengthening movement toward action 2

        This usually involvesthe developing stages of wishes current concerns intentions decisions andimplementation. 2

        The process by which motivations generate action in otherwords does not normally involve a complete 0- to- 1 movement from havingno motive to that of a full motivation immediately acted upon 2

        Motivationis often an internal developmental process involving multiple steps betweenthe spark of initial desire to the fi nal taking of action 101 represented as a fullblownprocess as follows: 2

        Motivation Process 2

        • initial belief(s) 2
        • wish formation 2
        • becoming a current concern 2
        • formingintentions 2
        • deciding 2
        • acting 2

        This motivational process can happen nearly instantaneously or can take along time to develop 3 7

        The temporal development of motivations does not stop once a motivatedaction has occurred however 3 -131 9

        Life is a continual fl ow of personal beingin experience action practice and habit. In that fl ow people’s motivationsare in dynamic motion. 3 -131 9

        Some motivations are satisfi ed and so dischargedand dropped. 3 -131 9

        Some are satisfi ed and sustained to continue to achieve theirsatisfaction. 3 -131 9

        Some are satisfi ed and give rise to new similar or related motivations. 3 -131 9

        Some motivations are frustrated and either abandoned or modifi ed. 3 -131 9

        Some motivations are over time in experience heightened in their consciousfocus. 3 -131 9

        Others are moved into the background of awareness. 3 -131 9

        Depending onpeople’s experiences they may integrate certain motives into larger coherentmotive sets. Others may split out particular motives from previously coherentsets concentrating on one motivation and dropping the previously relatedones. In short because people’s beliefs desires and emotions can anddo continually change— slowly and quickly— their motivations are also everin motion 3 4 9

        “centers with purpose” 3 100 9

        • The simple model depicted above which analytically representsthe temporal development of one motive usually operates at various pointsin a complex process for every motivation operating in every person. And abig part of what it is to be personal “centers with purpose” is to learn how toform manage and act well upon the motivations that are ever developing causing activity and realizing ends (or not) in life. 3 100 9

      Excursus: In Defense of Beliefs 3 508 9

      • Some social scientists believe that the content of people’s beliefs does notcount much in shaping their actions and behaviors.105 I cannot count thenumber of thesis and dissertation committees I have served on in which otherfaculty members declared during the defense “Forget what people supposedlybelieve subjectively. That predicts nothing. Focus instead on actual behaviors.” 3 508 9

        People’s beliefs at least some social scientists believe do little workhelping us to understand and explain their lives. 3 508 9

        What really matter arethings like social network ties habitus and habituated practices cultural repertoiresof action immediate social situations or organizational embeddedness. 3 508 9

        By contrast taking people’s beliefs seriously is associated with outdatedways of explaining human action often connected to Parsonian functionalism which emphasized the central role of “subjective” attitudes values andnorms. 3 623 9

        Beliefs 5 301 9

        • Beliefs are subjective entities referring to things people consciously ortacitly regard to be true 5 301 9

          Only some beliefs are represented by active refl ectionson expressed propositions that can be readily formulated into language. 5 301 9

          People are normally highly limited in their own awareness of their beliefs in their capacity to bring to consciousness the complex fullness of their relevantbeliefs and in their ability to represent their beliefs in words 5 301 9

          the real possible disconnect is between people’s beliefs and their talk abouttheir beliefs not between their beliefs and their actions 5 9

        “ineffable subjectivity”

        • Ann Swidler provides a good example. In an argument skeptical aboutpeople’s “ineffable subjectivity” and “ephemeral subjectivities ” Swidler suggeststhat culture is not about “individual ideas or values” and that “few[people] are presumably moved by deep belief in the principles that lie behind”their behaviors 6 43

          She claims for example that “middle- class Americansdo not ‘believe’ in Christmas gift giving ” in that they are critical of its commercialism hassle and cost (note that “believe” is put in quotation marks the meaning of which is unclear).118 Yet people give Christmas gifts anyway.Why? Because Swidler says 86 chap t e r twoChristmas gift giving constitutes a semiotic code (that is a set of relationallydefi ned meanings) in which the relative value of the gifts a person gives[to] others signals the relative importance with which she or he holds thoseothers. Not to give a gift would independent of the intentions of the giver be interpreted as a sign that one did not value the (non)recipient. What governsaction in this case then is not individuals’ internalized beliefs but theirknowledge of what meanings their actions have for others. 6 8 9

      Conclusion 101 9

      • Motivations we should understand as causing actions 101 9

        Human motivationsactually cause many human actions in the strong sense— they are not epiphenomenalmental states that merely accompany action or post hoc justifications for actions already taken for other reasons. 101 9

        To explain anythingsocial scientifi cally is to describe its causes what produced it or brought itabout. 101 9

        Since a large swath of human personal and social activities and thesocial structures that emerge from them are built on motivated actions socialscience must understand human motivations 101 9

• Chapter-3. Against Social Situationism
  • “social situationism.”

    Important “schools” shaping social situationismhave been symbolic interactionism dramaturgical sociology phenomenology ethnomethodology social constructionism social role theory identitytheory discourse analysis and parts of cultural sociology.3 More broadly thetwentieth century’s “linguistic turn” has been central in forming situationism.Social situationism we may also understand as a reaction against (usuallyreal problems in) sociological Marxism Skinnerian behaviorism Parsonianfunctionalism Durkheimian holism utilitarian rational- choice theory andmetaphysically realist scientistic positivism. -94 9

    Some situationists view themselves as carrying forwarda neo- Weberian “action theory ” despite situationism’s actual radical redefining and overturning of Weber’s original vision (which most situationistsfail to realize).5 Others outright reject Weber as (allegedly) too closely linkedto Parsons. -94 9

    “the sociological perspective”

    The Situationist Outlook 8 9

    • People as people are the products of the social interactions in which theyengage over the course of their lives the social constructions of the discourses cultural repertoires knowledge systems language games andformations of self other people imprint upon them. 143 9

    “to be motivated . 1 139 9

    • “to be motivated . . . is not to be energized by internal or externalforces . . . rather it is simply to be in communication with others about thesense of one’s potentially questionable behavior. . . . Motives . . . are the termsin which the interpretation of conduct proceeds not the causes of it.”50 Thus“despite the beguiling temptation to search for the ‘deeper’ reason why a persondoes what he does . . . there is nothing ‘deeper’ we can infer from verbal(or for that matter nonverbal) phenomena. All we can ever hope to fi nd areother communicative forms 1 139 9

    Asylums 6 -4

    • Asylums is highly focused on issues of“personal defacement ” “being stripped of one’s identity kit ” “loss of identityequipment ” “prevent[ing] the individual from presenting his usual image ofhimself ” “hold[ing] . . . a humiliating pose ” “indignities . . . incompatiblewith his conception of self ” “territories of the self [being] violated ” “theembodiments of self profaned ” “a violation of one’s informational preserveregarding self ” “suffer[ing] the permanent mortifi cation of having . . . takenno action ” “the terror of feeling radically demoted ” “assaults upon the self ”“stress and encroachments on the self ” “personal failure ” and “stigmatization.”79 To avoid such problems people operate with the shared goal of sustaininga “working consensus” of the meaning of contexts so agree about“the desirability of avoiding an open confl ict of defi nitions of the situation.”80Goffman is completely clear that people’s actions have nothing to do with tryingto affi rm or enact moral standards for example even when the actionsclearly concern morality. Action is always only about amorally engineeringsocial impressions designed to affi rm and protect moral self- identities 6 -6 9

    self- identity theory 7 -17 9

    Burke’s self- identity theory for instance. Accordingto him central in all people’s motivation structures is the drive to avoidfeelings of distress disappointment sadness embarrassment shame anger rage annoyance hostility anxiety displeasure fear and depression and thepositive drive to enjoy feelings of competence effectiveness self- worth acceptance and authenticity. 7 -17 9

    Other social situationists agree with these arguments 7 381 9

    • According to Blumand McHugh for example “most fundamentally whatever a motivated actordoes will show his methods for affi rming himself as a person.”86 According toStryker people “incorporate societal defi nitions of appropriate role behaviorinto self and . . . internalize salient identities” through “two mechanisms.”First “persons will generally seek confi rmation or validation of their identities.”Second “people want to think well of themselves. In brief self- esteem.”The basic motivation of human life and action in short is to maintain a positiveaffi rmation of one’s self- identity. 7 381 9

    Motives 9 9

    • “Whatever the actual role of motives (and inmost cases that role is probably minor) humans impute motives— we explaineach other’s actions by assigning motives 9 9

      Motives are the stated reasonsfor an act the verbalized causes of human action that assumes intentions onthe part of the actor.” Therefore “whatever the many complex actual reasonsfor our action taking a certain direction the explanation we fi nd easiest togive involves deep- seated motives. 9 9

    What Situationists Could Have Said That Would Have Been Right 9 207 9

    • 1. People are profoundly infl uenced by the social interactions in which theyengage over the course of their lives such that the discourses culturalrepertoires knowledge systems and language games that (among otherthings) help comprise human social life profoundly affect the ways thatpeople’s natural personal capacities and life projects are developed expressed and directed 120 -62 9

      2. Human doings involve both personal (including interior subjective andprivate) and social dimensions such that people’s actions must be understoodin part as signifi cantly informed defi ned and guided by collectiveprocesses of social communication and pressure 120 -62 9

      3. One crucial activity in human life (among others) is the social communicationof cognitive defi nitions meanings knowledge rules vocabularies and grammars. 120 -62 9

      4. People’s actions are often highly responsive to the local variable and contingentinfl uences of immediate situations in which they fi nd themselvesat any given time which they routinely monitor interpret and respond toas they go about pursuing their interests and larger life projects 120 93 9

      5. Reliance on people’s subjective experiences as evidence for social scienceexplanations is possible and often necessary but also often challengingand fallible since subjective experiences are not directly observable bysecond parties are often not entirely transparent to those experiencingthem fi rsthand must be represented to others through symbolic communications and are only sometimes directive of people’s actions andpractices in straightforward ways. 120 93 9

      6. Although people’s actions and practices are in fact motivated by subjectiverealities such as desires beliefs and emotions the nature and operationof motivations for action are complicated and so must be approached andanalyzed with care and sophistication. 120 210 9

      7. One (among other) basic goal or goods that people pursue in their social interactionsand life projects is their own identity coherence and affi rmation. 120 9

      8. The accounts that people give to explain their actions and practices cansometimes and in varying degrees (though not always and in all ways)refl ect post hoc justifi cations and rationalizations rather than reliable explanationsof the real causes of their actions and practices. 120 9

    Where Social Situationism Goes Wrong 121 -176 9

    • Situationism overstates and misunderstands the waysin which persons are shaped by their societies 121 9

      Situationism fails to see thathuman personal life has an important and necessary interior subjective privatedimension. 121 9

      It compresses the many kinds of human life interests and activitiesinto the one concern of communication of defi nitions and meanings 121 9

      It fails to understand how actions are not shaped only by immediate situationsbut also by long- term identities life projects and moral commitments. 121 9

      It too- easily dismisses the idea of actions performed to achieve subjectivelymotivated ends 121 9

      Situationism also problematically compacts the variety ofhuman interests into the single concern with socially respectable self- identity 121 9

      It denies without warrant the possibility and frequent actuality that the accountspeople give for their actions may and sometimes do actually refl ectthe real reasons behind actions 121 250 9

      Situationism also often relies for validationon the results of social- psychology experiments that are inappropriate andartifi cial tests of the situationist behaviors in question 121 250 9

      socialsituationism recurrently takes initially helpful but limited and conditionalsociological insights into human doings and illegitimately infl ates them intocomprehensive totalizing exclusivist decrees 121 250 9

      social situationism wrongly andimpossibly denies the reality of genuinely motivated human action 121 9

      social situationism’s radical skepticism about “subjectivestates” that serves as the basis for its rejection of standard accounts of motivationsis also unjustifi ed and impossible. Without a belief that humans operatein life with reliance on some real subjective states or capacities that are genuinelycausally related to their actions— beliefs ideas feelings desires intentions and so on— social science becomes a meaningless and hopeless enterprise. 123 9

    “The Imputationof Motives”

    “Causal knowledge ” he observed “is always inferential never immediate.”

    The causal nexus like every other relationship between data is not itself adatum. It can never be vindicated by perception or by any of the devices thatcome to the aid of perception. The assertion of any relationship . . . involvesthe appeal to reason and its establishment is a scientifi c construction 123 9 9

    Motivations that give rise to action therefore may be and in fact are entirelyreal even though they can in any direct sense “never be vindicated byperception.” 123 9 9

    “the postulate is not the existence of motives [per se] but the presence of a particular motive within the scheme of a particular situation.” 123 5 9

    there is no doubt that motivations are real; the onlymatter in question is which specifi c motivations are important in any givensituation. One of the ways we know motivations are real MacIver says isthrough our own directly phenomenological human experience of their presenceand operation inside ourselves 124 -168 9

    That motives . . . belong to the world of reality is established by the best of allevidences— that of immediate experience. We are all aware that we have motives.. . . To the agent himself these subjective urges are important as conditionsand explanations of his act. For him they constitute its why 124 -168 9

• Chapter-4. Human Nature and Motivation in Classical Theory
  • The Dualism of Human Nature
    • Durkheim’s understanding ofhuman being is the idea of the “constitutional duality of human nature” orHomo duplex.

      He believed that all humans embody and experience a doublenature which expresses itself in a dual consciousness

      Humans sense themselves he observed as being composed of body and soul.

      We experience corporealsensations but also concepts in conscious awareness

      We know sensualappetites but also feel moral rules impinging upon those appetites

      We haveindividual psychologies but also live as social beings.

  • 2 sides of dual human nature 132 -93 9
    • Individual 132 -131 9
      • dual human nature are the individual embodied “organico- psychic” aspect of human being on the one hand 132 -131 9
    • socially 132 4 9
      • the sociallydeterminedfact of human existence on the other 132 4 9
  • Implications for Human Motivations -37 9
  • Karl Marx 7 253 9
    • human beings have natural constant universal biological needs that mustbe met in order to survive much less to thrive 9 133

      human nature is the naturalhuman fact of consciousness and self- consciousness. Humans do not merelysubsist. Humans are consciously aware creatures sentient about not only theirmaterial environments but also their fellow humans in social relations 9 3

      human nature is that humans areendowed with certain powerful capacities to engage and transform their materialworld. Humans are not only objects upon which the surrounding worldacts. They are also subjects and agents of their own lives of material production and of history. “The productive power of social labor ” 0 213

  • Max Weber 6 451
    • Purposive Motivated Human Actors 7 -130

      Weber is well known as a methodologicalindividualist. This means that he believed that human beings notsocial structures or organizations are the ultimate true agents of action insocial life. 7 4

      Weber elevated and centeredindividual human actors as the key unit of social life and so the startingpoint of social analysis. 7 4

      people’s purposes are intelligible to themselves and toothers. “Since we [social scientists] take into account every cause which producesor can produce a signifi cant effect we also consider [people’s purpose] 7 4

• Chapter-5. On Basic Human Goods Interests and Motivations
  • Social science must take human motivations seriously in order to understandand explain social life well. So another key question presents itself: amongthe innumerable real motivations that cause humans to engage in actions 0
    • are there any that can rightly be said to be basic? 0

      Are some motivations morefundamental or original in relation to which others are derivative or secondary? 0

      Can human motivations be arranged in a hierarchy according to howcentral or primary they are? 0

      which specifi c motivations are mostcentral or basic? 0

    1. Basicality 0

    • A basic motivation is for presentpurposes one that generates actions intended to produce a result that isvalued for its own sake. 0

      The ends of basic motivations are taken to be goodsof intrinsic and fundamental value not merely instrumental goods that servesome other more primary purpose or benefi t. 0

      Basic motivations generateactions that are not strategic or tactical in serving the purposes of some otherinterests. 0

      They serve their own direct purposes beneath or behind whichnothing more fundamental is sought. 0

      Basic motivations are thus those thatproduce actions expected to achieve results that are ultimately valued fortheir own worth value or benefi t. 0

      When a motivation is not basic Y is something that will serve to achievethe desire involved in some other motivation. But when a motivation is basic Y achieves an intrinsic good valued for its own sake and not justifi ed or desiredin order to realize some other purpose or benefi t. 1

      When the “in- orderthat”explanations about motives come to an end one has likely identifi eda basic motivation. 1

      Example 1

      • some people might be motivated to regularlywork out on the treadmill in their local gym. They may not actually likeworking out or being in the gym. But they do it anyway. If someone askedthem why they may say that they work out in order to regularly exercise.One may then ask what motivates their regular exercise. They may mentiona family history of heart disease and explain that they want to maintain theircardiovascular health. If asked why again they may say that cardiovascularhealth is essential to staying alive. Then if pressed further no additional explanationmay be forthcoming. That is simply what they most basically wantin this case: to stay alive. Remaining alive will be their fi nal end in this case the most elementary benefi t the intrinsically valued good. 1

    2. Existing Accounts 1 9 9

    14 Basic Needs and Drives-viscerogenic-Murray 3 102 9

    • 1. air
    • 2. food
    • 3. water
    • 4. sex
    • 5. lactation
    • 6. urination
    • 7. defecation
    • 8. avoidance of danger
    • 9. unpleasant stimuli
    • 10. excessive heat
    • 11. cold
    • 12. gratificationof the senses
    • 13. rest
    • 14. sleep

    6 Psychogenic Need-Murray 3 102 9

    • 1. The need for prestige and self- enhancement superiority achievement recognition respect and self- exhibition

      2. The need for status- defense and avoiding humiliation defensiveness averting defeat.

      3. The need to exercise power and dealing with the power of others independence aggression avoiding blame dominance and submissiveness submission and resignation

      4. The need for affection affi liation friendliness cooperation support nurture and dealing with rejection

      5. The need to acquire conserve order retain and construct with inanimate material objects

      6. The need for cognition to explore inquire know and satisfy curiosity

    4 universal existential anxieties-Alsted 3 761 9

    • 1. The anxiety of isolation overcome by integrative social relationships andthe joy of belonging. 4

      2. The anxiety of dependence and absorption overcome by self- assertion insocial relationships the joy of recognition 4

      3. The anxiety of insecurity regarding relational change fragility and loss overcome by strong affective relations the joy of comfort safety warmth care 4

      4. The anxiety of stagnation or stasis overcome by the joys of life competence understanding agency mastery risk for gain. 4

    8 basic human needs-Fromm 4 9

    • 1. Relatedness: relationships with others care respect knowledge 4 298 9

      2. Transcendence: surpassing their own nature by creating things and peopleabout which they care (or pathologically destroying people and thingsthrough aggression and killing). 4 298 9

      3. Rootedness: establishing roots and feeling at home in the world developingpast natural maternal security and establishing ties with the largerworld (or pathologically becoming fi xated and afraid to move beyondmaternal security or mother substitutes 4 298 9

      4. Sense of Identity: establishing one’s own individuality (or pathologically engaging in group conformity 4 298 9

      5. Frame of orientation: understanding the world and our rightful place in it 4 298 9

      6. Excitation and Stimulation: striving for goals actively rather than simplypassively responding to the world as it happens to us. 4 298 9

      7. Unity: developing a sense of oneness with the human and naturalenvironment 4 298 9

      8. Effectiveness: being and feeling accomplished 4 298 9

    7 “basic needs”-Turner

    • 1. Group inclusion
    • 2. Trust (in the social and material environment)
    • 3. Ontological security
    • 4. Material symbolic gratifi cation
    • 5. Avoidance of anxiety
    • 6. Confi rmation of self (identity)
    • 7. The sense of facticity (of surrounding world)

    5 basic social motives-Fiske 5 9

    • 1. belonging 5 9
    • 2. understanding 5 9
    • 3. controlling 5 9
    • 4. enhancing self 5 9
    • 5. trusting others 5 9

    5 basic needs-Maslows 5 9

    • 1. Physiological: air water food clothing shelter sex sleep excretion andsuch. 5 380 9

      2. Safety: physical security resource security health wellbeing avoidance ofillness and accidents 5 380 9

      3. Love and Belongingness: family friendship intimacy group participation 5 380 9

      4. Esteem: self- respect being valued status recognition attention confidence. 5 380 9

      5. Self- Actualization: realizing full personal potential fulfi lling promise andcapabilities 5 380 9

    3 basic or fundamental psychological needs-Deci-Ryan 6 188 9

    • 1. Competence: feeling effective in ongoing interactions with the social environmentand experiencing opportunities to exercise and express one’scapacities 6 188 9

      2. Relatedness: feeling connected to others caring for and being cared forby others having a sense of belonging with other individuals and one’scommunity. 6 188 9

      3. Autonomy: perceiving oneself as the origin or source of one’s own behavior acting from interests and integrated values (not to be confused withthe “negative freedom” of liberalism’s self to do what it wishes withoutobstruction by others). 6 188 9

    6 basic human needs-Ramsay 7

    • 1. Physical survival 7
    • 2. Sexual needs 7
    • 3. Security 7
    • 4. Love and relatedness 7
    • 5. Esteem and identity 7
    • 6. Self- realization 7

    9 “axial categories ” or basic needs – Max-Neef 7 -3 9

    • 1. Subsistence 7
    • 2. Protection 7
    • 3. Affection 7
    • 4. Understanding 7
    • 5. Participation 7
    • 6. Leisure 7
    • 7. Creation 7
    • 8. Identity 7
    • 9. Freedom 7

    14 Basic Needs-Nielsen 7

    • 1. Love 7
    • 2. Companionship 7
    • 3. Security 7
    • 4. Protection 7
    • 5. Sense of community 7
    • 6. Meaningful work 7
    • 7. Adequate sustenance 7
    • 8. Shelter 7
    • 9. Sexual gratifi cation 7
    • 10. Amusement 7
    • 11. Rest 7
    • 12. Recreation 7
    • 13. Recognition 7 617 9
    • 14. Respect of person 7 617 9

    7 basic needs-Staub 8 6 9

    • (1) security 8 4 9
    • (2) effectiveness and control 8 4 9
    • (3) a positive identity 8 4 9
    • (4) connection 8 4 9
    • (5) comprehension of reality 8 4 9
    • (6) transcendence 8 4 9
    • (7) long- term satisfaction 8 4 9

    4 basic motivations_Lawrence 8 140 9

    • 1. the drives to acquire (to obtain things thatenhance reproductive success) 8 140 9
    • 2. to defend (to protect that which is acquired) 8 140 9
    • 3. to comprehend (to understand the surrounding world) 8 140 9
    • 4. to bond (to connectand relate to fellow human beings 8 218 9

    4 Basic Desires or Interests-Thorpe 8 412 9

    • 1. An alternative conceptual approach to humanmotivations for action than “needs” is that of basic desires 8 412 9

      2. Whereas needsconceptually entail satisfying already- fi xed requisites the idea of desires connotesa more forward- looking ends- oriented volition- driven outlook 8 412 9

      3. Desires are said to generate and direct action not in order to meet recurrentlyfelt insuffi ciencies or life requirements. 8 412 9

      4. Desires motivate action by providingthe energy of wanting yearning craving longing or aspiring 8 412 9

    7 basic human desires-Argyle 9 9

    • 1. Biological Needs: eating drinking and bodily comfort 9 9

      2. Dependency: help support protection and guidance from parents andpeople in authority 9 9

      3. Affi liation: warm and friendly responses from and acceptance by peers 9 9

      4. Dominance: leading in group tasks dominating talk making decisions enjoying deference 9 9

      5. Sex: physical proximity and bodily and eye contact attractions to and intimateinteractions with (normally) the opposite sex 9 9

      6. Aggression: harming other people physically verbally emotionally andso on 9 9

      7. Self- Esteem and Ego- Identity: receiving approval from and acceptance byother people 9 9

    16 Desires-Reiss 9 333 9

    • 1. Power: the desire to infl uence others. 9 489 9
    • 2. Independence: the desire for self- reliance. 9 489 9
    • 3. Curiosity: the desire for knowledge. 9 489 9
    • 4. Acceptance: the desire for inclusion 9 489 9
    • 5. Order: the desire for organization. 9 489 9
    • 6. Saving: the desire to collect things 0 -207 9
    • 7. Honor: the desire for loyalty to parents and heritage 0 -207 9
    • 8. Idealism: the desire for social justice 0 -207 9
    • 9. Social Contact: the desire for companionship 0 -207 9
    • 10. Family: the desire to raise one’s own children 0 -207 9
    • 11. Status: the desire for social standing 0 -207 9
    • 12. Vengeance: the desire to get even. 0 -207 9
    • 13. Romance: the desire for sex and beauty 0 -207 9
    • 14. Eating: the desire to consume food 0 -207 9
    • 15. Physical Exercise: the desire to exercise muscles 0 -207 9
    • 16. Tranquility: the desire for emotional calm 0 -207 9

    17 basic human desires-Baumeister 0 9

    • A. Animal Desires 0 9
      • 1. Food 0 9
      • 2. Pleasure (avoid pain) 0 9
      • 3. Self- preservation (avoid injury death) 0 9
      • 4. Curiosity and Understanding 0 9
      • 5. Control 0 9
      • 6. Money 0 9
      • 7. Power 0 9
      • 8. Possessions and Territory 0 9
    • B. Social Desires 0 9
      • 9. Belonging 0 9
      • 10. Sex 0 9
      • 11. Aggression 0 568 9
      • 12. Nurturance Generativity Helping 0 568 9
    • C. Cultural Created Desires 1 4 9
      • 13. Language use 1 4 9
      • 14. Self- esteem 1 4 9
      • 15. Guilt Morality Virtue 1 4 9
      • 16. Success Wealth Fame 1 4 9
      • 17. A Meaningful Life 1 4 9

    24 Basic Goals-Ford 1 9

    • human action is purposive and motivated by a set ofbasic ends to achieve 1 184 9

      “motivation provides the foundationfor learning skill development and behavior change by determininghow where and to what end people will invest their capabilities for behavioralself- construction.” 1 184 9

      Ford’s view motivations have centrally to do notwith needs drives or desires but rather with goals. “Goals ” he says “arethoughts about desired (or undesired) states or outcomes that one wouldlike to achieve (or avoid) 1 184 9

      A. Affective 1 9

      • 1. Entertainment: Experiencing excitement or heightened arousal; avoidingboredom and stressful inactivity. 1 9

        2. Tranquility: Feeling relaxed and at east; avoiding stressful overarousal. 1 9

        3. Happiness: Experiencing feelings of joy satisfaction or well- being; avoidingemotional stress or dissatisfaction 1 9

        4. Bodily Sensations: Experiencing pleasure associated with physical sensation movement or bodily contact; avoiding unpleasant or uncomfortablebodily sensations 1 9

        5. Physical Well- Being: Feeling healthy energetic or physically robust;avoiding lethargy weakness or ill health. 1 9

      B. Cognitive 2 -201 9

      • 6. Exploration: Satisfying one’s curiosity about personally meaningful events;avoiding a sense of being uninformed or not knowing what is going on. 2 -201 9

        7. Understanding: Gaining knowledge or making sense out of something;avoiding misconceptions erroneous beliefs or feelings of confusion 2 -201 9

        8. Intellectual Creativity: Engaging in activities involving original thinking ornovel or interesting ideas; avoiding mindless or familiar ways of thinking 2 -201 9

        9. Positive Self- Evaluations: Maintaining a sense of self- confi dence pride orself- worth; avoiding feelings of failure guilt or incompetence 2 -201 9

      C. Subjective Organization 2 -201 9

      • 10. Unity: Experiencing a profound or spiritual sense of connectedness harmony or oneness with people nature or a greater power; avoiding feelingsof psychological disunity or disorganization 2 -8 9

        11. Transcendence: Experiencing optimal or extraordinary states of functioning;avoiding feeling trapped within the boundaries of ordinaryexperience 2 -8 9

      D. Self- Assertive Social Relationship 2 -8 9

      • 12. Individuality: Feeling unique special different; avoiding similarity orconformity with others 2 -8 9

        13. Self- Determination: Experiencing a sense of freedom to act or makechoices; avoiding the feeling of being pressured constrained or coerced 2 -8 9

        14. Superiority: Comparing favorably to others in terms of winning status orsuccess; avoiding unfavorable comparisons with others 2 9

        15. Resource Acquisition: Obtaining approval support assistance advice orvalidation from others; avoiding social disapproval or rejection 2 9

      E. Integrative Social Relationship 2 22

      • 16. Belongingness: Building or maintaining attachments friendships intimacy or a sense of community; avoiding feelings of social isolation orseparateness 2 22

        17. Social Responsibility: Keeping interpersonal commitments meeting socialrole obligations and conforming to social and moral rules; avoiding socialtransgressions and unethical or illegal conduct 2 22

        18. Equity: Promoting fairness justice reciprocity or equality; avoiding unfairor unjust actions 2 22

        19. Resource Provision: Giving approval support assistance advice or validationto others; avoiding selfi sh or uncaring behavior 2 381 9

      F.Task Goals 2 381 9

      • 20. Mastery: Meeting a challenging standard of achievement or improvement;avoiding incompetence mediocrity or decrements in performance 2 381 9

        21. Task Creativity: Engaging in activities involving artistic expression or creativity;avoiding tasks that do not provide opportunities for creative action. 2 381 9

        22. Management: Maintaining order organization or productivity in dailylife tasks; avoiding sloppiness ineffi ciency or disorganization 3 6 9

        23. Material Gain: Increasing the amount of money or tangible goods onehas; avoiding the loss of money or material possessions 3 6 9

        24. Safety: Being unharmed physically secure and free of risk; avoidingthreatening depriving or harmful circumstances 3 6 9

    10 basic capabilities-Nussbaum 3 3

    • 1. Life 3 268 9
    • 2. Bodily health 3 268 9
    • 3. Bodily integration 3 268 9
    • 4. Senses thought imagination 3 268 9
    • 5. Emotions 3 268 9
    • 6. Practical reason 3 268 9
    • 7. Affi liation 3 268 9
    • 8. Other species 3 268 9
    • 9. Play 3 268 9
    • 10. Control over one’s environment 3 268 9

    6 basic human interests-Ryff 3 463 9

    • 1. Self- acceptance: having a positive attitude toward oneself and one’s pastlife. 4 4 9
    • 2. Purpose in life: having goals and objectives that give life meaning 4 4 9
    • 3. Environmental mastery: being able to manage complex demands of dailylife 4 4 9
    • 4. Personal growth: having a sense of continued development and selfrealization 4 4 9
    • 5. Positive relations with others: having caring and trusting ties with others 4 4 9
    • 6. Autonomy: being able to follow one’s own convictions 4 4 9

    9 basic human goods-Qizilbash 4 116 9

    • 1. Health nutrition sanitation rest shelter security 4 116 9
    • 2. Literacy basic intellectual and physical capacities 4 116 9
    • 3. Self- respect and aspiration 4 116 9
    • 4. Positive freedom autonomy or self- determination 4 116 9
    • 5. Negative freedom or liberty 4 116 9
    • 6. Enjoyment 4 116 9
    • 7. Understanding or knowledge 4 116 9
    • 8. Signifi cant relations with others and some participation in social life 4 116 9
    • 9. Accomplishment (of the sort that gives life a point or weight) 4 116 9

    9 components of human existence Griffin 4 387 9

    • 1. Accomplishment: real achievement 4 387 9

      2. Deciding for oneself: agency (a “component of human existence”). 4 387 9

      3. Minimal material goods: physical survival (a “component of humanexistence”). 4 387 9

      4. Senses and limbs that work: bodily functioning (a “component of humanexistence”). 4 387 9

      5. Freedom from pain and anxiety (a “component of human existence”). 5 – 9

      6. Liberty: to read consider others’ ideas to worship of speech and association(a “component of human existence”). 5 – 9

      7. Understanding: knowing about oneself and one’s place in the world 5 – 9

      8. Enjoyment: pleasure perceptions of beauty enjoyment of daily life. 5 – 9

      9. Deep personal relations: mutual relations of friendship and love. 5 – 9

    7 basic goods-Finnis 5 157 9

    • 1. Life (self- preservation) 5 312 9

      2. Knowledge (fi nding out understanding truth curiosity) 5 312 9

      3. Play (intrinsically enjoyable performances) 5 312 9

      4. Aesthetic Experience (beauty) 5 312 9

      5. Sociability (friendship peace harmony) 5 312 9

      6. Practical Reasonableness (using intelligence to face problems choose actions lifestyles character) 5 312 9

      7. “Religion” (origins and order of the cosmos authority over humanfreedom) 5 312 9

    A Thematic Synthesis 6 392 9

    Basic Human Goods and Interests 1 133 9

    • 1. Bodily Survival Security and Pleasure 2 329 9
      • avoiding bodily death injury sickness disease and sustained vulnerability to harm; maintaining physicaland bodily health and safety; sensual enjoyment satisfaction delight orgratifi cation of appetitive and perceptual desires of the body; and the absenceof physical pain and suffering. 2 329 9
    • 2. Knowledge of Reality 2 329 9
      • learning about the world and one’s place and potentialin it; increasing awareness and understanding of material and socialrealities; developing or embracing believed- in truths about what existsand how it works that provide order continuity and practical know- howto life experience. 2 329 9
    • 3. Identity Coherence and Affi rmation 2 329 9
      • developing and maintaining continuityand positive self- regard in one’s sense of personal selfhood over timeand in different contexts and situations. 2 329 9
    • 4. Exercising Purposive Agency 2 329 9
      • exerting infl uence or power (broadly understoodas transformative capacity) in the social and material worlds through the application of personal capabilities for perception refl ection care evaluation self- direction decision and action which causes desired(and unanticipated) effects in one’s environment. 2 6 9
    • 5. Moral Affirmation 2 6 9
      • believing that one is in the right or is living a morallycommendable life by being doing serving thinking and feeling what is good correct just and admirable; avoiding moral fault blame guilt orculpability 2 9
    • 6. Social Belonging and Love: 3 -289 9
      • enjoying recognition by inclusion and membershipin and identifi cation with signifi cant social groups; loving andbeing loved by others in signifi cant relationships 3 -289 9

    Goods Grounded in Personal Ontology 3 8 9

    Unpacking Some Complexity 6 9

    Multiple Mediations 8 707 9

    The Proposed Model 1 187 9

    • Humans by natureseek to accomplish these goods ultimately in order to realize the fi nal humanend of personal fl ourishing. And all of that is so not because “society” defi nesit as such. “Society” operates at a much higher level through the enablingand constraining contextual developmental infl uences it exerts on personsand their motivations. Humans by nature seek to accomplish these goods instead because of the given ontological nature of their human personhood. 3 9

    Considering the Alternatives 4 -62 9

    Personalist theory 5 372 9

    • Personalist theoryexplains why a realistic humanism is both possible and necessary. Humanpersons are the primal causes of their own actions. They are neither autonomouslyfree nor deterministically controlled. They are highly structured defi ned mediated infl uenced and oriented by many ontological personal material and social forces and factors. Yet each human person is fi nally theactive agent— personalism’s “center with purpose”— of his or her subjectiveprocesses decisions and external actions. People do not construct themselves their interests or their core motivations in life out of thin air or ontheir own as they wish. The primary elements of those features are givenby nature. 5 372 9

    Toward a Good Life Well Lived 8 4 9

    • People do not act for random reasons 8 100 9

      People’s actions are grounded motivationallyin some basic human interests and goods 8 100 9

      But what is the pointof those goods and interests? Are they the terminus of the matter the endof the investigation? No. 8 100 9

      The basic human goods together point us to andhelp constitute their own proper end: personal fl ourishing deep happiness thriving well- being eudaimonia a good life well lived 8 100 9

    eudaimonia 0 2 9

    • personal fl ourishing a good life well lived 0 2 9
    • What does anyone do withtheir lives when they wake up from sleep and why do they do that?— 0 2 9
• Chapter-6. Toward a Theory of Flourishing
  • Question of the purpose of human life 2 136 9
    • What does it mean for a human person to live a good life? 2 136 9

      Can people fi nddirection outside of their immediate desires for genuinely reliable guidanceon how to live well? 2 136 9

      Does life have any real purpose anyway? 2 136 9

      Or is one way oflife no better or worse than any other? 2 136 9

      How could anyone know? 2 136 9

  • What Is Flourishing? 3 9
    • how do thesix irreducible basic motivations interests and goods discussed there relateto each other? 3 9

      A good way to convey the character of this fi nal end and purpose in lifeis to name it fl ourishing also sometimes called here “thriving” or “a good lifewell lived.” 3 4 9

      To have a good life is to live in a way that one fl ourishes asa person. To fi nd reliable guidance beyond ourselves for truly living well is tolearn how to practice virtues that are required to fl ourish 3 4 9

      We are not to fl ourish as apes or gods orsomething else that we are not. The sky is not the limit. Everything does notgo. It is ultimately not up to us to determine what it means to fl ourish. Thefeatures capacities and limitations of our naturally given personhood determinethat. 3 179 9

      to fl ourish means “to blossom ” to grow and bloom inmature fruitful beautiful ways. 3 179 9

      To thrive etymologically means “to seize ”to grasp and capture the fullness of life to live life well to the fullest. All livingorganisms naturally strive to live grow and bloom to robustly achieve thefullness of their natural capacities. 3 372 9

      All living organisms work against death disease and weakness. The physical functioning of our human bodies worksthis way. Other natural human capacities are the same. 3 372 9

      Humans are naturally interested in learning how realityworks and what is good. 3 489 9

      Humans by nature want to exercise their capacitiesand powers and to master skills 3 489 9

      Humans cannot escape making evaluationstowa r d a t h eory of f lou r i s h i ng 203of better and worse good and bad attractive and ugly just and unjust praiseworthyand reprehensible. 3 6 9

      Humans are naturally attracted to what theybelieve to be higher better more appealing. A world in which humans didnot seek to learn grow and thrive would be quite unlike our world 3 6 9

      “Happiness then is found to be something perfect andself- suffi cient [ 5 9

      making life desirable] being the end to which ouractions are directed.” 5 9

      fi nal goal in itself the endtoward which other actions are engaged (whether well or poorly) that whichin and of itself makes life desirable. 5 9

      No larger or higher purpose beyond humanfl ourishing exists in this world. Other goals and activities in life exist toserve the purpose of fl ourishing. 5 9

  • 7 Phases-The life of persons is by nature oriented toward 3 372 9
    • 1. learning 3 489 9
    • 2. becoming 3 489 9
    • 3. developing 3 489 9
    • 4. growing 3 489 9
    • 6. expanding 3 489 9
    • 7. maturing 3 489 9
  • How does one achieve a flourishing life? 5 9
    • The answer at a personallevel is by becoming as fully as possible in actual experience that which oneis ontologically namely a human person 5 9

      People fl ourish thrive and aremost genuinely happy when they develop and actualize what they by natureare. 5 9

      Persons are not inert objects. They are living growing dynamic beingsdefi ned by potentials powers and capacities (and limitations). 5 9

      People havea natural disposition to grow learn develop and realize their inherent capacitiesand powers. 5 9

      We are always in motion moving (either effectively orbadly) toward our telos. 5 9

      Human motivations are oriented toward (which isnot the same thing as effective in realizing) the natural interests in achievingand participating in those basic goods 5 9

      Human life thus has a true purpose not to do whatever one wants or to meld into the collective but rather todevelop the fullness of fl ourishing personhood 5 9

  • Personal Becoming 6 9
    • Living human beings are ontologically 100 percent persons but they are variablein the realization in existential experience of the capacities and tendenciesof their personal being 6 18

      Personhood is a 0 1 fact for humans— there are nofractions or percentages of personhood. 6 18

      All living humans are 1 = person nothing less. 6 18

  • Virtues-Definition 8 6 18
    • Virtues are hard- won dispositions and practices of excellencethat lead to a fl ourishing truly happy life 8 7 18

      Virtues are not naive or innocentor smug. 8 4 18

  • 4 “cardinal virtues” – Plato 8 140 18
    • 1. temperance 8 140 18
    • 2. prudence 8 140 18
    • 3. courage 8 140 18
    • 4. justice 8 140 18
  • 9 Virtues -Greek Romans 8 140 18
    • 1. humor 8 140 18
    • 2. mercy 8 140 18
    • 3. dignity 8 140 18
    • 4. tenacity 8 140 18
    • 5. concord 8 140 18
    • 6. nobility 8 140 18
    • 7. endurance 8 140 18
    • 8. modesty 8 140 18
    • 9. equity 8 140 18
  • 10 Christian Virtues 8 18
    • 1. faith 8 18
    • 2. hope 8 18
    • 3. love 8 18
    • 4. temperance 8 18
    • 5. charity 8 18
    • 6. diligence 8 18
    • 7. patience 8 18
    • 8. kindness 8 18
    • 9. humility 8 18
    • 10. chastity 8 18
  • 14 Human capacities 9 18
    • 1. consciousness 9 18

      2. reflexivity 9 18

      3. bodily health 9 18

      4. presence 9 18

      5. selftranscendence 9 18

      6. coherence of experience 9 18

      7. personal identity 9 18

      8. moral commitment 9 18

      9. social communication 9 18

      10. responsibility in causing action 9 18

      11. participationin social interactions 9 18

      12. personal agency 9 18

      13. experience of intersubjectivity 9 18

      14. being and living as a particular kind of self who is engaged in lovingrelationships with other personal selves and the nonpersonal world 9 18

  • 4 Must Have – Living a good life 2 18
    • a person living a good life is more like becoming amaster artist or player in some sport or complex game such as chess 2 18

      1. dedication 2 18

      2. learning 2 18

      3. discipline 2 18

      4. practice to move toward excellence 2 18

  • 8 Opposite of virtues [Delete these from your life] 2 346 18
    • 1. selfishness 2 346 18
    • 2. stupidity 2 346 18
    • 3. indifference 2 346 18
    • 4. vice 2 346 18
    • 5. arrogance 2 346 18
    • 6. laziness 2 346 18
    • 7. evasion of accountability 2 346 18
    • 8. dehumanization 2 346 18
  • 9 necessary conditions-Personal Flourshing 3 582 18
    • 1. Bodily sustenance 4 3 18
      • Bodily sustenance means that to fl ourish persons need the proper nutrition water shelter from the elements and clean air to sustain healthy bodily life 4 3 18
    • 2. Material resources 4 3 18
      • access to sufficient possessions 4 3 18
      • property 4 3 18
      • land 4 3 18
      • tools 4 3 18
      • forms of transport 4 3 18
      • raw materials 4 3 18
    • 3. Avoiding misfortune 4 3 18
      • Avoiding misfortune denotes persons not falling victim to debilitatingaccidents diseases disasters violence and other unexpected turnsof fate that seriously compromise health and life. 4 3 18
    • 4. Being loved 4 3 18
      • Being loved means beingthe object of one or more other signifi cant person’s self- giving care affection and commitment to one’s well- being motivated centrally to promoteone’s genuine good not for instrumental reasons 4 3 18

        The primary source oflove is normally parents and family but can include kin parent surrogates friends and others. 4 3 18

    • 5. Training 4 3 18
      • teaching 4 3 18

        instruction 4 3 18

        educationin a variety of life skills— practical rational emotional relational technical and so on— 4 3 18

        by teachers guides instructors and role models 4 3 18

    • 6. Learning virtues 4 18
      • Learning virtues signifies acquiring and practicing the habituated character dispositions traits and practices that tend to lead to the living of a good life— suchas prudence truthfulness courage justice temperance generosity patience endurance wit and so on. 4 18
    • 7. Commitment to growth 4 18
      • Commitment to growth means the basic dispositionand dedication of persons to continue to work throughout life towardthe proper telos of fl ourishing including resisting or overcoming failures obstacles compromise diversions sloth despair and other threats to ongoingteleological movement toward thriving. 4 18
    • 9. Social participation 4 315 18
      • Social participation meansenjoying and taking advantage of access to a variety of associations communities and institutions in one’s society by which one benefi ts from andcontributes to the variety of goods entailed in those memberships involvements and activities 4 315 18
    • 10. Loving others 4 315 18
      • Loving others is the fi nal necessary condition and experienceof personal fl ourishing 4 315 18

        giving of oneself for the genuinegood of others in the form of care affection and commitment to their wellbeing motivated not for self- regarding or instrumental reasons but primarilyto promote the true welfare and happiness of the other and often to enjoyinter personal communion with them 4 315 18

  • Contingency and Variability 3 – 18
    • The fi rst fi ve of the nine necessary conditions named above involve requirementsor enjoyments that are primarily beyond the control of persons 5 43 0

      They must be provided to each person particularly early in life by other personsand social environments in ways that are largely beyond the infl uenceof the recipients. 5 43 0

      All persons are thus crucially developmentally dependentupon the surrounding social- structural world in a variety of ways to evenhave a chance at personal thriving 5 43 0

      the last four of the nine necessary conditionsfall signifi cantly though not entirely within the control of persons 5 43 0

      Nobodybut the persons in question themselves can learn and practice virtues remaincommitted to personal growth and overcoming actively participate in sociallife and genuinely love other persons. 5 0

      People are not autonomous in any ofthis in complete control of these matters. 5 0

      Learning virtues for example requiresthe presence and investment of more virtuous mature accomplishedpersons to model teach reinforce interpret and reward them 5 0

      And socialparticipation requires not only a readiness to become involved in communityand institutional life but opportunities for such participation which must beafforded by other actors and social arrangements. 5 315 0

      Lastly to repeat we mustnever forget that personal fl ourishing requires learning to love and actuallyloving other persons 5 315 0

      Love is probably one of the words social scientists useleast despite its common usage by ordinary people 5 315 0

      Yet my defi nition ofhuman personhood and everyone’s existential experience makes love an inherentand necessary feature of human fl ourishing 5 315 0

      No person can fail to loveother persons and still fl ourish 5 315 0

      Part of what it means to be an actualizedhuman person is to engage in loving relationships with others 5 4 0

      Love stands at the heart of humanity’s being purpose and teleological end 5 625 0

      Personal flourishing is I have said dependent upon a set of necessary personaland social- structural conditions that make it possible 3 387 18

  • Harmful social- structural and personal conditionsand experiences 6 31 39
    • harmful social- structural and personal conditionsand experiences possess the causal capacity to impair damage and possiblyterminate personal fl ourishing 6 31 39

      developmental trauma during the infant childhood and adolescentyears— including physical or emotional neglect abuse stress molestation or violence— tends to short circuit personal thriving even when thenine necessary conditions of fl ourishing noted above are otherwise met 6 31 39

      Inheritingbad genes can seriously impair the advancement of persons towardgreater fl ourishing in a variety of ways by making certain persons susceptibleto fatal diseases risk- taking or alcoholism for example. 6 31 39

      Material deprivationscaused by severe poverty group discrimination or economic oppressionundermine access to the basic resources necessary for personal thriving 6 31 39

      Social exclusion similarly undermines movement toward thriving. Some ofthese “damagers” are essentially the deprivation of the necessary conditionsfor thriving named above 6 31 39

      As a baseline rule by the nature of things persons cannot fl ourish in a vacuum in states of severe deprivation apartfrom the right kinds of nurturance formation and support of many differentkinds. 6 341 39

  • 3 levels of ends 312 39
    • 1. The Shared human telos 312 39
      • The sharedhuman telos is the general end toward which all humans ought properly tomove given the nature of what they as persons are and which helps to defi nethe right boundaries within which all humans should move forward towardtheir natural end 312 39

        The word “the” intends to suggest that there is only onehuman telos in virtue of there being one human personhood 312 39

    • 2. A personal telos 312 39
      • A personaltelos by contrast concerns the more particular ends that are good and fi ttingfor specifi c persons given their unique biographies interests gifts andsocial conditions. 312 39

        The word “a” here (instead of “the”) says that because eachperson has his or her own distinctive personal telos there are many personalteloi across many people. 468 39

    • 3. A life plan 468 39
      • a life plan as I mean it here consists of a setof specifi c intentions and commitments about relationships activities education vocations locations and other practical matters that together comprisemuch of the actual long- term content of any given person’s life as heor she intends to live it. 468 39
• Chapter-7. Understanding Failure Destruction and Evil
  • Human life is a quest toward something good 59 39
  • Why do failure destruction and evil happen? 292 39
    • Flourishing is not automatic or guaranteed but contingent. 292 39

      It must be purposively accomplished againstresistance and obstacles both internal and external. 292 39

      Achieving human fl ourishingrequires a specifi c set of resources experiences and efforts providedby other persons and social institutions and capitalized upon by personsseeking to fl ourish. 407 39

      People who benefi t from and take advantage of the requisitesof fl ourishing stand a good chance of thriving 407 39

      the default outcomefor those who do not enjoy and capitalize upon these resources experiences and efforts is personal failure stagnation and degeneration. In some cases people become evil. 407 39

  • 6 Types Level Personal Failure To Flourish 602 39
    • 1. Environmental Deprivation 235
      • environmental deprivation— is produced primarily bypersons being failed by their material and social environments and relationshipsin ways that are largely beyond their control (though often not beyondthe control of other responsible people and social institutions).

        persons die of illness in childhood— or of starvation thirst or exposure infamine drought or extreme weather

        They are the victims of tragic unjust or evil forces andcircumstances— the heartrending casualties of a broken unfair sometimescruel world. 235 412 39

        Through no fault of their own these persons cannot and donot realize in existential existence the fullness of their natural personhood.2They remain fully persons ontologically as long as they live but are deprivedof the opportunity existentially to achieve anything like the fl ourishing oftheir unique personal being. 235 412 39

        They are stillborn or born with radicallymalformed bodies or brains.

        They are stricken young in life by horriblediseases.

        They are grossly neglected or abused by parents or guardianswho are inept evil or mentally ill

        Some suffer severely debilitating cognitive emotional or physical disorders caused by bad genes dysfunctional neurology or some other bodily pathologies

        Others are killed or gravely damagedin wars by battering spouses wild animals or bad accidents

        Yet others arecasualties of natural disasters such as earthquakes landslides and tsunamis

        Some people are born into crushing poverty from which there is no escape

        Others are horribly persecuted and exterminated for racial religious or ideologicalreasons.

        In such cases and all like them these persons failto fl ourish not primarily because of anything they could control or for whichthey are responsible.

        This firstcategory of failing to fl ourish— more accurately being deprived of the chanceto fl ourish— often raises weighty moral questions and concerns in social andpolitical ethics -28

    • 2. Stagnation 235
      • personal stagnation a “stalling” of people’s quest to fl ourish

        role played by the bad choices and inadequate misguided or malignant efforts and actions of the persons involved and other personsand institutions.

        These types usually also entail deprivations of vital nurturingresources relationships and experiences

        But some of the explanationfor these failures comes back to problems in the personal agency of some ofthe people involved.

        persons get “stuck” in life stop exerting virtuous effort and wind down newpersonal growth.

        The world is full of such people especially perhaps amongthe middle-aged and older

        Most of them are decent and functional

        theyare not achieving much new that is good in their lives.

        Other people who liveor work closely with them are often aware of their functional lack of interestin personal growth and sometimes have to bear some of the disagreeableconsequences.

        People in stagnation can be diffi cult for others but they areusually manageable.

        these stagnating people have given upon optimizing fl ourishing and have settled for mere “satisfi cing.”

        They havestalled at a point in life that is not ideal but which they think is suffi cient and they are satisfi ed to stay there.

        They remain content with a mere acceptablethreshold of growth and happiness.

        If stagnant people indulge a characteristicvice it is sloth.

    • 3. Avoidant Destructiveness 235
      • Such cases are not merely uninterestedin new personal growth and movement toward their proper telos.They are positively actively stubbornly resistant to it— even if they are notconsciously aware of that fact.

        What would be required of and for them togrow and move toward greater fl ourishing confronts them as more diffi cult more threatening than they are willing or able to deal with

        the basic postureof such lives is to resist the challenges of growth.

        Having already adaptedto a life of stagnation it is easy to take this next step away from fl ourishingtoward destructiveness.

        Living against reality inevitably brings friction collisions splinters 39

        Avoiding the healthy pains and losses that are required for proper personalgrowth inescapably imposes different less generative pains and losses. 39

        Nobodyescapes pain and loss— the only question is whether they are the kindsthat lead to fl ourishing or destruction. 39

        There is no static equilibriumhere. Reality presses increasingly hard over time on those who refuseit and so— when proper growth is avoided— reality must be resisted all themore determinedly.

        Larger costs must be personally absorbed and imposedon other people.

        since the basic posture here is one of avoiding pain andloss destructive persons usually increasingly impose the pain and loss onother people.

        They must progressively make others pay for their unwillingnessor inability to suffer the pain and losses required for them to properlygrow

        This moves them away from being merely diffi cult to other people (asthe stagnant are) to being positively damaging

        If avoidant- destructive peopleindulge a characteristic vice it is self- centered cowardice (deilia to use Aristotle’sterm) which is worse than mere sloth

    • 4. Negligent Evil 235
      • evil the extreme opposite of fl ourishing.

        results from inexcusable negligence or recklessness not purposeful maliciousness.

        some evils that ruin otherpeople’s lives are produced not by sadistic monsters but by otherwise ordinarypeople who so happen to act recklessly or negligently 265 39

        Example – Interpersonal 0

        • Negligentevil is also not always interpersonal— it also often happens institutionally 0
        • Babysitter did not watch a toddler closely and the baby drowned 0
        • A teen inexperienced driver running over a child bicycling in the road 0

        Example – Institutional 0

        • toxic industry pollution 0

          bad investments of otherpeople’s fortunes 0

          failure to install the proper safety and warning devices indangerous environments 0

          The subjects of such failures are thevictims of events beyond their control while the perpetrators of such eventsare the causes of evildoing resulting from unconscionable risk- taking negligence and recklessness. 0

    • 5. Instrumental Evil 0
      • the evil necessityor consequence of actions pursued instrumentally for other reasons not directlyto enjoy the damage of the evil itself.

        It consists of intolerableharm produced as the recognized necessity risk or result of actions undertakento achieve different ends than the evil itself. 0 113 39

        The evildoing here is somethinglike “collateral damage” expected occasioned or required in order torealize another overriding goal. 0 39

        Persons and social institutions committingthis kind of evil do not do so primarily in order to enjoy the horrifi c damagethey produce. 0 39

        Instead they simply tolerate or ignore that damage (howeverunbearable it may be to their victims) since they believe it to be justifi ed ornecessary to realize more important (to them) purposes. 0 39

        The underlyinglogic is “the ends justify the means”— success is worth the risks and costs(to others).1 0 268 39

        Examples of instrumental evil 0 268 39

        • 1. An armyoffi cer tortures a war captive not because he enjoys torturing people (somewho torture actually do not enjoy their work) but in order to elicit vital informationthat may help win the war. 0 268 39

          A married man seduces the naive wifeof another man simply because he wants to enjoy the triumph of conquestand pleasure of sex with her and when they are discovered (as he had everyreason to know they might be) it destroys both marriages and the long- termemotional well- being of the wife and her husband— in which case the seducingman’s goal was not to cause that intolerable harm although he was(culpably) prepared to infl ict it upon others in order to realize his immediate goal 0 617 39

        callousness 1

        • The social equivalent of instrumentallyevil people can be named as instrumentally evil social institutions which promulgate evil not purposively but readily as a by- product of somepurpose they pursue such as the accumulation of wealth power or status. 1

          Such callousness often involves the active psychological “silencing” by personsand institutional leaders of good reasons that argue against committingevil— reasons that compel most people and social groups not to act ontheir possible evil motives.15 1

          Related to this problem is the matter of moralindifference by both persons and social institutions— something like “sins ofomission ” as some religious people call it as opposed to actively committedsins— by passively allowing evil to be committed by simply not acting againstit. 1

          Also clearshould be the fact that the perpetrators of instrumental evil are not merelyirresponsible people who inadvertently commit evil deeds but are actuallyevil people— not necessarily thoroughly but evil at least in some ways. Andthe characteristic vice of their evil is callousness— not ignorance not negligence but cold indifference to the feelings well- being and futures of otherswho suffer as casualties of their wickedness.14 1

    • 6. Sadistic Evil
      • The third springs from the malicious sadism of the evil person. This I callsadistic evil

        This is evildoingfor the purpose of causing destructive suffering on others. 1 310 39

        Sadistic evilalways involves evil deeds committed by evil persons. 1 310 39

        Its perpetrators refl ectfairly stable dispositions and intentions to instigate evil acts that cause intolerabledestructive suffering to others precisely for the sake of seeing the sufferingcaused. 1 310 39

        The pleasures gained by sadistically evil people committing evildeeds are enjoyed as a direct result of the intolerable destruction itself 1 310 39

        It maybe the pleasure of pure sadism a malignant neural reward system that “lightsup” when observing others suffering 1 310 39

        It may be the satisfi ed pleasures of narcissisticdominance and control over others which is more purely realizedby the capacity to render them helpless through suffering 1 310 39

        it may be thepleasure of an internal terror relieved by witnessing it imposed on the bodiesof other people instead of oneself.19 1 310 39

        In any case such people “destroy for thesake of destruction and . . . hate for the sake of hate.” 1 310 39

        this evildoer silences any goodreasons against evildoing.

        Examples 2

        • psychopathic kidnappers 2

          torturers 2

          mass murderers 2

          serial rapists 2

          perpetrators of school shootings 2

          intentional spreaders of sexually transmitted infections 2

          politicaland military instigators of genocide 2

          by commanding othersto commit evil deeds such as torture or genocide 2

          Suffering can also beimposed on others in different forms and through different methods. Forinstance a sadistically evil adult can (directly) torture a child by infl ictingsuffering on his or her body or torture that same child (indirectly) by forcinghim or her to watch the slow mutilation of his or her living pet kittens 2

  • What is evil?
    • “evil” generally I mean foreseeable intolerable harms produced by culpablewrongdoing

      Badness and evil come into being only in the absence of the good 5 39

      Evil cannotbe creative or life giving; it is always destructive 5 39

      Evil is “the attemptto regress to the pre- human state and to eliminate that which is specifi callyhuman: reason love and freedom. 5 39

      when evil does parasitically impose its negative power on thegood through its absence and misdirection it defi nitely does take on a malignantexistence with massive capacities to distort and destruct 5 123 39

      Even so justas light really does exist on its own but darkness and shadow do not exceptas the absence of light so good really does exist but evil and the bad independentlydo not— what is evil and bad come to exist only in the absence hindrance or misdirection of good. 5 123 39

      Example 6 -18

      • Rape is inexpressibly wicked and morallyreprehensible in the extreme— but in a deeply twisted and depraved wayit is evil exactly in virtue of the privation of the goods of consent mutuality and loving communion in sex properly engaged or a hideously misdirectedattempt to achieve the true goods of sexual intimacy and the exercise of thepower of personal agency 6 -18

        Violent vigilante revenge is morally wrong yet inessence it represents the privation of the good of procedural justice and amisdirected seeking of what is a genuine human good that of proper retributivejustice. 6 -18

        The physical battery of wives by husbands is also repellently evil yet precisely so in its privation of anything that makes a good marriage good(love tenderness self- giving)— importantly in the very structure of that privation the battery does not happen in the abstract or between strangers butwithin the empty shell of the otherwise- good relations of husband and wife violated eviscerated mocked and made unreal by the battering 6 39

  • 3 basic elements of evil
    • 1. intolerable harm
      • the evildoers who committed them have good reasons (whichany reasonable person should be aware of ) not to commit them so whichthey are personally responsible and blameworthy for ignoring
    • 2. foreseeability
      • when theharm caused could have been seen beforehand and when
    • 3. culpable wrongdoing
      • their actions inactions damage other people in ways that are intolerable atrocious catastrophic or monstrous -355 39

        Severe and unremitting pain or humiliation debilitatingand disfi guring diseases starvation extreme [disempowerment] andseverely enforced isolation are evils ” for example “when they are broughtabout or supported by culpable wrongdoing.”

        Bad outcomes are thus notevil when their perpetrators genuinely had no good reason to think theiractions would produce intolerable harm or when the harms done are notsevere.10 They may still be very wrong but they are not evil. This approachhelps us to distinguish not only evil deeds from evil persons but also evilmotives from evil intentions. -45 39

        The former (motives) concern people’s desires(and related beliefs and emotions) to commit evil; they are the inclinationsthat dispose people to do evil deeds -45 39

        The latter (intentions) by contrast involvewillful decisions to act upon evil motives the volitional purposing tocommit evil. -45 39

  • The Ontology of Badness and Evil 3
    • Badness and evil in human life are understood and explained in different waysby different belief systems 3
      • dualistic 3
        • believing that good and evil areindependent equal opposing principles existing and struggling against eachother from the beginning or forever as in Zoroastrianism Manichaeism andmany forms of Gnosticism. 3
      • samsaric view 3
        • the belief thatfailure and evil consist in an illusion of individual separateness sustained bymisguided desire attachment striving and bad karma that drive continuingcycles of reincarnation which can only be overcome by enlightenment anddharma (right living) to achieve moksha and nirvana the “snuffi ng out” of(the illusion of ) individual existence and merger into the all- encompassingBrahma. Some version of this view is assumed by the main Indus religionsof Hinduism Buddhism and Jainism 3
  • The spectrum of movement toward failure and fl ourishing.
  • contrast of thatwhich-is- not 6
    • To affi rm a “Yes” implies the possibility of a “No.”

      To desiresomething is to reject other things

      To will a particular good necessarily impliesa lesser good that was not willed

      To shine light on an object casts ashadow on its far side.

      To love and be loved raises the possibility of not lovingor being loved.

      To choose rightly necessarily entails the potential to choosewrongly.

      To affi rm a truth risks affi rming a falsehood instead

      The not- love the wrong choice the falsehood affi rmed do not need to be actualized. Theydo not have to be brought into existence. They could stay in the realm ofnegation and nothingness

      To want to live in a reality not involving any possible bads necessarilymeans forgoing living with real goods 6 39

  • Biological analogies 7 400 39
    • The Privation of Basic Human Goods 8 5

      How do failure and destruction relate to the privationor misdirection of the six basic human goods proposed in chapter 5?

      One basic good is to achieve bodily survival security and pleasure.

      This goodcan easily be turned toward the bad and become the occasion for failure andevil.

      Take cancer for example. Canceris not the development in a body of an independent and innately destructiveorgan set in opposition to healthy organs. 7 400 39

      Cancer is the mal- developmentand misdirection of healthy bodily processes of cellular reproduction and tissuegrowth. 7 400 39

      Cancer is the getting- out- of- control of natural bodily goods 7 400 39

      Their absence and misdirection produce worlds of grief and ruin. Thesimple absence of bodily life is death 8

      • vulnerability to accident
      • attack
      • sickness
      • disease
      • anexistence of intolerable anxiety
      • inevitably
      • injury
      • illness
      • a highchance of eventual death

      The complete absence of physical pleasure 8

      • Imagine what it would be like if the receptors of everyneuron in one’s brain having to do with pleasure were blocked

        That would bea dreadful existence of numbness to any perceptual or appetitive enjoyment an experience on the spectrum of bodily sensations limited completely to theside shading off from sense- neutrality to discomfort and agony

  • 4 Basic Social causal mechanisms of Human Failure 9 221 4
    • 1. Exploitation
      • “when powerful connected people command resourcesfrom which they draw signifi cantly increased returns by coordinating theeffort of outsiders whom they exclude from the full value added by thateffort.” 9 415 4
    • 2. Opportunity Hoarding
      • “when members of a categorically bounded networkacquire access to a resource that is valuable renewable subject tomonopoly supportive of network activities and enhanced by the network’smodus operandi.” 9 415 4
    • 3. Emulation
      • “the copying of established organizational models and or thetransplanting of existing social relations from one setting to another.” 9 647 4
    • 4. Adaptation
      • “the elaboration of daily routines . . . on the basis of categoricallyunequal structures. 9 647 4
  • Social Dominance Theory 0 28 4
    • explains intergrouprelations of oppression domination destructive discrimination tyranny andbrutality. 0 28 4

      Their illuminating theory involves interpersonal intergroup intrapersonal and institutional causal mechanisms that produce and maintaingroup- based hierarchies of domination 0 28 4

      They include personal “social dominanceorientations ” “aggregated individual discrimination ” “aggregatedinstitutional discrimination ” “behavioral asymmetry ” hierarchy- enhancing“legitimizing myths ” and “hierarchy equilibriums and constraints 0 28 4

  • Socially and Psychologically Structured Historical Inheritances 0 454 4
    • Nobody begins life with a blank slate. People inherit the consequences of allthe bad and good in human life and society that predates their birth. If we setaside the diffi cult question of the ultimate origins of evil in human existence a great deal of the actual darkness with which anyone at any place and timelives can be explained with reference to the many broken social institutions relationships and cultural beliefs and practices inherited from the past whichshape all the lives they touch. 0 454 4

      Many problems are also engraved into people’spsychological and emotional structures in ways causing them to perpetuatethe problems into the next generation 0 454 4

• Conclusion
  • modern spiritualproject
    • the pursuit of a sacred good
    • throwing off restraint andachieving human happiness through individual autonomy
    • To make everything new
    • to leave behind the past
    • to be unbound by any tradition
    • to enjoy maximum choice
    • to be free fromany constraint
    • to be able to buy whatever one can afford
    • to live however onedesires— that is the guiding vision of modernity’s spiritual project
    • self- defi nition
    • self- determination
  • On Taking Love Seriously 8 4
    • Love may seem “unscientifi c” to many social scientists but that is because they assume the wrong view of science 8 4

      Let us say it again:the sciences need to conform their concepts methods and theories to therealities they seek to understand allowing specifi c dimensions of reality todetermine how particular sciences are done rather than forcing that realityto conform to a preconceived uniform notion about what science is andmust be. The “scientifi c method” (singular) is tyrannous nonsense 8 4

      Human societies without love are bodies without blood 9 -63 4

      Even when humans survive and somewhat prosper through having receivedan adequate though not great amount of love the probability still remainsof their living out of the fundamental postures of fear or denial 9 93 4

      One powerthat can prevent that is love. Love fosters trust interpersonally and institutionally and trust promotes human fl ourishing. Do we need something moresignifi cant to justify taking love seriously? 9 208 4

• Compiled By:
  • blindcaveman.wordpress.com
  • Rigel Arcayan

MindMap-BookSummary-TimeCure

MindMap-BookSummary-TimeCure

• About Time Cure
  • Date Read: October 09, 2016
  • Author: Zimbardo/Sword
  • ISBN: 978-1-118-20567-9
  • 334 pages
  • MyRating: 5 Stars
• Chapter 1 How PTSD Sufferers Get Stuck in Time
  • PTSD Basics
    • PTSD„once called shell shock or battle fatigue and ignored ordismissed as something that would disappear with time„is now recognizedby the American Psychiatric Association as a real disorder. And itis no longer necessary to be a direct victim to be

      As long as one is confronted with a situation that involves threat tothe physical integrity of ones self or others and one experiencesthe emotions of fear, horror, or helplessness, then the experiencecounts as exposure to a PTSD-qualifying stressor

      In 2000 the American Psychiatric Association revised its criteria forthis disorder in the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manualof Mental Disorders, commonly called DSM-IV-TR:Diagnostic criteria for PTSD include a history of exposure to atr

  • Criterion A: stressor
    • The person has been exposed to a traumatic event in which both of thefollowing have been present:

      1. The person has experienced, witnessed, or been confronted withan event or events that involve actual or threatened death or seriousinjury, or a threat to the physical integrity of oneself or others.

      2. The persons response involved intense fear, helplessness, or horror.Note: in children, it may be expressed instead by disorganizedor agitated behavior

  • Criterion B: intrusive recollection
    • The traumatic event is persistently re-experienced in at least one of thefollowing ways

      1. Recurrent and intrusive distressing recollections of the event,including images, thoughts, or perceptions. Note: in youngchildren, repetitive play may occur in which themes or aspects ofthe trauma are expressed

      2. Recurrent distressing dreams of the event. Note: in children, theremay be frightening dreams without recognizable content

      3. Acting or feeling as if the traumatic event were recurring (includesa sense of reliving the experience, illusions, hallucinations, anddissociative flashback episodes, including those that occur uponawakening or when intoxicated). Note: in children, traum

      4. Intense psychological distress at exposure to internal or externalcues that symbolize or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event

      5. Physiologic reactivity upon exposure to internal or external cuesthat symbolize or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event.

  • Criterion C: avoidant/numbing
    • Persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma and numbingof general responsiveness (not present before the trauma), as indicatedby at least three of the following

      1. Efforts to avoid thoughts, feelings, or conversations associatedwith the trauma

      2. Efforts to avoid activities, places, or people that arouse recollectionsof the trauma

      3. Inability to recall an important aspect of the trauma

      4. Markedly diminished interest or participation in significant activities

      5. Feeling of detachment or estrangement from others

      6. Restricted range of affect (e.g., unable to have loving feelings)

      7. Sense of foreshortened future (e.g., does not expect to have acareer, marriage, children, or a normal life span)

  • Criterion D: hyper-arousal
    • Persistent symptoms of increasing arousal (not present before the trauma),indicated by at least two of the following

      1. Difficulty falling or staying asleep

      2. Irritability or outbursts of anger

      3. Difficulty concentrating

      4. Hyper-vigilance

      5. Exaggerated startle response

  • Criterion E: duration
    • Duration of the disturbance (symptoms in B, C, and D) is more than onemonth

      Criterion F: functional significance

      The disturbance causes clinically significant distress or impairment insocial, occupational, or other important areas of functioning

  • psychological responses to catastrophe
    • Psychological responses to natural and human-caused disasters havebeen theorized to occur in stages, as victims experience shock, feelintense emotion, and struggle to reorganize their lives.3 Survivors typicallypass through five stages4

      1. Psychic numbness

      • Immediately after the event, victimsexperience psychic numbness, including shock and confusion,and for moments to days they cannot fully comprehend what hashappened. Severe, sudden, and violent disasters violate ourbasic expectations about how the world is

      2. Automatic action

      • During a phase of automatic action, victims havelittle awareness of their own experiences and later show poor recallof many details about what occurred.

      3. Communal effort

      • In the communal effort stage, the sufferer and hisor her support network pool their resources and collaborate, proudof their accomplishments but also weary and aware that they areusing up precious energy reserves.

      4. Letdown

      • Next, survivors may experience a letdown. Depletedof energy, they understand and feel the tragedys impact. Publicinterest and attention fade, and survivors feel abandoned, eventhough the state of emergency may continue

      5. Recovery

      • An extended period of recovery follows as survivorsadapt to changes created by the disaster.
  • this is your brain on trauma
    • The brain is the most complex organ in the universe. In his book Incognito,the Secret Lives of the Brain, neuroscientist David Eagleman says:

      Your brain is built of cells called neurons and glia„hundreds ofbillions of them. Each one of these cells is as complicated as a city. . . each cell sends electrical impulses to other cells . . . The cells areconnected to one another in a network of such st

      Thats a lot of connections! When we realize the enormous complexityand diversity of the brain, it becomes easier to understand whysuch all-encompassing problems as PTSD are so difficult to weed out ofones brain, and subsequently to contain in ones psyche

      When traumatic events happen to us, we enter into a kind of alteredstate in which our normal thinking processes do not function andanother operating system takes over. This is great if you suddenly findyourself in a situation in which you must run into a bu

      But the same system of brain chemistry that allows us to beheroes or survive extreme situations also imprints the traumatic eventdeeply within our memory, emotions, consciousness, and subconscious.In fact, neuroscience tells us that the brain stores these d

      The brain stores and encodes different types of memories, someof which are long-lived and some of which are easily replaced, usingdifferent chemicals. For example, the details of what you ate for lunchyesterday may be written in pencil„easily erased and rep

      This complex encoding means that traumatic memories, such asthose that generate PTSD, are multidimensional, insidious, and difficultto ferret out and come to terms with. The memories assault sufferersin an overwhelming experience that steals their future an

  • traumatic experiences
    • Sight
      • The gruesome visual images she saw were encoded andstored in her visual cortex, in the rear part of the brain
    • Sound
      • The grinding screech of metal and cries of pain andshock she heard were stored in her temporal lobes, the sides ofthe brain above the ears
    • Smell
      • The vivid smells of the event„hot pavement, burningoil, and blood„were stored in the olfactory cortex, the part ofthe brain that lies just behind the eyes.
    • Touch
      • The physical pain she experienced was stored in musclememory throughout her body, affecting the pain and emotionalcenters of her brain
    • Thought and memory
      • The horrible memories of the otherwomans suffering, combined with troubling worries abouthow PTSD sufferers get stuck in time 13the womans toddler and unborn infant, were recorded in theprefrontal cortex, where thought occurs, as well as in the limbicsyst
  • when PTSD goes untreated
    • A person who suffers from minimal PTSD will probably get betterover time. For instance, perhaps youve been in a frightening motorvehicle accident in which you didnt suffer physical injury but othersdid. In time your car is repaired, so you arent reminded

      But if you have been brutally physically assaulted and raped, forexample, you may be so deeply dipped in the darkest blue of memorythat no amount of time will ever completely bleach it away. It mightfade a bit, but its always there; and in some cases, the

      Eventually, the normal things you would do for or with others„going to work, cooking dinner, being interested in what they did thatday„become chores that eventually turn into resentment, which causesyou to feel irritable and angry toward them. Simple things

      They may seem closed off and uncaring, but deep down insidepeople with PTSD know they need help. Sometimes getting help seemslike one more chore thats just too overwhelming to contemplate. Oftenthey dont get help because they are afraid of being judged, c

  • PTSD is mental injury, not mental illness
    • We believe that PTSD should be thought of as a mental injury ratherthan a mental illness, and research supports this view. Studies show thattraumatic experiences can alter the overall structure of the brain,7 aswell as its chemical levels (in particular neu
  • PTSD Summary
    • Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is an anxiety disorderthat begins with a trauma and overwhelms the individualsability to cope with daily life

      PTSD sufferers are stuck in time, reliving the trauma over andover, unable to leave it in the past and move on

      With PTSD, the traumatic event is imprinted and stored inmany different parts of the brain, which is one reason why itis so difficult to treat

      It is much more helpful to view and treat PTSD as mental injuryrather than mental illness, and research supports this view

      PTSD doesnt only affect the sufferer; it can negatively affect thesufferers family, friends, coworkers, and entire social network

      To date, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been the therapywith the most success in overcoming trauma. This therapyfocuses on the here and now. Drugs have provided some help,but not enough. They are a temporary solution that alters behavior,but they do

      Although all therapies are time based, time perspective therapytakes a different approach. It begins by respecting the trauma,and seeks to create a balance of past, present, and future thatallows the PTSD sufferer to leave the past in the past and movetowar

• Chapter 2 A New Psychology of Time
  • temporal theory in a nutshell
    • We can reduce the complexity of our lives to a simple equation

      all actions taken + all actions not taken = our current experience

      Some actions we take work out as planned, and we can take pridein them (I studied hard for that test and got an A); there are otheractions, not in our best interest, that lead to bad outcomes, and forwhich we are sorry (It was a mistake to stay up dri

      At the very heart of this decision matrix are the largely unconsciousdecisions that spring from our subjective psychological sense of time:our time perspective. This arises from the daily flow of our personalexperiences, which we automatically view through

  • the six main time perspectives in a nutshell
    • Each of the three primary subjective time zones„past, present, andfuture„is divided into two parts. This gives us six main timeperspectives

      1. Past positive

      • Past positive people focus on the good old days. They may keepscrapbooks, collect photos, and look forward to celebrating traditionalholidays

      2. Past negative

      • Past negative people focus on all the things that went wrong in thepast: It doesnt matter what I do, my life will never change.

      3. Present hedonistic

      • Present hedonistic people live in the moment„seeking pleasure,novelty, and sensation, and avoiding pain

      4. Present fatalistic

      • Present fatalistic people feel that decisions are moot becausepredetermined fate plays the guiding role in life: What will be,will be.

      5. Future

      • Future-oriented people plan for the future and trust that theirdecisions will work out

      6. Transcendental-future

      • Transcendental-future-oriented people have faith that a bettertime is coming after death, and plan for this afterlife during theircurrent lifetime
  • Conceptual Time Perspective Model
    • HOW DO YOU . . .MAKE A DECISION ORTAKE AN ACTION
      • A-Based on . . .MEMORIES(Abstract Thinking)PAST ORIENTED
      • B-Based on . . .IMMEDIATESITUATION/STIMULATION(Real/Physical)PRESENT ORIENTED
      • C-Based on . . .ANTICIPATEDCONSEQUENCES(Abstract Thinking)FUTURE ORIENTED
  • biased toward the past
    • Good and bad things happen to everyone, but not everyone sees theworld in the same way or gives equal weight to experiences. Put simply,some of us naturally see the world through rose-colored glasses (pastpositive), whereas others see the world through a da

      past positive: remember the good old days

      People with a past positive point of view see constant reminders of whatused to be good and wonderful, a treasure trove of beloved mementoes,of life as it could and should be. They judge, evaluate, and react toeverything in the present moment through memori

      past negative: life always lets you down

      Phils old aunt, who viewed her world through dark prisms of thepast, is a good example of the past negative bias. People who seethrough this lens judge, evaluate, and react to everything in the presentmoment through memories of unhappy past experiences. Th

  • biased toward the present
    • People who live in the present are far less„or not at all„influencedby either past experiences or future considerations. They focus only onthe immediate present„whats happening now. They make decisionsbased on the inner forces and outer pressures in their

      PTSD sufferers often score high in a bias toward the present, bothas hedonists and fatalists. This leads to the risky behaviors that are sooften linked to PTSD

      present hedonism: live for today

      Present hedonists are pleasure-seekers, and delayed gratification is notpart of their psychological vocabulary. Youve heard their mottos: Doit now! Carpe diem! Let the good times roll! You only live once!For them, a bird in the hand is alwa

      Present hedonism in moderation„selected present hedonism„isa good thing. But too much of a good thing can cause us to feel likeour lives are stuck on an out-of-control roller coaster. Because presenthedonists actively seek pleasure, its not surprising that

      present fatalism: what will be, will be

      The other way to live in the present is quite different: to believethat all of ones decisions are determined by fate, by external forces,or by religiously determined destiny. Present fatalists do not see theneed to spend time planning and plotting and cons

      Present fatalists share a present focus with hedonists, but theycould not be more different. Whereas present fatalists feel their livesfollow a fated plan over which they have little or no control, presenthedonists desperately seek to overcontrol by indulgi

  • biased toward the future
    • No one is born thinking about how to plan for the future. A numberof conditions„including living in a temperate zone (where its necessaryto anticipate seasonal change), living in a stable family or society,being Protestant or Jewish, and becoming educated„

      Americans in general are concerned with planning for the future.But PTSD sufferers, locked into negative memories, have generally lostthe ability to even conceive of a hopeful future and must journey towardthis time perspective to create balance.

  • a third path: the expanded or holistic present
    • There is a third attitude toward the present that is very different fromboth present fatalism and present hedonism. The expanded or holisticpresent is the absolute present, a concept central to Buddhism andmeditation, and is very different from the Western

      By opening your mind fully to the present moment, you give uplonging and desire for future possibilities and surrender past regretsand obligations. This form of present attention or mindfulness can fillyour entire being, replacing your sense of past and fut

      Sanskrit, Indias classical language, captures that unique attitudetoward time in this ancient saying:Yesterday is already a dreamAnd tomorrow but a visionBut today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happinessAnd every tomorrow a vision of hope.Alt

  • future: plan for tomorrow
    • Future-oriented people pay minimal attention to past experiences,and they brush off the clamor of the present to act now.

      Instead,a new psychology of time 43they pull out their mental calculator to figure out the possible futureconsequences of current actions. If they find that the anticipated costsare higher than the imagined gains, then it is a NO GO„the perceivedrisks trump

      Future-oriented people live in a world of contingencies, probabilities,and abstract mental representations of a virtual world on theirhorizon. They are not tempted by immediate gratification that couldbackfire later„like unprotected sex that could result in

      Not surprisingly, the future orientation lends itself to problemsolving and creating alternative strategies for reaching a goal. Futureorientedpeople finish what they start and get the job done. And theyunderstand that although anything can happen, they can

  • time perspectives and behavior worldwide
    • Time perspective differences are global. The following selected researchfindings on time perspectives and behavior were found using the ZTPIand detailed in The Time Paradox2:

      College grades in introductory psychology courses were foundto be highest for future-oriented, lowest for present fatalistic, andlow-average for present hedonistic students

      Future-oriented people tend to live longer because their dominanttrait is conscientiousness, which has been shown to addseveral years of life over those who are low in this characteristic

      Present-oriented college students (both female and male) atCornell University and Stanford University are significantly morelikely to drink alcohol to excess and engage in risky driving thanare their future-oriented peers

      Hospitalized heroin addicts, when compared to hospitalizednonaddicted controls, scored significantly higher on measuresof present hedonism and fatalism, and lower on measures offuture orientation

      Among two samples of U.S. high school students, a presentorientation was positively correlated with high-risk, high-arousalbehaviors. This is in contrast to the negative correlations foundwith future-oriented high school students on risky driving,receiving

      Present-oriented college students were most creative whenmaking art within an experimentally induced process focus, butleast creative with a focus on their product. This contrasts withfuture-oriented students, who excelled in art high in technicalmerit when

      In Rome, future-oriented women were found to be more likelythan present-oriented women to go to a free breast cancercheckup clinic

      Future-oriented people in Brazil and Mexico were found tobe more likely than their present-focused peers to engage inwater and energy conservation and to have pro-environmentattitudes.

      Students who scored high on past negative measures werefound to be less likely to get constructive social supportwhen under stress than those who were present or futureoriented.

      Future-oriented Canadians were found to be more likelythan others to make health responsibility and nutrition highpriorities

      British citizens who were homeless were more likely tohave scored, high on past negative and present fatalisticmeasures

  • transcendental future: look ahead„far, far ahead
    • As we have seen, future-oriented people are ambitious and motivatedby goals. They operate totally within the realm of their lifetime andmake decisions based on a relatively short or very long spans of time„focusing on next week, the quarterly return, or nex

      religious beliefs

      • One type of transcendental future orientation growsout of religious or spiritual beliefs. (Of members of the major worldreligions, Christians and Muslims score higher on transcendental futureorientation measures, whereas Jews and Buddhists score lower.)4 Fo

      secular beliefs

      • You dont have to be religious to have a transcendentalfuture orientation: you may make decisions based on the needs of futuregenerations. The Long Now Foundation, for example, has created theten-thousand-year clock, promoting very long-term thinking aboutt
  • Past Positive
    • Im going to ask her out„she remindsme of my favorite cousin
    • Law was a good field for my dad, so Imgoing to be an attorney too
    • Sure, why not? Most things work outfor me
    • Ive had so many good things in mylife„Im really fortunate
    • You have my blessing„not everyone inthat family was bad, just Grandpasbusiness partner.
  • Past Negative
    • My ex used to love that movie too„Icant be with her any more
    • My father was abusive, so Im better offwithout a man in my life
    • I always make mistakes„I shouldprobably leave this alone
    • The older I get, the more things I seethat Ive missed out on.
    • No, you cannot marry into thatfamily„they were responsible forsinking Grandpas business.
  • Present Hedonistic
    • Sure, why not? Live fast, dieyoung„thats my motto
    • College? No. Too much work, notenough partying
    • I love writing, art, music, anythingwhere I get to be creative
    • Sure, I shoplifted that ring„it was sopretty I just had to have it!
    • I love being spontaneous„you neverknow what will happen when you leavethe door open.
    • I never make to-do lists! That wouldjust cramp my style
  • Present Fatalistic
    • Sure, why not? If its gonna happen, itsgonna happen.
    • Why should I even bother going tocollege? If God wants me to be rich, Illbe rich.
    • Im waiting for inspiration. I know itwill strike sooner or later
    • Sure, I shoplifted that ring„if I getcaught, thats just my fate.
    • Why make big plans? Fate always lendsa hand
    • I never make to-do lists! Somethingalways comes along
  • Future Oriented
    • I have to meet tomorrows deadline
    • If I play my cards right, I can besuccessful in this life
    • Im willing to forgo eating desserttonight because I want to enjoy
    • Thanksgiving tomorrow
    • I can think of several ways to approachthat problem! Let me work out thedifferent scenarios
  • Transcendental Future Oriented
    • The only thing that is important iseternity
    • Whatever else happens, Ill get myreward in heaven
    • It doesnt really matter if Im not wellfed today„God will provide in the nextlife.
    • The best way to approach this problemis the one that has the most benefit inthe long term.
  • ZPTI-zimbardo time perspective inventory
    • 1 I believe that getting together with ones friends to party is oneof lifes important pleasures

      2 Familiar childhood sights, sounds, and smells often bringback a flood ofwonderful memories

      3 Fate determines much in my life

      4 I often think of what I should have done differently in my life

      5 My decisions are mostly influenced b ypeople and things around me

      6 I believe that a persons day should be planned ahead each morning

      7 It gives me pleasure to think of my past

      8 I do things impulsively

      9 If things dont get done on time, I dont worry about it

      10 When I want to achieve something, I set goals and consider specific means for reaching those goals

      11 On balance, there is much more good to recall than bad in my past

      12 When listening to myfavorite music, I often lose all track of time

      13 Meeting tomorrows deadlines and doing other necessary work come before tonights play

      14 Since whatever will be will be, it doesnt really matter what I do

      15 I enjoy stories about how things used to be in the good old times

      16 Painful past experiences keep being replayed in my mind

      17 I try to live my life as fully as possible, one day at a time

      18 It upsets me to be late for appointments

      19 Ideally, I would live each day as if it weremy last

      20 Happy memories of good times spring readily to mind

      21 I meet my obligations to friends and authorities on time

      22 Ive taken my share of abuse and rejection in the past

      23 I make decisions on the spur of the moment

      24 I take each day as it is rather than try to plan it out

      25 The past has too many unpleasant memories that I prefer not to think about

      26 It is important to put excitement in my life

      27 Ive made mistakes in the past that I wish I could undo

      28 I feel that its more important to enjoy what youre doing than to get work done on time

      29 I get nostalgic about my childhood

      30 Before making a decision, I weigh the costs against the benefits

      31 Taking risks keeps my life from becoming boring

      32 It is more important for me to enjoy lifes journey than to focus only on the destination

      33 Things rarely work out as I expected

      34 Its hard for me to forget unpleasant images of my youth

      35 It takes joy out of the process and flow of my activities if I have to think about goals, outcomes, and products

      36 Even when I am enjoying the present, I am drawn back to comparisons with similar pastexperiences

      37 You cant really plan for the future because things change so much

      38 My life path is controlled by forces I cannot influence

      39 It does not make sense to worry about the future, since there is nothing that I can do about it anyway

      40 I complete projects on time by making steady progress

      41 I find myself tuning out when family members talk about the way things used to be

      42 I take risks to put excitement in my life

      43 I make lists of things to do

      44 I often follow my heart more than my head

      45 I am able to resist temptations when I know that there is work to be done

      46 I find myself getting swept up in the excitement of the moment

      47 Life today is too complicated; I would prefer the simpler life of the past

      48 I prefer friends who are spontaneous rather than predictable

      49 I like family rituals and traditions that are regularly repeated

      50 I think about the bad things that have happened to me in the past

      51 I keep working at difficult, uninteresting tasks if they will help me get ahead

      52 Spending what I earn on pleasures today is better than saving for tomorrows security

      53 Often luck pays off better than hard work

      54 I think about the goodt hings that I have missed out on in mylife

      55 I like my close relationships to be passionate

      56 There will always be time to catch up onmy work

      scoring key

      • Scoring InstructionsBefore scoring the ZTPI, you have to reverse the answers for questions9, 24, 25, 41, and 56. This means a

        1 becomes a 5

        2 becomes a 4

        3 remains a 3

        4 becomes a 2

        5 becomes a 1

  • the past negative time perspective
    • Add your scores on questions 4, 5, 16, 22, 27, 33, 34, 36, 50, and 54.Then divide this number by 10.
    • 4. I often think of what I should have done differently inmy life.
    • 5. My decisions are mostly influenced by people andthings around me.
    • 16. Painful past experiences keep being replayed in mymind.
    • 22. Ive taken my share of abuse and rejection in the past
    • 27. Ive made mistakes in the past that I wish I couldundo.
    • 33. Things rarely work out as I expected.
    • 34. Its hard for me to forget unpleasant images of myyouth.
    • 36. Even when I am enjoying the present, I am drawnback to comparisons with similar past experiences
    • 50. I think about the bad things that have happened to mein the past
    • 54. I think about the good things that I have missed out onin my life.
  • the past positive time perspective
    • Add your scores on questions 2, 7, 11, 15, 20, 25 (reversed), 29, 41(reversed), and 49. Then divide this number by 9.

      2. Familiar childhood sights, sounds, and smells oftenbring back a flood of wonderful memories

      7. It gives me pleasure to think of my past

      11. On balance, there is much more good to recall thanbad in my past

      15. I enjoy stories about how things used to be in thegood old times.

      20. Happy memories of good times spring readily tomind.

      25. The past has too many unpleasant memories that Iprefer not to think about

      29. I get nostalgic about my childhood.

      41. I find myself tuning out when family members talkabout the way things used to be.

      49. I like family rituals and traditions that are regularlyrepeated.

  • the present fatalistic time perspective
    • Add your scores on questions 3, 14, 35, 37, 38, 39, 47, 52, and 53. Thendivide this number by 9

      3. Fate determines much in my life.

      14. Since whatever will be will be, it doesnt really matterwhat I do.

      35. It takes joy out of the process and flow of my activitiesif I have to think about goals, outcomes, and products.

      37. You cant really plan for the future because thingschange so much

      38. My life path is controlled by forces I cannot influence

      39. It doesnt make sense to worry about the future, sincethere is nothing that I can do about it anyway.

      47. Life today is too complicated; I would prefer thesimpler life of the past

      52. Spending what I earn on pleasures today is betterthan saving for tomorrows security

      53. Often luck pays off better than hard work.

  • the present hedonistic time perspective
    • Add your scores on questions 1, 8, 12, 17, 19, 23, 26, 28, 31, 32, 42, 44,46, 48, and 55. Then divide this number by 15.

      1. I believe that getting together with ones friends toparty is one of lifes important pleasures

      8. I do things impulsively.

      12. When listening to my favorite music, I often lose alltrack of time

      17. I try to live my life as fully as possible, one day at atime.

      19. Ideally, I would live each day as if it were my last

      23. I make decisions on the spur of the moment.

      26. It is important to put excitement in my life.

      28. I feel that its more important to enjoy what youredoing than to get work done on time

      31. Taking risks keeps my life from becoming boring

      32. It is more important for me to enjoy lifes journey thanto focus only on the destination

      42. I take risks to put excitement in my life.

      44. I often follow my heart more than my head

      46. I find myself getting swept up in the excitement of themoment

      48. I prefer friends who are spontaneous rather thanpredictable

      55. I like my close relationships to be passionate

  • the future time perspective
    • Add your scores on questions 6, 9 (reversed), 10, 13, 18, 21, 24(reversed), 30, 40, 43, 45, 51, and 56 (reversed). Then divide thisnumber by 13

      6. I believe that a persons day should be plannedahead each morning

      9. If things dont get done on time, I dont worry about it.

      10. When I want to achieve something, I set goals andconsider specific means for reaching those goals.

      13. Meeting tomorrows deadlines and doing othernecessary work come before tonights play

      18. It upsets me to be late for appointments.

      21. I meet my obligations to friends and authorities ontime.

      24. I take each day as it is rather than try to plan it out.

      30. Before making a decision, I weigh the costs againstthe benefits.

      40. I complete projects on time by making steadyprogress

      43. I make lists of things to do

      45. I am able to resist temptations when I know that thereis work to be done.

      51. I keep working at difficult, uninteresting tasks if they will help me get ahead

      56. There will always be time to catch up on my work.

  • interpreting your scores
    • Once youve taken the ZTPI or TTPI and scored it, you may wonder whatit all means. Figure 2.2 is a graph that we made by combining time perspectivescores from a large sample of respondents. It shows averageand ideal scores for each time perspective

      Average Scores (50 Percent):

      The average score for each time perspectivelines up with 50 percent on the graph. For example, for the pastnegative time perspective, the average score is 3.0. For the past positiveit is 3.7.9

      Ideal Scores (Dots):

      The dots represent our idea of ideal timescores„they are not associated with the data in any way. We haveincluded these ideals so that you can have an indication of how toimprove your time perspective.

  • developing a balanced time perspective
    • Our individual attitudes toward time are largely learned, and we generallyrelate to time unconsciously and subjectively. Each of us, in fact,has a time perspective that is largely biased„we overuse one of thetime zones while underusing the others, even when

      We have58 the time curefound, however, that as we become more conscious of our temporalorientations we can take action to change them, journeying toward abalanced time perspective.

      We divide the continual flow of our experiences into time framesthat help give order, coherence, and meaning to events. These timeframes may reflect cyclical and repetitive patterns, such as the changingseasons, holidays, your monthly menstrual cycle, or yo

      In our work we have consistently found that time perspectives playa fundamental role in the way people live. People tend to develop andoveruse a particular time zone, for example, focusing on the future, thepresent, or the past. Although one perspective is

      Future-oriented people tend to be more successful professionallyand academically, to eat well, to exercise regularly, and to schedule preventivedoctors exams. People who are predominantly present orientedtend to be willing to help others, but appear less w

      Consequently, future-oriented people are the most likely to be successfulbut the least likely to help others in need. Ironically, the peoplewho are best able to help are the least likely to do so. In contrast,present-oriented people are less likely to be su

      The situation is more complicated with past-oriented people. Divergentattitudes toward the past„negative or positive„play dramatica new psychology of time 59roles in daily decisions because they become binding frames of referencethat are carried in the mind

  • Time Zones Summary
    • The three subjective psychological time zones in which we liveare the past (what was), the present (what is), and the future(what will be). Each of these time zones is further divided bycultural biases; spiritual beliefs; and countless hopes, dreams,memorie

      Past-oriented people make decisions based on negative or positivememories of similar situations. Present-oriented peopletake immediate action based on pleasure or avoidance, withoutthought for consequences. Future-oriented people makedecisions based on a re

      1. Past positive people

      • Past positive people focus on the good old days. Theymay keep scrapbooks, collect photos, and look forward tocelebrating traditional holidays

      2. Past negative people

      • Past negative people focus on all the things that went wrongin the past: It doesnt matter what I do, my life will neverchange.

      3. Present hedonistic people

      • Present hedonistic people live in the moment„seekingpleasure, knowledge, and sensation, and avoiding pain.

      4. Present fatalistic people

      • Present fatalistic people feel that decisions are mootbecause predetermined fate plays the guiding role in life:What will be, will be.

      5. Future-oriented people

      • Future-oriented people plan for the future and trust thattheir decisions will work out

      6. Transcendental-future people

      • Transcendental-future…oriented people have faith that abetter time is coming after death, and plan for this duringtheir lives.

      Exercise: selected present hedonism

      • Allow yourself five uninterrupted minutes to relax in a safe place. Closeyour eyes. Breathe slowly, deeply, and rhythmically. Allow your body torelax deeper and deeper with each breath

        Once youve completed four of these relaxing breaths, think ofsomething you enjoy doing. If youve been through trauma and havebeen unable to enjoy yourself, you may have to go back to a time beforethe trauma and remember what used to bring you joy

        Now make a commitment to yourself to follow through with thisselected present hedonistic activity as soon as possible. There is notime like the present!

        If you now have a disability and can no longer do what you used toenjoy, then now is the time to discover new things that will bring you joy.These can be simple things, such as sitting in the sun, visiting a flowershop, listening to music, playing a board g

• Chapter 3 Time Perspective Therapy
  • Most traditional therapy models take PTSD sufferers back into thehorror in the hope of desensitizing them to the trauma, or to plant themeaning of the present firmly in the experiences of the past. This maymean dwelling in the past for anywhere from a few h

    Time perspective therapy takes a very different route towardemotional and psychological recovery. We say, Where you are goingis more important than where you have been

    Your past is not yourpotential„your future is your potential.

    We begin by airing out thetrauma, giving it the respect it deserves; but we do not dwell there.Instead, we go even further back, gathering positive strengths from thepersons past„finding the person he or she was before the trauma.Then we come back to the p

    TPT basics

    • Understand time perspectives and how they frame the way wesee ourselves and our possibilities

      Respect the trauma. We acknowledge that this was an importantevent and should not be downplayed

      Recognize that PTSD sufferers are mentally injured, not mentallyill.

      Learn self-soothing behaviors, including breathing exercises andvisualizations

      Boost past positives. For PTSD in particular, we want to eventuallyeclipse the past negatives

      Encourage healthy present hedonism. We promote selectedactivities that are enjoyable but not irresponsible or lifethreatening.

      Encourage pro-social behavior, bringing the PTSD sufferer backinto healthy human relationships through social interaction ina relaxed group setting. Family members and significant othersare also invited to attend therapy sessions if possible

      Help them make, and act on, both short- and long-range plansfor a positive future„a brighter future.

    step 1: understanding time perspectives

    • Understanding time perspectives and how they determine the way wesee our lives and our possibilities in life is the key to success in TPT, sothis is the place we start with every client. This simple concept is an eyeopeningand easy-to-comprehend new way for

      We explain that one can either be stuck in one or two time perspectives(such as past negative and present fatalistic) at the expenseof the others (past positive, present hedonistic, and future positive), orbe balanced in all three major time zones.

      An overall balanced timeperspective usually results in greater emotional well-being, so this isour goal for them in therapy. In our experience it is more helpful forclients to learn, understand, and talk about their time perspective thantheir clinical sympt

      people suffering from PTSD

      • High past negative
      • Low past positive
      • High or low present hedonism
      • High present fatalism
      • Low future

    step 2: returning to the past

    • The first session, then, is concerned with establishing rapport. Thetherapist explains the components of PTSD, Temporal Theory (TT), andthe basics of TPT. During the explanation of TT and TPT, many clientshave an Ah ha! moment. They see that their traum

      Whatever the time perspective (TP) therapists method or the clientsresolve, we start with what brought the client in for therapy inthe first place„the trauma that knocked him or her off balance. Onceclients feel comfortable with the TP therapist, they beg

      Retelling the trauma can, understandably, be terribly upsetting forclients. Toward the end of the session, therefore, the therapist givesthem easy, practical tools„a simple breathing technique to help themcalm themselves and focus, relaxation and visualizat

    step 3: psychological testing

    • Early in therapy, the client is given a series of psychological tests. Theseinclude a trauma severity indicator (we use the Post-trauma Checklist forcivilians [PCL-C] or the Post-trauma Checklist for military [PCL-M]);a depression test (the Burns Depression

    step 4: discussing the present

    • In a follow-up session, we can usually begin to discuss clients symptoms(nightmares, flashbacks, intrusive recollections or thoughts,avoidance, isolation, anger and irritability, hyper-vigilance or paranoia,sleep deprivation, and so on). Understanding how

      Weve found that the best way to help PTSD sufferers overcometheir past traumas is to encourage them to envision a better future.This is accomplished by setting goals and figuring out specific meansby which these goals can be achieved. In turn, this encoura

      First, we ask them to imagine that they have one foot stuck in thequicksand of the past, and the other resting on the mud of the fatalisticpresent. The fatalistic view is reasonable given that nothing has workedto help them out of the quicksand. In this sta

      To make a start, all they need to do is lift that one foot out of themuck and mire of the past and put it on the solid ground of the future.Then they need to bring the other foot out of the mud of presentfatalism and rest it on the more solid ground of pres

      This imagery seems to be especially useful for our clients who areveterans, and whose traumas have been particularly brutal. We also canwork at stepping on the really secure ground of past positives, where allthe good things in their past are still ready to

    step 5: planning for the future

    • Once all of the skeletons (the past negatives) are out of the closet andtheir manifestations (present fatalistic and certain present hedonisticbehaviors) have been examined, its time to lay them to rest. We beginby making first short- and then long-range p

      In each succeeding session,wefocus first on handling any recent pastproblems, with emphasis on learning from past negatives and focusingon past positives. We discuss how the problems were handled or, ifthings didnt turn out so well, how they could have bee

      Next, we discuss immediate day-to-day problems and formulateplans to tackle them. We give our clients homework, stuff theymust do outside the therapeutic session to try out new patterns ofbehavior„under the safety of I have to do it, they made me do it, i

      Then plans are made for the next day, and then the next week, andthen the next month . . . until we have sketched out plans for a far futurepositive. These future positive plans must include some selected presenthedonism to offset the present fatalism in wh

    step 6: living in the expanded present

    • Follow-up psychological test results tell us that our job is done whenthe PTSD client consistently has more past positive thoughts than pastnegative, is following through with future positive plans while taking80 the time curecare of present business, and i

      The cycle of well-being (see Figure 3.3) starts in the present, withawareness and decision making. When a positive thought or attitude inthe form of hopes and dreams is projected into the future, this maximizesthe chance of a future positive time perspectiv

    Cycle of Well-Being

    • Good Memories
    • Past Positive
    • Hopes and Dreams
    • Future Positives

    emotional distress

    • High past negative: I am bothered by the past.
    • Low past positive: Nothing is good about the past.
    • High present fatalism: Nothing can change my fate, so Igive up
    • Low present hedonism: Nothing is good about my liferight now.
    • Low future: I avoid the future and fear it.
    • Low transcendental future: When I die, thats it.

    emotional well-being

    • Low past negative: The stuff that happened in my past wasntso bad.
    • High past positive: I enjoy thinking about the past.
    • Low present fatalism: I can make things better if I try.
    • High (selected) present hedonism: I love life; I enjoy my significantothers.
    • High-medium future: The best is yet to come.
    • Moderate transcendental future: There is an afterlife, and itsgood.

    getting to a balanced time perspective

    • TPTs goal is to help the client establish a balanced time perspective. ForPTSD sufferers, the negative past far outweighs the present or future,overbalancing the system like an elephant on a seesaw.

    The optimal temporal mix includes all time zones

    • 1. The past grounds us. It gives us roots, connecting us to our identityand family

      2. The future gives us wings to soar to new destinations and acceptnew challenges

      3. The present gives us the ongoing energy we need to explore ourworld, inside and outside of ourselves

    the present is the balance point between past and future

    • As the figure shows, the present is the fulcrum„the balance point„between the past and the future.The present is the point on which both the past and future canachieve balance. The present is the only place from which we can takeaction, but its not the onl

    mental distress tips the balance toward the negative past

    • The mental distress portion of the illustration demonstrates what happenswhen the negatives of the past outweigh hope for a better future(see Figure 3.4). Here the past negatives have been stuffed into a junkbox, overflowing and chaotic. The solid bar of th

    time perspective therapy extends future hopes

    • As time perspective therapy progresses, several things change: the negativejunk from the past is packed up into a much more manageablesuitcase„weve all got baggage, but we dont need to carry our entirebasement with us! (See Figure 3.5.) The timeline exten

    a balanced time perspective includes past, present, and futureworking together in harmony

    • In a balanced time perspective, amore positive past and a positive futurerest on the fulcrum of the present (see Figure 3.6). As future goalsbecome present realities, mental health improves. The positive thingsthat happened in the past once again become mor

    a balanced time perspective includes past, present, and futureworking together in harmony

    • In a balanced time perspective, amore positive past and a positive futurerest on the fulcrum of the present (see Figure 3.6). As future goalsbecome present realities, mental health improves. The positive thingsthat happened in the past once again become mor

    planning a brighter future

    • For PTSD sufferers, who have for so long lived only in the past andimmediate present, planning a brighter future means making plans forthe long term, for themselves and their loved ones. In the beginning,they naturally allow their past negatives to overwhel

    TPT Summary

    • The primary goal of TPT is the same regardless of what broughtthe client to therapy„achieving a balanced time perspective

      The basics of TPT include the following:

      • (1) understanding timeperspectives,
      • (2) respecting the trauma and understanding theconcept of mental injury versus mental illness
      • (3) using breathingand visualization to self-soothe,
      • (4) boosting past positives
      • (5) encouraging healthy present hedonism
      • (6) encouraging prosocialbehavior,
      • (7) planning and acting on positive futuregoals.

      Initial psychological testing of clients includes a trauma severityindicator, a depression test (the Burns Depression Checklist),an anxiety test (the Burns Anxiety Inventory), and theZTPI. These tests are scored by the therapist and discussedwith the client

      Follow-up psychological test results tell us that our jobis done when the PTSD client consistently has more pastpositive thoughts than past negative, is following through withfuture positive plans while taking care of present business,and is enjoying himsel

      TPTs post-therapy outcomes are proven in our pilot studyresults as well as in client follow-up, indicating that it can indeedbe a long-lasting solution. TPT pilot study results indicateimprovements between pre- and post-treatment over thethree-and-a-half-y

    Exercise: a brighter future

    • Allow yourself five uninterrupted minutes to relax in a safe place. Closeyour eyes. Breathe slowly, deeply, and rhythmically. Allow your body torelax deeper and deeper with each breath

      When youve completed four of these relaxing breaths, open yourmind to the image of your brighter future. Try not to think too hard, justlet it come. What does it look like? What are you doing? Who is with you?Where are you? What are you trying to achieve?

      There are no right answers here! Perhaps your brighter futureplan is social or financial, or has to do with your health. It could be assimple as planting a kitchen herb garden, starting an exercise program,or eating more healthfully, or as complicated a

      Now see yourself making a plan to actualize this brighter future.What will it take to achieve this goal? Take small steps that will beeasy to achieve, and envision yourself making carefully planned, steadyprogress toward your brighter future

• Chapter 4 War Veterans, PTSD, and Time Perspective Therapy
  • Symptom minimizers
    • an attitude that has been instilled and reinforced from childhood.
    • Symptom minimizers can be severely depressed or anxious, yetput on a happy face in public.
    • repression and denial
    • frequent intrusive
    • distressingrecollections
    • flashbacks
    • suffer from sleep deprivation
  • Temporal Theory
    • Whenever hehad past negative thoughts
    • he was asked to remember the past positives
• Chapter 6 Women, PTSD, and Time Perspective Therapy
  • Why twice as likely? The National Center for PTSD puts it in bluntterms:
    • Women are more likely to experience sexual assault.
    • Sexual assault is more likely than many other events to causePTSD
    • Women may be more likely to blame themselves for trauma experiencesthan men [italics added].
  • women are more likely to developPTSD if they
    • Have a past mental health problem (e.g., depression or anxiety)
    • Experienced a very severe or life-threatening trauma
    • Were sexually assaulted
    • Were injured during the event
    • Had a severe reaction at the time of the event
    • Experienced other stressful events afterwards
    • Do not have good social support
  • do hormones play a role in womens PTSD?
    • As scientific studies on women and PTSD emerge, we are finding aninteresting correlation between womens physical makeup and PTSD

      Their findings: thewomen, PTSD, and time perspective therapy 187hormone-like molecule PACAP (pituitary adenylate cyclase-activatingpolpypeptide), which regulates a persons stress response on a cellularlevel, was higher in clients with PTSD than in those wh

      A follow-up study including only traumatizedwomen found that women with PTSD were also more likely to have avariation of a gene for PAC-1 (first procaspase-activating compound)„asynthesized chemical compound with anti-tumor potential that also respondsto es

      This study provides a possible answer to the question of why somewomen respond differently than some men to traumatic situations andexperiences.Ressler hypothesizes that estrogen, the primary female sexhormone, may amplify the effects of stress. The gene fo

• Glossary
  • Balanced time perspective
    • Having free emotional and mentalmobility between thoughts of the past, present, and future; theoptimum psychological state. See Time perspective(s).
  • Brighter future
    • A future time perspective free of the emotional andmental suffering from untreated PTSD; the goal of timeperspective therapy. It is the hope that the future will be betterthan the past.
  • Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
    • A systematic, goal-orientedpsychotherapeutic approach merging two established talktherapies: cognitive therapy (aimed at changing unconstructiveemotional responses and dysfunctional thinking) and behavioraltherapy (reinforcing wanted behaviors and eliminati
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
    • A severe anxiety disorderthat can develop after exposure to a physically or psychologicallytraumatic event. This event may involve the threat of death tooneself or to someone else, or a threat to ones own or someoneelses physical, sexual, or psychological
  • Suicidal and homicidal ideations with or without plan(s)
    • Thoughts of taking ones own life or the life of another, eitherincluding thoughts of how to proceed (such as by the use of aweapon, vehicle, drugs, and so on) or without such a thought (forexample, wishing one would simply die).
  • Symptom minimizer
    • An individual suffering from depression,anxiety, trauma, and related symptoms (such as avoidance,isolation, irritability, increased anger, suicidal thoughts, and so on)who downplays the severity of his or her symptoms. Repression,denial, and displacement ar
  • Temporal Theory (TT)
    • The theory that ones time perspective(s)affect ones view of ones life and the choices one makes. TemporalTheory, as posited by Philip Zimbardo, stresses the importance ofones individual time perspective and its impact on ones sense ofmental distress or
  • Time Paradox
    • The idea that one can be stuck in a particular timeperspective, such as the past, even though time is considered linearand progressive. According to Philip Zimbardo, there are twoTime Paradoxes. First, our attitudes toward time have profoundimpacts on o
  • Time perspective(s) (TP)
    • The psychological term for the process bywhich each of us sorts out our personal experiences into temporalcategories. Each of the three primary subjective time zones„past,present, and future„is divided into two parts, yielding six maintime perspectives:
  • Past positive (PP)
    • A positive focus on the memories of thegood old days, family, and tradition. Balancing past positive andfuture positive orientations creates the following:
  • Expanded or holistic present
    • A focus on the here and now, abelief that all things are connected
  • Past negative (PN)
    • A negative focus that recalls past abuse, failures,and regrets over missed opportunities.
  • Present hedonism (PH)
    • A focus on pleasure, risk taking, andsensation seeking. Also of note is
  • Selected present hedonism (SPH)
    • A focus on a moderateamount of pleasure and sensation seeking; frequently as areward for accomplishments
  • Present fatalism (PF)
    • A focus on not taking control of situationsthat is driven by a belief that life is fated to play out in acertain way, no matter what one does
  • Future (F)
    • A focus on working for goals, meeting deadlines, andachieving objectives. In the development of time perspectivetherapy, the future time perspective was split into
  • Future positive
    • A focus on a brighter future
  • Future negative
    • A focus on a fatalistic future
  • Transcendental future
    • A focus that places spiritual life after thedeath of the body above all else (religious); a focus that places thelong-term future of many generations, or the life of the planet,above all else (secular)
  • Time perspective therapy (TPT)
    • The implementation ofZimbardos Temporal Theory into clinical practice, using a contextof time perspectives; an evolution of cognitive behavioral therapy.Developed by Richard and Rosemary Sword in 2008…2009, it hasbeen used successfully to treat PTSD, depre
• Compiled By:
  • blindcaveman.wordpress.com
  • Rigel Arcayan

Mindmap-Book SummaryThinkingFastSlow

Mindmap-Book SummaryThinkingFastSlow

• About Thinking Fast and Slow
  • Date Read: December 2014
  • Author: Daniel Kahneman
  • ISBN: 978-0374533557
  • 512 pages
  • MyRating: 5 Stars
• Thinking Fast and Slow
  • Introduction
    • aim for watercooler conversations

      improve the ability toidentify and understand errors of judgment and choice in others andeventually in ourselves by providing a richer and more precise language todiscuss them In at least some cases an accurate diagnosis may suggestan intervention to limit the damage that bad judgments and choices oftencause

      Origins

      Are peoplegood intuitive statisticians?

      We already knew that people are goodintuitive grammarians: at age four a child effortlessly conforms to the rulesof grammar as she speaks although she has no idea that such rules exist

      Do people have a similar intuitive feel for the basic principles of statistics?

      We had concluded in the seminarthat our own intuitions were deficient

      In spite of years of teaching andusing statistics we had not developed an intuitive sense of the reliability ofstatistical results observed in small samples

      Even statisticians were not good intuitive statisticians

      Ourresearch was a conversation

      we invented questions and jointlyexamined our intuitive answers

      Each question was a small experiment and we carried out many experiments in a single day

      We were notseriously looking for the correct answer to the statistical questions weposed

      Our aim was to identify and analyze the intuitive answer the first1 that came to mind the 1 we were tempted to make even when weknew it to be wrong

      We believed—correctly as it happened—that anyintuition that the 2 of us shared would be shared by many other peopleas well and that it would be easy to demonstrate its effects on judgments

      reliance on the ease of memory

      adultery ismore common among politicians than among physicians or lawyers

      Consider the letter K Is K more likely to appear as the first letter in a word OR as thethird letter?

      Social scientists in the s broadlyaccepted 2 ideas about human nature

      First people are generallyrational and their thinking is normally sound

      Second emotions such asfear affection and hatred explain most of the occasions on which peopledepart from rationality

      Our article challenged both assumptions withoutdiscussing them directly

      We documented systematic errors in the thinkingof normal people and we traced these errors to the design of themachinery of cognition rather than to the corruption of thought by emotion

      students of policy have noted that the availability heuristichelps explain why some issues are highly salient in the public’s mind whileothers are neglected

      People tend to assess the relative importance ofissues by the ease with which they are retrieved from memory—and this islargely determined by the extent of coverage in the media

      Frequentlymenti1d topics populate the mind even as others slip away fromawareness

      In turn what the media choose to report corresponds to theirview of what is currently on the public’s mind

  • Where we are now
  • What Comes Next
• Part I 2 Systems
  • Chapter 01 The Characters of the Story
    • 2 Systems
    • System 1
      • System 1 operates automatically and quickly with little or no effortand no sense of voluntary control

        examples of the automaticactivities that are attributed to System 1

        Detect that 1 object is more distant than another

        Orient to the source of a sudden sound

        Complete the phrase “bread and…”

        Make a “disgust face” when shown a horrible picture

        Detect hostility in a voice

        Answer to + = ?

        Read words on large billboards

        Drive a car on an empty road

        Find a strong move in chess (if you are a chess master)

        Understand simple sentences

        Recognize that a “meek and tidy soul with a passion for detail”resembles an occupational stereotype

        All these mental events belong with the angry woman—they occurautomatically and require little or no effort

        The capabilities of System 1include innate skills that we share with other animals

        We are bornprepared to perceive the world around us recognize objects orientattention avoid losses and fear spiders

        The knowledge

        The knowledge is stored in memory and accessed withoutintention and without effort

        mental actions in the list are completely involuntary

        Youcannot refrain from understanding simple sentences in your own languageor from orienting to a loud unexpected sound nor can you prevent yourselffrom knowing that + = or from thinking of Paris when the capital ofFrance is menti1d

        The control of attentionis shared by the 2 systems

        You may be able to resist turning towardthe source of a loud and offensive comment at a crowded party but even ifyour head does not move your attention is initially directed to it at least fora while However attention can be moved away from an unwanted focus primarily by focusing intently on another target

    • System 2
      • System 2 allocates attention to the effortful mental activities thatdemand it including complex computations The operations ofSystem 2 are often associated with the subjective experience ofagency choice and concentration

        The highly diverse operations of System 2 have 1 feature in common:they require attention and are disrupted when attention is drawn away

        Brace for the starter gun in a race

        Focus attention on the clowns in the circus

        Focus on the voice of a particular person in a crowded and noisyroom

        Look for a woman with white hair

        Search memory to identify a surprising sound

        Maintain a faster walking speed than is natural for you

        Monitor the appropriateness of your behavior in a social situation

        Count the occurrences of the letter a in a page of text

        Tell some1 your ph1 number

        Park in a narrow space (for most people except garage attendants)

        Compare 2 washing machines for overall value

        Fill out a tax form

        Check the validity of a complex logical argument

        In all these situations you must pay attention and you will perform less well or not at all if you are not ready or if your attention is directedinappropriately

        System 2 has some ability to change the way System 1works by programming the normally automatic functions of attention andmemory

        When waiting for a relative at a busy train station for example you can set yourself at will to look for a white haired woman or a beardedman and thereby increase the likelihood of detecting your relative from adistance

        You can set your memory to search for capital cities that startwith N or for French existentialist novels

        when you rent a car atLondon’s Heathrow Airport the attendant will probably remind you that “wedrive on the left side of the road over here

        In all these cases you areasked to do something that does not come naturally and you will find thatthe consistent maintenance of a set requires continuous exertion of at leastsome effort

        “pay attention”

        The often used phrase “pay attention” is apt: you dispose of a limitedbudget of attention that you can allocate to activities and if you try toi>Cyou try tgo beyond your budget you will fail

        It is the mark of effortfulactivities that they interfere with each other which is why it is difficult orimpossible to conduct several at once

        You could not compute the productof × while making a left turn into dense traffic and you certainlyshould not try

        You can do several things at once but only if they are easyand undemanding

        You are probably safe carrying on a conversation with apassenger while driving on an empty highway and many parents havediscovered perhaps with some guilt that they can read a story to a childwhile thinking of something else

        Intense focusing on a task can make people effectively blind even tostimuli that normally attract attention

        Seeing and orienting are automatic functions ofSystem 1 but they depend on the allocation of some attention to therelevant stimulu

        Invisible Gorilla The gorilla study illustrates 2 important facts about our minds

        • we can be blind to theobvious
        • we are also blind to our blindness

        Plot Synopsis

        The interaction of the 2 systems is a recurrent theme of the book and abrief synopsis of the plot is in order In the story I will tell Systems and are both active whenever we are awake

        System 1 runs automatically andSystem 2 is normally in a comfortable low effort mode in which only afraction of its capacity is engaged

        System 1 continuously generatessuggestions for System 2

        • impressions
        • intuitions
        • intentions
        • feelings

        If endorsed by System 2 impressions and intuitions turn into beliefs andimpulses turn into voluntary actions

        When all goes smoothly which is mostof the time System 2 adopts the suggestions of System 1 with little or nomodification You generally believe your impressions and act on yourdesires and that is fine—usually

        When System 1 runs into difficulty it calls on System 2 to support moredetailed and specific processing that may solve the problem of themoment

        System 2 is mobilized when a question arises for which System 1does not offer an answer as probably happened to you when youencountered the multiplication problem ×

        You can also feel a surgeof conscious attention whenever you are surprised

        System 2 is activ”>< is actated when an event is detected that violates the model of the worldthat System 1 maintains In that world lamps do not jump cats do not bark and gorillas do not cross basketball courts

        most of what you (your System) think and do originates in your System 1 but System 2 takes over whenthings get difficult and it normally has the last word

        1 of the tasks of System 2 is to overcome the impulses ofSystem 1 In other words System 2 is in charge of self control

        Illusions

        You have chosen to believe themeasurement but you cannot prevent System 1 from doing its thing; youcannot decide to see the lines as equal although you know they are

        Toresist the illusion there is only 1 thing you can do: you must learn tomistrust your impressions of the length of lines when fins are attached tothem To implement that rule you must be able to recognize the illusorypattern and recall what you know about it If you can do this you will neveragain be fooled by the Müller Lyer illusion But you will still see 1 line aslonger than the other

        cognitive illusions

        Not all illusions are visual There are illusions of thought which we callcognitive illusions

        The question that is most often asked about cognitive illusions iswhether they can be overcome

        Useful Fictions

        Mental arithmetic is a voluntary activity thatrequires effort should not be performed while making a left turn and isassociated with dilated pupils and an accelerated heart rate ”

    • Speaking of System 1 and System 2
      • “He had an impression but some of his impressions areillusions ”
      • “This was a pure System 1 response She reacted to the threatbefore she recognized it ”
      • “This is your System 1 talking Slow down and let your System 2take control ”
  • Chapter 02 Attention and Effort
    • Mental Effort

      Eckhard Hess

      It begins with Hess reporting that his wife hadnoticed his pupils widening as he watched beautiful nature pictures and itends with 2 striking pictures of the same good looking woman whosomehow appears much more attractive in 1 than in the other

      There isonly 1 difference: the pupils of the eyes appear dilated in the attractivepicture and constricted in the other

      1 of Hess’s findings especially captured my attention

      He had noticedthat the pupils are sensitive indicators of mental effort—they dilatesubstantially when people multiply 2 digit numbers and they dilate moreif the problems are hard than if they are easy

      His observations indicatedthat the response to mental effort is distinct from emotional arousal

      developed a setup similar to an optician’s examinationroom in which the experimental participant leaned her head on a chin andforeheadrest and stared at a camera while listening to prerecordedinformation and answering questions on the recorded beats of ametronome The beats triggered an infrared flash every second causing apicture to be taken At the end of each experimental session we wouldrush to have the film developed project the images of the pupil on ascreen and go to work with a ruler The method was a perfect fit for youngand impatient researchers: we knew our results almost immediately andthey always told a clear story

      Beatty and I focused on paced tasks such as Add in which we knewprecisely what was on the subject’s mind at any time We recorded stringsof digits on beats of the metronome and instructed the subject to repeat ortransform the digits 1 indigits onby 1 maintaining the same rhythm We soon discovered that the size of the pupil varied second by second reflecting the changing demands of the task The shape of the responsewas an inverted V As you experienced it if you tried Add or Add effortbuilds up with every added digit that you hear reaches an almostintolerable peak as you rush to produce a transformed string during andimmediately after the pause and relaxes gradually as you “unload” yourshort term memory The pupil data corresponded precisely to subjectiveexperience: longer strings reliably caused larger dilations thetransformation task compounded the effort and the peak of pupil sizecoincided with maximum effort

      During a mental multiplication the pupilnormally dilated to a large size within a few seconds and stayed large aslong as the individual kept working on the problem; it contractedimmediately when she found a solution or gave up As we watched fromthe corridor we would sometimes surprise both the owner of the pupil andour guests by asking “Why did you stop working just now?” The answerfrom inside the lab was often “How did you know?” to which we wouldreply “We have a window to your soul ”

      mental life

      Unlike the tasks that we were studying themundane conversation apparently demanded little or no effort—no morethan retaining 2 or three digits This was a eureka moment: I realized thatthe tasks we had chosen for study were exceptionally effortful

      life of System 2—

      normally conducted at the pace of a comfortable walk sometimesinterrupted by episodes of jogging and on rare occasions by a franticsprint The Add and Add exercises are sprints and casual chatting isa stroll

      We found that people when engaged in a mental sprint may becomeeffectively blind

      effectively blind

      We found that people when engaged in a mental sprint may becomeeffectively blind The authors of The Invisible Gorilla had made the gorilla“invisible” by keeping the observers intensely busy counting passes

      index of the current rate

      Similarly wedecide what to do but we have limited control over the effort of doing it Suppose you are shown four digits say and told that your lifedepends on holding them in memory for seconds However much youwant to live you cannot exert as much effort in this task as you would beforced to invest to complete an Add transformation on the same digits

      limitedcapacity

      System 2 and the electrical circuits in your home both have limitedcapacity but they respond differently to threatened overload A breakertrips when the demand for current is excessive causing all devices on thatcircuit to lose power at once In contrast the response to mental overloadis selective and precise

      System 2 protects the most important activity soit receives the attention it needs; “spare capacity” is allocated second bysecond to other tasks

      allocation of attention

      In our version of the gorilla experiment weinstructed the participants to assign priority to the digit task We know thatthey followed that instruction because the timing of the visual target had noeffect on the main task If the critical letter was presented at a time of highdemand the subjects simply did not see it When the transformation taskwas less demanding detection performance was better

      Orienting and responding quickly to the gravest threatsor most promising opportunities improved the chance of survival and thiscapability is certainly not restricted to humans

      Even in modern humans System 1 takes over in emergencies and assigns total priority to selfprotectiveactions Imagine yourself at the wheel of a car that unexpectedlyskids on a large oil slick You will find that you have responded to the threatbefore you became fully conscious of it

      Attention andEffort

      As you become skilled in a task its demand for energy diminishes Studies of the brain have shown that the pattern of activity associated withan action changes as skill increases with fewer brain regions involved

      As you become skilled in a task its demand for energy diminishes Studies of the brain have shown that the pattern of activity associated withan action changes as skill increases with fewer brain regions involved

      Talent has similar effects

      Highly intelligent individuals need less effort tosolve the same problems as indicated by both pupil size and brain activity

      A general “law of least effort” appd t” alies to cognitive as well as physicalexertion

      The law asserts that if there are several ways of achieving thesame goal people will eventually gravitate to the least demanding courseof action

      economy of action

      In the economy of action effort is a cost and the acquisition ofskill is driven by the balance of benefits and costs Laziness is built deepinto our nature

      Mental multiplication of 2 digit numbers and theAdd task are near the limit of what most people can do

      Mental multiplication of 2 digit numbers and theAdd task are near the limit of what most people can do

      What makes some cognitive operations more demanding and effortfulthan others?

      What outcomes must we purchase in the currency ofattention?

      What can System 2 do that System 1 cannot?

      Effort is required to maintain simultaneously in memory several ideasthat require separate actions or that need to be combined according to arule—rehearsing your shopping list as you enter the supermarket choosing between the fish and the veal at a restaurant or combining asurprising result from a survey with the information that the sample wassmall for example

      System 2 is the only 1 that can follow rules

      compareobjects on several attributes

      make deliberate choices betweenoptions

      automatic System 1 does not have these capabilities

      System 2 is the only 1 that can follow rules compareobjects on several attributes and make deliberate choices betweenoptions The automatic System 1 does not have these capabilities

      System detects simple relations (“they are all alike ” “the son is much taller thanthe father”) and excels at integrating information about 1 thing but itdoes not deal with multiple distinct topics at once nor is it adept at usingpurely statistical information

      A crucial capability of System 2

      “task sets”:

      • A crucial capability of System 2 is the adoption of “task sets”: it canprogram memory to obey an instruction that overrides habitual responses
        • Count all occurrences of the letter f in this page This is not a task you have ever performed before and it will not comenaturally to you but your System 2 can take it on It will be effortful to setyourself up for this exercise and effortful to carry it out though you willsurely improve with practice

          Count all occurrences of the letter f in this page This is not a task you have ever performed before and it will not comenaturally to you but your System 2 can take it on It will be effortful to setyourself up for this exercise and effortful to carry it out though you willsurely improve with practice

      “executive control”

      • Psychologists speak of “executive control” todescribe the adoption and termination of task sets and neuroscientistshave identified the main regions of the brain that serve the executivefunction 1 of these regions is involved whenever a conflict must beresolved

      Now suppose that at the end of the page you get another instruction:count all the commas in the next page This will be harder because you willhave to overcome the newly acquired tendency to focus attention on theletter f 1 of the significant discoveries of cognitive psychologists inrecent decades is that switching from 1 task to another is effortful especially under time pressure The need for rapid switching is 1 of thereasons that Add and mental multiplication are so difficult

      To performthe Add task you must hold several digits in your working memory at thesame time associating each with a particular operation: some digits are inthe queue to be transformed 1 is in the process of transformation andothers already transformed are retained for reporting Modern tests ofworking memory require the individual to switch repeatedly between 2demanding tasks retaining the results of 1 operation while performingthe other

      People who do well on these tests tend to do well on tests ofgeneral intelligence

      the ability to control attention is not simply ameasure of intelligence

      measures of efficiency in the control of attentionpredict performance

      Time pressure is another driver of effort

      Much like the electricity meter outside your house or apartment thepupils offer an index of the current rate at which mental energy is used

      Speaking of Attention and Effort

      • “I won’t try to solve this while driving This is a pupil dilating task Itrequires mental effort!”

        “The law of least effort is operating here He will think as little aspossible ”

        “She did not forget about the meeting She was completelyfocused on something else when the meeting was set and shejust didn’t hear you ”

        “What came quickly to my mind was an intuition from System 1 I’llhave to start over and search my memory deliberately ”

  • Chapter 03 The Lazy Controller
    • Researchers have applied diverse methods to examine the connectionbetween thinking and self control

      Some have addressed it by asking thecorrelation question:

      If people were ranked by their self control and by theircognitive aptitude would individuals have similar positions in the 2rankings?

      four year old children experiment

      • They were given a choice between a small reward (1 Oreo) which they could have at any time or a larger reward (2 cookies) forwhich they had to wait minutes under difficult conditions They were toremain al1 in a room facing a desk with 2 objects: a single cookieand a bell that the child could ring at any time to call in the experimenterand receiven oand recei the 1 cookie As the experiment wasdescribed: “There were no toys books pictures or other potentiallydistracting items in the room The experimenter left the room and did notreturn until min had passed or the child had rung the bell eaten therewards stood up or shown any signs of distress ”

        The children were watched through a 1 way mirror and the film thatshows their behavior during the waiting time always has the audienceroaring in laughter About half the children managed the feat of waiting for minutes mainly by keeping their attention away from the temptingreward

        Ten or fifteen years later a large gap had ed between thosewho had resisted temptation and those who had not

        The resisters hadhigher measures of executive control in cognitive tasks and especially theability to reallocate their attention effectively

        As young adults they wereless likely to take drugs A significant difference in intellectual aptitudeemerged: the children who had shown more self control as four year oldshad substantially higher scores on tests of intelligence

      cognitive control

      A team of researchers at the University of Oregon explored the linkbetween cognitive control and intelligence in several ways including anattempt to raise intelligence by improving the control of attention

      Duringfive minute sessions they exposed children aged four to six to variouscomputer games especially designed to demand attention and control In1 of the exercises the children used a joystick to track a cartoon cat andmove it to a grassy area while avoiding a muddy area The grassy areasgradually shrank and the muddy area expanded requiring progressivelymore precise control

      The testers found that training attention not onlyimproved executive control; scores on nonverbal tests of intelligence alsoimproved and the improvement was maintained for several months

      Otherresearch by the same group identified specific genes that are involved inthe control of attention showed that parenting techniques also affected thisability and demonstrated a close connection between the children’s abilityto control their attention and their ability to control their emotions

      Cognitive Reflection Test

      He went on to study thecharacteristics of students who score very low on this test—the supervisoryfunction of System 2 is weak in these people—

      found that they arepr1 to answer questions with the first idea that comes to mind andunwilling to invest the effort needed to check their intuitions

      Individuals whouncritically follow their intuitions about puzzles are also pr1 to acceptother suggestions from System 1

      they are impulsive impatient and keen to receive immediate gratification

      For example %of the intuitive respondents say they would prefer to get $ this monthrather than $ next month

      Only % of those who solve all threepuzzles correctly have the same shortsighted preference for receiving asmaller amount immediately

      When asked how much they will pay to getovernight delivery of a book they have ordered the low scorers on theCognitive Reflection Test are willing to pay twice as much as the highscorers Frederick’s findings suggest that the characters of ourpsychodrama have different “personalities

      System 1 is impulsive andintuitive;

      System 2 is capable of reasoning and it is cautious but at leastfor some people it is also lazy

      What makes some people more susceptible thanothers to biases of judgment?

      Rationality and the Reflective Mind

      • separate “minds ”

        algorithmic

        1 of these minds (he calls italgorithmic) deals with slow thinking and demanding computation

        Somepeople are better than others in these tasks of brain power—they are theindividuals who excel in intelligence tests and are able to switch from 1task to another quickly and efficiently

        intelligence does not make people immune to biases

        concept of a rationalperson is similar to what I earlier labeled “engaged ”

        The core of hisargument is that rationality should be distinguished from intelligence

        Inhis view superficial or “lazy” thinking is a flaw in the reflective mind afailure of rationality

      Speaking of Control

      • “She did not have to struggle to stay on task for hours She was ina state of flow ”

        “His ego was depleted after a long day of meetings So he justturned to standard operating procedures instead of thinkingthrough the problem ”

        “He didn’t bother to check whether what he said made sense Does he usually have a lazy System 2 or was he unusually tired?”

        “Unfortunately she tends to say the first thing that comes into hermind She probably also has trouble delaying gratification WeakSystem 2 ”

      System 2 also has a natural speed You expend some mental energy inrandom thoughts and in monitoring what goes on around you even whenyour mind does nothing in particular but there is little strain

      Unless you arein a situation that makes you unusually wary or self conscious monitoringwhat happens in the environment or inside your head demands little effort You make many small decisions as you drive your car absorb someinformation as you read the newspaper and conduct routine exchanges ofpleasantries with a spouse or a colleague all with little effort and no strain Just like a stroll

      You can confirm this claim by a simpleexperiment While walking comfortably with a friend ask him to compute × in his head and to do so immediately He will almost certainly stopin his tracks

      Accelerating beyond my strolling speed completely changes theexperience of walking because the transition to a faster walk brings abouta sharp deterioration in my ability to think coherently As I speed up myattention is drawn with increasing frequency to the experience of walkingand to the deliberate maintenance of the faster pace My ability to bring atrain of thought to a conclusion is impaired accordingly

      My experience is that I can think while strolling but cannotengage in mental work that imposes a heavy load on short term memory

      flow

      • state of effortless attending

        People who experience flow describe it as“a state of effortless concentration so deep that they lose their sense oftime of themselves of their problems ”

      “optimalexperience ”

      • Flow neatly separates the 2 formsof effort:
        • concentration on the task
        • the deliberate control of attention

      In a state of flow however maintainingfocused attention on these absorbing activities requires no exertion of selfcontrol thereby freeing resources to be directed to the task at hand

      The Busy and Depleted System 2

      • forms of mental work
      • self control
      • cognitiveeffort

      psychological studies have shownthat people who are simultaneously challenged by a demanding cognitivetask and by a temptation are more likely to yield to the temptation

      Imaginethat you are asked to retain a list of seven digits for a minute or 2 Youare told that remembering the digits is your top priority While yourattention is focused on the digits you are offered a choice between 2desserts: a sinful chocolate cake and a virtuous fruit salad The evidencesuggests that you would be more likely to select the tempting chocolatecake when your mind is loaded with digits System 1 has more influenceon behavior when System 2 is busy and it has a sweet tooth

      People who are cognitively busy are also more likely to make selfishchoices use sexist language and make superficial judgments in socialsituations

      Memorizing and repeating digits loosens the hold of System 2on behavior but of course cognitive load is not the only cause ofweakened self control

      A few drinks have the same effect as does asleepless night

      The self control of morning people is impaired at night; thereverse is true of night people Too much concern about how well 1 isdoing in a task sometimes disrupts performance by loading short termmemory with pointless anxious thoughts

      The conclusion

      The conclusion is straightforward:self control requires attention and effort

      controlling thoughts and behaviors is 1 of the tasks that System 2performs

      variants of voluntaryeffort

      • cognitive
      • emotional
      • physical

      ego depletion

      • The phenomenon has been named ego depletion In a typicaldemo thypical denstration participants who are instructed to stifle theiremotional reaction to an emotionally charged film will later perform poorlyon a test of physical stamina—how long they can maintain a strong grip ona dynamometer in spite of increasing discomfort
        • A series of surprising experiments by the psychologist Roy Baumeisterand his colleagues has shown conclusively that all variants of voluntaryeffort—cognitive emotional or physical—draw at least partly on a sharedpool of mental energy

          Baumeister’s group has repeatedly found that an effort of will or selfcontrolis tiring

          if you have had to force yourself to do something you areless willing or less able to exert self control when the next challenge comesaround

          The emotional effort inthe first phase of the experiment reduces the ability to withstand the pain ofsustained muscle contraction and ego depleted people thereforesuccumb more quickly to the urge to quit

      In another experiment peopleare first depleted by a task in which they eat virtuous foods such asradishes and celery while resisting the temptation to indulge in chocolateand rich cookies Later these people will give up earlier than normal whenfaced with a difficult cognitive task

      list of situations and tasks that are now known to deplete self control

      • avoiding the thought of white bears
      • inhibiting the emotional response to a stirring film
      • making a series of choices that involve conflict
      • trying to impress others
      • responding kindly to a partner’s bad behavior
      • interacting with a person of a different race (for prejudicedindividuals)

      indications of depletion

      • deviating from 1’s diet
      • overspending on impulsive purchases
      • reacting aggressively to provocation
      • persisting less time in a handgrip task
      • performing poorly in cognitive tasks and logical decision making

      The evidence is persuasive

      activities that impose high demands onSystem 2 require self control

      the exertion of self control is depletingand unpleasant

      Unlike cognitive load ego depletion is at least in part aloss of motivation

      After exerting self control in 1 task you do not feellike making an effort in another although you could do it if you really had to

      people were able to resist the effects of egodepletion when given a strong incentive to do so

      increasingeffort is not an option when you must keep six digits in short term memorywhile performing a task

      Ego depletion is not the same mental state ascognitive busyness

      The most surprising discovery made by Baumeister’s group shows ashe puts it that the idea of mental energy is more than a mere metaphor

      The nervous system consumes more glucose than most other parts of thebody and effortful mental activity appears to be especially expensive in thecurrency of glucose

      When you are actively involved in difficult cognitivereasoning or engaged in a task that requires self control your bloodglucose level drops

      Volunteers in 1 of their studies watched a short silent film of a womanbeing interviewed and were asked to interpret her body language Whilethey were performing the task a series of words crossed the screen inslow succession The participants were specifically instructed to ignore thewords and if they found their attention drawn away they had to refocus theirconcentration on the woman’s behavior This act of self control was knownto cause ego depletion

      The lemonade was sweetened with glucosefor half of them and with Splenda for the others Then all participants weregiven a task in which they needed to overcome an intuitive response to getthe correct answer Intuitive errors are normally much more frequent amongego depleted people and the drinkers of Splenda showed the expecteddepletion effect

      On the other hand the glucose drinkers were notdepleted Restoring the level of available sugar in the brain had preventedthe deterioration of performance

      A disturbing demonstration of depletion effects in judgment was recentlyreported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

      • Theunwitting participants in the study were eight parole judges in Israel Theyspend entire days reviewing applications for parole The cases arepresented in random order and the judges spend little time on each 1 an average of minutes (The default decision is denial of parole; only % of requests are approved The exact time of each decision isrecorded and the times of the judges’ three food breaks—morning break lunch and afternoon break—during the day are recorded as well ) Theauthors of the study plotted the proportion of approved requests againstthe time since the last food break The proportion spikes after each meal when about % of requests are granted During the 2 hours or so untilthe judges’ next feeding the approval rate drops steadily to about zero justbefore the meal As you might expect this is an unwelcome result and theauthors carefully checked many alternative explanations

        The best possibleaccount of the data provides bad news: tired and hungry judges tend to fallback on the easier default position of denying requests for parole Bothfatigue and hunger probably play a role

      The Lazy System 2

      • 1 of the main functions of System 2 is to monitor and control thoughtsand actions “suggested” by System 1 allowing some to be expresseddirectly in behavior and suppressing or modifying others

        For an example here is a simple puzzle Do not try to solve it but listento your intuition

        • A bat and ball cost $ The bat costs 1 dollar more than the ball How much does the ball cost?

        theory of judgment basedon 2 systems

        he used the bat and ball puzzle to study a centralquestion:

        How closely does System 2 monitor the suggestions of System?

        • His reasoning was that we know a significant fact about any1 whosays that the ball costs ¢: that person did not actively check whether theanswer was correct and her System 2 endorsed an intuitive answer that itcould have rejected with a small investment of effort

          the people who give the intuitive answer have missed an obvioussocial cue; they should have wondered why any1 would include in aquestionnaire a puzzle with such an obvious answer

        A failure to check isremarkable because the cost of checking is so low: a few seconds ofmental work (the problem is moderately difficult) with slightly tensedmuscles and dilated pupils could avoid an embarrassing mistake

        Peoplewho say ¢ appear to be ardent followers of the law of least effort

        Peoplewho avoid that answer appear to have more active minds

        Many thousands of university students have answered the bat and ballpuzzle and the results are shocking More than % of students atHarvard MIT and Princeton ton gave the intuitive—incorrect—answer Atless selective universities the rate of demonstrable failure to check was inexcess of % The bat and ball problem is our first encounter with anobservation that will be a recurrent theme of this book

        many people areoverconfident pr1 to place too much faith in their intuitions

        Theyapparently find cognitive effort at least mildly unpleasant and avoid it asmuch as possible

        logical argument

        logical argument—2 premises and a conclusion

        Does the conclusion follow from the premises?

        All roses are flowers Some flowers fade quickly Therefore some roses fade quickly

        The bat and ball problem the flowers syllogism and theMichigan Detroit problem have something in common

        Failing theseminitests appears to be at least to some extent a matter of insufficientmotivation not trying hard enough

  • Chapter 04 The Associative Machine
    • To begin your exploration of the surprising workings of System 1 look atthe following words:

      Bananas Vomit

      A lot happened to you during the last second or 2 You experiencedsome unpleasant images and memories Your face twisted slightly in anexpression of disgust and you may have pushed this book imperceptiblyfarther away Your heart rate increased the hair on your arms rose a little and your sweat glands were activated In short you responded to thedisgusting word with an attenuated version of how you would react to theactual event All of this was completely automatic beyond your control

      There was no particular reason to do so but your mind automaticallyassumed a temporal sequence and a causal connection between thewords bananas and vomit forming a sketchy scenario in which bananascaused the sickness As a result you are experiencing a temporaryaversion to bananas (don’t worry it will pass)

      The state of your memoryhas changed in other ways: you are now unusually ready to recognize andrespond to objects and concepts associated with “vomit ” such as sick stink or nausea and words associated with “bananas ” such as yellow andfruit and perhaps apple and berries

      associative activation

      • The events that took place as a result of yourseeing the words happened by a process called associative activation

        This complex constellation of responses occurred quickly automatically and effortlessly You did not will it and you could not stop it It was anoperation of System 1

      associatively coherent

      • All thishappens quickly and all at once yielding a self reinforcing pattern ofcognitive emotional and physical responses that is both diverse andintegrated—it has been called associatively coherent

        An odd feature of what happened is that your System 1 treated the mereconjunction of 2 words as representations of reality Your body reacted inan attenuated replica of a reaction to the real thing and the emotionalresponse and physical recoil were part of the interpretation of the event

        Ascognitive scientists have emphasized in recent years cognition isembodied; you think with your body not only with your brain

      association of ideas

      • The mechanism that causes these mental events has been known for along time

      David Hume reduced the principles of association tothree

      associative memory

      • Psychologists think of ideas as nodes ina vast ne2rk called associative memory in which each idea is linked tomany others

        contiguity in time and place

        causality

        resemblance

      types of links

      • causes are linked to theireffects
        • (virus cold)
      • things to their properties
        • (lime green)
      • things tothe categories to which they belong
        • (banana fruit)

      Furthermore only a few of theactivated ideas will register in consciousness; most of the work ofassociative thinking is silent hidden from our conscious selves

      The notionthat we have limited access to the workings of our minds is difficult toaccept because naturally it is alien to our experience but it is true: youknow far less about yourself than you feel you do

      The Marvels of Priming

      • As is common in science the first big breakthrough in our understanding ofthe mechanism of association was an improvement in a method ofmeasurement Until a few decades ago the only way to study associationswas to ask many people questions such as

        “What is the first word thatcomes to your mind when you hear the word DAY?”

        The researchers talliedthe frequency of responses such as “night ” “sunny ” or “long ” In the s psychologists discovered that exposure to a word causes immediate andmeasurable changes in the ease with which many related words can beevoked If you have recently seen or heard the word EAT you aretemporarily more likely to complete the word fragment SO_P as SOUPthan as SOAP The opposite would happen of course if you had just seenWASH We call this a priming effect and say that the idea of EAT primesthe idea of SOUP and that WASH primes SOAP

        Priming effects take many forms If the idea of EAT is currently on yourmind (whether or not you are conscious of it) you will be quicker than usualto recognize the word SOUP when it is spoken in a whisper or presentedin a blurry font

        priming is not restricted to concepts and words

        • You cannotknow this from conscious experience of course but you must accept thealien idea that your actions and your emotions can be primed by events ofwhich you are not even aware

          In an experiment that became an instantclassic the psychologist John Bargh and his collaborators asked studentsat New York University—most aged eighteen to twenty 2—to assemblefour word sentences from a set of five words (for example “finds he ityellow instantly”)

          For 1 group of students half the scrambled sentencescontained words associated with the elderly such as Florida forgetful bald gray or wrinkle When they had completed that task the youngparticipants were sent out to do another experiment in an office down thehall That short walk was what the experiment was about The researchersunobtrusively measured the time it took people to get from 1 end of thecorridor to the other As Bargh had predicted the young people who hadfashi1d a sentence from words with an elderly theme walked down thehallway significantly more slowly than the others

        “Florida effect”

        The “Florida effect” involves 2 stages of priming

        • First the set ofwords primes thoughts of old age though the word old is never menti1d
        • second these thoughts prime a behavior walking slowly which isassociated with old age

        ideomotor effect

        • The idea of old age had not come to their consciousawareness but their actions had changed nevertheless This remarkablepriming phenomenon—the influencing of an action by the idea—is knownas the ideomotor effect

        The ideomotor link also works in reverse

        • The ideomotor link also works in reverse A study conducted in aGerman university was the mirror image of the early experiment that Barghand his colleagues had carried out in New York Students were asked towalk around a room for minutes at a rate of steps per minute whichwas about 1 third their normal pace After this brief experience theparticipants were much quicker to recognize words related to old age such as forgetful old and l1ly

        Reciprocal priming

        • Reciprocal priming effects tend toproduce a coherent reaction: if you were primed to think of old age youwould tend to act old and acting old would reinforce the thought of old age

        Reciprocal links

        • Reciprocal links are common in the associative ne2rk For example being amused tends to make you smile and smiling tends to make youfeel amused

        Primes That Guide Us

        • Studies of priming effects have yielded discoveries that threaten our selfimageas conscious and autonomous authors of our judgments and ourchoices

          For instance most of us think of voting as a deliberate act thatreflects our values and our assessments of policies and is not influencedby irrelevancies

          Our vote should not be affected by the location of thepolling station for example but it is A study of voting patterns in precinctsof Arizona in showed that the support for propositions to increase thefunding of schools was significantly greater when the polling station was ina school than when it was in a nearby location

        M1y primed people

        • Reminders of m1y produce some troubling effects Participants in 1experiment were shown a list of five words from which they were requiredto construct a four word phrase that had a m1y theme (“high a salarydesk paying” became “a high paying salary”)

          M1y primed people become more independent than they would bewithout the associative trigger

          They persevered almost twice as long intrying to solve a very difficult problem before they asked the experimenterfor help a crisp demonstration of increased self reliance

          M1y primedpeople are also more selfish: they were much less willing to spend timehelping another student who pretended to be confused about anexperimental task

          When an experimenter clumsily dropped a bunch ofpencils on the floor the participants with m1y (unconsciously) on theirmind picked up fewer pencils

          In another experiment in the series participants were told that they would shortly have a get acquaintedconversation with another person and were asked to set up 2 chairswhile the experimenter left to retrieve that person

          Participants primed bym1y chose in the exto stay much farther apart than their nonprimedpeers ( vs centimeters)

          M1y primed undergraduates alsoshowed a greater preference for being al1

          general theme of these findings is that the idea of m1y primesindividualism: a reluctance to be involved with others to depend on others or to accept demands from others

        authoritarian ideas

        • The evidence of priming studies suggests that reminding people of theirmortality increases the appeal of authoritarian ideas which may becomereassuring in the context of the terror of death

        “LadyMacbeth effect ”

        • People who were recently asked to think ofan action of which they are ashamed are more likely to complete thosefragments as WASH and SOAP and less likely to see WISH and SOUP Furthermore merely thinking about stabbing a coworker in the back leavespeople more inclined to buy soap disinfectant or detergent than batteries juice or candy bars Feeling that 1’s soul is stained appears to trigger adesire to cleanse 1’s body an impulse that has been dubbed the “LadyMacbeth effect ”

        Speaking of Priming

        “The sight of all these people in uniforms does not primecreativity ”

        “The world makes much less sense than you think Thecoherence comes mostly from the way your mind works

        “They were primed to find flaws and this is exactly what theyfound ”

        “His System 1 constructed a story and his System 2 believed it Ithappens to allel

        “I made myself smile and I’m actually feeling better!”

  • Chapter 05 Cognitive Ease
    • Whenever you are conscious and perhaps even when you are not multiplecomputations are going on in your brain which maintain and updatecurrent answers to some key questions: Is anything new going on? Is therea threat? Are things going well? Should my attention be redirected? Ismore effort needed for this task? You can think of a cockpit with a set ofdials that indicate the current values of each of these essential variables The assessments are carried out automatically by System 1 and 1 oftheir functions is to determine whether extra effort is required from System

      measures cognitive ease

      • range is between“Easy” and “Strained ”

        Easy is a sign that things are going well—nothreats no major news no need to redirect attention or mobilize effort

        Strained indicates that a problem exists which will require increasedmobilization of System 2

      cognitive strain

      • Cognitive strain is affected by both the current level of effort and thepresence of unmet demands The surprise is that a single dial of cognitiveease is connected to a large ne2rk of diverse inputs and outputs

      Illusions of Remembering

      • The word illusion brings visual illusions to mind because we are allfamiliar with pictures that mislead But vision is not the only domain ofillusions; memory is also susceptible to them as is thinking moregenerally

        “The experience of familiarity has asimple but powerful quality of ‘pastness’ that seems to indicate that it is adirect reflection of prior experience ”

        This quality of pastness is an illusion

      Illusions of Truth

      • A reliable way to make people believe in falsehoods isfrequent repetition because familiarity is not easily distinguished fromtruth

      How to Write a Persuasive Message

      • The general principle is that anything you can do to reduce cognitivestrain will help so you should first maximize legibility

        if your message is to beprinted use high quality paper to maximize the contrast betweencharacters and their background

        If you use color you are more likely to bebelieved if your text is printed in bright blue or red than in middling shadesof green yellow or pale blue

        If you care about being thought credible and intelligent do not usecomplex language where simpler language will do

        if you quote a source choose 1 with a name that is easy topronounce

      Strain and Effort

      • The symmetry of many associative connections was a dominant theme inthe discussion of associative coherence

        As we saw earlier people whoare made to “smile” or “frown” by sticking a pencil in their mouth or holdinga ball between their furrowed brows are pr1 to experience the emotionsthat frowning and smiling normally express

        The same self reinforcingreciprocity is found in studies of cognitive ease On the 1 hand cognitivestrain is experienced when the effortful operations of System 2 areengaged

        On the other hand the experience of cognitive strain whateverits source tends to mobilize System 2 shifting people’s approach toproblems from a casual intuitive mode to a more engaged and analyticmode

        The experimenters recruited Princeton students to take the CRT Half of them saw the puzzles in a small font in washed out gray print Thepuzzles were legible but the font induced cognitive strain

        The results tell aclear story: % of the students who saw the CRT in normal font made atleast 1 mistake in the test but the proportion dropped to % when thefont was barely legible

        performance was betterwith the bad font

        Cognitive strain whatever its source mobilizes System which is more likely to reject the intuitive answer suggested by System

      The Pleasure of Cognitive Ease

      Ease Mood and Intuition

      Remote Association Test (RAT)

      • For an easy example consider the following three words:cottage Swiss cakeCan you think of a word that is associated with all three? You probablyworked out that the answer is cheese Now try this:dive light rocket

        Can people feel that a triadof words has a solution before they know what the solution is?

        How doesmood influence performance in this task?

        The first surprise is that people’s guesses are much more accurate thanthey would be by chance I find this astonishing A sense of cognitive easeis apparently generated by a very faint signal from the associativemachine which “knows” that the three words are coherent (share anassociation) long before the association is retrieved The role of cognitiveease in the judgment was confirmed experimentally by another Germanteam: manipulations that increase cognitive ease (priming a clear font pre exposing words) all increase the tendency to see the words as linked

        Another remarkable discovery is the powerful effect of mood on thisintuitive performance

        Another remarkable discovery is the powerful effect of mood on thisintuitive performance The experimentershape tende computed an“intuition index” to measure accuracy They found that putting theparticipants in a good mood before the test by having them think happythoughts more than doubled accuracy

        An even more striking result is thatunhappy subjects were completely incapable of performing the intuitivetask accurately; their guesses were no better than random Mood evidentlyaffects the operation of System 1: when we are uncomfortable andunhappy we lose touch with our intuition

        These findings add to the growing evidence that good mood intuition creativity gullibility and increased reliance on System 1 form a cluster

        Atthe other pole sadness vigilance suspicion an analytic approach andincreased effort also go together

        A happy mood loosens the control ofSystem 2 over performance: when in a good mood people become moreintuitive and more creative but also less vigilant and more pr1 to logicalerrors

        mere exposure effect the connection makesbiological sense

        A good mood is a signal that things are generally goingwell the environment is safe and it is all right to let 1’s guard down

        Abad mood indicates that things are not going very well there may be athreat and vigilance is required

        Cognitive ease is both a cause and aconsequence of a pleasant feeling

      Triads

      • cottage Swiss cake
      • dive light rocket
      • sleep mail switch
      • salt deep foam

      Speaking of Cognitive Ease

      • “Let’s not dismiss their business plan just because the fontmakes it hard to read ”

        “We must be inclined to believe it because it has been repeatedso often but let’s think it through again ”

        “Familiarity breeds liking This is a mere exposure effect ”

        “I’m in a very good mood today and my System 2 is weaker thanusual I should be extra careful ”

  • Chapter 06 Norms Surprises and Causes
    • The central characteristics and functions of System 1 and System 2 havenow been introduced with a more detailed treatment of System 1

      Freelymixing metaphors we have in our head a remarkably powerful computer not fast by conventional hardware standards but able to represent thestructure of our world by various types of associative links in a vast ne2rkof various types of ideas The spreading of activation in the associativemachine is automatic but we (System 2) have some ability to control thesearch of memory and also to program it so that the detection of an eventin the environment can attract attention

      Assessing Normality

      The main function of System 1 is to maintain and update a model of yourpersonal world which represents what is normal in it

      The model isconstructed by associations that link ideas of circumstances events actions and outcomes that co occur with some regularity either at thesame time or within a relatively short interval

      A capacity for surprise is an essential aspect of our mental life andsurprise itself is the most sensitive indication of how we understand ourworld and what we expect from it

      2 main varieties of surprise

      • Active Surprise Some expectations are active and conscious—you know you are waitingfor a particular event to happen
        • When the hour is near you may beexpecting the sound of the door as your child returns from school; when thedoor s you expect the sound of a familiar voice You will be surprisedif an actively expected event does not occur

        Passive Surprise there is a much larger category of events that you expect passively;

        • you don’t wait for them butyou are not surprised when they happen

      “norm theory ”

      • “How many animals of each kind did Moses take into the ark?”

        Thenumber of people who detect what is wrong with this question is so smallthat it has been dubbed the “Moses illusion ” Moses took no animals intothe ark; Noah did Like the incident of the wincing soup eater the Mosesillusion is readily explained by norm theory The idea of animals going intothe ark sets up a biblical context and Moses is not abnormal in thatcontext You did not positively expect him but the mention of his name isnot surprising It also helps that Moses and Noah have the same vowelsound and number of syllables As with the triads that produce cognitiveease you unconsciously detect associative coherence between “Moses”and “ark” and so quickly accept the question Replace Moses with GeorgeW Bush in this sentence and you will have a poor political joke but noillusion

        When something cement does not fit into the current context of activatedideas the system detects an abnormality

      rules of associativecoherence

      • After spending a day exploring beautiful sights in the crowdedstreets of New York Jane discovered that her wallet was missing

        When people who had read this brief story (along with many others) weregiven a surprise recall test the word pickpocket was more stronglyassociated with the story than the word sights even though the latter wasactually in the sentence while the former was not

      Statistical thinking

      • Statistical thinking derivesconclusions about individual cases from properties of categories andensembles

        Unfortunately System 1 does not have the capability for thismode of reasoning;

        System 2 can learn to think statistically but few peoplereceive the necessary training

      Speaking of Norms and Causes

      • “When the second applicant also turned out to be an old friend ofmine I wasn’t quite as surprised Very little repetition is neededfor a new experience to feel normal!”

        “When we survey the reaction to these products let’s make surewe don’t focus exclusively on the average We should considerthe entire range of normal reactions ”

        “She can’t accept that she was just unlucky; she needs a causalstory She will end up thinking that some1 intentionallysabotaged her work

  • Chapter 07 A Machine for Jumping to Conclusions
    • The great comedian Danny Kaye had a line that has stayed with me sincemy adolescence Speaking of a woman he dislikes he says “Her favoriteposition is beside herself and her favorite sport is jumping to conclusions ”

      Jumping toconclusions

      • Jumping toconclusions is efficient if the conclusions are likely to be correct and thecosts of an occasional mistake acceptable and if the jump saves muchtime and effort

        Jumping to conclusions is risky when the situation isunfamiliar the stakes are high and there is no time to collect moreinformation

        These are the circumstances in which intuitive errors areprobable which may be prevented by a deliberate intervention of System

      A Bias to Believe and Confirm

      • understanding a statement must begin with an attempt to believe it:you must first know what the idea would mean if it were true Only then canyou decide whether or not to unbelieve it

      Exaggerated Emotional Coherence (Halo Effect)

      haloeffect

      • The tendency to like (or dislike) everything about aperson—including things you have not observed—is known as the haloeffect

        The term has been in use in psychology for a century but it has notcome into wide use in everyday language This is a pity because the haloeffect is a good name for a common bias that plays a large role in shapingour view of people and situations It is 1 of the ways the representationof the world that System 1 generates is simpler and more coherent thanthe real thing

        Alan: intelligent—industrious—impulsive—critical—stubborn—envious

        Ben: envious—stubborn—critical—impulsive—industrious—intelligent

        If you are like most of us you viewed Alan much more favorably than Ben The initial traits in the list change the very meaning of the traits that appearlater The stubbornness of an intelligent person is seen as likely to bejustified and may actually evoke respect but intelligence in an envious andstubborn person makes him more dangerous

        The halo effect is also anexample of suppressed ambiguity: like the word bank the adjectivestubborn is ambiguous and will be interpreted in a way that makes itcoherent with the context

        The sequence in which we observe characteristics of a person is oftendetermined by chance Sequence matters however because the haloeffect increases the weight of first impressions sometimes to the point thatsubsequent information is mostly wasted

      What You See is All There is (Wysiati)

      • It is the consistency of theinformation that matters for a good story not its completeness Indeed youwill often find that knowing little makes it easier to fit everything you knowinto a coherent pattern

        WY SIATI facilitates the achievement of coherence and of the cognitiveease that causes us to accept a statement as true It explains why we canthink fast and how we are able to make sense of partial information in acomplex world

      list of biases ofjudgment and choice

      Overconfidence

      As the WY SIATI rule implies neither the quantitynor the quality of the evidence counts for much in subjectiveconfidence The confidence that individuals have in their beliefsdepends mostly on the quality of the story they can tell about whatthey see even if they see little We often fail to allow for thepossibility that evidence that should be critical to our judgment ismissing—what we see is all there is Furthermore our associativesystem tends to settle on a coherent pattern of activation andsuppresses doubt and ambiguity

      Framing effects

      • Different ways of presenting the same informationoften evoke different emotions The statement that “the odds ofsurvival 1 month after surgery are %” is more reassuring thanthe equivalent statement that “mortality within 1 month of surgery is % ”

        Theequivalence of the alternative formulations is transparent but anindividual normally sees only 1 formulation and what she sees isall there is

        Base rate neglect

        Recall Steve the meek and tidy soul who is oftenbelieved to be a librarian The personality description is salient andvivid and although you surely know that there are more male farmer

      Base rers than male librarians

      Speaking of Jumping to Conclusions

      • “She knows nothing about this person’s management skills Allshe is going by is the halo effect from a good presentation

        “Let’s decorrelate errors by obtaining separate judgments on theissue before any discussion We will get more information fromindependent assessments ”

        “They made that big decision on the basis of a good report from1 consultant WYSIATI—what you see is all there is They didnot seem to realize how little information they had ”

        “They didn’t want more information that might spoil their story WYSIATI ”

  • Chapter 08 How Judgments Happen
    • There is no limit to the number of questions you can answer whether theyare questions some1 else asks or questions you ask yourself Nor isthere a limit to the number of attributes you can evaluate You are capableof counting the number of capital letters on this page comparing the heightof the windows of your house to the 1 across the street and assessingthe political prospects of your senator on a scale from excellent todisastrous

      The questions are addressed to System 2 which will directattention and search memory to find the answers System 2 receivesquestions or generates them: in either case it directs attention andsearches memory to find the answers System 1 operates differently Itcontinuously monitors what is going on outside and inside the mind andcontinuously generates assessments of various aspects of the situationwithout specific intention and with little or no effort

      Basic Assessments

      • System 1 has been shaped by evolution to provide a continuousassessment of the main problems that an organism must solve to survive

        How are things going?

        Is there a threat or a major opportunity?

        Iseverything normal?

        Should I approach or avoid?

        we have inherited the neuralmechanisms that evolved to provide ongoing assessments of threat level and they have not been turned off

        Situations are constantly evaluated asgood or bad requiring escape or permitting approach

        Good mood andcognitive ease are the human equivalents of assessments of safety andfamiliarity

      biological roots of the rapid judgments of how safe it is to interact with astranger

      He showed that we are endowed with an ability to evaluate in asingle glance at a stranger’s face 2 potentially crucial facts about thatperson:

      • how dominant (and therefore potentially threatening) he is
      • how trus2rthy he is whether his intentions are more likely to be friendly orhostile

      people judge competence by combining the 2dimensions of strength and trus2rthiness

      Intensity Matching

      The Mental Shotgun

      • System 1 carries out many computations at any 1 time Some of theseare routine assessments that go on continuously Whenever your eyes are your brain computes a three dimensional representation of what is inyour field of vision complete with the shape of objects their position inspace and their identity

      Speaking of Judgment

      • “Evaluating people as attractive or not is a basic assessment You do that automatically whether or not you want to and itinfluences you ”

        “There are circuits in the brain that evaluate dominance from theshape of the face He looks the part for a leadership role ”

        “The punishment won’t feel just unless its intensity matches thecrime Just like you can match the loudness of a sound to thebrightness of a light ”

        “This was a clear instance of a mental shotgun He was askedwhether he thought the company was financially sound but hecouldn’t forget that he likes their product

  • Chapter 09 Answering an Easier Question
    • A remarkable aspect of your mental life is that you are rarely stumped True you occasionally face a question such as × = ? to which noanswer comes immediately to mind but these dumbfounded moments arerare The normal state of your mind is that you have intuitive feelings andopinions about almost everything that comes your way You like or dislikepeople long before you know much about them; you trust or distruststrangers without knowing why; you feel that an enterprise is bound tosucceed without analyzing it Whether you state them or not you often haveanswers to questions that you do not completely understand relying 1vidence that you can neither explain nor defend

      Substituting Questions

      • Questions Substitution
        • The target question is the assessment you intend to produce
        • The heuristic question is the simpler question that you answer instead

      heuristic

      • The technical definition of heuristic is a simple procedure that helps findadequate though often imperfect answers to difficult questions The wordcomes from the same root as eureka
        • The idea of substitution came up early in my work with Amos and it wasthe core of what became the heuristics and biases approach We askedourselves how people manage to make judgments of probability withoutknowing precisely what probability is

          We concluded that people mustsomehow simplify that impossible task and we set out to find how they doit Our answer was that when called upon to judge probability peopleactually judge something else and believe they have judged probability

          System 1 often makes this move when faced with difficult target questions if the answer to a related and easier heuristic question comes readily tomind

      How to Solve It

      • “If you can’t solve a problem then there is an easierproblem you can solve: find it ”

      Difficult questions and before you can produce a reas1d answer toany of them you must deal with other difficult issues

      • What is the meaningof happiness?
      • What are the likely political developments in the next sixmonths?
      • What are the standard sentences for other financial crimes?
      • Howstrong is the competition that the candidate faces?
      • What otherenvironmental or other causes should be considered?

      Dealing with thesequestions seriously is completely impractical But you are not limited toperfectly reas1d answers to questions

      There is a heuristic alternative tocareful reasoning which sometimes works fairly well and sometimes leadsto serious errors

      Target Question Heuristic Question

      • T How much would you contribute tosave an endangered species?
      • H How much emotion do I feel whenI think of dying dolphins?
      • T How happy are you with your lifethese days?
      • H What is my mood right now?
      • T How popular is the president rightnow?
      • H How popular will the president besix months from now?
      • T How should financial advisers whoprey on the elderly be punished?
      • H How much anger do I feel when Ithink of financial predators?
      • T This woman is running for the primary How far will she go in politics?
      • H Does this woman look like apolitical winner?

      mental shotgun

      • The mental shotgun makes it easy to generate quick answers to difficultquestions without imposing much hard work on your lazy System 2

        The automatic processes of the mental shotgun and intensity matchingoften make available 1 or more answers to easy questions that could bemapped onto the target question

      The D Heuristic

      • process of substitution
        • In the D interpretation the person on theright is both much farther away and much larger than the person on the left For most of us this impression of D size is overwhelming Only visualartists and experienced photographers have developed the skill of seeingthe drawing as an object on the page For the rest of us substitutionoccurs: the dominant impression of D size dictates the judgment of Dsize The illusion is due to a D heuristic

        The essential step in the heuristic—the substitution of three dimensionalfor 2 dimensional size—occurred automatically The picture containscues that suggest a D interpretation These cues are irrelevant to thetask at hand—the judgment of size of the figure on the page—and youshould have ignored them but you could not

        The bias associated with theheuristic is that objects that appear to be more distant also appear to belarger on the page As this example illustrates a judgment that is based onsubstitution will inevitably be biased in predictable ways In this case ithappens so deep in the perceptual system that you simply cannot help it

      The Mood Heuristic for Happiness

      • How happy are you these days? How many dates did you have last month?
        • The experimenters were interestedin the correlation between the 2 answers Would the students whoreported many dates say that they were happier than those with fewerdates?

          Surprisingly no: the correlation between the answers was aboutzero Evidently dating was not what came first to the students’ minds whenthey were asked to assess their happiness

      • How many dates did you have last month?How happy are you these days?
        • The results this time were completely different In this sequence thecorrelation between the number of dates and reported happiness wasabout as high as correlations between psychological measures can get

          The explanation is straightforward and it is a good example ofsubstitution Dating was apparently not the center of these students’ life (inthe first survey happiness and dating were uncorrelated) but when theywere asked to think about their romantic life they certainly had anemotional reaction

          The students who had many dates were reminded of ahappy aspect of their life while those who had n1 were reminded ofl1liness and rejection

          The emotion aroused by the dating question wasstill on every1’s mind when the query about general happiness came up

      The Affect Heuristic

      affect heuristic

      • affect heuristic in which people let their likes and dislikes determine theirbeliefs about the world Your political preference determines thearguments that you find compelling

        If you like the current health policy youbelieve its benefits are substantial and its costs more manageable thanthe costs of alternatives

      The dominance of conclusions over arguments is most pronounced whereemotions are involved

      hawk dove

      • If you are a hawk in your attitude toward othernations you probablthe?” %y think they are relatively weak and likely tosubmit to your country’s will If you are a dove you probably think they arestrong and will not be easily coerced

      The primacy of conclusions does not mean that your mind is completely and that your opinions are wholly immune to information andsensible reasoning Your beliefs and even your emotional attitude maychange (at least a little) when you learn that the risk of an activity youdisliked is smaller than you thought However the information about lowerrisks will also change your view of the benefits (for the better) even ifnothing was said about benefits in the information you received

      Characteristics of System 2

      • it as a more or less acquiescent monitor whichallows considerable leeway to System 1

        System 2as active in deliberate memory search complex computations comparisons planning and choice

        System 2 is ultimately in charge with the ability to resist thesuggestions of System 1

        System slow things down and impose logical analysis

        Self criticism is 1 of the functions of System 2

        In the context of attitudes however System 2 is more of an apologist for the emotions of System 1than a critic of those emotions—an endorser rather than an enforcer

        An active coherence seeking System 1 suggests solutions to anundemanding System 2

        Speaking of Substitution and Heuristics

        “Do we still remember the question we are trying to answer? Orhave we substituted an easier 1?”

        “The question we face is whether this candidate can succeed The question we seem to answer is whether she interviews well Let’s not substitute ”

        “He likes the project so he thinks its costs are low and itsbenefits are high Nice example of the affect heuristic ”

        “We are using last year’s performance as a heuristic to predictthe value of the firm several years from now Is this heuristic goodenough? What other information do we need?”

      Characteristics of System 1

      • generates impressions feelings and inclinations; when endorsed bySystem 2 these become beliefs attitudes and intentions

        operates automatically and quickly with little or no effort and nosense of voluntary control

        can be programmed by System 2 to mobilize attention when aparticular pattern is detected (searc

        executes skilled responses and generates skilled intuitions afteradequate training

        creates a coherent pattern of activated ideas in associative memory

        links a sense of cognitive ease to illusions of truth pleasant feelings and reduced vigilance

        distinguishes the surprising from the normal

        infers and invents causes and intentions

        neglects ambiguity and suppresses doubt

        is biased to believe and confirm

        exaggerates emotional consistency (halo effect)

        focuses on existing evidence and ignores absent evidence(WYSIATI)

        generates a limited set of basic assessments

        represents sets by norms and prototypes does not integrate

        matches intensities across scales (e g size to loudness)

        computes more than intended (mental shotgun)

        sometimes substitutes an easier question for a difficult 1(heuristics)

        is more sensitive to changes than to states (prospect theory)*

        overweights low probabilities

        shows diminishing sensitivity to quantity (psychophysics

        responds more strongly to losses than to gains (loss aversion)*

        frames decision problems narrowly in isolation from 1 another

• Part II Heuristics and Biases
  • Chapter 10 The Law of Small Numbers
    • people who have had no training in statistics are good“intuitive statisticians ”

      A Bias of Confidence Over Doubt

      • In a teleph1 poll of seniors % support the president
      • If you had to summarize the message of this sentence in exactly threewords what would they be?
      • “elderlysupport president ”

      Cause and Chance

      Nowconsider three possible sequences:

      • BBBGGG
      • GGGGGG
      • BGBBGB

      Are the sequences equally likely? The intuitive answer—“of course not!”—is false Because the events are independent and because the outcomesB and G are (approximately) equally likely then any possible sequence ofsix births is as likely as any other Even now that you know this conclusionis true it remains counterintuitive because only the third sequenceappears random

      Random processes produce many sequencesthat convince people that the process is not random after all You can seewhy assuming causality could have had evolutionary advantages

      It is partof the general vigilance that we have inherited from ancestors We areautomatically on the lookout for the possibility that the environment haschanged

      Lions may appear on the plain at random times but it would besafer to notice and respond to an apparent increase in the rate ofappearance of prides of lions even if it is actually due to the fluctuations ofa random process

      The widespread misunderstanding of randomness sometimes hassignificant consequences In our article on representativeness Amos and Icited the statistician William Feller who illustrated the ease with whichpeople see patterns where n1 exists

      My advice wasthat the command should accept that the different outcomes were due toblind luck and that the interviewing of the pilots should stop I reas1dthat luck was the most likely answer that a random search for anonobvious cause was hopeless and that in the meantime the pilots in thesquadron that had sustained losses did not need the extra burden of beingmade to feel that they and their dead friends were at fault

      study of misperceptions of randomness in basketball

      The “fact” that players occasionally acquire a hot hand isgenerally accepted by players coaches and fans The inference isirresistible: a player sinks three or four baskets in a row and you cannothelp forming the causal judgment that this player is now hot with atemporarily increased pr sity to score Players on both teams adapt tothis judgment—teammates are more likely to pass to the hot scorer andthe defense is more likely to doubleteam Analysis of thousands ofsequences of shots led to a disappointing conclusion: there is no suchthing as a hot hand in professional basketball either in shooting from thefield or scoring from the foul line Of course some players are moreaccurate than others but the sequence of successes and missed shotssatisfies all tests of randomness The hot hand is entirely in the eye of thebeholders who are consistently too quick to perceive order and causalityin randomness The hot hand is a massive and widespread cognitiveillusion

      The illusion of pattern affects our lives in many ways off the basketballcourt

      How many good years should you wait before concluding that aninvestment adviser is unusually skilled?

      How many successful acquisitionsshould be needed for a board of directors to believe that the CEO hasextraordinary flair for such deals?

      The simple answer to these questions isthat if you follow your intuition you will more often than not err bymisclassifying a random event as systematic

      We are far too willing toreject the belief that much of what we see in life is random

      Many researchers havesought the secret of successful education by identifying the mostsuccessful schools in the hope of discovering what distinguishes themfrom others

      1 of the conclusions of this research is that the mostsuccessful schools on average are small

      Unfortunately the causal analysis is pointless because the factsare wrong

      If the statisticians who reported to the Gates Foundation hadasked about the characteristics of the worst schools they would havefound that bad schools also tend to be smaller than average

      The truth isthat small schools are not better on average; they are simply morevariable

      If anything say Wainer and Zwerling large schools tend toproduce better results especially in higher grades where a variety ofcurricular options is valuable

      the law of small numbers ispart of 2 larger stories about the workings of the mind

      • The exaggerated faith in small samples is only 1 example of amore general illusion—we pay more attention to the content ofmessages than to information about their reliability and as a resultend up with a view of the world around us that is simpler and morecoherent than the data justify Jumping to conclusions is a safer sportin the world of our imagination than it is in reality

        Statistics produce many observations that appear to beg for causalexplanations but do not lend themselves to such explanations Manyfacts of the world are due to chance including accidents of sampling Causal explanations of chance events are inevitably wrong

      Speaking of the Law of Small Numbers

      • “Yes the studio has had three successful films since the newCEO took over But it is too early to declare he has a hot hand ”

        “I won’t believe that the new trader is a genius before consulting astatistician who could estimate the likelihood of his streak beinga chance event ”

        “The sample of observations is too small to make any inferences Let’s not follow the law of small numbers ”

        “I plan to keep the results of the experiment secret until we have asufficiently large sample Otherwisort?xpere we will face pressureto reach a conclusion prematurely ”

  • Chapter 11 Anchors
    • Amos and I once rigged a wheel of fortune It was marked from to but we had it built so that it would stop only at or We recruitedstudents of the University of Oregon as participants in our experiment 1of us would stand in front of a small group spin the wheel and ask them towrite down the number on which the wheel stopped which of course waseither or We then asked them 2 questions:

      Is the percentage of African nations among UN members largeror smaller than the number you just wrote?

      What is your best guess of the percentage of African nations inthe UN?

      The spin of a wheel of fortune—even 1 that is not rigged—cannotpossibly yield useful information about anything and the participants in ourexperiment should simply have ignored it But they did not ignore it Theaverage estimates of those who saw and were % and % respectively

      The phenomenon we were studying is so common and so important inthe everyday world that you should know its name: it is an anchoring effect

      anchoring effect

      • It occurs when people consider a particular value for an unknown quantitybefore estimating that quantity What happens is 1 of the most reliableand robust results of experimental psychology: the estimates stay close tothe number that people considered—hence the image of an anchor If youare asked whether Gandhi was more than years old when he died youwill end up with a much higher estimate of his age at death than you wouldif the anchoring question referred to death at

        If you consider how muchyou should pay for a house you will be influenced by the asking price

        Thesame house will appear more valuable if its listing price is high than if it islow even if you are determined to resist the influence of this number; andso on—the list of anchoring effects is endless Any number that you areasked to consider as a possible solution to an estimation problem willinduce an anchoring effect

        We were not the first to observe the effects of anchors but ourexperiment was the first demonstration of its absurdity:

        people’s judgmentswere influenced by an obviously uninformative number

        There was only 1 trouble: Amos and I did not fully agree on thepsychology of the anchoring effect He supported 1 interpretation I likedanother and we never found a way to settle the argument The problemwas finally solved decades later by the efforts of numerous investigators Itis now clear that Amos and I were both right 2 different mechanismsproduce anchoring effects—1 for each system There is a form ofanchoring that occurs in a deliberate process of adjustment an operationof System 2 And there is anchoring that occurs by a priming effect anautomatic manifestation of System 1

      Anchoring as Adjustment

      • adjust and anchor heuristic

        Amos liked the idea of an adjust and anchor heuristic as a strategy forestimating uncertain quantities:

        start from an anchoring number assesswhether it is too high or too low and gradually adjust your estimate bymentally “moving” from the anchor

        To get the idea take a sheet of paper and draw a ½ inch line going up starting at the bottom of the page—without a ruler Now take another sheet and start at the top and draw a line going down until it is ½ inches fromthe bottom Compare the lines

        There is a good chance that your firstestimate of ½ inches was shorter than the second The reason is that youdo not know exactly what such a line looks like; there is a range ofuncertainty You stop near the bottom of the region of uncertainty when youstart from the bottom of the page and near the top of the region when youstart from the top

        Insufficient adjustment neatly explains whyyou are likely to drive too fast when you come off the highway onto citystreets—especially if you are talking with some1 as you drive

        Insufficient adjustment is also a source of tension between exasperatedparents and teenagers who enjoy loud music in their room

        a “well intenti1d child who turns down exceptionally loudmusic to meet a parent’s demand that it be played at a ‘reasonable’volume may fail to adjust sufficiently from a high anchor and may feel thatgenuine attempts at compromise are being overlooked ”

        When did George Washington become president?

        What is the boiling temperature of water at the top of MountEverest?

        You have to adjust in the appropriate direction by findingarguments to move away from the anchor As in the case of the lines youare likely to stop when you are no longer sure you should go farther—at thenear edge of the region of uncertainty

        People adjust less (stay closer to theanchor) when their mental resources are depleted either because theirmemory is loaded with dighdth=igits or because they are slightly drunk Insufficient adjustment is a failure of a weak or lazy System 2

      Anchoring as Priming Effect

      When Amos and I debated anchoring I agreed that adjustment sometimesoccurs but I was uneasy Adjustment is a deliberate and consciousactivity but in most cases of anchoring there is no correspondingsubjective experience Consider these 2 questions

      Was Gandhi more or less than years old when he died?

      How old was Gandhi when he died?

      Did you produce your estimate by adjusting down from ? Probably not but the absurdly high number still affected your estimate My hunch was thatanchoring is a case of suggestion This is the word we use when some1causes us to see hear or feel something by merely bringing it to mind Forexample the question “Do you now feel a slight numbness in your left leg?”always prompts quite a few people to report that their left leg does indeedfeel a little strange

      suggestion

      This is the word we use when some1causes us to see hear or feel something by merely bringing it to mind

      the concept ofsuggestion is no longer obscure:

      suggestion is a priming effect whichselectively evokes compatible evidence You did not believe for a momentthat Gandhi lived for years

      but your associative machinery surelygenerated an impression of a very ancient person

      2 types of anchoring

      • research techniques
      • theoretical ideas

      System 1 triesits best to construct a world in which the anchor is the true number

      associative coherence

      The Anchoring Index

      • Many psychological phenomena can be demonstrated experimentally butfew can actually be measured The effect of anchors is an exception Anchoring can be measured and it is an impressively large effect Somevisitors at the San Francisco Exploratorium were asked the following 2questions:

        Is the height of the tallest redwood more or less than feet?

        What is your best guess about the height of the tallest redwood?

        The “high anchor” in this experiment was feet For other participants the first question referred to a “low anchor” of feet The differencebetween the 2 anchors was feet

        The anchoring effect is not a laboratory curiosity; it can be just as strongin the real world In an experiment conducted some years ago real estateagents were given an opportunity to assess the value of a house that wasactually on the market They visited the house and studied acomprehensive booklet of information that included an asking price Halfthe agents saw an asking price that was substantially higher than the listedprice of the house; the other half saw an asking price that was substantiallylower Each agent gave her opinion about a reasonable buying price forthe house and the lowest price at which she would agree to sell the houseif she owned it The agents were then asked about the factors that hadaffected their judgment Remarkably the asking price was not 1 of thesefactors; the agents took pride in their ability to ignore it They insisted thatthe listing price had no effect on their responses but they were wrong: theanchoring effect was % Indeed the professionals were almost assusceptible to anchoring effects as business school students with no realestateexperience whose anchoring index was % The only differencebetween the 2 groups was that the students conceded that they wereinfluenced by the anchor while the professionals denied that influence

        Powerful anchoring effects are found in decisions that people makeabout m1y such as when they choose how much to contribute al lsdenied to a cause To demonstrate this effect we told participants in theExploratorium study about the environmental damage caused by oiltankers in the Pacific Ocean and asked about their willingness to make anannual contribution “to save offshore Pacific Coast seabirds fromsmall offshore oil spills until ways are found to prevent spills or requiretanker owners to pay for the operation ” This question requires intensitymatching: the respondents are asked in effect to find the dollar amount ofa contribution that matches the intensity of their feelings about the plight ofthe seabirds Some of the visitors were first asked an anchoring question such as “Would you be willing to pay $ … ” before the point blankquestion of how much they would contribute

        When no anchor was menti1d the visitors at the Exploratorium—generally an environmentally sensitive crowd—said they were willing to pay$ on average When the anchoring amount was only $ contributionsaveraged $ When the anchor was a rather extravagant $ thewillingness to pay rose to an average of $

        Anchoring effects are easily observed in online trading where the sameitem is often offered at different “buy now” prices The “estimate” in fine artauctions is also an anchor that influences the first bid

        power of random anchors

        The power of random anchors has been demonstrated in someunsettling ways German judges with an average of more than fifteen yearsof experience on the bench first read a description of a woman who hadbeen caught shoplifting then rolled a pair of dice that were loaded soevery roll resulted in either a or a As soon as the dice came to a stop the judges were asked whether they would sentence the woman to a termin prison greater or lesser in months than the number showing on thedice Finally the judges were instructed to specify the exact prisonsentence they would give to the shoplifter On average those who hadrolled a said they would sentence her to months; those who rolled a saidthif Africa they would sentence her to months; the anchoring effectwas %

      Uses and Abuses of Anchors

      • By now you should be convinced that anchoring effects—sometimes dueto priming sometimes to insufficient adjustment—are everywhere Thepsychological mechanisms that produce anchoring make us far moresuggestible than most of us would want to be And of course there arequite a few people who are willing and able to exploit our gullibility

        Anchoring effects explain why for example arbitrary rationing is aneffective marketing ploy

        arbitrary rationing

        • A few years ago supermarket shoppers in SiouxCity Iowa encountered a sales promotion for Campbell’s soup at about % off the regular price On some days a sign on the shelf said limit of per person On other days the sign said no limit per person

          Shopperspurchased an average of cans when the limit was in force twice as manyas they bought when the limit was removed

          negotiation over the price of ahome

          We see the same strategy at work in the negotiation over the price of ahome when the seller makes the first move by setting the list price As inmany other games moving first is an advantage in single issuenegotiations—for example when price is the only issue to be settledbetween a buyer and a seller As you may have experienced whennegotiating for the first time in a bazaar the initial anchor has a powerfuleffect

          My advice to students when I taught negotiations was that if youthink the other side has made an outrageous proposal you should notcome back with an equally outrageous counteroffer creating a gap that willbe difficult to bridge in further negotiations Instead you should make ascene storm out or threaten to do so and make it clear—to yourself aswell as to the other side—that you will not continue the negotiation with thatnumber on the table

          proposedmore subtle ways to resist the anchoring effect in negotiations

          Theyinstructed negotiators to focus their attention and search their memory forarguments against the anchor

          The instruction to activate System 2 wassuccessful For example the anchoring effect is reduced or eliminatedwhen the second mover focuses his attention on the minimal offer that theopp1nt would accept or on the costs to the opp1nt of failing to reachan agreement

          Before you read this chapter you might havethought that capping awards is certainly good for potential defendants butnow you should not be so sure Consider the effect of capping awards at$ million This rule would eliminate all larger awards but the anchor wouldalso pull up the size of many awards that would otherwise be much smaller It would almost certainly benefit serious offenders and large firms muchmore than small 1s

        Anchoring and the 2 Systems

        • The effects of random anchors have much to tell us about the relationshipbetween System 1 and System 2 Anchoring effects have always beenstudied in tasks of judgment and choice that are ultimately completed bySystem 2

          However System 2 works on data that is retrieved frommemory in an automatic and involuntary operation of System 1

          System 2is therefore susceptible to the biasing influence of anchors that makesome information easier to retrieve

          Furthermore System 2 has no controlover the effect and no knowledge of it The participants who have beenexposed to random or absurd anchors (such as Gandhi’s death at age ) confidently deny that this obviously useless information could haveinfluenced their estimate and they are wrong

          We saw in the discussion of the law of small numbers that a message unless it is immediately rejected as a lie will have the same effect on theassociative system regardless of its reliability The gist of the message isthe story which is based on whatever information is available even if thequantity of the information is slight and its quality is poor

          WYSIATI Whenyou read a story about the heroic rescue of a wounded mountain climber its effect on your associative memory is much the same if it is a newsreport or the synopsis of a film Anchoring results from this associativeactivation Whether the story is true or believable matters little if at all The powerful effect of random anchors is an extreme case of thisphenomenon because a random anchor obviously provides no informationat all

          Earlier I discussed the bewildering variety of priming effects in whichyour thoughts and behavior may be influenced by stimuli to which you payno attention at all and even by stimuli of which you are completelyunaware

          The main moral of priming research is that our thoughts and ourbehavior are influenced much more than we know or want by theenvironment of the moment

          Many people find the priming resultsunbelievable because they do not correspond to subjective experience Many others find the results upsetting because they threaten the subjectivesense of agency and autonomy If the content of a screen saver on anirrelevant computer can affect your willingness to help strangers withoutyour being aware of it how free are you? Anchoring effects are threateningin a similar way

          You are always aware of the anchor and even payattention to it but you do not know how it guides and constrains yourthinking because you cannot imagine how you would have thought if theanchor had been different (or absent) However you should assume thatany number that is on the table has had an anchoring effect on you and ifthe stakes are high you should mobilize yourself (your System 2) to combatthe effect

        Speaking of Anchors

        • “The firm we want to acquire sent us their business plan with therevenue they expect We shouldn’t let that number influence ourthinking Set it aside ”

          “Plans are best case scenarios Let’s avoid anchoring on planswhen we forecast actual outcomes Thinking about ways the plancould go wrong is 1 way to do it ”

          “Our aim in the negotiation is to get them anchored on thisnumber ”

          “The defendant’s lawyers put in a frivolous reference in which theymenti1d a ridiculously low amount of damages and they gotthe judge anchored on it!”

  • Chapter 12 The Science of Availability
    • The Science of Availability

      availabilityheuristic

      • We thought of that heuristic when we asked ourselves whatpeople actually do when they wish to estimate the frequency of a category such as “people who divorce after the age of ” or “dangerous plants ”

        The answer was straightforward: instances of the class will be retrievedfrom memory and if retrieval is easy and fluent the category will be judgedto be large

        availability heuristic as the process of judgingfrequency by “the ease with which instances come to mind ”

      think of the number ofwords that can be constructed from the 2 sets of letters below

      • XUZONLCJM
      • TAPCERHOB

      You knew almost immediately without generating any instances that 1set offers far more possibilities than the other probably by a factor of ormore Similarly you do not need to retrieve specific news stories to have agood idea of the relative frequency with which different countries haveappeared in the news during the past year (Belgium China France Congo Nicaragua Romania…)

      The availability heuristic like other heuristics of judgment substitutes1 question for another: you wish to estimate the size se ost c d of acategory or the frequency of an event but you report an impression of theease with which instances come to mind

      A salient event that attracts your attention will be easily retrieved frommemory Divorces among Hollywood celebrities and sex scandalsamong politicians attract much attention and instances will comeeasily to mind You are therefore likely to exaggerate the frequency ofboth Hollywood divorces and political sex scandals

      A dramatic event temporarily increases the availability of itscategory A plane crash that attracts media coverage will temporarilyalter your feelings about the safety of flying Accidents are on yourmind for a while after you see a car burning at the side of the road and the world is for a while a more dangerous place

      Personal experiences pictures and vivid examples are moreavailable than incidents that happened to others or mere words orstatistics A judicial error that affects you will undermine your faith inthe justice system more than a similar incident you read about in anewspaper

      biases

      • Resisting this large collection of potential availability biases is possible but tiresome

        You must make the effort to reconsider your impressions andintuitions by asking such questions as “Is our belief that theft s byteenagers are a major problem due to a few recent instances in ourneighborhood?”

        “Could it be that I feel no need to get a flu shot becausen1 of my acquaintances got the flu last year?”

        Maintaining 1’svigilance against biases is a chore—but the chance to avoid a costlymistake is sometimes worth the effort

      awareness ofyour own biases

      1 of the best known studies of availability suggests that awareness ofyour own biases can contribute to peace in marriages and probably inother joint projects

      availability bias

      • In a famous study spouses were asked “How largewas your personal contribution to keeping the place tidy in percentages?”They also answered similar questions about “taking out the garbage ”“initiating social engagements ” etc Would the self estimated contributionsadd up to % or more or less? As expected the self assessedcontributions added up to more than %

        The explanation is a simpleavailability bias: both spouses remember their own individual efforts andcontributions much more clearly than those of the other and the differencein availability leads to a difference in judged frequency

        The bias is notnecessarily self serving: spouses also overestimated their contribution tocausing quarrels although to a smaller extent than their contributions tomore desirable outcomes The same bias contributes to the commonobservation that many members of a collaborative team feel they haved1 more than their share and also feel that the others are not adequatelygrateful for their individual contributions

      The Psychology of Availability

      • A major advance in the understanding of the availability heuristic occurredin the early s when a group of German psychologists led by NorbertSchwarz raised an intriguing question: How will people’s impressions ofthe frequency of a category be affected by a requirement to list a specifiednumber of instances? Imagine yourself a subject in that experiment
        • First list six instances in which you behaved assertively
        • Next evaluate how assertive you are

        2 different routes

        • the number of instances retrieved
        • the ease with which they come to mind

        paradoxical results

        • believe that they use their bicycles less often after recalling manyrather than few instances
        • are less confident in a choice when they are asked to produce morearguments to support it
        • are less confident that an event was avoidable after listing moreways it could have been avoided
        • are less impressed by a car after listing many of its advantages

        ingenious way to exploit the availabilitybias

        • He asked different groups of students to list ways to improve thecourse and he varied the required number of improvements As expected the students who listed more ways to improve the class rated it higher!

        conditions in which people “go with theflow”

        • when they are engaged in another effortful task at the same time

          when they are in a good mood because they just thought of a happyepisode in their life

          if they score low on a depression scale

          if they are knowledgeable novices on the topic of the task in contrastto true experts

          when they score high on a scale of faith in intuition

          if they are (or are made to feel) powerful

          “I don’t spend a lot of time taking polls aroundthe world to tell me what I think is the right way to act I’ve just got to knowhow I feel” (Georgee e the w W Bush November )

        They go on toshow that reliance on intuition is only in part a personality trait Merelyreminding people of a time when they had power increases their apparenttrust in their own intuition

        Speaking of Availability

        • “Because of the coincidence of 2 planes crashing last month she now prefers to take the train That’s silly The risk hasn’t reallychanged; it is an availability bias ”

          “He underestimates the risks of indoor pollution because thereare few media stories on them That’s an availability effect Heshould look at the statistics ”

          “She has been watching too many spy movies recently so she’sseeing conspiracies everywhere ”

          “The CEO has had several successes in a row so failure doesn’tcome easily to her mind The availability bias is making heroverconfident ”

  • Chapter 13 Availability Emotion and Risk
    • the study of risk and insurance noticed that availabilityeffects help explain the pattern of insurance purchase and protective actionafter disasters

      Availability and Affect

      public perceptions of risks

      • Strokes cause almost twice as many deaths as all accidentscombined but % of respondents judged accidental death to bemore likely

        Tornadoes were seen as more frequent killers than asthma althoughthe latter cause times more deaths

        Death by lightning was judged less likely than death from botulismeven though it is times more frequent

        Death by disease is times as likely as accidental death but the2 were judged about equally likely

        Death by accidents was judged to be more than times morelikely than death by diabetes but the true ratio is :

      The lesson is clear: estimates of causes of death are warped by mediacoverage

      • The coverage is itself biased toward novelty and poignancy

        Themedia do not just shape what the public is interested in but also areshaped by it

        Editors cannot ignore the public’s demands that certaintopics and viewpoints receive extensive coverage

        Unusual events (suchas botulism) attract disproportionate attention and are consequentlyperceived as less unusual than they really are

        The world in our heads isnot a precise replica of reality; our expectations about the frequency ofevents are distorted by the prevalence and emotional intensity of themessages to which we are exposed

        The estimates of causes of death are an almost direct representation ofthe activation of ideas in associative memory and are a good example ofsubstitution

      deeper insight

      • the ease with which ideas of various risks come to mind andthe emotional reactions to these risks are inextricably linked

        Frighteningthoughts and images occur to us with particular ease and thoughts ofdanger that are fluent and vivid exacerbate fear

      affectheuristic

      an affectheuristic in which people make judgments and decisions by consultingtheir emotions

      Do I like it?

      Do I hate it?

      How strongly do I feel about it?

      affect heuristic

      • An inability to be guided by a “healthy fear”of bad consequences is a disastrous flaw

        people form opinions and make choicesthat directly express their feelings and their basic tendency to approach oravoid often without knowing that they are doing so

        The affect heuristic isan instance of substitution in which the answer to an easy question (Howdo I feel about it?) serves as an answer to a much harder question (Whatdo I think about it?)

        Howdo I feel about it?

        Whatdo I think about it?

        Antonio Damasio

        people’s emotional evaluations of outcomes and the bodily states and theapproach and avoidance tendencies associated with them all play acentral role in guiding decision making

        Damasio and his colleagues haveobserved that people who do not display the appropriate emotions beforethey decide sometimes because of brain damage also have an impairedability to make good decisions

        The affect heuristicsimplifies our lives by creating a world that is much tidier than reality

      The Public and the Experts

      Mr and Ms Citizen Common Biases

      • guided by emotion rather than byreason
      • easily swayed by trivial details
        • inadequately sensitive todifferences between low and negligibly low probabilities

      Risk is objective Challenge

      “Risk” does not exist “out there ” independent of our minds andculture waiting to be measured

      Human beings have invented theconcept of “risk” to help them understand and cope with thedangers and uncertainties of life

      Although these dangers arereal there is no such thing as “real risk” or “objective risk ”

      availabilitycascade

      mechanism through which biases flow into policy: the availabilitycascade They comment that in the social context “all heuristics are equal but availability is more equal than the others ”

      the importance of an idea isoften judged by the fluency (and emotional charge) with which that ideacomes to mind

      An availability cascade is a self sustaining chain of events which maystart from media reports of a relatively minor event and lead up to publicpanic and large scale government action

      On some occasions a mediastory about a risk catches the attention of a segment of the public whichbecomes aroused and worried

      The Alar tale illustrates a basic limitation in the ability of our mind to dealwith small risks: we either ignore them altogether or give them far too muchweight—nothing in between

      “probability neglect”

      • Every parent who has stayed up waiting for ateenage daughter who is late from a party will recognize the feeling Youmay know that there is really (almost) nothing to worry about but youcannot help images of disaster from coming to mind

        the amount of concern is not adequately sensitive to the probabilityof harm; you are imagining the numerator—the tragic story you saw on thenews—and not thinking about the denominator

        The combination ofprobability neglect with the social mechanisms of availability cascadesinevitably leads to gross exaggeration of minor threats sometimes withimportant consequences

      In today’s world terrorists are the most significant practiti1rs of the artof inducing availability cascades With a few horrible exceptions such as the number of casualties from terror attacks is very small relative toother causes of death Even in countries that have been targets ofintensive terror campaigns such as Israel the weekly number of casualtiesalmost never came close to the number of traffic deaths The difference isin the availability of the 2 risks the ease and the frequency with whichthey come to mind Gruesome images endlessly repeated in the media cause every1 to be on edge

      As I know from experience it is difficult toreason 1self into a state of complete calm Terrorism speaks directly toSystem 1

      Democracy is inevitably messy in part because the availabilityand affect heuristics that guide citizens’ beliefs and attitudes are inevitablybiased even if they generally point in the right direction

      Psychology shouldinform the design of risk policies that combine the experts’ knowledge withthe public’s emotions and intuitions

      Speaking of Availability Cascades

      • “She’s raving about an innovation that has large benefits and nocosts I suspect the affect heuristic ”

        “This is an availability cascade: a n1vent that is inflated by themedia and the public until it fills our TV screens and becomes allany1 is talking about ”

  • Chapter 14 Tom W’s Specialty
    • Tom W’s Specialty

      simple puzzle

      • Tom W is a graduate student at the main university in your state Please rank the following nine fields of graduate specialization inorder of the likelihood that Tom W is now a student in each ofthese fields Use for the most likely for the least likely

        business administration

        computer science

        engineering

        humanities and education

        law

        medicine

        library science

        physical and life sciences

        social science and social work

      personality sketch of Tom W

      • Tom W is of high intelligence although lacking in true creativity He has a need for order and clarity and for neat and tidy systemsin which every detail finds its appropriate place His writing israther dull and mechanical occasionally enlivened by somewhatcorny puns and flashes of imagination of the sci fi type He has astrong drive for competence He seems to have little feel and littlesympathy for other people and does not enjoy interacting withothers Self centered he n1theless has a deep moral sense

        Now please take a sheet of paper and rank the nine fields ofspecialization listed below by how similar the description of TomW is to the typical graduate student in each of the following fields Use for the most likely and for the least likely

      Predicting by Representativeness

      rank the fields of specialization inorder of the likelihood that Tom W is now a graduate student in each ofthese fields

      Substitution was perfect in this case: there wasno indication that the participants did anything else but judgerepresentativeness The question about probability (likelihood) wasdifficult but the question about similarity was easier and it was answeredinstead

      judgments of similarity

      The question about probability (likelihood) wasdifficult but the question about similarity was easier and it was answeredinstead This is a serious mistake because judgments of similarity andprobak tbility are not constrained by the same logical rules

      definitions ofprobability

      • Logicians and statisticians have developed competing definitions ofprobability all very precise

        have developed competing definitions ofprobability all very precise For laypeople however probability (asynonym of likelihood in everyday language) is a vague notion related touncertainty pr sity plausibility and surprise

      The vagueness is notparticular to this concept nor is it especially troublesome We know moreor less what we mean when we use a word such as democracy or beautyand the people we are talking to understand more or less what weintended to say

      A question about probability or likelihood activates a mentalshotgun evoking answers to easier questions

      1 of the easy answers isan automatic assessment of representativeness—routine in understandinglanguage

      The (false) statement that “Elvis Presley’s parents wanted him tobe a dentist” is mildly funny because the discrepancy between the imagesof Presley and a dentist is detected automatically

      System 1 generates animpression of similarity without intending to do so The representativenessheuristic is involved when some1 says “She will win the election; you cansee she is a winner” or “He won’t go far as an academic; too manytattoos ” We rely on representativeness when we judge the potentialleadership of a candidate for office by the shape of his chin or theforcefulness of his speeches

      The Sins of Representativeness

      • Judging probability byals representativeness has important virtues: theintuitive impressions that it produces are often—indeed usually—moreaccurate than chance guesses would be

        On most occasions people who act friendly are in fact friendly

        A professional athlete who is very tall and thin is much more likely toplay basketball than football

        People with a PhD are more likely to subscribe to The New YorkTimes than people who ended their education after high school

        Young men are more likely than elderly women to drive aggressively

        In all these cases and in many others there is some truth to thestereotypes that govern judgments of representativeness and predictionsthat follow this heuristic may be accurate

        In other situations thestereotypes are false and the representativeness heuristic will mislead especially if it causes people to neglect base rate information that points inanother direction Even when the heuristic has some validity exclusivereliance on it is associated with grave sins against statistical logic

        1 sin of representativeness is an excessive willingness to predict theoccurrence of unlikely (low base rate) events Here is an example: you seea person reading The New York Times on the New York subway Which ofthe following is a better bet about the reading stranger?

        • She has a PhD
        • She does not have a college degree

        enhanced activationof System 2 caused a significant improvement of predictive accuracy inthe Tom W problem

        puff frown

        • experiment combined the old problem with amodern variation of cognitive fluency Half the students were told to puff outtheir cheeks during the task while the others were told to frown Frowning as we have seen generally increases the vigilance of System 2 andreduces both overconfidence and the reliance on intuition The studentswho puffed out their cheeks (an emotionally neutral expression) replicatedthe original results: they relied exclusively on representativeness andignored the base rates As the authors had predicted however thefrowners did show some sensitivity to the base rates This is an instructivefinding

        When an incorrect intuitive judgment is made System 1 and System 2should both be indicted System 1 suggested the incorrect intuition andSystem 2 endorsed it and expressed it in a judgment

        The second sin of representativeness is insensitivity to the quality ofevidence

        let your judgments ofprobability stay close to the base rate

        The correct answer to the Tom W puzzle is that you should stay veryclose to your prior beliefs slightly reducing the initially high probabilities ofwell populated fields (humanities and education; social science and socialwork) and slightly raising the low probabilities of rare specialties (libraryscience computer science)

        You are not exactly where you would be if youhad known nothing at all about Tom W but the little evidence you have isnot trus2rthy so the base rates should dominate your estimates

      How to Discipline Intuition

      Your probability that it will rain tomorrow is your subjective degree of belief but you should not let yourself believe whatever comes to your mind

      To beuseful your beliefs should be constrained by the logic of probability So ifyou believe that there is a % chance plethat it will rain sometimetomorrow you must also believe that there is a % chance it will not raintomorrow and you must not believe that there is a % chance that it willrain tomorrow morning

      relevant “Bayesean rules”

      • The relevant “rules” for cases such as the Tom W problem are providedby Bayesian statistics

        the logic of how people should change their mind in the light ofevidence

        Bayes’s rule specifies how prior beliefs (in the examples of thischapter base rates) should be combined with the diagnosticity of theevidence the degree to which it favors the hypothesis over the alternative

        Bayesian reasoning

        base rates matter even in the presence of evidenceabout the case at hand

        intuitive impressions of the diagnosticity of evidence are oftenexaggerated

        The essentialkeys to disciplined Bayesian reasoning

        • Anchor your judgment of the probability of an outcome on a plausiblebase rate
        • Question the diagnosticity of your evidence

      Speaking of Representativeness

      • “The lawn is well trimmed the receptionist looks competent andthe furniture is attractive but this doesn’t mean it is a wellmanagedcompany I hope the board does not go byrepresentativeness ”

        “This start up looks as if it could not fail but the base rate ofsuccess in the industry is extremely low How do we know thiscase is different?”

  • Chapter 15 Linda: Less is More
    • heuristics in judgment and oftheir incompatibility with logic

      Linda is thirty 1 years old single outspoken and very bright She majored in philosophy As a student she was deeplyconcerned with issues of discrimination and social justice andalso participated in antinuclear demonstrations

      The Linda problem is similar but with a twist Possible Scenarios

      • Linda is a teacher in elementary school
      • Linda works in a bookstore and takes yoga classes
      • Linda is active in the feminist movement
      • Linda is a psychiatric social worker
      • Linda is a member of the League of Women Voters
      • Linda is a bank teller
      • Linda is an insurance salesperson
      • Linda is a bank teller and is active in the feminist movement

      Which alternative is more probable?

      • Linda is a bank teller
      • Linda is a bank teller and is active in the feminist movement

      fallacy

      • The word fallacy is used in general when people fail to apply a logicalrule that is obviously relevant

      conjunction fallacy

      conjunction fallacy which people commit when they judge a conjunction of2 events (here bank teller and feminist) to be more probable than 1 ofthe events (bank teller) in a direct comparison

      judgments ofrepresentativeness

      The judgments of probability that our respondents offered in both theTom W and Linda problems corresponded precisely to judgments ofrepresentativeness (similarity to stereotypes)

      Representativenessbelongs to a cluster of closely related basic assessments that are likely tobe generated together The most representative outcomes combine withthe personality description to produce the most coherent stories The mostcoherent stories are not necessarily the most probable but they areplausible and the notions of coherence plausibility and probability areeasily confused by the unwary

      uncritical substitution of plausibility for probability

      • A massive flood somewhere in North America next year in whichmore than people drown

        An earthquake in California sometime next year causing a floodin which more than people drown

        The California earthquake scenario is more plausible than the NorthAmerica scenario although its probability is certainly smaller

      Less Is More Sometimes Even In Joint Evaluation

      less is more

      • By removing items from Set A ( of them intact) its value is improved

      baseball cards

      • He aucti1d sets of ten high valuecards and identical sets to which three cards of modest value wereadded As in the dinnerware experiment the larger sets were valued morethan the smaller 1s in joint evaluation but less in single evaluation Fromthe perspective of economic theory this result is troubling: the economicvalue of a dinnerware set or of a collection of baseball cards is a sum likevariable Adding a positively valued item to the set can only increase itsvalue

        System 1 averages insteadof adding

      four possible outcomes

      Björn Borg wasthe dominant tennis player of the day when the study was conducted

      • A Borg will win the match
      • B Borg will lose the first set
      • C Borg will lose the first set but win the match
      • D Borg will win the first set but lose the match

      “How many of the participants

      Why is the question “How many of the participants…” so mucheasier than “What percentage…”? A likely explanation is that the referenceto individuals brings a spatial representation to mind Imagine that alarge number of people are instructed to sort themselves into groups in aroom: “Those whose names begin with the letters A to L are told to gatherin the front left corner ” They are then instructed to sort themselves further The relation of inclusion is now obvious and you can see that individualswhose name begins with C will be a subset of the crowd in the front leftcorner

      In the medical survey question heart attack victims end up in acorner of the room and some of them are less than years old Notevery1 will share this particular vivid imagery but many subsequentexperiments have shown that the frequency representation as it is known makes it easy to appreciate that 1 group is wholly included in the other

      The solution to the puzzle appears to be that a question phrased as “howmany?” makes you think of individuals but the same question phrased as“what percentage?” does not

      What have we learned from these studies about the workings of System?

      System 2 is not impressivelyalert

      The undergraduates and graduate students who participated in ourthastudies of the conjunction fallacy certainly “knew” the logic of Venndiagrams but they did not apply it reliably even when all the relevantinformation was laid out in front of them

      The absurdity of the less is morepattern was obvious in Hsee’s dinnerware study and was easilyrecognized in the “how many?” representation but it was not apparent tothe thousands of people who have committed the conjunction fallacy in theoriginal Linda problem and in others like it

      The laziness of System 2 is part of the story

      followlogic

      not to answer until they were sure of their answer

      conjunction fallacy

      The laziness of System 2 is part of the story If their next vacation haddepended on it and if they had been given indefinite time and told to followlogic and not to answer until they were sure of their answer I believe thatmost of our subjects would have avoided the conjunction fallacy

      The laziness of System 2 is an important fact of life

      theobservation that representativeness can block the application of anobvious logical rule is also of some interest

  • Chapter 16 Causes Trump Statistics
    • Causes Trump Statistics

      A cab was involved in a hit and run accident at night 2 cab companies the Green and the Blue operate in the city You are given the following data:

      • % of the cabs in the city are Green and % are Blue

        A witness identified the cab as Blue The court tested the reliability ofthe witness under the circumstances that existed on the night of theaccident and concluded that the witness correctly identified each 1of the 2 colors % of the time and failed % of the time

        What is the probability that the cab involved in the accident wasBlue rather than Green?

      2 items ofinformation:

      • a base rate
      • the imperfectly reliable testimony of a witness

      Causal Stereotypes

      variation of the same story

      You are given the following data:

      The 2 companies operate the same number of cabs but Greencabs are involved in % of accidents

      The information about the witness is as in the previous version

      In the second version in contrast the drivers of Green cabs cause morethan times as many accidents as the Blue cabs do The conclusion isimmediate: the Green drivers must be a collection of reckless madmen!You have now formed a stereotype of Green recklessness which you applyto unknown individual drivers in the company

      The stereotype is easilyfitted into a causal story because recklessness is a causally relevant factabout individual cabdrivers In this version there are 2 causal stories thatneed to be combined or reconciled The first is the hit and run whichnaturally evokes the idea that a reckless Green driver was responsible The second is the witness’s testimony which strongly suggests the cabwas Blue The inferences from the 2 stories about the color of the car arecontradictory and approximately cancel each other

      2 types of base rates

      • Statistical base
        • Statistical baserates are facts about a population to which a case belongs but they arenot relevant to the individual case
      • Causal base rates
        • Causal base rates change your view ofhow the individual case came to be

      The 2 types of base rateinformation are treated differently:

      • Statistical base rates are generally underweighted and sometimesneglected altogether when specific information about the case athand is available

        Causal base rates are treated as information about the individualcase and are easily combined with other case specific information

      2 examples

      • Most of the graduates of this inner city school go to college
      • Interest in cycling is widespread in France

      These statements are readily interpreted as setting up a pr sity inindividual members of the group and they fit in a causal story Manygraduates of this particular inner city school are eager and able to go tocollege presumably because of some beneficial features of life in thatschool There are forces in French culture and social life that cause manyFrenchmen to take an interest in cycling You will be reminded of thesefacts when you think about the likelihood that a particular graduate of theschool will attend college or when you wonder whether to bring up the Tourde France in a conversation with a Frenchman you just met

      Stereotyping

      • Stereotyping is a bad word in our culture but in my usage it is neutral 1of the basic characteristics of System 1 is that it represents categories asnorms and prototypical exemplars

        This is how we think of horses refrigerators and New York police officers; we hold in memory arepresentation of 1 or more “normal” members of each of thesecategories

        When the categories are social these representations arecalled stereotypes

        Some stereotypes are perniciously wrong and hostilestereotyping can have dreadful consequences but the psychological factscannot be avoided:

        stereotypes both correct and false are how we thinkof categories

        The social norm against stereotyping including the opposition toprofiling has been highly beneficial in creating a more civilized and moreequal society It is useful to remember however that neglecting validstereotypes inevitably results in suboptimal judgments Resistance tostereotyping is a laudable moral position but the simplistic idea that theresistance is costless is wrong The costs are worth paying to achieve abetter society but denying that the costs exist while satisfying to the souland politically correct is not scientifically defensible Reliance on the affectheuristic is common in politically charged arguments The positions wefavor have no cost and those we oppose have no benefits We should beable to do better

      Causal Situations

      • In his experiment Ajzen showed his participantsbrief vignettes describing some students who had taken an exam at Yaleand asked the participants to judge the probability that each student hadpassed the test The manipulation of causal bs oase rates wasstraightforward: Ajzen told 1 group that the students they saw had beendrawn from a class in which % passed the exam and told another groupthat the same students had been in a class in which only % passed Thisis a powerful manipulation because the base rate of passing suggests theimmediate inference that the test that only % passed must have beenbrutally difficult

        The difficulty of a test is of course 1 of the causalfactors that determine every student’s outcome As expected Ajzen’ssubjects were highly sensitive to the causal base rates and every studentwas judged more likely to pass in the high success condition than in thehigh failure rate

        As expected the explicitly stated base rates had some effects onjudgment but they had much less impact than the statistically equivalentcausal base rates

        System 1 can deal with stories in which the elementsare causally linked but it is weak in statistical reasoning

      Can Psychology be Taught?

      • The classicexperiment I describe next shows that people will not draw from base rateinformation an inference that conflicts with other beliefs It also supports theuncomfortable conclusion that teaching psychology is mostly a waste oftime

        Most of us think ofourselves as decent people who would rush to help in such a situation andwe expect other decent people to do the same

        Most of us think ofourselves as decent people who would rush to help in such a situation andwe expect other decent people to do the same

        The point of theexperiment of course was to show that this expectation is wrong Evennormal decent people do not rush to help when they expect others to takeon the unpleasantness of dealing with a seizure

        Are you willing to endorse the following statement? “When I read theprocedure of the helping experiment I thought I would come to thestranger’s help immediately as I probably would if I found myself al1 witha seizure victim I was probably wrong If I find myself in a situation in whichother people have an opportunity to help I might not step forward Thepresence of others would reduce my sense of personal responsibility morethan I initially thought ” This is what a teacher of psychology would hope youwould learn Would you have made the same inferences by yourself?

      diffusion of responsibility

      • The lessonstudents are meant to take away is that some potent feature of thesituation such as the diffusion of responsibility induces normal and decentpeople such as them to behave in a surprisingly unhelpful way

        Changing 1’s mind about human nature is hard work and changing1’s mind for the worse about 1self is even harder

        To teach students any psychology they did not know before you mustsurprise them But which surprise will do? Nisbett and Borgida found thatwhen they presented their students with a surprising statisticis al fact thestudents managed to learn nothing at all

        But when the students weresurprised by individual cases—2 nice people who had not helped—theyimmediately made the generalization and inferred that helping is moredifficult than they had thought Nisbett and Borgida summarize the resultsin a memorable sentence:

        Subjects’ unwillingness to deduce the particular from the generalwas matched only by their willingness to infer the general from theparticular

      Speaking of Causes and Statistics

      “We can’t assume that they will really learn anything from merestatistics Let’s show them 1 or 2 representative individualcases to influence their System 1 ”

      “No need to worry about this statistical information being ignored On the contrary it will immediately be used to feed a stereotype ”

  • Chapter 17 Regression to the Mean
    • Regression to the Mean
      • rewards for improved performance work better than punishment ofmistakes

        regression to the mean

        regression to the mean which in that case wasdue to random fluctuations in the quality of performance Naturally hepraised only a cadet whose performance was far better than average

        Butthe cadet was probably just lucky on that particular attempt and thereforelikely to deteriorate regardless of whether or not he was praised Similarly the instructor would shout into a cadet’s earph1s only when the cadet’sperformance was unusually bad and therefore likely to improve regardlessof what the instructor did The instructor had attached a causalinterpretation to the inevitable fluctuations of a random process

        I pointed out to the instructors that what theysaw on the board coincided with what we had heard about theperformance of aerobatic maneuvers on successive attempts: poorperformance was typically followed by improvement and goodperformance by deterioration without any help from either praise orpunishment

        The discovery I made on that day was that the flight instructors weretrapped in an unfortunate contingency: because they punished cadetswhen performance was poor they were mostly rewarded by a subsequentimprovement even if punishment was actually ineffective Furthermore theinstructors were not al1 in that predicament I had stumbled onto asignificant fact of the human condition: the feedback to which life exposesus is perverse Because we tend to be nice to other people when theyplease us and nasty when they do not we are statistically punished forbeing nice and rewarded for being nasty

    • Talent and Luck
      • “favorite equation ”

        success = talent + luck

        great success = a little more talent + a lot of luck

        “Sports Illustrated jinx ”

        • Regression effects are ubiquitous and so are misguided causal storiesto explain them A well known example is the “Sports Illustrated jinx ” theclaim that an athlete whose picture appears on the cover of the magazineis doomed to perform poorly the following season Overconfidence and thepressure of meeting high expectations are often offered as explanations But there is a simpler account of the jinx: an athlete who gets to be on thecover of Sports Illustrated must have performed exceptionally well in thepreceding season probably with the assistance of a nudge from luck—andluck is fickle

          the results are combined for thefinal score I was startled to hear the sportscaster’s comments whileathletes were preparing for their second jump: “Norway had a great firstjump; he will be tense hoping to protect his lead and will probably doworse” or “Sweden had a bad first jump and now he knows he has nothingto lose and will be relaxed which should help him do better ”

        Thecommentator had obviously detected regression to the mean and hadinvented a causal story for which there was no evidence The story itselfcould even be true Perhaps if we measured the athletes’ pulse beforeeach jump we might find that they are indeed more relaxed after a bad firstjump And perhaps not The point to remember is that the change from thefirst to the second jump does not need a causal explanation It is amathematically inevitable consequence of the fact that luck played a role inthe outcome of the first jump Not a very satisfactory story—we would allprefer a causal account—but that is all there is

    • Understanding Regression
      • Regression to the mean was discovered and named late in thenineteenth century by Sir Francis Galton a half cousin of Charles Darwinand a renowned polymath

        “Regression towards Mediocrity inHereditary Stature ”

        which reports measurements of size in successivegenerations of seeds and in comparisons of the height of children to theheight of their parents He writes about his studies of seeds:

        They yielded results that seemed very noteworthy and I usedthem as the basis of a lecture before the Royal Institution onFebruary th It appeared from these experiments that theoffspring did not tend to resemble their parent seeds in size butto be always more mediocre than they—to be smaller than theparents if the parents were large; to be larger than the parents ifthe parents were very small…The experiments showed furtherthat the mean filial regression towards mediocrity was directlyproportional to the parental deviation from it

        Regression effects can be found wherever we look but wedo not recognize them for what they are They hide in plain sight It tookGalton several years to work his way from his discovery of filial regressionin size to the broader notion that regression inevitably occurs when thecorrelation between 2 measures is less than perfect and he needed thehelp of the most brilliant statisticians of his time to reach that conclusion

        examples of coefficients

        • The correlation between the size of objects measured with precisionin English or in metric units is Any factor that influences 1measure also influences the other; % of determinants areshared
          • The correlation between self reported height and weight among adultAmerican males is If you included women and children thecorrelation would be much higher because individuals’ gender andage influence both their height ann wd their weight boosting therelative weight of shared factors

        The correlation between SAT scores and college GPA isapproximately However the correlation between aptitude testsand success in graduate school is much lower largely becausemeasured aptitude varies little in this selected group If every1 hassimilar aptitude differences in this measure are unlikely to play alarge role in measures of success

        The correlation between income and education level in the UnitedStates is approximately

        The correlation between family income and the last four digits of theirph1 number is

        correlation andregression are not 2 concepts—they are different perspectives on thesame concept

        The general rule is straightforward but has surprisingconsequences:

        whenever the correlation between 2 scores is imperfect there will be regression to the mean

        Highly intelligent women tend to marry men who are lessintelligent than they are

        You can get a good conversation started at a party by asking for anexplanation and your friends will readily oblige Even people who have hadsome exposure to statistics will spontaneously interpret the statement incausal terms Some may think of highly intelligent women wanting to avoidthe competition of equally intelligent men or being forced to compromisein their choice of spouse because intelligent men do not want to competewith intelligent women

        consider this statement

        • The correlation between the intelligence scores of spouses isless than perfect
          • This statement is obviously true and not interesting at all Who wouldexpect the correlation to be perfect? There is nothing to explain But thestatement you found interesting and the statement you found trivial arealgebraically equivalent If the correlation between the intelligence ofspouses is less than perfect (and if men and women on average do notdiffer in intelligence) then it is a mathematical inevitability that highlyintelligent women will be married to husbands who are on average lessintelligent than they are (and vice versa of course) The observedregression to the mean cannot be more interesting or more explainablethan the imperfect correlation

        our mind isstrongly biased toward causal explanations and does not deal well with“mere statistics ”

        When our attention is called to an event associativememory will look for its cause—more precisely activation will automaticallyspread to any cause that is already stored in memory

        difficulties with the concept of regression originate with both System 1and System 2

        • Depressed children treated with an energy drink improvesignificantly over a three month period

          I made up this newspaper headline but the fact it reports is true: if youtreated a group of depressed children for some time with an energy drink they would show a clinically significant improvement It is also the case thatdepressed children who spend some time standing on their head or hug acat for twenty minutes a day will also show improvement Most readers ofsuch headlines will automatically infer that the energy drink or the cathugging caused an improvement but this conclusion is completelyunjustified

          Depressed children are an extreme group they are moredepressed than most other children—and extreme groups regress to themean over time

        Judgment in Managerial DecisionMaking:

        • You are the sales forecaster for a department store chain Allstores are similar in size and merchandise selection but theirsales differ because of location competition and randomfactors You are given the results for and asked to forecastsales for You have been instructed to accept the overallforecast of economists that sales will increase overall by % How would you complete the following table?

        Speaking of Regression to Mediocrity

        • “She says experience has taught her that criticism is moreeffective than praise What she doesn’t understand is that it’s alldue to regression to the mean ”

          “Perhaps his second interview was less impressive than thefirst because he was afraid of disappointing us but more likely itwas his first that was unusually good ”

          “Our screening procedure is good but not perfect so we shouldanticipate regression We shouldn’t be surprised that the verybest candidates often fail to meet our expectations ”

  • Chapter 18 Taming Intuitive Predictions
    • Taming Intuitive Predictions
      • Life presents us with many occasions to forecast Economists forecastinflation and unemployment financial analysts forecast earnings militaryexperts predict casualties venture capitalists assess profitability publishers and producers predict audiences contractors estimate the timerequired to complete projects chefs anticipate the demand for the disheson their menu engineers estimate the amount of concrete needed for abuilding fireground commanders assess the number of trucks that will beneeded to put out a fire In our private lives we forecast our spouse’sreaction to a proposed move or our own future adjustment to a new job

        Some predictive judgments such as those made by engineers relylargely on look up tables precise calculations and explicit analyses ofoutcomes observed on similar occasions

    • Nonregressive Intuitions
      • Julie is currently a senior in a state university She read fluentlywhen she was four years old What is her grade point average(GPA)?

        People who are familiar with the American educational scene quicklycome up with a number which is often in the vicinity of or Howdoes this occur? Several operations of System 1 are involved

        A causal link between the evidence (Julie’s reading) and the target ofthe prediction (her GPA) is sought The link can be indirect In thisinstance early reading and a high GDP are both indications ofacademic talent Some connection is necessary You (your System) would probably reject as irrelevant a report of Julie winning a flyfishing competitiowhired D=n or excelling at weight lifting in highschool The process is effectively dichotomous We are capable ofrejecting information as irrelevant or false but adjusting for smallerweaknesses in the evidence is not something that System 1 can do As a result intuitive predictions are almost completely insensitive tothe actual predictive quality of the evidence When a link is found asin the case of Julie’s early reading WY SIATI applies: yourassociative memory quickly and automatically constructs the bestpossible story from the information available

        Next the evidence is evaluated in relation to a relevant norm Howprecocious is a child who reads fluently at age four? What relativerank or percentile score corresponds to this achievement? Thegroup to which the child is compared (we call it a reference group) isnot fully specified but this is also the rule in normal speech: ifsome1 graduating from college is described as “quite clever” yourarely need to ask “When you say ‘quite clever ’ which referencegroup do you have in mind?”

        The next step involves substitution and intensity matching Theevaluation of the flimsy evidence of cognitive ability in childhood issubstituted as an answer to the question about her college GPA Julie will be assigned the same percentile score for her GPA and forher achievements as an early reader

        The question specified that the answer must be on the GPA scale which requires another intensity matching operation from a generalimpression of Julie’s academic achievements to the GPA thatmatches the evidence for her talent The final step is a translation from an impression of Julie’s relative academic standing to the GPAthat corresponds to it

        experiment to judgedescriptions

        intelligent self confident well read hardworking inquisitive

        How much does this description impress you with respect toacademic ability?

        What percentage of descriptions of freshmen do you believewould impress you more?

    • A Correction for Intuitive Predictions
      • reading age = shared factors + factors specific to reading age = %
      • GPA = shared factors + factors specific to GPA = %
    • A Defense of Extreme Predictions?
    • A 2 Systems View of Regression
    • Speaking of Intuitive Predictions
      • “That start up achieved an outstanding proof of concept but weshouldn’t expect them to do as well in the future They are still along way from the market and there is a lot of room forregression ”

        “Our intuitive prediction is very favorable but it is probably toohigh Let’s take into account the strength of our evidence andregress the prediction toward the mean ”

        “The investment may be a good idea even if the best guess isthat it will fail Let’s not say we really believe it is the next Google ”

        “I read 1 review of that brand and it was excellent Still thatcould have been a fluke Let’s consider only the brands that havea large number of reviews and pick the 1 that looks best ”

• Part III Overconfidence
  • Chapter 19 The Illusion of Understanding
    • The Illusion of Understanding
      • narrative fallacy

        the notionof a narrative fallacy to describe how flawed stories of the past shape ourviews of the world and our expectations for the future

        Narrative fallaciesarise inevitably from our continuous attempt to make sense of the world

        The explanatory stories that people find compelling

        • are simple

          areconcrete rather than abstract

          assign a larger role to talent

          stupidity

          intentions than to luck

          focus on a few striking events that happenedrather than on the countless events that failed to happen

        we humans constantly fool ourselves by constructing flimsyaccounts of the past and believing they are true

        A compelling narrative fosters an illusion of inevitability

        • story of how Google turned into a giant of the technology industry

          A compelling narrative fosters an illusion of inevitability Consider thestory of how Google turned into a giant of the technology industry 2creative graduate students in the computer science department atStanford University come up with a superior way of searching informationon the Internet They seek and obtain funding to start a company and makea series of decisions that work out well Within a few years the companythey started is 1 of the most valuable stocks in America and the 2former graduate students are among the richest people on the planet On1 memorable occasion they were lucky which makes the story evenmore compelling: a year after founding Google they were willing to selltheir company for less than $ million but the buyer said the price was toohigh Mentioning the single lucky incident actually makes it easier tounderestimate the multitude of ways in which luck affected the outcome

        every choice they made hada good outcome

        The human mind doesnot deal well with n1vents The fact that many of the important events thatdid occur involve choices further tempts you to exaggerate the role of skilland underestimate the part that luck played in the outcome

        WY SIATI rule

        • At work here is that powerful WY SIATI rule You cannot help dealing withthe limited information you have as if it were all there is to know You buildthe best possible story from the information available to you and if it is agood story you believe it Paradoxically it is easier to construct a coherentstory when you know little when there are fewer pieces to fit into the puzzle Our comforting conviction that the world makes sense rests on a securefoundation: our almost unlimited ability to ignore our ignorance

          financial crisis was inevitable

          • I have heard of too many people who “knew well before it happened thatthe financial crisis was inevitable ” This sentence contains a highlyobjectionable word which should be removed from our vocabulary indiscussions of major events

        This isa misuse of an important concept In everyday language we apply theword know only when what was known is true and can be shown to be true We can know something only if it is both true and knowable

        But the peoplewho thought there would be a crisis (and there are fewer of them than nowremember thinking it) could not conclusively show it at the time

        Manyintelligent and well informed people were keenly interested in the future ofthe economy and did not believe a catastrophe was imminent; I infer fromthis fact that the crisis was not knowable

        What is perverse about the useof know in this context is not that some individuals get credit for presciencethat they do not deserve It is that the language implies that the world ismore knowable than it is It helps perpetuate a pernicious illusion

        The core of the illusion is that we believe we understand the past whichimplies that the future also should be knowable but in fact we understandthe past less than we believe we do Know is not the only word that fostersthis illusion In common usage the words intuition and premonition alsoare reserved for past thoughts that turned out to be true The statement “Ihad a premonition that the marriage would not last but I was wrong”sounds odd as does any sentence about an intuition that turned out to befalse

        To think clearly about the future we need to clean up the languagethat we use in labeling the beliefs we had in the past

      The Social Costs of Hindsight

      • The mind that makes up narratives about the past is a sense makingorgan When an unpredicted event occurs we immediately adjust our viewof the world to accommodate the surprise

        Imagine yourself before afootball game between 2 teams that have the same record of wins andlosses Now the game is over and 1 team trashed the other In yourrevised model of the world the winning team is much stronger than theloser and your view of the past as well as of the future has been altered bef?y that new perception Learning from surprises is a reasonable thing todo but it can have some dangerous consequences

        A general limitation of the human mind is its imperfect ability toreconstruct past states of knowledge or beliefs that have changed Onceyou adopt a new view of the world (or of any part of it) you immediatelylose much of your ability to recall what you used to believe before yourmind changed

        Many psychologists have studied what happens when people changetheir minds

        the participants report the opinion they held beforehand This taskturns out to be surprisingly difficult Asked to reconstruct their formerbeliefs people retrieve their current 1s instead—an instance ofsubstitution—and many cannot believe that they ever felt differently

        Your inability to reconstruct past beliefs will inevitably cause you tounderestimate the extent to which you were surprised by past events

      “I knew it all along” effect

      hindsight bias

      • Your inability to reconstruct past beliefs will inevitably cause you tounderestimate the extent to which you were surprised by past events Baruch Fischh off first demonstrated this “I knew it all along” effect orhindsight bias when he was a student in Jerusalem Together with RuthBeyth (another of our students) Fischh off conducted a survey beforePresident Richard Nixon visited China and Russia in Therespondents assigned probabilities to fifteen possible outcomes ofNixon’s diplomatic initiatives Would Mao Zedong agree to meet withNixon? Might the United States grant diplomatic recognition to China?After decades of enmity could the United States and the Soviet Unionagree on anything significant?

        After Nixon’s return from his travels Fischh off and Beyth asked thesame people to recall the probability that they had originally assigned toeach of the fifteen possible outcomes

        The results were clear If an eventhad actually occurred people exaggerated the probability that they hadassigned to it earlier If the possible event had not come to pass theparticipants err1ously recalled that they had always considered itunlikely

      Further experiments showed that people were driven to overstatethe accuracy not only of their original predictions but also of those made byothers

      Further experiments showed that people were driven to overstatethe accuracy not only of their original predictions but also of those made byothers

      Hindsight bias has pernicious effects on the evaluations of decisionmakers It leads observers to assess the quality of a decision not bywhether the process was sound but by whether its outcome was good orbad

      outcome bias

      • When the outcomes are bad the clients often blametheir agents for not seeing the handwriting on the wall—forgetting that itwas written in invisible ink that became legible only afterward

      Because adherence to standard operating procedures is difficult tosecond guess decision makers who expect to have their decisionsscrutinized with hindsight are driven to bureaucratic solutions—and to anextreme reluctance to take risks

      Recipes for Success

      Built to Last

      • The basic message of Built to Last and other similar books is that goodmanagerial practices can be identified and that good practices will berewarded by good results Both messages are overstated Thecomparison of firms that have been more or less successful is to asignificant extent a comparison between firms that have been more or lesslucky

      Speaking of Hindsight

      • “The mistake appears obvious but it is just hindsight You couldnot have known in advance ”

        “He’s learning too much from this success story which is too tidy He has fallen for a narrative fallacy ”

        “She has no evidence for saying that the firm is badly managed All she knows is that its stock has g1 down This is an outcomebias part hindsight and part halo effect ”

        “Let’s not fall for the outcome bias This was a stupid decisi1ven though it worked out well ”

  • Chapter 20 The Illusion of Validity
    • The Illusion of Validity

      System 1 is designed to jump to conclusions from little evidence—and it isnot designed to know the size of its jumps Because of WYSIATI only theevidence at hand counts Because of confidence by coherence thesubjective confidence we have in our opinions reflects the coherence of thestory that System 1 and System 2 have constructed The amount ofevidence and its quality do not count for much because poor evidence canmake a very good story For some of our most important beliefs we haveno evidence at all except that people we love and trust hold these beliefs Considering how little we know the confidence we have in our beliefs ispreposterous—and it is also essential

      “leaderless group challenge ”

      Eight candidates strangers to each other with all insignia ofrank removed and only numbered tags to identify them were instructed tolift a long log from the ground and haul it to a wall about six feet high Theentire group had to get to the other side of the wall without the log touchingeither the ground or the wall and without any1 touching the wall If any ofthese things happened they had to declare itsig?? T and start again

      The soldier who took over when the group was in trouble and led the teamover the wall was a leader at that moment

      The obvious best guess abouthow he would do in training or in combat was that he would be aseffective then as he had been at the wall Any other prediction seemedinconsistent with the evidence before our eyes

      The story was always the same: ourability to predict performance at the school was negligible Our forecastswere better than blind guesses but not by much

      the illusion of validity

      cognitive illusion

      Decades later I can see many of the central themes of my thinking—and ofthis book—in that old story Our expectations for the soldiers’ futureperformance were a clear instance of substitution and of therepresentativeness heuristic in particular Having observed 1 hour of asoldier’s behavior in an artificial situation we felt we knew how well hewould face the challenges of officer training and of leadership in combat

      Subjective confidence in a judgment is not a reas1d evaluation of theprobability that this judgment is correct

      Confidence is a feeling whichreflects the coherence of the information and the cognitive ease ofprocessing it It is wise to take admissions of uncertainty seriously butdeclarations of high confidence mainly tell you that an individual hasconstructed a coherent story in his mind not necessarily that the story istrue

      The Illusion of Stock Picking Skill

      role of judgment biases in investing

      • When yousell a stock
      • who buys it?”
      • What made 1 personbuy and the other sell?
      • What did the sellers think they knew that the buyersdid not?
      • The puzzle is why buyers and sellers alikethink that the current price is wrong
      • What makes them believe they knowmore about what the price should be than the market does?

      Many individual investors lose consistently by trading anachievement that a dart throwing chimp could not match

      • studying the trading records of brokerageaccounts

        identify allinstances in which an investor sold some of his holdings in 1 stock andsoon afterward bought another stock

        the investorrevealed that he (most of the investors were men) had a definite ideaabout the future of the 2 stocks:

        he expected the stock that he chose tobuy to do better than the stock he chose to sell

        The resultswere unequivocally bad

        On average the shares that individual traderssold did better than those they bought by a very substantial margin: percentage points per year above and beyond the significant costs ofexecuting the 2 trades

      conclusion

      • they showed that on average the most active tradershad the poorest results while the investors who traded the least earned thehighest returns

        men acted on their useless ideas significantly more often than women

        women achieved better investment results than men

        Individual investors like to lock in their gains by selling “winners ” stocksthat have appreciated since they were purchased and they hang on totheir losers

        recent winners tend to do better thanrecent losers in the short run so individuals sell the wrong stocks

        Theyalso buy the wrong stocks

        Individual investors predictably flock tocompanies that draw their attention because they are in the news

        Professional investors are more selective in responding to news

        Professional investors including fund managers fail a basic test of skill: persistent achievement

      The diagnostic for the existence of any skill is the consistency of individualdifferences in achievement

      The logic is simple: if individual differences inany 1 year are due entirely to luck the ranking of investors and funds willvary erratically and the year to year correlation will be zero

      Where there isskill however the rankings will be more stable The persistence ofindividual differences is the measure by which we confirm the existence ofskill among golfers car salespeople orthodontists or speedy tollcollectors on the turnpike

      for a large majority of fund managers the selectionof stocks is more like rolling dice than like playing poker

      the year to year correlation between the outcomes ofmutual funds is very small barely higher than zero

      The successful funds inany given year are mostly lucky; they have a good roll of the dice

      There isgeneral agreement among researchers that nearly all stock pickers whether they know it or not—and few of them do—are playing a game ofchance

      The subjective experience of traders is that they are makingsensible educated guesses in a situation of great uncertainty

      In highlyefficient markets however educated guesses are no more accurate thanblind guesses

      illusion offinancial skill

      • to rank the advisers by their performance in each year andto determine whether there were persistent differences in skill among them

        whether the same advisers consistently achieved better returns fortheir clients year after year

        To answer the question I computed correlation coefficients between therankings in each pair of years: year with year year with year andso on up through year with year That yielded correlationcoefficients 1 for each pair of years I knew the theory and wasprepared to find weak evidence of persistence of skill Still I was surprisedto find that the average of the correlations was In other words zero

        The consistent correlations that would indicate differences in skill were notto be found The results resembled what you would expect from a dicerollingcontest not a game of skill

        quickly became clear however that no 1 expected theaverage correlation to be zero

        Our message to the executives was that at least when it came tobuilding portfolios the firm was rewarding luck as if it were skill

        The illusion of skill is not only an individual aberration; itis deeply ingrained in the culture of the industry

        Their own experience of exercising carefuljudgment on complex problems was far more compelling to them than anobscure statistical fact

      What Supports the Illusions of Skill and Validity?

      • Cognitive illusions can be more stubborn than visual illusions

        The most potent psychological cause of the illusion is certainly that thepeople who pick stocks are exercising high level skills

        They consulteconomic data and forecasts

        they examine income statements andbalance sheets

        they evaluate the quality of top management

        theyassess the competition

        Unfortunately skill in evaluating thebusiness prospects of a firm is not sufficient for successful stock trading

        subjective confidence of traders is a feeling not a judgment

        the illusions of validity and skill are supported by a powerfulprofessional culture We know that people can maintain an unshakablefaith in any proposition however absurd when they are sustained by acommunity of like minded believers Given the professional culture of thefinancial community it is not surprising that large numbers of individuals inthat world believe themselves to be among the chosen few who can dowhat they believe others cannot

      The Illusions of Pundits

      • The idea that the future is unpredictable is undermined every day by theease with which the past is explained

        our tendency to construct and believe coherent narratives ofthe past makes it difficult for us to accept the limits of our forecastingability

        Everything makes sense in hindsight a fact that financial punditsexploit every evening as they offer convincing accounts of the day’s even

        And we cannot suppress the powerful intuition that what makes sense inhindsight today was predictable yesterday

        The illusion that we understandthe past fosters overconfidence in our ability to predict the future

        Expert Political Judgment: How Good Is It?How Can We Know?

        Tetlock interviewed people who made their living “commenting oroffering advice on political and economic trends ” He asked them toassess the probabilities that certain events would occur in the not toodistant future both in areas of the world in which they specialized and inregions about which they had less knowledge Would Gorbachev beousted in a coup? Would the United States go to war in the Persian Gulf?Which country would become the next big emerging market? In all Tetlockgathered more than predictions He also asked the experts howthey reached their conclusions how they reacted when proved wrong andhow they evaluated evidence that did not support their positions Respondents were asked to rate the probabilities of three alternativeoutcomes in every case: the persistence of the status quo more ofsomething such as political freedom or economic growth or less of thatthing

        The results were devastating The experts performed worse than theywould have if they had simply assigned equal probabilities to each of thethree potential outcomes In other words people who spend their time andearn their living studying a particular topic produce poorer predictions thandart throwing monkeys who would have distributed their choices evenlyover the options Even in the region they knew best experts were notsignificantly better than nonspecialists

        Those who know more forecast very slightly better than those who knowless But those with the most knowledge are often less reliable

        The reasonis that the person who acquires more knowledge develops an enhancedillusion of her skill and becomes unrealistically overconfident

        Those who know more forecast very slightly better than those who knowless But those with the most knowledge are often less reliable The reasonis that the person who acquires more knowledge develops an enhancedillusion of her skill and becomes unrealistically overconfident “We reachthe point of diminishing marginal predictive returns for knowledgedisconcertingly quickly ” Tetlock writes “In this age of academichyperspecialization there is no reason for supposing that contributors totop journals—distinguished political scientists area study specialists economists and so on—are any better than journalists or attentive readerso f The New York Times in ‘reading&#oul ; emerging situations ”

        The more famous the forecaster Tetlock discovered the more flamboyantthe forecasts “Experts in demand ” he writes “were more overconfidentthan their colleagues who eked out existences far from the limelight ”

        Tetlock also found that experts resisted admitting that they had beenwrong and when they were compelled to admit error they had a largecollection of excuses: they had been wrong only in their timing anunforeseeable event had intervened or they had been wrong but for theright reasons

        Experts are just human in the end They are dazzled by theirown brilliance and hate to be wrong

        Experts are led astray not by whatthey believe but by how they think says Tetlock

        “The Hedgehog and the Fox ”

        • “The Hedgehog and the Fox ”Hedgehogs “know 1 big thing” and have a theory about the world; theyaccount for particular events within a coherent framework bristle withimpatience toward those who don’t see things their way and are confidentin their forecasts They are also especially reluctant to admit error Forhedgehogs a failed prediction is almost always “off only on timing” or “verynearly right ” They are opinionated and clear which is exactly whattelevision producers love to see on programs 2 hedgehogs on differentsides of an issue each attacking the idiotic ideas of the adversary makefor a good show
          • Foxes by contrast are complex thinkers They don’t believe that 1 bigthing drives the march of history (for example they are unlikely to acceptthe view that Ronald Reagan single handedly ended the cold war bystanding tall against the Soviet Union) Instead the foxes recognize thatreality emerges from the interactions of many different agents and forces including blind luck often producing large and unpredictable outcomes Itwas the foxes who scored best in Tetlock’s study although theirperformance was still very poor They are less likely than hedgehogs to beinvited to participate in television debates

      It is Not the Experts’ Fault—The World is Difficult

      The main point of this chapter is not that people who attempt to predict thefuture make many errors; that goes without saying

      • The first lesson is thaterrors of prediction are inevitable because the world is unpredictable

        Thesecond is that high subjective confidence is not to be trusted as anindicator of accuracy (low confidence could be more informative)

        Short term trends can be forecast and behavior and achievements canbe predicted with fair accuracy from previous behaviors andachievements

        But we should not expect performance in officer trainingand in combat to be predictable from behavior on an obstacle field—behavior both on the test and in the real world is determined by manyfactors that are specific to the particular situation

        Remove 1 highlyassertive member from a group of eight candidates and every1 else’spersonalities will appear to change

        Let a sniper’s bullet move by a fewcentimeters and the performance of an officer will be transformed

        do notdeny the validity of all tests—if a test predicts an important outcome with avalidity of or the test should be used But you should not expectmore

        You should expect little or nothing from Wall Street stock pickerswho hope to be more accurate than the market in predicting the future ofprices

        And you should not expect much from pundits making long termforecasts—although they may have valuable insights into the near future The line that separates the possibly predictable future from theunpredictable distant future is in yet to be drawn

      Speaking of Illusory Skill

      • “He knows that the record indicates that the development of thisillness is mostly unpredictable How can he be so confident in thiscase? Sounds like an illusion of validity ”

        “She has a coherent story that explains all she knows and thecoherence makes her feel good ”

        “What makes him believe that he is smarter than the market? Isthis an illusion of skill?”

        “She is a hedgehog She has a theory that explains everything and it gives her the illusion that she understands the world ”

        “The question is not whether these experts are well trained It iswhether their world is predictable ”

  • Chapter 21 Intuitions Vs Formulas
    • Intuitions vs Formulas
      • % of the studies have shown significantly betteraccuracy for the algorithms

      The other comparisons scored a draw inaccuracy but a tie is tantamount to a win for the statistical rules which arenormally much less expensive to use than expert judgment

      The range of predicted outcomes has expanded to cover medicalvariables such as

      • the longevity of cancer patients
      • the length of hospitalstays the diagnosis of cardiac disease
      • the susceptibility of babies tosudden infant death syndrome;
      • economic measures such as the prospectsof success for new businesses
      • the evaluation of credit risks by banks
      • the future career satisfaction of workers
      • questions of interest togovernment agencies
      • the odds of recidivism among juvenile offenders
      • thelikelihood of other forms of violent behavior
      • the evaluation of scientific presentations
      • the winners of footballgames
      • the future prices of Bordeaux wine

      Each of these domainsentails a significant degree of uncertainty and unpredictability Wedescribe them as “low validity environments ” In every case the accuracyof experts was matched or exceeded by a simple algorithm

      power of simple statistics to outdo worldrenownedexperts

      Ashenfelter converted that conventional knowledge into astatistical formula that predicts the price of a wine—for a particularproperty and at a particular age—by three features of the weather: theaverage temperature over the summer growing season the amount of rainat harvest time and the total rainfall during the previous winter

      Why are experts inferior to algorithms?

      experts try to be clever think outside the box andconsider complex combinations of features in making their predictions

      Complexity may work in the odd case but more often than not it reducesvalidity

      Simple combinations of features are better Several studies haveshown that human decision makers are inferior to a prediction formulaeven when they are given the score suggested by the formula

      They feelthat they can overrule the formula because they have additional informationabout the case but they are wrong more often than not

      “broken leg rule”

      can overrule the formula because they have additional informationabout the case but they are wrong more often than not According toMeehl there are few circumstances under which it is a good idea tosubstitute judgment for a formula In a famous thought experiment hedescribed a formula that predicts whether a particular person will go to themovies tonight and noted that it is proper to disregard the formula ifinformation is received that the individual broke a leg today The name“broken leg rule” has stuck The point of course is that broken legs arevery rare—as well as decisive

      Another reason for the inferiority of expert judgment is that humans areincorrigibly inconsistent in making summary judgments of complexinformation

      When asked to evaluate the same information twice theyfrequently give different answers

      Experienced radiologists who evaluate chest Xraysas “normal” or “abnormal” contradict themselves % of the timewhen they see the same picture on separate occasions

      be valid predictors of anything The widespread inconsistency is probably due to the extreme contextdependency of System 1 We know from studies of priming that unnoticedstimuli in our environment have a substantial influence on our thoughts andactions These influences fluctuate from moment to moment The briefpleasure of a cool breeze on a hot day may make you slightly morepositive and optimistic about whatever you are evaluating at the time Theprospects of a convict being granted parole may change significantlyduring the time that elapses between successive food breaks in the parolejudges’ schedule Because you have little direct knowledge of what goeson in your mind you will never know that you might have made a differentjudgment or reached a different decision under very slightly differentcircumstances

      Formulas do not suffer from such problems Given thesame input they always return the same answer When predictability ispoor

      to maximize predictiveaccuracy final decisions should be left to formulas especially in lowvalidityenvironments

      marital stability

      frequency of lovemaking minus frequency of quarrelsYou don’t want your result to be a negative number

      infant who is not breathing normally within a fewminutes of birth is at high risk of brain damage or death

      A classic application of this approach is a simple algorithm that hassaved the lives of hundreds of thousands of infants Obstetricians hadalways known that an infant who is not breathing normally within a fewminutes of birth is at high risk of brain damage or death Until theanesthesiologist Virginia Apgar intervened in physicians andmidwives used their clinical judgment to determine whether a baby was indistress Different practiti1rs focused on different cues Some watchedfor breathing problems while others monitored how soon the baby cried Without a standardized procedure danger signs were often missed andmany newborn infants died

      five variables

      • (heart rate
      • respiration
      • reflex
      • muscle t1
      • color
      • three scores ( or

      A babywith a total score of or above was likely to be pink squirming crying grimacing with a pulse of or more—in good shape

      A baby with ascore of or below was probably bluish flaccid passive with a slow orweak pulse—in need of immediate intervention

      checklists and simple rules

      The Hostility to Algorithms

      • However the line between what clinicianscan do well and what they cannot do at all well is not obvious and certainlynot obvious to them

        They know they are skilled but they don’t necessarilyknow the boundaries of their skill

        the idea that amechanical combination of a few variables could outperform the subtlecomplexity of human judgment strikes experienced clinicians as obviouslywrong

        The debate about the virtues of clinical and statistical prediction hasalways had a moral dimension The statistical method Meehl wrote wascriticized by experienced clinicians as “mechanical atomistic additive cutand dried artificial unreal arbitrary incomplete dead pedantic fractionated trivial forced static superficial rigid sterile academic pseudoscientific and blind ” The clinical method on the other hand waslauded by its prop1nts as “dynamic global meaningful holistic subtle sympathetic configural patterned organized rich deep genuine sensitive sophisticated real living concrete natural true to life andunderstanding ”

        This is an attitude we can all recognize When a human competes with amachine whether it is John Henry a hammerin’ on the mountain or thechess genius Garry Kasparov facing off against the computer Deep Blue our sympathies lie with our fellow human

        The aversion to algorithmsmaking decisions that affect humans is rooted in the strong preference thatmany people have for the ormnatural over the synthetic or artificial

        Askedwhether they would rather eat an organic or a commercially grown apple most people prefer the “all natural” 1 Even after being informed that the2 apples taste the same have identical nutritional value and are equallyhealthful a majority still prefer the organic fruit Even the producers of beerhave found that they can increase sales by putting “All Natural” or “NoPreservatives” on the label

      Learning from Meehl

      simple statisticalrules are superior to intuitive “clinical” judgments

      we should abandon the procedure inwhich the interviewers’ global evaluations of the recruit determined the finaldecisio

      we should abandon the procedure inwhich the interviewers’ global evaluations of the recruit determined the finaldecisio

      Speaking of Judges vs Formulas

      • “Whenever we can replace human judgment by a formula weshould at least consider it ”

        “He thinks his judgments are complex and subtle but a simplecombination of scores could probably do better ”

        “Let’s decide in advance what weight to give to the data we haveon the candidates’ past performance Otherwise we will give toomuch weight to our impression from the interviews ”

  • Chapter 22 Expert Intuition: When Can We Trust It?
    • Expert Intuition: When Can We Trust It?

      Professional controversies bring out the worst in academics Scientificjournals occasionally publish exchanges often beginning with some1’scritique of another’s research followed by a reply and a rejoinder I havealways thought that these exchanges are a waste of time

      The replies rarely concede anything to a biting critique and it isalmost unheard of for a rejoinder to admit that the original critique wasmisguided or err1ous in any way

      “adversarial collaborations ”

      • “adversarial collaborations ” inwhich scholars who disagree on the science agree to write a jointlyauthored paper on their differences and sometimes conduct researchtogether In especially tense situations the research is moderated by anarbiter

      students of Naturalistic Decision Making

      mostly work inorganizations where the” %? ty often study how experts work

      When can you trust anexperienced professional who claims to have an intuition?

      Marvels and Flaws

      Intuition as Recognition

      recognition primed decision (RPD)

      • The process involves both System 1 and System 2 In the first phase atentative plan comes to mind by an automatic function of associativememory—System 1

        The next phase is a deliberate process in which theplan is mentally simulated to check if it will work—an operation of System

      intuition

      • “The situation has provided a cue; thiscue has given the expert access to information stored in memory and theinformation provides the answer Intuition is nothing more and nothing lessthan recognition ”

        the mystery of knowing without knowing is not adistinctive feature of intuition; it is the norm of mental life

      Acquiring Skill

      The Environment of Skill

      • the confidence that people have in their intuitions is not a reliableguide to their validity In other words do not trust any1—includingyourself—to tell you how much you should trust their judgment

        If subjective confidence is not to be trusted how can we evaluate theprobable validity of an intuitive judgment

        When do judgments reflect trueexpertise?

        When do they display an illusion of validity?

      The answer comesfrom the 2 basic conditions for acquiring a skill:

      • an environment that is sufficiently regular to be predictable
      • an opportunity to learn these regularities through prolonged practice

      Feedback and Practice

      • Some regularities in the environment are easier to discover and apply thanothers Think of how you developed your style of using the brakes on yourcar As you were mastering the skill of taking curves you gradually learnedwhen to let go of the accelerator and when and how hard to use the brakes

        Expertise is not a single skill; it is a collection of skills and the sameprofessional may be highly expert in some of the tasks in her domain whileremaining a novice in others

      Evaluating Validity

      When can you trust an experienced professional whoclaims to have an intuition?

      Our conclusion was that for the most part it ispossible to distinguish intuitions that are likely to be valid from those thatare likely to be bogus As in the judgment of whether a work of art isgenuine or a fake you will usually do better by focusing on its provenancethan by looking at the piece itself If the environment is sufficiently regularand if the judge has had a chance to learn its regularities the associativemachinery will recognize situations and generate quick and accuratepredictions and decisions You can trust some1’s intuitions if theseconditions are met

      Speaking of Expert Intuition

      • “How much expertise does she have in this particular task? Howmuch practice has she had?”

        “Does he really believe that the environment of start ups issufficiently regular to justify an intuition that goes against the baserates?”

        “She is very confident in her decision but subjective confidenceis a poor index of the accuracy of a judgment ”

        “Did he really have an opportunity to learn? How quick and howclear was the feedback he received on his judgments?”

  • Chapter 23 The Outside View
    • The Outside View
      • judgment and decision making

        no connection in his mind between hisknowledge of the history of other teams and his forecast of our future

        learned three lessons

        The first was immediately apparent: I had stumbled onto a distinctionbetween 2 profoundly different approaches to forecasting which Amosand I later labeled the inside view and the outside view

        The second lessonwas that our initial forecasts of about 2 years for the completion of theproject exhibited a planning fallacy Our estimates were closer to a bestcasescenario than to a realistic assessment

        third lesson which I call irrational perseverance: the folly we displayed thatday in failing to abandon the project Facing a choice we gave uprationality rather than give up the enterprise

    • Drawn to the Inside View
      • focused on our specific circumstances andsearched for evidence in our own experiences

        We had a sketchy plan: weknew how many chapters we were going to write and we had an idea ofhow long it had taken us to write the 2 that we had already d1 Themore cautious among us probably added a few months to their estimateas a margin of error

        Extrapolating was a mistake We were forecasting based on theinformation in front of us—WYSIATI—but the chapters we wrote first wereprobably easier than others and our commitment to the project wasprobably then at its peak

        But the main problem was that we failed to allowfor what Donald Rumsfeld famously called the “unknown unknowns ”

        Therewas no way for us to foresee that day the succession of events that wouldcause the project to drag out for so long The divorces the illnesses thecrises of coordination with bureaucracies that delayed the work could notbe anticipated Such events not only cause the writing of chapters to slowdown they also produce long periods during which little or no progress ismade at all

    • The Planning Fallacy
      • overly optimistic forecastsof the outcome of projects are found everywhere
      • are unrealistically close to best case scenarios
      • could be improved by consulting the statistics of similar cases
    • Mitigating the Planning Fallacy
    • Decisions and Errors
      • When forecasting the outcomes of risky projects executives too easilyfall victim to the planning fallacy In its grip they make decisions based ondelusional optimism rather than on a rational weighting of gains losses and probabilities
    • Failing a Test
    • Speaking of the Outside View
      • “He’s taking an inside view He should forget about his own caseand look for what happened in other cases ”

        “She is the victim of a planning fallacy She’s assuming a bestcasescenario but there are too many different ways for the planto fail and she cannot foresee them all ”

        “Suppose you did not know a thing about this particular legalcase only that it involves a malpractice claim by an individualagainst a surgeon What would be your baseline prediction? Howmany of these cases succeed in court? How many settle? Whatare the amounts? Is the case we are discussing stronger orweaker than similar claims?”

        We are making an additional investment because we do notwant to admit failure This is an instance of the sunk cost fallacy ”

  • Chapter 24 The Engine of Capitalism
    • The Engine of Capitalism

      Optimists

      Entrepreneurial Delusions

      1 of the benefits of an optimistic temperament is that it encouragespersistence in the face of obstacles

      OverconfidenceFor

      Overconfidence isanother manifestation of WYSIATI: when we estimate a quantity we rely oninformation that comes to mind and construct a coherent story in which theestimate makes sense Allowing for the information that does not come tomind—perhaps because 1 never knew it—is impossible

      The Premortem: A Partial Remedy

      Speaking of Optimism

      • “They have an illusion of control They seriously underestimate theobstacles ”
      • “They seem to suffer from an acute case of competitor neglect ”
      • “This is a case of overconfidence They seem to believe theyknow more than they actually do know ”
      • “We should conduct a premortem session Some1 may comeup with a threat we have neglected ”
• Part IV Choices
  • Chapter 25 Bernoulli’s Errors
    • Bernoulli’s Errors

      Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision under Risk

      Our theory was closely modeled on utility theory but departed from it infundamental ways Most important our model was purely descriptive andits goal was to document and explain systematic violations of the axiomsof rationality in choices between gambles

      As in Fechner’s law the psychological response to a change of wealthis inversely proportional to the initial amount of wealth leading to theconclusion that utility is a logarithmic function of wealth If this function isaccurate the same psychological distance separates $ from $million and $ million from $ million

      Bernoulli observed that most people dislike risk (the chance of receivingthe lowest possible outcome) and if they are offered a choice between athe lowest possible outcome) and if they are offered a choice between agamble and an amount equal to its expected value they will pick the surething

      psychophysics

      psychophysics to explain this aversion to risk His idea wasstraightforward: people’s choices are based not on dollar values but on thepsychological values of outcomes their utilities The psychological value ofa gamble is therefore not the weighted average of its possible dollaroutcomes; it is the average of the utilities of these outcomes eachweighted by its probability

      Bernoulli’s insight was thata decision maker with diminishing marginal utility for wealth will be riskaverse

      expected utility

      “moral expectation”

      Bernoulli’s essay is a marvel of concise brilliance He applied his newconcept of expected utility (which he called “moral expectation”) tocompute how much a merchant in St Petersburg would be willing to pay toinsure a shipment of spice from Amsterdam if “he is well aware of the factthat at this time of year of 1 hundred ships which sail from Amsterdam toPetersburg five are usually lost ” His utility function explained why poorpeople buy insurance and why richer people sell it to them As you can seein the table the loss of million causes a loss of points of utility (from to ) to some1 who has million and a much larger loss of points (from to ) to some1 who starts off with million

      The poorerman will happily pay a premium to transfer the risk to the richer 1 whichis what insurance is about

      St Petersburg paradox

      “St Petersburg paradox ” in which people who are offered a gamble thathas infinite expected value (in ducats) are willing to spend only a fewducats for it Most impressive his analysis of risk attitudes in terms ofpreferences for wealth has stood the test of time: it is still current ineconomic analysis almost years later

      Today Jack and Jill each have a wealth of million Yesterday Jack had million and Jill had million Are they equally happy? (Do they have the same utility?)

      Bernoulli’s theory assumes that the utility of their wealth is what makespeople more or less happy Jack and Jill have the same wealth and thetheory therefore asserts that they should be equally happy but you do notneed a degree in psychology to know that today Jack is elated and Jilldespondent Indeed we know that Jack would be a great deal happierthan Jill even if he had only million today while she has So Bernoulli’stheory must be wrong

      The happiness that Jack and Jill experience is determined by the recentchange in their wealth relative to the different states of wealth that definetheir reference points ( million for Jack million for Jill)

      This referencedependence is ubiquitous in sensation and perception The same soundwill be experienced as very loud or quite faint depending on whether it waspreceded by a whisper or by a roar

      Anthony (who currently owns million): “If I choose the sure thing my wealth will double with certainty This is very attractive Alternatively I can take a gamble with equal chances toquadruple my wealth or to gain nothing ”

      Betty (who currently owns million): “If I choose the sure thing Ilose half of my wealth with certainty which is awful Alternatively Ican take a gamble with equal chances to lose three quarters ofmy wealth or to lose nothing ”

      You can sense that Anthony and Betty are likely to make differentchoices because the sure thing option of owning million makes Anthonyhappy and makes Betty miserable Note also how the sure outcome differsfrom the worst outcome of the gamble: for Anthony it is the differencebetween doubling his wealth and gaining nothing; for Betty it is thedifference between losing half her wealth and losing three quarters of it Betty is much more likely to take her chances as others do when facedwith very bad option

      neither Anthony nor Bettythinks in terms of states of wealth:

      Anthony thinks of gains and Betty thinksof losses

      The psychological outcomes they assess are entirely different although the possible states of wealth they face are the same

      theory induced blindness

      • The mystery is how a conception of the utility of outcomes that isvulnerable to such obvious counterexamples survived for so long I canexplain it only by a weakness of the scholarly mind that I have oftenobserved in myself I call it theory induced blindness

        once you haveaccepted a theory and used it as a tool in your thinking it is extraordinarilydifficult to notice its flaws If you come upon an observation that does notseem to fit the model you assume that there must be a perfectly goodexplanation that you are somehow missing

        You give the theory the benefitof the doubt trusting the community of experts who have accepted it Manyscholars have surely thought at 1 time or another of stories such asthose of Anthony and Betty or Jack and Jill and casually noted that thesestories did not jibe with utility theory

        But they did not pursue the idea to thepoint of saying “This theory is seriously wrong because it ignores the factthat utility depends on the history of 1’s wealth not only on presentwealth ”

        disbelieving is hardwork and System 2 is easily tired

      Speaking of Bernoulli’s Errors

      • “He was very happy with a $ bonus three years ago buthis salary has g1 up by % since so he will need a higherbonus to get the same utility ”

        “Both candidates are willing to accept the salary we’re offering but they won’t be equally satisfied because their reference pointsare different She currently has a much higher salary ”

        “She’s suing him for alimony She would actually like to settle buthe prefers to go to court That’s not surprising—she can onlygain so she’s risk averse He on the other hand faces optionsthat are all bad so he’d rather take the risk ”

  • Chapter 26 Prospect Theory
    • Prospect Theory

      Recent developmentsin psychophysical theory suggested that if you want to study the subjectivevalue of wealth you shou Clth”ld ask direct questions about wealth notabout changes of wealth I did not know enough about utility theory to beblinded by respect for it and I was puzzled

      economist HarryMarkowitz who would later earn the Nobel Prize for his work on finance had proposed a theory in which utilities were attached to changes ofwealth rather than to states of wealth

      The idea of derivingattitudes to small changes from the utility of wealth now seemedindefensible You know you have made a theoretical advance when youcan no longer reconstruct why you failed for so long to see the obvious

      utility theory

      • In utility theory the utility of a gain is assessed by comparing the utilitiesof 2 states of wealth For example the utility of getting an extra $ when your wealth is $ million is the difference between the utility of$ and the utility of $ million

        In Bernoulli’s theory you need to know only the state of wealth todetermine its utility but in prospect theory you also need to know thereference state

      Prospect theory is therefore more complex than utilitytheory

      three cognitive features at the heartof prospect theory

      • Evaluation is relative to a neutral reference point which issometimes referred to as an “adaptation level
        • You can easily set upa compelling demonstration of this principle Place three bowls ofwater in front of you Put ice water into the left hand bowl and warmwater into the right hand bowl The water in the middle bowl shouldbe at room temperature Immerse your hands in the cold and warmwater for about a minute then dip both in the middle bowl You willexperience the same temperature as heat in 1 hand and cold inthe other For financial outcomes the usual reference point is thestatus quo but it can also be the outcome that you expect orperhaps the outcome to which you feel entitled for example theraise or bonus that your colleagues receive Outcomes that arebetter than the reference points are gains Below the reference pointthey are losses

        A principle of diminishing sensitivity applies to both sensorydimensions and the evaluation of changes of wealth

        • Turning on aweak light has a large effect in a dark room The same increment oflight may be undetectable in a brightly illuminated room Similarly thesubjective difference between $ and $ is much smaller thanthe difference between $ and $

        The third principle is loss aversion

        • When directly compared orweighted against each other losses loom larger than gains Thisasymmetry between the power of positive and negative expectationsor experiences has an evolutionary history Organisms that treatthreats as more urgent than opportunities have a better chance tosurvive and reproduce

      Loss Aversion

      • Many of the options we face in life are “mixed”: there is a risk of loss andan opportunity for gain and we must decide whether to accept the gambleor reject it Investors who evaluate a start up lawyers who wonder whetherto file a lawsuit wartime generals who consider an offensive andpoliticians who must decide whether to run for office all face thepossibilities of victory or defeat For an elementary example of a mixedprospect examine your reaction to the next question

        Problem : You are offered a gamble on the toss of a coin If the coin shows tails you lose $ If the coin shows heads you win $ Is this gamble attractive? Would you accept it?

        There is no contradiction In the mixed case the possible loss looms twiceas large as the possible gain as you can see by comparing the slopes ofthe value function for losses and gains In the bad case the bending of thevalue curve (diminishing sensitivity) causes risk seeking The pain of losing$ is more than % of the pain of losing $ These 2 insightsare the essence of prospect theory

        the behavioral economist Matthew Rabin finallyproved mathematically that attempts to explain loss aversion by the utility ofwealth are absurd and doomed to fail and his proof attracted attention Rabin’s theorem shows that any1 who rejects a favorable gamble withsmall stakes is mathematically committed to a foolish level of risk aversionfor some larger gamble For example he notes that most Humans rejectthe following gamble

        • % chance to lose $ and % chance to win $

        an individual who rejects thatgamble will also turn down the following gamble:

        • % chance to lose $ and % chance to win $

      Blind Spots pf Prospect Theory

      • The standard concepts and results thatundergraduates are taught are most easily explained by assuming thatEcons do not make foolish mistakes

        Humans described by prospect theory are guided by theimmediate emotional impact of gains and losses not by long termprospects of wealth and global utility

        Prospect theory has flaws

        Consider the assumption of prospect theory that the reference point usually the status quo has a value of zero This assumption seemsreasonable but it leads to some absurd consequences Have a good lookat the following prospects What would it be like to own them?

        A 1 chance in a million to win $ million

        B % chance to win $ and % chance to win nothing

        C % chance to win $ million and % chance to win nothing

        Winning nothing is a possible outcome in all three gambles and prospecttheory assigns the same value to that outcome in the three cases Winningnothing is the reference point and its value is zero Do these statementscorrespond to your experience? Of course not Winning nothing is an1vent in the first 2 cases and assigning it a value of zero makesgood sense In contrast failing to win in the third scenario is intenselydisappointing Like a salary increase that has been promised informally the high probability of winning the large sum sets up a tentative newreference point Relative to your expectations winning nothing will beexperienced as a large loss Prospect theory cannot cope with this fact because it does not allow the value of an outcome (in this case winningnothing) to change when it is highly unlikely or when the alternative is veryvaluable

        prospect theory cannot deal withdisappointment

        Disappointment and the anticipation of disappointmentare real

        Prospect theory and utility theory also fail to allow for regret

        Problem : Choose between % chance to win $ million OR$ with certainty

        Problem : Choose between % chance to win $ million OR$ with certainty

        Compare the anticipated pain of choosing the gamble and not winning inthe 2 cases Failing to win is a disappointment in both but the potentialpain is compounded in problem by knowing that if you choose thegamble and lose you will regret the “greedy” decision you made byspurning a sure gift of $ In regret the experience of an outcomedepends on an option you could have adopted but did not

        Several economists and psychologists have proposed models ofdecision making that are based on the emotions of regret anddisappointment

        It is fair to say that these models have had less influencethan prospect theory and the reason is instructive The emotions of regretand disappointment are real and decision makers surely anticipate theseemotions when making their choices The problem is that regret theoriesmake few striking predictions that would distinguish them from prospecttheory which has the advantage of being simpler

        Scientists use theories as a bag of working tools and they willnot take on the burden of a heavier bag unless the new tools are veryuseful Prospect theory was accepted by many scholars not because it is“true” but because the concepts that it added to utility theory notably thereference point and loss aversion were worth the trouble; they yielded newpredictions that turned out to be true We were lucky

      Speaking of Prospect Theory

      • “He suffers from extreme loss aversion which makes him turn down veryfavorable opportunities ”
      • “Considering her vast wealth her emotional response to trivial gains andlosses makes no sense ”
      • “He weighs losses about twice as much as gains which is normal ”
  • Chapter 27 The Endowment Effect
    • The Endowment Effect
      • Students learn in introductory economics classes that each point on themap specifies a particular combination of income and vacation days Each“indifference curve” connects the combinations of the 2 goods that areequally desirable—they have the same utility

        The curves would turn intoparallel straight lines if people were willing to “sell” vacation days for extraincome at the same price regardless of how much income and how muchvacation time they have

        The convex shape indicates diminishing marginalutility: the more leisure you have the less you care for an extra day of it and each added day is worth less than the 1 before

        Similarly the moreincome you have the less you care for an extra dollar and the amount youare willing to give up for an extra day of leisure increases

        Albert and Ben

        To appreciate the power that the reference point exerts on choices consider Albert and Ben “hedonic twins” who have identical tastes andcurrently hold identical starting jobs with little income and little leisure time Their current circumstances correspond to the point marked in figure The firm offers them 2 improved positions A and B and lets themdecide who will get a raise of $ (position A) and who will get anextra day of paid vacation each month (position B) As they are bothindifferent they toss a coin Albert gets the raise Ben gets the extraleisure Some time passes as the twins get accustomed to their positions Now the company suggests they may switch jobs if they wish

        The standard theory represented in the figure assumes that preferencesare stable over time Positions A and B are equally attractive for both twinsand they will need little or no incentive to switch In sharp contrast prospecttheory asserts that both twins will definitely prefer to remain as they are This preference for the status quo is a consequence of loss aversion

        Go to A: a raise of $ ORGo to B: extra days of vacation

        You just had the subjective experience of loss aversion You could feel it: asalary cut of $ is very bad news Even if a gain of vacation dayswas as impressive as a gain of $ the same improvement of leisureis not sufficient to compensate for a loss of $ Albert will stay at Abecause the disadvantage of moving outweighs the advantage The samereasoning applies to Ben who will also want to keep his present jobbecause the loss of now precious leisure outweighs the benefit of the extraincome

        model of indifference curves does not predict

        First tastes arenot fixed; they vary with the reference point

        Second the disadvantages ofa change loom larger than its advantages inducing a bias that favors thestatus quo

        Conventional indifference maps and Bernoulli’s representation ofoutcomes as states of wealth share a mistaken assumption: that your utilityfor a state of affairs depends only on that state and is not affected by yourhistory Correcting that mistake has been 1 of the achievements ofbehavioral economics

    • The Endowment Effect
      • The question of when an approach or a movement got its start is oftendifficult to answer but the origin of what is now known as behavioraleconomics can be specified precisely

        Richard Thaler found many examples of what he called the endowmenteffect especially for goods that are not regularly traded You can easilyimagine yourself in a similar situation Suppose you hold a ticket to a soldoutconcert by a popular band which you bought at the regular price of$ You are an avid fan and would have been willing to pay up to $ for the ticket Now you have your ticket and you learn on the Internet thatricher or more desperate fans are offering $ Would you sell? If youresemble most of the audience at sold out events you do not sell Yourlowest selling price is above $ and your maximum buying price is$ This is an example of an endowment effect and a believer instandard economic theory would be puzzled by it Thaler was looking for anaccount that could explain puzzles of this kind

    • Thinking Like a Trader
      • The fundamental ideas of prospect theory are that reference points exist and that losses loom larger than corresponding gains

        No endowment effect is expected when owners view their goods ascarriers of value for future exchanges a widespread attitude in routinecommerce and in financial markets

        experimental economist JohnList who has studied trading at baseball card conventions found thatnovice traders were reluctant to part with the cards they owned but that thisreluctance eventually disappeared with trading experience

        decision making under poverty

        Recent studies of the psychology of “decision making under poverty”suggest that the poor are another group in which we do not expect to findthe endowment effect Being poor in prospect theory is living below 1’sthe endowment effect Being poor in prospect theory is living below 1’sreference point

        People who are poor think like traders but the dynamics are quitedifferent Unlike traders the poor are not indifferent to the differencesbetween gaining and giving up Their problem is that all their choices arebetween losses M1y that is spent on 1 good is the loss of anothergood that could have been purchased instead For the poor costs arelosses

    • Speaking Of The Endowment Effect
      • “She didn’t care which of the 2 offices she would get but a dayafter the announcement was made she was no longer willing totrade Endowment effect!”

        “These negotiations are going nowhere because both sides findit difficult to make concessions even when they can getsomething in return Losses loom larger than gains ”

        “When they raised their prices demand dried up ”

        “He just hates the idea of selling his house for less m1y than hepaid for it Loss aversion is at work ”

        “He is a miser and treats any dollar he spends as a loss ”

  • Chapter 28 Bad Events
    • Bad Events
      • The concept of loss aversion is certainly the most significant contribution ofpsychology to behavioral economics

      Negativity Dominance

      The brains of humans and other animals contain amechanism that is designed to give priority to bad news By shaving a fewhundredths of a second from the time needed to detect a predator thiscircuit improves the animal’s odds of living long enough to reproduce Theautomatic operations of System 1 reflect this evolutionary history

      Nocomparably rapid mechanism for recognizing good news has beendetected

      The brain responds quickly even to purely symbolic threats Emotionallyloaded words quickly attract attention and bad words (war crime) attractattention faster than do happy words (peace love)

      There is no real threat but the mere reminder of a bad event is treated in System 1 asthreatening

      The sensitivity to threats extends to the processing of statements ofopinions with which we strongly disagree

      The psychologist Paul Rozin an expert on disgust observed that asingle cockroach will completely wreck the appeal of a bowl of cherries but a cherry will do nothing at all for a bowl of cockroaches

      the negative trumps the positive in many ways and loss aversion is1 of many manifestations of a broad negativity dominance

      Bad Is Stronger Than Good

      “Bad emotions bad parents and bad feedback havemore impact than good 1s and bad information is processed morethoroughly than good The self is more motivated to avoid bad selfdefinitionsthan to pursue good 1s

      Bad impressions and badstereotypes are quicker to form and more resistant to disconfirmation thangood 1s ” They

      long term success of a relationshipdepends far more on avoiding the negative than on seeking the positive

      a stable relationship requires Brro Qres Brrthatgood interactions outnumber bad interactions by at least to

      Goals are Reference Points

      Loss aversion refers to the relative strength of 2 motives: we are drivenmore strongly to avoid losses than to achieve gains

      A reference point issometimes the status quo but it can also be a goal in the future: notachieving a goal is a loss exceeding the goal is a gain As we mightexpect from negativity dominance the 2 motives are not equallypowerful The aversion to the failure of not reaching the goal is muchstronger than the desire to exceed it

      Defending the Status Quo

      Animals including people fight harder to prevent losses than to achievegains

      In the world of territorial animals this principle explains the successof defenders A biologist observed that “when a territory holder ischallenged by a rival the owner almost always wins the contest—usuallywithin a matter of seconds

      Loss Aversion in the Law

      study of fairness ineconomic transactions

      Our article challenged what was thenaccepted wisdom among many economists that economic behavior isruled by self interest and that concerns for fairness are generally irrelevant

      We also relied on the evidence of survey responses for which economistsgenerally have little respect

      Speaking of Losses

      • “This reform will not pass Those who stand to lose will fightharder than those who stand to gain ”

        “Each of them thinks the other’s concessions are less painful They are both wrong of course It’s just the asymmetry of losses ”

        “They would find it easier to renegotiate the agreement if theyrealized the pie was actually expanding They’re not allocatinglosses; they are allocating gains ”

        “Rental prices around here have g1 up r Brro Qup r Brrecently but our tenants don’t think it’s fair that we should raise their rent too They feel entitled to their current terms ”

        “My clients don’t resent the price hike because they know mycosts have g1 up too They accept my right to stay profitable ”

  • Chapter 29 The Fourfold Pattern
    • The Fourfold Pattern
      • Whenever you form a global evaluation of a complex object—a car youmay buy your son in law or an uncertain situation—you assign weights toits characteristics This is simply a cumbersome way of saying that somecharacteristics influence your assessment more than others do Theweighting occurs whether or not you are aware of it; it is an operation ofSystem 1

        Your overall evaluation of a car may put more or less weight ongas economy comfort or appearance

        Your judgment of your son in lawmay depend more or less on how rich or handsome or reliable he is

        your assessment of an uncertain prospect assigns weights to thepossible outcomes

        The weights are certainly correlated with theprobabilities of these outcomes: a % chance to win a million is muchmore attractive than a % chance to win the same amount

    • Changing Chances
      • 1 reason for the popularity of the gambling metaphor in the study ofdecision making is that it provides a natural rule for the assignment ofweights to the outcomes of a prospect:

        the more probable an outcome themore weight it should have

        The expected value of a gamble is the averageof its outcomes each weighted by its probability

        The conclusion is straightforward: the decision weights that peopleassign to outcomes are not identical to the probabilities of theseoutcomes contrary to the expectation principle Improbable outcomes areoverweighted—this is the possibility effect

        Outcomes that are almostcertain are underweighted relative to actual certainty The expectationprinciple by which values are weighted by their probability is poorpsychology

    • Allais’s Paradox
      • Allais intended toshow that his guests were susceptible to a certainty effect and thereforeviolated expected utility theory and the axioms of rational choice on whichthat theory rests

        In problems A and B which would youchoose?

        A % chance to win $ OR % chance to win $

        B % chance to win $ OR % chance to win $

    • Decision Weights
    • The Fourfold Pattern
      • people are averse torisk when they consider prospects with a substantial chance toachieve a large gain They are willing to accept less than theexpected value of a gamble to lock in a sure gain

        When the top prize is very large ticket buyers appearindifferent to the fact that their chance of winning is minuscule Alottery ticket is the ultimate example of the possibility effect Withouta ticket you cannot win with a ticket you have a chance and whetherthe chance is tiny or merely small matters little Of course whatpeople acquire with a ticket is more than a chance to win; it is theright to dream pleasantly of winning

        People are willingto pay much more for insurance than expected value—which is howinsurance companies cover their costs and make their profits Hereagain people buy more than protection against an unlikely disaster;they eliminate a worry and purchase peace of mind

    • Gambling in the Shadow of the Law
    • Speaking Of The Fourfold Pattern
      • “He is tempted to settle this frivolous claim to avoid a freak loss however unlikely That’s overweighting of small probabilities Since he is likely to face many similar problems he would bebetter off not yielding ”

        “We never let our vacations hang Bima aang Bimon a last minutedeal We’re willing to pay a lot for certainty ”

        “They will not cut their losses so long as there is a chance ofbreaking even This is risk seeking in the losses ”

        “They know the risk of a gas explosion is minuscule but they wantit mitigated It’s a possibility effect and they want peace of mind ”

  • Chapter 30 Rare Events
    • Rare Events
      • how terrorism works and why it is so effective

        it induces an availability cascade

        An extremely vivid image of death anddamage constantly reinforced by media attention and frequentconversations becomes highly accessible especially if it is associatedwith a specific situation such as the sight of a bus

        The emotional arousalis associative automatic and uncontrolled and it produces an impulse forprotective action System 2 may “know” that the probability is low but thisknowledge does not eliminate the self generated discomfort and the wishto avoid it

        System 1 cannot be turned off

        The emotion is not onlydisproportionate to the probability it is also insensitive to the exact level ofprobability

        The originalformulation of prospect theory included the argument that “highly unlikelyevents are either ignored or overweighted ” but it did not specify theconditions under which 1 or the other will occur nor did it propose apsychological interpretation of it

    • Overestimation and Overweighting
      • People overestimate the probabilities of unlikely events

        People overweight unlikely events in their decisions

        Although overestimation and overweighting are distinct phenomena thesame psychological mechanisms are involved in both: focused attention confirmation bias and cognitive ease

        psychological mechanisms

        • focused attention
        • confirmation bias
        • cognitive ease
    • Vivid Outcomes
    • Vivid Probabilities
    • The more vivid description produces a higher decision weight forthe same probability
    • Decisions from Global Impressions
    • Speaking of Rare Events
      • “Tsunamis are very rare even in Japan but the image is so vividand compelling that tourists are bound to overestimate theirprobability ”

        “It’s the familiar disaster cycle Begin by exaggeration andoverweighting then neglect sets in ”

        “We shouldn’t focus on a single scenario or we will overestimateits probability Let’s set up specific alternatives and make theprobabilities add up to % ”

        “They want people to be worried by the risk That’s why theydescribe it as death per They’re counting ondenominator neglect

  • Chapter 31 Risk Policies
    • Risk Policies
      • Broad or Narrow?
      • narrow framing: a sequence of 2 simple decisions consideredseparately
      • broad framing: a single comprehensive decision with four options

      Samuelson’s Problem

      • century—famously asked a friend whether he would accept agamble on the toss of a coin in which he could lose $ or win $ Hisfriend responded

        “I won’t bet because I would feel the $ loss morethan the $ gain But I’ll take you on if you promise to let me make such bets ”

        Samuelson found hisfriend’s answer interesting and went on to analyze it He proved that undersome very specific conditions a utility maximizer who rejects a singlegamble should also reject the offer of many

        the offer of a hundred gambles is so attractive that no saneperson would reject it

        The notableaspect of this story is that Sam never wavers in his aversion to losses However the aggregation of favorable gambles rapidly reduces theprobability of losing and the impact of loss aversion on his preferencesdiminishes accordingly

        The main purpose of the mantra is to controlyour emotional response when you do lose

        If you can trust it to beeffective you should remind yourself of it when deciding whetheror not to accept a small risk with positive expected value

        Remember these qualifications when using the mantra

        It works when the gambles are genuinely independent of each other;it does not apply to multiple investments in the same industry whichwould all go bad together

        It works only when the possible loss does not cause you to worryabout your total wealth If you would take the loss as significant badnews about your economic future watch it!

        It should not be applied to long shots where the probability ofwinning is very small for each bet

        The combination of loss aversion and narrow framing is a costly curse Individual investors can avoid that curse achieving the emotional benefitsof broad framing while also saving time and agony by reducing thefrequency with which they check how well their investments are doing

        Closely following daily fluctuations is a losing proposition because thepain of the frequent small losses exceeds the pleasure of the equallyfrequent small gains

        Investors who getaggregated feedback receive such news much less often and are likely tobe less risk averse and to end up richer You are also less pr1 touseless churning of your portfolio if you don’t know how every stock in it isdoing every day (or every week or even every month)

        A commitment not tochange 1’s position for several periods (the equivalent of “locking in” aninvestment) improves financial performance

      Risk Policies

      Decision makers who are pr1 to narrow framing construct a preferenceevery time they face a risky choice They would do better by having a riskpolicy that they routinely apply whenever a relevant problem arises Familiar examples of risk policies are “always take the highest possibledeductible when purchasing insurance” and “never buy extendedwarranties ”

      Speaking of Risk Policies

      • “Tell her to think like a trader! You win a few you lose a few ”

        “I decided to evaluate my portfolio only once a quarter I am tooloss averse to make sensible decisions in the face of daily pricefluctuations ”

        “They never buy extended warranties That’s their risk policy ”

        “Each of our executives is loss averse in his or her domain That’s perfectly natural but the result is that the organization is nottaking enough risk ”

  • Chapter 32 Keeping Score
    • Keeping Score
      • Except for the very poor for whom income coincides with survival the mainmotivators of m1y seeking are not necessarily economic

        For thebillionaire looking for the extra billion and indeed for the participant in anexperimental economics project looking for the extra dollar m1y is aproxy for points on a scale of self regard and achievement

    • Mental Accounts
      • the disposition effect
        • finance research has documented a massive preference forselling winners rather than losers—a bias that has been given an opaquelabel: the disposition effect

          The disposition effect is an instance of narrow framing The investor hasset up an account for each share that she bought and she wants to closeevery account as a gain

          Another argument against selling winners is thewell documented market anomaly that stocks that recently gained in valueare likely to go on gaining at least for a short while The net effect is large:the expected after tax extra return of selling Tiffany rather than Blueberry is % over the next year

    • sunk cost fallacy
      • The decision to invest additional resources in a losing account when better investments are available is known as the sunk cost fallacy acostly mistake that is observed in decisions large and small Driving intothe blizzard because 1 paid for tickets is a sunk cost error

        The sunk cost fallacy keeps people for too long in poor jobs unhappymarriages and unpromising research projects

        Thesunk cost fallacy is identified and taught as a mistake in both economicsand business courses apparently to good effect:

    • Regret
      • Regret is an emotion and it is also a punishment that we administer toourselves

        The fear of regret is a factor in many of the decisions thatpeople make (“Don’t do this you will regret it” is a common warning) andthe actual experience of regret is familiar

        regret is“accompanied by feelings that 1 should have known better

        • ncesinking feeling by thoughts about the mistake 1 has madeand the opportunities lost by a tendency to kick 1self and to correct1’s mistake and by wanting to undo the event and to get a secondchance ” Intense regret is what you experience when you can most easilyimagine yourself doing something other than what you did

        Regret is 1 of the counterfactual emotions that are triggered by theavailability of alternatives to reality After every plane crash there arespecial stories about passengers who “should not” have been on the plane—they got a seat at the last moment they were transferred from anotherairline they were supposed to fly a day earlier but had had to postp1

        peopleexpect to have stronger emotional reactions (including regret) to anoutcome that is produced by action than to the same outcome when it isproduced by inaction

        the discrepancy between the 2 canbe the source of painful emotions The default option when you own a stockis not to sell it but the default option when you meet your colleague in themorning is to greet him Selling a stock and failing to greet your coworkerare both departures from the default option and natural candidates forregret or blame

        In a compelling demonstration of the power of default options participants played a computer simulation of jack Some playerswere asked “Do you wish to hit?” while others were asked “Do you wish tostand?” Regardless of the question saying yes was associated with muchmore regret than saying no if the outcome was bad!

        It is the departure from the default that produces regret

        peoplegenerally anticipate more regret than they will actually experience becausethey underestimate the efficacy of the psychological defenses they willdeploy—which they label the “psychological immune system ” Theirrecommendation is that you should not put too much weight on regret; evenif you have some it will hurt less than you now think

    • Speaking of Keeping Score
      • “He has separate mental accounts for cash and credit purchases I constantly remind him that m1y is m1y ”

        “We are hanging on to that stock just to avoid closing our mentalaccount at a loss It’s the disposition effect ”

        “We discovered an excellent dish at that restaurant and we nevertry anything else to avoid regret ”

        “The salesperson showed me the most expensive car seat andsaid it was the safest and I could not bring myself to buy thecheaper model It felt like a taboo tradeoff ”

  • Chapter 33 Reversals
    • Speaking of Reversals
      • “The BTU units meant nothing to me until I saw how much airconditioningunits vary Joint evaluation was essential ”

        “You say this was an outstanding speech because you comparedit to her other speeches Compared to others she was stillinferior ”

        “It is often the case that when you broaden the frame you reachmore reasonable decisions ”

        “When you see cases in isolation you are likely to be guided byan emotional reaction of System 1 ”

  • Chapter 34 Frames and Reality
    • Frames and Reality

      Emotional Framing

      A bad outcome is much moreacceptable if it is framed as the cost of a lottery ticket that did not win thanif it is simply described as losing a gamble

      We should not be surprised:losses evokes stronger negative feelings than costs Choices are notreality bound because System 1 is not reality bound

      framing study yielded three main findings

      A region that is commonly associated with emotional arousal (theamygdala) was most likely to be active when subjects’ choicesconformed to the frame

      A brain region known to be associated with conflict and self control(the anterior cingulate) was more active when subjects did not dowhat comes naturally—when they chose the sure thing in spite of itsbeing labeled LOSE

      The most “rational” subjects—those who were the least susceptibleto framing effects—showed enhanced activity in a frontal area of thebrain that is implicated in combining emotion and reasoning to guidedecisions

      Empty Intuitions

      Good Frames

      Speaking of Frames and Reality

      • “They will feel better about what happened if they manage toframe the outcome in terms of how much m1y they kept ratherthan how much they lost ”

        “Let’s reframe the problem by changing the reference point Imagine we did not own it; how much would we think it is worth?”

        “Charge the loss to your mental account of ‘general revenue’—you will feel better!”

        “They ask you to check the box to opt out of their mailing list Their list would shrink if they asked you to check a box to opt in!”

• Part V 2 Selves
  • Chapter 35 2 Selves
    • Principles of Morals andLegislation

      Nature has placed mankind underthe governance of 2 sovereign masters pain and pleasure

      2 Selves

      Experienced Utility

      • A decision maker who paysdifferent amounts to achieve the same gain of experienced utility (or bespared the same loss) is making a mistake

        You may find this observationobvious but in decision theory the only basis for judging that a decision iswrong is inconsistency with other preferences

      Experience and Memory

      How can experienced utility be measured?

      How should we answerquestions such as “How much pain did Helen suffer during the medicalprocedure?

      How much enjoyment did she get from her minutes onthe beach?

      “hedonimeter ”

      n imaginary instrument analogous to the devicesused in weather recording stations which would measure the level ofpleasure or pain that an individual experiences at any moment

      Peak end rule

      • Peak end rule: The global retrospective rating was well predicted bythe average of the level of pain reported at the worst moment of theexperience and at its end

      judgments duration weighted

      • computation of the “area under the curve” assigns equal weights to allmoments:
      • 2 minutes of pain at level is twice as bad as 1 minute atthe same level of pain

      Duration neglect:

      • Duration neglect: The duration of the procedure had no effectwhatsoever on the ratings of total pain

      2 selves

      experiencing self

      The experiencing self is the 1that answers the question: “Does it hurt now?”

      remembering self

      The remembering self is the1 that answers the question: “How was it on the whole?”

      Memories areall we get to keep from our experience of living and the only perspectivethat we can adopt as we think about our lives is therefore that of theremembering self

      difficulty of distinguishing memories from experiences

      listening raptly to a long symphony on a disc that was scratchednear the end producing a shocking sound and he reported that the badending “ruined the whole experience ” But the experience was not actuallyruined only the memory of it

      The experiencing self had had an experiencethat was almost entirely good and the bad end could not undo it becauseit had already happened

      My questi1r had assigned the entire episode afailing grade because it had ended very badly but that grade effectivelyignored minutes of musical bliss Does the actual experience count fornothing?

      Confusing experience with the memory of it is a compelling cognitiveillusion—and it is the substitution that makes us believe a past experiencecan be ruined

      The experiencing self does not have a voice

      Theremembering self is sometimes wrong but it is the 1 that keeps scoreand governs what we learn from living and it is the 1 that makesdecisions

      What we learn from the past is to maximize thequalities of our future memories not necessarily of our future experience This is the tyranny of the remembering self

      Which Self Should Count?

      subjects did what came naturally: they chose to repeatthe episode of which they had the less aversive memory

      The subjectsknew quite well which of the 2 exposures was longer—we asked them—but they did not use that knowledge

      Their decision was governed by asimple rule of intuitive choice: pick the option you like the most or dislikethe least Rules of memory determined how much they disliked the 2options which in turn determined their choice The cold hand experiment like my old injections puzzle revealed a discrepancy between decisionutility and experienced utility

      In 1 experiment rats were consistently exposed to a sequencein which the onset of a light signals that an electric shock will soon bedelivered The rats quickly learned to fear the light and the intensity of theirfear could be measured by several physiological responses The mainfinding was that the duration of the shock has little or no effect on fear—allthat matters is the painful intensity of the stimulus

      Other classic studies showed that electrical stimulation of specific areasin the rat brain (and of corresponding areas in the human brain) produce asensation of intense pleasure so intense in some cases that rats who canstimulate their brain by pressing a lever will die of starvation without takinga break to feed themselves

      Pleasurable electric stimulation can bedelivered in bursts that vary in intensity and duration Here again onlyintensity matters Up to a point increasing the duration of a burst ofstimulation does not appear to increase the eagerness of the animal toobtain it The rules that govern the remembering self of humans have along evolutionary history

      Biology vs Rationality

      • 2 principles of memory
        • duration neglect and the peak end rule

        Themechanisms are different but the outcome is the same: a decision that isnot correctly attuned to the experience

        Decisions that do not produce the best possible experience anderr1ous forecasts of future feelings—both are bad news for believers inthe rationality of choice

        The cold hand study showed that we cannot fullytrust our preferences to reflect our interests even if they are based onpersonal experience and even if the memory of that experience was laiddown within the last quarter of an hour!

        Tastes and decisions are shapedby memories and the memories can be wrong

        The evidence presents aprofound challenge to the idea that humans have consistent preferencesand know how to maximize them a cornerst1 of the rational agentmodel An inconsistency is built into the design of our minds

        We havestrong preferences about the duration of our experiences of pain andpleasure We want pain to be brief and pleasure to last But our memory afunction of System 1 has evolved to represent the most intense moment ofan episode of pain or pleasure (the peak) and the feelings when theepisode was at its end

        A memory that neglects duration will not serve ourpreference for long pleasure and short pains

        Speaking of 2 Selves

        • “You are thinking of your failed marriage entirely from theperspective of the remembering self A divorce is like asymphony with a screeching sound at the end—the fact that itended badly does not mean it was all bad ”

          “This is a bad case of duration neglect You are giving the goodand the bad part of your experience equal weight although thegood part lasted ten times as long as the other ”

  • Chapter 36 Life as a Story
    • Life as a Story
      • Early in the days of my work on the measurement of experience I sawVerdi’s opera La Traviata Known for its gorgeous music it is also amoving story of the love between a young aristocrat and Violetta a womanof the demimonde The young man’s father approaches Violetta andconvinces her to give up her lover to protect the honor of the family and themarriage prospects of the young man’s sister In an act of supreme selfsacrifice Violetta pretends to reject the man she adores She soonrelapses into consumption (the nineteenth century term for tuberculosis) Inthe final act Violetta lies dying surrounded by a few friends Her belovedhas been alerted and is rushing to Paris to see her H Kto earing the news she is transformed with hope and joy but she is also deteriorating quickly

        No matter how many times you have seen the opera you are gripped bythe tension and fear of the moment: Will the young lover arrive in time?There is a sense that it is immensely important for him to join his belovedbefore she dies He does of course some marvelous love duets are sung and after minutes of glorious music Violetta dies

        Why do we care so muchabout those last minutes?

        Duration neglect is normal in a story and the ending often definesits character

        Duration neglect is normal in a story and the ending often definesits character The same core features appear in the rules of narratives andin the memories of colonoscopies vacations and films This is how theremembering self works: it composes stories and keeps them for futurereference

    • Amnesic Vacations
    • Speaking of Life as a Story
      • “He is desperately trying to protect the narrative of a life ofintegrity which is endangered by the latest episode ”

        “The length to which he was willing to go for a 1 night encounteris a sign of total duration neglect ”

        “You seem to be devoting your entire vacation to the constructionof memories Perhaps you should put away the camera and enjoythe moment even if it is not very memorable?”

        “She is an Alzheimer’s patient She no longer maintains anarrative of her life but her experiencing self is still sensitive tobeauty and gentleness ”

  • Chapter 37 Experienced Well Being
    • Experienced Well Being
      • All things considered how satisfied are you with your life as awhole these days?

        focused on the well being of the experiencing self Iproposed that it made sense to say that “Helen was happy in the month ofMarch” if

        she spent most of her time engaged in activities that she wouldrather continue than stop little time in situations she wished toescape and—very important because life is short—not too muchtime in a neutral state in which she would not care either way

        flow

        • flow—a state thatsome artists experience in their creative moments and that many otherpeople achieve when enthralled by a film a book or a crossword puzzle:interruptions are not welcome in any of these situations

        Experienced Well Being

        • measure of the well being of the experiencing self

          A continuousrecord of experience was unfortunately impossible—a person cannot livenormally while constantly reporting her experiences

        Experience sampling

        • intensity of various feelings: happiness tension anger worry engagement physical pain

        Day Reconstruction Method (DRM)

        • CantrilSelf Anchoring Striving Scale

          Please imagine a ladder with steps numbered from zero at thebottom to at the top The top of the ladder represents the bestpossible life for you and the bottom of the ladder represents theworst possible life for you On which step of the ladder would yousay you personally feel you stand at this time?

          Some aspects of life have more effect on the evaluation of 1’s life thanon the experience of living

          Educational attainment is an example

          Moreeducation is associated with higher evaluation of 1’s life but not withgreater experienced well being

          n the United States themore educated tend to report higher stress

          ill healthhas a much stronger adverse effect on experienced well being than on lifeevaluation

          Living with children also imposes a significant cost in thecurrency of daily feelings—reports of stress and anger are commonamong parents but the adverse effects on life evaluation are smaller

          Religious participation also has relatively greater favorable impact on bothpositive affect and stress reduction than on life evaluation

          religion provides no reduction of feelings of depression or worry

          Can m1y buy happiness?

          Theconclusion is that being poor makes 1 miserable and that being richmay enhance 1’s life satisfaction but does not (on average) improveexperienced well being

          Severe poverty amplifies the experienced effects of other misfortunes oflife

          Why do these added pleasures not show up in reports ofemotional experience?

          A plausible interpretation is that higher income isassociated with a reduced ability to enjoy the small pleasures of life

          There is a clear contrast between the effects of income on experiencedwell being and on life satisfaction

          Speaking of Experienced Well Being

          “The objective of policy should be to reduce human suffering Weaim for a lower U index in society Dealing with depression andextreme poverty should be a priority ”

          “The easiest way to increase happiness is to control your use oftime Can you find more time to do the things you enjoy doing?”

          “Beyond the satiation level of income you can buy morepleasurable experiences but you will lose some of your ability toenjoy the less expensive 1s ”

  • Chapter 38 Thinking About Life
    • Thinking About Life

      In the DRM studies there was no overall difference in experienced wellbeingbetween women who lived with a mate and women who did not Thedetails of how the 2 groups used their time explained the finding

      Women who have a mate spend less time al1 but also much less timewith friends

      They spend more time making love which is wonderful butalso more time doing housework preparing food and caring for children all relatively unpopular activities

      And of course the large amount of timemarried women spend with their husband is much more pleasant for somethan for others

      Experienced well being is on average unaffected bymarriage not because marriage makes no difference to happiness butbecause it changes some aspects of life for the better and others for theworse

      The importance that people attached to income at age alsoanticipated their satisfaction with their income as adults We compared lifesatisfaction in a high income group (more than $ householdincome) to a low to moderate income group (less than $ ) Theeffect of income on life satisfaction was larger for those who had listedbeing well off financially as an essential goal: point on a point scale

      The Focusing Illusion

      • focusing illusion

        Nothing in life is as important as you think it is when you arethinking about it

        How much pleasure do you get from your car?

        When do you getpleasure from your car?

        Adaptation to a new situation whether good or bad consists in large partof thinking less and less about it In that sense most long termcircumstances of life including paraplegia and marriage are part timestates that 1 inhabits only when 1 at JghtA a at Jghttends to them

        This question almost certainly made you think of a paraplegic who iscurrently thinking about some aspect of his condition

        Your guess about aparaplegic’s mood is therefore likely to be accurate in the early days aftera crippling accident; for some time after the event accident victims think oflittle else

        Pain and noise are biologically set to be signals that attract attention anddepression involves a self reinforcing cycle of miserable thoughts

        There istherefore no adaptation to these conditions

        Adaptation to a new situation whether good or bad consists in large partof thinking less and less about it

        miswanting

        describe bad choices that arise from errors of affective forecasting

        The focusing illusion (whichGilbert and Wilson call focalism) is a rich source of miswanting Inparticular it makes us pr1 to exaggerate the effect of significantparticular it makes us pr1 to exaggerate the effect of significantpurchases or changed circumstances on our future well being

        The focusing illusion creates a bias in favor of goods and experiences thatare initially exciting even if they will eventually lose their appeal Time isneglected causing experiences that will retain their attention value in thelong term to be appreciated less than they deserve to be

      Time and Time Again

      • The role of time has been a refrain in this part of the book It is logical todescribe the life of the experiencing self as a series of moments each witha value The value of an episode—I have called it a hedonimeter total—issimply the sum of the values of its moments But this is not how the mindrepresents episodes The remembering self as I have described it alsotells stories and makes choices and neither the stories nor the choicesproperly represent time In storytelling mode an episode is represented bya few critical moments especially the beginning the peak and the end Duration is neglected

      Speaking of Thinking About Life

      • “She thought that buying a fancy car would make her happier butit turned out to be an error of affective forecasting ”

        “His car broke down on the way to work this morning and he’s ina foul mood This is not a good day to ask him about his jobsatisfaction!”

        “She looks quite cheerful most of the time but when she is askedshe says she is very unhappy The question must make her thinkof her recent divorce ”

        “Buying a larger house may not make us happier in the long term We could be suffering from a focusing illusion ”

        “He has chosen to split his time between 2 cities Probably aserious case of miswanting ”

  • Conclusions
    • ConclusionsI

      System 1 which does the fast thinking

      System 2 which does the slow thinking monitorsSystem 1

      The 2 selves

      • the remembering self
        • whichkeeps score and makes the choices

        2 Selves

        Duration neglect and the peak endrule in the evaluation of stories both at the opera and in judgments of Jen’slife are equally indefensible

        It does not make sense to evaluate an entirelife by its last moments or to give no weight to duration in deciding whichlife is more desirable

        The remembering self is a construction of System 2 However thedistinctive features of the way it evaluates episodes and lives arecharacteristics of our memory Duration neglect and the peak end ruleoriginate in System 1 and do not necessarily correspond to the values ofSystem 2 We believe that duration is important but our memory tells us itis not

        Econs and Humans

        theexperiencing self which does the living

      2 Systems

      The upshot is that it is much easier to identify aminefield when you observe others wandering into it than when you areabout to do so Observers are less cognitively busy and more toinformation than actors

      Organizations are better than individuals when it comes to avoidingerrors because they naturally think more slowly and have the power toimpose orderly procedures

  • Appendix A: Judgment Under Uncertainty
    • Heuristics and Biases
    • Representativeness
    • Availability
    • Adjustment and Anchoring
    • Discussion
    • Summary
  • Appendix B: Choices Values And Frames
    • Risky Choice
    • Framing of Outcomes
    • The Psychophysics of Chances
    • Formulation Effects
    • Transactions and Trades
    • Losses and Costs
    • Concluding Remarks
    • References
    • Acknowledgments
    • Notes
• Chapters References
  • Introduction
  • : The Characters of the Story
  • : Attention and Effort
    • : The Lazy Controller
    • : The Associative Machine
    • : Cognitive Ease
    • : Norms Surprises and Causes
    • : A Machine for Jumping to Conclusions
    • : How Judgments Happen
    • : Answering an Easier Question
    • : The Law of Small Numbers
  • : Anchors
  • : The Science of Availability
    • : Availability Emotion and Risk
    • : Tom W’s Specialty
    • : Linda: Less is More
    • : Causes Trump Statistics
    • : Regression to the Mean
    • : Taming Intuitive Predictions
    • : The Illusion of Understanding
    • : The Illusion of Validity
  • : Intuitions vs Formulas
    • : The Outside View
    • : The Engine of Capitalism
    • : Bernoulli’s Errors
    • : Prospect Theory
    • : The Endowment Effect
    • : Bad Events
    • : The Fourfold Pattern
      • : Rare Events
    • : Risk Policies
    • : Keeping Score
      • : Reversals
      • : Frames and Reality
      • : 2 Selves
      • : Life as a Story
      • : Experienced Well Being
      • : Thinking About Life
  • Conclusions
  • Index
• What do you think about the book?
• Conclusions:
• Recommendations:
• Compiled By:
  • blindcaveman.wordpress.com
  • Rigel Arcayan