Tag Archives: intimate relationships

Strengthening Families

Posted on by
Reply
Reflecting back on what might have happened leads to increased individual commitment to the group.

Reflecting back on what might have happened leads to increased individual commitment to the group.

Researchers from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley have discovered that building a more committed workforce can be as simple as asking employees to reflect on their company’s history.

“Institutions that can communicate a compelling historical narrative often inspire a special kind of commitment among employees. It is this dedication that directly affects a company’s success and is critical to creating a strong corporate legacy.” (Galinsky).

Could the same be applied to families? Keep reading for my take on this phenomenon.

Continue reading →

The LGBTQ Bias

Posted on by
Reply
Perhaps our definition of "normal" needs redefining.

Perhaps our definition of "normal" needs redefining.

I’m always on the lookout for thinking errors I may have previously overlooked. Here’s a dandy bias that affects a growing proportion of the world’s population. Marginalized and dehumanized, a significant segment of our population has endured censorship, hatred, bigotry, and worse at the hands of their heterosexual neighbors while contributing greatly to the overall sweetness and vitality of our human experience. Even research about them has been tainted by bias favoring heterosexual relationships as the “norm.”

“The underlying assumption of research on LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) families has been premised on the idea that the children of gay and lesbian people will have unique challenges because of their parent’s sexual orientation. LGBTQ people have had to establish that they are good parents by raising children who are heterosexual and gender-normative, i.e., not like them.”

Continue reading →

One Result of Military Service

Posted on by
Reply
The physical and verbal abuse used by drill instructors is intended to break the spirit - and often does.

The physical and verbal abuse used by drill instructors is intended to break the spirit - and often does.

As a Vietnam and Kuwait era veteran, I can tell you, the military messes with your mind. I saw perfectly agreeable young men enter the military and return just months later much less agreeable (less able to cooperate with others, sense and feel for others, get along with family and friends, etc.).

An article in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science by some pretty smart scientists confirms that military conscripts in the German Army were less agreeable upon exit from service than they were going in, and they were less agreeable than their counterparts who did not endure military service.

Yes, it’s the German army, but my guess is that their army is much the same as the one I endured here in the USA. Some say military Basic Training is like a rite of passage, and maybe so. The intent now as it has been for hundreds of years is to break the spirit so that people can become more responsive to authority. Four or more years of military service, even without combat, is bound to leave its mark on an individual.

There is nothing inherently wrong with being less agreeable. Many people would say that very successful business types are pretty disagreeable – as are many bureaucrats, law enforcement officials, and TSA agents.

Still, I think it’s food for thought. I tend to like agreeable people more than I do disagreeable people. But that’s just me.

(source: Association for Psychological Science. “Does The Military Make The Man Or Does The Man Make The Military?.” Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 27 Jan. 2012. Web.)

Your Brain’s Got Rhythm

Posted on by
Reply

Two [neuronal] groups can only communicate efficiently with each other when their rhythms are coordinated, or synchronized.

Two [neuronal] groups can only communicate efficiently with each other when their rhythms are coordinated, or synchronized.

Scientific American, one of my favorite mags, included an article on brain rhythm. It makes perfect sense to me that our inner communication system should rely upon specific rhythms – which may explain why we like music so much – especially music with a strong beat. Here are some outtakes with my comments:

In an attempt to understand what makes us tick, researchers have been probing various regions of the brain, such as the premotor cortex, which helps make movement possible, and the auditory cortex, responsible for processing what we hear. But neuroscientists now say communication between regions – as opposed to within the areas themselves – may be the key that has eluded analysis until now, in part, because of technological obstacles.

Earl Miller, a professor of neuroscience at Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, says that today’s faster computers and more advanced electronics may provide scientists with the tools they need to unlock the brain’s mysteries.

Continue reading →

Reality Tunnels

Posted on by
Reply
Cause and effect thinking tends to tunnel our thought processes.

Cause and effect thinking tends to tunnel our thought processes.

Cause and effect thinking tends to tunnel our thought processes over time. That is, we believe one thing happens because of another – then we tunnel that cause-effect relationship into an “only” relationship. One thing happens only because of another.

Reality Tunnels have the form or structure of:

X causes Y

Therefore – (Reality Tunneling)

Y must be caused (only) by X

What if Y is caused by Z? Or X+Z or X-Z? Or something else entirely? According to many quantum physicists, causes and effects are so entwined together it’s impossible to separate one from the other. Basically, there is never one cause for one effect or one effect for one cause. Perhaps reality is a big mess when it comes to cause and effect. To imagine that there is only one cause for any given effect tends to deny reality.

Continue reading →