Oxford Street – did people panic?

In the media aftermath of the shooting scare at Oxford Street, two social psychologists,Stephen Reicher and John Drury, ask if it is right to say people caught in a terror scare ‘panic’? Their conclusion? Panic suggests irrationality which isn’t really accurate…

Check out the full story here on the BBC website

Keep up to date with the latest posts – get a weekly digest straight to your inbox

You can opt out of these emails at any time, and I will never share your email address with other people. I hate spam as much as anyone, so will not be bombarding you with emails!

PsychItBetter on 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Books to change the way you look at the world. Part 1.

In this post I am going to sum up why you should read a books which will change the way you interact with the world psychologically. That’s right – PsychologyItBetter is having a go at “sort-of” book reviewing! If I enjoy writing it, and you all read it, there are a bunch more to follow! We start with the classic ‘7 Habits Of High;y Effective People’ by Stephen Covey.

Continue reading “PsychItBetter on 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”

Deadlines – Psychology and Motivation

The Psychology of Deadlines

DeadThis last couple of weeks has been rather busy. I have a few deadlines and a lot of psychology research and teaching tasks coming up – some for things I really enjoy, others I have found really hard to settle down to. Many of these jobs have deadlines looming – what is the psychology underpinning this, and how can we make them work for us? Are they intrinsically helpful or not?

Continue reading “Deadlines – Psychology and Motivation”

Everyday Groupthink and Polarisation

Do we think better in groups? Groupthink and group polarisation psychology in action.

personal-875801_640Way back in my first post on cognitive biases I mentioned that a couple of the projects I am working on are quite high pressured, and involve a small, tight knit team. I love working in a small group, and currently our little band is on a roll, producing lots of good research and making some great contacts. For these particular projects, the team is made up of four people, each bringing their own strengths and differing areas of expertise. This sounds like a dream come true right? I’m very lucky, but also quite aware that our small, slightly insulated group brings its own risks, Indeed, the combination of a high pressure environment, a small team and high (in academic terms anyway!) stakes are all characteristics of situations which a psychologist named Janis1 suggest can encourage a phenomena called Groupthink.

Continue reading “Everyday Groupthink and Polarisation”

Luck, judgement and probablities

Luck, Psychology and Judgements

horse-shoe-110987_640I have been thinking a lot this week about luck and circumstance. We sometimes feel we are generally lucky, sometimes unlucky and sometimes don’t consider the role luck plays in our lives as much as we should. Generally, we’re really bad at working out what is our own doing and what is down to the situation we are in, and even worse at estimating what will happen in the future. But what insights can the study of psychology offer?

Continue reading “Luck, judgement and probablities”

Better Influence book now out!

Better Influence book out this week!

Better Influence coverA big part of my motivation in creating this blog is making Psychology accessible to a wide audience. As part of this I am also writing a series of ‘PocketBooks’. Each pocketbook outlines 10 key concepts in a particualar field of psychology. Each is communicated in 600 words or less, making it perfect to dip in and out of. In the spirit of psychologyitbetter.com, each also outlines a number of improvements you can employ in you day to day life.

I’m really pleased to announced that the second PocketBook in the series, ’Better Influence, 10 quick concepts you can use to persuade others more effectively’ is out in paperback and ebook formats this week! You can find out more at the Bookshop. I am really pleased by this volume and, with an introductory price of just £3.99 for the paperback and an amazing £1.99 for the ebook, I hope you check it out and enjoy it too!

Please tell me what you think of this post, and don’t forget to sign up for email updates or visit the bookshop if you enjoyed it! If you sign up now you can receive a FREE COPY OF THE JUDGEMENT AND DECISION MAKING EBOOK

Free ‘Judgement’ ebook

Judgement:10 judgemental biases to avoid. 10 improvements to your decision making.

Judgement pocketbook cover

As you may know, about a month ago I released a short ‘PocketBook ‘ called Judgement: Judgement:10 judgemental biases to avoid.10 improvements to your decision making.’. This ebook outlines some key psychological principles which will help you improve your everyday judgements and decision making. Each principle is outlined in an accessible way, and comes with a number of clear improvements which you can action immediately.   These are all outlined in 600 words or less, making it easy to dip in and out of.

The great news is if you sign up for free email updates now you can receive a FREE COPY OF THE JUDGEMENT AND DECISION MAKING EBOOK 

To give you an idea of the contents, here is an excerpt!

 

Continue reading “Free ‘Judgement’ ebook”

‘Judgement’ ebook now available in Kindle library

Judgement pocketbook cover

If you like what you have read on the blog, you may be interested to know my first ‘PocketBook’ ebook (on how to reduce cognitive biases and improve decision making) is available to borrow from the Kindle Unlimited Library and the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library  – search for Daniel Frings! (you can also find out more about this PocketBook in the Bookshop, including how to get hold of it if you are not a ‘Kindler’)