Our minds are capable of many wonderful things, from language to love. Descartes went so far as to conclude that using our minds proves that we exist. But minds are tricky things and even the best ones are not perfect. Indeed, so widespread are many of the mind’s imperfections that psychologists have given them names. Things like “confirmation bias”—the tendency to give more weight to evidence … [Read more...] about Keep Your Conflict Demon-Free
Counterintuitive Advice: In Conflict, Don’t Try Making Your Case
When I teach conflict resolution skills for individuals to use in their everyday lives, one of the most fundamental—and difficult—principles I teach is not to take the approach of our legal system. What does that mean? It means that when we are having a disagreement with someone, our tendency is to “make our case.” We have a list of reasons we are right and the other person is wrong. We compile … [Read more...] about Counterintuitive Advice: In Conflict, Don’t Try Making Your Case