psychology Archives - Chris Carosa

The Art and Science of Influence and Leadership (Part I: The Science)

By Chris Carosa on January 31, 2023

Office of War Information, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Influence, the last of the three leader traits to be researched, stands out as the most practical measure of successful leadership. Be warned, though. Just as obedience to authority contains a dark side, so, too, do the methods of influence.

Scott Adams, creator of the comic strip Dilbert and renowned persuasion expert, calls behavioral psychologist Robert Cialdini the “Godzilla” of persuasion. Cialdini’s research, compiled in various books, lays out in simple language six different ways to influence people.

In his website, Cialdini states, “It is through the influence process that we lead, generate, and manage change. Like most things, the process can be handled poorly or well. It can be employed to foster growth and to move people away from negative choices and in more positive directions, thereby creating the conditions for Continue Reading “The Art and Science of Influence and Leadership (Part I: The Science)”

Posted in Business Tips, Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged and Sullivan, authority, behavior, Bonasera, Catherine Genovese, Commitment and Consistency, Cook, Dennis Reagan, Dilbert, Higham & Carment, Influence, Judgment Heuristics, Law of the Lemmings, Liking, P.R. Wilson, Pallak, Patrick Laughlin, Persuasion, psychology, Reciprocation, Robert Cialdini, Scarcity, Scott Adams, self-justification, social proof, Stanley Milgram, The Godfather, Vito Corleone

Is Obedience To Authority A Virtue Or A Crime?

By Chris Carosa on January 24, 2023

Advertisement for Milgram Experiment subjects. The original uploader was Poolisfun at Wikipedia., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

World War II marks a turning point in almost every facet of mankind. From science to engineering, from business to politics, to the very core of our culture, the world changed as America rebuilt Europe and reframed Japan. You see a shift from a feudal/monarchical-centric philosophy towards a populace/organizational-centric viewpoint.

Within the academic arena, research on authority moved from the Sociology Department to the Psychology Department. In fact, one of the most famous and useful psychology experiments of the mid-twentieth century represents this shift. It answered the most compelling question regarding the nature of authority to come out of the Second World War.

The Psychological Origins of Authority

You might not recognize the name Stanley Milgram, but you’ll instantly recognize his Continue Reading “Is Obedience To Authority A Virtue Or A Crime?”

Posted in Business Tips, Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged 1980 Olympics, authority, Derek Jeter, earned, electroshock therapy, engagement, entitlement, Expert, Gold Medal, Holocaust, Lou Gehrig, marketing, Men's Hockey, Mike Eruzione, Miracle, Nazi, obediance, Obediance to Authority, psychology, Q-Rating, Rawhide, Stanley Milgram, The Pride of the Yankees, Thurman Munson, US Hockey, Yale

What Is A Good Leader?

By Chris Carosa on January 3, 2023

We all want to be one. We want our children to be one. And when we’re not one, we want the person in charge to be one.

What is it?

It’s not just a “leader,” it’s a “GOOD leader.”

This represents a significant qualifier. You’ll need to brace yourself for this one. The word doesn’t reflect a moral imperative (yet), it merely alludes to effectiveness.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, “but if a leader isn’t moral, why would I ever follow him?”

Let me counter that with a different question: If you find yourself placed in a life or death Continue Reading “What Is A Good Leader?”

Posted in Business Tips, Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Consideration and Initiation of Structure, Fleishman, Halpin, James MacGregor Burns, leadership, Ohio State Leadership Studies, philosophy, psychology, Ralph M. Stogdill, Warren Gamaliel Bennis, Winer

Do Self-Assessments Really Work?

By Chris Carosa on September 20, 2022

What’s the difference between the Lifetime Dream Process and any of the many other forms of self-assessment? While some of the more astute readers might have already deduced the answer by reading the preceding Commentaries, at some point it helps everyone to forgo subtlety and bluntly reveal why the Lifetime Dream Process is not like any other process you might have heard of or even tried. In the next two weeks, I’ll begin to conclude this series by comparing and contrasting the Lifetime Dream Process to several of these systems.

This week I’d like to focus on self-assessments. These often come in the form of a test but might also take on the nature of a conversation. In either case, compared to the Lifetime Dream Process, each fails to get deeply into the heart of the matter.

To understand why getting to the heart of the matter is important, you might want to read Continue Reading “Do Self-Assessments Really Work?”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Boy Scouts, Carl Gustav, Continue, Cosmo Quiz, David J. Pittenger, Isabel Briggs Myers, Katherine Cook Briggs, Lifetime Dream Process, MBTI, Myers-Briggs, Myers-Briggs Test Indicator, Paul R. Matthews, pop-psychology, psychology, self-assessment, Start, Stop

‘There Must Be A Pony In Here Somewhere!’

By Chris Carosa on May 11, 2021

If you’re old enough to remember simpler times, you’ll recall this title as the punch-line to one of President Reagan’s favorite jokes. The gag revealed not only Reagan’s engaging sense of humor, but also a lot about his political philosophy and his outlook on life.

The essence of the story goes something like this. It’s Christmas morning and two young brothers hurriedly amble towards the Christmas tree to discover their gifts. On one side lay piles of wonderful toys for one of the boys. He looked at it and sorrowfully said, “They’ll all be broken in a day or two.” The other boy’s gift, on the other side of the tree, was nothing but a pile of manure. He quickly grabbed a shovel and began to dig, joyfully telling his dour sibling, “There’s must be a pony in here somewhere!”

It’s the age-old tale of the wonders of optimism contrasted with the annoyance of Continue Reading “‘There Must Be A Pony In Here Somewhere!’”

Posted in Business Tips, Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Advertising, Agate Club, attention, Christmas, J.E. Verree, optimism, psychology, Ronald Reagan, Walter D. Scott, Willam E. Mason

How Divide and Conquer Works (And How To Avoid Falling Prey To It)

By Chris Carosa on February 16, 2021

While getting his MBA from Duke, a college classmate of mine was asked by a visiting speaker why my classmate thought he (the speaker) preferred hiring ex-athletes?

Now, my classmate was the perfect person to ask this question to. He’s played hockey from his youth to well into his adult years. He is the ultimate athlete, the ultimate team player, and the ultimate performer. I don’t know if the speaker knew his background prior to asking the question, but he could sure guess it once my friend offered his answer. This is how the young MBA candidate responded:

“You prefer to hire ex-athletes because of the following traits: alignment toward a common goal, teamwork, communication, trying to perform your best, etc.”

The speaker said that was all good, but it wasn’t the biggest reason he hired former Continue Reading “How Divide and Conquer Works (And How To Avoid Falling Prey To It)”

Posted in Business Tips, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Buffalo Bills, business, Chinese, Commander, Duke, Henry Segal, Korean War, Marv Levy, politics, POW, Psy-Ops, psychology, Robert Cialdini, sports, war

Why 7-15-60 is the Winning Combination of Every Group that Wants Lasting Influence

By Chris Carosa on July 10, 2018

Civic associations represent the backbone of a vibrant democracy. They have fueled American Exceptionalism since the very beginning of our country. But don’t take my word. Read what one of history’s most quoted experts had to say on this very subject.

“Among democratic nations, on the contrary, all the citizens are independent and feeble; they can do hardly anything by themselves, and none of them can oblige his fellow men to lend him their assistance. They all, therefore, become powerless if they do not learn voluntarily to help one another. …if they never acquired the habit of forming associations in ordinary life, civilization itself would be endangered.”
“Americans of all ages, all conditions, and all dispositions constantly form associations… The Americans make associations to give entertainments, to found seminaries, to build inns, to construct churches, to diffuse books, to send missionaries to the antipodes; in this manner they found hospitals, prisons, and schools… Wherever at the head of some new undertaking you see the government in France, or a man of rank in England, in the United States you will be sure to find an association.”

Continue Reading “Why 7-15-60 is the Winning Combination of Every Group that Wants Lasting Influence”

Posted in Business Tips, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Alexis de Tocqueville, civic association, Democracy in America, Dunbar's Number, George Miller, group dynamics, group psychology, Miller's Law, psychology, Robin Dunbar, social psychology

5 Tactics of a Winning Little League Coach

By Chris Carosa on April 24, 2018

I never asked to be a baseball coach. As you might recall (see “A New Beginning,” Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel, April 27, 2017), baseball and I have had a strange – and sometimes strained – relationship. You could understand my reluctance to agree to play the part of assistant coach for my son’s T-Ball team. Still, it was only T-Ball (how hard could that be) and it was my neighbor who was the head coach. He needed help, so, as any good neighbor would, I readily assented to assist. But, then, the unexpected happened.Continue Reading “5 Tactics of a Winning Little League Coach”

Posted in Business Tips, Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged baseball, fail, fun, psychology, sports, success

How to Protect Yourself From Being Hypnotized Without Knowing It

By Chris Carosa on May 16, 2017

Have you ever been mesmerized? It happens all the time. To everyone. It’s like when you look at one of those pictures with all these tantalizing shapes. They dazzle your eyes, preventing you from seeing the real picture hidden within. That’s what being mesmerized is like. And you don’t even know it’s happening.

Several years ago I found myself in San Antonio to make a presentation about how research in behavioral finance identifies useful techniques to help people save for their retirement. A fellow came up to me. He had read my book 401(k) Fiduciary Solutions and told me he felt every professional should read it. Then he asked the question no author ever wants to answer: “So, how is your book selling?”

I didn’t know the best way to respond, so all I said was the coy, “I’d like sales to be better.”

Then he told me something fascinating, something I had never heard before. He revealed Continue Reading “How to Protect Yourself From Being Hypnotized Without Knowing It”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, Great Speaking Tips, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged behavior, Étienne Félix d'Henin de Cuvillers, Franz Anton Mesmer, James Baird, mesmerize, Neurolinguistic Programming, Persuasion, psychology, Robert Cialdini, sales, selling