Using your brain, Part 2

David White

IT Services

Tuesday 24 March 2015

(and working with people

who don’t use theirs)

A game!

Say the colour of the text

(not the word itself)

APPLE = blue

BANANA = green

BLUE

RED

GREEN

ORANGE

YELLOW PURPLE

BLUE

YELLOW RED

GREEN

PURPLE

ORANGE

BLUE

RED

GREEN

ORANGE

YELLOW PURPLE

BLUE

YELLOW RED

GREEN

PURPLE

ORANGE

BLUE

RED

GREEN

ORANGE

YELLOW PURPLE

BLUE

YELLOW RED

ORANGE

GREEN PURPLE

BLUE

RED

GREEN

ORANGE

YELLOW PURPLE

BLUE

YELLOW RED

ORANGE

GREEN PURPLE

Massively oversimplified

brain anatomy tutorial

old brain

new brain

old brain

instinct, intuition, emotion

fast, effortless, instinctive… guesswork

a.k.a. ‘automatic system’ ‘fast thinking’ ‘system 1’

new brain

reason, thought, planning

capable, precise… effortful thought

a.k.a. ‘reflective system’ ‘slow thinking’ ‘system 2’

Examples

Decision making Conformity: we conform to group opinion

Persuasion Scarcity: we are motivated by limited availability

Productivity Do one thing at a time: brains can’t multitask

The brain and emotion

A game!

Say the colour of the text

(not the word itself)

BLUE = blue

GREEN = red

BREAD

WATER

BOSS

STRESS

FART

PANIC

SCREAM

LIST

PAIN

SPIDER

WINE

WAR

BREAD

WATER

BOSS

STRESS

FART

PANIC

SCREAM

LIST

PAIN

SPIDER

WINE

WAR

‘Emotional Stroop test’

People respond slower to emotionally

charged words

Influenced by their health and personal

factors

Gotlib, McCann, & Douglas (1984)

BREAD

WATER

BOSS

STRESS

FART

PANIC

SCREAM

LIST

PAIN

SPIDER

WINE

WAR

‘Affective’ psychology

Psychological factors of mood, feelings,

and attitude

Concerned with disturbance to normal

thought by such factors

Emotions are…

Good Motivate us to action

Guide us in unfamiliar

territory to seek pleasure or

safety, and avoid pain or

loss

Enrich and define our lives

Emotions are…

Bad Interfere with rational

thought and harm

cognitive performance.

Reduce self-control

and make us act in

ways we later regret.

Emotion

Body Handling

emotion Mind

Emotion and the body

We express and experience emotion

physically.

Emotion is described in this way:

feelings

nerves

gut instinct

touchy subject let go

heart-throb

Think of a loved one

Emotion and the body

We can experience emotion’s influence

upon the body…

…but the body also influences emotion

Emotion: facial feedback

Emotion: facial feedback

Darwin on emotion

“The free expression by outward signs

of an emotion intensifies it.

On the other hand, the repression, as

far as this is possible, of all outward

signs softens our emotions...

Even the simulation of an emotion

tends to arouse it in our minds.”

Emotion: power poses

Emotion: power poses

Emotion: power poses

Simply adopting a ‘high-

power pose’

Raises confidence

Lowers stress

Encourages risk-taking

Carney (2010)

Emotion and the mind

‘Affect heuristic’ Mental shortcut to make fast judgments based

on emotional response

Handling emotion

Three strategies:

1. Exercise and sleep

2. Mindfulness

3. Preparation

Handling emotion

1. Exercise and sleep

Sleep and fitness promote positive

mood and emotional control

Both improve mood and lower stress

Exercise also improves sleep and vice versa

Handling emotion

2. Mindfulness “Intentional, accepting and non-judgmental

focus of one's attention on the emotions,

thoughts and sensations occurring in the

present moment.”

Trained by meditation

Derived from Buddhist practice

Handling emotion

2. Mindfulness Notice unconscious thoughts and emotions

Awareness of bodily cues for negative emotion

Promote self-acceptance

Understand that perception, not events themselves,

influence our emotions

Handling emotion

3. Preparation

Use emotion to motivate you to prepare

Practise skills that you worry about

Plan to do guilty tasks you have put off

Contemplate difficult situations before they happen

Handling emotion: stoicism

“Say to yourself at the

start of the day, I shall

meet with meddling,

ungrateful, violent,

treacherous, envious,

and unsociable people.”

Marcus Aurelius (121-180)

Negotiation

Top tips Simulation

Negotiation: simulation

Get into pairs

Meet someone you don’t know!

Each pick a role:

Alex or Sam

Scenario

Alex is selling a rare book

Sam is interested in buying

Simulation

Read the briefing note for

your role

Keep it secret and think

about your approach

n.b. different notes exist –

just focus on your pair

Simulation

You have 5 minutes to agree a price

STOP

Two scenarios in the envelopes

Alex Smith (the same in both): “Some time ago you bought a rare second-hand book for £50. You could use some extra cash so you’re now looking to sell it. You recently received an offer from Zoe, a collector who offered to buy the book for £100. This offer only stands for today. You have now been approached by Sam (played by the other person in this simulation). Sam is also a collector, and seems interested in buying the book.”

Two scenarios in the envelopes

Scenario 1: Sam Adams “You’ve heard that Alex (played by the other person in this simulation) is looking to sell this book, so you’ve asked to meet to take a look at it. After inspecting it you can see that it’s in good condition. You’re an auctioneer specialising in used books and you estimate that this one would sell for £200 at auction. Alex has revealed that it was originally bought for £50.”

Two scenarios in the envelopes

Scenario 2: Sam Brown “You’ve heard that Alex (played by the other person in this simulation) is looking to sell this book, so you’ve asked to meet to take a look at it. After inspecting it you can see that it’s in good condition. You’re an auctioneer specialising in used books and you estimate that this one would sell for £95 at auction, and possibly more.” Alex has revealed that it was originally bought for £50.

Negotiation concepts

Zone of possible agreement

Aspiration value

The ‘BATNA’

Bargaining styles

Zone of possible agreement (ZOPA)

Room for agreement given each person’s

reservation value:

Alex Min. sale price £100 (Zoe’s offer)

Sam A Max. purchase price £200

Sam B Max. purchase price £95

Sam A has ‘ZOPA’

of £100 - £200

Zone of possible agreement (ZOPA)

£0 £100 £200 £50 £150

Alex: £100 min.

Sam A: £200 max.

Sam B: £95 max.

Sam B has no ‘ZOPA’

Aspiration value

Set a desired price for yourself

Alex >£100, but who knows?

Sam A £50 (original price)?

Sam B Difficult to know

Be ambitious yet try to be plausible

BATNA

Best Alternative To A Negotiated Agreement

Alex Zoe’s offer (£100)

Sam A Walk away at £200

Sam B Walk away at £95

Gives mental leverage and avoids ‘agreement bias’

Bargaining styles

Bargaining styles

Distributive

Dispute over a fixed pie: ‘I win, you lose’.

Integrative

Find a bigger pie before you divide it: ‘win-win’.

Think about the underlying interests beneath

your opponent’s stated position.

Summary: prepare!

Have a BATNA - know when to walk away

Research your aspiration value: aim for an

ambitious but not ridiculous target

Aim for ‘win win’ (integrative) agreement

Avoid one-dimensional back-and-forth

(positional bargaining)

Other tips

Separate problem from people (think about

perceptions, emotions, communication)

Invent options and search creatively for

alternative settlements

Appeal to external or objective rules and

criteria

Further reading

Thank you