ADM 1195 - TEST 2

What is psychological safety?

The ability to speak up without fear, reprimand, or

humiliation at work, and is critical to helping teams

build better relationships, make smart decisions,

innovate, and execute tasks.

How does feeling psychologically safe impact our high road thinking?

• “Psychological Safety” is a neurological state in which we have access to our prefontal cortex

• Higher level rational thinking

• Overrides emotional response

• The prefrontal cortex is responsible for our higher level thinking.

• Responsible for creativity, flexible problem solving, working memory

and other processes. It also has impacts on short-term memory,

attention and our ability to make risk-benefit assessments

• When we are experiencing an experience that makes us feel

undermined or question where someone is coming from, our prefrontal

cortex partially or fully shuts down to allow more resources to be

allocated towards fight or flight.

What is the impact when we don’t feel psychological safe (prefrontal cortex is offline)?

• We are more likely to misread social cues

• We are distracted by potential danger and less capable of following

conversations

• Diverse energy to the body rather than the brain

• Reactive and emotional rather than reasoned and attentive

What is oxytocin and why is it important for building strong relationships?

• Releasing Oxytocin limiting the fight or flight response (calming

sensation).

• Oxytocin is produced through the sense of belonging.

• Trust triggers the release of oxytocin in two ways.

1. When we trust others

2. When we are trusted, even if we don’t trust the person who trusts us.

• Laughter also release of oxytocin even when the laughter is faked.

• Oxytocin is additionally triggered by touch. Hugs or even handshakes can help.

What are some examples of a workplace with a low level of psychological safety?

• Employees don’t ask many questions during meetings.

• Employees don’t feel comfortable owning up to mistakes or place blame on others

when mistakes are made.

• The team avoids difficult conversations and hot-button topics.

• Executives and team leaders tend to dominate discussions.

• Feedback is not frequently given or requested.

• Employees don’t often venture beyond their role to help support other teammates.

• Employees don’t ask one another for help when they need it.

• Few if any disagreements or differing points of view.

• Employees don’t know one another personally, just professionally.

What negative attributes are we trying to avoid?

Why is impression management impact our ability to create psychological safety?

What we don’t want others to see us as:

• Ignorant Don’t’ ask question

• Incompetent Don’t admit weakness or mistakes

• Intrusive Don’t offer ideas

• Negative Don’t critique the status quo

• This provides use with a sense of self-protection – referred to as

impression management

• We focusing our attention on our image and the impression we want others to see at the expense of speaking up (creating a lack of psychological safety)

What are the conditions in a workplace setting that would promote trust?

• When direct employees trusted their direct manager, they also assumed that the manager cared about them and was concerned about their wellbeing

• Positive/supportive relationships with all of your direct reporting relationships - looking forward to connecting and conversing

• Consistency. In addition to being totally honest, leaders need to deliver on what they promise. Most leaders believe they are more consistent than others perceive them

• Recognition of accomplishments - Psychologically unsafe companies scored lowest on recognizing excellence

• Sharing/Open communication

• Active Listening

• Intellectual Humility

What behaviours support psychological safety?

Make clear why employees’ voices matter.

• Explain clearly and specifically why you need to hear from them, why their viewpoint and input matters, and how it will affect the outcomes of the work.

Admit your own fallibility.

• If you, as a leader, can own up to and demonstrate how you’ve learned from your mistakes

• normalize vulnerability. This includes things like being respectful, open to feedback, and willing to take risks.

Actively invite input (learning mindset).

• Explicitly request feedback, Asking open-ended questions like: What are you seeing? What are your thoughts on this? Where do you stand on this idea?

Respond productively.

• When people speak up with a wacky idea or tough feedback, how do you respond? Be appreciative and forward-thinking.

• Replace blame with curiosity (not “you” responses, but questions to gain insight/understand their situation)

Describe the four different mindsets that are dependent upon the degree of psychological safe (low/high) and accountability (low/high)

What are team norms?

• Norms are shared expectations about how things operate within a group

• They are a powerful and efficient way of ensuring coordination within a team

What is group cohesion? What factors affect group cohesion?

• Cohesion refers to the degree of camaraderie within a group

• The more cohesive a group is, the more productive it will be and

the more rewarding the experience will be

• Factors affecting group cohesion include:

• Similarity

• Stability

• Size

• Support

• Satisfaction

What is group think? Why does it have a impact on organization performance?

Groupthink increases the risk of the group making flawed decisions by allowing reductions in mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgment

Groupthink: a condition where group members’ focus on

consent, conformity, cohesiveness, and solitary of the group and

refuse to self-criticize themselves or the decisions/behaviours of

the group.

Describe the four conditions that foster group think?

• The leader’s promotion of his/her preferred solution

• Insulation of the group from experts’ opinions

• Stressful decision-making context (budgets, timelines, external pressures

Describe the five symptoms of a group that is likely experiencing group think?

• Illusion of invulnerability –Creates excessive optimism that encourages taking extreme risks.

• Belief in inherent morality – Members believe in the rightness of their cause and therefore ignore the ethical or moral consequences of their decisions.

• Direct pressure on dissenters – Members are under pressure not to express arguments against any of the group’s views.

• Self-censorship – Doubts and deviations from the perceived group consensus are not expressed.

• Illusion of unanimity – The majority view and judgments are assumed to be unanimous

How would you overcome groupthink in the role of a manager/leader and as an employee?

Provide a detailed summary of the differences and characteristics when we react according to the “low road” vs reacting according to the “high road”

LOW

• Increased heart rate

• Increased blood pressure

• Shortness and quickening of break

• Sweat and goosebumps on the skin

• The flight response (fear/anixety) is one will be the first response (self protection) - Defensiveness

• If that fails, the fight response kicks in – physical aggressive behaviour

• Reaction is that it is impulsive, not logical – prefontal cortex is taken offline - ability to rationalizing and negotiate are impaired

HIGH

• Literally occurs in the high portion of the brain – pre-frontal cortex

• Can either create a threat response or calm one down

• Occurs after the fight/flight response but can be activated through deep breathing, mindful of emotions one is feeling

• Information is sent through the pre-frontal cortex and is it is not

determined to be a threat based on passed experiences, energy will be deverted to bringing heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, and sweating back to normal.

• If information is interpreted to be a threated based on memories of past experience, the “low road” flight/fight response is again activated, and often more intense (in extreme cases causes anxiety disorders and PTSD)

What is defensiveness?

• Defensiveness is functional

• Serves a purpose

• When we have done something wrong, defensiveness is an effort to minimise the perceived harm to ourselves and others.

• In other words, a means of protecting ourselves – hence the term

defensiveness

• Example: A manager approaches an employee with a problem they cause. Employee might defensively respond that it is no big deal (minimize)

• Employee internally is convincing themselves that the issues is not a big deal to protect themselves

• These thoughts may not be grounded in reality; they’re created/re - imaged to convince the employee that they are right

What are the three main fears in the workplace?

COMPETENCE

SIGNIFICANCE

LIKEABIILITY

How does experiencing fear and being defensive impact the performance of employees?

• Focused on self-preservation rather than problem-solving

• Focus on proving we are right rather than search for

creative solution or understanding

What is Cognitive Dissonance and provide an example of it?

• Cognitive dissonance is what we feel when the self-concept/self

image — I’m smart, I’m kind, I’m convinced this belief is true — is

threatened by evidence that we did something that wasn’t smart,

that we did something that hurt another person, that our image of

ourselves isn’t entirely true

Imagine someone who believes that smoking is bad for their health but continues to smoke. This person experiences cognitive dissonance because their behavior (smoking) contradicts their belief (smoking is bad for health)

Why does Cognitive Dissonance make us defensive?

Cognitive dissonance makes us defensive because it creates discomfort by highlighting inconsistencies between our beliefs and actions, prompting us to protect our self-image and reduce the discomfort by justifying or denying the inconsistency.

Describe the three factors that determine the degree cognitive dissonance we experience

The Nature of the Belief

• When the inconsistency involves a personal core belief central to a person’s identity, they are more likely to experience discomfort to a higher degree.

The Degree of Disparity

• A small inconsistency is less likely to trigger uneasy feelings than a substantial conflict. – the severity of the wrong doing/inconsistent actions

• Higher self-esteem likely to experience more dissonance

The Importance of the Belief

• If the disparity involves a belief that is important to the individual, they will

experience stronger feelings of dissonance.

Describe the mature/non-defensive way to reduce dissonance. Provide an example

• We accept the evidence that is contrary to our self—image and

modify our behaviour accordingly

• “I was wrong, I need to take responsibility and change how I treat others”

• More often we do actions to protect our self-image to reduce the

dissonance, primarily through self-justification

Describe the four defensive/self-justiication ways to reduce dissonanace and provide an example

• Trying to reduce the importance of the belief that is contrary to our self- image (avoiding, discounting or dismissing information that counters your self-image)

• Self–affirmation- focus on our good qualities to reduce the dissonance cause by behaviours that are contrary to our self-image

• Seeking social confirmation/validation that our actions are right (social media, reaching out to friends with similar views),

• When dealing with the discomfort of cognitive dissonance, we surround ourselves only in information that confirms the credibility of our actions

• Seeking out new information that outweighs the troublesome,

dissonant belief, making the dissonant belief seem untrue or unfounded

What are some characteristics and personality traits that are associated with defensive people?

• We are embarrassed

• We are humiliated or feel stupid

• We don’t see ourselves that way

• We feel betrayed

• We don’t think that the person has the right to give us that information

• We are reminded of earlier negative experiences

• We feel a sense of failure

• We feel forced to make a change, and change is difficult

• We grew up in an atmosphere where negative feedback was experienced as a bad thing.

Identify and describe the four most common defensive mechanism in the workplace and provide an example for each?

Avoidance/Defecting:

This behavior involves avoiding the topic of conversation or the person with whom they

have a conflict. They might physically leave the room or simply change the subject.

Denial:

Denial is an outright refusal to admit or recognize that something has occurred or is

currently occurring.

• Whereas rationalization provides an explanation/justification, denial flat out denies responsibility

Intellectualization:

By channeling mental energy into a logical assessment or abstract discussion, an individual

can avoid painful emotions or remain distanced from beliefs that challenge their sense of self.

• When a worker insists on analyzing a situation to death, rather than make a decision and

they actually know is the right direction but spend time pouring over minute details.

Rationalization:

• Justifying behaviors, thoughts, or feelings using logical explanations. Although they may sound reasonable, they disguise unacceptable thoughts and don't accurately depict a person’s true feelings and motivations.

• Minimizing/Dismissing the situation (“It’s really not that bad.”)

• Making excuses (“I didn’t have enough time anyways.”)

• Blaming others (“It happened because they didn’t do their work on time.”)

• Making comparisons (“What I did isn’t as bad as what someone else did.”)

• Explaining away the problem (“Sorry I didn’t return your call, I was just too busy.”)

• Cross-complaining. When someone criticizes them, they respond with a criticism of their own, ignoring what has been said and going on the attack themselves.

• Table-turning. Instead of listening to people's complaints, they blame them for creating the situation they are trying to discuss.

• Yes...butting

What is the key behaviour to know that you are not trying to rationalize your behaiours?

when you are not trying to:

• Justifying behaviors, thoughts, or feelings using logical explanations. Although they may sound reasonable, they disguise unacceptable thoughts and don't accurately depict a person’s true feelings and motivations.

• Minimizing/Dismissing the situation (“It’s really not that bad.”)

• Making excuses (“I didn’t have enough time anyways.”)

• Blaming others (“It happened because they didn’t do their work on time.”)

• Making comparisons (“What I did isn’t as bad as what someone else did.”)

• Explaining away the problem (“Sorry I didn’t return your call, I was just too busy.”)

• Cross-complaining. When someone criticizes them, they respond with a criticism of their own, ignoring what has been said and going on the attack themselves.

• Table-turning. Instead of listening to people's complaints, they blame them for creating the situation they are trying to discuss.

• Yes...butting

What are the 7 steps involved with avoiding being defensive?

1. Notice When You are Becoming Defensive

Becoming more aware of what you are currently feeling and doing – often our heartrate and breathing increase and stop listening

2. Validate Your Feelings

What are you feeling? shame? Inadequacy? Guilt? disappointment in yourself or a sadness. Try to identify the emotion 1&2 reflect the first part of Emotional Intelligence (seft awareness)

3. Avoid Acting On Your Feelings

While feelings occur instantly and unconscious (we really don’t have much control, we do have control over our behaviours.

4. Act in Agreement With Your Values

Focus on the the outcome of your conversation/relationship – emotional agility

5. Take Responsibility for Your Action

This is the most important step since you are confronting and attempting to overcome your defensive response. Accept whatever role you had in the problem, and state your responsibility for that part of it. After admitting your mistake, you can shift toward working on a solution.

6. Be Ready to Manage Your Defensiveness When It’s Likely to

Happen Sometimes, you can anticipate a situation that usually provokes your defensiveness. If certain situations made you defensive in the past, you might prepare yourself to keep the earlier five steps in mind.

7. Learn New Communication Skills

Practice assertive communicate style as discussed in communication styles

Why is it important to validate and avoid acting on your feelings (think of Will Smith as acting the opposite to this)?

because emotions can sometimes be misleading or irrational, leading to decisions that may not be in your best interest or the interest of others. Validating your feelings means acknowledging them without letting them dictate your actions. By validating your feelings, you can better understand them and make more reasoned decisions.

Why does accepting responsibility make use less likely to act defensively?

Accepting responsibility shifts our focus from defending our actions to acknowledging our role in a situation. It allows us to consider feedback and criticism without feeling the need to justify or deny our behavior. This openness fosters a constructive approach, enabling us to learn from our mistakes and make positive changes. By taking ownership of our actions, we demonstrate maturity and self-awareness, leading to more effective responses to challenges.

What are the major differences between System 1 and System 2 thinking?

S1

 Automaticity

 Defensiveness

 Reactionary communication

(defensive, emotionally driven, limited ability to listen)

S2

 Effort and deliberate attention

 Emotional Intelligence

 Controlled communication

(Assertive and active listening)

Why do we experience cognitive biases?

We experience cognitive biases because our brains have evolved to process information quickly and efficiently, sometimes leading to errors in judgment. These biases can result from limited information processing capacity, the need to act quickly, and the influence of emotions and past experiences.

What is naïve realism? Provide an example. What are the three tenets of naïve realism?

 Also known as direct or “common-sense” realism

 The conviction that our perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes are the ‘correct’ or ‘objective’ ones, and those who disagree must be uninformed, irrational, or biased

ex: two people watching the same political debate may come away with completely different interpretations of the candidates' performance, each believing their view is the "right" one.

1. I perceive things accurately

2. Other fair-minded people would share my views if armed with the same facts

3. If others deviate from my views, they are biased, stupid, or characterized by bad motives

What is confirmation bias? Provide an example? What behaviours/actions would we likely take on if we are experiencing confirmation bias?

 Human tendency to search for, favor, and use

information that confirms one’s pre-existing views

on a certain topic.

 Also known as cherry-picking

 By the same token, it also reflects our tendency to

reject information that contradicts our point of view

 In other words, we search/seek information that

proves our point of view and discard information

that contradicts it.

 The focus is on winning arguments, not being

reasonable (an evolutionary advantage – winning

arguments (avoiding risk) was more important that

reasonable decisions in prehistoric times)

ex: An example of confirmation bias is when someone believes that a certain medical treatment is effective and only seeks out information that supports this belief, while ignoring studies or testimonials that suggest otherwise.

What is the backfire effect? Why is it important to be aware of as a manager when confronting an employee about their point of view regarding a project/person in a workplace setting?

 A common misconception is that when people are presented with facts, you will alter your opinions and incorporate this new information into your thinking

 What often happens is that when your deepest convictions are challenged by contradictory evidence, your beliefs get stronger

 Recall cognitive dissonance and one factor that determine the degree of dissonance – importance of the belief

others that don’t)

 The backfire effect also protects you by causing you to further strengthen the conviction of your existing beliefs

 The more effort someone puts towards confirming their belief, the stronger the backfire effect (they are heavily invested and more unwilling to change their point of new)

What are tactics a managers can use to reduce confirmation bias?

 Actively seek out ALL credible information, not

information that supports your current views/knowledge

 Move beyond having a surface level understanding of

topics

 Interact with more people who have opposing views to you

and actively listen rather than arguing

 Having a willingness and be open to changing your

opinions

What is the illusion of asymmetric insight? Why would this be important for a manger to know when they are trying to manage/communicate with their employees?

The illusion of asymmetric insight is the belief that we understand others better than they understand us, or that we have insights into others that they do not have into us. This bias can lead to misunderstandings and communication breakdowns.

For a manager, understanding this bias is crucial when managing and communicating with employees. It highlights the importance of active listening and seeking to understand employees' perspectives rather than assuming they are fully understood. This awareness can improve communication, build trust, and foster better relationships between managers and employees.

What is the illusion of explanatory depth?

People believe that they know way more than they

actually do.

What is the dunning Kruger effect? Provide an example?

 Low-skilled people find it hard to assess their own skill

level accurately and, as a result, tend to overestimate

their ability.

 Helps explain why a co-worker keeps making the same

mistake, and why he or she is unable to recognize it.

 Low skilled/less experienced tend to be overconfident in

their abilities

 Highly skilled are often self-deprecating

ex: Imagine a person, John, who believes he is an excellent singer, but in reality, he sings terribly. John's lack of skill prevents him from recognizing his poor ability, leading him to confidently believe he is a great singer despite evidence to the contrary. This overestimation of his singing ability is a classic example of the Dunning-Kruger effect.

What criteria do we focus on when judging other’s behaviours?

• character

• situation they are in

Describe the fundamental attribution error (FAE)? Provide an example of a manager encountering this when dealing with an employee?

 Humans are more likely to place more importance

(overestimate) of another person’s character traits and

underestimating the importance of situation and context

that the person is in to explain their behaviour.

ex: A manager, Sarah, notices that one of her employees, Alex, has been consistently late to work for the past week. Sarah attributes Alex's behavior to laziness or lack of commitment (internal factors) without considering that Alex might be facing external factors such as transportation issues or family responsibilities that are causing the lateness.

What are the reasons why FAE causes us to react this way towards others? And how can we overcome it?

1. Our brain runs on autopilot and it chooses personal

attribution (system 1 thinking), which is easy and

automatic over situational attribution, which is complex

and deliberate (system 2).

2. Mismatched expectations – when something doesn’t

work/happen according to our expectation, we often get

angry and upset and look for something or someone to

blame for the what happened

3. Lack of information regarding the other person’s situation.

We make assumptions because we lack information of the

situation the other person is facing.

4. Fast pace of the work environment – difficult to engage

system 2 thinking to assess the situation more accuratly

OVERCOME

 Figure out what information you are missing regarding the

other person’s circumstances (what am I missing here that

will help me understand the other person’s situation?)

 Give people the benefit of the doubt – almost always,

intentions are good so what else may be causing their

behaviour?

How does active listening and practicing intellectual humility guard against cognitive errors?

Active listening and intellectual humility guard against cognitive errors by promoting open-mindedness and a willingness to consider alternative perspectives, reducing the likelihood of misinterpretation and overconfidence.

What is the main reason why it is so difficult to difficult to overcome cognitive biases?

Cognitive biases are difficult to overcome because they are often unconscious, automatic, and deeply ingrained, influencing our perceptions and decisions without our awareness.

What is one of the issues that may arise if we become more aware of our cognitive biases?

Becoming more aware of our cognitive biases can lead to cognitive overload, indecision, and a lack of confidence in decision-making.

What are the myths surrounding what active listening entails?

• Myth 1 Not talking when others are speaking

• Myth 2 Letting others know you’re listening through facial expressions and verbal sounds (“Mmm-hmm”)

• Myth 3 Being able to repeat what others have said, practically word-for-word

What are the actions associated with active listening?

•Periodically asking  good questions that promote discovery and insight

•Making the speaker feel good about themselves by the listener asking question and feedback to make the speaker feel supported and instill confidence

•Creating a safe environment in which issues and differences could be discussed openly

•The speaker feels the listener is trying to help/support, not wanting to win an argument.

Why is it that almost 40% of feedback results in poorer performance? What can be done about it

WHY

• Manager is seen as judgemental

• Employee can react to feedback by being stressed and defensive

SOLUTION

•Whereas feedback is about telling employees that they need to change, listening to employees and asking them questions might make them want to change

•We are more likely to accept suggestions from people we already think are good listeners

•high quality (attentive, empathic, and non-judgmental) listening can positively shape speakers’ emotions and attitudes

Identify and describe the four listening styles. Provide an example/situation when it would be appropriate to use?

•Analytical - Ability to effectively analyse the conversation without being judgement/maintain a sense of neutrality and openness and addressing any gaps in the listeners understanding

•Task-Oriented -  Prioritises efficiency and directness. You are listening with a very clear and focused goal. Gather vital information urgently in order to respond quickly and efficiently at the expense of taking into consideration people’s feelings.

•Relational - focuses on understanding emotions being displayed during the conversation and forming a meaningful connection. Create a safe space for employee to take about how their feelings are impacting their performance

•Critical -  Focusing on determining the intentions of the speaker (e.g. are they less advantage/manipulate you?). Focuses on inconsistencies and determine factual vs false information

EX:

1. Analytical: During a team meeting to ensure everyone understands a complex project.

2. Task-Oriented: In a crisis situation where quick decisions are needed.

3. Relational: During a one-on-one meeting with an employee experiencing performance issues.

4. Critical: In a negotiation with a potential client.

Why is it important to know these four communication styles? How does it improve our ability to effectively listen?

Knowing these four communication styles is important because it allows us to adapt our listening approach based on the situation and the goals we want to achieve. Understanding these styles helps us recognize which style might be most effective in different contexts, improving our ability to listen effectively by tailoring our approach to the specific needs of the situation and the people involved.

Identify and describe the four reasons given why we don’t like to listen?

1.Loss of power. Some managers may feel that if they listen to their employees they are going to be looked upon as weak.

2.Listening consumes time and effort. Manager’s are often under time pressure or distracted by other thoughts or work. So listening is an investment decision: managers must put in the time to listen in order to see the future benefits.

3.Excess Cognitive Load Listening is far more tiring than speak (requiring you to concentrate and understand compared to speaking), especially over a long period of time.

4.Fear of change. By listening, managers open themselves up to possibly interpreting a situation incorrectly, resulting in negative feelings about being wrong and begin forced to change.

What are the four issues that describe why feedback often is not constructive or helpful?

•Other people don’t have any claim to objective truth,

•talking about shortcomings hinders learning

•no universal standard of excellence

•Insufficient information about the situation

What are the three feedback topics that are likely not likely to be effective/received in a negative way?

1)Setting specific goals

2)Providing feedback before a person asked for it

3)Providing tips on how people can perform better

What is the reason behind why people often do not respond favourably to feedback?

A person feel obligated or pressured to change and that may   induce a defensive response – feeling guilty, pressured, and   other negative emotions and acting out of obligation rather      than self-growth

How should you phrase feedback?

•Skillful feedback intervention is a two-way conversation that focuses on specific behavior and its results or impact.

• Uses “I” rather than blaming words like “you”

• “I got lost in the details and had a hard time understanding you’re the objectives of your presentation” vs “Your presentation was unclear and confusing” 

What are type of questions and conditions you need to ensure the person is receptive to feedback. Why do these questions make someone more receptive to feedback

Types of questions to ask:

•Questions focused on their life/personal aspirations

• E.g “If your life and work were ideal, what would it be like in 10-15 years?

• Focus the discussion understand what the person wants out of life and work on helping them to be successful.

• When they are able to identify their own shortcomings, it opens a door to them asking you for help.

• This provides a space where a person is more receptive to feedback that can help them understand and achieve what they wish to do and who they wish to be

•Questions that evoke gratitude

• Asking to describe moments in which they learned something important from someone.

• E.g“Who helped you the most in your life become who you are or get to where you are?” 

• Provides a space where people are more receptive to feedback.

•Make time and space for these types of discussions

• Building a caring and trusting relationship takes time . Abrupt and brief feedback rarely achieve the desired effects.

Why are “why” questions prone to defensive responses? Why are “What” questions less likely to provoke defensive responses?

• ‘Why’ questions. Why questions take you back in time and are problem-focused

• Why questions are looking for a specific answer and can come across as an accusation and judgement (Why did you do that?)   prompting a defensive reaction. 

• ‘What’ questions are future-based thinking and focus on the solutions.

• What questions are more exploratory and focused on understanding and are less accusatory

What is intellectual humility? Describe various benefits to intellectual humility? What are issues with practicing intellectual humility?

Intellectual humility involves recognizing the limits of one's knowledge and being open to revising beliefs. It improves learning, enhances critical thinking, and strengthens relationships through better communication and collaboration.

Describe the cognitive, motivational emotional, and behavioural features of intellectual humility?

1. COGNITIVE FEATURES

   • •People high in IH are more attentive to evidence and more interested in understanding the reasons that people disagree with them.

   • •Intellectually humble participants more accurately discriminated between real and bogus topics

2. MOTIVATIONAL FEATURES

   • •People high in IH score higher in epistemic curiosity, the motivation to pursue new ideas and address holes in one’s knowledge.

   • •People higher in IH are more motivated to think than lows are.

3. EMOTIONAL FEATURES

   • •People who are lower in IH have stronger emotional reactions to information that is contrary to their beliefs (poor emotional regulation)

   • Those who are high in IH might have weaker emotional reactions (stronger emotional regulation) because they recognize that disagreements are often a means of correcting their own wrong beliefs

4. BEHAVIOR FEATURES

   • •People who are high in IH may consult more sources of information (including other people), consider information more carefully, and weigh more alternatives'

   • •Spend more time seeking and considering information as they form beliefs and make decisions

   • •Greater openness to other people’s views and less rigidity and conceit regarding their beliefs and opinions

   • •Naturally respond more positively toward other people (pro social behaviour)

Identify and describe the four dimensions of intellectual humility?

RESPECT FOR OTHER VIEWPOINTS

•HUMANS HAVE TWO COMPETING psychological motivations when it comes to group interactions.

•The first is our need to belong - deep desire to do what we can to stay in the group.

•The second is our need to be distinct/valued -  we are valued by the group if we bring something unique to it

•The competing needs to belong and the need to be distinct impact our ability to respect other’s viewpoints

LACK OF INTELECTUAL OVERCONFIDENCE

•Confidence is beneficial for living our best lives. But it can be a double-edged sword.

•Too much confidence in our own way of thinking can lead us to close ourselves to alternative ways of thinking. Intellectual overconfidence means we’re not as able to learn.

•Our brains closely associate being right with feeling good about ourselves (the brain releases dopamine when it feels like we are winning an argument or explaining why we are right).

•Most of us develop a habit of seeing ourselves as right as much as possible (naïve realism)

•This feeling of feeling good by being right is often better than the feeling we get from learning and growing•

SEPERATION OF EGO AND INTELLECT

•Not making ideas/beliefs personal

•We tend to attach our beliefs to our identity (ego), which means it’s psychologically painful to reconsider them

•When we use phrases such as “I’m a…” such as I’m a nice person” “I’m smart”, we are attaching our ego to these ideas, which means it will be painful/difficult to change our minds about them when faced with contracting information

•E.g Ellen Degeneres self-image/cognitive dissonance when having to explain the toxic work environment she is accused of creating

•E.g. Instead of saying “I’m nice”, rather “I try put much effort into striving to be a nice person”

WILLINGNESS TO REVISE VIEWPOINTS

•One suggestion to overcome: travel more

•hanging our minds requires us to consider other viewpoints, acknowledge we could be wrong, and not take ideas personal. At that point, revising our viewpoint is almost a piece of cake.

•Improving our ability to revise our viewpoints: Travel. Either physically, or through fiction.

•being away from our safe home turn makes our minds more receptive to rethinking our old ideas

What are the two psychological needs all humans are seeking? Why does this interfere with our ability to respect other people’s viewpoints / how to respect other viewpoints

NEED TO BELONG

NEED TO BE DINSTINCT / VALUED

Our need for security and significance can interfere with respecting others' viewpoints by causing us to prioritize our own sense of security and importance. We may reject differing ideas to protect our sense of self or seek validation for our beliefs, making it hard to consider other perspectives.

What is the difference between owed vs earned respect?

• Earned Respect is the kind of respect that we give people

because they bring something valuable to us – prominent in

honour cultures

• Owed Respect is the default respect that we owe all human

beings because they are humans. It’s being civil, listening, not

being condescending/negative – prominent in dignity cultures

Why does intellectual overconfidence interfere with our ability to be more humble? Why do we like to be right and what are the issues that arise because of it?

Intellectual overconfidence interferes with our ability to be more humble because it makes us less likely to recognize the limits of our knowledge or consider alternative viewpoints. We like to be right because it boosts our self-esteem and reinforces our sense of identity and worth. However, this can lead to issues such as closed-mindedness, resistance to new ideas, and difficulty in admitting when we are wrong, which can hinder personal growth and effective communication.

Why do people tend to have difficulty separating our ideas/beliefs from our identity (separation ego from intellect)

People tend to have difficulty separating their ideas and beliefs from their identity because our beliefs often play a significant role in shaping our sense of self. When our beliefs are challenged or criticized, it can feel like a personal attack on who we are, leading to a defensive response. Additionally, we tend to seek validation and affirmation of our beliefs as a way to validate our identity, which can make it challenging to consider alternative viewpoints or admit when we are wrong.

Why would increasing travel improve our willingness to revise our viewpoints?

Increasing travel can improve our willingness to revise our viewpoints by exposing us to new cultures, perspectives, and ways of life. Traveling allows us to see the world from different angles, challenge our assumptions, and broaden our understanding of the world. It can also foster empathy and understanding towards others, making us more open-minded and receptive to new ideas and viewpoints. Overall, travel can be a powerful tool for personal growth and development, helping us become more flexible and adaptable in our thinking.

Why is it essential to understand and be able to switch between the four listening styles depending on the situation?

C) Each of the four listening types is neither good nor bad, and knowing when to apply them is

Question: What emotional feature is often associated with individuals high in intellectual humility (IH)?

A) They have weaker emotional reactions to information contrary to their beliefs

Question: What is one potential drawback of intellectual overconfidence in our thinking and beliefs?

C) It can close us off to learning and alternative viewpoints.

Question: Which behavior demonstrates an attempt to separate ego from intellect and promote intellectual humility?

C) Using statements like "I do try to put much effort into striving to be a kind person" to reflect on personal growth.

What is the primary difference between System 1 and System 2 thinking?

A) System 1 is unconscious and irrational, while System 2 is effortful and deliberate.

What is the primary challenge associated with System 1 thinking?

D) It can lead to unconscious, irrational, and impulsive choices

Which cognitive bias involves the belief that other people see the world in the same way we do, leading to a misunderstanding of differing perspectives?

C) Naive realism

What issue does the information advise individuals to guard against when it comes to learning about cognitive biases and their unconscious nature?

C) Overconfidence in the ability to regulate biases

Susan, who is afraid of flying, consistently keeps herself occupied with research on the safety statistics of air travel and detailed flight plans, thereby avoiding her feelings of anxiety. This represents which defense mechanism?

B) Intellectualization

In the process of overcoming defensiveness, which step involves confronting and attempting to overcome your defensive response?

B) Step 5: Take Responsibility for Your Action

how to overcome cognitive biases

 Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge”Charles Darwin

 Guard against overconfidence

 Practice Epistemic humility - is an intellectual virtue. It is grounded in

the realization that our much of our knowledge is based on assumptions

and incomplete—and requires us to revise it in light of new information

 Be curious – focus on asking questions and active listening rather than

judging and making statements

 Understand these are unconscious; therefore, difficult to regulate

Increasing your understanding of cognitive biases may lead to

overconfidence