The Science of Success

Bias

2 Reasons Why People Don't Get to Know the Real You

Heidi Grant Halvorson Ph.D. on March 24, 2015

Assumptions come in many varieties, but two of the most powerful and pervasive ones are confirmation bias and the primacy effect.

Assumptions come in many varieties, but two of the most powerful and pervasive ones are confirmation bias and the primacy effect.

Motivation

Managers Can Motivate Employees With One Word

Heidi Grant Halvorson Ph.D. on August 15, 2014

The word “together” is a powerful social cue to the brain. In and of itself, it seems to serve as a kind of relatedness reward, signaling that you belong, that you are connected, and that there are people you can trust working with you toward the same goal.

The word “together” is a powerful social cue to the brain. In and of itself, it seems to serve as a kind of relatedness reward, signaling that you belong, that you are connected, and that there are people you can trust working with you toward the same goal.

Career

How to Make Yourself Do It When You Just Don't Want To

Heidi Grant Halvorson Ph.D. on February 24, 2014

You really can get better about not putting things off, if you use the right strategy.

You really can get better about not putting things off, if you use the right strategy.

Motivation

Here's What Really Happens When You Extend a Deadline

Heidi Grant Halvorson Ph.D. on August 23, 2013

Why do we squander the time extensions we are given, and what can we do about it?

Why do we squander the time extensions we are given, and what can we do about it?

If you're like me, and you find that your life has become more about pursuing peace and relaxation than giddy excitement, rest assured that you aren't missing out on happiness.

Motivation

The 1-Minute Trick to Negotiating Like a Boss

Heidi Grant Halvorson Ph.D. on June 18, 2013

To be successful, you really need to know how to negotiate well. But the truth is, this particular skill doesn't come naturally to many people.

To be successful, you really need to know how to negotiate well. But the truth is, this particular skill doesn't come naturally to many people.

Parenting

Should We Parent Like Jefferson, or Adams?

Heidi Grant Halvorson Ph.D. on June 10, 2013

Thomas Jefferson and Abigail Adams parented their children in very different ways – and psychologists have spent the last twenty years studying and understanding the impact of these differences on the adults we eventually become.

Thomas Jefferson and Abigail Adams parented their children in very different ways – and psychologists have spent the last twenty years studying and understanding the impact of these differences on the adults we eventually become.

Motivation

How to Get Better at Spotting Opportunities

Heidi Grant Halvorson Ph.D. on May 28, 2013

To be successful at anything, you need to be able to recognize an opportunity when you see one.

To be successful at anything, you need to be able to recognize an opportunity when you see one.

Creativity

How to Boost Your Creative Output

Heidi Grant Halvorson Ph.D. on April 30, 2013

Promotion focus heightens your creativity, while prevention focus gives you the analytical tools you need to assess your work.

Promotion focus heightens your creativity, while prevention focus gives you the analytical tools you need to assess your work.

Do you know what almost never attracts the attention it deserves? When things go the way they are supposed to. And because of this, roughly half of us — people we call prevention-focused — rarely get the credit we are due.

Motivation

What Should You Look for In Your Perfect Match?

Heidi Grant Halvorson Ph.D. on April 16, 2013

Do opposites attract, as Paula Abdul once assured us in a pop song, or do you need to be similar on twenty-nine dimensions of personality – as E-harmony suggests – to find the perfect match?

Do opposites attract, as Paula Abdul once assured us in a pop song, or do you need to be similar on twenty-nine dimensions of personality – as E-harmony suggests – to find the perfect match?

Career

How to Choose the Right Career

Heidi Grant Halvorson Ph.D. on April 9, 2013

Knowing your dominant motivational focus - promotion or prevention - you can now evaluate how well-suited you are motivationally to different kinds of careers, or different positions in your organization.

Knowing your dominant motivational focus - promotion or prevention - you can now evaluate how well-suited you are motivationally to different kinds of careers, or different positions in your organization.

Fear

Is Fear Holding You Back? Try This

Heidi Grant Halvorson Ph.D. on March 27, 2013

How can you learn to embrace risk for the sake of your future happiness, particularly when risk-taking doesn’t come to you naturally?

How can you learn to embrace risk for the sake of your future happiness, particularly when risk-taking doesn’t come to you naturally?

Stress

How You Can Benefit From All Your Stress

Heidi Grant Halvorson Ph.D. on March 15, 2013

Maybe you don’t need less stress – you just need to think about your stress a little differently.

Maybe you don’t need less stress – you just need to think about your stress a little differently.

Career

Are You Promotion or Prevention-Focused?

Heidi Grant Halvorson Ph.D. on March 7, 2013

Why is it so hard to be good with both the big ideas and with the details? Why is the “spontaneous” one in any couple usually not the one who balances the checkbook?

Why is it so hard to be good with both the big ideas and with the details? Why is the “spontaneous” one in any couple usually not the one who balances the checkbook?

Persuasion

What It Takes to Have Influence

Heidi Grant Halvorson Ph.D. on February 20, 2013

Selling, moving, persuading, influencing… many of us may resist the idea that this is part of our job description (or avoid taking positions for which it would be) because we believe we lack that ability, just as we avoided calculus in college like the plague because we weren’t “math people.”

Selling, moving, persuading, influencing… many of us may resist the idea that this is part of our job description (or avoid taking positions for which it would be) because we believe we lack that ability, just as we avoided calculus in college like the plague because we weren’t “math people.”

Motivation

Sometimes, Negative Feedback Is Best

Heidi Grant Halvorson Ph.D. on January 30, 2013

New research sheds light on the seeminlgy paradoxical nature of feedback, by making it clear why, when, and for whom negative feedback is appropriate.

New research sheds light on the seeminlgy paradoxical nature of feedback, by making it clear why, when, and for whom negative feedback is appropriate.

Cognition

The 2 Words You Have to Stop Saying (or Thinking) Today

Heidi Grant Halvorson Ph.D. on January 18, 2013

Saying to yourself "I don't," rather than "I can't," can you help rid yourself of bad habits once and for all.

Saying to yourself "I don't," rather than "I can't," can you help rid yourself of bad habits once and for all.

Career

The Secret to Shrinking Your To-Do List

Heidi Grant Halvorson Ph.D. on December 28, 2012

It’s easy to get through an entire week, look at your To Do List, and realize that even though you were worked really hard every day, you still can’t cross a single thing off of it.

It’s easy to get through an entire week, look at your To Do List, and realize that even though you were worked really hard every day, you still can’t cross a single thing off of it.

The difference between those who are successful and those who aren’t is not whether or not you suffer from stress, but how you deal with it when you do.