In This Issue

Optimistic Bias increases vulnerability
                         
   Optimistic Bias is the tendency to overestimate one’s probability of experiencing positive life events and the tendency to view oneself invulnerable to experiencing negative life events.
     Research has shown that more than half of the volunteers who participated in the survey perceived that they are less likely than others to be afflicted with drug addiction, cancer or motor accident.  Optimistic bias leads to and illusory assessment of low risk or no risk and this may actually lead some to engage in health-compromising behaviours such as smoking, overeating, reckless driving etc.
     The research found people exhibiting optimism bias in various domains. All newlyweds have a tendency to expect their marriage to last a lifetime which could prevent them from nurturing their marriage. Students have a tendency to overestimate their exam scores which could hold them back from giving their efforts. Finance professionals have a tendency to overestimate their company’s earnings, which could result in financial indiscipline. Smokers believe that they are less likely to develop lung cancer which could prevent them from quitting smoking.
     Optimistic bias is a kind of positive illusion that leads to over-confidence. It prevents people from taking prevention measures. It makes people ignore safeguards. Optimism is desirable, but optimistic bias is dangerous.

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Procrastination is the secret of failure

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4 ways to stay off from layoff
                           
       Job loss has a huge impact on the economy. When people have no income they don’t have money to spend. When they spend less, businesses lose business and they resort to more job cuts. Job losses are spreading across a wide variety of industries – Banking, Manufacturing, Construction, Hospitality, Aviation, Telecom, IT etc. In the United States alone, more than 1.2 million people have lost their jobs in this year. With the official acknowledgement of recession by many countries, the rate of unemployment will only accelerate in the coming days.
     The silver lining is that not everyone in the organisation is laid off. Even in hard times, a business needs a certain number of employees to run it. The way to stay off the layoff list is to get into the ‘indispensable people’ list. How to get into this ‘fire- proof’ jacket?

1. Learn out of the box: Acquire extra knowledge or learn additional skills outside your domain. For example an employee who can handle accounts as well as IT will have an edge over an employee who can handle only account or only IT.
2. Nurture relationships: Maintain cordial relationship with boss, colleagues and customers. Stretch a bit to satisfy your boss’s, colleagues’ and customers’ expectations, even if you think they are unreasonable. Do a bit of role-play to find out what they expect. If you were the boss, what do you expect from your employees? If you were the customer, what will you expect from your supplier?
3. Become an unpaid salesman: Whatever is your designation and department, be it HR, Finance or IT, use our contacts – friends, relatives and acquaintances to sell your organisation’s products / services and contribute to the growth of business.
4. Contribute voluntarily: Volunteer for a reduction in pay / perks or offer to work for more hours. Help reduce expenses – telephone, electricity, water, transport, stationery, entertainment etc. Take care of your health, so that you don’t fall sick. Postpone your annual vacation. If you are planning to have a baby, you can even consider postponing to next year!

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Does group size matter in
decision-making?

    We might readily agree that two brains are better than one. But are twelve brains better than six brains? In other words, when it comes to decision-making, does the size of the group matter?
     Psychologists Michael J. Saks, PhD carried out a research to find the answer. He assembled the volunteers into juries of six or twelve. They were asked to view a videotaped trial and were asked to deliberate a verdict.
     The research found that in smaller groups members shared equally in the discussion, the deliberations were more satisfying and were more cohesive, In larger groups, members were more contentious, debated more vigourously and recalled more evidence. The research concluded that as juries grow smaller they will make more errors of acquitting the guilty and convicting the innocent.

     Larger groups increase the likelihood that a dissenter will have an ally or several allies, so that those in the minority in larger juries will be in a better position in resisting pressure to yield to the decision of the majority.
     It is a known fact in psychology that the reliability and validity of almost any measurement increases, when it is judged by a larger number of peoole. A larger group might take a longer time to reach a decision but make fewer errors.

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Is lovesickness an illness?

   Dr. Lesel Dawson at the University of Bristol uncovered several cases of individuals in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries who sought medical treatment for lovesickness. It was considered a real disease with recognizable symptoms and treatments. It could inflame the body, take possession of the mind and overthrow an individual’s rational self-control.
     Like other illnesses, lovesickness is represented as an infectious malady; it is caught through the eyes and it triggers an immediate physical reaction; the liver malfunctions, the blood becomes corrupt and the body deteriorates.
     Many of the clichés we use to describe lovesickness today such as ‘burning with passion’ or ‘dying of a broken heart’ were given a physiological basis in early modern medicine which suggests that lovesickness actually did raise body temperature and put excessive strain on the heart. Anatomists had reported seeing hearts literally burned or otherwise physically damaged in the dissected bodies of those who had supposedly died for love.
     Doctors believed that lovesickness could be cured by pharmaceutical, surgical, dietary or psychological means. A number of treatments were used such as Bloodletting, Enemas, Emetics, Dietary change, Psychological advice etc.
     Lovesick individuals were encouraged to keep busy to exercise and to confess their passion to a friend. Music was held to have beneficial effects, inducing harmony in the mind. Travel was thought to expel the harmful vapors that intensified the disease and to provide a distraction for the individual’s troubled imagination.

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How to choose the right toy for your child

   When it comes to buying toys for their children, most parents go by the brand name, price tag or leave it to their child’s choice. Depending on brand name does not always guarantee safety. The recall of millions of toys by a leading brand due to excessive lead content is still in the memory of parents. Price tag is also not dependable as high-priced toys have a psychological advantage whereas low-priced toys have a psychological disadvantage. It is unwise to let the children choose whatever they desire.
     What are the criteria, parents need to consider while buying toys for their children? Joanne Oppenheim and Stephanie Oppenheim, considered as authorities on child development and education offer the following suggestions.

1.      Check the age label: The toy must be appropriate for your child’s age. If the toy is meant for a lower age group than your child’s age, your child will find it boring and if it is meant for a higher age group, it will be frustrating to your child.

2.      Prefer smart toys: A smart toy will engage the child’s mind, whereas a novelty toy has limited play value.

3.      Reinforcement of values: Check whether the toys you buy, reinforce or contradict the values you are trying to impart to your child. For example, if you are trying to impart your child the values of tolerance and forgiveness, buying a toy gun doesn’t make sense.

4.      Developmental needs: Prefer toys that cater to the developmental needs of the child, such as colour-identification, hand-coordination, shape-recognition, clock-reading etc.

5.      Active or Passive: Check whether the toy keeps your child active. Toys could be either active or passive. Active toys involve the children’s participation, whereas passive toys are designed for just watching.

6.      Performance delivery: Check whether the toy performs what it is designed to perform.

7.      Safety standards: Ensure that the toy meets the safety standards established by the regulatory authorities.

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Red cars least prone to crashes

     NRMA’s (National Roads and Motorists’ Association) study found that a car’s colour can help in reducing the possibility of a crash, especially when visibility is low.
     The researchers photographed a line of different- coloured cars in the same spot every 30 minutes from 4pm till sundown. They found that as the light gets worse, the dark-coloured cars became difficult to see, whereas the light-coloured cars were still visible. White, Yellow, Cream, Beige and Red were amongst the safest car colours. Green, Black, Blue, and Silver cars rated poorly for visibility.
     The study also found a link between colour and the severity of crashes. The average cost of repairs for light coloured cars was found to be less than the average cost of repairs for dark coloured cars, suggesting that light coloured cars might have been involved in less severe accidents.
     “Silver blends into the environment, particularly on a cloudy day. Red is a fairly high contrast colour. It is seen on warning signs, stop-signs and fire engines. Like yellow or white, it is a high-visibility colour,” said Adam Macbeth, spokesperson of the Association. That explains why silver-coloured cars are considered to be less safe than red cars.

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