The ‘nature v. nurture’ debate has been around for centuries, argued over by psychologists, sociologists and the like; the business world has not escaped from it either. Whether leaders are born or made has formed the crux of numerous studies, most swaying one way or the other. However, NUS Business School’s Dr. Richard Arvey puts […]
Subject: Psychology
Co-operative Behaviour: Neuroscience Insights
A growing number of studies in both the field and the laboratory demonstrate that people are imperfect co-operators — they tend to co-operate only if others do so, and a significant minority don’t co-operate at all. This pattern of behaviour causes unstable co-operation levels and often results in the disappearance of positive collective action over […]
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Social Influences on Decision-Making: Neuroscience Insights
In making decisions, people are susceptible to the influence of those in their ‘in-group’, who commonly include others of the same age, sex, ethnicity or religion, as well as friends, family members, colleagues and classmates. This is a long-observed and commonly acknowledged phenomenon, often explained in terms of evolutionary biology. (By conforming to the common […]
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Celebrities in Advertising: Neuroscience Insights
Over the past 25 years, use of celebrity endorsement by big-budget advertisers has grown significantly. Despite this, it’s unclear why famous faces should be more effective in advertising than (equally attractive) non-famous ones. Studies in 2005 and 2008 suggested that the pairing of a positively valenced stimulus (a celebrity) with an initially neutral stimulus (a […]
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Family Business Ownership and the Next Generation
There is a hotel in Japan — Houshi Ryokan — that has been run by the same family for approximately 1,300 years. Forty generations have managed to maintain control of the business, epitomizing what IESE Business School’s Josep Tàpies and Lucía Ceja refer to as “psychological ownership.” In their article published in IESE Insight, Tàpies […]
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Modern Tribes – Managing Diversity and Identity
The term “tribalism” was coined by sociologist Michel Maffesoli in the 1980s to explain a shift in Western society from one built around the individual to a world populated by “affective communities” where individuals, driven by the emotional bonds of these communities, seek to belong and feel useful. They identify with a group – or […]
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Learn to Forgive: Mandela’s Leadership Legacy
The story of Nelson Mandela is a remarkable illustration of forgiveness. In the face of fierce opposition from most members of the ANC, Mandela reached out to his former enemies to try to build a unified nation. “Forgiveness,” he told party members, “liberates the soul, it removes fear. That’s why it’s such a powerful weapon.” […]
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How Checkout Lines Affect Consumer Purchases
For many strategic decisions such as product development or market expansion, retailers have access to sophisticated information on which to base these decisions. When it comes to customer service, however, the information is less complete. Retailers may have extensive data on customer purchases, for example, but no data on how long those customers stood in […]
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Conquering Racism by Taking Personal Responsibility
Developing deeper awareness of our own prejudices is often cited as the solution to racism. Recent research, however, suggests it’s just the first step. In a pilot study conducted at an American university, 75 per cent of white respondents acknowledged and were consciously aware of their own racial prejudices — and in a follow-up study, […]
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Delaying Retirement Can Be Bad for the Brain
The greying of the post-war baby boom generation and increasing life expectancy are threatening the financial sustainability of pensions systems in many industrialized countries. European governments are responding by raising the mandatory retirement age. But this could be a short-sighted strategy. Recent research suggests that working for longer can have a negative effect on cognitive […]
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