The Psychology of...

Jonathan Haidt is a moral psychologist. His field is the intersection of philosophy and psychology. Freud + Aristotle. I had seen him speak in Ted Talks and so on over the past years but I just recently read his book "the Righteous Mind" which is an explanation, using his moral foundations theory, of how divided we have become over matters of religion and politics. It has helped me broaden my own perspectives while gaining respect and insight into the mind of the other. Here I do my best to summarize the book and present his ideas in an effort to bridge the ideological divide that has polarized our nations, communities, and even, or especially, our homes. The Rider and the Elephant To start off he explains the psychology of morals, or how morality comes about in our own minds. Haidt uses convincing evidence to suggest that as rational as we think we may be it is intuition that comes first. If you have read Blink by Malcolm Gladwell or Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel...

(These are my personal opinions and do not represent the official stance of the psychological profession or the College of Alberta Psychologists) I like setting goals. I like writing them down. I like reviewing them with myself and others. I'm a therapist. I do it everyday. But since the 80's goal setting has been dominated by a framework designed in the business world, for the business world, that often misses the mark when it comes to authentic human progress. For the last 30 years we have been told to set SMART goals which are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound (the acronym varies slightly depending on whom you're asking but this is the gist). We are encouraged not to work on an objective unless it meets these criteria. I believe that this framework often misses the mark, especially at the organizational level. Let me first explain how this has looked in the fields of education and counselling as far as I can tell. Sometimes when it ...