Squeezing the Orange

Tension: Why do some thrive in it while others struggle?

Anxiety is a normal response to rising tensions, but there an abnormal responses far more helpful. Dan and Akin squeeze a research paper that investigates the 'paradox mindset' and its benefits.

 - Research Paper: 'Microfoundations of Organizational Paradox: The Problem is How We Think about the Problem' by Ella Miron-Spektor, Amy Ingram, Joshua Keller, Wendy K. Smith and Marianne W. Lewis

Is It More Helpful To Count Your Blessings Or Your Barriers?

In life, some things help us along while others hold us back; which should we pay more attention to, and what good can come from changing our minds? Akin and Dan squeeze a research paper that looks into our asymmetric responses to headwinds and tailwinds.

 - Research Paper: 'The Headwinds/Tailwinds Asymmetry: An Availability Bias in Assessments of Barriers and Blessings' by Shai Davidai and Thomas Gilovich

The "Good Employee" Paradox

Have you considered whether the skills you've picked up at your work place would be valuable anywhere else? Dan and Akin squeeze research into why being too valuable to one organisation might make you less valuable to others.

 - Research Paper: 'Micro-Foundations of Firm-Specific Human Capital: When do Employees Perceive Their Skills to Be Firm Specific?' by Joseph Raffiee and Russell Coff

Hive Mind: How Synchrony Improves Cooperation in Groups

There are reasons why armies, churches, organisations and communities engage in group activities seemingly unrelated to the purpose of the group. Dan and Akin squeeze research that looked into the benefits of getting several individual minds to think, feel and behave as one.

 - Research Paper: 'Synchrony and Cooperation' by Scott S. Wiltermuth and Chip Heath

Why Rich Kids Grow to Be Worse Leaders

Did you know that a strong predictor for narcissism in children is how much money their parents make? Dan and Akin squeeze research that asks what this means for work places, as narcissists are more likely to be selected as leaders.

 - Research Paper: 'Echoes of Our Upbringing: How Growing Up Wealthy or Poor Relates to Narcissism, Leader Behavior, and Leader Effectiveness' by Sean R. Martin, Stephane Cote and Todd Woodruff

Lottery Winners and Accident Victims: Is Happiness Relative?

What do you think would have longer lasting effects on your happiness, winning the lottery or having a paralysing accident? Researchers wanted to know, and in this episode, Dan and Akin squeeze their findings for some invaluable life lessons.

 - Research Paper: 'Lottery Winners and Accident Victims: Is Happiness Relative?' by Philip Brickman, Dan Coates and Ronnie Janoff-Bulman

How Power Corrupts Relationships

When you're on top, it can feel like everyone wants something from you. Might you be right? Or is it all in your head? Dan and Akin look to social psychology for an answer, and pull at the roots of our budding cynical nature.

 - Research Paper: 'How Power Corrupts Relationships: Cynical Attributions for Others' Generous Acts' by Ena Inesi, Deborah Gruenfeld and Adam Galinsky

Influencing People's Health Choices

When it comes to making decisions about our health, we think differently depending on whether the action prevents or detects problems. Dan and Akin squeeze a study which responds to this by investigating differences in what happens when the emphasis is put on potential gains versus losses.

 - Research Paper: 'The Systematic Influence of Gain-and Loss-Framed Messages on Interest in and Use of Different Types of Health Behavior' by Alexander J. Rothman, Steven C. Martino, Brian T. Bedell, Jerusha B. Detweiler and Peter Salovey

How do You Know if Your Career is Your Calling?

Whether of not we have found, or are in search of, a career that fulfils us professionally and personally might come down to just one thing: the story we tell ourselves. Dan and Akin squeeze research investigating how called professionals construct identities.

 - Research Paper: 'Stories of Calling: How Called Professionals Construct Narrative Identities' by Matt Bloom, Amy E. Colbert and Jordan D. Nielsen

Hostile Media or a Paranoid Audience?

Studied over 30 years ago, the hostile media phenomenon found the biases audiences consume news with creates a new reality in which everyone is out to get them and nothing is ever good enough. Dan and Akin squeeze the findings of this classic research paper.

 - Research Paper: 'The Hostile Media Phenomenon: Biased Perception and Perceptions of Media Bias in Coverage of the Beirut Massacre' by Robert P. Vallone, Lee Ross and Mark R. Lepper