I just picked up Carol Dweck’s Mindset and I’m already—just 70 pages in!—grappling with its implications on my life. While I was already familiar with the basic distinction between “fixed mindset” and “growth mindset,” it became apparent that I’d never actually thought about them. I knew the concepts but I didn’t understand them. I see … Continue reading On diverging mindsets
Tag: psychology
On loose ends
When I explained why I’d called—that I still owed her feedback—she laughed. “Isn’t today your last day?” “Well…yeah?” I hate loose ends. There’s a self-flagellating aspect to them—I will dutifully pick them up and lash myself. Braggy, I suppose, to talk about tying up loose ends on my last day. It sure is! But I … Continue reading On loose ends
On the stories we tell ourselves (that are wrong)
It’s a human thing: we tell stories. We create narrative frameworks for ourselves as we look out at the world from within our own heads. Why this, and why that, and how could that possible make sense. Sometimes, the stories we tell ourselves are true. (Or mostly true.) When this happens, it’s just the best. … Continue reading On the stories we tell ourselves (that are wrong)
On a devious door-to-door sales technique
I could tell right away that the guy was no pro. He was following a set of memorized prompts that he fumbled through and even repeated. Having caught me in a more patient mood, I listened to his messy pitch and left it at: I'll think about it. I looked up the company afterwards on … Continue reading On a devious door-to-door sales technique
On driving low and driving high
Most days, I drive our Chevy Bolt. The Bolt is Chevy’s basic electric vehicle offering, a small compact car. For a car, it’s pretty small—so the seats are not far off the ground. That means that when I drive the Bolt, I’m pretty much as low as you can go without sitting on the asphalt. … Continue reading On driving low and driving high
On confirmation bias
Where to even start with confirmation bias? It surrounds us—colors our very perception of the world. If we’re not paying attention, our mind will seek out information that confirms our thinking. There is something of self-preservation in this—isn’t it cognitively easier not to change your mind about something? it’s not the high road, sure—but it’s … Continue reading On confirmation bias
On the well-traveled road effect
I drive the same 2.6-mile stretch of Ward Road at least twice a day. I could give an intersection-by-intersection overview if prodded, from the house on the hill that has yard decorations and blowups for every holiday imaginable to the pig statue that graces the used car lot off of 48th Street. What I couldn't … Continue reading On the well-traveled road effect
On frequency illusion
I was in college when I first heard the name: Baader-Meinhof. And then—in totally appropriate fashion—I started seeing the name everywhere. The Baader-Meinhof phenomenon, also known as frequency illusion, is when you encounter something for the first time and then proceed to notice it everywhere (where, of course, it already was to begin with). “Baader-Meinhof”—to … Continue reading On frequency illusion
On pricing psychology for professional services
I witnessed an interesting disagreement a few weeks ago between my architect colleagues: Round figures or specific figures for our fees? Everyone agreed that roundness or specificity weren't actually important. Fee development for professional services tends towards ballpark numbers. Even when someone develops a fee based on projected hours, someone in the room is likely … Continue reading On pricing psychology for professional services
On using the Johari window to orient project process
Despite having loved Donald Rumsfeld's "unknown unknowns" for years, I only recently learned its origin: the Johari window. The "window" is a 2x2 grid of four boxes with axes of "known to self" and "known to others." https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Johari_Window.PNG The Johari window was developed by two psychologists in the 1950s, Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham, as … Continue reading On using the Johari window to orient project process
Taylor Coe 
