Progress-focused

Here are some recent research updates relevant to the progress-focused approach:

Stress , the experience or expectation of setbacks in our attempts to achieve goals, is inevitable in professional life. It has both positive and negative effects. Recent research by Alia Crum et al. (2023) shows that we can influence how stress affects us. The key lies in our stress mindset .

Babij et al. (2023 ) looked at how our mindset – our beliefs about the changeability of personal traits – can influence the way we view mental health and the associated stigmas.

In the modern, globalizing world, where organizations are becoming increasingly diverse, the understanding of polyculturalism in organizations is of great importance. Polyculturalism is based on the idea that cultures are constantly changing and merging through interethnic or intercultural connections. But how does the individual cultural mindset of employees influence this polyculturalism? A recent article by Huang, Yang & Kung (2023) delves deeper into this issue and highlights the importance of cultural mindset in this context.

The word “logic” comes from the Greek word “logos,” which has several translations, including word, reason and discussion.  Logic  is the study of correct reasoning or argumentation.  This amounts to deriving valid inferences.  Logical fallacies are erroneous arguments that can still appear believable because they can be psychologically convincing.  Formal logic errors occur when there is an incorrect logical structure.  Informal logic errors are arguments based on incorrect premises or confusing language.  Here are some common logical fallacies:

Here is a knowledge quiz about logical fallacies. The quiz consists of 14 multiple choice questions. Just try it. Once you have taken the quiz, you can see how many questions you got right and you can also see what the correct answer is for each question. I'm curious if you encounter errors in reasoning that you didn't know about yet.

We want to get people moving in education, training and work. How do we do that? Roughly speaking, two motivational styles have been distinguished, both of which are common: the controlling motivational style and the autonomy-supportive motivational style . Much research from self-determination theory has shown that the autonomy-supportive style is far superior (see for example here ). People feel better about it and they function better. But the controlling style, however ineffective, is still very common. How did that happen?

In a recent discussion between a policymaker and a journalist, an interesting point was raised. The policymaker argued for a vision for the future society and a plan to achieve it. In response, the journalist objected: “Yes, but a vision is so abstract, we now have to make sharp choices.” However, as was rightly pointed out by an expert, Jan Rotmans , this is a false dilemma. A vision actually necessitates making sharp choices—to cease old practices and accelerate new ones. This can be achieved by linking a vision to a strategy and actions, because a vision without action is meaningless, but action without a vision is directionless. I not only agree with this perspective but also find it to be a brilliant illustration of the importance of logic. Without understanding logic, we are more likely to make the mistake of seeing false dilemmas. With insight into logic, we can prevent such errors more effectively.

The mindset theory was developed by the famous psychologist Carol Dweck . The growth mindset is a way of thinking where individuals believe that their intelligence, knowledge and skills can be developed through hard work, dedication and perseverance. People with a growth mindset are open to challenges and feedback, and see mistakes as opportunities to learn and grow. In contrast to this is the fixed mindset , in which people believe that their qualities are fixed and cannot be changed.

Self-determination theory (SDT) was developed by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan . They are now among the most-cited psychologists in the world. SDT is the best-researched and most influential motivation theory today. We discuss the value of the SDT for education, showing how important autonomy support and structure are for good motivation.

Broadly speaking, there are two ways to think about the malleability of our traits and capabilities. When we have a growth mindset , we see traits and abilities as developable. In a fixed mindset we see them as not or hardly capable of development. In addition to individual mindsets, there are also mindset cultures . Researchers Wallace et al. (2023) explored the impacts of these cultures, uncovering three findings about growth mindset cultures in organizations and classrooms.