Behavioral psychology at work

[kf0rt]

Just spent all day in a behavioral psych class at work. Kinda bizarre, but interesting. For those of y'all who have been in a corp. environment for a long time, you'll probably recognize this as one in a lo-o-o-o-ong line of seminars to "fix things."

This one was the colors deal. Blue, Red, Green and Gray. How our attitudes shift from one "color" to another, and how to bring others back to "Blue." Seemed like a lot of good info, and well presented (though I loathe the role-playing crap).

Just wondering if others here have seen a lot of this, and what you think of it (and no, this isn't a class assignment). It's really the first one of these where I didn't feel like I was a member of a congregation that "needed some preachin'".

Thoughts?

[NA4BH]

I have been through something similar. You break up in teams and compete against the others. When you finish, you can plot your individual scores to see whether you are blue, green, or red. What a waste of a good day. We had one lady that was dead center of the graph. The trainer said that was very scary, as she could be your best friend or go spider monkey on you at any second without warning.

[kc7jty]

Imagine being under interrogation, under arrest, for rape and/or murder (I'm going to assume you are innocent) at a police station by a real arrogant, ego maniac, prick detective, then imagine yourself the only one who thinks the defendant is NOT guilty in a jury of 12.
Would your color training class prepare you for that?

There are 2 kinds of people:
Those who accept just about everything they are presented with
...and those who doubt. When you are highly amused by the presentation, you definitely fit category II.

[N2CHX]

I'm in a room full of people, hanging on one person's breath. We would all vote him most likely to be loved to death. I hope he still wants it, but it might remind him of when, he aimed for the bulls eye and hit it nine times out of ten. That one time his hand slipped, and I saw the dart sail away. I don't know where it landed, but I'm guessing between green and gray. We thought nothing of it, but it still haunts him like a ghost. With all eyes upon him, except two that matter the most.

He says "Green is the color everyone sees al around me. Gray is the color I see around her, and she's just a blur." The more the corwd cheers, the less I can hear and they don't really care what I play. It might be for her. But for now it's between green and gray.

We paid and we cheered. Now we're gone and to us that feels right. But for him every one of those evenings turns into a night. With another hotel room where he lays awake to pretend that he's doing fine with his notebook and discman for friends.

He says "Green is the color everyone sees al around me. Gray is the color I see around her, and she's just a blur." Night after night what I hear, what I write fills the room and my head starts to sway. It might be for her, but for now it's between green and gray.

I want you to love me, he whispers, unable to speak. And he wonders aloud why feelings so strong make the body so weak. Then he awoke. Now he's scared to death somebody heard. If it was you, and you know her, please don't say a word.

[N8YX]

At work, we're the team who manages to "break" the seminars.

Our environment runs pretty smoothly; always has. I pity the fool who gets sent in to fix things.

[W3WN]

Yeah, we go through that crap at work as well. This one's a High A, that one's a soft S, the other's a warm tease... wait a minute, that's not one of the choices...

I don't take it very seriously.

[n2ize]

Fortunately I have never had to endure such a thing.

[WØTKX]

We are about to get jiggy with a bunch of this stuff. My boss wants my help with it. Keep telling him my experience as a Patrol Leader in the Boy Scouts left me with attitude of abdication. And my recent experience in retail management reinforced it. However, I've had good experiences with well run seminars for teaching. So I'll keep an open mind.

So, I get a good review (four years I've been there) a few weeks ago, and now this. Good thing I get 5 weeks of PTO a year now. :yes:


Ach weh. :wall:

[N7RJD]

You say that seminar is scheduled in three months?
Sorry, I think I'm sick that day.

[n2ize]

I think its all "feelgood" nonsense. But, if thats what the boss wants then...give him what he wants. if he thinks it will improve the business then so be it.

It's like the guy I knew who ran a clean up service. Some client complained that there was not enough of a "fresh clean soapy smell" in the bathrooms. So he told his guys, spill some extra soap around the place and make sure it has a "nice clean soap smell" before you leave. Give em what they want.

[NQ6U]

Any reasonably intelligent person can see right through most of what passes for "science" in the social sciences. I hate to sound like a Scientology supporter but they've gotten one thing right, and that's that psychology as it is currently practiced is largely a joke, not really all that much different that what tribal shamans used to do (and still do in some cultures), which is, for the most part, show biz, a casting out of demons. Whether those demons are real or not is irrelevant as long as the patient believes they're gone.

It's not that what they do is without value, only that it's more of an art than a science.

I wrote most of that mini-biography I posted when I was On the Couch for one of those team-building things. It wasn't at all what they were expecting. Of course, subverting the whole exercise was my intention from the very start. I'm a troublemaker, and have been most of my life. I've paid for it, too, but I don't think I'd do anything differently (in that respect anyway) even if I had the chance.

[KJ3N]

Fortunately I have never had to endure such a thing.

Count your blessings. :roll:


I think its all "feelgood" nonsense.

I have stronger words for it.... like a complete fscking waste of my time. :roll: :angry:

Kind of reminds me of one day when my boss was (once again) thinking out loud about how he could improve my "attitude" at work. My response was, "How about we get some intelligent customers in here for a change?" :wall:

Didn't go over well, for some reason..... :rofl:

Neither did the time he tried (yet again) to have another conversation about improving my "attitude". About 10 minutes into it, I simply hand signaled a "timeout" and proceeded to tell him the following:

"I'm well aware of my personality "flaws". I could list them for you , if you like. I've been told about my "attitude" most of my adult life. You're not telling me something I don't already know, or haven't heard more times than I can think of. However, there's a difference between knowing what your flaws are....... and giving a shit about them. I don't give a shit."

That pretty much put that conversation to bed. :rofl:

[KC2UGV]

Any reasonably intelligent person can see right through most of what passes for "science" in the social sciences. I hate to sound like a Scientology supporter but they've gotten one thing right, and that's that psychology as it is currently practiced is largely a joke, not really all that much different that what tribal shamans used to do (and still do in some cultures), which is, for the most part, show biz, a casting out of demons. Whether those demons are real or not is irrelevant as long as the patient believes they're gone.

It's not that what they do is without value, only that it's more of an art than a science.

I wrote most of that mini-biography I posted when I was On the Couch for one of those team-building things. It wasn't at all what they were expecting. Of course, subverting the whole exercise was my intention from the very start. I'm a troublemaker, and have been most of my life. I've paid for it, too, but I don't think I'd do anything differently (in that respect anyway) even if I had the chance.

Scientology only says that psychology ain't worth a lick of spit, all while forcing you to sit in a psychotherapy/interrogation session for 5 hours a pop.

LRH hated psychology because they tried to shut him down as a quack healer. In fact, he tried "presenting" his work to the psychiatric field first. But, everything in Scientology is based on psychology, notably, how to control people.

[W3MIV]

"I'm well aware of my personality "flaws". I could list them for you , if you like.

You don't need to. We've already figured them out. ;)

[W1GUH]

Who's done the "plane crash in the desert" thing? That's where you're with a random group of people and you have to determine how to prioritize a list of items on board the aircraft in order of importance for survival in the middle of the desert. The purpose of the excercise is to demonstrate how in a random group of people, decisions come out best if they are arrived at by a consensus of all involved. The results were pretty amazing -- it's true that in all cases, the group consensus decisions were better than any individual's decisions.

Anyone ever see Joshua in a Box (http://www.learning-org.com/98.10/0070.html)?

Digital Equipment had a very strong training program - probably like a bunch of other wealthy, successful, and growing organization in the late 70's. Then "they" figured out that this was inconsisent with the REAL function of a corporation, and they got shut down for "cost-cutting" reasons.

A really good book about corporate life is Eupsychian Management by Abe Maslow (http://www.maslow.org/sub/eup.php). For that matter, anything Maslow wrote is well worth the time and effort.

[N2NH]

Personally, I find that the OOGA-BOOGA part of sociology is easily outsourced. In fact, it's here. (http://www.oogabooga.org/)

[WØTKX]

Aha! Feelgood nonsense! :snicker:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kr55GRDYpkg

[w2amr]

Every day they tell me which vehicles need to be serviced/repaired. Then I go out into my garage and they leave me alone. Not much psychology there.

[NA4BH]

Who's done the "plane crash in the desert" thing?


Or crossing the lava (or whatever the stuff was).

[kf0rt]

Anyone do the one with the pet rock?

[W3MIV]

Why do so many of us fear, even loathe, the emotional interactions that behavioral psych sessions necessarily invoke? Why do so many of us regard them as bullshit by way of knee-jerk?

[WX7P]

Two words for this kind of crap, the granddaddy of them all:

Dale Carnegie

[KJ3N]

Anyone do the one with the pet rock?

If that's the one where I hit the person responsible for making me go through this BS with a pet rock, then , no, I haven't. :roll:

[KJ3N]

Why do so many of us fear, even loathe, the emotional interactions that behavioral psych sessions necessarily invoke? Why do so many of us regard them as bullshit by way of knee-jerk?

No fear, just loathing. :roll:

I've got better things to do with my time than taking yet another tour of my emotional or personality "deficiencies". They are what they are. Either deal with them, or leave me the fsck alone. I've got shit to do.

[W1GUH]

Why do so many of us fear, even loathe, the emotional interactions that behavioral psych sessions necessarily invoke? Why do so many of us regard them as bullshit by way of knee-jerk?

Because they evoke primitive, reptilian fear responses. REAL people don't HAVE emotions. Emotions are bad, bad, baaaaaad!!!!!!! Bad Emotions! Get out of here, don't want you around. They create paper tigers in our minds that appear so fearsome and dangerous and that absolutely rule us. So we try to ignore them hoping they go away.

Funny thing is, those paper tigers really are made out of the flimsiest tissue paper around, one confrontation and the scamper back into the scary woods, never to be heard from again.

Why else? Because our whole western culture and way of life completely rejects some very beautiful and powerful parts of life that other cultures, notably those ancient cultures in Asia, embrace.

[WØTKX]

Anyone do the one with the pet rock?

Hmmm, this is the "rock" parable thingy I remember. Not good at it tho. ;)


Rocks – time with family, time with friends, learning new skill, undertaking big project
Pebbles – member of club, volunteering, coaching
Sand – routine chores at work, reading books
Water - housekeeping, watching movies, surfing the internet


Decide how much time should be spent on the “Rocks”. Is 50% of your waking hours good enough or would you go so far as 80%?

A quick bit of mental arithmetic tells me that’s at least 6 hours per day doing stuff that’s really important to you!

I would say that’s effective time management! (I told you it was easy!)


So that leaves a few hours for the Pebbles, Sand and Water.

It doesn’t matter how you split your time between each of these activities.

The most important tip is to recognize that the small stuff can get in the way of the big stuff.

[kf0rt]

Why do so many of us fear, even loathe, the emotional interactions that behavioral psych sessions necessarily invoke? Why do so many of us regard them as bullshit by way of knee-jerk?

I only hate the role-playing part. Seems childish. The "edumacational" part of this one was pretty interesting.

[W1GUH]

I only hate the role-playing part. Seems childish. The "edumacational" part of this one was pretty interesting.

The role-playing is where that "edumacational" stuff is driven home where it can be of some good. There's knowledge and execution. You can study the knowledge your whole life, but unless you put it into practice it'll do jack shit for you. Did anyone (excepting, of course, "naturals") learn to play a musical instrument or do any sport by reading and attending lectures or classes? Absolutely not. You not only have to know WHAT to do, you need to practice so you know HOW to do it and be good at it. The role playing is a "safe" place to try new things, sometimes a new way of being. Trying to apply some of the stuff in a real-world situation can be very hazardous to your health - like, say, going off a 90 meter ski jump before getting good on the bunny slope.

[N2NH]

Because they evoke primitive, reptilian fear responses. REAL people don't HAVE emotions. Emotions are bad, bad, baaaaaad!!!!!!! Bad Emotions! Get out of here, don't want you around. They create paper tigers in our minds that appear so fearsome and dangerous and that absolutely rule us. So we try to ignore them hoping they go away.

Funny thing is, those paper tigers really are made out of the flimsiest tissue paper around, one confrontation and the scamper back into the scary woods, never to be heard from again.

Why else? Because our whole western culture and way of life completely rejects some very beautiful and powerful parts of life that other cultures, notably those ancient cultures in Asia, embrace.

Maybe acting out scenarios doesn't really prove anything. People do what's expected of them in controlled situations. In reality? I doubt if the results they get would resemble the real outcome should that situation actually occur.

[W1GUH]

Maybe acting out scenarios doesn't really prove anything. People do what's expected of them in controlled situations. In reality? I doubt if the results they get would resemble the real outcome should that situation actually occur.

Hardly ever does. That's one of the really difficult parts of this kind of shite and why it's some of the hardest "work" to do. But when the desired result DOES happen? Wow - makes it all worth it.

[W3MIV]

I tend to agree with Paul (GUH) to the extent that role-playing can be the crucial "laboratory" in which the topics presented in the seminar become problems that must be solved in a practical and satisfactory manner. Role-playing puts participants in other shoes, as it were, and can bring out areas of dispute or confusion in a multi-perspective display in which each participant might come to see and appreciate how each side needs to move to solution. The broadening of each perspective in the seminar scenarios should lead to a better perspective in real-world situations.

One who feels self-conscious and uncomfortable playing a role will likely also falter at the task of resolving an issue on which the exercise is focused. Just my opinion, of course. But it's hard to imagine it could be wrong.

[WØTKX]

Abe Maslow is good stuff! (http://filipspagnoli.wordpress.com/2008/08/27/human-rights-quote-86-human-rights-and-maslows-hierarchy-of-needs/)



We may define therapy as a search for value.

What a man can be, he must be. This need we call self-actualization.

What is necessary to change a person is to change his awareness of himself.

A first-rate soup is more creative than a second-rate painting.

All the evidence that we have indicates that it is reasonable to assume in practically every human being, and certainly in almost every newborn baby, that there is an active will toward health, an impulse towards growth, or towards the actualization.

But behavior in the human being is sometimes a defense, a way of concealing motives and thoughts, as language can be a way of hiding your thoughts and preventing communication.

Classic economic theory, based as it is on an inadequate theory of human motivation, could be revolutionized by accepting the reality of higher human needs, including the impulse to self actualization and the love for the highest values.

Dispassionate objectivity is itself a passion, for the real and for the truth.

I was awfully curious to find out why I didn't go insane.

The ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness.

The story of the human race is the story of men and women selling themselves short.

We fear to know the fearsome and unsavory aspects of ourselves, but we fear even more to know the godlike in ourselves. ~ Abraham Maslow (http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/abrahammas179916.html)

Learned a lot of him from ski instructor training of all things. Snow is freaking SCARY to people who are new to it, let alone slippery feet.

And Maslow would appreciate the humor in this:



http://uploads.neatorama.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/tumblr_l6rnrzmlK71qziulwo1_500.jpg

[W1GUH]

One who feels self-conscious and uncomfortable playing a role will likely also falter at the task of resolving an issue on which the exercise is focused. Just my opinion, of course. But it's hard to imagine it could be wrong.

The quality of the workshop/seminar/circlejerque and the trainers/facilitators/ can make a big difference with respect to that. I've seen a wide spectrum...from completely incompetent to brilliantly adept at running such a thing.

[w2amr]

"Anyone do the one with the pet rock?"


No, I can't do it, It's just too easy.:rofl:
3578

[kc7jty]

Every day they tell me which vehicles need to be serviced/repaired. Then I go out into my garage and they leave me alone. Not much psychology there.

I'll bet the vehicles have many various personalities that must be dealt with though.

[w2amr]

I'll bet the vehicles have many various personalities that must be dealt with though. Not really. I just tell them all to keep quiet and do their jobs.

[KJ3N]

I'll bet the vehicles have many various personalities that must be dealt with though.

Nothing WD-40 and an hammer can't handle. :lol:

[kf0rt]

One who feels self-conscious and uncomfortable playing a role will likely also falter at the task of resolving an issue on which the exercise is focused. Just my opinion, of course. But it's hard to imagine it could be wrong.

There's probably some truth to that. However, it seemed to me that quite a lot of the seminar simply reinforced that which I already knew from experience. The older you get, the more you learn about dealing with others by trial and error if nothing else, and it does seem like it's the older folks who most object to the role playing. For instance, they'll tell you that when someone goes "red" (angry, combative, etc.), it's best to just let them vent and then attempt to diffuse the anger by being calm, cool and non-judgmental. The goal being to solve the problem and you can't do that until you take the other guy out of anger mode and put him in problem solving mode.

Well, there's really a lot of truth in that, but most folks who are middle-age or older practice this without ever having had the theoretical background behind it. Hell, my wife should have an honorary PhD in this but has zero theoretical knowledge or training in behavioral psychology. All I'm saying is that for those who have circled the block a few times, the role-playing comes off as superfluous games; time wasters; a way for the facilitator to fill their eight-hour commitment.

Of course, this was a group setting that did have quite a mix of age groups, and I wouldn't denounce the role-play for those who derive value from it. Further, this is a whole-company mandatory thing, but was really geared more towards outside interests (sales, customer support) and some of us rarely, if ever, deal with outsiders. But, we're dragged along anyway because we have "internal customers."

All in all, I think it was worthwhile, if only barely. But my schedule is not allowed to slip a day because of it.

[kf0rt]

The quality of the workshop/seminar/circlejerque and the trainers/facilitators/ can make a big difference with respect to that. I've seen a wide spectrum...from completely incompetent to brilliantly adept at running such a thing.

That's true. This guy was pretty good, but I thought he spent too much time blowing his own horn. Can you tell I'm biased? The good part was that it never felt preachy and I never felt like we were being talked down to. The focus was mostly "maybe this will help you be more effective, and not just at work." I've lost count, but in the 25+ years I've been with this company, this is probably the 5th or 6th one of these I've been through (every CEO needs to do it once) and as they go, this one wasn't bad. High praise from a total cynic... :lol:

[N7RJD]

Anyone do the one with the pet rock?

I don't think they'd put me in a room with this type of seminar and
a rock. It just may be hazardous.

[N7RJD]

I only hate the role-playing part. Seems childish. The "edumacational" part of this one was pretty interesting.

I enjoy the nap. The extent of my role playing is playing the part of the guy that just won't do it.
I've been in situations where they wanted that going in but have always been lucky enough that
they wanted out as bad as we did at the end of the day and skipped it by popular vote.

[kf0rt]

I don't think they'd put me in a room with this type of seminar and
a rock. It just may be hazardous.

As I recall (it's been many years), the premise was built on a Japanese rock gardener who achieved perfection by paying attention to every rock in his garden. We were actually given a rock as a "constant reminder" of this.

To each, a job, I guess.

[WØTKX]

I'll participate, and willingly. But I can't resist the impulse to crack jokes, and do SNL skits. Thespian!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yw8f_vxfPBc

[kf0rt]

You'd be a total hoot in one of these, Dave... :yes:

[WØTKX]

Naaa, I'm too skinny. :shock:














:giggity:

[W3WN]

Why do so many of us fear, even loathe, the emotional interactions that behavioral psych sessions necessarily invoke? Why do so many of us regard them as bullshit by way of knee-jerk?
Maybe because of the way most of these courses are conducted leaves one with the conclusion that they are bullshyte?

[W3WN]

I'll bet the vehicles have many various personalities that must be dealt with though.
I think Rod Serling covered that one.

[KJ3N]

Maybe because of the way most of these courses are conducted leaves one with the conclusion that they are bullshyte?

Bears repeating.

[WØTKX]

Naaa, wrong show. :lol:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmWivt-aLnw

[W3WN]

Hmmm. Somehow, Jerry Van Dyke's situation was more frightening than the one Serling described.

Come to think of it, there was an even better one... I think it was in the original Dangerous Visions, been awhile since I read that.

[WØTKX]

Devil Car, by Roger Zelazny. :shock:

[KG4CGC]

Or how about when they hold such a meeting for the sole purpose of covering their asses, then when there comes a need to apply it, there is no follow through.

[W1GUH]

Or how about when they hold such a meeting for the sole purpose of covering their asses, then when there comes a need to apply it, there is no follow through.

That seems to be par for the course these day.

[n2ize]

Best company I ever worked for was a French company. they judged all their employees on the merit of their skills and performance. No behavioral shows, no bickering over someone coming in 2 minutes late, no drug tests. If you did your job and did it well that was what mattered.

[W3WN]

Bears repeating.
Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Ditka Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Jim McMahon Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears George Halas Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears ...

[W1GUH]

Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Ditka Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Jim McMahon Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears George Halas Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears Bears ...

Rozell Headband

[KC2UGV]

Best company I ever worked for was a French company. they judged all their employees on the merit of their skills and performance. No behavioral shows, no bickering over someone coming in 2 minutes late, no drug tests. If you did your job and did it well that was what mattered.

I can attest. The company I work for is a French one. My work is done, ahead of schedule, and above expectations. And I get to do "brain exercises" while my code is compiling/server bouncing/cache clearing/et al and nary a word.

I can work most any hours I like, as long as they see me in the office during business hours for a couple of hours at least, or I could work remotely all the time. No drug testing (Don't come to work drunk or high)...

[KG4CGC]

I can attest. The company I work for is a French one. My work is done, ahead of schedule, and above expectations. And I get to do "brain exercises" while my code is compiling/server bouncing/cache clearing/et al and nary a word.

I can work most any hours I like, as long as they see me in the office during business hours for a couple of hours at least, or I could work remotely all the time. No drug testing (Don't come to work drunk or high)...
By contrast, most companies will give you busy work or try to develop a quota system for people who are producing. My last employer is currently set up a daily quota system based on optimal conditions. Quality is out the window until there is an issue and then it is grounds for termination as is not meeting the incredible quotas. Machines mysteriously breaking down has suddenly become a common malady.

[KA5PIU]

Hello.

I can easily handle this.
For colors you use this.
3594
For a verbal/written response try a chatbot.
http://www.chatbots.org/
This will give you an idea of what is out there and help you understand the limitations.
A simple computer can run the entire show.
"Train" it for your job related aspects and turn it loose. ;)
I have a simple computer setup in my truck with connections to both a GMRS radio and Nextel direct link.
The original purpose was as a replacement for the "CB answering machine", a CB radio with a simplex repeater. ;)
But this has far more potential, I have had project managers carry on a conversation for hours with that thing. ;)
One day it crashed and I had to explain that she had "moved". ;)

[WØTKX]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-AIR_d6SHI

[N2NH]

I think Rod Serling covered that one.

And Stephen King too...

[N2NH]

Nothing WD-40 and an hammer can't handle. :lol:

I think the one George uses is called a "mallet." Sort of like what Gallagher used to use.

http://countryjoescollectiblestuff.com/media/images3/wood-mallet.jpg

[W3WN]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-AIR_d6SHI
Max Headroom called. He wants his stutter back.