psychology

big gap between expectations and reality.

single cockroach will completely wreck the appeal of a bowl of cherries, but a cherry will do nothing at all for a bowl of cockroaches.

“began to inspire greater confidence not because they could suddenly cure infectious diseases, but because they seemed better able to explain and prevent them.”

Feedback loops are not only crucial for the dynamics of motivation, but also the key element to any learning process. Nothing motivates us more than the experience of becoming better at what we do. And the only chance to improve in something is getting timely and concrete feedback.

The self is more motivated to avoid bad self-definitions than to pursue good ones.

As social creatures, humans have an innate desire for connection and caring. We want to be connected to other people and we want to care for other people. At a basic biological level, we need to relate to others to survive and thrive; and, as a result, are neurochemically motivated to fulfill this need. More recently, researchers have extended this

“highly unlikely events are either ignored or overweighted,”

I will be anxious, because failure is 100 percent defined by the actions of others, not by my own actions. I am not in control; thus my self-worth is at the mercy of judgments by others.

They had employers who gave them an environment free from distraction.