Cognitive Engineering

Understanding how other people are going to behave is a key element of analysis and forecasting. But professional actors do this all the time. We talk to special guest Edmund Kingsley to find out what insights the acting trade can offer for analysts. Image: Carole Raddato via Wikicommons Things mentioned in this podcast -A summary of attribution biases. https://opentextbc.ca/socialpsychology/chapter/biases-in-attribution/ -Acting Emotions by Elly Konjin https://www.amazon.co.uk/Acting-Emotions-Elly-Konijn/dp/9053564446 -Ed Kingsley on Spotlight https://www.spotlight.com/interactive/cv/1/M81426.html -@KingsleyEdmund on Twitter https://twitter.com/kingsleyedmund?lang=en For more Cognitive Engineering episodes find us on iTunes, Google Play or wherever you get your podcasts, or add this RSS feed to your preferred player: feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:219479129/sounds.rss

What’s the point of tidying up? It’s just moving stuff from one place to another. But does it offer cognitive and health benefits, and if so why? Image: My Bed by Tracey Emin. Photo: Karen Bryan via Flickr Things mentioned in this podcast Tidiness guru Marie Kondo https://konmari.com/ McMains and Kastner (2011): clutter makes concentration harder https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21228167 Sitton (1984): we are more positive about people whose desks are messy https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1985-25433-001 Report about a study showing correlation between tidiness and health outcomes http://healthland.time.com/2010/06/02/what-does-a-clean-house-have-to-do-with-health/ Saxbi and Repetti (2010): correlation between perceived clutter at home and mental health https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19934011 Report of a survey showing relationship between tidiness behaviour and sleep https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/news/20110126/want-sleep-better-make-your-bed#1 For more Cognitive Engineering episodes find us on iTunes, Google Play or wherever you get your podcasts, or add this RSS feed to your preferred player: feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:219479129/sounds.rss

Is the slow creep of Americanisms into the British vernacular a pernicious assault on our linguistic heritage, or should we just chill? Things mentioned in this podcast Goncalves etc al (2018) on the Americanisation of English: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1707.00781.pdf Britishisms in US English: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19929249 Differences in US and English Harry Potter editions: https://www.hp-lexicon.org/differences-changes-text/

Where would we be without the likes of Da Vinci, Turing and Goethe? Things mentioned in this podcast Jordan Peterson on the ‘curse of creativity’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocDli45faiw Wallas’ ‘The Art of Thought’: https://www.amazon.com/Art-Thought-Graham-Wallas-ebook/dp/B00MBPCBQ8 Kaufman and Beghetto on types of creativity: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228345133_Beyond_Big_and_Little_The_Four_C_Model_of_Creativity Guilford (1950) in an early attempt to characterise and measure creativity: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1951-04354-001 Article about factors that influence creativity: https://www.apa.org/pubs/highlights/peeps/issue-85.aspx A review of creativity literature: http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/doe/benchmark/ch15.pdf Image: Vea y Lea via Wikipedia

Smells like… something Why is smell the oft forgotten sense, and where does following our nose take us? Image: Barney Moss via Flickr Things mentioned in this podcast Wired article on why smells are hard to describe: https://www.wired.com/2014/11/whats-up-with-that-smells-language/ Smell and the reminiscence bump: https://academic.oup.com/chemse/article/37/2/179/273246

Russia after Putin - is history shaped by great men and women, or are they just in the right place at the right time? Image: Пресс-служба Президента Российской Федерации via Wikipedia Things mentioned in this podcast Hoffman et al (2011) - a study of the drivers of good leadership https://psyc.franklin.uga.edu/sites/default/files/CVs/Great%20man%20or%20great%20myth_-2%20(1).pdf The most influential people in history according to Wikipedia: https://www.businessinsider.com/wikipedias-most-influential-people-in-history-2016-2?r=US&IR=T Wikipedia’s list of Empires: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_empires

Is reality killing fiction? Things mentioned in this podcast Scripted dramas are not dying out: https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/2017-scripted-tv-series-fx-john-landgraf-1202653856/ Ranker article on the ‘Dumbest Reality Shows of All Time’: https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-dumbest-reality-shows-of-all-time Vox on the rise of reality TV: https://www.vox.com/2016/1/7/10728206/reality-shows-how-many-peak-tv Image: Anton Mak via Wikipedia

What makes a good analogy? Is Tyrion Lannister a good comparison for Michael Gove? Things mentioned in this podcast Michael Gove is like Tyrion Lannister: https://news.sky.com/story/is-environment-secretary-michael-gove-really-like-his-game-of-thrones-soulmate-tyrion-lannister-11559555 Funes, the Memorious by Borges: https://marom.net.technion.ac.il/files/2016/07/Funes-the-Memorious.pdf Cartesian geometry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartesian_coordinate_system#History Sarah Palin - debt is like slavery: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/11/palin-isnt-racist-debt-slavery/355165/ Image: Chris McAndrew via parliament.uk

Is being polite better than being rude? Does civility really cost nothing and buy you everything? What are the costs of being polite? Image by Jean-Étienne Liotard via Wikipedia Things mentioned in this podcast: Links between agreeableness and outcomes: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3845351/ Punshing people who are too nice: http://psycnet.apa.org/record/2010-14719-007 Psychology Today - ‘likeability is overrated’: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/wander-woman/201101/quit-being-so-nice

Are Preppers mad? Or are they wise to get ready for Britain to crash out the EU? Should we stock up on beans and UHT? Image: Vaciando el supermercado via Wikimedia Commons

Why do builders get such a bad rep? What makes us trust some trades people and not others?

What things do we take for granted? Will new riches make us happier? Image: Daderot via Wikipedia Things mentioned in this podcast Great Expectations by Dickens: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1400/1400-h/1400-h.htm Brickman and Campbell (1971) on the hedonic treadmill: http://faculty.som.yale.edu/ShaneFrederick/HedonicTreadmill.pdf Kahneman and Tversky (1981) on framing effects: http://science.sciencemag.org/content/211/4481/453 Fujita and Deiner (2005) on life satisfaction set-points: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/cd07/b0fe2babecfdf3821e9db8fc3e654fd341c6.pdf

Were Dynasties camera crews right to rescue wild engines? Should we give iPhones to uncontracted peoples? What could possibly go wrong? Image: Christopher Michel via Wikipedia

Are personality tests any use? What can they tell us if anything? Or is it like a star-sign? Take the test! https://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test

What is Remembrance for? How long should it be observed? Image: Philip Stevens via Wikipedia