A timely and important examination of one of the most essential factors in all successful relationships: trust, by a leading expert in the field of trust, betrayal and redemption, in a debut book that is the result of more than twenty years of research into the science of trust repair.
HOW TRUST WORKS (And The Science of How to Repair It)
by Dr. Peter H. Kim
Flatiron, Publication Date TBD
In HOW TRUST WORKS, Dr. Kim will explain the two most powerful determinants of trust (perceived competence and perceived integrity) and why those determinants can be weighted so unevenly when we are deciding whether to trust or forgive someone—or not. We as humans are bad at determining the trustworthiness of other people, and we are even worse at defending our own trustworthiness when it comes under fire. Yet despite this shortcoming, and the fact that we are all keenly aware of how important trust is in all of our personal and professional relationships, surprisingly little substantive research had been done on the topic before Dr. Kim began his inquiries. In fact, the majority of our institutional knowledge at the time seemed to rely almost entirely on case studies and other anecdotes. Dr. Kim was forced to develop his own set of rigorous scientific tools that would help him analyze how people interact with one another in the face of conflict.
Dr. Kim will illustrate how the patterns he identified in the lab play out in the real world using both recent and infamously public examples of trust violations and attempts at repair. These examples range from why the public was willing to overlook Arnold Schwarzenegger’s sex scandal but never forgave Bill Clinton, to revisiting the 2017 Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville and reactions to the police killing of George Floyd, including an examination of how different cultures can develop very different views about what constitutes an irredeemable transgression.
A Professor of Management and Organization at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business, Dr. Peter H. Kim is a leading expert in the field of trust, betrayal and redemption. His work has been published in leading scientific journals, including the Journal of Experimental Psychology, as well as in popular news outlets such as The New York Times, TIME, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, NPR, and others. Dr. Kim was born in Korea, and his family came to the United States when he was a child. He has given talks in Australia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Turkey, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Canada, and he hopes to expand his international speaking circuit as soon as it is safe to do so.
Andy Norman has spent years studying the destructive forces that can flip the minds of sensible people to understand how they take hold. He calls them mind-parasites, ideas that can poison our thinking and leave us more susceptible to wild conspiracies, lead us to reject scientific evidence, and convince us to double down on unfounded beliefs. Just as the body can be weakened by foreign organisms that make us sick, the mind too is vulnerable to infection. But just as antibiotics can be used to attack the biological organisms causing physical illness, we can treat the mind parasites that invade our heads. He shows us how to engage in productive discussion, analyzes the psychological evidence about how to change minds, and reveals how we can safeguard ourselves and protect those around us from mind-parasites like conspiracies and fake news. In MENTAL IMMUNITY Andy Norman calls for the study of cognitive immunology, a way of thinking where individuals and society learn to differentiate facts and reasons from disinformation and false memes. By strengthening our mental immunity, we become open to other ideas and learn how better to communicate about beliefs and policy without dissolving into partisan finger-pointing. Norman offers suggestions to create a value- and respect-based system of dialogue that can help us bolster cultural cognitive immunity as we protect our own minds from succumbing to bad ideas.
Being a mother is the most wonderful job in the world – but also the most demanding. Pressures of high expectations, overwhelming responsibilities, and exhaustion are just some of the stress factors that can lead to health problems such as cardiovascular disease and depression. What are the best ways to help mothers?
In WHATEVER WORKS, Thalma Lobel, one of the world’s leading experts on human behavior, explores groundbreaking psychological research on job performance, satisfaction, and creativity. Lobel goes beyond obvious considerations like salary, title, and company culture to shed light on the hidden factors-often unrecognized, counterintuitive, or invisible-that have profound effects on how well we can do our jobs and how happy we are at work. Did you know that just doodling in a certain way can increase your creativity? That looking at something green for forty seconds will improve your attention? That crossing your legs similarly to an interviewer could get you the job? That the mere presence of a smartphone on your desk can lessen your performance, even if it’s turned off? That being in a warmer room makes you more likely to want to conform with the group, affecting your decision-making? These are the invisible factors that nudge our behavior on a daily basis, and combined, have a real and significant bearing on our success—or failure—at work. Helpful for anyone from individual employees to managers to leaders of large organizations, WHATEVER WORKS shares valuable insights and practical takeaways to transform your professional life.