What psychology is about

“Human psychology not only encompasses thoughts and emotions, but also underlying basic instincts, essentially vague, at times hastily fleeing, fantasies and diverse mystical conceptions. The basic instincts are regulated via our physiological senses (hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting, touching) in combination with our hormonal surges. Sexually charged images and their appertaining attracting and/or repellent powers, can pop up at any time and any place. My proneness to charge myself with aggressive energy is beyond describing in simple words. When I turn the other cheek I suddenly get the urge to hit out with a sharp weapon; if no one is available then I try to slay using words. The impulses know no limits.”
The above lines are from an article by me, being published in Meetings International, no.4, 2010. It will during Spring become published in a book by me titled Meetings & Psychology.
Do you want to read the book? You can already now order it through this website address: www.meetingsinternational.com/shop_en.php

Group think

“American social psychologist Irving Janis came into the public eye in the 1960s with his studies on how people are affected by scaremongering propaganda. In the early 1980s he refined his analytical investigations through powerful events in the USA and other parts of the world in a book he entitled Groupthink. Primarily he attempted to put his finger on how President John F. Kennedy, his administration and military staff could even consider the fruitless attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro as a means of crushing the Communist Party. The year was 1961 and the Bay of Pigs intermezzo ended in total fiasco….”
The above lines are excerpts from an article I wrote about Group Defense Mechanisms in the exclusive magazine Meetings International (2009, no.2). It will be one of many more articles becoming published in a book, titled Meetings & Psychology.
Do you want to read more? Do you want to order the book? It is possible to do it already today. The book is expected to become published within a couple of months. You could put the order at www.meetingsinternational.com/shop_en.php
Welcome with your order!

Psychological assessment of a Sea officer

During the last days I have met people asking me how it was possible for an experienced Sea captain to let a giant cruise ship sail way out from the programmed course causing a terrible disaster. My answer has so far been that we do not know yet if the Costa cruise ship had encountered any serious technical problems or if it was a big Human Factor failure.
The latest reports from the media, though, have provided us with some clarifications: the officers on the bridge had deliberately taken a risk when they went off course just to salute a retired colleague ashore. The Captain and the First Officer have been arrested. It looks like a monstrous scandal.
Could this disaster have been avoided if the selection and training of the Sea officers had been even more careful from the very beginning?
This is for sure a difficult question, but based upon my more than forty years professional experiences I would say that if the employment selection process includes psychological assessments of the applicants’ capacities and personality the risk factors could have been minimized.
Such psychological assessments are often a basic requirement within Swedish Shipping industries. I have no idea if they are used also in Costa Cruises, but if not I guess that its top management will give it a try in the future.

Contributions to a Fresh conference

Fresh = new, modern, creative, out-of-the-box. There are some very committed people making a lot of work in order to arrange a conference on Meeting architecture, Meeting design, Meeting facilitation, Meeting techniques. The Meeting industry is for sure an industry creating turnovers of many billion USD’s worldwide. The Swedish magazine Meetings International is mirroring this industry in a very interesting and professional way.
The conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, had attracted around 100 attendants from several countries. I was invited to make quite a brief speech about meetings and psychology: has psychology anything to do with meetings?
Of course it has. Everything concerning togetherness involves special social psychological dynamic movements. Everything occuring on the surface does not reveal the whole story. I gave some inputs on this theme, trying to get the audience to reflect of what kind of culture they constructed by behaving as they did. I mentioned also my book, Meetings & Psychology, that at the moment is on the go and will become launched in some weeks from now.

Anything new?

Yes, it is a new year. For some millions. But not for all. We in the Western world and some more places are educated following the Gregorian calendar. But others have invented other calendars. But we say that this is the year of 2012. 2012 years after what? The birth of Jesus Christ? Well, not exactly as he was supposed to have his birthday on December 25 and not on January 01. So, what exactly is the meaning of new year?
And, talking about new year, anything new in your life?
When I look around I do not see so many new things. Well, there are some new technical appliances here and there, smart phones, iPads, such devices, but….
Most people are not hunting for news, they are hunting their own tails. Round and round we go, our behavior patterns much of the same. But the small kids grow up, become youngsters and remind us of our own aging processes. But there is not so much new with that.
By the way, I read in the newspapers about a big scale research project being conducted in France and England, pointing out that we lose some of our cognitive capacities when we are getting older and this declining process starts at the age of around 45. But nothing new about that either.
Anything new from your point of view?
Welcome to write something in the commentary field below!
And – Happy New Year!