Career Tips

The Importance of Eye Contact

Eye contact is essential for communicating effectively. People maintain eye contact when they are interested in what the speaker is saying or when they seek approval. Maintaining eye contact does not mean staring. Staring makes people uncomfortable. So what's the difference between meaningful eye contact and staring? Socially appropriate eye contact is broken often every 3 seconds or so, staring is continued beyond that.

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E-mail for Honest Communication

E-mail may be the best way for employees to discuss each others' work honestly. In one study, 117 students to rated a hypothetical student's resume in person, over the phone, or by e-mail. Students that used e-mail were more comfortable providing honest negative feedback and were less likely to distort the message with politeness.

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Handling Boss-Induced Stress

Is your boss pulling at you from all ends? Are you asked to be in seven places at once? How do you keep from having a stress-induced breakdown? Try your best to separate your emotion from your thought processes and take a step back. Assess the situation without emotion. Breathe deeply and define the task at hand for yourself. Identify what needs to be done, and focus on completing the task.

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Help on Asking for Favors

Asking for a favor? Before making your request, use flattery. But make sure that it is subtle and the compliments are genuine. Make the other person feel good and they'll be less likely to deny your request.

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What is Forensic Psychology?

Forensic psychology examines the interrelations among psychology and law. Forensic psychologists in academic settings might study legal issues from a psychological perspective (like how jurors assign responsibility for a crime).

Forensic psychologists also work in applied settings. They might conduct an evaluation to determine whether someone is competent to stand trial, or conduct research on the factors that influence competence. They might offer expert testimony on the reliability of eyewitness accounts. It's a huge field with lots of opportunities.

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Office Communication: Team Work

More and more companies are asking employees to leave the isolation of their cubicles to collaborate with co-workers, spawning innovative ideas, increase productivity, etc. However team-based work structures can spark office conflict. Boost morale in the office by training employees in confict management. Emphasize the importance with good commincation. Learn to be flexible and wait to hear all the information on all sides before making a group decision.

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Diversity of Psychology

Are all psychologists therapists?

Certainly not. Psychology is a very diverse field and not all psychologists are therapists. Take a look at some of the different areas in psychology, as broken down by the American Psychological Association:
General Psychology
Teaching of Psychology
Experimental Psychology
Evaluation, Measurement, and Statistics
Behavioral Neuroscience and Comparative Psychology
Developmental Psychology
Personality Psychology
Social Psychology
Psychology and the Arts
Clinical Psychology
Consulting Psychology
Industrial and Organizational Psychology
Educational Psychology
School Psychology
Counseling Psychology
Military Psychology
Adult Development and Aging
Applied Experimental and Engineering Psychologists
Rehabilitation Psychology
Consumer Psychology
History of Psychology
Community Psychology
Psychopharmacology and Substance Abuse
Psychotherapy
Humanistic Psychology
Population and Environmental Psychology
Psychology of Women
Psychology of Religion
Health Psychology
Psychoanalysis
Clinical Neuropsychology
Psychology and Law
Family Psychology
Cross Cultural Psychology
Media Psychology
Exercise and Sport Psychology
Peace Psychology
Group Psychology and Group PsychotherapyAddictions
Psychology of Men

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What is Developmental Psychology?

Developmental psychology is a field within psychology that is concerned with describing and explaining how people change over the course of the life-span, from conception until death.

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The Art of Negotiating

To be more effective in the art of negotiating, people are beginning to master the psychological technique of anchoring. Anchoring is the process of subconsciously influencing someone's thinking by dropping a number as a reference point. For example, if someone is selling a house for 400k and you offer 300k but can justify your offer, then the seller will be much more likely to agree to 325k than if you offered that in the first place.

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