Now showing items tagged stubbornness

In the early 50s, a doomsday cult called the Oak Park Study Group thought the world was ending. Members of this particular cult had predicted that a massive flood would occur on December 21st of that year and destroy all life on Earth. Oak Park Study Group members were taught that on the eve of the cataclysm, an alien being from the planet Clarion would come to rescue the true believers from the fate that awaited humankind the next day.

At the time, Stanford University social psychologist Leon Festinger became intrigued by this group’s rise to prominence. Having infiltrated the group with a group of colleagues under the guise of being true believers, Festinger uncovered some fascinating psychological findings about the nature of cognitive dissonance.

Good news: human beings are better than we think. Finding ways to motivate people has bewildered leaders for centuries. While most have given up use of the 'stick' as a motivator, many continue to use the 'dangled carrot' - but findings from the last few years show that this is far more counterproductive than we think.

Contrary to what we would assume, rewards and incentives can often have the effect of demotivating others. According to researchers at the US National Institute of Health (NIH), the reason for this can be found in the part of the brain that they stimulate.