On cognitive dissonance and social identity – big bosses, talent for people and sapiens.

I only realised how excited I am about social psychology when I stumbled upon some well-known concepts and theories in a couple of books I’ve been reading lately. That made me reflect on what I actually know about social psychology and I even went back to my course books and materials to do a semi-propper fact check. This time it’s about how individuals create their identity, or their self-concepts, in relation to their employer and how cognitive dissonance may (or may not) account for certain behaviours. Identity has been central in for example Kajsa Asplund’s “Talang för människor” or a bit more subtle in Palm’s & Alsgren’s “The Big Boss” alongside cognitive dissonance which also plays a role in Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari. Join me on a journey through three almost randomly selected books and what they can tell us about how psychological concepts are used in popular literature.

Neuroscience through the eyes of a newbie

I did it again. After 6 ECTS in a summer school course covering the brain & behavior, I took a 15 ECTS distance course covering neuroscience basics. Along the way, I documented insights which challenged my knowledge and practice in human resource management and beyond. This post consists of three parts: first, I shared the most insightful questions and answers from my course, second, you will find some of my general reflections and finally, you can find a section with recommended further resources. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: As a neuroscience professional you might find these basics mundane and simplified, if even incorrect. In case of the latter, please reach out and support me in my learning process.

Digitalization is not about changing employees’ behaviours

Does technology determine how we work or should we determine how we want to work with technology? Maybe it’s a combination of both, a symbiotic relationship? Recently, digital behaviour change has been in focus of human resource professional discussions. HR is supposed to drive and support this behaviour change to fully embrace a company’s digitalization journey. “[…] Implementing a digital solution is one thing, to change people’s behaviour to use and like the solution is another.”, wrote an HR professional in a social media feed.

Here’s a balancing perspective.