Dr. Sam Sommers, understand context & live/love/work smarter

Amy Alkon's Advice Goddess Radio: "Nerd Your Way To A Better Life!" with the best brains in science. 

 

Context is everything, Tufts psychology professor Dr. Sam Sommers explains. What we believe, how we behave, and even how we see ourselves shifts more than we understand, depending on the situation we find ourselves in at a particular moment.

 

For example, contrary to popular belief, context (like whether we're standing in a crowd), and not moral character, will often determine whether people will reach out and help someone in need.

 

On tonight's show, Dr. Sommers will lay out how understsanding the surprisingly powerful impact of context can help us combat our biases in seeing and decision-making -- in turn helping us be more effective at work, with our families, in our friendships and relationships, and out in the world.

 

Sam's book: Situations Matter: Understanding How Context Transforms Your World