Monday, May 12, 2008

Empower your thinking

Research in the current issue of Psychological Science suggests that those without political power become worse at solving problems. As a person making a living off of his creative thinking, I'm lead to wonder what techniques can boost problem solving, beyond the obvious correlation of responsibility and authority recommended by management wisdom, such as Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. What else can one do while or in preparation for a creative problem to solve that would put you in an empowered frame of mind?

For the design of interactivity, to get the best performance, the research suggests that a user should have a powerful role, perhaps the ruler of an empire, as in Civilization. To challenge performance under stressful conditions, strip that power away. Capriciously change the objectives of play.

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