Archive | Psychology

I like my plants better than you

David frequently remarks that, for a social psychologist, I sometimes don’t seem too fond of people! I reply to his observation by reminding him I have had the opportunity to observe far too many people through a one way mirror, such that I know how people conduct themselves when they don’t realize anyone is watching! […]

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I’m seeing a pattern here. Melissa prefers those people, animals, plants and things which bring her happiness and pleasure. Those which don’t, well, she’s honest enough to differentiate. And, I can attest to her seriousness of caring for the plants. For many people, me included, a focus on plant well being is not a natural […]

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I like my cat better than you

I like my cat better than you. There, I said it! Regardless of who “you” are, in all likelihood, I will say, in all truthfulness, that I prefer my cat to almost anyone, including “you.” The first time David became painfully aware that I am not joking when I say this was soon after we […]

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Melissa is a cat lady, probably not as crazy as some, but a cat lady nonetheless. I did pass the Ziggy test. And, he was fun – entertaining. I knew him for a little more than ½ of his life and have many fond memories. Prior to meeting, and living with him, I was not […]

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DON’T SPEND TIME WITH JERKS

Due to the PG rated content of posts on the Magnus Insights blog, I changed the last word of the title of this post from what it used to say to “jerks.” “Jerks” is, perhaps, not as colorful as the word I originally used in the title, however, it is less likely to offend the […]

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Lest it seem that Melissa is singling anyone out in my family, she has also been selective in time spent with people on her side of the family, and its extensive, extended, branches. In fact, I think she started her selectivity with them. And, then with some friends who seemed to be unidirectional friends. It […]

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Fake Surveys

There is a trend in recent years for every purchase, service encounter, or dining experience to end with a customer satisfaction survey. As useful as feedback can be, it is, obvious to me that many of these “surveys” are better called “fake surveys.” That is, they lack objectivity and they lack validity. As an example, […]

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Fake surveys, like fake news, are a disservice to those who rely on them to make decisions. When I am asked to complete a survey, I complete it honestly, whether or not my answers are positive, neutral, or negative. I don’t understand the purpose of providing feedback unless it is honest, with the goal being […]

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No One in Family Gets It

When one chooses a non-traditional career path like Melissa and I have as trial consultants, it is difficult for some family and friends to understand what we do, and why we do it. (Heck, it’s even hard to decide what to call ourselves, as discussed in other blogs; it could be trial consultants, jury consultants, […]

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David’s topic is hilarious to me! Absolutely hilarious! For the most part, my family and friends are relatively unsophisticated people. I love them dearly, but there are few among them who really, truly “get it” when it comes to understanding what I do for a living. David describes his family’s and friends’ incomprehension about his […]

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Gouge

I recently learned a new term, a term that appeared in a Facebook query by a friend (Robert, you know who you are.)  The term is “gouge” – not as in price gouging or destroying someone’s eyes, but it is apparently a term originating in the U.S. Navy which originally meant “the answers to the […]

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I have an excellent vocabulary, however, until I read the title of David’s post, I had never heard of the word, “gouge” defined as “inside information.”  I daresay that, once I finish writing this post, I will never again use “gouge” to mean anything other than its common dictionary definitions of “chisel” or “an excessive […]

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One Size Does NOT Fit All

When David and I founded our company, Magnus Research Consultants, we did so with the intention of providing our clients with high quality litigation research and consulting, customized to every case. It was, and still is, our view that there are: (1) no two cases that are exactly alike, regardless of their degree of similarity; […]

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Melissa’s post expands upon some of the comments I’ve made in this recent series.  In four years of writing this blog, it has been interesting to see what experiences we have that trigger blog posts, or a series of posts.  This email conversion experience surely has been an instructive reminder of how Melissa and I […]

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Counting Sheep

I saw a comic in the paper this past weekend that had images of sheep. One of the sheep was the “head sheep” and told the others to “count off” – as the sheep did so, staring with sheep 1 saying “1″ – the image showed that by sheep #5, #5 had fallen asleep counting […]

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I am not fond of sheep or, for that matter, goats. Counting sheep as a means of inducing sleep would probably not work for me because it would conjure memories of David’s and my ill fated trip to Ireland during the height of hoof and mouth disease. There were way too many stinky sheep, as […]

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Gender Barriers

Recently an article appeared on the front page of the Sunday New York Times entitled “When Job Puts Sexes Together, Workers Cringe.” Great title – it called out for the story to be read. But, Melissa, who read it first, and I found the story shocking in terms of the data it reported. The data […]

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The article from the New York Times that is the subject of this post appeared on page 1 on Sunday, July 2, 2017. The title intrigued me with its implication regarding workers cringing when working with opposite sex co-workers. My first impression was that the article’s focus was on occupations that were traditionally male, such […]

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Too many lawsuits, too many lawyers…

All of us who work with, for, or who are, lawyers, have heard it over and over, “there are too many lawyers/lawsuits” or “lawsuits are frivolous.” Sometimes this includes a reference to McDonald’s and coffee, but it is a comment that we at Magnus hear often in some form. I heard it recently when asked […]

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I am constantly amazed by many people’s willingness to say and do things that dispel any doubt that they have no idea about the subject they are speaking. I have lost count of the number of times when, after revealing my occupation to a layperson, he/she immediately regales me with boring accounts of jury duty; […]

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