This week’s must-reads: The Psychology of Focus: How Great Teams Find Traction Amid Distraction

In my work as a behavioral designer, I come across important stories on how psychology influences our behavior. Every week, I share my round-up of the most important stories at the intersection of psychology, technology and business. I hope you enjoy them!

Here’s How the Media Turns Research Into Misleading Clickbait (Medium) People tend to care more about whether there’s “an effect’ than how big the effect is.

Anxiety isn’t a pathology. It drives us to push back the unknown (Psyche) Anxiety and philosophy are intimately related because enquiry is how humans respond to this philosophical anxiety.

The Psychology of Focus: How Great Teams Find Traction Amid Distraction (NfX) Teams who engineer focus into their culture have a rare advantage. They know that focus is a set of mindsets and habits that cuts through uncertainty, ambiguity, fear, and distraction.

The State of Digital Democracy Isn’t As Dire As It Seems (Hedgehog Review) You don’t have to put on a rose-colored headset to see the upsides.

Americans Are Too Worried About Political Misinformation (Slate) Fears of swaying the 2020 election are overstated; there is little evidence to suggest that misinformation has had large direct effects on voter’s attitudes or behaviors.

Happy reading!

• Nir