Empathy Mapping: The First Step in Design Thinking

Visualizing user attitudes and behaviors in an empathy map helps UX teams align on a deep understanding of end users.

Dignity

Dignity is core to our humanity and woven into our sense of agency, authenticity, and the way others treat us, yet what it looks and feels like shifts across cultures, circumstances, and relationships. In this episode of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman, Dr. Bob Duke, and…

https://aeon.co/essays/psychopathy-is-a-zombie-idea-why-does-it-cling-on

Your Closest Relationship Isn't With Family or Friends, Viral Theory Says

Everyone loves a good relationship theory, especially one that feels uncannily accurate. This one hit home for anyone who hates their job.

Scientists Discover People Act More Altruistic When Batman Is Present - Slashdot

Psychology Today reports: In a study conducted in Milan, Italy, and published in November 2025, the sight of a person dressed as Batman led to a nearly doubled rate of people giving up their seat to a pregnant woman. Over the course of 138 subway rides, researchers found that…

Active Listening: Swiss Army Knife of Communication (with Examples)

Master the ultimate communication skill, useful in almost any scenario.

This World-Renowned Negotiator Says Trump’s Secret Weapon Is Empathy

Chris Voss on our “dealmaker in chief” and the benefit of approaching life as a deal waiting to be made.

To instantly sound more sincere, do this

If you aren’t careful, you may come across as less sincere because your writing doesn’t translate your intent. Here’s how to make sure that doesn’t happen.

How privilege impacts empathy - UX Collective

I recently met a woman named Dolores*, an older Hispanic woman, living in Queens, NY with her mother and teenage daughter. As the primary provider for her family, she had come to the organization…

How to Make an Instant Connection With Anyone

A good first impression can make or break an opportunity or connection. Here's how to make an instant connection with anyone.

“The key to making a lasting first impression isn’t impressing—it’s making the other person feel valued,”

Is generosity the most underrated leadership skill?

Leadership isn’t about a title or position — it’s about generosity, says organizational expert Joe Davis. Drawing on his extensive experience as a people manager, he shares three essential tips for leaders to unlock the potential of their teams by listening generously, embracing…

How do we start learning to ‘read’ other people’s minds?

Studies of young children give us insight into the building blocks of an ability that most of us use every day

Sunday Firesides: Just Be Cool

What does it mean to be cool? Philosophers have long pondered this burning question. There are different types of coolness, with some related to affect, style, or talent. But one type is connected to how we show up in relationships. It’s the type that underlies the feeling…

When to Use Empathy Maps: 3 Options

Empathy maps are a powerful, flexible tool that can be used to plan for future research studies, capture insights during current user research, and communicate research insights from research that has already been conducted to others.

Conversation Skills Essentials – Tynan.com

4 Ways to Communicate with More Empathy

The pandemic and other stressful events over the past few years have only made empathic communications even more desirable and necessary, especially as those expressions have become more virtual — including videos, social media posts, and emails. But just as each of us has…

How to Build Resilience to Shame

Today’s hustle culture claims “unearned” pleasure is shameful. But there are ways to resist this cultural response.

Separating Yourself from the Pack | Hidden Brain Media

Have you ever gotten into a heated argument about politics? Maybe you’ve said something you're not proud of during game night with friends, or booed the opposing team at a sporting event. Psychologist Mina Cikara studies what happens in these moments — when our mindset shifts…

Resonance: How to Open Doors For Other People

Opening doors for other people is a critical concept to understand in life. Read this article to learn more about how to show people that you care.

Empathy is a skill. Here's how to cultivate it

"Empathy is something like a muscle: left unused, it atrophies; put to work, it grows."

Giving a Shit as a Service

A mental model for service businesses.

How Psychology Could Change the Way We Understand Consent

How to Feel Better Naked

Whether you want to find joy in your body, or just greater self-acceptance, these four strategies from psychologists and activists — and, yes, nudists — might help.

What’s Your Listening Style?

We may have learned that we need to let people speak without interrupting but taking turns talking does not truly denote listening. And unintentionally hijacking conversations to advise, inject humor, empathize, prioritize efficiency, or insert ourselves into the speaker’s…

Learn Street Epistemology To Deal With Difficult People at Work | Code Capsule

Learn the street epistemology conversation technique and how you can apply it at work.

The Endgames of Bad Faith Communication

How to live with your regrets

Regret is often seen as undesirable, but it’s a crucial emotion in helping us develop. How do we harness its powerful lessons?

Top Performers Have a Superpower: Happiness

Employee well-being and happiness are surprisingly powerful predictors of performance.

Micromanipulation: The Covert Tactic That Narcissists Use in Arguments to Reassert Control

Here’s how to recognize its damaging effects.

Sympathy vs. Empathy in UX

The majority of UX professionals practice sympathy instead of empathy for their users.

Your sense of right and wrong is interwoven with your personality | Psyche Ideas

Personality traits such as agreeableness and openness to experience can help explain differences in moral judgment

Sensitive People Bring a Major Happiness Habit to the Workplace

Hint: It’s all to do with empathy.

Dissecting the Bloodthirsty Bliss of Death Metal

Fans of this violent music report feelings of transcendence and positive emotions; psychologists want to learn why.

Interpersonal Reactivity Index - Psychology | Eckerd College

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Sunday Firesides: Don’t Confuse Niceness With Kindness

We often use the words “nice” and “kind” synonymously. But it can be helpful to distinguish between the two qualities, as Eric Kapitulik, Marine special operator and leadership coach, does. Being nice means making people feel good in the short-term. Behaving politely. Offering a…

How privilege impacts empathy

Who are we excluding from “user-centered” design

The Practical Guide to Empathy Maps: 10-Minute User Personas

A step-by-step process to creating an empathy map as a lean user persona with examples from leading design tool - UXPin.

We should take awkwardness less personally and more seriously | Aeon Essays

Rather than being a cringey personal failing, awkwardness is a collective rupture – and a chance to rewrite the social script

Being Empathetic Is Easier when Everyone’s Doing It

Research is revealing the key to motivating empathy—and making it stick