Mahon McCann #47 - Colin DeYoung - How To Master Your Attention
Dec 22, 2021
Colin DeYoung, a personality psychologist and neuroscientist at the University of Minnesota, dives deep into the Big Five personality traits and their evolution in the age of social media. He discusses how attention is a limited resource, affected by modern distractions, and shares strategies to enhance focus. Colin also explores the complex interplay between personality traits, neurobiology, and personal growth, emphasizing how life events can reshape us. He critiques simplistic views of mental illness and offers insight into how therapy can drive meaningful change.
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Big Five As An Empirical Framework
- The Big Five are an empirical discovery that describe universal personality dimensions across cultures and history.
- Colin DeYoung created the Big Five Aspect Scales to capture two major subdimensions within each broad trait.
From History Student To Trait Mapper
- Colin first encountered the Big Five more deeply in grad school after moving from history of science to active psychological research.
- He began mentally mapping people's trait levels as bar graphs while talking to them.
Attention As A Finite Spotlight
- Attention is a limited, spotlight-like resource that lets us process small parts of our perceptual field in depth.
- Capturing attention effectively means owning people's time, which social media monetizes.
