In this book, Francesca Gino argues that rebels, who practice 'positive deviance' by breaking the rules in a constructive way, are crucial for innovation and success in both personal and professional lives. Gino draws from her extensive research on rebels in various organizations, including high-end boutiques, top restaurants, fast-food chains, and award-winning animation studios. She identifies key elements of 'rebel talent,' such as trying new things, asking questions, expanding knowledge, resisting categorization, and showing one's true self. The book emphasizes that cultivating rebel talent is essential for businesses to evolve and prosper, and it also leads to a more vital, engaged, and fulfilling life.
In the last decade, several major findings in social psychology have turned out to be hogwash—or, worse, even fraud. This has become widely known as psychology's "replication crisis." Perhaps you have heard of power poses—based on a study finding that subjects reported stronger “feelings of power” after they posed, say, with their hands on their hips for several minutes. But that finding did not replicate. Or perhaps you have heard of ego depletion—the more famous assertion that, when people make a bunch of decisions, it exhausts their ability to make future decisions. Again: did not replicate.
“There’s a thought that’s haunted me for years,” social psychologist Adam Mastroianni has written. “We’re doing all this research in psychology, but are we learning anything? We run these studies and publish these papers, and then what? The stack of papers just gets taller? I’ve never come up with satisfying answers. But now I finally understand why.”
Today’s episode features two interviews. First, I talk to Adam about his big-picture critique of his own field: how psychology too often fails as a science, and what it can do better. Second, we speak with journalist Dan Engber from The Atlantic, who has been reporting on a billowing scandal in psychology that has enveloped several business school stars—and raised important questions about the field. What is psychology for? What would progress in psychology mean? And how can this field—which might be the discipline I follow than any other in academia—become more of a science?
If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at PlainEnglish@Spotify.com.
Host: Derek Thompson
Guests: Adam Mastroianni and Daniel Engber
Producer: Devon Baroldi
Links:
“Is psychology going to Cincinnati?” by Adam Mastroianni
https://www.experimental-history.com/p/is-psychology-going-to-cincinnati
"I’m so sorry for psychology’s loss, whatever it is" by Adam Mastroianni
https://www.experimental-history.com/p/im-so-sorry-for-psychologys-loss#footnote-anchor-3-136506668
“The Business-School Scandal That Just Keeps Getting Bigger” by Daniel Engber
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2025/01/business-school-fraud-research/680669/
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Plain English with Derek Thompson 