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Tips on giving and receiving trash talkĪccording to Bernstein, the study has implications both for people who give trash talk and for those who receive it.ħ must-have conversations between managers and employees These participants reported feeling more rivalry-although they also were more likely to cheat.īut for tasks that measured creativity or required participants to work with a partner, trash talk led to worse performance-possibly due to the distraction created by anger.īoth men and women reacted similarly when confronted with trash talk. The researchers discovered that trash talk's effect on participants varied depending on the task they were asked to complete.įor participants whose tasks required them to exert extra effort, trash talk actually helped. The researchers told all of the participants that they could win money.
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In another task, participants tackled a "candle problem" in which they received several supplies-a candle, a pack of matches, and a box of tacks-and were asked to come up with a way to attach the candle to the wall without letting it drip on the table or floor below. In one study, for instance, participants performed a "slider task" that required them to move a cursor on a computer quickly towards a targeted number. The participants in the study would then perform their assigned tasks, some of which measured persistence while others measured creativity or the ability to work well as a team. Some participants received neutral messages from their partners, such as, "Hey, it looks like we will be competing against each other in the next task." Others received trash-talk statements such as, "You are a total loser."
#Professor v trash talker how to#
Cross the communication chasm: How to reach more physiciansīefore they began their task, participants were asked to chat with their partner online.
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