A Woman's Touch

Company EEOC programs often warn against hugging and touching your coworkers because you may not be able to read when it is or is not ok. A study published in the April issue of Psychological Science indicated another reason men may not want a woman’s touch in the office and it’s not why you think. The study examined the financial risk taking behave of men who received a handshake, a pat of the back or no contact from a woman before entering a meeting where they were going to make financial decisions. Results indicated that those men who received pats of the back or a pat on the back were willing to risk more financially (and reported feeling more secure) than me who received handshakes. While those who received handshakes still took more risks than men who did not receive contact. A control group with men delivering the touch did not illustrate any significant different than the non touch group. So men, be aware of another’s touch before you make a big decision.


Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office: 101 Unconscious Mistakes Women Make That Sabotage Their Careers

Harvard Business Review on Women in Business (Harvard Business Review Paperback Series)

Increase Performance with a Cup of Joe

Have you somehow let your health conscience coworker get you to kick your caffeine addiction? Well, think again about that cup of joe. A recent study from the London School of Tropical Medicine in England found that caffeine in any form (i.e., pills, energy drinks and coffee) improved performance on cognitive tests of memory, attention, perception and reasoning compared to participants without caffeine. So cut it out for now, but the next challenging project you have to work on may be best accompanied by a cup of joe.

Online Consulting in the Digital Age

Technology is developing faster than we can keep up. Unfortunately, that also means it is growing faster than regulators can make policies. Journalist Amy Schatz, who covers tech policy and the FCC for The Wall Street Journal reported that congress will be meeting in June to discuss communication laws that were last examined in 1996 and were created back when the internet didn’t even exist. The challenge is to create policies and laws that will be flexible enough for changing technology but detailed enough to enforce privacy on the web.

However the opportunity currently exists for practitioners to speak their voice about their concerns regarding client information and telepsychology. We need to ensure that confidentiality and informed consent are critical in providing telepsychology services. If you don’t think this is relevant to your business today…it will be!


The Ohio Psychological Association was the first state to issue telepsychology guidelines for its members. Check them out at www.ohpsy.org/professionalissues.aspx