Dark Confidence

The Science of Becoming
More Than You Think You Are.

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Science, not tricks.

4 of the book's 31 figures. Swipe for the next one.

Figure 2.6

The circuit behind wanting, love and rejection

Engraved medial view of the human brain with six numbered regions123456
  1. 1VTA
  2. 2Nucleus accumbens
  3. 3Caudate
  4. 4Orbitofrontal cortex
  5. 5Anterior cingulate
  6. 6Amygdala
Aron et al. (2005); Fisher et al. (2010), Journal of Neurophysiology; Lieberman et al. (2007), Psychological Science.

Figure 8.1

Alone, almost nobody got it wrong. In a group, many did

0%10%20%30%40%50%<1%Answeringalone36.8%After a group gavethe wrong answerWRONG ANSWERS
Asch (1956), Psychological Monographs. 123 participants, 37 controls.

Figure 3.1

What an open posture changes, and what it does not

Engraved figure study of a man in an open posture beside a man in a closed posture123456
  1. 1Open chest
  2. 2Takes up space
  3. 3Wide stance
  4. 4Folded arms
  5. 5Lowered head
  6. 6Feet together
Vacharkulksemsuk et al. (2016), PNAS; Ranehill et al. (2015), Psychological Science.

Figure 11.1

Deciding when and where roughly tripled follow-through

0%25%50%75%100%62%22%Hard personal goals71%32%Write a report overChristmas, in 2 daysWith an if-then planWithoutCOMPLETED
Gollwitzer & Brandstätter (1997), JPSP; Gollwitzer & Sheeran (2006).