DaveShearon

Iphone vs. Samsung Omnia vs. Blackberry Storm: Maximizing Unhappiness or Exercising a Strength?

Last weekend, I went shopping for a new cell phone, and it turned into a positive psychology learning experience.

I am not in the league of some other lawyer techno-geeks, but I am interested, I run   a fairly technologically sophisticated MCLE operation, and I made my living selling computer systems to lawyers for several years.  I like technology and like to keep up.  One way I try and keep up is by doing things with technology  -- this blog was such an effort when it first started.

As a result of my geek-streak, I can get into shopping for new technology, comparing specifications and features, reading reviews, and imagining in my mind what using each possibilitiy would be like.  This can easily become what Barry Schwartz in The Paradox of Choice calls "maximizing."  He recommends "satisficing."  One might call it the success psychology of "good enough."   Basically it means limiting the time and effort one spends on choices, especially consumer choices, to that which will produce an acceptable result.  The amazing aspect is that, even though this may occasionally result in slightly less-optimal choices, one's satisfaction with each choice and life in general will be higher!  For a great story and more on maximizing, see Nick Hall's account here.

Back to last weekend.  My older son, Tyler, has had an Iphone for some months and he likes it.  Also, I have run into several lawyers who have Iphones and like them.  But, the beautiful and patient Teresa and my younger son, Patrick, are on a Verizon family plan, and I ran into more resistance than I expected when I suggested switching to ATT.  "All my friends are on Verizon!  Other family members are on Verizon; we don't use minutes to talk to them!"

So, what to do?  Dive in!  Read the reviews!  Study the stats!  Find a Verizon smartphone that's better for my puposes than the Iphone!  And I did.  But, as I was spending the time, I considered whether I was maximizing.  And, for me, asking the question made the answer obvious.  I easily could be, but I could also take another path.  I like reading and thinking and looking at new technology, and being somewhat up to speed on modern tools and how they can affect the way I live is a value for me.  So, I decided to spend more time than I might have just to satisfice, but to do so out of curiosity and creativity.  And to satisfice when I was out of time or interest, that is, when the whole effort became a pain.

So, after reading and thinking, I was off to the Verizon store where I made a decision.  My first choice (which was made easier by knowing I could return it -- which Barry Schwartz questions as a strategy, but it worked for me) was a Samsung Omnia.  I brought it home and fooled with it overnight and became less and less satisfied with it,  and this from someone who used a Windows mobile PDA for several years!  Web sites were unreadable, especially when compared to the Iphone, and even using it as a phone was tough.  I called a company and needed to enter voice mail options via the keypad, looked at the screen and it was dark, and, when I finally got it to light up, could not figure out how to bring up the keypad!  (OK, it was probably possible, but, to me, the fact that it was not obvious was a serious flaw.)

Back to the store to return it -- a decision and trip that could have made me very unhappy if I were maximizing, but not really a problem from my "curiosity, learning, and keeping up" approach.  Yet, I was getting close to reaching the end of the time I could allow for this particular learning project.  I think if I had gotten any static about returning it and reversing the calling plan extension I had signed to get it, I would have bolted for the Iphone and ATT.  However, the store personnel cheerfully reversed the whole deal and I decided to try the other Verizon candidate, the Blackberry Storm. 

And, at this point, I really began to "satisfice."  I liked the Storm.  Patrick liked the Storm.  Tyler and I compared viewing web sites on it and the Iphone and found them very comparable.  Declare victory and abandon the fray!  I came out of the weekend with two benefits:

• increased knowledge about the current generation of smartphones, and
• a new phone I like.

Perfect?  No.  The best possible choice?  Maybe not.  But good enough, quite good, actually, and I'm satisfied.  I'll take that and move on.  How about you?

White Christmas' Positive Psychology

White Christmas is one of my all-time favorite Christmas movies.  We've got the DVD, but there's something about movies being on the cable schedule that makes me want to watch.  White Christmas ran back-to-back tonight, and T and I and both boys watched most of it.  Fun!  From a positive psychology viewpoint, here's one of the highlights of the movie for your enjoyment.  For a great way to incorporate this song into your life, see Three Good Things.

What good is a Masters in Applied Positive Psychology, Part 2

In March, 2006, as my classmates and I were moving toward graduation as the first-ever MAPP class, I wrote a post entitled "What good is a Masters in Applied Positive Psychology?"  Stats for this site show that a fair number of folks search for information about such programs, and find that post.  So, I thought it was time for an update.

It's been over two years since graduation.  I have a better picture of what MAPP was for me,  and here are some key areas where MAPP has been good for me:

Relationships:  The relationships I made were amazing.  I established friendships with many of my classmates, and many of those have deepened since.  As I have met those in later classes, I have sensed much the same kind of connections forming in their classes, and it has been amazingly easy to connect across classes.  This may sound syrupy or superficial, but it is true.  I am not talking about some kind of utopian perfection of community, just real folks whom I like, respect, and enjoy working with.  If you think about Barb Fredrickson's "Broaden & Build" theory and then imagine a group of people getting together with the intention of being positive and learning to be more positive together, perhaps this will make more sense. 

A Base for Learning:  I continue to add to my knowledge and refine my own integration of positive psychology principles.  For example, we did not do a lot with emotional intelligence and only had a brief introduction to Appreciative Inquiry, but I've studied both in more depth over the last two years.  I have also seen similar continued learning in many of my classmates.

A Base for New Action:  I have had the opportunity to work with CLE programs, bar initiatives, and work in school systems because of MAPP.  Some of this work has been way outside my previous range (Australia, for example) but some of it has been right in the core of my work with the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization.  For example, I do a strengths-based annual planning session with each of my staff.  The full range of such options is still unfolding, but it has already been exciting and enjoyable.

Continuing Contact with Researchers:  MAPP alumni efforts provide periodic conference calls and other opportunities to hear from leading researchers, both those who taught in the program and others.  The International Positive Psychology Association also offers opportunities.  And, through my own contacts, I have been able to learn from and work with researchers in the field.  When I have needed to contact researchers in my projects, they have been gracious and helpful in responding.

Personal Well-Being:  I am happier, more optimistic, and more attuned to my strengths and the strengths of others.  I enjoy and appreciate my family, colleagues, and friends more.  I continue to work to apply what I have learned personally, and often it is my classmates who give me insights in how to move forward.

So, if you have found this site because you are considering the MAPP program at Penn, or even one of the newer programs at other schools, I hope these reflections from a little further down my personal path will be of assistance.  Don't hesitate to contact me if you'd like to talk about it more.  And good luck!

Hope for Lawyers

My monthly post is up over at Positive Psychology News Daily.  I look at the research on lawyer and law student well-being and report on the results of my CLE programs on positive psychology topics over the last two years.

Videos on Positive Psychology

My colleague Sherri Fisher's December post at Positive Psychology News Daily features background information and links to videos of talks by four great positive psychology researchers and thinkers, Marty Seligman, Barry Schwartz, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, and Jonathan Haidt.  She provides background information on these folks and links to more information from them.  Good stuff. 

Another great web resource is the Positive Organizational Studies site from the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan.   The site includes videos of many past talks by leading scholars.  As an example, here's a talk by Roger Goddard, University of Nebraska, on his research into the role of trust in student achievement.  (1 hr, 15 min, "A conceptual and empirical examination of the link between relational trust and student achievement in schools.")

Quality CLE programs

Ernie the Attorney is getting into the CLE business with a program entitled "Paperless Lawyering."  Apparently, he hasn't found the "traditional" CLEs he has attended very engaging as he says this about his program:

This will not be a traditional CLE seminar, although it will give you 3 hours of credit, including an hour for Ethics and an hour for Professionalism. We will give you useful information, presented in an engaging way.

Actually, the surveys we've done, both in Tennessee and in other states, suggest that very-high percentages of attorneys find CLE programs well-presented and useful and think mandatory requirements should be maintained.  In a 1991 survey in TN, TX, GA, MN, and WA, attorneys responded affirmatively to a question on whether the courses they had been to in the last year were well presented at rates ranging from 80 - 96%.  The Tennessee Commission on CLE & Specialization repeated that survey in 1999 and got a 96% affirmative response and again in 2006 and got 98%.    Attorneys consistently state that Mandatory CLE programs improve their competence (79-91%) and that the requirements should be continued (77-86%).  (MCLE program analysis here.)  Further, when Tennessee evaluated every speaker at every CLE program in Tennessee for three years in the mid-90's, our consultant advised they were rated higher than many programs run by large organizations with paid presenters, training, and quality control efforts.  Not bad.  Not bad at all.

In Tennessee, we're continuing to work on quality.  For one thing, we ran our second annual invitation-only speaker training program in August.  These programs are for attorneys who speak frequently at CLE programs and who are recommended by our major CLE providers.  We find busy attorneys taking 2 1/2 days out to attend the program and giving it hugely positive reviews.  This speaks to the commitment of many CLE speakers. 

Further, we're looking into ways to increase the impact of CLE on competence.  For example, attorneys report that lack of commitment, energy, and engagement is a key cause of poor lawyering when it occurs.  This is, of course, a key area of the programs I present, so I recently surveyed participants at those programs and found that over half (62.3%) had taken action as a result of those programs and that those who had acted were far more likely than those who had not to report improved general well-being and increased commitment, energy, and engagement with their practices.  Now we need to find ways to help more CLE programs address these areas. 

MCLE is no panacea, and it really works to improve overall competence not to address the deficiencies of the real "problem" attorneys.  The old saying is, "You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink."  True, but if you take the whole herd, most will.