Erik van Dijk

Understanding Human Behavior

There’s a lot of overlap between human psychology and our work. Our personal growth.
Our communication. In this section, we’ll explore why we act like we do.

A ramp along a curved wall in the Kiasma Museu, Helsinki, Finland

It’s the core driver of our behavior.

The more you know, the more you know you don’t know.

That sentence might be a little bit difficult to comprehend but it is what it is.

The more you’ll learn about the way we act, the more questions will arise. And that’s a good thing.

This is a field I’m highly curious about and want to learn a lot about. So let me encourage you to do the same.

Psychology is the core driver of our behavior.

Follow your curiosity and share what you’ve learned. This way we can all make a lot more sense of it all.

Articles on Psychology

  • Be Careful What You Read

  • Four Simple Methods to Improve Your Communication

  • How Information Spreads

Books
Robert B. Cialdini – Influence

What makes people say ‘yes’. How can you effectively influence the decisions people make? In his book, Cialdini explores the 6 key principles of persuasion: reciprocity, commitment & consistency, social proof, authority, liking and scarcity. Very interesting book if you want to learn to be more persuasive.

Daniel Pink – Drive

What motivates us? This books offers a contrarian take to what motivates us. He shows us how traditional motivation methods are actually counter productive and shows us what does work. And of course, why they work.

Jonathan Haidt – The Happiness Hypothesis

What makes us happy? Haidt is looking into ancient wisdom for the answer. Virtue, relationships, meaning and resilience are some of the topics he’s elaborating on.

Dale Carnegie – How to Win Friends and Influence People

You can consider this a classis. It’s written in 1936, it’s still highly relevant. And I love that, as it’s a great indicator of quality content. Although it sounds bad to ‘influence people’, we always do. So you better do it consciously. Empathy, respect and genuine interest in others’ perspective are the main drivers of influence. See his work as a guide to improve your interpersonal skills. Become more influential and likable.