An app can change how you see yourself at work

Through most accounts, confidence is a prerequisite for the success of the workplace. What if it can be trained, even skillfully re -connected, using something simple like a smartphone application?

This is the hypothesis behind a unique study from the University of California, Riferside, where psychologists have tested whether workers can reshape their own image through a digital tool that enhances positive beliefs.

Results, Published in Computers in human behavior reportsSuggest that they can – and that the systems of beliefs, which are supposed to be deeply entrenched, could be more flexible than previously thought.

“We were interested in whether the simple intervention could push people towards a stronger feeling in the work,” said Thomas C, a UCR professor and author of the study. One of the basic things to study was a smartphone application designed to enhance positive beliefs in the workplace through simple visual signals.

The idea behind the application, named Mindtapp, is simple. Pictures of users are displayed alongside confirmation words such as “mujtahid”, “Happy” and “reliable”. Over time, this conjugation – known as a bonding air conditioning – helps to transform how people see themselves in the job. In the study, 159 adults, most of whom were university students, used the application without knowing its psychological goal. Before and after, they completed investigative studies to assess their self -perception as employees.

It seems that the use of Mindtap is similar to scrolling by applying photo sharing more than engaging in training. Participants have downloaded unofficial personal photos, which the application associated with a rotating set of positive features. With every criticism, they saw themselves alongside words like “product” or “team player”. It took only minutes of reactions, but over time, this repetition reconfigured the way users view professional strengths.

According to researchers, the change was measurable. Participants have emerged with more suitable opinions of their workplace and the growing sense of self-effectiveness-the belief that their efforts could affect the results.

“We have long known that people accommodate cultural stereotypes about what makes a” good factor “. But people also carry beliefs of themselves, and they are often unconscious. What we found is that these beliefs can be reshaped. “

This technique is based on principles dating back to decades in behavioral psychology, but its application here is updated-updated, mobile, and directed to the user. This may be part of its attractiveness and strength.

How long is the last effects an open question. Without reinforcement, the positive transformation appears to fade within 24 hours. But SY is optimistic that frequent use may lead to more permanent changes. “This is not just a Pep talk,” he said. “It’s a tool over time, it can mainly convert a person’s workplace.”

SY patented and make the application freely available. For SY, the project refers to unlimited limits in employee development. While companies invest heavily in training programs aimed at knowledge and behavior, a few targeted mentality.

“Information and skills are important, of course,” said. “But the systems of belief affects the motivation, continuity, and even how people explain their experience at work. They are essential – yet we rarely touch them.”

This may change. With the increasingly mediated digital tools in professional life, from training to wellness to performance tracking, the possibility of training on belief is to attract attention. The researchers argue that what makes the Mindtap novel a novel, is that it puts the construction of beliefs in the hands of the user-not required.

“You can be your mentality engineer.” “We have never appeared, so far, that a person can do it using a digital tool.”

The effects of post -productivity in the workplace. The mentality does not affect how people perform, but also if they speak, defend themselves, and follow new roles. In a professional world where self-perception often constitutes opportunities, the ability to redistribute this perception-even a little-is not something small.

C. “It comes to helping people believe in those who are – and those who have permanent power to become.”