Adam Grant on Givers, Takers, Matchers and Fakers

Psychology February 24, 2015 / By Scott Barry Kaufman

SYNOPSIS

University of Pennsylvania Wharton School Professor and bestselling author Adam Grant presents some heartening research on how being a giver can lead to success. He and Scott chat about a plethora of topics, including the meaning of friendship, introversion, takers, and fakers, and the importance of challenging dogmatic science.

In this episode you will hear:

Scott and Adam psychoanalyze each other
The difference between givers, takers, matchers, and fakers
The core differences between social introversion and extraversion
The professional/romantic ramifications of being a giver or taker
How to structure educational environments to reward givers
Jonah Salk’s big mistake
Who will leave the lasting legacy – Bill Gates or Steve Jobs?
Who is a benevolent narcissist? Who is a covert narcissist?
Why Adam defended Malcolm Gladwell
The relevance of emotional intelligence
The difference between a scholar and a fundamentalist
The importance of rebelling against your own ideas
Why success depends more on giving than people realize
Signs that you are a taker
How to overcome “compassion fatigue”

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Resources:

“HR’s most influential international thinkers, BusinessWeek's favorite professors, and the world’s top 40 business professors under 40. He is the author of Give and Take, a New York Times bestselling book that has been translated into 27 languages and has been named one of the best books of 2013 by Amazon, the Financial Times, and the Wall Street Journal– as well as one Oprah‘s riveting reads, Harvard Business Review's ideas that shaped management, and the Washington Post's books every leader should read. Malcolm Gladwell recently identified Adam as one of his favorite social science writers, calling his work “brilliant.”” – Blurb taken from Adam’s UPenn biography

This article originally appeared on Scientific American.

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Author

Scott Barry Kaufman

Scott Barry Kaufman is a humanistic psychologist exploring the depths of human potential. He has taught courses on intelligence, creativity, and well-being at Columbia University, NYU, the University of Pennsylvania, and elsewhere. He is interested in using his research to help all kinds of minds live a creative, fulfilling, and self-actualized life. Scott likes to share his enthusiasm and knowledge of the science of potential through his books, teaching, coaching, podcast, blog, articles, and speaking engagements. In his latest book Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization, Kaufman presents a new hierarchy of human needs for the 21st century, one that allows for the fulfillment of individual potential as well as the actualization of transcendent purpose and peak experiences. Kaufman hosts the #1 psychology podcast in the world— The Psychology Podcast— which has received over 12 million downloads and was included in Business Insider’s list of “9 podcasts that will change how you think about human behavior.” Kaufman’s writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Scientific American, Psychology Today, and Harvard Business Review. Kaufman’s early educational experiences made him realize the deep reservoir of untapped potential of students, including bright and creative children who have been diagnosed with a learning disability (see the free monthly webcast “Critical Conversations on Cognitive Diversity”). Scott received a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from Yale University, and an M. Phil in experimental psychology from the University of Cambridge under a Gates Cambridge Scholarship. In 2015, he was named one of “50 groundbreaking scientists who are changing the way we see the world” by Business Insider. Scott is a co-founder of The Creativity Post.

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