Behavioral engineer Nir Eyal first emerged as an important social commentator and marketing expert with his book Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products. Eyal’s “hooked model,” based on principles of reinforcement and operant conditioning established by B.F. Skinner, features an internal triggering process that incites the motivation to perform a specific action. The result of the action, a reward, ultimately promotes strong craving loops if the reward is variable and inconsistent.  In his latest book Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life, Eyal focuses on the psychological factors that combat avoidance, inattention, and compulsive behavior. His perspective demystifies the utility of notions like self-control and willpower. Instead, he emphasizes “traction,” a process by which we avoid triggers and instead move toward the transfer of personal values and goals into discrete pragmatic systems that support productivity. These systems prevent distraction and ultimately solve the problem of chronically recycling the to-do list. In the next virtual meeting of the Men’s Group Seminar on Saturday, May 7, 2022 (10:15 to 11:30 AM), we will explore Eyal’s work. A video presentation and interview with Eyal will serve as our focus. Also, we will discuss Eyal’s articles “How to Be Indistractable” and “How to Tame Your Wandering Mind.”

*Registration Directions: If you would like to attend the next virtual meeting of the Men’s Group Seminar on Saturday, May 7, 2022, 10:15 to 11:30 AM, please RSVP to me at 949-338-4388 or jt@jamestobinphd.com no later than Thursday, May 5, 2022. The fee is $25.00 (payable before entering the virtual meeting) and informed consent for participation in this telehealth event must be completed prior to the seminar. Please note that the Men’s Group Seminar is psychoeducational in nature, not therapeutic, and does not constitute psychotherapy or counseling.