Forming Winning Strategies: An Integrated Theory of Habitual Domains

Sooner or later, people develop a fairly stable set of ways for thinking, judging and responding; this is called one's habitual domain. Our habitual domains (HDs) grow and go wherever we go and have great impact on our behavior and decision making. When we are vital and growing our HDs are expanding and flexible; and when we find ourselves in ruts, not growing, it is because our HDs have become rigid and inflexible, as in death. This book discusses all aspects of habitual domains: their foundations, expansion, dynamics and applications to various nontrivial decision problems in our lives, including effective decision making, effective goal setting, cooperation, conflict resolution, negotiation and career management. Based on an integration of psychology, system science, management and common sense and wisdom, the book provides a simple but unified set of tools in terms of habitual domains and the behavior mechanism. The tools can be applied to expand and sharpen our capacity for knowing ourselves, our coworkers, our rivals, and our environments, and to form winning strategies for solving our problems. To make the book fun to read and the concepts introduced easy to understand and apply, the book is written in plain language with many lively and interesting examples as illustrations. The first half of the book focuses on general descriptions of the behavior mechanism and habitual domains, the second half on applications.

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction.- 1.1 Main Objectives.- 1.2 Main Features.- 1.3 Suggestions for the Best Use of this Book.- 2. Behavior Mechanism Part 1: Brain, Memory and Thoughts.- 2.1 Overview.- 2.2 Circuit Pattern Hypothesis (H1).- 2.3 Unlimited Capacity Hypothesis (H2).- 2.4 Efficient Restructuring Hypothesis (H3).- 2.5 Analogy/Association Hypothesis (H4).- 2.6 Further Reading.- 3. Behavior Mechanism Part 2: Charges, Attention, and Actions.- 3.1 Goal Setting and State Evaluation.- 3.2. Charge Structures and Attention Allocation.- 3.3 Discharge Hypothesis (H7).- 3.4 Information Input Hypothesis (H8).- 3.5 Summary and Conclusion.- 3.6 (Appendix) The Ordering of Charge Structures.- 3.7 Further Reading.- 4. Common Behavior Tendencies and Applications.- 4.1 Introduction.- 4.2 Social Comparison Theory.- 4.3 Halo Effect.- 4.4 Self-Projection Effect.- 4.5 Proximity Theory.- 4.6 Reciprocation Behavior.- 4.7 Similarity Effects.- 4.8 Scapegoating Behavior.- 4.9 Responsibility Diffusion in Group Behavior.- 4.10 Further Reading.- 5. Habitual Domains: Formation and Properties.- 5.1 Introduction.- 5.2 Formation of Habitual Domains.- 5.3 Decomposition of Habitual Domains.- 5.4 Paradoxical Properties of Habitual Domains.- 5.5 Degree of Habitual Domain Expansion.- 5.6 Further Reading.- 6. Habitual Domains: Expansion and Interactions.- 6.1 Methods for Expansion of Habitual Domains.- 6.2 Ideas That Catch Our Attention.- 6.3 Ideas that are Hard to Catch Our Attention.- 6.4 Proper Attitudes in the Interaction of Habitual Domains.- 6.5 Expansion and Learning Process.- 6.6 Summary of Habitual Domain Concepts.- 6.7 Further Reading.- 7. Understanding Decision Making.- 7.1 Introduction.- 7.2 Nontrivial Decision Examples.- 7.3 Decision Elements.- 7.4 Decision Environments.- 7.5 Further Reading.- 8. EffectiveDecision Making.- 8.1 Decision Cycles.- 8.2 Cores of Habitual Domains.- 8.3 Learning Processes.- 8.4 Competence Sets and Classes of Decision Problems.- 8.5 Confidence, Risk Taking and Ignorance.- 8.6 Effective Decision Making.- 8.7 Decision Assistance.- 8.8 (Appendix) Decision Situation and Competence Sets.- 8.9 Further Reading.- 9. Effective Goal Setting and Performance.- 9.1 Introduction.- 9.2 Performance Factors.- 9.3 A General Principle of Effective Goal Setting.- 9.4 Control Variables in Goal Setting.- 9.5 Control Variables in Support Systems.- 9.6 Decomposition Principle.- 9.7 Implementation.- 9.8 Some Empirically Known Results.- 9.9 Further Reading.- 10. Knowing Habitual Domains.- 10.1 Introduction.- 10.2 Personal Habitual Domains-An Introduction.- 10.3 Habitual Domains on Behavior Functions.- 10.4 Habitual Domains on Events.- 10.5 Habitual Domains on External Interactions.- 10.6 General Application Procedures.- 10.7 Organization Habitual Domains.- 10.8 Nine Principles for Deep Knowledge.- 10.9 Further Reading.- 11. Understanding Games, Cooperation and Conflicts.- 11.1 Introduction.- 11.2 Cooperation and Conflict in Simplicity.- 11.3 Complex World of Conflicts and Cooperation.- 11.4 Further Reading.- 12. Restructuring Games and Forming Winning Strategies.- 12.1 Restructuring Interplays-Second Order Games.- 12.2 Observations from the Behavior Mechanism.- 12.3 Conflict Maps for Conflict Assessment.- 12.4 Forming Winning Strategies and Applications.- 12.5 Further Reading.- 13. Career Management.- 13.1 Introduction.- 13.2 Career Evolutions and Stages.- 13.3 Taking Charge of Career Stages.- 13.4 A Case Study.- 13.5 Further Reading.- 14. Ideal Habitual Domains.