August Reading List; "Give and Take TWO" (Patreon)

Yes, this month is something different — I’m coming back to Adam Grant’s “Give and Take” to raid some of the studies from the bibliography (I’ve always loved the idea that learning should be framed as “stealing every idea that isn’t nailed down). It’s a Summer of big months: Last month we focused on one of my two new shows launching this Summer: “Undersigned.” We looked at the ways my approach to writing copy has informed how I make theater, read one of my favorite fantasy books for some devilishly good inspiration, and folks at the “Get Hands On” and “Pay It Forward” levels even got the chance to be some of the first ever audiences for the invitation-only run of “Undersigned.”

As you may have noticed, I’ve been trying to take things low and slow with promoting these pieces, given their small through-put. As you also may have noticed if you read the Philadelphia Inquirer, this hasn’t gone well — and now both are Critics Picks for “Shows not to Miss” in the Philadelphia Fringe. So let’s jump right back in researching the second of these two new shows: Fair Trade.

In the interest of creating a better archive for these Reading Lists, I’m moving them to Patreon - you’ll still get a once-monthly email with “what’s up” and quick links to find anything you’re interested in (and to skip anything you don’t feel the need to read). Let’s try it together, shall we?

“Liking a Person as a Function of Doing Him a Favour”

Jon Jecker, David Landy

Fair Trade is a piece about the exchanges we make, and how we choose to make them. As I’ve worked with my Co-Creator Jessica Creane, we’ve come to be very interested in the idea that shaping the how of our exchanges can change the value we receive from them — including the ways that exchanges change our relationships. In Adam Grant’s book, this study was cited almost like a “clever hack” by which we can gain someone’s favor through receiving favours. But what if the person gaining affection is the real winner? I’m curious to get my hands on the primary material to find out.

“Suckers or Saviors? Consistent Contributors in Social Dilemmas”

James H. Fowler and Nicholas A. Christakis

In Adam Grant’s book, he describes a fairly simple 6 round game for 4 strangers at a time. They have no opportunity to communicate, and must instead individually decide whether to share resources or keep them for themselves. While the results of the study seem interesting (it only took one consistent giver to change the behavior of a group, and groups with consistent givers earned more on average), I’m really just shopping for the mechanics of this exercise.

“Give Them What They Want: The Benefits of Explicitness in Gift Exchange”

Francesca Ginoa, Francis J. Flynn

“How do you value the things that you have? How do you know if a stranger would value them the same way? Can anyone ever understand what you want as well as you do?” These are the kinds of questions that participants of Fair Trade will be diving into - and the kind that this paper may well answer. Is that why I’m reading it? Absolutely not.

I’m reading it because for most of my adult life, this has been the system of gift giving in my family: we each send each other lists of what we want. And while anecdotal evidence has been strong in our particular informal study, I can’t wait for science to tell me I was right all along.

“Spending Money on Others Promotes Happiness”

Elizabeth w. Dunn

In some ways I think this is an unsurprising headline, but I'd like to see the structure of the study they created, and to hear some of their secondary findings. I also think findings like this can’t be overstated when many of us have a tendency to think of exchanges in terms of minimizing the money we spend. What if spending money on someone is the point, even if we have weak ties?

“Negotiation Process and Outcome of Stranger Dyads and Dating Couples: Do Lovers Lose?”

William Rick Fry, Ira J. Firestone & David L. Williams

Oh I desperately want to get into this study, as negotiating the value of an item is a central part of Fair Trade, and insights on why Strangers might be better at doing it would be more than welcome. BUT! I have yet to crack the great paywall on this one. Feel free to reach out with leads if you have them!  And in the meantime, I’ll ponder how I came to be so obstinate about the value I won’t pay to read academic papers…