Most coaches and athletes have a basic idea of what stress is, but they may not fully understand its complicated aspects. Stress is a substantial imbalance between what we believe is demanded of us (competitive demand) and what we perceive our capabilities to be for meeting those demands (personal control), for situations in which success is important. Thus, perceptions ― not competitive demands themselves ― determine the amount and nature of stress we experience. The premise of self-talk is that beliefs determine the impact of a competitive situation more than the situation itself does; our thoughts are more responsible for our actions than are the situations we practice and compete in. When appraisal is positive, we view a tough opponent as a challenge, which enhances performance, but negative appraisals prompt us to view difficult situations as threats, which hurts performance. One athlete may view a stadium full of people as "a great opportunity to show this crowd what I can do," while another may worry about "how embarrassed I'll be messing up in front of this crowd." It's the same stadium full of people, but different reactions can lead to either flow or choking.

Fire destroys about 350 million ha (1,350 mi²) of forest every year. Some fires are set by humans to cover up illegal logging or land clearing. Others are started by natural causes. The greatest fire hazard in the world is in sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for about half the global total. Uncontrolled fires tend to be worst in countries with corrupt or ineffective governments and high levels of poverty, civil unrest, and internal refugees. As global climate change brings drought and insect infestations to many parts of the world, there's a worry that forest fires may increase catastrophically.

Over the past several decades, there have been some agreements to reduce the debt of poor nations, but other economic challenges (like trade barriers) remain. Nontariff trade measures, such as quotas, subsidies, and restrictions on exports, are increasingly prevalent and may be enacted for policy reasons having nothing to do with trade. However, they have a discriminatory effect on exports from countries that lack the resources to comply with requirements of nontariff measures imposed by rich nations. For example, the huge subsidies that rich nations give to their farmers make it very difficult for farmers in the rest of the world to compete with them. Another example would be domestic health or safety regulations, which, though not specifically targeting imports, could impose significant costs on foreign manufacturers seeking to conform to the importer's market. Industries in developing markets may have more difficulty absorbing these additional costs.

Followers can be defined by their position as subordinates or by their behavior of going along with leaders' wishes. But followers also have power to lead. Followers empower leaders as well as vice versa. This has led some leadership analysts like Ronald Heifetz to avoid using the word followers and refer to the others in a power relationship as "citizens" or "constituents." Heifetz is correct that too simple a view of followers can produce misunderstanding. In modern life, most people wind up being both leaders and followers, and the categories can become quite fluid. Our behavior as followers changes as our objectives change. If I trust your judgment in music more than my own, I may follow your lead on which concert we attend (even though you may be formally my subordinate in position). But if I am an expert on fishing, you may follow my lead on where we fish, regardless of our formal positions or the fact that I followed your lead on concerts yesterday.

Psychological research has shown that people naturally divide up cognitive labor, often without thinking about it. Imagine you're cooking up a special dinner with a friend. You're a great cook, but your friend is the wine expert, an amateur sommelier. A neighbor drops by and starts telling you both about the terrific new wines being sold at the liquor store just down the street. There are many new wines, so there's a lot to remember. How hard are you going to try to remember what the neighbor has to say about which wines to buy? Why bother when the information would be better retained by the wine expert sitting next to you? If your friend wasn't around, you might try harder. After all, it would be good to know what a good wine would be for the evening's festivities. But your friend, the wine expert, is likely to remember the information without even trying.

For many centuries European science, and knowledge in general, was recorded in Latin ― a language that no one spoke any longer and that had to be learned in schools. Very few individuals, probably less than one percent, had the means to study Latin enough to read books in that language and therefore to participate in the intellectual discourse of the times. Moreover, few people had access to books, which were handwritten, scarce, and expensive. The great explosion of scientific creativity in Europe was certainly helped by the sudden spread of information brought about by Gutenberg's use of movable type in printing and by the legitimation of everyday languages, which rapidly replaced Latin as the medium of discourse. In sixteenth-century Europe it became much easier to make a creative contribution not necessarily because more creative individuals were born then than in previous centuries or because social supports became more favorable, but because information became more widely accessible.

While leaders often face enormous pressures to make decisions quickly, premature decisions are the leading cause of decision failure. This is primarily because leaders respond to the superficial issue of a decision rather than taking the time to explore the underlying issues. Bob Carlson is a good example of a leader exercising patience in the face of diverse issues. In the economic downturn of early 2001, Reell Precision Manufacturing faced a 30 percent drop in revenues. Some members of the senior leadership team favored layoffs and some favored salary reductions. While it would have been easy to push for a decision or call for a vote in order to ease the tension of the economic pressures, as co-CEO, Bob Carlson helped the team work together and examine all of the issues. The team finally agreed on salary reductions, knowing that, to the best of their ability, they had thoroughly examined the implications of both possible decisions.

Not everyone is aware of the way their emotions impact others in their lives. Even when emotions are appropriate, their intensity may lead to problems. Some feelings, of course, are inappropriate. Whether or not an emotion is considered appropriate is related to the context in which it is displayed as well as the people involved. Emotions may also be either congruent or incongruent. When they are congruent, the emotion fits with the message that is being sent. Some people may indicate one emotion with their words and another with their tone of voice. Sometimes this is referred to as the difference between verbal and nonverbal behavior. Such messages tend to confuse the recipient of that emotion and can lead to problems. When people express emotions, they may facilitate relationships or derail them. Understanding the impact of emotional expression is the core of psychotherapy.

The purpose of art during the Middle Ages was to teach religion. Since many people living in medieval times could neither read nor write, paintings and sculptures served as vehicles through which religious leaders could promote spirituality and devotion to God. Consequently, medieval artists were not so concerned with creating lifelike figures and forms. For them, propagating religious morals and meaning was more important. The Renaissance artists, however, viewed art as a means for personal and aesthetic expression and were most interested in secular themes. They wanted to portray the world as it was. Their intent was not only to achieve accurate appearances and proportions in reality, but also to celebrate nature and humanity. Therefore, they often endowed their subjects with beauty and dignity.

Some resources, decisions, or activities are important (highly valuable on average) while others are pivotal (small changes make a big difference). Consider how two components of a car relate to a consumer's purchase decision: tires and interior design. Which adds more value on average? The tires. They are essential to the car's ability to move, and they impact both safety and performance. Yet tires generally do not influence purchase decisions because safety standards guarantee that all tires will be very safe and reliable. Differences in interior features ― optimal sound system, portable technology docks, number and location of cup holders ― likely have far more effect on the consumer's buying decision. In terms of the overall value of an automobile, you can't drive without tires, but you can drive without cup holders and a portable technology dock. Interior features, however, clearly have a greater impact on the purchase decision. In our language, the tires are important, but the interior design is pivotal.

As with education, sport has a common core of shared meaning and a periphery of additional meanings that are very much context-dependent. In other words, although most of us have a common understanding of what sport is, it can still mean different things to different people. In general terms we recognize that football is sport, but that ballroom dancing is not; motor racing is sport, but driving to work is not; sailing a boat on an ocean is sport, but sailing on a tanker delivering oil is not. It is not necessary to define what we mean by sport whenever the word is used. However, the same sport can have different meanings to different groups of people. As an example of these differing meanings let us consider the sport of tennis. To a professional tennis player tennis is a job; to a club player, however competitive, tennis is essentially a recreation; to a spectator at Wimbledon, tennis may be a temporary diversion or an all consuming vicarious passion.

Greenwashing involves misleading a consumer into thinking a good or service is more environmentally friendly than it really is. Greenwashing ranges from making environmental claims required by law, and therefore irrelevant (CFC-free for example), to puffery (exaggerating environmental claims) to fraud. Researchers have shown that claims on products are often too vague or misleading. Some products are labeled "chemical-free," when the fact is everything contains chemicals, including plants and animals. Products with the highest number of misleading or unverifiable claims were laundry detergents, household cleaners, and paints. Environmental advocates agree there is still a long way to go to ensure shoppers are adequately informed about the environmental impact of the products they buy. The most common reason for greenwashing is to attract environmentally conscious consumers. Many consumers do not find out about the false claims until after the purchase. Therefore, greenwashing may increase sales in the short term. However, this strategy can seriously backfire when consumers find out they are being deceived.