Hand Them the Gauge

The Human Diagnostic · Apr 22, 2026 · 22m

Format: Post-call Runtime: ~8 minutes Source: Clinical psychology , control as anxiety management; Ellen Langer's perceived control research (Harvard, 1975) Just got back. Washed up. Sitting here thinking about a call that went fine, where the customer was perfectly pleasant, and where I still felt watched every single second I was in that house. He met me in the driveway. That's not unusual. What was unusual was what he said before I had both feet out of the truck. He said: I want to walk you through what I think is happening first, before you start. He'd written notes. On actual paper. He'd…