Posts

The messenger matters: New research shows peers better than teachers at academic motivation

Posted by Andy Henion “Why do I have to learn this?” is a common question among young adults. New research suggests an answer from their peers has more weight than one from their teachers. University students who received a rationale for why learning is important from people similar to them—in this case actors posing as young professionals—wrote […]

Childhood Family Environment Linked With Relationship Quality 60 Years Later

From APS News Growing up in a warm family environment in childhood is associated with feeling more secure in romantic relationships in one’s 80s, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The findings show that men who grew up in caring homes were more adept at managing […]

Trauma informed mentoring: Early trauma exposure raises risk for young women ADHD/self-injury

by Yasmin Anwar   Exposure to abuse, neglect, or other traumas in childhood and adolescence puts young women with ADHD at a heightened risk of self-injury, a new study shows. The findings indicate that environmental factors can have a significant bearing on the negative psychosocial outcomes of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder—and also raise the question whether […]

Volunteering in public schools boosts seniors’ memories

The memory center in the brains of seniors who volunteered in public schools for two years maintained their size, rather than shrinking as part of the normal aging process, report researchers. The findings suggest that retirees who take part in meaningful social activity can prevent shrinkage in their brains’ memory centers and avert age-related cognitive problems. In […]

Phrasing, please: New research highlights impact of comparisons using gendered language

Posted by Alex Shaskevitch, Futurity.org Saying something like “girls are as good as boys at math” might come with good intentions and the intent to encourage, but it can backfire, according to new paper. Although well-meaning, the statement, which parents and teachers often express, can subtly perpetuate the stereotypes they are trying to debunk, study […]

Want to help reinforce a motor skill? Have them take a lap

Posted by Katherine Gombay, futurity.org As little as a single 15-minute bout of cardiovascular exercise increases brain connectivity and efficiency, according to new research. If you want to learn to walk a tightrope, for example, it’s a good idea to go for a short run after each practice session, the research suggests. The recent study, […]

How mentoring is suited to developing passions: More about nurturing a spark than finding a flame

Posted by Melissa De Witte, futurity.org The advice to “find your passion” might undermine how interests actually develop, according to new research. In a series of laboratory studies, researchers examined beliefs that may lead people to succeed or fail at developing their interests. Mantras like “find your passion” carry hidden implications, the researchers say. They […]

New research shows elderly at risk of social isolation: Implications for mentoring

Posted by Jared Wadley on futurity.org One in five older adults is socially isolated from family or friends, increasing their risks for poor mental and physical health, as well as higher rates of mortality, a new study shows. Researchers investigated several factors affecting social isolation from family and friends within a national sample of more […]

Wise feedback: How to Provide Critical Feedback Across the Racial Divide

Yaeger, D. S. et al., (2014). Breaking the Cycle of Mistrust: Wise Interventions to Provide Critical Feedback Across the Racial Divide. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. 143, 804–824 From the abstract Three double-blind randomized field experiments examined the effects of a strategy to restore trust on minority adolescents’ responses to critical feedback. In Studies 1 and […]

The midlife doldrums are a social crisis. Now there’s momentum for some radical fixe

From Washington Post Magazine- By Jonathan Rauch April 11 “I think what we’re seeing,” Marc Freedman told me when I interviewed him one summer day, “right in front of our nose, is the emergence of a new period of life.” Freedman is in his late 50s and lives and works in San Francisco. As the […]