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Sue Shellenbarger answers readers’ questions
The Wall Street Journal: Q: Regarding your column on how IQ can change over one's lifetime, how can I find more information on the effects of musical training on cognitive skills at various ages? M.J.P., Hingham, Mass. A: Three studies are available online by searching for the titles. In "Music Lessons Enhance IQ" by E. Glenn Schellenberg, a psychology professor at the University of Toronto in Mississauga, children who were given keyboard or voice lessons during first grade posted significantly larger gains in IQ scores at the end of the year, compared with control groups. The study appeared in 2004 in Psychological Science. Another study by Dr.
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Klammern am Status quo
bild der wissenschaft: Viele Menschen rechtfertigen ein bestehendes System, auch wenn eigentlich ersichtlich ist, dass es falsch, ungerecht, korrupt oder einfach zum Scheitern verurteilt ist. Um diesem Phänomen auf den Grund zu gehen, haben die beiden Psychologen Aaron Kay und Justin Friesen bereits bestehende Studien verglichen und ausgewertet und sie zu einem einheitlichen Bild zusammengefasst. Dabei kristallisierten sich vier Beweggründe für das Verhalten heraus. Verteidigung der eigenen Sippe Wird ein Familienmitglied von einem Fremden kritisiert oder gar angegriffen, neigen wir dazu, uns auf die Seite unseres Verwandten zu stellen.
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Learning by Reflection
In case you missed it, the cameras were rolling at the APS 23rd Annual Convention in Washington, DC. Watch Meera Komarraju from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale present her poster session research on “Learning Styles and Academic Motivation in College Students From India.” Komarraju and her coauthors — Steven J. Karau, Corey Tincher, and Varsha S. Godbole — studied the learning and information-processing strategies used by students at two universities in India. The scientists found that student with reflective learning strategies (i.e., strategies that connect course material with personal experiences and outside knowledge) also displayed more intrinsic motivation.
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The Ability to Love Takes Root in Earliest Infancy
The ability to trust, love, and resolve conflict with loved ones starts in childhood—way earlier than you may think. That is one message of a new review of the literature in Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal published by the Association for Psychological Science. “Your interpersonal experiences with your mother during the first 12 to 18 months of life predict your behavior in romantic relationships 20 years later,” says psychologist Jeffry A. Simpson, the author, with University of Minnesota colleagues W. Andrew Collins and Jessica E. Salvatore.
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How to Keep Your Resolutions All Year!
Self Magazine: You think: "I need others to push me to… [fill in the blank]." Asking people for support is smart, but to make your resolution stick, now is the time to learn how to be your own cheerleader. In fact, relying too heavily on a pal or family member to get you to do something can actually decrease your motivation to work toward your goals, a study in Psychological Science finds. Your boyfriend might be great at getting you out of bed for your morning jog, but what happens when he's out of town? Without any motivation to hit the treadmill on your own, you and the snooze button will become BFFs.
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How We Assign Blame for Corporate Crimes
msnbc: Whether the public blames Wall Street or its bankers for bad decisions depends a lot on the group's level of cohesion as well as its mindfulness, or ability to "think," suggests a new study. The researchers wanted to find out how people choose to blame large collectives, such as a major corporation, political party , governmental entity, professional sports team or other organization, while still treating members of those groups as unique individuals. They found that the more people judge a united group as having a "mind"— the ability to think, intend or plan — the less they judge each member as having their own capacity to complete acts requiring such a mind. The opposite also held.
