30. July 2009 by John Schinnerer.

There is an ancient Japanese tale that tells of an aggressive, confrontational samurai who commanded a Zen master to explain the concept of Heaven and Hell to him. The Zen master replied with disdain, “You are no more than a cockroach. I will not waste my time with trash like you.” The samurai was enraged and drew his sword from its scabbard. He roared, “I will kill you for your disrespect!”

In the face of the Samurai’s rage, a peaceful manner came to the Zen master. “That,” the Zen master calmly stated, “is hell.”

Shocked at seeing the truth in what the master observed about the rage that had the samurai in its grip, he regained his composure and put away his sword.  The samurai bowed deeply and gratefully thanked the Zen master for his newfound awareness.

“And that,” said the master, “is Heaven.”

The moral of the story is if you want to change, change your awareness of your self.

Being Emotional vs. Being Emotionally Aware

The sudden “aha” of the samurai to his own vengeful emotions demonstrates the critical difference between being overtaken by an emotion and being aware of being overtaken by an emotion. The difference is subtle yet critical. 

As the philosopher, Socrates, told us thousands of years ago, “Know thyself.” One of the keys to knowing yourself is to be aware of how you feel.

Enjoy Your Thursday!

Dr. John Schinnerer

Posted in Alexithymia, Managing Sadness, Anger Management, Mindfulness, Awareness, Danville CA, Emotion & learning, National speakers, Managing Anxiety, Emotional management, Dr. John Schinnerer, Managing stress, Positive Psychology, Emotional IQ, Anxiety, Emotional mind, Depression, Guide To Self Beginners Guide To Managing Emotion, Counseling | Print | No Comments »

29. July 2009 by John Schinnerer.

‘People who are rewarded for making correct decisions learn quickly. While the “carrot” approach may produce favourable results, little is understood about how rewards facilitate the learning process.

Now, in a paper recently published in the online open-access journal PLoS Biology, a team headed by Dr. Burkhard Pleger of the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, and the University College London have demonstrated that the “reward effect” not only supports the improvement of higher cognitive abilities, but also how brain function in the cortex can be enhanced. Intriguingly, they see that the reward effect can be strengthened using dopaminergic compounds. Targeted manipulation of dopamine levels, thereby enhancing the “teaching signal” in the brain, could open up new possibilities in the treatment of patients, for example, after a stroke.’

Carrot approach may be more effective than old school stick approach with regards to learning new material. Findings seem to support positive approach to new learning.

Story here

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090727203624.htm

Cheers,

John Schinnerer, Ph.D.

Guide To Self, Inc.

Posted in Emotion & learning, School psychology, Dr. John Schinnerer, Positive Psychology | Print | No Comments »

29. July 2009 by John Schinnerer.

As I’ve maintained for years, the emotional mind holds a powerful sway over our behaviors.

Check out these recent study  findings

‘

“Psychological distress does not appear to be caused by teen childbearing, nor does it cause teen childbearing, except apparently among girls from poor households,” said Stefanie Mollborn, Ph.D., an assistant professor of sociology at the Institute of Behavioral Science of the University of Colorado at Boulder.

The study, published in the September issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, used data from two large long-term U.S. surveys that followed thousands of teen girls and women. Participants responded to items on symptoms associated with depression, such as how often they found things that did not usually bother them to be bothersome, how easily they could shake off feeling blue or whether they had trouble concentrating. The researchers did not use the term “depression,” which is a clinical diagnosis.

Only the combination of poverty and existing distress was a good predictor of teen pregnancy.’

Read whole article here

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090727204829.htm

When possible, stay happy - it helps!

John Schinnerer, Ph.D.

Posted in Managing Sadness, Anger Management, Relationships, Resiliency, National speakers, Hope, Managing Anxiety, Emotional mind, Guide to Self, Dr. John Schinnerer, Emotional IQ, Anxiety, Depression, Managing stress | Print | No Comments »

27. July 2009 by John Schinnerer.

Fascinating article in New York Times on July 25, 2009 about the possibility of the ‘loss of human control of computer-based intelligences.’

‘Impressed and alarmed by advances in artificial intelligence, a group of computer scientists is debating whether there should be limits on research that might lead to loss of human control over computer-based systems that carry a growing share of society’s workload, from waging war to chatting with customers on the phone.

Their concern is that further advances could create profound social disruptions and even have dangerous consequences.’

To some extent, consciousness is defined as the degree of integration information in a system such as the brain of a human being, a chimpanzee, or a bumblebee, according to Giulio Tononi of the University of Wisconsin - Madison. He has created a theory of consciousness known as integrated information theory (IIT).

IIT is based on two assumptions.

First, conscious states are rich, detailed and highly differentiated. You are aware of an amazing number of occurrences going on around you simultaneously. You can watch your son swim the freestyle at a swim meet, while talking to another parent, while smelling the freshly mown grass beneath your feet, and be cognizant of the sweltering 100 degree sun raining down upon you.  Each of these can be a specific conscious state.

Second, the information from these specific conscious states is heavily integrated. In other words, despite your best efforts, you cannot turn your sense of smell off, nor can you view your son’s race with complete emotional detachment. And you view the race within the context of a swim meet, in a pool with lane lines, surrounded by hundreds of cheering people. You are unable to separate the elements (e.g., swimmers, water, spectators, flags, tents, etc.) of the scene into the various subcomponents. Whatever information you are aware of is presented to you as a unified whole -  a complete scene.

According to Tononi, consciousness occurs within a single, integrated being with a large panoply of states which can be distinguished from one another. This may include perceptual states, emotional states, cognitive states, and a variety of states of awareness or attention.

My Dell laptop has a far greater memory capacity than do I, yet the information within its memory is not integrated. So the word documents that I write have no meaning, no connections to other files, to the laptop.   However, the word files are meaningful to me as the articles are all linked in some meaningful way. They build on top of one another and the ideas within them are revised as my knowledge base builds over time.

IIT is still a young theory. It does not have an answer for everything. For instance, even entities with small degrees of integrated information, such as a single cell or an earthworm, can be termed ‘conscious’ according to the theory.

In truth, we currently have no way to determine whether or not a computer, or a living organism, has consciousness. There is no rational, objective way to say with confidence that one organism has subjective states while another does not.

Of great interest to me is the degree to which emotions come into play in the consciousness question. Computers can think along logical, rational pre-programmed lines. Some robots can even learn from their own experiences to modify future behaviors. However, no mechanical entity (that I know of) has feelings. There are a few robots which are learning to read and mimic facial expressions. There are programs which scan the human face for signs of emotion. Yet none of these are advanced enough to feel sadness, delight, surprise, hope, awe and curiosity.

So it may be that emotions are one of the key elements which define and differentiate consciousness.  Unfortunately, that’s as much time as I have today.

Full NY Times article here

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/26/science/26robot.html?_r=2

Keep a watchful eye on your microwave, GPS and toaster. They might be conspiring against you! Just kidding. :>)

In any case, I’ve gotta run to chat with a client.

I hope you are all thriving!

John Schinnerer, Ph.D.

Posted in Emotion and technology, Consciousness, Morals and values, Anxiety, Dr. John Schinnerer | Print | No Comments »

25. July 2009 by John Schinnerer.

Combat psychology

Great article by Shaun Waterman in the Washington Times this week about the use of positive psychology practices in the Armed Forces (’Combat Psychology’).

Here is an excerpt…

‘An Army pilot project is teaching soldiers techniques drawn from sports psychology such as visualization and bio-feedback to help deal with stress and other mental consequences of combat.

“People that study human performance the most carefully recognize the connection between the physical and mental elements of success … especially at moments of truth,” said Lt. Col. Greg Burbelo.

Col. Burbelo is director of the Army Center for Enhanced Performance (ACEP), a project developed for Olympic athletes - and previously used by trainers with elite West Point cadets and special forces - and applying them to basic training for Army recruits and on-the-job “professional development” for active-duty soldiers.

“We’ve figured out how to do this for our 4,000 cadets,” said Lt. Col. Carl Ohlson of the U.S. Military Academy. “Now we have to figure out the best way to scale and refine that for the whole Army.”

The center is also piloting the techniques with injured and maimed soldiers as part of the Army’s Warriors in Transition program.

“Even with the best possible physical training, you can’t ignore the psychological piece,” said Col. Burbelo, “We teach soldiers the relationship between thoughts, feelings and perceptions” on the one hand “and performance” on the other. “There is a mind-body connection. … They are interrelated. You can leverage your body to perform better.” ‘

Interestingly, these are the same skills I teach to executives, elite athletes, and high school students - visualization, biofeedback (relaxation response), mental imagery, emotional regulation, mindfulness, attentional control and more.

It’s true, ‘the moment of truth,’ is what it comes down to for all of us, whether it’s in an athletic competition, a business meeting, a romantic relationship, a friendship or combat. To me, the moment of truth is that point at which your emotion mind begins to take over control of your mind and body, and you simply start to react without room for thought, planning or foresight. These kneejerk emotional responses can be useful at times to keep us safe when in danger. More frequently, however, angry outbursts and snippy comments will burn bridges and ruin relationships (in combat, losing your cool can even cost lives).  Great to see the military is starting to train more and more of our troops in these methods (previously they were only training special forces in these methods).

The entire article is here http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jul/23/combat-psychology/print/.

Have a blissful weekend!

Dr. John Schinnerer

Guide To Self, Inc.

Positive Psychology Coach

Danville, CA 94526

Posted in Men's emotions, Consciousness, Managing Sadness, Anger Management, Resiliency, Mindfulness, National speakers, Emotion and technology, Awareness, Assertiveness, Managing Anxiety, Emotional management, Managing stress, Realistic optimism, Business & psych, Positive Psychology, Dr. John Schinnerer, Life coach, Emotional mind, Anxiety, Emotional IQ, Guide to Self, Sports Psychology | Print | No Comments »

22. July 2009 by John Schinnerer.

Dr. John Schinnerer

Psychologist, Author, Radio Show Host, Entrepreneur

Danville, CA

Why should you care about positive emotions in business?

How do positive emotions help you to be more creative? More productive? More profitable?

How do you become more resilient in tough times?

How do you empty yourself of old, stagnant anger?

How do you flourish as an individual and as a management team?

Watch this complimentary video from Dr. John Schinnerer and find out now.

Click here to download Quicktime movie

Dr. John Schinnerer is President and Founder of Guide To Self, a company in Danville CA, that focuses on what makes people successful in life. Dr. Schinnerer coaches executives, individuals and groups to their potential using the latest in scientifically proven interventions. Most recently, Dr. John Schinnerer hosted over 200 episodes of Guide To Self Radio, a prime time radio show on positive psychology and emotional management, in the San Francisco Bay Area. He graduated summa cum laude from U.C. Berkeley with a Ph.D. in psychology. He wrote the award-winning book ‘Guide To Self: The Beginner’s Guide To Managing Emotion and Thought’.

The link to the quick time movie is http://www.jobconnections.org/speaker4.shtml.

Enjoy!

John Schinnerer, Ph.D.

Posted in The human brain, Organizational psychology, Subconscious mind, Consciousness, Managing Anxiety, Managing Sadness, Resiliency, Mindfulness, Curiosity, National speakers, Gratitude, Psychology humor, Hope, Awareness, Emotional management, Emotional mind, Dr. John Schinnerer, Creativity, Managing stress, Realistic optimism, Forgiveness, Business & psych, Life coach, Guide to Self, Guide To Self Beginners Guide To Managing Emotion, Depression, Happiness, Customer Engagement, Emotional IQ, Anxiety, Positive Psychology | Print | No Comments »

18. July 2009 by John Schinnerer.

Exciting news! Comcast cable is going to air the CPC Leadership Summit at which I spoke on television channels 26 & 28 on 8 pm on the evenings of 7/19/09, 7/23/09 and 7/24/09.

You’ll be able to watch Paul Kingsman, Dr. John Schinnerer (myself!), and Lt. Governor John Garamendi speak to a packed house of 1500 individuals.

My presentation was on Using Positive Psychology to Increase Resiliency During Job Search.

Truly, the tools I share are good practice for all of us, regardless of our position, age, gender or race.

Hope you enjoy it!

Dr. John Schinnerer

Posted in Anger Management, Emotional management, Emotional mind, Subconscious mind, The human brain, Gratitude, Mindfulness, Resiliency, Happiness, Emotional IQ, Managing stress, Realistic optimism, Forgiveness, Dr. John Schinnerer, Creativity, Guide to Self, Life coach, Positive Psychology | Print | No Comments »

15. July 2009 by John Schinnerer.

Most of us have some experience with malicious hackers trying to steal passwords, credit card information, and expose our hard drives to worms, bugs and viruses. Given the advances in neuropsychology and technology, the next frontier may be hackers attempting to illegally gain entry into your brain.

Technology has been developed in the past two years that allow individuals to control a computer, a wheelchair and even web browsers with mere thoughts. The downside? As these neural devices become more advanced and involved, such as adapting wireless technology, there is a danger of evil doers hacking into users’ brains. Security must be at the forefront of our minds (pun intended) if we are to truly realize the enormous possibilities of this convergence of neuropsychology and technology.

 Read full article in Wired here…

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/07/neurosecurity/

Stay healthy! Stay cool! It’s supposed to be 109 degrees here in California (Bay Area) today.

Dr. John Schinnerer

Guide to Self, Inc.

Posted in Mindfulness, The human brain, Awareness, Emotion and technology, Neuropsychology, Consciousness, Emotional management, Emotional IQ, Guide to Self, Morals and values, Rational mind, Emotional mind, Dr. John Schinnerer | Print | No Comments »

14. July 2009 by John Schinnerer.

Fantastic new article in Scientific American by Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky

‘New research reveals a better way to boost happiness than counting blessings–imagining that the good things never happened’

‘The researchers show that people prompted to write about how a positive event may not have happened experience a greater uptick in mood than those prompted to describe the positive event.  In their most persuasive study, individuals in committed relationships wrote for 15 to 20 minutes about how they might never have met and connected with their partners. Others wrote instead about the reverse – that is, how they did meet, start dating, and end up with their partners. Several control conditions, which involved writing about one’s typical day or about one’s friendships, were included as well. The biggest increase in satisfaction with the relationship occurred not in the group that pondered the sunny beginnings of their union but in the “mental subtraction” (or “How I might never have met Peter”) group.’http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=what-if-id-never-husband&sc=CAT_MB_20090714

Enjoy!

Dr. John Schinnerer

Posted in Relationships, Gratitude, Curiosity, Science of love, Emotional management, Emotional mind, Dr. John Schinnerer, Emotional IQ, Happiness, Positive Psychology | Print | No Comments »

14. July 2009 by John Schinnerer.

RAISING RESILIENT, OPTIMISTIC CHILDREN 

Does your child give up easily?Does your child get frustrated frequently?Is your child pessimistic?If you answered ‘YES’ to any of these questions, you owe it to yourself to attend this presentation. 

Dr. John Schinnerer, a UC Berkeley-trained psychologist and award-winning author will share the latest methods to raise children to lead happy, thriving, meaningful lives on July 15th 2009 at 6:30 pm at the Alameda Library to help kick off the Alameda Light Opera Company’s run of the musical Annie. 

Learn how you can teach your children to be realistically optimistic, so they:¨      get better grades¨      are more resilient¨      achieve in keeping with their ability¨      stay calm under pressure¨      have more friends 

Cost: Free

Time: 6:30 pm Place: Alameda Library

Date: Wednesday, July 15^th, 2009

In conjunction with the Alameda Light Opera Company

Posted in Mindfulness, Resiliency, Managing Sadness, Assertiveness, Hope, Raising optimistic children, Science of love, Emotional management, Parenting, Dr. John Schinnerer, Managing stress, Realistic optimism, Life coach, Guide to Self, Happiness, School psychology, Positive Psychology | Print | No Comments »

13. July 2009 by John Schinnerer.

Check out this interesting answer on Yedda

Self treatment of OCD

Yes, it sounds like you’re dealing with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). OCD is defined in Wikipedia as ‘a human anxiety disorder characterized by involuntary intrusive thoughts. When a sufferer begins to acknowledge these intrusive thoughts, the sufferer then develops anxiety based on the dread that something bad will happen. The sufferer feels compelled to voluntarily perform irrational, time-consuming behaviors to diminish the anxiety.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder affects roughly six million Americans. Its symptoms, ranging from repetitive hand-washing to preoccupation with sexual, religious, or aggressive impulses, wreak havoc in people’s lives, and often cause severe emotional and economic loss.

Sufferers often try to keep their compulsive behaviors hidden from others, often to avoid embarrassment, humiliation or being seen as strikingly odd or different. If the condition is not realized by an undiagnosed sufferer, they may scold themselves in frustration as to why they are thinking or acting the way they are. Although the acts of those who have OCD may appear paranoid and come across to others as psychotic, an OCD sufferer is able to recognize their thoughts and subsequent actions as irrational, which is what makes the illness so distressing. The psychological self-awareness of the irrationality of the disorder may be painful; a sufferer may be plagued by doubt and uncertainty regarding his or her own feelings and behaviors. A principal challenge faced by OCD sufferers is learning to manage their own behaviors without constant reassurance from others.’

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) has been shown to have beneficial effects for OCD sufferers. You might look for a CBT therapists in your area.

Medication is also an option. For help here, you may want to visit a local psychiatrist.

The other option is mindfulness training. Mindfulness has roughly 25 - 30 years of empirical research to back it up as sound treatment for a variety of disorders (depression, anxiety, OCD, ADHD, borderline personality, and more). Mindfulness has been around for roughly 3000 years and is adopted from the Buddhist tradition, but is not necessarily Buddhist in nature. One may practice mindfulness without being Buddhist.

While there are several types of mindfulness, in essence mindfulness is as simple as the following…

1.Focus your awareness on your breath.

2.When you notice your awareness is off your breath, simply return your awareness to your breath.

3.It’s about awareness. It’s not about the breath.

4.Simply observe the thoughts and feelings in your mind. You don’t need to judge them as good or bad. They just are.

Please note that mindfulness is simple but it’s not easy.

By practicing mindfulness and acceptance of the obsessive thoughts, the power is gradually taken away from the thoughts. By looking at the thoughts with curiosity and openness, the thoughts eventually become boring and not as emotionally charged.

There are a number of free guided mindfulness talks at http://www.audiodharma.org/talks-guidedmeditation.html

I also write about mindfulness, ways to manage negative emotions and thoughts, and ways to cultivate more positive emotions at http://drjohnblog.guidetoself.com.

There are also some articles which may be of interest to you at http://www.guidetoself.com/publications.htm

Hopefully, you can find some relief from these suggestions.

I have done mindfulness training with continuation high school students and found it to be very helpful to 90% of them, including one with severe OCD.

All the best,

Dr. John Schinnerer

Positive Psychology Coach

Guide To Self, Inc.

Topics:  psychology

Answered by John Schinnerer on July 13, 2009

View the entire discussion on Yedda

Posted in Hope, Awareness, Curiosity, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Mindfulness, Managing Anxiety, Anxiety, Tips to help anxiety, Emotional management, Guide to Self | Print | No Comments »

13. July 2009 by John Schinnerer.

A robot, designed by researchers at UCSD, can learn new facial expressions simply by monitoring itself in a mirror, a strange, and slightly eery, step towards computers and robots that learn on their own.

Courtesy of UCSD

The Einstein-like robot was first shown last February at the TED Conference last February. Now, the inventors have taken the next step by programming the robot to ‘learn’ to fine tune its own facial expressions via self-monitoring. The robot is designed by Hanson Robotics. Prior to this upgrade, the robot could demonstrate only the 31 preprogrammed expressions. Now the robot can tweak, modulate and improve upon those preprogrammed expressions creating a nearly limitless facial repertoire. Similar to the movie title ‘Flubber’, the material which the robot’s skin is made of is called ’Frubber’.

The idea was derived from the way in which babies learn vocalizations and expressions. Rather than relying on preprogramming to elicit it’s certain facial expressions, the UCSD robot uses trial and error while getting feedback of its own expressions from a mirror, and thereby slowly learns how certain micromovements lead to full emotional expressions.   The UCSD researchers presented a paper on the momentous feat last month at the 2009 IEEE Conference on Development and Learning.

The press release from UCSD states,

‘Once the robot learned the relationship between facial expressions and the muscle movements required to make them, the robot learned to make facial expressions it had never encountered.’

Creepy, but impressive, nonetheless. I’m not sure how comfortable I feel with the convergence of nanotechnology, emotionally expressive robots, artificial intelligence, cloning technology and the implantation of electronics into humans. It seems quite plausible, as many have argued, that a quick learning, human-like robot could be developed in the next 25 years. The problems seem to start when and if that robot becomes ’self-aware’ and gets a chance to self-replicate. Perhaps that’s needeless worrying, but it seems common sense to me to proceed with caution and mindfulness in these areas.

Have a wonderful week,

Dr. John Schinnerer

Guide To Self, Inc.

Posted in Consciousness, Awareness, Emotion and technology, Guide To Self Beginners Guide To Managing Emotion, Morals and values, Dr. John Schinnerer, Guide to Self, Emotional IQ, Measuring emotions | Print | No Comments »

12. July 2009 by John Schinnerer.

Here is a great article by Andrew Rosenthal of Happier.com which summarizes some of the latest findings in positive psychology regarding happiness - what it takes, what it gives and how to get it.

 ’A wealth of research has been done over the past few years on happiness – why it’s so important to be happy, how to measure your own happiness and of course, how to improve your own happiness. Yet we’re all so busy on a day to day basis, that trying to focus on happiness can seem like a luxury.

It’s important to know why happiness is such a big deal. Here are a few proven by- products of happiness that just might surprise you!…’

Please feel free to read the rest of the article at the source below…

http://www.notjustthekitchen.com/family-relationships/surprising-facts-on-happiness/

Have a positive day!

Dr. John Schinnerer

Guide To Self, Inc.

Posted in Managing Anxiety, Emotional management, Emotional mind, Happiness, Managing Sadness, Resiliency, Science of love, Curiosity, Gratitude, Mindfulness, Customer Engagement, Staying calm, Measuring emotions, Realistic optimism, Forgiveness, Positive Psychology, Dr. John Schinnerer, Creativity, Emotional IQ, Guide to Self, Life coach, Sports Psychology | Print | No Comments »

12. July 2009 by John Schinnerer.

Individuals who focus their awareness on brief moments of positive emotions have greater resilience than those who simpmlyl pass those moments by.

 Barbara Fredrickson’s latest study in the journal Emotion (link below) shows that focusing on micromoments that involve positive emotions (such as joy, interest, curiosity, awe, pride, contentment, relaxation, love, hope and more) leads to greater resiliency. This higher level of resiliency allows such individuals to bounce back from adversity more quickly, with greater energy and more wisdom. It also allows resilient individuals to fight off stress and depression more quickly and efficiently.

 The study focused on capturing respondents’ daily recollections of feelings (e.g., ‘Today, how much curiosity did you feel?’) as opposed to more general, longer-term feelings (e.g., ‘Over the past month, how much curiosity did you feel?’). This led to a  more accurate picture of moment-to-moment feelings and enabled more accurate measurement of momentary vicissitudes.

Focusing on cultivating more positive emotions does not require eliminating ‘negative’ emotions (e.g., fear, anger, sadness). ‘Negative’ emotions are a necessary and important part of life. They cannot be done away with nor do we want to do away with them. One does not need to adopt a Pollyana-ish attitude of eternal optimism to enjoy the benefits of positive emotions.

Simply by focusing on fleeting, fragile, low level intensity moments of positive emotions, one is rewarded with a boost in resiliency.  And in this day and age, who couldn’t use a little more bounciness when faced with life’s ubiquitous challenges?

John Schinnerer, Ph.D.

Guide To Self, Inc.

http://psycnet.apa.org/?fa=main.doiLanding&doi=10.1037/a0015952

Cohn, et. al. Happiness Unpacked: Positive Emotionss Increase Life Satisfaction by Building Resilience. Emotion, 2009; 9 (3): 361

Posted in Resiliency, The human brain, Emotional management, Emotional mind, Mindfulness, Hope, Science of love, Curiosity, Gratitude, Awareness, Happiness, Customer Engagement, Measuring emotions, Managing stress, Realistic optimism, Forgiveness, Dr. John Schinnerer, Creativity, Tips to help anxiety, Emotional IQ, Guide to Self, Life coach, Positive Psychology | Print | No Comments »

6. July 2009 by John Schinnerer.

Great article on the first annual Intl. Positive Psychology Association conference in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Mental health is not just expelling illness. Now, science explores what it takes to flourish.

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/magazine/20090706_Psychology_of_thriving.html

Posted in Positive Psychology | Print | No Comments »

6. July 2009 by John Schinnerer.

Study in the journal Heart found that watching a funny film the equivalent beneficial effect to the heart as does a rigorous aerobic workout.

Check out more here

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/01/060118095009.htm

Cheers,

Dr. John Schinnerer

Guide To Self, Inc.

Posted in Emotional management, Psychology humor, Emotional mind, Happiness, Dr. John Schinnerer, Guide to Self, Positive Psychology | Print | No Comments »

6. July 2009 by John Schinnerer.

More and more, advances in technology are enabling emotion-sensing technologies with greater sophistication and accuracy. While software has monitored voices for agitation and pacing of voice in call centers for some time, we are nearing an age of gadgets that sense our moods, emotions, degree of agitation, stress, depression, and more.

Imagine your car sensing you are getting highly frustrated in a traffic jam, so the GPS suggests an alternative route with less traffic.

Picture an entertainment center that reads cues of depression and adjusts your entertainment to pick up your mood (e..g, changing the channel from drama to comedy).

Think of an iPhone that measures galvanic skin response (perspiration) and alters your playlist to calm you down when you show sign of stress or anger.

Computer programs are able to correctly identify the six universal emotions (via Ekman) at a rate of 88%. The average human correctly identifies the same emotions at roughly 49% (slightly less than pure chance).

 So how does the thought of emotion-sensing robots or computer gadgets make you feel?

Think about it from a perspective of interest and curiosity.

Then think about it from a feeling of paranoia and fear.

You may arrive at two completely separate conclusions based simply on your emotional starting point.

Here is the complete story from New Scientist

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327151.400-emotional-robots-will-we-love-them-or-hate-them.html?full=true

Cheers,

Dr. John Schinnerer

Positive Psychology Coach and  Author

www.GuideToSelf.com

Posted in The human brain, Emotional mind, Music psychology, Curiosity, Emotion and technology, Depression, Unique marketing research, Dr. John Schinnerer, Guide to Self, Emotional IQ, Innovative brand research, Measuring emotions | Print | No Comments »

1. July 2009 by John Schinnerer.

From the abstract from International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology…

Thelwell, R., Lane, A. M., Weston, N.J.V., & Greenlees, I.A. (2008). Examining relationships between emotional intelligence and coaching efficacy. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology 6, 224-235.

The study examined the relationship between EI, as measured using the EI Scale (Schutte et al, 1998) and coaching efficacy, as measured using the Coaching Efficacy Scale, among 99 athletic coaches. Results revealed significant relationships between the two sets of variables. More specifically, results showed that motivation efficacy (e.g., maintain confidence) was significantly associated with the regulation of emotions and social skills, whereas character-building efficacy (e.g., promote good sportsmanship) was associated with optimism. Teaching technique efficacy (e.g., demonstrate the skills of your sport) was significantly associated with appraisal of own emotions.

The results indicate that should coaches be unable to appraise their own emotions and regulate them accordingly, then their ability to affect the learning and performance of their athletes will be severely hindered. As such, it may be that coaches who lacks awareness of their own emotions are subsequently unable to regulate them accordingly for the situation and ultimately their performers’ well-being. This is clearly in line with some of the reports from the business environment (e.g., George, 2000) where leaders lacking in EI had significantly reduced leadership effectiveness. Alternatively, coaches who can appraise their own emotions will arguably possess greater sensitivity to when their emotions need to be regulated in accord with the situation, thus enabling them to fulfill their coaching role (Gould et al., 2002). Again, this mirrors research outside of sport where leaders with high EI deal with potentially difficult situations more effectively (Jordan et al., 2002).

Posted in Emotional mind, Psychology & soccer, Emotional management, Anger Management, Awareness, Resiliency, Emotional IQ, Guide to Self, Swim coaches, Sports Psychology, Abusive Coaches, Positive Psychology, Life coach, Dr. John Schinnerer, Mean coaches | Print | No Comments »

1. July 2009 by John Schinnerer.

A great article on the Myths of Perfect Parenting at Psych Central.

 Feel free to take a look!
John Schinnerer, Ph.D.

Posted in Parenting | Print | No Comments »