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 »