Science of the SpiritS


People

Working Together Can Help Battle Effects of Fatigue


American Psychological Association
Wed, 17 Aug 2011 00:00 UTC
Image
© Unknown
Teams show more flexible thinking when fatigued than individuals, study finds.

Fatigue can lead to dangerous errors by doctors, pilots and others in high-risk professions, but individuals who work together as a team display better problem-solving skills than those who face their fatigue alone, new research shows.

"Teams appear to be more highly motivated to perform well, and team members can compare solutions to reach the best decision when they are fatigued. This appears to allow teams to avoid the inflexible thinking experienced by fatigued individuals," said Daniel Frings, PhD, a senior lecturer in social psychology at London South Bank University. His study was published online this week in the American Psychological Association's Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied. The work was supported by a grant from the Economic and Social Research Council, a government-funded organization serving the United Kingdom.

The study examined the problem-solving skills of 171 army officer cadets during a weekend training exercise. Individual cadets and teams of four cadets from the University of London Officers' Training Corps worked on a series of math problems. Some cadets were tested at the beginning of the training when they were rested, while others were tested at the end when they were exhausted from military drills, night watch duty, and a lack of sleep. The results showed that individual soldiers who were fatigued performed significantly worse on the tests than alert soldiers. However, teams of cadets performed just as well when they were tired as when they were alert.
Read More...
Bulb

Children of depressed mothers have a different brain: MRI scans show their children have an enlarged amygdala


University of Montreal
Mon, 15 Aug 2011 06:49 UTC
This release is available in French.

Researchers think that brains are sensitive to the quality of child care, according to a study that was directed by Dr. Sonia Lupien and her colleagues from the University of Montreal published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The scientists worked with ten year old children whose mothers exhibited symptoms of depression throughout their lives, and discovered that the children's amygdala, a part of the brain linked to emotional responses, was enlarged.

Similar changes, but of greater magnitude, have been found in the brains of adoptees initially raised in orphanages. Personalized attention to children's needs may be the key factor. "Other studies have shown that mothers feeling depressed were less sensitive to their children's needs and were more withdrawn and disengaged," explained Drs. Sophie Parent and Jean Séguin of the University of Montreal's, who followed the children over the years.
Read More...
Stop

Nothing new here: Experts link depression to abuse in early life

John von Radowitz
The Scotsman
Mon, 15 Aug 2011 15:53 UTC
Image
© Unknown
Childhood abuse doubles the risk of a life blighted by depression, a study has found.

The research also shows that abused individuals are less likely to respond to depression treatments.

Scientists examined pooled data from 26 separate studies involving more than 23,000 participants. The "meta-analysis" revealed that people maltreated in childhood are twice as likely as those with no history of abuse to develop multiple and long-lasting episodes of depression.

Lead investigator Dr Andrea Danese, from the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London, said: "Identifying those at risk of multiple and long-lasting depressive episodes is crucial from a public health perspective.

"The results of our study indicate that childhood maltreatment is associated both with an increased risk of developing recurrent and persistent episodes of depression, and with an increased risk of responding poorly to treatment.
Read More...
Magic Wand

Meditation and Its Benefits


bewellbuzz.com
Wed, 10 Aug 2011 15:45 UTC
Image
© thehappyself.com
Meditation is a term that refers to a group of techniques where a user trains his or her mind to a mode of consciousness to obtain certain benefits. Examples of meditations include mantra meditation, relaxation response, mindfulness meditation and Zen Buddhist meditation. Majority of the meditation techniques traces their origins as far back during the prehistoric times. The roots of the practice of meditation are strongly linked to religious practices. In the early days, meditation was used as an individual's way to engage with the spiritual dimension of the universe or to appease the gods or to communicate with a perceived supreme being.

Today in modern society, the adoption of meditation has extended its traditional use outside the scope of religion as people utilize it for health-related purposes. There is still no consensus on the universally accepted definition of meditation within the realm of scientific language, but the world of conventional modern medicine is slowly embracing the concept as an alternative or complementary form of medicine. By definition complementary and alternative medicine refers to a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not presently considered to be part of the conventional practice of medicine (NIH NCAM, USA).
Read More...
Family

Best of the Web: Are Beautiful People 'Selfish by Nature'?

Jamie Doward and Bradley Wilkinson
The Guardian
Sun, 14 Aug 2011 05:50 UTC
Natalie Portman
© Steve Granitz/WireImageA study suggests that people with symmetrical faces, such as Natalie Portman, are naturally more self-sufficient.
People with symmetrical faces are more self-sufficient and less likely to co-operate, new research suggests

Kate Moss, George Clooney, Natalie Portman or Cristiano Ronaldo may be many people's ideas of dream dates, but pioneering research that combines economics with biology suggests they may not be perfect life partners.

According to a study to be discussed this month at a gathering of Nobel prizewinners, people blessed with more symmetrical facial features, which are considered more attractive, are less likely to co-operate and more likely to selfishly focus on their own interests.

Santiago Sanchez-Pages, who works at the universities of Barcelona and Edinburgh, and Enrique Turiegano, of the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, base their claims on the "prisoner's dilemma" model of behaviour, played out under laboratory conditions. Two players were each given the option of being a "dove" and co-operating for the greater good; or a "hawk", taking the selfish option, with a chance of gaining more if the other player chose "dove" and co-operated. The subjects' faces were then analysed.
Read More...
Magic Wand

Saying swear words actually stresses your brain

Alasdair Wilkins
IO9
Sun, 31 Jul 2011 15:53 UTC
Image
© GranniesKitchen
While there's nothing quite like reeling off a string of profanities to blow off some steam, our brains might not agree with that sentiment. Saying swear words out loud actually triggers reactions deep in the emotion centers of the brain.

That's the finding of Professor Jeffrey Bowers and Dr. Christopher Pleydell-Pearce, both of the University of Bristol's School of Experimental Psychology. They designed an experiment in which participants read from three lists: one with swear words on it, another with euphemisms for those swear words, and finally a list of neutral words with no profane connections. The test subjects consistently had a far greater autonomic response when reading the actual swears - in other words, swearing was more stressful than not swearing, neurologically speaking.
Read More...
Book

Spoiler alert: Stories are not spoiled by 'spoilers'


University of California - San Diego
Wed, 10 Aug 2011 15:56 UTC
Image
© Jean-Honoré FragonardYoung Girl Reading
Many of us go to extraordinary lengths to avoid learning the endings of stories we have yet to read or see - plugging our ears, for example, and loudly repeating "la-la-la-la," when discussion threatens to reveal the outcome. Of book and movie critics, we demand they not give away any plot twists or, at least, oblige with a clearly labeled "spoiler alert." We get angry with friends who slip up and spill a fictional secret.

But we're wrong and wasting our time, suggests a new experimental study from the University of California, San Diego. People who flip to the last page of a book before starting it have the better intuition. Spoilers don't spoil stories. Contrary to popular wisdom, they actually seem to enhance enjoyment.

Even ironic-twist and mystery stories - which you'd be forgiven for assuming absolutely depend on suspense or surprise for success - aren't spoiled by spoilers, according to a study by Nicholas Christenfeld and Jonathan Leavitt of UC San Diego's psychology department, to be published in a forthcoming issue of the journal Psychological Science.
Read More...
Dollar

Best of the Web: The Rich Are Different - and Not in a Good Way, Studies Suggest

Brian Alexander
MSNBC
Tue, 09 Aug 2011 23:12 UTC
Rich Shopper
© The New York TimesA shopper choses a pair of $1,495 Christian Louboutin shoes at Bergdorf Goodman in Manhattan.
The 'Haves' show less empathy than 'Have-nots'

Psychologist and social scientist Dacher Keltner says the rich really are different, and not in a good way: Their life experience makes them less empathetic, less altruistic, and generally more selfish.

In fact, he says, the philosophical battle over economics, taxes, debt ceilings and defaults that are now roiling the stock market is partly rooted in an upper class "ideology of self-interest."

"We have now done 12 separate studies measuring empathy in every way imaginable, social behavior in every way, and some work on compassion and it's the same story," he said. "Lower class people just show more empathy, more prosocial behavior, more compassion, no matter how you look at it."

In an academic version of a Depression-era Frank Capra movie, Keltner and co-authors of an article called "Social Class as Culture: The Convergence of Resources and Rank in the Social Realm," published this week in the journal Current Directions in Psychological Science, argue that "upper-class rank perceptions trigger a focus away from the context toward the self...."
Read More...
Book

Days Spent Reading to Dogs During Summer May Help Avoid Decline of Reading Skills

Tom Keppeler
Tufts University, Health Sciences Campus
Wed, 10 Aug 2011 03:00 UTC
Image
© Charles B. BartonCompulsory Education
Pilot study's results published in veterinary school white paper.

Second graders who read aloud to a canine over the summer seem to maintain their reading skills during the dog days of summer, according to a pilot study published today by the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University.

In the study, published in a whitepaper on the school's website, second-grade students with a range of reading aptitudes and attitudes toward reading were paired with dogs - or people - and asked to read aloud to them once a week for 30 minutes in the summer of 2010.

At the end of the program, students who read to the dogs experienced a slight gain in their reading ability and improvement in their attitudes toward reading, as measured on the Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) and Elementary Reading Attitude Survey (ERAS), respectively - while those who read to people experienced a decrease on both measures.

Another surprising result was the high rate of attrition among students in the control group. Of the original cohort of nine, a third failed to complete the program. No students left the dog-reading group.
Read More...
No Entry

Rioters have 'lower levels' of brain chemical that keeps impulsive behaviour under control


The Daily Mail
Tue, 09 Aug 2011 15:36 UTC
Some men may be more likely to riot because of their 'impulsive' brains, according to a study.

Certain individuals have lower levels of a brain chemical that helps keep behaviour under control, scientists believe.

Researchers from the University of Cardiff uncovered a link between impulsiveness and levels of the neurotransmitter GABA in a key brain region.

Image
© EPADo rioters, pictured looting a shop in Hackney, have lower levels of a brain chemical that helps keep behaviour under control? Scientists think so
Those with low levels tended to be more aggressive and to respond rashly to 'urges'.

GABA is one of a family of brain chemicals that allow signals to flow between neurons.
Read More...