This study tests the hypothesis that report cards and standardized assessments test different things – specifically, that report cards focus more on testing self-control, and standardizes assessments on testing intelligence Their reasoning is that the individual components which build into a report card grade, like paying attention in class, doing homework, and showing effort, primarily require self-control. … Read more

Positive Psychology Scales and Measurements The Brief Self-Control Scale (Tangney et al., 2004) is a 13-item questionnaire, which asks participants to endorse statements on a 5-point scale where 1 = not like me at all and 5 = very much like me (e.g., “I have a hard time breaking bad habits” and “I do certain things … Read more

Given the increasing evidence that self-control influences academic performance, it is important to try to increase the self-control of children. Of most interest are motivation strategies which have an immediate impact and don’t require a substantial time investment (e.g. unlike meditation). This study evaluated the impact of the combination of mental contrasting and implementation intentions on … Read more

Do levels of self-control in young children predict future weight status? Maybe. The level of self-control contained by an eight-grader four years earlier explains 8% of the variance of their weight. But after controlling for their BMI four years earlier, self-control explains just 1% of the variance of their weight. This suggests that self-control starts … Read more

Some combination of personality, intelligence, and environmental factors determine success. Intelligence and environment are usually considered to have a much larger role than personality. This study shows that personality may play a larger factor in academic performance than previously thought. Some background: The research behind IQ and performance in adolescents Greater ability to delay gratification measured at … Read more

The Science of Compassion See the studies behind compassion. Why does compassion help? What can it do? Why does it matter? Discover the science of compassion and how it can make a difference in your life. Many studies are beginning to show not only the positive impact of having more compassion but the effectiveness of techniques to … Read more

The relationship is strong but complicated – it’s not as simple as exercise = happiness. The Role of Depression in Short-Term Mood and Fatigue Responses to Acute Exercise Authors explored the differing impact of one-time, high-intensity exercise on sedentary exercisers and sedentary, depressed exercisers. Acute high intensity exercise resulted in transient immediate improvements in depressed mood among individuals … Read more

Do you have a hobby or activity that relaxes you?  I’m not talking TV relax – I’m talking dissolving muscle aches and destroying headaches relax. I’m not talking unwind or vegetate – I’m talking parasympathetic nervous system activation, slower breathing, and alpha waves. For the past eight years, I didn’t – I suffered from untreatable headaches. They were a constant companion. … Read more

Are you full of zest? I hope so – it’s the character strength second most correlated with well-being. (Hope is #1). Positive psychologists use the following 3 survey questions to estimate a person’s level of zest. For each question, a 1-5 scale is used, where 1 = strongly agree, 3 = neutral, and 5 = … Read more

In the past two weeks I’ve made a number of changes that I’ve been putting off for years. The biggest change is that I exercise my willpower to failure every day. As I talked about yesterday, I didn’t suddenly discover a willpower secret or lasting source of inspiration. Over the past three months, I have … Read more