“Children who were rated 1-point higher on a 3-point self-control scale were 26% less likely to be overweight as adolescents.” Multiple factors determine a child’s weight status, of whether they are healthy or overweight. This study assessed whether self-control was one of those factors. 844 children were watched from age 9 to 15. Those who […]
Continue reading[Properly set] goals have been shown to increase performance on well over 100 different tasks involving more than 40,000 participants in at least eight countries working in laboratory, simulation, and field settings. The dependent variables have included quantity, quality, time spent, costs, job behavior measures, and more. The time spans have ranged from 1 minute […]
Continue readingGiven 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 […]
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An assumption underlying the science of positive psychology is that happiness can be measured. There is the Bhutan Happiness Scale. There is the Subjective Happiness scale. And there are constant studies that measure happiness. But nothing really measures your personal happiness very well. So all measures of happiness are based on averages from what people […]
Continue readingWhen I was 16, I had the craziest summer of my life. I woke up in the middle of the night, my heart pounding and my palms sweating. Why oh why? Why had she broken up with me? I want her back! Walking, talking, working, studying – whatever I was doing, she would pop back into my head. […]
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Every single feeling of perception – of touch, of smell, of color – can be traced back to a particular set of neurons. Stimulate those neurons directly and a person’s perception of reality can be controlled. In the 1940s, neurosurgeon Wilder Penfield experimented with the brains of his patients. He sent mild electric shocks to […]
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