Forget What You Know About Good Study Habits

Author: Benedict Carey

Publication Name: The New York Times

Date of Publication: September, 2010

Summary:

Every year before school starts, parents try to turn their mushy brained video game playing children into book ready students. A variety of techniques are used to up their study habits such as, “Clear[ing] a quiet work space. Stick to a homework schedule. Set goals. Set boundaries. Do not bribe."

Psychologists have found that many of the study habits that we depend on nowadays are wrong. Many people are lead to believe that by finding a nice, quiet, secluded corner in a library or study room will help them study better. However, research showed that it was just the opposite. In a 1978 experiment, psychologist found that college students that studied a list of forty vocabulary words in two different rooms did better on a test than another set of college students who studied the words twice in one room.

This happens is because the brain makes associations with the content a person is studying with the environment around them. By forcing the brain to associate the same material in a variety of environments, it gives the material more neural scaffolding.

It has also been shown that studying a many different subjects in one sitting, leaves a greater impression on the brain than studying one subject alone. “What we think is happening here is that, when the outside context is varied, the information is enriched, and this slows down forgetting,” said Dr. Bjork, one of the people that conducted the two room experiment.

There was also an experiment where a group of children were split into two groups, one group was given a repeated example of one problem and the other group was given mixed problem sets to study. The children with mixed problem sets did twice as well on a test than their counterparts.

Cognitive scientists do not deny though that good old cramming works. However, the brain does not retain the information and when a student is confronted with the information again. It is like seeing it for the first time again. Although we are confronted with a variety of study habits that we should adapt in the spirit of doing better an exam, adding variety to our study habits can certainly help us retain the information better.

Links to Study: N/A

Articles: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/07/health/views/07mind.html?ref=psychology_and_psychologists

Submitted by: Tina Nguyen

Bad for Teeth, Good for Society

AUTHOR: Sonya Sobieski

PUBLICATION NAME: Psychology Today

DATE OF PUBLICATION: October 30. 2009

SUMMARY: Halloween is a day that anyone can be anyone they want to be without feeling guilty. According to Freud, he said that everyone needed some time to be able to be and do whatever they wanted without caring to be truly happy. Although Halloween is based on ancient Pagan rituals, it does not follow it's true roots anymore. It is now an American holiday where children dress up in costumes to receive candy from their neighbors. It is also one of the only holidays that does not include an kind of religious or patriotic significance. The community gains a sort of sense of belonging and acceptance on Halloween without any judgments. for Halloween. I myself usually dress as a nerd, cause I look like one in the first place. I have never looked at Halloween from this certain viewpoint before, but I think society thinks Halloween more as a day to receive free candy from your neighbors and not as a day where one can run free and be anyone they like to be. Their research has said that "Halloween allows people to express their shadow side in a safe and socially sanctioned way". This study brings up an interesting theory and does not conflict with any other popular theories regarding Halloween. This research changes the field of Psychology by stating that Halloween is a day for psychological freedom from social norms.

LINKS TO STUDY: N/A

ARTICLE: http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200910/bad-teeth-good-society

SUBMITTED BY: Ryan Liu

Acting Selfish? Blame Your Mother!

AUTHOR: Science Daily/ University of Oxford

PUBLICATION NAME: ScienceDaily.com

DATE OF PUBLICATION: Septemeber 07, 2010.

SUMMARY:
In a recent study of social behavior between our female and male ancestors states that our female ancestors cause us to have more conflicts with others. The reason why our social behavior is selfish is because of our female ancestors and the reason why we are unselfish or devoted to the welfare of others is because of our male ancestors. Our brains create more conflict with others because our female ancestors were more dispersed than our male ancestors.


The Scientists from Oxford University and the University of Tennessee put this study to the test by using the process called "genomic imprinting", the genetic fact by which certain genes are expressed in a parent's specific manner. Historically, the female ancestors dispersed more than men, which makes them to be less related to their neighbors. The female ancestors being more dispersed than men is the case of ancestral humans. Because the men were more related to their neighbors they wouldn't have any disagreements or conflicts due to the similarities both genes have already. The female gene will not be kind to others at times but the male gene will be kind. Both genes are in conflict whether we should be selfish or unselfish. The study reveals that they have tried to mutate the imprinted genes, however it can lead to disorders. These results are important because it can cause disorders to the brain such as autism and psychosis. Autism is a disorder that causes you to make repetitive actions. Psychosis is a disorder that keeps you loss in contact with reality. This behavior changes the field of Psychology because now we know where we get our selfish feeling from. It's a positive and negative thing to know because when we see our mother's throwing a tantrum and being selfish over a small thing, we know not to act like that. This research is considered existing research because of the studies they put towards both female, males and infants.


LINKS TO STUDY:  No Original Links to Study.

ARTICLE: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100905164034.htm

SUBMITTED BY: Erikacamisse Diaz