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I Know You Can – So I Believe I Can
Do you ever get unusually anxious before taking a test? Do you ever choke and blank-out during a test? If so, research suggests you try thinking about a competent person before you take the test. You’ll perform better than you think you will. A study published in Psychological Science found that people who have test anxiety perform better on a test when they are primed with competency before taking it. Volunteers were measured on their test anxiety, and were placed in either a competency prime group or a control group.
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Studies Find ‘Easy’ Material May Not Be Easy to Learn
EDUCATION WEEK: Emerging research suggests that, contrary to what students may think, material that’s easy to understand is not always easy to learn—and working harder can help them hold on to what they’ve learned. It’s a typical school scenario: A student strolls into class on test day, telling classmates how he crammed the night before and certain he will ace the exam, only to be confounded by how little he actually remembers from hours of studying. Read the whole story: EDUCATION WEEK
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Social environment linked to gay teen suicide risk
Reuters: Lesbian, gay and bisexual teens are five times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers - but those living in a supportive community might be a little better off, according to a new study. The findings, published online today in Pediatrics, showed that lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) teens living in counties with a high proportion of gay and lesbian couples, and those who went to schools with gay-straight alliances and anti-discrimination policies, were less likely to attempt suicide than LGB teens living in less accepting environments. Read the Whole Story: Reuters
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The Possibilian
THE NEW YORKER: When David Eagleman was eight years old, he fell off a roof and kept on falling. Or so it seemed at the time. His family was living outside Albuquerque, in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains. There were only a few other houses around, scattered among the bunchgrass and the cholla cactus, and a new construction site was the Eagleman boys’ idea of a perfect playground. David and his older brother, Joel, had ridden their dirt bikes to a half-finished adobe house about a quarter of a mile away. When they’d explored the rooms below, David scrambled up a wooden ladder to the roof.
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ADHD a challenge for young athletes
Gazette.Net: Joshua Wooten is enjoying his freshman season on the tennis team at Crossland High School this spring. As one of millions of people diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Wooten has endured numerous academic and social challenges, but he has found participating in sports therapeutic. Experts say it's important for coaches and parents of children with ADHD to understand the condition before a child begins playing organized sports. "The reality is that anybody that's coaching youth sports either has an athlete with ADHD or will have one," said Dr. Diane Finley, a professor of psychology at Prince George's Community College who holds a Ph.D.
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How to Ace Your Test
When it comes to predicting how well we’ll remember something in the future, research suggests we’re not so great at it. A study in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science found that our predictions of our future memory are biased by how we feel when processing the information to be learned. In a series of experiments, volunteers were asked to study some word items and predict how well they would recall them later. Some were told they would get another chance (or four) to study them while some were told this was it. In addition, the words either showed up in large or small fonts.
