In 1988 psychologist James Pennebaker1 and his colleagues conducted a study with somewhat of a counterintuitive design: 50 college students were randomly assigned to write about either a personal topic or an assigned topic that was far less emotional. Their hypothesis? That the personal topic group would have improved immune system functioning and less health […]
“I am a lean, mean, mathing machine.” In college, I’d repeat this phrase to myself, muttering under my breath before every calculus exam. This mantra reminded me that I was tough, prepared, and capable of setting aside my nerves. People engage in self-talk all day long, and it’s a powerful tool for shaping emotional well-being. […]
Dr. Sara Lazar began a yoga and mindfulness practice after a sports injury in the 1990s. Mindfulness – a practice rooted in Eastern philosophy of tuning into the body, mind, and environment – is quickly gaining credibility in the research world. Dr. Lazar has published several papers on the effects of mindfulness meditation on the […]
Ah, April what a beautiful time of year! We have all heard the jingle: April showers bring May…test preparation?! Yes, that’s right, it’s that time of year again for students and teachers in high schools and colleges across the country. To help students prepare for the end of year and semester exams, instructors assign review […]
Happiness, comfort, and mindful attentiveness to one’s surroundings seem like states we should all desire. Yet, Todd Kashdan and Robert Biswas-Diener warn that these psychological states alone are unlikely to lead to professional achievement and personal satisfaction. Rather, we should seek emotional agility and wholeness. In their 2014 book The Upside of Your Dark Side: […]
“Contradict yourself!” Scott Barry Kaufman, scientific director of the Imagination Institute at the University of Pennsylvania, and Carolyn Gregoire, senior writer at the Huffington Post, offer that valuable piece of advice to those seeking to be creative. Their new book Wired to Create: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Creative Mind provides a compelling description of […]
Accepting The Need to Belong Last fall, we heard about highly charged situations arising across countless college campuses. 1 2 3 Some people reacted strongly by name-calling and spreading accusations of “bad parenting” or “lack of discipline” to explain these students’ actions.4 As a student of education and psychology, I asked myself: What are these […]
When picturing a kindergarten classroom in America, chances are you imagine messy finger paint on tables, blocks clinking on the rug, oversized read-aloud books, and little kids climbing through colorful Rubbermaid jungle gyms. (Perhaps you imagine a young Arnold being trampled by 5-year-olds in Radio Flyer wagons). When picturing mindfulness meditation, you might imagine a […]
To teach math through a problem like the one below, an effective math teacher would first try the problem herself. “It’s June 1st, and you’ve begun receiving an allowance of $8 dollars on the first of each month. You’ve had your eye on a new jacket that costs $27, not including the additional 8% sales […]
The teenage years have long been described as a period of “storm and stress.” It’s a time for parental clashes, moodiness, risky behaviors, and a lot of cringe-worthy confessional songwriting. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Teen angst isn’t universal or inevitable, as these “storm and stress” behaviors are less pronounced in more […]
