Mindful
Raja Parasuraman et al.
Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, forthcoming
Objective: We examined whether a gene known to influence dopamine availability in the prefrontal cortex is associated with individual differences in learning a supervisory control task.
Background: Methods are needed for selection and training of human operators who can effectively supervise multiple unmanned vehicles (UVs). Compared to the valine (Val) allele, the methionine (Met) allele of the COMT gene has been linked to superior executive function, but it is not known whether it is associated with training-related effects in multi-UV supervisory control performance.
Method: Ninety-nine healthy adults were genotyped for the COMT Val158Met single nucleotide polymorphism (rs4680) and divided into Met/Met, Val/Met, and Val/Val groups. Participants supervised six UVs in an air defense mission requiring them to attack incoming enemy aircraft and protect a no-fly zone from intruders in conditions of low and high task load (numbers of enemy aircraft). Training effects were examined across four blocks of trials in each task load condition.
Results: Compared to the Val/Met and Val/Val groups, Met/Met individuals exhibited a greater increase in enemy targets destroyed and greater reduction in enemy red zone incursions across training blocks.
Conclusion: Individuals with the COMT Met/Met genotype can acquire skill in executive function tasks, such as multi-UV supervisory control, to a higher level and/or faster than other genotype groups.
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After Being Challenged by a Video Game Problem, Sleep Increases the Chance to Solve It
Felipe Beijamini et al.
PLoS ONE, January 2014
Abstract:
In the past years many studies have demonstrated the role of sleep on memory consolidation. It is known that sleeping after learning a declarative or non-declarative task, is better than remaining awake. Furthermore, there are reports of a possible role for dreams in consolidation of declarative memories. Other studies have reported the effect of naps on memory consolidation. With similar protocols, another set of studies indicated that sleep has a role in creativity and problem-solving. Here we hypothesised that sleep can increase the likelihood of solving problems. After struggling to solve a video game problem, subjects who took a nap (n = 14) were almost twice as likely to solve it when compared to the wake control group (n = 15). It is interesting to note that, in the nap group 9 out 14 subjects engaged in slow-wave sleep (SWS) and all solved the problem. Surprisingly, we did not find a significant involvement of Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep in this task. Slow-wave sleep is believed to be crucial for the transfer of memory-related information to the neocortex and implement intentions. Sleep can benefit problem-solving through the generalisation of newly encoded information and abstraction of the gist. In conclusion, our results indicate that sleep, even a nap, can potentiate the solution of problems that involve logical reasoning. Thus, sleep's function seems to go beyond memory consolidation to include managing of everyday-life events.
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Singing can facilitate foreign language learning
Karen Ludke, Fernanda Ferreira & Katie Overy
Memory & Cognition, January 2014, Pages 41-52
Abstract:
This study presents the first experimental evidence that singing can facilitate short-term paired-associate phrase learning in an unfamiliar language (Hungarian). Sixty adult participants were randomly assigned to one of three "listen-and-repeat" learning conditions: speaking, rhythmic speaking, or singing. Participants in the singing condition showed superior overall performance on a collection of Hungarian language tests after a 15-min learning period, as compared with participants in the speaking and rhythmic speaking conditions. This superior performance was statistically significant (p < .05) for the two tests that required participants to recall and produce spoken Hungarian phrases. The differences in performance were not explained by potentially influencing factors such as age, gender, mood, phonological working memory ability, or musical ability and training. These results suggest that a "listen-and-sing" learning method can facilitate verbatim memory for spoken foreign language phrases.
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Role of Expectations and Explanations in Learning by Teaching
Logan Fiorella & Richard Mayer
Contemporary Educational Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
The present study examined the role of preparing to teach (i.e., teaching expectancy) and actually teaching (i.e., explaining to others) on immediate and long-term learning. In Experiment 1, participants studied a base version or an enhanced version of a paper-based lesson on how the Doppler Effect works with the expectation of taking a test on the material or with the expectation of teaching the material by providing a video-recorded lecture. Results indicated that those who prepared to teach (without actually teaching) outperformed those who prepared for a test on an immediate comprehension test (i.e., a teaching expectancy effect; d = .55), regardless of the format of the lesson. In Experiment 2, participants studied while expecting to be tested or expecting to teach the material; some then actually did teach the material by providing a video-recorded lecture, whereas others received additional study time. Results indicated that those who actually taught the material outperformed those who did not teach on a delayed comprehension test (i.e., a teaching effect; d = .56), though this effect was strongest for those who also prepared to teach. Overall, these findings are consistent with the idea that preparing to teach results in short-term learning gains, whereas the act of teaching (i.e., by explaining the material to others) coupled with preparing to teach is important for long-term learning.
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Placebo Sleep Affects Cognitive Functioning
Christina Draganich & Kristi Erdal
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, forthcoming
Abstract:
The placebo effect is any outcome that is not attributed to a specific treatment but rather to an individual's mindset (Benson & Friedman, 1996). This phenomenon can extend beyond its typical use in pharmaceutical drugs to involve aspects of everyday life, such as the effect of sleep on cognitive functioning. In 2 studies examining whether perceived sleep quality affects cognitive functioning, 164 participants reported their previous night's sleep quality. They were then randomly assigned to 1 of 2 sleep quality conditions or 2 control conditions. Those in the "above average" sleep quality condition were informed that they had spent 28.7% of their total sleep time in REM, whereas those in the "below average" sleep quality condition were informed that they had only spent 16.2% of their time in REM sleep. Assigned sleep quality but not self-reported sleep quality significantly predicted participants' scores on the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test and Controlled Oral Word Association Task. Assigned sleep quality did not predict participants' scores on the Digit Span task, as expected, nor did it predict scores on the Symbol Digit Modalities Test, which was unexpected. The control conditions showed that the findings were not due to demand characteristics from the experimental protocol. These findings supported the hypothesis that mindset can influence cognitive states in both positive and negative directions, suggesting a means of controlling one's health and cognition.
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Short- and Long-Term Effects of a Novel on Connectivity in the Brain
Gregory Berns et al.
Brain Connectivity, November/December 2013, Pages 590-600
Abstract:
We sought to determine whether reading a novel causes measurable changes in resting-state connectivity of the brain and how long these changes persist. Incorporating a within-subjects design, participants received resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans on 19 consecutive days. First, baseline resting state data for a "washin" period were taken for each participant for 5 days. For the next 9 days, participants read 1/9th of a novel during the evening and resting-state data were taken the next morning. Finally, resting-state data for a "wash-out" period were taken for 5 days after the conclusion of the novel. On the days after the reading, significant increases in connectivity were centered on hubs in the left angular/supramarginal gyri and right posterior temporal gyri. These hubs corresponded to regions previously associated with perspective taking and story comprehension, and the changes exhibited a timecourse that decayed rapidly after the completion of the novel. Long-term changes in connectivity, which persisted for several days after the reading, were observed in bilateral somatosensory cortex, suggesting a potential mechanism for "embodied semantics."
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When Do Painters Make Their Best Work?
P.H. Franses
Creativity Research Journal, Fall 2013, Pages 457-462
Abstract:
This Research Note proposes that modern art painters make their best works at the optimal moment in their lives, a moment that could then be associated with the Divine proportion (the Fibonacci phi). An analysis of 189 highest-priced works by as many modern art painters, comparing the moment of creation with their life span of these artists, yielded the remarkable result that the estimated fraction is 0.6198, which indeed is only 0.0018 away from the divine fraction.
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Nicholas Shakeshaft et al.
PLoS ONE, December 2013
Abstract:
We have previously shown that individual differences in educational achievement are highly heritable in the early and middle school years in the UK. The objective of the present study was to investigate whether similarly high heritability is found at the end of compulsory education (age 16) for the UK-wide examination, called the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). In a national twin sample of 11,117 16-year-olds, heritability was substantial for overall GCSE performance for compulsory core subjects (58%) as well as for each of them individually: English (52%), mathematics (55%) and science (58%). In contrast, the overall effects of shared environment, which includes all family and school influences shared by members of twin pairs growing up in the same family and attending the same school, accounts for about 36% of the variance of mean GCSE scores. The significance of these findings is that individual differences in educational achievement at the end of compulsory education are not primarily an index of the quality of teachers or schools: much more of the variance of GCSE scores can be attributed to genetics than to school or family environment. We suggest a model of education that recognizes the important role of genetics. Rather than a passive model of schooling as instruction (instruere, 'to build in'), we propose an active model of education (educare, 'to bring out') in which children create their own educational experiences in part on the basis of their genetic propensities, which supports the trend towards personalized learning.
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Improving Drivers' Knowledge of Road Rules Using Digital Games
Qing Li & Richard Tay
Accident Analysis & Prevention, April 2014, Pages 8-10
Abstract:
Although a proficient knowledge of the road rules is important to safedriving, many drivers do not retain the knowledge acquired after they have obtained their licenses. Hence, more innovative and appealing methods are needed to improve drivers' knowledge of the road rules. This study examines the effect of game based learning on drivers' knowledge acquisition and retention. We find that playing an entertaining game that is designed to impart knowledge of the road rules not only improves players' knowledge but also helps them retain such knowledge. Hence, learning by gaming appears to be a promising learning approach for driver education.