Quixotic
Brian Galla & Angela Duckworth
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
Why does self-control predict such a wide array of positive life outcomes? Conventional wisdom holds that self-control is used to effortfully inhibit maladaptive impulses, yet this view conflicts with emerging evidence that self-control is associated with less inhibition in daily life. We propose that one of the reasons individuals with better self-control use less effortful inhibition, yet make better progress on their goals is that they rely on beneficial habits. Across 6 studies (total N = 2,274), we found support for this hypothesis. In Study 1, habits for eating healthy snacks, exercising, and getting consistent sleep mediated the effect of self-control on both increased automaticity and lower reported effortful inhibition in enacting those behaviors. In Studies 2 and 3, study habits mediated the effect of self-control on reduced motivational interference during a work–leisure conflict and on greater ability to study even under difficult circumstances. In Study 4, homework habits mediated the effect of self-control on classroom engagement and homework completion. Study 5 was a prospective longitudinal study of teenage youth who participated in a 5-day meditation retreat. Better self-control before the retreat predicted stronger meditation habits 3 months after the retreat, and habits mediated the effect of self-control on successfully accomplishing meditation practice goals. Finally, in Study 6, study habits mediated the effect of self-control on homework completion and 2 objectively measured long-term academic outcomes: grade point average and first-year college persistence. Collectively, these results suggest that beneficial habits — perhaps more so than effortful inhibition — are an important factor linking self-control with positive life outcomes.
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Minds “At Attention”: Mindfulness Training Curbs Attentional Lapses in Military Cohorts
Amishi Jha et al.
PLoS ONE, February 2015
Abstract:
We investigated the impact of mindfulness training (MT) on attentional performance lapses associated with task-unrelated thought (i.e., mind wandering). Periods of persistent and intensive demands may compromise attention and increase off-task thinking. Here, we investigated if MT may mitigate these deleterious effects and promote cognitive resilience in military cohorts enduring a high-demand interval of predeployment training. To better understand which aspects of MT programs are most beneficial, three military cohorts were examined. Two of the three groups were provided MT. One group received an 8-hour, 8-week variant of Mindfulness-based Mind Fitness Training (MMFT) emphasizing engagement in training exercises (training-focused MT, n = 40), a second group received a didactic-focused variant emphasizing content regarding stress and resilience (didactic-focused MT, n = 40), and the third group served as a no-training control (NTC, n = 24). Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) performance was indexed in all military groups and a no-training civilian group (CIV, n = 45) before (T1) and after (T2) the MT course period. Attentional performance (measured by A’, a sensitivity index) was lower in NTC vs. CIV at T2, suggesting that performance suffers after enduring a high-demand predeployment interval relative to a similar time period of civilian life. Yet, there were significantly fewer performance lapses in the military cohorts receiving MT relative to NTC, with training-focused MT outperforming didactic-focused MT at T2. From T1 to T2, A’ degraded in NTC and didactic-focused MT but remained stable in training-focused MT and CIV. In sum, while protracted periods of high-demand military training may increase attentional performance lapses, practice-focused MT programs akin to training-focused MT may bolster attentional performance more than didactic-focused programs. As such, training-focused MT programs should be further examined in cohorts experiencing protracted high-demand intervals.
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Increasing propensity to mind-wander with transcranial direct current stimulation
Vadim Axelrod et al.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, forthcoming
Abstract:
Humans mind-wander quite intensely. Mind wandering is markedly different from other cognitive behaviors because it is spontaneous, self-generated, and inwardly directed (inner thoughts). However, can such an internal and intimate mental function also be modulated externally by means of brain stimulation? Addressing this question could also help identify the neural correlates of mind wandering in a causal manner, in contrast to the correlational methods used previously (primarily functional MRI). In our study, participants performed a monotonous task while we periodically sampled their thoughts to assess mind wandering. Concurrently, we applied transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). We found that stimulation of the frontal lobes [anode electrode at the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), cathode electrode at the right supraorbital area], but not of the occipital cortex or sham stimulation, increased the propensity to mind-wander. These results demonstrate for the first time, to our knowledge, that mind wandering can be enhanced externally using brain stimulation, and that the frontal lobes play a causal role in mind-wandering behavior. These results also suggest that the executive control network associated with the DLPFC might be an integral part of mind-wandering neural machinery.
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Age Differences in Risk: Perceptions, Intentions and Domains
Emily Bonem, Phoebe Ellsworth & Richard Gonzalez
Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, forthcoming
Abstract:
Although it is commonly assumed that older people are more cautious and risk averse than their younger counterparts, the research on age differences in risk taking is mixed. While some research has found that older adults are less risk seeking, other research has found the opposite or no differences. One explanation is that age differences vary across risk domains. In two studies, we surveyed three adult age groups ranging in age from 18 to 83 on their risk perceptions and intentions of risky behaviors across several domains. Our studies showed that compared with young adults, older adults tend to see more risk in behaviors in health and ethical domains but less risk in behaviors from the social domain. A similar pattern occurred for participants' intentions of engaging in the risky behaviors. Older adults rated risky behaviors from health and ethical domains as less enjoyable and less likely to produce gains than young adults, whereas they rated risky behaviors from the social domain as more enjoyable, less unpleasant, and less likely to produce losses than young adults. These results suggest that age differences in risk preferences may vary across domains and may result from differing motivations.
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Marissa Gorlick et al.
Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, March 2015, Pages 509-521
Abstract:
Humans with seven or more repeats in exon III of the DRD4 gene (long DRD4 carriers) sometimes demonstrate impaired attention, as seen in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and at other times demonstrate heightened attention, as seen in addictive behavior. Although the clinical effects of DRD4 are the focus of much work, this gene may not necessarily serve as a “risk” gene for attentional deficits, but as a plasticity gene where attention is heightened for priority items in the environment and impaired for minor items. Here we examine the role of DRD4 in two tasks that benefit from selective attention to high-priority information. We examine a category learning task where performance is supported by focusing on features and updating verbal rules. Here, selective attention to the most salient features is associated with good performance. In addition, we examine the Operation Span (OSPAN) task, a working memory capacity task that relies on selective attention to update and maintain items in memory while also performing a secondary task. Long DRD4 carriers show superior performance relative to short DRD4 homozygotes (six or less tandem repeats) in both the category learning and OSPAN tasks. These results suggest that DRD4 may serve as a “plasticity” gene where individuals with the long allele show heightened selective attention to high-priority items in the environment, which can be beneficial in the appropriate context.
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Chia-Fen Hsu, Nicholas Benikos, Edmund Sonuga-Barke
Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, April 2015, Pages 114–122
Background: Spontaneous very low frequency oscillations (VLFO), seen in the resting brain, are attenuated when individuals are working on attention demanding tasks or waiting for rewards ( Hsu et al., 2013). Individuals with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) display excess VLFO both when working on attention tasks. They also have difficulty waiting for rewards. Here we examined the waiting brain signature in ADHD and its association with impulsive choice.
Methods: DC-EEG from 21 children with ADHD and 21 controls (9–15 years) were collected under four conditions: (i) resting; (ii) choosing to wait; (iii) being “forced” to wait; and (iv) working on a reaction time task. A questionnaire measured two components of impulsive choice.
Results: Significant VLFO reductions were observed in controls within anterior brain regions in both working and waiting conditions. Individuals with ADHD showed VLFO attenuation while working but to a reduced level and none at all when waiting. A closer inspection revealed an increase of VLFO activity in temporal regions during waiting. Excess VLFO activity during waiting was associated with parents’ ratings of temporal discounting and delay aversion.
Conclusions: The results highlight the potential role for waiting-related spontaneous neural activity in the pathophysiology of impulsive decision-making of ADHD.
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Raquel Vidal et al.
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, forthcoming
Objective: To determine the efficacy of a group cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) on adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who were in pharmacological treatment but still presented persistent symptoms.
Method: We conducted a multicenter, randomized rater-blinded controlled trial between April 2012 and May 2014 on a cohort of 119 adolescents (15-21 years). Participants were randomly assigned to 12 manualized group CBT sessions (n=45) or a waiting list control group (n=44). Primary outcomes were assessed by a blind evaluator (ADHD Rating Scale [ADHD-RS], Clinical Global Impression Scale for Severity [CGI-S], Global Assessment Functioning [GAF]) before and after treatment as well as by self-report and parent informant ratings.
Results: Of the initial 119 participants enrolled, 89 completed treatment. A mixed-effect model analysis revealed that participants who were assigned to the group CBT sessions experienced significantly reduced ADHD symptoms compared to the control group (ADHD-RS Adolescent: −7.46 [95% CI, −9.56 to −5.36]; p<0.001; d=7.5 and ADHD-RS Parents: −9.11 [95% CI, −11.48 to −6.75]; p<0.001; d=8.38. CGI-S Self-Report: −0.68 [95% CI, −0.98 to −0.39]; p<0.001; d=3.75 and CGI-S Clinician: −0.79 [95% CI, −0.95 to −0.62]; p<0.001; d=7.71). Functional impairment decreased significantly in the CBT group according to parents (Weiss Functional Impairment Scale −4.02 [95% CI, −7.76 to −0.29]; p < 0.05; d=2.29) and according to the blinded evaluator (GAF: −7.58 [95% CI, −9.1 to −6.05]; p<0.001; d=7.51).
Conclusion: Group CBT associated with pharmacological treatment is an efficacious intervention for reducing ADHD symptoms and functional impairment in adolescents.