Science Daily Ed. Psychology
Low grades in adolescence linked to dopamine genes, says biosocial criminologist
The academic performance of adolescents will suffer in at least one of four key subjects -- English, math, science, history -- if their DNA contains one or more of three specific dopamine gene variations, according to a biosocial criminologist.
Unrealistic goals and standards make teachers stressed, UK study finds
New research from the UK has found that teachers who want to be happier should not try to please everyone and should have a greater say in setting targets.
Infant's gaze may be an early, but subtle, marker for autism risk
New study results show that an early marker for later communication and social delays in infants at a higher-risk for autism may be infrequent gazing at other people when unprompted. The study also found that six-month-old high-risk infants demonstrated the same level of cause and effect learning skills when compared to low-risk infants of the same age.
Mindfulness meditation increases well-being in adolescent boys, study finds
"Mindfulness," the process of learning to become more aware of our ongoing experiences, increases well-being in adolescent boys, a new study reports.
Hispanic kids show greater risk of substance use, study suggests
Hispanic middle school students may be more likely to smoke, drink or use marijuana than their peers of other races and ethnicities, whereas Asian students seem to have the lowest risk, according to new research.
Children raised by gay couples show good progress through school, study finds
By mining data from the 2000 Census, a sociologist figured out the rates at which kids raised by gay and straight couples repeated a grade during elementary or middle school. He found that children of same-sex parents have essentially the same educational achievement as their peers growing up in heterosexual households.
Reading Arabic isn't easy, brain study suggests
The brain's right hemisphere is not involved in the initial processes of reading in Arabic, due to the graphic complexity of Arabic script. Therefore reading acquisition in Arabic is much harder in comparison to English, according to a recent series of studies.
School-based intervention successfully lowers drinking rates in at risk children
In an effort to combat these startling findings, researchers in the UK describe a successful personality-based intervention for substance abuse delivered by teachers.
Verbal feedback gets pupils thinking
How do you encourage pupils to think about their own development? By getting the teachers to talk with them about their portfolio. An increasing number of schools are expecting a lot from a digital development portfolio. In this portfolio, pupils collect their own work with the associated reflections over a longer period of time. Research from the Netherlands has demonstrated that teachers can support pupils in their self-reflection process.
Nerve cell production linked to memory in humans
Production of new nerve cells in the human brain is linked to learning and memory, according to a new study. The research is the first to show such a link in humans. The findings provide clues about processes involved in age- and health-related memory loss and reveal potential cellular targets for drug therapy.
All may not be as it seems: College students, alcohol and sex
College students are less likely to let their female friends engage in risky sexual behavior after a night of drinking alcohol, according to a recent study.
Alcohol dependence damages both episodic memory and awareness of memory
Metamemory refers to the subjective knowledge that people have of their own cognitive processing abilities. A first-of-its-kind study has found that not only were alcohol-dependent patients relatively unaware of their memory deficits, but that they also overestimated their memory capacities.
Autism and mental retardation connected with APC protein
A clue to the causes of autism and mental retardation lies in the synapse, the tiny intercellular junction that rapidly transfers information from one neuron to the next. Neuroscientists report that a protein called APC (adenomatous polyposis coli) plays a key role in synapse maturation, and APC dysfunction prevents the synapse function required for typical learning and memory.
Organizations learn more from failure than success, study finds; Knowledge gained from failure lasts longer
While success is surely sweeter than failure, it seems failure is a far better teacher, and organizations that fail spectacularly often flourish more in the long run, according to a new study.
Victims of bullying suffer academically as well, psychologists report
Students who are bullied repeatedly do substantially worse in school, psychologists report. A high level of bullying was consistently associated with lower grades across the three years of middle school.
Homework wars: How can parents improve the odds of winning?
Children are more likely to do their homework if they see it as an investment, not a chore, according to new research.
Nearly one million children in U.S. potentially misdiagnosed with ADHD, study finds
Nearly one million children in the United States are potentially misdiagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder simply because they are the youngest -- and most immature -- in their kindergarten class, according to new research.
Growing up without sibs doesn't hurt social skills, study finds
Growing up without siblings doesn't seem to be a disadvantage for teenagers when it comes to social skills, new research suggests. A study of more than 13,000 middle and high school students across the country found that "only children" were selected as friends by their schoolmates just as often as were peers who grew up with brothers and sisters.
'e-Learning' report shows online professional development aids teachers and students
Teachers who completed extensive online professional development showed improvement in their knowledge and skills, which translated into modest learning gains for their students, according to a five-year study involving more than 300 teachers and 7,000 students in 13 states.
Sex between adolescents in romantic relationships is often harmless to their academics, study suggests
The context in which adolescent sexual activity occurs can substantially moderate the negative relationship between sexual intercourse and education, according to new research.
Teaching robot helps children to use wheelchair
A robotic wheelchair is being developed that will help children learn to 'drive'. In a new article, researchers describe the testing of ROLY -- robot-assisted learning for young drivers -- in a group of children without disabilities and one child with cerebral palsy.
Learn more in kindergarten, earn more as an adult
There isn't a lot of research that links early childhood test scores to earnings as an adult. But new research reveals a surprising finding: Students who learn more in kindergarten earn more as adults. They are also more successful overall.
College undergrads study ineffectively on computers, study finds: Students transfer bad study habits from paper to screen
Despite the prevalence of technology on college campuses, a new study indicates that computers alone can't keep students from falling into the same old weak study habits.
EEG predicts response to medication for schizophrenia
Engineering and health sciences researchers have applied machine learning to EEG patterns and successfully predicted how patients with schizophrenia would respond to clozapine therapy.
Rushing too fast to online learning? Outcomes of Internet versus face-to-face instruction
A new study suggests simply putting traditional classes online may have negative consequences, especially for lower-performing and minority students.
When memory-related region of brain is damaged, other areas compensate, study finds
Many neuroscientists believe the loss of the brain region known as the amygdala would result in the brain's inability to form new memories with emotional content. New research indicates this is not so, and suggests that when one brain region is damaged, other brain regions can compensate.
Mentorship program successfully fights childhood obesity, study finds
A program pairing healthy young adults with urban middle schoolers helped the adolescents adopt healthy habits, active lifestyles and a healthy weight, according to researchers. The study found that linking African American, inner city adolescents with college students as mentors prevented the schoolchildren from becoming overweight. The adolescents ate fewer snacks and desserts and engaged in more active play. Their rate of overweight/obesity declined five percent.
Teachers can close gender gap in classroom leadership during medical school, study finds
A new study shows that female medical students volunteer for leadership roles in the classroom significantly less than their male peers. Subtle pep talks from teachers can even out the playing field.
ADHD, conduct disorder and smoking most strongly related to dropping out of high school
Teens with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) -- the most common childhood psychiatric condition in the United States -- are less likely to finish high school on time than students with other mental-health disorders that often are considered more serious, a large national study has found.
Children with brain injuries have problems with story-telling, study suggests
Children with brain injuries have difficulty developing story-telling skills even though other language abilities, such as vocabulary, tend to catch up with other children as they mature, new research shows.
Negative stereotypes shown to affect learning, not just performance, study finds
While the effect of negative performance stereotypes on test-taking and in other domains is well documented, a new study shows that the effects might also be seen further upstream than once thought, when the skills are learned, not just performed.
SIRT1 gene important for memory
A protein implicated in many biological processes also may play a role in memory, according to a new study.
Once bitten, twice shy: Temperature switch triggers aversive memory
Neurobiologists can now activate specific nerve cells to study the association between sensations and negative experiences.
Confident teachers help preschoolers more with language and literacy skills
New research suggests that pre-school students may gain more language and literacy skills if they have teachers with higher levels of confidence in their abilities. However, in some cases students only saw gains when their teachers also had classrooms that emphasized emotional support for the children.
Academic language impedes students' ability to learn science, expert argues
Middle and high school students who read fluently in English class and on the Web may find that they cannot understand their science texts. And their science teachers may be ill-prepared to guide them in reading the academic language in which science information is presented. A professor of education and expert on language and literacy development makes the case that students need to be taught academic language to learn science and other subjects.
Summer reading is key to maintaining or improving students' reading skills
Researchers have completed a three-year study showing a significantly higher level of reading achievement in students who received books for summer reading at home.
Family chats can help students learn, especially in richer countries, study shows
Taking the time to talk to your children about current events like the Gulf Oil spill -- and using mathematical terms to do so -- can help students develop better reasoning and math skills and perform better in school, according to a new study.
Practice makes perfect? Consumers overestimate their ability to learn prior to purchase
Consumers give up on using products because they underestimate their learning abilities, according to a new study.
Every action has a beginning and an end (and it's all in you brain)
Activity of certain neurons in the brain can signal the initiation and termination of behavioral sequences we learn anew, scientists have discovered. Furthermore, they found that this brain activity is essential for learning and executing novel action sequences, many times compromised in patients suffering from disorders such as Parkinson's or Huntington's.
Educational leadership linked to student achievement in large U.S. study
A new study, the largest of its kind, offers important new evidence affirming the strong connection between what school leaders do and student achievement -- and sheds new light on what effective leadership involves.
How music training primes nervous system and boosts learning
A data-driven review pulls together converging research from the scientific literature linking musical training to learning that spills over to skills including language, speech, memory, attention and even vocal emotion. The science covered comes from labs all over the world, from scientists of varying scientific philosophies, using a wide range of research methods.
Children's school performance tied to family 'type'
The way a family interacts can have more of an impact on a child's predicted school success than reading, writing or arithmetic, according to a new study.
Combatting maternal HIV transmission in Eastern Rwanda collaboratively
Researchers show how the Rwanda Learning Collaborative on Child Health sought to increase access to and the quality of prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS services in the Eastern Province of Rwanda using a learning collaborative model.
How memory is disrupted in those with disease linked to learning disabilities
Imagine if your brain lost its working memory -- the ability to hold and manipulate information in your mind's eye. That's the plight faced by millions of people with neurofibromatosis type 1, or NF1. Now a UCLA research team has uncovered new clues about how NF1 disrupts working memory. Their findings suggest a potential drug target for correcting NF1-related learning disabilities.
Secret to sniffing out a safe supper
When mice smell the scent of food on the breath of their fellow mice, they use that experience to decide what's safe to eat in the future. Key in that learning process is the pairing of a particular odor with a chemical ingredient found in mouse breath, scientists knew. What they didn't know was how mice manage to sniff that connection out. According to new study, now they do.
Behavior problems in school linked to two types of families
Contrary to Leo Tolstoy's famous observation that "happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way," a new psychology study confirms that unhappy families, in fact, are unhappy in two distinct ways. And these dual patterns of unhealthy family relationships lead to a host of specific difficulties for children during their early school years.
Hurricane Katrina's effects on children: Resilience and gender
Two studies examining stress in children affected by Hurricane Katrina found that stress responses were influenced by various factors. The first study, of 400 mostly white students, found that while many children were stress-resistant and lacked psychological problems three years after the hurricane, more than 25 percent of the children still had significant trauma symptoms after three years. The second study, looking at 60 mostly African-American teens, found distinct patterns of stress responses based on gender.
Consumers under-predict learning curve following initial experience with product
A new study found that consumers often quit using products that would be beneficial for them in the long run because they experience a short period of pessimism during their initial encounter with skill-based products as varied as knitting needles and mobile devices.
