The Raelian Movement
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Friends With Cognitive Benefits: Mental Function Improves After
Certain Kinds of Socializing
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/10/101028113817.htm
ScienceDaily (Oct. 28, 2010) — Talking with other people in a friendly
way can make it easier to solve common problems, a new University of
Michigan study shows. But conversations that are competitive in tone,
rather than cooperative, have no cognitive benefits.
"This study shows that simply talking to other people, the way you do
when you're making friends, can provide mental benefits," said
psychologist Oscar Ybarra, a researcher at the U-M Institute for
Social Research (ISR).
Ybarra is the lead author of the study, which is forthcoming in the
peer-reviewed journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.
For the study, the researchers examined the impact of brief episodes
of social contact on one key component of mental activity -- executive
function. This type of cognitive function includes working memory,
self-monitoring, and the ability to suppress external and internal
distractions -- all of which are essential in solving common life
problems.
In previous research, Ybarra has found that social interaction
provides a short-term boost to executive function that's comparable in
size to playing brain games, such as solving crossword puzzles. In the
current series of studies, he and colleagues tested 192 undergraduates
to pinpoint which types of social interactions help -- and which
don't.
They found that engaging in brief (10 minute) conversations in which
participants were simply instructed to get to know another person
resulted in boosts to their subsequent performance on an array of
common cognitive tasks. But when participants engaged in conversations
that had a competitive edge, their performance on cognitive tasks
showed no improvement.
"We believe that performance boosts come about because some social
interactions induce people to try to read others' minds and take their
perspectives on things," Ybarra said. "And we also find that when we
structure even competitive interactions to have an element of taking
the other person's perspective, or trying to put yourself in the other
person's shoes, there is a boost in executive functioning as a
result."
The studies further showed that the improvement in mental function was
limited to tasks assessing executive function. Neither processing
speed nor general knowledge were affected by the type of social
interaction engaged in by participants.
"Taken together with earlier research, these findings highlight the
connection between social intelligence and general intelligence,"
Ybarra said. "This fits with evolutionary perspectives that examine
social pressures on the emergence of intelligence, and research
showing a neural overlap between social-cognitive and executive brain
functions."
The research also has some practical implications for improving
performance on certain kinds of intellectual tasks. If you want to
perform your best, having a friendly chat with a colleague before a
big presentation or test may be a good strategy. Also, in competitive
contexts that occur in some organizations, be aware that you may
inadvertently fail to support your cognitive flexibility and focus.
Editor's Note: This article is not intended to provide medical advice,
diagnosis or treatment.
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"Ethics" is simply a last-gasp attempt by deist conservatives and
orthodox dogmatics to keep humanity in ignorance and obscurantism,
through the well tried fermentation of fear, the fear of science and
new technologies.
There is nothing glorious about what our ancestors call history,
it is simply a succession of mistakes, intolerances and violations.
On the contrary, let us embrace Science and the new technologies
unfettered, for it is these which will liberate mankind from the
myth of god, and free us from our age old fears, from disease,
death and the sweat of labour.
Rael
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