Building Emotional Stability and Mental Capacity

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard A. Dienstbier ◽  
Lisa M. PytlikZillig
Keyword(s):  
Physical Exercise ◽  
Stress Tolerance ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Brain Structures ◽  
Emotional Stability ◽  
Mental Capacity ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Cognitive Capacities ◽  
Mental Stimulation

Stress and aging deplete some neurochemistry and degrade various brain structures, ultimately affecting stress tolerance and cognitive capacities. However, engaging in various toughening activities prevents and even reverses the ravages of stress and aging. The toughening activities described here include mental stimulation, physical exercise, meditation, self-control, and affectionate activities. Toughening activities enhance neurochemistry and important brain structures by activating or deactivating various genes—sometimes temporarily, but sometimes for a lifetime. Those aspects of physiological toughness lead, in turn, to positive mental/psychological toughness including emotional stability, enhanced mental/cognitive abilities, and even self-control. We review research describing how much each toughening activity fosters mental/psychological toughness, and then the research showing how each activity leads to the components of physiological toughness. Finally we show how physiological toughness leads to mental/psychological toughness. We discuss the usefulness of the toughness concept by assessing the overlapping impacts of the various toughening activities.

scholarly journals Cognitive capacities for cooking in chimpanzees

2015 ◽  
Vol 282 (1809) ◽  
pp. 20150229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix Warneken ◽  
Alexandra G. Rosati
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Causal Reasoning ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Last Common Ancestor ◽  
Cognitive Capacities ◽  
Causal Understanding ◽  
Anticipatory Planning ◽  
Raw Foods ◽  
Important Shift

The transition to a cooked diet represents an important shift in human ecology and evolution. Cooking requires a set of sophisticated cognitive abilities, including causal reasoning, self-control and anticipatory planning. Do humans uniquely possess the cognitive capacities needed to cook food? We address whether one of humans' closest relatives, chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes ), possess the domain-general cognitive skills needed to cook. Across nine studies, we show that chimpanzees: (i) prefer cooked foods; (ii) comprehend the transformation of raw food that occurs when cooking, and generalize this causal understanding to new contexts; (iii) will pay temporal costs to acquire cooked foods; (iv) are willing to actively give up possession of raw foods in order to transform them; and (v) can transport raw food as well as save their raw food in anticipation of future opportunities to cook. Together, our results indicate that several of the fundamental psychological abilities necessary to engage in cooking may have been shared with the last common ancestor of apes and humans, predating the control of fire.

Daily Experiences of Commuting Strain and Self-Control at Work and at Home

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 125-134
Author(s):  
Bettina S. Wiese ◽  
Olivia Chaillié ◽  
Ruth Noppeney ◽  
Anna M. Stertz
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Negative Emotions ◽  
Emotional Stability ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Diary Data ◽  
Daily Experiences ◽  
At Home

Abstract. The study investigates how commuting strain affects daily self-control capacities at work and at home. Irritability (i.e., increased readiness to express negative emotions when facing frustration) and concentration (i.e., a cognitive control capacity that relies on attention) were used as indicators of (impaired) self-control. Based on 5-day diary data from N = 185 train commuters, we found that on days with a strenuous ride from home to work, commuters indicated higher irritability and lower concentration capacity at work. On days with higher strain during the work-to-home ride, commuters reported to be more irritable back home. Moreover, commuters with low emotional stability turned out to be more affected by commuting strain but only if considering self-control impairment at home.

scholarly journals INFLUENCE OF COPING STRATEGIES ON THE STUDENT’S WELL-BEING IN CONDITIONS OF DISTANCE LEARNING

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 230-238
Author(s):  
Alyona Vavilova
Keyword(s):  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Distance Learning ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Stress Tolerance ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Dominant Strategies ◽  
High Level

The article is devoted to the study of student's coping strategies influence on the level of their subjective well-being in conditions of distance learning. It was found that student's coping strategies have an impact on the level of their psychological comfort. Using regression analysis it was revealed that the variability of student's life well-being is determined by the following coping strategies: positive self-esteem; responsibility; planning; escape and self-control. It was developed the typology of students in the conditions of distance education, which includes such indicators of dominant coping strategies: the level of psychological comfort, dominant coping and measure of stress tolerance. According to the certain typology, three types of students were defined: 1) adaptive type (high indicators of well-being, high indicators of tolerance to stress, dominant strategies “self-esteem”, “responsibility” and “planning” ); 2) maladaptive type (low indicators of well-being, low indicators of tolerance to stress, dominant coping “escape”); 3) average adaptive type (average indicators of well-being, average indicators of tolerance to stress; dominant strategies “responsibility”, “self-control”, low indicators of coping “positive self-esteem”). The results of the study indicate that students who are best adapted to distance learning and have a high level of psychological comfort tend to evaluate themselves positively, treat work responsibly, plan their studies and have an average level of self-control.

scholarly journals Correlating MRI-Based Brain Volumetry and Cognitive Assessment in Down Syndrome Patients

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Osama Hamadelseed ◽  
Thomas Skutella
Keyword(s):  
Down Syndrome ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Cognitive Assessment ◽  
Brain Structures ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Cognitive Behavioral ◽  
Brain Volumetry ◽  
Neuropsychological Profile ◽  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Mri ◽  
And Gender

Abstract INTRODUCTION: Down syndrome (DS) is the most common genetic cause of intellectual disability. Here, we use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on children and adults with DS to characterize changes in the volume of specific brain structures involved in memory and language and their relationship to features of cognitive-behavioral phenotypes.METHODS: Thirteen children and adults with the DS phenotype and 12 age- and gender-matched healthy controls were analyzed by MRI and underwent a psychological evaluation for language and cognitive abilities.RESULTS: The neuropsychological profile of DS patients showed deficits in different cognition and language domains in correlation with reduced volumes of specific regional and subregional brain structures.CONCLUSIONS: The memory functions and language skills affected in our DS patients correlate significantly with the reduced volume of specific brain regions, allowing us to understand DS's cognitive-behavioral phenotype. Our results provide an essential basis for early intervention and the design of rehabilitation management protocols.

scholarly journals Genetics and Crime: Integrating New Genomic Discoveries Into Psychological Research About Antisocial Behavior

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 791-803 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Wertz ◽  
A. Caspi ◽  
D. W. Belsky ◽  
A. L. Beckley ◽  
L. Arseneault ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antisocial Behavior ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Molecular Genetic ◽  
Psychological Research ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Birth Cohorts ◽  
Polygenic Risk ◽  
A Genome ◽  
Polygenic Scores ◽  
Life Course Persistent

Drawing on psychological and sociological theories of crime causation, we tested the hypothesis that genetic risk for low educational attainment (assessed via a genome-wide polygenic score) is associated with criminal offending. We further tested hypotheses of how polygenic risk relates to the development of antisocial behavior from childhood through adulthood. Across the Dunedin and Environmental Risk (E-Risk) birth cohorts of individuals growing up 20 years and 20,000 kilometers apart, education polygenic scores predicted risk of a criminal record with modest effects. Polygenic risk manifested during primary schooling in lower cognitive abilities, lower self-control, academic difficulties, and truancy, and it was associated with a life-course-persistent pattern of antisocial behavior that onsets in childhood and persists into adulthood. Crime is central in the nature-nurture debate, and findings reported here demonstrate how molecular-genetic discoveries can be incorporated into established theories of antisocial behavior. They also suggest that improving school experiences might prevent genetic influences on crime from unfolding.

scholarly journals Brain size predicts problem-solving ability in mammalian carnivores

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (9) ◽  
pp. 2532-2537 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Benson-Amram ◽  
Ben Dantzer ◽  
Gregory Stricker ◽  
Eli M. Swanson ◽  
Kay E. Holekamp
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Brain Size ◽  
Technical Problem ◽  
Behavioral Flexibility ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Invasion Success ◽  
The Relationship

Despite considerable interest in the forces shaping the relationship between brain size and cognitive abilities, it remains controversial whether larger-brained animals are, indeed, better problem-solvers. Recently, several comparative studies have revealed correlations between brain size and traits thought to require advanced cognitive abilities, such as innovation, behavioral flexibility, invasion success, and self-control. However, the general assumption that animals with larger brains have superior cognitive abilities has been heavily criticized, primarily because of the lack of experimental support for it. Here, we designed an experiment to inquire whether specific neuroanatomical or socioecological measures predict success at solving a novel technical problem among species in the mammalian order Carnivora. We presented puzzle boxes, baited with food and scaled to accommodate body size, to members of 39 carnivore species from nine families housed in multiple North American zoos. We found that species with larger brains relative to their body mass were more successful at opening the boxes. In a subset of species, we also used virtual brain endocasts to measure volumes of four gross brain regions and show that some of these regions improve model prediction of success at opening the boxes when included with total brain size and body mass. Socioecological variables, including measures of social complexity and manual dexterity, failed to predict success at opening the boxes. Our results, thus, fail to support the social brain hypothesis but provide important empirical support for the relationship between relative brain size and the ability to solve this novel technical problem.

scholarly journals Attitudes Towards Self-change: A Comparison of Japanese and American University Students

1995 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 577-593 ◽  
Author(s):  
David S. Crystal ◽  
Kazuo Kato ◽  
Sheryl Olson ◽  
Hirozumi Watanabe
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
College Students ◽  
Academic Achievement ◽  
University Students ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Self ◽  
Self Control ◽  
American University

This study examined attitudes related to the possibility of changing cognitions and behaviours among samples of college students in the United States and Japan. Students were asked to identify three things about themselves that they wanted to change, the method they would use to effect these changes, how difficult they thought making such changes would be, and how much they desired to make the changes. Japanese and US students differed significantly in the frequency with which they mentioned all seven aspects of the self that were targeted for change. Students in the United States expressed a desire to improve their sociability, academic achievement and cognitive abilities, physical appearance, and sense of individuality. Students in Japan were most concerned about enhancing their relationships with others, self-control and motivation, and ability to manage practical affairs. In addition, US respondents were more likely than their Japanese counterparts to use behaviour-oriented strategies, to believe it was easy to make self-changes, and to indicate a strong desire to improve the self. The findings are discussed in the context of theories describing different cultural construals of self, and of empirical research on differences between collectivistic and individualistic cultures.

scholarly journals Influence Of Leaders Intrapersonal Competencies On Employee Job Satisfaction

2013 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 1289
Author(s):  
Prakash Singh
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Leadership Role ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Self Confidence ◽  
Organisational Climate

Intrapersonal competencies complement the interpersonal skills of emotionally intelligent leaders. Experts believe that general intelligence (IQ) contributes to no more than twenty- five percent of ones overall success. The extent to which employers are capable of indentifying and meeting their employees job satisfaction needs can be a significant characteristic of their emotional intelligence (EI), in contrast with their cognitive abilities. In this study, the quantitative research method was used to determine the employees perceptions of their leaders intrapersonal competencies and their influence on their job satisfaction; the six competencies being self-awareness, self-confidence, self-expression, self-control, adaptability, and optimism. In order to be satisfied at work, the findings of this study clearly indicate that employees prefer to be led by leaders who are confident in their leadership role, who send out clear, unambiguous messages, who maintain self-control, who are adaptable and flexible, who face the future with optimism, and who support the establishment of a collegial working environment. Evidently, the findings corroborate the hypothesis that employees believe that the intrapersonal competencies of leaders have a positive influence on the employees sense of job satisfaction. This studys findings, therefore, confirm that the key to the leaders self-knowledge is access to their own feelings and the ability to discriminate among them and draw upon them to guide behaviour in their organisations. It makes a contribution to the emerging research being accomplished on leaders intrapersonal intelligence with more research still needing to be done on how these competencies impact on the organisational climate and culture.

scholarly journals Study of the relationship between indicators of vitality and character traits among students of a pedagogical university (gender aspect)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Е.А. Волгуснова
Keyword(s):  
Vocational Training ◽  
Emotional Stability ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Character Traits ◽  
First Year ◽  
High Anxiety ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Personality Correlates ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Gender Aspect

В статье освящается исследование взаимосвязи между показателями жизнеспособности и свойствами характера у студентов первого курса педагогического университета. Современные требования к профессиональным качествам личности педагога предопределяют необходимость рассмотрения личностных коррелятов жизнеспособности будущих учителей. Автором раскрывается сущность жизнеспособности, и ее взаимосвязи с регулятивными, коммуникативными, интеллектуальными и эмоциональными компонентами характера студентов разного пола. Раскрыты личностные корреляторы жизнеспособности у первокурсниц эмоциональная стабильность, высокая нормативность поведения, а у юношей – общительность, умеренная подозрительность, эмоциональная стабильность, высокий самоконтроль. Жизнеспособность девушек снижают такие свойства характера как напряженность, беспокойство, высокая тревожность, конформность, а у юношей – напряженность и высокая тревожность. Полученные результаты личностных коррелятов жизнеспособности могут быть применены в психолого-педагогическом сопровождении процесса профессионального обучения студентов. Статья предназначена для студентов психолого-педагогических специальностей. The article discusses the study of the relationship between indicators of vitality and character traits in first-year students of the Pedagogical University. Modern requirements for the professional qualities of a teacher's personality predetermine the need to consider the personal correlates of the viability of future teachers. The author reveals the essence of vitality, and its relationship with the regulatory, communicative, intellectual and emotional components of the character of students of different genders. The personal correlators of vitality were revealed in freshmen, emotional stability, high normality of behavior, and in young men - sociability, moderate suspicion, emotional stability, high self-control. The vitality of girls is reduced by such character traits as tension, anxiety, high anxiety, conformity, and in boys - tension and high anxiety. The obtained results of personality correlates of vitality can be applied in psychological and pedagogical support of the process of vocational training of students. The article is intended for students of psychological and pedagogical specialties.

scholarly journals PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS OF EMOTIONAL INSTABILITY IN ADOLESCENTS

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gurak Halyna ◽  
Dolynska Lyubov
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Psychological Factors ◽  
Emotional Stability ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Practical Implementation ◽  
Emotional Instability ◽  
Emotional Life ◽  
Scientific Heritage ◽  
Empirical Point

The article presents an overview of the problem of the affective sphere of adolescents on both theoretical and empirical levels. Its relevance and, at the same time, the prospect for further research is justified. It was revealed that the emotional life of persons of pubertal period is differently disclosed in the scientific heritage of foreign scientists, but insufficiently covered in the domestic. Correlations between the emotional experiences of adolescents and their relationships with parents, peers; gender identity; eating disorders, etc., were established. Against the background of emphasizing the influence of various external psychological factors in the life of an adolescent, the topic of the intrapersonal, psychological potential of persons of this age remains open. Taking into account the topicality of the problem of emotional instability of teenagers, we aimed to find out in detail, from an empirical point of view, the internal psychological reasons of this phenomenon. For this purpose, the ascertaining experiment was carried out which involved 300 pupils of 6-7 and 8-9 forms of the general secondary educational institutions of the Ternopil region (Berezhanska Secondary School № 1 and Berezhanska Secondary School № 2). Respondents were offered specific, according to the formulated scientific problem, a package of psychodiagnostic techniques, directed to the research of features of the level of manifestation as well as categories of hypothetical factors of emotional stability of adolescents. The next stage of the study involved processing the data by factor analysis using the capabilities of Microsoft Excel and SPSS 21 software. As a result, 10 psychological factors that cause emotional instability in adolescents were identified. Among them: imbalance of self-esteem and personal abilities, personal insecurity compensated by self-control, low resistance to stress, impulsiveness against insecurity, dissonance in the assessment of one's own self, motivational polarity, emotional uncertainty, public insecurity, uncertainty in own abilities, confident behavior. The prospect of our study is the development and practical implementation of social psychological training as a means of correcting dysregulation of the affective sphere of personality and the development of their emotional stability.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document