I recently had a chat with my buddy David Epstein, an investigative reporter for ProPublica and the New York Times bestselling author of The Sports Gene, for Heleo about the complex science of expertise. Among other things, we talked about why we need to move beyond just “deliberate practice” when we talk about achievement, consider why certain theories reach peak popularity, and […]
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What Can Futurists Teach Us About Imagination?
“Thinking about the future isn’t a special skill; virtually everyone does it all the time. We schedule future activities and appointments on our calendars. We make to-do lists, a promise to ourselves of how we will spend our future time and energy. We pack our bag (or pockets) for the day by fast-forwarding mentally to […]
STUDY ALERT: Examining the influence of mind wandering and metacognition on creativity in university and vocational students
Examining the influence of mind wandering and metacognition on creativity in university and vocational students David D. Preiss , Diego Cosmelli, Valeska Grau, Dominga Ortiz We examined the relationship between mind wandering, metacognition and creativity in 116 university and 117 vocational Chilean students. They took a test of divergent thinking, a test of creative problem […]
Typical vs. Maximal Performance
Something happened today I wanted to share. I recently started a weight lifting program, and today was “legs day”. Sitting down to do my seated leg press, I was about to do my normal weight for this machine: just the bar. Instead, I decided to challenge myself and put 35 pounds on each side. As I started […]
STUDY ALERT: How does creative giftedness differ from academic giftedness? A multidimensional conception
Giftedness is a multifaceted concept that involves a wide range of inputs and outputs. Hence, there are many theories suggesting a multidimensionality of giftedness. The aim of the present paper is (a) to position giftedness in terms of the processes involved and (b) to propose a multidimensional conception in order to differentiate creative and academic […]
STUDY ALERT: Mind-wandering as spontaneous thought: a dynamic framework
Mind-wandering as spontaneous thought: a dynamic framework Kalina Christoff, Zachary C. Irving, Kieran C. R. Fox, R. Nathan Spreng and Jessica R. Andrews-Hanna Most research on mind-wandering has characterized it as a mental state with contents that are task unrelated or stimulus independent. However, the dynamics of mind-wandering — how mental states change over time […]
STUDY ALERT: Openness to Experience Rather Than Overexcitabilities: Call It Like It Is
Openness to Experience Rather Than Overexcitabilities: Call It Like It Is M. Alexandra Vuyk, Thomas S. Krieshok, and Barbara A. Kerr Openness to experience is a personality factor in the five-factor model of personality, and it is composed of six facets. Facets of openness appear conceptually analogous to overexcitabilities (OEs), which are displays of inner […]
Does Giftedness Matter?
On August 23, 2016, Farrah Alexander, a writer and mother, published an article on the Huffington Post, entitled “Maybe My Child is Gifted. Maybe Not. Maybe It Doesn’t Matter” To which she concluded, “Every child is gifted and talented. So let’s stop distinguishing which children are gifted and start celebrating our children’s unique gifts. How is […]
STUDY ALERT: Measuring Well-Being: A Review of Instruments
Measuring Well-Being: A Review of Instruments Philip J. Cooke, Timothy P. Melchert, and Korey Connor Abstract Interest in the study of psychological health and well-being has increased significantly in recent decades. A variety of conceptualizations of psychological health have been proposed including hedonic and eudaimonic well-being, quality-of-life, and wellness approaches. Although instruments for measuring constructs […]
Cultivating the social–emotional imagination in gifted education: insights from educational neuroscience
Cultivating the social–emotional imagination in gifted education: insights from educational neuroscience Rebecca Gotlieb, Elizabeth Hyde, Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, and Scott Barry Kaufman Evidence from education, psychology, and neuroscience suggests that investing in the development of the social– emotional imagination is essential to cultivating giftedness in adolescents. Nurturing these capacities may be especially effective for promoting […]
The Imaginative Mind
The Imaginative Mind Anna Abraham Abstract: The astounding capacity for the human imagination to be engaged across a wide range of contexts is limitless and fundamental to our day-to-day experiences. Although processes of imagination are central to human psychological function, they rarely occupy center stage in academic discourse or empirical study within psychological and neuroscientific […]
Donald Trump’s Real Ambition
I normally stay clear of psychologically profiling public figures. But when the writing is so clearly on the wall, when the stakes are so high, and when the data is so consistent, I am inclined to comment. With Trump, what I see is so clearly a textbook case of a metaphorical computer program running amok, […]