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featured article

A simple way to improve cognition

In my last news report, I mentioned a new study providing more evidence that what we believe about our cognitive abilities affects our cognitive performance. This study looked at the effects of beliefs and stereotypes on memory performance in older adults, and its findings, which are in line with earlier studies, are also consistent with research into the effects of racial and gender stereotypes (see my newsletter article of March 2006, and news reports on the effects of race and gender stereotypes; also there’s a nice New York Times Op-Ed column just appeared on race and IQ that’s worth a look).  And of course, in the classroom, there have been studies showing that teachers’ expectations of a student play a significant part in that student’s performance.

 

All this is to say that what you believe about yourself, and what others believe about you, matters.

Moreover, these effects are malleable: you are likely to do more poorly if you are told just before a test that people ‘like you’ don’t do well in such things; similarly you can boost your performance by ‘talking yourself up’ just before a test.

 

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