Breaking up really is hard to do, and a recent study found evidence that it may be partly due to the areas of the brain that are active during this difficult time.
10 Vote(s)
July 22, 2010
July 21, 2010
Motivation: Extrinsic or Intrinsic?
You run ten miles; you practice the guitar; you sweep the floor; you write a poem. Regardless of what it is, every task requires motivation. That motivation is driven by the promise of some sort of reward, whether it be a rush of endorphins or a $25,000 check. The question is: are the most powerful rewards extrinsic or intrinsic?... Vansteenkiste, M., Lens, W., & Deci, E. (2006) Intrinsic
17 Vote(s)
17 Vote(s)
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July 1, 2010
Motivation Doesn’t Have To Be Conscious - Is Your Left Hand More Motivated Than Your Right?
Motivation doesn't have to be conscious; your brain can decide how much it wants something without input from your conscious mind. Now a new study shows that both halves of your brain don't even have to agree. Motivation can happen in one side of the brain at a time. Psychologists used to think that motivation was a conscious process. You know you want something, so you try to get it...
5 Vote(s)
5 Vote(s)
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October 12, 2009
How Rewards Can Backfire and Reduce Motivation
Surely one of the best ways to generate motivation in ourselves and others is by dangling rewards?Yet psychologists have long known that rewards are overrated. The carrot, of carrot-and-stick fame, is not as effective as we've been led to believe. Rewards work under some circumstances but sometimes they backfire. Spectacularly.Here is a story about preschool [...]» Try the latest happiness-
5 Vote(s)
5 Vote(s)
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July 20, 2009
Athletes and mental illness
by Michael D. Anestis, M.S. Today's article touches on a topic I have been thinking about for a while now, but the motivation to go ahead and write about it was prompted by a recent post on Alicia Sparks' Celebrity...
12 Vote(s)
12 Vote(s)
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July 2, 2009
APA and DSM-V: Empty Promises
The debate over DSM-V has unfortunately taken an ugly turn with the APA leadership suggesting that Dr. Frances's and my motivation for critiquing DSM-V is financial.
5 Vote(s)
5 Vote(s)
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May 20, 2009
Tell me what you want, what you really, really want
A theme in almost any reading about health is that treatment should be patient-focused, typically goal-directed and have some sort of measureable impact. Over the past few weeks I’ve been reading about the process of goal setting and motivation, finding that there can be quite some differences between what a therapist sees as a [...]... Siegert, R., McPherson, K., & Taylor, W. (20
11 Vote(s)
11 Vote(s)
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May 13, 2009
Goal setting: no easy task
Goal setting is an important part of most treatment planning in rehabilitation – and pain management is no exception. It is thought to help to: strengthen the therapeutic relationship through collaboration;focus therapy on areas that the patient wants;help the patient maintain motivation and adhere to treatment; andensure specific outcomes are identified and measured – [...]...
7 Vote(s)
7 Vote(s)
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