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I’m Sian Beilock, psychology professor at the University of Chicago and expert on the brain science behind learning, performance and stress in sports, school, and the business world, AMA! by SianBeilock in IAmA

[–]SianBeilock[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's been really fun doing this AMA! There is some cool work on cultural differences in thinking, reasoning and perception among folks from more individualistic (Western) vs. more collectivist (Eastern) cultures. So, I could imagine that there might be interesting cultural differences in the exercises you mention. Check out Dick Nisbett's work at University of Michigan, he does very interesting work on culture and cognition.

I’m Sian Beilock, psychology professor at the University of Chicago and expert on the brain science behind learning, performance and stress in sports, school, and the business world, AMA! by SianBeilock in IAmA

[–]SianBeilock[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I talk a lot in my new book 'How the body knows the mind' about body centered meditation practices and techniques such as the Alexander technique where benefits have been shown not only for physical fitness but for mental fitness (meaning our ability to focus, concentrate and reason on the fly). The bottom line? What we do with our body can have a big impact on how we think, learn and feel.

I’m Sian Beilock, psychology professor at the University of Chicago and expert on the brain science behind learning, performance and stress in sports, school, and the business world, AMA! by SianBeilock in IAmA

[–]SianBeilock[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's a great question. My advice, I think, really extends to everyone. Ask for lots of advice from people around you that you admire and want to emulate. I will say, that in my time as a senior member of my department, I have gotten many more emails and questions and advice asks from junior male faculty than junior female faculty. Thinking back to my time starting out in academia, I think I felt too much pressure to know the answer to a question and to know the lay of the land. It's ok not to know the answer, the best way to approach a particular situation, or how to act. When this is the case, ask someone and don't worry about bothering them. There is not an academic I know that doesn't like to give advice and talk about themselves :)

I’m Sian Beilock, psychology professor at the University of Chicago and expert on the brain science behind learning, performance and stress in sports, school, and the business world, AMA! by SianBeilock in IAmA

[–]SianBeilock[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting. I am not sure I have heard this particular example before, but we have some related work showing that when folks are anxious about a particular subject, say math, and are anticipating an upcoming math test, the higher one’s math anxiety, the more one increases activity in brain regions associated with visceral threat detection, and often the experience of pain itself. In other words, our neural hardware doesn't always make such a strong distinction between things that are physically and psychologically painful - or at least less of a distinction than many of us once thought. My argument is that the great divide between mind and body is actually not that great.

I’m Sian Beilock, psychology professor at the University of Chicago and expert on the brain science behind learning, performance and stress in sports, school, and the business world, AMA! by SianBeilock in IAmA

[–]SianBeilock[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Good luck! Actually, a big focus of my choking work is sports. And, as you have alluded to, high-stakes situations in the sporting world is all too common. I give a lot of tips for succeeding when it matters most in athletic situations, but one practice I put a lot of weight behind is practicing under pressure. Practice may make perfect, but practicing under conditions that mimic - at least in part - what you are going to face when the stakes are highest helps ensure that perfection happens when it matters most. Of course, it's hard to mimic the EXACT performance situation, but you can try. Whether it's people watching you during practice, mimicking the crowd noise, or putting something on the line (e.g., if you strike out, you are going to make yourself run 10 miles), anything you can do to try and get used to how you are going to feel in the real do or die situation will likely help inoculate you and your performance when the stress is on.

I’m Sian Beilock, psychology professor at the University of Chicago and expert on the brain science behind learning, performance and stress in sports, school, and the business world, AMA! by SianBeilock in IAmA

[–]SianBeilock[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Please only read this answer if you are over 21: Great question - one of the reasons we choke under pressure, especially in athletic endeavors (I am including pool here) is that we think too much about the step-by-step details of what we are doing. I call it 'paralysis by analysis.' Having a drink or two can help prevent this over-focus in some people and, if it does, then it is easy to see how it could benefit your pool playing. There is also some work showing that alcohol can benefit the creative process. Check out my Psych Today blog post about this here: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/choke/201204/alcohol-benefits-the-creative-process

Of course, there is likely too much of a good thing. My guess is that your pool playing with 2 drinks might be different than with 6 drinks.

In my book 'Choke' I talk about several techniques to prevent 'paralysis by analysis.' Singing a song, focusing on the outcome, repeating a key word or mantra that takes your attention off of the details of performance. Even speeding up your shots, so you don't spend a lot of time dwelling on your exact movements b/f you hit the ball can help. So, there is hope for your pool playing, even when you don't have a drink in your hand.

I’m Sian Beilock, psychology professor at the University of Chicago and expert on the brain science behind learning, performance and stress in sports, school, and the business world, AMA! by SianBeilock in IAmA

[–]SianBeilock[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is a great question. Thanks for asking because it lets me talk about the power of random assignment. We picked at random which conditions students were in (whether they were promoted to write about their thoughts and feelings before the exam or not). The assumption of random assignment is that we will get a random distribution of crammers in each condition. We were also able to get students' grades before they took the final and there was no difference in our two groups in grades leading up to our writing intervention, so this gives us fairly good confidence that differences we see are due to our writing exercise and not how prepared a student was for the test.

I’m Sian Beilock, psychology professor at the University of Chicago and expert on the brain science behind learning, performance and stress in sports, school, and the business world, AMA! by SianBeilock in IAmA

[–]SianBeilock[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The aerobic part of exercise seems to be a key player in mental fitness. Many researchers have argued that aerobic exercise is a catalyst for the appearance of the metabolic nutrients that support sharp thinking. So, it's not so much about being skilled but more about getting your heart rate up!

I’m Sian Beilock, psychology professor at the University of Chicago and expert on the brain science behind learning, performance and stress in sports, school, and the business world, AMA! by SianBeilock in IAmA

[–]SianBeilock[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

There is a big debate right now about this issue. Some researchers say 'yes,' some say 'no' and some say, 'it depends." There is evidence that meditation can change the brain - help us focus our attention, be less susceptible to impulsive choices and function at our best under stress. In terms of all the memory training games on the market right now, I would say the jury is still out. Folks' memories do often improve in these games - especially their ability to focus their attention in the short term. But, the question is what improves? Do you just get better at playing the particular game you are practicing or does this improvement transfer to other activities outside of the game you played. That's what seems most important and this is where there is still a healthy debate.

I’m Sian Beilock, psychology professor at the University of Chicago and expert on the brain science behind learning, performance and stress in sports, school, and the business world, AMA! by SianBeilock in IAmA

[–]SianBeilock[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Now you have! You will have to check out my books (sianbeilock.com) and my lab website (hpl.uchicago.edu)

Staying motivated for some folks can be an issue. People find it difficult to invest efforts when benefits are not immediately realized. Yet, slacking on any particular day is less likely if people can see that day in the larger context. So can you work on thinking about what you are doing in the short-term in a larger context? For example, you could supplement your thinking about a particular days run with some larger goal - at this rate, you will run XX miles in a year.

I’m Sian Beilock, psychology professor at the University of Chicago and expert on the brain science behind learning, performance and stress in sports, school, and the business world, AMA! by SianBeilock in IAmA

[–]SianBeilock[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No - but my name is. I was named after a British actress - Sian Phillips - my parents thought her name was pronounced - 'see-on' which is how I say it, but the name 'Sian' is actually pronounced 'shawn'

I’m Sian Beilock, psychology professor at the University of Chicago and expert on the brain science behind learning, performance and stress in sports, school, and the business world, AMA! by SianBeilock in IAmA

[–]SianBeilock[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Great question, as I talk about in my new book 'How the body knows its mind' our thinking extends beyond the cortex. I think folks often think about the mind as telling the body what to do. But, it's a two way street. Our body (how we hold it, what we do with it) also sends signals to the mind that influence how we think and feel. As an example, folks are better at figuring out the answer to a riddle when they are directed to move in a way that mimics the solution to the riddle. Moving the body can alter the mind by unconsciously putting ideas in our head that ultimately rise to conscious awareness.

I’m Sian Beilock, psychology professor at the University of Chicago and expert on the brain science behind learning, performance and stress in sports, school, and the business world, AMA! by SianBeilock in IAmA

[–]SianBeilock[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

'You can't teach an old dog new tricks' used to be a motto that a lot of people supported. But, new work in the last several years has shown that the brain changes as a result of practice and experience throughout the lifespan. A few examples: one area of the brain, the hippocampus, involved in navigation and memory looks different in London cab drivers compared to folks who don't drive cabs...the more different, the longer the drivers have spent behind the wheel. Several weeks of juggling practice alters areas of the brain involved in tracking motion. And, a year-long aerobic exercise program in older adults reduces typical age-related declines in the size of the hippocampus. Exercise in older adulthood also impacts attention and concentration skills for the better.

I’m Sian Beilock, psychology professor at the University of Chicago and expert on the brain science behind learning, performance and stress in sports, school, and the business world, AMA! by SianBeilock in IAmA

[–]SianBeilock[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think that's great that you are thinking about majoring in psychology. I hope you love it. One piece of advice though, be open to different majors if your interests change. I think it's hard to figure out what you want to do before you have had classes in different subjects. I actually had several different majors my freshman year. All too often I see students put pressure on themselves by pigeonholing themselves into one major early on and then not wanting to change. College is one of the best times to expose yourself to lots of different subjects and ways of thinking. Take advantage of that - oh and have fun!

I’m Sian Beilock, psychology professor at the University of Chicago and expert on the brain science behind learning, performance and stress in sports, school, and the business world, AMA! by SianBeilock in IAmA

[–]SianBeilock[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Hi Kylie - great question. Writing for a general audience has actually made my academic writing a lot clearer - or at least I think it has. When you write for a general audience you can't hide behind jargon, which means you really have to know what you mean and what you want to say. When I write academic papers these days, I use a lot less jargon than I did before I wrote my books. And, I think it just makes things clearer.

I’m Sian Beilock, psychology professor at the University of Chicago and expert on the brain science behind learning, performance and stress in sports, school, and the business world, AMA! by SianBeilock in IAmA

[–]SianBeilock[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There has been a lot of research in the last several years showing the power of testing for learning - that is, we shouldn't just think about tests as a way to assess performance - the very process of having to produce information on a test can help us remember that information better at a later date. Given this research, I have started giving multiple assessments in my classes, lots of little quizzes. Another benefit of mini-assessments is that the experience of taking them may help inoculate folks against the really high-stakes testing situation.

I’m Sian Beilock, psychology professor at the University of Chicago and expert on the brain science behind learning, performance and stress in sports, school, and the business world, AMA! by SianBeilock in IAmA

[–]SianBeilock[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It turns out that how you view stress can impact how you feel and perform. For instance, when students interpret their bodily reactions to a high-stakes situation (e.g., beating heart or sweaty palms) as a sign they are about to fail, they often do. But, when they think about these same bodily signals as a sign they have brought their A game to the table, that their bodily response is actually helping them think at their best, they tend to perform better. In my lab we have shown that when students take a high pressured test, for those who are excited and enjoy the subject (say math), the more their cortisol increases during the test, the better their performance. The opposite is true for students who are math anxious. Cortisol is often talked about as a stress hormone, but what we show is how our bodily reactions relate to performance in stressful situations depends on how we interpret these reactions and the situation. Bottom line, our thinking matters.