The Impact of Positive Mood on Learning

1996 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 153-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanis Bryan ◽  
Sarup Mathur ◽  
Karen Sullivan

The primary intent of this study was to examine the effects of a brief positive mood induction on a learning task that stimulates beginning reading acquisition. A secondary intent was to examine the durability of this effect across a period of two weeks. Sixty students, half average-achieving and half with learning disabilities, were randomly assigned to either a positive or a neutral mood induction condition. In an effort to control for the effects of prior knowledge, all students received instruction in elementary Hindi language on a series of five tasks. After two weeks, the instruction and tasks were readministered. The results of a MANCOVA indicated that both groups of students in the positive mood condition performed better than those in the neutral condition, although not statistically so. However, gain scores indicated that across a two-week period, students with learning disabilities in the positive condition performed significantly better than students with learning disabilities in the neutral condition.

2019 ◽  
Vol 53 (11) ◽  
pp. 999-1008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew L Geers ◽  
Shane Close ◽  
Fawn C Caplandies ◽  
Lene Vase

Abstract Background Providing treatment side effect information can increase the occurrence of side effects through nocebo effects. Nocebo effects from side effect information raise a dilemma for health care, as there is an ethical obligation to disclose potential unpleasant treatment information to patients. Purpose To test the hypothesis that a positive mood induction can block the development of nocebo effects that result from treatment side effect information. Methods In a laboratory setting, healthy participants were assigned to one of four conditions in a between-subjects randomized factorial trial. First, participants took part in a mood induction procedure, with half receiving a positive mood induction and the other half a neutral mood induction. Next, participants were told they would experience transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Prior to a sham tDCS task, half of the participants were informed that headache pain is a side effect of tDCS, whereas the other half were not given this information. Results In the neutral mood condition, the provision of headache side effect information lead to a greater occurrence of headaches, more frequent headaches, and a higher maximum level of headache pain as compared to those given no side effect information. In the positive mood condition, a similar increase in headache pain did not manifest from the provision of side effect information. Conclusions This is the first experiment to find that a positive mood induction can block the formation of nocebo effects that arise from side effect information. Inducing positive moods may be an effective strategy for reducing nocebo effects in a variety of clinical settings.


2021 ◽  
pp. 174569162095983
Author(s):  
Kennon M. Sheldon ◽  
Mike Corcoran ◽  
Melanie Sheldon

Chronic positive mood (CPM) has been shown to confer a wide variety of social, functional, and health benefits. Some researchers have argued that humans evolved to feel CPM, which explains why most people report better than neutral mood (the “positivity offset bias”) and why particularly happy people have particularly good outcomes. Here, we argue that the Duchenne smile evolved as an honest signal of high levels of CPM, alerting others to the psychological fitness of the smiler. Duchenne smiles are honest because they express felt positive emotion, making it difficult for unhappy people to produce them. Duchenne smiles enable happy people to signal and cooperate with one another, boosting their advantages. In our literature review, we found (a) that not all Duchenne smiles are “honest,” although producing them in the absence of positive emotion is difficult and often detectable, and (b) that the ability to produce and recognize Duchenne smiles may vary somewhat by a person’s cultural origin. In the final section of the article, we consider behavioral influences on CPM, reviewing research showing that engaging in eudaimonic activity reliably produces CPM, as posited by the eudaimonic-activity model. This research suggests that frequent Duchenne smiling may ultimately signal eudaimonic personality as well as CPM.


2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Mohammad Mousa AL-Salahat ◽  
Suhib Saleem Saleem

The aim of the present study was to examine the impact of microteaching on professional competence among four pre-service student teachers enrolled in the program of special education for students of learning disabilities in the Faculty of Education. The researchers indicated the theoretical conceptions of professional competencies, pre-service training, practicum in learning disabilities, and microteaching. The study conducted through three stages: baseline, intervention, and follow up. The researchers used a checklist as the tool of the study. The study was conducted during the field training of the subjects as they were asked to prepare and carry out the entire individual teaching lesson in the resource rooms affiliated to the public education schools. Microteaching sessions were also administrated at the university campus in Najran. The results of the study indicated significant improvements in the professional competencies among the four pre- service students as it was moderate at baseline (68%) for the four participating pre-service students. The subjects maintained the targeted skills in one measurement and after two weeks of the study (89%) indicating the significance of the microteaching in developing pre- service teachers required skills.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 140
Author(s):  
Mohammad Ahmad Bairat ◽  
Akef Abdullah Al-Khateeb

The study aimed at building a training program for the families of students with learning disabilities to activate the familial participation and reduce learning disabilities aspects and develop the academic achievement of such students. The study’s sample composed of (46) families and (46) male and female students from these families. To achieve the objectives of the study, the researchers prepared a list to assist the familial participation applied on the families before and after the training period; they used the scale of (Sartawi,1995) to reveal the learning disabilities of their children applied before and after the training period, as well as the scale of academic achievement (educational packages,2010), moreover; they built the suggested program to activate the familial participation. The study concluded that there were statistically significant differences between the pre-measurement and post-measurement in favor of the post-measurement regarding the students’ performance in relation to the learning disabilities aspects. It also showed that there were statistically significant differences between the pre-measurement and post-measurement in favor of the post-measurement regarding the students’ performance in relation to the academic performance scale (educational packages,2010), furthermore; there were statistically significant positive correlation between the familial participation and learning disabilities aspects, and between the familial participation and the academic achievement.


1994 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 169-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
David McNaughton ◽  
Charles A. Hughes ◽  
Karen Clark

We reviewed 27 published studies on spelling instruction for students with learning disabilities (LD) and coded them for the following variables: (a) student characteristics, (b) instructional activities, (c) nature of materials to be learned, and (d) criterial tasks (Jenkins, 1979). Most of the studies investigated the impact of instructional activities on the production of targeted spelling items by elementary-grade students with LD. We interpret the results of this review as suggesting that the following activities may enhance learning for some students with LD: (a) limiting the number of new words introduced each day, (b) facilitating student-directed and peer-assisted instruction, (c) directing students to name letters aloud as they are practiced, (d) including instruction in morphemic analysis, (e) providing immediate error imitation and correction, (f) using motivating reinforcers, and (g) providing periodic retesting and review. Only limited information is available on interventions that promote generalization of spelling knowledge to untrained words, use of trained vocabulary in a variety of writing activities, and maintenance of vocabulary across time. We discuss current research issues and future research directions in spelling instruction for students with learning disabilities.


2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ioannis Agaliotis ◽  
Afroditi Teli

<p>The effectiveness of two instructional interventions was investigated in the context of teaching Arithmetic Combinations (ACs) of multiplication and division to students with Learning Disabilities (LD) or Mild Intellectual Disability (MID). The intervention for the control group (LD = 20, MID = 10) was based on principles of effective instruction, while the intervention for the experimental group (LD = 19, MID = 4) combined the intervention for the control group and an alternative grouping and presentation scheme of ACs. Correlations between cognitive and learning characteristics of the two disability categories and participants’ performance in ACs learning were also investigated. Intra-group comparisons showed that post-intervention performance of both groups (control and experimental) was significantly higher than their pre-intervention performance. However, inter-group comparisons revealed that there was no significant difference between the results obtained through the two interventions. Students with LD outperformed their counterparts with MID. Differences of the two disability categories in domains such as speed of information processing and counting skills correlated with performance. Results are discussed in reference to the organization of effective intervention programs for supporting students with LD or MID in their effort to learn arithmetic combinations of multiplication and division.</p>


2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-82
Author(s):  
Majeda Al Sayyed Obaid

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of using the Multi-Sensory Approach for teaching students with learning disabilities on the sixth grade students' achievement in mathematics at Jordanian public schools. To achieve the purpose of the study, a pre/post-test was constructed to measure students' achievement in mathematics. The test consisted of twenty items on mathematics. The sample of the study comprised (117) sixth grade students in Ruqaya bent Al Rasoul School for girls and Fatima bent el Yaman school for girls in Irbid the first directorate of Education and was distributed into four sections, which were selected purposefully. The sample of the study was divided into four groups (two experimental and two control groups). The experimental group was taught using multi-sensory approach while the control group was taught using the current approach. The sample of the study was (62) students in the experimental group and (55) students in the control group. Those groups were distributed into four purposefully selected sections in Ruqaya bent Al Rasoul School for girls and Fatima bent el Yaman school for girls in Irbid the first directorate of Education. Descriptive statistical analyses were used (Means and Standard Deviation) for the pre and post- tests of students' mathematics test to experimental and control groups. The findings of the study indicated that there were statistically significant differences in the post- test between the control and the experimental groups in favor of the experimental group. The researcher proposed some recommendations to enhance the importance of parental involvement on students' achievement in English language such as conducting further studies on other populations and for a longer time.


2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy T. Nusbaum ◽  
Cristina G. Wilson ◽  
Anthony Stenson ◽  
John M. Hinson ◽  
Paul Whitney

Positive mood often facilitates cognitive functions. Facilitation is hypothesized to be due to an increase in dopamine occurring in positive mood states. However, facilitation has not been consistently found in studies of cognitive flexibility. This inconsistent relationship may reflect the numerous ways cognitive flexibility is measured. Moreover, there is evidence that the role of dopamine in cognitive flexibility performance depends on the type of measure used. In the current study, we employed a probabilistic two-card reversal learning task (n = 129) and a Stroop-like task switching procedure (n = 188) in a college student population. We used a standardized set of mood videos to induce a positive, negative, or neutral mood state. Negative mood states were included to account for possible effects of arousal on performance, which is seen in both positive and negative mood inductions. Based on current theories of positive mood and cognition, we hypothesized that there would be differences in the effects of a positive mood induction on cognitive flexibility as assessed by task switching and reversal learning tasks. The mood induction successfully induced high levels of amusement and increased valence in the positive mood group and high levels of repulsion and decreased valence in the negative mood group. However, there were no differences in cognitive flexibility across any of the mood groups, as assessed by switch costs in task switching and correct choices after the reversal in reversal learning. Overall, these findings do not support the hypothesis that positive mood improves cognitive flexibility.


2016 ◽  
pp. 2028-2041
Author(s):  
Tas Adam ◽  
Arthur Tatnall

The term “Learning Difficulties” (sometimes also referred to as Special Needs) is used in reference to students who have significant difficulties in the acquisition of literacy and numeracy skills and need extra assistance with schooling. This is a large heterogeneous group. Another more specific term is “Learning Disabilities” that refers to the small sub-group of students who exhibit severe and unexplained problems. This chapter presents a report on an investigation, framed by the use of actor-network theory, of how the use of Information and Communications Technologies can aid in improving the education of students with Learning Disabilities. The study involved case studies and participant observation of the use of ICT in two outer Melbourne suburban Special Schools and an investigation of the impact of Education Department policies on these school environments. Research at the two Special Schools revealed that use of Information and Communications Technologies can have a very beneficial impact on these students by improving their self-esteem and facilitating their acquisition of useful life skills.


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