May 22, 2011 by Shannon
May 23rd 2011. “Recently, motivational psychologists have come up with various models to answer these questions. Many researchers maintain that one of our basic needs is autonomy. If we feel we’ve freely chosen to do something, we are happy to do it, and we perform better. Experiments by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan of the University of...
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May 12, 2011 by Shannon
May 12th 2011. Try it. You’ll like it. It’s a lie that parents tell their kids all the time, and it’s usually about food. But now there is evidence that even if kids don’t like, say, an icky vegetable, if you can get them to keep sampling the food eventually they will grow to enjoy...
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May 8, 2011 by Shannon
May 8th 2011. Famed psychologist Edward Deci of the University of Rochester, and spotlight researcher in The New York Times bestseller, Drive, tells Fast Company that rewards “change the relationship” between people and the activities they enjoy doing for free. “Once you begin rewarding them, they start to see it as something they do to get the reward.” He continues, “Doing the...
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May 1, 2011 by Shannon
May 3rd 2011. Consider a place where people feel guilty if they enjoyed themselves — because they aren’t getting anything done. Where people see free time as inferior to the un-free time of work and performance. How’s that for chutzpah? It sounds absurd yet all too familiar, because that place is all around us, the...
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Self-Determined: What motivates you? Two Rochester experimental psychologists are challenging some cherished assumptions (Aug. 2010).
March 15, 2011 by Shannon
March 15th 2011. The relentless pursuit of happiness may be doing us more harm than good. Some researchers say happiness as people usually think of it—the experience of pleasure or positive feelings—is far less important to physical health than the type of well-being that comes from engaging in meaningful activity. Researchers refer to this latter state...
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March 2, 2011 by Shannon
March 2nd 2011. Free time is not always a fun time for people with autism. Giving them the power to choose their own leisure activities during free time, however, can boost their enjoyment, as well as improve communication and social skills, according to an international team of researchers. “For many of us, we look...
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January 27, 2011 by Shannon
January 27th 2011. The New York Times recently reported that Florida has adopted a plan that places more than 7,000 students in Miami-Dade County public schools in virtual classrooms where there are no teachers. Regardless of method, it is generally agreed that academic achievement is linked to students’ being motivated to learn. University of Rochester...
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