ABC News: Gray and Gay: Closeted Psychiatrist Comes Out After 40 YearsJuly 8, 2011 by Walter
July 8th 2011.
“The average age at which gay men come out has fallen steadily in four decades, according to a 2010 survey by the British LGBT group Stonewall. In the 60-plus group of those who had already come out, the average age was 37. For men and women in their 30s, the average age was 21 but it was 17 for the 18 to 24 age group.
Gays, lesbians or bisexuals who reveal their sexual orientation typically boost their self-esteem and experience less anger and depression, according to a 2011 University of Rochester study.” … Read more at:
YouTube: ABC News Interview with Richard RyanJune 30, 2011 by Walter
June 30th 2011.
In an interview with ABC News, Richard Ryan discusses coming out as gay, lesbian, or bisexual, and how the environment influences the coming out process. This research was conducted by Nicole Legate, Richard Ryan and Netta Weinstein.
HUFFINGTON POST: Two Studies on Gays Coming Out…or NotJune 22, 2011 by Walter
June 22nd 2011.
“When people did come out in a certain aspect of their lives, the benefits were tempered by how accepting that community was, said study researcher Richard Ryan, a psychologist at the University of Rochester in New York.
“We didn’t find any overall negative effect of coming out in controlling environments,” Ryan told LiveScience. “Rather, there sometimes was a negligible benefit. … You got some benefit from not having to conceal, but also you’re likely paying some social price.”
informIT: Choosing to Perform WellMay 22, 2011 by Walter
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 Rochester suggest that even when subjects are forced to perform a task that is intrinsically pleasurable, they find little satisfaction in it, and they don’t do a very good job. Conversely, if subjects freely choose an unpleasant task, they gain satisfaction from carrying it out, and they perform well.”
CBS MoneyWatch: Kids and Money: 5 Ways to Instill Good HabitsMay 12, 2011 by Walter
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 it.
This finding flies in the face of all kinds of evidence that pay for play, while a great motivator in the short run, rarely leads to actually enjoying an act you did not previously enjoy. In fact, Edward Deci, psychology professor at the University of Rochester, found the reverse to be true: stuff you enjoy becomes less enjoyable the minute you are paid to do it.
In a study, Deci looked at groups of people performing a variety of tasks they enjoyed, like working a jigsaw or crossword puzzle. He found that rewarding them for the task detracted from the experience. “There is significance to rewarding people,” he told me. “You get them to do what you want them to do, but not what they want to do.” Hence they stop doing it once the pay stops. Call it sticker shock.
Fast Company: Facebook Paying Users for Ad Views: The Good, The Bad, and The Psychologically UglyMay 8, 2011 by Walter
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 behavior becomes dependent on the reward…now they won’t do the activity unless they continue to get rewards.”
With a scarcity model of attention in mind, what might be the consequencs of paying viewers for ads? (For a review of research, check out this stellar animated talk of Daniel Pink.) …
HUFFINGTON POST: The Secret to a Life of No Regrets: Live Before You DieMay 1, 2011 by Walter
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 result of one of the most effective social engineering experiments of all time. The programming has convinced most of us that the very experience of life is taboo.
External approval concerns lead to more social comparisons, a fantastic way to make yourself miserable by having your status contingent on what others have or do. Focus on extrinsic goals crowds out intrinsic experiences, a study by Bruno Frey and Felix Oberholzer-Gee points out. There’s no room for anything but external results, or what Edward Deci of the University of Rochester calls “instrumental thinking.” Everything has to lead to some external gain. Anything that doesn’t — living, for instance — gets eliminated from the agenda. And you wind up with a nag you could do without, regrets. Researchers have found that what we really regret are the things we don’t do. It’s called the “inaction effect.” The taboo against living your life creates plenty of those.
GantDaily.com: Freedom to Choose Leisure Activities Benefits People with AutismMarch 2, 2011 by Walter
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 at recreation as a time to spend on activities that are fun and that are designed for our enjoyment,” said John Dattilo, professor, recreation, park and tourism management, Penn State. “But for some people with disabilities, particularly those who have autism, these activities can be a source of frustration, simply because they didn’t have a chance to make their own leisure choices.”
HUFFINGTON POST: Face to Face: Virtual Teachers Can’t Replace the Real ThingJanuary 27, 2011 by Walter
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 researchers Edward Deci and Richard Ryan have identified students’ sense relatedness as a key factor in their motivation. Relatedness refers to our emotional ties. It involves our basic need to feel connected with, and acknowledged by, others.
