tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/persistence-43588/articlesPersistence – The Conversation2024-01-04T13:45:55Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2168702024-01-04T13:45:55Z2024-01-04T13:45:55ZFocus on right now, not the distant future, to stay motivated and on track to your long-term health goals<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564976/original/file-20231211-26-io2vdz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=342%2C201%2C6367%2C4265&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The fresh flavors taste good now – a here-and-now reward that's more motivating than potentially avoiding health problems in the future.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/fresh-fruit-salad-royalty-free-image/811628388">kajakiki/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s a familiar start-of-the-year scene. You’ve committed to a healthier lifestyle and are determined that this time is going to be different. Your refrigerator is stocked with fruits and veggies, you’ve tossed out processed foods, and your workout routine is written in pen in your daily planner.</p>
<p>Yet, as you head out one morning, the tantalizing aroma of fresh doughnuts wafts through the air. How can you resist the call of this sugary treat and stick with your healthy choices?</p>
<p>Conventional wisdom, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.106.1.3">grounded in years of research</a>, suggests that the best way to resist unhealthy choices is to think about the long-term consequences. For example, you could consider how the added sugar from eating too many doughnuts can lead to <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/data-statistics/added-sugars.html">diabetes and obesity</a>. Thinking about these long-term consequences, the argument goes, should help you avoid indulging right now and better stick to your goals. </p>
<p>However, in our <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=axoPTvwAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">combined 25 years of experience investigating</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ZJA5R0QAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">people’s self-control behavior and motivation</a>, we have learned that, in the heat of the moment, people often overlook distant outcomes, diminishing the effectiveness of strategies focused on the long term. </p>
<p>In response, we propose three approaches, backed by recent research, to help you stick to healthier habits.</p>
<h2>To resist temptation, think short term</h2>
<p>One strategy to avoid indulging is to consider the short-term consequences of unhealthy behavior. We tested this approach in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucad004">seven studies</a> with over 4,000 participants. </p>
<p>In one study, we invited university students to view one of two <a href="https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/what-is-a-public-service-announcement">public service announcements</a> detailing reasons to avoid energy drinks. One message emphasized long-term costs of drinking high-sugar energy drinks, such as diabetes and obesity. The other stressed short-term costs, such as anxiety and a sugar and caffeine crash.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561685/original/file-20231126-23-8s8mzp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="two PSAs with similar graphic of a drink but different effects highlighted" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561685/original/file-20231126-23-8s8mzp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561685/original/file-20231126-23-8s8mzp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=362&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561685/original/file-20231126-23-8s8mzp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=362&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561685/original/file-20231126-23-8s8mzp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=362&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561685/original/file-20231126-23-8s8mzp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=455&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561685/original/file-20231126-23-8s8mzp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=455&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561685/original/file-20231126-23-8s8mzp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=455&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">PSAs about unhealthy energy drinks: One highlights the long-term health costs, and the other highlights the short-term costs – 61.7% of participants chose the energy drink over another prize if they only saw the long-term PSA vs. 46.4% of participants who saw the short-term PSA.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lilia Fromm</span></span>
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<p>Students then had a choice between receiving an energy drink or another attractive prize. Those who read about the short-term costs were 25% less likely to choose the energy drink than those who read about the long-term costs.</p>
<p>In another study with a similar setup, participants read about either the short-term costs of eating sugar, the long-term costs of eating sugar, or they did not read about any downsides. Everyone then had to choose a delivery of cookies or a tote bag. Those who read about the short-term costs were 30% less likely to choose the cookies than those who read about the long-term costs and 45% less likely than those who didn’t read about any detriments to sugar.</p>
<p>We found that emphasizing short-term costs can also help you avoid other temptations. For alcohol, think about how excessive drinking can lead to poor sleep and hangovers. For fast food, think about how it can make you feel bloated or give you indigestion.</p>
<p>In our studies, immediate effects were a stronger motivator than long-term consequences that could take decades to occur. The takeaway is simple: To avoid indulging, think short term.</p>
<h2>Focus on the fun of healthy options</h2>
<p>Avoiding unhealthy foods is one thing. On the flip side, can you nudge yourself toward consuming more healthy foods? </p>
<p>Research that one of us (Kaitlin) conducted with behavioral scientist <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=-vIQsasAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">Ayelet Fishbach</a> found that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucv098">prompting people to focus on the good taste</a> – rather than the health benefits – of foods such as apples and carrots increased consumption in the lab and the real world. These findings were independently replicated in an intervention at <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797619872191">five university dining halls</a> that used food labels focused on either tastiness or healthfulness.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564978/original/file-20231211-15-fr0nd4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="smiling man outside in jacket with small hand weights" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564978/original/file-20231211-15-fr0nd4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564978/original/file-20231211-15-fr0nd4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564978/original/file-20231211-15-fr0nd4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564978/original/file-20231211-15-fr0nd4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564978/original/file-20231211-15-fr0nd4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=469&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564978/original/file-20231211-15-fr0nd4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=469&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564978/original/file-20231211-15-fr0nd4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=469&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Picking a more enjoyable exercise routine can mean sticking with it longer.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/mature-african-american-man-exercising-royalty-free-image/991036038">kali9/E+ via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>This strategy can also promote other healthy behaviors, such as exercise. In one study, Kaitlin asked gymgoers to choose a weightlifting workout from a list of similarly difficult routines. The participants who were instructed to select a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucv098">fun exercise completed more reps</a> than those told to pick an exercise most useful for their long-term fitness goals. </p>
<p>Immediate rewards that result from pursuing long-term goals improve your experience right now, although they often go unnoticed. For this reason, focusing on the immediate versus delayed benefits of behaviors such as healthy eating and exercise can increase <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000095">intrinsic motivation</a>, making a behavior feel like its own reward and resulting in the immersed-in-an-activity feeling called “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-29742-2">flow</a>.”</p>
<h2>Timing the reward sweet spot</h2>
<p>Starting healthy behaviors is one important piece of the puzzle; another is sticking with these behaviors over time. One strategy for persistence is to use rewards to stay committed.</p>
<p>Research led by marketing professor <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=VNKNZfMAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">Marissa Sharif</a>, along with Kaitlin, involving over 5,000 people across eight experiments found that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucac007">small, regular rewards were more effective</a> for cultivating long-term commitment to healthy behavior such as exercising and flossing than were large, occasional rewards. Think watching 20 minutes of a guilty pleasure TV show each day you work out, rather than waiting to the end of the week to watch 80 minutes of TV to reward yourself for those four workouts.</p>
<p>But there’s a twist: Rewarding yourself too early may backfire. It seems rewards are most effective when people have to work to unlock them, after which they become regular. In other words, putting in initial effort while not being rewarded, followed by small, continual perks, is the most effective way to structure rewards.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564981/original/file-20231211-25-3gd4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="calendar with red X's crossing off days and one date circled" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564981/original/file-20231211-25-3gd4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564981/original/file-20231211-25-3gd4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564981/original/file-20231211-25-3gd4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564981/original/file-20231211-25-3gd4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564981/original/file-20231211-25-3gd4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564981/original/file-20231211-25-3gd4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564981/original/file-20231211-25-3gd4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Rewards are less effective when they’re set too far off in the future.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/deadline-royalty-free-image/172704039">JLGutierrez/E+ via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>In a study on exercise, Marissa and Kaitlin followed exercisers as they engaged in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucac007">four initial workouts that came with no rewards</a>. Then a work-to-unlock-rewards group began to receive small, continual rewards for each subsequent workout. They ended up persisting longer and completing more workouts than people in a lump-sum group who received a larger, occasional reward for every four workouts they finished.</p>
<p>A similar effect was evident in a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucac007">12-day study on tooth flossing</a>. People in the work-to-unlock-rewards group – three days of flossing without rewards followed by daily rewards – flossed for more days than those who received continual rewards right way. Those who had to commit extra effort to unlock the rewards flossed 15% more days.</p>
<p>These studies suggest people can strategically incorporate rewards – with a short initial period without any rewards – into their routine to help them stick with healthy behaviors over time.</p>
<h2>Resistance, enjoyment and persistence</h2>
<p>Our research highlights three effective strategies to help you achieve your goals: prioritizing short-term consequences to resist temptation, finding enjoyment in long-term choices, and continually rewarding yourself for sustained persistence.</p>
<p>What’s great about these strategies is that you can adapt them to any personal goal you hold. For instance, if you’re finding it hard to swap social media for a book, consider reflecting on negative short-term consequences of endless scrolling. Or if carving out time for relaxation feels like a challenge, focus on the immediate benefits of engaging in meditative exercises.</p>
<p>By incorporating these evidence-based approaches, you can empower yourself to follow through on your long-term goals.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216870/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Long-term goals can be hard to stick to if the benefits are only way off in the future. Research suggests ways to focus on the here and now to help you ultimately achieve your more far-off targets.Kaitlin Woolley, Associate Professor of Marketing, Cornell UniversityPaul Stillman, Assistant Professor of Marketing, San Diego State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1731842022-02-11T13:32:04Z2022-02-11T13:32:04Z4 ways to help STEM majors stay the course<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445158/original/file-20220208-21-4rqivc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C0%2C7335%2C5507&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Minority STEM majors are more likely than their white peers to switch fields.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/student-wearing-a-facemask-in-a-science-class-at-royalty-free-image/1297281097?adppopup=true">andresr/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Black and Latino students who start out majoring in STEM – or science, technology, engineering or mathematics – <a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X19831006">are more likely than their white peers</a> to switch fields or leave without a degree.</p>
<p>Some students leave because they <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2020508118">feel isolated</a> on campus. Others may lack the type of technical skills, such as effective communication in science, needed to persist in these subjects. When students from underrepresented groups <a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X19831006">leave STEM majors</a>, it affects all of society, hampering the overall potential for <a href="http://www.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02020">critical thinking, creativity and innovation</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-071312-145659">Scientific innovation and progress</a> require the talents of people from diverse backgrounds. </p>
<p>As Ph.D. biology candidates at <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/student/best-universities/best-historically-black-colleges-and-universities-united-states">one of the nation’s top historically Black universities</a>, we joined a group of scientists in 2021 to <a href="http://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2021.10.030">discover and recommend</a> a few things to help underrepresented students build their <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-018-0150-3">scientific identity</a> and stick with STEM. What follows are four of those recommendations.</p>
<h2>1. Take a freshman seminar class</h2>
<p><a href="https://freshmanseminars.college.harvard.edu/faq/what-freshman-seminar">Freshman seminars</a>, located at large and small colleges alike, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654315584955">are designed</a> to assist students as they adjust to the new college environment. Freshman seminars help students cope with the stress of academic pressures as well as everyday college life.</p>
<p>Students who earned poor grades in introductory STEM classes are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2021.1907169">more likely</a> to leave STEM than those who earned higher scores. Participation in freshman seminars <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-005-8153-6">can help students increase</a> their overall GPA within their first year. This can in turn encourage them to persist in their given major.</p>
<p>Although it may take awhile for freshman students to get used to college work, a 2021 article notes that minority students may have an even more <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2021.10.030">difficult transition</a> than their white counterparts. Researchers who surveyed students in first-year seminars at 45 four-year col1eges and universities concluded that the seminars <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-005-8153-6">should cover topics</a> like the benefits of mentorship, the power of networking and how to secure employment after graduation.</p>
<h2>2. Take a research course for undergraduates</h2>
<p>STEM students need <a href="https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.14-06-0099">research experience</a> prior to graduating to be more attractive for future employers or graduate school. One format for these experiences is known as “CURE,” an acronym for course-based undergraduate research experiences. These CUREs, if you will, provide opportunities for undergraduates to participate in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/ed500793q">real-life science</a> from design to execution. Research shows that these undergraduate research experiences are effective. At Montana State University, for instance, a study found that students who took these courses <a href="https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.00102-21">gained a better understanding</a> of environmental microbiology and thermal biology.</p>
<p>CUREs allow professors to interact with undergraduates on a more personal level. One article shows that having faculty with a <a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X17726535">similar identity to minority students</a> provides students with role models with whom they can relate. Students who see themselves <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biu076">reflected in their professors</a> are more successful in their majors, research has shown.</p>
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<img alt="A group of diverse science students conduct an experiment on a lab bench." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445157/original/file-20220208-12-b8h89n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=46%2C0%2C5150%2C3407&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445157/original/file-20220208-12-b8h89n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445157/original/file-20220208-12-b8h89n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445157/original/file-20220208-12-b8h89n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445157/original/file-20220208-12-b8h89n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445157/original/file-20220208-12-b8h89n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445157/original/file-20220208-12-b8h89n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Course-based undergraduate research experiences have been shown to help students gain a better understanding of science.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/students-and-teacher-performing-experiment-in-royalty-free-image/84527707?adppopup=true">Hill Street Studios/DivisionVision via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>If colleges lack the resources to establish CUREs, they can collaborate with better-resourced colleges that are nearby. One study found that when a small, predominantly white college collaborated with a larger historically Black college, student test scores <a href="https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.v21i1.1939">increased significantly</a> – from a grade range of 35%-60% to a range of 65%-86%. Students also saw great benefit in being able to engage with students from different backgrounds.</p>
<h2>3. Join a journal club</h2>
<p>Aspiring STEM professionals must be able to interpret scientific articles to stay informed about their field’s scientific activity. As essential as this skill is, it is generally taught in extracurricular spaces like lab-based journal clubs, not classrooms. Universities with <a href="https://carnegieclassifications.iu.edu/classification_descriptions/basic.php">“very high” research activity</a> usually have these journal clubs in place, but at universities with less research activity or institutions that serve minorities, research-related activities may take a back seat <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.734426">due to high teaching loads</a> among professors. </p>
<p>For that reason, some underrepresented STEM majors are in for a rude awakening when they enter graduate school. They may become overwhelmed when suddenly asked to comprehend many <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0189753">dense, jargon-filled articles</a> on their own. </p>
<p>[<em>You’re smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversation’s authors and editors.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?source=inline-youresmart">You can read us daily by subscribing to our newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>That is why participating in journal clubs in college is so important. These free <a href="http://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008032">journal clubs</a> give students a chance to learn how to read articles with the help of their peers and mentors. Journal clubs, like <a href="http://doi.org/10.2505/4/jcst16_045_04_52">the CASL Club at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke</a>, also <a href="https://www.nap.edu/resource/25568/McGee%20-%20STEMM%20Mentoring%20Identity.pdf">help STEM majors get the confidence they need</a> to critique articles and conduct their own scientific research. Frequent participation in journal clubs also helps STEM majors meet the standards of academic journals for their own publications.</p>
<h2>4. Attend a grant-writing academy</h2>
<p><a href="https://report.nih.gov/fundingfacts/fundingfacts.aspx">It’s tough</a> but essential for STEM professionals to secure grants to fund their research long term. Most grant funding goes to a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0155876">cluster of large</a> or <a href="https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf21314#data-tables">predominantly white institutions</a>. Reasons for this include <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2021.01.011">bias in the awarding of grants</a>, as well as lower rates of grant submission and <a href="http://www.doi.org/10.1126/science.1196783">resubmission</a> among underrepresented researchers. Collectively, these issues translate to less funding over time for underrepresented STEM students and professionals.</p>
<p>In grant writing, early patterns of success or failure <a href="http://www.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.65697">tend to influence</a> later patterns of success. Hence, the earlier any STEM major learns to successfully write and secure grants to support their research, the better their chances of completing their research. Grant-writing academies can provide some of the much-needed technical guidance for students to increase their ability to secure funding. For example, student participation in Stanford’s Biosciences Grant Writing Academy made it <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0243973">almost twice as likely</a> for participants to win funding.</p>
<p>As biologists who study complex phenomena, we know that the subjects of science, technology, engineering and mathematics are hard. However, we believe these four strategies can better equip underrepresented STEM majors with the tools to excel in their fields.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/173184/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Colleges don’t have to sit by and watch STEM majors leave for other fields. Two Ph.D. biology students share tips for encouraging students to stick with STEM despite the difficulty involved.Esohe G. Irabor, Ph.D. Candidate in Biology, Howard UniversityBrandyn White, Ph.D. Candidate in Biology, Howard UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1537732021-03-08T13:37:09Z2021-03-08T13:37:09ZIs gaming good for kids?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381188/original/file-20210128-19-s6hl9e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=15%2C7%2C5017%2C3342&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In addition to being fun, video games can build real-world skills.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/close-up-of-boy-holding-game-controller-royalty-free-image/1182425001">Carol Yepes/Moment via Getty images</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/curious-kids-us-74795">Curious Kids</a> is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com</a>.</em></p>
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<blockquote>
<p><strong>My parents are always saying there’s so much bad stuff about video games, but is there any good stuff? – Ethan B., age 12, Geneva, Ohio</strong></p>
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<hr>
<p>Gamers, have you ever noticed that you’re the first person to spot animals at the zoo? Or if someone drops candy on the ground, you know exactly where every piece landed? That may be because you play video games. </p>
<p>Research has shown people who play video games like Fortnite or Rocket League <a href="https://youtu.be/FktsFcooIG8">have higher visual acuity</a>, meaning they can keep track of multiple moving objects at once – or even see things in the fog or rain that others cannot. It’s one of the many benefits <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=KclUwh0AAAAJ">researchers like me</a> have discovered about playing video games. </p>
<p>For those who think video games are a waste of time or a negative force in your life, it might be worth showing them what the latest science has to say.</p>
<h2>Developing skills</h2>
<p>When you keep an eye on your enemies, grab the best loot and change your inventory without even looking at the controller, you are essentially flexing your brain. Your brain loves challenges like this – and can actually <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/mp.2013.120">grow from playing video games</a>. It is one reason why <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/archsurg.142.2.181">video game players make better surgeons</a> and why <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/24/technology/circuits/we-have-to-operate-but-lets-play-first.html">some doctors even use video games to warm up</a> before big surgeries.</p>
<p>Video games can develop other skills, too. For example, they can teach you to never give up, no matter how many times it takes to beat the final boss or reach the next level. The <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2012.07.003">persistence you use in video games</a> shows that hard work will help you achieve your goals, both inside and outside the video game. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381190/original/file-20210128-21-i7a53u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A lively engaged girl sits on a couch playing video games." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381190/original/file-20210128-21-i7a53u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381190/original/file-20210128-21-i7a53u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381190/original/file-20210128-21-i7a53u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381190/original/file-20210128-21-i7a53u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381190/original/file-20210128-21-i7a53u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381190/original/file-20210128-21-i7a53u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381190/original/file-20210128-21-i7a53u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Your brain on video games is hopping.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/teenage-girl-playing-video-games-at-home-royalty-free-image/1297616478">Riska/E+ via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>To succeed in video games, you can’t just work harder; you have to work smarter, too. Beating the final boss or another really good player is not as simple as using the same strategy over and over again. Instead, video games train you to solve problems by considering and trying different solutions. </p>
<p>Think about your favorite games. They give you lots of different problems with multiple solutions, which makes you realize <a href="https://youtu.be/4aQAgAjTozk">solving problems can be really fun</a>. Playing video games can teach you critical thinking skills that, combined with hard work, will bring you a lot of success.</p>
<p>One of the very best things about playing video games is the friends – not just the new friends you make, but hanging out with your old friends, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.577639">especially during times when you may not be able to see them</a> at school or at their house. Video games provide friends a digital playground where <a href="https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105/a000102">helping and sharing is encouraged and often required</a>. Helping each other build the biggest and best fort – or reviving a teammate when they’re down – <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.10.023">strengthens friendships</a> and can even <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650212456202">help mend broken ones</a>. </p>
<p>That’s because, even if it’s “just a game,” teammates who help each other in video games are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.02.015">more likely to help each other in the real world</a> and be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.1940">more helpful toward strangers</a>, too. Experiencing the benefits of being a team player teaches you the value of teamwork, which is something you can use for the rest of your life. If, however, you use video games to be mean to others – or let mean video game players stick around – you’ll miss out on most of these benefits. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381192/original/file-20210128-23-1awcgsi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A father and son playing a video game together cheer in victory." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381192/original/file-20210128-23-1awcgsi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381192/original/file-20210128-23-1awcgsi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381192/original/file-20210128-23-1awcgsi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381192/original/file-20210128-23-1awcgsi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381192/original/file-20210128-23-1awcgsi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381192/original/file-20210128-23-1awcgsi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381192/original/file-20210128-23-1awcgsi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Sweet victory often involves teamwork.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/father-and-son-playing-video-games-at-home-royalty-free-image/1203984161">martin-dm/E+ via Getty Images</a></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Applying skills to real life</h2>
<p>While you can turn on a video game and quickly feel <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/2167702619859341">powerful, in charge and popular</a>, it’s good to remember games are a little like playing life on the easiest settings. Real life tends to be more challenging. </p>
<p>But think about how you get bored playing a game on the easiest setting – and how it suddenly becomes fun again when you increase the difficulty. For the same reason, life can be more rewarding than video games.</p>
<p>Take learning how to play an instrument, for example. I found that learning how to play a guitar is way harder and more frustrating than playing Rock Band on the hardest setting. But it’s so much more fun to shred a guitar in real life than it is to play one on Rock Band. </p>
<p>So enjoy developing your skills by playing video games. But also ask yourself: Are you up for the challenges waiting for you outside video games?</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Hello, curious kids! Do you have a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com</a>. Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live.</em></p>
<p><em>And since curiosity has no age limit – adults, let us know what you’re wondering, too. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/153773/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Velez receives funding from the National Endowment for the Arts (Award#: 1855516-38- C-19). </span></em></p>Research shows multiple social and cognitive benefits of playing video games.John Velez, Assistant Professor of Communication Science, Indiana UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/883652018-01-01T14:18:45Z2018-01-01T14:18:45ZResearch on how self-control works could help you stick with New Year’s resolutions<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199796/original/file-20171218-27538-1yir2im.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=19%2C454%2C3298%2C2649&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Let your self-control gain momentum like a snowball rolling downhill.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/snowball-effect-vector-illustration-441409021">Sira Anamwong/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many of us have already decided that things will be different this year. We’ll eat better, get more exercise, save more money or finally get around to decluttering those closets. </p>
<p>But by the time February rolls around, most of us – <a href="https://health.usnews.com/health-news/blogs/eat-run/articles/2015-12-29/why-80-percent-of-new-years-resolutions-fail">perhaps as many as 80 percent</a> of the Americans who make New Year’s resolutions – will have already given up. </p>
<p>Why does our self-control falter, so often leaving us to revert to our old ways? The answer to this question has consequences beyond our waistlines and bank balances.</p>
<p>Psychologists and economists have traditionally fallen into two seemingly contradictory camps about how self-control works. But recent research conducted by my colleagues and me suggests the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2017.10.021">two sides of self-control might both be at play</a> in each of us.</p>
<h2>Self-control: A battery or a snowball?</h2>
<p>A well-known series of <a href="http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Stanford_marshmallow_experiment">experiments conducted at Stanford University</a> in the 1960s and ’70s asked children to choose between getting one marshmallow right away or waiting a few minutes and getting two marshmallows. Researchers found that the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/h0029815">children who waited patiently</a>, able to resist eating that first marshmallow even when no one else was around, tended to <a href="http://parented.wdfiles.com/local--files/emotional-development/Lifelong%20Impact%20-%20Early%20Self-Control.pdf">do better throughout life</a> in terms of SAT scores and educational attainment, employment, health and other major measures of success.</p>
<p>For those kids, self-control – not how intelligent, wealthy or educated their families were, or any other identified factor – was the main driver of their later success. In other words, the ability to delay gratification helps in virtually all aspects of life.</p>
<p>But researchers have had trouble nailing down where self-control comes from and how it works. For decades, studies of self-control in short-term decision-making have led to two clear, but seemingly contradictory, results.</p>
<p>One model suggested that self-control is a <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.126.2.247">finite resource that can get used up</a> if you lean on it too heavily, like a battery that loses its charge over time. Someone who resists the urge to eat a doughnut for breakfast, for example, might give in to the temptation of a cookie later in the afternoon. Each little demonstration of self-control throughout the day ends up exhausting the limited reserves.</p>
<p>The alternative model suggested that <a href="https://www.elsevier.com/books/losing-control/baumeister/978-0-08-057171-3">exercising self-control can help you build up the skill</a>. Not eating the doughnut might increase your motivation and confidence to stick with a healthy diet – like a snowball that gets bigger as it builds momentum rolling downhill.</p>
<p>So is self-control something you run out of when it’s overtaxed? Or is it something that you get better at the more you “practice”? The debate continued as different research groups investigated the question in various ways – and came up with contradictory evidence for which model best explains the inner workings of self-control.</p>
<h2>Using biometrics to tell the whole story</h2>
<p>Part of the problem has been how hard it is to conduct behavioral research. Traditional methods assume that test subjects fully understand the questions they’re asked and give honest answers. Unfortunately, researchers had no practical way of knowing whether this was the case, or whether they actually measured what they intended to.</p>
<p>But here at the nation’s largest biometrics lab, my <a href="https://agrilife.org/hbl/">Texas A&M colleagues and I</a> figured out a new way to investigate the question that didn’t rely on just what volunteers report to us.</p>
<p>We designed a two-part experiment. First, we asked subjects to focus on a red bull’s-eye at the bottom of a computer screen for either six or 30 minutes. This task requires volunteers to exert self-control – it’s tempting to look away from the boring, unchanging bull’s-eye to the animated video playing elsewhere on the screen.</p>
<p>Then subjects participated in a second laboratory task meant to measure impulsive buying: They could conserve a real US$5 cash endowment or purchase several household items on-site they hadn’t been looking to obtain. The task is analogous to going to the store and buying products that aren’t on your list. The idea is that self-control helps individuals reign in these impulse purchases.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199334/original/file-20171214-27575-a0drgt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199334/original/file-20171214-27575-a0drgt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199334/original/file-20171214-27575-a0drgt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=342&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199334/original/file-20171214-27575-a0drgt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=342&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199334/original/file-20171214-27575-a0drgt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=342&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199334/original/file-20171214-27575-a0drgt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199334/original/file-20171214-27575-a0drgt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199334/original/file-20171214-27575-a0drgt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The bull’s-eye for subjects to focus on is at the bottom of the screen. In this image, eye tracking technology lets the researcher precisely monitor how many times, and when, subjects deviated from the instructions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Marco A. Palma</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our innovation was that we did not have to assume people fully complied with the video-watching task – we were actually able to measure it via their physiological responses. By tracking eye movements, we could quantify very precisely when participants stuck to staring at the bull’s-eye – that is, when their self-control was keeping them on task. We also measured facial expression and brain activity for a clearer understanding of what was going on with each subject.</p>
<p>Basically, we found that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2017.10.021">both sides of the self-control debate were right</a>.</p>
<p>For a while, most people could focus on the boring bull’s-eye. But they’d hit a fatigue point. After that, if subjects hung in there and still stuck with the task, they ended up exhausting their self-control “battery.” We could see this by looking at how many impulse buys they made in the second half of the study. If they’d pushed past the fatigue threshold in the previous task, they showed less self-control and ended up making more impulsive purchases. This pattern was shown in both what they “bought” in our experiment and also in the brain: The prefrontal cortex showed patterns indicative of impulse-buying behavior.</p>
<p>On the other hand, subjects who eased off once they’d reached the fatigue threshold had a different experience. They remained in the “snowball” stage of self-control – they practiced the skill a bit, but didn’t overdo it to the point of exhaustion. In the next task, their brains didn’t exhibit the typical impulse-buying activity patterns. Exercising self-control on the bull’s-eye task, but not overdoing it, led to more self-control in our second task. These subjects did better at controlling impulse purchases than the other group of subjects who didn’t have the initial bull’s-eye-watching session that turned out to rev up self-control.</p>
<p>Our study suggests that self-control has the qualities of both snowball and battery: Exhibiting self-control once makes it easier to do so again a short time later, but overdoing it initially makes us more likely to give up altogether.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199795/original/file-20171218-27585-1cg254a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199795/original/file-20171218-27585-1cg254a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199795/original/file-20171218-27585-1cg254a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199795/original/file-20171218-27585-1cg254a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199795/original/file-20171218-27585-1cg254a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199795/original/file-20171218-27585-1cg254a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199795/original/file-20171218-27585-1cg254a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199795/original/file-20171218-27585-1cg254a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Understanding how to maximize self-control can help with that list of resolutions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/new-year-resolutions-goals-action-plan-750199411">Costello77/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How to make it past February 1</h2>
<p>Our new understanding of self-control provides lessons for sticking with those New Year’s resolutions. </p>
<p>First, remember that slow and steady is best. If you want to get fit, start by walking around the block, not running five miles. Achieve enough to stay motivated, but don’t overdo it to the point of frustration. Don’t burn out your self-control battery.</p>
<p>Second, remember that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1610902114">small acts of self-control build over time</a>. Instead of drastically cutting all carbs or sugar out of your diet, consider giving up just one piece of bread or one can of soda per day. Over time, consuming fewer calories per day will result in gradual weight loss.</p>
<p>And finally, realize that little acts of self-control in one area will improve your self-control in other areas. Getting traction with a healthier diet, for example, will increase your confidence and motivation to achieve another goal. As the self-control snowball gains some momentum, you’ll get better and better at sticking to your objectives.</p>
<p>A more apt metaphor for our new understanding of self control is that it’s like a muscle. You can overdo it and exhaust it if you overexert yourself beyond your capabilities. But with consistent training it can get stronger and stronger.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/88365/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marco A Palma receives funding from The US Department of Agriculture, Texas A&M Research Development Fund, the National Science Foundation. </span></em></p>Could your resolution resilience use a little science to back it up? A new study suggests practice can help your self-control – but don’t push it too far.Marco A. Palma, Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics and Director Human Behavior Laboratory, Texas A&M UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/843272017-09-21T18:03:33Z2017-09-21T18:03:33ZBabies can learn the value of persistence by watching grownups stick with a challenge<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186905/original/file-20170920-13826-eojy0z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=819%2C198%2C4716%2C3388&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">When you quit in frustration, little eyes are watching and learning.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/baby-watching-cartoons-on-tv-6-577541797">Victor Maschek/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>You’re at home trying to make fresh tomato sauce, but can’t seem to get the tomatoes out of their plastic container from the grocery store. The bottom latch is not opening, so you pull harder. Although you’ve never seen this type of tomato container before, you have opened many similar ones in the past. After a minute of trying, you stop to consider the situation – should you keep pushing and pulling? Should you ask a friend for help? Should you give up on fresh tomatoes and just open a can?</p>
<p>We make decisions like this all the time. How much effort should we expend on something? We have only so much time and energy in the day. Five minutes fumbling with the container is five minutes taken away from reading a book, talking to your family or sleeping. In any given situation, you must decide how hard to try.</p>
<p>Developmental cognitive scientists like me are interested in how we make decisions about effort. In particular, how do young children, who are constantly encountering new situations, decide how hard to try?</p>
<h2>If at first you don’t succeed, then what?</h2>
<p>The importance of effort extends beyond our daily decisions about time allocation. Recent studies show that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2005.01641.x">self-control</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00036">persistence</a> increase academic outcomes independent of IQ. Even our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.00995.x">personal beliefs about effort</a> can affect academic outcomes. Children who think effort leads to achievement outperform those who believe ability is a fixed trait. </p>
<p>Given the link between persistence and academic success, decisions about effort are particularly important in childhood. Yet relatively little research has explored how young children learn what’s worth the effort. </p>
<p>We all know that infants are keen observers of the social world. But they’re not just idly watching; infants are tiny learning machines. They can generalize such abstract concepts as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1204493">causal relationships</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1199198">social roles</a> from just a few examples. Even a 15-month-old infant can outperform a high-level computer in such tasks. </p>
<p>Could infants also make broad, generalizable inferences from a few examples when it comes to effort? If so, then maybe “grit” isn’t simply a character trait. Maybe it’s flexible and adaptable based on social context.</p>
<h2>Just give up… or push through failure?</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aan2317">To explore this question</a>, <a href="http://eccl.mit.edu">my colleagues</a> <a href="http://jlnrd.com/">and I</a> showed 15-month-old babies one of two things: an experimenter working hard to achieve two different goals (getting a toy out of a container and getting a keychain off a carabiner), or an experimenter who effortlessly reached each goal.</p>
<p>Then we introduced the baby to a novel “music” toy that looked like it could be activated by pushing a big button on top. (The button could be pressed down but didn’t actually activate anything.) Out of sight of the babies, we turned on the music toy with a hidden button so that they heard that the toy could make music. We gave the babies the music toy and left the room. Then coders, who didn’t know which condition each baby was in, watched videotapes of the experiment and counted how many times babies tried to activate the toy by pressing the button.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186891/original/file-20170920-16430-142uax2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186891/original/file-20170920-16430-142uax2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186891/original/file-20170920-16430-142uax2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=166&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186891/original/file-20170920-16430-142uax2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=166&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186891/original/file-20170920-16430-142uax2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=166&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186891/original/file-20170920-16430-142uax2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=209&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186891/original/file-20170920-16430-142uax2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=209&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186891/original/file-20170920-16430-142uax2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=209&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Infants in the study try to activate a musical toy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Julia Anne Leonard</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Across one study and a <a href="https://osf.io/j4935/">preregistered replication</a> (182 babies in total), babies who had seen an adult persist and succeed <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aan2317">pushed the button about twice as many times</a> as those who saw an adult effortlessly succeed. In other words, babies learned that effort was valuable after watching just two examples of an adult working hard and succeeding.</p>
<p>Part of what’s exciting about this finding is that the babies didn’t just imitate the adult’s actions; instead, they generalized the value of effort to a novel task. The experimenter never demonstrated pushing a button or trying to make music. Instead the babies learned from different examples of effortful actions (opening a container or unlatching a carabineer) that the new toy probably also required persistence.</p>
<p>However, most of the time when a parent is frustrated, he’s focused on the task at hand and not on trying to teach his child the value of effort. Can babies also learn the value of effort from adults who are not deliberately demonstrating to them? </p>
<p>To address this question, we ran the experiment again, eliminating any pedagogical cues such as eye contact or child-friendly speech. Again, the infants tried harder on their own task after seeing an adult persist and succeed. However, the effects were much weaker when the adult didn’t use any pedagogical cues.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186906/original/file-20170920-13826-ljnbg8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186906/original/file-20170920-13826-ljnbg8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186906/original/file-20170920-13826-ljnbg8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186906/original/file-20170920-13826-ljnbg8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186906/original/file-20170920-13826-ljnbg8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186906/original/file-20170920-13826-ljnbg8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186906/original/file-20170920-13826-ljnbg8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186906/original/file-20170920-13826-ljnbg8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Persistence is a trait that helps kids in school and beyond.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/attentive-schoolkids-doing-their-homework-classroom-646984468">wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Learning tenacity by watching tenacity</h2>
<p>Educators and parents want to know how to foster persistence when children encounter challenges. Our study suggests that persistence can be learned from adult models. Babies attentively watch those around them, and use that information to guide their own effortful behavior. </p>
<p>Yet babies don’t simply learn they should try harder at everything. Just like grownups, babies make rational decisions about effort. If they observe someone trying hard and succeeding, they try harder. When they see someone effortlessly succeed, they infer that effort may not be worthwhile. </p>
<p>So what does this mean for parents? We can’t presume that our results would work for parents in the home just as they work in the laboratory. However, if you know your toddler can achieve a task if she tries hard, it might be worth modeling effort and success for her first. Let us know if it works! We’d also like to know how lasting these effects can be, whether infants might generalize the value of effort to a broader range of contexts and how adult models of effort compare with explicit messages about the importance of effort. We hope to explore these questions in future studies.</p>
<p>Finally, this study suggests that parents don’t have to make things look easy all the time. The next time you struggle to open that tomato container, it’s OK, maybe even beneficial, to let your child see you sweat.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/84327/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julia Leonard receives funding from the National Science Foundation.</span></em></p>Persistence and self-control are valuable traits that can help kids succeed in school and beyond. A new study suggests infants can learn stick-to-itiveness by watching adults persist in a difficult task.Julia Leonard, Ph.D. Student in Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.