Intrinsic Motivation and Excessive Procrastination
Motivation is a popular topic, not just in sport psychology. Previous posts have talked about sport motivation, so today we are going to take a wider view of motivation and incorporate some neuroscience. Then we will take a quick look at procrastination.
Sleep and the Brain
Sleep is essential in our lives! I believe that science has sufficiently proved that and, frankly, many of us could speak it from our own experiences. Caregivers raising children and missing sleep have trouble focusing the next day. Students who stay up all night finishing a big paper struggling to stay awake and learn the next day. What about the athlete who stays up all night before a big game and sees a dip in their performance? Chances are we can all agree that sleep is a need that we all have. It is also suicide prevention. This week’s post will have some neuroscience in it, which you can skip, but will also talk about how the brain controls sleep, reasons people need sleep and dreams.
Perceptual Learning
Perceptual learning is a learning process that happens via experience and practice leading to long term improvements in one’s ability to perceive and interpret sensory information. Here are two examples. The first is a musician learning to distinguish between the subtle differences between musical pitches. The second is a soccer player learning to pay attention to an opponent's hip articulation in their movements, which represents experience-dependent enhancement of sensory perception.
Neurons and Synapses
Neurons and synapses. Oh my! Yes, I did go there. Hopefully, you smiled for a quick second. Over the past few weeks, we have spent some time talking about neuroscience, brain structures, etc., but we haven’t gotten to the cellular level to talk about how the brain sends information. Today we are going to rectify this and talk about the cells of the brain and cover a brief introduction about how they communicate.
What is Consciousness?
The answer to what is consciousness is beyond what can be written in this blog post. Scientists, philosophers, and many individuals have attempted to answer this question and still continue. There is so much that we could talk about and many questions that have yet to be answered. While we cannot come to a definitive answer, we can begin the conversation in hopes of inspiring you to learn more on your own time. Ask questions! Explore! Get curious!
Diving Into The Brain Part 3: Explanation of How Language and Emotion May Interact Behaviorally and Neurologically and Cultural Considerations
In daily life emotions, language, behavior, and how they interact, show up for all of us. When I think about how a bully and their words can impact a young child who may then feel sad, upset, or angry. The bullying victim then takes steps based on what they are feeling. How a person talks to themselves and the language that they pick can impact and motions and thereby behavior. The examples could continue. There is power in the language that we use!
Diving Into The Brain Part 2: Emotions
In last week’s post we explored the brain in relation to language. This week we will do something similar and look at the brain and emotions! Before we dive into this post, it is important to remember that, while we are talking about the brain in relation to emotions, emotions are also very much felt in the body as well. This will be a post for the future where we look at the role of the body in emotions because of how important it is to look at that perspective. Believe me when I say it is very important to consider the body’s role as much research has been done and many fields of psychology utilize the body’s role in healing.
Diving Into The Brain Part 1: Language Generation and Comprehension
For the next three weeks we will be diving into the brain. Exploring and talking about the brain is a passion of mine and, since it is a topic that is related to mental health and sport and performance psychology, it was time to dive in. This week we will look at the area of the brain involved in language. Next week we will look at the areas of the brain involved in emotion. In the final week the threads will come together and we will look at how language and emotion may be connected and feature a discussion about issues related to culture and diversity.