Friends (and Sometimes Enemies) with Cognitive Benefits: What Types of Social Interactions Boost Executive Functioning? Oscar Ybarra, Piotr Winkielman, Irene Yeh, Eugene Burnstein, Liam Kavanagh (2011)

Abstract Recent findings indicate interventions can boost executive functions — mental processes that have long been thought to be static and not open to change. The authors examined whether and how short-term social interactions could create such cognitive benefits. Study 1 found that basic get-to-know-you interactions (with or without an explicit cooperative goal) boosted executive … Continue reading Friends (and Sometimes Enemies) with Cognitive Benefits: What Types of Social Interactions Boost Executive Functioning? Oscar Ybarra, Piotr Winkielman, Irene Yeh, Eugene Burnstein, Liam Kavanagh (2011)

Friends with Cognitive Benefits Engaging in short friendly conversations improves people's thinking

Research shows that engaging in short friendly conversations boosts people’s performance on a variety of cognitive tasks. A study in 2011 by researchers at the University of Michigan tested 192 undergraduates to determine which types of social interaction helped and which didn’t. The researchers concluded that engaging in short conversations where participants were instructed to … Continue reading Friends with Cognitive Benefits Engaging in short friendly conversations improves people’s thinking