Happiness, Mood, and Attention
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201611/neuroscience-research-shows-how-mood-impacts-perception
This article discusses how a person's mood can reflect creativity and attention. Ghent University's Naomi Vanlessen and colleagues call this theory the "board and build" theory. Based upon their findings, happiness is correlated with more creative thoughts and an open mind. When completing a task or thinking about a topic, being in a happier mood can actually broaden horizons and can allow a person to think outside of the box. It is believed that being in a negative mood can cause someone to ignore other possibilities to a problem. Happiness can lead to a generally diffuse style of processing. When a person is happy, they may be able to take in a wider array of stimuli. However, this may cause the person to think in a less analytical way. Depending on the type of task, this could be a good thing or a bad thing. Thinking less analytically could allow the person to imagine various scenarios to solve a problem, but could also discount the consequences that may arise. When solving a problem, someone who is in a negative frame of mind will tend to turn inward in their thoughts and ignore external stimuli that could help solve the problem.
The neuroscience that could explain this theory involves the connection between the limbic system and the cortex. In this model, moods have a direct connection with thought and perception. Your mood will allow you to employ the parts of the brain needed to deal with a problem. If someone is in a positive mood, the cortex may use parts of the brain to pay attention to external stimuli and perceive that stimuli as a helpful tool.
This information could come in handy when trying to complete a project for school. For example, when completing the art project for this class, being in a positive state of mind definitely helped me complete the project. I was able to come up with various ideas for my video project because I had fun plans later that I was looking forward to. Had I been in a negative mood, I think the video would have been more boring and more straight forward instead of creative. Although this research seems applicable to my circumstances, I am a bit skeptical over how true this is. The researchers looked at over 1000 articles about this topic, but only chose 21 that fit their hypothesis. I would like to read more articles about this theory before coming to a conclusion.
This article discusses how a person's mood can reflect creativity and attention. Ghent University's Naomi Vanlessen and colleagues call this theory the "board and build" theory. Based upon their findings, happiness is correlated with more creative thoughts and an open mind. When completing a task or thinking about a topic, being in a happier mood can actually broaden horizons and can allow a person to think outside of the box. It is believed that being in a negative mood can cause someone to ignore other possibilities to a problem. Happiness can lead to a generally diffuse style of processing. When a person is happy, they may be able to take in a wider array of stimuli. However, this may cause the person to think in a less analytical way. Depending on the type of task, this could be a good thing or a bad thing. Thinking less analytically could allow the person to imagine various scenarios to solve a problem, but could also discount the consequences that may arise. When solving a problem, someone who is in a negative frame of mind will tend to turn inward in their thoughts and ignore external stimuli that could help solve the problem.
The neuroscience that could explain this theory involves the connection between the limbic system and the cortex. In this model, moods have a direct connection with thought and perception. Your mood will allow you to employ the parts of the brain needed to deal with a problem. If someone is in a positive mood, the cortex may use parts of the brain to pay attention to external stimuli and perceive that stimuli as a helpful tool.
This information could come in handy when trying to complete a project for school. For example, when completing the art project for this class, being in a positive state of mind definitely helped me complete the project. I was able to come up with various ideas for my video project because I had fun plans later that I was looking forward to. Had I been in a negative mood, I think the video would have been more boring and more straight forward instead of creative. Although this research seems applicable to my circumstances, I am a bit skeptical over how true this is. The researchers looked at over 1000 articles about this topic, but only chose 21 that fit their hypothesis. I would like to read more articles about this theory before coming to a conclusion.
I can totally relate to this article. When I get frustrated or angry when completing an assignment instead of relaxing or doing something else, it often takes me longer to complete it. I think other students could also relate to this article. I do agree, that I would need to read more on the theory since they limited their search on the articles.
ReplyDeleteI think that the article brings up a good point; happiness does help the mind reach new heights. I think that in order for students to function optimally, they should take actions that will put them in a good mood. This would include getting a good night's sleep before an exam; an individual who has a good night's sleep would be in a better mood and would be better able to recall the information and be creative regarding the test's questions.
ReplyDeleteAs I was reading this article, I related it to the art project that I completed for this class. I tried to sit down on multiple occasions to complete the assignment and each time it just so happened to be a night when I was extremely tired and stressed out from completing hours worth of homework for other classes. I had an extremely hard time channeling my creativity due to my lack of sleep and stress. However, one day I came home from class, took a nap, had a nice dinner, and sat down at my desk and was flooded with nothing but ideas for the project.
ReplyDeleteThis study could be beneficial in the workplace as well - so often we hear people complain about their jobs, so think for a second about going into a store like Target and all the people you can potentially interact with that represent the brand. If they are in a negative frame of mind and are not happy in their job role, it will certainly be evident to the customer which can have a ripple effect on the customer.
ReplyDeleteThe commentary you made on this article was helpful in validating the summary. Prior to reading your personal thoughts on the article, I was relating entirely with the information provided as it made complete sense as to why in some scenarios when I am stuck on how to solve a problem, my mood could be a significant aspect to take into consideration. Upon reading the commentary, it seemed as though the information in the article may have been relatable solely because it was a more opinionated point of view rather than entirely factual, as you explained they only used 21 out of 1,000 articles to support their claims.
ReplyDelete