Re: A friendly chat can boost brain: study

[Guest guest]

I agree. I can also see some flaws with the methodology here. First off, it is as the Institute for Social Research, which would imply more extraverts being present. Second, it was a voluntary study and as part of the description, they probably explained it would involve interacting with a stranger. This would cause even higher selection for extraverts.

It is interesting though that it says the executive functions were improved but not processing speed or knowledge. At best it could be considered a warm up for the brain for a meeting or the like, but again, the methodology is flawed.

In a message dated 11/9/2010 12:32:50 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, no_reply writes:

I doubt this works for Aspies. I find myself more worn out and less able to do anything even after short in-person conversations.Administrator

[Guest guest]

Soemtimes, i am energized after a conversation/debate where we are discussing different points of view; but those types of dialogue are rare

normally I find conversing a drag on my energy (which is why I don't 'do' small talk beyond a sentence or two)

rl

'My cat Rusty is a servant of the Living God....'

adapted from a poem by Smart

From: environmental1st2003 <no_reply >To: FAMSecretSociety Sent: Tue, November 9, 2010 10:53:49 AMSubject: A friendly chat can boost brain: study

I doubt this works for Aspies. I find myself more worn out and less able to do anything even after short in-person conversations.Administratorhttp://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/cbc/101104/science/science_conversation_brain_executive_functionA friendly chat can boost brain: studyThu Nov 4, 4:05 PMSASKATCHEWAN (CBC) - Amicable chats between people may help them solve problems so long as the tone doesn't turn competitive, a new study finds.The study looked at 192 undergraduate students to see how engaging in brief conversations affected so-called executive mental functions such as concentration, decision-making and day-to-day problem-solving that requires people to tune out distractions."This study shows that simply talking to other people, the way you do when you're

making friends, can provide mental benefits," the study's lead author, Ybarra, a psychologist and researcher at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan, said in a release.The researchers studied how the volunteers performed on cognitive tasks as they engaged in 10-minute conversations. Participants were simply told to get to know one another.The tests showed improvements in the brain's executive function but not processing speed or general knowledge when people had friendly conversations.But there was no improvement when the conversations had a competitive edge."The findings show that competitive interactions, if structured to allow for interpersonal engagement, can boost executive functions," the study's authors concluded.People can apply the findings by having a friendly chat with a colleague before a presentation or test, the researchers suggested.The findings were

published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.

[Guest guest]

You have a point. For me this can happen after an "information exchange," or a conversation about a common interest and exchanging information and discussing the topic. If things switch over to gossip or topics I have no interest in, then it becomes a drain.

Soemtimes, i am energized after a conversation/debate where we are discussing different points of view; but those types of dialogue are rare

normally I find conversing a drag on my energy (which is why I don't 'do' small talk beyond a sentence or two)

rl