Study: Sad children out-perform happy children in attention-to-detail tasks

Psychologists at the University of Virginia and the University of Plymouth (United Kingdom) have conducted experimental research that contrasts with the belief that happy children are the best learners. The findings, which currently appear online in the journal Developmental Science, and will be printed in the June issue, show that where attention to detail is required, happy children may be at a disadvantage.

The researchers conducted a series of experiments with different child age groups who had happy or sad moods induced with the aid of music (Mozart and Mahler) and selected video clips (Jungle Book and the Lion King).

The groups were then asked to undertake a task that required attention to detail — to observe a detailed image such as a house and a simple shape such as a triangle, and then locate the shape within the larger picture. The findings in each experiment with both music and video clips were conclusive, with the children induced to feel a sad or neutral mood performing the task better than those induced to feel a happy state of mind.

Lead researcher Simone Schnall of the University of Plymouth describes the psychology behind the findings: "Happiness indicates that things are going well, which leads to a global, top-down style of information processing. Sadness indicates that something is amiss, triggering detail-orientated, analytical processing.

"However, it is important to emphasize that existing research shows there are contexts in which a positive mood is beneficial for a child, such as when a task calls for creative thinking. But this particular research demonstrates that when attention to detail is required, it may do more harm than good."

Co-author Vikram Jaswal, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Virginia, added that the findings contradict conventional wisdom that happiness always leads to optimal outcomes. "The good feeling that accompanies happiness comes at a hidden cost. It leads to a particular style of thinking that is suited for some types of situations, but not others."

Study: www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1467-7687.2008.00709.x

Source: University of Virginia

Related stories:

Falling home ownership, equity, affect college enrollment
Sagging college enrollments may be the next symptom of the sub-prime mortgage mess, according to a University of Michigan economist.
Study investigates Gore-tex-type device to stop strokes and mini-strokes
A study is under way at Rush University Medical Center using a small, soft-patch device made of a Gore-tex-type material – often used to make durable outerwear – to close a common hole found in the heart called a patent foramen ovale (PFO) in order to prevent recurrent strokes and transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) in adults.
Our cheatin' brain: The brain's clever way of showing us the world as a whole
Whether we choose to admit it or not, we all experience memory errors from time to time. Research has suggested that false memory may be a result of having too many other things to remember or perhaps if too much time has passed. However, previous studies have indicated that a specific type of false memory known as "boundary extension" occurs for different reasons. Boundary extension is a mistake that we often make when recalling a view of a scene—we will insist that the boundaries of an image stretched out farther than what we actually saw.
Abducted children: Conventional photos alone don't aid the search
People's ability to recognise abducted children is impaired when they view a photo of a smiling, clean child, but come into contact with the same child whose appearance is very different because he or she is upset, crying, dishevelled or unkempt. This is the key finding of a study published today in Applied Cognitive Psychology.
Babies distinguish between happy, sad music
(PhysOrg.com) -- Babies as young as 5 months old can distinguish an upbeat song from among gloomier compositions; and by the time they're 9 months, they can also pick out the sad song from among the happy ones. That's according to a new study by a research team that included Iowa State University Assistant Professor of Psychology Douglas Gentile.
New Stanford diagnostic test for rare leukemia appears to give faster results, study finds
A new twist on a well-known cell sorting technique may allow physicians to diagnose rare leukemias in hours instead of weeks, according to a study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and UC-San Francisco. The clinical promise of the Stanford-developed approach, which eavesdrops on individual cells to decipher potentially dangerous molecular conversations, is likely to extend to many other disorders in which cell-signaling pathways are disrupted.
No longer depressed, or on meds
Henry Quant was just 5 years old and bedridden with chronic fevers when he began taking pills for anxiety and depression. His mother knew that the drugs helped, but they made her nervous.
Study shows dual-career academic couple hires on the rise
(PhysOrg.com) -- He has a fancy-sounding title, but Robert Weisberg gives himself a blunt job description when explaining what he does as "special assistant to the provost for faculty recruitment and retention."

News discussion:

Medicine & Health news