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Need a study break to refresh? Maybe not


Thanks to Stanford University for this article.

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Will
UC Davis
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Thu, Oct 14, 2010, 2:23 pm CDT

According to this study I should be spending a lot less time on this website when I take "a break". :)


Nikkilina
Washington University School of Medicine
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Thu, Oct 14, 2010, 2:26 pm CDT

I don't know about that. When I hit the wall, I've just got to take a break before I try to move on again. I have issues with saying it's all about willpower.


Psycasm
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Thu, Oct 14, 2010, 3:14 pm CDT

Yeah, the opening couple of paragraphs here are bad reporting. I've read this paper, and I'm currently working on a study in the same area.

You can't extrapolate the findings they made (which were interesting and appear valid, though further research is needed) to big things like study. They're talking about simple executive function tasks. A lot more goes into study/writing/work than what they have looked at.

A better analogy would be x-ray technician at an air-port, or a sniper watching a taget. I job that required focused, uninterrupted attention on a single task that isn't necessarily cognitively demanding. Even then, that's an analogy that's stretching it a bit too, but it's closer than the one provided.


Nikkilina
Washington University School of Medicine
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Thu, Oct 14, 2010, 3:20 pm CDT

I agree Rift. It just seems like they got some intriguing data that they got too excited over. I think there's potential there for a really interesting result, but this isn't it.


Psycasm
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Thu, Oct 14, 2010, 3:30 pm CDT

Somewhat. I don't think the researchers got over excited. The journo did.


Nikkilina
Washington University School of Medicine
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Thu, Oct 14, 2010, 3:30 pm CDT

Common problem. That's how bad science turns into old wives tales!


Jason Goldman
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Thu, Oct 14, 2010, 4:40 pm CDT

"he ability to resist temptation and stay focused on a demanding task" - this sounds a lot more like "attention" or "attention-allocation" to me than "willpower"


Will
UC Davis
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Thu, Oct 14, 2010, 5:36 pm CDT

There is an issue with reporters trying to capture the attention of the general public to sell their papers (or get hits) and embellishing the results so much that it is no longer an accurate representation of what the researchers found.  This is a really interesting talking point, and why more scientists need to become science journalist to help prevent this from happening.


Psycasm
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Thu, Oct 14, 2010, 6:21 pm CDT

They were ego-depletion tasks designed to reduced one's ability to inhibit via executive function. (From memory, I'll have to double check)

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