Humans are generally reluctant to give up on something they’ve already committed time and effort to. It’s called the ‘sunk costs’ phenomenon, where the more resources we sink into an endeavor, the likelier we are to continue — even if we sense it’s futile. A new study shows that both capuchin monkeys and rhesus macaques…

Researchers have developed a model to help identify risk factors for reading difficulties in children before kindergarten age. This may help pediatric providers identify risks when the brain is most responsive to experiences and interventions. This «eco-bio-developmental» model of emergent literacy, described in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, reinforces the potential of early screening, prevention, and…

A new study shows extraneous images draw attention from text, reducing comprehension in beginning readers. The results of the study are available in the September issue of the journal npj Science of Learning. «Learning to read is hard work for many kids,» said Anna Fisher, associate professor of psychology and senior author on the paper.…

A new study of kindergarteners in one Midwestern state identified seven different pathways the children took in their early education and care before arriving at school. The researchers were surprised by the diverse experiences that kids brought with them to kindergarten: While some received care only in their home or mainly in a child care…

New research suggests that students learning remotely become night owls but do not sleep more despite the time saved commuting, working or attending social events. The study, led by psychology professor Ralph Mistlberger, Andrea Smit and Myriam Juda, at SFU’s Circadian Rhythms and Sleep Lab, compared self-reported data on sleep habits from 80 students enrolled…

A new study suggests that prenatal exposure to flame retardants may increase the risk of reading problems. The study was published in the January 2020 print edition of Environmental International. An estimated 2 million children have learning disorders; of these, about 80% have a reading disorder. Genetics account for many, but not all, instances of…

Scientists have discovered that mindful meditation can help subjects learn and improve the ability to mind-control brain computer interfaces (BCIs). He and collaborators conducted a large-scale human study enrolling subjects in a weekly 8-week course in simple, widely-practiced meditation techniques, to test their effect as a potential training tool for BCI control. A total of…

International development projects that target the education of the world’s very poorest children also significantly improve other young people’s attainment, research indicates. The findings are based on a study of a program targeting marginalized girls in Tanzania, which showed the attainment of other boys and girls at these pupils’ schools significantly improved through ‘spill-over’ effects.…

When toddlers have to wait, it often leads to negative affect, as they can’t yet regulate their emotions. Psychologists set out to find out how to help them. Is temperament a factor that influences toddler behavior while waiting? Whom can children imitate in order to cope better with long waits? They concluded that, left to…

A new study has shown that an interactive avatar, which gives both instructions and feedback on the attention of the learner, can improve the performance of ADHD children on a complex problem-solving task. The article entitled «Interactive Avatar Boosts the Performances of Children with ADHD in Dynamic Measures of Intelligence» was coauthored by Rosa Fabio,…