The Buzz: Competition May Limit Success

It's common for students to take tests in large groups, but a new study suggests being exposed to greater competition may inhibit individuals from excelling. ScienceBlogger Jonah Lehrer attributed this finding to a common tendency of the brain to shut down when intimidated instead of working harder. "When it knows that it won't win the competition—there are just too many competitors—the mind is less willing to put in the effort," he wrote on The Frontal Cortex.

Tags

More like this

Back in December, I took issue with a highly irritating article by someone who normally should know better, Jonah Lehrer, entitled The Truth Wears Off: Is There Something Wrong With the Scientific Method?, so much so that I wrote one of my typical long-winded deconstructions of the article. One…
On The Frontal Cortex, Jonah Lehrer explores the cognitive consequences of depression and happiness, explaining that the way we feel has a huge impact on the way we think. First, Jonah shares an article he wrote for the New York Times Magazine, in which he says the blues can be "a clarifying force…
Imagine that you're taking a test in a large public hall. Obviously, your knowledge and confidence will determine your score, but could the number of people around you have an influence too? According to psychologists Stephen Garcia from the University of Michigan and Avishalom Tor from the…
I read Scibling Jonah Lehrer's How We Decide some time ago, but Moveable Type ate my half-finished review, and it's taken me until now to get back to it. You may have seen quite a few reviews elsewhere by now - Adam Kepecs reviewed it for Nature back in April, and to make a long story short, I…