So, it's New Year's Day, and just like billions of other people around the world today, I've been reflecting on the past year and the choices I've made. I've also spent some time scanning the pages and pages of genetic studies I've collected on my hard-drive and I re-found an interesting study on altruism, which I've decided to make a theme for today's blog. I wish you all a very Happy New Year, and hope you make the most of time off with family and friends.
Lis
PS My latest newsletter has been designed to help you refine your New Year's Resolution and make the most of 2011. To find out more click on the link below:
New Years Resolution Tool Kit - Our gift to you, see details: the bucket revolution http://conta.cc/e22Ulr via #constantcontact
Altruism - a Genetic Advantage?
The idea that our genes are selfish and the concept of survival of the fittest as the only genetic imperative, has been seriously questioned by recent studies into genetics and behavior. As more of our so called 'junk DNA' is understood, it appears that this area contains very complex molecular protections, and is also more mutable than long believed. It appears that these junk codes are influenced by triggers from the environment and as such are subject to change.
It seems that when a behaviour offers an adaptive advantage it is encoded and past on through the genes. One possible explanation for this phenomenon is that massive amounts of DNA codes lie silently and act as a kind of substrate of potential that can be drawn on under the right conditions. In some cases it seems this substrate can be taken apart and re-combined in new codes, sometimes mimicking codes copied from viruses, or other cell invaders.
The amount of code in the substrate makes up 90% of our genetic material. Each cell in the human body contains about 2 meters of genetic material, with a storage capacity of about 3 gigabytes of information. It has been estimated that the average human adult has 210 trillion bytes of storage capacity, thanks mainly to this junk DNA.
Quantum and molecular biologists are now referring to this junk DNA as the Dark Matter of the genome, because of its volume and potential. It's almost like an internal 'Akashic Library.'
Psychology and Quantum biology are now forced to overlap, as it seems every behavior has its roots in the domain of our DNA, and is switched on and off by environmental exposure; that is the influence of family and society.
The great thing is the most recent findings show that we are not at the mercy of selfish genes. We have choice when it comes to expressing our behavioral potential, and we have choice in the way we nurture our children and each other to bring out the best in them.
I think this is my favorite part of all this research, because it's increasing our ability to understand ourselves. It also shows us that we are 'co-creators' in the deepest sense. Not in some New Age fluffy throw away line, but at the root of who we are and who the generations to come will choose to be.
Below, I include an interesting study showing why selfishness and survival of the fittest has not always won the day, enjoy!
'Selfless' Genes Attract Mates, Psychologists Find ScienceDaily (Oct. 14, 2010) — There is genetic evidence that selfless or altruistic behaviour may have evolved because it was one of the qualities our ancestors looked for in a mate.
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This is the finding of Dr Tim Phillips and colleagues from the University of Nottingham and Institute of Psychiatry, King's College, London whose results were published in the British Journal of Psychology.
The study investigated whether altruistic behaviour evolved as a result of sexual selection. 70 identical and 87 non-identical female twin pairs completed questionnaires relating to their own levels of altruism (e.g. "I have given money to charity") and how desirable they found this in potential mates (e.g. "Once dived into a river to save someone from drowning").
Statistical analysis of their responses revealed that genes influenced variation in both the subjects' preference towards a mate and their own altruistic behaviour -- an indication that sexual selection might be at work.
Interestingly, there was also a genetic correlation between the two. This suggested that, in our evolutionary past, those with a stronger mate preference towards altruistic behaviour mated more frequently with more altruistic people, thus further supporting a link with sexual selection.
Tim explained: "These results are consistent with a link between human altruism towards non-relatives and sexual selection and throws an exciting new light on the puzzle of altruistic behaviour -- which appears, at first sight, to be at odds with evolutionary theory."
"The expansion of the human brain would have greatly increased the cost of raising children so it would have been important for our ancestors to choose mates both willing and able to be good, long-term parents. Displays of altruism could well have provided accurate clues to this and so led to a link between human altruism and sexual selection."
Story Source:
The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by British Psychological Society (BPS), via AlphaGalileo.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Friday, November 26, 2010
I've been thinking about the Energy Bucket concept and learning, and realizing that we are on the cusp of an education revolution. Last night, over dinner with my partner and business manager, the ramifications of this model really started to sink in. Nothing like good company, good food and a lovely view of the Clyde River to get the quantum leaps in thinking happening.
We were discussing how the new science around the interaction of DNA, personality, behavior and environment will impact the way future generations learn. The hypothesis was that in the future this new way of understanding the mind will liberate students and teachers alike from the limitations of previous learning models.
Combined with powerful online learning tools, we may finally be able to treat each student as an individual and respond to their needs more appropriately. For some this may mean that they are able to complete 12 years of education in 6. For others it will mean they can get specific assistance in areas of need, or accelerated learning in areas of aptitude.
It's my mission to bring this information to public consciousness and thereby provide parents, teachers and educationalists with tools to understand and manage differences in personality, learning styles, energy levels and attitude within themselves and their students.
Which brings me to a study I found recently about how what we say about others says more about us than the people we are actually judging.
A new study (excerpt below) shows that our own emotional maturity and happiness determines how we judge others. Many children are labeled at a young age by a teacher as difficult, unwilling to learn, or unable to keep up. According to a study published in August this year in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology - what we say about others, and how we judge them says a lot more about us. It is a reminder that anyone in a position of authority should take care how they label those in their care.
This ties in with the Energy Bucket's 6 Key Principles of Energy Management. Paying attention to the words we say and the way we talk about others and the world can tell us a lot about our charge. If as educators we are mindful of this, it can help us to see learners as individuals, and resist the temptation to label. Read on...
"Your perceptions of others reveal so much about your own personality," says Dustin Wood, assistant professor of psychology at Wake Forest and lead author of the study, about his findings. By asking study participants to each rate positive and negative characteristics of just three people, the researchers were able to find out important information about the rater's well-being, mental health, social attitudes and how they were judged by others.
The study appears in the July issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Peter Harms at the University of Nebraska and Simine Vazire of Washington University in St. Louis co-authored the study.
The researchers found a person's tendency to describe others in positive terms is an important indicator of the positivity of the person's own personality traits. They discovered particularly strong associations between positively judging others and how enthusiastic, happy, kind-hearted, courteous, emotionally stable and capable the person describes oneself and is described by others.
"Seeing others positively reveals our own positive traits," Wood says.
The study also found that how positively you see other people shows how satisfied you are with your own life, and how much you are liked by others.
In contrast, negative perceptions of others are linked to higher levels of narcissism and antisocial behavior. "A huge suite of negative personality traits are associated with viewing others negatively," Wood says. "The simple tendency to see people negatively indicates a greater likelihood of depression and various personality disorders." Given that negative perceptions of others may underlie several personality disorders, finding techniques to get people to see others more positively could promote the cessation of behavior patterns associated with several different personality disorders simultaneously, Wood says.
This research suggests that when you ask someone to rate the personality of a particular coworker or acquaintance, you may learn as much about the rater providing the personality description as the person they are describing. The level of negativity the rater uses in describing the other person may indeed indicate that the other person has negative characteristics, but may also be a tip off that the rater is unhappy, disagreeable, neurotic -- or has other negative personality traits.
Raters in the study consisted of friends rating one another, college freshmen rating others they knew in their dormitories, and fraternity and sorority members rating others in their organization. In all samples, participants rated real people and the positivity of their ratings were found to be associated with the participant's own characteristics.
By evaluating the raters and how they evaluated their peers again one year later, Wood found compelling evidence that how positively we tend to perceive others in our social environment is a highly stable trait that does not change substantially over time.
Editor's Note: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
Lis Faenza has spent most of her life endeavoring to understand energy and its interaction with our DNA. Recent findings in quantum physics and quantum biology have shed light on what is going on. It's Lis' mission to bring this information to the general public. Combined with her expertise in human performance, these insights offer new approaches to our understanding of communication and learning.
To find out more about the latest research into the relationship between genes, behaviour, energy and bullying, please see "The Energy Bucket" and 'The DNA of Bullying," available as e-books from our online store at http://www.thebucketrevolution.com
We were discussing how the new science around the interaction of DNA, personality, behavior and environment will impact the way future generations learn. The hypothesis was that in the future this new way of understanding the mind will liberate students and teachers alike from the limitations of previous learning models.
Combined with powerful online learning tools, we may finally be able to treat each student as an individual and respond to their needs more appropriately. For some this may mean that they are able to complete 12 years of education in 6. For others it will mean they can get specific assistance in areas of need, or accelerated learning in areas of aptitude.
It's my mission to bring this information to public consciousness and thereby provide parents, teachers and educationalists with tools to understand and manage differences in personality, learning styles, energy levels and attitude within themselves and their students.
Which brings me to a study I found recently about how what we say about others says more about us than the people we are actually judging.
A new study (excerpt below) shows that our own emotional maturity and happiness determines how we judge others. Many children are labeled at a young age by a teacher as difficult, unwilling to learn, or unable to keep up. According to a study published in August this year in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology - what we say about others, and how we judge them says a lot more about us. It is a reminder that anyone in a position of authority should take care how they label those in their care.
This ties in with the Energy Bucket's 6 Key Principles of Energy Management. Paying attention to the words we say and the way we talk about others and the world can tell us a lot about our charge. If as educators we are mindful of this, it can help us to see learners as individuals, and resist the temptation to label. Read on...
What You Say About Others Says a Lot About You, Research Shows
ScienceDaily (Aug. 3, 2010) — How positively you see others is linked to how happy, kind-hearted and emotionally stable you are, according to new research by a Wake Forest University psychology professor.
The study appears in the July issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Peter Harms at the University of Nebraska and Simine Vazire of Washington University in St. Louis co-authored the study.
The researchers found a person's tendency to describe others in positive terms is an important indicator of the positivity of the person's own personality traits. They discovered particularly strong associations between positively judging others and how enthusiastic, happy, kind-hearted, courteous, emotionally stable and capable the person describes oneself and is described by others.
"Seeing others positively reveals our own positive traits," Wood says.
The study also found that how positively you see other people shows how satisfied you are with your own life, and how much you are liked by others.
In contrast, negative perceptions of others are linked to higher levels of narcissism and antisocial behavior. "A huge suite of negative personality traits are associated with viewing others negatively," Wood says. "The simple tendency to see people negatively indicates a greater likelihood of depression and various personality disorders." Given that negative perceptions of others may underlie several personality disorders, finding techniques to get people to see others more positively could promote the cessation of behavior patterns associated with several different personality disorders simultaneously, Wood says.
This research suggests that when you ask someone to rate the personality of a particular coworker or acquaintance, you may learn as much about the rater providing the personality description as the person they are describing. The level of negativity the rater uses in describing the other person may indeed indicate that the other person has negative characteristics, but may also be a tip off that the rater is unhappy, disagreeable, neurotic -- or has other negative personality traits.
Raters in the study consisted of friends rating one another, college freshmen rating others they knew in their dormitories, and fraternity and sorority members rating others in their organization. In all samples, participants rated real people and the positivity of their ratings were found to be associated with the participant's own characteristics.
By evaluating the raters and how they evaluated their peers again one year later, Wood found compelling evidence that how positively we tend to perceive others in our social environment is a highly stable trait that does not change substantially over time.
Editor's Note: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
Lis Faenza has spent most of her life endeavoring to understand energy and its interaction with our DNA. Recent findings in quantum physics and quantum biology have shed light on what is going on. It's Lis' mission to bring this information to the general public. Combined with her expertise in human performance, these insights offer new approaches to our understanding of communication and learning.
To find out more about the latest research into the relationship between genes, behaviour, energy and bullying, please see "The Energy Bucket" and 'The DNA of Bullying," available as e-books from our online store at http://www.thebucketrevolution.com
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