Blog
About
PARINC.COM
MENU
CHECK OUT
Login
SEARCH
1-800-331-8378
Blog
About
PARINC.COM
Search
1.800.331.8378
Practice
,
Research
Meetings: Brainstorm or Brain Drain?
March 27, 2012
Meetings are a regular part of working life, an opportunity to collaborate, solve a problem, or accomplish a goal. Many of us assume that meetings, while sometimes tedious or dull, are still the best way to bring good ideas to the table. New research led by scientists at the
Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute
, however, suggests quite the opposite
—meetings may, in fact, make us dumber.
The study’s authors assert that the social dynamic that occurs in meetings can have a detrimental effect on our ability to think clearly. “You may joke about how committee meetings make you feel brain dead, but our findings suggest that they may make you act brain dead as well,” said co-author Read Montague, in a
recent interview with msnbc.com
author Linda Carroll.
In the study, researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to look at the brains of college-student volunteers as they took an IQ test. Next, the students were divided into groups with similar IQs and given a second test. Each time they answered a question during the second round of testing, they were given feedback about their performance compared to others in the group. Although the volunteers were well matched in terms of initial IQ scores, scores dropped dramatically when students were receiving constant feedback about their performance relative to others in their group.
According to lead author
Kenneth Kishida
, constant reminders of status were stimulating parts of the brain involving fear, anxiety, and emotional response—and this was causing the students to perform poorly on the test. In the context of a meeting, such negative feelings can be triggered by a sense that others in the group are smarter or better prepared—even when they aren’t. According to Kishida, the perception alone can stifle our best thinking.
What do you think? Do meetings help or hinder intelligence and creativity? Leave a comment and join the conversation!
Categories
About PAR (78)
Advocacy (25)
Books (8)
Community PARtners (39)
Conference (46)
Contest (3)
Discounts (13)
General (14)
Meet the Author (24)
Movies (1)
New Products (117)
PAR Author (65)
PAR Staff (42)
Practice (122)
Products (134)
Research (152)
Training (26)
Training Portal (2)
Uncategorized (7)
Webinar (18)
White Paper (4)
Archives
2021
January (4)
February (4)
March (5)
April (3)
2020
January (4)
February (4)
March (5)
April (2)
May (3)
June (5)
July (4)
August (4)
September (5)
October (5)
November (5)
December (5)
2019
January (4)
February (4)
March (4)
April (5)
May (4)
June (4)
July (5)
August (4)
September (4)
October (5)
November (4)
December (5)
2018
January (5)
February (4)
March (4)
April (4)
May (5)
June (4)
July (5)
August (4)
September (4)
October (5)
November (3)
December (4)
2017
January (5)
February (4)
March (4)
April (4)
May (5)
June (4)
July (4)
August (4)
September (4)
October (5)
November (4)
December (3)
2016
January (4)
February (4)
March (5)
April (4)
May (5)
June (4)
July (3)
August (5)
September (6)
October (4)
November (5)
December (4)
2015
January (7)
February (4)
March (6)
April (4)
May (4)
June (5)
July (4)
August (4)
September (5)
October (4)
November (4)
December (5)
2014
January (4)
February (4)
March (4)
April (5)
May (4)
June (4)
July (5)
August (4)
September (4)
October (5)
November (4)
December (5)
2013
January (5)
February (4)
March (4)
April (5)
May (4)
June (4)
July (5)
August (4)
September (4)
October (5)
November (5)
December (5)
2012
January (5)
February (4)
March (5)
April (5)
May (5)
June (4)
July (6)
August (4)
September (5)
October (6)
November (4)
December (4)
2011
January (4)
February (4)
March (5)
April (3)
May (6)
June (5)
July (5)
August (5)
September (4)
October (5)
November (5)
December (4)
2010
May (4)
June (3)
July (5)
August (4)
September (2)
October (3)
November (3)
December (3)
Contact PAR
Customer Support:
1.800.331.8378
Tech Support:
1.800.899.8378
Email:
cs@parinc.com
Website:
www.parinc.com
Recent Posts
April is Autism Acceptance Month
Score the HVLT-R and BVMT-R on PARiConnect
PARty Animals named Top Dog once again!
Jeremy Sharp on Trauma-Informed Assessment
The PAI Plus is now available as part of the PAI Software Portfolio!
Read More »
Tags
online assessment
AAB
APA
assessment
authors
autism
BRIEF
BRIEF2
career
career counseling
career interest inventory
ChAMP
children
Community PARtners
concussion
Customer Service
customer support
dementia
depression
executive function
FAR
feifer
free training
intelligence
John Holland
learning disabilities
memory
mental health
NASP
neuropsychology
online assessment
PAI
PAR
PAR staff
PARiConnect
personality
post-traumatic stress disorder
Psychology
ptsd
reading
research
retirement
SDS
Self-Directed Search
suicide
tbi
training
training portal
trauma
United Way