Highly accomplished and talented leaders tend to rely more on their working memory, a short-term memory system that maintains relevant information in active states which is accessed quickly.
Fortunately, we can avoid the negative effects of pressure, through building serotonin settings, eliminating stress, or reducing distractions that interfere with our higher working memory – we also increase cognitive resources.
Research done by Sian Beilock, Associate Professor of Psychology at University of Chicago and presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, shows how pressure, limits talented people -- who tend to resort to similar problem solving techniques used by lower performers.
These ineffective methods likely include guessing and estimating, the research found. Use of these poor problem solving strategies diminish accurate results and negatively influence talented people, who normally perform well in serotonin settings.
Participants in this study completed math tests after being promised they’d be paid for correct answers. There was a hitch though! They’d collect payment for correct responses, only if a partner, chosen randomly, also got the right answer. To increase mental pressure that comes from cortisol, participants were informed that their partners had now solved the problem correctly.
Interestingly, additional pressures showed little or no effect on those whose working memory appeared already limited … and their performance appeared no worse for these added stressors. But what about more talented people, who solve problems well at work, and use more working memory to remain open to new ideas?
Surprisingly, the research found that those who tend to use their superior working memory in more innovative ways, grew increasingly impaired with each addition of stress so that their performance suffered noticeably.
Does your workplace build for maximum problem solving results from the most talented people?
» Talented People Require Less Pressure Research Suggests from BizzBites.com
You’ve likely noticed that open, talented people use their brains differently, and new research shows how talented people need more serotonin settings and how they problem solve poorly under pressure. How so? [Read More]
Tracked on: February 19, 2007 3:48 PM | Permalink to Trackback