text:
"The central, final, inescapable fact is that inspired words create life in us because they are themselves alive." — Cecile Maurice Bowra, Inspiration and poetry
Is inspiration contagious? Do inspired works of art inspire the audience? There is a long tradition in the humanities that suggests it does. Plato once argued that inspiration is transmitted to the audience through the Muse. Remarkably, however, this has only just been tested scientifically.
In a recent study, Todd Thrash and colleagues conducted the first ever test of "inspiration contagion", using poetry as the vehicle. They looked at specific qualities of a text and the qualities of the reader. It's a rich study, with 36,020 interactions between all of the variables! Here are the essential findings:
These inspiration contagion findings have far-reaching implications. First, there are implications for aspiring writers. Many writers consider the prospect of writing to be daunting, mostly because it is assumed that good writing requires drudgery and utter originality. Indeed, if thought in that way, writing does sound scary!
However, these findings suggest that good writing is more like talking, an expression of one's inner state of being. Perhaps the most helpful way for aspiring writers to view writing is as a natural vehicle for capturing personal insights and expressing them. These insights can be valuable and inspiring to the reader whether or not they are also perceived as original or arising from intense effort. As Tolstoy put it,
"People are taught how to write many-paged composition, without having anything they wish to say, on a theme about which they have never thought… This is taught in schools."
I really like the "self-as-author" metaphor that the researchers use: "The author confronts a blank page, unsure what to say, and the self struggles with an unwritten future.. Both find their voice when inspired, and the author-self, at last, speaks with authority and authenticity."
Good writing speaks from a deep truth of the person writing it, which is often a deep truth that many of us can resonate with. As a writer, do not view writing as a separate activity, but as an expression of your deepest self and existential experiences.
There are also implications of inspiration contagion for spirituality and sacred texts, academic transmission, and interpersonal communication. We are often inspired by people who say things that we have all wanted to say, but we didn't have the language to express it. Inspiration contagion also may play a role in both the origins and evolution of culture.
Clearly, the artist cannot be separated from the art. I hope to see more research along these lines. I'll leave the last word here to the researchers:
The inspired writer participants in the sweep of history, producing a text that is not just valuable but that enlightens, inspired, and raises the hairs on the arms of future generation of thinkers."
You can read the full article here.]]>
Success in accomplishing your goals requires grit: passion and perseverance over a long stretch of time. Grit requires constantly moving toward toward your north star– who you were meant to be–over the course of years, despite life's inevitable trials and tribulations. This requires the capacity to ignore distractions, and to maintain one's enduring purpose.
But life is not only about reaching one's goals in life. One may have the passion and tenacity in full force, but still feel deeply unfilled once they reach the top of the mountain. I believe a really important characteristic that must be coupled with grit throughout the hero's journey is authenticity.
According to the humanistic psychologist Carl Rogers, we are inherently motivated to move towards our true self. To Rogers, the "fully functioning person" is in deep touch with his or her experiences and emotions, is oriented toward meaningful goals and projects, and upholds prosocial values. Rogers also argued for the importance of preserving the stability, coherence, and authenticity of our self-concept (our beliefs about the self).
In fact, Rogers believed this was the most important basic need, and that the more there is a discrepancy between our own direct personal experiences and our conscious self-concept, the greater the inner conflict and the desire to seek out psychotherapy. A major goal of psychotherapy, according to Rogers, is to develop unconditional positive regard for ourselves and others, thereby cultivating our authenticity.
Recent research suggests that authenticity is indeed important for living a fulfilling, psychologically healthy life. Authenticity has been linked to higher levels of positive affect, life satisfaction, autonomy, environmental mastery, positive relations with others, personal growth, self-acceptance, and reductions in stress and anxiety. Authenticity has also been linked to a more secure form of self-esteem that is not contingent on the evaluation of others.
What does it feel like when we are authentic? People tend to describe the most meaningful moments in their lives as those where they felt connected with their selves and others. The more a person's true self-concept is accessible to his or herself, the more they report feeling meaning and satisfaction in life. Also, when people describe their most authentic experiences, they report feeling content, calm, loving, enthusiastic, competent, open to new experiences, and in harmony with their environments.
Grit and Authenticity
But what's the relationship with grit? In a new study, two Swedish researchers– Mia Vainio and Daiva Daukantaitė– investigated the nuanced relationships among grit, authenticity, and well-being, grounding their research in the seminal work of the humanistic psychologists. The measure of authenticity they administered asked people to rate themselves on three factors: authentic living ("I live in accordance with my values and beliefs"), self-alienation ("I feel out of touch with the 'real me'"), and acceptance of external influence ("I always feel I need to do what others expect me to do").
Indeed, the German psychoanalyst Karen Horney believed that alienation from one's own self was a major source of maladjustment, stating that a person's true self is the "alive, unique, personal center of ourselves; the only part that can and wants to grow". She even went so far as to argue that alienation from the real self is like making a pact with the devil: "abandoning of self corresponds to the selling of one's soul"!
So what did the Swedish researchers find? First, grit was positively correlated with all of their measures of well-being, including harmony in life and a sense of coherence. They measured harmony in life by asking questions such as, "My lifestyle allows me to be in harmony". They measured sense of coherence by asking people the extent to which their world is comprehensible, manageable, and meaningful. The positive relationship between grit and these outcomes suggests that gritty people can indeed pursue their passions and still have a harmonious connection with their environments. Indeed, Rogers noted that when we actively engage with our own growth, we are moving away from rigid, fixed patterns of behavior.
With that said, the strongest relationships with grit were found with measures of eudaimonia— autonomy, environmental mastery, self-acceptance, personal growth, purpose in life, and positive relationships with others. The relationship between grit and happiness was weaker. This is consistent with prior research showing that grit is related more to a sense of meaning in life than merely feeling good.
This is also consistent with a growing literature in positive psychology showing the differences between meaning and happiness. Happiness is related to how satisfied you feel in your life, how often you feel positive emotions, and how infrequently you feel negative emotions. In contrast, meaning is associated more with self-exploration, constantly seeking personal growth, and cultivating your highest virtues. Meaning and happiness tend to go together, but they are not always the same. Both independently contribute to a good life.
Most interestingly, the researchers found that the relationship between grit and happiness depended on a person's level of authenticity and sense of coherence.* This suggests that being gritty may give you meaning, but may not be enough for feeling satisfied with your life. In line with Carl Rogers and the other humanistic psychologists, being authentic in your most meaningful pursuits and having a sense of coherence in your life are critical missing pieces of this puzzle. Indeed, when the researchers took into account authenticity and sense of coherence, the relationship between grit and happiness completely disappeared.
These findings are in line with other research showing that adopting and persisting in your self-concordant goals— goals that are consistent with your identity, basic needs, personality, and talents– are associated with higher levels of life satisfaction. Therefore, not only persisting in your goals, but being authentic in your goals and maintaining a consistent identity, are also important for optimal well-being. As the researchers note,
"Grit, rather than reflecting a rigid determination to pursue one's goals no matter the costs, might reflect a determination to pursue goals so long as those goals are consistent with one's inner values."
True grit may require a stable connection with one's true self, an inner stability, to cope with a world that is inevitably chaotic, full of uncertainty, adversity, and fluctuations. But while "existential courage" is certainly important for recovering from the inevitable stressors of daily life, this alone is not enough for being satisfied with your life. When grit is driven by your authentic soul, and a prosocial purpose, you, friend, are one unstoppable hero!
© 2016 Scott Barry Kaufman, All Rights Reserved
source: flickr
* Interestingly, these findings were more consistent among the females in the sample. Further research should investigate potential gender differences in the effects of authenticity on grit, well-being, and harmony in life.]]>
Adrian Furnham and Helen Cheng
This study used a longitudinal data set of 5,672 adults followed for 50 years to determine the factors that influence adult trait Openness-to-Experience. In a large, nationally representative sample in the UK (the National Child Development Study), data were collected at birth, in childhood (age 11), adolescence (age 16), and adulthood (ages 33, 42, and 50) to examine the effects of family social background, childhood intelligence, school motivation during adolescence, education, and occupation on the personality trait Openness assessed at age 50 years. Structural equation modeling showed that parental social status, childhood intelligence, school motivation, education, and occupation all had modest, but direct, effects on trait Openness, among which childhood intelligence was the strongest predictor. Gender was not significantly associated with trait Openness. Limitations and implications of the study are discussed.
Read article]]>
I am often torn between two extremes– inspiration and self-doubt. There are moments I feel I have stumbled upon a great truth, a new discovery. This enlivens my spirit and motivates me to further explore, and share. Explore and share. The deep drives of the artist. Yet, what happens when we explore, and discover that so many others have trod the same path, have been inspired by the very same questions, and have already reached satisfying conclusions? This inevitability can bring out the defenses, the self-doubt. What do I possibly have to contribute to this world? What can I say that hasn't already been said?
This is the creative dilemma.
I'd like to propose an antidote, the only thing I've found to really help me push through. In a word: gratitude. Gratitude for all of those fellow explorers, fellow discovers. There is a middle way between the extremes of euphoric inspiration and crippling self-doubt. The creative dilemma will always be an inevitable part of life, inherent in the search for meaning. To think that you are the only one with the search for meaning is folly. With gratitude and humbleness, we can not only overcome this dilemma, but push all the way through, by treating your fellow travelers with appreciation. Anything worth saying is worth saying again. And again, again, and again. Generation after generation. When truth is beauty, and beauty is good, there can be no shortage of amplification. There is value to integration, to sharing, and yes, to the constant drive for exploration. Coupled with gratitude and acknowledgment of those who have traveled on similar paths, you can look the creative dilemma right in the eyes, and see it for what it is: a ruse.
image credit: flickr]]>
Sociability: Inclined to associated with or be in the company of others.
Introspection: Observation of examination of one's own mental and emotional state, mental processes, etc.; the act of looking within oneself.
The fundamental human needs for connection and reflection enrich our lives, and infuse it with meaning and growth. However, we often treat the two as though they were on a seesaw: the more you have one in your life, the less you have the other. For instance, we often talk as though the more reflective you are as a person, the less social you are, or the more social you are, the less you engage in introspection.
But are these really diametrically opposed ways of being, or instead, are they both on their own, independent seesaws, in great harmony with each other? Usually different forms of solitude and sociability are lumped together. So being the uber-nerd that I am, I went in and analyzed a preexisting dataset I had sitting on my computer. It's from the Eugene-Springfield community sample, which consisted of 500+ participants from Eugene and Springfield, Oregon. Participants ranged in age from 20 to 85 years, and spanned all levels of educational attainment.
This dataset is great because it has so many personality variables in it. What I was most interested in– and what I had not seen analyzed before– is an analysis of all of the items relating to "sociability" and all of the items related to "introspection". I put all of the items into one big pot, and through various "factor analysis" techniques, I came up with a reasonable– and I think meaningful– set of four factors:
1. Preference for solitude
Prefer to be left alone, want to be left alone, seek quiet, don't like crowded events
2. Enjoyment of solitude
Enjoy spending time by myself, amuse myself easily
3. Introspection
Spend time reflecting on things, enjoy contemplation, like to ponder over things
4. Nonconformity
Have a point of view all my own, go my own way, live in a world of my own, do things at my own pace
Where do you stand on these four factors? Are you high in some and low in others? High in them all? Low in them all? While each of these four factors were positively correlated with each other, I found they were also partially distinct from each other. Most notably, a preference for solitude was much more strongly correlated with enjoyment of solitude (+.48) and nonconformity (+.47) than with introspection (+.17). What this means is that just because you enjoy reflecting deeply on yourself and the world doesn't mean that you necessarily prefer to be alone. On the flip side, just because you prefer to be alone doesn't mean you will be particularly reflective when alone.
How do these four factors relate to the rest of personality? I did a bunch of analyses, but I'll report the major findings here (the number in parentheses are correlations, ranging from -1 to +1, and all reported correlations were statistically significant).
A preference for solitude was associated with reduced levels of gregariousness (-.72), warmth (-.42), poise (-.39), positive emotions (-.32), excitement seeking (-.31), leadership (-.25), assertiveness (-.23), and activity (-.22), However, enjoyment of solitude was only related to reduced levels of gregariousness (-.33) and excitement seeking (-.14), and was positively correlated with poise (+.11). Note that the correlations were much smaller than with a preference for solitude. These findings suggest that there are many people who enjoy solitude and are still very outgoing, happy, positive, warm, and assertive. Introspection was also associated with reduced levels of gregariousness but the correlation was very small (-.14). Surprisingly, introspection was associated with increased levels of leadership (+.20) and assertiveness (+.11). Nonconformity was only associated with reduced levels of gregariousness (-.42), warmth (-0.15), and poise (-.10).
Negative Emotions
A preference for solitude was correlated with higher levels of self-consciousness (+.20), depression (+.12), and hostility (+.10). In contrast, enjoyment of solitude was correlated with reduced vulnerability to stress (-.23), anxiety (-.22), depression (-.21), hostility (-.17), self-consciousness (-.14), and increased levels of tranquility (+.12) and cool-headedness (+.12). I think this is a fascinating finding: enjoyment of solitude seems to be highly adaptive! This seems to vindicate the English psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott, who argued that the capacity for solitude can be one of the greatest markers of psychological health, particularly when you are comfortable with who you are while alone. Introspection and nonconformity were both correlated with lower levels of tranquility (-.24 and -.11, respectively). Unsurprisingly, nonconformity was additionally correlated with higher levels of hostility (+.18).
A preference for solitude was correlated with reduced levels of compassion (-.28), altruism (-.24), trust (-.20), tender-mindedness (-.14), and empathy (-.12), whereas enjoyment of solitude was correlated with increased levels of empathy (+.19), trust (+.14), politeness (+.14), straightforwardness (+.11), and compliance (+.10). Introspection was correlated with reduced levels of straightforwardness (-.12), but was correlated with increased levels of empathy (+.42) and compassion (+.20). Unsurprisingly, nonconformity was correlated with reduced levels of compliance (-.20), politeness (-.19), straightforwardness (-.14), altruism (-.12), and trust (-.10), but showed a small positive correlation with empathy (+.12).
A preference for solitude was correlated with reduced levels of competence (-.10), achievement striving (-.10), and self-discipline (-.10), whereas enjoyment of solitude was correlated with increased levels of competence (+.13) and deliberation (+.11). Introspection and nonconformity were both correlated with increased levels of achievement striving (+.10 and +.09, respectively).
Inner Life
Finally, let's look at the activity of the mind: intelligence and imagination. For this analysis, I cast a broader net of personality characteristics because I believe that intelligence and imagination are central to distinguishing between these four variables.
First, all four variables were positively related to IQ. The strongest correlation was between IQ and introspection (+.26), and the weakest correlation was between IQ and a preference for solitude (+.10). However, these correlations were rather small, and probably not significantly different from each other. The real differences can be seen when we look at other metrics of intelligence and imagination.
Enjoyment of solitude was correlated with quickness of thought (+.26), ingenuity (+.19), intellectual competence (+.19), creativity (+.18), reflection (+.17), fantasy (+.16), and appreciation of beauty (+.16). This finding is consistent with Jerome Singer's discovery of a group of "happy daydreamers": people who enjoy vivid imagery and fantasy, and use daydreaming for plotting out their future. Interestingly, the only intelligence and imagination-related variables that were correlated with a preference for solitude was less openness to one's full range of emotions and feelings (-.17) and difficulty describing (+.25) and identifying (+.14) one's feelings.
Introspection showed much stronger correlations with these variables. Introspection was correlated with increased levels of creativity (+.49), fantasy (+.46), reflection (+.41), quickness (+.41), appreciation of beauty (+.40), ingenuity (+.36), and intellectual competence (+.31). Additionally, introspection was correlated with increased levels of intellectual depth (+.56) and openness to one's full range of emotions and feelings (+.31). Finally, nonconformity was correlated with intellectual depth (+.39), creativity (+.32), fantasy (+.30), ingenuity (+.25), quickness (+.23), intellectual competence (+.20), openness to one's full range of emotions and feelings (+.19), appreciation of beauty (+.16), and reflection (+.13).
As you can see, sociability and introspection aren't opposites; and can actually be in harmony with each other. This finely-grained analysis shows that it's worth making a distinction between (a) having a preference for solitude, (b) enjoying solitude, (c) enjoying introspection and reflection, and (d) nonconformity/dancing to the beat of a different drummer. These four variables do tend to be positively related to each other, but scoring high on one doesn't necessarily predict that you will score high on the others. In fact, without any additional context, just having a preference for being alone (vs. spending time with others) seems maladaptive, whereas embracing alone time seems to be related to psychological health and an active fantasy life. It's clear: Solitude and introspection can lead to a life full of connection, creativity, and meaning.
© 2016 Scott Barry Kaufman, All Rights Reserved
image credits: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]]>
Having an active social life is one of the strongest predictors of longevity and good health. Human connection is one of the most fundamental and important human drives. But it can also be our most tiring! Quick question: raise your hand if you ever get tired after talking to too many people. Did you raise your hand? Congrats: you're human!
I think we tend to overplay our differences, and underestimate just how similar we all really are deep down in our basic needs, strivings, and frustrations. Our common humanity. Emerging research shows that even though we each show distinct patterns of thoughts, motivations, and behaviors that make us different from each other, we actually display the whole spectrum of behaviors in our everyday life. Everybody sometimes gets tired from too many social interactions, sometimes acts like a jerk, sometimes is lazy, etc. Just some of us are consistently more so on a regular basis than others.
In a brand new study, two Finish researchers looked at one of the most prominent descriptions about introverts: that they need to be alone and recharge after too many social interactions. While this is undoubtedly true, does this really differentiate introverts from extraverts? Incredibly this idea has never actually been tested scientifically until now.
Over the course of 12 days, 48 participants filled out measures of their personality, mood, stress, and levels of fatigue. Five times a day, they were asked to describe their behavior, feelings, and situations during the last hour. They also were asked to describe the extent to which they interacted in person with others in the past hour. In addition to looking at the effects of behaving extraverted, they also looked at the effects of behaving conscientiously (studying, working, and having a goal that they tried to accomplish in the past hour).
They found that the more people were acting extraverted and conscientious, the more they reported being in a positive mood and feeling lower levels of fatigue in the moment, but after 3 hours they reported higher levels of fatigue. The level of fatigue depended on the number of people met during the last hour, the intensity of the social interactions, and how much they had a specific goal in mind when they were studying or working. Interestingly, these effects were found for both introverts and extraverts.
While the findings on conscientiousness are not surprising (hard work is hard work!), this is the first direct evidence suggesting that too much socializing is draining for everyone. Indeed, prior research has shown that in general, when under stress, tired, or living in crowded circumstances, people often choose to be alone if they can. This research also adds to a growing literature suggesting that in the moment, acting extraverted has the same consequences on mood for both introverts and extraverts. Taken together, all of this research suggests that for most humans on this planet, having a reasonable amount of social interaction and working hard toward goals makes people feel good, but too much of either tends to make people tired after a few hours.
Nevertheless, there are real differences between introverts and extraverts that shouldn't be ignored. For one, introverts really do prefer solitude and quiet time more, on average, than extraverts. Also, the latest science of introversion suggests that extraverts are more driven to engage in social interactions that particularly increase social status or social attention. Extraversion seems to be fueled by dopamine, particularly through the reward circuits of the brain that cause us to get excited by the possibility of "appetitive rewards" in the environment, such as money, power, sex, and social status.
This study didn't differentiate between the particular nature of the interactions, or the reward value of the interactions, but I predict that there would have been real differences between introverts and extraverts if these more nuanced variables had been assessed. For instance, perhaps introverts get more depleted quicker after having to engage in 'networking'. Or perhaps after too much social intensity, introverts retreat to solitude to recharge their batteries, whereas extraverts might seek out more social interactions with a smaller group of friends. All of these questions are ripe for future research.
Nevertheless, this is a neat little study that shows that deep down, we all find it draining having to talk to too many people, and having to work really, really hard. It's draining for all of us. This is something we can all bond over and discuss at the water cooler. Or not.
© 2016 Scott Barry Kaufman, All Rights Reserved
Image credit: Flickr
Note: It should be noted that this study had a small sample size (48 participants) and consisted mostly of females (41/48). So while this is definitely not the final word on this topic, I hope more researchers will look at ways in which we are united in our personalities, as well as the ways in which we differ.]]>
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What is imagination? How do you teach it, nurture it, allow it to flourish—and are these goals worth having? The Imagination Institute is dedicated to these issues by making progress on the measurement, growth, and improvement of imagination across all sectors of society. Toward these aims, we are funding 16 research teams to develop better ways of assessing and promoting imagination and creativity. You can see our list of grant recipients and their projects at http://imagination-institute.org/grant-recipients.
The Imagination Institute is also hosting a series of "Imagination Retreats" to further our understanding of how imagination operates within specific domains—and ultimately, how to cultivate this critically important capacity in all people. We are having an ongoing series of conversations with some of the most imaginative thinkers in a wide range of fields, from psychology to comedy, physics, or spirituality, among others. Through these exciting conversations, we hope to learn more about how we can support young people to develop imagination within their domain, and cultivate imagination in society more broadly.
You can keep up to date on the latest retreats, watch select video footage of the retreats, and read our summary reports at http://imagination-institute.org/retreats.
Our first imagination retreat was held at the Union League in Philadelphia on November 20-22, 2015, with psychologists Roy Baumeister, Leda Cosmides, Jonathan Haidt, Steven Pinker, and Martin Seligman, and businesswoman and human rights activist Thérèse Rein. At the heart of the discussion were issues that touch not only on the creative mind, both generally and within psychology in particular, but on the very essence of what academia means and what its function in society should be.
Here are some highlights of the event:
You can read the full report here, prepared by the author and journalist Maria Konnikova (lead author), Marie Forgeard, Elizabeth Hyde, and myself.
Thanks to the John Templeton Foundation for their generous support, and to Taylor Kreiss and Jordyn Feingold for their assistance.
You can find out more about the Imagination Institute at http://imagination-institute.org.]]>
Everybody loves creativity. Organizations spend large sums of money on programs designed to "unleash creativity"– from Edward de Bono's lateral thinking program to Tony Buzan's mind-mapping techniques, to Scott Isaksen and Donald Treffinger's creative problem solving Process (CPS). But can creativity really be trained?
In one of the biggest reviews on this topic, Ginamarie Scott and colleagues assessed the effectiveness of 156 training programs and found that 11 forms of training did have some value. The techniques that were particularly effective were those that targeted the cognitive processes underlying creativity, such as idea generation. Likewise, two other studies [see here and here] found that training ideational skills had a positive impact on creative thinking, both alone and in a group brainstorming context.
Another form of creativity training that has shown some positive effects is "relaxation training", which includes exercises such as stretching and breathing. Relaxation training appears to increase creativity by reducing anxiety and freeing the mind from negative thinking. This form of training is related to mindfulness meditation. Indeed, a recent review of the literature found a moderate relationship between creativity and mindfulness– with the relationship strongest for "open-monitoring" meditation (try this form of meditation here).
In a brand new study, Peter O'Conner and colleagues randomly assigned participants to engage in either (a) ideational-skills training, (b) relaxation-training, or (c) a control condition that involved watching videos about "emotional intelligence".
In the ideational-skill training condition, participants watched an 8-minute video where they learned examples of idea-generating techniques. These techniques included brainstorming ("allowing all ideas to be considered without criticism"), forced relation ("utilizing items in one's immediate surroundings to generate or develop ideas"), checklist ("considering a checklist of three terms – "maximize", "minimize", and "rearrange" – to enhance components of an existing idea, by asking oneself "Can an idea be improved by enlarging, rearranging, or reducing any of its components?""), and catalogue ("referencing a catalogue to stimulate or expand ideas").
In the relaxation-training condition, participants watched a 10-minute video with the same format (featuring the same instructor using slides). However, in this video, the instructors focused on activities designed to relax participants, including meditation, stretching, breathing exercises to breath deeply and slowly, and enhancing awareness of thoughts and feelings (e.g., stress, anxiety) that might inhibit creative performance. The instructor also trained participants in positive self-talk, goal-setting, and visualization to further help them in overcoming stress, anxiety, and worry. These techniques were taken from previously published studies (see here here, and here).
Finally, they tested everyone's creativity by having participants generate as many unusual uses for common objects (e.g., newspaper, paperclip) as possible in two minutes, and having them engage in creative problem solving by recombining common ideas according to unfamiliar patterns. For instance, in one task participants were presented with 10 groups of 10 words and were asked to create as many meaningful grammatical sentences as possible in 10 minutes.
What did they find?
First, they found that both ideation-training and relaxation-training showed increases in creative thinking. Second, they found that two personality traits in particular were related to creative thinking: extraversion and openness to experience. This is consistent with prior research showing that both of these traits are linked to creative thinking. Extraverts are outgoing, excitement-seeking, assertive, enthusiastic, talkative, energetic, and active. Recent research shows that the common theme is "reward sensitivity"– extraverts tend to be fueled by dopamine, particularly through the reward circuits of the brain that cause them to feel energized by the possibility of "appetite rewards" in the environment, such as social status, money, and power.
People who are high in openness to experience are imaginative, curious, insightful, artistic, clever, and inventive. In my own research, I've found that openness to experience is the single best predictor of creative achievement. However, we found that the effect of extraversion on lifelong creative achievement wasn't as high. I think that extraversion is more linked to on-the-spot creative thinking than lifelong creative achievement because extraverts are energized by the possibility of achieving external rewards from doing well on a creativity task. The dopamine of extraverts tends to make them more likely to put forth effort when extrinsic motivation is high. But in the long-term, creativity requires many years of personally meaningful work that is more intrinsically motivated.
Which leads to another fascinating finding from their study: while ideational-skills training benefited extraverts more than introverts, relaxation training benefited introverts more than extraverts.
Taken together, these results suggest that creativity can be trained (at least in the short-term), and that personality matters in terms of the effectiveness of the training. Extraverts are probably better suited to ideational-training because this form of training is more stimulating and demands fast thinking. The increased arousal that is likely to result from this form of training is likely to benefit extraverts more than introverts. For instance, on a new test of introversion I developed with the Quiet Revolution team, the two main dimensions of introversion are (a) preference for quiet and reduced stimulation over excitement, and (b) preference for deep, deliberate thinking over quick thinking. In contrast, relaxation-training is more likely to benefit introverts more than extraverts because it helps reduce arousal.
There are obvious practical implications here for organizations that wish to increase creativity in their employees. Brief, online programs can save a lot of costs than bringing in an expensive consultant. Also, as the researchers note, while improvements may only be short-term, short-term improvements can still be valuable. A 10-minute training program may only improve creative performance for the duration of the day, but if implemented at the start of a planning-day, short-term improvements in creativity can still translate into long-term organizational benefits.
To be sure, we still have a long way to go in understanding which training programs increase creativity and why. Also, I believe we need to go beyond measuring creativity in such a brief, on-the-spot, high-pressure way. Many people aren't at their creative best when they are forced to "Be creative!" on the spot, and will be far more creative when given the opportunity to think deeply and reflectively in the comfort of quiet. Nevertheless, this is an important line of research, and at least there is tentative evidence that creativity can be trained, that there are at least two forms of training that are particularly relevant to creative performance (ideation and relaxation), and that personality matters in moderating the effects of creativity training.
© 2016 Scott Barry Kaufman, All Rights Reserved
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Most of you heave heard of Kahneman's dual-process theory. "System 1" and "System 2" have become household names. But far less known is that Kahneman built his theory on the shoulder of a giant: Seymour Epstein. His Cognitive-Experiential Self-Theory (CEST), which has its roots in his 1973 paper "The self concept revisited or a theory of a theory", replaced Freud's irrational and aggressive unconscious with a more adaptive, yet still emotional, experiential system (see this timeline Epstein sent me, that traces the development of his CEST theory in relation to subsequent dual-process theories). According to Epstein, our most primitive emotional experiences should not be repressed, discarded, or controlled, but that they are essential to becoming a fully integrated human being.
A large body of evidence since then has supported the idea that the interaction of both experiential thinking and rational thinking is essential for optimal personal growth and creativity. As Epstein told me in personal communication,
"People who are high in both thinking style are Renaissance people. They have the brains of scientists and the sensibilities of poets. In other words they have the positive features of both thinking styles and do not have their negative features because they are kept under control by the other thinking style."
Last Friday, May 20th, Seymour Epstein passed away peacefully from natural causes (see obituary). He was 91. Epstein's work has had a significant impact on my thinking about human intelligence. Indeed, a major inspiration for coming up with my dual-process theory of intelligence was his 1994 paper, "Integration of the Cognitive and the Psychodynamic Unconscious", which I first encountered while in graduate school. After reading that paper (I will never forget that day), I emailed Epstein. To my delight, he responded favorably, setting off a series of stimulating discussions. I feel as though we formed a special bond, and whenever anyone would talk too much about Kahneman's dual-process theory, I felt a responsibility to mention the roots of it.
So naturally in 2014 I was deeply honored when he asked if I would write the foreword to his upcoming book on the implications of his theory for religion and world peace. Here is the foreword I wrote, which I knew he appreciated. It comes from the heart. I share it with you to honor his legacy. Also, you can hear my last chat with him on my podcast, which I released just last week.
RIP, Sy. Thanks for your tremendous influence on the field, and on my life.
I can vividly remember the moment in graduate school when I first encountered Seymour Epstein's cognitive-experiential self-theory. I was sitting in the courtyard, on a sunny summer day, reading the paper "Integration of the Cognitive and the Psychodynamic Unconscious" (Epstein, 2004). Up to this point in my cognitive psychology training, I had focused on variables associated with cognitive control, such as IQ, working memory, and deliberate expertise acquisition. However, I had increasingly felt as though something big was missing from the cognitive psychology literature.
As I sat there reading about Epstein's adaptive "experiential system", which integrated the bland, cool cognitive unconscious discussed by cognitive scientists with the Freudian unconscious that primarily consists of hedonistic, impulsive, associative, and emotional impulses, I felt as though the heavens opened up and I was filled with rapturous joy. Or maybe it was just my experiential system.
Whatever it was, I deeply appreciated Epstein presenting a more balanced view of the costs and benefits of having multiple routes to truth. In his book "Thinking, Fast and Slow", Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman distinguished between a slow "System 2" and a fast "System 1". Many readers of that book might not be aware that Kahneman's distinction between those two systems has its roots in modern dual-process theory, which was pioneered by Seymour Epstein. According to Epstein, the "Experiential System" (which is similar to Kahneman's System 1) is an automatic, associative learning system that operates adaptively through learning from direct experience. It is a system shared with other higher-order animals. After all, are we not a higher-order animal? Thus, a test of whether an act is governed by the experiential system is whether your dog or cat can do it.
In contrast, Epstein's "Rational System" (which is similar to Kahneman's System 2) operates through deliberate, logical analysis that is primarily verbal in nature. Importantly, both systems work in parallel with each other, and both modes of thought have advantages as well as disadvantages depending on the person and the situation. All behavior is considered to be governed by the combined influence of the two systems, with their relative contribution varying from negligible to almost complete influence Epstein's theory was really important, because cognitive scientists tended to focus on the fallibility of the experiential system (since they mostly focused on rational decision making outcomes), and clinical psychoanalysts tended to focus too much on the irrational, personally detrimental, emotional aspects of the experiential system.
In Epstein's seminal 1994 paper in the American Psychologist, and since, he has integrated his theory with many different areas of psychology— from individual differences in cognitive style (rational vs. experiential), to clinical applications (e.g., depression), to basic needs and beliefs (need for security, self-esteem, stable and coherent conceptual system of the self), to the development of different modes of cognition across the lifespan. The integration achieved by Epstein's theory is accomplished mainly by an interesting consideration, which is that although the experiential system is an automatic, associative learning system, what it learns is not just single behaviors, but of greater interest, implicit beliefs and needs, which often are represented outside of awareness.
But Epstein's greatest integration is this current book. Historically, religion has been the wellspring of the highest euphoria of humanity as well as its darkest acts. Without throwing out the baby with the bathwater, Epstein does a remarkably balanced job highlighting both the good and harmful elements of religious belief. Along the way, Epstein makes clear that the very same experiential processes that may explain pervasive religious belief and some of its darker manifestations may also be the very same system that provides us with love, warmth, and connectedness.
Most importantly, Epstein's balanced approach makes clear that the answer to peace and understanding is not necessarily the eradication of religion and spirituality altogether. Some modern atheist writers have recently argued for a purely rational approach to life, extolling the merits of evidence and logic. But as Epstein rightly points out, the rational system is only one valid way of thinking. There's no guarantee that attempting to replace experiential thinking entirely with rational thinking will lead to a more compassionate, caring world. The rational mind can also rely on faulty logic. In fact, ignoring the validity of the experiential system can lead to even more bias, as the rational system often draws from the experiential system to justify its own ends. Second, it is not obvious that replacing religion with a purely rational approach to truth will provide the same source of identity, well being, and sense of purpose, harmony, and peace of mind for all people as religious belief, indeed, has done for some. One of the key contributions of Epstein's theory is that people differ in their thinking styles. What may provide comfort for one person may not provide comfort at all for another person.
The only guarantee is that—for better and worse— we have at least two modes of information processing that influence us in virtually everything we do. The only hope to creating a more cooperative, caring world may not be getting rid of religious belief, but getting at the fundamental routes of conflict and stereotyping more generally. This book is an important step toward this goal. By revealing the reasons for the compelling nature of religious belief and the ways in which we can use religion constructively to emphasize love, kindness, and unity with the universe, rather than as a source of divisiveness and discord, religion, hopefully, with appropriate modification, can contribute to a better world.
Scott Barry Kaufman
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
November 2, 2014]]>


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God's design is OBVIOUSLY for everyone to be an ELCA Lutheran. You don't have to be arrogant or possess a power of discernment to see God's design. To most people that design is intuitively obvious. Something, or someone, is blocking your intuition. Probably the Roman Catholics.<quoted text>
You don't have to be arrogant or possess a power of discernment to see God's design. To most people that design is intuitively obvious. Something, or someone, is blocking your intuition.
Tally Ho! Catholic Church Attacks Marriage Equality In Delaware
There are 23 comments on the lezgetreal.com story from Feb 4, 2013, titled Tally Ho! Catholic Church Attacks Marriage Equality In Delaware. In it, lezgetreal.com reports that:As Delaware moves towards marriage equality, the Catholic Church is panicking. Bishop Francis Malooly of Wilmington, Delaware has gone on the offensive attacking marriage equality in Delaware, and, of course, doing his level best to erase lesbians and gays from existence.
Join the discussion below, or Read more at lezgetreal.com.
Since: Oct 12
#21 Feb 5, 2013
"We are all atheists"
Since: May 11
#22 Feb 6, 2013
What you might call "God's design" I call the universe. When I look at the stars at night, I am overwhelmed. An immensely (unimaginably) huge and wondrous place, and we little humans occupy a speck of that greatness.
What is NOT intuitively obvious, by any stretch of the imagination, is a random thought that some all-powerful being created all this, then decided that "he" didn't like the little humans he created and decided to sentence them all to an eternity of punishment, and the only way to get out of it was with a blood sacrifice. A BLOOD SACRIFICE. Just like the Mayans and hundreds of other civilizations that have waxed and waned over the millenia.
There's no way you can call the basic tenets of the christian religion (man is intrinsically evil, blood sacrifice is required) intuitive. Or logical. Or real.
Since: Mar 09
Location hidden
#23 Feb 6, 2013
Actually, that concept is only a part of the Saulian paradigm, and reached the form you've heard only a few centuries ago.
There are other followers of Yeshua who firmly believe that one of the many purposes of his life was to bring about the end of the sacrificial temple cult. This was the original Jerusalem community headed by James, Yeshua's brother. That sect did not die out.
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Kyocera has today announced that it has decided to terminate the Contax branded camera business. Contax joined forces with Yashica in the 1960s, which became part of the electronics giant Kyocera in the mid-1990s. The history of the name goes back to the original Contax camera produced by Zeiss Ikon AG in 1932. The company announced its first 35mm SLR film camera, the Contax S, in 1949. A dark cloud has been hanging over the Contax brand since Kyocera announced it was to end of camera production last month.
Press Release:
CONTAX-Branded Camera Business
Kyocera Corporation (President: Yasuo Nishiguchi, hereafter called "Kyocera") has decided to terminate CONTAX-branded camera business.
Although Carl Zeiss and Kyocera have entered into a long term co-operation regarding the development, production and sale of CONTAX-branded cameras, Kyocera has decided to terminate such business due to difficulties in catching up with the recent rapid market changes.
Consequently, Kyocera will terminate the shipment of CONTAX-branded cameras, and the exclusive lenses and accessories in September, 2005, except for the CONTAX 645 camera system, the shipment of which to some markets will come to an end in December, 2005.
Kyocera will continue to provide after-sales services to its customers for their CONTAX-branded cameras, and the exclusive lenses and accessories over the maximum period of ten years within the specified time of each model.
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Pure Steel Records
review by Craig Hartranft, 01.23.2012
Hailing from Bulgaria, Krossfire re-releases their debut album, Learning to Fly, for international distribution on Germany's Pure Steel Records. To musical style Krossfire offers their version of traditional melodic heavy/power metal. Generally, the lean more towards the melodic heavy metal side as the speed normally found in power metal is significant, but overbearing. Sometimes Krossfire my remind of a cross between early Blind Guardian and mid-career Iron Maiden.
Generally, Learning to Fly is a well-rounded album. Sound musicianship is lead by Dimo Petkov's clear, strong, and soaring vocal style. The addition of keyboards gives most songs a smooth texture, sliding between simple accent and film score depth. The piano on the ballad The One is quite emotional.
To the songs, the classic metal style is self-evident. The album opens with a pleasant symphonic overture, which gives way to some ordinary heavy power metal in Warmachine and How Can There Be? It's a rather average start. Another instrumental segue follows, better than the intro. The substance and stronger material begins with Learning to Fly and continues to the closing ballad, The One. Essentially, the arrangements are more aggressive in their creativity and depth in the latter part of the album.
Krossfire's debut Learning to Fly displays a band crisp and proficient at creating some very engaging classic melodic heavy metal. Certainly, this is a very strong start for the band.
Krossfire's debut Learning to Fly displays a band crisp and proficient at creating some very engaging classic melodic heavy metal. Certainly, this is a very strong start for the band.
I'll be honest at the start. I don't get the fascination some people have with H.P. Lovecraft. Attempting to read his stories, I've never been able to finish one. He's simply too verbose, the very definition of literary hyperbole, using every adjective or adverb in the English language to describe some thing or emotion. Or as the late ... [ Read More ]


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Mary's father, lives with Mary, while their mother moved to another town after
divorce. Bob has many friends, and Mary, a shy pretty girl,
is often the target of their jokes. Bob was having more and more intense fantasies about Mary giving blowjob to him and his friend, so there came an evening when he invited his sexy daughter to have a couple of drinks: Mary performed so good she was all soaked in cum of her father and his amazed friend!
|Anthony Kowalski, a divorced teacher, loved his cute blonde daughter Amanda more than anyone in the world. Since her very childhood he enjoyed taking photos and filming her on camera. When she grew into a very beautiful teen girl, Anthony's shootings acquired a different taste. Sometimes he thought that it would have been great to film her naked, and one day he talked her into some naked posing, which led them to a totally hardcore incest scene:
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LaTroy: Someone Else's Problem
Specifically, San Francisco's. The Cubs today traded LaTroy Hawkins to the Giants for Jerome Williams and David Aardsma.
Since the Giants are my #2 team (thanks to The Lovely Wife), I'm pretty familiar with these guys. Williams came up in 2003 and had a real nice rookie year (88K, 49 BB in 131 IP) but struggled in 2004 and had to have elbow surgery at the end of the season. He hasn't put it back together since - he started this year on the active roster but struggled and was sent down for a few starts to work on his mechanics, and hasn't come back up yet. This is why:
2005, Fresno: 15 K, 17 BB, 30 2/3 IP, 9.39 ERA
He is having trouble finding consistency with his delivery, and I he's also had to deal with some pretty serious family problems, so he's far from a sure thing, but he's still only 23. When he came up in '03, he looked remarkably poised for a 21-year-old and displayed great control. He's a project, but he's also got a pretty decent upside.
Aardsma, John Sickels' #4 Giants prospect, was the Giants' #1 pick in the 2003 draft and made his major league debut less than a year after being drafted. He was a closer in college and has continued in that role in the minors and in his brief time in the majors. He's also notable for replacing Henry Aaron as the first player, alphabetically, in major league history.
I like this trade. I wasn't as down on Hawkins as some, but given that he had been reduced to pitching mop-up (loss of confidence? loss of talent?), I think the Cubs got a good return for him. I think we'll enjoy Jerome Williams' pooka-necklaced presence on the mound if he gets things turned around (and who knows, being back with Dusty might help), and Aardsma can be a solid piece of the bullpen puzzle.
I think this is a good
I think this is a good trade. I think everyone turned on Hawkins and he needed a fresh start. I hope Williams can turn it around and could be valuable in the future.
Another one of these trades
Another one of these trades where the Cubs actually have to pay the other team to take the guy off our hands.
Things that make you go hmmmmm.
Just one nitpick I have
Just one nitpick I have about this article. It's "puka" shell, not "pooka".
Just one grip about this
Just one grip about this article from me. It's a "puka" shell necklace, not a "pooka" necklace.
well, christian, time to
well, christian, time to make the odds for who becomes the new target of the wrath in wrigleyville.
please pencil me in for 5 dollars on aramis.
and, 20 dollars on d. corey patterson.
christian, please post a
christian, please post a table of odds on who becomes the new target for the wrath in wrigleyville.
and pencil me in for 5 dollars on aramis. with 20 dollars on corey patterson.
sorry for the double post.
sorry for the double post.
Maybe I'm wrong, but he came
Maybe I'm wrong, but he came up in '03, right? So I don't think he was never with Dusty.
Jerome Williams was one of
Jerome Williams was one of the top young pitchers in baseball in 2003 before coming to Spring Training in Scottsdale last season weighing 270 pounds.
He struggled with his weight during the 2004 season, and had several minor arm & elbow injuries (strains) during the first part of the season, before undergoing arthroscopic surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow in August. He returned to action at the end of September, and made an effective start for the Giants on Sept. 30.
During this past off-season, Williams lost 35 pounds, but had his work-out routine interrupted due to his father's battle with hepatitis type-C in Hawaii that resulted in his dad having to have two kidney transplants (his body rejected the first one) and a liver transplant.
Because he was with his dad In Hawaii, Jerome arrived late to Spring Training, and didn't have time to get the work he needed to prepare for the start of the season, including work on a new modified delivery designed to decrease stress on his elbow.
Instead of leaving him in Scottsdale at Extended Spring Training, the Giants put him to work in their starting rotation as their #5 starter, and he struggled in two starts before being sent to AAA Fresno to "work on some things."
Williams has been at Fresno for more than a month (it was supposed to have been just a couple of starts), and he has been regressing rather improving. Apparently the alteration of his motion to reduce stress on his elbow has left him totally lost.
Whether he can regain the form he showed in 2003 and at times in early 2004 is anyone's guess, but he's only 23. Hopefully leaving the Giants organization will give him a fresh start (mentally), and maybe that's what he really needs. In a way, he is the Giants' Andy Sisco. But I wouldn't expect Jerome Williams to be ready to battle for a spot in the Cubs rotation until later this season or (even more likely) 2006. He is a mess right now.
David Aardma was the closer on that great Rice University team that won the College World Series in 2003. Like Chad Cordero (Nationals), Aardsma made it to the major leagues in 2004, but struggled and was sent to AAA Fresno, where he pitched pretty well albeit with a bit of loss of velocity on his explosive fastball. He was sent to AA (Norwich) at the start of this season, where the Giants were working him as a starting pitcher, probably to get him innings and more work. Aardsma could be the Cubs' closer of the future, or at the very least a major league middle reliever.
Recent comments
Joe: "We lost. They beat us. Now where's my '09 Guigal Bordeaux glass...?
I forgot how rail thin skinny Carl Edwards Jr. Is - he threw some nasty stuff - hope that continues
HAHAHA! I love it here! Brilliant...
"The pressure of going for the regular-season wins record is now gone."
Brilliant. Maddon is a genius!
"Drink copiously but responsibly."
Done and done. Thanks for that.
Oil Can Boyd now pitching for the Cubs
- The pressure of going for the regular-season wins record is now gone.
- Joe will come up with more wacky dress-up ideas for the team to wear after they lose their next get-away game.
- There is more clarity on Spencer Patton.
- We play the Reds next. They aren't very good.
- We'll have at least a 9 game lead after today.
Other than that, not much -- nasty stretch. Two ugly losses in the last 4 games.
Ugh -- give Lackey a 4-1 lead, you hope for better.
It's a long season. There will be stretches like this. It's Saturday night. Drink copiously but responsibly.
That valuable RBIGIDP.
Someone talk me down here.
I remember AZ PHIL talking about Bour's power during the Hendry era.
Time to scrap the scouting report on Justin Bour and get a new one. Sheesh.
Contreras seems pretty adamant he'll play anywhere Madden wants him to so as long as he stays hot and with all the injuries it'll be pretty nice to have yet another bat Madden can move around.
Rizzo in, Zobrist out, Willson in LF, Montero back and Almora batting 9th ... let's score some runs
Time for Mr. Oh to get some save chances.
Rosenthal does it again! Comes in with a 3-1 lead in the 9th -- double, BB, HR...ballgame.
Very nice win last nice -- could have caved in after the bottom of the first. It would be OK if guys stopped getting hurt, and if SF would lose a few.


text:
New ride options spur city action
Emerging smartphone limo services such as Uber and Lyft prompt proposal that would lift cap on taxi permits
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Looks like more payback is coming for Sanfellipo.
Long overdue - let the market work.
Friend of mine is a driver for Uber and it is a fantastic service. It can be a bit pricey but in my mind, well worth it. You get a comfortable ride in a classy vehicle and know when to expect your ride to arrive. Sure beats standing in the street watching countless cabs whiz by waiting for your turn to win a lottery.
If Milwaukee is truly serious about attracting talent and visitors this is one of the many steps needed to catch up with the rest of the world. Aside from being a standard amenity in most other locales the resurgence of nightlife downtown would have one questioning the common sense of limiting any mode of transportation which would reduce drinking and driving.
Build the Airport back up and add pave the way for wireless carriers to expand their networks allowing for a true broadband experience and you will start to get my attention.
In the meantime moving our business to the Western suburbs this Fall, and expanding in Chicago, Detroit and MSP...
Hopefully the cab permit cap is finally removed. Now that the general public really likes to use uber and lyft, it is more likely that crony capitalism will play a small part. I am still doubtful that other aldermen will support this legislation. Murphy and Bauman have been trying to have free market in cab industry for over two years. The other aldermen and women have done everything to protect Sanfelippo family.
The free market is always a good thing. While I sympathize with current permit holders, who may have had to pay a small fortune for their permits, I have no sympathy with artificial monopolies.
I know I am sounding like a billboard for Lyft. I used it yesterday. Great service, I pushed the request and the driver arrived 4 minutes later
Lyft is fantastic and cheaper than cabs. UberX also. I use it 5 times a week.
Never knew these existed. Sure beats the crap out of the smelly, dirty cabs that line up at the airport. Puts a good light on Milwaukee for out of state visitors.
I will use these services the next time I travel for work. Beats the heck out of leaving a vehicle in a lot.
Brewers 6, Nationals 5: Familiar closing scene for Jeremy Jeffress
Notes: It's all hits, giggles for Favre at AmFam celebrity scramble
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Human trafficking tough fight for state, attorney general says
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This review is from: EVGA 120-G2-1000-XR 80 PLUS GOLD 1000 W 10 yr Warranty Fully Modular NVIDIA SLI Ready and Crossfire Support continuous Power Supply
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Declining e-commerce sales hurt Barnes & Noble in fiscal 2016
Last year's website redesign produces mixed results.
Declining e-commerce sales hurt Barnes & Noble in fiscal 2016
Last year's website redesign produces mixed results.
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XZ-2 - BB King and Robert Cray
Marla wrote:
Wow! Great shots! BB King looks incredibly good for 88 y/o!
It amazed me also. First time seeing him perform live.
That first shot in aweome! Sharp, fine detail. Consider the lighting that you were dealing with, I'm really amazed.
Lighting for Cray was not as bad because they did use a white spotlight on him. But for King there was no spotlight on him. Only on some of the members of his band when they were soloing.
BTW.....excuse my dumb question coming from my "technically challenged" mind! But what is the "digital converter" for the XZ-2?
It is a selection in one of the menus. You have to set up a button to access it. It basically doubles the focal length of the lens. It does this by cropping the original image (assuming you are shooting JPEG) and then upscales the image to the original image size that you selected. A lot of people will tell you that you can do the same thing in a program like Photoshop afterwards but I feel that the way that Olympus does it in their bodies works great for me.
Thanks for posting the photos.-- hide signature --
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text: More from SI Johnny Manziel's dad hopes his son goes to jail Johnny Manziel's dad hopes his son goes to jail Manziel's father: 'Druggie' son belongs in jail Manziel's father: 'Druggie' son belongs in jail Manziel's lawyer sends text to AP Manziel's lawyer sends text to AP Tarvaris Jackson arrested for pulling gun on wife Tarvaris Jackson arrested for pulling gun on wife Jackson arrested for allegedly pulling gun on wife Jackson arrested for allegedly pulling gun on wife Manziel's lawyer 'accidentally' sends text to AP Manziel's lawyer 'accidentally' sends text to AP NFL to interview players in Al-Jazeera PED report NFL to interview players in Al-Jazeera PED report Who are the best edge rushers in the NFL? Who are the best edge rushers in the NFL? Phins, Bucs, Jags donating to OneOrlando Fund Phins, Bucs, Jags donating to OneOrlando Fund NFL off-season news, rumors on free agency, more NFL off-season news, rumors on free agency, more By Chat Sports Hornets draft Malachi Richardson, trade to Kings Hornets draft Malachi Richardson, trade to Kings Jim Harbaugh does not miss coaching in the NFL Jim Harbaugh does not miss coaching in the NFL Deion Sanders has some advice for Ezekiel Elliott Deion Sanders has some advice for Ezekiel Elliott Chip Kelly and Colin Kaepernick need one another Chip Kelly and Colin Kaepernick need one another Close Tweet0 Share0 Comment0 Share0 Share0 Stumble It0 Print0 More NFL Steelers looking to stop big play barrage in 2014 Photo: Keith Srakocic Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor (24) uses a towel for a hat during NFL football training camp in Latrobe, Pa., on Monday, Aug. 4, 2014 . (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) AP News Posted: Thu Aug. 7, 2014 PITTSBURGH (AP) More than five decades in the NFL have taught Dick LeBeau that mistakes are unavoidable.The problem for the Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame defensive coordinator is his players typically make so few of them the standards can become borderline unfair.Call it the byproduct of ranking in the top 10 in total defense every season since LeBeau returned to Pittsburgh in 2004.Yet though the Steelers ranked a respectable 13th in yards allowed last fall, LeBeau spent a large portion of the offseason answering questions about what went wrong.The truth is, the NFL happened.The defensive pillars that stoked the franchise to two Super Bowl wins and a third appearance across six seasons from 2005-10 either retired, were cut or took jobs elsewhere.Age or injuries began to catch up to some of the holdovers such as safety Ryan Clark and linebacker LaMarr Woodley while inexperience left promising but hardly polished rookies such as linebacker Jarvis Jones and safety Shamarko Thomas exposed.The result was a defense that spent far too much time chasing opponents rather than catching them. Pittsburgh allowed 11 plays of 50 yards or more in 2013, most of them coming during a ghastly 2-6 start to the season that led to whispers the 76-year-old had lost his touch and his players had lost their way.Not really.''We were young and early in the season we didn't go the right way and left gaps open,'' LeBeau said. ''When you leave gaps in the National Football League, they're outta here baby.''While quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and the offense earned most of the credit for leading a 6-2 stretch run that nearly resulted in an unlikely playoff berth, the overdue youth movement on defense that started in earnest last fall finally began paying dividends.Only three of the 11 big plays the Steelers surrendered last season happened after an embarrassing 55-31 loss to New England.Jason Worilds emerged as a legitimate pass rushing threat on his way to a team-high eight sacks. Cortez Allen took over some of the shutdown cornerback responsibilities from a hobbled Ike Taylor.It was a promising step, but it was just one step. To avoid missing the postseason for the third straight year, LeBeau understands a unit littered with nine starters in their 20s needs to continue to improve.Ultimately the Steelers weren't awful, they were just average.Considering the quickness LeBeau now has at his disposal after Pittsburgh signed hard-hitting safety Mike Mitchell and drafted linebacker Ryan Shazier and defensive lineman Stephon Tuitt in the first two rounds of the draft, having his players in the right position shouldn't be an issue.The way LeBeau looks at it, his team will be fast enough physically to compensate for any sort of mental hesitation.''We can run a race with anybody in the NFL,'' LeBeau said. ''The problem is it ain't a race. It's a football game.''One that requires Pittsburgh to return to the physicality that has been its hallmark under LeBeau. Better tackling would help. In most of the season-altering plays the Steelers gave up last year, someone had a chance to make a play only to watch the ballcarrier slip away.''That's not us,'' cornerback William Gay said. ''That's never been our identity to not be a good tackling team like that.''Getting back to basics, however, can be difficult. The era of draining two-a-day practices during training camp are over.The Steelers hold a walkthrough in the morning and even in pads they occasionally take it easy, ''thudding up'' - hitting without taking someone to the ground - rather than tackling some days to help avoid injuries.Pittsburgh tries to make sure the players they bring in are already sound in one of the most fundamental aspects of the games. It's why general manager Kevin Colbert was downright giddy when the Steelers drafted Shazier in the first round and nabbed Tuitt - whom Colbert considered a potential top 10 pick - in the second.Though Shazier has been hampered by a right knee issue coach Mike Tomlin called only a ''boo boo,'' he's already considered a starter while Tuitt should play extensively on a defensive line that doesn't have a regular contributor over the age of 27.LeBeau called both rookies ''ahead of schedule.'' He hopes to be able to say the same of the rest of the unit by the end of training camp. He'll get a first glimpse on Saturday night when the Steelers open the preseason against the New York Giants.''A coach is never happy with what he's looking at, but I'm pleased at the work ethic,'' LeBeau said. ''I am happy with the work ethic. The level of performance has to get better. We're making some plays and we've just got to be more consistent.''NOTES: Shazier missed his third straight practice, while G Ramon Foster, NT Steve McLendon, WR Darrius Heyward-Bey, and DE Cameron Heyward also sat out on Thursday. WR Antonio Brown was given a maintenance day... LB Jarvis Jones, LB Jordan Zumwalt and TE Rob Branchflower, whom coach Mike Tomlin listed as questionable for Saturday's preseason opener at the New York Giants, practiced in full pads.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Comments More NFL