January is famous for being the month of broken New Year’s Resolutions, but have you ever wondered why students just can’t seem to stick to their resolutions – especially long-term academic goals like maintaining a GPA or studying early so they don’t have to cram before a test? Is there a practical way to resist short-term temptation to achieve long-term goals?New research out of Washington University in St. Louis suggests that by using focusing strategies to make the present “fuzzy” and the future more concrete, people can avoid making choices that are attractive only in the short-term. Focusing strategies have the potential to dramatically impact public health by helping patients make health-conscious choices such as eating right and exercising. However, they also have
applications in the academic realm by aiding students, who are notorious for making decisions which do not contribute to their academic success, focus on their long-term academic goals – such as getting into medical or graduate school.
Previous research has shown that making tempting options less concrete or less accessible reduces their attractiveness; the Washington University study took this concept a step further by monitoring the brain while participants waited for a reward. They found that the participants who showed more patience had increased activity in the areas of the brain which focused on the future – in other words, by imagining future rewards these participants were able to resist current temptations.
Interestingly, this study has unexpected applications. A study of this kind, which focuses on the behavioral sciences, is exactly the sort of content which is likely to show up on the new Psychology/Sociology section of the 2015 MCAT. With the MCAT’s increasing emphasis on social science, it’s important for students to get a head start on recognizing potential MCAT passage material.
In short, whether it’s choosing a night in the library over a night at the bar or grabbing calculator instead of a coffee, this study shows that there may still be hope for keeping New Year’s Resolutions.
