Discovery in gallium nitride a key enabler of energy efficient electronics

Posted on 26/09/2019 by Boris Clair

Gallium nitride, a semiconductor that revolutionized energy-efficient LED lighting, could also transform electronics and wireless communication, thanks to a discovery made by Cornell researchers.

Silicon has long been the king of semiconductors, but it has had a little help. The pure material is often augmented, or “doped,” with impurities like phosphorus or boron to enhance current flow by providing negative charges (electrons) or positive charges (“holes,” the absence of electrons) as needed.

In recent years, a newer, sturdier family of lab-grown compound semiconductor materials has emerged: group III-nitrides. Gallium nitride (GaN) and aluminum nitride (AlN) and their alloys have a wider bandgap, allowing them to withstand greater voltages and higher frequencies for faster, more efficient energy transmission.

“Silicon is very good at switching off and on and controlling electrical energy flow, but when you take it to high voltages it doesn’t operate very well because silicon has a weak electric strength, whereas GaN can sustain much higher electric fields,” said co-senior author Debdeep Jena, professor of electrical and computer engineering and of materials science and engineering “If you’re doing very large amounts of energy conversion, then wide-bandgap semiconductors such as GaN and silicon carbide are the solutions.”

Rather than using impurities, Ph.D. student Reet Chaudhuri, the paper’s lead author, stacked a thin GaN crystal layer — called a quantum well — atop an AlN crystal, and the difference in their crystal structures was found to generate a high density of mobile holes. Compared with magnesium-doping, the researchers discovered that the resulting 2D hole gas makes the GaN structures almost 10 times more conductive.

Using the new material structure created by Chaudhuri, co-author and Ph.D. student Samuel James Bader recently demonstrated some of the most efficient p-type GaN transistors in a collaborative project with Intel. Now that the team has the capability to make hole-channel transistors — which are called p-type — they plan to pair them with n-type transistors to form more complex circuits, opening up new possibilities in high-power switching, 5G cellular technology and energy efficient electronics, including phone and laptop chargers.

“It’s very difficult to simultaneously achieve n-type and p-type in a wide bandgap semiconductor. Right now, silicon carbide is the only other one that has both besides GaN. But the mobile electrons in silicon carbide are more sluggish than those in GaN,” said co-senior author Huili Grace Xing, professor of electrical and computer engineering and of materials science and engineering. “Using these complementary operations enabled by both n-type and p-type devices, much more energy efficient architecture can be built.”

Another advantage of the 2D hole gas is that its conductivity improves as the temperature is lowered, meaning that researchers will now be able to study fundamental GaN properties in ways that haven’t been previously possible. Equally important is its ability to retain energy that would otherwise be lost in less efficient power systems.

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Materials provided by Cornell University. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Virtual human hand simulation holds promise for prosthetics

Posted on 26/09/2019 by Boris Clair

Whatever our hands do — reaching, grabbing or manipulating objects — it always appears simple. Yet your hands are one of the most complicated, and important, parts of the body.

Despite this, little is understood about the complexity of the hand’s underlying anatomy and, as such, animating human hands has long been considered one of the most challenging problems in computer graphics.

That’s because it has been impossible to capture the internal movement of the hand in motion — until now.

Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and a technique inspired by the visual effects industry, a team of USC researchers, comprising two computer scientists and a radiologist, has developed the world’s most realistic model of the human hand’s musculoskeletal system in motion.

The musculoskeletal system includes muscles, bones, tendons and joints. The breakthrough has implications not only for computer graphics, but also prosthetics, medical education, robotics and virtual reality.

“The hand is very complicated, but prior to this work, nobody had built a precise computational model for how anatomical structures inside the hand actually move as it is articulated,” said study co-author Jernej Barbic, an Andrew and Erna Viterbi Early Career Chair and Associate Professor of Computer Science.

Designing better prosthetics

To tackle this problem, Barbic, a computer animation and physically-based simulation expert, and his PhD student, Bohan Wang, the study’s lead author, teamed up with George Matcuk, MD, an associate professor of clinical radiology at Keck School of Medicine of USC. The result: the most precise anatomically based model of the hand in motion.

“This is currently the most accurate hand animation model available and the first to combine laser scanning of the hand’s surface features and to incorporate an underlying bone rigging model based on MRI,” said Matcuk.

In addition to creating more realistic hands for computer games and CGI movies, where hands are often exposed, this system could also be used in prosthetics, to design better fingers and hand prostheses.

“Understanding the motion of internal hand anatomy opens the door for biologically-inspired robotic hands that look and behave like real hands,” said Barbic.

“In the not-so-distant future, the work may contribute to the development of anatomically realistic hands and improved hand prosthetics.”

The study, titled Hand Modelling and Simulation using Stabilized Magnetic Resonance Imaging, was presented at ACM SIGGRAPH.

A long-standing challenge

To improve realism, virtual hands should be modeled similarly to biological hands, which requires building precise anatomical and kinematic models of real human hands. But we still know surprisingly little about how bones and muscles move inside the hand.

One of the reasons is that, until now, there have been no methods to systematically acquire the motion of internal hand anatomy. Although MRI scanners can provide anatomical details, a previously unaddressed practical challenge exists: the hand must be kept perfectly still in the scanner for around 10 minutes.

“Holding the hand still in a fixed pose for 10 minutes is practically impossible,” said Barbic. “A fist is easier to hold steady, but try semi-closing your hand and you’ll find you start to shake after about a minute or two. You can’t hold it still for 10 minutes.”

To overcome this challenge, the researchers developed a manufacturing process using lifecasting materials from the special effects industry to stabilize the hand during the MRI scanning process. Lifecasting involves making a mold of the human form and then reproducing it in various media, including plastic or silicone.

Barbic, who worked on the Oscar-nominated film The Hobbit: the Desolation of Smaug, landed on the idea after seeing an inexpensive hand-cloning product in a visual effects store in Los Angeles while working on a previous project. “That was the eureka moment,” said Barbic, who has long pondered a solution for creating more realistic virtual human hands.

First, the team used the life-casting material to create a plastic replica of the model’s hand. This replica captures extremely detailed features, down to individual pores and tiny lines on the hand surface, which were then scanned using a laser scanner.

Then, the lifecasting process was used again, this time on the plastic hand, to create a negative 3D mold of the hand out of a rubber-like elastic material. The mold stabilizes the hand in the required pose. The mold was cut in two parts, and then the subject placed their real hand into the mold for MRI scanning.

“As we refine this work, I think this could be an excellent teaching tool for my students and other doctors who need an understanding of the complex anatomy and biomechanics of the hand.” George Matcuk

With assistance from radiology expert Matcuk, a practicing medical doctor at USC, the hand was then scanned by the MRI scanner for 10 minutes. This procedure was repeated 12 times, each time in a different hand pose. Two subjects, one male and one female, were captured in this way. Now, for every pose, the researchers knew exactly where the bones, muscles and tendons were positioned.

After discussing the anatomical features of the MRI scans with Matcuk, Barbic and Wang set to work building a data-driven skeleton kinematic model that captures complex real-world rotations and translations of bones in any pose.

They then added soft tissue simulation, using the finite element method (FEM) to compute the motion of the hand’s muscles, tendons and the fat tissue, consistent with the bone motion. This model, combined with surface detail allowed them to create a highly realistic moving hand. The hand can be animated in any motion, even movement which is very different from the captured poses.

Going forward

The team, which recently received a grant from the National Science Foundation to take their work to the next stage, plans to build a public dataset of multi-pose hand MRI scans, for 10 subjects over the next three years. This will be the first dataset of its kind and will enable researchers from around the world to better simulate, model and re-create human hands. The team also plans to integrate the research into education, to train PhD students at USC and for K-12 outreach programs.

The team is currently working on adding better awareness of muscles and tendons into the model and making it real-time. Right now, it takes the computer about an hour to create a minute-long simulation. Barbic and Wang hope to make the system faster, without losing quality.

How the New Gender-Neutral Barbie Would Have Completely Transformed My Childhood

Posted on 26/09/2019 by Boris Clair

On Wednesday, the company behind Barbie, Mattel, announced the launch of a new line of gender-neutral dolls. When I read the headlines, my first thought was that those dolls would have completely transformed my childhood. But then I let out a sigh of relief for all of the children coming up in the world now, in hopes that they might have one less moment of discomfort because they don’t fit the binary gender mold.

The new dolls, which are available in a range of skin tones, come with short hair and long hair options as well as various clothes, shoes, and accessories that are both female- and male-presenting, according to Mattel's press release. A promotion video says the line, which is called Creatable World, is designed to "to keep labels out and invite everyone in."

The release states that the company worked with experts, parents, doctors, and, of course, kids to create the dolls. "Through research, we heard that kids don’t want their toys dictated by gender norms," Kim Culmone, senior vice president of Mattel fashion doll design, said in the release.

"Toys are a reflection of culture and as the world continues to celebrate the positive impact of inclusivity, we felt it was time to create a doll line free of labels," Culmone added.

This is a major step toward changing the way children see gender norms. I only wish it would have happened sooner.

I was once a little girl who wanted to wear boy’s clothes. I was the only girl on an all-boys soccer team. I liked to play sports and ride my bike and climb trees. I always had skinned knees and dirt under my fingernails.

I’m not transgender, and I didn’t wish I was a boy. I was just never a feminine girl.

As a kid, when my mother would take me shopping, I would drag her across the store to the boy’s section to pick out clothes. At 13, my mom insisted I wear a dress to my bat-mitzvah, but I refused to go shopping for it—she had to buy it without me. I later cried in the salon chair when I saw my finished haircut for the big Jewish coming of age event. It was a feminine cut, my hair coiffed and sloping under my chin. I hated it.

Despite my aversion to femininity, I had plenty of Barbie dolls growing up. I felt like Barbie was supposed to represent the adult that I could one day become. But she didn’t feel right. Or rather, I didn’t feel right looking at her. Holding myself to the standard of skinny and feminine was something I knew I could never do.

Barbie was the reason I experienced one of my first moments of loneliness as a person whose gender expression doesn’t match societal standards. Seeing her high heels, gemstone pink dresses, and long, crimped hair made me feel like there was something wrong with me. I couldn’t relate to Ken either. While I liked his laid-back style, I knew I wasn’t a boy.

The feeling of not belonging that my Barbie dolls evoked in me is something I'll always carry. I feel it when I walk into a party and am the only woman wearing a man’s suit and tie. I feel it when I head into a meeting at work as the only woman with short hair and men’s shoes. I feel it when I get looks in the women’s bathroom because other women are not quite sure I belong there.

But that isolation has never scared me from embracing who I am, even as a kid. When I was nine, I stripped my Barbies of their glittery dresses and flowery accessories and swapped them for Ken’s button-downs and khakis. I grabbed a pair of scissors and chopped off their hair, sweeping the blonde locks into the trash. I shed Barbie of her hyper-feminine identity, and I felt instantly better.

Barbie could be female, but she didn’t have to be feminine. I now see that by helping my dolls find their place in the world, I was finding my own.

So yes, Mattel, it is time to "create a doll line free of labels." In fact, it's been time for as long as I can remember.

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A Sudden Fall Caused a Triple Brain Hemorrhage That Completely Changed My Life

Posted on 26/09/2019 by Boris Clair

Every mom can relate to that little pang of guilt you feel when you leave your baby to go enjoy some “me-time” for the first time. For me, that happened 10 months after giving birth to my daughter.

Some of my close girlfriends convinced me to go to a new restaurant in town for drinks.

Being a first-time mom, I was struggling with the challenges of motherhood. Despite being a certified personal trainer, finding consistency with my workouts was harder than imagined and my social life was dying a slow painful death.

So naturally, I felt like this was the perfect opportunity to get back out there and reestablish my life post-baby.

The Injury

The new restaurant my friends recommended was lively and crowded. People were standing shoulder to should and all the windows open to help with the airflow. The restaurant itself was elevated—six to eight feet above the sidewalk. The only barrier between you and the window? Two low-hanging metal wires.

My girlfriends and I made our way through the crowd to find a spot at a high top next to one of the windows. I placed my bag on the floor to make room for other people. A few minutes later, I bent over to pick up my purse when I was jostled by the crowd and lost my balance. I tipped forward and my body leaned out of the window. Panicked, I managed to grab a hold of one of the wires but it snapped and I fell out of the window, with the back of my head landing on concrete.

I immediately slipped into a coma after the fall. Looking down at me, my friends thought I was dead.

I was rushed to the closest hospital and put in the ICU before my husband and family arrived. They were told that I had suffered from a triple brain hemorrhage, an emergency condition where ruptured blood vessels cause bleeding inside the brain.

Since I was in a coma, doctors weren’t sure of the impact my injury had on my body. They couldn’t even tell if I’d wake up let alone be able to walk, talk or breathe on my own again.

Miraculously, I was one of the lucky ones. After several days of being in a coma, I woke up and my body seemed to be functioning normally.

But my life had changed forever.

The Aftermath

After waking up from the coma, I suffered from serious amnesia and remained in the ICU for 12 days. Even after going home, my memory didn’t improve. I still knew who I and my loved ones were, but for months, I had about a five-minute recall before I’d get confused and flustered by what was going on around me. I also started having nightmares, which is actually a pretty common side-effect of short-term memory loss.

When you lose chunks of memory, your brain works hard trying to remember what happened. But no matter what you try, you just can’t. I’d often dream that I was falling (a common nightmare many people have), but I'd wake up to realize that wasn’t completely imagining things. I had fallen, but I couldn't remember the entire incident, which was both frustrating and confusing.

I also experienced extreme sensitivity to light and sound, and completely lost my sense of taste and smell. (Eventually, my taste came back, but I still can't smell anything.)

Worst of all, my head was in a lot of pain. While I didn’t have to undergo brain surgery, doctors did whatever they could medically to reduce the swelling and bleeding in my brain. Still, it was going to take time for the swelling to subside, and until then, the pain was something I was going to have to learn to live with.

The Physical and Emotional Recovery

To help my mind heal both physically and intellectually, I began cognitive therapy at home. To deal with the emotional repercussions of my injury, I also underwent therapy for PTSD; this was especially important in order to address the nightmares.

Throughout my recovery, I also lost a lot of muscle and overall strength. Without my sense of taste, eating was difficult and it took months before I was able to slowly start exercising again.

The most challenging part of my injury, however, was that it was difficult for others to see what I was going through. When months passed and I wasn't left with any visible scars from the accident—my hair covers the wound on my head and the scar on my right hand is so small no one even notices it—no one could see how the fall changed my life and how I deal with the repercussions of it every. single. day.

Those who knew me pre-fall sometimes see me as functioning normally since I can walk, talk, and do everyday tasks such as drive a car. But so many people don't understand that just because I'm physically able doesn’t mean I don’t struggle cognitively.

Reinventing Myself

Before my accident, if you asked my best friends to describe me, they’d say I was a Type-A, hyper-organized perfectionist. It was so important that I showed everyone how in control I was.

It is, in part, what drove me to develop an eating disorder when I was in high school and become so fixated on people’s perceptions of me. While I overcame my unhealthy eating habits, my need to appear ‘perfect’ in others’ eyes still remained.

But following my injury, no matter how hard I tried, I could never be 100 percent in control. The Ashley everyone knew couldn’t exist in my new reality and coming to terms with that was downright terrifying.

The first few years after my injury, I went through an identity crisis, having to figure out who I was. Being in control and striving for perfection had defined me for so long that I couldn't quite grasp who I was without it. It's taken four years of therapy and self-reflection after my accident to eradicate the word “perfect” from my vocabulary and to realize that perfectionism just isn’t realistic.

Putting that work into myself has helped me live a more positive and optimistic life. It's also better prepared me for recent health struggles I've had to face. Six months ago, I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, a condition where your thyroid gland can't make enough thyroid hormone to keep the body running normally. I gained 40 pounds in just two months and given my background in fitness, that was extremely tough for me.

But having been through what I’ve been through I knew that this too was out of my control. As long as I'm doing everything I can to address the problem, and being as healthy as I can be, then that’s good enough. The numbers on the scale and the way my body has changed are just not significant enough to sweat over in the big picture.

How My Injury Changed My Approach to Fitness

Shifting my mindset also transformed how I think about fitness. During my career as a personal trainer, I've always felt the pressure of having to look the part. I thought I had to be a walking, talking billboard for my clients. But my accident forced me to realize that fitness is so much more than that. It’s not always about the six-pack and PRs, it’s about finding out how moving your body fuels you as an individual.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve since refound my groove in the gym and still push myself in ways that are necessary, but I’m so much more cognizant of what really matters long-term. It, unfortunately, took a life-altering experience for me to realize that being good enough is okay; that focusing on the moment is okay; that failing is okay. You have to realize that doing your best isn’t settling.

Now, when I take on clients and have them fill out a goal sheet, they’re required to share an intrinsic goal for every extrinsic goal they want to achieve. Why? Because both are equally important.

Looking ahead, while I’m unsure of the obstacles I’ll have to face, I know to be appreciative of all have and what is in front of me right now because life really can change in the blink of an eye.

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This article originally appeared on Shape.com

Bacterial ‘striptease’ evades antibiotics

Posted on 26/09/2019 by Boris Clair

The researchers say it is a new form of antibiotic resistance and could explain why some infections keep coming back.

Health24.com | Things you should know about contraception

Posted on 26/09/2019 by Boris Clair

Thursday 26 September is World Contraception Day. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the goal if this day is to help young people make informed choices on their sexual and reproductive health and to shed light on all the contraceptive options available.

This year’s theme is centred around the idea that every pregnancy should be wanted, and that contraception should be available to those who don’t wish to fall pregnant.

Contraception is vital to prevent unwanted pregnancies and STIs.

No method of contraception is equal or suitable for everyone, and therefore it’s important to consult with a health professional before choosing a method. We compiled this guide to give you the information you need.

1. There are different options available

All modern contraceptive methods are effective, but it’s important that they are given to you by a healthcare professional. You need a medical assessment before being prescribed oral contraception, and intra-uterine devices for example need to be implanted correctly by a trained professional. It is also important to know that human error, such as forgetting to take the pill, or not putting on a condom correctly, can hamper the effectiveness of your contraception efforts.

This guide explains your different options and how they work.

2. There are a number of things you should know before considering oral contraception

You might have been on birth control pills for years without questioning exactly how they work, or you might be considering them, but you’re not sure if they’re the best option for you.

Birth control pills are not all manufactured the same way: combination pills combine oestrogen and progesterone to stop your body from producing an egg each month, while progesterone-only pills thicken your cervical mucus to help prevent sperm from entering the uterus.

Birth control pills can have side-effects and may be less effective when taken with other medication. It is also possible to forget to take your pill, which may make it less effective. This article gives you more information on oral contraception.

3. While generally effective, contraception can fail

Modern contraception methods are fairly effective, but we are all human and sometimes make mistakes, like forgetting to take the Pill, becoming less careful when you settle down with one partner or taking antibiotics which may affect your oral contraception. Here are some pitfalls that can make you forget about contraception, and why you should regularly reassess your contraception method to make sure it stays effective.

4. You’re concerned about your teenager’s sexual behaviour. What should you do?

Whether you want to know it or not, your teenager might be sexually active. What should you do? The first step is to be well-informed and make sure they are protected. A Cape Town gynaecologist suggested dual protection for sexually active teenagers in a previous Health24 article. While oral contraception is effective, it doesn’t protect against STIs, and condoms should be used as well. This article gives more advice.

5. What you should do in an emergency

When you’ve had unprotected sex, there are emergency contraceptive tablets, also known as the “morning after pill”, which are available at pharmacies, state health care clinics or private health care institutions. The most common types of emergency contraception tablets available in South Africa are Norlevo, where a dose consists of one tablet containing 0.75mg of levonorgestrel. The other is Ovral, an old-style high-oestrogen contraceptive tablet, where two tablets are taken twice, twelve hours apart. (EgenC, contains the same active ingredients as Ovral, just in different packaging.) Ovral and E-Gen-C contain 50mcg of ethinyl estriadol and 0,25 – 0,5mg of levonorgestrel.

While there is no limit how many times in your lifetime you can take emergency contraception, it is not recommended for long-term use, as the dose of hormones to help counteract pregnancy can have significant side-effects such as nausea, abdominal cramping, dizziness, and tender breasts.

It’s also important to note that emergency contraception does NOT protect you against HIV and sexually transmitted infections and diseases. If you are concerned about exposure to HIV, you need to consult a medical professional as you might need post-exposure prophylaxis, a short course of medication taken up to 72 hours after possible exposure.

Important contacts:

The information in this article is simply a guideline and should not be treated as a diagnosis. If you need further assistance, these contacts may help:

^{Image credit: iStock}

Health24.com | Is it safe to order your birth control online?

Posted on 26/09/2019 by Boris Clair

In recent years, a growing number of companies have been offering prescriptions for birth control through web-based services and smartphone apps. Now a “secret shopper” study suggests it’s a safe and reliable source for women.

So-called “telecontraception” services have emerged as an alternative to trips to the doctor or local family planning clinic. They allow women to get prescriptions for birth control pills (or contraceptive patches or rings) after completing an online questionnaire, and sometimes having a follow-up call with a health care provider.

Family planning clinics close

The prescription can be picked up at a local pharmacy or delivered by mail.

Many women get contraceptives through their doctor, but the issue of access to birth control has become more pressing as family planning clinics close across the United States.

Advocates argue that these online companies fill a gap, making at least some birth control methods more accessible – particularly to women who live in “contraception deserts” lacking reproductive health clinics. And the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists just recommended in a new statement that all hormonal contraceptives, including rings, shots and patches, be available without a prescription, to help meet that need.

On the other hand, the idea of online health care makes some people uncomfortable, said senior study author Dr Ateev Mehrotra.

“It’s common for people to say, ‘Really? This couldn’t be high-quality care,'” said Mehrotra, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School.

So his team decided to gauge the quality of online contraception services using a secret shopper approach: They had seven “patients” seek prescriptions for “the Pill” from nine companies that provided the service in the United States as of March 2018.

Better than in-person care

The patients made a total of 63 visits to the sites, filling out the standard questionnaires. Two companies provided video calls during the visit, and in about one-third of visits there was some kind of follow-up, either a call or text message from a health care provider with the service.

Overall, Mehrotra said, the companies did a good job of screening.

There were 45 visits in which secret shoppers reported contraindications to using the Pill such as a history of blood clots or migraine with aura. In those cases, the companies followed medical guidelines 93% of the time.

How does that compare with traditional office visits? It’s a bit tricky to judge, according to Mehrotra.

“A limitation of this study is that we didn’t directly compare this with the care these same patients would’ve received at an office visit,” he said.

But, he added, based on past research, that 93% figure may actually be better than in-person care.

Online has shortcomings

If that’s the case, there’s some sense to it, according to Mehrotra: A busy doctor may not always ask all the right questions, while a standardised online questionnaire would be consistent.

Still, the online approach has its shortcomings, Mehrotra added.

One concern is that women who use the services may not be aware of all the contraception options out there. Only two companies in this study offered information about long-acting contraceptives. Those include intrauterine devices (IUDs) and small implants placed under the skin of the arm; they have to be inserted by a doctor or nurse, but they are also the most effective forms of reversible birth control.

Susan Wysocki is a women’s health nurse practitioner and serves as a medical advisor to the American Sexual Health Association.

“One thing these companies could improve upon is information on long-acting reversible contraceptives,” Wysocki said.

She suggested that women who are interested in getting birth control online first do some research on all of their options, for example, through a trustworthy website like Planned Parenthood.

Most accept health insurance

In general, though, women can feel comfortable getting their birth control through these services, according to Wysocki.

“Birth control pills are safe and effective when taken correctly,” she said. “But accessibility is an issue. These [companies] make reliable contraception available from the comfort of your home, and that’s a good thing.”

As for price, the study found that sites ranged widely. Most accepted health insurance, but uninsured customers would pay anywhere from $67 (±R1 007) to $519 (±R7 800) for a one-year prescription (including the cost of the visit). The average price tag was $313 (±R4 700).

It’s not clear, Mehrotra added, whether any one company is better than others in quality.

The findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Contraceptives are not the only prescription available online. Consumers can get medications for a number of conditions, from acne to erectile dysfunction. There’s a need for research into the quality of those services, too, Mehrotra said.

^{Image credit: iStock}

Uptake of all 13 child vaccinations drops

Posted on 26/09/2019 by Boris Clair

Coverage of host of vaccines, including those protecting against meningitis, mumps, tetanus and polio, fell in past year.

Minimum price ‘cuts drinking by half a pint a week’

Posted on 26/09/2019 by Boris Clair

Research shows the amount of alcohol bought by Scots falls 7.6% after new drink laws are introduced.

Health24.com | Is revenge more important than gratitude to kids?

Posted on 26/09/2019 by Boris Clair

Why is it that gratitude has to be taught, but it’s instinctive for kids to punish someone for wronging them? And if it’s reflexive behaviour to do this, would it not similarly follow that you’d reward someone for helping you? Turns out, gratitude is more than just manners, as this HuffPost article notes – it’s a mindset and lifestyle.

Peter Blake, a Boston University associate professor of psychological and brain sciences and director of BU’s Social Development and Learning Lab set out to understand how, and when, paying back a kindness to someone develops in young children.

The findings, published in Psychological Science, suggest that for children, retribution develops before gratitude.

“The idea that you pay back specifically the person who helped you is a really important piece for the evolution of cooperation,” said Blake. “It’s what sets up a relationship that will hold over the long term.”

The sticker game

A total of 330 children between the ages of four and eight were recruited to participate in a series of experiments examining reciprocity.

Each trial consisted of a child playing a computer game with four other “players”. In reality, on-screen animal cartoon avatars were controlled by the researchers. All four players received a sticker, but the child received none.

The game dictated that the other players may either keep their stickers or give the child their sticker. One player – randomly selected from Blake’s team – “chose” to give a sticker to the child. The screen then reset, with the reverse happening – the child received the sticker, and had the opportunity to give it to a player of their choice.

During the second phase of the game, one of the players then stole a sticker from the child, and the child got the chance to steal a sticker from another player.

Ready for retaliation

The researchers found that the kids easily retaliated against the sticker thieves, and even targeted them when it was time to take back a sticker. But the kids showed no propensity to reward their benefactors when they were instructed to give away a sticker. Since they had no trouble punishing the thieves, why didn’t they feel compelled to repay a kind deed, then?

“We were really puzzled by it,” said Blake. In fact, after more trials, the researchers simply couldn’t get the kids to reciprocate kindness.

Are kids hardwired for revenge?

Blake doesn’t believe so. “Kids aren’t out to get people,” he said. Instead, he believes their behaviour is more of a defensive move to protect themselves from future victimisation.

“They’re sending a signal to the person, but also to the broader world that ‘I’m not a sucker.’”

He also cites prior research that shows young children expect others to be kind to them, so antagonistic behaviour may register more strongly with them, and even prompt a more urgent response.

The benefit of a gratitude story

The solution is simple: if you want to instil gratitude in your kids, tell them a bedtime gratitude story. The tactic was done during the final trial of the experiment, and it worked – children were more likely to reciprocate to their benefactors after hearing the story. It was suggested by Jingshi Hu, an undergraduate researcher working in Blake’s lab.

Gratitude has also been shown to be healthy for us, and benefits both adults and kids alike, previous research indicates. A study conducted by Dr Robert A. Emmons of the University of California shows that cultivating gratitude can increase happiness levels by around 25%.

Still not convinced? It can also lead to individuals living happier, more satisfied lives and enjoy increased levels of self-esteem and empathy. Another study shows that kids who practise gratitude also have more positive attitudes toward school and family.

Blake stressed that parents needn’t be too concerned by the findings, though. “As far as evolution goes, it’s definitely critical that you stand up for yourself,” he said.

^{Image: iStock}

Compiled by Zakiyah Ebrahim

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Category Archives: Mind Building

Discovery in gallium nitride a key enabler of energy efficient electronics

Virtual human hand simulation holds promise for prosthetics

How the New Gender-Neutral Barbie Would Have Completely Transformed My Childhood

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