Happiness Improves SAT Scores
- January 9, 2014
- Success for Children & Teens | Uncategorized
- 1 Comment
Send Them Off to SAT Exam Happy For Best Results
It’s SAT day. Saturday morning and we have to be up early for an important appointment at a location we have never been to before. We must have things with us when we arrive that were left in the custody of children who do not remember where they are and did not tell you they would be required until it is time to walk out the door. The expensive calculator, required for the SAT exam, is in the locker at school so now we have to stop and buy another one on the way. In many households, this sort of hectic and rushed morning is not unusual on SAT examination day. When tempers flare, harsh words are exchanged and criticism is directed toward the forgetful student. The result is lower test scores.
Studies show that students with positive attitudes and good emotional states do better on standardized examinations.
Spending the drive to the SAT examination berating your child may cost you thousands of dollars in tuition or college loans that could have been avoided with just a 100-point higher score[i].
Ensuring a restful night’s sleep and a relaxing routine the morning of the SAT exam can help your child earn a higher score on the SAT or ACT examination. But you can do far more to save tuition dollars if you have lead-time. Attitude is a learned behavior. Pessimism and optimism are not innate, unchangeable personality traits. Although they seldom change without deliberate effort so we may believe they are “who we are” but with the right knowledge and skills, anyone can become more optimistic. Our behaviors do not reflect who we are nearly as much as they reflect our current emotional state and beliefs about our self and the world.
This is clear when you compare how you respond when you are in an awful mood to how you respond to the same situation when you are in a good mood. Mood affects our perception. Our perception influences our response. It is not about wearing rose-colored glasses. There are millions of perspectives on every topic and many of them are valid. The perspective chosen affects your health, relationships, success, intelligence, and even the length of your life.
Providing your child with skills and knowledge that helps them chose healthier perspectives can help them increase all their grades as well as their choices when confronted with peer pressure.
Positivity literally makes us smarter.
Citations:
Bryan, T., and J. Bryan (1991), “Positive mood and math performance,” Journal of Learning Disabilities 24: 490 – 94
Fredrickson, B. L. (2001), “The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory,” American Psychologist 56: 218-26
Happiness 1st Institute takes the best information from a variety of disciplines including Positive Psychology, neuroscience, quantum physics, emotional intelligence and ancient philosophies to create courses that provide skills and tools individuals can use to make themselves happier, more optimistic, more resilient, and more emotionally intelligent. We also offer programs the deter bullying and that help teens resist unhealthy peer pressure.
Visit our website today for more information, sign-up for our newsletter, or to enroll in a program http://www.Happiness1st.com/Programs
[i] Use the “Cost Calculator” on the University website to see how much difference a 100 or 200 point change in SAT scores makes on scholarship offerings.
Thanks. Now I know how to increase my son’s SAT scores and maybe more importantly, how not to have a negative impact on his scores. You’ve helped me become a better parent.