Those who procrastinate are also likely to be more impulsive and both the traits are linked to genes that one inherits, the study has found.
"Everyone procrastinates at least sometimes but we wanted to explore why some people procrastinate more than others and why procrastinators seem more likely to make rash actions and act without thinking," said psychological scientist Daniel Gustavson of the University of Colorado Boulder in the US.
The researchers found that procrastination is indeed heritable, just like impulsivity. Not only that, there seems to be a complete genetic overlap between procrastination and impulsivity - that is, there are no genetic influences that are unique to either trait alone, the study found.
For the study, researchers had 181 identical-twin pairs and 166 fraternal-twin pairs complete several surveys intended to probe their tendencies toward impulsivity and procrastination, as well as their ability to set and maintain goals.
The research appeared in the journal Psychological Science.
Showing posts with label Theory. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Theory. Show all posts
Monday, April 14, 2014
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Researchers reveal theory behind creation of Earth’s tectonic plates
Starting roughly four billion years ago, cooler parts of earth's crust were pulled downwards into the warmer upper mantle, damaging and weakening the surrounding crust. The process happened again and again until the weak areas formed plate boundaries.
"Over a much longer period, the same process could have created many tectonic plates. We have got a physical mechanism to explain how it could have happened," study author David Bercovici from Yale University explained.
The process began about four billion years ago and caused complete fractures some three billion years ago.
To investigate how the plates formed, Bercovici and Yanick Ricard of University of Lyon in France developed a computer model of earth's crust as it may have existed billions of years ago.
The model included a low-pressure zone at the base of the crust which caused a piece of the crust to sink into the upper mantle - mimicking conditions thought to have occurred early in the earth's history.
As the process repeated over time, it created a large tectonic plate with an active subduction zone.
Prior studies suggested the age of the plates - based on evidence of subduction gathered from minerals - preserved in ancient rocks.
In geology, subduction is the process that takes place at convergent boundaries by which one tectonic plate moves under another tectonic plate and sinks into the mantle as the plates converge.
The oldest such specimens are four-billion-year-old zircons found in the Jack Hills of Australia that appear to have formed at temperatures and pressures that are indicative of subduction.
"The subsequent movement of the plates has erased much of the evidence of their origin," said Paul Tackley, a geophysicist at Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, Switzerland in a report published in Nature.
According to Robert Stern, a geologist at University of Texas in Dallas, there is no firm evidence of plate tectonics earlier than one billion years ago, but the new mechanism behind plate formation is "the first interesting example of how it might have occurred".
"Over a much longer period, the same process could have created many tectonic plates. We have got a physical mechanism to explain how it could have happened," study author David Bercovici from Yale University explained.
The process began about four billion years ago and caused complete fractures some three billion years ago.
To investigate how the plates formed, Bercovici and Yanick Ricard of University of Lyon in France developed a computer model of earth's crust as it may have existed billions of years ago.
The model included a low-pressure zone at the base of the crust which caused a piece of the crust to sink into the upper mantle - mimicking conditions thought to have occurred early in the earth's history.
As the process repeated over time, it created a large tectonic plate with an active subduction zone.
Prior studies suggested the age of the plates - based on evidence of subduction gathered from minerals - preserved in ancient rocks.
In geology, subduction is the process that takes place at convergent boundaries by which one tectonic plate moves under another tectonic plate and sinks into the mantle as the plates converge.
The oldest such specimens are four-billion-year-old zircons found in the Jack Hills of Australia that appear to have formed at temperatures and pressures that are indicative of subduction.
"The subsequent movement of the plates has erased much of the evidence of their origin," said Paul Tackley, a geophysicist at Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, Switzerland in a report published in Nature.
According to Robert Stern, a geologist at University of Texas in Dallas, there is no firm evidence of plate tectonics earlier than one billion years ago, but the new mechanism behind plate formation is "the first interesting example of how it might have occurred".
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