MindCraft Challenges

Synchronization is a reflection of attachment and close relationships. Synchronization can also help build relationships by strengthening social attachments.

Scott Wiltermuth and Chip Heath conducted several experiments to demonstrate the effects of intentional synchronization on group cooperation. In one study, people walked together and synchronized their steps. In another, people moved plastic cups from side to side in time with a song while they sang along (the song was “O Canada”, the people were Americans, and the point was that the song could be an out-group song). People cooperated more in a group game after synchronizing their actions (compared to unsynchronized pairs).

Challenge: Find a friend. Go for a synchronized walk. (Sing “O Canada” together?) Try working on a project together. Did synchrony make a difference?

Read More
Intentional Synchrony Experiments
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02253.x
Synchrony Across Brains
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-080123-101149

Today, we learned that attention is limited and that those limitations affect conscious awareness. As we work on difficult tasks or face stressful situations, it is possible for the effective capacity of our attention to be depleted even further. However, there is good evidence that activities in nature, like birdwatching or nature walks, can restore depleted attention and increase well-being.

Challenge: Take a walk in nature (the Andrews University main campus is an arboretum with hiking paths accessible behind the wellness center and by the Pathfinder building) for more than 30 minutes every day for a week. Do you feel less depleted? Does your well-being or ability to focus improve?

Read More:
Cognitive benefits of natural environments
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02225.x

Birdwatching and nature walks improve college student well-being
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2024.102306

The average effect size of natural environment influence is very large
https://doi.org/10.1177/0033294119884063