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The Effects of Psychological Distraction on the Problem Solving Process in the Average Adolescents Mind

ISEF · 2014 Chemistry

DiSalvo, Sarah

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Overview

The purpose of this project is to test the effects of psychological distraction on the problem solving process in the average adolescents mind. Adolescents struggle with stress and learning throughout school. This experiment will help adolescents deal with these types of stress. Most adolescents rely on the instinctual part of the brain called the Amygdala; this leads to many causes of emotional arousal and irrational decision-making. Adolescents sometimes let this take over the mind. I tested to see if distraction would help adolescents think through problems unconsciously to make better decisions. According to the Unconscious Thought Theory, the unconscious mind is capable of performing tasks outside of one’s awareness to solve tasks. When testing this experiment it could result in distraction helping the problem solving process in the average adolescents mind. In my experiment, participants where shown a video on how to solve questions in relation to Continuous Compounding. Next they were shown a distraction video with both happy and sorrowful emotions. Finally, participants were asked to solve a math problem in relation to Continuous Compounding. Throughout data collection it was found that 71% percent of the participants in the experimental group solved the problem correctly, while only 28% of the Control Group solved the question correctly. With the information from the Data Collection, it can be noted that the experiment was statistically and experimentally significant. According to the data presented, and the statistics shown, throughout 95% of the world adolescents who are exposed to a distraction, will be able to create correct solutions to the problems at hand, ultimately improving ones ability to solve problems effectively.

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Source: Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair

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