This is my last article until September. I want to express appreciation to my readers for the e-mail messages you have sent in response to the topics I have addressed. Your insights, comments, and questions are always welcome. I hope that the next few months prove to be a very satisfying and relaxing time for all of you. * * * * In the past month I read summaries of three intriguing research studies. The implications of each could serve as a column in its own right. However, I decided to break from my usual format of addressing one topic each month and instead describe all three of these topics in the current article. The first two were reported in the May, 2007 issue of the American Psychological Association’s publication The Monitor while the third was highlighted in the April, 2007 issue of The Erickson Tribune. Seeing Red. Most of us can recall the red marks and comments of a teacher on our tests and paper. For most, these markings immediately triggered feelings of anxiety and disappointment, a testimony to our limitations and lack of knowledge. On tests these red marks were typically preceded by a minus sign, also in…
