Family History for Right Now

Several years ago, there was much ado about Bruce Feiler's article in the New York Times entitled "The Stories that Bind Us."  In it he talked about how family history stories give kids resilience.  His assertions were based on some studies done in the Psychology Department of Emory University.  There, in the Emory Center for Myth and Ritual in American Life, Marshall Duke, Robyn Fivush, Jennifer Bohanek, noticed that children who knew more about their family history did better in therapy.  They created the "Do You Know" test with 20 questions about family history.  They found that the children who scored the highest on on the test also scored higher in tests of feeling like they have a sense of control in their world, lower levels of anxiety and more resilience.  

A sense of control in the world, lower levels of anxiety and more resilience!! Exactly what we all need--no matter what age you are--in these surprising, challenging, crazy pandemic times.  

Now is the perfect moment for each of us to look to our ancestors for strength and inspiration.  Now is the perfect time to instill those stories in our family members to lower anxiety and produce more resilience.  When you tell a family story, in person, over social media or over video conferencing, you are creating more peace in the midst of the storm.

SO, we've decided to look to our ancestors with you, over social media, our newsletter and etc. with the hashtag #ResilientRoots.  We hope you will join us and share your ancestor's stories of faith, resilience, patience, perseverance, flexibility, optimism, kindness, grace and connection.  We're excited to share ours with you.  I think we can all find the hope we need already inside us.  It is in the very DNA they gave us.  

Watch over the next couple of weeks:

Here on the blog

On Instagram

On Facebook

On Twitter

And On Our Newsletter

To read more: 

My previous writings about the science behind family history: https://zapthegrandmagap.blogspot.com/search/label/Science

Bruce Feiler's RootsTech Keynote: https://youtu.be/i8sZl-Ny2D0

Fivush, Robyn. Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia; Bohanek, Jennifer G. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Duke, Marshall.  Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.  “The Intergenerational Self: Subjective Perspective and Family History.” in F. Sani (Ed.) Individual and Collective Self-Continuity.  Mahwah, NH: Erlbaum, 2007. Available at https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/ad62/42da2284543ed3fe161049f941b3f0a43daf.pdf

Fivush, Robyn. Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia; Bohanek, Jennifer G. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Zayman, Widaad. Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.  “Personal and intergenerational narratives in relation to adolescents’ well-being.” In T. Habermas (ed.). The development of autobiographical reasoning in adolescence and beyond. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 131. 45-57. 

Personalized DNA Ethnicity Chart

 

New Genealogy Chart Created for Showing Off DNA Test Results 

A beautiful new way to display the results of a genetic family history test has been created for the millions of people who are getting to know their ancestors through DNA testing.  Family ChartMasters, the genealogy chart printing leader for over 15 years, has designed a new DNA ethnicity chart to help family history enthusiasts show off their genetic heritage.  

"We hope that this new chart will help people who have become curious about their genealogy through DNA testing become even more excited about searching out their ancestors," says owner Janet Hovorka.  "At Family ChartMasters we believe that family history can save the world.  The more people know about their background, the more they are inspired with civility, gratitude and compassion for other people because they find out we are all more alike than different.  We want to help people make that easy to remember every day."

The new DNA chart comes in three styles, Basic, Modern and Antique, to fit different décor styles.  In less than five minutes a person can enter the ethnicity estimates from their DNA test (currently aligned with Ancestry's DNA regions), and upload an optional photo.  After viewing a preview, an order can be placed to print the chart on archival Professional Paper or Artist's Grade Canvas.  Following Family ChartMasters' proven track record of superior service, the beautiful print will arrive rolled in a tube and ready to frame.  PDF downloads are also available for immediate delivery to an email inbox.  Pricing starts at $19.95.

 

   

Genealogists will find this chart to be an easy and meaningful gift for a family member who has helped them with their research by taking a DNA test or for family members who are interested in their ethnic makeup.  "We love helping family historians share their findings,"

says Hovorka.  "Just like all of our other genealogy charts, this new DNA chart will help families bond over their common roots and appreciate their heritage."

Order your DNA chart today!

Resilient Coping and Your Kids

By now, it should not be a secret that: A) I am presenting at Rootstech 2015 and B) I am doing a great deal of research on the scientific benefits of genealogy on youth. The more I prepare for my Rootstech presentations, the more excited I get to share all of this information with all of you.  Be sure to stop by my presentations, or our booth, to talk to me and let me know what you think about the topics I'm presenting. I am particularly pleased with all of the data I am gathering on the scientifically proven benefits of genealogy on young people. The documentation of improved intellectual and emotional performance in relation to family connections is fascinating.  Of course, I have been saying it for years, so maybe I just like having scientific evidence to finally back me up. You know, something to show my kids and say, "See, I told you genealogy will help you!"

As a result of my focus on this topic, someone pointed out something to me the other day on resilient coping in young people.  The original article can be found here and it is an interesting read.  Linda Graham is the author of the paper and the idea behind The 5 C's of Coping.  She talks about discovering these 5 C's during her 20+ years of practice as a Marriage and Family Therapist.  The 5 C's are as follows:

• Calm - Staying calm in a crisis can help us cope with what is happening to us.
• Compassion - Keeping an open mind and heart can help us view our (or someone else's) situation with compassion and helps us use past experiences to be resilient in current circumstances (she goes on to list how to do this, step by step, in the original source).
• Clarity - Seeing the situation from different perspectives (and with compassion) can help us to be flexible in moments of stress or trial.
• Connection - Seeking help allows us to connect to personal resources (family, present and past).
• Competence - Learning from others allows us the ability to become adept at alleviating personal suffering with effort and mindful practice.

Do you see a pattern with these 5 C's and families? We can all learn, and then in turn teach our youth, how to successfully navigate personal trials through sharing family history and personal family narratives. Can you imagine the power a story of an ancestor who struggled through The Great Depression, or World War II, or another difficult life event, could have on a young person? The idea that he or she is related to someone who suffered or who was frightened or who was overwhelmed and then endured is enough create a sense of Calm, Compassion, Clarity, Connection, and Competence--all in one felled swoop.  It's like packing a parachute for your child. Sharing your family history and family narratives is their back up pack, in case the first attempt to pull the cord fails. You've given them the ability to recall, and then lean upon, the experience of another person that has had a direct influence on their personal ability to succeed in life. 

I don't know about you, but I know that I am always looking for ways to cope a little bit better with life's curveballs.  And this list of the 5 C's of Resilient Coping is a nice, neat, little cheat sheet for that. And I know that if you've met me, and spent any time with me, you'll know that I often talk about experiences where I was overwhelmed with something in my life and then remembering an ancestor, or a family line, helped me to realize that everything was going to be fine--if my family had gone through far worse things and came through stronger for it, so would I!

So, then, the real question is: how do we instill these principles in our children? Easy. Start young. So many people think genealogy is a "grandma hobby." It isn't! We've got to be the ones who change that stigma, however. If we act like our children and grandchildren are too young to "get it," well then, they'll behave in the exact same way! So we have to be on our toes to find ways to be creative and clever in how we introduce our children and grandchildren to family history. Stories are always a sure bait. Children love stories. So tell them stories about you, your parents, your grandparents. Just talk with them and find common ground where you can share and they can learn. Playing with your children and grandchildren is another great way to get them involved.  Pull out some old toys or books you had as a child, play dress up in some old clothes in that cedar trunk in the attic, or teach them the games you played as a child--you know, the ones that didn't involve remote controls and televisions. These are all easy ideas to get you started. 

And lucky for you, I have made it even easier with my Zap the Grandma Gap Books and Activity books.  Each work book I have created is targeted to a specific family heritage.  My newest books (out in time for Christmas gift-giving) focus on Jewish, Mormon, and Pioneer histories. These have been added to my line of British, Swedish, German, and Civil War histories. For parents and grandparents, I have my book and power up workbook to give you ideas, help, and hints to close the genealogy gap in your family. It seems too easy, but truly, something as simple as a fun activity workbook is enough to spark your child's interest in their family history and then you are on the road to helping your child develop the 5 C's and become a more resilient person. Your children think they are just playing games, solving puzzles, and coloring paper dolls. But you and I both know that they are connecting to who they are and where they come from. And believe it or not, down the road, that may make the difference in your child "bouncing back" from a hard life blow, or "being out for the count." It's critical for us to give our children a fighting chance from the start. And knowing who they are and where they came from is the most powerful ammunition we can give them.

I hope you'll take advantage of my pre-release sale on my new workbooks (and all of my other books), to add to your gift-giving this year. If you order by November 30, 2014 you will receive 20% off of your entire order. New books and previous books alike. That is a great deal that won't last much longer! Stop by and take a look at some of the offerings each book and workbook have in store for you and your young ones. The best thing about my activity books is that your children don't even realize they are doing family history! They are just having fun. It's a simple and small thing that will lead to much bigger and better things down the road (the 5 C's of resilient coping is just the tip of the iceberg). Trust me, it's one gift you won't regret giving your child or grandchild this year!

Source: THE NEUROSCIENCE OF INTEGRATING MINDFULNESS AND EMPATHY TO 

STRENGTHEN RESILIENCE: Developing the 5 C’s of Coping: Calm, Compassion, Clarity, Connections to Resources, and Competence. Linda Graham, MFT - facesconferences.com/wp-content/uploads/handouts/seattle2012/friday/GRAHAM-Neuroscience_Resilience.pdf

Ancestor Effect, Part IV

We have been having a great discussion on The Ancestor Effect here on this blog, and recently over on Zap the Grandma Gap.  I have loved really studying this research and seeing the science back up these things I've known, experienced, and taught about for years.  There is something great about getting scientific validation for all the effort we genealogists put into the work we do.

Today I am going to talk about the final portion of the experiment study.  Study 4 decided to further define when and how The Ancestor Effect is in place by trying to determine if it only works with positive associations with ancestors, or if negative associations would diminish the effect.  These negative associations could be either through a direct negative experience or memory, or because their ancestors suffered from severe personal or societal problems (the whole "guilt by association" type of feelings).  The researchers then tested the individuals in an intelligence task taken, like the others, from the WIT (Kersting et al., 2008).

The set up for this portion of the study was both simple and slightly complicated.  Simple because there were two main groups, complicated because each group was then divided into two further groups.  So, in theory it was a 2x2 set up, but in practice it ended up being a 2x4 set up.  Let me explain.  To further determine that the improved performances were due to The Ancestor Effect, the control group for this particular part of the study was instructed to think about themselves and their attributes (self-salient) as opposed to their counterparts who thought of ancestors (ancestor salient).  The general idea behind this particular control group was that the researchers wanted to see if simply having positive self-affirmation (or negative) affected the participants performance in intellectual tasks in a similar way to the ancestor salient groups.  So, as a whole, there are two groups: ancestor salient and self-salient (control).  Each group was then divided into "positive affirmation" or "negative affirmation" sub-groups.  The researchers were looking for two things:

1. Can being self-salient affect people the same way as being ancestor salient? 
2. Do negative experiences have the same or similar effect as positive experiences when it comes to intellectual performance?

Are you with me so far?  Like I said, simple but complicated. :)

With the groups divided, the instructions were in similar fashion to the other studies: each person was given five minutes to think and write an essay about either their ancestors (ancestor salient group) or themselves (self-salient, control group).  This was then fully crossed with each group being divided in a way that half of the participants (of both groups) were instructed to write/think about negative aspects of either themselves or their ancestors and half were instructed to write/think about positive aspects of either themselves or their ancestors (all depending upon which original group they had been divided into).  Following this five minute portion of the study, each group was then given four minutes to complete 15 tasks that measured conclusive thinking by completing letter rows.  The researchers used the number of correctly completed items as their dependent variable.  The study also ended, like all the others, with the testing of perceived personal control.  The results were not reported in Part 3 or Part 4 (this portion) of the study because the researchers determined, across the board, that the ancestor salient groups always had a significantly higher sense of personal control.  It's a given fact, within the terms of this study as a whole.

At this point, do I even need to tell you the results of Study 4?  I'm going to, of course, but I know you all already know what I am going to say.  First and foremost, the ancestor salient group tested significantly higher in correctly completed items on the intelligence test.  They also (no surprise) attempted marginally more test items than that of the control group (self-salient).  Of course they did!  And what is so fascinating to me isn't the results at this point, but rather the researchers attitudes toward the expected results.  The researchers state in the study that they fully expected this result at this point in the study.  They knew, no matter what the control group set-up was, the ancestor salient group would dominate the intellectual test.  In addition to all of this, the researchers discovered that it didn't matter whether the participants in the ancestor salient group thought about positive or negative associations with their ancestors; the ancestor salient group all performed similarly to one another.  And that is the major bombshell of Study 4.  It does not matter if we have good or bad associations with our ancestors, we perform better when we think of them.  And the researchers specifically stated, in addition to this, that (and I quote this directly from the study) "...the ancestor effect is unlikely to be due to self-affirmation, since self-salience led to significantly lower intellectual performance than ancestor salience." (Fischer, et al., 2011)  Folks, that literally means that being wrapped up in ourselves (positive or negative) is absolutely less effective than being immersed in our ancestors (positive or negative).  Being connected to our ancestors is far more influential to us than anything we could do on our own.

This particular portion of the study is the absolute greatest argument one could have against self-absorption and complete emotional self-reliance in the history of ever.  Look, we all get handed a different bag in life.  Some of us have idyllic childhoods and some of us have straight up nightmares in place of a childhood.  Some of us have the reverse.  Great childhoods followed by really awful experiences that affect our lives negatively in the worst possible ways.  And thankfully many have awful childhoods followed by better adulthood because they made it that way.  And I will never, ever discount those who, by sheer will and determination, make better lives and situations for themselves.  But what I will say is that this study backs up what I have been saying for years and that is, we need to know about our ancestors.  The good, the bad, the ugly.  All of it has a direct effect on us, for the better.  I'm not saying that means we need to tolerate or place ourselves in abusive situations, but we do need to still keep ourselves tied to our family lines in some way.  If only because of what we can learn from them.  We need the people that came before us to become the person we are meant to be.  We need that just as much as our future posterity needs us to in order to become the people they are meant to be.

So in sum, Study 4 proved that thinking about our ancestors will always be more effective than thinking about ourselves.  It also showed that even remembering or thinking about negative associations with ancestors can still help us perform better in the here and now.  We could philosophize away the day about how or why that may be but the result will always be the same: we need an association with our ancestors.  We need to immerse ourselves in their lives and their experiences in order to better our own.  Scientifically and emotionally speaking, every ancestral relationship we have matters.  And honestly, isn't that the way it should be?

*Please refer to the other posts in this series: here, here, and here. 

*The study has been referenced and linked all over the web in various places with various commentary that you can find here, here, and here.  Or just Google search ancestor effect and you can see several of the top hits for the study.  But for my blog posts, I am using the direct source and I would encourage you to take a look at it yourself.  There is so much to gather from the published study that the various reference articles tend to gloss over.

*Fischer, P., Sauer, A., Vogrincic, C. and Weisweiler, S. (2011), The ancestor effect: Thinking about our genetic origin enhances intellectual performance. Eur. J. Soc. Psychol., 41: 11–16. doi: 10.1002/ejsp.778

Ancestor Effect, Part III

I have loved hearing the feedback from so many of you via email and Facebook about this research I've been discussing with you.  Thank you for letting me know how you feel and by all means, please keep your thoughts coming my way!  As I have mentioned in the previous two posts in this series (here and here), The Ancestor Effect is pretty amazing.  Today I want to tackle Study 3 (out of four).  As a quick recap though, let's review the first two studies.  Study 1 determined how ancestor salience (the act of being immersed in your ancestor's lives) affects a person's personal expectations (academic/professional) as well as how it affects a person's perception of personal control (aka: internal locus of control).  As we discussed, positives all around.  Study 2 focused more on how ancestor salience affects a person's intellectual response to an intelligence test.  It turns out it affected things positively but not in a way that most people would think.  The ancestor salience group answered more questions correctly not necessarily because their intelligence was raised, but rather because they attempted to answer more questions than the control group.  The researchers determined this was a direct result of a higher sense of personal control within the ancestor salience group.  They had more courage and security within themselves to attempt more questions in their allotted test time.  Powerful, right?

That brings us to Study 3.  This one is extremely interesting because the researchers decided that they wanted to see if The Ancestor Effect was actually a result of thinking about people you like, or feel some sense of personal connection with.  If you remember, the control group in the first two studies were instructed to think about recent shopping trips, as opposed to thinking of ancestors.  The goal in Study 3 was to see if there was a difference in results when the test subjects thought about people, across the board.  The set-up involved three separate groups again, with a total of 41 final participants.  The ancestor salience groups were again instructed to think about either 15th century ancestors or a living ancestor (parents or grandparents).  The control group was assigned to think of a close friend.  All groups were instructed to "think hard about these people" and then to write an essay about the person/people that included everything that came to mind.  After this was completed, each group was given three minutes to work on 16 items taken from the WIT for conclusive thinking (Kersting, et al., 2008), where they had to correctly recognize geometric figures and mirror images.

(Remember, as stated in Study 2, the researchers knew that the ancestor salience groups would have a higher sense of personal control, so even though they measured this after the test, they did not bother to report it in their findings.  The results were the same across all four studies: improved internal locus of control).

It was determined that the people in the two ancestor salience groups solved significantly more intelligence items correctly than that of the control group.  There was no significant difference in the results between the two ancestor salience group either.  But there was a significant difference between those groups and the control group.  Interestingly, as well, in this study, there was not a significant difference in the number of items approached among all three groups.  A little different from Study 2, but the same results.  So while the number of items approached was similar, the ancestor salience groups were still more successful.  The researchers determined that this result then positively ruled out the explanation that The Ancestor Effect can be achieved merely by thinking about people.  There was a distinct difference in test results when it came to the ancestor salience groups versus the control group.  It's not about people in general.  It's about our ancestors.

So, Study 2 determines that the higher scores were a result of more questions attempted and Study 3 determines that the actual intellectual result is what improved.  Either way, two very profound findings that determine the academic and personal benefits of ancestor salience.  Dear Parents, here is your scientifically proven evidence for why your children need family history as part of their extra-curricular activities.  And the next time your teenager wants the keys to the car to hang out with friends instead of spending time with the grandparents (or you), you can show them this and remind them that family time will help improve those ACT and SAT scores, without the extra studying.  Shall we all have a little family historian dance party to celebrate?  Go ahead, I'll wait. :)

So in the end, as important as personal relationships of all kinds are, the family ones have the greatest impact on our emotional and intellectual health.  I can't say it enough, but this is a superpower.  An easily accessible one that doesn't require exposure to radioactive materials or being dropped in a vat of acid or some crazy comic book scenario.  It's real and it's right here in front of us.  Every single one of us can access this power and have it influence our lives for the better.  Even if you have a stubborn child or friend who says that family history just isn't their "thing" or it isn't the "right season of their life for it," show them this.  I don't know how anyone can turn away the overwhelming benefits that simply immersing ourselves in our family history can bring us.  And it all starts with our thought process.  These results were being found after just a few minutes of thinking and writing about an ancestor.  Can you imagine what regular study and research could do for us?  It's life-changing.  And finally our community has the science to back up the importance of genealogy.  It's up to us to share these benefits and get the word out there.  We need to break this open across our community (and the general population).  Family History can literally change the world.

*The study has been referenced and linked all over the web in various places with various commentary that you can find here, here, and here.  Or just Google search ancestor effect and you can see several of the top hits for the study.  But for my blog posts, I am using the direct source and I would encourage you to take a look at it yourself.  There is so much to gather from the published study that the various reference articles tend to gloss over.

*Fischer, P., Sauer, A., Vogrincic, C. and Weisweiler, S. (2011), The ancestor effect: Thinking about our genetic origin enhances intellectual performance. Eur. J. Soc. Psychol., 41: 11–16. doi: 10.1002/ejsp.778

Ancestor Effect, Part II

Earlier this week I talked about The Ancestor Effect study that I have been researching and the benefits that are available to those who think about their ancestors.  There were four parts to the study and on Monday I talked about Part 1 of the study, where the goal was to measure if just thinking of ancestors affected a person's academic performance and if that academic performance was actually increased by the greater sense of perceived control.  It turns out that the science stated yes in both cases.  Those in the ancestor salience (being immersed in your ancestor's lives) groups had higher academic and professional expectations as well an an increased internal locus of control.  Exciting stuff.

The purpose of Study 2 was to determine if ancestor salience increases actual intellectual performance and if that performance was created by more perceived control.  It turns out that because the perceived control of the ancestor salient groups across all four studies increased, the measured results were not reported in later studies.  Basically, the science says that ancestor salience improves the perceived personal control of those who practice it so that should simply be an assumed benefit from here on out.  Being immersed in your ancestors' lives gives you such a better sense of control over your own life.  Yeah, I've been saying that for years.

In Study 2, the final sample of thirty-one college age participants were divided into two groups.  The goal was to measure performance on a verbal task from the Wilde Intelligence Test 2 (WIT2; Kersting, Althoff, & Jager, 2008) where participants were asked to find a series of twenty-five verbal analogies.  Group 1 (ancestor salient group) were asked to spend five minutes building a family tree, while Group 2 (control group) were asked to remember their most recent shopping trip and then write a few sentences about it.  Afterwards, they were assessed on two levels.  1) Each participant was given four minutes to work on the assigned intelligence task.  2) Researchers measured the perceived sense of control on a scale of 0 (not at all) to 10 (definitely) for each participant in both groups.  To determine this, the following statements were presented to the test subjects:

• "I have full control over my life."
• "I have full control over my professional career."
• "I have full control over adversities."
• "I have full control over my own success."

As stated earlier, and not surprisingly, the subjects in Group 1 (ancestor salience) all had a significant increase in perceived control and as a result of that perceived control, attempted to solve more questions that Group 2 (control).  Group 1 answered more questions correctly than Group 2.  However, it was determined that this sense of control did not directly correlate with overall intelligence performance.  It was determined that Group 1 answered more questions correctly because they attempted more questions than Group 2.

This finding is extremely exciting and the untapped potential for improved intellectual performance is enough to make a parent giddy for the opportunity that it presents for their children.  The intellectual performance increased as a result of increased personal confidence.  In my last post, I talked about how this increased sense of personal control is a "genetic superpower" of sorts.  Every person on this planet wants improved intellect and more confidence and to see that it is as easily accessible as building a family tree is pretty astounding.  Can you imagine the academic benefits for your children as a result of incorporating family history into their extra-curricular activities?  What about better performance in your career and being able to pick up a new skill more easily?  Can you see how this could be useful as you continue to learn new things and participate in new hobbies throughout your life?  It's profound information that really is a game-changer for us genealogists.  The idea that we have the ability to tap into this resource is an exciting one.  We, and our families, can benefit from this new understanding.

How does this information alter the way you approach your own family history research?  Have you had an experience with something like this in your own life, or in the lives of a friend or family member?  It's definitely food for thought and I believe this information needs to be recognized in our general culture.  The value of genealogy needs to shift among the general population.  How do you think it will affect not only genealogists, but most people in general?

*The study has been referenced and linked all over the web in various places with various commentary that you can find here, here, and here.  Or just Google search ancestor effect and you can see several of the top hits for the study.  But for my blog posts, I am using the direct source and I would encourage you to take a look at it yourself.  There is so much to gather from the published study that the various reference articles tend to gloss over.

*Fischer, P., Sauer, A., Vogrincic, C. and Weisweiler, S. (2011), The ancestor effect: Thinking about our genetic origin enhances intellectual performance. Eur. J. Soc. Psychol., 41: 11–16. doi: 10.1002/ejsp.778

Ancestor Effect, Part I

I was interviewed by Scott Fisher recently for his radio show Extreme Genes  and we talked about the research I have been doing on the intellectual benefits of studying our family history.  It is really fascinating stuff and I'd like to discuss it more in depth.  One of the studies I've been looking at was done in 2009 and published in 2010 by Peter Fischer, Anne Sauer, Claudia Vogrinic, and Silke Weisweiler titled "The Ancestor Effect: Thinking About Our Genetic Origin Enchances Intellectual Performance."  It covers several different aspects of "thinking about ancestors" and has different control groups, so I am going to break this up over a couple of posts in order to do the real science of it some justice.

The study itself looked at the Psychological Effects of Ancestor Salience, particularly the intellectual benefits.  Basically, does family history make you smarter?  In a nutshell, folks, yes it does.  The study was set up in four parts and performed with college age students.  In each aspect, the test subjects were asked, depending on their groups, to either think about an ancestor or not before being asked about their personal academic expectations or to perform in various intelligence tests, depending on what portion of the study they were working on.  The premise was to see if having a higher ancestor salience impacted intelligence positively.  I'm going to talk about each of the four tests, but today, I am only going to reference the first one.

In Study 1, the researchers wanted to see if higher academic expectations could be met through higher ancestor salience (def. of salient: very important or notable; jetting upward, and salience: the act of being salient;  a striking point or feature, highlight) and if that effect was mediated by an increased sense of control.  In this study, three groups were asked to think about three different things before being asked about their expectations on their performance in academic areas of their lives.  The first group was asked to think about their 15th century grandparents and to imagine, whether they knew who they were or not, what their day to day life might have been like, including their careers, living environment, their children, etc.  The second group was asked to do the same thing but with their great-grandparents.  The third group was asked to think about their most recent trip to the grocery store.  Each group had the instruction to think on the assigned topic until the experimenter gave them a sign, which was exactly five minutes for each group.  Upon completion of the tests the subjects' intellectual performance expectation was measured by three questions using the ranking system of 0 (the lowest) to 10 (the highest).  The questions included the following:

• How well do you think you will perform in the final social psychology exam?
• How well do you think you will perform in your studies?
• Do you think you will reach your career goals?

The amount of "perceived control" (also known as internal locus of control) of their lives was then measured on a scale of 0 (not at all) to 10 (very much) by the following question:

• To what extent do you feel that you have your life under control? 

The test sample showed that those who thought about their ancestors (15th century or great-grandparents, didn't matter) had a significantly higher academic expectations for themselves, as well as a (marginally) higher sense of personal control than the control group.  Impressive, right?  But for those of us  in this field, are we surprised?  The general population jumped all over this study, and while it is groundbreaking, it's also extremely exciting to see the crossover of the benefits of genealogy that we're somewhat privy to over to the masses.

This idea of ancestor salience and being immersed in the importance and highlights of our ancestor's lives is such a critical one, especially for young people today.  And how much we know (a little or a lot) didn't adversely affect group one and two in this portion of the study.  Simply thinking about ancestors increased their personal expectations and sense of control in their lives.  That is a genetic superpower right there if I have ever seen one!  I put up a blog post over on Zap the Grandma Gap that will give you a fun idea of how to start incorporating this idea into your own life and pave the road for future children/grandchildren/great-grandchildren, etc.

My next post in this series will tackle the other three portions of the research that actually tested intelligence after the participants meditated on ancestors.  I'm sure you can guess the results but you'll have to come back and see for sure.

*The study has been referenced and linked all over the web in various places with various commentary that you can find here, here, and here.  Or just Google search ancestor effect and you can see several of the top hits for the study.  But for my blog posts, I am using the direct source and I would encourage you to take a look at it yourself.  There is so much to gather from the published study that the various reference articles tend to gloss over.

*Fischer, P., Sauer, A., Vogrincic, C. and Weisweiler, S. (2011), The ancestor effect: Thinking about our genetic origin enhances intellectual performance. Eur. J. Soc. Psychol., 41: 11–16. doi: 10.1002/ejsp.778