Giving Thanks by Mental Subtraction - Learning English and Psychology at the Same Time :)
Today I want to share a lesson that is supposed to make your students think not only about grammar and spelling but also about what makes life worth living :) This lesson works best with adult students and is suitable for intermediate level. Get the printable version by clicking HERE . Giving Thanks By Mental Subtraction – ( Article taken from Psychology Today) This strategy is called mental subtraction, and studies show that instructions to imagine the absence of a good event produce more positive emotions than the simpler strategy of just thinking about its presence. Why does mental subtraction have beneficial effects? The researchers proposed that mental subtraction works against the human tendency to adapt to the good things in our lives and to take them for granted. In support of this explanation were further findings. Research participants who did mental subtraction rated the good event in question as more surprising than those who simply thought about the good event. &quo