Can cramming for tests have negative consequences? (S2 Ep10)

Prof. Adele Diamond, PhD, FRSC is the Canada Research Chair, Pioneer and Professor of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience at University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. She holds a PhD from Harvard and was a postdoctoral fellow at Yale Medical School. She has been named one of the “2000 Outstanding Women of the 20th Century,” and has been listed as one the 15 most influential neuroscientists alive today. 

Prof. Diamond is a world leader in Psychology and Neuroscience and has given over 600 keynote addresses and invited talks, including at the White House and to the Dalai Lama. Her CV is mind-blowingly impressive.

Her work in executive functions has demonstrated ways to help children succeed and has changed how people think about cognitive development. What particularly grabbed my attention was her statement that focusing exclusively on training cognitive skills is less successful than also addressing social, emotional, spiritual, and physical needs. 

Useful links:

Molyneux, T. M., & Diamond, A. (2025). Integrating social and emotional learning into mathematics education: A multiple case study of JUMP Math’s approach to creating socially and emotionally supportive learning environments. Behavioral Sciences (Special Issue on Social and Emotional Learning in Schools), 15, 1426 https://doi.org/ 10.3390/bs15101426   

Diamond, A. (2013). Executive Functions. Annual Review of Psychology, 64, 135-168. [Epub Sept 27, 2012 ahead of print]   doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-113011-143750  

Diamond, A. (2012). How I came full circle from the social end of psychology, to neuroscience, and back again, in an effort to understand the development of cognitive control. In R. F. Subotnik, A. Robinson, C. M. Callahan, & P. Johnson (Eds.), Malleable Minds: Translating Insights from Psychology and Neuroscience to Gifted Education (pp. 55-84). Storrs, CT: The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented, U. of Conn.   doi:10.13140/RG.2.1.2972.3284 (pdf)

Diamond, A. (2010). The evidence base for improving school outcomes by addressing the whole child and by addressing skills and attitudes, not just content. Early Education and Development, 21, 780-793.   doi:10.1080/10409289.2010.514522 

Publications are available for free download from:

http://www.devcogneuro.com/AdeleDiamond.html#Pubs

Further links to articles cited in this episode are available on request.