This study tested the hypotheses that interpretations increase clients' motivation to change and that interpretations identifying causal factors clients can directly control lead to greater client change than interpretations identifying causes clients cannot directly control. Thirty-six students who were experiencing problems with procrastination were assigned to 1 of 12 conditions defined by three interview conditions and four interviewers. Students received two interviews 1 week apart. In one interpretation condition the interviewers worked from a casual framework of procrastination as caused by a lack of effort, poor self-discipline, and ambiguous goals. In the other interpretation condition the interviewers saw procrastination as a symptom of underlying conflicts and resentments stemming from unresolved conflict with parents. In the third condition the interviewers refrained from any statements of opinion but reflected the students' ideas about the nature and causes of their procrastination. The results generally supported the hypotheses.

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Despite the growing interest in caffeine use and its effects among adolescents, and a large literature on caffeine and attention among adults, there is a lack of experimental work examining the impact of caffeine on sustained attention among adolescents. We evaluated the acute effects of caffeine (vs. placebo) during a long (33-min) classic vigilance task among 31 adolescents (aged 12–17; 15 female; median caffeine use = 28 mg/day). We predicted a dose-dependent effect of caffeine, which would attenuate declines in target detection over time (i.e., a vigilance decrement). In each of 3 visits, participants completed an identical pairs continuous performance task beginning ∼25 min after consumption of noncaloric flavored water containing placebo, 1 mg/kg, or 3 mg/kg caffeine (order counterbalanced). Percent hits for low probability targets across 12 100-trial blocks was the primary outcome measure. As predicted, the linear decline in hits across trial blocks was attenuated by caffeine (Caffeine vs. Placebo × Block Linear, p = .01), with significant improvements in Blocks 9–12 (ps < .03). Compared to 1 mg/kg, 3 mg/kg caffeine resulted in earlier improvement in target detection (Drug Dose × Block Quadratic, p = .001). This study demonstrated that caffeine acutely and dose-dependently improves sustained attention among adolescents. These results were likely due to the attention-enhancing effect of caffeine, rather than withdrawal reversal, as our sample was characterized by light to moderate caffeine use. This study provides the foundation for further work on the impact of chronic caffeine consumption on cognitive function during adolescence.

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To be effective in today’s complex and changing world, managers need new insights and skills that up‐end conventional thinking about human potential, trust, energy, initiative, and commitment. Neuroscience holds the key to accomplishing this goal. The old belief was that all sensory input went directly to the brain, where a behavioral response was shaped. The new findings show that the gut brain and the heart brain are involved first. The author shows how accessing all three brains can improve leader effectiveness.