Transcendent Thinking: the Developmental Power of Integrating Intellectual and Personal Development in the Brain
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Presenter Bio
Mary Helen Immordino-Yang is the Fahmy and Donna Attallah Professor of Humanistic Psychology and a professor of education, psychology, and neuroscience at the University of Southern California. She is the founding director of the USC Center for Affective Neuroscience, Development, Learning and Education, or CANDLE. Immordino-Yang has pioneered novel approaches to the study of social-emotional and brain development with implications for educational practice and policy.
Presentation Description
Deep thinking about complex issues is a hallmark of human achievement, supporting civil society, growth, learning, and creativity. It relies on transcendent thinking—the ability to consider broader ethical and systems-level implications. This talk draws on neuroimaging and classroom studies showing how transcendent thinking shapes the brain, predicts wellbeing beyond IQ, and can be nurtured through teaching. The findings reveal how youths shape their own brain development through meaning-making and illuminate the emotional and social work of skilled teaching.
Pre-Session Materials
READ
Transcendent Thinking May Boost Teen Brains
LISTEN
Or, for those who like podcasts, you could listen to The Hidden Brain; ...and if you really get into that, they recorded a follow-up episode
Post-Session Exercise
"Ask yourself, what are my own and my students emotions mainly about -- Outcomes/results or ideas?" - Mary Helen Immordino-Yang
Publication Date
2-23-2026
Campus
Berklee Online
Recommended Citation
Immordino-Yang, Mary Helen and Pedagogy Arts Collective, "Transcendent Thinking: the Developmental Power of Integrating Intellectual and Personal Development in the Brain" (2026). Pedagogy Arts Collective. 29.
https://remix.berklee.edu/pac/29