Tell Me, Did You Sail Across the Sun?

I am an adventurer - I don't mind the risk. I like taking the initial first step to a different world, a gradual introduction to the unfamiliar, feeling the high of satisfaction, taking the leap of faith... but then there's always the fall of rejection in the end, so far at least. I guess that's problem in adventure stories, somebody's storyline has to be cut short in order for one of the characters to continue moving on. OUCH.

Pain, both the physical and the emotional type, has always been a given when it comes to life and actually living life. It becomes even more unbearable the more you reach out and expect and feel, because with all that investment into your own emotional pool it becomes much easier to drown the moment the dam breaks. Reaching for the stars will give you a much more painful and definitely longer fall. At least you have time to think about where and when it went all wrong, eh?

So why don't we just sing about it then?

Because according to Mitchell, MacDonald and Knussen's study, music [and art] can actually help in managing pain perception (2008). The researchers allowed the participants to bring their own music to the study. They left their participants' dominant hand in a bowl of 32 degrees Centigrade of water and was left there until the discomfort became unbearable. 5 minutes was allotted as the maximum time for the experiment. They were then asked for self-reports using different scales (VAS, PRI, perceived control and anxiety).

The researchers found out that music listening was found to decrease anxiety as compared with the silence condition. It also significantly increases tolerance and perceived control over the painful stimulus and to decrease the perceived pain intensity [as compared with the silence condition].

A possible explanation for this is something we took up in one of our past lessons - attention. It may be that an external distracting stimuli can take over a big part of our limited attentional capacity which leaves less of  our mental facilities in the perception of pain. I guess there must be something with music and our associative memories with them that puts a hold on our dealing with pain as we are reminded of an experience, a feeling, etc.

So here I am right now, listening to music hoping to drown out my own feelings of distress and anxiety for the coming week. Too many exams and too little time. Move the exam, sir?

Mitchell, L., MacDonald, R. & Knussen, C. (2008). An Investigation of the Effects of Music and Art on Pain Perception. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 2(3), 162-170.


Photo sources:
http://kaufmantoldmesettheworldonfire.wordpress.com

When You're Lost, You'll Never Gonna Find Your Way Out

I learned how to drive during the summer vacation of 2007 before entering college. I got my license on November of the same year but I was not allowed to bring a car to school until January 2008. When I was first permitted to drive to school, my parents had me follow a list of rules. First, I cannot go home late. The sun should still be up when I arrive home. Second, I must leave the house with enough time allowance so I will not rush while driving. Third, I must let pedestrians cross the road. Lastly, I must only drive the route from our house and UP. I must not make any detours that might make me lost.

My parents are very intelligent individuals. They were able to predict that if ever I get lost, I might have a hard time finding my way back home. The concern of parent for their kids who are starting to drive might have been a factor which inspired Thomas, Laurance, Nadel and Jacobs to conduct their study. In 2010, these researchers wanted to find out whether stress can affect the navigation skills of individuals. Previous studies have shown that the hippocampus plays a significant role in the relationship of stress and other cognitive functions. The hippocampus releases some hormones that may hinder performance on memory tasks. In driving, the effects of the hippocampus may affect the retrieval of cognitive maps, the maps people have of places stored in their memories, for navigation when they are under stress. However, the hormones from the hippocampus do not affect the brain areas that are responsible for landmark-based navigation techniques.

The experiment that Thomas, Laurance, Nadel and Jacobs conducted yielded interesting results. Their findings show that stress can impair women’s navigation abilities using cognitive maps which were not observed in their male participants. Also, landmark-based navigation techniques of both males and females were not affected by stress. In addition to these, they found out that several factors such as nature of the task, context and individual differences might affect people’s spatial navigation abilities. One particular finding that was really interesting is that the menstrual cycle of females may play a role in navigation. Other studies have suggested that the fluctuating levels of steroid hormones such as estradiol and testosterone in women may have effects on their visuospatial skills. Also, it has been observed that females have different levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, in their saliva during different phases of their cycle. This may account for their decreased ability in cognitive map-based spatial navigation as well. 

It was mentioned in class that males use cognitive maps more when navigating while females use landmarks more often. This difference in the gender’s preferences for navigation might have made males more adapted to getting lost in a place. The stress does not really ruin their cognitive maps. Maybe this is the reason why they usually prefer not asking directions from other people when they are lost. You just have to give them time to figure it out. Although sometimes, it really takes a long time before they do. 

I am really not sure what type of navigation technique I use whenever I drive around. I have never gotten lost since I started driving so probably, I navigate using landmarks more. After reading this article, I thought that I should be more careful and prepared the next time I go on the road. I shall purchase a map of the streets of Metro Manila on my next visit to the bookstore. It is unavoidable to feel stressed if I get lost. Therefore, I shall just be equipped with the proper tools that can help me out when this situation happens. Fortunately, I learned orienteering and map reading during my CWTS class. I never thought that this skill would come in handy in the super near future.

Laurance, H., Nadel, L. & Jacobs, J. (2010). Stress-induced impairment of spatial navigation in females. South African Journal of Psychology, 40(1), 32-43.

Photos from: www.vehiclevibes.com

                      www.cartoonstock.com

Eeny Meeny Miney... GO!

I have been a Commonwealth kid and a Katipunan kid for most of my 21 years of life and so you can say that I've had a lot of experience when it comes to navigating through the changes in the signages and lightings and traffic schemes (as per every semeseter in school it seemed). Commonwealth used to be a four-lane highway that used traffic lights for every intersection and barely readable signs dotting the sides of the road. Fast forward 8 years into the future and it is now a [under construction] 6-lane mega highway with signs posted everywhere, more street lamps, no more traffic lights and plenty of u-turns. Katipunan underwent the same transformation in those same 8 years; and in those same 8 years, all the traffic lights in the Metro seems to have magically appeared in Makati and Fort Bonifacio.

Change can be good, that I agree with, but only if properly researched and directed.

In a 2001 study by Bullough et al, they tried to determine whether the luminance of traffic signals at night can cause visual discomfort. They based their stimuli on the standard presribed luminancies of the following: red=5000 cd/m2; yellow=23,100 cd/m2; green=10,000 cd/m2. They simulated an observer directly looking at an experimental traffic signal from two distances. They then collected the observers' ratings of discomfort. They found that afterimages (of varied colors per subject) were more common in higher luminancies, that color identification was nearly spot on during nighttime (since all of the participants passed the Ishihara tests and were further tested to be normal), that distance and visual discomfort are related and that green and yellow signals were more likely to cause visual discomfort, and that the recommendations are to make the standards dimmer than they should.

In other traffic-related studies, they focused on how color-blind people have certain problems when it comes to noticing traffic signals. From the different designs for example of LED lgihts, the green-tinted lens was better for the color-blind (because clear ones appear brighter than they should) but the clear lens was better for the non-color-blind (Starr et al, 2004). With the use of interviews and correspondence, the most common problem was recognizing between the red and amber signals (Whillans et al, 1983). Having poor visibility during the night as well as being tired (wherein they find color blindness a problem) also pose some difficulties.

Though granted through the years, many changes have been made. Like the warning flashing signals, and the change in standard wavelengths of red so that it appears more orange and green being more blue, and the use of shapes in certain signages; this topic is still important and must be given more time.

It's especially important for us here in the Philippines wherein the signs and signals offer no help even for those not afflicted with color blindness- with signs barely even seen or understood or even visible.

Bullough, J, Boyce, P, Bierman, A, Hunter, C, Conway, K, Nakata, A, Figueiro, M. (2001). Trafific Signal Luminance and Visual Discomfort at Night.. Transportation Research Record, Vol. 1754, p. 42-47.

Starr, R., Sandberg, W., & Guan, Y. (2004). Does color blindness affect the perception of green LED signal indications?. ITE Journal, 74(8), 32-38. 

Whillans, M. G. (1983). Colour-blind drivers' perception of traffic signals.. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 128(10), 1187-1189. 


Photo sources: 
www.skyscrapercity.com
charlestonteaparty.org

Pay attention please.

I’ve always been interested in fitness activities. As far as I can remember, it started with joining the Dance Club with no experience at all in the third grade because the Computer Club—my first choice—was full. It was so awkward at first, observing myself in the mirror. I mean I do get the moves eventually, but I wasn’t that raw talented dancer who struts the stuff oh-so effortlessly. And that’s okay! Because I also remember enjoying the thing itself, music blasting as you drown in awkwardness and come to laugh at it with your fellow club members.

Besides self-motivation, it was also our teacher who kept me going. Not that I aspired to be anything close, but watching her at her element was reinforcing. I found myself paying attention to her reflection in the mirror more than mine, and it must've contributed to my awakened impetus to move more, explore more, and try out other sweat-inducing forms of exercise.

In a study by Calitri et al. (2009), associations between previous physical activity and both implicit and explicit attitudes were investigated, including visual attention and activity motivation. They found that higher levels of physical activity were associated with positive implicit attitudes as well as an attentional bias towards exercise cues. In other words, the more extreme the person’s implicit attitude towards exercise (positive or negative) is, the greater his or her attentional bias to exercise cues will be.

 How’s this for a cue?

Also, the study indicated that such exercise cues were not equally relevant for every individual. In a live basketball game, for example, a swimmer in the audience probably wouldn’t notice how one player managed to score despite being double-teamed by his opponents. He may have seen the play, but a basketball hobbyist sitting beside him would’ve perceived it as an amazing, I’ll practice-more-‘cause-I-wanna-do-that-too sequence of historical events in the realm of hoops.

In my case, being familiar with the style and starting to give meaning to that dance class led me to pay more attention to what my teacher was choreographing—especially the moves that fascinated me—which further led to increased enthusiasm. In my case at present however, I wouldn’t pay as much attention to cues sent by people like my teacher anymore because as mentioned earlier, I did jump from one fitness activity to another. And as a college student who doesn’t get to exercise often, I involved myself in the convenience and elegance of jogging. Hence, visual attention is directed to a different set of cues.

This study can definitely be applied to the encouragement of a healthy/active lifestyle. The motivation is there for many of us, but the real challenge is maintaining its existence in our systems; so that we keep on going and not let all our efforts go to waste, whether it’s a goal weight we’re trying to drop down to or decreasing the chances of certain diseases to develop. Well we can start by simply being more sensitive to perceptual cues; learning to identify which stimuli can help us, for example in having seconds thoughts about eating another slice of cake, or extending our run to one more round in the Acad Oval. In the two modes of transportation below, which would you choose to take? Of course It would depend on the interaction of your current situation and goals, your internal and external intentions. But in the end, one factor always, always squeezes itself in the equation.

Attention is part of the decision.

Source: Calitri, R., Lowe, R., Eves, F., & Bennett, P. (2009). Associations between visual attention, implicit and explicit attitude and behaviour for physical activity. Psychology and Health, 24(9), 1105–1123.

Are we all Pinocchios?

According to Panic! At the Disco, lying is the most fun a girl can have without taking her clothes off (2005). My other reliable source, Tumblr, says that girls lie about orgasms to keep a relationship. Before you start getting the wrong idea, men also lie – just look at Pinocchio. But to put the icing on the cake, you must know that… wait for it… men lie, women lie, but Facebook DON’T lie. Yes, I just became one of the 923 fans of this Facebook page. Just think about it, how awesome can Facebook possibly get that it doesn’t lie? I think I’m going to marry Facebook now, if that’s the case.

But did we really learn from Pinocchio and his long nose? Or are our noses getting longer everyday? Back in 1996, DePaulo and colleagues found that undergrads and community members (in their study, at least) told 2 lies and 1 lie each day, respectively. Self-oriented lies were told more, which the authors described as lies told to protect or enhance the liars psychologically or to elicit a particular emotional response that the liars desired. After all, in a world where things are never what they seem, only the fittest (and the best liars) survive. 

But for every good liar, there’s an even better liar-catcher. There’s a Cal Lightman waiting to be recognized. We may not be as skilled in detecting every microexpression, but we’re attentive enough to detect the bigger movements – gestures, body movements and eye contact. So what does it take to have your own Lie to Me installment? It doesn’t take a Cal Lightman to take in the basics. Besides, it’s common knowledge that deceptive intent can affect nonverbal behavior, which in turn can affect judgment made by others (Fiedler & Walka, 1993; Levine et al., 2006). Eye contact is an important component of honesty; those who don’t look someone in the eye are often doubted – although Ma’am Chei might beg to differ. In a meta-analysis done by Zuckerman et al. (1981) and Miller (1985), they found that liars use more adaptors, hand gestures, posture shifts, have more pauses, longer response latencies and make more speech errors. This has been attributed to their feelings of guilt and fear, as well as the conscious effort they make to control their behavioral displays.

Indeed.

Porter et al. (2008) decided to extend these findings to criminal offenders, in the hopes of bringing justice to those who deserve it (Not that it’s never been done before). They had a group of offenders and another group of non-offenders to describe four emotional events, 2 honest and 2 completely fabricated, for a total of 5 minutes each. These testimonies were videotaped and then viewed by groups of people asked to assess the frequency of illustrators, self manipulations (e.g. number of times they touched/scratched their head/body), head movements and smiles and/or laughs. Speech rate and fillers (‘ummm’, ‘ahhh’, etc.) were also considered.

Only the offenders showed an increase in self manipulation which was said to be associated with nervousness (but don’t non-offenders get nervous, too?) as well as a decrease in smiling when lying. Apparently, smiling is associated with the embarrassment of lying and decreased credibility on the part of the speaker. Less detail is also associated with false stories. 

I don’t know about you, but the only moral lessons I got here are that I should smile less the next time I get interviewed (which reminds me, I kept smiling when I said I spend 6 hours studying everyday) and that I should take Lying 101 under Prof. Offender. No explicit mention was made regarding whether or not offenders lie more than non-offenders, or vice versa. But I’d like to assume that isn’t the case.

So the next time someone tells you, "You're the only one", look at that pretty face and make sure there's no smile.

I hate to say I told you so.

References:

De Paulo, B., Kirkendol, S., Kashy, D. & Wyer, M. (1996). Lying in Everyday Life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70(5), 979-995.

Levine, T., Asada, K. & Park, H. (2006). The Lying Chicken and the Gaze Avoidant Egg: Eye Contact, Deception and Causal Order. Southern Communication Journal, 71(4), 401-411.

Porter, S., Doucette, N., Woodworth, M., Earle, J. & MacNeil, B. (2008). Half the World Knows not how the Other Half Lies. Legal and Criminological Psychology 13, 27-38.

Ravishing Red

With Chinese New Year just recently concluding, there was a definite increase in the number of people wearing vibrant red shirts and blouses. Although most Filipino-Chinese people typically have just one big dinner celebration commemorating this event, I had two of these said dinners on consecutive evenings. In those Chinese restaurants we ate at, there was no shortage of festive spirit, tasty (and very oily) Chinese food, and people in bright red clothing. The Chinese culture’s preference for the color red is a very old tradition that is rooted in the belief that the color brings the wearer prosperity, good fortune, happiness, and long life. These are arguably the things that most people would want to possess in their lifetime, and all for the simple task of walking around looking like a giant tomato. But perhaps there is another reason why the Chinese are so fond of the color red, and they may not even be aware of it.

A study was reported in class which had findings that support the idea that men perceive women around the color red, either in their clothing or in front of a background, as more physically attractive. Aside from physical attractiveness, the women were also seen as more sexually desirable, while men were more willing in asking these women out and spending more money when on a date with them, among other things.

Red + Woman = Sexy

Although the findings may seem to give women an unfair advantage, a recent 2010 study shows that women likewise perceive men to be more attractive and sexually desirable when seen on a red background and in red clothing. This “red effect” was also shown to have an association with the males’ perceived rank or status. The men being seen in the color red only affected women’s romantic attraction towards them, while it did not affect in any way the women’s perception of the men’s overall likability, agreeableness, and extraversion. Red also did not influence the men’s perception of other men in this study. Despite being unaware of the true nature of the experiments they took part of, the results show that the color red was able to subtly alter their perceptions of a man’s attractiveness.

Some explanations the study presented to account for this effect was that women are more sensitive than men in detecting red. This may include being able to perceive faint changes in the coloration of a man’s face due to increased blood flow, as well as an enduring red coloration that may indicate general good health. It is possible that the red effect may have its strongest influence on females when they are at their most fertile point in their ovulatory cycle, when they have a strong preference for males with masculine features. And because, more often than not, a confident man is a sexy man, their choosing to wear red may also enhance their own perceptions. In displaying deep red colors, a man’s sense of power or status may subtly grow, in turn affecting his thoughts, feelings, and actions.

The image of masculine sex appeal.

The results obtained from this series of experiments are interesting in that the “red effect” is also supported by empirical data. Because of the pervasiveness of the color red in the Chinese culture and tradition, it now kind of gives a plausible explanation as to why China is the most populous nation in the world. It is really rather amazing that something so simple as the color of one’s shirt may have such profound effects on the attraction patterns for human beings. With another significant February holiday fast approaching, it is now easy to understand as to why red is color of choice for this event experienced both by lovers and lovers-to-be alike.

Red working its magic.

Elliot, A.J., Niesta Kayser, D., Greitemeyer, T., Lichtenfeld, S., Gramzow, R.H., Maier, M.A., Liu, H. (2010). Red, rank, and romance in women viewing men. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 139(3), 399-417.

Images from:

http://www.girls-t-shirts.com

http://letscolourproject.com

http://www.topchinatravel.com

3-D Movies are for Kids!

When I was young, I remember being very excited whenever I see the eye glasses made out of cardboard with red and blue lenses. I remember having comic strips that come with the said 3-D glasses and I was always amazed at how the colored glasses bring the comics to life by making the characters pop out of the paper. It made my reading fun and very enjoyable. Nowadays, there has been a famous trend in movies. A lot of the films released are available in 3-D. Movies are not the only forms of media seen in 3-D. There are also newspaper editions that come with 3-D glasses, making the pictures and the text pop out. I find it interesting how businesses make lots and lots of money by making everything 3-D. This made me interested on looking for factors that may affect three-dimensional perception.

Three-dimensional scenes provide useful information that help people in doing their day to day tasks such as driving. Research has shown that the ground or floor part of the scenes play important roles in helping people put what they see into context. Studies conducted for the past years showed that visual processing and visual perception are affected by aging. Growing in years could affect perception of 3-D scenes because of the processing changes the visual system and brain undergo. In 2008, Bian and Anderson conducted a study in order to find out whether younger and older people have differences in the perception of 3-D scenes. Using the experiments they designed, they wanted to find out whether older people have greater or lesser preferences for using ground information in perceiving three-dimensional scenes.

Bian and Anderson did not really know what to expect from their study. They believed that the longer exposure of older individuals to the environment will make them more efficient in processing 3-D scenes. However, due to the numerous studies on the decline of the visual system as one ages, they also thought that age will negatively affect perception of 3-D scenes. The average ages of their participants were 21 and 71 years old for the younger and older groups, respectively. The data gathered from the three experiments they conducted were consistent with their second hypothesis that three-dimensional scene processing declines with age. They found out that their older participants depend less on ground information in the scenes compared to younger individuals.

After reading this article, I started to realize why most of the movies that are available in 3-D are cartoons. The film makers have probably heard about this study so they thought they should invest their money more on what will sell more. I remember that the first 3-D film that I watched was Toy Story 3. I noticed that most of the patrons of the film were kids although some of the adults who were watching may be fans of the first two installments of the movie. Personally, I really did not enjoy much of the experience. The ticket costs so much more than the 2-D version. Also, I really did not notice the differences between watching a 3-D film and the one that is 2-D. I did not experience how the characters pop out of the screen while I was watching the movie. Wearing the 3-D glasses was somehow annoying but when I take them off, I got dizzy while watching. What I probably liked most about getting tickets for the 3-D film was the free popcorn and drinks. That was the most enjoyable part of my experience. I would probably be convinced to watch another 3-D movie if someone else will buy my ticket… Oh no. Does this mean that I am really getting old because I process three-dimensional information differently already?

Bian, Z. & Andersen, G. (2008). Aging and the perceptual organization of 3-D scenes. Psychology and Aging, 23(2), 342-352.

Photos from: www.1freeaday.com

                      www.tomtroceen.com