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Here is what I am reading today:
“Does understanding emotions depend on the language we speak, or is our perception the same regardless of language and culture? According to a new study by researchers from the MPI for Psycholinguistics and the MPI for Evolutionary Anthropology, you don’t need to have words for emotions to understand them.”
“Willing to risk your knowledge, skills and monetary reward in competition? If you are under age 50, you’ve probably not reached your competitive peak. If you are older, that peak is behind you. That people are willing to engage in risk at 50 surprised University of Oregon economists and psychologists who explored such behavior in their research.”
“In an article published Nov. 10 in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, the researchers write that it would be absurd to think people’s mental capacities fundamentally change when they remove clothing. “In six studies, however, we show that taking off a sweater-or otherwise revealing flesh-can significantly change the way a mind is perceived.””
“People with birthmarks, scars and other facial disfigurements are more likely to receive poor ratings in job interviews, according to a new study by researchers at Rice University and the University of Houston.”
35 Comments
apwillia · November 13, 2011 at 10:25 pm
I’m surprised to learn from the article that men and women don’t objectify each other, but instead view each other in a different way. It’s very interesting that people subconsciously use different “minds” when looking at people with more or less clothing. It’s surprising that the amount of clothing one wears can have such an effect on the way people view each other. I can understand how people wearing less skin are viewed as having less self-control and more experience of pleasure because they can be seen as being the “crazy” girl at the party or the in your face guy. It’s unfortunate that the amount of clothing one wears causes someone else to view them differently, consciously or unconsciously. However, as indicated in the article these differing “minds” can be useful and necessary in certain situations.
apwillia · November 13, 2011 at 10:25 pm
I’m surprised to learn from the article that men and women don’t objectify each other, but instead view each other in a different way. It’s very interesting that people subconsciously use different “minds” when looking at people with more or less clothing. It’s surprising that the amount of clothing one wears can have such an effect on the way people view each other. I can understand how people wearing less skin are viewed as having less self-control and more experience of pleasure because they can be seen as being the “crazy” girl at the party or the in your face guy. It’s unfortunate that the amount of clothing one wears causes someone else to view them differently, consciously or unconsciously. However, as indicated in the article these differing “minds” can be useful and necessary in certain situations.
mdewitt · November 13, 2011 at 11:07 pm
I thought that the article “how do you see someone who is naked” was interesting because it made a lot of sense, and it tied into what I’m currently learning in my Sport & Gender GE class. We talked a lot about women athletes being objectified and how it minimizes their accomplishments as athletes when we (society) focus on their body images more than their accomplishments on the field. It’s argued that when we do so, it also reinforces women athletes as being “second best” to male athletes.
mdewitt · November 13, 2011 at 11:11 pm
I also thought that the article “understanding emotions” was interesting because I learned both in Biopsych and PSY 201 that facial expressions were widely understood across cultures whether or not there were actual words to describe these expressions. I think that this says a lot about how people evolved socially because before people knew how to vocally communicate with one another, they were using body language and facial expressions to do so. Along with this, I also think that it’s interesting that researchers found people to have a universal language of facial expressions because animals often communicate through facial expressions and body language as well.
nicoleboughton · November 14, 2011 at 4:56 am
“There is a time and a place for everything, but never under estimate the power of the little black dress,” Coco Chanel. “You can’t wear hot with hot, you have to wear hot with cool,” Marilyn Monroe. Well, I guess Marilyn, certainly wasn’t trying to be hired as a leadership executive, with all the cleavage she showed, but it’s reassuring that the topless male model for Guess Jeans is viewed as somewhat worthy of our protection by bearing his clean pecs to the world. It seems redundant to be doing these studies that ask people to shock participants with or without a shirt, if we already have a pretty good foundation on all the neurological chemistry and physiology that reacts from visual input of a naked body. As unlogical as those Victoria Secret’s models look, they’re still the ones taking home $10,000.00 a day to stand around in their underwear.
nicoleboughton · November 14, 2011 at 4:57 am
illogical not unlogical…and I can’t even blame autocorrect
akinsella · November 14, 2011 at 7:57 am
The article about risk taking came as a surprised to me and seemed to have challenged what we previously thought about competition. The article stated that individuals reach their competitive peak at around age 50 with men having a slightly bigger curve than women. This surprises me when I applied this idea to my own life – my parents are bigger “risk takers” than me. Especially as a college student, it only seems to make sense to me that my peers and I are the age of “risk takers”. However, when I think more in depth about the study it begins to make sense. People at 50 years old are, generally speaking, living a more stable life. It makes sense that risk taking would occur when one feels that they are ABLE to take a risk – when they’re comfortable enough with where they are in life that they feel like they have the ability to try something new. Still, this article surprised me and I would love to hear about the next study that will be done to further this information.
akinsella · November 14, 2011 at 8:15 am
I really enjoyed reading the article about how we perceive others when they are naked and thought that this article brought up some very new and interesting points. The idea that we use a “different” mind when seeing people with less clothes was a very strange concept for me to wrap my head around… but at the same time it made sense. When focusing on someone’s body we reduce our self-control while increasing our emotion. However, body focus can increase moral standing because people with no clothes were seen less morally responsible and more sensitive, therefore needing more protection. The study even went as far to say that when viewing men with their shirts off, they were less likely to given electric shocks (repeat of Milgram’s electric shock experiment?!)! The information yielding from this article can definitely be applied to everyday life and make you think harder the next time you go to your closet!
apwillia · November 14, 2011 at 8:41 am
I am not surprised at all that people with facial blemishes and birthmarks do worse on interviews than people who don’t have anything on their face. The distracting nature of having it on their face, where you typically look at a person, as opposed to on their hand, can be very distracting to the person interviewing and cause them to focus more on the blemish than what the person is actually saying. Unfortunately for the interviewee, they did not choose to have an unattractive mark on their face, but they can’t control the negative reactions by the interviewer. Obviously having a birthmark on one’s face should not impede their work performance, and so they should not be discriminated on that basis during interview. However, it is an involuntary aversion on the part of the interviewer. A way to possibly remedy this situation would be to have a phone interview, but I understand how that could be perceived as an unfair advantage to that group.
annieaitken · November 14, 2011 at 2:32 pm
The article “Women See Naked Men Differently, Too” claim that both the perceiver as well as the person being perceived are responsible for the resulting view of that person. The difference between viewing peoples minds as either agents or experiencers puts human nature in a more positive light when compared to the objectification theory.In fact, the article goes as far to claim that sometimes showing a little skin can be both beneficial to the individual as well as in a relationship. It is interesting the way scientists attributed this phenomena to the unconscious view of humans as having a distinct body and mind. I wonder if the theory would hold true if the person did not believe in mind body dualism.
amandalipson · November 14, 2011 at 4:47 pm
It is incredibly interesting that a facial disfigurement can affect your chances at getting a job. In these cases, it’d be nice to either have an interview conducted over the phone, or perhaps have a third party listen to a recorded version of the interview and rate the interviewee. I would assume that acne marks would have the same effect as well. It makes me wonder what would happen if a person who has a facial disfigurement interviewed another person with a facial disfigurement. Would they be more apt to hire the person, less apt, or simply more unbiased?
dlheller · November 14, 2011 at 5:11 pm
As a business major I was immediately attracted to the article about job interviews. I have heard in the past the social stigma that attractive people are more likely to get the job and be payed more. This article gets a little more specific on the topic in how you look does matter. It is unfortunate that abnormal facial features affect interviewer’s perception but it also seems silly to think that interviewers would not fall into the natural human tendency to be “distracted” when listening to this individual. Perhaps a way to make an interviewee with a known condition that might affect their success in an interview would be a phone interview, at least for first rounds so that the interviewer can focus on the content of their interview rather than their face.
dlheller · November 14, 2011 at 5:39 pm
“How do you see someone who is naked?” was incredibly interesting, especially since the article addresses both sexes. The statement I found most interested states, “It also calls into question the nature of objectification because people without clothes are not seen as mindless objects, but they are instead attributed a different kind of mind.” In my opinion, this theory sort of suggests some relationship with Decartes mind-body dualism. The idea that action and experience are separate in the mind makes sense in regard to the implications on human perception of the naked body or even less clothed individuals. I am interested to see more research on this topic.
Jerusha · November 14, 2011 at 5:55 pm
I thought the article on how you see people naked was really interesting. I think it’s odd that people tend to associate the naked body with a more emotional view. I suppose it makes sense, but I don’t feel like it should take away from the way people view our conscious decisions. The body is a natural thing and the mind is a part of that as well. I think the way our social system has evolved has led to a taboo on the human body and it allows for it to become this unheard of thing to see. In some respects that can be a good thing, but I don’t think that it should rule our views of people.
The simple act of taking off a sweatshirt should not be such a big deal in how we perceive somebody; I just feel it’s odd that it does. I want to know why.
carlyk · November 14, 2011 at 7:03 pm
I thought the article about the negative effect of facial disfigurements in the interview process was very interesting. It has always been assumed that people are judged based on their appearance, but nobody ever likes to admit it. This article confirms that this truly does take occur, especially in the workplace, and it is definitely something employees and employers should be made aware of. It is unfortunate that this type of thing happens on a regular basis, even to the very highly educated and experienced interviewers. I wonder what would be the best way to approach this issue. How do we manage to minimize this type of negative effect that is happening every single day to people all over?
carlyk · November 14, 2011 at 7:10 pm
The article that discussed the effect of age on risk taking was very interesting. As the article mentioned, it has previously been regarded that after about the age of 25, the risk taking behaviors tend to decline dramatically for both men and women. However, this article showed that this is not necessarily true, and that these risk taking activities extend up until about the age of 50. That is a huge difference from the age of 25! I also thought it was interesting that the gender difference between the two sexes remained relatively consistent throughout the entire lifespan.
Jerusha · November 14, 2011 at 8:59 pm
I didn’t find the risk-taking article too surprising. When I first read the title I thought of risky behaviors like skydiving or something similar. Since it was about competition instead I wasn’t too surprised. I feel like since our culture is so job oriented that at 50 most people are still working at getting to their peak position or have their desired position but after 50 it becomes more secure. To me it would seem logical that the competition would continue to rise for adults as they got older. Either way I thought the article was really interesting. I never really thought about this topic in this way before, although after I read it I realized I already had my opinion on it.
mfitzpatrick · November 14, 2011 at 10:33 pm
The article about “on a job interview, how you look does matter” was rather surprising and disappointing. I feel it’s so unfortunate that generally better-looking people are more likely to get hired for a job, get good recommendations, or to be remembered than people less pleasant looking. This article just shows how superficial our world has made us and how tv, magazines, celebrities, “experts” about nutrition and fitness and how people should look have influenced mental and physical states. There should be more of an effort put into preventing physical appearance discrimination in the work force.
mfitzpatrick · November 14, 2011 at 10:51 pm
The article about “How do you see someone that is naked?” was so interesting. I never even thought beyond what revealing skin can cause our brains to connect and think about; like how when we reveal skin we’re perceived as being more vulnerable compared to someone with more clothes on or no skin showing. Also, that we see people with skin showing as people of emotion, pleasure, and more versus someone who acts and plans. The statement of objectification vs two states of minds was so fascinating in that from this perspective, objectification represents the person as a mindless sexual object vs someone of mind and emotion. The evidence of action and experience being separate in the mind makes me wonder what other unconscious work could our mind process.
mmcglinc · November 14, 2011 at 10:56 pm
The article which discussed how people with birthmarks or scars on their face are more likely to receive poor ratings on job interviews was very interesting to me. There are laws put in to place to protect applicants from losing a job based on factors such as region, age, sex, race, etc. In order to avoid discrimination, various questions are not allowed to be asked during an interview. However, it is harder to enforce discrimination laws based on appearance. I have learned about studies where the better looking candidate with the same experience and qualifications is more likely to land the job. I’ve never heard about scars having an effect during the interview process. The information in this article should be utilized by companies. Perhaps if the interviewers were aware that birthmarks/ scars may distract them, they could make a greater effort to give everyone their full attention. And focus on the capabilities of the interviewees and what they are saying. A birthmark/scar should never get in the way of someone getting a job. I thought it was interesting too that if the interviewer remembers less about the candidate, they are more likely to give the interviewee a poor rating. This explains why it is important to make a lasting impression during an interview.
giulianna.riso · November 15, 2011 at 1:04 pm
The article about how you look does matter was very interesting. It was especially interesting that the article addressed both men and women. It is surprising to me, however, that a scar or a birth mark can cause you to rate lower in a job interview. Shouldn’t their be some sort of law based on anti-discrimination against appearance. It seems ridiculous to me that if you find the first person you are interviewing to be more attractive than the second person you interview, they will more likely get the job even if they aren’t as qualified for the job as the second person. I find this very sad, however I guess it is just part of human nature, maybe?
Agordo09 · November 15, 2011 at 2:25 pm
“Understanding Emotions”
Even though the world is full of different language and culture barriers people are still able to relate with one another for the most part. All feelings are different from one another and each shares distinct qualities in all people no matter where you are on the globe. Language is something that separates us from most animals however, if we did not have language we would still be able to communicate on a more basic level with one another. We could survive and hunt but we would not be able to build skyscrapers anymore for example.
-Andrew Gordon
Rssolomo · November 15, 2011 at 9:04 pm
The article “Looks Do Matter in Job Interviews” completely shocked me. People cannot help it if they are born with a certain blemish or birthmark and it should definitely not keep them from obtaining a certain job. The article basically says that like gender and racial discrimination in the work place, there is also discrimination in the way a person’s face looks. It is completely unfair that a person would be denied a job because of a birthmark even if they are completely qualified. After learning about symmetry and emotion in class, I am curious if this also plays a role in such discrimination. All in all, is there a way to prevent this discrimination from happening? Maybe face to face interviews aren’t the best idea from here on out…
amandalipson · November 17, 2011 at 9:40 pm
The article on finding people more attractive as they get closer to being naked is so interesting! It goes on to say that not only less clothing can affect how a person is perceived, but their attractive levels can do the same. I once learned in class that women’s attractiveness levels and their success in the business world are at a bell-shaped curve—and this finally makes sense! These women aren’t necessarily less intelligent, they are simply perceived as being less smart. At the same time though, while there is a point where humans can become objectified, they also can be perceived as more sensitive. It makes me wonder where the cut-off falls between looking sensitive and being objectified.
amandalipson · November 17, 2011 at 9:40 pm
The article on finding people more attractive as they get closer to being naked is so interesting! It goes on to say that not only less clothing can affect how a person is perceived, but their attractive levels can do the same. I once learned in class that women’s attractiveness levels and their success in the business world are at a bell-shaped curve—and this finally makes sense! These women aren’t necessarily less intelligent, they are simply perceived as being less smart. At the same time though, while there is a point where humans can become objectified, they also can be perceived as more sensitive. It makes me wonder where the cut-off falls between looking sensitive and being objectified.
mkitselman · November 19, 2011 at 8:58 pm
I really liked the study done about how people are perceived while wearing more or less clothing. I feel like usually these studies focus on women and how they portray themselves when wearing more scandalous clothing, so I liked that this study involved both men and women and how they are perceived. The researchers’ idea that the mind and body are perceived as being two separate entities tied in well to what we learned about Descartes and his thoughts on mind-body dualism. I think it makes a lot of sense that when wearing less clothing, the “experience” part of someone is seen more than the “agency” aspect of them. I liked how the article pointed out that there are good and bad times to show off each of these entities. For example, during a job interview, wearing more clothing and displaying the “agency” part of one’s mind, which involves thinking and planning, would be more effective then showing off the “experience” aspect. Like the article pointed out, the experience part (which is portrayed while someone is wearing less clothing) would be more beneficial when trying to be intimate with a partner, because it brings in a more emotional aspect.
MikaelaVournas · November 21, 2011 at 11:37 am
I found the “How Do You See Someone Who Is Naked” article very interesting. It is pretty incredible how differently we can be percieved by the way we present ourselves. I found especially interesting the idea that wearing less clothing portrays a person as sensitive. Previously, I had always known that more clothing is correlated with the portrayal of experience and qualification, however, I had never known that less clothing is correlated with the portrayal of sensitvity. It is also worth noting how subtle the change in appearance can be to make a differnece in perceived capability.
mmcglinc · November 28, 2011 at 12:18 am
I read the article “Understanding emotions without language.” The information in this article relates to what we learned in class about the 6 different facial expressions being universal among different cultures. Even though barriers exist, I think is is amazing that two people from different backgrounds who may not be able to speak the same language, can still be able to tell how the other one feels. Emotions and facial expressions play a big role in what it means to be human.
Kailey · November 30, 2011 at 8:07 pm
The study finding that people with scars/ imperfections are less likely to get higher greatly concerned me. After suffering a major car accident in high school, I have undergone extensive facial reconstructive surgery. I have scars on my face and chest. While it may be a natural reaction, it is completely unfair that people that do have scars or physical factors outside their control are being put at a disadvantage next to their competition. As a part of the hiring process, human resources needs to be very aware of this and best assure it does not impact their decision making.
Agordo09 · November 30, 2011 at 10:03 pm
“Risk Taking”
It does not surprise me that older people are willing to take more risks. When you think about it they have more experience with how the world works and less to lose than a young person who has their whole life ahead of them. Mistakes made by older people are consequently not as harsh as the mistakes of a younger generation.
-Andrew Gordon
Agordo09 · November 30, 2011 at 10:22 pm
“On the job interview, how you look does matter”
This is most likely another one of those nature AND nurture cases. I believe that we are hardwired to notice the flaws and weaknesses in other people but I doubt our genes tell us not to hire them. Our enviornment changes drastically around the time of highschool and college where appearance suddenly becomes a priority. People suddenly fall into “categories” like the nerds, jocks, bros, band geeks, cheerleaders, ect. Even in the job world people begin to dress for the work they do. It’s interesting how much this can affect our perception of people. It’s a shame that clothes and scars can define a person until you actually get to know who they are. We are all so much more than what the world percieves us as. Having moved schools several times in my life I find that guys with shaved head and girls who dye their hair blonde and straight are usually impossible to tell apart from others because there are so many and they look so much alike. However, once you get to know them they all become completely individual and easy to tell apart from eachother.
-Andrew Gordon
pengland · December 1, 2011 at 1:44 am
In the article about fictional stories and how they can affect people in real life, I could definitely identify. Writers are the creative ones among us, who are more able to eloquently convey some of the trends within human communication that they pick up, including general demeanor, emotion, drama, and even people’s idiosyncrasies to any reader. There are no hard and fast models for communication – there are only social and cultural standards by which we can pass an understood set of ideas to each other, within the typical range of emotion understood by the greater human community. However, it is very infrequent in real life that exciting, fast-paced, world-changing, or widely consequential events take place within our lives, so fiction writing provides a window through which we may ‘live out’ such experiences, and see what characters with certain traits behave like. Though these characters and the circumstances are not real, the ideals are there to model what behavior could potentially be, in such cases that call for chivalry or honor or bravery.
pengland · December 1, 2011 at 2:05 am
I read the article about counting blessings and being more likely to lead a happy life, and I must say I am often surprised with the studies I see done. I have seen that in general, you experience what you believe. I don’t see why every little bit of common knowledge need be put under the analytic microscope of science. If you believe that there are things worth being thankful for, you will be grateful, and the things that you are typically grateful for, when you encounter them again, will make you feel thankful, again. And it seems to go without saying that thankfulness comes hand in hand with feeling good… after all who would thank someone for something that really in no way helped them out? Anyway, I guess I feel that I agree with what the article is saying, though I really have a tough time thinking that the money sunk on this study was really money wisely spent. People who take things for granted will of course be less likely to be happy, not for one or two or even a few ‘provable’ reasons, but for every reason! It’s all about what you allow yourself to believe. I say, recall the nursery rhymes and stories most children grow up with, and accept that no double blind study need be conducted to reiterate the effect of the little things. As within, so without.
lancesturgeon · December 1, 2011 at 7:51 pm
For the article “Understanding Emotions”:
You do not need words to express or understand emotions. This article was interesting but rather silly. I do not understand why research would need to be done to find this out. Emotions are universally understood. For example, laughing in America and laughing in China both correlate to a humorous experience. Although there may be countries where the population portray an emotion differently, I think emotions are generally understood univerally. The only difference is emotions with animals. For example, I cannot for the life of me differentiate between when a cat wants me pet it and when it wants to claw my face off.
lancesturgeon · December 1, 2011 at 7:57 pm
For the article “On a Job Interview, How You Look Matters”:
To put this article in an extreme way, an employer would probably hire Beauty over the Beast. Whether we admit it or not, everyone has a bias for others, especially in first time acquaintance situations. Birthmarks, scars, and other facial disfigurements may not be seen as hideous or harming to the overall physical appearance of someone, but regardless, they are distracting. If an employer is distracted, it may hinder the interview because he may be overlooking other positive traits that person possesses. Although this video is silly, it shows this idea:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2cs8gnb42A
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