One of the new research says that “the way you lean
affects you decision making”. We're not always aware of how we are making a
decision. Unconscious feelings or perceptions may influence us. Another
important source of information -- even if we're unaware of it -- is the body
itself.
"Decision making, like other cognitive processes, is
an integration of multiple sources of information -- memory, visual imagery,
and bodily information, like posture," says Anita Eerland, a psychologist
at Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands. In a new study, Eerland and
colleagues Tulio Guadalupe and Rolf Zwaan found that surreptitiously
manipulating the tilt of the body influences people's estimates of quantities,
such as sizes, numbers, or percentages. The findings will appear in an upcoming
issue of Psychological Science, a journal published by the Association for
Psychological Science.
"Decision making, like other cognitive processes, is
an integration of multiple sources of information -- memory, visual imagery,
and bodily information, like posture," says Anita Eerland, a psychologist
at Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands. In a new study, Eerland and
colleagues Tulio Guadalupe and Rolf Zwaan found that surreptitiously
manipulating the tilt of the body influences people's estimates of quantities,
such as sizes, numbers, or percentages. The findings will appear in an upcoming
issue of Psychological Science, a journal published by the Association for
Psychological Science.
When we think about numbers, we mentally represent
smaller numbers to the left and larger numbers to the right. The researchers
surmised that leaning one way or the other -- even imperceptibly -- might
therefore nudge people to estimate lower or higher. To test this hypothesis,
study participants -- 33 undergraduates -- stood on a Wii Balance Board that
imperceptibly manipulated their posture to tilt left or right or stay upright
while they answered estimation questions appearing on a screen. The
participants were told they probably didn't know the answers and therefore
would have to estimate; they were also instructed to stand upright throughout
the trials. A representation on the screen, below the question, of the person's
posture showed it to be upright even when it was not. The participants answered
the questions one by one verbally.
In the first experiment, the estimations were of
different kinds of quantities -- e.g., the height of the Eiffel Tower or
percentage of alcohol in whiskey. In the second, the quantities were all of the
same kind -- How many grandchildren does Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands have?
How many Number 1 hits did Michael Jackson have in the Netherlands? The answers
were all between 1 and 10.
As expected, participants gave smaller estimations when
leaning left than when either leaning right or standing upright. There was no
difference in their estimates between right-leaning and upright postures.
The researchers point out that body posture won't make
you answer incorrectly if you know the answer. "Your body posture may
nudge your estimates in a particular direction," says Zwaan. Adds Eerland:
"Posture doesn't overwrite knowledge."
Still, says Zwaan, we should not mistake our cognitive
processes as perfectly and consciously rational. "Decision-making is not a
pristine process. All sources of information creep into it, and we are just
beginning to explore the role of the body in this."
Source: sciencedaily.com
[image credit: photostock.com]
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