DATING Tips!!!

(RIZEL)
Dati, nagblog na ako tungkol sa attraction. Sa blog na iyon, nabanggit na na nahahalina ang mga lalaki sa mga babaeng nakasuot ng pula (Elliot and Niesta, 2008). At sabi ni Sir Diwa, bilang reaksiyon dito, may research na rin daw ngayong 2010 na nagsasabing ang mga babae din ay naaattract sa mga lalaking nakasuot ng pula (di ko natanong kung sinong researchers, sorry can’t credit, I’ll ask next time).

So okay, tapos na tayo sa mga paraan kung paano makakaattract ng partner kaya ngayon dumako naman tayo sa mga paraan kung paano makipagdate. Let’s assume na gusto mo si Ate o si Kuya at first date niyo palang ito, paaano kaya magkakaroon ng susunod pang dates? O mas maganda, paano ka kaya niya magugustuhan din? May mga ilang tips na binibigay ang mga Sikolohista ( galing ‘to sa 160 class ko )Narito…

1. Manood kayo ng horror movies! O basta mga pelikulang nakakatakot o nakakagulat. Bakit? Dahil ang arousal na natatanggap ng autonomic ganglia (parasympathetic at sympathetic) ay non-specific at misleading. Ibig sabihin ang takot o excitement na mararamdaman ni crushie habang nanonood ng pelikula ay pwede nyang ma -associate na heightened feelings niya para sa iyo. O diba bongga?

2. Thrilling sports! Tulad ng paliwanag sa horror movies, ang thrilling sports ay nakakapagbigay din ng mga pakikiradam at emosyong maaaring ibaling o icredit natin sa taong kadate natin. Well, ikaw safe ka na kasi gusto mo na siya dati diba? Hahahaha. Sinisiguro mo nalang na mareciprocate niya ang nararamdaman mo. Tomo!!!

May isang experiment na tinatawag na Shaky Bridge Experiment (Duton and Aron, 1974) na nagpapatunay na pwedeng mangyari ang nabanggit ko na sa itaas. Ganito ang nangyari sa Shaky Bridge experiment; may isang magandang girl na nagsusurvey sa taas mismo ng isang hanging wooden bridge! Bongga si ate! So ikaw ang naglalakad sa shaky bridge na ito, sasagot ka ba? magiging interesado ka pa ba sa magiging resulta ng sarbey na sinagutan mo? E paano naman kung sa baba at hindi sa shaky bridge ka na sinarbey ni ate? Sa eksperimentong ito, nakita na mas maraming tumawag upang malaman ang resulta ng sarbey mula sa mga tinanong niya sa shaky bridge kesa sa mga sa baba na tinanong. Bakit? Dahil naassociate nang participants ang “pagkagusto” kay ate sa thrill (o takot) na naramdaman nila nung nasa shaky bridge sila.

3. Oxytocin aerosols. Ang Oxytocin ang neurotransmitter para sa attachment at bonding , ito ang neurotransmitter na may hawak sa pagkagusto natin sa ibang tao o sila sa atin (pero syempre, hindi lang ito ang mga ginagawa ng Oxytocin). Bago lang research study na nagsasabing may mga pabango o aerosols na raw na may Oxytocin na pwedeng i-spray. Pagkatapos, pwede itong malanghap ni crushie at voila!-instant attachment. Sabi ng classmate ko, ginagawa raw ito sa mga speed dating. Hmmm.

4. Delikadong mga sitwasyon. Sa mga action movies (lalo na sa ‘Pinas), karaniwang nagkakainlaban ang leading lady at ang leading man pagkatapos ng isang pagharap sa delikadong sitwasyon tulad ng pagtakas o di kaya’y pakikipagsuntukan sa mga hoodlooms. May koneksiyon ito sa attraction na nabubuo natin sa isang tao sa tuwing tayo ay may inaasahang paparating na kapahamakan (base sa Anticipation shock experiment). Pero ‘wag niyo na siguro niyong gawin to, wag niyo namang ipagdasal na may mangyaring sunog sa sinehan o may mga holdaper na dumating sa pinagdedate-an niyo ni crushie.

Ayan, so may apat na tayong natutunang tips kung pano makipagdate upang makuha natin ang atensiyon, atraksiyon, at “puso” ni crushie. Muli na naman nating napatunayan na hindi lang pang “geeks” ang journal articles, cool sila at NAGAGAMIT. *wink *wink.

P.S. sa 160 class naming kung saan ko nakuha ang lahat ng ito, kung sakali mang may mga mali akong nasabi, please feel free to leave a comment at aayusin natin yan. Salamat!

Elliot, A. & Niesta, D. (2008). Romantic Red: Red Enhances Men’s Attraction to Women. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 95, No. 5, 1150–1164.

Dutton, D. & Aron, A. (1974). Some evidence for heightened sexual attraction under conditions of high anxiety. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 30, 510-517.

160 class lecture and classmates.

GLEE-ful??

Life tastes sweeter because of the presence of sound. Perhaps you might have already been asked a certain question countless of times: if you’re only allowed to choose one sense over the other (either vision or audition), what would you choose and why? Of course, there would be various explanations for the response(s) to the question. And for the purpose of tackling a more specific topic in this blog post, I would just leave the matter of defending your answer to your cognitive structures.

Before I proceed to the next part, let us first define some basic terminologies. What is sound? Sound can be defined in two aspects: the physical and the perceptual. In the former, it pertains to the changes in the pressure that occurs in the air or some other medium while for the latter, sound refers to the experience one attains during the process of hearing (Goldstein, 2010). We hear a myriad of sounds in our everyday living. Naturally, one cannot possibly say that he/she have not taken the chance to appreciate music. The music that we hear may consist of pure tones (e.g. whistling sound) or complex tones (e.g. sounds which are created by musical instruments).

It is often said that music is the language of emotions. True enough, whenever one feels high (happy) or low (sad), just the sound of music would surely uplift one’s spirit or even increase one’s feeling of happiness (Hunter, Schellenberg, & Schimmack, 2008). And whenever one experiences the feeling of sadness, he/she can either spend repair efforts during a negative mood or maintain the positive mood if he/she is in a state of feeling such (McCrea, 2000). But then again, there is a factor that must be taken into consideration in this statement. Current researchers have contended that there is a difference between persons who have a low self-esteem (LSE) and those who have high self-esteem (HSE). According to Heimpel, Wood, Marshall, &Brown (2002), people who have low self-esteem are less likely to be motivated in mood repairs compared to individuals with HSE. It was proposed by Wood, Heimpel, Manwell, and Whittington (2009) that this seems to be the case because “LSEs feel less deserving of positive affect— happiness, joy, pleasure, and so forth—than do HSEs and that feeling relatively undeserving dampens their motivation to lift themselves out of a sad mood (p. 363).”

Music that has a slower tempo and minor mode tends to be associated with sadness (Hunter Schellenberg, & Schimmack, 2008). So whenever sadness envelopes one’s being and chooses to listen to this type of music, it just highlights that particular emotion. Undeniably, there are times wherein to be fully immersed in the emotions portrayed by a particular song being played in your mp3 player, for example, many individuals turn up the volume to a high level that he/she can no longer hear the sound on the external environment. Involving oneself in listening to high volumes of music would lead to the exposure to leisure noise (Goldstein, 2010). The loudness of the music (which is related to the sound pressure or amplitude) that is included in this kind of activity has been associated with the consequences of having temporary and permanent hearing losses.

So for those who wants to indulge themselves in the abyss of sad songs (emo, screamo, sad love songs, etc), it would just be fine doing so but always remind yourself to play the music in the proper volume (not too loud but can be heard just as much). Music can serve as the gateway to feeling a greater sense of sadness or happiness. Whatever portal you choose, try not to become too distracted by it since anything in excess it bad for us.

Now, let us think again. Do sounds really make our lives sweeter? Or do they make it even bitter? ;)

REFERENCES:

Goldstein, E. B. (2010). Sensation and Perception (8th ed.). Belmont, CA, USA: Wadsworth Publishing.

Heimpel, S. A., Wood, J. V., Marshall, M. A., & Brown, J. D. (2002). Do people with low self-esteem really want to feel better? Self-esteem differences in motivation to repair negative moods. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 128–147.

Hunter, P., Schellenberg, E., & Schimmack, U. (2010). Feelings and perceptions of happiness and sadness induced by music: Similarities, differences, and mixed emotions. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 4(1), 47-56. doi:10.1037/a0016873

McCrea, S. M. (2000). Beyond hedonism: Broadening the scope of affect regulation. Psychological Inquiry, 11, 180–183.

Wood, J.V., Heimpel, S. A., Manwell, L. A., & Whittington, E. J. (2009). This Mood Is Familiar and I Don’t Deserve to Feel Better Anyway: Mechanisms Underlying Self-Esteem Differences in Motivation to Repair Sad Moods. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2, 363–380.

(Jeni)

HELL, no (what NOT to do)

(RIZEL)
"Thou shall not kill" and more importantly thou shall not kill thyself.
Last September 10 we celebrated the World's Suicide Prevention Day and as a way to support the call to prevent suicide all over the globe, I offer this blog to the readers.
In one of the lectures of a major subject in Psychology, my professor cited some symptoms that a person might be suicidal. It's important for us to know these things so that we can have the capacity to know when a friend of ours or maybe a close person to us might be suicidal. We might be able to help them.
Here goes Ma’am Morales’ lecture:
 The behavioral cues include talking about hopelessness and worthlessness
 Talking about “taking a trip” “going away”
 Giving possessions with sentimental value like heirlooms or even simple things like photos and blankies
 Having a plan
 Decreased performance level socially or even at work
 Upsurge of self-destructive behaviors

Most of the time, the people vulnerable to suicide are;
 Separated, divorced, widowed
 High and medium SES
 Dentists
 Physicians

Now, it's time to see suicide based on the results of different psychological researches.
Sometimes, it’s hard to know who is a suicidal. This is because they often deny and hide their suicidal thoughts (Cha et.al., 2010). The researchers then devised a way to somehow predict suicidal behaviors even when faced with the dilemma that suicidals often hide these feelings of hurting themselves. In their study wherein they showed participants words including suicide-related words/ stimuli, they concluded that “suicide attempters showed an attentional bias toward suicide-related words relative to neutral words, and this bias was strongest among those who had made a more recent attempt”. This finding can also become a behavioral cue to know who are the people exposed to suicidal risk and as Cha, et.al. (2010) say, this can improve clinical work on suicide-related outcomes.

National crises in different forms can also affect suicide rates and suicide tactics. This was shown by a study done by Fajkic, et.al. (2010) in Bosnia and Herzegovina using records from 1992-1995 after the war. They saw that before the war, adolescent suicides were done by hanging, and was change to firearms after the war. Suicide rates were also founded out to be lower after the war. The researchers suggest a more careful way of handling firearms in households and raising more awareness in suicidal behaviors and risks.
Also, Ventrice et.al., (2010) “suggest that direct exposure to suicidal behavior may leave engrams (memory traces) that increase an individual’s susceptibility to suicidal behavior.”
In addition to these, Kolves (2010) also cited the following in her Editorial entry “Child Suicide, Family Environment and Economic Crisis”;
 Parent-child conflicts
 divorce and stepparent (Pelkonen & Marttunen, 2003; Samm et al., 2010)
 family history of mental heath problems (King, 2009)
 economic my have an impact on recession may have on morbidity (Catalano,2009; Uutela, 2010), mortality (Simms, 2009), and, more specifically, suicide (Gunnell, Platt, & Hawton, 2009)

So what am gonna do with this, you ask? Well, tell your friends about it and of course remember that life is beautiful and suicide is never an option. So if ever this hellweek (or hellsem!) is killing you, please don’t literally, kill yourself. 
References:
Cha, C., Najmi, S., Park, J., Finn, C., & Nock, M. (2010). Attentional Bias Toward Suicide-Related Stimuli Predicts Suicidal Behavior. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, Vol. 119, No. 3, 616–622.
Fajkic, A., Lepara, O., Voracek, M., Kapusta, N., Niederkrotenthaler, T., Sonneck, G., & Dervic, K. Child and Adolescent Suicides in Bosnia and Herzegovina Before and after the War (1992-1995).Crisis 2010; Vol. 31(3):160–164.
Gunnell, D., Platt, S., & Hawton, K. (2009). The economic crisis and suicide. British Medical Journal, 338, 1456–1457.
King, R. A. (2009). Psychodynamic and family aspects of youth suicide. In D.Wasserman&C.Wasserman (Eds.), Oxford textbook of suicidology and suicide prevention. (pp. 643–651). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Catalano, R. (2009). Health, medical care, and economic crisis. New England Journal of Medicine, 360, 749–751.
Pelkonen, M., & Marttunen, M. (2003). Child and adolescent suicide: Epidemiology, risk factors, and approaches to prevention.Pediatric Drugs, 5, 243–265.
Samm, A., Tooding, L.-M., Sisask, M., Kõlves, K.,Aasvee, K.,&Värnik, A. (2010). Suicidal thoughts and depressive feelingsamong Estonian schoolchildren: Effect of family relationship and family structure. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 19, 457–468.
Simms, C. (2009). Economic crisis and mortality. International Journal of Clinical Practice, 63, 1119–1122.
Uutela, A. (2010). Economic crisis and mental health. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 23, 127–130.
Ventrice, D., Valach, L., Reisch, T., Michel, K. (2010). Suicide Attempters’ Memory Traces of Exposure to Suicidal Behavior: A Qualitative Pilot Study, Crisis 2010; Vol. 31(2):93–99.

The Existence of Non-Existent Phantom Breasts

Breasts, rectum and teeth - - these are body parts which, apart from our limbs, we can do without. Imagine you lost one of these parts (God forbid). The next concern, then, would be the implications of living without them. As highly adaptive creatures, would we easily adjust to this kind of situation? How do we expect our bodies to compensate for this “loss”? What aftereffects would physiological rearrangement (if any) have in our personality and well-being?

Perception researchers coined the term phantom phenomena to refer to the experiences individuals have when they feel pain and other sensations from their amputated body parts (Goldstein, 2007; Björkmana, Arnéra , Lundb, & Hydén, 2010). Amputees, for example, experience considerable suffering as they try to step off a bed using their phantom feet or legs or lift a cup with a phantom hand (Goldstein, 2007). I highly suggest that you watch the sixth season, fourth episode of House M.D. entitled “The Tyrant” to get a clearer grasp for this phenomena. This condition is believed to not only prevail in amputated limbs but in other parts as well (refer to the opening sentence). Whether we lose a loved one or limb, our brain has its way of reminding us that we’ve lost “it”. Signals from the brain are transmitted to the remaining limb which inflicts stump pain on amputees (Goldstein, 2007; Björkmana, Arnéra , Lundb, & Hydén, 2010).

My aunt once mentioned the dominance of breast cancer in our lineage - quite alarming how it hasn’t skipped a generation. So, as a future candidate of mastectomy (breast removal), it became of interest for me to investigate the relevance of phantom limbs with phantom breasts. Prior to this I’ve never heard about it. To everyone who is reading this (women most especially), I hope this enlightens you as well.

Phantom breast (PB) is the specific term used to describe the experience of the continued presence of the breast after mastectomy: feeling sensations of pain, experience of size, shape and weight of normal breast, itching and pinpricks (Dijkstra, Rietman, & Geertzen, 2007; Spyropoulou, Markopoulos, Zervas, Christodoulou & Papageorgiou 2009). Some studies have suggested decreasing PB sensations over time while others report experiencing it for the first time between their 6^th to 24^th month follow-up (Dijkstra, Rietman, & Geertzen, 2007). Based on the symptoms, it seems like PB and Phantom Limb are very similar. Does this also hold true with the level of pain experienced by individuals? Statistically, women who experience phantom breasts usually comprise less than half of the participants in studies; and, unlike the prevalence of phantom pain in limb amputees, breast amputees have reported to experience minimal pain (Dijkstra, Rietman, & Geertzen, 2007; Spyropoulou et al, 2009). Compared to phantom limb, life with phantom breast doesn’t seem to be distressing. With the way I see it, mastectomized women can move on with their lives unless vanity takes the best of them. Physiologically, this difference may be explained by the cortical representation of limbs and breast in the brain’s primary sensorimotor cortex – limb perception relies on more sensory modalities (proprioception and joint sensibility) as well as represented in a larger area than the breast (Dijkstra, Rietman, & Geertzen, 2007). This finding, combined with the technological advances (less extensive surgery) in mastectomy largely contribute to the indifference of individuals with PB.

Perception of pain can increase if one focuses on it and vice versa (Goldstein, 2007). Would you, for example, be more honest in reporting PB sensation and pain when given a questionnaire or verbally interviewed by a therapist? Assessment methods (questionnaires, cross-sectional studies) and period (assessed during psychological treatment or home visit) have been observed to cause variations between individuals’ perceptions on PB sensation and pain. Questionnaires and cross-sectional studies overestimated the prevalence of both PB sensation and pain than prospective studies (Dijkstra, Rietman, & Geertzen, 2007). Clearly there have been efforts to assess these PB individuals; however, with the unavailability of standardized methods and biases in reporting PB sensation and pain, validity and reliability are weak.

Lastly, I’d like to point out two more factors that have also been looked into: age and control. You’d probably agree with the fact that we like to have control over our lives. Some women agonize over the thought that there was something in their bodies that was out of control after losing their breasts (Björkmana, Arnéra, Lundb, & Hydén, 2010). They fear that this unending experience might overpower them and trigger recurrent pain. For the older age groups, most especially, the loss of a bodily function made them sad, dependent and more anxious about the future (Björkmana, Arnéra , Lundb, & Hydén, 2010; Dijkstra, Rietman, & Geertzen, 2007). This was when the scene in How I Met Your Mother (Marshall and Ted were discussing about losing something/someone) resurfaced in my memory:

“Marshall: Look, I understand that you guys had to break up eventually, but why today?

Ted: She’s leaving tomorrow.

Marshall: Yeah, but she’s still in town. So you spend one more amazing day together. Ted, think of it this way. If you knew that you were going to lose your leg tomorrow, would you sit on the couch and cry about it, or would you run and jump and do some awesome air kicks while you still could?”

How I Met Your Mother, Season 1 Episode 16

References:

Björkmana, B., Arnéra , S., Lundb, I. & Hydén, L. (2010). Adult limb and breast amputees’ experience and descriptions of phantom phenomena—A qualitative study. Scandinavian Journal of Pain, 1, 43–49. doi:10.1016/j.sjpain.2009.09.001

Dijkstra, P., Rietman , J. & Geertzen, J. (2007). Phantom breast sensations and phantom breast pain: A 2-year prospective study and a methodological analysis of literature. European Journal of Pain, 11, 99–108. doi:10.1016/j.ejpain.2006.01.002

Goldstein, E. B. (2007). Sensation and Perception (7th Eds.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth

Spyropoulou, A., Markopoulos, C., Zervas, I., Christodoulou, G. & Papageorgiou, C. (2009). Phenomenological Study of Phantom Breast Syndrome. Maturitas, 63, S52.

Ang Sarili sa Ibang Tao

by Dianne Cuyugan

Noong nasa elementary at high school pa ako, karaniwan sa isang autograph, ganito ang makikita mo:

Describe yourself: Judge me 
Nakakatawa di ba? Kasi alam kong ganyan din ang sinulat mo noon, at di mapagkakaila na ginawa ko rin iyon. Tama naman di ba? Kasi nga naman, ang mga kaibigan natin ang higit na nakakakilala sa atin – sa ugali, pag-iisip at ugali natin. Natutulungang mabuo ang pagkatao ng isang indibidwal sa pamamagitan ng mga kaibigan, magulang, pamilya at kung sino pang maiisip mong malapit sa buhay mo. Eh, kung tatanungin kita, maaari ba ang isagot mo sa autograph ay ganito:

Describe yourself: THEN, I’LL DESCRIBE YOU! O_O
Naisip mo na ba kung paano at kung pwede bang mangyari ito? Ayon sa isang pag-aaral nila Woods, Harms at Vazire (2010), pwedeng-pwedeng mangyari ito. Paano di ba? Natuklasan nila ang tinatawag na perceiver effect kung saan maaari itong maging personality projective test. Ang perceiver effect ay nailalarawan mo ang sarili mo o kung paano mo nakikita ang sarili mo sa pamamagitan ng paglalarawan mo sa ibang tao. Hindi man halata at alam sa sarili mo pero ganito ang paraan ng pag-iisip ng utak mo.
Maaaring isa ito sa mga dahilan kung bakit maraming bagay tayong nakikita na kapareho natin sa ibang tao. Nakakatawa lang isipin kasi parang ganito lang iyan: “Naging magkaibigan tayo dahil nakita ko ang sarili ko sa iyo nang ilarawan kita.” Kung iisipin, maaaring ganito nga ang pagkakaibigan, tulad ng sabi nila “Birds of the same feather flock together.”
Isa pang naisip ko, ganito ba ka-self-centered ang tao – sarili pa rin ang nakikita sa katauhan ibang tao? Ano sa tingin mo?

Reference: Wood, D., Harms, P., & Vazire, S. (2010). Perceiver effects as projective tests: What your perceptions of others say about you. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 99(1), 174-190. doi:10.1037/a0019390.

(at)
I’m not the kind to watch a movie in the cinema just because everybody is talking about it. I actually avoid watching the movie for fear of being biased, with my expectations extremely high because of all the recommendations. Imagine my disappointment when I watched Transformers –am not much of an action/CGI fan either (yes, we know you can do it, Hollywood). And no, I still haven’t watched Inception and the plan is to wait around one more year when people have forgotten about it.









However, I did watch Avatar in IMAX. Hypocrite? You can consider that. Fact is, I don’t have the money to buy my own 3D projector, nor the time to make my own 3D glasses. Plus it was my first time in IMAX. Yes, I found it worth the 3D package. No, the story was nothing new, Pocahontas.



So, about 3D motion perception: a study suggests that the recent models of binocular 3D motion perception may not actually reflect the strategies we, as observers, use (Harris and Drga, 2005).

The left and right eye see two different things. This is called binocular disparity. Perceiving depth because of binocular disparity is called stereopsis. Ordinary cameras cannot do this. A special device, however, was introduced by Charles Wheatstone . This device, called a stereoscope, is capable of capturing what the left and the right eyes can see in two different images. The same thing goes on with 3D movies –the “blurred” images are actually two images, and the glasses filter out the other image using colors (Goldstein, 2010).

Direction estimation based on binocular disparity and motion signals in binocular 3D motion has been studied well enough. We can see the results of these studies on the big screen and now almost everywhere around us. However, Harris & Drga (2005) have shown that observers may use neither binocular disparity nor motion signals to obtain the angle of 3D motion for small trajectory angles close to the nose.

In their research, they tested if observers make an estimate of the visual direction of an object at the start and end of its motion and if they use that estimate to determine how the object has moved. The experiment required observers to view a small point-like object moving along a 3D trajectory. They were then asked to move a wooden pointer to reproduce the perceived 3D motion direction of the target.

It was found that they use an estimate of visual direction to set a perceived angle instead of estimates of distances moved in depth, showing the importance of visual direction for perception and control of action. Visual direction is the “angle between where an object of interest is and where the observer is facing” (Harris & Drga, 2005). Of course, in the natural setting, visual direction is not the only way we determine motion.

Imagine this. You are looking at a floating ball that is right in front of you. The floor is just plain white, with no texture gradient whatsoever that can help you determine distance (see this entry for texture gradients). This floating ball moves towards you but not in a straight line. Harris & Drga (2005) suggest that you will estimate the distance of movement the ball made based on the angle between the ball and where you are facing, and not how near the ball is to you.

References
Goldstein, E. B. (2010). Sensation and Perception (8th ed.). Belmont, CA, USA: Wadsworth Publishing.
Harris, J. M., & Drga, V. F. (2005). Using visual direction in three-dimensional motion perception. Nature Neuroscience , 8 (2).

Recently, I came across these designs by Heike Weber. And while they may already be astounding just the way they are, I was even more amazed when I read the description of the images (which I usually don’t do), and I found that they’re drawn with permanent markers –crazy brilliant, yes. I wonder, though, who wouldn’t go crazy when living in a house decorated like this? Perhaps perception psychology people –possibly.

So how did this artist, and many others, create the illusion of seemingly alien species sticking out of walls, or the whirlpool in the middle of the room? Texture gradients. Texture gradient is the pattern of the surface we see. This pattern seems more compact when it is further away, than when it is near.


In this picture, we see a regular tiled floor. The lines marking the tiles at the end of the room seem to be closer to each other than those that are near us, even though we know that the tiles are all the same size of square. The same principle is applied in the artwork below.

Heike Weber Installations

Here we have another example of using texture gradient to create an illusion of distance. The “mountains” that seem
farther have lines drawn closer to each other than those that seem nearer.Another factor we see here is occlusion, where an object covers another object, making the covering object seem nearer than the covered. This is easily observed in real life. Let’s say there’s a mango in front of you, and I put an apple in front of you, covering the mango. You would probably say that the apple is closer to you than the mango. The same thing goes here: the “mountains” that are nearer partially cover the “mountains” that are farther.

In the same picture, we can see another cue for determining the “mountains’” relative distance: relative height. The “mountains” that seem farther have their bases higher than the “mountains” that seem nearer. If you look at the wall as just a plain, flat wall, the foot (or feet?) of some of the “mountains” (those that seem farther away) are above other “mountains” (those that seem closer).


Using these cues, we can create illusions, making the room seem bigger or smaller than it actually is. Let’s take a look at the television in the picture below.We can see that it seems very distant, and we have texture gradient to thank for that. But this is not the only factor affecting how we perceive the television’s distance. Notice how the photographer loves capturing the ground and not the ceiling. It’s probably because it’s easier to take photographs from the floor, but it could also be possibly because the ground plays a huge part in perceiving distance.

A long, long time ago, a man called Alhazen said that there has to be an array of “ordered, continuous” bodies between the object and the viewer’s eyes in order for him to accurately perceive the distance between him and that object (as cited in Bien, Braunstein, and Andersen, 2006). In the pictures above, the floor is our “ordered, contiuous” body. It has been found that even when given a ceiling, people still preferred to make judgments of distance according to the ground -or the floor (Bien, Braunstein, & Andersen, 2006). The scientists who found out about this referred to the phenomenon as the ground dominance effect. They also found that when there were two side walls, instead of the ceiling and the floor, people did not prefer either wall over the other, emphasizing more the role of the ground in our perceiving distance.

So what could be the explanation for this ground dominance effect? Another scientist named Gibson, suggested more than 50 years ago that the ground is universal, and that it supports most of the objects in the environment, as well as the movement of animals (as cited in Bien, Braunstein, & Andersen, 2006). This means that because the ground is everywhere (unless perhaps you are in outer space), we have adapted to using it as basis for judging distance, as opposed to the ceiling –which is, of course not everywhere (have you tried using the sky?). when the information given by the ceiling and the ground oppose each other, people would still use the ground as basis.

References:

Bien, Z., Braunstein, M. L., & Andersen, G. J. (2006). The ground dominance effect in the perception of relative distance in 3-D scenes is mainly due to characteristics of the ground surface. Perception & psychophysics , 68 (8), 1297-1309.

Goldstein, E. B. (2007). Sensation and Perception (7th Eds.).

Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Heike Weber bumbumbum

-At

Ohhhhh SNAP! Hypnotized by Virtual Reality

Fix your gaze upon the image of the eyes. You are getting sleepy. . .you are getting sleepy. Now, the next time you come across the word “SNAP” in this article, you will think of five things or places that get you hypnotized. . .

SNAP!

Thank you for bearing with my mediocre attempt to get you into a hypnotic trance. Despite this failure, care to share what’s in your top 5 list? Based on personal experience and observation, I’d think alcohol, killer smiles, daydreams, drama series and computer/game console games are enough to get you hypnotized. Don’t you just love (and hate) the feeling when you get so engrossed, for example, by the scenes in your favorite drama series that you forget to carry out your daily functions (like eat, study and shower)? At that point in time, your current emotions (e.g. depression from failing an exam) get overshadowed by the romantic confessions, heart stopping sorrows, and jaw dropping twists of the drama. Sometimes, especially in times of trouble, they have the power to lure you in a surreal dimension in which pain is non-existent. You become this hopeless romantic who someday wants to experience a parallel dating script. And then, as soon as the credits role, the inequality, stresses and pain of real life bring you back to consciousness. Oh SNAP.

Everyone wants to live a Hakuna Matata life, agreed? Isn’t that the reason why some people contemplate on suicide or drown in drugs when pain (physical, emotional, etc.) becomes unbearable? Well, apart from applying stereoscopy (adding depth to 2D objects, making them appear 3D) in game consoles, amusement park attractions and movies, I’ve come to discover how it has been used to alleviate pain in individuals with disabilities.

Virtual or augmented reality environments have the potential to provide leisure activities for children, young adults and adults with physical and intellectual disabilities (Mott, Bucolo, Cuttle, Mill, Hilder, Miller & Kimble, 2008; Yalon-Chamovitz & Weiss, 2008; Malloy & Milling, 2010). A.S.I.S (adaptable to limitations, stimulating, interesting and simple) were the main criteria used to create the ideal Virtual Reality Environment for those with disabilities. From being passive and sedentary, the disabled participants became more active and attracted to physically demanding leisure activities. In a span of 12 weeks, participants performed consistently, maintained high levels of interest and demonstrated the initiative to learn. They also preferred games such as “Soccer” and “Birds and Balls” more than “Parachute”, as well as requested additional games like “Juggling” and “Ocean” (Yalon-Chamovitz & Weiss, 2008). In addition to enhancing their motor skills, virtual realities significantly reduced the pain scores in patients undergoing burn dressing (Mott, Bucolo, Cuttle, Mill, Hilder, Miller & Kimble, 2008; Malloy & Milling, 2010). The cooperation and significantly lower pain scores exhibited by children, for example, during burn dressing not only benefited the participants but their parents as well. Similar to snapping out from our fictional world, however, the time frame of the experiment was too short to detect any difference in their self-esteem (Yalon-Chamovitz & Weiss, 2008). These virtual reality environments also became less affective as multiple treatments progressed (Motto et al, 2008).

Hypnosis might come off as too strong of a word. More often than not, we associate the term hypnosis with shrinks and their challenged patients. Well, hypnosis and virtual reality may have more similarities than you think. My description of getting lured into a “surreal dimension” is supported by empirical evidence: virtual reality and hypnosis both involve having participants experience an imaginary state and have been shown to be very effective in reducing pain (Malloy & Milling, 2010). Let me ask you though, would you feel comfortable in idea of someone hypnotizing you when you’re in pain? Although 75% experienced pain reduction with hypnosis, there are still those who don’t benefit from it because they’re non-believers; virtual reality, however, reduced pain in all participants (Malloy & Milling, 2010). Hypnosis vs. Virtual Reality Therapy - - here we see the power of wording, the latter being a better alternative.

Similar to our self-induced “hypnotic trances”, people with chronic pain may now experience the subconscious dimensions of Utopia. It’s inspiring how they can get through life with so much pain, the children most especially. Instances like these remind me that 3D technology, more than catering to the demands of their “spoiled” market, has a bigger shoe to fill in the field of rehabilitation. Further contributions to these studies may permanently improve the well-being and fitness of disabled individuals. Furthermore, as a member of this “spoiled” market, I now realize how minimal my “pains” are. Instead of drowning myself in dramas, I should start spending more time in contemplating what role I have in making these pain reduction techniques work for those who really need them. Ohhhhh SNAP!

References:

Malloy, K. & Milling, L. (2010). The effectiveness of virtual reality distraction for pain reduction: A systematic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 30, 1011–1018. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2010.07.001

Mott , J., Bucolo, S., Cuttle, L., Mill, J., Hilder, M., Miller, K. & Kimble, R. (2008). The efficacy of an augmented virtual reality system to alleviate pain in children undergoing burns dressing changes: A randomised controlled trial. Burns, 34, 803-808. doi:10.1016/j.burns.2007.10.010

Yalon-Chamovitz, S. & Weiss, P. (2008). Virtual reality as a leisure activity for young adults with physical and intellectual disabilities. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 29, 273–287. doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2007.05.004