Is It In Our Heads?

The buzz from coffee may be in our heads

The buzz from coffee may be in our heads. University of London researchers divided 88 students - daily caffeinated coffee drinkers ages 18-47 - into 4 groups. Students in 2 groups drank a cup of caffeinated coffee, but one group was told it was decaf. The other 2 groups drank decaf, but one group was told it was caffeinated. An hour later those who had drunk or thought they had drunk caffeinated coffee performed a card-sorting task (measuring psychomotor function) with more attention and speed. Unfortunately, the placebo effect doesn't work if you know. Then it's a "plaseebo".

"Last-place aversion" is in our heads too. It's the basic need to feel there's one person we can feel superior to. A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research gave each participant $1 more than the next participant. Then everyone was given an additional $2, but they had to give the $2 to the person just above or below them in wealth. Most people gave it to the poorer participant. However, about 50% of the time the second-to-last person in wealth gave the $2 to the richer participant, thus avoiding becoming the poorest. Obviously, being last is a "lasting" aversion.

The trip home seems shorter in our heads, but there's a scientific explanation. A psychologist at Tilberg University in the Netherlands asked bikers to take the same route to a fair. Half the bikers took the same route back and half took a route exactly the same length. If familiarity with the route caused the phenomenon, only the first group would have thought the return trip shorter; but both groups did. Supposedly, optimism at the trip's start makes it seem longer; and the resulting pessimism carries over to the return trip, making it seem shorter. It seems expectations cause "trips" by the brain.

Finally, embarrassment is experienced in the head; but it has an external benefit. A study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology had 57 college students complete tests measuring generosity and cooperativeness. The students were also videotaped while relating embarrassing moments and the videos were evaluated for levels of embarrassment and humiliation. It seems embarrassment is seen as a social apology. Observers view embarrassment as a sign of kind and generous behavior and that feeling ashamed indicates care about others and less likelihood of taking advantage of them. So, the next time your face is red, think "red-eemed".

by: Knight Pierce Hirst

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