I am reading a book right now about animal behavior by the Dutch/American author and biologist, Frans de Waal called "Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?". It's still too early for me to provide any kind of review or commentary, but so far it seems like it will be an interesting book. de Waal is famous for several books on primate behavior, including "Chimpanzee Politics" (a book about the Machiavellian tendencies of a group of chimpanzees at the Royal Burgers Zoo in Arnhem (the book has been highly recommended by a number of management and leadership experts, and it was reportedly very influential on former U.S. Speaker of the House New Gingrich) and most recently, "Mama's Last Hug: Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us About Ourselves". His most recent book was named after one of the female chimpanzees at the Arnhem Zoo, Mama. There was a video of then dying 59-year-old Mama recognizing one of the founders of the chimpanzee colony at the Arnhem Zoo, Jan van Hoof, who came to visit her in the final week of her life. Mama immediately recognizes and responds to van Hoof - it's really a heart-warming and emotional video.
What is striking to me about de Waal's work is how very similar we are to the other members of the animal kingdom. Animal behavior (and when I say "animal", I certainly include humans, as we are members of the animal kingdom too) is a fascinating subject. It seems that we can be very easily manipulated. I recently came across two fascinating studies that show how easy humans can be manipulated, in this case through the sense of touch. Apparently there is an entire field of research focusing on how sensorimotor experience, especially those that occur early in life, can impact conceptual knowledge. For example, touching an object with a rough surface - say, the bark of a tree or sandpaper - can help us understand the concept of roughness. More importantly, touching a rough object can help us to understand the metaphorical concept of roughness. Consider a common idiom, "I've had a rough day" or even, "She has a rough road ahead." As it turns out, the sensations we feel when we touch a rough object, such as the bark of a tree, are linked with our conceptual understanding of what it is like to experience a "rough day."
The first study, "Incidental haptic sensations influence social judgements and decisions" appeared in the journal Science in 2010. The first set of experiments focused on how the weight of objects are linked metaphorically with the concept of seriousness and the degree of importance of a topic (think about "I am dealing with a weighty matter." or "Do you appreciate the gravity of the situation?"). Random people on the street were asked to evaluate a job applicant by reviewing the resume on either a heavy clipboard or a light clipboard (the resume was exactly the same in both conditions). Participants who reviewed the resume on the heavy clipboard were more likely to rate the candidate as better qualified for the job and state that the candidate was more seriously interested in the position than participants who reviewed the resume on the lighter clipboard. Similarly, participants who were given the heavy clipboard were more likely to express concerns about how well the candidate would get along with co-workers (because the candidate was "too serious").
In the next set of experiments, random people on the street were asked to read a passage about a social interaction between two co-workers. Before reading the passage, study participants were asked to complete a simple five-piece jigsaw puzzle - the pieces were covered in either rough sandpaper or made of smooth wood (imagine walking down the street and being asked to do this!). Participants in the sandpaper arm of the study were more likely to rate the interaction between the two co-workers as less coordinated and difficult (i.e., "rough" or "coarse") than participants in the smooth jigsaw arm.
In the last set of experiments, study participants were asked to evaluate the interaction between a boss and employee. However, they were first asked to examine either a soft blanket or a hard block of wood. Participants who touched the hard block of wood were more likely to rate the boss as being "too rigid," "hard," or uncompromising compared to the participants who touched the soft fuzzy blanket. The investigators next extended these findings to an additional condition by asking them to rate the same interaction between boss and employee while sitting in either a hard chair or a soft chair. Again, participants sitting in the hard chair rated the boss as being rigid and uncompromising. Finally, participants were asked to participate in a negotiating game (bartering about the price of a new automobile) while sitting in either a hard chair or soft chair. Participants who sat in a hard chair were more likely to stick with their original price, while participants in the soft chair were more likely to adjust their price during the negotiation.
Collectively, these studies show that our interpersonal perceptions and decisions can be influenced by our sense of touch! Absolutely mind-blowing! The same group of investigators published a similar study, again in the journal Science, in 2008 called "Experiencing physical warmth promotes interpersonal warmth". Rather than focusing on texture (hard vs. soft, rough vs. smooth), these experiments focused on the sensation of temperature (warm vs. cold) and how temperature is linked with metaphorically with interpersonal warmth ("That person is cold hearted!"). Study subjects were asked to hold a warm cup of coffee before participating in a similar series of experiments. Again, participants consistently rated individuals better on a number of personality traits and were more accommodative in a negotiation game when holding a warm cup of coffee - physical warmth led to feelings of interpersonal warmth!
I don't want to read too much into these two sets of experiments. However, the findings are intriguing and certainly worthy of consideration. I know, at least, that the next time that I want something from someone, I will be giving him or her a warm cup of coffee ("cup of Joe"), a nice, smooth, light clipboard to hold, and big, comfortable, soft chair to sit in while he or she evaluates my proposal. Maybe I will play some soft music in the background too.
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