Parrots and Scientists

There is some evidence that much as we are wired for language, and much as language is part and parcel of our humanity, music may also be coded in our neurobiology. Brain imaging suggests that the way we process musical "grammar" is akin to how we process language - the circuits overlap, the patterns mix together, language and music intertwine.

So our love of music may have something to do with our ear for the prosody - the beat and rhythm and tempo and pitch - of language. Oddly enough, we are not the only animals to enjoy a beat even though we are the only species with true generative language. Snowball the dancing cockatoo's rhythmic dancing to the Backstreet Boys' suggests that although other species may not have the best musical taste, they might share the joy of moving their bodies to a tune. Before Snowball's example emerged, it was considered to be a uniquely human behavior.

Although perhaps not one scientists are all that good at, as the following video illustrates nicely.

Speaking without words

How much can we say to another person without actually saying a word?  As it turns out, quite a bit.  A recent series of studies suggests that small touches -  the passing pat on the back, the weight of a hand on the shoulder, the clasping of a warm palm - these brief moments of physical contact can actually have a profound effect on the way we feel about an interaction.

The evidence that such messages can lead to clear, almost immediate changes in how people think and behave is accumulating fast. Students who received a supportive touch on the back or arm from a teacher were nearly twice as likely to volunteer in class as those who did not, studies have found. A sympathetic touch from a doctor leaves people with the impression that the visit lasted twice as long, compared with estimates from people who were untouched.Research by Tiffany Field of the Touch Research Institute in Miami has found that a massage from a loved one can not only ease pain but also soothe depression and strengthen a relationship.

 Psychologists have known for a long time that much of what we say to each other is communicated via nonverbal channels.  What is new and what is interesting about this, however, is that this new work focuses on the actual physical touch as a medium for the transmission of emotional state.

What I find really fascinating about this kind of work is the idea that there is so much under the surface that influences us.  We might not notice that someone touching us alters our perceptions of what happens.  But it nonetheless might have a significant impact on the way we feel.

Body Talk

Anyone remember reading Amelia Bedelia books when you were young?  Amelia Bedelia was a maid who wore crazy hats and took things literally - throwing a tent away after being asked to pitch it, putting clothes on the chicken she was asked to dress, and decorating the curtains she was asked to draw. Funny stuff to a 6-year old.

Amelia Bedelia did not understood that conversations are not supposed to be taken literally. We all make extensive use of metaphors in speech - we can think of talking about our troubles weighing us down, or feeling like we are on cloud nine; of someone who has a cold heart, or who warms our soul; of feeling puffed up with pride, or in the case of unwelcome events, very small.  As we get older, we understand that these are symbolic in nature.  However, as it turns out, we may not have left all that literalism behind with our youth. 

A series of recent studies suggest that many of our abstract cognitions may be interpreted literally.  In other words, our bodies may in some cases mirror and reflect our abstract thoughts.  Many of us still hold to the concept of mind-body dualism; the idea there is something unique and special and separate about our minds versus our bodies.  This series of clever studies suggest that this dichotomy is even more false than it is generally acknowledged to be. 

"Researchers at the University of Aberdeen found that when people were asked to engage in a bit of mental time travel, and to recall past events or imagine future ones, participants’ bodies subliminally acted out the metaphors embedded in how we commonly conceptualized the flow of time. As they thought about years gone by, participants leaned slightly backward, while in fantasizing about the future, they listed to the fore. "

In a similar fashion, other studies in this newly emerging field of embodied cognition suggest that we might find people friendlier when we are holding a warm drink, or might be more likely to use handiwipes when we're reminded of the wrongs we have committed, and think heavier textbooks contain more vital information.  

“How we process information is related not just to our brains but to our entire body,” said Nils B. Jostmann of the University of Amsterdam. “We use every system available to us to come to a conclusion and make sense of what’s going on.”

These physical accompaniments to the metaphors in language suggest that we think, not just with our heads, but also with our bodies.   They also suggest a number of fascinating areas for future research.  It remains to be seen whether the effects found in the laboratory translate into an influence in the real world.  There are also implications with respect to cross-cultural differences.  Would cultures with different metaphors show different  physical correlates?  In Chinese, the past is thought of as being in front of you, and the future behind you.  Would Chinese subjects lean in the opposite direction to American samples?  And last, and perhaps more importantly - can we influence people's thoughts by influencing their bodies?

It's a kid's world.

A link to Scientific American Frontiers: It's a kid's world. This has the magical events video, some fun segments (which we won't be covering) on motor development, and some segments on Theory of Mind and Language which we will watch later in the quarter.

No Virginia, watching TV won't make your baby smarter.

As mentioned in class today, the Walt Disney Company has admitted that watching television will not make your baby smarter, although it may be an interesting segue way into a discussion of mental illness and an effective means of torture for adults.  As it turns out, the use of videos targeted for young children may actually be negatively related to language development and problems with attention.

So, if you bought your child some Baby Einstein videos and were disappointed with the results, here's how to get your money back.

Happy viewing.