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The Wisdom of Psychopaths
In this engrossing journey into the lives of psychopaths and their infamously crafty behaviors, the renowned psychologist Kevin Dutton reveals that there is a...
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It happens to all of us: we suddenly and inexplicably feel cheery or blue, even though our mood was quite different just moments before. Often the culprit is a subliminal cue, or, as psychologists call it, priming. But we do not have to be at the mercy of these unconscious cues. Recent research suggests that simply recognizing the phenomenon can help us take control.
Researchers usually test the effects of priming by making participants believe they are taking part in a study of some other variable. In a University of Toronto study last year, people who were unconsciously exposed to images of fast-food logos became more impatient and less likely to be thrifty. In another study, published in the March issue of the Journal of Psychosomatic Research, when participants recalled an illness-related memory, their pain tolerance decreased.
A study from the October 2010 issue of Social Cognition revealed how nonconscious goals—those of which we are not aware—can put us in positive or negative “mystery moods.”
A nonconscious goal might be one that has become so automatic you do not even realize you are still pursuing it, such as impressing the boss or taking fewer Facebook breaks. In the study some participants were unknowingly primed toward goal pursuit with a reading task that included words such as “success” and “achieve.” When they failed at a subsequent puzzle, their mood was more negative than those who were not primed with goal-oriented words.
The key to outmaneuvering priming might simply be more self-awareness. Case in point: study participants’ moods lifted when researchers pointed out why they had become blue. So if you suddenly find yourself in a funk, think about what you saw, heard and thought about in the past few minutes—sometimes simply identifying the trigger can help you move past it.
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6 Comments
Add CommentUnfortunately, there is no October 2010 issue of Social Cognition. Volume 6 Issue 5 October 2011 issue of Social Cognition has no articles that address your claims. I guess you don't need accurate references to write for Scientific American Mind. Thanks for wasting my time.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisChartrand, Tanya L. et al.”Nonconscious Goal Pursuit: Isolated Incidents or Adaptive Self-Regulatory Tool.” Social Cognition 28.5 (2010): 569-588.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisOops, Nevermind
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisPariah . .take a chill pill. Put on your fuzzy slippers and grab a coffee and relax.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisops . .I guess you never made a mistaken reference . .Sorry your highness.
Perhaps certain people should revisit their own reference skills before throwing the stone at the glasshouse. To wit:
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhat Just Happened?
T Rodriguez - Scientific American Mind, 2011 - nature.com
... A study from the October 2010 issue of Social Cognition revealed how nonconscious
goals—those of which we are not aware—can put us in positive or negative “mystery
moods.”. ... Neuropsychopharmacology (20 Jul 2011). ...
Feeling good and feeling truth: The interactive effects of mood and processing fluency on truth judgments
AS Koch… - Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 2011 - Elsevier
... 006 Reference: YJESP 2771 To appear in: Journal of Experimental Social Psychology Received
date: 4 April 2011 Revised date: 5 October 2011 Accepted date: 7 October 2011 Please cite ...
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45, 254-257 ... Hartwig, M., & Bond, CF (2011). ...
The psychological implications of concealing a stigma: A cognitive-affective-behavioral model.
JE Pachankis - Psychological Bulletin, 2007 - doi.apa.org
... Publication Date Mar 2007 Publication History: Accepted: Aug 11, 2006; Revised: Jul 17, 2006;
First Submitted: Oct 26, 2005. Language English Author Pachankis, John E. Email ... Social Cognition,
20, 171-197. ... Cognitive, social, and physiological determinants of emotional state. ...
Cited by 119 - Related articles - BL Direct - All 10 versions
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[PDF] from sciamdigital.comT Rodriguez, M Solis, M Solis, C Arnold… - Scientific American …, 2011 - sciamdigital.com
Page 1. 8 November/December 2011 MIC HE L L E T H O MP SO N It happens
to ... pain tolerance decreased. A study from the October 2010 issue of Social
Cognition revealed how nonconscious goals— those of which ...
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Personally (Micmac000). . .I don't believe that all these folks are doing faulty research and referencing.
The late Dr. Lloyd Silverman and generations of his graduate students at New York University and the New York City Veterans' Administration Hospital extensively researched the effects of subliminal stimuli on moods and cognitive functioning. Much of this work was summarized in his book, "The Search For Oneness."
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