People who wear rose-coloured glasses see more. (Credit: Image courtesy of University of Toronto) ScienceDaily (June 6, 2009) - A University of Toronto study provides the first direct evidence that our mood literally changes the way our visual system filters our perceptual experience suggesting that seeing the world through rose-coloured glasses is more biological reality than metaphor. “Good and bad moods literally change the way our visual cortex operates and how we see,†says Adam Anderson, a U of T professor of psychology. “Specifically our study shows that when in a positive mood, our visual cortex takes in more information, while negative moods result in tunnel vision. The study appears in the Journal of Neuroscience. The U of T team used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine how our visual cortex processes sensory information when in good, bad, and neutral moods. They found that donning the rose-coloured glasses of a good mood is less about the colour and more about the expansiveness of the view. The researchers first showed subjects a series images designed to generate a good, bad or neutral mood. Subjects were then shown a composite image, featuring a face in the centre, surrounded by “place†images, such as a house. To focus their attention on the central image, subjects were asked to identify the gender of the person's face. When in a bad mood, the subjects did not process the images of places in the surrounding background. However, when viewing the same images in a good mood, they actually took in more information - they saw the central image of the face as well as the surrounding pictures of houses. The discovery came from looking at specific parts of the brain - the parahippocampal “place area†- that are known to process places and how this area relates to primary visual cortical responses, the first part of the cortex related to vision. “Under positive moods, people may process a greater number of objects in their environment, which sounds like a good thing, but it also can result in distraction,†says Taylor Schmitz, a graduate student of Anderson's and lead author of the study. “Good moods enhance the literal size of the window through which we see the world. The upside of this is that we can see things from a more global, or integrative perspective. The downside is that this can lead to distraction on critical tasks that require narrow focus, such as operating dangerous machinery or airport screening of passenger baggage. Bad moods, on the other hand, may keep us more narrowly focused, preventing us from integrating information outside of our direct attentional focus.†The research is supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Canada Research Chairs program. MelT
Interesting, but nothing too revolutionary. People being more open minded when their happy and narrow minded when they're angry is nothing new, it just that now there is some evidence to back up that claim.
how many dimensions are there? if there are 3 of space, and 1 of time... doesnt it make for 4! dimensions?
To be fair, that's not what the post is about. It says that perception itself changes when you're happy or sad. The actual field of perception changes, it isn't simply a psychological effect. Also, other research shows that someone who is deeply depressed literally sees less spatial depth in reality, it's flatter and almost 2D, than someone who is happy. MelT
That's complicated. Some would hold that there are only 3 dimensions, and time doesn't really exist. Others would say that their are at least 5 dimensions, the fifth being probability. I believe string theory incorporates 11 dimensions. I think that you've contradicted yourself there. Perception itself is purely psychological.
Not to speak for Melt, but I doubt very much you, anyone, posess the information to make such a categorical statement. The research presented in the OP is interesting, and I would not dismiss it. It sort of even make sense. It should. Our brain is not software and hardware. It is both at the same time, wetware
I must say from personal experience that this is true. I was consistently anxious and unhappy for years, the world quite literally becomes a sad place. Everything is very gray and yes, flat and boring and sad. Weed helped me to pull myself out of that depression and I never noticed the sky (the world!) the way I do now. I look at the sunset every day now, I cant believe I ignored it so much before. The world is such an incredible and beautiful place if only we could all open our eyes and see it.
Perception is literally the understanding of sensory information, and is a psychology term. It can also be interpreted in a philosophical sense, but in regards to this article we would be using the medical definition of perception: awareness of sensory information. Literally, perception is simply the information taken in from all five senses and our brains understanding of it. The article describes how our mood can broaden or narrow the amount of information taken in by our bodies, so in a psychological sense it is changing our perception.
This is why willfully blind conformists will tell you to take your rose colored glasses off. They don't like to see all there is to see, and are very upset when someone else can see things that they can't. If I had a nickel for everytime I've been told I was looking out through rose colored glasses, by teachers, and ministers, and parents... Sorry, that was a more S+P oriented answer, wasn't it... Yep, I keep on hearing the echoes of every dullard who ever told me I need to stop dreaming with my rose colored glasses on, screaming that "You Need To Focus!!!", when I read this line. Moody baggage screeners are a terrorist's playground?
When in danger, the human mind increases the amount of information it takes in. This allows us to think more freely and clearly, as time appears to 'slow' around us. In reality we are just seeing things easier. Isn't it strange to think that we do not see what is happening in front of us as it is really happening?
Originally Posted by MelT To be fair, that's not what the post is about. It says that perception itself changes when you're happy or sad. The actual field of perception changes, it isn't simply a psychological effect. Also, other research shows that someone who is deeply depressed literally sees less spatial depth in reality, it's flatter and almost 2D, than someone who is happy. POTAYTOES: I think that you've contradicted yourself there. Perception itself is purely psychological.[/QUOTE] Yes, of course, we can't remove analysis of perception from perception, all is consciousness. But what I'm saying is that the way that reality seems either flatter or more rounded depending on mood isn't simply something we only imagine to exist. The change in percepetion isn't just an illusion caused by an emotional filter, but literally a change in perception itself. MelT
Yes, our level of awareness ('mindfulness' in Buddhism) also plays a major role in our perception of time, depth and roundness of reality. MelT
Blue (particularly Cobalt Blue) is meant to be very relaxing. The easiest way to get the opposite response is just to look intently at something or induce stress in yourself. MelT