Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Miscellaneous Blogs -> Lawsagna

OR PHONE (866) 635-1838 for Bankruptcy Help, (866) 635-6190 for Divorce,
(866) 635-2689 for Personal Injury or (866) 635-9402 for Criminal Defense

Find a Local Lawyer

Bankruptcy (866) 635-1838
Divorce (866) 635-6190
Personal Injury (866) 635-2689
Criminal Defense (866) 635-9402

Miscellaneous

: Lawsagna

People in a Good Mood See More

ADVERTISEMENTS

When we are in a positive mood, our visual cortex takes in more information, while negative moods result in tunnel vision, according to a recent University of Toronto study.

In my previous post on "Positivity," I wrote about Barbara Fredrickson's research indicating that positive emotions tend to broaden our focus, enabling us to discover more tools and solutions to life's challenges and ultimately making us more resourceful.

Now, the University of Toronto study shows that good moods also create such broad focus for our perceptual experience. In the article "People Who Wear Rose-colored Glasses See More, Study Shows," ScienceDaily reports:

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.

The researchers suggest that good moods help us see more in our environment, but the downside is that the broad focus can distract us from critical tasks that require narrow focus, such as operating dangerous machinery. In contrast, bad moods limit our ability to integrate information that is outside our immediate attention.

Full post as published by Lawsagna on June 03, 2009 (boomark / email).

Lawsuits and Settlements

Mars Petfood
79 People Sick So Far

Salmonella Outbreak
50 People Sick in Five States

Sudan Plane Crash
100 People Believed Dead

Chemical Companies
alleging danger to people living near the plants.

Cipro
The FDA is seeking to add black box warnings of the risk of tendon rupture associated with Cipro and Levaquin. The ruptures can involve Achilles tendon, shoulder, hand, bicep or thumb tendons, and is especially increased in patients older than 60, or people who have received kidney, heart or lung transplants, as well as people on steroid therapy...

Related Searches