Berlin cognitive science safari: report

So I’m back from my time in Berlin at the BMW Guggenheim Lab. As announced previously, I was there to give a talk about how perception works, and how cities control our perception. If you’re a regular mindhacks.com reader nothing I said would have been earth-shattering – it was a tour through some basics of perception and attention. I’ll just highlight two points:

Perception is about meaning. We so effortlessly transform visual input into percepts that we can forget what a difficult task it is. Fortunately we have a heap of dedicated brain machinery to do this for us. A common mistake is to think of perception as mere projection on an inner screen. Part of this fallacy is to think that perception is trivial, but another important part is to think that perception is about the production of images of some sort. Perception is the production of meaning, not the production of images. Our associations and experience are incorporated in the act of perception, so that they are intrinsic to the perceptual act (not somehow added “on top”, or as an after thought). This goes so way to explaining why foreigners appear so stupid in cities. In know that personally I feel my IQ drop at least 15 points as soon as the plane touches down in a foreign country. Native city dwellers have learn to read the city, through experience forming webs of association that build up into symbols. This allows them to instantly perceive what different scenes in the city mean for how they should act. Here’s an example I used in my talk.

Outside Berlin Zoo, looking for the underground: which way should I go? The visual sign for the U-bahn actually forms a tiny fraction of the visual field, so small that I’d bet it is invisible to the majority of my peripheral vision. To a resident of Berlin the way to the tube is obvious, perceptual learning ensures that they don’t even have to think about which symbol to look for, or what it means. The accumulation of thousands of pieces of perceptual expertise is what makes us natives in a city, and what renders us flailing when abroad.

Attention is co-constituted with history and the environment. What we notice depends on what we are seeking, what we have previously experienced and the world around us. We can choose to look for something, or concentrate on something, but our attention can also be driven by factors outside of our
direct control. Advertisers know this, and hence we get bright adverts, moving adverts, and the plethora of adverts which use faces and particularly eyes. Light contrasts, movement and human eyes are all elements which are fundamentally wired into the operation of our visual system. Advertisers are using them to perform a subcortical hijack of what we look at as we navigate the city. The psychology of advertising is a different talk, in Berlin it occurred to me that attention could be a useful, concrete, model generally for thinking about how our agency is spread between self and world.

After the talk was the real highlight – a cognitive science safari where we went out into the city and tried out some interventions based on classic experiments from psychology. Demonstration of strange allure of a crowd all looking the same way worked reasonably well (looking up is definitely more attention-capturing than horizontal gaze). So did ‘reading’ someone’s country of origin from their appearance alone, but the real treat of the tour was the change blindness ‘door’ experiment

This video shows one run of the experiment (thanks to tour particpant Hans Huett for taking it. Jump to about 0:50 for the action). We can see Matt Craddock and another volunteer (sorry, I didn’t catch your name) waiting for an unsuspecting member of the public. After engaging him in asking for directions, Yunus (my Berlin fixer) and Jakub Limanowski (mindhacks.com reader and volunteer), arrive from around the corner, carrying the door. After swopping Matt for Jakub we can see the member of the public continuing giving directions as if nothing has happened – he was blind to the change! Later we tried a more extreme change, swopping an older, shorter, beardless gentleman into Matt’s place – again it worked, asking the question of just how extreme a change you could make and the phenomenon still work.

The moral of this story is not that many people are stupid, just that attention is a double-edged sword. The good citizens of Berlin focus hard on giving directions, not on monitoring the identity of their interlocutor for signs of an improbable change. Yes, the phenomenon shows how much of the environment we are not aware, but it is also a back-handed tribute to our ability to focus our attention where we want.

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Stillpower, Competition, and Olympic Excellence

(Editor’s Note: The following is a guest post from Garret Kramer, author of Stillpower: Excellence with Ease in Sports and Life. Garret is the founder and managing partner of Inner Sports, LLC. His revolutionary approach to performance has transformed the careers of professionals athletes and coaches, Olympians, and collegiate players across a multitude of sports. Kramer’s work has been featured on WFAN, ESPN, Fox, and CTV, as well as in Sports Illustrated, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and other national publications. For more information on the author visit http://www.garretkramer.com, and you can follow the author on Facebook and Twitter.)

I’m not sure if you’ve ever heard of an American runner named Billy Mills. Mills was the surprise winner of the gold medal in the 10k at the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics. And guess what? When he speaks to groups about his victory and keys to success, Mills admits that (among his many thoughts during the gold-medal race) he actually thought about quitting every single lap. That’s twenty-five laps of negative thoughts during a race where he was at his best.

Impossible, many motivational or positive-thinking experts might say. Well, not if, like Mills, you understand stillpower.

Now, Mills didn’t call it stillpower back then, but clearly he knew better than to attempt to will himself through his low thinking. To Mills, his negative thoughts didn’t present a problem. He realized, however, that if he tried to fix these thoughts, he would be doomed to defeat.

So, how can you use stillpower as an asset in any competition?

First, understand that there is no connection between the quality of your thinking and the competition at hand. Sure, you will be prone to think about the event as it draws closer, yet whether your thoughts are negative or positive is 100 percent random. In fact, you will be prone to having both types of thinking about the very same competition.

Second, never try to control the thoughts that pop into your head. As Mills experienced, the human mind is like a roller coaster. The quality of your thinking is always in flux. If you try to force “good” thoughts in and “bad” thoughts out, you are working against your own innate functioning (preventing the roller coaster from ascending on its own). Instead, the key is to understand that wayward thoughts are normal and temporary. If you try to manage these thoughts — applying willpower — you will fortify them. If you leave them alone — applying stillpower — your level of consciousness will climb by itself.

The bottom line is that many performance experts believe that you must be in “the zone” to prevail; that you must think positive thoughts to find your best effort. The experience of Billy Mills shows this is not so.

All you really need is stillpower. Left alone, all thoughts prove to be powerless. You are free no matter when or where a negative, or even positive, thought invades your brain.

(Photo credit: On Your Mark via Shutterstock)

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How To Survive Big Conferences As an Introvert

Big conferences in any branch are exciting, filled with business possibilities and networking opportunities. However, if you are an introvert these conferences can be overwhelming, exhausting and quite damaging to your self-worth and overall feeling of social competence .

If your natural instinct is to stay by yourself, enjoy your own company and not really be the center of a conversation, crowds and networking functions are naturally extremely stressful for you.

However, there are some basic tips you can use to survive any conference as an introvert.

Despite common reactions, it is not rude to give yourself some space in between seminars and networking occasions. Get away from the crowd, go and drink a coffee, read part of a book or simply sit in the sun in order to return to your inner happy place. These little moments of solitude will recharge your batteries and you will be able to brace yourself for some more interactions with colleagues or unknown people.

Networking can be especially tricky when you have no idea what to talk about. A good way to diminish the dread of talking to people is to have conversation points prepared before you even have the chance to say hello to a single person.

When brainstorming about topics to mention in interactions, you can think of anything from talking about your business branch to pets, children or hobbies.

However, the best kept secret in that regard is to ask lots of questions. People love to talk about themselves. So, if you are not ready to share about your own life and work, ask others what they are doing, what moves them and what they are currently inspired by. Those few questions alone will keep the conversation going for quite some time and you hardly have to tap into your own life.

I always like to make difficult situations part of a game as I am a highly competitive person. And once challenged, I cannot help but do everything within my power to win. So, I usually set goals like walking up to five unique people in one day and start a conversation with them.

Or I promise to myself that I will not back out of  a conversation after only five minutes and instead keep at it for at least half an hour. I have also recently randomly sent out a tweet asking fellow attendees of a conference about their plans for the evening and then had dinner with a few amazing girls whom I’d never met before.

These challenges help to grow your self-confidence and they hold you accountable at the same time.

You do not have to be an extrovert to be successful or allowed to take part in discussions. You can be present, but listen more than you put in. You can be part of a group, but be quiet. It is not rude, it is your personality. Remind yourself of this fact and you will see how you relax more and more throughout difficult and nerve-wrecking situations.

Practice, practice, practice. The more often you go to a conference, the better you will get at it. You will notice when you need a break. You will feel when your batteries need to be recharged and you will be able to handle situations where you`d once felt uncomfortable and on the verge of unraveling.

Your interactions will get more fluent, your hesitations to walk up to people and start a conversation will fade away and you will slowly start to really enjoy being part of a huge group of attendees.

These simple steps show that conferences can be fun, invigorating and exceptionally motivating, even for introverts.

(Photo credit: Portrait of a Thoughtful Man via Shutterstock)

Anne-Sophie Reinhardt is an anorexia survivor, body image expert and the owner of aMINDmedia. She writes at myintercontinentallife.com and empowers you to achieve a healthier and more successful life by returning to your true purpose and values.

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How to Get Work Done Quickly by Not Being Perfect

There is a dangerous mantra for doing good work:

Ready, Ready, Aim…

Keep aiming until every detail is in place and then — aim again.

It’s agonizing to grind through your work, making sure every detail is perfect. But it’s not only agonizing; it’s actually an inefficient way to work.

The problem with working to perfection is that it causes stress that limits your productivity. You need to get the work done, it needs to be done well — but your focus on getting it perfect causes your anxiety to increase. How can you get the work done quickly…and do it well?

I wondered about this as I watched friends finish 80,000 word manuscripts in weeks, while I kept slamming my head against a desk hoping to get a few paragraphs out for my thesis.

It’s a frustrating feeling, but the solution is simple:

It’s much easier — and less stressful — to get the work done once and go back to refine it later.

There is a feeling of freedom when you let go of making your work perfect and strive instead to simply finish it. And the work gets easier every time you commit to just finishing.

When I stopped agonizing over making my work perfect, I began to write my thesis paragraphs at a time instead of one word at a time. I was happy as hell because the work was actually getting done! This ethic also carried over into other parts of my life and I found myself finishing a tremendous amount of items on my to-do list.

My fiancée recently started a new position where she took over for a co-worker who was constantly stressed and did a tremendous amount of overtime. Two days into the job, she learned that this co-worker double-checked every detail as she did it. No wonder she always left the office stressed: she was doing double the work on every task.

These revelations helped me to commit to a new mantra:

Ready, Fire, Aim.

Now, my work schedule looks something like this:

Establish Objective or Goal of the ProjectWork Until Objective is MetMake Necessary Adjustments

Let your work sit, and then come back to it after your brain has had time to refresh. You’ll see mistakes (probably plenty) but don’t take it as a personal blow to your ego. In fact, tell your ego to keep its mouth shut so you can finish the job. This will lead to an increase in creative flow because your brain is focused solely on finishing the task… and nothing else.

It may take a few attempts to let go of that need for perfection; but it’s worth it. Next time you sit down to get something done, just keep telling yourself to finish the job and you’ll perfect it later.

Your brain will thank you.

(Photo credit: Closeup of Handsome Archer via Shutterstock)

Vito Michienzi is a high school teacher and professional magician who is currently enrolled in graduate school. After watching many of his colleagues struggle, he began writing for other graduate students about juggling their priorities, getting work done and finding meaning in what they do. His blog also translates well for the working professional. Connect with him on Twitter.

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5 videos of Philippe Petit walking on wire

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“An intellectual challenge presents itself ? I am in bliss. Instantly, it brings forth the notion of triumph,” high-wire artist Philippe Petit writes in his new TED ebook, Cheating the Impossible: Ideas and Recipes from a Rebellious High-Wire Artist. “Even before I address a challenge, invariably a rainbow of out-of focus solutions hovers over my horizon and dissolves into friendly clouds.”

On August 7, 1974, Petit stepped onto a wire strung between the Twin Towers. Balancing 110 stories in the air, Petit played on the tightrope for 40 minutes, even lying down on the wire to watch those “friendly clouds” pass above him. Petit’s routine was a delight to those on the ground, but it was technically illegal — Petit and a band of friends had schemed for months to make it happen. Petit was arrested as soon as he was back on solid ground, but as the police cuffed him, he had a huge grin across his face—for he had achieved a feat everyone, including himself at times, had thought impossible.

“The impossible — we are told — cannot be achieved,” Petit tells the TED blog in a Q&A about his book. “To overcome the ‘impossible’ we need to use our wits and be fearless. We need to break the rules and to circumvent — some would one say to cheat.”

Above, watch photos of Petit cheating death on his Twin Towers tightrope walk. And after the jump, four more videos of Petit doing what he does best.

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While Petit’s 1974 walk made him a celebrity, a whole new generation was introduced to his work in James Marsh’s documentary Man on Wire, released in 2008. Here, the trailer for the Oscar-winning film.

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Before Petit walked between the Twin Towers, he pulled off another renegade walk, rigging a wire between the towers of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. In this video, watch the full walk.

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Petit might be 62, but he is still very much the entertainer. In 2008, he walked on a tightrope held only by two men (one of them being David Duchovny) at the reopening of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine Cathedral in New York.

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Here, see Petit as a young man, prancing across a rope in his yard with no need for a stick.

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In short: Rare Book School in session, Amelia Earhart crash site still a mystery

Here, some great finds from across the internet, for your reading pleasure:

Others may dream of the beach this summer, but we secretly wish we were at Rare Book School, a five-week long camp that brings together librarians and antiquarian enthusiasts at the University of Virginia. The school is taught by William Noel, who gave the gripping TEDTalk “Revealing the lost codex of Archimedes.” [NY Times]

Must. Listen. Now. Montell Jordan sings the news over at “That Headline is My Jam.” [msnNOW]

When French aristocrat Pierre de Frédy revived the ancient Olympic Games in 1896, he believed it was vital to stick with a less-athletic tradition of the Greek original — art competitions. [Mental Floss]

Writer Moe Tkacik has a bold idea for how to make money as a journalist these days — she has declared herself a “Web 2.0 Panhandlr” allowing, well anyone, to pay for her reporterly services. [Das Krap]

A group set out last month to prove a theory that Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan crash-landed on the remote Pacific island of Nikumaroro. Today, they have returned home empty-handed. [CNN]

Speaking of collecting data, David Johnson has sent rapper Jay-Z 262 emails over the course of two years, and believes Hova himself has read — even reread — each one. The story is a meditation on celebrity, access and online connection. [Buzzfeed]

Photo: Shutterstock

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“LEGO for the iPad generation” gets funding

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LittleBits are Tinkertoys, gone electronic.  Some circuits, some lights, some buzzers and some buttons, these brightly colored pieces snap together with magnets, allowing for creation of projects that do things, rather than just sit there. The brainchild of TED Fellow Ayah Bdeir — who explained the littleBits in a talk at TED2012 — this open-source hardware startup has sparked a lot of interest since its launch in December of 2011. In fact, Bloomberg TV called them the “LEGO for the iPad generation,” since they allow anyone to learn about electronics while creating an unlimited variety of objects and toys.

Now, littleBits has just received $3.65 million in funding and signed a deal with manufacturing company PCH International. We talked to Ayah to find out what this moment means to her.

What’s the story?

So the big news is that we just closed our Series A round of investment, taking in $3.65 million, with some of the greatest investors in the field. They’re very focused on maker companies, on open-source hardware and this revolution of democratizing technology. This investment will really let us focus on the product and on the team. In September 2011, we had a limited-edition run of 230 pieces, and it sold in a matter of weeks. And then in December, when we launched, we sold out of inventory in three weeks. Ever since then, we’ve been rushing to meet overwhelming demand.  We’re only a team of eight, so we’ve been scratching the surface of what we could do with partners, with schools, with stores, with product. This investment means we can start growing the product and go out on the field to start testing littleBits for real.

Are you excited to be working with PCH?

PCH is a global, top of the line, first-class manufacturing and logistics company that works with some of the best consumer brands in the world — but they usually only work with large companies. They recently started an accelerator program and are becoming very interested in startups. They’re taking us on as part of that program, but they’re working with us as a client and partner as well.

How was littleBits born?

My interest in open source hardware and electronics started at the Media Lab at MIT. Before that, I did computer engineering and really hated engineering and electronics, feeling they were restrictive. I wanted to be a designer. But then at the Media Lab,  I realized it was very powerful to be able to use electronics and technology for creativity. Electronics are a very powerful, modern and necessary medium. So I started working on different projects integrating electronics, art, design and activism. A few years later, I started working on littleBits. It was an overnight success four years in the making!

How did you decide to embed your interest in electronics in toys?

Not everybody can be an engineer, and I wanted to make electronics accessible to anyone. I was inspired by construction materials like cardboard and paper and construction kits – I wanted to give creating with electronics the same level of ease.

What’s your next step?

Now our goal is to make 30 to 50 new products, focus more on using littleBits in education, and start to get the community involved to be much more active in collaborating on projects and making things together.

What’s your TED Fellowship been like so far?

I’m very grateful to be a TED Fellow. The TED team have been so helpful, and the TED Talk has reached hundreds of thousands of people all around the world. I’m constantly getting email about it, and am thrilled about that.

What’s your wildest dream of success for littleBits?

To make a littleBits hot-air balloon!

For more on littleBits and the cool things people are making with them, visit them online.

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Behold, 6 real-life cyborgs

“I feel like a cyborg,” Neil Harbisson declares in a fascinating talk from TEDGlobal 2012.

Born color-blind, Harbisson lived in a “grayscale world,” he says — until 2003, when he began working with computer scientist Adam Montandon on an electronic eye that renders color as sound. Always attached to him, the appliance allows Harbisson to look at colors — purple, green, orange and more — and hear the shades as specific frequencies. Looking at a face or a painting is like listening to music. To him, even going to the grocery store is “like going to a nightclub.”

“At the start, I had to memorize the names you give to each color and I had to memorize the notes, but after some time, all this information became a perception,” Harbisson says of having worn the eye for eight years now. “When I started to dream in color, I felt the software and my brain had united.”

To experience the world the way Harbisson does, watch his exciting TEDTalk, “I hear color.” And after the jump, read about other human beings who have, at least partially, melded with machines.

Steve Mann vs. McDonald’s

Steve Mann, a professor of computer engineering at the University of Toronto, pioneered the EyeTap Digital Eye Glass, a contraption that fits over his eye and allows him to “mediate reality.” EyeTap not only records real life as it’s happening for Mann, but also allows him to interact with his surroundings as if they were on a computer screen. Mann made international news this week after reporting on his blog that two employees at a McDonald’s in Paris had assaulted him, trying to take off his EyeTap and damaging the device in the process. While McDonald’s has investigated and denied the claim, Mann released a picture to the media on July 18, showing one of the employees reaching for his face. [MSNBC]

Michael Chorost: “part computer”

Born with impaired hearing, writer and technology theorist Michael Chorost was stunned when he went completely deaf in 2001. And so he had a computer implanted in his head, enabling him to hear once again. Following the experience, he wrote the book Rebuilt: How Becoming Part Computer Made Me More Human. In it, he writes, “My body is full of etched silicon crystals computing away like mad. I know what animates my ear, I know the millions of clock cycles it executes every second to connect me to the world and the people I love.”

Stelios Arcadiou and his extra ear

In his TEDTalk, Neil Harbisson suggests, “Let’s stop building apps for mobile phones and start building apps for our bodies.” Australian performance artist Stelios Arcadiou, better known as Stelarc, agrees. In 2009, he had a third ear — reportedly grown from cells in a lab — surgically implanted in the flesh of his arm.  It took him 10 years to find a doctor willing to perform this surgery. Eventually, Arcadiou plans to install transmitters in his new ear so that it can actually “hear.” [The Guardian]

Rob Spence, the Eyeborg

Filmmaker Rob Spence injured one of his eyes in a shotgun accident. And so, he had the eye replaced with a prosthetic containing a video camera inside. While it doesn’t connect to his optic nerve or brain, the camera is able to record what Spence sees—pretty handy for a filmmaker. Spence hosted a video series, sponsored by game maker Square Enix, where he traveled the globe interviewing others with futuristic body parts. He chronicles the project on his website Eyeborg. As he says in one video, “I am now filming your bionic hand … with my bionic eye.” [Popular Science]

Jerry Jalava’s handy USB port

After a motorcycle accident, Jerry Jalava needed a prosthetic index finger. However, Jalava hoped for a more useful appendage. And so he embedded a 2GB USB drive in the tip of the prosthetic. When not in use, the drive is covered by a plastic and looks just like an average finger. [Gizmodo]

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Or is everyone technically a cyborg? The term is defined as an “organism to which exogenous components have been added for the purpose of adapting to new environments.” While this includes anyone with a pacemaker or prosthetic, in a talk given at TEDWomen, anthropologist Amber Case suggests: “You are all actually cyborgs, just not the ones you think.” What makes us all cyborgs? The external electronic brains we call smartphones …

“You are not RoboCop or The Terminator,” she continues. “But you are cyborgs every time you look at your computer screen or use one of your cell phone devices.”

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Retreat: Zen in the Workplace

For a weekend in August, I will join Zen teacher Susan O’Connell in leading a weekend retreat in the beautiful Tassajara Zen Mountain Center entitled, “Zen in the Workplace: The Benefits of Mindful Work”.

For a few days, step away from the busyness and pressures of your life, and find the rhythm of your own breath. Feel the summer breeze, enjoy delicious food, and immerse yourself in the healing waters of the hot springs and the refreshing cool of Tassajara Creek.

Learn how simple mindfulness practices can transform your everyday work life, improving health, stress, effectiveness, relationships and happiness.

Susan and I will explore the benefits of mindfulness in the workplace. Students will learn simple mindfulness practices that will help them find focus in the workplace, deal with a constant stream of interruptions, collaborate mindfully, and deal with technology and distractions. Zazen, walking meditation, and awareness exercises will help students learn to be mindful and find peace even in the midst of busy-ness and chaos. We’ll also explore our need for more information, and the experience of “enough.”

The retreat runs from Aug. 17-19, and you should sign up now to get a spot.

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How To Stop Cravings: Banishing Unhealthy Snacking

Don’t you just hate how cravings creep up and ruin the diet that you have carefully sustained for what seems an eternity? When we crave for something, we know that giving in isn’t helpful to our weight loss goals. Sometimes we can hold our resolve and dismiss the urge but often the desire to indulge is just so intense that it overwhelms our drive to stick to our diet. There is nothing to worry about occasional cravings. But cravings that occur consistently can sabotage your plans to lose weight. If you want to know how to stop cravings this list I have put together below may prove helpful:

The first step towards successfully controlling your cravings is understanding their nature. Depending on the person and the craving, food cravings can have a physical and/or psychological basis. Among the most common theories experts use to explain why cravings occur include:

The lack of certain nutrientsLow sugar levels in the bloodHormonal shifts or changesEmotionsSmells

Understanding what could possibly trigger cravings can greatly help you control them.

If you are exposed to craving-inducing foods all the time, it is very likely that you will experience cravings from time to time. The exposure could well lead you to giving in to these cravings. So one crucial step in putting a stop to your cravings is cleaning out your kitchen of junk food. Go through your refrigerator and food pantry and get rid of chips, cakes, chocolates, cookies, ice cream and everything else that’s unhealthy. You will see that if you don’t keep any of these foods within reach, you won’t be craving or for them or if you’ll do your craving will pass unsatisfied protecting your waistline!

The amount of sleep you get at night has a lot to do with your cravings. Health experts say that when a person gets too little sleep, his metabolism slows down to save energy. That slowdown triggers the release of the hormone cortisol, which in turn increases a person’s appetite and food cravings. To prevent cravings make sure to get between seven and nine hours of sleep each night.

As you must already know, cravings can be caused by drops in blood sugar levels. Recent studies have shown that the usual practice of eating three big meals a day is bound to create fluctuations in your sugar levels. The key to keeping your blood sugar levels steady is to eat small frequent meals. The conventional method of doing this type of eating plan is to have three meals a day, plus two or three snacks between meals. But experts say that it is best to eat more consistent amounts food throughout the day.

Of course you cannot totally eliminate cravings. No matter how much you try to eliminate them, there will be days when they’ll turn up and tempt you. So instead of doing the very difficult thing of totally ignoring the craving or giving in recklessly to it, you can try and find a healthy alternative. If you are craving for ice cream, you can opt to have  a light yogurt and some fruit instead. Or you’re craving salty chips, you can choose to grab some nuts. There are so many healthy alternatives to unhealthy food. You just need to look around or be creative.

If you are dieting or are trying to improve your overall health, being able to successfully battle your cravings is very important. Use the tips above to help keep those little desires for unhealthy snacks sabotage your weight loss goals.

(Photo credit: Woman kicking Junk Food Away via Shutterstock)

I am Kara Heissman. I have seen over the years how the quality of people's lives are reduced by their inability to find solutions for certain difficulties in their lives. With the great want to help, I have decided to share my experiences, knowledge and insights with the aim to help everyone live the life that they deserve--happy, healthy and fulfilled. I have my own self-improvement blog contentedlife.org but I have also written for various sites within the same subject area. My writings mainly revolve around stress, self esteem and health and fitness.

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Made for PR Neuroscience

Times Higher Education has a short but revealing article about a ‘neuromarketing’ company called MindLab that keeps getting ‘accidentally’ associated with the University of Sussex.

The ‘accidental’ association is not what makes the piece interesting, however, as it also gives an insight into a type of marketing that relies on the hype of neuroscience to make the news.

Mindlab International measures psychological reactions to brands or products using a “scientific approach” that “offers PRs an extra way to add a newsworthy element to PR campaigns”, founder David Lewis-Hodgson told PR Week in 2006…

Previous research by Mindlab has found that reading is more relaxing than listening to music or going for a walk, in a study commissioned by the maker of Galaxy chocolate as part of a campaign to give away 1 million books.

It has also been reported that a Mindlab survey, commissioned by the maker of Rocky, a chocolate bar, found that an estimated 25 million adults in the UK have been injured during a tea or coffee break.

In April this year a “neurological study by Dulux [the paint company] and the Mindlab International Laboratory at Sussex University” that measured the “physiological arousal” prompted by the imagining of various activities found that “women find a redecorated room just as pleasurable as sex”, the Huffington Post reported.

Yes, you read that correctly, and if I ever become old, bitter, and want to sabotage someone’s illustrious career in neuroscience I’m just going to write a piece of software that adds ‘the Huffington Post reported’ to the end of all their scientific papers (however, I digress).

What’s interesting is that simply making something appear like a neuroscience study is enough to get it and the associated product in the news – to the point where companies can now base their business model on the practice.

Neuromarketing is the study of the neuroscience of marketing – a genuinely interesting field that, contrary to what neuromarketing companies will have you believe, has absolutely no practical benefit at the moment because no-one has yet demonstrated that a neural response is a better predictor of the key outcomes than a behavioural response.

This, however, is more like neuro-spin-marketing, as it relies on people believing the hype of neuromarketing to get branded pseudo-studies into the media.

Buyer beware.

Link to THE piece on MindLab (via @sarcastic_f)

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