"Liar" or a face?
What Do You See? A Face or the Word “Liar”?
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Tag Archives: perception
The Leaning Tower Illusion
Look carefully at these two pictures (shown above) of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Does it seem as if the tower on the right side is leaning a bit more than the tower on the left? Or did you assume that the photograph of the tower on the right was taken from a different angle than that taken for the tower on the left? Continue reading
The Psychological Influences of Weight
In many languages around the world (English, Russian, Spanish, Latvian, Chinese, Dutch, etc.), weight is associated with importance, influence and emphasis. For example, in English we might say such things as (1) “the manager has some weighty decisions to make” or (2) “get the president to sign because his signature carries more weight” or (3) “you need more facts in order to add greater weight to your argument.” But does the link between weight and importance only exist in the realm of linguistics? Research published in 2009 by Nils B. Jostmann, Daniel Lakens and Thomas W. Schubert suggests otherwise. Continue reading
The Amazing Color Changing Card Trick
Big Secrets Can Burden You Physically
We all have secrets. Some are big, some are small and some we can barely even remember. What are the effects of keeping secrets? While it might preserve a friendship, it can also lead to stress, the depletion of cognitive resources and adverse health outcomes (Penebaker, 1990, cited in Slepian, Masicampo, Toosi & Ambady, 2012). Additionally, a number of persons have deep dark secrets – the type of secret that, if made public, will bring about swift, life-altering and usually unwanted consequences. Individuals in this situation often complain about carrying a secret, being burdened by a secret or being weighed down. Are these merely linguistic flourishes or is there something more to these metaphorical statements? Continue reading
