Sensation: The New Science of Physical Intelligence

Does the softness or hardness of the seat you sit on make you a softer negotiator or a harder one? Does touching something soft or something rough, something warm or something cold, make a difference in your judgment of a person shortly after that? Does turning on a lightbulb increase the chances that you'll get an "Aha!" moment? Research suggests that the answer to all of these is yes. Research even suggests that there’s a difference in whether or not you are likely to cheat depending on whether or not you’ve just showered. You have any guesses here? Hmmm, my guess was wrong.
Check out Dr. Thalma Lobel’s book “Sensation: The New Science of Physical Intelligence”, or watch her give a talk to an audience at Google, at www.youtube.com/watch?v=R33dwl9vjQs. This talk is a little under 50 minutes.
Our perceptions, decisions and judgments are very much influenced by our physical sensations. Our ability to come up with creative answers to problems is influenced by our immediate environment (try sitting inside a large box or outside of one). And much of all this is influenced by the experiences we’d had as children.
Future research will explore more in depth which of these influences are culture-dependent and which are not, as well as differences between age groups and between environments (e.g. will holding a hot cup of coffee on a hot day or on a cold day have the same impact?). Personally, I’m very interested in future research into individual differences. Specifically, one of the experiments described by Dr. Lobel, is that of participants who spent a while working on jigsaw puzzles, which either had very smooth or very rough textures. After completing the puzzles, the participants were asked whether they perceived a particular ambiguous dialogue as friendly or unfriendly, cooperative or competitive, a discussion or an argument. There was indeed a correlation – those who had experienced the rough sensations in their hands earlier were more likely to perceive the conversation as unfriendly, competitive and argumentative. And that made me think. What some of us may feel smooth and perhaps pleasant to the touch can feel scratchy and offensive to others who are more tactile sensitive. Not only do sensitive people have to deal with a more physically challenging environment, but these sensations influence the interpretation of the personal interactions around them which may not be related at all to the physical stressors.
Reader Comments (1)
Hi Dror
This artical was very interesting for me for two reasons. The first is that I have taught young children for a long time .During that time ,i have definatly noticed the effects of different textures on a childs behavior and the effect it has on their preseptions of whats happening around them .When they are a softer environment or have a favorite comfort object ( they are always soft things ie blanket,stuffed toy or a Lovey which is always soft). they handel the stress around them or the separation from a parent much better and are in a better mood. When the things around them are "hard" toys made of hard plastic or blocks made of wood or plastic things quickly escalate into rougher play and feelings are often huirt.
The second reason for my interest in this is I have a son who is now grown with sensory integratrion issues. It is very obvious to me that when he needs a break from the noise and people arouind him ,he heads for a softer environment a blanketv or comforter combined with a hard surface such as the floor . So again what you said is interesting and correct
Thanks