How intuitive are you?

Definition of Intuition: “The capacity for direct knowledge and immediate insight, without any observation or reason.” – David G. Myers, PhD

How intuitive are you? 

I have a hunch that you’ll enjoy this article.

We’ll cover incubation, blind readings, inner voices, ways to improve your intuition and when not to trust it.

And how real it is? Said neurology professor Antoine Bechara, as quoted in an article by Sarah Mahoney for prevention.com: "People treat intuition like it's a dirty word, but it's actually one of the body's survival mechanisms. . . . It's a means of taking you away from danger and steering you toward what is good for you."

We took the quiz!

My wife (Roe) and I took a 22 question survey on intuition, and no surprise – she’s far more intuitive that I am (she outscored me 14-8 so I’ll continue, as I have for 38 years, to defer to her instincts).  And, no surprise again, surveys repeatedly find that women are more intuitive than men, that is, better at decoding human emotions. Said Mahoney: “. . . [T]here's plenty of evidence that women have a bit of an edge: For example . . . when shown pictures of couples, women are better at predicting which are phony and which are real. And in photos of coworkers, women are more likely to discern which one is the other's supervisor.”

In that same article, Bechara points out that: "Intuition is most useful in ambiguous, complex decisions [and] least useful in areas where the outcomes are predictable." Added Mahoney: “So if you're deciding if you should marry or whether to take that job in Boston, use your gut. Buying real estate or deciding whether to go through with that knee surgery? Check your intuition at the door, and listen to the numbers.”

Ways to improve it (incubation, a blind reading)

Researchers at the University of Minnesota, noting that “intuition is a natural process,” recommends spending more time in nature, keeping an Intuition Diary, finding an Intuitive Buddy and ONLY relying on intuition when you’re dealing with “real problems and situations.” The web site beliefnet.com explains how your intuitive powers can be honed with practice, awareness, meditative techniques, imagery, dreams, affirmations and the like. 

And then there are these nontraditional methods: incubation and a blind reading. On incubation, author Philip Goldberg (“The Intuitive Edge”) explains: “Add a shot of intuition to your daily analysis. Some people thrive on data. That's fine, but give yourself a definite cutoff point for analysis and then try a trick that psychologists call incubation: Give yourself a fun distraction such as doing a puzzle or reading before making your final decision. This will allow your intuition to play a role.”

And a blind reading? Karen Hogan, writing for life.gaiam.com, provides this quick step-by-step:

1.      “Sit down at a writing table with three blank index cards.

2.      “Think about a decision you are currently grappling with and write three solutions for it, one on each card.

3.      “Turn the cards blank-side-up, shuffle them and place them face-down on a table.

4.      “Run your hands over the cards and notice the feeling of each card.

5.      “Assign a percentage to each card based on how powerfully you’re drawn to it.

6.      “Turn the cards over and take note of the answer with the highest percentage.”

When NOT to trust your intuition

There are plenty of occasions, psychologists’ report, when you should be wary, here are two.

1.      Test-taking. Studies have disproved the notion that “your first guess is your best guess;” and

2.      Worry. You’re thinking to yourself: “I’m so worried about ________, something must be wrong.” Said Mahoney: “People who worry excessively often confuse general anxiety with a specific fear. Researchers say that such fretting may feel like intuition but is just anxiety in disguise.”

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Superheroes: more good than harm?

Superheroes: more good than harm?

When I was a young boy, I had just one hero – Superman.  He possessed all of the qualities that our culture admires – he was honest, trustworthy, and helpful.  Of course, he also had x-ray vision and could bend steel with his bare hands.  Oh, and he could fly.  Did I mention that?

Back then, he was the only superhero on the block – he didn’t have to compete with Spiderman, the Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America, Wonder Woman, Thor, or any number of new heroes who fill our screens. From my 10-year-old vantage point, Superman’s sole purpose (or so it seemed) was to take out the bad guys and “restore truth and justice, the American way.” Great work, if you can get it. 

Today, of course, our young ones have a bevy of superheroes from whom to choose – and their makeup and personalities are wide-ranging.  Reel back, for a moment, to 1951 when the first superhero movie appeared (yes, it was Superman).  It took 15 years before another superhero hit the big screen – Batman. Flash forward to the modern era when in 2013 there were seven superhero movies produced (Iron Man 3 is the highest grossing of the lot, having now pulled in more than $1.2 billion). And 2014-2015 is keeping pace. 

The recent superhero surge has re-ignited the debate about whether media violence (TV, movies, video games) fosters more violence in our society. The key question: does their presence lead young boys to be more aggressive or, instead, does superhero fantasy/worship build confidence and a stronger moral culture, one bent on helping others and taking out the bad guys? 

Psychologists line up on both sides of this aisle.  Let’s listen in.

Psychologist Sharon Lamb

In a piece written by Pam Willenz’s piece for eurekaalert.org, Lamb explains: "There is a big difference in the movie superhero of today and the comic book superhero of yesterday. . . . Today's superhero is too much like an action hero who participates in non-stop violence; he's aggressive, sarcastic and rarely speaks to the virtue of doing good for humanity. When not in superhero costume, these men, like Ironman, exploit women, flaunt bling and convey their manhood with high-powered guns." 

Psychologist Michael Thompson

Thompson takes the opposite view, as quoted in an article at comicsalliance.com: “The media has provided boys with particular superheroes to believe in and to attach their fantasies to, but the impulse to be a superhero is innate.”  In the article, Thompson added that similar themes have existed “at least since Homer. . . . So I just see boy play as mythic battling.” In a related PBS article, Thompson was quoted as saying: “[While] all boys have normal aggressive impulses which they learn to control, only a small percentage are overly aggressive and have chronic difficulty controlling those impulses.”

Psychologist Robin Rosenberg (editor of the Psychology of Superheroes and author of “Superhero Origins: What Makes Superheroes Tick and Why We Care”)

Writing for psychologytoday.com, Rosenberg aligns with Thompson when she explains: “Flying like Superman in virtual reality can make you more helpful in real life. That's what my colleagues and I found in a recent study” at Stanford's Virtual Human Interaction Lab.

Psychologist Melanie Hargill

Hargill travels the middle road in an article she authored for kidzworld.co.za.  Said Hartgill: “. . . the average child spends more than 50% of their time out of school in front of the television and your average superhero program contains 32 acts of violence in a one-hour show, so when you start doing the math, that's a lot of violence being seen on a regular basis for many of our children. . . . [But] letting your child watch superhero programs on TV is not necessarily all negative providing you are aware of what they are watching and you discuss it with them. . . . Certainly by age 7, children should be able to distinguish between reality and fantasy and also truly understand the difference.  Whereas some children do this younger than 7, it is unlikely to occur under the age of 5.”

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LIFE LESSONS FROM SUPERHEROES*

Batman: Anyone can be a hero. Batman shows you don't have to be born with superpowers to be a hero. Bruce Wayne can't fly. He's not part-god. He just fights bad guys.

Power Rangers: Teamwork is essential. If you're going to defeat evil you need to work together. Although there is a leader, all of the Rangers need to work as a team.

The Hulk: Control your temper. Mr Green is a good guy until he gets angry. The message to kids? Keep that temper under control or it could get you into trouble.

Spider-Man: Be responsible. As Peter Parker's Uncle Ben says: "With great power comes great responsibility."

Superman: One man can make a difference. He might work alone, but he does what he can to make a difference.

Iron Man: No one is perfect. Tony Stark lacks discipline but he tries hard to overcome the worst parts of his personality with his genius mind and good intentions.

*drawn from an article written by Rachel Lewis for www.thenational.ae.  In the article, Lewis interviewed child development psychologist Naeema Jiwani from the Human Relations Institute in the United Arab Emirates.  

What’s the best way to influence a teenager?

What’s the best way to influence a teenager?

If you’re raising a teenager, you already know the challenge. And the dangers: careless driving, alcohol and drug abuse, unprotected sex. Helping them make good decisions – that is, helping them accurately assess the short- and long-term risks – seems a distant dream. But a recent study hints at a fresh approach that may influence their behavior. 

And the message is simple: focus on positive, not negative, outcomes. For example, if your teenager has taken up smoking, it’ll be more helpful to emphasize the benefits of stopping (“you’ll have more money, and better skin”) than the potential long-term negative consequences (“you’ll get lung cancer”).  Similarly, when trying to influence teens to cut back on alcohol and drug use, it may be more effective to emphasize improved sports performance than the long-term health risks.

In a press release, the authors explained: “. . . People have a natural tendency to ignore negative information when making decisions, a trait that may be particularly pertinent to young people, who tend to engage in more risky and dangerous behavior.” The study, conducted by researchers from University College London in the UK, was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and was funded the Wellcome Trust and the Royal Society.

The study’s findings, said study author Dr. Christina Moutsiana, “could help to explain the limited impact of campaigns targeted at young people to highlight the dangers of careless driving, unprotected sex, alcohol and drug abuse, and other risky behaviors."

Added co-author Dr. Tali Sharot: "Our findings show that if you want to get young people to better learn about the risks associated with their choices, you might want to focus on the benefits that a positive change would bring rather than hounding them with horror stories."

In the study’s introductory remarks, the authors provided this broad overview: “Human decision making is markedly influenced by beliefs of what might occur in the future. We form and update those beliefs based on information we receive from the world around us. However, even when we are presented with accurate information, cognitive biases and heuristics restrict our ability to make adequate adjustments to our prior beliefs.”

How was the study conducted? Participants, ages 9 to 26, were asked to assess the relative dangers of potential adverse life events (e.g., car accident, getting lung disease). The researchers then showed participants the actual statistics for these events and noted how each person adjusted their belief, after learning that the risk was higher or lower than they had estimated.  The bottom line: when it’s good news, our beliefs change; when it’s bad, news, not so much.  

Said the study authors: “The results show that younger participants were less likely to learn from information that shows them that the future is bleaker than expected. In other words, even when they know the risks, they have difficulties using that information if it's worse than they thought it would be. By contrast, the ability to learn from good news remained stable across all ages.”

While buoyed by the findings, Dr. Moutsiana offered this cautionary note.  She told Medical News Today that “while positive messages about not smoking might be more effective than negative messages, other factors, such as social pressure, need to be considered in why teenagers smoke.”  Added Moutsiana, in the Medical News Today article: “"We used events related more to physical danger. . . . It is possible that events that relate more to social pressure might have a different effect. Therefore it needs to be examined in control experiments."

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Technology Myths (Part 1): which ones are true?

Technology Myths (Part 1): which ones are true?

Finding it hard to keep up?  Me too.  Overwhelmed by new products and new apps for our technical toys, it’s (often) hard to separate myth from magic.  So today we present part 1 of a series we’ll call  Technology Myths, and our debut will tackle five technology related aphorisms. Your job (should you choose to accept it) is to decide which ones, if any, are true. So we ask you:    

1: Is a camera with more megapixels always better?

2: Do more bars on your cell phone mean better service?

3: If you have a larger monitor, will you be more productive?

4. Are Apple computers immune from viruses? and

5. Do high-priced HDMI cables significantly enhance TV quality?

1: Cameras – Is a camera with more megapixels always better?

Certainly not, as the focus should be on sensor size, not megapixels. Explains Melanie Pinola, writing for www.popularmechanics.com: “It's true that more megapixels means more detail in larger photos. That detail, though, depends not just on pixel count but also on the camera's sensor: The larger it is, the more light data it can pick up, and the more detailed your images will be. If you add megapixels without increasing the overall size of the sensor, you reduce the amount of light reaching each pixel. Your point-and-shoot camera may have 20 megapixels, but if its sensor is the size of a pinhead, your photos won't look so great.” 

2: Signal strength – Do more bars on your cell phone mean better service?

Apparently, how well your Smartphone performs has more to do with congestion than connectivity.  A report in PC World, summarized by Patrick Miller at nbcnews.com, explains: “The signal bars on your cell phone display indicate the strength of your cellular signal to the nearest tower. But if you're connected to a tower that lots of other people are connected to, you could have a strong signal and still have poor service, since everyone's calls are competing for scarce network resources.” The PC World report pointed out that in their 2009 test of 3G service, “signals bars were poor indicators of service quality in 12 of the 13 cities.”  Added Pinola, in her article at www.popularmechanics.com: “It might take about a square block of people in Manhattan to overload a single cell tower, whereas in Wyoming, it would take a population spread over 15 square miles.”

3: Monitors – If you have a larger monitor, will you be more productive?

Back in 2008, when huge computer monitors were coming into vogue, a study from the University of Utah claimed that worker productivity rose by 30-50% with widescreen displays. But PC World, again quoted by Miller, dug into the data and found a few caveats.  They explained: “. . . the study also found a point of diminishing returns. Productivity gains fall in a bell-curve distribution once you hit a certain amount of screen space. For a single-monitor setup, over 26 inches is too much, while dual-display gains top out at 22 inches.” In addition, the study found that, when selected a second monitor, personal preference (e.g., “I know I’ll be more productive if I have that 24” display”) did not necessarily correlate with heightened performance.

#4: Macs – Apple computers are immune from viruses

The notion that hackers spend more time attacking Windows-based machines is unassailable.  But according to Wolpin, at blogspot.laptopmag.com, Macs aren’t virus-proof. Said Wolpin: “According to anti-virus software-maker Sophos, based on a study of 100,000 of its users, one in every five Macs carry some sort of malware — these Macs aren’t infected, but they carry malware in much of the same way humans carry dormant viruses such as chicken pox.”

#5: HDMI – high priced HDMI cables significantly enhance TV quality

Beware of those high priced HDMI cables. Apparently, they don’t make a bit of difference. Explains Pinola, in her piece for www.popularmechanics.com:  “Premium-cable manufacturers would have you believe gold-plated connectors and ‘high-density triple-layer metal-to-metal shielding’ give you a better signal and, therefore, the ultimate picture and audio performance. But generic—and cheaper—cables will deliver the same picture and audio quality. Signal over an HDMI cable is digital; it either comes through or it doesn't.”

Said Miller, who summarized PC World’s findings in his NBC report: “High-quality cables have been a staple of the audio/video business for decades now, and for good reason: As an analog audio or video signal travels from one device to another, it's susceptible to interference and disruption, meaning that the image data as it leaves your DVD player isn't 100 percent identical to the image that shows up on your TV, because certain parts of the signal can get lost on the way there.

However, digital audio/video standards like DisplayPort, DVI, and HDMI don't have this problem because the data being transmitted over the cable isn't as sensitive as an analog signal; it consists entirely of ones and zeros, and a tremendous drop in signal voltage has to occur before a one starts to look like a zero at the receiving end.”

One final note, according to Pinola: if you’re buying a cable over 6 feet long, a higher quality product can make a difference.  So keep that in mind. 

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