Desires of Perception

[Aught Six]

This is a something that all of us should consider as we debate one another here in the politics forum.

***

http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20060715/sc_space/desirecontrolswhatweseestudyfinds

Desire Controls What We See, Study Finds




http://www.livescience.com/blogs/author/heatherwhipps][/url]Heather Whipps
Special to LiveScience
http://www.livescience.com][/url]LiveScience.com
Sat Jul 15, 1:00 PM ET

[/align][/align]Without realizing it, people will perceive things according to how they want to see them, a new study suggests.


"There is an age old hypothesis in psychology that a person's wishes, hopes and desires can influence what they see," said David Dunning, Cornell University psychologist and co-author of the study. "This theory had lay dormant for about 40 years, though, without any supporting evidence. We wanted to test the murky waters again."


In five separate tests conducted by Dunning and a graduate student, Emily Balcetis, 412 volunteers from Cornell were presented with an ambiguous picture that could be interpreted as two distinct figures?either a horse's head or the body of a seal, for example. They were told they would be assigned to a taste test of either fresh-squeezed orange juice or a gelatinous, clumpy and rather unappealing veggie smoothie, depending on whether they saw a farm animal or sea creature.


More often than not the participants chose the figure that would lead them to the juice.


The trick to making the study meaningful was making sure the test subjects didn't know what was going on, Dunning said, noting that the generally high IQ of Cornell students made cheating a real possibility.


"The figures we used were chosen so we knew the people weren't just lying or tricking us," Dunning told LiveScience. "We also tracked automatic, unconscious eye movements which were out of their control."

Not only did participants routinely see the figure that produced favorable results, their eye motions indicated that they were never aware of the alternate option being available.


Other scientists who have studied the connection between belief and physiological reactions in the eye, now supported by Dunning's research, point to its possibilities in the world of positive thinking and self-motivation.


"Determining whether a person walking towards you is smiling or smirking, how close the finish line seems in a race or how loud a partner?a wife, husband, lover?is yelling during an argument," Dunning gave as examples that could arise in life. "Could we interpret ambiguous situations towards our expectations and hopes and away from our fears? That is the ultimate question."


The study will be published later this year in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
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[elgallo114]

How do we know the people who did that study did not find the results they desired?

[CalHunter]

Obviously people can be jaded by their prejudices but there is a considerable difference between interpreting an ink blot for a desired beverage and thinking (hopefully) your way through a political problem or issue.

[wayomic]

Might explain why I think all the ladies love me........

Nah, they really do. Cause I'm perfict.

[vc1111]

I can pat my head and simultaneously make circles on my abdomen.

[Tazman]

Might explain why I think all the ladies love me........

Nah, they really do. Cause I'm perfict.

wayomic I see I am not alone brother, as a matter of fact there is a song written about me:

Oh Lord it's hard to be humble
when you're perfect in every way.
I can't wait to look in the mirror
cause I get better loking each day.
To know me is to love me
I must be a hell of a man.
Oh Lord it's hard to be humble
but I'm doing the best that I can.
I used to have a girlfriend
but she just couldn't compete
with all of these love starved women
who keep clamoring at my feet.
Well I prob'ly could find me another
but I guess they're all in awe of me.
Who cares, I never get lonesome
cause I treasure my own company.
Oh Lord it's hard to be humble
when you're perfect in every way,
I can't wait to look in the mirror
cause I get better looking each day
To know me is to love me
I must be a hell of a man.
Oh Lord it's hard to be humble
but I'm doing the best that I can.
I guess you could say I'm a loner,
a cowboy outlaw tough and proud.
I could have lots of friends if I want to
but then I wouldn't stand out from the crowd.
Some folks say that I'm egotistical.
Hell, I don't even know what that means.
I guess it has something to do with the way that I
fill out my skin tight blue jeans.
Oh Lord it's hard to be humble
when you're perfect in every way,
I can't wait to look in the mirror
cause I get better looking each day
To know me is to love me
I must be a hell of a man.
Oh Lord it's hard to be humble
but I'm doing the best that I can.
We're doing the best that we can[/align][8D][/align]

[Canuck_Buck]

LMAOOOOOooooo