Most of my long-term readers know that I have a bit of an obsession with how the brain works.  Given my family history, I have some legitimate concerns, as well as some irrational fears, about my own brain’s functioning.

Moreover, I frankly think cognitive science is cool.

With that said, then, it should be little wonder that I found myself watching, Paul Bloom, Yale Professor of Psychology, give a talk that he titled “The Origins of Pleasure”.  Interestingly, he spoke more about perceptions and provenance than about objects or actions.

His premise: where something comes from effects how much we may enjoy it.  He used the example of undetected forgery.  While the forgery remains undetected, the painting may be beloved for its superior technique, subtle tones or peaceful scene.  Once discovered to be a fake, the object, physically unchanged, has less appeal…even among those who lost no money in the deal.

Bloom speaks of a controlled experiment in which subjects were administered electric shocks by a person in another room.  Among those who were told that the person in the other room had no idea what was on the other end of the button they were pushing, the first shock was a doozy, but subsequent ones were reported to be more bearable.  Those who were told that the person in the other room was shocking them on purpose found that every last shock hurt like hell.

How’s that?  It hurts less if we don’t think it is on purpose?

Hmmm…

Well, not being a fan of electric shocks, I’ll take their word for it.

I just thought it was interesting to see such clear evidence that how we perceive something is so clearly dependent on how we perceive its origins.

This is not rocket science.  It is one of the things that factor into our emotional intelligence.

What we say matters, but where our words are coming from may matter even more.

Perspective matters.

 

 

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