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Dinse, Newen, and Tegenthoff have collected additional information indicating that our perceptions of textures are quite subjective.  The investigators learned in a study using hypnosis that “If we sincerely believe that our index finger is five times bigger than it really is, our sense of touch improves. . . . When the participants signaled that they understood the opposite hypnotic suggestion that their index finger was five times smaller than it actually was, their sense of touch deteriorated accordingly. The study shows that our tactile perception is affected and can be altered by our mental processes. . . . ‘Our study provides another building block supporting the idea that such top-down influences of beliefs on perception do indeed exist,’ stresses Hubert Dinse. ‘The beliefs we hold do indeed change how we experience the world.’”

“Our Thoughts Alter Our Tactile Perception.” 2023. Press release, Ruhr Universitat Bochum, https://news.rub.de/english/press-releases/2023-05-11-neuroscience-our-…

How does background music influence stress and our performance on manual tasks?   Felszeghy and teammates set out to answer this question by studying dental students listening to what was categorized as “slow background music”: “the music reduced stress but also increased motivation to learn and practice. . . . Time use and quality of cavity preparation were enhanced. This study lends support to the use of slow background music in preclinical cariology training, as it appeared to have helpful effects on dental skills education and practice.” The slow background music was described “as classical, jazz, easy listening, or slow pop music. Songs with a tempo of around 60 beats per minute were defined as slow (relaxing) music. . . .  A medium-level volume of 45–50 dB was chosen based on the recommendations of the Association of the Federal Office for Economic Affairs, Labor and Foreign Trade SECO, which state that duties requiring cognitive concentration should be performed with a noise exposure level under 50 dB.”

Szabolcs Felszeghy, Miko Liukkonen, Carlos Tornero, Olli Auvinen, Kallie Hamalainen, Aisha Banafa, and Pirjo Kurki. “Influence of Background Music on Stress Reduction and Impact on Performance During Students’ Simulation Exercises.”  Journal of Dental Education, in press, https://doi.org/10.1002/jdd.13235

Sun and colleagues link experiencing sunlight and taking more risks.  More specifically they report that “We examine sunshine-induced mood and its impacts on investors' bidding decisions in the primary market where seasoned equities are offered. . . . . We find that investors exposed to stronger sunshine intensity or longer sunshine duration submit a higher bid price for SEOs [seasoned equity offerings], thus leading to lower offer discounts. We also find that mood misattribution and risk-taking act as channels to rationalize such a sunshine effect. Our moderating analyses indicate that the documented impact strengthens in the case of greater uncertainty, less-frequent bidders, retail investors, and lower levels of investment. These sunshine effects impact failed bids, SEO participation and SEOs' long-term performance. Our study provides original evidence that investors in the primary market can be influenced by a sunshine-induced mood, which, in turn, determines the cost of equity financing.”

Qian Sun, Xiaoke Cheng, Shenghao Gao, Tao Chen, and Jia Liu.  2023. “Sunshine-Induced Mood and SEO Pricing:  Evidence from Detailed Investor Bids in SEO Auctions.”  Journal of Corporate Finance, vol. 80, 102411, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2023.102411

We take selfies for different reasons than we take photos in general.  A Niese-lead team determined that “When photographing moments in their lives, people can use a first-person (capturing the scene as they saw it) or third-person (capturing the scene with themselves in it) perspective. Past research suggests third-person (vs. first-person) images better depict the meaning (vs. physical experience) of events. The current work suggests the use and impact of perspective in personal photography follow this representational function. Across six studies . . . we find that the goal to capture meaning (vs. physical experience) causes people to be more likely to use third-person (vs. first-person) photos, that people are reminded more of the meaning (vs. physical experience) when viewing their own actual third-person (vs. first-person) photos, and that people like their photos better when the perspective matched (vs. mismatched) their goal for taking the photo.”

Zachary Niese, Lisa Libby, and Richard Elbach. 2023. “Picturing Your Life:  The Role of Imagery Perspective in Personal Photos.”  Social Psychological and Personality Science, https://doi.org/10.1177/19485506231163012

How does being in nature influence phone use?  Minor and colleagues found that “Evidence links greenspace exposure with restorative benefits to cognition and well-being, yet nature contact is declining for younger demographics. . . . we analyzed ~2.5 million observations of logged smartphone use, texting, calling, and environmental exposures for 701 young adults over 2 years. Participants’ weekly smartphone screen-time was over double their green-time. The relationship between greenspace exposure and smartphone activity differed by exposure dose, type, and mobility state. Calling and texting increased during short recreational greenspace visits while all smartphone use declined over the first 3 hr in nature areas, suggesting that nature exposure may support digital impulse inhibition. Those with elevated baseline screen-time or green-time significantly reduced device use in nature, indicating that parts of the biosphere may provide a reprieve from the cybersphere for highly connected youth.”

Kelton Minor, Kristoffer Glavind, Aaaron Schwartz, Christopher Danforth, Sune Lehmann, and Andreas Bjerre-Nielsen. “Nature Exposure Is Associated with Reduced Smartphone Use.”  Environment and Behavior, in press, https://doi.org/10.1177/00139165231167165

Astell-Burt and colleagues link living near greenspace and feeling less lonely.  They report “a 10% increase in urban greening within 1.6 km was associated with lower cumulative incident loneliness. . . . stronger association was observed for people living alone. . . . No age, sex or disability-related contingencies, associations with green space within 400 or 800 m or relief from loneliness reported at baseline were observed. . . . Loneliness is a major risk factor for diabetes, heart disease, depression and premature death. . . . Analyses of an Australian nationally representative cohort study suggest that achieving urban-greening targets of 30% total area could lower the odds of cumulative incident loneliness by up to 26% among adults in general. This 30% urban-greening target may lower the odds of cumulative incident loneliness by 52% among adults who live alone.”

Thomas Astell-Burt, Terry Hartig, Simon Eckermann, and Mark Nieuwenhuijsen.  2022. “More Green, Less Lonely?  A Longitudinal Cohort Study.”  International Journal of Epidemiology, vol. 51, no. 1, pp. 99-110, https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyab089

The Global Wellness Institute has published the Wellness Policy Toolkit: Physical Activity, and it is available free at the web address noted below.  As the toolkit’s website notes, “Wellness Policy Toolkit: Physical Activity takes a deep dive into physical activity as a domain of wellness policy. It provides the rationale for why wellness policy in physical activity is necessary, and it presents six areas of policy action that can encourage and support people to engage in sufficient physical activity to stay healthy, both in their daily lives and during their leisure time. The toolkit discusses the many challenges that contribute to high and rising levels of physical inactivity, and it examines specific ways in which new policies, government resources, and cross-sector partnerships can address those gaps and constraints.”

https://globalwellnessinstitute.org/industry-research/2023-wellness-policy-toolkit-physical-activity/?utm_source=Global+Wellness+Institute&utm_campaign=5136c3a682-GWI+GWS+Master+Class+Wood+Powell_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_bbb41a322d-5136c3a682-69858125

Trop and colleagues evaluated lighting conditions in which people felt safe in public spaces.  They learned via a literature review that “while higher intensity is usually associated with better safety perception, some studies . . . point out the diminishing returns or plateau-escarpment of illumination levels above 10lx. Second, mismatch between perception of safety and perception of other qualities of PSL is also apparent . . .  indicating that place intended functionality should be considered (e.g., parking lot comfort associated with higher CCT. . . .  Third, light distribution has multiple implications. For example, more uniformity and less patchy light is associated with better safety and comfort . . . light in user’s vicinity influences perception more than light from the surrounding area . . . and complex scenes and background light may mitigate [lessen] discomfort.”

Tamar Trop, Sharon Tavory, and Boris Portnov.  2023.“Factors Affecting Pedestrians’ Perceptions of Safety, Comfort, and Pleasantness Induced by Public Space Lighting:  A Systematic Literature Review.”  Environment and Behavior, vol. 55, no. 1-2, pp. 3-46, DOI: 10.1177/00139165231163550

Patelaki and colleagues’ work confirms the value of developing spaces where people can walk. The researchers report that “Older adults whose response accuracy ‘paradoxically’ improved during walking manifested neural signatures of both behavioral improvement and aging, suggesting that their flexibility in reallocating neural resources while walking might be maintained for the cognitive but not for the motor inhibitory component.” Some of the 62–79-year-old participants’ cognitive performance improved as they walked compared to when they were seated.

Eleni Patelaki, John Foxe, Emma Mantel, George Kassis, and Edward Freedman.  2023. “Paradoxical Improvement of Cognitive Control in Older Adults Under Dual-Task Walking Conditions Is Associated with More Flexible Reallocation of Neural Resources:  A Mobile Brain-Body (MoBI) Study.”  NeuroImage, vol. 273, 120098, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120098

Research confirms place-behavior links. Investigators found via a study with mice that “Environmental context plays a major role in chemical dependence and addiction, inducing or reinforcing compulsive drug-seeking behavior. . . . ‘To understand what this means in humans, simply think of someone who always drinks at the same bar and feels like going in for a beer whenever they’re walking past it,” Longo [Beatriz Longo, professor of neurophysiology, UNIFESP’s Medical School] said.”

“Environmental Context Strongly Influences Drug Dependence, Study Shows.” 2023.  Press release, Agencia FAPESP.  https://ods.fapesp.br/environmental-context-strongly-influences-drug-de…