Watkins, Patel, and Antoine’s work signals the value of healthy eating at work and the consequences of supporting it. They report that “Food consumption has been conceptualized as an integral aspect of employee well-being. Whereas most research in the organizational literature to date is motivated by individual health outcomes, we assert that eating at work also entails interpersonal implications. . . .
Buisch and colleagues investigated links between political orientation and place experience. They report that “Based on work suggesting possible ideological differences in genes related to low-level sensory processing, we predicted that taste (i.e., gustatory) sensitivity would be associated with political ideology. In 4 studies . . . we test this hypothesis and find robust support for this association. In Studies 1–3, we find that sensitivity to the chemicals PROP and PTC—2 well established measures of taste sensitivity—are associated with greater political conservatism.
Ebert and teammates investigated influences on decisions made. They share “evidence on the relationship of individual and regional personality with spending behavior. Analyzing the spending records of 111,336 participants (31,915,942 unique transactions) across 374 Local Authority Districts (LAD) in the United Kingdom, we first show that geographic regions with higher aggregate scores on a given personality trait collectively spend more money on categories associated with that trait.
Zhang and colleagues’ work confirms links between feeling awed and thinking creatively. The team reports that “on days when participants felt more daily awe than they typically do, they reported having done more everyday creative activities. The effects of awe were independent of amusement . . . and Big Five personality. . . . These results are the first to demonstrate a consistent link between awe and complementary measures of creativity.”
Hahnel-Peeters and colleagues investigated the implications of using nature words in names; their findings confirm the psychological value of in-nature experiences. The researchers report that “In Study 1, we conducted a content analysis of the naming conventions of apartment buildings and residential neighborhoods. We hypothesized that there would be more nature words (e.g., valley, river, arbor) in apartment and neighborhood names than nonnature words (e.g., 4th Street; Renaissance, Washington). . . .
Shiner’s discussion of scents, art, and scents in/as art addresses, in a thought-provoking way, the role of sensory experiences in our lives. As materials on the Oxford University webpage for this text (https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/oso/978019008... ) detail: “This book offers an overview of the aesthetic and ethical issues raised by the contemporary olfactory arts, which range from gallery and museum sculptures and installations, through the
Marschallek and team studied how we discuss materials with the goal of better understanding how we experience differences in them. The group reports that “this study examines the conceptual structure of the aesthetics of various materials (Werkstoffe)—for instance, leather, metal, and wood. . . . we asked 1,956 students to write down adjectives that could be used to describe the aesthetics of materials. . . . A second subsample of a broader cross-section of the population (n = 496) replicated the findings obtained with the first subsample.
Neuroscientists have studied how design can encourage people to trust each other. Their findings can be applied when all sorts of spaces and objects are being developed.
Neilson, Craig, Altman, Travis, Vance, and Klein extend the discussion of biophilic design to spacecraft interiors; psychological and physiological stressors in these environments make them really challenging places for humans to spend time. The researchers report on how biophilic elements can be introduced into spacecraft: “Astronauts living in space will be unable to access natural landscapes and other environments found to have restorative effects on psychological stress and overall well-being. . . . .
Holt, Zapetis, Babadi, and Tootell chart how COVID has influenced the size of our preferred personal space zones. They report that “during the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing recommendations led to deliberate expansions of personal space outside of intimate social circles. In the laboratory, personal space preferences are quite stable over repeated measurements. Here, we collected such measurements both before and during the pandemic in the same individuals, using both conventional and virtual reality-based techniques.
