Study demonstrates how fear can skew spatial perception

Monday, October 22, 2012

That snake heading towards you may be further away than it appears. Fear can skew our perception of approaching objects, causing us to underestimate the distance of a threatening one, finds a study published in Current Biology.

"Our results show that emotion and perception are not fully dissociable in the mind," says Emory University psychologist Stella Lourenco, co-author of the study. "Fear can alter even basic aspects of how we perceive the world around us. This has clear implications for understanding clinical phobias."

Lourenco conducted the research with Matthew Longo, a psychologist at Birkbeck, University of London.

People generally have a well-developed sense for when objects heading towards them will make contact, including a split-second cushion for dodging or blocking the object, if necessary. The researchers set up an experiment to test the effect of fear on the accuracy of that skill.

Study participants made time-to-collision judgments of images on a computer screen. The images expanded in size over one second before disappearing, to simulate "looming," an optical pattern used instinctively to judge collision time. The study participants were instructed to gauge when each of the visual stimuli on the computer screen would have collided with them by pressing a button.

The participants tended to underestimate the collision time for images of threatening objects, such as a snake or spider, as compared to non-threatening images, such as a rabbit or butterfly.

The results challenge the traditional view of looming, as a purely optical cue to object approach. "We're showing that what the object is affects how we perceive looming. If we're afraid of something, we perceive it as making contact sooner," Longo says.

"Even more striking," Lourenco adds, "it is possible to predict how much a participant will underestimate the collision time of an object by assessing the amount of fear they have for that object. The more fearful someone reported feeling of spiders, for example, the more they underestimated time-to-collision for a looming spider. That makes adaptive sense: If an object is dangerous, it's better to swerve a half-second too soon than a half-second too late."

The researchers note that it's unclear whether fear of an object makes the object appear to travel faster, or whether that fear makes the viewer expand their sense of personal space, which is generally about an arm's length away.

"We'd like to distinguish between these two possibilities in future research. Doing so will allow us to shed insight on the mechanics of basic aspects of spatial perception and the mechanisms underlying particular phobias," Lourenco says.

###

Emory University: http://www.emory.edu

Thanks to Emory University for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/124664/Study_demonstrates_how_fear_can_skew_spatial_perception

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Why gays and lesbians don't get along ? sebaspace

It?s not a much spoken about reality but a reality it is. Gay men and lesbians are not wired to get along.

Put more starkly, talking about gay and lesbian social relationships is like talking about chalk and cheese. In that adage lies one of the reasons why gay men and lesbians generally don?t get along; we have as much in common as chalk and cheese.

Yes, yes, you have issues such as LBTI emancipation that usually unite lesbian and gay activists ? they are after all fighting a common enemy.? But you have only got to scratch the surface and you find all sorts of nasty, malignant, toxic dynamics even within such groups. But it is fair to say that where the struggle for gay issues is still on the ascendancy, gay men and women get along a little better than usual. That said, I don?t know of more than a handful of organizations in the entire world where gay men and women work together as brothers and sisters for the common good of the male and female gay/rainbow fraternity. The more successful LGBTI organizations tend to have lines drawn in the sand along gay, lesbians, bisexuals, transgender, intersexual lines.

Frenemies? Butch lesbians and most gay men rarely get along.

The less talked about dynamic that makes for uncomfortable gay/lesbian relationships is in the perception among gay men that lesbians see themselves as men. Lipstick lesbians (who look and carry themselves as women) generally tend not to be too threatening to gay men and they are the easier ones to get along with. But bring a butch lesbian, complete with workman?s Timberland boots, oversize jeans and manly swagger, into the mix and you will have gay men silently running for the hills.

Then there is that aggressive streak that seems to bubble just beneath the surface of many a lesbian social gathering. Of course not all lesbians are trigger happy but it is difficult to shake off the perception that too many of them are constantly spoiling for a fight when they hang out. As one of my friends once put it ? ?some of these loud mouth lesbians really think they are men.?

In that sentence he encapsulated the problems gay men have with lesbians. Gay men like men because ? they are men. So, the reflexive reaction of a gay man to another that he finds attractive is to want to embrace him since the sexual dynamics are already aligned. So, when a lesbian tries to act like a man, it is the very antithesis of what a gay man is about.

Inwardly, therefore, most gay men will be screaming to themselves ? you are not a man, bitch? even though outwardly they will put on a pretense of getting along swimmingly.

Lipstick lesbians are usually less threatening to gay men, and so we get along better with them, because they look and act like women. So, while we are already aware that we both don?t want anything sexual from each other, we are content in the knowledge that they don?t deign to offer what we want ? namely a man. But the idea that we are hanging out with women who are acting like men, when all along we know they don?t have dicks, is enough to make the ins and outs of such relationships testy at best.

Thus gay men merely tolerate [especially] butch lesbians and will hang out with them socially only if they have to. Lipstick lesbians have the finesse and refinement many a gay man aspires to so we love our stiletto-heeled, dolled up? lesbian sisters; if we hadn?t been men, we would likely have liked to look the way they do. Even as men, we can get some beauty tips from them so they compliment rather than threaten our equilibrium.

No, no, no. We don?t hate lesbians, be they butch or effeminate. We just don?t know how to get along with them when, all along, we have so little in common and, in many extremes, are irritated that they are pretending to be what we know they can?t be; the men we are looking for.

Related articles:

Source: http://sebaspace.wordpress.com/2012/10/22/why-gays-and-lesbians-dont-get-along/

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Someone is shooting at motorists in Michigan

By NBC News staff

WIXOM, Mich. -- Police are teaming up?to track down a suspect in 16 shootings near the Interstate 96 corridor outside of Detroit, NBC station WDIV reported.

A newly formed task force met for more than three hours behind closed doors Friday evening to pore over dozens of tips that could lead to a suspect, WDIV reported.

"Know that we are coming for you," Wixom Public Safety Director Clarence Goodlein told WDIV. "It's only a matter of time. We're coming for you."


Shootings in the past week were reported on roads in Wixom, Commerce Township, Lyon Township, Howell and Webberville, in western Oakland County and Ingham County, WDIV reported.

In many cases, drivers reported seeing a gunman traveling toward them in the opposite direction, firing shots at their vehicle, the station reported. No one has been injured, but in a few cases bullets have come very close to drivers, WDIV said.

Some shootings occurred in daylight, others at night, WDIV reported.

Watch US News crime videos on NBCNews.com

Two drivers of vehicles that were struck told WDIV they had no idea what hit them.

"The shot went right through the side of my car," Aaron Mason told WDIV on Thursday, when five vehicles were hit. "Through this side of my car and right into my driver's seat,? he pointed out. ? I'm just lucky I didn't get shot," he said. "

?The parents are scared,? Raymond Bufford of Wixom told WDIV. ?Someone has to put a stop to it."

Some residents told WDIV they were avoiding Wixom Road, where most of the shootings took place. At least one shooting was on I-96.

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Authorities described the suspect's vehicle as a dark sports car covered with racing stripes. The headlights are possibly tinted blue.

Police have beefed up patrol enough to ease fears, WDIV reported.

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Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/21/14584097-someone-is-shooting-at-motorists-in-michigan-police-hunt-for-suspect?lite

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A4A Family Day @ The WAC | Fit City MKE

MISPIBO has been honored with the opportunity to use our expertise + network ?in fitness + healthy living to help Athletes for Autism?A4A with their fitness initiative.

If you?re a fitness/health professional + you?d like to help, contact us here ===> How Can I Help More Kids Get Fit!?

This past weekend was our 1st ?A4A Family Day? at the North Shore Wisconsin Athletic Club (WAC). We walked into a ?gym with (5) A4A athletes all close to their parents, some engaged in activities like basketball and playing with swiss medicine balls, and other disengaged, sitting along the walls until it was time to go home.

Insert, Chellie + I?in about (10) minutes there was a maze laid out on the basketball court made with Body Bars, which made all the kids think 2x about wanting to go home. ?Soon enough Henry agreed to leave his parents + drop the volleyball he was pseudo playing with; playing with us instead.

Here are the drills we (the kids made up about 20% of the drills) did:

Fitness Professionals:

Athletes

  • # ? 5
  • age range (6-10), exception of (1) athlete who was 23

Equipment:

  • Body Bars
  • Cones
  • Volleyballs
  • Swiss Medicine Balls

Drills:

  • Run the maze
  • Side-step the maze, facing both directions
  • Walk backwards through the maze
  • 2-hand bouncing a ball through the maze
  • Volleyball, nose-push though the maze, *my favorite ? thanks Alex

MISPIBO has partnered with Athletes for Autism?s (A4A) with the mission to offer fitness opportunities to children, adults and families affected by autism.

We already know kids are playing too many video games, parents are watching too much TV, and we are all spending too much time on our computers + eating the typical American diet. ?This has led to an epidemic of weight-related problems across the country.

Families + those affected by Autism can benefit greatly from fitness + health professionals donating their time + sharing their expertise.

Here are some improvements we?ve seen so for:

  • sleep regulation
  • more regular digestion
  • improved coping skills
  • decreased depression
  • better overall health

A4A has partnered with one of Wisconsin?s largest state of the art fitness centers to offer an opportunity for regular exercise for the Autism Fitness community. ?MISPIBO is looking for fitness + health professionals who?d like to help implement these programs throughout southeastern Wisconsin.

If you?re a fitness/health professional + you?d like to help, contact us here ===>?How Can I Help More Kids Get Fit!?

*MISPIBO is working closely with the leading authority for Autism Fitness, Eric Chessen, using his PAC Profile Assessment Toolbox to develop + implement fun + effective programs.

?

Your Trainer?s Favorite Trainer,

Ambrose WB

?

Source: http://fitcitymke.com/2012/10/a4a-family-day-the-wac/1567

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How To Look Credible Even If You Lack Experience | Personal ...

Q&A With Pete Leibman, Author of ??I Got My Dream Job and So Can You?

?Dear Pete: How can I look credible if I?m just getting started in a new field??

Pete?s Response:

If you have been featured on national TV or have written a best-selling book, you don?t need to worry about being seen as credible. ?However, what do you do if you are just starting out, either as a young professional or someone looking to establish credibility in a new field or industry? ?Here are 5 secrets to being seen as credible even if you are inexperienced:

1. Look the part. To be seen as credible, you have to look credible first. For example, if you want to be seen as a credible ?fitness expert,? you better be in amazing physical shape, i.e. Jillian Michaels from The Biggest Loser. ?(Shockingly, half of the personal trainers at my gym are overweight, although what?s even more disturbing is that some people at my gym are actually paying these people for fitness advice.) If you want to be seen as a credible ?personal finance expert,? you better have a healthy bank account and not be driving around a beat-up pick-up truck. If you want to be seen as a credible ?happiness expert,? you better look really happy and not be walking around whining about the economy. While firsthand success is not the only path to credibility, people will and should be skeptical of you if you haven?t gotten results in the area you claim to have expertise in. The good news is that you don?t need anyone else?s permission or 20 years of experience to get results on your own. To go back to our fitness example, if you want to be seen as a fitness expert, you don?t need to work at health club for 20 years, you just need to get yourself in really good shape.

2. Confident body language. While it sounds immensely obvious to say that you should maintain strong eye contact and give a firm handshake, it?s amazing how often I meet professionals who are unable to look me in the eye or who give me a ?dead-fish? handshake. Within seconds, these people have destroyed their credibility, no matter how talented that may really be. This is an easy one to fix and incredibly obvious to give as a piece of advice, but amazingly common.

3. Piggyback. Another fast path to credibility is to piggyback on the credibility of a person or organization that already has credibility. For example, I broke into the highly competitive sports and entertainment industry and landed a front-office job with the NBA?s Washington Wizards when I was 21 years old. That certainly didn?t happen because of results I had achieved on my own, although I did have a strong resume for a student. It happened because I had a referral to leadership for the Washington Wizards through one of their former employees. This person had loads of credibility with the organization, and I immediately looked credible when he was willing to vouch for me. (Note: This was someone I had been referred to by another executive I met at a networking event. This was not a family member or personal contact.)

4. Communicate clearly and in public. Another great way to be seen as credible is through writing and speaking. You don?t need to write a book to be seen as credible, although it?s one of the best ways to establish credibility in any field/industry. You can simply contribute to a well-respected blog or publication. Speaking at conferences/events is another great way to establish credibility. All of these efforts increase your visibility. When you get well-known in a field/industry, you are automatically seen as more credible. One caveat on this. Your content and writing must be clear and effective. If you deliver a boring, convoluted speech or write an article riddled with grammatical errors, you?ll simply have a lot of people who know you, but who think you are incompetent!

5. Be focused. If you want to be seen as credible, you need to be focused. I recently reviewed a resume from a senior HR executive who listed ?Human Resources,? ?Marketing,? and ?Finance? among a lengthy list of very broad specialties. Contrast that list with another HR executive whose specialties are targeted and include ?Curriculum Design,? ?E-Learning,? and ?Leadership Development.? Who looks more credible to you? If you try to position yourself as an expert at everything (i.e. totally unrelated topics like HR, Marketing, and Finance), you will be seen as an expert at nothing.

Author:

Pete Leibman is the Founder of Dream Job Academy and the Author of ?I Got My Dream Job and So Can You: 7 Steps to Creating Your Ideal Career After College? (AMACOM, 2012). His work has been featured on Fox, CBS, and CNN, and he?s a popular Keynote Speaker at career events for students and at conferences for people who work with students.

Source: http://www.personalbrandingblog.com/how-to-look-credible-even-if-you-lack-experience/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-to-look-credible-even-if-you-lack-experience

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Romney watches reporters, staff play football

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (AP) ? Republican Mitt Romney took a break from debate preparations Sunday to watch reporters who cover him play football against his senior staff.

Less than three weeks before Election Day, Romney headed to Delray Beach, where senior staffers were gathered across from the press team, all in flag football uniforms. Romney walked down through the sand to officiate the coin toss and buck up his team.

The former Massachusetts governor handed bracelets to both team captains, New York Times reporter Ashley Parker and Romney Communications Director Gail Gitcho. He told them the bracelets read, "Clear eyes, full hearts, America can't lose." It's a version of the slogan from TV's Friday Night Lights.

After the coin toss, Romney gathered his aides into a huddle and led them in a cheer.

"Figure out which of their players is best and take them out early," Romney joked with them. "That's right, don't worry about injuries guys, this counts. Win."

Romney didn't talk politics, refusing to answer a question about whether he would, as president, be open to one-on-one talks with Iran. The small group of reporters assigned to cover the event also asked about Monday's debate and new poll showing a tied race.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/romney-watches-reporters-staff-play-football-162434733--election.html

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HTC Droid Incredible X possibly spotted with Verizon badging intact (Update: DLX is short for 'Deluxe')

HTC DLX possibly photographed in its long, long rumored Verizon badging

It's about time. The HTC DLX has most often been rumored carrying a Verizon-style 6435LVW or Droid Incredible X name, and yet it was unveiled first in Japan as the J Butterfly; we really needed the photos just now surfacing at Android Central to remind us that the 5-inch, 1080p gigantophone could still come to Big Red. While nothing's confirmed yet, the black-with-red-trim design and all too prominent Verizon labeling make a convincing case for the DLX's ultimate US destination. A helpfully provided phone profile screen might be more interesting to some, as it hints that we might get the same quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro, 2GB of RAM and 8-megapixel rear camera as in the J Butterfly -- Verizon won't pull a Droid Incredible 4G LTE and tone down the hardware, if this is true. Without any more details, we're still left wondering just how soon Verizon could commit to launching the smartphone. There's no guarantees that Verizon will follow KDDI's schedule and ship in early December.

Update: We've been wondering whether the odd name was meant to be short for Droid Incredible X, i.e. "DIX" instead of "DLX," but our friend @evleaks on Twitter just showed us a list of device PIDs that mentions the latter. @evleaks also suggests that DLX might be short for the codename "Deluxe" for the international variant, just as "ENRC2" was short for "Endeavor C2" (One X+).

Update 2: It turns out the J Butterfly has the codename "Deluxe J" in its bootloader menu, so there you have it. Thanks again, @evleaks!

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HTC Droid Incredible X possibly spotted with Verizon badging intact (Update: DLX is short for 'Deluxe') originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 21 Oct 2012 01:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lebanon's former PM blames Assad for Beirut bomb

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lebanons-former-pm-hariri-blames-assad-beirut-bomb-010835908.html

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US, Israel ready for huge joint drill in Iran's shadow

Israeli police killed an American gunman who opened fire in a seaside hotel packed with tourists. NBC’s Martin Fletcher reports.

By John Ray, NBC News

TEL AVIV, Israel - One might call it the Armageddon scenario: a massive and coordinated missile attack on Israel from many fronts.

As the rockets rain down, only the United States can save a nation from annihilation.

And they have been warning about it long enough. Now, at last, the direst predictions will be played out.

Now for the good news.

Almost all of this will take place within the safe confines of computerized simulation for three weeks starting next week.?

There is no war, merely the preparation for one, and the Middle East is a place where it pays off to be prepared.

Israeli-American Operation Austere Challenge will not be cheap. The biggest ever joint Israeli-American drill of its type to be conducted throughout Israel and off-shore?by the two sides comes with a combined bill of close to $40 million.

According to the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. has pledged $30 million to the exercise and the Israelis estimated their exercise costs at 30 million shekels -- around $7.9 million.

Israelis are prepared ? and not ? for an Iran attack

The drill will involve some 3,500 U.S. personnel, with around 1,000 troops deployed in theater, along with a navy cruiser to serve as the control center, and Patriot missile defense batteries.

Together the two sides will find out if their command systems and computer codes are compatible.

Israeli Prime Minister Spokesman Mark Regev joins MSNBC to discuss Benjamin Netanyahu's recent address to the U.N. General Assembly.

But if much of the exercise will take place in the virtual world, there?s an all too real world backdrop, which is proving tricky for the military to maneuver?around.

"This exercise is purely about improving combined U.S.-Israeli military capability,?? U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Craig Franklin, told reporters this week.

Iran says it stopped Israeli cyber attack

"It is not related to any national elections nor any perceived tensions in the Middle East,?? he added.


But, like it or not, this is a drill taking place in the heat of two general election campaigns and during what is surely only a lull in hostilities over Iran.

Austere Challenge has been delayed ?and scaled back since the height of Israeli saber-rattling had Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Cheifs of Staff, saying he did not want America to be seen as "complicit" in an Israeli attack.

Both sides have denied that changes to the drill are related to this very public disagreement, and last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back his deadline to halt Tehran?s nuclear program to next summer.

Still, it?s a conflict delayed, not averted.

Israeli forces strike Gaza targets after rocket salvo

In the meantime, Netanyahu has turned his attentions to fighting for re-election. He wants Iran and Israel?s security to figure as the big issues.

Austere Challenge allows him the chance to re-assure worried voters he?s back on side with their most important ally.

Of course, that?s not a bad message for President Barack Obama to be sending out too, with his own electoral destiny rather closer to hand, and facing Mitt Romney?s charge of "throwing Israel under the bus.??

Romney: US has 'solemn duty' to prevent Iranian threat to Israel

In military terms, the generals told NBC News this week they will count Austere Challenge a success if they manage to stop any simulated missiles striking Israeli soil.

Political leaders on both sides are hoping for a similar level of protection from their rivals? rhetorical rockets.?

More world stories from NBC News:

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Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/19/14558444-armageddon-scenario-us-israel-ready-for-huge-joint-drill-in-irans-shadow?lite

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