University of Virginia researchers say they've determined people's physical condition affects how they view their environment.
The scientists investigated the impact of fatigue, physical ability, and potential bodily endangerment on how we perceive our environment. They found people have a natural tendency to view hills as steeper when they are tired, less physically able, or carrying a heavy load. Likewise, inclines appear greater and the distance to the ground appears farther when there is a perceived risk of injury.
The author of the study -- psychology professor Dennis Proffitt -- attributes that perceptual variance to the instinctive need to conserve energy and protect ourselves from harm.
"The visually specified layout of the environment is modulated in perception in ways that promote effective, efficient, and safe behavior," said Proffitt.
The research is detailed in the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
Related stories:
World's Largest Quantum Bell Test Spans Three Swiss Towns
In an attempt to rule out any kind of communication between entangled particles, physicists from the University of Geneva have sent two entangled photons traveling to different towns located 18 km apart – the longest distance for this type of quantum measurement. The distance enabled the physicists to completely finish performing their quantum measurements at each detector before any information could have time to travel between the two towns.
Sexual harassment at school -- more harmful than bullying
Schools’ current focus on bullying prevention may be masking the serious and underestimated health consequences of sexual harassment, according to James Gruber from the University of Michigan-Dearborn and Susan Fineran from the University of Southern Maine in the US. Their research, just published online in Springer’s journal
Sex Roles, shows that although less frequent, sexual harassment has a greater negative impact on teenagers’ health than the more common form of victimization, bullying.
Rich terrorist, poor terrorist
New research suggests political freedom and geographic factors contribute significantly to causes of terrorism, challenging the common view that terrorism is rooted in poverty.
Physicists Bring Quantum Computing Closer to Reality
Researchers at the U. S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory, the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Microsoft Station Q have made significant advancements in understanding a fundamental problem of quantum mechanics – one that is blocking efforts to develop practical quantum computers with processing speeds far superior to conventional computers. Their respective theoretical and experimental studies investigate how microscopic objects lose their quantum-mechanical properties through interactions with the environment.
Nanoscience will change the way we think about the world
The ubiquity of mineral nanoparticles in natural waters, the atmosphere, and in soils and their intriguing properties provide Earth scientists with another dimension in which to understand our planet.
Physicists discover gold can be magnetic on the nanoscale
Physicists at the Georgia Institute of Technology have made important findings regarding gold on the nanoscale. They found that applying an electrical field on a surface-supported gold nanocluster changes its structure from a three-dimensional one to a planar flat structure. In another paper, they relate their discovery that gold in this size regime can be made magnetic through oxygenation of gold nanowires.
UI develops free, easy-to-use web tool kit for archivists
Archivists at the University of Illinois Library believe they have built a better tool kit. Their new online collections management program called Archon has more than a few attractive features – not the least of which is that it was developed for “lone archivists with limited technological resources and knowledge,” said Scott Schwartz, one of the developers of the software program and the archivist for music and fine arts at Illinois.
Don't blame the trees: Social factors, not forests, dictate disease patterns
A new study published February 6 in the open access journal
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases suggests that socioeconomic factors best explain patterns of the infectious disease American Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (ACL) in Costa Rica. Contrary to the established belief that deforestation reduces the risk of infection, the research shows that deforestation may actually make socially marginalized human populations more vulnerable to infection.