Thursday, December 24, 2009
I'm currently reading "The Tipping Point- how little things can make a big difference" by Malcolm Gladwell.
It is a pretty interesting read because it seems to examine the intricacies that causes the success of a product/idea/innovation.
I came across this research idea in the book. It was an experiment where 3 group of students were gathered. One group had to keep nodding their heads while listening to an audio. Another had to keep shaking their heads. The control group, had to keep their head still.
The results of the experiment then showed that each group was subconsciously being sold an idea while adopting the particular head motion. Those who nod their heads were more willing to accept an idea, those who shook their heads were against the idea and those who did nothing were impartial to it.
I find it amusing and of course amazing. Doing something like nodding or shaking your head while the other party is making his pitch can affect your eventual thinking. It just goes to show how powerful our subconscious actions (or in this case, "forced" actions) are!
I was thinking about this while lying on the bed just now and suddenly something came to me. What if... the group of students that were recruited were not westerners but instead, were indians? Haha I know I'm cheeky but it certainly would cause the western researcher much headache when the experiment results came out. xp
For those of you who read the last part with a question mark over your head, here's why: Indians shake their heads when they agree and nod their heads when they disagree! Therefore the experiment results would directly contradict each other... haahahaha.
=D little nugget of information.
It is a pretty interesting read because it seems to examine the intricacies that causes the success of a product/idea/innovation.
I came across this research idea in the book. It was an experiment where 3 group of students were gathered. One group had to keep nodding their heads while listening to an audio. Another had to keep shaking their heads. The control group, had to keep their head still.
The results of the experiment then showed that each group was subconsciously being sold an idea while adopting the particular head motion. Those who nod their heads were more willing to accept an idea, those who shook their heads were against the idea and those who did nothing were impartial to it.
I find it amusing and of course amazing. Doing something like nodding or shaking your head while the other party is making his pitch can affect your eventual thinking. It just goes to show how powerful our subconscious actions (or in this case, "forced" actions) are!
I was thinking about this while lying on the bed just now and suddenly something came to me. What if... the group of students that were recruited were not westerners but instead, were indians? Haha I know I'm cheeky but it certainly would cause the western researcher much headache when the experiment results came out. xp
For those of you who read the last part with a question mark over your head, here's why: Indians shake their heads when they agree and nod their heads when they disagree! Therefore the experiment results would directly contradict each other... haahahaha.
=D little nugget of information.
