Do you know what creativity is? Can you measure it? On February 19, 2014 Dr. Ysbrand van der Werf gave a lecture on creativity. For him, creativity is about the creator and the person experiencing the things created.
In the autumn of 2013, a team of scientists measured the emotions, brain activity and subjective feelings of a writer (Arnon Grunberg) as he created a new book (‘Het bestand’: an ambiguous title that can refer to a computer file or a cease-fire).
Topics: emotion recognition, FaceReader, facial expression analysis, physiology, EEG, emotions
Take a typical conversation: Hello, how are you? Fine! How are you? {pause} Fine! Shall we …….etcetera. The opening of this conversation is highly structured, isn’t it? The process of turn taking is a crucial and cooperative aspect of conversational speech. Gestures are also of great importance. When your feet are already turned to the door, you are getting ready to run out. Try to read your own signals and you will see!
In a conversation we include hints like conversation openers, closers, and shifters. It’s a feeling we’re all familiar with: you’re trying desperately to end a conversation, and the other person keeps on talking and does not read the clues you are giving. You say: “Anyway… “ {…Person B keeps talking} “see you Thursday, all right?” and edge toward the door… {Person B talks over you.} “Thursday noon, was it, right?” {Person B still doesn’t get the hint to leave.}…and so on. In this frustrating exchange, Person B repeatedly ignores your conversation closers, both verbal (“right”, “all right”, “anyway”) and nonverbal.
Topics: The Observer XT, doctor patient interaction, eye tracking
Broadening horizons. That is what the students (age 14-17) of School at Sea literally do. Starting in The Netherlands, they sail to the Caribbean and back in six months. During this voyage, they learn to develop their talents and leadership skills. How do they experience this journey? One of the students (Hannah @ Sea) has chosen to share her 'emotional journey'.
As the year comes to a close, the results are crystal clear.
We have rounded up the top three most viewed blog posts of 2014 in psychology, neuromarketing, and autism research.
Interested? Read on!
Topics: autism research, parent-child interaction, parent-infant dyads, Neuromarketing
Embracing the technological advances of the last decade, many health care professionals have incorporated information technology into their daily routines. Doctors can carry patient files around on their tablets or laptops and can quickly update a status when needed. Convenience has without a doubt increased, but does such easy access to technology impact the quality of doctor-patient interactions?
Topics: The Observer XT, doctor patient interaction, medical encounter, coding schemes
The Behavioral Research Blog regularly highlights recent advances in Alzheimer’s research. Check out four recent blog posts and get the latest information and insight.
What is the most popular drug in the world? It’s not alcohol, cannabis, or cocaine, but something most of us start with each day. Coffee; or, more specifically: caffeine. Like millions of other people, it helps me get started and prevents my morning headaches. Caffeine also has been shown to prevent age-related cognitive decline by reducing the risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and dementia. It is not surprising, then, that much research has already been done on the effect of caffeine in the development of AD. Read more!
Topics: Alzheimer's disease
Rett syndrome (RTT) is a severe progressive neurodevelopmental disorder. It affects girls almost exclusively and is characterized by normal early growth and development followed by a slowing of development, loss of purposeful use of the hands, distinctive hand movements, slowed brain and head growth, problems with walking, seizures, and intellectual disability (Rett Syndrome Fact Sheet, 2014). In the study discussed in this blog post, the researchers indicated that normal cooing and babbling were absent in the first two years of life. They also observed finger movements and found that they occurred sporadically with limited variability. Let us zoom in on this original article published in the Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities.
Topics: The Observer XT, video observation, parent-child interaction
What are you waving your arms for? My Italian friend makes all kinds of gestures when she’s trying to get her point across, and doing this seems almost natural for her. She wants me to understand her and since English is her second language, as it is mine, she uses her hands to explain herself more powerfully.
It is widely accepted that verbal and non-verbal behaviors are closely linked. But how about my journey toward becoming a near-native speaker of English? How important are gestures in articulating the meaning of a presentation?
The use of video feedback is well established and encouraged in the world of health care education and research. Clinical encounters, behavioral protocols, and doctor-patient interactions can be evaluated. Video recording also enables the assessment of communication in great detail.
Evelien Spelten and colleagues set forth to gain insight into the midwife-client interaction in relation to the quality of care provided by midwives. Focusing on the first antenatal consultation, their study describes the introduction of video recording in midwifery practices for research purposes, the coding process, and the resulting dataset.
Topics: The Observer XT, video observation, medical encounter
The 2014 Neuroscience conference is fast approaching, and will be held on November 15-19 in Washington, DC! This year promises another inspiring program. We’ve highlighted some activities for you to get into the Neuroscience mood!
Topics: Video tracking, gait analysis, neuroscience, conferences, SfN
