I was listening to Radiolab, as I so often do these days. I've been downloading all the episodes and podcasts they've ever put out and listening to them while I draw. (I wonder if this adversely influencing my drawings.... or maybe not adversely? Eh who knows? Too many factors to test this properly, I fear.)
Anyway here is a segment of their show entitled "Choice," which explores how and why we make choices.
To summarize the pertinent bit: Lawrence Williams is a researcher who conducted a very simple experiment. He asked people to look at a photo of a man ("Joe") and asked them if they (in a gut-reaction, off-hand sort of way) like the guy. But before he asked them this question, he'd cunningly ask them to hold a cup of coffee for him for a second. Just a second. They didn't even take a sip or anything, simply held it in their hands. He tried to different cups: one with hot coffee and one with cold coffee. Overwhelmingly, the people who held the hot coffee liked "Joe" more than the people who held the cup with the cold coffee.
Look, I've been drinking hot tea every morning since I was like 3. Could that have played a major role in predisposing me to like people more? Would I have been a more hateful person if I had ice-cold orange juice every morning?
Anyway, I'm going to go with yes and keep drinking tea, with a new justification for it =). Of course it's not about caffeine at all, but about warmth. So I know I'm fooling myself, but I don't really care.
The question is, if I'm aware that I'm being "primed," will it negate the effect?
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