What do you say when you receive a gift you are not too fond of? In light of this holiday season, the University of Hertfordshire has conducted a study on gift giving. The focus of this study was determining whether or not gift givers could tell whether or not a recipient liked a present just…
Read MoreThe Case for Musical Emotions
For many people, listening to music is a deeply emotional experience, but does that tap into universal emotions? In a 2016 study, psychologist Heike Argstatter sought to determine whether universal basic emotions are recognizable in music across cultures. This built on her previous research which found that, within one Western culture, both trained musicians and…
Read MoreEmotions vs Expressions
We know there are seven “basic” emotions, but aren’t there many more emotions? In fact, there is significant difference between what emotions we experience and how our faces are able to express these emotions. While mountains of previous research have settled on the existence of seven basic emotional expressions, ongoing research seeks to quantify exactly…
Read MoreSmelling Feelings?
If something smells awful, it’s because it’s disgusting, right? Maybe, but the truth is a little bit more complicated. A recent study found that our immediate olfactory reactions to stimuli are heavily influenced by the emotional reactions of other people. This suggests that when we smell something bad, we may be picking up on people’s…
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