Drunk Tank Pink And Other Unexpected Forces that Shape How We Think, Feel, and Behave
In the late 1970's researchers discovered that a particular shade of pink had a calming effect on people. Soon after, drunk tanks and even some colleges visitors' locker rooms were being painted pink to try to take advantage of this fact.
Marketing and psychology professor Adam Atler shares the profound effects that hidden cues like color have on us, so we can mitigate their effect or use them to our benefit. According to Atler, these cues tend to reside in three separate realms.
- In Our Heads
Labels are a powerful hidden cue that can cause us to react very strongly. Consider today's typical reaction to names like Adolf or Ebenezer. Or the likely socio-economic categorization of people with names like Ricky and Bobby vs. tonier names like Sander and Guillaume.
Another example comes from a study that looked at the performance of 3rd graders who were randomly chosen and described as "early bloomers". Teachers reacted to this label by devoting extra energy to these students and the result was a 10% increase in their IQ.
- In Our Culture
Our cultural background has a strong influence on how we perceive people. For example, Westerners are more likely to strive for "Individualism" while East Asians usually value "collectivism."
For example, while ads in Korea typically promote the values of tradition, conformity, and following trends, most ads in the US emphasize choice, freedom, and uniqueness.
- In Our Physical Environment
Our physical world contributes to some of the most striking quirks in our behavior. Consider the effect of weather on our mood and the mood of others. Civil conflicts in tropical regions are twice as likely to erupt during warmer El Nino years compared to cooler La Nina years.
Weather also affects the stock market, where history shows that they are more likely to rise on sunny days and fall on gloomy ones.
By Adam Alter
