What does a salad sound like?
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“You're trying to say something about yourself. You're busy. You're really important. You don't have time to do other things. And so you see that on social media, that's kind of an acceptable and effective way to show your status: by telling people how busy you are.” – Neeru Paharia
BRAIN WAVES
Music to my wallet. Even the most subtle sensory cues have a big impact on how people spend money. Recently, a team of researchers found that consumers associate higher frequency sounds with healthy food products. They called these sounds sonic logos. “Sonic logos, also termed sogos, are short melodies created to support the marketing of a specific brand,” reports Nanyang Technological University, the school where the research was conducted. Volunteers were presented with images of food and sogos that were generated by an online Random Music Generator. They were then asked to pick the food that best matched the sound they heard. Images of salads were more likely to be paired with higher frequency sogos. "Sensory stimuli, such as sounds and colors, play a prominent role in branding,” said lead researcher Gemma Calvert. And this is useful information for advertisers. A commercial for a health food brand, for example, would do well to use high-frequency sounds. “Sound is the fastest human sense, faster than smell, taste, sight, and even touch,” Calvert continued. “When that is combined with the fact that music invokes emotion in people—a big driver in brand loyalty—the importance of understanding the impact of sound in branding rings crystal clear.” Just one of many ways brands appeal to your senses.
Bias (before) the job offer. Many groups face discrimination in the workplace – even before they’ve been hired. Beyond racial, ethnic, and gender discrimination, a new study has found that this is also true for job candidates with disabilities, older job candidates, and candidates deemed physically unattractive by hiring managers. “Our meta-analysis shows that hiring discrimination against [these] candidates…is at least equally severe as the unequal treatment of candidates with salient ethnic characteristics,” the study reported. “Remarkably, hiring discrimination against older applicants is even more outspoken in Europe than in the United States.”
Show me the money. Money worries are one of the biggest sources of anxiety in the lives of Americans. External economic forces don’t just shape our financial well-being – they also fuel our unconscious beliefs about money. Listen to learn more.
ON THE HIDDEN BRAIN PODCAST
May 30: We conclude our “Money 2.0” series with two of our favorite conversations about the psychology of brands. How companies create a worldview around the products they sell — and then get us to make those products a part of who we are.
ON THE MY UNSUNG HERO PODCAST
May 31: "I was the recipient of this kindness that had been extended to this woman's husband 40 years earlier." Brenda Arnold recalls an incredible example of paying it forward.
June 2: "I felt my life turn a little bit of a corner that day." Alie Ward, host of the podcast Ologies, tells us about the Facebook message from a stranger that brought her out of despair.
Don’t forget to send us the story of your unsung hero! Record a voice memo on your phone and email it to myunsunghero@hiddenbrain.org.
MIND GAMES
What can you hold in your right hand, but never in your left hand?
LAST WEEK’S PUZZLE
How can 8 + 8 = 4?
The answer: When you think in terms of time. 8 AM + 8 hours= 4 o’clock.
FROM THE TWITTERATI…
A MOMENT OF JOY
“I love spreading the gospel of birding. To stop and watch and listen and really start appreciating the absolutely spectacular creatures that we have among us.”
A Birder Is Back in the Public Eye, Now on His Own Terms | The New York Times
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