Reading Minds: Cheap Trick or a Scientific Ability

Reading Minds: Cheap Trick or a Scientific Ability

Whatever your opinion about Psychic Sally or Mystic Meg, to a certain extent, some claim that the human species are mind-readers. By our powers of reasoning based on past experiences, knowledge of emotions and catalogue of memories we try to make educated guesses about what the other person is thinking. Whether or not we are actually any good at reading other people is another question. Siegel (in his book) calls the skill of reading others a perceptual ability in which the brain creates maps to deduce the mental state of another person. According to him, It’s how we know when we are being; lied to or told the truth, manipulated or seduced. It allows us to negotiate and, compete or cooperate with others. From a more empirical perspective, years of research has been conducted in this area and, studies show that we humans are not actually that good at it. In a study by Ickes (1993) it was shown that only 20% of participants were able to accurately guess a stranger’s feelings. So if Humans are not effective at it, what makes scientific equipment so good at decoding internal vocalisations? Although it is not truly mind-reading, to a certain degree the following study showed that, we now have the ability to interpret words, even before they are spoken (Pasley et al. 2012). This very recent study with a small sample, but shows the researchers were able to reconstruct words using brain activity alone.

This study used 15 patients who were undergoing brain surgery. Whilst undergoing the surgery, patients were asked to listen to a mix of 47 real and made-up words as well as sentences. During the task, electrical signals from the brain were recorded by sensors placed in the lateral temporal cortex.

Specifically the electrodes were placed in the superior temporal gyrus as this is thought to be important in speech processing.  The study showed that words are broken down into complex patterns of electrical activity and by using a mathematical system; researchers were able to decode it into a rough version of the word using a computer program.

The sound patterns (which can be seen above) showed that by using the mathematical system, researchers were able to recognise specific words just by looking at recordings of brain activity. The computer system managed to correctly identify 89% of the words, compared to the 50% identified by guessing.

So, a question to all you techy guys; could a mind-reading device become reality?

Although in its early stages this study does seem to suggest that a device could be invented that has the ability to translate thought into speech. A device which could, have huge benefits in its application. Once refined, it could be used to help those who cannot talk, communicate in the future, for instance, those with psychological or neurological disorders such as locked-in-syndrome and speech impediments.

Interesting Reads:

Mindful Brain by Siegel

Empathetic Accuracy: Ickes (1993)

Science decodes internal voices

Pasley et al. (2012) Reconstructing Speech from Human Auditory Cortex

*images obtained from public sources – Google/ BBC News

The Science of Communication

The Science of Communication

Psychological research has many real world applications to help guide us through everyday life. Using the face to express emotions plays an important role in communication of feelings; there evidently is a time and a place for every expression. People can produce around 20,000 different facial expressions (Birdwhistell, 1970). This repertoire of facial expressions is based on 6 basic emotions (seen in the picture above). Similar to the process of colour mixing when these 6 primary emotions are blended together they produce an array of varying expressions (Ekman, 1982). Research undertaken in the world of social psychology has acknowledged that we use this form of Non-verbal communication in a variety of ways (Patterson, 1983).  We use non-verbal communication to;

• Gage information about feeling and intentions of others
• To help regulate interactions and express intimacy
• To establish dominance/control
• To facilitate goal fulfillment

The scientific study of facial expression largely focuses on the way different expressions convey, different emotions. However, there are marked cultural and situational display rules, which dictate how appropriate it is to express an emotion in a certain context. Research shows that both universal and cultural components are involved in recognising and experiencing emotions, as well as  the way they are expressed in others and individuals themselves. In Japan, for instance, people are taught to suppress emotions of anger and show expressions of laughter and happiness instead. Whereas, in Mediterranean cultures, men are discouraged from showing emotions while women are encouraged to express feelings (Argyle, 1975; Matsumoto, 2004). Cultural differences in interpreting basic expressions can be seen in a study conducted by Russell (2004).

From the table, it can be seen that people from different cultures have shown varying degrees of success in deciphering the meaning of different emotions. Three categories of people were compared. The three conditions were; people who lived in western societies and are literate, people from non-western societies and are literate, as well as those who were also not from western societies but not literate. Recognition of Happiness is high in all cultures. Russell concluded that identifying various other expressions depend on, what is deemed culturally appropriate and exposure to how to express that emotion. These differences are due to the differences in display rules.

As you can see communication is a big part of our everyday lives, and research into this area of social psychology is extremely beneficial. Real world applications of studies into facial expression as a form of non-verbal communication, and Ekman’s research into basic emotions, have helped develop American Sign Language as an alternative form of communication. Facial expressions or cues are more than a representation of emotion; they are also a way of enhancing or even replacing the use of speech. We raise an eyebrow in an attempt to question a situation; we furrow our eyebrows and frown when we are not amused and so on and so forth. In a world where your face can tell a thousand stories, next time you smile, be sure you’re pulling the right one!!

 

 

*All images were obtained from google