Ever wonder why after deciding to buy a certain type of car you see that make and model everywhere
on the road? Or why you’re suddenly noticing advertisements for that new video game your
friend got and you’re dying to play?
Well pay attention. This, is DNews
Hey Guys, Crystal Dilworth here for DNews!
As objective and perceptive as we’d like to think we are, our inner thoughts and desires
are influencing what we notice about our environment everyday. This is partially due to a phenomenon
we all fall victim to: Attention Bias
Attention Bias is the tendency of our perception to be influenced by our recurring thoughts
and it is why when you are waiting for your paycheck so you can buy the new iPhone, you
see people with that phone everywhere … showing off … taunting you with their very existence
… *shakes it off*
This special attention is especially noticeable in drug seeking behavior. In fact, Attention
Bias is thought to be an underlying issue of addiction.
Scientists found that smokers spend a longer time looking at smoking related cues like
pictures of people smoking, cigarette lighters, or cigarettes, than they do on neutral cues
like people eating, or other non-smoking related objects and those same researchers, found
more brain activation in the insular cortex, the orbitofrontal cortex and the amygdala
when smokers were presented with the images of smoking. Those are all regions of the brain
involved in emotion, and decision making. (hypothesizing) So maybe the longer fixation
on the image is due to increased brain activation?
It’s not just addicts that display this behavior. Recently, a study in the Journal
of Pain Research reported that individuals with chronic pain are more sensitive to words
that describe painful sensations.
While both study groups, those who reported experiencing chronic pain, and the control
group of individuals without chronic pain, spent a longer time looking at pain related
words than neutral words, the chronic pain group spent even more time fixated on those
words and returned their attention to the pain related words more frequently.
Researchers are hoping that these data will help them understand the underlying basis
of chronic pain. So pay attention to what you pay attention to, because it may be influencing
your reality more than you think ;)
How is your attentional bias influencing your reality? Subscribe to D News and let us know
in the comments down below! You can also come find me on twitter at Poly Crystal H D