From: UFO UpDates - Toronto <post.nul>
Date: Fri, 06 Feb 2009 05:26:43 -0500
Archived: Fri, 06 Feb 2009 05:26:43 -0500
Subject: Finding Control In Chaos




Source: Scientific American Magazine - New York, New York, USA

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=finding-control-in-chaos

February, 2009


Finding Control In Chaos
Feeling helpless leads us to see nonexistent patterns

By Siri Carpenter

Even the most laid back among us crave a sense of control, and
when we feel helpless we scour our surroundings for anything
that will restore predictability. New research shows that when
we lack control we don't simply wait for order to return: we
impose it, if only in our own minds, by imagining patterns and
trends where none exist.

In six experiments, psychologists Jennifer Whitson of the
University of Texas at Austin and Adam Galinsky of Northwestern
University manipulated subjects' sense of control.

In some trials, they gave participants either random feedback or
no feedback at all on a tricky experimental task; in others,
they asked participants to recall a situation in which they
lacked control or one in which they had full control.

Results showed that not having control caused participants to
mistakenly see an image in a field of static, to smell
conspiracy in other people's benign behavior, to embrace
superstitious beliefs and to perceive nonexistent stock-market
trends.

Such illusory perceptions evaporated when participants were
first denied control but then given an opportunity to write
about their most deeply held values, an activity that bolsters
psychological security and quells feelings of helplessness.

The authors observe that illusory pattern perception "may not be
entirely maladaptive" if by soothing uncertainty and restoring a
sense of control, it encourages us to actively confront
unpredictable circumstances rather than withdrawing from them.

One unanswered question, they add, is whether loss of control
also heightens people's speed or accuracy in detecting patterns
that do exist.


[Thanks to 'The Norm' for the lead]