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Issue 1

h u m a n iMental Health in Prison | Ghost Phones | Abuse in Development

November 26, 2013Issue 1

h u m a n i

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credits: Allen J Frances MD,Larry Rosen PhD, Douglas LaBier PhD, Sarah Kershaw, Timothy A Pychyl PhD, lorablog.com, Sevan Matossian, Donald Palansky, Ryan Arter, innocentjustice.org, Angie Hattery, EHE&me, Monacares,

Brenda’s Food, thedrum.com, Uhuru Design, Material Views, Nash Plateful, Tampa Massage, Penn Live, Alana de Hinojosa, Shannon Stapleton,

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WelcometoourfirstissueofHumaniMagazine!It’sagreathonorandexcitementtobeabletosharethiswithyou.HumanuiistheLatinword forhuman,which isexactlywhat this magazine is all about. Humanifeatures information and studies about thewaythehumanbodyandmindworkandthepsychologybehindeveryactionandthought.Themagazine is laid out for easy access towhatevertopicinpsychologyisinterestingtoyou.TherearefivecategoriestoHumani: BacktoBasicsisasectionfocusingon the history and founding fathers of psy-chology.Inthissectionyouwillfindinforma-tionaboutthepsychologicalfieldandmoderntakesoninfamousstudiesfromdecadespast. Growing Pains is a section focus-ing on child and adolescent psychology. Inthis section you will find everything aboutchildhood,adolescenceandthepsychologyofgrowingupandgrowingolder. MentalCheck-upisasectionfocus-ingonmentalhealthandabnormalpsychol-ogy. In this sectionyouwillfind studies ondisordersandnewdiscoveriesinthementalhealth field, aswell as information on howbest to treat mental disorders and live ahealthymentallife. Psyched. is a section focusing onpersonalityandneuropsychology.Inthissec-tion youwill find information pertaining topersonality and how psychology affects the

From the Editor...

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personalityandhowpsychologyaffectsthehumanmindineverydaysituations,showinghowthisrelatesinbothmentalandphysicalways. Let’sGetTechnicalisasectionfocusingontheadvancementsofpsychologyrelatedtotechnologicalfields.Inthissectionyouwillfindallformsoftechnol-ogyandnewideasandconceptsthatallowpsychol-ogyandmentalhealthtobetreatedandobservedastechnologyadvancesintothefuture.Youcandecidewhethertoobserveeachsectioncare-fully,ortopickandchoosewhatinterestsorfascinatesyoumost. Wewantedtocreatesomethingthatinter-estedyoungadultswholovedthefieldofpsychology.Thisisn’tyourcollegetextbook;thisissomethingcompletelydifferentandexciting.Humaniisfilledwithinformationandknowledge,displayedinanintriguingwayforyoutoexperienceandlearn.WesetoutandaccomplishedsomethinggreatwithHumani,andwehopeyouenjoywhatwedelivertoyoueachmonth.Wewillalwaystakesuggestions,becausewewantthistobeyourmagazine,notours.HumaniMagazineissomethingwewanttobearoundforyearsandyearstocome,andwehopeyouhelpittostickaround.Newinformationandadvancementsarealwaysaroundthecornerandwehopetobringthemtoyou. Wearehonoredandprivilegedtopresenttheworkofmanycommittedpeopleinthefieldofpsy-chology.Pleasewriteusatstaff@humanimag.comtoreceivemoreinformationaboutaparticularwriter,photographerorgraphicartistfeaturedinanissue,andfeelfreetoaskanyquestions.Also,checkouthumanimag.comforotherarticlesandideasnotinthemagazine,aswellasinteractiveandeducationfea-tures.WeappreciatethesupportofyouandeveryonewhogenerousgrabbedHumaniandbroughtithometoenjoy. Thankyou, KaileyJewell,Editor

PrisonorTreatmentfortheMentallyIll

HowNottobePavlov’sDog

UsingMenuPsychologytoEnticeDiners

PhantomPocketVibrationSyndrome

TheImpactofChildAbuseintoAdulthood

Back to Basics

Let’s Get Technical

Psyched.

Mental Check-up

Growing Pains

ofTable

TimothyA.PychylPh.D......................................................................................pg4

LarryRosenPh.D.................................................................................................pg20

SarahKershaw.....................................................................................................pg16

AllenJ.FrancesM.D............................................................................................pg12

DouglasLaBierPh.D...........................................................................................pg8

Contents

We should be supporting mental health,not punishing patients.

Individual differences in resisting temptation.

Chicken liver is what restauranteur Danny Meyer calls a torpedo.

Child abuse harms mental and physical health in adulthood.

What does it tell us about our obsession with technology?

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How to: Not be

Pavlov's Dog

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“Icouldn’thelpit.Icanresisteverythingexcepttemptation”

Oscar Wilde“Thosewhorestraindesiredosobecausetheirsisweak

enoughtoberestrained” William Blake

What do we know about individualdifferences in resisting temptation?

Thequotesabovewerestrategicallyplacedatthebegin-ningandtheendofanewpaperinthejournalNeuroscienceandBiobehavioralReviews.Inthispaper,BenjaminSaun-dersandTerryRobinson (Psychology,UniversityofMichi-gan)reviewwhatweknowaboutwhysomepeoplesuccumb

totemptingfoodsordrugs,whileothersdonot.

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Saunders and Robinson focus specifi-cally on something everyone learned in first-yearpsychology, the notion of Pavlovian conditionedresponses.Youremembersomeversionofastoryabout dogs salivating to bells that were pairedwith food presentation over a few days. The un-conditioned salivation became cued by the bell(conditioned stimulus) which became the con-ditioned response (CR) or conditional reflex.

What you may not have learned is thattheseconditionedstimuli(CS)domorethanelicittheCR(bellsdomorethanelicitsalivation).Thesestimulitakeonincentiveormotivationalpropertiesalsoknownasincentivesalience.Theyacquiretheabilitytoactivatemanycomplexemotionalandmo-tivationalstatesinus.AstrongCSisattentiongrab-bing.Wewantit!Theyactasrewardsinthemselves.

Of course, what we want at any time isalso affected by our overall state at the presenttime.Hadwebeenconditionedtosalivateforfoodfor a bell ourselves,wemaybe lessmotivated toseek or eat food if we’re stuffed from a previousmeal.However, ifwe’rehungry, themotivationalstrength of that CS will be even stronger thanusual. The power and effects of a stimulus de-pendsontheindividualtoo,andindividualsvary.

Thisisaninterestingpaperthatreviewsavarietyofnon-humanandhumanstudiestoindivid-ualvariation in responsivity topotential rewardswithaparticularemphasisondrugsandaddiction.

Thecompletereferenceisbelowincaseyouwantto delve into the neuroscience of classical condi-tioning.Fornow,Iwanttofocusonsomeoftheirgeneral conclusions about individual differences.

First, theynote fromtheoutset that “weare justbeginningtounderstandthefactorsunderlyingin-dividualdifferencesintheextenttowhichrewardcues acquire powerful motivational properties,andtherefore,theabilitytoactasincentivestim-uli” (p.1). Inotherwords, therearemanythingsyet to understand about this complex system.

Second,despitetheinherentcomplexityandearlystateofknowledgeclaims,itisclearthatsomeofus(andavarietyofotheranimals)aremore“cuereac-tive.”Thatis,certainrewardcues,thoseCSsInotedabove,aremorelikelytoattractusandmotivateustoacttogetthepotentialrewardsthattheysignal.

Third, those of us for whom these Pavlovian re-ward cues are powerful incentives may be athigher risk for various impulse-control disorders.The authors list two such disorders, binge eat-ingandaddiction.Ofcourse,Iwouldsuggestthatprocrastination is also a greater risk for thoseof us for whom reward cues hold special power.

Finally,althoughthisresearchisinitsearlydays(asnoted),theauthorsconcludethat“preliminaryevidence suggests that manipulating attentionalbiastodrugcuesviaattentionalcontroltherapiesmay be an effectivemethod for reducing some ofthebehavioralcontroldrugcueshaveoveraddicts.”

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IMPLICATIONSStated anotherway, training ourselves to explic-itlyavoidpayingattentiontocuesforrewardisapotential route to regaining self control.Wemayevenwant to think of using “reappraisal” strate-gies to reinterpret the meaning of a cue thusmaking it less motivationally salient. How gen-eralizable these strategies may be for addictsremains to be seen, however I think theywill goa long way to helping reduce the maladaptiveshort-term reward seeking in procrastination.

WhileoursmartphonesmaybeapowerfulCSthatmotivatesustoseeksocialcontacts,wecanlearntorecognizehowdisruptive,distractingandunnecessarythisbehaviorisattimes.Wecanlearntostayontask,notseekingthecuedsocialrewardsofWeb2.0apps,ifwecanrecognizethatourbehaviorislessaboutmakingsocialcontactandmoreaboutbeingcontrolledbypowerfulcon-ditionedstimuli.

Yearsago,Imadefriendschucklewhentheygotmymessagemachineinsteadofmewhentheycalled(atatimewheneventhisansweringma-chinetechnologywasrelativelynew).

Themessagewentsomethinglike:“Hello,I’mnotavailabletotakeyourcall.Didyouknowthatasastudent,IlearnedthatPavlovmadedogssalivatetothesoundofabell?That’snothing,I’velearnedthatIcanmakepeopleleavemessagestothesoundoftone.Watchthis!”And,ofcourse,thenthebeepwouldsound.Ok,maybeitwasjustfunnyformethen,butyougetmypoint.

ThepointisthatwehavemanyconditionalreflexesasPavlovnotedbackinthe1920s,andmanyoftheseareundesirable,evenmaladaptivebehaviors.Ithinkifwecanseesomeofourbehaviorsforwhattheyare,wemightputtheenergyintocognitivecontrolstrategiestohelpreducethemotivationalpowerthatthesecueshaveoverus.Weknowfromexperiencethatthesecues,particularlyforsomeofus,aredifficulttosuppress,sobeingstrategicinreducingtheirsalience,perhapsevenextinguish-ingthemasconditionedstimulialtogether,maybeourbestroutetolesscompulsivebehaviorandmoreautonomousagencyaswemaydesire.

Blogger’s Note: Back in the 1970’s, I was a stu-dent of Dr. Herbert Jenkins at McMaster University. It was nice to see his work cited in this paper, and it brought back many memories of my studies of animal conditioning and learning.

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Why the Impact of

C h i l d A b u s e

The words “child abuse” are likely to conjure up horror stories that appear fromtime to time – physical beatings, a child locked in a closet or tied up for long peri-ods; or the unimaginable – like Ariel Castro’s imprisonment of young girls. But infact, abuse takes many forms, beyond the physical. Recent research finds that itsimpact is long lasting. It extends far into adulthood, where it affects both physi-cal andmental health.AsFaulknerwrote, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” But this same study, combined with the findings of some other recent re-search, contains hopeful signs for healing and healthy growth following early abuse. First, consider some less visible forms of abuse, beyond the physi-cal, that can create lasting consequences. For example, parental neglect; indiffer-ence to the child’s needs or temperament; outright humiliation; deliberate deni-gration. All may be fueled by the parent’s own self-hatred, jealousy, or narcissism.

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E x t e n d s Well Into

Adulthood

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Examplesrangefromtheparentwholeavesachildinthecarorhomealoneforhours.Ortheparentwhorebuffsthechildwhoexcitedlysays,“lookatmynewdrawing!”or“seewhatIwroteforthisschoolproj-ect!”andwhoreceivesacurt,“Don’tbothermenow.I’vegottofinishupthisreport.”Ortheparentwhoconsistentlyandvocallypraisesonechild,whileig-noringorcriticizingthechild’ssibling.Andthere’stheclassic,“You’llneveramounttoanything!”Or,why can’t you be more like your sister/brother?” I’ve heard them all, and more. All takea toll, and this new research study confirms thatabuse has a long shelf life. It takes a continuingtoll on both physical andmental healthwell intoadulthood. The study, conducted by researchersatUCLAandpublished in theProceedings of theNational Academy of Sciences, examined the ef-fects of abuse and corresponding lack of parentalaffection across the body’s entire regulatory sys-tem. It found strong linksbetweennegative earlylife experiencesandhealth,across theboard.Theeffects permeate one’s entire mind-body system Thisstudyof756subjectssuggested that“biological embedding” occurs through program-ming brain circuitry inways that shape responsepatterns to subsequent stress. That causes wearandtearextendingacrossmultiplemind-bodysys-tems,andcreatesadversehealthoutcomesdecadeslater.Theresearcherssuggestthattoxicchildhoodstressaltersneuralresponsestostress,boostingtheemotionalandphysicalarousaltothreat,andmak-ingitmoredifficultforthatreactiontobeshutoff. SIGNS OF HOPEAnd yet, sometimes ecouraging emerged from the

study,anditjoinswithfindingsfromtwootherstud-ies about parents and children. The UCLA studyfoundthatthepresenceofa loving,parentalfigurecanprovideprotectiontotheabusedchild.Accordingtothestudy’sreport,“Itiswellrecognizedthatpro-vidingchildreninadversecircumstanceswithanur-turingrelationshipisbeneficialfortheiroverallwell-being.Ourfindingssuggestthatalovingrelationshipmayalsopreventtheriseinbiomarkersindicativeofdiseaseriskacrossnumerousphysiologicalsystems.” According toJudithE.Carroll, the study’sleadauthor,“Ifthechildhaslovefromparentalfig-urestheymaybemoreprotectedfromtheimpactofabuse on adult biological risk for health problemsthanthosewhodon’thavethatlovingadultintheirlife.”Thatis,thosewhoreportedhigheramountsofparental warmth and affection in their childhoodhad lowermultisystemhealth risks.Moreover, theresearchersfound“asignificantinteractionofabuseandwarmth,sothatindividualsreportinglowlevelsofloveandaffectionandhighlevelsofabuseinchild-hoodhadthehighestmultisystemriskinadulthood.” Their findings suggest that “parentalwarmthandaffectionprotectoneagainsttheharm-ful effects of toxic childhood stress.” That’s goodnews,and it linkswithanotherrecentfindingthattouchingandstrokingcontributetoahealthysenseofself. Thatis,accordingtothisstudy,affectionatephysicalcontact,“…characterizedbyaslowcaressorstroke--oftenaninstinctivegesturefromamothertoachildorbetweenpartnersinromanticrelation-ships--mayincreasethebrain’sabilitytoconstructasenseofbodyownershipand,inturn,playapartin

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creatingandsustainingahealthysenseofself.” Suchtouchingseemstoplayaroleinhowthebrainlearnstoconstructamentalpictureandan understanding of the body, which ultimatelyhelpstocreateacoherentsenseofself,accordingtoasummaryofthefindings.Onthenegativeside,the absence of such experiences are linked withvariousphysical and emotionaldisorders. “Asaf-fectivetouchistypicallyreceivedfromalovedone,thesefindingsfurtherhighlighthowcloserelation-ships…playacrucialroleintheconstructionofasenseofself,”saidLauraCrucianelli,theleadre-searcher. Another illustration of the interconnec-tionsbetweenthemind,body,andthenetworkofrelationshipsofwhichoneisapart,isastudyfind-ingthatapositive,mutuallysupportiveandsensi-tiveloverelationshipwasassociatedwithpositive,supportive and nurturing behavior towards one’schildren. The study’s lead author, Abigail Mill-ingsof theUniversityofBristol, commented inaresearchsummarythatresearcherssought toex-aminehowcaregivingplaysoutinfamilies:“…howone relationship affects another relationship.Wewantedtoseehowromanticrelationshipsbetweenparentsmightbeassociatedwithwhatkindofpar-entstheyare.Ourwork isthefirstto lookatro-manticcaregivingandparentingstylesatthesametime.” Theresearchfound–nosurprise–that“acommonskillsetunderpinscaregivingacrossdif-ferenttypesofrelationships,andforbothmothersandfathers.Ifyoucandoresponsivecaregiving,it

seems that you can do it across different relation-ships.” Millings added, ”It might be the case thatpracticingbeingsensitiveandresponsive—forex-ample, by really listening and by really thinkingabouttheotherperson’sperspective—toourpart-nerswillalsohelpustoimprovetheseskillswithourkids.” Ithinktheupshotofthisandotherfindingsisthattheyprovidemoreempiricalconfirmationthateverythingisconnectedinourlives.Howwethink,feel, relate,andbehaveareallpartofan intercon-nected whole. To that point, evidence continues tomountthathumansarehardwiredforempathyandconnection.It’sournaturalstate,butitsexpressionmaybecomestuntedordeformedbyourlifeexperi-ences.OneexampleisarecentUniversityofVirginiastudy,publishedinthejournalSocialCognitiveandAffective Neuroscience. Using functional magneticresonance imaging brain scans (fMRIs), if foundthatwe experience peoplewhowe become close toasthoughtheyareourownselves.“It’sessentiallyabreakdownofselfandother;ourselfcomestoincludethe peoplewe become close to,” said lead researchJamesCoan. Theproblemisthatourlifeexperiencesof-ten generate diminished self-worth, fragmentation,isolation,orretreatintoegoattachmentsthatdiscon-nectusfromourselves,within;andfromothers.De-spiteoursurfacedifferencesandconflictsweareone,beneath those differences, like organs of the samebody.Thatreality–ifwepracticeit–hasthepowernotonly tohealdamage toyoung lives,butalso toenhance greater health andwellbeing for all lives,youngandold.

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Prison or Treat ment?

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Prison or Treat ment?

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Thepublicrevulsionoverrepeatedmassshoot-ingshasplacedmentalhealthinthespotlight.Thisisbothgoodandbad. Badbecausefocusingonthementalityoftheshooterdivertsattentionawayfromthelethal-ity of theweapon–and from the fact thatmanymassshootershadnohistoryofmentalhealthin-volvement.Wewill never be able to predictwhowill commit random acts of violence, butwe canreduceourridiculouslyhighratesofgundeathbyhavingasaneguncontrolpolicy. Goodbecauseourcurrent (non)systemofmentalhealthcareisbadlybrokenandcriesoutforfixingandbetterfunding.Theproblemsarespelledout by Amanda Pustilnik, associate professor oflaw atUniversity ofMaryland and an expert ontherelationshipof law,neuroscience,andmental

abilityofmedicationandimprovedoutpatienttreat-ment,butmostofthechangeisnomorethanaswitchofinstitutionsfromhospitaltoprison.” “Everyyear,tensofthousandsofpeopletryinvaintogetaccesstomentalhealthtreatment.Itcan takemonths just togetanoutpatientappoint-ment and people desperately in need are routinelyturnedawayatthehospitaldoorbecausethereissolittlefundingforpsychiatricbeds.” “Wherehasthemoneyfortreatmentgone?Muchofithasbeenfunneleddirectlyinto,andwast-edon,ourprisonsystem.Prisonsandjailshavetak-enonbehemothproportions,bloatedwithnonviolentandevennon-offendingpeoplewhoinearliertimeswould have been treated in hospitals- we are thepoorerforitandnosafer.” “Thementallyarefarmorelikelytobethevictimofacrimeortoharmthemselves.Theirover-

healthpolicy. She writes: “Today, our largest mentalhospitalsareourjails.ThejailatNewYork’sRik-ers’Islandfunctionsasthenation’slargestpsychi-atricfacility.LosAngeles’jails–notitshospitals–areCalifornia’slargestprovidersofmentalhealthcare. State prisons alone spend nearly $5 billionannually to incarceratementally ill inmateswhoarenotviolent.” “According to theDepartmentofJustice,nearly 1.3million peoplewithmental illness areincarceratedinstateandfederaljailsandprisons–comparedtoonlyabout70,000peoplebeingservedinpsychiatrichospitals.” “The current psychiatric hospital inpa-tient population is only 5% ofwhat itwas at itsheight.Wehaveaboutthesamenumberofpsychi-atrichospitalbedsnowaswedidin1850.Someofthis ‘deinstitutionalization’ comes from the avail-

representation in the criminal system results fromtheirpoorabilitytocommunicatewithpolice,lackofadequate legal representation, self-medicationwithdrugsandalcohol,enactingsymptomsinpublic,andlack of any other place to put them. As a Floridajudgepointedout- jailsaretheone institutionthatcan’tsaynotoadmittingsomeone–sothementallyillaredumped there,oftenwithout treatment,andthenhaveacriminalrecordtoboot.” ”And somementally ill people spend timeinjailswithouthavingcommittedanyoffenseatall.Several states authorize the police to arrest men-tallyillpeoplewhohavenotbrokenanylaw,simplyto promote public order.More commonly, hospitalstransfer patients to jails to handle overflow. Evenchildrenmaybeconfinedincriminaldetentioncen-tersbecausetherearesofewtreatmentfacilitiesforseverelymentally ill children. This reliance on thecriminaljusticesystemasasurrogatementalhealth

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mentally ill people are irresponsible and danger-ous–thatalaw-and-orderresponseisappropriateandnecessary.Withvisionsofschoolshootersbe-foreoureyes,wedon’tseethetypicalmentallyillperson–someonewhoismostlylikelytobepoor,female,andnon-violent.” “AccordingtotheBureauofJusticeStatis-tics,threeoutoffourwomeninstateprisonshavea mental health problem, compared to just overhalfofmaleprisoners.Yetwomenarenotdrivingthemassviolenceprobleminourcountry. “Our current moment is reminiscent of1998,whenNewYorkStateGovernorGeorgePa-taki responded to the tragedy of a schizophrenicmanpushingawoman toherdeath in frontofasubwaytrain. ‘Whatcanweasapeople,’thegov-ernorasked,‘dotoprotectindividualsfromthem-selvesandtoprotectusasasociety?’” “It’stimetoturnthatquestionaroundand

neither.AsMarkTwainsaid,“historydoesn’trepeatitself, but it sure does rhyme.” The rhyme here ispoliticalinaction.Aftereachtragedy,thepoliticianshypocritically mourn and harrumph, but wind upbuckling under pressure from theNRA, fiscal con-straints,andtheprisonandgunlobbies. Wenowhavethebestchanceindecadesofbreaking out of the all too familiar past patterns,butthesmartmoneyisthatthepoliticianswillonceagaintakeno,oronlysymbolic,actionsandthatwewillcontinuetheinsanemilitaryarmingofthecivil-ianpopulationandthecruelshuntingofthemental-lyilltojail.Ifmassincarcerationofthementallyillcouldsolvemassgunviolence,we’dbesafealready.Butwearen’t. It seems that only the constant toll of re-peateddramatictragedieswilleventuallyshakethecomplacencyandcowardiceofastalematedCongressandthebackwardlookingstatelegislatures.

systemwasteslifeandtreasure,andconflictswithbasicnotionsofjustice.” “So,whyarewesoirrationalinourmisal-locationofresources?Whydon’tweinvestinsteadin proven alternatives to prison, like assertivecommunity-basedtreatmentprogramsandaccesstosupportivehousing?” “The problem is that housing and treat-mentsoundlike‘entitlements’-whileprisonsoundslike(andis)punishment.Asaculturethatprizesself-reliance,wearecautiousaboutextendingben-efitsandsuspiciousof rewardingpeople forwhatlookslikebadbehavior.Thepunishmentofpeoplewithmentalillnesseswhoactoutinpublicmightalsoseemtofitwithacertainnotionofpublicorderandpersonalresponsibility.” “And it fitswith our fears:We look at ahandful of national tragedies and conclude that

askhowwecanprotectmentallyillpeoplefromourdangerous preference for punishment over treat-ment,forprisonsoverhospitals,forcleaninguptrag-ediesratherthanpreventingthem.” “Let’sprovideeffectivetreatmentforpeoplewithmental illnesses, notmake them the stalkinghorseofourfears.Ifwefocusonaccesstotreatmentinsteadofpunishment,wemayallbesaferandliveinabettersociety.” Thankyou,ProfessorPustilnik, for a com-pellingpresentationofanationalnightmare.“Aso-cietywillbejudgedonthebasisofhowittreatsitsweakestmembers.”Wearefailingthatjudgmentinthemostshamefulandcostlywaypossible. Toreducegunviolence,wemusthavesanerguncontrolpoliciesANDsanercareofthementallyill.Thesearenotcompetingalternatives–theyarebothdesperatelyneeded.Myfearisthatwewillget

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UsingMenu Psychology to Entice

D i n e r s

ChickenliveriswhattherestaurateurDannyMeyer calls a torpedo. Left to itsowndevices, itmaybeunappetizingandunpopular,butwhenpairedwithwhathecalls an enhancer — applewood smokedbacon in the case of the chicken liver onthemenuatTabla,Mr.Meyer’sIndianfu-sionrestaurantintheFlatironDistrict—itnotonlyexcitesthetastebudsbutgoestoworkonthemind.

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After Tabla merged with its downstairssibling, the Bread Bar at Tabla, in October, Mr.Meyerandhisteamspentmonthsponderingsuchmatters beforeunveiling anewmenu earlier thismonth.ThepriceofBoodie’schickenlivers,forex-ample,is$9,writtensimplyas9.Thisisafriendlyandmanageablenumberatatimewhennumbersreallyneedtobefriendlyandmanageable.Besides,ithasnodollarsign.Intheworldofmenuengineer-ing and pricing, a dollar sign is prettymuch theworstthingyoucanputonamenu,particularlyatahigh-endrestaurant.Notonlywillitscream“Hello,youareabouttospendmoney!”intoadiner’stenderpsyche,butitcanfeelaggressiveandlooktacky.Socanpriceformatsthatendinthenumeral9,asin$9.99,whichtendtosignifyvaluebutnotquality,menuconsultantsandresearcherssay. Tablaisjustoneofthemanyrestaurantsaroundthecountrythatarefeverishlyrevisingtheirmenus.Poundedbytherecession,theyarehopingthatsomemagiccombinationofprices,adjectives,fonts, type sizes, ink colorsandplacement on thepage can coax diners into spending a little more

money.“Thereisconstanttinkeringgoingonrightnowwithmenusandmenupricing,”saidSherylE.Kimes,a professor of hospitality management at the Cor-nellSchoolofHotelAdministration.“Alotofcreativethingsaregoingonbecausetherestaurantsaretryingtoholdonfordearlifetomakesuretheygetthroughthis.” For the operators of most high-end restau-rants,themenupsychologyisusuallydrawnfromin-stinctandexperience.Mr.Meyer,forexample,saidhehaddevelopedmostofhistheoriesthroughtrialanderror.“Wethoughtlongandhardaboutthepsychologybecausethisisacompleterelaunchofarestauranten-tirelythroughitsmenuandthroughthepsychologyofthemenu,”Mr.Meyersaid.“Thechefswritethemusicandthemenubecomesthelyrics,andsometimesthemusicisgorgeousandit’sgotthewronglyricsandthelyricscantorpedothemusic.” The use ofmenu engineers and consultantsisexplodinginthecasualdiningarenaandamongna-tional chains,a sectorof thebusiness thathasbeenespeciallypinchedbytheeconomy.Inresponse,theyaretapping intoagrowingbodyofresearch into the

UsingMenu Psychology to Entice

D i n e r s

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thescienceofmenupricingandwriting,hopingthewaytoadiner’sheartisnotonlythroughthestom-ach, but through the unconscious.HuddleHouse,thefamily-diningchainwithmorethan400restau-rantsin17states,isrollingoutatestmenuat20restaurantsnextweek.The companyhiredGreggRapp,amenuengineerandconsultantwhoholds“menu boot camps” for restaurants around thecountry.Hesaidhehadbeen“takingdollarsignsoffmenusfor25years,” Susan Franck, vice president of market-ingforthechain,saidshewasintriguedaboutthefour types of dinersMr.Rapphad identified.Thecustomers he calls “Entrees” do notwant a lot ofdescription, just thebottomlineonwhatthedishisandhowmuch it is going to cost. “Recipes,” onthe other hand, askmany questions andwant toknowasmuchas they canabout the ingredients.“Barbecues”sharefoodandlikechattyserverswhowearnametags.“Desserts”aretrendypeoplewhowanttoordertrendythings.“Wecan’tdomuchofa price increase, yet we’re searching for ways toincreaseourprofitforthefranchises,”Ms.Francksaid. “If you have a signature item, make a logoforit,putmorecopytoit,romancethedescriptionwithsmokehousebacon,countryhamorfarmfresheggs.”Shesaid thechaintookdollarsignsoff themenuin2007,andnowonthetestmenu,insteadofanomeletandorangejuice,thereis“thelightandfluffyHeavenlyOmelet”and“MinuteMaidorangejuice.” Inthe“TenCommandmentsforMenuSuc-cess,”anarticlepublishedinRestaurantHospital-itymagazinein1994,AllenH.Kelson,arestaurantconsultant,wrote,“Ifadmenhadsouls,manywouldprobablytradethemforanopportunityeveryres-taurateuralreadyhas:theabilitytoplaceanadver-tisementineverycustomer’shandbeforetheypartwiththeirmoney.”Andlikeadvertisements,menuscontain plenty of subliminalmessages. Some res-taurants use what researchers call decoys. For

example, theymay place a really expensive item atthe top of themenu, so that other dishes lookmorereasonably priced; research shows that diners tendreasonablypriced;researchshowsthatdinerstendtoorderneitherthemostnorleastexpensiveitems,drift-ingtowardthemiddle.Orrestaurantsmightplayupaprofitabledishbyusingmoreappetizingadjectivesandplacingitnexttoalessprofitabledishwithlessdescriptionsothecontrastenticesthedinertoordertheprofitabledish. AstudypublishedinthespringbyDr.KimesandotherresearchersatCornellfoundthatwhenthepricesweregivenwithdollarsigns,customers—theresearch subjects dined at St. Andrew’s Cafe at theCulinaryInstituteofAmerica inHydePark,N.Y.—spent less thanwhenno dollar signs appeared. Thestudy, published in the Cornell Hospitality Report,also found that customers spent significantly morewhenthepricewaslistedinnumeralswithoutdollarsigns,asin“14.00”or“14,”thanwhenitincludedtheword “dollar,” as in “Fourteen dollars.” Apparentlyeventheword“dollar”cantriggerwhat isknownas“thepainofpaying.” Mr.Rapp,ofPalmSprings,Calif.,also saysthat ifarestaurantwantstouseprices that includecents, like$9.99or$9.95(withoutthedollarsign,ofcourse), he strongly recommends .95, which he said“isafriendlierprice,”whereas.99is“cornier.”Ontheotherhand,10,or“10dollars,”hasattitude,whichiswhat restaurantsusing thoseprice formatsare sell-ing.Adashoraperiodafterthenumberappearstobemoreofanaestheticchoicethanapsychologicaltool,according to one of the authors of themenu pricingstudy, Sybil S. Yang, a doctoral student at Cornell.Numbersfollowedbyneitheradashnoraperiodaremostcommon.Mr.Meyersaidthatinhisview,add-ingzerostotheprice,asin14.00, isnotagoodideabecause“there’snoreasontohavepenniesifyou’renotusingpennies,and it takestheprice frombeingtwodigits into fourdigits, even if the two lastdigitsarezeros.It’sirrelevant,andthenumbercouldfeelmore

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important,whichisnotamenuwriter’sgoal.” Other research by Dr. Wansink found thatdescriptive menu labels increased sales by as muchas 27 percent. He has divided descriptions into fourcategories:geographic labels like “SouthwesternTex-Mexsalad,”nostalgialabelslike“yeoldpotatobread,”sensory labels like “buttery plump pasta” and brandnames.Finding that brandnameshelp sales, chainsare increasinglyusingwhat isknownas co-brandingontheirmenus,liketheJackDaniel’ssauceatT.G.I.Friday’sandtheMinuteMaidorangejuiceontheHud-dleHousemenu,Dr.Wansinksaid.Dr.Wansinksaidthat vivid adjectives can not only sway a customer’schoice but can also leave themmore satisfied at theendofthemealthaniftheyhadeatenthesameitemwithoutthedescriptivelabeling. Indeed, restaurants like Huddle House andApplebee’sareadding language thatsuggestsa rushof intense satisfaction. At Applebee’s, dishes aredescribed as “handcrafted,” “triple-basted,” “slow-cooked,” “grilled” and “slammed with flavor.” BUTmanyhigher-endrestaurateurssaytheyareparingthemenubyusingcleanerandsimplercopy.Inthosecas-es,manyofthe itemsare inherentlydescriptive, liketheRoastedandBraisedSucklingPigatCraftinMan-hattan.There,theleftsideofthemenuliststhefarmsandothersourcesofitsingredients.Thosenameswereremoved from the individual item descriptions in astreamliningeffort,andtheservingstaffisrequiredtoexplainmanyoftheaccompanyingingredients,includ-ingsauces,sothecopyisspare.

Mr.Meyer decided there were toomanyunusualIndiantermsthatwerealienatingcustom-ers,sotheykeptonlythemostrecognizablewords,liketandoori,paneerandtikka.Tablaexperiment-ed with several different fonts and colors beforesettlingonthefinalversion.Atonepoint,thecostoftheliverandotherpriceswereshadednavyblue,andsomemenuheadingswereorange.Whilethefinalversionisinblackandwhite,Mr.Meyersaidhewasthinkingaboutaddingorangeandred.Heremembers, fromahospitalitymanagement classhetookyearsago,whathelearnedaboutthegos-peloncolor:redandbluestimulateappetite,whilegrayandpurplestimulatesatiation.Youwillnotfindashadeofgrayorpurpleonanyofthemenusathis11restaurants,hesaid. Hesaidhewantedthemenutoresemblesheet music, so it has a line of bubbles snakingthroughthecopy.Thebiggerthebubble,themorebites it takes to consumethatdish.WhenAlineaopened in2005 it gaveoutmenusat the start ofthemeal,likeotherrestaurants.Buttheywereoflimitedusetodiners,Mr.Achatzsaid,because“ourfoodissomanipulatedthatevenifIwrote‘venison,cranberries,lentilsandbeets,’it’snotgoingtolookliketheythinkit’sgoingtolookanyway.”NowMr.Achatzhasadoptedapracticethatturnstheworldofmenupsychologyupsidedown:hiscus-tomersdonotgetthemuntilaftertheyeat.

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P hant om P o c k e t

Vibration syndrome

Have you had this experience? If you keepyourphone inyourpocketyousometimes (maybeevenoften)feelavibrationintheskinadjacenttoyourpocketandpulloutyourmobilephone,assum-ingitisatextorsomesortofnotification,onlytodiscoverthatitwasaphantomvibration.Or,ifyoukeepyourphoneinapurseorsatchelyouimaginethatyouhearditvibrating,orevenringing,onlytodiscoverthatitwasafalsealarm. According to Dr.Michelle Drouin, a pro-fessor at Indiana University-Purdue Universityin FortWayne, Indiana, 89% of the undergradu-ates inher studyhadexperienced thesephantomvibrations about every twoweeks on the averagealthoughonlyonein11classifiedthemas“bother-some.”Thosewhoreactedmoreemotionallytotextmessages andweremore dependent on textmes-sagingweremorebotheredbythem. If they were not bothersome, then whywouldanyoneworryaboutthem? Theissueisnotwhetherweareconscious-lybotheredbyaphantomvibrationbut, rather, Ibelieve,ifourbrainsareunconsciouslybothered.I

Iamnotaneuroscientist (althoughIamembarkingonresearchparadigmthatassessesprefrontalcortexactivity,soperhapsinthefutureImayclassifymyselfasa“pseudo”neuroscientist)butIdoreadalotofneu-roscienceresearchandwhatstrikesmeisthatmuchofwhatappearstobehappeninginouroutwardbehav-ior can be traced to neurotransmitters in our brain.For example, for decades now psychiatrists havebeen prescribing a class of psychotropicmedicationscalled SSRIs or selective serotonin reuptake inhibi-torswhosesolepurposeistomaintainahighlevelofaneurotransmittercalledserotonininthebrainwiththe result (hopefully) being increased positive affector,perhaps, reduced feelingsofdepression.Whetheryou agreewith the actual impact of SSRIs is irrele-vant.Justthefactthatpsychiatristsprescribethemtomanipulatetheamountofaneurotransmittermeansthattheyarepartofaparadigmthatdealswithbrainchemistry. Italkedaboutphantomvibrationsinmybook,iDisorder,andinourresearchwenowalwaysaskourparticipantsabouthowoftentheycheckinwiththeirdevicesorwebsitesandtheirperceivedanxietyaboutnotbeingabletocheckinasoftenastheywouldlike.Thetableandfigurebelow,takenfromarecentarticle

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P hant om P o c k e t

Vibration syndrome

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entitled, “Is Facebook Creating ‘iDisorders’? TheLink Between Clinical Symptoms of PsychiatricDisordersandTechnologyUse,AttitudesandAnxi-ety”publishedinComputersinHumanBehaviorbymycolleaguesandI,plusdata fromsomeyetun-published additional research, provides a glimpseof why somany younger people—and some olderpeople,too—arefeelingthesephantomvibrations. The table below shows how often mem-bersoffourgenerationsofAmericans—iGeneration(born in the 1990s), Net Generation (born in the1980s),GenerationX(bornbetween1965and1979)andBabyBoomers(bornbetween1946and1964)—checkinwithvarioustechnologiesevery15minutesorless.Asyoucansee,thetwooutofthreemem-bersofthetwoyoungestgenerationsareconstantlychecking in with their text messages (and thus,their smartphones)andone in threeare checkingtheircellphonecallsandsocialmediaequallyoften.These estimatesmay even be a bit low accordingtoa recentNokiastudy that found that theaver-agemobilephoneusercheckstheirphoneevery6.5minutesduringthedayor150timesduringtheirwakinghours. Thefigurebelowshowsthepercentagesofeachgenerationwhogetmoderately-to-highlyanx-ious if they can’t check in as oftenas theywouldlike.Itisclearthathalfofthetwoyoungergenera-tionsareanxiousiftheycan’tcheckthosevibratingtextmessagesandmanyevengetanxious if theycan’tcheckinwiththeirphonecallsorsocialmedia.Itappears,fromthetallyellowbaratthefarright,thatBabyBoomerslikemyselfonlygetanxiousifwecan’tcheckinwithourvoicemail.Inaddition,that samestudy found that thosewhoweremoreanxiousaboutnotbeingabletocheckinwithFace-bookand/ortextmessagesshowedmoresymptomsofmajor depression, dysthymia,mania, antisocialpersonality disorder, narcissism, compulsive per-sonality disorder, and paranoid personality disor-der. So,itiscleartomethatwhilephantomvi-brationsmaynotbeovertlybothersome—afterallhow longdoes it take to checkyourphone?—theyare potentially increasing the flow of neurotrans-mitters such as norepinephrine, dopamine, epi-nephrine and cortoctropin-releasing hormone anddecreasetheflowofserotonin,andgamma-amino-butyricacid. Although our lab does not have the abil-ity tomeasure the release or suppression of neu-rotransmitters my colleague Dr. Nancy Cheeverrecently completed a study that sheds some lighton what may be going on. Dr. Cheever recruited163 college studentswhowere told to report to alarge room.Halfwere directed randomly through

onedoorandtoldtoputtheirbooks,phonesandany-thingelsetheyhadwiththemawayunderthedesksandtableswhiletheotherhalfweretoldtorelinquishtheirphoneandstowtheirbooksandothermaterials.All studentswere then told theywere todonothingbutwait for further instructions.Every 20minutes,foranhour,eachparticipantcompletedthestatepor-tionoftheState-TraitAnxietyScale.Asyoucanseefromthefigurebelow,thecontrolgroup,theoneswhowere allowed to keep but not use their phones, didshowaslight increase inanxiety fromthefirst test-ing(20minutesintothesession)buttheiranxietyap-pearedtoleveloffandnotincreasebetweenthesecondand thirdmeasurement points. The group that hadtheirsmartphonestakenawayshowedamoredrasticincreasebothbetweenthefirsttwomeasurementsandthesecondandthirdmeasurements. Anevenmore interestingresultwasdiscov-eredwhentheparticipantswereseparated,basedontheir self-reported use, into heavy and light smart-phone users. The next graph shows the increase inanxietyforthesetwogroupsseparatedbythosewhohadtheirphonestakenaway (whitebars)andthosewhowereallowedtokeepbutnotlookattheirphones(greenbars).Asyoucansee,itisthoseheavysmart-phoneuserswhoshowedthegreatestincreaseinanxi-etyacrossthe60minutes. Recently Iwrote a blogpost onaphenome-noncalledFoMOorFearofMissingOut.Ithinkthatthesetwophenomena,FoMOandphantomvibrationsyndrome,bothcapturethesameprevailingissue.Wearenowsoprimedwithanxietyaboutourelectronicworld(andparticularlythatwhichinvolvescommuni-catingsuchastextmessagesandsocialmedia)thatwemisinterpretasimplesignalfromourneuronslocatedbelowourpocketasanincomingmessageratherthananitchthatneedstobescratched.Aswearefindingout,itreallyseemstobeallaboutanxietythatbuildsupwhenwearenotallowedtocheckinwithoursocialmediawhichyoungpeopleappeartocheckextremelyoften.

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InarecentinterviewforComputerworld,Iwasasked“Talkaboutthephantomvibrationsyn-drome,whereitfeelsasifthecellphoneisvibratingbut it isn’t.Whydoes this happen?”My responsesumsupwhatIthinkishappeningtoyoungpeopleandreallytoanyonewhoisconstantlycheckinginwiththeirtechnologiesalldaylong: Ourbodyisalwaysinwaitingtoanticipateany kind of technological interaction, which usu-allycomesfromasmartphone.Withthatanticipa-toryanxiety,ifwegetanyneurologicalstimulation,ourpantsrubbingagainstourlegforexample,youmightinterpretthatthroughtheveilofanxiety,as“Oh,myphoneisvibrating.” If you believe, as I believe, that anxiety-relatedneurotransmittersaremakingusinterpretrandomneurologicalsignalsaspotentialcellphonetransmissions,thenwemuststarttakingstepstoretrain ourselves and reduce these anxiety reac-tions.Theyarenotgoodforusandwillenduppo-tentiallykeepingus sokeyedup thatwewillnotbe able to focus or even rest. The last chapter ofmyiDisorderbooktakestheapproachthatwemustlearn fromneuroscience researchwhat calms ourbrains.Someofthesuggestionsincludethefollow-ingwhicheachneedtobedonefor10minuteseverycoupleofhours:

Take a short walk in nature or just go outside

Do a short mindful meditation session

Exercise

Listen to music

Sing

Practice a foreign language

Read a joke book

Talk to someone in person or on the phone

Actuallyyouprobablyalreadyknowwhat ittakes to calmYOURbrain.About every 90minutestotwohoursdosomethingfor10minutesawayfromtechnology and your anxiety levels should decrease.Anotherhintistoonlyaccessyourelectroniccommu-nications websites (e-mail, texts, social media) on aschedule,sayevery15minutes,andthenturnthemoffduringthedowntimes.Unlessit’sanemergency,nobodywillfreakoutifyoudon’tgetbacktohimorherwithin15minutes.Ifyouareconcernedaboutmissinga “real” emergency from someone, arrange a specialcommunicationchannelforthatpersonandleavethatoneactivewhilesilencingalltheothers.

Ed Sheeran

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©2013 Kailey Jewell

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