11. June 2010 by John Schinnerer.

From Science Daily…

‘New Software to Measure Emotional Reactions to Web

ScienceDaily (June 9, 2010) — While most people have intuitive reactions to Web sites, a group of Canadian scientists is developing software that can actually measure those emotions and more.Aude Dufresne, a professor at the University of Montreal Department Of Communications, led a team of researchers that are designing a new software to evaluate the biological responses of Internet users.Simply put, the new software measures everything in Web users from body heat to eye movements to facial expressions and analyzes how they relate to online activities.

The technology is now being tested at the newly opened Bell User Experience Centre, which is located at the telecom giant’s Nun’s Island campus. Bell will use the University of Montreal technology to investigate how people react to Web sites. Such studies will provide companies with facts on how they can improve online experiences.

“With e-commerce and the multiplication of retail Web sites, it has become crucial for companies to consider the emotions of Web users,” says Professor Dufresne. “Our software is the first designed to measure emotions at conscious and preconscious levels, which will give companies a better sense of the likes and dislikes of Web users.”‘

For full article, click here.

Between the fMRI, neuromarketing and emotional measurement software, we have to be more mindful about our media consumption.

Cheers,

John Schinnerer, Ph.D.

Real Emotions for Real Men

Guide To Self, Inc.

Posted in Visual Attention, Emotion recognition software, Danville CA, National speakers, Brain plasticity, Visual perception, Neuromarketing, Real Men Real Emotion, Men's feelings, Emotion and technology, Awareness, Innovative brand research, Emotional IQ, Dr. John Schinnerer, Measuring emotions, Unique marketing research, Customer Engagement, Men's emotions, Subconscious mind, Emotional mind, Business & psych | Print | No Comments »

10. June 2010 by John Schinnerer.

If you’ve been following my blog, Shrunken Mind, you’re aware of the vast power of the unconscious mind - that part of the mind which I refer to as the ‘back office’ of the mind. In the ‘back office’, activites take place that are automatic, uncontrolled and outside of your conscious awareness. Despite this, the workings of the unconscious mind have a profound effect on the consious mind and on your behavior. In science, we’ve been working on figuring this out over the past 20 years with the help of fMRIs and MRIs.

There are a few areas of expertise that continually seem to be at the cutting edge of this area of expertise - sales and marketing. Up until recently this has only been of some concern to me, as I stay on the bleeding edge of the area and can afford some awareness and protection to myself, my family and my clients.

However, a new study came out this week which caused me great concern. Check out the snippet from the article from New Scientist and see if you agree.

‘Unconscious purchasing urges revealed by brain scans

 15:56 09 June 2010 by Ewen Callaway   You spend more time window shopping than you may realise. Whether someone intends to buy a product or not can be predicted from their brain activity – even when they are not consciously pondering their choices.The ability to predict from brain scans alone what a person intends to buy, while leaving the potential buyer none the wiser, could bring much-needed rigour to efforts to meld marketing and neuroscience, says Brian Knutson, a neuroscientist at Stanford University in California who was not involved in the research.Neuromarketing, as this field is known, has been employed by drug firms, Hollywood studios and even the Campbell Soup Company to sell their wares, despite little published proof of its effectiveness.

Rather than soup, John-Dylan Haynes at the Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience in Berlin, Germany, attempted to predict which cars people might unconsciously favour. To do so, he and colleague Anita Tusche used functional MRI to scan the brains of two groups of male volunteers, aged 24 to 32, while they were presented with images of a variety of cars.One group was asked to rate their impressions of the vehicles, while the second performed a distracting visual task while cars were presented in the background. Each volunteer was then shown three cars and asked which they would prefer to buy.

First impressions

The researchers found that when volunteers first viewed the car that they would subsequently “buy”, specific patterns of brain activity could be seen in the brain’s medial prefrontal and insula cortices – areas that are all associated with preferences and emotion.These patterns of activity reflected the volunteers’ subsequent purchasing choice nearly three-quarters of the time, whether or not the subjects had given their undivided attention to the images of the cars when they were first shown them.Previous studies have shown similar patterns of activity when we make explicit purchasing choices. What this new study suggests is that these brain regions size up products even when we are not consciously making purchasing decisions. The brain appears to be imparting automatic or possibly even unconscious value onto products, as soon as you’re exposed to them, says Haynes.

Secret desires

While Knutson acknowledges that the volunteers’ choices might have been different if they had been making a real decision about which car to buy, he reckons the study may still be of use to neuromarketers – specifically as a subjective way of determining whether a consumer might buy a product or not, without having to be explicitly asked.’

For the full article, click here.

In the past, I’ve been involved in some neuromarketing and emotion studies with large health care providers and consumer goods manufacturers. At the time, it was fascinating, compelling and educational. The more I get to know about it, the more concerned I become. TV commercials, billboards, radio spots and magazine ads already have sufficient influence over our minds to make me highly uncomfortable. My unease is only reinforced by the piles of studies showing how Madison Avenue is influencing the ‘back office’ of our minds.

To protect yourself and your families, my best suggestion is pause the TV during commercials and skip over them if you have TIVO (or the equivalent. Even if you have TIVO, studies have shown the brain recognizes roughly 30% of the content of TV ads even when you are skipping through the commercials at high speed!

If you don’t, at least mute the radio or TV during commercials. From what we know in science, the brain is malleable like a lump of clay. And these commercials leave tracks in the brain like running a finger tip through wet clay. The more you are exposed, the deeper the groove becomes in the clay (your brain) and the more influence they have over you. Don’t let your children mindlessly watch tv commercials.

Your brain is impressionable. Guard it. Be mindful.

All the best,

John Schinnerer, Ph.D.

Teaching Real Men Real Emotions

Guide To Self, Inc.

Award-winning author

Award-winning blogger

Keynote speaker

Posted in Visual Attention, Unsconscious mind, Subliminal messages, Danville CA, Brain plasticity, Visual perception, Neuromarketing, Real Men Real Emotion, Well-being, San Francisco Bay Area, National speakers, Awareness, Innovative brand research, Emotional IQ, Dr. John Schinnerer, Measuring emotions, Chief Marketing Officer, Brand Equity, Mindfulness, Organizational psychology, Subconscious mind, Consciousness, Business & psych | Print | No Comments »

13. May 2010 by John Schinnerer.

This is an excerpt from a talk I gave last year at a Leadership Summit of 1500 executives and managers. It is critical to begin taking steps to incorporate positive psychology into the workplace to ensure the optimal functioning of your workforce. Parts of the positive psychology puzzle include resiliency, high ratio of positive to negative emotions, realistic optimism, positive communications, the mindful use of emotions so they work for you instead of against you and much more.

Think about it!

John Schinnerer, Ph.D.

Book John Now at (925) 944-3440

Posted in Danville CA, Emotion & productivity, International Wellbeing Study, National speakers, Gratitude, Assertiveness, Hope, Corporate Culture, Employee engagement, San Francisco Bay Area, Well-being, Alamo CA, Optimal Human Functioning, Executive coach, Brain plasticity, Altruism, Negotiation and emotion, Unique marketing research, Chief Marketing Officer, Innovative brand research, Emotional IQ, Business & psych, Dr. John Schinnerer, Customer Engagement, Happiness, Organizational psychology, Resiliency, The human brain, Men's emotions, Morals and values, Guide To Self Beginners Guide To Managing Emotion, Positive Psychology | Print | No Comments »

12. May 2010 by John Schinnerer.

Cool news! I was just included in a continuing education series on positive psychology with Dr. Jonathan Haidt, Dr. John Drimmer, Dr. James Pawelski, Dr. Dacher Keltner, and Dr. Judy Saltzberg. I’m flattered and honored. This is a series of radio interviews done by Dr. David Van Nuys, professor emeritus from Sonoma State University. Here is the description…

GENERAL COURSE DESCRIPTION

Mental health professionals have traditionally devoted themselves to the treatment of unhappiness in all its many forms. We’ve been good at developing models of psychopathology but we also need to have a clear model of the healthy human psyche. In his 1998 APA presidential address, Martin P. Seligman, an eminent University of Pennsylvania psychology professor, announced that he was founding a new science of “positive psychology.” According to Seligman, psychology had too long focused on the negative side of human nature and it was time to rigorously study the positive. Of course, humanistic psychologists (e.g., Maslow, Rogers, Tillich, Frankel, Bugental, and others) had done pioneering work along these same lines at least 40 years earlier. However, Seligman was calling for a more rigorous, empirical approach than he felt had previously existed. He was able to jump start the field with a $100,000 prize from the John Templeton Foundation for the best research project in this new area by a young researcher. Positive Psychology. At this point, there have already been more than 64,000 research studies on Positive Psychology. This foundational work has important implications for psychotherapists of every stripe.

This course consists of eight interviews with Positive Psychology luminaries conducted by David Van Nuys, Ph.D. Each interview will add to your understanding of the field and its clinical implications. 5 of the 8 interviews are also accompanied with full transcripts of the interview. The first interview features Dr. James Pawelski, who heads up the first positive psychology graduate program in the country, housed at the University of Pennsylvania, under the guidance of Dr. Seligman. The second interview is with Dr. Judy Saltzberg, who is a graduate of that program and now an instructor in it and focuses on clinical applications. The third interview, with Dr. John Drimmer, explores how one psychologist shifted his work to become a practitioner of positive psychology. The fourth interview with psychologist, Dr. Sylvia Boorstein, focuses on mindfulness and compassion as key components of happiness. The fifth interview is with Dr. Jonathan Haidt, psychology professor, TED.com presenter, and a key figure in the Positive Psychology movement. The sixth interview, with Dr. Cathy Greenberg, hones in on positive psychology and happiness, particularly as they apply to women’s issues. The seventh interview is with Cal Berkeley professor, Dr. Dacher Keltner, and focuses on his research on happiness and health. Finally, Dr. John Schinnerer is one of a growing number of psychologists who prefer to practice under the rubric of “coaching,” and he describes how he made that transition.

Educational Objectives:

* This course will teach psychotherapists to Apply insights of positive psychology to their work.
* Critique the research findings/claims of positive psychology.
* Define relevant terms, e.g., positive psychology, happiness, resilience, mindfulness, and so on.
* Cite relevant research literature to justify applying positive psychology principles to their practice.
* Construct their own approach to implementing principles of positive psychology to their practice.

Course Syllabus:

* Discovering Positive Psychology
o History of Positive Psychology
o Philosophical underpinnings of Positive Psychology
o Developing the first Positive Psychology graduate program
* Clinical Applications of Positive Psychology
o Integrating CBT with Positive Psychology
o Case examples of Positive Psychology therapy
o Therapeutic exercise drawn from Positive Psychology
* From 60 Minutes Producer to Positive Psychologist
o The three pillars of positive psychology
o Commonalities between documentary film making and practice of positive psychology
o Taking clients beyond symptom relief to optimal fulfillment
* Buddhist Happiness
o Mindfulness meditation as a therapeutic intervention
o The long-term benefits of clients developing warm relationships
o Developing compassion as a component of mental health
* The Happiness Hypothesis
o Interplay of cognition and emotion in Positive Psychology
o Exploration of “Wisdom Traditions” hits and misses
o Why meditation is easier than medication
* What Happy Women Know
o The disconnect between worldly success and happiness
o Combating happiness trap of perfectionism
o Dealing with female revenge fantasies
* Happiness, Kindness and Health
o Emotional intelligence and happiness
o Role of vagus nervous system and oxytocin in trust
o Health and longevity correlates of happiness
o Evidence from Darwin supporting that we are wired for happiness
* Positive Psychology Coaching and Psychotherapy
o Importance of developing “inward looking” in clients
o Interplay of positive and negative emotions
o Mastering the negative emotions of the “lizard brain”

For more information on the series, check out the Zur Institute at http://www.zurinstitute.com/positivepsychologycourse.html.

If you are interested in contacting Dr. John Schinnerer for keynote speaking engagements, visit the website for contact info at http://www.guidetoself.com.

Keep on smiling!

John Schinnerer, Ph.D.

Guide To Self, Inc.

San Francisco Bay Area

National speaker

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8. May 2010 by John Schinnerer.

A sneak peek at a talk I gave last year for a crowd of 1,500 managers and executives in California.

Have a fantastic week!
John Schinnerer, Ph.D.

Book John Now! (925) 944-3440

Posted in National speakers, Emotion & learning, Danville CA, Curiosity, Awareness, The human brain, Resiliency, Mindfulness, Emotion & productivity, San Ramon CA, Self-compassion, Alamo CA, San Francisco Bay Area, Optimal Human Functioning, Brain plasticity, Positive emotions and job search, Executive coach, Men's emotions, Alexithymia, Life coach, Guide to Self, Emotional IQ, Creativity, Dr. John Schinnerer, Forgiveness, Business & psych, Managing stress, Anxiety, Tips to help anxiety, Managing Anxiety, Anger Management, Managing Sadness, Emotional management, Emotional mind, Happiness, Guide To Self Beginners Guide To Managing Emotion, Positive Psychology | Print | No Comments »