Fishy Smells Improve Critical Thinking: Explorations of the Embodiment of Suspicion

Moses Illusion;Wason’S Rule Discovery Task;Suspicion;Distrust;Embodiment;Metaphor;Fishy Smell;Semantic Distortion;Hypothesis Testing;Critical Thinking;Psychology Accelerated Degree Program

Kim, Eunjung

University of Michigan

关键词: Moses Illusion;    Wason’S Rule Discovery Task;    Suspicion;    Distrust;    Embodiment;    Metaphor;    Fishy Smell;    Semantic Distortion;    Hypothesis Testing;    Critical Thinking;    Psychology Accelerated Degree Program;   

Others  :  https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/107348/kim.finalthesis2.pdf?sequence=4&isAllowed=y

瑞士|英语

来源: The Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship

【 摘 要 】

A suspicious mindset can alert people to not take information at face value, as circumstances may not be what they seem. In many languages, suspicion is metaphorically associated with smell; in English, this smell is ;;fishy”. This study examined the effects of an incidental exposure to fishy smell on cognitive reasoning processing styles. The Moses illusion question (Erickson & Mattson, 1981) and Wason’s (1960) rule discovery task served as dependent variables in this study. Participants who were exposed to an incidental fishy smell, as opposed to a neutral cue (i.e. no odor), were more likely to detect semantic distortions as tested by the Moses illusion (Study 1). They were also more likely to engage in negative hypothesis testing on the Wason rule discovery task (Study 2). These findings highlight the cognitive benefits of feelings of suspicion and advance our understanding of its elicitation through sensory cues.