The images appear on television while ominous music plays in the background. It is yet another negative political ad and before you are aware of it, the message takes hold of your brain.
You may not want it to, but it works just about instantly.
In fact, the ad's effects on the brain "are actually shocking," says psychiatry professor Dr. Marco Iacoboni.
PHOTO: AFP
Scientists around the United States are keeping track of the emotional and physical effects of negative political ads. Iacoboni tracked parts of the middle brain that lit up in brain scans when people watched their favorite candidates get attacked. Other scientists hooked up wires to measure frowns and smiles before the meaning of the ads' words sunk in. Mostly, researchers found that negative ads tend make it less likely that supporters of an attacked candidate will vote.
"Everyone says, 'We hate them, they're terrible,'" said psychology professor George Bizer. However, he added, "They seem to work."
And politicians know it because the latest figures show that political parties are spending more money on negative ads than positive ones.
Negative ads make supporters of the attacker more likely to vote and make the followers of the victimized candidate feel depressed and less likely to vote, said Stanford University communications professor Shanto Iyengar.
But the attack ads do not do much to independents, said Iyengar, who has finished a study on people's reactions to positive and negative ads in seven close US Senate races which were decided last Tuesday. His online study measured "the basic gut feeling, the emotional reaction," of Democrats, Republicans and independents who watched the ads. (AP)
影像出現在電視上，背景是不祥的音樂。這將是另一個負面政治廣告，在你尚未意識到之前，訊息就掌控了你的大腦。
你或許不希望如此，但它已立即發揮功效。
精神病學教授馬可．亞柯博尼博士說，事實上，這種廣告對大腦的影響「實在驚人」。
全美的科學家持續追蹤著負面廣告對身心的影響。亞柯博尼追蹤了人們觀看最愛的候選人遭攻擊時，中腦斷層掃描會亮起的部分區域。其他科學家則在廣告字句的含義滲透之前，測量人們皺眉頭與微笑的程度。通常，研究人員發現，負面廣告讓遭攻擊的候選人之支持者可能不去投票。
心理學教授喬治．比澤說︰「大家都說『我討厭這種廣告，它們很糟糕』。」不過他也提到︰「它們似乎奏效。」
而且，政治人物也知道這一點。因為最近的數據顯示，政黨花更多的錢打負面廣告，而不是正面廣告。
史丹佛大學傳播學教授善托．易言格表示，負面廣告讓攻擊他人的候選人之支持者更可能投票，讓受害的候選人之支持者感到失望，投票可能性降低。
易言格說，不過攻擊性的廣告對獨立選民影響不大。美國參議員選舉結果於十一月七日揭曉，他已完成民眾對結果相近的七州之正負面廣告的反應之研究。他網路上的研究測量了觀看廣告的民主黨員、共和黨員與獨立選民的「基本直覺與情緒反應」。 （美聯社/翻譯：賴美君）
A: Hey, didn’t you go to the opening of the Mitsui Shopping Park LaLaport Nangang last week? B: Yeah, there are about 300 shops, including the first overseas branch of Japan’s Mahou Dokoro — a famous Harry Potter-themed store. A: Wow, I’ve always wanted to get a magic wand. B: There are also a bunch of great restaurants, such as Smart Fish hotpot restaurant. A: I wish I had Harry Potter’s “apparition” and “disapparition” magic, so I could teleport to the mall right now. A: 你上週不是有去LaLaport南港的盛大開幕嗎？有什麼特別的？ B: 那裡有多達300家專櫃，包括魔法之地的海外首店——它可是日本知名的《哈利波特》專賣店。 A: 哇我一直想買根魔杖。 B: 另外還有各式各樣的美食，像是林聰明沙鍋魚頭。 A: 真希望我也有哈利波特的「現影術／消影術」魔法，能瞬間移動到商場去！ （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪）
When it comes to movies, some people delight in watching spine-chilling horror films. Surprisingly, apart from containing a few scares, horror movies may also offer an unexpected __1__. According to a study, watching 90 minutes of a scary movie can burn an average of 113 calories, which is roughly __2__ to taking a 30-minute walk. Researchers from the University of Westminster carried out an experiment in which they __3__ participants’ oxygen intake, carbon dioxide output, and heart rates while they were watching horror movies without any distractions. The results revealed that physiological responses to fear play a crucial role
Bilingual Story is a fictionalized account. 雙語故事部分內容純屬虛構。 Echo pulled out a worn and tattered shoe box under father’s large oak desk. “Mariko, what should we do with these family photos?” Mariko stared at the old box with a slightly hurt expression, and then blankly at the photos. “Throw them in the garbage pile. . . along with that old, ratty box,” she murmured. She resented that her father had not cared enough to find a nicer home for the family photos. “Father never really cared about me anyway.” Echo’s emotion sensor detected sorrow. ”Mariko, that is
Dos & Don’ts — 想想看，這句話英語該怎麼說？ 1. 你覺得這部電影怎樣？ ˇ What do you think of the movie? χ How do you like the movie? χ How do you think of the movie? 註︰What do you think of ＝ What is your opinion of。 think 的受詞是 what，不能用 how。 2. 你認為哪一個歌星唱得最好？ ˇ Which singer do you think is the best? χ Do you think which singer is the best? 註︰英語中 which singer 似乎是 do you think 的受詞，實則 do you think 是插入語，其他例子如下： 你以為他喜歡誰？ Who do you think he likes? 你以為我住在哪裏？ Where do you think I live? 你想我昨天在公園裏碰到了誰？ Whom/Who do you think I met in the park yesterday? 3. 他不論到什麼地方，總是帶著一把雨傘。 ˇ No matter where he goes, he
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