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）
Renhe sat stiffly at the Wei Ya banquet, picking at the symbolic dishes on the table. Fish for abundance, sticky rice cake for progress — it all seemed superstitious to him. The shrine to the Land God near the entrance, adorned with offerings, incense, and fruit, struck him as frivolous. “What does this have to do with running a business?” Renhe scrolled on his phone as his co-workers performed skits and poorly sung songs. He wasn’t even paying attention to the lucky draws when his name was called. The room filled with applause and cheers as he went to the stage
The cocoa industry is currently facing a crisis, with this year’s cocoa trading price soaring to an unprecedented $10,000 per ton—a 400 percent increase from last year—stemming from diminished crop yields. Given cocoa’s indispensable role in chocolate-making, this surge has driven up chocolate prices and triggered concerns about the sustainability of global chocolate production. West Africa, home to over half of the world’s cocoa trees, is at the center of this issue. The Republic of Cote d’Ivoire and the Republic of Ghana, in particular, are facing severe challenges from both natural disasters and human-induced factors, substantially impacting cocoa harvests. Climate change, with
A: What were the highest-grossing films globally last year? B: “Inside Out 2” was the highest, followed by “Deadpool & Wolverine,” “Despicable Me 4,” “Dune: Part 2” and “Moana 2.” A: “Inside Out 2” was also the highest-grossing film in Taiwan. B: It grossed nearly US$1.7 billion worldwide, or NT$55 billion, becoming the best-selling animated film of all time. A: I can’t believe I missed the movie last year. A: 去年全球最賣座的電影有哪些？ B: 冠軍是《腦筋急轉彎2》，其後是《死侍與金鋼狼》、《神偷奶爸4》、《沙丘：第2部》、《海洋奇緣2》。 A: 《腦2》也是去年台灣票房冠軍耶。 B: 這部鉅片狂賣近17億美元，約550億台幣，成為全球影史最賣座動畫電影！ A: 真不敢相信我錯過了這部強片。 （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張聖恩）
A: In addition to “Inside Out 2” at the top, what were the other highest-grossing films domestically last year? B: “Gatao: Like Father, Like Son” was the only Taiwanese movie among the top 10 blockbusters, which included five animated films. A: I’m surprised that the Taiwanese hit “The Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon” wasn’t on the chart. B: But it grossed over 500 million Chinese yuan in China, which is nearly NT$2.5 billion. The figure was five times higher than that of the best-selling film in Taiwan. A: Its success shows that Taiwanese movies should go international. A:
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