The Resilience Builder software that we use in our workshops measures Heart Rate Variability (HRV). However it measures a very specific component of HRV called the resonant frequency. The following study explains why.

Thirty six men and women (21 – 24 years old) were shown pictures of varying emotional tone (positive, negative and neutral) and simultaneously had their HRV measured.

The researchers found that HRV measured at the resonant frequency “provided a highly sensitive measure of differences in reactivity to emotionally valenced versus neutral pictures. Standard HRV indices in contrast, were not differentially sensitive to the emotionally valenced pictures.”

Psychophysiology, 43, 2006

In this study researchers explored the relationship between physiology and resilience.

Personality research has shown that there is a resilient personality type that is characterised by low levels of neuroticism and high levels of conscientiousness and agreeableness.

Eighty six Spanish university students completed a personality profile and then had their Heart Rate Variability (HRV) measured.

The researchers found that high levels of HRV correspond with high levels of agreeableness and low levels of neuroticism.

The researchers concluded “we have previously shown high HRV to be associated with physiological, affective, and cognitive flexibility. These results extend our prior work to suggest that a flexible, resilient personality is also associated with vagal cardiac autonomic control (Editors comments: vagal control means high HRV)”.

Psychophysiology, Volume 43, Page S20-S110, Jul 2006

Research shows that we can very quickly sniff out danger.

The study involved participants being exposed to a pair of grassy smells which were nearly identical in their chemical makeup and perceptually indistinguishable. The subjects received an electrical shock when they were exposed to one scent, but not when they were exposed to the other similar one.

After being shocked, the subjects learned to discriminate between the two similar smells.

The researchers concluded “This illustrates the tremendous power of the human sense of smell to learn from emotional experience. Odors that once were impossible to tell apart became easy to identify when followed by an aversive event”

Science, March 28

Since 1989 researchers in America have been scanning the brains of a children as they grow up.

And guess what - they have found that the brains of adolescents are different to adults.

Read more

Researchers have used brain scanning to explore the best way to manage negative emotions.Participants viewed 15-second video clips of disgusting scenes (eg surgery) and simultaneously had their brain scanned. While viewing the video they were asked to use one of two common emotional management techniques – cognitive reappraisal or expressive suppression.

Cognitive reappraisal involves changing the meaning of something. For example when watching someone undergo surgery rather than be disgusted by the blood, you might think about how the surgery will improve their health. Expressive suppression involves avoiding displaying any outward signs of what you are feeling.

The brains scans showed that the amygdala (the stress area of the brain) increased in activity when participants used expressive suppression, and decreased when they used cognitive reappraisal.

The researchers concluded  “although you can look cool as a cucumber, you actually get physiologically even more activated than you would have been if you had just let the emotion play itself out.”

Biological Psychiatry, March 2008

New research suggests that you shouldn’t try to persuade your boss of a new idea while they’re feeling the power of their position as they won’t be listening.

The researchers had students role-play a situation in which one was a boss (a position of power) and the other was an employee who simply took orders. One half of the participants then read a fake advertisement for a mobile phone which contained weak arguments for buying the phone (eg it had a broad currency converter). The other half read a fake ad that had strong arguments (eg the phone could be recharged in just 5 minutes). Participants were then asked to rate how favourably they viewed the phone.

When the role-playing exercise was conducted before viewing the phone ad, those who played boss were more likely than those playing employees to rate the phone similarly — whether they received the strong or the weak arguments.

The experiment was then repeated but this time they watched the advertisements first, then did the role play and then rated the phone.

The results showed that the bosses in the role-playing exercise were now more influenced by the quality of the arguments in the ads.. Those who were low-power employees were not as influenced by the ad quality.

The researchers concluded that “it matters when people are feeling powerful – before or after they receive a persuasive message. If the message comes right after their power is made relevant to them, then powerful people will be difficult to persuade because they are confident in their existing opinions. However, if people can be made to feel powerful right after a strong persuasive message, attitude change is more likely because powerful individuals will feel confident in the positive thoughts they generate to the message”.

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, March 2008

Editors comments

When I first started work I was lucky to be assigned a mentor who was a senior executive in the organiastion I was working for. He gave me this tip on how to influence the boss which seems to be consistent with what the research is saying.

1. Get them out of the environment they are use to (ie remove their power)
2. Present the idea
   
3. Make them feel that it was their idea (giving back their power)

Aerobic exercise significantly decreased the chemical imbalances that can lead to heart disease and stroke in postmenopausal women

Read research

Journal of Women and Aging, April 2008

Researchers have explored why optimists cope well with stress – and they have found that it’s more than just thinking

The research found that optimists:

1. Look for solutions when faced with stress
2. Seek social support
3. Look for positive aspects of a stressful situation
4. Accept situations that they have no control over

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology December 1986, 1257-1264

Research shows that when information is freely shared, good ideas can stunt innovation by distracting others from pursuing even better ideas.

Read the article

Current Directions in Psychological Science, January/February 2008

Research reveals that the response to stress depends on the environment in which a child grows up.

The study involved 130 identical twins who share 100% of their genes and 216 fraternal twins who share close to 50% of their genetic makeup.

Each child was brought into a room with their mother and then exposed to a clown and then a noisy robot. The researchers measured cortisol levels (a stress homone) in the children’s saliva before and after each experience and analysed this data in relation to each child’s family environment.

The researchers found that genetic factors account for 40% of the individual variability in cortisol response among children from a favourable family background, but this contribution drops to zero in children growing up in difficult family circumstances.

Archives of General Psychiatry, March 2008