The walk to and from school can't be uphill both ways, but going it alone might make it seem that way. When judging the steepness of a hill, people overestimated its angle more when alone then when they were accompanied by-or even thinking about-a friend, report an international group of researchers led by Simon Schnall of University of Plymouth in England. The longer of volunteers had been friends with their companions, the less steep the hill seemed.
The authors hypothesize that psychosocial resources, such as having trusted friend nearby, help people to see challenges in their surroundings as easier to navigate. In similar studies, subjects who were fatigued, out of shape or wearing a heavy backpack perceived hills as steeper and distance as longer than they really were. Such built-in perceptual illusions may provide an evolutionary advantage, says Emily Balcetis of Ohio University, who was not involved with the study. Exaggerating a challenge's difficulty, she explains, "Might better help you prepare to encounter it." Happy Learning Yovan P. Putra www.primastudy.com <http://www.primastudy.com>
