Seeing is believing

We’ve all said ‘I must see it to believe it’ and recent research shows that we’ve been right. We believe what we see in preference to what we hear; specifically we initially interpret and integrate what we hear through our understanding of what we see. The McGurk effect has been known since the 1970’s; it is an auditory quirk showing that where movement of lips are out of synch with the words being spoken, the shape of the lips takes precedence over the sound.

The McGurk effect

Recent neuro research has just pinpointed the area of the brain involved in this effect. For those interested in neuro names it is the superior temporal sulcus (STS): for those who aren’t, the name doesn’t matter; it is a specific region of the brain.

Latest research

These findings were presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego – Neuroscience 2010. Research indicated that when there is a need to integrate hearing and seeing for understanding, it is the STS that is the hub for sensory overlap and this part of the brain gives automatic priority to visual signals.

Why does this matter?

Imagine talking with another person or giving a speech.  Our visual body language (facial expression, posture and gestures) will put our words into context for the listener initially. Then tone of voice indicating emotion followed by the sound of the words themselves. The intellectual meaning of the words becomes a minor influence. This is probably why we can intuitively pick up on someone lying or how we can see through lack of authenticity in leaders. People often make the mistake of preparing the words without considering body language or tone of voice. When there is lack of consistency, we instinctively believe your face first! However, when there is consistency between auditory and visual signals, the communication is much more powerful as a result.

What do you think? Perhaps more importantly, how should this impact our face to face communication?

Why not see for yourself and watch this You tube Horizon video demonstrating the McGurk effect? After all, ‘seeing is believing’, isn’t it?

Click onto this You tube link below to see the demonstration

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypd5txtGdGw