"Feeling sad? Consider making your way to the nearest florist because a recent study shows that flowers really do have power.
Jeannette Haviland-Jones, Rutgers University psychology professor and lead researcher on the study, said she was initially cynical about the project, assuming the study would find people like flowers simply because they associate them with happy events.
‘‘I thought that it wasn’t really a psychological phenomenon,"" she said. ‘‘But it turned out that nobody could be more wrong than I was.""
According to the study, the simple presence of flowers has an immediate impact on a person’s emotional state.
During a series of exercises used for a controlled study, Haviland-Jones and her students delivered several gift packages, one being a bouquet of flowers, to a wide range of women. Once the gifts were delivered, Haviland-Jones’ students recorded the facial expression of each woman. The most important expression the students looked for was the Duchenne smile, often called a ‘‘genuine"" smile, that results in crinkles by the eye. What the study found was shocking, she said.
‘‘One hundred and fifty subjects later, data showed 100 percent of them had a Duchenne smile,"" Haviland-Jones said.
‘‘One of the few things I know that gives a 100 percent reaction is if you drop a snake on somebody, which incites 100 percent fear in people. So I thought this was amazing.""
A similar study was conducted to see the effect flowers had on men. What this round of data showed, Haviland-Jones said, is that the phenomenon ‘‘is every bit as true for men as it is for women.""
The study’s findings reinforced what many people already believed about flower power.
Capitol Square Floral and Gifts owner Michelle Beck witnesses the positive impact of flowers on a regular basis at her Columbus shop. After making an arrangement for a lawyer that included peonies, the woman stopped by to thank Beck.
‘‘ ‘She said, I can’t believe you put peonies in there — it reminded me of my grandmother, who used to love peonies!’ "" Beck recalled.
Beck thinks bouquets help in the dating game, as proved by a friend who sent flowers to a woman he was interested in — and promptly received an e-mail filled with gratitude and exclamation points.
""When you put something together like bright cheery daisies and put it on someone’s desk at work, the response is incredible,"" she said.
Haviland-Jones said the lab is broadening its studies to continue discovering the marvel of flowers.
""What we’re arguing now is that flowers are equivalent to the companionship of an animal,"" she said.
She also said the team is looking into the theory that flowers have coevolved with humans.
In nature, flowers have always been able to attract pollinators, such as bees, and have evolved to make sure they continue to receive the help of pollinators by changing chemically, using colors and fragrance. What Haviland-Jones would like to prove is that flowers have evolved to snag the attention of humans.
""Some flowers have decided to specialize in us,"" she said. ""Their color spectrum, symmetry and their odor is meant to be attractive to us, which makes us believe that some flowers have coevolved with us as their primary pollinator. We help them with their survival, and they help us with mood maintenance.""
Dispatch reporter Jenna Sauber contributed to this story.
Click here to buy flowers on perkalgifts.co.za"
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