SCIENCE AND NATURE UNEARTH NEW INSIGHTS INTO EMOTIONAL HEALTH
Rutgers Behavioral Study Links Flowers and Life Satisfaction
With today’s high-tech and fast-paced lifestyle taking its daily toll on our lives, experts advise exercise and other personal lifestyle changes to relieve stress. According to recent behavioral research conducted at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, nature provides us with a simple way to improve emotional health – flowers. The presence of flowers triggers happy emotions, heightens feelings of life satisfaction and affects social behavior in a positive manner far beyond what is normally believed.
“What’s most exciting about this study is that it challenges established scientific beliefs about how people can manage their day-to-day moods in a healthy and natural way,” said Jeannette Haviland-Jones, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology at Rutgers and lead researcher on the study.
Research Findings
A team of researchers explored the link between flowers and life satisfaction in a 10-month study of participants’ behavioral and emotional responses to receiving flowers. The results show that flowers are a natural and healthful moderator of moods.
1. Flowers have an immediate impact on happiness. All study participants expressed “true” or “excited” smiles upon receiving flowers, demonstrating extraordinary delight and gratitude. This reaction was universal, occurring in all age groups.
2. Flowers have a long-term positive effect on moods. Specifically, study participants reported feeling less depressed, anxious and agitated after receiving flowers, and demonstrated a higher sense of enjoyment and life satisfaction.
3. Flowers make intimate connections. The presence of flowers led to increased contact with family and friends.
“Common sense tells us that flowers make us happy,” said Dr. Haviland-Jones. “Now, science shows that not only do flowers make us happier than we know, they have strong positive effects on our emotional well being.”
Sharing Space
The study also explored where in their homes people display flowers. The arrangements were placed in areas of the home that are open to visitors – such as foyers, living rooms and dining rooms – suggesting that flowers are a symbol for sharing.
“Flowers bring about positive emotional feelings in those who enter a room,” said Dr. Haviland-Jones. “They make the space more welcoming and create a sharing atmosphere.”
Background
The Emotional Impact of Flowers Study was conducted by Jeannette M. Haviland-Jones, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, Project Director, Human Development Lab at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Dr. Haviland-Jones is a psychologist and internationally recognized authority in the role of emotional development in human behavior and nonverbal emotional signals and response.
The research adds a scientific foundation to what many consider to be common knowledge – that flowers have a strong, beneficial impact on those who receive them. The Society of American Florists worked in cooperation with the Rutgers research team, bringing an expertise of flowers to the project.
Click here to find out about the positive effects of flowers on MEN.
EMOTIONAL IMPACT RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Study Participants
The participants were 147 women, ranging equally in age, educational level, and career and lifestyle choice. Women were studied because previous research on emotion demonstrates that women are more discerning of moods, more willing to participate in studies on moods and more involved in emotional management within the home and at work.
Flower Deliveries
Study participants knew they would have a gift delivered, but they did not know what the gift would be. This “secrecy” was to obtain an honest first reaction to the gift as a measure of the direct effect of flowers on immediate mood.
Immediate Emotional Reaction
Trained researchers measured the behavior and emotional expression of participants when they received the flowers. Three different smiles as well as verbal reactions were coded upon the delivery of the flowers. The information was recorded into a field computer within the first 5 seconds of the flower delivery, to measure accurately the first, immediate reaction.
Polite Smile: This is used most commonly in quick greetings or acknowledgements. No discernable facial movement is present except the turning up of the corners of the mouth.
True Smile: This is seen when there are possible changes in behavior indicating pleasure. Hence it is called “true” – the person is truly happy.
Excited Smile: This smile combines two emotions – excitement and happiness. Here we see the true smile, but also the eyebrows are raised so that there are high, horizontal wrinkles across the forehead.
Interviews
The participants were interviewed before getting their gifts, to give the research team a “baseline” of measure. From this, the researchers measured how feelings changed when participants had flowers in their homes. In the initial interview, interviewers asked the participants to evaluate their feelings over the past two to four days to assess their overall, general feelings. Then, several days after the gift was delivered (about 10 days after the first interview) participants were interviewed again to measure changes in feelings related to having flowers in the home.
Questionnaires
The following questionnaires were asked of participants: Diener and Lerner’s Life Satisfaction questionnaire, Izard’s Differential Emotion Scale, the Everyday Illness questionnaire, and the Symptoms of Well-Being questionnaire which covers entertaining, romance, relaxation, intimate and creative experiences
, ranging equally in age, educational level, and career and lifestyle choice. Women were studied because previous research on emotion demonstrates that women are more discerning of moods, more willing to participate in studies on moods and more involved in emotional management within the home and at work.
Flower Deliveries
Study participants knew they would have a gift delivered, but they did not know what the gift would be. This “secrecy” was to obtain an honest first reaction to the gift as a measure of the direct effect of flowers on immediate mood.
Immediate Emotional Reaction
Trained researchers measured the behavior and emotional expression of participants when they received the flowers. Three different smiles as well as verbal reactions were coded upon the delivery of the flowers. The information was recorded into a field computer within the first 5 seconds of the flower delivery, to measure accurately the first, immediate reaction.
Polite Smile: This is used most commonly in quick greetings or acknowledgements. No discernable facial movement is present except the turning up of the corners of the mouth.
True Smile: This is seen when there are possible changes in behavior indicating pleasure. Hence it is called “true” – the person is truly happy.
Excited Smile: This smile combines two emotions – excitement and happiness. Here we see the true smile, but also the eyebrows are raised so that there are high, horizontal wrinkles across the forehead.
Interviews
The participants were interviewed before getting their gifts, to give the research team a “baseline” of measure. From this, the researchers measured how feelings changed when participants had flowers in their homes. In the initial interview, interviewers asked the participants to evaluate their feelings over the past two to four days to assess their overall, general feelings. Then, several days after the gift was delivered (about 10 days after the first interview) participants were interviewed again to measure changes in feelings related to having flowers in the home.
Questionnaires
The following questionnaires were asked of participants: Diener and Lerner’s Life Satisfaction questionnaire, Izard’s Differential Emotion Scale, the Everyday Illness questionnaire, and the Symptoms of Well-Being questionnaire – which covers entertaining, romance, relaxation, intimate and creative experiences.
©2002 SAF All Rights Reserved
Flower Therapy
The researchers from Rutgers determined that the flower recipients in the study experienced an elevation in mood that lasted for days. And Chinese healers – who’ve long believed in “flower power” – say that it doesn’t stop there. They say you can utilitze flowers to summon whatever power or emotion you’d like – and that the secret is in the flower’s color. Each color creates a different frequency of lightwaves, they believe, which travel through the retina and down the optic nerve, setting off a chain reaction of responses in the body. Neurotransmitters are then released, inducing the production of calming hormones like melotonin, stimulating hormones like adrenaline, and mood-boosting hormones like serotonin.
Here, how you can enjoy the physical and emotional benefits of flowers
Increase energy with red roses
Since red has the slowest vibratory rate and and longest wavelength, it stimulates adrenal glands, boosting energy.
Boost confidence with irises
The color indigo stimulates the brain’s pineal gland, which is the regulator of sleep patterns. Indigo also helps to free the mind of worries, fear and inhibition.
Enhance alertness with sunflowers
Yellow lightwaves stimulate the brain, making you alert, clearheaded and decisive. And since we associate yellow with the sun’s rays and daylight, it’s said to help us feel more optimistic.
Get a good night’s sleep with bluebells
Blue triggers the production of melotonin, a brain chemical that helps us relax and sleep soundly. Blue also stimulates the thyroid gland to release thyroxin, a hormone that regulates metabolic rate.
Relax with green zinnias
Green affects the nervous system, making us breathe slowly and deeply, slowing the production of stress hormones and helping the heart relax.
Prevent allergies with orange daisies
Orange strengthens the immune system and the lungs, which can ward off spring allergies. Orange also has a strong beneficial effect on the digestive system and can stimulate the sexual organs.
Relieve stress with lilacs
Violet cools us, alleviating “hot” conditions like heat rash and sunburn, and suppressing hunger and balancing metabolism. It also stimulates the pituitary gland, the part of the brain that releases tension-fighting beta-endorphins.
©2002 SAF All Rights Reserved |
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Want To Get Him To Open Up? Send Flowers
A recent behavioral study conducted at Rutgers University shows that men who receive flowers demonstrate increased social interaction and happiness. This research expands on previous data collected, which showed that flowers enhance happiness and social connections among women.
Conducted by Rutgers University student researcher Holly Hale and psychology professor Jeannette Haviland-Jones, Ph.D., the study involved two groups of men who varied in age and ethnicity, one group who received a surprise gift of flowers and a control group who did not. The subjects’ verbal cues and body language (measures of social interaction) were studied.
The men who received flowers demonstrated increased eye contact in conversation, stood in closer proximity to the researchers, and produced more and truer smiles than those men who did not receive flowers.
While in general, women displayed a greater level of emotion in their study, the effects are equal. “When it comes to receiving flowers, men and women are on the same playing field,” said Haviland-Jones. “It seems that we all express extraordinary delight and increase our social behavior.”
©2002 SAF All Rights Reserved
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Rutgers Study Links Flowers to Senior Citizens’ Well Being
Everyday, America’s aging population – 40 million and rising – faces the challenges of growing older, including depression, memory loss and social withdrawal. As a concerned nation, we are continually exploring new means to ease daily-life anxieties. Recently, researchers at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, released the results of a six-month behavioral study on the health effects of flowers on senior citizens. The study demonstrates that flowers ease depression, inspire social networking and refresh memory as we age.
“The results are significant because as our nation grows older and life becomes more stressful, we look for easy and natural ways to enhance our lives – and the lives of our aging parents,” said Dr. Jeannette Haviland-Jones, professor of psychology and director of the Human Development Lab at Rutgers. “Now, one simple answer is right under our noses.”
This research follows a study conducted in 2000, which links flowers to greater happiness and life satisfaction in women. In 2001, Rutgers set out to explore the effects flowers would have on senior citizens, who experience different living situations and greater life changes.
Prevention in a Bud, Not a Bottle
More than 100 seniors participated in the Rutgers research study, in which some received flowers and others did not. The results shed new light on how nature’s support systems help seniors cope with the challenges of aging. The results are as follows:
1. Flowers Decrease Depression. Study participants showed a significant increase in happiness and positive moods when flowers were present.
2. Flowers Refresh Recent Memory. Seniors performed higher on everyday memory tasks and experienced enriched personal memories in the presence of flowers.
3. Flowers Encourage Companionship. Seniors who received flowers re-engaged with members of their communities and enlarged their social contacts to include more neighbors, religious support and even medical personnel.
“Instinct tells us that flowers lift our spirits, but, their effects on seniors are especially profound, if not surprising,” said Haviland-Jones.
New Evidence Sprouts Up
Specifically, 81 percent of seniors who participated in the study reported a reduction in depression following the receipt of flowers. Forty percent of seniors reported broadening their social contacts beyond their normal social circle of family and close friends. And, 72 percent of the seniors who received flowers scored very high on memory tests in comparison with seniors who did not receive flowers.
“Happier people live longer, healthier lives and are more open to change,” said Haviland-Jones. “Our research shows that a small dose of nature, like flowers, can do a world of wonder for our well-being as we age.”
Background
The Flowers & Seniors Study (2001) is the second floral research project conducted by Jeannette Haviland-Jones, Ph.D., professor of psychology, Project Director, Human Development Lab at Rutgers. Dr. Haviland-Jones is a psychologist and internationally recognized authority in the role of emotional development in human behavior and nonverbal emotional signals and response. In 2000, Haviland-Jones completed the first phase of her research on the emotional impact of flowers on women. The Society of American Florists worked in cooperation with the Rutgers research team, bringing its expertise of flowers to the project. |
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