Go Big or Go Home – A Whale of a Study — Dave’s Diary

You’ve heard it before--Go BIG or go home.  Seems there might be some research to suggest it’s easier to imagine that. New research from the UK finds that people mentally process words associated with large things, like "whale", more quickly than they process words associated with small things, like "plum."

UK scientists showed participants pairs of words on a screen in which one word was real and one word was nonsense. Participants were then told to push a button to show which word was fake and which was real. Scientists timed their reactions and found that people consistently reacts to words associated with large things compared to words associated with small things.  You know, like  --  Large-Dave’s waistline--Small-Dave’s pay check.

Researchers say people were able to process the "large" words an average of 20-milliseconds faster than they could identify "small" words. Researchers say this happens because bigger things or concepts grab our emotional attention faster than smaller things or concepts. So many jokes, so little time. (Daily Mail)