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Why things stress us and how to handle irritants
By Wan Lixin |
April 28, 2012, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE price of living in cities is high: not only do we pay more for our sustenance, but for average urbanites to function properly they also have to demonstrate a kind of resourcefulness in coming to terms with the myriad annoyances around us: noises, odors and over-illuminated night.
Of course it is technology, not the city itself, that seems to be the best amplifier of such irritants.
With greater access to the Internet and mobile signals, most commuters have the experience of being forced to share others' mobile conversation, or trying hard not to be distracted by the omnipresent LED screens that try all kinds of antics to draw your attention.
Last July in Shanghai a passenger found the volume of the TV inside a bus intolerable and asked the bus driver to turn down the volume. He refused. The passenger asked to get off the bus, with a refund, and was rejected. In a rage, the passenger, who had a history of mental instability, killed the driver. The passenger was later sentenced to death, with a two-year reprieve and a penalty of over 630,000 yuan (US$100,000).
Most bus drivers refused to turn down the volume because airing the TV commercials to the trapped multitudes has become such profitable business.
Another source of irritation comes from the horns of motor vehicles, which are getting louder as congestion worsens. With car ownership seen as the new symbol of respectability in China, there is no relief in sight in this aspect.
Given the rising "prosperity" and the hidden commercial interests that conspire to make more money by making more noise, the only sensible approach seems to yield, with good-natured resignation.
By comparison the explosive pop of chewing gum bubbles some youths are capable of conjuring up, the cracking of the knuckles and the scent of heavy perfume appear to be much less of menaces.
"Annoying: The Science of What Bugs Us" by Joe Palca and Flora Lichtman gives a litany of, and tries to categorize and make sense of the annoyances around us.
According to the authors, everyone has a list of pet peeves, but some things bug most folks to varying degrees. Take the forced exposure to another's mobile conversation.
Many feel vexed for being distracted, but researchers find that the listeners also feel frustrated because they lack information as they try to make sense of what they are hearing.
Some have succeeded in making annoyances into a kind of enjoyment, as in the case of some people's addiction to hot chili peppers.
Coping strategy
When we saw how diners enjoy this spicy ingredient, it's interesting to note that this pungent plant was a fairly recent import from America. Christopher Columbus noted in his diary that he was astonished to find native Americans consume a peppery spice that he found inedible.
Some researchers describe this as "hedonic reversal," in the sense that the chili pepper starts tasting good as the line separating pain and pleasure becomes blurred. Some go further by speculating that people enjoyed in tricking their own bodies into believing that they are experiencing pains, while in fact they are not.
Unfortunately, few irritants can be turned into something palatable or enjoyable.
"Most of the time, despite our best efforts, annoyances get under our skin, cloud our judgment, and distract us from the task at hand," the book says.
Still, most urbanites grow up to be better adapted to some kind of irritants, like noises and bad smells, as urban air steadily deteriorates.
Irritants can also be social, as one finds some behaviors by spouse or colleague to be repugnant. One researcher listed four kinds of "social allergens": uncouth habits, inconsiderate acts, intrusive behaviors, and norm violations.
The degree of repulsiveness may depend on one's relationship with the source of irritation.
"One thing most couples have noticed is that the same behavior that drives you crazy when your partner does it can be (relatively) easy to ignore when someone outside the relationship does it," the book observes.
Similarly, the infatuation people typically experience early in a romantic relationship may blind them to the distasteful behaviors they would later find grating or distasteful.
Sensitivity to such annoyances may be linked to our neuroses, our upbringing, our points of view, and stress.
Hopefully, understanding what makes you irritable would enable you to cope with it better.
Of course it is technology, not the city itself, that seems to be the best amplifier of such irritants.
With greater access to the Internet and mobile signals, most commuters have the experience of being forced to share others' mobile conversation, or trying hard not to be distracted by the omnipresent LED screens that try all kinds of antics to draw your attention.
Last July in Shanghai a passenger found the volume of the TV inside a bus intolerable and asked the bus driver to turn down the volume. He refused. The passenger asked to get off the bus, with a refund, and was rejected. In a rage, the passenger, who had a history of mental instability, killed the driver. The passenger was later sentenced to death, with a two-year reprieve and a penalty of over 630,000 yuan (US$100,000).
Most bus drivers refused to turn down the volume because airing the TV commercials to the trapped multitudes has become such profitable business.
Another source of irritation comes from the horns of motor vehicles, which are getting louder as congestion worsens. With car ownership seen as the new symbol of respectability in China, there is no relief in sight in this aspect.
Given the rising "prosperity" and the hidden commercial interests that conspire to make more money by making more noise, the only sensible approach seems to yield, with good-natured resignation.
By comparison the explosive pop of chewing gum bubbles some youths are capable of conjuring up, the cracking of the knuckles and the scent of heavy perfume appear to be much less of menaces.
"Annoying: The Science of What Bugs Us" by Joe Palca and Flora Lichtman gives a litany of, and tries to categorize and make sense of the annoyances around us.
According to the authors, everyone has a list of pet peeves, but some things bug most folks to varying degrees. Take the forced exposure to another's mobile conversation.
Many feel vexed for being distracted, but researchers find that the listeners also feel frustrated because they lack information as they try to make sense of what they are hearing.
Some have succeeded in making annoyances into a kind of enjoyment, as in the case of some people's addiction to hot chili peppers.
Coping strategy
When we saw how diners enjoy this spicy ingredient, it's interesting to note that this pungent plant was a fairly recent import from America. Christopher Columbus noted in his diary that he was astonished to find native Americans consume a peppery spice that he found inedible.
Some researchers describe this as "hedonic reversal," in the sense that the chili pepper starts tasting good as the line separating pain and pleasure becomes blurred. Some go further by speculating that people enjoyed in tricking their own bodies into believing that they are experiencing pains, while in fact they are not.
Unfortunately, few irritants can be turned into something palatable or enjoyable.
"Most of the time, despite our best efforts, annoyances get under our skin, cloud our judgment, and distract us from the task at hand," the book says.
Still, most urbanites grow up to be better adapted to some kind of irritants, like noises and bad smells, as urban air steadily deteriorates.
Irritants can also be social, as one finds some behaviors by spouse or colleague to be repugnant. One researcher listed four kinds of "social allergens": uncouth habits, inconsiderate acts, intrusive behaviors, and norm violations.
The degree of repulsiveness may depend on one's relationship with the source of irritation.
"One thing most couples have noticed is that the same behavior that drives you crazy when your partner does it can be (relatively) easy to ignore when someone outside the relationship does it," the book observes.
Similarly, the infatuation people typically experience early in a romantic relationship may blind them to the distasteful behaviors they would later find grating or distasteful.
Sensitivity to such annoyances may be linked to our neuroses, our upbringing, our points of view, and stress.
Hopefully, understanding what makes you irritable would enable you to cope with it better.
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