Rolf Zwaan [pictured here], writing in his blog, explains how his (and colleagues’) Ig Nobel Prize-winning study, “Leaning to the Left Makes the Eiffel Tower Seem Smaller: Posture-Modulated Estimation,” came about:
In a previous post I alluded to the fact that I had produced an amusing title a few years ago for an article that was published in Psychological Science (it was intended as a parody on the article titles in that journal). I also mentioned that that article won the Ig Nobel Prize for psychology last year. This prize is awarded for “research that first makes you laugh and then makes you think.”
I thought it might be interesting to describe the creative process behind this paper. I’ll start by saying that I was not a creative force behind the paper, so I’m describing it as a participant observer.My favorite Beatles song is A Day in the Life.…