OCR Text |
Show THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SCARING Coombs Awarded PA Accolade BY CHLOE COLE /STAFF WRITER PHOTO BY PRESTON ZUBAL BY MAYOR ROYAL /STAFF WRITER PHOTO COURTESY OF MARSEA NELSON or many years, haunted houses have upped the ante to provide a real terrifying experience for the people that pay them. But there's some psychology behind the scare. Rob Dunfield, co-owner of Fear Factory in Salt Lake City, said people have many different phobias. Some people are scared of clowns, the dark, heights, spiders and more. Haunted houses prey on those fears to try to get the biggest scream out of their patrons. They want to reach a diverse audience to get as many people as possible to come to their attraction. "Everyone has fears': Dunfield said. "It's the basic instinct of survival of why so many people get scared" Many haunted houses have studied the science and psychology behind scaring. Owners are constantly learning new approaches to scare their customers. Each year there are conventions for haunted house owners to go to and learn from other haunted attractions. "We travel to conventions all over the country from Salem, Mass. to Austin, Texas to an organization that puts on haunts after the Halloween season" Dunfield said. He said people keep attending haunted houses year after year because they enjoy a pure adrenaline rush — people know it's safe and no one will actually harm them, but they go for that surge of energy. However, haunted houses try to make you feel unsafe by putting all of your senses on edge. They trick your brain into using the fight or flight response as if you were in a deadly situation. Haunted houses set the right mood by teasing your mind with smells, scary music, lighting effects, small rooms and uneven flooring. "People have fears of preservation in all forms like fears of falling, someone attacking them with knives, and it's part of the fun that people believe that they could die" Dunfield said. Caroline Felton, a freshman in history, said she doesn't love the surprises. "I hate the parts where you don't know what's coming next and cannot get control of the situation" Felton said. For Chelsea Taylor, a senior in English, the worst part of haunted houses are the clowns and chainsaws, but she also doesn't enjoy being startled. "I don't like things jumping out at me ever" she said. Haunted house attractions work these fears to their advantage to set the scary mood for people. Around the state of Utah, many of these favorite attractions — such as the Hands On Horror level at Castle of Chaos — have become full-contact, meaning they have permission to touch and grab you. At Asylum 49 in Tooele, they won't even let you enter the haunted hospital unless you've signed a waiver. As you travel around the United States, there are some haunted houses that have fully embraced the idea of scaring. In San Diego, Calif., at McKamey Manor, they simulate a horror movie by throwing fake blood on you, putting tape over your mouth and scaring you with power tools. Haunted houses have been around since the Egyptians began using scare techniques for unwanted guests and robbers in tombs. They would use similar scare stratagems like many haunted houses use today, such as moving walls, mazes and snakes. Medical studies have shown people seek thrills, such as haunted houses, to do something different from a regular routine and feel proud of themselves for doing something threatening and unpleasant. According to Psych Central, 10 percent of the population enjoys adrenaline rushes from things like scary movies. For Felton, that rush comes just once a year. "Haunted houses are cool for Halloween" she said. "But any other time of the year I would never go" c.cole@chronicle.utah.edu @chlobyone ennifer Coombs, a faculty member of the U's School of Medicine with the Physician Assistant Program, received the Research Achievement Award. This honor is awarded once per year in Philadelphia from the Physician Assistant Education Program.The recipient is an individual whose research has made a significant impact to physician assistant education. There are fewer than 10 individuals nationally who have achieved the noteworthy accolades that Coombs, who was recognized on Oct. 17, has. Coombs was awarded for research in two distinct areas. The first topic focused on how physician assistants are being utilized to serve the rural and underprivileged areas of Utah. "Utah is one of the most rural states in the country': Coombs said. "As such, people have a much greater problem accessing healthcare. Although my research wouldn't be viewed as 'classical research', it served an important purpose for examining how people lead healthy lives and what means they have to access medical care" In addition to the research on rural and underprivileged areas, Coombs also studied the pay gap that exists for female physician assistants. Her research discovered that this pay disparity exists for women in most professional fields, including medicine, law and business. "The shocking thing I discovered was that the pay gap increases at the higher levels of pay' she said. Coombs took a national sample of wages when conducting her research on pay disparities. In Utah, women make 66 cents to each dollar a man makes. "Shedding light on the issue is the first step to solving it': Coombs said. "You have to describe the problem and draw attention to it. The second step is to determine a solution" Coombs would like to see more women talking about these issues. She said a dialogue needs to be started about how women are being treated in the workforce. Without this acknowledgement, she said the issue will continue to exist in the shadows. When she discovered she would be receiving the Research Achievement Award, Coombs said her son summed up her achievement succinctly. "I came home and my high school son said to me, 'Mom, are you getting an award for your feminist stuff?'This made me so happy" Coombs said. "The truth is, though, a lot of people think F 4 { THECHRONY I NEWS 1 OPINION I ARTS I SPORTS I FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24 2014 } j that. In reality it is everyone's issue" Marsea Nelson, public affairs coordinator with the Physician Assistant Education Association, said the program nominates "outstanding faculty and staff" "There was an unprecedented number of nominations this year for [Coombs]," Nelson said. The U is ranked second in the nation for physician assistant programs. In addition, it is home to one of the oldest programs in the country. Coombs said in recent years she has seen a trend of more students wanting to go to PA school rather than medical school. Last year, there were more than 900 applications for 44 positions at the U. m.royal@chronicle.utah.edu @mary royal HONORING THE U'S VETERANS BY EMILIE TREPANIER /STAFF WRITER PHOTO BY PRESTON ZUBAL j ames Cunningham was deployed to Iraq for 15 months — when he returned to the United States, he was awarded the Veteran of the Year Award by the U. Cunningham was the first to receive the Veteran of the Year Award during the 20112012 academic year. Cunningham pursued a business degree at the U and was nominated for the award by his professors. After returning from Iraq, he served other veterans through Veterans of Foreign Wars. The Veteran of the Year Award for the 20142015 academic year will be determined by Oct. 31, 2014 and will be presented during the U's Veterans Day Commemoration Ceremony on Nov. 11, 2014 at 11 a.m. This award grants the recipient $1,000, an engraved medallion and an engraved plaque to be displayed in the Veterans Support Center. Eligible nominees must have served in the military or be currently serving, must have shown excellent service in the community and maintain a cumulative 3.0 GPA. Brent Taylor was the recipient during the 2012-2013 academic year. Taylor served in the National Guard in 2003 as counterintelligence. Taylor volunteered for deployment in Iraq in 2007 and continued his deployment in Baghdad as senior advisor to the Iraqi Directorate of Strategic Human Intelligence. His services earned him the Purple Heart, Bronze Star, Iraq and Afghanistan Campaign medals and the Combat Action Badge. Last year, the award went to Mike Cumming, an Iraq war veteran. Cumming said he experienced problems with trust upon his return from his deployment. He became involved in rock climbing to build up his trust once more. Then he started a nonprofit organization at the U called Operation Climb On, an eight week rock climbing course for veterans and their families. Sylvia O'Hara, executive assistant in the Veterans Support Center, said the award was created to "bring awareness and bring visibility for student veterans on campus:' O'Hara said there are about 950 student veterans on campus. She said people should be reminded that these veterans are "peers" despite the stereotype of a veteran being "an elderly man who served in WWII." Alex Payne, a junior in Chinese, said this award is important because it promotes awareness. Payne said an award like this encourages student veterans to be a part of the community again. He also said it would especially benefit veterans who come back fighting mental illness. "They should be honored" Payne said, "in any way they can" e.trepanier@chronicle.utah.edu @emiliedeeann 5 |