You may want to take your clients out for dinner this Thanksgiving in the U.S. According to a recent study from Leiden University in Holland, trust is increased after eating food that contains tryptophan, which is found in fish, eggs, spinach, and turkey.

Researchers discovered that the amino acid stimulates the production of serotonin, which has a positive effect on mutual trust.

“Mutual trust is an important condition for co-operation,” said psychologist Lorenza Colzato. “Society functions in the first place on the basis of mutual trust. After that, such institutions as the courts and the police come into play.”

The researchers  tested people by adding tryptophan to their orange juice and then having them play a trust game. Those who had taken tryptophan, compared to a placebo group, were more trusting during the game.

“These results support the idea that ‘we are what we eat’: the food one eats has a bearing on one’s state of mind,” Colzato said. “Food can thus act as a cognitive enhancer that modulates the way one thinks and perceives the physical and social world. In particular, the intake of tryptophan may promote interpersonal trust in inexpensive, efficient, and healthy ways.”

(photo credit: The Vault DFW via photopin cc)

All the Twitter employees arrived to work at 6 a.m. on the day the company’s IPO was announced. Big screens were brought in and everyone reveled in the news. Then it was back to work as normal.

Nothing’s really normal with Twitter, though, and this was evident by what its COO said at the Covington & Burling Sports Media & Technology conference presented by SportsBusiness Daily/Global/Journal in New York on November 13.

“Twitter is the only platform that is live, public, conversational, and widely distributed,” Ali Rowghani said. “And it’s hoped that the open visibility required by the IPO will make Twitter even better.”

Rowghani touched on several points in his discussion about Twitter and how it relates to the business of sports.

“Advertisers care more about engagement than reach,” he said. “Remember, the conversations you drive on Twitter are valuable to you. View them as an asset to be optimized.”

Looking forward, Rowghani said that there will be more video on Twitter and customized timelines will increase in popularity.

He also dropped this highly tweeted statement: “You’re going to be able to change the channel directly from a tweet in the future.”

That prompted someone to reply: “Meh. I’ll be impressed when you can walk the dog from a Tweet.”

Give them time. I’m sure Twitter is working on that, too.

Congratulations to the following members, members’ venues, and Allied members nominated in the 25th Annual Pollstar Awards.

Facility Executive of the Year
David Kells (Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN)
Lee Zeidman (Staples Center/Nokia Theatre L.A. Live – Los Angeles)
Ralph Marchetta (US Airways Center, Phoenix, AZ)
Sally Williams (Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN)
Sean Saadeh (Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY)
Trey Feazell (Phillips Arena, Atlanta, GA)

Theatre of the Year
Beacon Theatre (New York, NY)
Nokia Theatre L.A. Live (Los Angeles, CA)
Radio City Music Hall (New York, NY)
Ryman Auditorium (Nashville, TN)

Arena of the Year
Barclays Center (Brooklyn, NY)
BOK Center (Tulsa, OK)
Bridgestone Arena (Nashville, TN)
Madison Square Garden Arena (New York, NY)
SAP Center at San Jose (San Jose, CA)
Staples Center (Los Angeles, CA)

Red Rocks Award for Small Outdoor Venue
Filene Center At Wolf Trap (Vienna, VA)
Greek Theatre (Los Angeles, CA)
The Mountain Winery (Saratoga, CA)

Best Major Outdoor Concert Venue
Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion (The Woodlands, TX)
Hollywood Bowl (Los Angeles, CA)
Molson Canadian Amphitheatre (Toronto, ON)
Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park (Alpharetta, GA)

Best New Major Concert Venue
Perth Arena (Perth, Australia)
Pinnacle Bank Arena (Lincoln, NE)

International Venue of the Year
Rod Laver Arena (Melbourne, Australia)

Sound Company of the Year
Clair

Staging/Equipment Company of the Year
Mountain Productions

There was a lot of industry news this past week you may have missed. Here are some headlines that caught our eyes.

15 Signs You Work in the Event and Arena Industry
—Applause
“If you’ve ever endured long days that turn into nights, a never-ending calendar of events, quick turnarounds and spent months planning for a three hour show… we feel you. Welcome to the event and arena industry.”

Ohio Senators Propose LEED Ban
—Architect
“It’s looking like Ohio, a state long recognized as a pivotal political battle ground in national elections, may have a new legislative dust-up brewing after two state senators put forth a resolution in the state senate last week that seeks to ban the use of LEED in public construction.”

Populous Design for Las Vegas Arena is Unveiled With Glass Facade and LED Overlay
—Kansas City Star
The 20,000-seat arena is being developed privately by AEG, the operator of the Sprint Center, and MGM Resorts International. It’s scheduled to break ground in April and open in spring 2016. Populous was chosen to design the project in June.

How to Seek Out and Market to Non-traditional Event Customers (3-part series)
—Ungerboeck
“Before you activate a marketing strategy to attract new clientele, you should consider the infrastructure you have in place at your convention or exhibition center to determine if you have the right foundation to support your strategy.”

Can a Small Stadium Do Big Good?
—Richmond Times-Dispatch
“Is everything we know about sports stadiums wrong? Not really. But it might not always be right, either.”

(Image: University of Texas at Austin Frank Erwin Center)

Past research studies have shown that people more often trust others that look like themselves. There’s a new twist, though, on trustworthiness. It’s been discovered that once you find someone trustworthy, no matter the looks, you then begin to perceive that person as similar to yourself.

Researchers at Royal Holloway, University of London did an experiment in which study participants were shown photographs with different percentages of their faces morphed with two other people. Each one was asked whether the photo contained more of their face or the faces of the others. Then a participant played a bargaining game with both of the other people. Trust was reciprocated with one and betrayed by the other. The image morph task as before was conducted again, and researchers say that the volunteers judged the trustworthy player to be more physically similar than the one who betrayed them.

“Recent studies show that when a person looks similar to ourselves, we automatically believe they are trustworthy,” said researcher Harry Farmer in a press release. “Here we show for the first time that the reverse is also true. When a person is shown to be more trustworthy, it can lead us to perceive that person as looking more similar to ourselves.”

The researchers say that the findings have social relationship considerations.

“It may be that our experience of facial similarity tracks information about genetic relatedness,” said study co-author Ryan McKay. “If so, our results suggest that evidence of trust in others also serves as a cue to kinship.”

I guess this helps explain why long-term couples start to look like each other over time.

(photo credit: LeonArts.at via photopin cc)