Lowlands Festivalgoers Join Leiden Fear Study

Since 2015, researchers have been able to apply for a stand to present their research project. This gives visitors an easy way to find out about research and play an active part. And researchers have a unique opportunity to recruit test volunteers and collect research data.

Real fear

'Normally we do research in a lab, in a controlled environment,' researcher Linda de Voogd explained. 'At Lowlands, it's all very free and open. It gives us the chance to do research on real fear.' Together with her colleagues from the department of Clinical Psychology, De Voogd constructed a haunted house to find out how people handle fear. She hopes to gain a better understanding of how therapies for fear and trauma work.

The first test volunteers to leave the house seemed to be quite shocked. De Voogd: 'Some people find it very scary. We saw that too when colleagues tried out the haunted house.'

'A bit afraid'

Later in the day, Rector Magnificus Hester Bijl went into the haunted house. 'I can really recommend it to everyone; it was an interesting experience.' This research project will also be at the Night of Discoveries in Leiden later this year. 'So I can't reveal too much just yet, but I did feel a bit afraid - even though I'm not generally a fearful person.'

Bijl is impressed with how enthusiastic people are to take part in Leiden research. 'Everyone is relaxed and keen to join in. I hear from the researchers that there's a waiting list to take part.'

Silent communication

A little further along was cultural scientist Gerlov van Engelenhoven with his research project Silences that speak. Together with social psychologist Tom Frijns (Utrecht University), he is researching silent communication, using movement, tension, smell and sound.

'It's great doing research here, though the practical side of things takes a bit of getting used to,' Van Engelenhoven says. 'All the participants have to wear a sticker, enter the research area, and then at just the right moment come outside again. It's hard work, but different from what I'm used to.'

New meanings

The volunteers are given a set of headphones and they watch a performance that tells a story. They are exposed to a combination of images, smell, dance and sound that aim to get a message across. 'Afterwards, we look at how much they have understood and what kind of new meanings they may have discovered in the performance. Have they, for example, picked up something very different from what we intended to convey?'

Van Engelenhoven is very happy with the volunteers who are so willing to offer their time. 'That gives us a better impression of how the average person handles silent communication.' In spite of the heat, loud music and other distractions, the festival visitors are very motivated. 'There's already a kind of natural selection at the gate because the people who come here are very keen. It's also quite early in the day, so people are still clear-headed. That's important for our kind of research,' he laughs.