Category: How-to

Hi Android Users.

We are hard at work perfecting the Android experience. Most devices are working well, but a set of devices are having trouble with connection/pairing.

We are finalizing the updates before we send out the Firmware Update.

DANGER: This is a super beta build. We HIGHLY recommend you do not download this app. Instead, wait until the next update (within a few days) which will have a better process and more updated app.

However, if you’re not going to listen to me anyway, proceed.

First, unpair your device in the Android Settings -> Bluetooth window. (Hit Forget Device  or Unpair)

For now, you can download the most advanced version here: https://wp.pavlok.com/media/Pavlok-Droid-21stOct.apk .

Download this file to your android phone, make sure that you’ve enabled ‘allow untrusted developers’ in the settings window.

We intend to have a new Android Build ready by Saturday 10/24, that will allow you to upgrade your firmware. Please be patient, as we want to perfectly test the app to make sure it works.

Here is a list of the big features we have in this update:

1. Charging LEDs — The Pavlok will light up when you plug it in. When it’s fully charged, the lights will turn off.
2. Change the strength of the zap — Pavlok, by default, gives a strong zap when you press the button on the device. Now, you can change that default strength. Go to Settings -> Zap to adjust the settings
3. Battery Life Indicator — You can see how much battery is left in the Settings menu. NOTE: This is experimental and might not be perfect.

How to update your firmware

1. Navigate with iOS Safari to beta installation page: Pavlok Break Bad Habits Beta App and click install
2. If you’re using IOS 9, please follow these few steps to trust us as developers otherwise skip to step 3

Tap Settings > General > Profiles or Profiles & Device Management. You then see a a profile for the developer under the “Enterprise App” heading.

 

This video shows you how to install the firmware, or read below.

 

7. Reset your Pavlok device by pressing down on the button for 20 seconds, until it blinks a couple times.

8. Open the Pavlok app, navigate to remote, and repair to the device!

9. If the device doesn’t connect, or it doesn’t ask you to pair, restart your phone.

10. Awesome! It should be paired now, and you can use the new features (including Save Zap, battery charging LED, etc).

BUGS? Not working?

This is an experimental process, so we are working out the kinks. If the process above didn’t seem to work, follow the next steps.

1. First, go to Pavlok App -> Settings. Does the firmware version say: 2.4.20? If not, the device update didn’t occur.
2. Second, go to iOS Settings -> Bluetooth  and make sure there are no Pavloks with the (i) logo next to it. If there is, Forget the device.
3. Third, hold down the button on the Pavlok device. It will immediately release a small zap, so make sure not to touch the terminals! Continue holding it down for 30 seconds, until you see the device light up. This will only happen if the firmware update completed
4. Fourth, restart your phone
5. Fifth, open up the Pavlok app and try to reconnect. This should fix it.

IF THERE IS STILL A PROBLEM, please email me at maneesh@wp.pavlok.com

Thanks!!!

Maybe you’re not the impressionable type.

Even so, you’ve probably seen some things in life that keep popping up in your head no matter what. They could be scary scenes from horror movies, or gruesome war photos on the news.

If you want to stop disturbing images from rearing their ugly head without your consent, a game of Tetris might help!

The research

In a study (James et al, 2015) published in Psychological Science, researchers discovered some incredible mind-altering potential in the block-dropping puzzle we’ve been raving about for 30+ years.

During the research sessions, participants were shown a 12-minute slideshow of distressing images. The next day, they were shown the images again to refresh their memories.

Next, one group of participants spent time playing Tetris, while the other engaged in some other kind of leisurely activity as a control.

Participants were then asked to record how often they had flashbacks of the distressing images during the next week.

The results

Surprisingly, those who had played Tetris after the experiment had significantly fewer flashbacks of the distressing images, even though they could recognize the images when they saw them again.

While the game did not erase the memories, it stopped them from popping up involuntarily.

What happened there?

According to the researchers, Tetris competes for the same resources used in processing traumatic memories.

While this doesn’t erase the memory of the images, it effectively stops them from reappearing involuntarily.

How to use it

First of all, Tetris is just one of many games you could use for this effect. As long as the game involves moving things around in relation to each other, you should get the same results.

Here’s a practical application.

Let’s say you’ve just watched a horror movie and you know it’s going to give you nightmares. As soon as you walk out of the theater, just spend 15 minutes playing Tetris and it should stop the scary images from popping up in your head involuntarily.

The same goes for the disturbing videos that tend to flood the social media. If you find yourself watching something and regretting it, spend some minutes with Tetris or a similar game. You’ll find those images won’t bother you anymore unless you specifically choose to recall them.

Keep in mind that you need to do this within a reasonably short period of viewing the distressing images. If it’s something you’ve watched a long time ago, you’ll have to watch it again (as in the experiment) to reactivate the memory, and then play some Tetris to break it up.

Bibliography

James, E. L., Bonsall, M. B., Hoppitt, L., Tunbridge, E. M., Geddes, J. R., Milton, A. L., & Holmes, E. A. (2015). Computer Game Play Reduces Intrusive Memories of Experimental Trauma via Reconsolidation-Update Mechanisms. Psychological Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797615583071

When it comes to music, the common belief is that soft music calms you down, while extreme music such as heavy metal makes you angry and edgy.

But according to two researchers from the University of Queensland, Australia, extreme music may be a healthy way of dealing with anger and frustration.

The study (Sharman, Dingle, 2015) involved two groups of participants who regularly listened to extreme music.

Each participant was given a 16-minute interview intended to elicit anger. Following the interview, the members of one group were asked to spend 10 minutes listening to extreme music of their choice. The others were asked to sit in silence for 10 minutes.

Additionally, each participant’s feelings were assessed three times during the experiment — before the anger-eliciting interview, after the interview, and after the music-listening session.

Listening to extreme music made participants feel more inspired

Contrary to common expectations, the “extreme music did not make angry participants angrier; rather, it appeared to match their physiological arousal and result in an increase in positive emotions.” (Sharman, Dingle, 2015)

Listening to their choice of extreme music after the anger-inducing interview, made participants feel more inspired.

However, this did not happen for participants who spent 10 minutes in silence after the interview.

Of course, it bears mentioning that all of the participants were habitual listeners of extreme music, which admittedly is a bit of an acquired taste. For those who are not used to the genre, trying to deal with a bad day at the office by listening to Slayer might not be the best idea.

That said, if there’s a musical genre you consider “extreme” but still enjoyable, try queueing it up in your playlist next time you’re upset. You might find it triggers some positive emotions, just like it did for the participants in this study.

Bibliography

Sharman, L., & Dingle, G. A. (2015). Extreme Metal Music and Anger Processing. Front. Hum. Neurosci. Frontiers In Human Neuroscience, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2015.00272

If you’ve ever been guilty of over-buying stuff you don’t need, or irrationally splurging out on anything only to regret it later, you’re about to find out why.

In a recent study (Xu, Schwartz, Wyer, 2015), a group of researchers set out to discover how hunger affects our desire to buy things. Here’s what they discovered.

Hunger increases our desire to buy food, and makes us like those food choices more. Well, no surprise there.

But there’s a twist.

I’m starving… give me more binder clips!

The researchers found that even for non-food items, hunger will still condition us to buy more. And they tested this hypothesis with one of the most boring, unexciting items ever — a binder clip.

In this experiment, volunteers were shown common binder clips and asked:

1. How many they wanted
2. How much they liked or disliked the clips
3. How hungry they were feeling

The result — hungry volunteers didn’t necessarily like the binder clips any more than their peers did, but they wanted more of them.

So, from this point onwards, whether you’re shopping for tacos or tweezers, make sure you do it on a full stomach!

Bibliography

Xu, A. J., Schwarz, N., & Wyer, R. S. (2015). Hunger promotes acquisition of nonfood objects: Table 1. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA Proceedings Of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(9), 2688–2692. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1417712112

King Solomon was said to be wiser than all the men of the east and all the sages of Egypt.

What most people don’t know, is that while Solomon was great at dishing out advice to others, he was notoriously bad at dealing with his own life issues, ultimately bringing ruin upon the kingdom.

But let’s not be too hard on old Solomon.

If we’re completely honest with ourselves, we’ll find we’re all guilty of this same flaw. This behavior is so common in human beings, it even has a name — “The Solomon Paradox”.

The Solomon Paradox — Why we’re smart about other people’s problems but not our own

Igor Grossmann, the psychological scientist who coined this term, has been trying to understand why we tend to be smarter about other people’s problems than our own, and what we can do about it.

According to his research (Grossmann, Kross, 2014), when we distance ourselves from the problem at hand, we can judge it more clearly.

To confirm this, he recruited a group of volunteers who had been in a long-term romantic relationship. He asked some of them to imagine a scenario where their partner cheated on them. The others were asked to imagine a scenario where their best friend was being cheated upon.

The volunteers were then asked to fill in a questionnaire to test their wisdom in judging the situation.

As expected, those who “were being cheated upon” demonstrated less wisdom about their situation than their peers in the other group.

Then he tried a second experiment, using the same setup and procedure, with volunteers being split up in the same way.

This time however, those “being cheated upon” were asked to psychologically distance themselves from the situation by taking a third-person perspective. So, instead of asking themselves, “Why do I feel this way?”, they asked themselves, “Why does he/she feel this way?”

What Grossmann and his colleagues found, was that the psychological distancing allowed the participants to assess their relationship conflict with more wisdom. In fact, the two groups were indistinguishable in their judgement.

So, next time you’re in a rough situation, try judging it from an outsider’s perspective. Rather than asking yourself, “Why am I behaving this way?” ask, “Why is he/she behaving this way? What should he/she do?”

You might find it gives you Solomon-esque clarity in judgment, and possibly save you some needless heartache.

Bibliography

Grossmann, I., & Kross, E. (2014). Exploring Solomon’s Paradox: Self-Distancing Eliminates the Self-Other Asymmetry in Wise Reasoning About Close Relationships in Younger and Older Adults. Psychological Science, 25(8), 1571–1580. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797614535400