Lie Detection: Easier when liars tell the story in reverse
Thursday, June 12th, 2008Lying liars who lie in reverse order as they tell their story are easier to detect than those who tell the story chronologically. This is because the increase in cognitive load is too much for the whole thing to go off as smoothly as when the story is told in the order in [...]
Money, it’s a hit: want it or have it
Wednesday, June 11th, 2008
When you have money, life is good. When you want money, life could be better. Here’s the abstract from Vohs et al (HT Neuroscientifically Challenged who has a great analysis of the whole paper):
ABSTRACT—Money plays a significant role in people’s lives, and yet little experimental attention has been given to the psychological underpinnings of [...]
Exhibitionists: Flashing your privates is about power, not sex.
Wednesday, May 28th, 2008So, what possesses anyone to show their genitals to a stranger in public? Research on exhibitionism discussed.
Sphere: Related Content
Which psychopathic child molesters are likely to get reconvicted? The dumb ones.
Tuesday, May 27th, 2008
Henry Darger, “Storm Brewing” via Ovation TV (Outsider Art)
Child molester news and pedophile research discussed.
It used to be, if you were a father raping your daughter, or a priest raping your alter boy, you could pretty much stay anonymous; the community would turn a blind eye, the church would cover for you, and you [...]
Dysfunctional Roundup
Friday, May 16th, 2008A new feature, probably on Fridays, dysfunction in the news:
Woodbury man charged with starting fire on NWA flight. If you are unhappy with your working conditions, go burn down your employer — especially if you work on an airplane.
Missouri Woman Accused of Driving Girl to Suicide Is Indicted in California From the NYT summary: [...]
Make jihadists community college students, not suicide bombers
Sunday, March 16th, 2008Here’s the math:
About 1.8 million Islamic Jihadists (although only about 300,000-400,000 on the government list)
About 1 Trillion for the war (conservatively)
$1 trillion/1.8 million = $555,555 each
That’s enough to get a Mullah to retire and move to Scottsdale.
Dude, chill - we’re not at war any more. Pass the chips.
Friday, March 7th, 2008Quick post: Why are people who are stoned on pot pretty mellow? (To pull a phrase out of the ’70’s). Answer: The active ingredient in cannabis ( 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)) reduces amygdala activity in response to social threats. Pot reduces anxiety — and maybe the negative attributional bias that goes along with it.
Can [...]
The Neuropolitics of Hillary: Stay at home moms penalize successful women
Thursday, March 6th, 2008[I'm reposting this post from 01.26.08 in view of the democratic elections - see what you think - Swivelchair]
One of my litmus tests for people is to see how they react to Senator Clinton: if there is irrational hostility and negative attributional bias (not based on any knowledge of the substance of her positions), I [...]
Airborne® lawsuit settlement - once you find out something doesn’t work.
Tuesday, March 4th, 2008Being in the biopharma business, I’m always amazed at the direct-to-consumer adverts on TV. It looks like unmitigated chutzpa to me, to advertise that you can get rid of stubborn belly fat or that you apply directly to forehead. Now, I feel a little vindicated. Except I wonder if taking away hope that a [...]
(corrected) Neuro-movie review: Wordplay and brain hemispheres
Monday, February 25th, 2008In honor of the Oscars®, here is a neuro-movie review about a movie that came out in 2006 — Wordplay (here’s the link to the official site, and the link to the Rotten Tomatoes site). (Yes, it was out in 2006, so I’m a year late. ) This post will ultimately be about hemispheric [...]
On the internet nobody knows you’re a dog. . .
Friday, February 22nd, 2008In the Western world, we love to anthropomorphize our dogs. There was a New Yorker cartoon, at the dawn of the internet age, where a dog was clicking away at a keyboard, remarking to another little dog, “On the internet, nobody knows you’re a dog.” As they say in Washington, if you want a friend, [...]
Supermax is the new normal
Wednesday, February 13th, 2008Hartman, K.E., “Supermax Prisons in the Consciousness of Prisoners,” The Prison Journal 88: 169-176 (2008) DOI: 10.1177/0032885507311001
The US prison system has over 7,000,000 prisoners participants, with about 2MM incarcerated at any given time. [thank you "jak-king" (what a nom-de-internet -- is that "car jak king"?) for the correction 02.14.08][New 03.01.08: about 1 in 100 people [...]
Neuro review: “The Lucifer Effect” and Contextual Evil
Monday, February 11th, 2008I just got done watching all 77 minutes of Dr. Zimbardo’s lecture about why good people do evil things — which he has written about in a book called, “The Lucifer Effect.” I haven’t read the book, so this brief review is only about the lecture.
Here’s a clip from the daily show:
Dr. Zimbardo, comparing the [...]
Anger management: Dopamine Receptor Allele and Nuclear Receptor Genes Are Associated with Anger and Aggression
Sunday, February 10th, 2008Everyone knows someone whose “default” emotion is anger. They are like a one-trick pony, they are sad, so they express anger. They are scared, so they act angry. They are frustrated, so they are angry. When in children, it is painful to watch. When in adults, it is scary.
World’s Most Dysfunctional Inspirational Poster [...]
NYT: This is your brain on NASDAQ
Friday, February 8th, 2008 “Dopamine Futures” original art by Swivelchair
(all rights, if any totally waived, copy it all you want).
If you compare a screen shot of on-line gambling with a screen shot of on-line stock trading, they look very similar. That is probably because humans are hard wired for rewards — if you hunt and are successful, [...]
Why Dr. Kaczynski may believe there’s nothing wrong with him (anosognosia)
Monday, February 4th, 2008
Theodore Kaczynski
Even though he was holed up in a backwoods cabin containing piles of his feces, writing a manifesto against technological society, in moldy pants he had worn constantly for a year, Dr. Kaczynski was entirely unaware of his mental illness. In fact, he refused treatment of any sort over the better part of his [...]
Neuro review: Do All Companies Have to be Evil?: Scientific American
Saturday, February 2nd, 2008Do All Companies Have to be Evil? Enron, Google and the evolutionary psychology of corporate environments, By Michael Shermer, Scientific American Mind February 2008
If you are at all interested in workplace psychology, read this article, it is great.
I’ve tried to articulate what goes wrong in corporations, but Mr. Shermer puts it all together, and [...]
E harmony is so wrong on so many levels where do I start
Thursday, January 31st, 2008I think internet dating can be terrific (read this, though), but the whole thing about personality testing — like human resources personality testing — is just wrong.
Findings: Hitting It Off, Thanks to Algorithms of Love
By JOHN TIERNEY
NYT Published: January 29, 2008
As online matchmakers compete for customers using algorithms in the search for love, the battle [...]
Mindless driving to the grocery store, or a second personality?
Wednesday, January 30th, 2008MBLWHOI Library: Library Exhibits
Gertrude Stein (1874-1946), first row, second from left (above), and in back of boat (below)(click image to enlarge)
Did you ever drive, say, to the grocery store and then realize that you totally spaced out and didn’t remember at all driving there because you were thinking about something else?
Gertrude Stein studied [...]
Studies Cite Head Injuries As Factor in Some Social Ills - WSJ.com
Tuesday, January 29th, 2008Studies Cite Head Injuries As Factor in Some Social Ills - WSJ.com
The Wall Street Journal(subscription required for most, but not this) has an article saying that brain injuries are way more common, and account for way more problems, than we appreciate. (See the video either on [...]
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