Psychology

Grouping Recent Net Books: Internet Optimists vs. Pessimists

A number of very interesting books have been released over the past year or two which debate how the Internet is reshaping our culture and the economy. I’ve reviewed a couple of them here but I have been waiting to compile a sort of mega-book review once I found a sensible way to conceptually group them together. I’m not going to have time to cover each of them here in the detail they deserve, but I think I have at least found a sensible way to categorize them. For lack of better descriptors, I’ve divided these books and thinkers into two camps: "Internet optimists" versus "Internet Pessimists."

Smoking hash increases the chances of later heavier drug use in young people

Young people who smoke hash or marijuana risk developing greater neurobiological sensitivity to heavier drugs like heroin. Several epidemiological studies support the gateway hypothesis, which states that cannabis smoking at a young age is a gateway to other kinds of drug abuse later in life. However, it has not been ascertained whether it is cannabis per se that increases the risk of other drug abuse or whether common underlying social or hereditary risk factors make cannabis users more prone to it. "We wanted to empirically test the gateway hypothesis in the absence of social and moral factors," says scientist Maria Ellgren at the Department of Clinical Neuroscience. "All addictive drugs affect the brain’s reward system, and our question was therefore whether cannabis exposure causes molecular and neurochemical changes that give a greater reward effect from other narcotics." The study was conducted on rats at an age corresponding to the teenage years in humans.

The Monkey Experiment, (or) "Why Do We Do That?"

Why that's the way it’s always been done around here.

Joke Comprehension May Decrease With Age

It's no laughing matter: a new study suggests older adults have a harder time getting jokes as they age. The research indicates that because older adults may have greater difficulty with cognitive flexibility, abstract reasoning and short-term memory, they also have greater difficulty with tests of humor comprehension.

Why Some People Can't Hold Their Tongues

You know who we're talking about: those folks who just can't keep their traps shut when something out of the ordinary happens, and their commentary makes us cringe. Researchers used a survey to test people on their "inhibitory ability" -- how well they managed to suppress irrelevant or inappropriate thoughts -- and served them chicken feet for dinner.

Finger Length Predicts Aggression in Men

Without pointing any fingers, a new study suggests a way to take the measure of tough characters. Research found a connection between the length of the male index finger relative to the ring finger and the tendency to be aggressive. No such connection was found in women. "More than anything, I think the findings reinforce and underline that a large part of our personalities and our traits are determined while we're still in the womb."

It's Not All the Parent's Fault: Delinquency in Children Now Linked to Biology

In children, a highly reactive autonomic nervous system paired with a stressful family environment leads to increased instances of maladaptive personality change. Psychologists used a Skin Conductance Response (SCR) test to assess 138 elementary school aged children. The children watched a stressful film involving a lamp causing a fire in a girl's room. The combination of high SCR and high family risk predicted substantial increases in personality change and behavior problems. The researchers observed the children four separate times over the course of six years.

Mona Lisa Was 83 Percent Happy

Researchers scanned a reproduction of Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece and subjected it to cutting-edge "emotion recognition" software. The result showed the painting's famous subject was 83 percent happy, 9 percent disgusted, 6 percent fearful and 2 percent angry. She was less than 1 percent neutral, and not at all surprised.

Ten Politically Incorrect Truths About Human Nature

Why most suicide bombers are Muslim, beautiful people have more daughters, humans are naturally polygamous, sexual harassment isn't sexist, and blonds are more attractive.

Yawning may boost brain's alertness

Yawning is not something we usually aim to provoke among our readers, but have a yawn now. Does your brain feel cooler? Do you feel more attentive? According to psychologists Andrew Gallup and Gordon Gallup of the State University of New York at Albany, that is why we yawn: to boost blood flow and chill the brain.

Psychologists now know what makes people happy

The happiest people surround themselves with family and friends, don't care about keeping up with the Joneses next door, lose themselves in daily activities and, most important, forgive easily. The happiest people spend the least time alone. They pursue personal growth and intimacy; they judge themselves by their own yardsticks, never against what others do or have. "Materialism is toxic for happiness."

You Are Where You Sit

How to Decode the Psychology of the Morning Meeting. After watching the woman interact with colleagues, executive consultant Constance Dierickx offered several suggestions. One of the most important: "I told her to stop sitting against the wall and sit around the table instead." Within six months, co-workers were commenting that she had more "executive presence and spoke with greater conviction," says Dierickx. The moral of the story: Where you sit influences where you stand. If you take away their Brooks Brothers suits, Manolo Blahnik shoes, and BlackBerrys, managers are little more than naked apes -- social mammals with primal methods of expressing group power hierarchies.

Bob Altemeyer's - The Authoritarians

OK, what’s this book about? It’s about what’s happened to the American government lately. It’s about the disastrous decisions that government has made. It’s about the corruption that rotted the Congress. It’s about how traditional conservatism has nearly been destroyed by authoritarianism. It’s about how the “Religious Right” teamed up with amoral authoritarian leaders to push its un-democratic agenda onto the country. It’s about the United States standing at the crossroads as the next federal election approaches. “Well,” you might be thinking, “I don’t believe any of this is true.” Or maybe you’re thinking, “What else is new? I’ve believed this for years.” Why should a conservative, moderate, or liberal bother with this book? Why should any Republican, Independent, or Democrat click the “Introduction” link on this page? Because if you do, you’ll begin an easy-ride journey through some relevant scientific studies I have done on authoritarian personalities--one that will take you a heck of a lot less time than the decades it took me. Those studies have a direct bearing on all the topics mentioned above. So if you think the first paragraph is a lot of hokum, or full of half-truths, I invite you to look at the research.

PDF, 261 pages

Happiness in Old Age Depends on Attitude

Happiness in old age may have more to do with attitude than actual health, a new study suggests. "Optimism and effective coping styles were found to be more important to successfully aging than traditional measures of health and wellness."

Intelligent people more patient in financial matters

Higher IQ makes them more tolerant of risk. Assuming someone gave you the choice of 100 euros today or 150 euros in a year's time. Which sum would you take? Scientists asked 1000 adults this question. At the same time they measured the cognitive abilities of the participants, using two different methods. The result was that intelligent people prefer to wait for a higher return, rather than going for the money now. This is the first time that this relationship between intelligence and patience in financial matters has been shown. Furthermore, the willingness to run risks increases with higher intelligence.

Richard Branson: Life at 30,000 feet

When Richard Branson was at school, his headmaster predicted he would wind up either a millionaire or in jail. Since then, he's done both. Here he talks to TED's Chris Anderson about the ups and the downs of his career, from his multibillionaire success to his multiple near-death experiences, from Virgin's line of spacecraft to the failure of the Virgin condom. He also reveals some of his (very surprising) motivations.

Video, 30:03

Study: Optimists Live Longer

Optimists get the last laugh, according to a new study that shows their hearts stay healthy longer than those of grumps. People who described themselves as highly optimistic a decade ago had lower rates of death from cardiovascular disease and lower overall death rates than strong pessimists.

Fine Line Revealed Between Creativity and Insanity

History suggests that the line between creativity and madness is a fine one, but a small group of people known as schizotypes are able to walk it with few problems and even benefit from it. Their enhanced creativity may come from using more of the right side of the brain than the rest of us. While they do not suffer many of the symptoms affecting schizophrenics, including paranoia, hallucinations and incoherent thoughts, schizotypes often exhibit their own eccentricities. "Creativity at its base is associative. It's taking things that you might see and pass by everyday and using them in a novel way to solve a new problem."

Study: Gossip Not a Character Flaw, but an Evolutionary Tool

Gossip is not a character flaw, but an evolved mechanism for maintaining status in one’s social group. "The results confirmed a consistent pattern of interest in gossip that is exploitable for social gain. Specifically, damaging, negative news about rivals and positive news about friends and lovers was especially prized and likely to be passed on." From an evolutionary perspective, the research suggests that gossip serves a reproductive purpose. Information about sexual activities and health was most interesting to study participants when it concerned romantic partners. Participants also prized information about cheaters that was potentially damaging to the reputation and integrity of same-sex rivals.