Cooperation and conflict are both a part of human society. While a good deal of the academic literature addresses the evolutionary origins of conflict, in recent years there has been an increased focus on the investigation of the evolutionary origins of cooperative behavior. One component of cooperative behavior that might be present in other animals is aversion to inequity. Some scientists have
12 Vote(s)
September 22, 2010
Proto-Fairness? Hints of Moral Thinking in Dogs
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OUCH! First ID of proteins involved in pressure-type pain
Ouch! I just pinched my finger in the silverware drawer...again. The signal travels up my peripheral nerve fibers, contacts nociceptors, and proceed into my thalamus, insular cortex (which distunguishes pain from things like itch and cold), and other places in my brain. Soon, I'm shouting PAIN! PAIN! PAIN! But, until now, scientists had nothing but guesses as to the molecular domino that st
6 Vote(s)
6 Vote(s)
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The Neurobiology of Anxiety Disorders
A key question in the classification of anxiety disorders is whether the DSM-IV classification system describes distinct useful categories. There is a great deal of overlap in clinical populations. You do not find many individual who have one unique disorder. Typically, someone with say panic disorder is likely to have one or more additional anxiety disorder such as social phobi
13 Vote(s)
13 Vote(s)
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Blink and you’ll miss it (depending, of course, on your religious beliefs)
The attentional blink is another of those weird and wonderful cognitive blind spots with which the human race is afflicted. Flash up two images in close succession, and we find it really difficult to even notice the second, let alone figure out what it is. That's basically because our brains are still engaged in processing the first one.In another recent study by Lorenzo Colzato (she also did the
11 Vote(s)
11 Vote(s)
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September 21, 2010
Applied Chaos
Dr Jim Bright explains how he uses the Chaos Theory of Careers in his work with clients.... Bright, J.E.H, Pryor, R.G.L, Chan, E.W.M., & Rijanto, J. (2009) Chance events in career development: Influence, control and multiplicity. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 75(1), 14-25. info:/10.1016/j.jvb.2009.02.007 Pryor, R., & Bright, J. (2009) Game as a career metaphor: a chaos theor
13 Vote(s)
13 Vote(s)
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What do I want? Don't ask me: Choice blindness at the market stall
Imagine you sampled two jams, chose your favourite, and were then offered another taste of it before being asked to explain your preference. Would you notice that you'd been offered the wrong one, that you were actually tasting the jam you'd turned down? A new study conducted at a market stall by Lars Hall and colleagues found that even for tastes as dramatically different as spicy Cinnamon-Apple
8 Vote(s)
8 Vote(s)
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The book of reality distortions
I’m happy to announce that I’ve just finalised an agreement with Penguin to write a book on what hallucinations tell us about the mind, brain and human nature. From the proposal: The mind and brain can generate fantastical visions and disembodied voices, illusory people and shifting landscapes, internal symphonies and sensed presences. These states happen [...]
13 Vote(s)
13 Vote(s)
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Dreams of a consciousness measuring device
The New York Times has an excellent article about Giulio Tononi, one of the few neuroscientists trying to understand consciousness in a way that may have a direct practical application – to create a medical device that can tell whether you are conscious or not. To be honest, I’ve been a bit bored with consciousness, [...]
17 Vote(s)
17 Vote(s)
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If Eminem is Proud to Be Sober… Then Anyone Can Be!
I was speechless while watching the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) as Eminem performed the song "Not Afraid" from his newest album "Recovery"- in fact I felt tears brewing. Through the years Eminem has been a controversial hip-hop rapper who seemed to thrive on offending and instigating public and political figures by speaking his mind without concern for other's opinions. He grew up in the street
8 Vote(s)
8 Vote(s)
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