24 DEC 2013 by ideonexus
Temperament is Influenced by Chemicals
Some 40 percent to 60 percent of the observed variance in personality is due to traits of temperament. They are heritable, relatively stable across the life course, and linked to specific gene pathways and/or hormone or neurotransmitter systems. Moreover, our temperament traits congregate in constellations, each aggregation associated with one of four broad, interrelated yet distinct brain systems: those associated with dopamine, serotonin, testosterone, and estrogen/oxytocin. Each constellat...
1 Helen Fisher on the many chemicals that influence our behavior.
24 JUN 2013 by ideonexus
The Brain is Too Expensive for Survival Purposes
My interest is in the psychological adaptations that are uniquely
human, the 10 percent or so of the brain's capacities that are not shared with other apes. This is where we find puzzling abilities like creative intelligence and complex language that show these great individual differences, these ridiculously high heritabilities, and these absurd wastes of time, energy, and effort. To accept these abilities as legitimate biological adaptations worthy of study, evolutionary psychology must bro... 1 
notes
notesIt makes more sense that our capability for complex thought, music, and socialization are adaptations to prove our genetic fitness to a potential mate.
31 JUL 2011 by ideonexus
Friendships are the Best Predictor of Happiness
“The only thing that really matters in life are your relationships to other people.”
After nearly 75 years, the only consistent finding comes right out of It’s a Wonderful Life. Successful friendships, the messy bridges that connect friends and family, are what predict people’s happiness as they hurtle through life. Friendships are a better predictor than any other single variable. By the time a person reaches middle age, they are the only predictor. Says Jonatha... 1 notes
notesHaving strong social bonds and the opportunities for altruistic acts are a strong predictor of lifelong fulfillment.
28 JUL 2011 by ideonexus
The Disparity Between Mothers and Fathers in Raising Chil...
Women spend a whopping 39 hours per week performing work related to child care. Today’s dad spends about half that—21.7 hours a week. This is usually couched as good news, too, for it is triple the amount of time guys spent with kids in the ’60s. Yet no one would call this equal, either. It is also still true that about 40 percent of dads spend two hours or less per workday with their kids, and 14 percent spend less than an hour.
This imbalance in workload—along with financial confl... 1 notes
notesIf a Mother were paid for the hours she put into childcare, she would make a six-figure salary.
21 JUL 2011 by ideonexus
Challenging Inhibited Behavior in Children
But with the right balance, parents can modify even the most difficult side of their children's temperaments. As an example, consider those 15 percent or so of toddlers who are very inhibited—kids like Andrew, whose right frontal lobe explodes with anxiety whenever he's confronted by new people or a new environment. While many of these children don't change, about 40 percent do lose their extreme timidity by kindergarten. Researchers have observed that these are the youngsters whose parents...It is important to encourage inhibited children to challenge their fears and adventure into the world.
08 JUN 2011 by ideonexus
The Discover of Bisphenol A's Deleterious Effects on Embryos
In fact, an early clue to the potential risks posed by plastic was discovered entirely by accident. In August of 1998, Washington State University geneticist Patricia Hunt found herself baffled by an unexpected development in her lab. Hunt was using experiments on lab mice to explore why the eggs of older women are more likely to produce children with chromosomal abnormalities such as Down syndrome. The research was coming along well when suddenly the eggs of her control animals—the normal,... 1 notes
notesThe story of how Patricia Hunt accidentally made this discovery.
03 MAY 2011 by ideonexus
Orgasms and Sperm Retention
t. Baker and Bellis discovered that the amount of sperm that is retained in a woman's vagina after sex varies according to whether she had an orgasm and when. It also depends on how long it was since she last had sex: The longer the period, the more sperm stays in, unless she has what the scientists call "a noncopulatory orgasm" in between.
So far none of this contained great surprises; these facts were unknown before Baker and Bellis did their work (which consisted of samples collected by ... 1 notes
notesWomen retain more sperm when they have an orgasm, but they are also more likely to be unfaithful when most fertile.
15 APR 2011 by ideonexus
Controlling Pain with Meditation
In the study, a small group of healthy medical students attended four 20-minute training sessions on "mindfulness meditation" — a technique adapted from a Tibetan Buddhist form of meditation called samatha. It's all about acknowledging and letting go of distraction.
"You are trying to sustain attention in the present moment — everything is momentary so you don't need to react," Zeidan explains. "What that does healthwise is it reduces the stress response. The feeling of pain is a ver...Folksonomies: meditation pain
Folksonomies: meditation pain
Highlights from a study of meditation being used to control the sensation of pain.
