http://news.softpedia.com Softpedia News - Behavior/Humans Softpedia News en-us 2001 - 2012 Softpedia. All rights reserved. Tue, 29 May 2012 00:57:00 GMT Tue, 29 May 2012 00:57:00 GMT News http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 10 http://news.softpedia.com/base_img/softpedia_logo.gif http://news.softpedia.com http://news.softpedia.com/news/Social-Interaction-Promoted-by-Kind-Words-271784.shtml During an analysis of written communication patterns, investigators at ETH Zürich determined that positive emotional content is usually prevalent in texts. They interpreted the results as implying that a positive bias in human communication plays a huge role in enhancing social relations.

The group has been studying language, how it wo... (read more)]]> Fri, 25 May 2012 13:51:00 GMT Softpedia News - Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Social-Interaction-Promoted-by-Kind-Words-271784.shtml Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Social-Interaction-Promoted-by-Kind-Words-271784.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Strong-Emotions-Put-Multiple-Brains-in-Unison-271776.shtml Many scientists have been trying to decipher how happiness, sadness or rage brings people together, making them work as a single unit regardless of their individual number. Now, a study finds that strong emotions tend to make individuals' brains work in unison.

What this means is that their brain activity tends to get synchronized as s... (read more)]]> Fri, 25 May 2012 13:31:00 GMT Softpedia News - Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Strong-Emotions-Put-Multiple-Brains-in-Unison-271776.shtml Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Strong-Emotions-Put-Multiple-Brains-in-Unison-271776.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-to-Exceed-the-Age-of-100-271697.shtml While many experts have focused on finding out why some people live longer than others on physiological aspects, a new study indicates that personality traits may also play an important role in determining who gets to be over 100, and who doesn't.

Centenarians are very interesting to study, since a wide array of factors contributes to them reaching such... (read more)]]> Fri, 25 May 2012 09:47:00 GMT Softpedia News - Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-to-Exceed-the-Age-of-100-271697.shtml Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-to-Exceed-the-Age-of-100-271697.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Learning-How-to-Cope-with-the-Bad-Boosts-Life-Satisfaction-271529.shtml Spanish investigators at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB) say that learning how to cope with unfavorable situations is key towards living a happy, satisfactory life. The findings do not apply to the well-off, but to the vast majority of the population.

Life is full of ups and downs for most of us, so learning ho... (read more)]]> Thu, 24 May 2012 13:25:00 GMT Softpedia News - Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Learning-How-to-Cope-with-the-Bad-Boosts-Life-Satisfaction-271529.shtml Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Learning-How-to-Cope-with-the-Bad-Boosts-Life-Satisfaction-271529.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Ads-to-Take-Advantage-of-Unconscious-Visual-Valence-Perception-271520.shtml Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) researchers say that they have managed to obtain a wealth of data on unconscious visual valence perception, in a new study. This process goes on unconsciously in the brain, and is responsible for a range of human behaviors when it comes to making a selection or a choice.

It kicks into a... (read more)]]> Thu, 24 May 2012 13:03:00 GMT Softpedia News - Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Ads-to-Take-Advantage-of-Unconscious-Visual-Valence-Perception-271520.shtml Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Ads-to-Take-Advantage-of-Unconscious-Visual-Valence-Perception-271520.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Dual-Role-Workers-Experience-Unconscious-Shifts-in-Morality-271443.shtml Scientists have determined in a new study that people who have dual-role jobs tend to exhibit shifts in their moral integrity, without even realizing this is happening. Their moral compass is largely dictated by the actions they are undertaking at any given time.

The investigation was focused on determining how individual... (read more)]]> Thu, 24 May 2012 09:05:00 GMT Softpedia News - Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Dual-Role-Workers-Experience-Unconscious-Shifts-in-Morality-271443.shtml Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Dual-Role-Workers-Experience-Unconscious-Shifts-in-Morality-271443.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Goal-Planning-May-Actually-Be-Harmful-to-Your-Success-270382.shtml A collaboration of scientists from China and the United States determined in a new study that people who plan for their goals excessively are more likely to fail in achieving them than those who only work towards their planned ends, without obsessing about them.

In other words, planning the exact route to take in achieving your ... (read more)]]> Fri, 18 May 2012 10:02:00 GMT Softpedia News - Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Goal-Planning-May-Actually-Be-Harmful-to-Your-Success-270382.shtml Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Goal-Planning-May-Actually-Be-Harmful-to-Your-Success-270382.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Sugars-Sabotage-Your-Brain-269947.shtml According to a new scientific study, published in the latest issue of the esteemed Journal of Physiology, it would appear that consuming a lot of sugar has negative effects on the brains of rats. Scientists use the unsuspecting rodents as proxies for human studies.

University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) investigators say that high-fructose diets ... (read more)]]> Wed, 16 May 2012 13:30:00 GMT Softpedia News - Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Sugars-Sabotage-Your-Brain-269947.shtml Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Sugars-Sabotage-Your-Brain-269947.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Radiation-Exposure-Guidelines-May-Be-Too-Strict-269590.shtml Governments may be using the wrong guidelines when trying to establish whether or not a population should be evicted form areas surrounding nuclear power plants, or that lie close to the site of a nuclear accident. A new study shows that these guidelines may be too strict and conservative.

Investigators with the Cambridge-based Massa... (read more)]]> Tue, 15 May 2012 09:52:00 GMT Softpedia News - Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Radiation-Exposure-Guidelines-May-Be-Too-Strict-269590.shtml Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Radiation-Exposure-Guidelines-May-Be-Too-Strict-269590.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Human-Brain-Has-No-God-Spot-269459.shtml Some experts proposed some time ago that the human brain might have a distinct area responsible for underlying spirituality and religious beliefs, called the God spot. A study conducted by experts at the University of Missouri says that no such area of the brain exists.

Rather, the team argues, the brain constructs spiritual beliefs and experiences base... (read more)]]> Mon, 14 May 2012 14:42:00 GMT Softpedia News - Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Human-Brain-Has-No-God-Spot-269459.shtml Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Human-Brain-Has-No-God-Spot-269459.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-the-Brain-Forgets-Stuff-269422.shtml Experts with the Scripps Research Institute, in Florida, say they have made significant progress in understanding how we forget things. The biology underlying this process has remained a mystery for years, despite scientists' best efforts to unravel it.

What made matters worse was the fact that forgetting has been with our species since we first evolved... (read more)]]> Mon, 14 May 2012 13:42:00 GMT Softpedia News - Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-the-Brain-Forgets-Stuff-269422.shtml Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-the-Brain-Forgets-Stuff-269422.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Structural-Abnormalities-Found-in-the-Brains-of-Psychopaths-269145.shtml Psychopathy is apparently characterized by a series of brain abnormalities, a team of UK experts from the King's College London explains. In a new study, they were able to confirm that this condition represents a distinct subgroup of the broader antisocial personality disorder (ASPD).

Details of the study and its conclusio... (read more)]]> Sat, 12 May 2012 07:30:00 GMT Softpedia News - Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Structural-Abnormalities-Found-in-the-Brains-of-Psychopaths-269145.shtml Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Structural-Abnormalities-Found-in-the-Brains-of-Psychopaths-269145.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-the-Brain-Avoids-Signal-Jams-268131.shtml In a paper published in the May 6 issue of the top journal Nature Neuroscience, experts demonstrate that brain networks have the ability to switch the frequencies at which they operate, in order to avoid the jamming of electrical signals through busy interactions.

Everyone knows that the human brain is tremendously complex, and that it contains aro... (read more)]]> Mon, 7 May 2012 14:52:00 GMT Softpedia News - Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-the-Brain-Avoids-Signal-Jams-268131.shtml Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-the-Brain-Avoids-Signal-Jams-268131.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Perceptions-of-Aura-Caused-by-Emotional-Synesthesia-268042.shtml According to the conclusions of a new scientific investigation, it would now appear that people who exhibit a neuropsychological phenomenon called synesthesia are more likely to be among those claiming to see auras around other people.

Researchers at the University of Granada Department of Experimental Psychology, led by experts... (read more)]]> Mon, 7 May 2012 11:09:00 GMT Softpedia News - Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Perceptions-of-Aura-Caused-by-Emotional-Synesthesia-268042.shtml Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Perceptions-of-Aura-Caused-by-Emotional-Synesthesia-268042.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/US-Army-Wants-Lighter-More-Efficient-Batteries-for-Its-Soldiers-268013.shtml An international consortium of universities from the United States and Italy has just been awarded a 5-year, $15 million research contract for developing more efficient, lighter batteries. The US Army is very interested in reducing the weight its troops have to carry into the battlefield.

At this point, an average sol... (read more)]]> Mon, 7 May 2012 09:45:00 GMT Softpedia News - Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/US-Army-Wants-Lighter-More-Efficient-Batteries-for-Its-Soldiers-268013.shtml Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/US-Army-Wants-Lighter-More-Efficient-Batteries-for-Its-Soldiers-268013.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Religious-People-Are-Less-Compassionate-than-Atheists-267875.shtml A series of three new studies indicates that less religious people, agnostics and atheists are more likely to be generous to those in need while driven by compassion than highly religious individuals. The works call into question widespread assumptions about the link between religion and compassion.

Researchers from the Universi... (read more)]]> Sat, 5 May 2012 09:27:00 GMT Softpedia News - Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Religious-People-Are-Less-Compassionate-than-Atheists-267875.shtml Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Religious-People-Are-Less-Compassionate-than-Atheists-267875.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Religious-Belief-Analytical-Thinking-Don-t-Mix-266748.shtml Canadian researchers have demonstrated in a new study that analytical thinking and religious beliefs do not really go hand in hand. Their work suggests that even devout believers experience a shift in their religious views when they begin to think analytically.

The study was carried out at the University of British Columbia (UBC). Rese... (read more)]]> Fri, 27 Apr 2012 09:45:00 GMT Softpedia News - Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Religious-Belief-Analytical-Thinking-Don-t-Mix-266748.shtml Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Religious-Belief-Analytical-Thinking-Don-t-Mix-266748.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Development-of-Addiction-Like-Behaviors-Linked-to-Binge-Eating-266228.shtml A study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), reveals that people who tend to eat large amounts of food over very short periods of time (binge eaters) tend to exhibit more behaviors that resemble addiction.

The study was conducted by experts with the ... (read more)]]> Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:57:00 GMT Softpedia News - Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Development-of-Addiction-Like-Behaviors-Linked-to-Binge-Eating-266228.shtml Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Development-of-Addiction-Like-Behaviors-Linked-to-Binge-Eating-266228.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-the-Brain-Isolates-a-Voice-in-a-Crowd-265297.shtml The way in which the brain manages to focus our attention on a single voice in a room filled with people is something that scientists have been trying to understand for a long time. A new study may have just provided new insight into this mystery.

Chatter and background noises are all around us everywhere we go, yet we are always able to he... (read more)]]> Thu, 19 Apr 2012 09:42:00 GMT Softpedia News - Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-the-Brain-Isolates-a-Voice-in-a-Crowd-265297.shtml Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-the-Brain-Isolates-a-Voice-in-a-Crowd-265297.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Why-Some-Women-Favor-Their-Careers-Not-Families-265149.shtml Women tend to focus more on their careers and workplace when men are not available, or in scarce supply. The conclusion belongs to a study that looked at men-to-women ratios throughout the general population, and derived long-term trends based on these data.

Whenever the number of females far exceeds that of males, the latter feel no... (read more)]]> Wed, 18 Apr 2012 13:59:00 GMT Softpedia News - Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Why-Some-Women-Favor-Their-Careers-Not-Families-265149.shtml Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Why-Some-Women-Favor-Their-Careers-Not-Families-265149.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Wielding-a-Gun-Makes-People-Look-Bigger-264222.shtml In a new study, anthropologists at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) determined that people tend to perceive those holding guns as being larger in size, and more muscular, than they are in reality. This has been known anecdotally for some time, but now scientists have proof.

During a series of tests, hundreds of participants... (read more)]]> Thu, 12 Apr 2012 10:00:00 GMT Softpedia News - Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Wielding-a-Gun-Makes-People-Look-Bigger-264222.shtml Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Wielding-a-Gun-Makes-People-Look-Bigger-264222.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-Neurons-Recognize-Objects-264203.shtml According to the conclusions of a new study by experts at Brown University, it would appear that two types of neurons in a region of the brain called the inferior temporal cortex are involved in the complex mental process of recognizing objects.

Even though we do this automatically, without conscious processing, the ability relies on a series of intric... (read more)]]> Thu, 12 Apr 2012 09:27:00 GMT Softpedia News - Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-Neurons-Recognize-Objects-264203.shtml Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-Neurons-Recognize-Objects-264203.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Less-Social-Support-Available-for-Common-Mental-Disorder-Patients-263881.shtml According to the conclusions of a new study, it would appear that people who suffer from common mental health disorders, such as depression, tend to receive less and less support from their friends and family, as the conditions become more and more widespread.

The same research also demonstrated that those suffering ... (read more)]]> Wed, 11 Apr 2012 06:56:00 GMT Softpedia News - Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Less-Social-Support-Available-for-Common-Mental-Disorder-Patients-263881.shtml Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Less-Social-Support-Available-for-Common-Mental-Disorder-Patients-263881.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Video-Games-Do-Not-Boost-Aggressiveness-262538.shtml Over the past few years, the debate between those who believe that violent video games are boosting aggressiveness in young people and those opposing this belief has taken on new dimensions. Now, a new study calls into question the very foundation on which the entire argument is built.

Scientists from the University of Gothenburg, in Sweden, ... (read more)]]> Tue, 3 Apr 2012 18:01:02 GMT Softpedia News - Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Video-Games-Do-Not-Boost-Aggressiveness-262538.shtml Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Video-Games-Do-Not-Boost-Aggressiveness-262538.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Puberty-Marks-the-Full-Development-of-the-Human-Brain-262254.shtml In a paper published in the latest issue of the esteemed journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), investigators determined that the human brain matures at the exact same time when teenagers reach puberty.

The research, carried out on a sample of 67 teens, used electroencephalogram (EEG) readings to monitor... (read more)]]> Mon, 2 Apr 2012 10:03:00 GMT Softpedia News - Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Puberty-Marks-the-Full-Development-of-the-Human-Brain-262254.shtml Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Puberty-Marks-the-Full-Development-of-the-Human-Brain-262254.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/The-Brain-Is-More-Ordered-Than-First-Thought-261902.shtml In past studies, scientists concluded that the human brain exhibited a seemingly-random architecture, with neural connections intertwined in very complex patterns. A new research has recently revealed that this understanding is false, and that the brain is in fact more ordered than first established.

Experts previously compared the arran... (read more)]]> Fri, 30 Mar 2012 11:33:00 GMT Softpedia News - Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/The-Brain-Is-More-Ordered-Than-First-Thought-261902.shtml Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/The-Brain-Is-More-Ordered-Than-First-Thought-261902.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Why-Sad-Experiences-Make-People-Happy-261439.shtml Investigators at the Ohio State University (OSU) believe they may have found the reason why many people appear to enjoy watching tragic or dramatic movies and plays. Apparently, seeing others in misery, even if it's all a game of pretend, makes individuals more likely to appreciate what they have.

Seeing sad stories activates a series of emotiona... (read more)]]> Wed, 28 Mar 2012 19:31:02 GMT Softpedia News - Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Why-Sad-Experiences-Make-People-Happy-261439.shtml Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Why-Sad-Experiences-Make-People-Happy-261439.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Why-Lung-Cancer-Patients-Are-so-Depressed-261384.shtml In a paper published in a recent issue of the journal Psycho-Oncology, experts revealed that lung cancer patients are oftentimes depressed because they feel a sense of shame and isolation, as well as rejection from others. This may explain why the incidence of depression in this group is so high.

The new study was led by investigators at th... (read more)]]> Wed, 28 Mar 2012 10:03:00 GMT Softpedia News - Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Why-Lung-Cancer-Patients-Are-so-Depressed-261384.shtml Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Why-Lung-Cancer-Patients-Are-so-Depressed-261384.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Memory-Engrams-Occupy-Physical-Neural-Networks-260541.shtml A group of neuroscientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), in Cambridge, says that memory engrams are real, and argue that they leave behind physical traces of their creation. The team was recently able to find the physical neural networks underlying these imprints.

A memory engram is a complex construct, featuring ... (read more)]]> Fri, 23 Mar 2012 14:01:00 GMT Softpedia News - Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Memory-Engrams-Occupy-Physical-Neural-Networks-260541.shtml Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/Memory-Engrams-Occupy-Physical-Neural-Networks-260541.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/The-Beneficial-Effects-of-Multilingualism-259398.shtml The latest scientific investigations on the benefits of multilingualism indicate that being able to speak multiple languages does more for us than simply to enable communications with a larger number of people. Multilingualism also contributes to keeping the brain fit, and making us smarter.

According to scientists, learning one or more fo... (read more)]]> Mon, 19 Mar 2012 09:30:00 GMT Softpedia News - Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/The-Beneficial-Effects-of-Multilingualism-259398.shtml Behavior/Humans http://news.softpedia.com/news/The-Beneficial-Effects-of-Multilingualism-259398.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru)