The Dark Side of Oxytocin, the Hormone of Love - Ethnocentrism Yes, you knew there had to be a catch. As oxytocin comes into sharper focus, its social radius of action turns out to have definite limits. The love and trust it promotes are not toward the world in general, just toward a person’s in-group. Oxytocin turns out to be the hormone of the clan, not of universal brotherhood. Psychologists trying to specify its role have now concluded it is the agent of ethnocentrism. A principal author of the new take on oxytocin is Carsten K. In a report published last year in Science, based on experiments in which subjects distributed money, he and colleagues showed that doses of oxytocin made people more likely to favor the in-group at the expense of an out-group. These nationalities were chosen because of a 2005 poll that showed that 51 percent of Dutch citizens held unfavorable opinions about Muslims, and other surveys that Germans, although seen by the Dutch as less threatening, were nevertheless regarded as “aggressive, arrogant and cold.” In Dr. Dr.
Narcissism, Psychopathy, and Evil « mind.expressions DELANY DEAN, JD, PhD delanydean.com KC Mindfulness crimlawdoc@gmail.com Introduction: During both my professional careers (criminal law and psychology), two areas of particular interest to me have been psychopathy and narcissism. Underneath the superficial charm, the narcissist/psychopath always has a “me-first” mentality. A good non-technical book about this phenomenon is: The Sociopath Next Door by Martha Stout [the term “sociopath” is closely related to the term “psychopath”]. Some good web resources about the phenomenon known as “narcissistic rage” are in my “del.icio.us” links (click over in the side column on this blog, where it says “And, Check Out…”). Recently, Nature magazine published a great article [pdf] on the neuroscience of psychopaths, as investigated by an ingenious study being run by a group of Dutch researchers. “Although there is a higher number of psychopaths among violent criminals, a psychopath is not necessarily someone who is violent. Authoritarianism and Psychopathy
How narcissism got to be a thing. | Lucky Otters Haven This article was originally posted on October 7 and 11, 2015 in two parts. It has been updated and merged. Disclaimer: It was pointed out to me that this post may seem overly critical or stereotyping of Baby Boomers. I’m aware that the selfishness and lack of empathy we see today extends across ALL generations. When I was compiling my lists of songs about narcissism, it didn’t pass my notice how few songs there were prior to the 1980s that focused on it. I think the reason for this is because it wasn’t until the 1980s that narcissism became so dominant in western (especially American) culture that it became a new virtue–something to aspire to if you wanted to be financially and professionally successful. But I think the problem really started long before that, back in the post-WWII days when the Baby Boomers started being born. Ripeness for the rise of a culture of narcissism. As a nation, we have always adhered to principles of “rugged individualism” and the “Protestant work ethic.”
Speech patterns give away psychopaths NEW YORK — Psychopaths are known to be wily and manipulative, but even so, they unconsciously betray themselves, according to scientists who have looked for patterns in convicted murderers' speech as they described their crimes. The researchers interviewed 52 convicted murderers, 14 of them ranked as psychopaths according to the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised, a 20-item assessment, and asked them to describe their crimes in detail. Using computer programs to analyze what the men said, the researchers found that those with psychopathic scores showed a lack of emotion, spoke in terms of cause-and-effect when describing their crimes, and focused their attention on basic needs, such as food, drink and money. [10 Contested Death Penalty Cases] "The beautiful thing about them is they are unconsciously produced," Hancock said. These unconscious actions can reveal the psychological dynamics in a speaker's mind even though he or she is unaware of it, Hancock said. What it means to be a psychopath
The Place of "Cognitive Dissonance" in Narcissistic Victim Syndrome Understanding Cognitive Dissonance in relation to narcissistic abuse: Stockholm syndrome involves the victim paradoxically forming a positive relationship with their oppressor; this is called “Trauma Bonding”. When victims of narcissistic are suffering from Stockholm Syndrome, they are often seen by outsiders as somehow having participated in some bizarre way that seems to support their abuse. If therapists are to understand the behaviour of clients who have been victims of narcissistic abuse, then it is crucial for them to appreciate why the victim combines the two unhealthy conditions of Stockholm Syndrome and Cognitive Dissonance as part of their survival strategy. Get an in-depth understanding of Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) What is Cognitive Dissonance? What part does Cognitive Dissonance play with victims of narcissistic abuse? Social Investment: The biggest social investment the victim makes is to the person nearest to them, their narcissistic abuser.
What Is Psychological Egoism? Psychological egoism is the theory that all our actions are basically motivated by self-interest. It is a view endorsed by several philosophers, among them Thomas Hobbes and Friedrich Nietzsche, and has played a role in some game theory. Why think that all our actions are self-interested? A self-interested action is one that is motivated by a concern for one’s own interests. Clearly, most of our actions are of this sort. A motorist who stops to help someone who has broken down.A person giving money to charity.A soldier falling on a grenade to protect others from the explosion. But psychological egoists think they can explain such actions without abandoning their theory. Objections to psychological egoism The first and most obvious objection to psychological egoism is that there are lots of clear examples of people behaving altruistically or selflessly, putting the interests of others before their own. The difference between selfish and selfless The appeal of psychological egoism
Why The Nicest People Have Suffered The Most Damage In Life Life tests people every day. And for reasons we don’t know, everyone gets a different test. Some struggle with calculus; others are dealt basic math. Either way, we all have to deal with what we’ve been given. Yet whatever circumstance life throws your way, you get to decide if you’re going to be a victim or a survivor. And those who choose to be sweet – the survivors – are strongest. Swiss psychiatrist and author, Elisbeth Kübler-Ross, once eloquently stated: The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. In other words, nice people weren’t born nice — they made themselves that way. Nice people bring light into the world because they come from dark pasts. In the world of darkness into which they were born, nice people use positivity as a lantern to create more light. Nice people have often been dealt a significant amount of bad luck. And they have learned not only to succeed.
Is Precognition Real? Cornell University Lab Releases Powerful New Evidence that the Human Mind can Perceive the Future According to today’s conventional scientific wisdom, time flows strictly forward — from the past to the future through the present. We can remember the past, and we can predict the future based on the past (albeit imperfectly) — but we can’t perceive the future. But if the recent data from the lab of Prof. Daryl Bem at Cornell University is correct, conventional scientific wisdom may need some corrections on this particular point. In a research paper titled Feeling the Future, recently accepted for publication in the prestigious Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Bem presents some rather compelling empirical evidence that in some cases — and with weak but highly statistically significant accuracy – many human beings can directly perceive the future. A pre-publication copy of Bem’s paper is available on his website, and it should appear on the journal’s website shortly. [graphs are from ] The short answer is: yes 1.
Psychopaths vs. Sadists: Brain Science, Public Fascination Psychopathic serial killers are a source of infinite public fascination. If best-selling novels, hit TV series and popular films are any indication, you’d think real-life Hannibal Lecters were constantly running amok in the U.S. Thankfully, such offenders are far less prevalent in reality than they are in entertainment — but the disproportionate damage done by violent and even nonviolent psychopaths not surprisingly attracts intense scientific interest as well. On May 11, in fact, the New York Times explored whether psychopaths can be diagnosed as young as age 9. Another way to figure out what makes the psychopath tick is to contrast him — and they are overwhelmingly male — with other abnormal personalities. (SPECIAL: Report: 1 in 5 American Adults Takes Mental Health Drugs) Decety and his colleagues recently published a brain-scan study of 15 violent sexual offenders, eight of whom were classified as sexual sadists. (MORE: 1 in 25 Business Leaders May Be a Psychopath) Psychopathy vs.
Henry Staten: ‘Radical evil’ revived / Radical Philosophy ‘Radical evil’ revived Hitler, Kant, Luther, neo-Lacanianism Henry staten By a terrible coincidence, I revise this paper for publication in the shadow of the mass murder at Colombine High School in Littleton, Colorado. From all sides come the anguished questions: ʻWhy?ʼ ʻHow could such a thing happen?ʼ ʻWhat sort of people could do it? I cannot disagree with the secular experts at least; I am committed to the Nietzschean project of ʻreinscribing man back into natureʼ, and therefore in some way to the naturalistic perspective that guides these expertsʼ assessment. The crucial point for Rogozinski is that this play of identifications occurs in a context in which the moral law has ceased to be considered as transcendent and has been assigned a worldly locus (a process Copjec dubs ʻsubreptionʼ ), as the law of racial superiority. But now comes an intriguing twist in the direction of Freud and Lacan. Kant, christianity and free will IS freud a lutheran? Nietzsche contra lacan Notes Theodore M.
Brain Abnormalities Found in Narcissists Narcissistic Personality Disorder Basics The American Psychiatric Association categorizes narcissistic personality disorder with a group of conditions called Cluster B personality disorders. All of these disorders produce behaviors or thought processes that rely to a dysfunctional degree on emotional excess or drama. While almost anyone can display narcissistic traits in certain circumstances, people with narcissistic personality disorder have at least five narcissistic traits that appear regularly and produce a pattern of behavior that either causes them substantial personal distress or reduces their ability to function well in school-related, work-related or social situations. Unusual Brain Thinness In the study published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, a team of German researchers used modern brain scanning technology to examine the brain structure of 34 volunteers. Unusual Brain Activity Levels Related How Common Is Narcissistic Personality Disorder? January 10, 2017