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Life as a Nonviolent Psychopath - Judith Ohikuare

Life as a Nonviolent Psychopath - Judith Ohikuare
In 2005, James Fallon's life started to resemble the plot of a well-honed joke or big-screen thriller: A neuroscientist is working in his laboratory one day when he thinks he has stumbled upon a big mistake. He is researching Alzheimer's and using his healthy family members' brain scans as a control, while simultaneously reviewing the fMRIs of murderous psychopaths for a side project. It appears, though, that one of the killers' scans has been shuffled into the wrong batch. The scans are anonymously labeled, so the researcher has a technician break the code to identify the individual in his family, and place his or her scan in its proper place. When he sees the results, however, Fallon immediately orders the technician to double check the code. After discovering that he had the brain of a psychopath, Fallon delved into his family tree and spoke with experts, colleagues, relatives, and friends to see if his behavior matched up with the imaging in front of him. What has that involved?

What Happens When You Trust Too Much - Tolly Moseley For people who are pathologically innocent, as is often the case in Williams Syndrome, how do you hold down a job? "It would scare me to death to have him work there." Terry Monkaba is talking about her son Ben, and the prospect of him finding a job at a Las Vegas casino. Once called "cocktail personality syndrome," Williams Syndrome—particularly as it affects children—has captivated science writers for the past decade. Strangers were also the topic of Alix Spiegel's 2010 NPR series on Williams Syndrome, where she told the story of a nine year-old girl named Isabelle. "Hello little girl, do you want to see my puppy?" "No way," recites Isabelle obediently. "But my puppy's so cute! "Yes," says Isabelle. "Come over here, I've got some candy too!" [Sound of internal struggle from Isabelle] "C'mon, come into my car and I'll show you," her mom tempts. And with that, after holding out against puppies and candy, it's the offer of companionship that finally breaks Isabelle down. And behaviorally?

11 Signs Someone Is Lying To You | Business Insider New research by Dr. Leanne ten Brinke, a forensic psychologist at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, and her collaborators, suggests that our instincts for judging liars are actually fairly strong — but our conscious minds sometimes fail us. Luckily, there are signs we can look for when trying to detect a lie. Dr. Lillian Glass, a behavioral analyst and body language expert who has worked with the FBI on unmasking signals of deception, says when trying to figure out if someone is lying, you first need to understand how the person normally acts. Then you’ll want to pay careful attention to their facial expressions, body language, and speech patterns, she writes in her book ”The Body Language of Liars.” 1. If you see someone suddenly make a head movement when you ask them a direct question, they may be lying to you about something. “The head will be retracted or jerked back, bowed down, or cocked or tilted to the side,” writes Glass. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Study: Firstborn Children Dream Bigger, Achieve More - Julie Beck Oldest siblings aspire to higher levels of formal education—and they're more likely to stick with it. The stereotype of the oldest sibling is that of a Type-A overachiever, high-strung and highly successful. The effect of birth order on personality and achievement is something that seems like common knowledge, and there is research to suggest that firstborns have the advantage. But it’s less set in stone than it seems, partly because many studies compared siblings from many families. “Birth order is clearly a within-family phenomenon,” points out a study published by Feifei Bu of the University of Essex as part of the Institute for Social and Economic Research’s Working Paper Series. Her study takes data on 3,552 people organized into 1,503 clusters of siblings from the British Household Panel Survey (and its successor, the UK Household Longitudinal Study) and looks at how birth order relates to educational aspiration and achievement, both across and within families.

Will Global Warming Produce More Tornadoes? In the wake of a devastating series of twister strikes, here's what the latest science has to say. —Chris Mooney on Mon. April 28, 2014 11:56 AM PDT An automobile dealer surveys the tornado damage to one of his trucks in Mayflower, Arkansas, on Sunday.Danny Johnston/AP Photo After a remarkably quiet start, the US tornado season exploded into action over the weekend, as a battery of tornadoes in Arkansas, Iowa, and Oklahoma killed 16 people. It all amounts to quite the burst of weather whiplash. Until pretty recently, scientists really felt that they couldn't say much about that question. Conditions favorable to tornadoes may increase with global warming, says one new study. In recent months, though, this consensus—that we really don't know what's happening with global warming and tornadoes—has been challenged by some interesting new research. The environments in which tornadoes form are changing, according to the latest research.

Raising a Moral Child Photo What does it take to be a good parent? We know some of the tricks for teaching kids to become high achievers. For example, research suggests that when parents praise effort rather than ability, children develop a stronger work ethic and become more motivated. Yet although some parents live vicariously through their children’s accomplishments, success is not the No. 1 priority for most parents. We’re much more concerned about our children becoming kind, compassionate and helpful. Despite the significance that it holds in our lives, teaching children to care about others is no simple task. Are some children simply good-natured — or not? Genetic twin studies suggest that anywhere from a quarter to more than half of our propensity to be giving and caring is inherited. By age 2, children experience some moral emotions — feelings triggered by right and wrong. But is that the right approach? The researchers randomly assigned the children to receive different types of praise.

The Confidence Gap For years, we women have kept our heads down and played by the rules. We’ve been certain that with enough hard work, our natural talents would be recognized and rewarded. We’ve made undeniable progress. In the United States, women now earn more college and graduate degrees than men do. And yet, as we’ve worked, ever diligent, the men around us have continued to get promoted faster and be paid more. Some observers say children change our priorities, and there is some truth in this claim. The elusive nature of confidence has intrigued us ever since we started work on our 2009 book, Womenomics, which looked at the many positive changes unfolding for women. We know the feeling firsthand. Claire found that implausible, laughable really, and yet she had a habit of telling people she was “just lucky”—in the right place at the right time—when asked how she became a CNN correspondent in Moscow while still in her 20s. And the men? Do men doubt themselves sometimes? That is a crucial point.

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