The Self Illusion is a book written by Dr. Bruce Hood, psychology professor at the University of Bristol. This post has some notes from the book featuring the results of studies cited in the book.
• Research shows that face recognition is localized in the fusiform gyrus.
• Children born with cataracts still have trouble recognizing faces after their vision is surgically corrected.
• Brain imaging studies show that the nucleus accumbens (reward center) is activated when mothers look at pictures of their own baby.
• A study of bowlers showed that players smiled only 4% of the time after a good score when they were facing away from their friends, but smiled 42% of the time when they faced their friends.
• Research shows that when girls reach puberty, they prefer to look at pictures of babies, while before they preferred to look at other pictures.
• Experiments involving people who received Botox injections show that they are not as good at reading other people’s emotional expressions after the procedure.
• Brain imaging research shows that people with mirror-touch synesthesia exhibit overactivity in the mirror neuron system and anterior insula.
• A study found that people could recognize pictures 17 years after having originally seen them.
• Neuroimaging studies show that the frontoinsular and anterior cingulate cortex work differently in people with autism.
• A neuroimaging study found that the adolescent prefrontal cortex is hyperactive when reflecting on concepts about their own self.
• A study that disguised the same child as either a girl or a boy showed that adults praised the child’s beauty when told it was a girl, and they talked about the child’s future occupation when told it was a boy.
• Mothers tend to discuss emotional problems with their daughters more than with their sons.
• An experiment involving a visit to a science museum found that parents were three times more likely to explain the exhibits to the boys than to the girls.
• Research shows that by 2 years of age, boys a more physically aggressive than girs. This difference continues throughout their development.
• A study in New Zealand found that more than 80% of males with a missing MAOA gene and a history of childhood maltreatment went on to develop antisocial behaviors.
• Neuroimaging research on psychopathic murderers show that they have abnormalities in the orbital cortex.
• A study found that the ability to delay gratification at 4 years of age was linked to more success at age 27.
• An experiment found that brain activity exhibited an intention to press a button before the subject was aware of his or her decision to press the button.
• Brain imaging research can use brain activity to predict which of two buttons a subject will press 7 seconds before they press it.
• Patients with environmental dependency syndrome copy another person’s behavior.
• Patients with utilization behavior exhibit an involuntary response when seeing a certain object.
• Removing an individual’s perception of control generates anxiety that impairs the immune system and the ability to think.
• Neuroimaging research shows that activity in the corticobasal ganglia network is higher in people with obsessive-compulsive disorder.
• A study found that participants who were told to control their emotions during a horror movie drank 50% more alcohol afterwards than the group who were allowed to express their emotions.
• A study found that glucose levels are lowered during ego-depleting tasks.
• A study found that subjects who drank a sugary drink were less stressed after reading about death.
• A study found that people who monitored and controlled their posture for two weeks performed better on experiments that involved self-control.
• Research shows that broadening your shoulders and clenching your fists increases testosterone levels.
• Research shows that the belief in free will predicts better job performance and more career success.
• Research shows that perceived control reduces activity in the pain centers of the brain.
• Research shows that receiving ownership of an object enhances P300 brain activity.
• Experiments show that people place greater value on objects once they own them.
• Neuroimaging research has found increased activation of the nucleus accumbens when looking at a desired product.
• Neuroimaging research shows that activity in the insula can predict how much people value an object they own.
• People prefer objects that other people are looking at.
• A study found that looking at staring eyes led to increased pupil dilation.
• A study found that social exclusion in a game activated the anterior cingulate cortex in the brain.
• A study found that people who had been rejected by colleagues were more likely to eat cookies afterwards.
• A study showed that people who had been ostracized retaliated more against an innocent bystander.
• Neuroimaging research shows that a discrepancy between an individual’s opinion and group opinion triggers activation in brain regions associated with social cognition and reward evaluation.
• A study that involved shocking puppies found that half of all the male participants and all of the female participants obeyed orders to administer the maximum shock.
• A study found that mothers in the USA were more likely to focus their child’s attention on certain attributes of a toy, while mothers in Japan were more likely to participate in exchange games with their child.
• Research shows that administering propranolol immediately after a traumatic event reduces later symptoms of PTSD.
• A study of a patient with dissociative identity disorder who claimed to be blind found that electrical measurements of the visual cortex showed activity when experiencing a sighted personality and no activity when experiencing a blind personality.
• A study found that the DRD2 gene predicted similarity in clusters of friends, while the CYP2A6 gene increased the tendency to associate with people who have different interests.
• A study found that risky driving increased by 50% in teenagers when friends were present.
• Research shows that rats with electrodes implanted in the pleasure center will pursue stimulation to the point of starvation.
