Brains Behaving Badly

### Cold Open

"What comes to mind when you think of New Orleans? Jazz Music! Mardi Gras! Sure, while it might be the city of saints, it's also the city of sin. Why do we obsess, and undress, take risks, and act out without even realizing it? Why our some of our brain's most basic instincts considered such wicked behavior? And if sinning is such a bad thing, why does bad behavior come so naturally to us? "

## Games

#### Game: Name Them

Name the seven deadly sins.

Result: People on the street got 6 out of 7.

So: While some of them might not seem so bad, and maybe there's a point. So let's take a look at them.

### **Pride:**

#### Mini-Game: Superficial

Look at two of the same face and determine the more attractive.

Result: People often pick the same image because we like symmetry in faces.

#### Experiment: The Tablets

We've invited some volunteers to look at photos of people we photographed. They pick the one they think is most attractive. What are they thinking?

Well, let's play a game.

#### Mini-Game: Upside Down

Look at the upside down image. Can you tell what it is?

Result: You can see the objects, but the faces are much harder to detect.

Why: We process faces differently because tiny differences in a face clue us in to that identity.

Back to the tablets.

Result: The reason our volunteers chose what they chose is because they're part of the volunteers faces.

How: With Photoshop specialists, they have used the volunteer's face and used his features to make them attracted to the specific strangers they chose. But they should take pride in their own profile?

Why: Your prefrontal cortex is quiet with introspection, leading to self-deception. Which means that you're a little too willing to celebrate yourself.

### **Sloth:**

#### Experiment: Busywork

After an hour of busywork, two teams get different tasks. The red team gets to relax for a bit. While the blue team has to get straight to work circling every E in a Jambalaya recipe. How would you fare?

#### Mini-Game: The Trunks

Count how many extra trunks there are.

Result: Counting them isn't hard, but you feel drained after each round.

Back to the E's.

Now the blue team has a choice. Do it later, or keep doing it now. What will they choose?

#### Mini-Game: Dot Two

Pay attention to the dot as it moves and call out where it was two moves ago.

Result: Depending on how you did, this can predict your ability to procrastinate.

The choice of E's or Relaxation: Relaxation for most. While you might say they chose to be slothful, the red team was given a break before the task.

Will the red team stay and work?

Result: Outstanding yes.

Why: The prefrontal cortex spends energy focusing on the task at hand. The Thalamus, however, wants to just relax.

In the game Earlier, If you were able to call where the dot two moves ago, corresponds to focus and working memory.

So: You just can't resist a short break. Sloth, in small doses, can help.

### **Gluttony:**

#### Mini-Game: Crazy Creations

Pick between two food items.

Result: You chose the normal-looking foods.

Why: Because colors found in nature are perceived as more appetizing. But that's not the only factor.

#### Experiment: The Buffet

Will a party of guests at an all you can eat buffet eat more when there is music and a good attitude?

Consider this first.

#### Mini-Game: Orange

Which glass contains the most liquid?

Result: They all have the same amount.

So: Researchers have found that we perceive tall glasses to contain more than small glasses and curved glasses have more than straight ones.

Result: The group with less upbeat music and a calmer atmosphere ate 69 pounds. The group with upbeat music, however, couldn't lose. They had 91 pounds of food. 33% more than group 1. Shouldn't the upbeat show distract them, though?

Why: They were. When you eat, fat cells release leptin, signalling you are getting full. But eat too fast, your brain doesn't get the signals. And putting your fork down, goes out the window. Gluttony from time to time isn't so bad.

#### Mini-Game: Guess the Next Sin:

Look at a tablet. One is newer. One is older.

Result: Both tablets are the same.

Why: Consumer science shows us newer items are more desirable. But the next sin is about what others possess.

### Envy:

#### Experiment: The Woman

A woman with a huge attitude issue shows off her new luxuries. People at an outdoor cafe sit and watch while Jason does an interview with Dr. Wyland.

Dr. Wyland: Envy comes from resource compeition, and while were not fighting for food, we're fighting for better salaries, better mates, etc.

The woman loses her cool as she tests the crowd. the crowd and waiter are fed up. She's getting ready to leave.

#### Mini-Game: Travel

Define the travel destination from images.

Result: After you identify them, you probably want to go there. However, if they only saw bad images, they probably wouldn't want to go.

So: You are empathizing with the feelings of your friend and they may envy your trip.

Back to the woman. As she gets ready to leave, she hits a pane.

Result: Volunteers didn't mean to laugh at her misfortune, but they may have felt pleasure for her being put in her place. There's a word for this.

Why: No, not karma. Schadenfreude, which means "harm joy". Envy makes us feels good if we feel "harm joy", but the older brain areas, like the anterior cingulate, we are experiencing envy. Envy can inspire competition, but it can spur some worse sins.

### Wrath:

#### Mini-Game: The Faces

Look at two faces. one is blurry. one is normal and in focus. Which is angry, and which is normal?

Result: Up close they seem to have swapped emotions from far out?

Why: Your brain can't make out the details from far away. It's a good example of how your brain can switch to anger even when you should be happy.

#### Experiment: The Bartender Jerk

A female bartender makes small talk but ignores customers and treats patrons rudely for no reason, and messes up drinks. What will it take to make these customers go full on wrath mode?

#### Mini-Game: Tour of New Orelans

Count the number of times you see the number 7 and the word relaxation.

Result: If you did well, good for you. But how many boats were in the river? And how many baby birds were in the nest? If you didn't remember those and call "no fair", Who pushed who?, and what was on the meat chopping hand?

Why: If you were able to recall those details, the reason why is because your Amygdala, which manages potential threats(such as a man pushing a woman) allowed you to remember the important threat.

Back to the jerk.

Dr: Alex Cohen: Anger in the moment can restrict people's awareness and are much better at detecting threat when angry.

But why does your brain perceive unfair treatment and react angrily? Let's find out as we watch a customer get treated unfairly at the bar.

After being slighted by the bartender, now he wants fairness. When it persists, the amygdala floods the emotional center with nonadrelaine and adrenaline. How quickly can it kick into action? Let's play a game.

#### Mini-Game: Stand 8

Which face stands out from the other 7?

Result: Almost everyone picks the same face.

Why: Because you detect green eyes staring at you even before you realized why you were drawn to it.

Now, let's see what happens with the angry customer. Even though the threat of "poor" service is a minor one, your anger focuses your brain on conflict. What stopped these people from unleashing wrath?

Why: Even though flight may seem like the obvious outcome, earlier in evolution, it would've been more violence.

Dr. Alex Cohen: People and your brain are both learning to cope with impulses and strategies to deal with anger. and save wrath for when it's most needed.

### Greed

#### Experiment: 20 Bucks

Each person is given 20 dollars. Will they wager 20 to get 50?

#### Mini-Game: Jar of Money

Play along and cash out at the right time as the money rises.

Result: Win or lose, don't blame it all on greed just yet.

Back to the wager.

Result: People don't tend to wager because it's a gain scenario. You gained 20 bucks for doing nothing. But now lets re-frame the game.

Now they get 50, but Jamy takes away 30. Leaving them with 20 and hope for the money back after betting?

Result: They gamble even though the money was the exact same. Why were they willing to bet?

Why: Certain areas of the brain make decisions. When we gain money, this area stays calm. However, when we lose money, it goes crazy. We're hardwired with loss aversion, which means you don't want to lose what you have gained. We're often unaware of subtleties of unreasonable risk. But there's one sin we may not be able to sidestep. It's called....

### Lust

Without the deep innate desire to mate, we would not be here. We have been built to lust. But because this behavior is so deeply ingrained in our brain, we our prisoners to it's push and pull.

#### Mini-Game: Attraction

Pick the more attractive face to you. Then rate them. Then, buckle up for a ride.

Result: If you find them more attractive, that's because your brain likes adrenaline. Action leads to attraction.

#### Experiment: Eyes on the Prize

Dr. Abigail Baird: Lust, has a lot of dopamine, and make you feel a rush of reward. Men are driven to lust by visual cues. But women may be riven by chemical desires of their own.

Which sense knows what we desire?

#### Mini-Game: The Eye Windows

Spot the eyes behind a window. Then spot them in a crowd.

Result: This is an easy task.

Why: Because eyes are special to a face and make them memorable and are attracted to eyes that look directly at us. But that isn't all that drives it.

First, we asked women to choose between 5 men and pick one.

Dr. Abigail Baird: We don't always know why we're attracted to someone, so one things that comes into play is Olfcation, your sense of smell. Is it love at first scent?

The men now take off their t-shirts. Three days before the competition, these t-shirts were worn to bed every night. Now, these stinky t-shirts will be put into an unmarked box and smelt by the women. But how does your nose sniff out a potential mate?

Accroding to research, women smell proteins mixed with sweat from the men's skin, and can tell if their immune systems are biologically optimal, which means that opposites attract in genes and immune systems. And offspring have more resistance to a broader range of things. Also, pheromones, chemical compounds that signal reactions in the brain, they can signal sexual availability in women. Women are far better at detecting genetic compatibility by smell.

Result: They each fell for a different man then they initially chose based on sight. But it seems like the women are confused.

Why: Our eyes can be deceived, but our brains know better than that. It's the scent that drives the sin of lust. Lust runs deep.

Dr. Abigail Baird: The reason why our brains act out in these sins is because some of these are drives to keep us alive.

All the so-called sins are actually vital to human survival.

So the answer to our question: Not Necessarily. With effort, we can learn to work with the drives and understanding our impulses, we can ensure our survival and stop the worst of our behavior and let the good times roll!

## List of Experts

* Dr. Piers Steel(Guest)
* Dr. Carrie Wyland(Guest)
* Photojoe(Pride Images)
* Dr. Alex Cohan(Guest)
* Jamy Ian Swiss(Special Guest, Magician)
* Dr. Abigail Baird(Guest)