December 12, 2012
Amy Cuddy is an American social psychologist known for her studies of the relations between stereotyping and behavior. She is Associate Professor in the Negotiation, Organizations & Markets Unit at Harvard Business School. Cuddy studies the origins and outcomes of how people judge and influence each other.
She has conducted experimental and correlational research on stereotyping and discrimination against various groups (e.g., Asian Americans, elderly people, Latinos, working mothers), the causes and consequences of feeling ambivalent emotions (e.g., envy and pity), nonverbal behavior and communication, and hormonal responses to social stimuli. She is a sought-after speaker on the psychology of power, influence, nonverbal communication, and prejudice. Continue reading →
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December 12, 2012
The hormonal theory of sexuality holds that, just as exposure to certain hormones plays a role in fetal sex differentiation, such exposure also influences the sexual orientation that emerges later in the adult. Prenatal hormones may be seen as the primary determinant of adult sexual orientation, or a co-factor with genes, biological factors and/or environmental and social conditions. Differences in brain structure that come about from hormones and genes interacting on developing brain cells are believed to be the basis of sex differences in countless behaviors, including sexual orientation.
Prenatal factors that affect or interfere with the interaction of these hormones on the developing brain can influence later sex-typed behavior in children. This hypothesis is originated from countless experimental studies in non-human mammals, yet the argument that similar effects can be seen in human neurobehavioral development is a much debated topic among scholars. Recent studies, however, have provided evidence in support of prenatal androgen exposure influencing childhood sex-typed behavior. Continue reading →
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December 12, 2012
The digit ratio (the ratio of the lengths of different fingers) is possibly affected by exposure to androgen hormones (e.g. testosterone) while in the uterus. The index to ring finger ratio (2D:4D) in particular has been suggested as a crude measure for prenatal androgen exposure, with lower 2D:4D ratios pointing to higher androgen exposure.
A longer index finger will result in a ratio higher than 1, while a longer ring finger will result in a ratio of less than 1. The 2D:4D digit ratio is sexually dimorphic: while the second digit is typically shorter in both females and males, the difference between the lengths of the two digits is greater in males than females. Continue reading →
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December 12, 2012
Allometry [uh-lom-i-tree] is the study of the relationship of body size to shape. In particular, it refers to the rate of growth of one part of the body compared to other parts. In most cases, the relative size of body parts changes as the body grows. Most allometric relationships are adaptive.
For example, organs which depend on their surface area (such as the intestine) grow faster as the body weight increases. Also, there are changes in allometry in the evolution of a clade (branches on the tree of life).
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December 12, 2012
Male pregnancy is the incubation of one or more embryos or fetuses by male members of any species. In nearly all sexually reproducing animal species, offspring are ordinarily carried by the female until birth, but in fish of the Syngnathidae family (pipefish and seahorses), males perform this function. They may possess a brood pouch on the trunk or tail (in other species, the eggs are merely attached to the male’s trunk or tail when the female lays them).
Fertilization may take place in the pouch or in the water before implantation, but in either case, syngnathids’ male pregnancy ensures them complete confidence of paternity. After implantation in or on the brood pouch or brood patch, the male incubates the eggs. Many species osmoregulate the brood pouch fluid to maintain proper pH for the developing embryos. Continue reading →
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December 12, 2012
In Feminist psychology the terms womb envy and vagina envy denote the unexpressed anxiety that some men feel in natural envy of the biological functions of women (pregnancy, parturition, breast feeding) — emotions which impel their social subordination of women, and to drive themselves to succeed in perpetuating their names via material legacies.
Each term is analogous to the concept of female penis envy, derived from the theory of psychosexual development, presented in Freudian psychology; they address the gender role social dynamics underlying the ‘envy and fascination with the female breasts and lactation, with pregnancy and childbearing, and vagina envy [that] are clues to a femininity complex of men, which is defended against by psychological and sociocultural means.’
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December 11, 2012
Virtual water (also known as embedded or embodied water) refers to the hidden flow of water if food or other commodities are traded from one place to another. For instance, it takes 1,600 cubic meters of water on average to produce one metric ton of wheat.
The precise volume can be more or less depending on climatic conditions and agricultural practice. Hoekstra and Chapagain have defined the virtual-water content of a product (a commodity, good or service) as ‘the volume of freshwater used to produce the product, measured at the place where the product was actually produced.’ Continue reading →
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December 11, 2012
‘How to Rob‘ is a 1999 song by American hip hop recording artist 50 Cent. The song serves as his debut single and the lead single from his album ‘Power of the Dollar’ (officially unreleased but heavily bootlegged).
The album, which was originally set for a 2000 release, was supposed to be his debut with Columbia Records, but was cancelled after 50 Cent was dropped from the label when Columbia discovered that he had been shot. ‘How to Rob’ was produced by Tone & Poke of Trackmasters and features D-Dot, also known as The Madd Rapper. The song was also included on the soundtrack to the 1999 film ‘In Too Deep,’ staring LL Cool J and Omar Epps. Continue reading →
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December 11, 2012
Eucatastrophe [yew-kuh-tas-truh-fee] is a term coined by J. R. R. Tolkien which refers to the sudden turn of events at the end of a story which ensure that the protagonist does not meet some terrible, impending, and very plausible doom. He formed the word by affixing the Greek prefix ‘eu,’ meaning ‘good,’ to ‘catastrophe,’ the word traditionally used in classically-inspired literary criticism to refer to the ‘unraveling’ or conclusion of a drama’s plot.
For Tolkien, the term appears to have had a thematic meaning that went beyond its implied meaning in terms of form. In his definition as outlined in his 1947 essay ‘On Fairy-Stories,’ it is a fundamental part of his conception of mythopoeia (the creation of myths). Though Tolkien’s interest is in myth, it is also connected to the gospels; Tolkien calls the Incarnation (God taking a physical form, as Jesus in Tolkien’s view) the eucatastrophe of ‘human history’ and the Resurrection the eucatastrophe of the Incarnation. Continue reading →
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December 11, 2012
‘On Fairy-Stories‘ is an essay by J. R. R. Tolkien which discusses the fairy-tale as a literary form. It was initially written (and entitled simply ‘Fairy Stories’) for presentation by Tolkien as the Andrew Lang lecture at the University of St Andrews, Scotland, in 1939.
It first appeared in print, with some enhancement, in 1947, in a festschrift volume (a book honoring a respected person), ‘Essays Presented to Charles Williams,’ compiled by C. S. Lewis. British poet Charles Williams, a friend of Lewis’s, had been relocated with the Oxford University Press staff from London to Oxford during the London blitz in World War II. This allowed him to participate in gatherings of the Inklings (an informal literary discussion group) with Lewis and Tolkien. Continue reading →
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December 11, 2012
Trypophobia [try-poe-phobia] (sometimes called repetitive pattern phobia) is fear of or revulsion from clustered geometric shapes, especially small holes. It is not recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, however thousands of people claim to be fearful of objects with small holes, such as beehives, ant holes, and lotus seed heads.
Research is limited and Arnold Wilkins and Geoff Cole, who claim to be the first to scientifically investigate, believe the reaction to be based on a biological revulsion, rather than a learned cultural fear. The term was coined in 2005, a combination of the Greek ‘trypo’ (punching, drilling or boring holes) and phobia.
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December 11, 2012
Jane Elliott (b. 1933) is an American anti-racism activist and educator (she is also a feminist and LGBT activist).
She created the famous ‘blue-eyed/brown-eyed’ exercise, first done with grade school children in the 1960s, and which later became the basis for her career in diversity training.
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