excitatory 5, 79, 89, 125
firing 4, 5, 125, 216
inhibitory 5, 89
interneurons 4
mirror neurons 45–7, 66, 151, 215
motor neurons 4, 8
sensory neurons 4
Von Economo neurons (VENs) 67
neurotransmitters 74, 79, 105
9/11 121, 161, 162, 163–4, 174
Nisbett, Richard 155, 158
nucleus accumbens 29, 132
object attachment 128–31, 132–3
obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) 103–4, 105, 130
olfactory bulb 170
orbital cortex 29, 74–5, 76
ostracism 33, 138–40, 143, 210
P300 signals 129
paedophilia 86
Panksepp, Jaak 32
paraylsis 95
Parfit, Derek 81
Pariser, Eli 198, 199
Parkinson’s disease 33, 105
Parks, Ken 87
Pavlov, Ivan 203
peek-a-boo 43
peer pressure 69, 143, 190
Penfield, Wilder 7–8
Penk, Steve 136
Perry, Bruce 76–7
personality traits 173–4
Piaget, Jean 56, 58
Pickering, Jo 207–8
piggy in the middle 138
Pinker, Steven 18, 115
polarization 136, 193, 199, 200
political extremism 136
Pollard, David 205–8, 208
positive illusions 174–5
post-natal depression 152
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) 162, 163
power stance 108
pre-industrial societies 22
prefrontal cortex (PFC) 69, 79, 86, 104
prejudice 107, 141, 152, 160
Premack, David 61
priming 111, 153–4, 159, 176
probabilities 119, 120
procrastination 123
propanolol 162
prosopagnosia 27
Provine, Robert 31
psychopaths 74–5, 76
public speaking 135
Pulp Fiction (film) 130
quantum indeterminacy 90
quantum physics 90–1
quarks 90
Quinn, Karl 193
racial stereotypes 154
Raging Bull (film) 47
randomness 90, 91
rats 14, 16, 32, 43, 203
Rayport, Mark 170–1
reaction formation 116
readiness potential (RP) 93
Reeves, Keanu 2
reflected self 216–17
reflexes 13, 95
regimentation 153
reincarnation 166
relativity 124–6, 127, 156
remembered selves 126–7
reward system 203–4
riots 137, 184
risk analysis 120–1, 124
risk taking 69, 102, 179, 190–1, 208
Ritalin 79
ritualistic behaviours 104, 105, 122
see also obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
Rizzolatti, Giacomo 45–6
Rochat, Philippe 60–1, 138
role-playing 101, 145–6, 178, 179–81, 205–10
Romanian orphans 40–1
rouge test 53, 54, 61
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques 38
routines, changing 108–9
Rutter, Sir Michael 40
Ryder, Winona vii
Ryle, Gilbert 95
Sacks, Oliver 48, 49, 66, 168–9
Saleh, Kassem 209
schizophrenia 32
Schwartz, Barry 123
search engines 198
Second Life 205–8, 210
second-guessing others 64
self-concepts 133
self-consciousness 50, 61, 68, 137
self-control 32, 77–80, 106–7, 108, 109, 110, 181
see also inhibitory control
self-esteem 142, 192
self-identity 50, 128, 130, 141, 168
self-justification 116–17
self-narratives xi, xiii, 171–3, 174, 176
self-recognition 52, 53–4, 61
Seligman, Martin 122
serotonin 74, 105
sex chromosomes 70, 73, 74
sexting 209
sexual arousal 8, 86, 127–8
sexual role-playing 179–81, 208–10
Shannon, Claude 4
shopping 128, 129, 132
Simons, Dan 59
Singer, Isaac Bashevis 85
Skinner, B. F. 203
smiling 29–30, 46, 47, 75
social anxiety disorder 135–6
social coercion 99–100
social cognition 33, 139, 144
social cognitive neuroscience 22
social identity theory 142–3
social loafing 136, 156
social networking 184, 186, 188, 189, 191–3, 194, 199–201, 202–3, 208
see also group cohesion; group membership
social reinforcement 30
social rejection 138–40, 210
socially inappropriate behaviour 33, 49
sour grapes 115–16
Spears, Britney vii
Speck, Richard 73
Spiner, Brent 192
Spinoza, Baruch 89, 94
split-brain patients 96–7, 169–70
stampeding 183, 184
Stand By Me (film) 48
Stanford Prison Experiment 145–6
Star Trek 192, 197–8
statistical modelling 119–20
Steele, Claude 154
Steinberg, Lawrence 191
stereotypes 141, 154
and behaviour distortion 154
cultural 133, 154–9, 175–6
gender 70, 71–2, 73–4, 154
racial 154
sticky fixation 10
Stocker, David 69
Strawson, Galen ix
subliminal marketing 113
substance abuse x, 53, 86, 106, 110
suicide baiting 136–7
Sundén, Janny 188
supermale myth 73–4
supersitious behaviours 101–3
supplementary motor area 45
Sybil (film) 178
synaesthesia 47, 215
synchrony in social interaction 34, 47, 151, 152–3
tactile stimulation 32, 42–3
Tajfel, Henri 141
Tarzan 28, 39
tattoos 72
Taylor, Amy 205–8
teen brain hypothesis 190
teenage delinquency 190
Terms of Endearment (film) 106
testosterone 72, 108
texting 195
Thaler, Richard 131
Theophrastus 173
theory of mind 61–4, 65, 68, 168
Three Faces of Eve (film) 178
3-D printers 165
tickling 31, 32
Total Recall (film) 60
totalitarian ego 171
Tourette’s syndrome 49–50, 104, 181
trolls 194
Tuk, Mirjam 109
Turk, Dave 129
Turkle, Sherry 205
turn-taking 152, 153
Twelve Angry Men (film) 143, 144
Twenty Statements Test 133
twins xii–xii, 66, 79, 104
Twitter 188, 191–3, 199–200
uniqueness of individuals 165, 167, 173
utilization 97
Victor (feral boy) 38–9, 40
violence 76–7, 85
see also aggression
virtual worlds 205–11
vomiting 48
Waldroup, Bradley 74
Wang, Qi 175
Ward, Jamie 47
warrior gene 74, 75
Watson, J. B. 203
Wearing, Clive 55, 56
the Web 186–211
Wegner, Dan 97, 98, 99, 111
Weiner, Anthony 208
Werker, Janet 19
Whitman, Charles 85–6
Wiesel, Torsten 16
Wikipedia 196–7
Williams, Kip 138, 139
windows of opportunity 16–20, 41
Witterick, Kathy 69
Wolpert, Daniel 187
Woods, Tiger vii
Yamanashi, Masaaki 19
yawning 47–8
Zimbardo, Phil 145, 146, 148, 149
Zoolander, Derek 51, 52