Reuters: "Revenge Really Is Sweet, Study Shows"

[ReadTomPaine]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Revenge feels sweet, and Swiss researchers said on Thursday they have the brain scans to prove it.

In a study investigators said might help explain how social norms arose and regulate behavior, brain centers linked to enjoyment and satisfaction lit up in young men who punished others for cheating them.

...

"We scanned the subjects' brains while they learned about the defector's abuse of trust and determined the punishment," the researchers wrote.

The PET scans showed a clear pattern of activity in the brain's dorsal striatum, involved in experiencing satisfaction, when one player penalized the other for selfishness.

http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=scienceNews&storyID=6081826§ion=news

Interesting study!

ReadTomPaine

[MikeG]

1. But is it a dish best served cold?

Or with salad, maybe?

[stellanoir]

2. "living a really good life is

the best revenge."

[acmavm]

3. Paybacks are a bitch, but revenge is a m***** f******

Or so I've heard (a number of times).

[Journeyman]

4. "Anybody ever asks you what the sweetest thing in life is. . ."

said Paul Lazzaro, the rabid little car thief from Cicero, Illinois, "it's revenge."

Slaughterhouse Five, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (1968)

(Seems once again, literature is decades ahead of science.)

[Massacure]

5. So does this mean Bush is gonna lose?

;)

[ReadTomPaine]

7. No, but imagine the endorphin rush when he does...

Frankly I won’t feel ecstatic unless he’s disgraced or similarly drummed out of politics. If he loses, I often wonder what he’s going to do next. He’s not old, and he’s got ambitious handlers.

[happynewyear]

6. I got me some "accidental" sweet revenge yesterday

and god damn do I ever feel G R E A T !!!!!!!

:D

:dem: :kick:

[Xipe Totec]

8. I Always Thought Revenge Was Dark, Bitter

And satisfying...

...Like Guinness Stout.


:beer:

[DUreader]

9. You are right, it is both. This proves revenge is a 'mental illness'

[Radius]

10. Ever

see the tape of the guy who put a .38 slug in the brain of the man who sexually assualted his 7 year old. This happened in an airport terminal. Some people deserve what they get.

Or the guy who put a 15 rd magazine in the priest who raped him repeatedly, no charges filed..

If that was your kid or your life would you destroy someone?

[demoman123]

11. No shit Sherlock.

This study is another example of the painful elaboration of the obvious.

[Endangered Specie]

12. Do the Swiss have nothing better to do than...

state the obvious, and scan peoples brains? :shrug:

[jdj]

13. yeah, if they were like us, they'd do this experiment on rats

rabbits and dogs. That's REAL science.

[daleo]

14. I never know about this kind of research

I am sure if you scanned peoples' brains while in the process of forgiving someone, some brain center would light up too, very possibly the very same one. All this research seems to prove is the mental states have physical correlates in the brain. I haven't heard any theory of consciousness that denies this.

On edit - Even theories that include metaphysical entities like souls do not dispute the importance of the brain to mental phenomena. They just have a different interpretation of the interplay of mind and brain, and which of the two has priority.

[Nightowl_2004]

15. Interesting, But...

How much money did they spend, or waste actually, on this study? I think anybody's who ever dished out a nice serving of payback could tell you (for free) that Revenge is sweet!