readings in psychology for november 25th 2010

Happy Thanksgiving! Does anyone need help knowing what this is a picture of?

Here are a few readings for Thanksgiving:

• animals are getting fatter , too!

“It’s no secret that obesity has become an epidemic in humans — among American adults, nearly one in three is obese, defined as having a Body Mass Index (BMI) greater than 30. Researchers have pointed their fingers at everything from a lack of physical activity to the highly processed foods that so many of us eat.”

• what women REALLY want!

“A male scientist says he’s discovered what makes women happy. It’s a hormone called oxytocin, says Paul Zak, a researcher at Claremont Graduate University. Zak presented evidence to back his case today at the Society for Neuroscience meeting in San Diego.Produced naturally in the body, oxytocin can trigger labor contractions and lactation in women. It’s also been shown to boost feelings of trust and empathy in both men and women.”

• the sex life of a fruit fly……. ZZzZzzZzZ

“Like most animals, fruit flies must distinguish between a potential mate and a potential competitor. When a male fruit fly suspects he’s encountered a female, he’ll court; when he senses the other is a male, he’ll fight. What triggers these sex-specific responses? According to new research by scientists at Harvard Medical School, the answer lies with both pheromonal profiles and behavioral patterns. The researchers investigated the effects of taste and action by manipulating a gene that governs both the sex specificity of a fruit fly’s body-surface hydrocarbons, or pheromones, and the sex-linked behavioral cues that issue through the dense nerve-cell network that constitutes the fly’s brain.”