Getting revenge triggers enjoyment center of brain

Train

Lifer
Jun 22, 2000
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www.bing.com
Go on, make my day if you dare play dirty

Dirty Harry was right. Revenge really is so satisfying it can make your day, a new brain scanning study has revealed.

To unravel the complex emotion of schadenfreude, Swiss researchers monitored men dishing out punishment to strangers who had betrayed their trust in a game involving real money. They found that getting revenge activated a brain region related to enjoyment.

In the test, one man would give a stranger a sum of money which was then quadrupled. The recipient could reciprocate and hand half of it back to the first man. If he was untrustworthy and kept it all, the first man could punish him by reducing his payout. Most of the players chose to penalise the selfish men even if it meant they had to give up some of their own money.

Dominique de Quervain, of the University of Zurich, said his team's research helped explain why humans had evolved a level of co-operation unmatched in the animal world.

"Our findings support the hypothesis that people derive satisfaction from punishing norm violations," he wrote in the journal Science.

The study is part of a new brain imaging technique aimed at understanding social behaviour and moral emotions
 

BaliBabyDoc

Lifer
Jan 20, 2001
10,737
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I would hazard to say "not letting a troll enter traffic" or applying a "civic fine" to malcontents isn't comparable to killing someone.
 

conjur

No Lifer
Jun 7, 2001
58,686
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So that explains why Bush is so happy-looking all the time...exacting revenge on Saddam for his dad. ;)
 

jjzelinski

Diamond Member
Aug 23, 2004
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I think the entire premise of this administration is revenge on the American people for putting Clinton in office for eight years.
 

Genesys

Golden Member
Nov 10, 2003
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Originally posted by: conjur
So that explains why Bush is so happy-looking all the time...exacting revenge on Saddam for his dad. ;)

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
 

zephyrprime

Diamond Member
Feb 18, 2001
7,512
2
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I love it when they have a research study that demonstrates something that was already obvious.
 

jjzelinski

Diamond Member
Aug 23, 2004
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******NEWSFLASH******
-- Courtesy of Faux News

Scientists have just discoved that death is unhealthy, and excessive amounts can be lethal!
More to come from the News Channel you Trust.
 

jjzelinski

Diamond Member
Aug 23, 2004
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9 out of 10 doctors agree, regular breathing improves skin tone and helps prevent stiffness.
 

zephyrprime

Diamond Member
Feb 18, 2001
7,512
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Originally posted by: Train
half of americans are 50% of the population!
How is it that a single group ever managed to gain so much popular support!?! Darn those halfers! They must be some sort of cult!
 

Genesys

Golden Member
Nov 10, 2003
1,536
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Originally posted by: jjzelinski
******NEWSFLASH******
-- Courtesy of Faux News

Scientists have just discoved that death is unhealthy, and excessive amounts can be lethal!
More to come from the News Channel you Trust.

damn guess i'll have to lay off on the deatharettes :(
 

Yo Ma Ma

Lifer
Jan 21, 2000
11,635
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Originally posted by: conjur
So that explains why Bush is so happy-looking all the time...exacting revenge on Saddam for his dad. ;)

...all this time I just thought it was the bran muffins doing their job.