amygdala

The amygdala is the part of the brain that warns about physical risk, that signals not to let people stand too close. Research published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences discovered the amygdala also warns about financial risk. Two women with damaged amygdalas played a gambling game with several people with normal brains. Those with normal brains were reluctant to risk money even with odds in their favor. The two women, however, were extreme risk takers - which makes one wonder about the amygdalas of bankers involved in 2008's government bailout.

Perhaps the bankers' offices were dimly lit. Dim light can make people dishonest. In a study published in the journal Psychological Science, 84 college students were put in a dimly-lit or a well-lit room and each was given 2 envelopes - one containing $10 and one empty. The students then had 5 minutes for a numbers test. They scored the tests themselves and put $0.50 in the empty envelope for each correct answer. Although both groups tested the same, those in the dimly-lit room cheated more - resulting in an average of 3.7 more "correct" answers, an extra $1.85 and a dim view of honesty.

Boredom can be viewed as a health hazard. According to an article in the International Journal of Epidemiology, people who are bored aren't likely to eat well or exercise. In fact, boredom is a symptom of risky behaviors like drinking, smoking and taking drugs. It's also a symptom of depression. Boredom linked to depression is recognized as a risk factor for heart disease. Boredom is linked to anger suppression too, which raises blood pressure and lowers immune system effectiveness. Boredom can also release hormones that are stressful to the heart. Obviously, not trying to prevent boredom qualifies as "boredumb". <

Good deeds aren't boring and other peoples' good deeds can inspire us to be better people. Another study published in the journal Psychological Science had 36 women individually watch a video clip of an Oprah good deed, a nature documentary or a comedy show. After each woman was told she could leave because the research computer wasn't working, each was asked if she'd help the researcher by filling out an admittedly boring questionnaire for another study, stopping whenever she wanted. Those who had watched the Oprah clip spent twice as long on the questionnaire. It seems good deeds are inspirational indeed.