Bruce Hood - The Self Illusion

I am indebted to those who understand this and have helped me shape the book. I would particularly like to thank my agent Robert Kirby, not only for his professional input, but also for his support during my moments of doubt. Also I would like to thank my US agent Zoë Pagnamenta for taking on a difficult task. My UK editor Andreas Campomar ignited the idea and has been enthusiastically supportive. I hope it does not blow up in our faces. Joan Bossert (OUP US) gave me some great ideas to develop and Jim Gifford (Harper Collins Canada) pointed out the dangers of my boyish tendencies. I would like to thank the friends, colleagues and students who have read earlier drafts and provided invaluable feedback and support. These include (in alphabetical order) Sara Baker, Sue Blackmore, Paul Bloom, Katy Donnelly, Teobesta Tesfa Endrias, Iain Gilchrist, Nathalia Gjersoe, Shoji Itakura, Monica Jensen, Cristine Legare, Kate Longstaffe, George Newman and Arnoud Van Voorst.

I would like to acknowledge the support of the various funding agencies that have supported me and my research over the past three years that have enabled me to write this book. These include the Economic and Social Research Council of the UK, the Leverhulme trust, the Bial foundation and the Perrott-Warwick Fund.

This book is dedicated to Kim who has had to endure this particular chaotic bundle. Without her, I would have come apart years ago.

Index

Page numbers in italic refer to illustrations

Abu Ghraib prison 149–50, 163

abusive relationships 43, 74

adaptation 125, 141

Adcock, Paul 207

addiction 77, 106, 110, 128, 202, 203, 204, 205

adolescence xiii, 52, 68–9, 189, 190, 191

advertising and marketing 113

Aesop’s fables 115, 116, 123

aggression 8, 32, 72–4, 76, 77, 85–6, 209

Aikins, Deane 162

Ainsworth, Mary 36

alcohol 33, 79, 106, 194

alien hand syndrome 95

Allman, John 67

Alzheimer’s disease 33, 75

amblyopia 16

amygdala 33, 37, 85, 86, 162

analysis paralysis 123, 197

Anderson, Terry 31

anencephalic babies 13–14

animals

brains 21, 43

deprivation studies 16, 28, 42, 43

laughter 31–2

learned helplessness 121–2

Pavlovian conditioning 203

self-recognition 53

anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) 66, 104, 139

anthropomorphism 62

antisocial behaviour 36, 42, 50, 74, 75, 137

Arendt, Hannah 150

Ariely, Dan 124, 125, 127, 128

Armstrong, Lance 192

arousal 135, 162

see also sexual arousal

Asch, Solomon 143, 144, 146, 149

attachment behaviour 34, 35–8, 41, 132, 173

attention deficity hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) 79

Audition (film) 105–6, 108

authoritarianism 144, 146, 148, 149

authorship of action 93–5, 97, 98–9

autism 40, 64–6, 67, 194, 195, 202

autobiographical memories 57, 166, 168, 175

axons 5

babies

anencephalic babies 13–14

blank slate thesis xii, 25

blind and deaf babies 30

brain development 10, 14, 17, 28, 29–30, 42, 43

conscious awareness 23–4

eye movements 10, 213

facial recognition 27

imitative behaviour 28–9, 34, 44–5, 152

infant memories 54, 55, 56

language learning 18, 19, 20

laughter 31

Machiavellian baby 29, 35

mirror test 53–4, 54 , 60, 61, 215

mother–infant attachment 34, 35–8

premature babies 42, 43

reflexes 13

self-recognition 53–4, 61

smiling 29–30

social development 33–4, 34–7, 39–40

see also children

baby training 19–20

babyness 34

Baggini, Julian 110

Baldwin, James Mark 25

Bale, Mary 88

banality of evil 150

Bargh, John 153

Barnum effect 172–3

Baron-Cohen, Simon 202

Bartlett, Sir Frederick 58, 176

basal ganglia 104

bats 23

Baumeister, Roy 106, 107, 108

Beckham, David 102

behaviourism 203

Belk, Russell 130

Bell, Vaughan 137

Berners-Lee, Tim 195

beta-blockers 162–3

Bianchi, Ken 177–8

Big-Five factors of personality 173–4

Bin Laden, Osama 200

binary code 4–5

Bishop, Dorothy 195

Blackmore, Susan viii

bladder control 108–9

Blakemore, Sarah-Jayne 68–9

blogging 202

Bloom, Paul 82, 208

Bogacz, Gerry 163, 164

bondage, discipline, sadism and masochism (BDSM) 180

Borg 197–8

Botox 46

Bowlby, John 36, 41, 76

boyd, danah 198

brain

anatomy 1, 2, 4–5, 8

coordinated functions x, 10

gender differences 71

hemispheres 95–6, 169–70

mirroring system 99, 151

the modelling brain xi, xii, 2–3, 213

neural connectivity 4, 5–8, 9, 13, 14–15, 15 , 18, 27, 57, 67, 77, 90, 92, 194, 216

organization 8–13, 9 , 14

parallel processing 6–7, 92, 214

size and weight 14, 20–1, 27

specialization 8, 21, 22

brain damage x, 13–14, 16, 33, 40, 95, 96

brain death 52

brain development 10, 14, 16–17, 28, 29–30, 42, 43, 214

critical (sensitive) periods 17, 19

brain plasticity 17, 18, 19, 20, 28, 158, 194

brain stem 8, 77

brand identities 130

Brinkley, Linda 206, 208

Bruer, John 20

Buddhism ix

bullying 138, 193

bundle theory ix, x

Cartesian Theatre 12

caudeate nucleus (CN) 104–5

celebrity culture 188–9, 192–3

cerebellum 9

Chabris, Chris 59

chameleon effect 151, 153

change blindness 157

children

ADHD 79

childhood memories 175–6

cultural differences 158–9

extended childhood 25, 26

feral 38–40

impulsivity 77–8, 79

object attachment 128

self-control 77–8, 79–80

social development xii–xiii, 22, 190, 194–5, 214

theory of mind 62, 63–4, 65, 68, 168

see also babies

chimpanzees 21, 32, 44, 61, 62

choice

analysis paralysis 123, 197

paradox of 123

perception of 121, 122–3, 124

Christakis, Nicholas 184, 185

chromosomes 69–70, 73, 74

Clinton, Bill 19

clustering 200

cognition 158

cognitive dissonance 116–17, 150, 160, 169, 174, 217

Cohen, June 195–6

collectivism 155, 156, 159, 175, 176

colonoscopy 126

combat troops 53, 153, 162–3

comfort eating 139

communication 16, 22, 26, 186

see also Internet; social networking; the Web

compliance 139, 143–4, 146, 147–9, 193, 197, 217

compulsions see obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

conditioning 203–4

confabulation 58, 60, 169, 171

conformity see compliance

conscious awareness xi, 94, 126

construction of the self xiii, 34, 82

influences on xii, xiv, 3, 50, 82, 181, 193–4, 215–16, 216

control, illusion of 114, 115, 117, 121, 122, 175, 218

Cool Hand Luke (film) 146

Cooley, Charles Horton 51

coprolalia 49

core self see essential self

corpus callosum 71, 96, 169

cortex 5, 7, 8, 9, 13, 14, 20, 21, 22, 43, 66, 76, 93, 201

cortical suppression 33

cortisol 35

Cotard’s syndrome 52

counterfactuals 64

criminality 77, 86–8

crowds 183–4

see also herd mentality

crows 26

cultural stereotypes 133, 154–9, 175–6

Cyberball 138–9

Darwin, Charles 30, 53

death delusion 52

decision-making 91, 93, 123–4, 197, 217–18

external influences on 113, 117, 127, 133

justification of 114–15

loss aversion 119, 131, 132

relativity in 124–5

see also choice; compliance