“Contrary
to conventional wisdom that humans are essentially selfish,scientists are
finding that the brain is built for generosity”
By: Elizabeth Svoboda
Published: The Wall Street
Journal, The Saturday Essay, August 31, 2013, www.wsj.com
Alternatively, google the title and writer’s name.
Level of Difficulty: ***
BEFORE YOU READ
QUESTIONS
1.
What view is supported by Darwinism and economic theory but
not completely by the latest science?
2.
What does “This” refer to in the phrase “This represents a
new scientific frontier”?
3.
In attempting to explain altruism, scientists linked the
feeling to
·
A form of selfishness
·
Family protection
·
Social welbeing
·
All of the above
·
None of the above
·
Other : please specify
4.
The veterans Dr. Grafman studied in the 1980’s seemed to have
the lost the feelings of ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
5.
Read Dr. Grafman’s study with 19 subjects carefully. What
important observation was made during the experiment? What conclusion can we
draw from this experiment?
6.
What was the second important finding made during the
experiment and what conclusion can we draw from it?
7.
How did Dr. Grafman reach the conclusion that the anterior
prefrontal cortex is affective in complex judgements and decision making?
8.
Read Bill Harbaugh’s experiment carefully to the end. Now
answer the following questions:
·
At the beginning, the researcher decided that people engage
in altruistic behavior because…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
·
Was this view proved, partially proved or disproved by
experiments with the MRI scanner?
·
In what respect did the observations made during the
experiment correspond to Dr. Grafman’s?
·
How does the above observation impact real life decision
making?
9.
According to what criterium did Dr. Harbaugh categorize
people?
10.
Why could some people be categorized as “dedicated altruists”?
11.
Read the paragraph beginning “On balance…” carefully. Which
of the following statements is / are true according to this paragraph?
·
We don’t often come across pure altruism.
·
We can never be sure that an act of generosity is purely
altruistic.
·
Level of self satisfaction is not linked to altruism
·
All of the above
·
None of the above
·
Other: please specify
12.
What does “this technique” in the phrase “using this
techniques” refer to?
13.
Dr. Deisseroth’s experiments proved that behaviour
modification is possible / isn’t possible.
14.
Linking generosity solely to biological factors is a mistake
because ……………………………are/is overlooked.
15.
Dr. Harbaugh has a possible answer to the issue of increasing
generosity. It is…………………….
WRITING TASK
Use the information
you gleaned from the text and the suggested plan below to write an essay in
which you discuss the reasons why people act generously.
In your introduction, introduce the concept of
communal living and the values upheld in
society. Introduce generosity as one of these desirable characteristics and
explain what it entails. End with a thesis statement in which you state there
are three categories of reasons for generosity.
In the first developmental paragraph, discuss the
biological explanation. Explain that we feel actual pleasure as a result of
generosity. Refer to the text.
In your second developmental paragraraph, discuss
environmental influences: looking good, gaining social leverage, helping
individuals improve their prospects by contributing to the welbeing of a strong
collective(text).Give examples.
In your third developmental paragraph, discuss
individual initiative: ensuring the survival of kin, pure altruism. Give
examples.
In your conclusion, explain that generosity is
highly desirable and that people can be made more generous. Refer to the text.
HARD WIRED FOR GIVING KEY AND TEACHER’S NOTES
It is very rare that I am able to find a text which is
written in such a way that serious careful reading questions become possible.
This is one such text. The Saturday essays in the Wall Street Journal are
always a treasure trove but this is a little gem because it is interesting,
well written and has all the twists and turns someone writing questions loves
to see. The bonus is that there is a brilliant writing task to follow.
1.
Survival of the fittest or the self centered theory
2.
Biological hardware that makes altruism possible
3.
All of the above
4.
Generosity and empathy (= caring what other people had to
say)
5.
When people made the decision to donate to what they felt was
a worthy organization,parts of the midbrain, the same region that controls
cravings for food and sex… ; giving is actually inherently rewarding (the rest
is optional).
6.
The subgenual area was also strongly active when his study
subjects made the decision to give to charity; altruism and social relations
are intimitaly connected.
7.
This area lit up when the subjects were willing to give even
when they knew it would cost them
8.
They expect some tangible reward; partially proved( the econ 101 model still stood but it was
no longer the only reason: the biological
reason was also valid);similar observations were made concerning the area
of the brain that was active or a similar phrase; people give to charity not
only because they think it is a good thing to do but also because giving makes
them feel good.
9.
According to their amount of nucleus accumbens activation.
The next sentence is what the doctor surmised.
10.
They were willing to give because they knew it would help
others even if giving didn’t make them feel all that great.
11.
1 and 2
12. Activating and
deactivating the cells by snaking an optical fiber into a mouse’s brain and
turning on the light. You might want to
stop and discuss or think about this and wether it should be applied to humans
13.
Is possible
14.
Environmental influences and individual initiative
15.
Giving relatively small amounts of money to charity to start
with…
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