PSYC 471 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Amygdala, Nucleus Accumbens, Substance Abuse
11 Dec 2015
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The one day where loss of self- control becomes a virtue. People are granted permission to shamelessly indulge their desires the day before a season of self- sacrifice and fasting begins. Psychologists think perhaps people could store up the willpower necessary to sustain themselves through weeks of self- denial. Three conditions of participants that were waiting to complete a task. Boring magazine group, milk shake group and low fat glop group (ranked less pleasurable than the magazine) Both milkshake and low fat glop restored will power for the next task. The theory: it was the calories (from the milkshake, from the glop), not the pleasure of doing something before you restrict yourself. The brain requires a lot of glucose in the bloodstream to function properly. There is a link between hypoglycemic people (low blood sugar levels) and low self-control (also less happy and more anxious than average).
