Basic instinct : the genesis of behavior / Mark S. Blumberg.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Blumberg, Mark Samuel, 1961-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Instinct.

Evolutionary psychology.

Human behavior.

Physical Description:

xvi, 261 pages ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Thunder's Mouth Press, [2005]

Summary:

A panicked mother runs through highway traffic to save her wandering child. A green turtle swims hundreds of miles to return to the beach on which it was hatched. Your child utters her first word. Have you ever wondered what causes you to react in a certain way to a certain situation...and if you would react differently under different circumstances?

From Charles Darwin to Malcolm Gladwell, writers and scientists have been fascinated by what prompts us to make snap decisions. In Basic Instinct, award-winning neuroscientist Mark S. Blumberg provides readers with a logical perspective that does not rely on the cliched explanations that have become so prevalent among scientists and laypeople alike. Blumberg delves into the debate between the nativists and evolutionary psychologists, who believe we are born with an instinctive knowledge about the world, and the epigeneticists, who believe that instincts are built a new in each of us generation after generation. The result is an entertaining and balanced examination of the role of genes, experience, and evolution in the construction of behavior.

Contents:

1 A Herd Mentality 1

2 Designer Thinking 19

3 Spooky 35

4 Boundary Issues 49

5 Developing an Instinct 81

6 Of Human Bondage 111

7 The Nativists Are Restless 149

8 Straying from the Herd 203.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [239]-251) and index.

ISBN:

1560256591 :

OCLC:

61256586