Curious behavior : yawning, laughing, hiccupping, and beyond / Robert R. Provine.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Provine, Robert R.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Human behavior.

Human biology.

Neuropsychology.

Evolutionary psychology.

Physical Description:

vii, 271 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. : Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2012.

Summary:

The kinds of reflexive behaviors people rarely think about, and are often embarassed by, are the topic of this entertaining popular book by Robert R. Provine (psychology and neuroscience, U. of Maryland, Baltimore County). Provine devotes a chapter to each behavior: yawning, laughing, crying out loud, tearing up, coughing, sneezing, hiccupping, vomiting, tickling, itching and scratching, and farting and belching. He throws in a couple of other categories: the fact that humans have visible whites to our eyes (most mammals do not), and the behavior of fetuses in the womb. The primary goal of the book is to entertain readers with facts about human biology. However, Provine has a basic neuroscientific interest, which he defines as "the behavioral keyboard." By looking at reaction times for these reflexive behaviors, whether we can perform them on command, and how long it takes us to do so, he hopes to understand more about the basic instinctual range of human behavior. Similarly, he hopes to learn more about instinctual human behaviors by looking at fetal behavior. General readers interested in life science, and readers who enjoy books on strange customs or outré stories (La Petomaine, the famous French farting performer), will find this book an entertaining read. Belknap Press is an imprint of Harvard U. Press. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Contents:

Introduction

Yawning

Laughing

Vocal crying

Emotional tears

Whites of the eyes

Coughing

Sneezing

Hiccupping

Vomiting and nausea

Tickling

Itching and scratching

Farting and belching

Prenatal behavior.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780674048515

0674048512

OCLC:

781432102