How sex affects the way you spend

How sex drives your spending

Marketers know how to appeal to your emotions and hormones -- and can even create 'false memories' -- to make their products seem more desirable.

There's a reason casinos hire attractive women as waitresses, says Gad Saad, a professor of marketing at Concordia University in Montreal. It turns out -- surprise --that men respond in highly predictable ways when influenced by thoughts of sex. Populate a casino with the right servers, and men are likely to act in ways that penalize their wallets and boost the house's profits.

Saad, who studies how evolution has influenced human behavior, says that aroused men "engage in greater discounting." That's psych talk for short-term thinking. Men are also willing to take greater risks and exhibit what Saad calls "peacock behavior."

Our inner peacock

In the avian world, the peacock with the biggest, most colorful tail gets to mate. Flashing a wad of cash or sitting behind a big stack of chips is a way for the male of our species to show off his feathers. So a comely waitress brings out a man's short-term-thinking, risk-taking inner peacock, which plays right into the casino's bottom line as the customer makes big, wanton bets.

Saad, the author of "The Consuming Instinct: What Juicy Burgers, Ferraris, Pornography, and Gift Giving Reveal about Human Nature," specializes in studying about how evolution affects consumption. His goal is to explain how you behave when you buy things, and his insights can make you a better consumer.

Saad says that indulging in boy toys can actually change a man's chemistry. An experiment he conducted showed a rise in testosterone levels among men driving powerful and expensive sports cars. But men driving ordinary sedans showed no hormonal changes. (Factor that in before you buy a Porsche.)

Saad's simple prescription: Don't make financial decisions based on images that are still tugging on your emotions. But, he adds, although certain stimuli can have a powerful influence on behavior, "nothing is predetermined." You can overcome ingrained impulses by thinking rationally and carefully comparing your choices when shopping.

'Mad Men' manipulation

Tapping evolutionary impulses is just one way marketers manipulate our brains. Some recent experiments have shown that the right type of ad can implant memories of a product we've never tried -- or that may not even exist.

Consider an experiment involving Orville Redenbacher's Gourmet Fresh microwave popcorn, that buttery, salty staple of home theaters. A group of college students saw vivid images of happy people enjoying the popcorn and heard tempting descriptions of its taste. Another group saw relatively subdued print ads. Some students from both groups got to taste the stuff.

A week later, the students were quizzed about their experiences. Not surprisingly, those who had seen the low-key ads and hadn't tasted the popcorn reported that they'd never tried it. But many of those who hadn't tried the popcorn but had watched the vivid-image ads were certain they had tried it. By the way, the Gourmet Fresh variety doesn't exist. Subjects were given a real Redenbacher's product to sample.

Further, those who hadn't actually tasted the popcorn but were fed the slick ads rated the popcorn as just as delicious as those who had tried it. Says Nicole Montgomery, an assistant professor of marketing at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va., and one of the study's co-authors: "We were incredibly surprised by some of these effects. The fact that our memory is so fallible continues to fascinate us."

Other findings: You're more likely to create false memories if you're already familiar with a brand and have a favorable impression of it. Also, the more time that elapses after you see an ad, the more murky the message's source becomes, and so the more likely it is to insinuate itself into your memory.

Montgomery's takeaway: She tries to note how ads affect her. "My hope is, that helps me stave off some of these false-memory effects. I pay a lot more attention to what I'm buying, I'll tell you that.

Adapted from MSN Money

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War Dogs May Struggle With PTSD

After duty, dogs suffer like soldiers

At least 5 percent used in Iraq and Afghanistan struggle with PTSD

SAN ANTONIO — The call came into the behavior specialists here from a doctor in Afghanistan. His patient had just been through a firefight and now was cowering under a cot, refusing to come out.

Apparently even the chew toys hadn’t worked.

Dereck Stevens bonds with his military working dog
before a practice drill at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio.

Post-traumatic stress disorder, thought Dr. Walter F. Burghardt Jr., chief of behavioral medicine at the Daniel E. Holland Military Working Dog Hospital at Lackland Air Force Base. Specifically, canine PTSD.

If anyone needed evidence of the frontline role played by dogs in war these days, here is the latest: the four-legged, wet-nosed troops used to sniff out mines, track down enemy fighters and clear buildings are struggling with the mental strains of combat nearly as much as their human counterparts.

By some estimates, more than 5 percent of the approximately 650 military dogs deployed by American combat forces are developing canine PTSD. Of those, about half are likely to be retired from service, Dr. Burghardt said.

Daily Nightly: Battlefield pooches get rewarded for loyalty

Though veterinarians have long diagnosed behavioral problems in animals, the concept of canine PTSD is only about 18 months old, and still being debated. But it has gained vogue among military veterinarians, who have been seeing patterns of troubling behavior among dogs exposed to explosions, gunfire and other combat-related violence in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Like humans with the analogous disorder, different dogs show different symptoms. Some become hyper-vigilant. Others avoid buildings or work areas that they had previously been comfortable in. Some undergo sharp changes in temperament, becoming unusually aggressive with their handlers, or clingy and timid. Most crucially, many stop doing the tasks they were trained to perform.

“If the dog is trained to find improvised explosives and it looks like it’s working, but isn’t, it’s not just the dog that’s at risk,” Dr. Burghardt said. “This is a human health issue as well.”

That the military is taking a serious interest in canine PTSD underscores the importance of working dogs in the current wars. Once used primarily as furry sentries, military dogs — most are German shepherds, followed by Belgian Malinois and Labrador retrievers — have branched out into an array of specialized tasks.

They are widely considered the most effective tools for detecting the improvised explosive devices, or I.E.D.’s, frequently used in Afghanistan. Typically made from fertilizer and chemicals, and containing little or no metal, those buried bombs can be nearly impossible to find with standard mine-sweeping instruments. In the past three years, I.E.D.’s have become the major cause of casualties in Afghanistan.

The Marine Corps also has begun using specially trained dogs to track Taliban fighters and bomb-makers. And Special Operations commandos train their own dogs to accompany elite teams on secret missions like the Navy SEAL raid that led to the killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. Across all the forces, more than 50 military dogs have been killed since 2005.

The number of working dogs on active duty has risen to 2,700, from 1,800 in 2001, and the training school headquartered here at Lackland has gotten busy, preparing about 500 dogs a year. So has the Holland hospital, the Pentagon’s canine version of Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Dr. Burghardt, a lanky 59-year-old who retired last year from the Air Force as a colonel, rarely sees his PTSD patients in the flesh. Consultations with veterinarians in the field are generally done by phone, e-mail or Skype, and often involve video documentation.

In a series of videos that Dr. Burghardt uses to train veterinarians to spot canine PTSD, one shepherd barks wildly at the sound of gunfire that it had once tolerated in silence. Another can be seen confidently inspecting the interior of cars but then refusing to go inside a bus or a building. Another sits listlessly on a barrier wall, then after finally responding to its handler’s summons, runs away from a group of Afghan soldiers.

In each case, Dr. Burghardt theorizes, the dogs were using an object, vehicle or person as a “cue” for some violence they had witnessed. “If you want to put doggy thoughts into their heads,” he said, “the dog is thinking: when I see this kind of individual, things go boom, and I’m distressed.”

Treatment can be tricky. Since the patient cannot explain what is wrong, veterinarians and handlers must make educated guesses about the traumatizing events. Care can be as simple as taking a dog off patrol and giving it lots of exercise, playtime and gentle obedience training.

More serious cases will receive what Dr. Burghardt calls “desensitization counterconditioning,” which entails exposing the dog at a safe distance to a sight or sound that might set off a reaction — a gunshot, a loud bang or a vehicle, for instance. If the dog does not react, it is rewarded, and the trigger — “the spider in a glass box,” Dr. Burghardt calls it — is moved progressively closer.

Gina, a shepherd with PTSD who was the subject of news articleslast year, was successfully treated with desensitization and has been cleared to deploy again, said Tech. Sgt. Amanda Callahan, a spokeswoman at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado.

Some dogs are also treated with the same medications used to fight panic attacks in humans. Dr. Burghardt asserts that medications seem particularly effective when administered soon after traumatizing events. The Labrador retriever that cowered under a cot after a firefight, for instance, was given Xanax, an anti-anxiety drug, and within days was working well again.

Dogs that do not recover quickly are returned to their home bases for longer-term treatment. But if they continue to show symptoms after three months, they are usually retired or transferred to different duties, Dr. Burghardt said.

As with humans, there is much debate about treatment, with little research yet to guide veterinarians. Lee Charles Kelley, a dog trainer who writes a blog for Psychology Today called “My Puppy, My Self,”says medications should be used only as a stopgap. “We don’t even know how they work in people,” he said.

In the civilian dog world, a growing number of animal behaviorists seem to be endorsing the concept of canine PTSD, saying it also affects household pets who experience car accidents and even less traumatic events.

Dr. Nicholas H. Dodman, director of the animal behavior clinic at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tuft University, said he had written about and treated dogs with PTSD-like symptoms for years — but did not call it PTSD until recently. Asked if the disorder could be cured, Dr. Dodman said probably not.

“It is more management,” he said. “Dogs never forget.”

Quoted from MSNBC

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The Greatest Mass Migrations That Leave Us Awestruck

These are 10 great migrations that leave us awestruck;

1. Great Migrations: Wildebeest

Seeing just one animal in the wild can be a unique experience; seeing thousands moving at one time is unforgettable. Here are 10 of nature’s greatest animal spectacles.

Text by Heidi Schuessler, Bing Travel; photo editing by Connie Ricca.

One of nature’s greatest spectacles is the migration of 1.5 million wildebeest as they move from the Masai Mara in Kenya to the plains of the Serengeti, near the Ngorongoro Crater. While drought often forces them to start moving in May or June, their journey is virtually continuous as they travel constantly in search of food and greener pastures. Safari companies in Kenya and Tanzania build trips around viewing the “great migration,” and to see the wildebeest crossing the Mara River en masse is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. 

2. Great Migrations: Monarch butterflies

Thin wings and daunting distances can’t hamper the annual winter migration of monarch butterflies to their two wintering grounds in California and Mexico. Butterflies west of the Rockies flit their way to the eucalyptus forests of southern California between October and February; towns good for viewing include Pismo Beach, Santa Cruz and Malibu. Butterflies from east of the Rockies migrate 2,500 miles to the oyamel forests of Michoacan, Mexico, and flock in such great number to the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve and El Rosario Sanctuary that the trees bend with their weight. Each year more than 200 million colorful monarchs make the perilous journey, made more difficult by destruction of habitat and drought in Texas.

3. Great Migrations: Polar bears

Each October, approximately 1,000 polar bears converge on the small town of Churchill, Manitoba, while they wait for the Hudson Bay to freeze over. Once it does, the bears walk more than 100 miles over the ice in their hunt for seals. The migration typically lasts through the end of November and makes a fabulous sight for tourists who trek to the barren tundra in hopes of sighting the white bears, usually from the safety of tundra buggies. If you can’t make it to Churchill, you can now watch the migration via streaming webcam.

4. Great Migrations: Caribou

The Porcupine caribou herd in Alaska is 150,000 animals strong, and each year the herd travels more than 400 miles between its winter grounds — in the Brooks Range and Canadian Yukon — and its summer calving ground in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The animals spend November to April foraging for food below the tree line, sometimes in temperatures as low as minus 58 degrees Fahrenheit. In spring, the pregnant cows start to move north to the calving grounds, followed by the bulls in June. The entire herd is always on the move, sometimes just to find a breezy spot where they can escape summer’s pesky mosquitoes. By September, the weather turns cool again and the animals start moving south to start the cycle over again. Migration routes vary each year, but towns like Kotzebue and Arctic Village, Alaska, are sometimes good places to spot caribou.

5. Great Migrations: Gray whales

The longest migration of any mammal on Earth belongs to the gray whale, which travels up to 7,000 miles — one way — from Alaska’s Bering and Chuchki seas, where food is plentiful, to the coast of Baja California. The whales begin moving south in October and travel along the Pacific Coast for up to three months — they’re slow swimmers, covering about five miles a day — before they reach the warm waters of San Ignacio Lagoon. The calves are born there, typically in late December and January, and in February the cycle starts all over again: The males start traveling north, followed soon after by the females and newborn calves. Whale-watching is popular all along the coast; tours are available in San Diego (January to February), to central Oregon (late March) and Washington (April to May).

6. Great Migrations: Red Crab

Australia’s Christmas Island National Park covers more than half of this tropical island in the Indian Ocean. The park is home to the Abbott's booby, the rare frigate bird — and 50 million red crabs. When these bright crustaceans migrate from the inland forests to the coast to breed, they move in such large numbers that roads around the island are closed to let them pass safely. Local conservationists have also created crab bridges and crab crossings to help them in their journey, which coincides with the start of the rainy season in October or November.

7. Great Migrations: American Bison

Yellowstone National Park is home to 3,700 American bison that migrate from the high plateaus in winter to lower grasslands in search of food. Encountering a 2,000-pound bull in the wild is an exciting part of any Yellowstone visit, and according to the National Park Service, Yellowstone is the only place in America where bison have lived continuously since prehistoric times. Unfortunately, the bison are at the center of an ongoing controversy. During harsh winters, they will often migrate beyond the park into neighboring lands, and the park service says, “Bison require special attention because many have been exposed to the bacteria that causes brucellosis, a disease that also infects domestic cattle.” Yellowstone’s two herds can be typically seen in the Lamar Valley, Upper and Lower Geyser Basins and Hayden Valley.

8. Great Migrations: Zebras

In Africa, the wildebeest migration often gets top billing for safari-goers’ bucket list, but Botswana’s zebra migration comes in a close second. Makgadikgadi National Park and Nxai Pan National Park are where visitors can see up to 25,000 zebras as they move in search of water during the dry season. From about June to September the animals leave the dry salt pans and congregate around water sources such as the Boteti River flowing from the Okavango Delta. Seasonal rains bring other animals as well, such as the greater flamingo, in large numbers.

9. Great Migrations: Ruby-throated hummingbird

Hummingbirds are amazing birds, and not just because they’re so small and beat their wings 53 times each second. The ruby-throated species is migratory, making its way from breeding grounds in Canada and the eastern United States to wintering grounds in southern Mexico and Central America. The jewel-colored birds (see photos) fatten up to fuel their flight, which usually includes a dangerous stretch over the open water of the Gulf of Mexico. Ruby-throated hummingbirds are mostly gone from the U.S. by late September, only to return again starting in February. (Some are visible in Florida year-round.)

10. Great Migrations: Pacific salmon

Talk about the circle of life: Pacific salmon begin their lives in fresh water, migrate to the ocean as adults, then return to their native freshwater streams to spawn and die. In the Pacific Northwest, British Columbia and Alaska, salmon of various species make the journey — sometimes as far as 2,000 miles — to fulfill their life cycle. Travelers to southeast Alaska towns of Sitka, Ketchikan, Juneau and others can watch massive king salmon returning to freshwater streams and rivers between May and July; silver, or coho, salmon run in the southeast from July to November.

Sources : Bing

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Can the Packers Pull Off a Perfect Season?

Who stands between Green Bay and 16-0

Green Bay will take an 11-0 record into December.

If this happened a few years ago, the 1972 Miami Dolphins might have started to sweat a little. Media hoopla about whether the Packers can complete a perfect season would also be much higher.

Blame the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts for killing that buzz.

The 2007 Patriots already accomplished what some thought impossible in today’s parity-driven NFL — a 16-0 regular-season record. The 2009 Colts had a chance to match the mark when opening 14-0. But unlike a Patriots team that was pursuing perfection and didn’t want to risk losing momentum entering the postseason, Indianapolis management decided to rest starters for the playoffs and the Colts lost their final two contests.

Each franchise’s individual approach paid dividends as the Patriots and Colts ultimately reached the Super Bowl. They also both lost in the championship game, with New England’s chance for perfection ending against the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII.

During an interview with FOXSports.com last week, Packers head coach Mike McCarthy wouldn’t reveal how he will handle his starters during the final regular-season games if Green Bay is still undefeated and has already clinched the NFC’s No. 1 playoff seed. Based upon how the Packers have played so far, McCarthy may soon have a tough decision to make.

Green Bay has yet to trail in the fourth quarter this season. The Packers are averaging a league-high 34.7 points a game. Aaron Rodgers is on pace for arguably the greatest quarterbacking season in NFL history. Problems on pass defense are mitigated by Green Bay’s NFL-high 22 interceptions. The franchise has won 17 consecutive games dating to last season.

Making all this even more impressive: The Packers are rolling despite being the NFL’s most targeted team as defending Super Bowl champion.

Five upcoming opponents — the New York Giants, Oakland, Kansas City, Chicago and Detroit — stand in the way of Green Bay entering the playoffs at 16-0. Allowing that plenty can and likely will change in the NFL over the next five weeks, here are the keys to victories for the only teams that can knock the Pack back into the pack.

1. At the New York Giants (4:15 p.m. Sunday, FOX): New York has a history of ruining undefeated seasons. Not only did they top the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII, the Giants gave the 1998 Denver Broncos their first loss after a 13-0 start. Just like in that upset of New England, New York’s chances of winning Sunday are tied to its fierce pass rush. The Packers will likely have to protect Rodgers without the services of two injured starting offensive linemen — left tackle Chad Clifton (hamstring) and right guard Josh Sitton (knee). Rodgers has gotten sacked 23 times this season, which is tied for the league’s fifth highest total.

2. Oakland (Dec. 11): The Raiders enter Sunday’s matchup at Miami on a three-game winning streak since Carson Palmer settled in at quarterback. But the key to upending the Packers will be the running game. Oakland ranks fourth in the NFL with a 149.2-yard average even without the services of Darren McFadden. He may be back for the Packers game after missing the past four contests with a sprained foot. If not, the Raiders are still dangerous on the ground thanks to backup Michael Bush. As Tampa Bay’s LeGarrette Blount proved with his 18-carry, 107-yard effort in a Week 10 loss to Green Bay, a bruiser like Bush may be able to have success between the tackles and allow Oakland to control the clock. The latter is a must against an offense as potent as Green Bay’s.

3. At Kansas City (Dec. 18; FOX): With the Chiefs (4-7) unlikely to reach the playoffs, this game will serve as Kansas City’s Super Bowl. Kyle Orton, claimed off waivers last week from Denver, will likely be starting at quarterback by then in place of the ineffective Tyler Palko. Although he won’t be completely comfortable with Kansas City’s offense and receiving targets, Orton does have the benefit of familiarity with Green Bay’s defense. He started against the Packers in a 49-23 loss in Week 4 while with the Broncos. Orton had three touchdowns and three interceptions in a 22-of-32, 273-yard effort.

4. Chicago (Dec. 25): The perfect Christmas gift for the Bears would be the early return of quarterback Jay Cutler from thumb surgery. But unless Cutler heals quicker than expected, the Bears are likely relegated to starting backup Caleb Hanie. The Packers sealed last season’s NFC Championship Game win last season when defensive lineman B.J. Raji returned a Hanie interception for a touchdown with Cutler (knee) on the bench. No matter who is at quarterback, expect a much better defensive effort from the Bears than during their 27-17 home loss to Green Bay in Week 3.

5. Detroit (Jan. 1): The spotlight will be on Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, who was ejected for stomping a Packers offensive lineman in the third quarter of last Thursday’s 27-15 loss to Green Bay. The Lions quickly unraveled after Suh’s departure, with the Packers scoring two quick touchdowns to take a 21-0 lead. Detroit, though, will enter this rematch knowing they stood toe-to-toe with the Packers for the entire first half. With the Packers concerned about stopping Detroit’s high-powered passing attack, Lions running back Kevin Smith gouged Green Bay for 36 yards on seven carries before suffering a high ankle sprain late in the first quarter. Smith, the best option on a team decimated by running back injuries, should be healthy for this Week 17 matchup.

Adapted from Foxsport

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