<p>Who is the author of Behave?</p>

<p>Robert Sapolsky is the author of Behave.</p>

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Behave Book Summary - Behave Book explained in key points

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Behave summary

Name: Behave
Rating: 4.5 (324 reviews)
Author: Robert Sapolsky

Robert Sapolsky

The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst

4.5 (324 ratings)

22 mins

Brief summary

Behave by Robert Sapolsky explores the complex factors that shape human behavior, from biology to culture.
It provides a nuanced understanding of the influences on our actions and offers insights for creating a more compassionate society.

Topics

Neuroscience

Table of Contents

Behave
Summary of 9 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 9

What’s in it for me? Get a better sense of what causes and influences human behavior.

Have you ever found yourself asking, “why did I just do that?” Have you ever been shocked by your own callousness or by an inappropriate or vulgar thought running through your mind?

Well, human behavior is influenced by several different factors, some neurological and some environmental.

Some of these influences have developed over thousands of years of human history and civilization; others are chemical processes in the brain that take place milliseconds before a given behavioral act occurs. It turns out that behavior is indeed unique to the individual, but also very much dependent on the societies and cultures that make up the modern world.

In these blinks, we will explore some of the intricate factors that play a part in determining our all-too-human behavior.

You’ll also learn

why the liberal mind-set is actually just brain chemistry;
about the relationship between wheat and patent applications; and
which part of the brain is racist.

To understand human behavior, we must delve into the biology of the brain, culture and history.

The saying goes that everything happens for a reason, and whether or not you believe this to be the case when it comes to the events that unfold in a lifetime, it’s certainly a valid statement when it comes to grasping human behavior.

If we really want to get to grips with the factors that influence humanity's best and worst behaviors, we're going to have to delve deeply into human biology.

Immediately before a given behavior occurs – such as the shooting of a gun – the oldest parts of the human brain kick into gear. We inherited these regions of the brain from our evolutionary ancestors, and these very regions are the ones that process our most basic instincts, like the fear of death. This is just the sort of emotional impulse that might lead a person to pull a trigger.

But, in the seconds to minutes before the fatal moment occurs, the brain has been busy processing sensory data – particularly visual or auditory information – based on its immediate environment. This information from the senses impacts on how we act. In a war zone, for example, heightened sensory awareness of danger makes it much more likely that we'll act aggressively.

However, the brain’s response isn’t randomly generated. In fact, our behavioral biology is deeply intertwined with human society, culture and history.

Years to decades before a behavior takes place, we’ll have grown up in human societies that determine our behavior. Different societies will condition us to behave in different ways; in other words, we are more prone to violence if we were exposed and accustomed to constant violence earlier in our lives.

And if we go back hundreds to thousands of years, we’d find ancestral geographies and ecologies have affected human behavior, for better and for worse.

In short, if we’re going to get to the crux of the matter, we’re going to have to take an interdisciplinary approach to explain the complex origins of human behavior.

Two parts of the brain control aggression – and whether or not it's acted upon.

Right before an aggressive behavior takes place, the brain must make several split-second decisions. Two specific parts of the brain are critical in this process: the amygdala and the frontal cortex.

The amygdala is the region associated with aggressive behavior and fear. We know this because brain scans show activity in the amygdala when people are shown images that stimulate anger or fear.

Sensory cues in our immediate environment shape our behaviors.

Whether it’s the sight of a flashing blade or a light touch on your hand, the five senses are constantly sending information to the brain. These signals are known as sensory cues.

It turns out that visual cues, such as people’s faces, alter our perception of strangers and our attitudes toward them. Critically, it’s been proven that our brains are extremely attuned to skin color.

Hormones affect human behavior, but this influence is context-specific.

It’s well known that hormones are chemical messengers that affect different parts of the brain; they form in various glands and are released into the bloodstream. Just think of testosterone, which forms in the male testes or female ovaries.

But the relationship between hormones and behavior isn’t as simple as you might think.

Childhood and adolescent experiences impact our behavioral development.

As the brain matures, behavior also changes. Interestingly, even though the brain is 85 percent fully developed in the first two years of life, it's the remaining 15 percent that is essential for determining behavioral development.

Believe it or not, the frontal cortex doesn’t finish developing until we're in our mid-20s.

Cultural factors also explain societal behavior.

We’ve seen so far that grasping the physiology of the brain is essential if we want to understand the roots of human behavior.

But there’s more going on than neurobiology. After all, if murder is 450 times more likely in Honduras than in Singapore, inevitably, the experience of growing up in one country or the other will have a profound impact on your behavior.

Local ecology and geography influence civilizational and behavioral development.

Collectivist and individualist cultures across the globe didn’t develop by chance; rather, each is dependent on its environment and situation.

That is to say, it’s not just cultural background that informs behavior. The ecological and geographical background to this cultural development is also critical, and it’s a centuries-long process.

The brain’s neurobiology can inform political views and morality.

It’s no great shock to learn that the brain plays a part in determining political views and morals. But the way it does so will surprise you.

In fact, there’s a correlation between neurobiological conditions and whether someone has a liberal or conservative worldview.

Empathy and compassion aren’t as closely connected as is often thought.

If you witness a needle being pushed into someone’s finger, your response will be physical. You might even find your own hand closing up tightly as an empathetic response. This type of reaction is telling because it shows that empathy is actually closely connected with avoiding pain.

When you perceive others’ pain, the Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC) is activated. It’s a region of the brain that’s linked to both the frontal cortex and the amygdala. The ACC is responsible for helping us learn to fear observable bad experiences. These neurological connections indicate that empathy actually has more to do with self-preservation than with a desire to help others.

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What is Behave about?

Humans are complex beings, and human behavior doubly so. Every human act is a result of a myriad of factors, from brain chemistry to social conditioning, that have developed over millennia. In Behave (2017), renowned professor Robert Sapolsky takes a journey into the depths of the human condition, demonstrating the reasons behind the best – and worst – of human behavior.

Behave Review

Behave (2017) by Robert Sapolsky is a fascinating exploration of human behavior and the factors that shape our actions. Here's why this book is worth reading:

With deep scientific research and numerous studies, it provides a comprehensive understanding of what drives human behavior, challenging conventional wisdom.
Sapolsky seamlessly weaves together biology, psychology, and sociology, offering a multidimensional perspective that sheds light on the complexity of our actions.
Through humor and wit, Sapolsky presents complex concepts in an engaging and accessible manner, making the book a captivating read that never feels dull or dry.

Who should read Behave?

Anyone interested in behavioral psychology
Students of neurology or biology
Curious readers looking to gain a better understanding of their own minds

About the Author

Robert Sapolsky is the John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery at Stanford University. He has also written other highly acclaimed and popular science books including The Trouble with Testosterone and A Primate’s Memoir.

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