Black Sheep : The Hidden Benefits Of Being Bad

Author: Dr. Richard Stephens

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General Fields

  • : $38.00 NZD
  • : 9781473610811
  • : Hodder & Stoughton General Division
  • : John Murray Learning
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  • : April 2015
  • : United Kingdom
  • : 37.99
  • : June 2015
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  • : books

Special Fields

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  • : Dr. Richard Stephens
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  • : Paperback
  • : 1
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  • : 179.8
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  • : 256
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Barcode 9781473610811
9781473610811

Description

From the man who won the Wellcome Trust Science Writing Prize 2014 and married a human statue comes a book of weird and wonderful psychological science from the far-flung corners of human experience. Richard Stephens became the focus of international media attention for his research on the psychological benefits of swearing, and here he turns his gaze on other pieces of surprising and occasionally bizarre scientific enquiry. What do you know about how fear can be mistaken for love? How about why parachuting can be the perfect antidote to stress, or how science makes everyone, even scientists, feel stupid (and why this is good)? Black Sheep is a fascinating left-field tour of the world of psychological science. More pub conversation than science book, it casts a slant on a range of human experiences from life to death, sex to romance, from speed thrills to halting boredom and from drinking alcohol (in moderation) to headily excessive bad language. Reading this book will change your opinions about sex, addiction, bad language and fast driving. You'll never think about love, stress, boredom or death the same way again. Get ready for the many hidden benefits of being bad that you really won't have seen coming.

Author description

Dr Richard Stephens is the winner of the Wellcome Trust Science Writing Prize 2014. He is a lecturer at Keele who married a human statue and races cars in his spare time. His research on the psychological benefits of swearing has been the focus of international media attention including television appearances on BBC's The One Show and Stephen Fry's Planet Word. Richard and his team picked up an Ig Nobel Prize in 2010 in recognition of science that "first makes you laugh and then make you think". Richard is a founder member of the international Alcohol Hangover Research Group and Chair of the British Psychological Society Psychobiology Section.