human behaviour

Scientific mysteries are everywhere around you. At the bottom of the deepest oceans. On the frontiers of the known universe. But some of life's greatest scientific mysteries lie much closer than that: inside the recesses of the human mind. Every day of your life is spent surrounded by mysteries that
Show More involve what, on the surface, appear to be rather ordinary human behaviours.
• What makes you happy?
• Where did your personality come from?
• Why do you have trouble controlling certain behaviours?
• What does your self-esteem do?
• Why do you behave differently as an adult than you did as an adolescent?
Since the start of recorded history, and probably even before, people have been interested in answering questions about why we behave the way we do. In fact, many fields of human endeavor—such as philosophy, psychology, and even theology—are focused on finding explanations for the nature of human behaviour. But it's only in recent decades, with the emergence of advanced scientific methods and tools, that researchers can finally approach, understand, and solve the mysteries of emotion, thought, and behaviour in the same way that oceanographers investigate the ocean depths or astronomers study the stars above our heads.
To understand the secrets of human behaviour is to better know yourself and the people around you—whether they're friends, family members, coworkers, or just acquaintances. Not only will you have a more solid understanding of what it means to be human, you will also have a stronger foundation from which to live more effectively with others and to grasp their intricate behaviours and quirks.
Join award-winning Professor Mark Leary of Duke University, a preeminent force in social psychology and neuroscience education, on a fascinating journey into the complex heart of who you are with Understanding the Mysteries of Human Behaviour. Using the latest theories and research from psychology and other behavioural sciences, you'll find answers—many of them startling—to provocative questions about a variety of rather ordinary (but often quite puzzling) aspects of human behaviour. With the powerful insights you'll find in these 24 intellectually scintillating lectures, you'll start looking at your own and other people's behaviour with a little more insight and curiosity. And undoubtedly a little more wonderment as well.
Enjoy a Multidimensional Approach to Behaviour
"We usually don't think much about our everyday behaviours, even though they can be quite fascinating,"notes Professor Leary. "These things are such a part of human nature that they seem ordinary and unremarkable. And maybe they are, in the sense that we do them regularly. But they are also puzzling and fascinating. Human beings are very unusual animals.”
According to Professor Leary, many of the answers to the puzzles of our behaviours, thoughts, and emotions lie in three broad themes that, taken together, provide us with a more thorough, multidimensional approach for understanding human behaviour.
• Evolution: In some cases, a behaviour that is difficult to understand today makes sense when you consider the possibility that the behaviour dealt with a particular problem our ancestors faced in the distant past.
• Self-awareness: No other animal can think consciously about itself with such abstraction as we can. Self-awareness is an important lens through which to view human behaviour because much of what you do is influenced by your self-image, your future goals, and your concerns with what other people think, each of which requires abstract self-awareness.
• Culture: Often, we do odd things because our culture has taught us to. Many puzzling behaviours that appear inexplicable when seen through the eyes of one culture may be understandable when seen through the eyes of another.
Throughout these lectures, you'll also learn about the various interacting forces that influence your behaviour. These include your genetic blueprint, your personal experiences, your upbringing, and the people and social groups surrounding you.