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"Discovery Files" Features from the National Science Foundation
"Ruly Bully"
Fully produced report in MP3 format:
48 kbps |
96 kbps
(90 seconds)
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READER SCRIPT
(DOES NOT FULLY MATCH AUDIO)
NO, I'M NOT GOING TO HIT YOU UP FOR YOUR LUNCH-MONEY... THE "DISCOVERY FILES": NEW ADVANCES IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, FROM THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. BULLYING: ONCE DISMISSED AS A RITE OF PASSAGE, IT'S TODAY BEING TAKEN VERY SERIOUSLY BY EDUCATORS AND PARENTS. NOW, NEW RESEARCH ON AGGRESSIVE BULLIES SUGGESTS THAT THEY MAY ACTUALLY ENJOY SEEING OTHERS IN PAIN. THAT'S THE CONCLUSION OF A TEAM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO, WHICH PERFORMED F-M-R-I'S--OR BRAIN-SCANS--ON 16- TO 18-YEAR-OLDS WITH A HISTORY OF AGGRESSION. WHILE WATCHING SCENES OF PAIN BEING INFLICTED ON OTHERS--RATHER THAN EXHIBITING AN EMPATHETIC, OR EVEN COLD, INDIFFERENT RESPONSE--THE YOUNG PEOPLE'S BRAIN-SCANS REVEALED THAT THEY WERE GETTING INTO IT; THERE WAS AN INCREASE IN ACTIVITY IN THE PART OF THE BRAIN ASSOCIATED WITH FEELING REWARDED. SO, HOW DO WE HELP AT-RISK KIDS WHOSE BRAINS ARE PROGRAMMED TO REINFORCE AGGRESSION AND VIOLENCE? THE REAL ANSWER IS THAT WE DON'T YET KNOW. IN THE CLASSIC FILM, "A CLOCKWORK ORANGE", THE LEAD CHARACTER, ALEX--A YOUNG STREET-THUG--UNDERGOES AN EXTREME FORM OF ATTEMPTED "DE-PROGRAMMING" FOR HIS ULTRA-VIOLENT TENDENCIES. THE TREATMENT METHODS--ASIDE FROM BEING BIZARRE, QUESTIONABLE, AND BASICALLY INEFFECTIVE--WERE REALLY NOT THAT POLITICALLY CORRECT. RESEARCHERS IN THE REAL WORLD ARE DEVELOPING STRATEGIES; HOWEVER, MORE STUDY IS NEEDED, BEFORE FUTURE TREATMENTS CAN INDEED HELP SOME KIDS FROM BECOMING ANTI-SOCIAL OR PSYCHOPATHIC. THE "DISCOVERY FILES" COVERS PROJECTS FUNDED BY THE GOVERNMENT'S NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH BROUGHT TO YOU BY YOU! LEARN MORE AT "N-S-F"-DOT-GOV--OR ON THEIR PODCAST.
For additional "Discovery Files" features from the National Science Foundation, click here.
