Problem-Solving Scientific Study...

Dread

Main Entry: dread

Pronunciation: 'dred
Function: verb
Etymology: Middle English dreden, from Old English dr[AE]dan
transitive senses

1 a: to fear greatly b: archaic : to regard with awe
2 : to feel extreme reluctance to meet or face
intransitive senses : to be apprehensive or fearful

Scientists have proven that the discomfort that is associated with dread originates from the cortical pain matrix of the brain.


Something that most parents have known for a long time.

Neurobiological Substrates of Dread

Given the choice of waiting for an adverse outcome or getting it over with quickly, many people choose the latter. Theoretical models of decision-making have assumed that this occurs because there is a cost to waiting—i.e., dread. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we measured the neural responses to waiting for a cutaneous electric shock. Some individuals dreaded the outcome so much that, when given a choice, they preferred to receive more voltage rather than wait. Even when no decision was required, these extreme dreaders were distinguishable from those who dreaded mildly by the rate of increase of neural activity in the posterior elements of the cortical pain matrix. This suggests that dread derives, in part, from the attention devoted to the expected physical response and not simply from fear or anxiety. Although these differences were observed during a passive waiting procedure, they correlated with individual behavior in a subsequent choice paradigm, providing evidence for a neurobiological link between the experienced disutility of dread and subsequent decisions about unpleasant outcomes.

So now that an untold amount of money has been spent on this research project, we should use this information to the fullest; just so we can get our money's worth out of it.

If we used these known facts, and apply them to our justice system, our political system, and other social ills (ie: illegal immigrant problems), then we could quite possibly get a handle on some of our most difficult problems.

Knowing that 'dread' can actually cause enough discomfort to cause 'action', we can be assured that:

a: politicians do respond well to pressure during an election year

b: criminals would respond appropriately if they knew they would be punished to the fullest extent of the law

c: illegal immigrants who really want to be Americans and assimilated into our society will fill out the necessary paperwork and go through channels

I think that this scientific knowledge could become quite invaluable as more applications continue to pop through my mind even while I type this out.


Heck...

We could have the answer to world peace right here in the palm of our hands.


But success truly hinges upon perserverance.

We have to make sure that we "say what we mean, and mean what we say" for it to work.

later...