Skeptics Stack Exchange
Skeptics Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [behavior]

The observation of the actions of any particular life form, which may include contemplation and study of the motives and processes underlying such actions.

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Was the experiment with five monkeys, a ladder, a banana and a water spray conducted?

I've found the following picture online. It is about the moral/paradigm behind consistent behavior. Click to enlarge. The image text says A group of scientists placed 5 monkeys in a cage and in the middle, a ladder with bananas on the top. Every…
Tamara Wijsman
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Did an ostrich pull off its own head?

In The Runaway Brain by Christopher Wills, the author illustrates the fact that ostriches aren't too bright by saying that an ostrich has been recorded as getting tangled in the fork of a tree, panicking, and pulling off its own head. Is there any…
FumbleFingers
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Is sitting dangerous?

I recently was e-mailed this link: Sitting down is killing you. Apparently this is based on a medical study and much of what is said in this range of adverts campaigning against sitting down makes sense and they do cite quite a few references.…
DeVil
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Does technology have a negative effect on attention span?

Is it true that today's "information age" with the internet, TV, cell phones, movies, iPhones, etc can decrease your attention span? Society's impatience and short attention span is becoming a greater problem and is unleashing a chain reaction…
GBa
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Do Macaque monkeys steal money from wallets and use it to buy food from vending machines?

I saw this rumor on Reddit, which refers to factsanddetails.com and which doesn't indicate the information source. I saw a video of a monkey using a vending machine on College Humor, but that doesn't say whether monkeys have actually started…
Casebash
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Do lower speed limits reduce gasoline usage?

There are three parts to this question: Does speed have an effect on miles-per-gallon? Is there a more accurate causal effect than speed that would also cause a connection at varying speeds? (perhaps RPM; weather; tire pressure) Are speed limits…
MrHen
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Does plucking/epilation impact hair growth?

I've recently encountered the idea that plucking an area of hair (say, with tweezers) causes the hair to grow back thicker/denser/stiffer etc. yet I remain skeptical. This concept is rampant with anecdotal evidence, mainly amongst those trying to…
eMansipater
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Are heavy metal music listeners more likely to commit crimes?

It has been suggested (particularly in the 1980s) that individuals that listen to heavy metal are more likely to be commit a crime, as shown here and here. Have any studies statistically shown so?
LanceLafontaine
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Does listening to rap music increase violent behavior?

Related (Kind of) Classical music in public places: does it affect violence? Do violent video games cause violent behavior? Can music incite murder? I've heard many people say that listening to rap, which may often contain messages of violence,…
Hendy
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Is it possible to determine if a person is telling the truth by which direction they look?

I have heard that people look up and to the left if they are not truthful, and up and to the right if they are telling the truth. Is there any truth to this?
Mark
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Do airlines have a "Do not pair" list of pilots who don't want to work with each other?

What happens when your pilots just don't get along? claims that there are "Do not pair" lists where someone can request not to work with another pilot. For this reason, co-pilots, or first officers, have a way to quietly avoid flying with a captain…
Andrew Grimm
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Is the “Asshole Effect” a phenomenon correlated with wealth?

From the Globe & Mail article “It’s true: The rich really are ruder”: Psychologist Paul Piff has coined a memorable label for the phenomenon: the Asshole Effect. Prof. Piff and his colleagues have shown that there is a reliable correlation, across…
Brian M. Hunt
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Has the Gympie Gympie tree driven humans to commit suicide because of the pain from its sting?

I often see the Gympie Gympie mentioned in fun facts or as an answer to "what are the scariest plants in the world?" or "What's the worst pain?" The plant is covered in stinging hairs that once touched can inflict pain that lasts for years. One…
Rowan Freeman
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Does a monkey/ape flee from half peeled bananas?

There is a claim by a German philosopher, named Max Scheler. Ein Affe, dem man eine Banane halb geschält in die Hand gibt, flieht vor ihr, während er sie ganz geschält frißt, ungeschält aber selber schält und dann frißt. Translation by me: A…
Angelo.Hannes
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Do crabs exemplify "crab mentality" behaviour?

Is there any verifiable evidence that crabs, in fact, behave as if they possess "crab mentality"? The term “crab mentality” is used to describe a kind of selfish thinking that runs along the lines of “if I can't have it, neither can …
sashkello
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