Did you fight with your family over the holidays? – Scientists think they know why

Ben Franklin used to say that fish and visitors stink after three days.  Anyone who has either visited or hosted family for several days has probably experienced this first hand.  Now scientists think they know why:

Since relatives are processed through areas of the brain linked to self-reference, the study could also help to explain why relatives cause us to take things personally. While we may tolerate a friend’s loud laughter or snoring, for example, we may have less patience with a relative because we judge them similarly to how we judge ourselves.

“This research is a wonderful example of the fruitfulness of conducting cognitive neuroscience informed by evolutionary theory,” said Todd Shackelford, a professor of psychology at Florida Atlantic University.

“I am hopeful that other researchers in the cognitive neurosciences will follow Dr. Platek’s lead and take full advantage of the predictive power of a Darwinian perspective on the design of the structure of the mind,” he told Discovery News.

It’s likely, he explained, that a face we perceive as “friendly” is one that looks more like us. But how we later feel about that person could be tied to how we feel about ourselves, perhaps explaining the prevalence of arguments during family reunions.

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