More shocking science

The caption reads, "Dirty Harry succinctly informs a norm violator that he anticipates deriving satisfaction from inflicting altruistic punishment."

In other words, revenge can feel good.

But, of course, we already knew that.

Everyone from evolutionary theorists to scorned lovers recognizes that getting even with someone who has hurt you is healing.

this is so shocking

The study combined an economic experiment with a brain scan — an example of the emerging field of "neuro-economics."

In the experiment, volunteers participated in a game of exchanging money back and forth.

If one player made a selfish choice instead of a mutually beneficial one, the other could penalize him. The majority of the players chose to impose the penalty even when it cost some of their own money.

Using positron emission tomography (PET), the researchers determined that deciding to impose this penalty activated a "reward" region of the brain, the dorsal striatum, involved in anticipating enjoyment or satisfaction, whether from cocaine or seeing a pretty face.

this part of the article is intresting though