VIP Class Notes (Lily) [R]

Vocabulary

1.enhance= 提升
ex: I like soy sauce, it enhances the flavor.

2. reinforce (verb)= 加强 加固
ex: we need to reinforce the safety awareness among young people.

3. bond= 纽带 链接
ex: the baby bonds the family together.
ex: Judy bonds SE and me together.

4. reputation= 声望
ex: NBA has a bad reputation in China.

5. cheap (adj) = 抠门
ex: This building is so cheap, it turns off the AC at 6pm.

Oxytocin is a chemical, a hormone produced in the pituitary gland in the brain. It was through various studies focusing on animals that scientists first became aware of the influence of oxytocin. They discovered that it helps reinforce the bonds between prairie voles, which mate for life and triggers the motherly behavior that sheep show towards their newborn lambs. It is also released by women in childbirth, strengthening the attachment between mother and baby. Few chemicals have as positive a reputation as oxytocin, which is sometimes referred to as the love hormone. One sniff of it can, it is claimed, make a person more trusting, empathetic, generous and cooperative. It is time, however, to revise this wholly optimistic view. A new wave of s studies has shown that its effects vary greatly depending on the person and the circumstances, and it can impact on our social interactions for worse as well as for better.