Wired quotes Keith Campbell, a psychology professor at UGA, about a recent study he performed that told some female students that a personality test indicated they would end up alone in life, and told nothing to others, then asked the students to work math problems.
In the experiment, Campbell hooked up the students to special devices that measure areas of brain activity. Those who were told they’d grow old alone scored worse and “showed less activation in parts of the brain associated with self-control,” Campbell said. “It’s almost like it’s difficult to think,” he said.
