Cumulative culture in nonhumans: overlooked findings from Japanese monkeys? Daniel P. Schofield et al. Primates, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10329-017-0642-7
Abstract: Cumulative culture, generally known as the increasing complexity or efficiency of cultural behaviors additively transmitted over successive generations, has been emphasized as a hallmark of human evolution. Recently, reviews of candidates for cumulative culture in nonhuman species have claimed that only humans have cumulative culture. Here, we aim to scrutinize this claim, using current criteria for cumulative culture to re-evaluate overlooked qualitative but longitudinal data from a nonhuman primate, the Japanese monkey (Macaca fuscata). We review over 60 years of Japanese ethnography of Koshima monkeys, which indicate that food-washing behaviors (e.g., of sweet potato tubers and wheat grains) seem to have increased in complexity and efficiency over time. Our reassessment of the Koshima ethnography is preliminary and nonquantitative, but it raises the possibility that cumulative culture, at least in a simple form, occurs spontaneously and adaptively in other primates and nonhumans in nature.
Bipartisan Alliance, a Society for the Study of the US Constitution, and of Human Nature, where Republicans and Democrats meet.
Wednesday, December 27, 2017
Anti-vaccination movement on Facebook: Present-day discourses centre around moral outrage and structural oppression by institutional government & the media, suggesting a strong logic of ‘conspiracy-style’ beliefs and thinking. Furthermore, the vast majority of participants are women
Mapping the anti-vaccination movement on Facebook. Naomi Smith & Tim Graham. Information, Communication & Society, https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2017.1418406
ABSTRACT: Over the past decade, anti-vaccination rhetoric has become part of the mainstream discourse regarding the public health practice of childhood vaccination. These utilise social media to foster online spaces that strengthen and popularise anti-vaccination discourses. In this paper, we examine the characteristics of and the discourses present within six popular anti-vaccination Facebook pages. We examine these large-scale datasets using a range of methods, including social network analysis, gender prediction using historical census data, and generative statistical models for topic analysis (Latent Dirichlet allocation). We find that present-day discourses centre around moral outrage and structural oppression by institutional government and the media, suggesting a strong logic of ‘conspiracy-style’ beliefs and thinking. Furthermore, anti-vaccination pages on Facebook reflect a highly ‘feminised’ movement ‒ the vast majority of participants are women. Although anti-vaccination networks on Facebook are large and global in scope, the comment activity sub-networks appear to be ‘small world’. This suggests that social media may have a role in spreading anti-vaccination ideas and making the movement durable on a global scale.
KEYWORDS: Anti-vaccination, social network analysis, topic modelling, social network sites, social media
---
My comment: could this be related? Sex Differences in Disgust: Why Are Women More Easily Disgusted Than Men? Laith Al-Shawaf, David M.G. Lewis, David M. Buss. Emotion Review, http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/11/why-are-women-more-easily-disgusted.html
ABSTRACT: Over the past decade, anti-vaccination rhetoric has become part of the mainstream discourse regarding the public health practice of childhood vaccination. These utilise social media to foster online spaces that strengthen and popularise anti-vaccination discourses. In this paper, we examine the characteristics of and the discourses present within six popular anti-vaccination Facebook pages. We examine these large-scale datasets using a range of methods, including social network analysis, gender prediction using historical census data, and generative statistical models for topic analysis (Latent Dirichlet allocation). We find that present-day discourses centre around moral outrage and structural oppression by institutional government and the media, suggesting a strong logic of ‘conspiracy-style’ beliefs and thinking. Furthermore, anti-vaccination pages on Facebook reflect a highly ‘feminised’ movement ‒ the vast majority of participants are women. Although anti-vaccination networks on Facebook are large and global in scope, the comment activity sub-networks appear to be ‘small world’. This suggests that social media may have a role in spreading anti-vaccination ideas and making the movement durable on a global scale.
KEYWORDS: Anti-vaccination, social network analysis, topic modelling, social network sites, social media
---
My comment: could this be related? Sex Differences in Disgust: Why Are Women More Easily Disgusted Than Men? Laith Al-Shawaf, David M.G. Lewis, David M. Buss. Emotion Review, http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/11/why-are-women-more-easily-disgusted.html
Using a foreign language reduces mental imagery; this partially explains why using foreign languages changes moral choices
Using a foreign language reduces mental imagery. Sayuri Hayakawa, Boaz Keysar. Cognition, Volume 173, April 2018, Pages 8–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2017.12.010
Highlights
• Using a foreign language reduces vividness of mental imagery.
• This reduction in vividness affects both subjective experience and objective performance on mental imagery tasks.
• The effect of language may vary across different modalities.
• The reduction in mental imagery partially explains why using foreign languages changes moral choices.
Abstract: Mental imagery plays a significant role in guiding how we feel, think, and even behave. These mental simulations are often guided by language, making it important to understand what aspects of language contribute to imagery vividness and consequently to the way we think. Here, we focus on the native-ness of language and present evidence that using a foreign language leads to less vivid mental imagery than using a native tongue. In Experiment 1, participants using a foreign language reported less vivid imagery of sensory experiences such as sight and touch than those using their native tongue. Experiment 2 provided an objective behavioral measure, showing that muted imagery reduced accuracy when judging the similarity of shapes of imagined objects. Lastly, Experiment 3 demonstrated that this reduction in mental imagery partly accounted for the previously observed foreign language effects in moral choice. Together, the findings suggest that our mental images change when using a foreign tongue, leading to downstream consequences for how we make decisions.
Keywords: Bilingualism; Mental imagery; Foreign language; Morality; Decision making
Check also Are jokes funnier in one’s native language? Ayşe Ayçiçeği-Dinn, Simge Şişman-Bal, Catherine L Caldwell-Harris. International Journal of Humor Research, http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/12/when-proficiency-levels-are-only.html
Also: Thinking More or Feeling Less? Explaining the Foreign-Language Effect on Moral Judgment. Sayuri Hayakawa et al. Psychological Science, http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/08/thinking-more-or-feeling-less.html
Highlights
• Using a foreign language reduces vividness of mental imagery.
• This reduction in vividness affects both subjective experience and objective performance on mental imagery tasks.
• The effect of language may vary across different modalities.
• The reduction in mental imagery partially explains why using foreign languages changes moral choices.
Abstract: Mental imagery plays a significant role in guiding how we feel, think, and even behave. These mental simulations are often guided by language, making it important to understand what aspects of language contribute to imagery vividness and consequently to the way we think. Here, we focus on the native-ness of language and present evidence that using a foreign language leads to less vivid mental imagery than using a native tongue. In Experiment 1, participants using a foreign language reported less vivid imagery of sensory experiences such as sight and touch than those using their native tongue. Experiment 2 provided an objective behavioral measure, showing that muted imagery reduced accuracy when judging the similarity of shapes of imagined objects. Lastly, Experiment 3 demonstrated that this reduction in mental imagery partly accounted for the previously observed foreign language effects in moral choice. Together, the findings suggest that our mental images change when using a foreign tongue, leading to downstream consequences for how we make decisions.
Keywords: Bilingualism; Mental imagery; Foreign language; Morality; Decision making
Check also Are jokes funnier in one’s native language? Ayşe Ayçiçeği-Dinn, Simge Şişman-Bal, Catherine L Caldwell-Harris. International Journal of Humor Research, http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/12/when-proficiency-levels-are-only.html
Also: Thinking More or Feeling Less? Explaining the Foreign-Language Effect on Moral Judgment. Sayuri Hayakawa et al. Psychological Science, http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/08/thinking-more-or-feeling-less.html
The neuroendocrinology of sexual attraction: Olfactory stimuli are necessary but not sufficient for sexual attraction in rodents; visual stimuli, like the sexual skin, are crucial in primates; and the responsiveness to sexual attractants depends on gonadal hormones
The neuroendocrinology of sexual attraction. Olivia Le Moëne, Anders Ågmo. Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yfrne.2017.12.006
Highlights
• Sexual attraction is expressed as approach behaviors.
• Olfactory stimuli are necessary but not sufficient for sexual attraction in rodents.
• Visual stimuli, like the sexual skin, are crucial in primates.
• The responsiveness to sexual attractants depends on gonadal hormones.
• Several brain sites and neurotransmitters are involved in the response to sexual attractants.
Abstract: Sexual attraction has two components: Emission of sexually attractive stimuli and responsiveness to these stimuli. In rodents, olfactory stimuli are necessary but not sufficient for attraction. We argue that body odors are far superior to odors from excreta (urine, feces) as sexual attractants. Body odors are produced by sebaceous glands all over the body surface and in specialized glands. In primates, visual stimuli, for example the sexual skin, are more important than olfactory. The role of gonadal hormones for the production of and responsiveness to odorants is well established. Both the androgen and the estrogen receptor α are important in male as well as in female rodents. Also in primates, gonadal hormones are necessary for the responsiveness to sexual attractants. In males, the androgen receptor is sufficient for sustaining responsiveness. In female non-human primates, estrogens are needed, whereas androgens seem to contribute to responsiveness in women.
Keywords: androgens; estrogens; estrogen receptors; olfaction; audition; vision; preputial glands; urine; feces
Highlights
• Sexual attraction is expressed as approach behaviors.
• Olfactory stimuli are necessary but not sufficient for sexual attraction in rodents.
• Visual stimuli, like the sexual skin, are crucial in primates.
• The responsiveness to sexual attractants depends on gonadal hormones.
• Several brain sites and neurotransmitters are involved in the response to sexual attractants.
Abstract: Sexual attraction has two components: Emission of sexually attractive stimuli and responsiveness to these stimuli. In rodents, olfactory stimuli are necessary but not sufficient for attraction. We argue that body odors are far superior to odors from excreta (urine, feces) as sexual attractants. Body odors are produced by sebaceous glands all over the body surface and in specialized glands. In primates, visual stimuli, for example the sexual skin, are more important than olfactory. The role of gonadal hormones for the production of and responsiveness to odorants is well established. Both the androgen and the estrogen receptor α are important in male as well as in female rodents. Also in primates, gonadal hormones are necessary for the responsiveness to sexual attractants. In males, the androgen receptor is sufficient for sustaining responsiveness. In female non-human primates, estrogens are needed, whereas androgens seem to contribute to responsiveness in women.
Keywords: androgens; estrogens; estrogen receptors; olfaction; audition; vision; preputial glands; urine; feces
Is envy harmful to a Society's psychological health and wellbeing? A longitudinal study of 18,000 adults
Is envy harmful to a Society's psychological health and wellbeing? A longitudinal study of 18,000 adults. Redzo Mujcic, Andrew J. Oswald. Social Science & Medicine, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.12.030
Highlights
• The institutions of modern society may act to foster widespread envy.
• This paper reports the first analysis of longitudinal links between envy and mental health.
• Our findings are consistent with the idea that envy may be psychologically dangerous for society.
Abstract: Nearly 100 years ago, the philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell warned of the social dangers of widespread envy. One view of modern society is that it is systematically developing a set of institutions -- such as social media and new forms of advertising -- that make people feel inadequate and envious of others. If so, how might that be influencing the psychological health of our citizens? This paper reports the first large-scale longitudinal research into envy and its possible repercussions. The paper studies 18,000 randomly selected individuals over the years 2005, 2009, and 2013. Using measures of SF-36 mental health and psychological well-being, four main conclusions emerge. First, the young are especially susceptible. Levels of envy fall as people grow older. This longitudinal finding is consistent with a cross-sectional pattern noted recently by Nicole E. Henniger and Christine R. Harris, and with the theory of socioemotional regulation suggested by scholars such as Laura L. Carstensen. Second, using fixed-effects equations and prospective analysis, the analysis reveals that envy today is a powerful predictor of worse SF-36 mental health and well-being in the future. A change from the lowest to the highest level of envy, for example, is associated with a worsening of SF-36 mental health by approximately half a standard deviation (p < .001). Third, no evidence is found for the idea that envy acts as a useful motivator. Greater envy is associated with slower -- not higher -- growth of psychological well-being in the future. Nor is envy a predictor of later economic success. Fourth, the longitudinal decline of envy leaves unaltered a U-shaped age pattern of well-being from age 20 to age 70. These results are consistent with the idea that society should be concerned about institutions that stimulate large-scale envy.
Keywords: Envy; Age; SF-36; Mental health; Well-being; Longitudinal data
Highlights
• The institutions of modern society may act to foster widespread envy.
• This paper reports the first analysis of longitudinal links between envy and mental health.
• Our findings are consistent with the idea that envy may be psychologically dangerous for society.
Abstract: Nearly 100 years ago, the philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell warned of the social dangers of widespread envy. One view of modern society is that it is systematically developing a set of institutions -- such as social media and new forms of advertising -- that make people feel inadequate and envious of others. If so, how might that be influencing the psychological health of our citizens? This paper reports the first large-scale longitudinal research into envy and its possible repercussions. The paper studies 18,000 randomly selected individuals over the years 2005, 2009, and 2013. Using measures of SF-36 mental health and psychological well-being, four main conclusions emerge. First, the young are especially susceptible. Levels of envy fall as people grow older. This longitudinal finding is consistent with a cross-sectional pattern noted recently by Nicole E. Henniger and Christine R. Harris, and with the theory of socioemotional regulation suggested by scholars such as Laura L. Carstensen. Second, using fixed-effects equations and prospective analysis, the analysis reveals that envy today is a powerful predictor of worse SF-36 mental health and well-being in the future. A change from the lowest to the highest level of envy, for example, is associated with a worsening of SF-36 mental health by approximately half a standard deviation (p < .001). Third, no evidence is found for the idea that envy acts as a useful motivator. Greater envy is associated with slower -- not higher -- growth of psychological well-being in the future. Nor is envy a predictor of later economic success. Fourth, the longitudinal decline of envy leaves unaltered a U-shaped age pattern of well-being from age 20 to age 70. These results are consistent with the idea that society should be concerned about institutions that stimulate large-scale envy.
Keywords: Envy; Age; SF-36; Mental health; Well-being; Longitudinal data
Pathogen Avoidance: We drink significantly less water when we believe it came from pathogen-prevalent environments (e.g., restrooms) and rated the water from pathogen-prevalent environments as lower in cleanliness, crispness, quality, and other characteristics when compared
Belief Influences Gustation: Evidence of a Psychophysical Pathogen Avoidance Mechanism. Carey J. Fitzgerald etal. Evolutionary Psychological Science, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs40806-017-0132-6
Abstract: Individuals often avoid pathogens by refraining from ingesting things that are associated with pathogen-prevalent stimuli. The present study examined whether individuals would be less likely to ingest water that is associated with pathogen-prevalent environments and whether individuals’ perceptions of water quality would decrease when they believed the water originated from a pathogen-prevalent environment, (even though the water actually did not originate from the indicated source). Across two experiments, undergraduates were asked to taste-test water they believed came from a variety of sources on their college campus. For each cup of water presented to participants, an image of its supposed water source (e.g., kitchen sink, drinking fountain, or bathroom sink) was also presented. Participants drank significantly less water when they believed it came from pathogen-prevalent environments (e.g., restrooms) and rated the water from pathogen-prevalent environments as lower in cleanliness, crispness, quality, and other characteristics when compared to water from environments not associated with pathogens (study 1). Similar results were also found after controlling for perceived cleanliness of the images of water sources (study 2). Ultimately, the results from both studies provide evidence that individuals’ beliefs can influence perception and behavior in a manner consistent with pathogen avoidance.
Abstract: Individuals often avoid pathogens by refraining from ingesting things that are associated with pathogen-prevalent stimuli. The present study examined whether individuals would be less likely to ingest water that is associated with pathogen-prevalent environments and whether individuals’ perceptions of water quality would decrease when they believed the water originated from a pathogen-prevalent environment, (even though the water actually did not originate from the indicated source). Across two experiments, undergraduates were asked to taste-test water they believed came from a variety of sources on their college campus. For each cup of water presented to participants, an image of its supposed water source (e.g., kitchen sink, drinking fountain, or bathroom sink) was also presented. Participants drank significantly less water when they believed it came from pathogen-prevalent environments (e.g., restrooms) and rated the water from pathogen-prevalent environments as lower in cleanliness, crispness, quality, and other characteristics when compared to water from environments not associated with pathogens (study 1). Similar results were also found after controlling for perceived cleanliness of the images of water sources (study 2). Ultimately, the results from both studies provide evidence that individuals’ beliefs can influence perception and behavior in a manner consistent with pathogen avoidance.