Dark Personality Voters Find Dark Politicians More Relatable and Fit for Office. William Hart, Kyle Richardson, , Gregory K. Tortoriello. Journal of Research in Personality, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2018.05.007
Highlights
• Dark personalities evaluate dark characteristics in politicians less negatively.
• Dark personalities perceive nice (vs. dark) politicians as less relatable.
• Dark personalities show a reduced preference for nice (vs. dark) politicians.
• Findings supported and extended political congruency theory.
Abstract: We tested the scope of the congruency model of political preference by examining how people high in various dark personalities evaluate political candidates with dark characteristics. In Study 1, participants high in dark personalities reported enhanced self-possession of dark characteristics and, in general, more tolerance of those characteristics in politicians. In Study 2, although participants viewed a wholesome (vs. dark) politician as more similar to the self and likeable, this effect diminished as participants indicated greater possession of dark personalities. Exploratory analyses involving other perceiver traits (self-esteem, political conservatism/liberalism) yielded additional insights about tolerance for dark politicians. Findings contribute to understanding how people high in dark personalities evaluate others and offer a novel perspective on similarity-liking effects in candidate evaluation.
Keywords: Dark Triad; Narcissistic tolerance; Political congruency theory; Similarity-liking principle; Social perception
Tuesday, May 29, 2018
Average Associations Between Sexual Desire, Testosterone, and Stress in Women and Men Over Time: Testosterone negatively predicted partnered desire in women, not effect in men
Average Associations Between Sexual Desire, Testosterone, and Stress in Women and Men Over Time. Jessica C. Raisanen et al. Archives of Sexual Behavior, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-018-1231-6
Abstract: Sexual desire and testosterone are widely assumed to be directly and positively linked to each other despite the lack of supporting empirical evidence. The literature that does exist is mixed, which may result from a conflation of solitary and dyadic desire, and the exclusion of contextual variables, like stress, known to be relevant. Here, we use the Steroid/Peptide Theory of Social Bonds as a framework for examining how testosterone, solitary and partnered desire, and stress are linked over time. To do so, we collected saliva samples (for testosterone and cortisol) and measured desire as well as other variables via questionnaires over nine monthly sessions in 78 women and 79 men. Linear mixed models showed that testosterone negatively predicted partnered desire in women but not men. Stress moderated associations between testosterone and solitary desire in both women and men, but differently: At lower levels of stress, higher average testosterone corresponded to higher average solitary desire for men, but lower solitary desire on average for women. Similarly, for partnered desire, higher perceived stress predicted lower desire for women, but higher desire for men. We conclude by discussing the ways that these results both counter presumptions about testosterone and desire but fit with the existing literature and theory, and highlight the empirical importance of stress and gender norms.
Abstract: Sexual desire and testosterone are widely assumed to be directly and positively linked to each other despite the lack of supporting empirical evidence. The literature that does exist is mixed, which may result from a conflation of solitary and dyadic desire, and the exclusion of contextual variables, like stress, known to be relevant. Here, we use the Steroid/Peptide Theory of Social Bonds as a framework for examining how testosterone, solitary and partnered desire, and stress are linked over time. To do so, we collected saliva samples (for testosterone and cortisol) and measured desire as well as other variables via questionnaires over nine monthly sessions in 78 women and 79 men. Linear mixed models showed that testosterone negatively predicted partnered desire in women but not men. Stress moderated associations between testosterone and solitary desire in both women and men, but differently: At lower levels of stress, higher average testosterone corresponded to higher average solitary desire for men, but lower solitary desire on average for women. Similarly, for partnered desire, higher perceived stress predicted lower desire for women, but higher desire for men. We conclude by discussing the ways that these results both counter presumptions about testosterone and desire but fit with the existing literature and theory, and highlight the empirical importance of stress and gender norms.
Many forms of implicit bias training are aimed at changing individuals’ implicit biases (treated as trait-like attributes of the person); but implicit bias may not be a stable attribute of individuals, but may better characterize social environments than people
Policy Insights From Advances in Implicit Bias Research. B. Keith Payne, Heidi A. Vuletich. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, https://doi.org/10.1177/2372732217746190
Abstract: Implicit bias, which refers to mental associations that can lead to unintentional discrimination, has become a focus as many organizations and institutions try to reduce disparities and increase inclusiveness. Many forms of implicit bias training are aimed at changing individuals’ implicit biases. This approach treats implicit bias as a trait-like attribute of the person. Recent theoretical advances in understanding implicit bias, however, suggest that implicit bias may not be a stable attribute of individuals. Instead, implicit bias may better characterize social environments than people. Understanding implicit bias as a cultural phenomenon, rather than a fixed set of beliefs, has important policy implications. Most notably, the best approaches for reducing the harm of implicit bias should aim at changing social contexts rather than changing people’s minds. Here, we highlight some considerations of this new understanding of implicit bias for policy makers aiming to reduce disparities and increase inclusion.
Keywords: implicit bias, explicit prejudice, Bias of Crowds, discrimination, interventions
Abstract: Implicit bias, which refers to mental associations that can lead to unintentional discrimination, has become a focus as many organizations and institutions try to reduce disparities and increase inclusiveness. Many forms of implicit bias training are aimed at changing individuals’ implicit biases. This approach treats implicit bias as a trait-like attribute of the person. Recent theoretical advances in understanding implicit bias, however, suggest that implicit bias may not be a stable attribute of individuals. Instead, implicit bias may better characterize social environments than people. Understanding implicit bias as a cultural phenomenon, rather than a fixed set of beliefs, has important policy implications. Most notably, the best approaches for reducing the harm of implicit bias should aim at changing social contexts rather than changing people’s minds. Here, we highlight some considerations of this new understanding of implicit bias for policy makers aiming to reduce disparities and increase inclusion.
Keywords: implicit bias, explicit prejudice, Bias of Crowds, discrimination, interventions
In the spiritual condition, as compared with the neutral-relaxing condition, we see reduced activity in the left inferior parietal lobule (IPL), a result that suggests the IPL may contribute importantly to perceptual processing and self-other representations during spiritual experiences
Neural Correlates of Personalized Spiritual Experiences. Lisa Miller, Iris M Balodis, Clayton H McClintock, Jiansong Xu, Cheryl M Lacadie, Rajita Sinha, Marc N Potenza. Cerebral Cortex, bhy102, https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhy102
Abstract: Across cultures and throughout history, human beings have reported a variety of spiritual experiences and the concomitant perceived sense of union that transcends one’s ordinary sense of self. Nevertheless, little is known about the underlying neural mechanisms of spiritual experiences, particularly when examined across different traditions and practices. By adapting an individualized guided-imagery task, we investigated neural correlates of personally meaningful spiritual experiences as compared with stressful and neutral-relaxing experiences. We observed in the spiritual condition, as compared with the neutral-relaxing condition, reduced activity in the left inferior parietal lobule (IPL), a result that suggests the IPL may contribute importantly to perceptual processing and self-other representations during spiritual experiences. Compared with stress cues, responses to spiritual cues showed reduced activity in the medial thalamus and caudate, regions associated with sensory and emotional processing. Overall, the study introduces a novel method for investigating brain correlates of personally meaningful spiritual experiences and suggests neural mechanisms associated with broadly defined and personally experienced spirituality.
keywords: functional magnetic resonance imaging, perception, spirituality, stress
---
For the spiritual script, participants were given the following
instructions:
“We would like you to describe a situation in which you felt a strong connection with a higher power or a spiritual presence. Spiritual states are those that through a felt-sense connect you to something bigger than oneself, a oneness, or strong force which may be experienced as an energy, force, higher power, G-d, deity or transcendent figure or consciousness. Such states may be experienced in places of worship, at home, in your daily life, or outdoors in nature. Choose a personal lived situation that you directly experienced, whether others were present or not. Also, include in your description the bodily sensations you have experienced in these situations.
Some common experiences of transcendent connection include a two-way relationship with a higher power, a felt-sense of oneness in nature by the ocean or atop a mountain, being in a zone of intense physical activity (such as sports or yoga), sudden awareness, bodily felt connectivity or buoyancy, meditation or prayer. These may be extremely vivid or intense experiences, or these relatively accentuated experiences may filter into an ongoing felt transcendent connection or daily way of being connected to something more.
Sometimes it is difficult to think of a positive transcendent or spiritual experience “on the spot”. It may help to close your eyes and try to imagine yourself in the situation. While you are imagining the situation, try to generate the same sensations and feelings you would experience if you were actually in the situation. Describe the situation as though you are helping me see it as if I was there with you. (Please include such details as who was there; what you were doing; where you were; how things looked; what bodily sensations you experienced.)”
[...]
The present study showed reduced activity in the left IPL following spiritual cues, which is consistent with several previous investigations suggesting an inverse relationship between spiritual awareness and parietal activity. The posterior parietal cortex has been implicated in religiosity and spirituality across a wide variety of measures including importance of religion and spirituality (Miller et al. 2014), trait self-transcendence (Urgesi et al. 2010), implicit religiousness and spirituality (Crescentini et al. 2014, 2015), mindfulness meditation training (Lazar et al. 2000; Farb et al. 2007), and contemplative prayer (Newberg et al. 2003, 2015). Furthermore, activity in this region has been linked to spatiotemporal perceptual processes and, in particular, the representation of the human body in time and space (Assmus et al. 2003; Lou et al. 2004; Bolger et al. 2014). Since spiritual practices and experiences typically involve a perceived alteration in time and space (Newberg and Waldman 2009; Yaden et al. 2017), often an expanded sense of self in relation to the environment including subjective reports from the current study (see Supplementary Material), these findings lend support to our hypotheses and the relatively blunted activity of the IPL observed in the present study. The hemispheric lateralization of posterior parietal activation differs, however, across various studies of spirituality, which invites a more nuanced interpretation. Research has implicated the right IPL in the cognitive representation of one’s own body in space, while the left IPL has been linked to the visuo-spatial representation of others (Felician et al. 2003; Lou et al. 2004; Muhlau et al. 2005). Functionally connected to the ventral premotor cortex, the IPL contains both motor and mirror neurons which allow an observer to perceive individuals’ motor behaviors and intentions, and the left IPL in particular has been implicated in reading others’ intentions (Fogassi et al. 2005; D’Argembeau et al. 2008; Bonini et al. 2010). Moreover, research has linked the IPL to the attribution of agency, whereby left IPL activity may signal an attribution of agency outside of oneself (Farrer and Frith 2002). Taken together, the present finding suggests that spiritual experiences may involve a perceived encounter with a spacious “presence” or entity external to oneself. This interpretation is consistent with a strong feeling of connection or surrender to a deity or other revered figure, as often reported in religious and spiritual literature (James 1902; Wilber 2006).
The IPL has also been implicated in episodic memory retrieval as well as processing human faces (Leube et al. 2003; Mayes et al. 2004; Wagner et al. 2005), possibly suggesting that spiritual experiences interact with memory retrieval processes in a unique way. This possibility, however, is tempered by the fact that all three conditions involved re-experiencing highly salient memories, including those that may involve recollection of people (and thus their faces). As such, the experimental design argues against these possibilities. Nonetheless, future investigations involving larger samples may permit investigation of scripts with and without specific features (e.g., recollection of people or spiritual beings) to investigate such possibilities directly. Additionally, it is worth noting that the responses during the spiritual cue condition are congruent with the notion that systemsbased changes may occur on neural levels in response to changes in perception (Freiwald et al. 2016; Mazzarella et al. 2013).
Abstract: Across cultures and throughout history, human beings have reported a variety of spiritual experiences and the concomitant perceived sense of union that transcends one’s ordinary sense of self. Nevertheless, little is known about the underlying neural mechanisms of spiritual experiences, particularly when examined across different traditions and practices. By adapting an individualized guided-imagery task, we investigated neural correlates of personally meaningful spiritual experiences as compared with stressful and neutral-relaxing experiences. We observed in the spiritual condition, as compared with the neutral-relaxing condition, reduced activity in the left inferior parietal lobule (IPL), a result that suggests the IPL may contribute importantly to perceptual processing and self-other representations during spiritual experiences. Compared with stress cues, responses to spiritual cues showed reduced activity in the medial thalamus and caudate, regions associated with sensory and emotional processing. Overall, the study introduces a novel method for investigating brain correlates of personally meaningful spiritual experiences and suggests neural mechanisms associated with broadly defined and personally experienced spirituality.
keywords: functional magnetic resonance imaging, perception, spirituality, stress
---
For the spiritual script, participants were given the following
instructions:
“We would like you to describe a situation in which you felt a strong connection with a higher power or a spiritual presence. Spiritual states are those that through a felt-sense connect you to something bigger than oneself, a oneness, or strong force which may be experienced as an energy, force, higher power, G-d, deity or transcendent figure or consciousness. Such states may be experienced in places of worship, at home, in your daily life, or outdoors in nature. Choose a personal lived situation that you directly experienced, whether others were present or not. Also, include in your description the bodily sensations you have experienced in these situations.
Some common experiences of transcendent connection include a two-way relationship with a higher power, a felt-sense of oneness in nature by the ocean or atop a mountain, being in a zone of intense physical activity (such as sports or yoga), sudden awareness, bodily felt connectivity or buoyancy, meditation or prayer. These may be extremely vivid or intense experiences, or these relatively accentuated experiences may filter into an ongoing felt transcendent connection or daily way of being connected to something more.
Sometimes it is difficult to think of a positive transcendent or spiritual experience “on the spot”. It may help to close your eyes and try to imagine yourself in the situation. While you are imagining the situation, try to generate the same sensations and feelings you would experience if you were actually in the situation. Describe the situation as though you are helping me see it as if I was there with you. (Please include such details as who was there; what you were doing; where you were; how things looked; what bodily sensations you experienced.)”
[...]
The present study showed reduced activity in the left IPL following spiritual cues, which is consistent with several previous investigations suggesting an inverse relationship between spiritual awareness and parietal activity. The posterior parietal cortex has been implicated in religiosity and spirituality across a wide variety of measures including importance of religion and spirituality (Miller et al. 2014), trait self-transcendence (Urgesi et al. 2010), implicit religiousness and spirituality (Crescentini et al. 2014, 2015), mindfulness meditation training (Lazar et al. 2000; Farb et al. 2007), and contemplative prayer (Newberg et al. 2003, 2015). Furthermore, activity in this region has been linked to spatiotemporal perceptual processes and, in particular, the representation of the human body in time and space (Assmus et al. 2003; Lou et al. 2004; Bolger et al. 2014). Since spiritual practices and experiences typically involve a perceived alteration in time and space (Newberg and Waldman 2009; Yaden et al. 2017), often an expanded sense of self in relation to the environment including subjective reports from the current study (see Supplementary Material), these findings lend support to our hypotheses and the relatively blunted activity of the IPL observed in the present study. The hemispheric lateralization of posterior parietal activation differs, however, across various studies of spirituality, which invites a more nuanced interpretation. Research has implicated the right IPL in the cognitive representation of one’s own body in space, while the left IPL has been linked to the visuo-spatial representation of others (Felician et al. 2003; Lou et al. 2004; Muhlau et al. 2005). Functionally connected to the ventral premotor cortex, the IPL contains both motor and mirror neurons which allow an observer to perceive individuals’ motor behaviors and intentions, and the left IPL in particular has been implicated in reading others’ intentions (Fogassi et al. 2005; D’Argembeau et al. 2008; Bonini et al. 2010). Moreover, research has linked the IPL to the attribution of agency, whereby left IPL activity may signal an attribution of agency outside of oneself (Farrer and Frith 2002). Taken together, the present finding suggests that spiritual experiences may involve a perceived encounter with a spacious “presence” or entity external to oneself. This interpretation is consistent with a strong feeling of connection or surrender to a deity or other revered figure, as often reported in religious and spiritual literature (James 1902; Wilber 2006).
The IPL has also been implicated in episodic memory retrieval as well as processing human faces (Leube et al. 2003; Mayes et al. 2004; Wagner et al. 2005), possibly suggesting that spiritual experiences interact with memory retrieval processes in a unique way. This possibility, however, is tempered by the fact that all three conditions involved re-experiencing highly salient memories, including those that may involve recollection of people (and thus their faces). As such, the experimental design argues against these possibilities. Nonetheless, future investigations involving larger samples may permit investigation of scripts with and without specific features (e.g., recollection of people or spiritual beings) to investigate such possibilities directly. Additionally, it is worth noting that the responses during the spiritual cue condition are congruent with the notion that systemsbased changes may occur on neural levels in response to changes in perception (Freiwald et al. 2016; Mazzarella et al. 2013).
But with mobile phones, texting, and social media, cocaine users around the world reported that their most recent cocaine order was delivered in less time, on average, than their most recent pizza order
A primer on fentanyl(s). Mark Kleiman, May 24, 2018. www.samefacts.com/2018/05/drug-policy/a-primer-on-fentanyls/
The synthetic opioids – usually referred to both in the press and by law enforcement as “fentanyl” – have now outstripped not only the prescription opioids such as oxycodone but also heroin in terms of overdose deaths, and (as you can see below) the trend line is almost vertical.
[...]
But with mobile phones, texting, and social media, transactions can now be arranged electronically and completed by home delivery, reducing the buyer’s risk and travel time to near zero and even his waiting time to minimal levels. In the recent Global Survey on Drugs, cocaine users around the world reported that their most recent cocaine order was delivered in less time, on average, than their most recent pizza order.
[...]
The synthetic opioids – usually referred to both in the press and by law enforcement as “fentanyl” – have now outstripped not only the prescription opioids such as oxycodone but also heroin in terms of overdose deaths, and (as you can see below) the trend line is almost vertical.
[...]
But with mobile phones, texting, and social media, transactions can now be arranged electronically and completed by home delivery, reducing the buyer’s risk and travel time to near zero and even his waiting time to minimal levels. In the recent Global Survey on Drugs, cocaine users around the world reported that their most recent cocaine order was delivered in less time, on average, than their most recent pizza order.
[...]
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