We compare how much food others are eating as compared to our portions, what types of foods they eat, dimensions related to eating such as body weight & shape & other dimensions like social status

C. Peter Herman, Janet Polivy, Patricia Pliner, Lenny R. Vartanian. Social Influences on Eating pp 147-162, September 6 2019. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-28817-4_9

Abstract: A large literature shows that people compare themselves to others on a wide variety of dimensions; this is called social comparison. Such comparisons to other people can provide useful guides for our behavior, and they may also have emotional consequences, affecting our self-esteem and happiness. We compare ourselves to others with respect to our food consumption as well as other behaviors related to eating. For example, we compare how much food others are eating as compared to our portions, what types of foods others eat, dimensions related to eating such as body weight and shape and even dimensions not directly related to eating such as social status. Such food-related social comparisons can affect not only our eating but our emotions and other behaviors as well. We want to “look good,” act appropriately, and be treated fairly, relative to others, and social comparisons around food and eating are important contributors to this.

Keywords: Social comparison Emotional response Amount of food Food choices Appropriate foods

We are poor at distinguishing knowledge that is in our heads from knowledge that resides in the community (KC); we overestimate how much we know or understand merely by participating in a KC

Individual Representation in a Community of Knowledge. Nathaniel Rabb, Philip M. Fernbach, Steven A. Sloman. Volume 23, Issue 10, October 2019, Pages 891-902. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2019.07.011

Highlights
.  The knowledge that supports many of our beliefs and attitudes resides not in our own heads, but in a community of knowledge constituted by other people, artifacts, and information repositories (e.g., libraries or the Internet).
.  Individuals are poor at distinguishing knowledge that is in their heads from knowledge that resides in the community. This leads them to overestimate how much they know or understand merely by participating in a community of knowledge.
.  This failure of differentiation has implications for public discourse. Extreme views about science and politics have been found to covary with knowledge overestimation.
.  Modeling individual cognition under collective knowledge is an emerging challenge for cognitive science.

Abstract: An individual’s knowledge is collective in at least two senses: it often comes from other people’s testimony, and its deployment in reasoning and action requires accuracy underwritten by other people’s knowledge. What must one know to participate in a collective knowledge system? Here, we marshal evidence that individuals retain detailed causal information for a few domains and coarse causal models embedding markers indicating that these details are available elsewhere (others’ heads or the physical world) for most domains. This framework yields further questions about metacognition, source credibility, and individual computation that are theoretically and practically important. Belief polarization depends on the web of epistemic dependence and is greatest for those who know the least, plausibly due to extreme conflation of others’ knowledge with one’s own.

Keywords: collective cognitionknowledge representation

When outdated norms are used, the Flynn Effect inflates IQs and potentially biases intellectual disability diagnosis; a Flynn Effect was found for IQs ≥ 130, and a negative effect for IQs ≤ 70

The Flynn effect for fluid IQ may not generalize to all ages or ability levels: A population-based study of 10,000 US adolescents. Jonathan M. Platt et al. Intelligence, Volume 77, November–December 2019, 101385. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intell.2019.101385

Highlights
•    When outdated norms are used, the Flynn Effect inflates IQs and potentially biases intellectual disability diagnosis
•    In a large US-representative adolescent sample, a Flynn Effect was found for IQs ≥ 130, and a negative effect for IQs ≤ 70
•    IQ changes also differed substantially by age group
•    A negative Flynn Effect for those with low intellectual ability suggests widening disparities in cognitive ability
•    Findings challenge the practice of generalizing IQ trends based on data from non-representative samples

Abstract: Generational changes in IQ (the Flynn Effect) have been extensively researched and debated. Within the US, gains of 3 points per decade have been accepted as consistent across age and ability level, suggesting that tests with outdated norms yield spuriously high IQs. However, findings are generally based on small samples, have not been validated across ability levels, and conflict with reverse effects recently identified in Scandinavia and other countries. Using a well-validated measure of fluid intelligence, we investigated the Flynn Effect by comparing scores normed in 1989 and 2003, among a representative sample of American adolescents ages 13–18 (n = 10,073). Additionally, we examined Flynn Effect variation by age, sex, ability level, parental age, and SES. Adjusted mean IQ differences per decade were calculated using generalized linear models. Overall the Flynn Effect was not significant; however, effects varied substantially by age and ability level. IQs increased 2.3 points at age 13 (95% CI = 2.0, 2.7), but decreased 1.6 points at age 18 (95% CI = −2.1, −1.2). IQs decreased 4.9 points for those with IQ ≤ 70 (95% CI = −4.9, −4.8), but increased 3.5 points among those with IQ ≥ 130 (95% CI = 3.4, 3.6). The Flynn Effect was not meaningfully related to other background variables. Using the largest sample of US adolescent IQs to date, we demonstrate significant heterogeneity in fluid IQ changes over time. Reverse Flynn Effects at age 18 are consistent with previous data, and those with lower ability levels are exhibiting worsening IQ over time. Findings by age and ability level challenge generalizing IQ trends throughout the general population.

Genetic and Environmental Influences on Different Forms of Bullying Perpetration, Bullying Victimization, and Their Co-occurrence: Genes play a large role

Genetic and Environmental Influences on Different Forms of Bullying Perpetration, Bullying Victimization, and Their Co-occurrence. Sabine A. M. Veldkamp et al. Behavior Genetics, September 10 2019. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10519-019-09968-5

Abstract: Bullying comes in different forms, yet most previous genetically-sensitive studies have not distinguished between them. Given the serious consequences and the high prevalence of bullying, it is remarkable that the aetiology of bullying and its different forms has been under-researched. We present the first study to investigate the genetic architecture of bullying perpetration, bullying victimization, and their co-occurrence for verbal, physical and relational bullying. Primary-school teachers rated 8215 twin children on bullying perpetration and bullying victimization. For each form of bullying, we investigated, through genetic structural equation modelling, the genetic and environmental influences on being a bully, a victim or both. 34% of the children were involved as bully, victim, or both. The correlation between being a bully and being a victim varied from 0.59 (relational) to 0.85 (physical). Heritability was ~ 70% for perpetration and ~ 65% for victimization, similar in girls and boys, yet both were somewhat lower for the relational form. Shared environmental influences were modest and more pronounced among girls. The correlation between being a bully and being a victim was explained mostly by genetic factors for verbal (~ 71%) and especially physical (~ 77%) and mostly by environmental factors for relational perpetration and victimization (~ 60%). Genes play a large role in explaining which children are at high risk of being a victim, bully, or both. For victimization this suggests an evocative gene-environment correlation: some children are at risk of being exposed to bullying, partly due to genetically influenced traits. So, genetic influences make some children more vulnerable to become a bully, victim or both.

Keywords: Bullying Victimization Bully-victims Twins Heritability School

Moderate drinkers seem to higher earnings than constant abstainers, & both constant abstainers and former drinkers are less likely to be employed than moderate drinkers; at least for short-run estimations

Adolescent Alcohol Consumption and Labor Market Outcomes. Laura Tikkanen. Jyväskylä University, School of Business and Economics. Master’s Thesis 2019. https://jyx.jyu.fi/bitstream/handle/123456789/64108/URN%3ANBN%3Afi%3Ajyu-201905222710.pdf?sequence=1

Abstract: Misuse of alcohol at young age has been linked to several problems in adult-hood. In this study, it isexamined if alcohol consumption has a negative effect on the earnings and employment of adolescence. Earlier literature shows that risky and heavy alcohol consumption tends to result both in poor labor market outcomes and reduced health.However, the results also indicate that moderate alcohol consumption is oftenassociated with the most favorable labor market outcomes, such as the highest earnings. In this study, data are drawn fromthe Health 2000 -studyconducted by the National Institute for Health and Welfare. The final estimation sample consists of 1171 individuals aged 18-29. These individuals are divided into four categories based on their drinking habits; heavy drinkers, moderate drinkers, former drinkers and constant abstainers. The differences between the categories arecom-pared using OLS-regression method. The results indicate that moderate drinkers seem to higher earnings than constant abstainers. Furthermore, both constant abstainers and former drinkers are less likely to be employed than moderate drinkers. Since the data set covers a period of only one year, the results can only be used for short-run estimations. The participants of the study were also relatively young which makes it difficult to estimate the true impact of alcohol consumption on their earnings and employment later in life. Therefore, the conclusion of the study is that further research on long-term labor market outcomes is needed.

Key Words:alcohol  consumption,  alcohol,  labor  market  outcomes,  earnings,  employment, adolescents, OLSregression

Personality traits of low conscientiousness and low emotional stability are associated with reduced healthy life expectancy of individuals and population

Personality, disability‐free life years, and life expectancy: Individual‐participant meta‐analysis of 131,195 individuals from 10 cohort studies. Markus Jokela et al. Journal of Personality, September 8 2019. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12513

Abstract
Objective: We examined how personality traits of the Five Factor Model were related to years of healthy life years lost (mortality and disability) for individuals and the population.

Method: Participants were 131,195 individuals from 10 cohort studies from Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States (n=43,935 from 7 cohort studies for the longitudinal analysis of disability, assessed using scales of Activities of Daily Living, ADL).

Results: Lower conscientiousness was associated with higher mortality and disability risk, but only when conscientiousness was below its median level. If the excess risk associated with low conscientiousness had been absent, population life expectancy would have been 1.3 years longer and disability‐free life 1.0 years longer. Lower emotional stability was related to shorter life expectancy, but only among those in the lowest 15% of the distribution, and disability throughout the distribution: if the excess risk associated with low emotional stability had been absent, population life expectancy would have been 0.4 years longer and disability‐free life 2.4 years longer.

Conclusions: Personality traits of low conscientiousness and low emotional stability are associated with reduced healthy life expectancy of individuals and population.

Incels and the stories they tell: A narrative analysis of Incels’ shared stories on Reddit

Incels and the stories they tell: A narrative analysis of Incels’ shared stories on Reddit. Thea Høiland. Master’s thesis in Sociology, Department of Sociology and Human Geography, Oslo U. May 27 2019. https://www.duo.uio.no/bitstream/handle/10852/69841/1/Masteroppgave-arbeidsversjon---Ferdig-versjon.pdf

Abstract:
After the separation of pro- and anti-feminist groups in the USA in the 1970s, we saw a growth in more overtly anti-feminist politics throughout the 198’s and 1990s. In 2010s, a more hateful culture emerged, largely due to the possibility for anonymity on the Internet. This is The manosphere, a now transnational, conglomeration of forums, blogs and websites which center around the concept of The Red Pill, a philosophy meant to awaken men to feminism’s misandry and brainwashing. This thesis is about a specific group found in The manosphere, a group of men who view themselves as unable to find a partner or have sex despite desiring to. They are known as Incels or involuntary celibate. I wish to describe and understand this online culture and community by looking at the shared stories they tell through a narrative analysis. Incels are new phenomenon, and my thesis is the first academic study to cover the present constellation of Incels.The research question is as follows: What are the main narratives that emerge in the shared stories told amongst Incels on /r/Braincels? I focus on co-tellership and shared meanings through these supporting research questions: How are the characters from the Incel-word represented? What are the Incel community norms and rights associated with the narrative interactions? Whose interests does the stories serve? I use mediated narrative analysis to analyze the shared stories on three levels: at level one, I look at the shared story through character portrayal. At level two, I look at the sharing and interaction in the shared story. This means discussing the relational work and interactions amongst tellers. I also look the positioning of Incels to hegemonic masculinity, are they distancing or aligning themselves with hegemonic masculinity? At level three, I look at the shared meanings, that being the main narratives and whose interests the stories serve. 

The five main narratives that emerged through my data are as follows: 1) the narrative of sex is what decides a man’s worth 2),  the narrative of “looks are everything; personality is nothing”, 3) The narrative of women being subordinate to men, 4) The narrative of anti-feminism and 5)The narrative of loneliness.Throughout my analysis, I look at the constellation of Incels’ hybrid masculinity in light of hegemonic and hybrid masculinity theories. I find that Incels position hegemonic masculinity as superior to both Incels and women. Women are presented as subordinate to men, and feminine traits are positioned as subordinate to masculine traits. Incels place themselves in another masculine identity than hegemonic masculinity by contrasting themselves to the stereotypical masculine ideal, Chad. In addition, Incels distance themselves through talking about their failures and expresing emotions. This is not accepted when performing hegemonic masculinity.Lastly, I find that /r/Braincels functions as a channel for venting frustration for themen who consider themselves Incels, and who consider our modern day society unfair and cruel to (what they categorize as) ugly men. At the same time, they show concerning categorizations of gender and misogyny. They present themselves as victims, and women as the enemy.

Rolf Degen summarizing: Individuals with a higher degree of pro-environmental attitudes were more prone to moral licensing, offsetting previous good environmental deeds with subsequent bad ones

A behavioral rebound effect. Zack Dorner. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, September 4 2019, 102257. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2019.102257

Abstract; Pro-environmental behaviors are an important avenue for mitigating environmental impacts. Technological improvements are also a vital tool for reducing environmental damage from consumption. However, their benefits are partially offset by the direct rebound effect, whereby a consumer rationally responds to an increase in resource use efficiency by consuming more. This paper investigates whether technological improvement might also reduce behaviorally motivated mitigation of environmental damage. A behavioral rebound effect operates through two channels. First, pro-environmental effort is reduced after a decrease in marginal environmental damage. Second, moral licensing reduces pro-environmental effort further when technological change is endogenous. I develop a novel real effort laboratory experiment to identify these behaviors. I find a positive behavioral rebound effect. I also find evidence consistent with moral licensing, which is strongest among subjects with a higher degree of pro-environmental attitudes and beliefs. Subjects’ baseline level of pro-environmental effort is driven by beliefs about social norms.

Check also Academic air travel has a limited influence on professional success. Seth Wynes et al. Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 226, 20 July 2019, Pages 959-967. https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2019/06/we-found-no-significant-difference.html

And The Behavior of Ethicists.  Eric Schwitzgebel and Joshua Rust. In A Companion to Experimental Philosophy, edited by Justin Sytsma and Wesley Buckwalter. Aug 2017. https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/08/the-behavior-of-ethicists-ch-15-of.html

Persons with Disabilities: Association of Internet Use with Wellbeing, Mental Health and Health Behaviours

The Association of Internet Use with Wellbeing, Mental Health and Health Behaviours of Persons with Disabilities. Mariusz Duplaga and Katarzyna Szulc. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(18), 3252, September 4 2019. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16183252

Abstract
Introduction: There is strong evidence that people with disabilities suffer from a significant digital divide. However, there are reports indicating that Internet use may result in many benefits for those with disabilities. The aim of the study was to assess the impact that the use of the Internet has on the wellbeing and health behaviours of persons with disabilities.

Methods: An analysis was carried out using the dataset obtained from Social Diagnosis, a panel study undertaken on a nationally representative sample. The records of persons with disabilities were retrieved from the dataset which was established in 2015. An analysis of the association between Internet use and the wellbeing, mental health and health behaviours of the respondents was undertaken. The variables reflecting the self-assessment of their own life and experience of loneliness were treated as being indicators of their wellbeing and the prevalence of suicidal thoughts or making use of psychological help as indicators of mental health. The health behaviours analysed in the study included smoking, excessive consumption of alcohol and undertaking physical activity. For all these variables, multivariate logistic regression models were developed. The effect of Internet use was adjusted for sociodemographic variables and the degree of disability. An analysis was performed after applying post-stratification weights available from the Social Diagnosis study.

Results: The weighted study group consisted of 2529 people having a mean age of 59.33 ± 16.89 years. The group included 20.71% (N = 524) respondents with a mild, 41.58% (N = 1052) with a moderate, and 26.54% (N = 671) with a severe disability. The proportion of Internet users was 37.07% (N = 937). In all the regression models, Internet use had a significant impact on the dependent variables. After adjustment for sociodemographic variables and the degree of disability, the Internet users more frequently assessed their lives as happy (odds ratio, 95% confidence interval: 1.86, 1.47–2.37) and less frequently experienced loneliness (0.63, 0.49–0.81) or suicidal thoughts (0.47, 0.35–0.65). In addition, they needed psychological help less frequently (0.50, 0.35–0.72). Interestingly, Internet users undertook some form of physical activity or sport more often (2.41, 1.87–3.13) and fewer smoked cigarettes (0.70, 0.54–0.91) or consumed alcohol excessively (0.32, 0.19–0.56).

Conclusions: The use of the Internet by people with disabilities was associated with improved wellbeing, better mental health and more beneficial health behaviours. These findings support the development of intensive actions to reduce the digital divide for the population of people with disabilities.

Keywords: disability; digital divide; Internet use; wellbeing; mental health; health behaviours

While intuitively and theoretically sound, the empirical support for acute stress-reducing effects of immersion in natural environments is tentative due to small sample sizes and methodological weaknesses in the studies

Effects of Public Green Space on Acute Psychophysiological Stress Response: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Evidence. Lærke Mygind et al. Environment and Behavior, September 9, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916519873376

Abstract: Contact with nature is widely considered to ameliorate psychological stress, but the empirical support for a causal link is limited. We conducted a systematic review to synthesize and critically assess the evidence. Six electronic databases were searched. Twenty-six studies evaluated the difference between the effect of natural environments and that of a suitable control on the acute psychophysiological stress response. Eighteen studies were rated as being of moderate quality, four studies of low quality, and four studies of high quality. Meta-analyses indicated that seated relaxation (g = .5, p = .06) and walking (g = .3, p = .02) in natural environments enhanced heart rate variability more than the same activities in control conditions. Cortisol concentration measures were inconsistent. While intuitively and theoretically sound, the empirical support for acute stress-reducing effects of immersion in natural environments is tentative due to small sample sizes and methodological weaknesses in the studies. We provide guidelines for future research.

Keywords: biomarker, green exercise, mental health, relaxation, restorative environments, social ecology/human ecology

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 Strengths and Limitations of This Review 
A notable weakness in these meta-analyses is related to small sample sizes in the included studies and that at least two of the meta-analyses were at risk of being influenced by small-study effects, indicated by asymmetric funnel plots. Small-study effects, which can encompass publication bias where small studies are more frequently published when they report treatment effects, distort the estimated pooled effect sizes, rendering them a less accurate representation of the “true” effect sizes. Although the number of studies included in the funnel plots was small and indications of publication bias were tentative, we recommend that researchers as well as journals publish null findings and results that counter hypotheses. 

As described in the “Method” section, the review was nested within a larger review with a broader set of inclusion criteria. While the comprehensiveness of the literature search might have elicited a high retrieval rate by covering diverse fields of research and search terms, the approach would be immensely time-consuming to reproduce. Furthermore, the search strategy was based on the assumption that a broad, thematic search relating to health, well-being, and psychological stress would include studies utilizing psycho-physiological outcomes. As such, the dependent variables were not pre-defined or included in the search strategy. While this could be speculated to result in the omission of relevant papers, the retrieval rate within the specific field of this review was higher than previously seen (Bowler et al., 2010; Haluza et al., 2014; Twohig-Bennett & Jones, 2018). In comparison to the most recent review by Twohig-Bennett and Jones (2018), we retrieved nine studies not included in their review (Aspinall et al., 2015; Brown et al., 2014; Dettweiler et al., 2017; Gidlow, Randall, Gillman, Smith, & Jones, 2016; Hohashi & Kobayashi, 2013; W. Kim et al., 2009; Lee et al., 2009; Matsuura et al., 2011; Park et al., 2008), while we missed five studies included in theirs (Grazuleviciene et al., 2016; Jia et al., 2016; Song et al., 2013; Song, Ikei, Igarashi, et al., 2015; Tsunetsugu et al., 2013). To acknowledge the contributions made by these five additional studies, we performed post hoc quality assessments and included study characteristics and quality in Supplementary Material C. The studies generally reported positive findings but did not alter the overall conclusions of our review. The studies were rated as being of low-to-moderate quality and shared the limitations observed in the body of evidence discussed above. 

No one in the author group was proficient in Asian languages, and some studies that could potentially have been relevant were excluded from this review (e.g., Joung et al., 2015; Park et al., 2014; Song, Lee, Ikei, et al., 2015). In addition, studies exploring the effects of contact with nature through, for example, gardening, views through windows, or virtual nature were not included in this review.

Conclusion 
While intuitively and theoretically sound, the empirical support for a stress-reducing impact of natural environments is tentative. The majority of the studies reported positive effects, but small-study effects might bias the body of evidence. Where possible, random-effect meta-analyses were performed to calculate pooled effect sizes. Meta-analyses indicated that seated relaxation (g= .5, p= .06) and walking (g = .3, p= .02) in natural environments enhanced vagally mediated HRV more than the same activi-ties in control conditions. Cortisol concentration measures were inconsistent. Future research would benefit from including larger sample sizes, increased population diversity (in terms of sociodemographic factors, medical conditions and diagnoses, age, and sex), blinding of outcome assessors (for group or condition assignment) and participants (for research question and aims), and thorough descriptions of natural and control environments and conditions, as well as participant recruitment and inclusion criteria. Further attention to quantitative assessment and control for potential confounding factors, such as temperature and physical activity, as well as inconsistent baseline levels, is warranted. Last, we recommend that researchers preregister trials to enhance transparency and accountability in the research field.

Students in the active classroom learn more, but they feel like they learn less in part by the increased cognitive effort required during active learning; those perceptions could promote inferior (passive) pedagogical methods

Measuring actual learning versus feeling of learning in response to being actively engaged in the classroom. Louis Deslauriers, Logan S. McCarty, Kelly Miller, Kristina Callaghan, and Greg Kestin. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, September 4, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1821936116

Significance: Despite active learning being recognized as a superior method of instruction in the classroom, a major recent survey found that most college STEM instructors still choose traditional teaching methods. This article addresses the long-standing question of why students and faculty remain resistant to active learning. Comparing passive lectures with active learning using a randomized experimental approach and identical course materials, we find that students in the active classroom learn more, but they feel like they learn less. We show that this negative correlation is caused in part by the increased cognitive effort required during active learning. Faculty who adopt active learning are encouraged to intervene and address this misperception, and we describe a successful example of such an intervention.

Abstract: We compared students’ self-reported perception of learning with their actual learning under controlled conditions in large-enrollment introductory college physics courses taught using 1) active instruction (following best practices in the discipline) and 2) passive instruction (lectures by experienced and highly rated instructors). Both groups received identical class content and handouts, students were randomly assigned, and the instructor made no effort to persuade students of the benefit of either method. Students in active classrooms learned more (as would be expected based on prior research), but their perception of learning, while positive, was lower than that of their peers in passive environments. This suggests that attempts to evaluate instruction based on students’ perceptions of learning could inadvertently promote inferior (passive) pedagogical methods. For instance, a superstar lecturer could create such a positive feeling of learning that students would choose those lectures over active learning. Most importantly, these results suggest that when students experience the increased cognitive effort associated with active learning, they initially take that effort to signify poorer learning. That disconnect may have a detrimental effect on students’ motivation, engagement, and ability to self-regulate their own learning. Although students can, on their own, discover the increased value of being actively engaged during a semester-long course, their learning may be impaired during the initial part of the course. We discuss strategies that instructors can use, early in the semester, to improve students’ response to being actively engaged in the classroom.

Keywords: scientific teachingundergraduate educationevidence-based teachingconstructivism

Women’s Sexual Satisfaction, Communication, and Reasons for (No Longer) Faking Orgasm: Findings from a U.S. Probability Sample

Women’s Sexual Satisfaction, Communication, and Reasons for (No Longer) Faking Orgasm: Findings from a U.S. Probability Sample. Debby Herbenick et al. Archives of Sexual Behavior, September 9 2019. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-019-01493-0

Abstract: We aimed to assess, among a U.S. probability sample of adult women: (1) the prevalence of, and reasons given for, faking and no longer faking orgasm, (2) women’s histories of sexual non-communication and reasons for non-communication, (3) associations between sexual non-communication and sexual satisfaction and faking orgasm, (4) associations between specific sexual communication and recent sexual satisfaction, and (5) associations between specific sexual communication and faking orgasm. Respondents were 1008 adult women ages 18–94 from the GfK KnowledgePanel (a nationally representative probability sample of non-institutionalized and English-speaking adults), who completed a confidential Internet-based survey. Although 58.8% of female respondents reported having ever faked/pretended orgasm, 67.3% of those who had ever faked orgasm no longer did. Women who continued to fake orgasms were more likely to indicate embarrassment talking about sex with their partner in explicit ways and were less likely to agree that they and their partner are able to talk specifically about what makes sex more pleasurable for them. More than half (55.4%) of women reported they had wanted to communicate with a partner regarding sex but decided not to; the most common reasons were not wanting to hurt a partner’s feelings (42.4%), not feeling comfortable going into detail (40.2%), and embarrassment (37.7%). Greater self-reported sexual satisfaction was associated with more comfortable sexual communication. Study findings and implications for professionals are discussed in the context of adult sexual development and learning. This includes growing more comfortable talking with a partner about sexual preferences and sexual pleasure.

Keywords: Female pleasure Sexual communication Sexual satisfaction Probability sample Faking orgasm