From 2013... The Good-in-Bed Effect: College Students’ Tendency to See Themselves as Better Than Others as a Sex Partner

The Good-in-Bed Effect: College Students’ Tendency to See Themselves as Better Than Others as a Sex Partner. James K. Beggan, Jennifer A. Vencill & Sheila Garos. The Journal of Psychology, Interdisciplinary and Applied, Volume 147, 2013 - Issue 5, Pages 415-434, Jul 2013. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223980.2012.707992

ABSTRACT: Self-enhancement refers to the finding that people tend to see themselves as better than others. The present research tested whether people display self-enhancement with regard to beliefs about their competency as sexual partners (the good-in-bed effect). Participants were asked to list good and bad sexually related behaviors more frequently performed by the self or by others. Study 1 demonstrated that people selectively associate themselves with good and others with bad sexual behaviors. In Study 2, independent raters judged bad behaviors associated with the self as less negative than bad behaviors associated with others. Study 3 replicated the good-in-bed effect and also found that when the salience of the comparison between good and bad traits is increased, men are more likely than women to demonstrate the effect. Implications of the results for relationship satisfaction are considered.

Keywords: gender, self-concept, self-enhancement, sex, sexual self, stereotypes

Childhood Maltreatment, Gender Nonconformity, and Adolescent Sexual Orientation: A Prospective Birth Cohort Study

Childhood Maltreatment, Gender Nonconformity, and Adolescent Sexual Orientation: A Prospective Birth Cohort Study. Yin Xu  Sam Norton  Qazi Rahman. Child Development, October 18 2019. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13317

Abstract: This study tested whether associations between childhood maltreatment and adolescent sexual orientation were accounted for by childhood gender nonconforming behavior (GNCB) in a prospective birth cohort (N = 5,007). Childhood parental maltreatment (physical and emotional) and GNCB were assessed on multiple occasions up to age 6 years, and sexual orientation at 15.5 years. Boys with a history of maltreatment were significantly more likely to be nonheterosexual. Using propensity score weighting, maltreatment was associated with a 3.5% (p = .03) increase in the prevalence of nonheterosexuality accounting for confounders not including GNCB, and by 2.9% (p = .06) when also accounting for GNCB. These findings suggest that maltreatment is associated with an increased prevalence of nonheterosexuality in boys but may be explained by confounding factors including GNCB.

Lavender vote: Partnered lesbians and gay men are more likely than comparable heterosexuals to identify with the left, support leftist policy objectives, and vote for left‐of‐centre political parties

The European lavender vote: Sexuality, ideology and vote choice in Western Europe. Stuart J Turnbull. The European Journal of Political Research, October 18 2019. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6765.12366

Abstract: In many European democracies, political punditry has highlighted the attempts of political parties on the left to court the “lavender vote” of lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals. This article examines the presence of a gay vote in Western Europe with a focus on assessing the role of sexuality in shaping individuals’ political preferences and voting behaviour. Empirically, the effect of sexuality on both ideological identification as well as party vote choice is analysed. Using a cumulative dataset of eight rounds of the European Social Survey between 2002–2017, this article demonstrates that partnered lesbians and gay men are more likely than comparable heterosexuals to identify with the left, support leftist policy objectives, and vote for left‐of‐centre political parties. The analysis represents the first empirical cross‐national European study of the voting behaviour of homosexual individuals and sheds new light on the importance of sexuality as a predictor of political ideology and voting behaviour within the Western European context.

Testing popular news discourse on the “echo chamber” effect: Little evidence that political polarisation occurs among those relying on social media as their primary politics news source

Testing popular news discourse on the “echo chamber” effect: Does political polarisation occur among those relying on social media as their primary politics news source? Nguyen, A. and Vu, H.T. First Monday, 24 (5), 6. Jun 4 2019. http://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/32048/

Abstract: Since 2016, online social networks (OSNs), especially their “big data” algorithm, have been intensively blamed in popular news discourse for acting as an echo chamber that entraps like-minded voters in closed ideological circles and engenders political polarisation, with serious damages to democratic processes. This study examines this “echo chamber” argument through the rather divisive case of EU politics among EU citizens. Based on an exploratory secondary analysis of the Eurobarometer 86.2 survey dataset, we investigate whether the reliance on OSNs as a primary EU politics news source can lead people to more polarisation in EU-related political beliefs and attitudes than such reliance on legacy media. We found little evidence of this polarisation, which lends credence to a rejection of the “echo chamber” argument.

Keywords: echo chamber; filter bubble; political polarisation; social news; news on social media; digital news consumption; EU politics; populism;

Check also Right-Wing Populism, Social Media and Echo Chambers in Western Democracies. Shelley Boulianne, Karolina Koc-Michalska, Bruce Bimber. New Media & Society, presented, in review. Sep 2019. https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2019/10/echo-chambers-usa-overall-we-find-no.html

Echo Chambers, USA: Overall, we find no evidence that online/social media explain support for right-wing populist candidates & parties; use of online media decreases support for right-wing populism

Right-Wing Populism, Social Media and Echo Chambers in Western Democracies. Shelley Boulianne, Karolina Koc-Michalska, Bruce Bimber. New Media & Society, presented, in review. Sep 2019. https://academic.macewan.ca/bouliannes/files/2019/09/NMS_FINAL_March2019all.pdf

Abstract: Many observers are concerned that echo chamber effects in digital media are contributing to the polarization of publics and in some places to the rise of right-wing populism. This study employs survey data collected in France, the United Kingdom, and United States (1500 respondents in each country) from April to May 2017. Overall, we do not find evidence that online/social media explain support for right-wing populist candidates and parties. Instead, in the USA, use of online media decreases support for right-wing populism. Looking specifically at echo chambers measures, we find offline discussion with those who are similar in race, ethnicity, and class positively correlates with support for populist candidates and parties in the UK and France. The findings challenge claims about the role of social media and the rise of populism.

Keywords: populism, social media, digital media, echo chambers, political discussion, selective exposure, cross-national