Less agreeable, better preserved? Lower Agreeableness is associated with better preservation of limbic area; aging-related hippocampal volume decrease is lower in elders with higher openness

Less agreeable, better preserved? A PET amyloid and MRI study in a community-based cohort. Panteleimon Giannakopoulos et al. Neurobiology of Aging, February 19 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2020.02.004

Highlights
•    Lower Agreeableness is associated with better preservation of limbic areas
•    Aging-related hippocampal volume decrease is lower in elders with higher openness
•    Personality impact on brain volume is independent of amyloid load and APOE genotype

Abstract: The relationship between personality profiles and brain integrity in old age is still matter of debate. We examined the association between Big Five factor and facet scores and MRI brain volume changes upon a 54-month follow-up in 65 elderly controls with three neurocognitive assessments (baseline, 18 and 54 months), structural brain MRI (baseline and 54 months), brain amyloid PET during follow-up, and APOE genotyping. Personality was assessed with the Neuroticism Extraversion Openness Personality Inventory-Revised. Regression models were used to identify predictors of volume loss including time, age, sex, personality, amyloid load, presence of APOE epsilon 4 allele and cognitive evolution. Lower agreeableness factor scores (and four of its facets) were associated with lower volume loss in hippocampus, entorhinal cortex, amygdala, mesial temporal lobe and precuneus bilaterally. Higher openness factor scores (and two of its facets) were also associated with lower volume loss in left hippocampus. Our findings persisted when adjusting for confounders in multivariable models. These data suggest that the combination of low agreeableness and high openness is an independent predictor of better preservation of brain volume in areas vulnerable to neurodegeneration.

White-faced capuchin monkey dyads in Costa Rica practice idiosyncratic interaction sequences that involve an unusual intensity of focus on the partner, behaviours of no immediate utilitarian purpose that sometimes involve "sacred objects"

Capuchin monkey rituals: an interdisciplinary study of form and function. Susan Perry, Marco Smolla. bioRxiv, Feb 24 2020. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.02.21.958223

Abstract: Many white-faced capuchin monkey dyads in Lomas Barbudal, Costa Rica, practice idiosyncratic interaction sequences that are not part of the species-typical behavioural repertoire. These interactions often include uncomfortable or risky elements. These interactions exhibit the following characteristics commonly featured in definitions of rituals in humans: (1) they involve an unusual intensity of focus on the partner, (2) the behaviours have no immediate utilitarian purpose, (3) they sometimes involve "sacred objects", (4) the distribution of these behaviours suggests that they are invented and spread via social learning, and (5) many behaviours in these rituals are repurposed from other behavioural domains (e.g. extractive foraging). However, in contrast to some definitions of ritual, capuchin rituals are not overly rigid in their form, nor do the sequences have specific opening and closing actions. In our 9,260 hours of observation, ritual performance rate was uncorrelated with amount of time dyads spent in proximity but is (modestly) associated with higher relationship quality and rate of coalition formation across dyads. Our results suggest that capuchin rituals serve a bond-testing rather than a bond-strengthening function. Ritual interactions are exclusively dyadic, and between-dyad consistency in form is low, casting doubt on the alternative hypothesis that they enhance group-wide solidarity.

Democrats overestimate the explicit prejudice of the American electorate, & thus see disadvantaged groups as less electable; Democrats who frequently interacted with Republicans had more accurate estimations of explicit prejudice

Mercier, Brett, Jared Celniker, and Azim Shariff. 2020. “Overestimating Explicit Prejudice Causes Democrats to Believe Disadvantaged Groups Are Less Electable.” PsyArXiv. February 24. doi:10.31234/osf.io/s52qz

Abstract: Three studies show that Democrats overestimate the explicit prejudice of the American electorate, and thus see disadvantaged groups as less electable. Study 1 found that Democrats underestimated the percentage of Americans who say they would vote for presidential candidates from disadvantaged groups. Study 2 replicated this finding and demonstrated that Democrats who perceive high levels of explicit prejudice towards a group also believe presidential candidates from that group would be less electable. Moreover, Democrats who frequently interacted with Republicans had more accurate estimations of explicit prejudice. Study 3 found that correcting misperceptions about explicit prejudice made Democrats believe generic presidential candidates from disadvantaged groups would be more electable. We did not find evidence that correcting misperceptions affected beliefs about the electability of specific candidates in the 2020 Democratic Primary or support for these candidates.

Ability self-estimates (SEs) exhibit strong correlations with personality traits; in most domains, personality explains more variance in SEs than abilities do

Self-estimates of abilities are a better reflection of individuals’ personality traits than of their abilities and are also strong predictors of professional interests. Aljoscha C. Neubauer, Gabriela Hofer. Personality and Individual Differences, February 24 2020, 109850. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.109850

Highlights
• Ability self-estimates (SEs) exhibit strong correlations with personality traits.
• Personality predicts SEs independently of measured abilities and grades.
• In most domains, personality explains more variance in SEs than abilities do.
• Interests are mostly a function of self-estimated and not true abilities.

Abstract: In several meta-analyses, self-estimates of abilities have been shown to correlate surprisingly low with individuals’ real (i.e., psychometrically assessed) abilities. We recently confirmed this in a study where we investigated the accuracy of self- and peer-estimates of six central abilities (verbal, numerical, spatial intelligence, interpersonal and intrapersonal competence, creative/divergent thinking). Here, we describe two studies: In study 1, we first investigated, to which extent self-estimates of adolescents’ central abilities can be predicted from three sources: relevant school grades, the pertinent psychometric ability itself, and personality (big five traits and narcissism). We found that self-estimates are a stronger reflection of the individuals’ personality than their abilities per se. Second, we wanted to assess to what degree (professional) interests, which might guide career decisions in adolescents/young adults, are predicted by self-estimated and psychometrically assessed abilities. We found that professional interests are mostly a function of self-estimates and not of ‘true’ abilities, a finding that we replicated in study 2 with young adults. Given the strong associations between self-estimates and personality and past findings showing that abilities are better predictors of professional success than personality traits are, this might be non-optimal.

Keywords: IntelligenceEmotional intelligenceCreativitySelf-estimatesGradesInterestsAdolescents

Individuals rated their past relationship quality more negatively in retrospect than they saw when in the relation; this bias ma ybe a motivated cognition that helps individuals let go of their ex-partners after a breakup

Ex-appraisal bias: Negative illusions in appraising relationship quality retrospectively. Aidan P. J. Smyth, Johanna Peetz, Adrienne A. Capaldi. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, February 24, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407520907150

Abstract: Cognitive biases are prevalent within the context of romantic relationships. The present research investigated biases about relationships after they have ended. In a longitudinal design (N = 184), individuals reported relationship quality at two time points, as well as rated relationship quality retrospectively. Results supported an ex-appraisal bias: individuals rated their past relationship quality more negatively in retrospect than they had actually reported at the time. This bias was present across participants who stayed together and those who broke up but was three times larger for those whose relationships had ended. This bias may be a motivated cognition that helps individuals let go of their ex-partners after a breakup.

Keywords: Breakup, ex-appraisal bias, ex-partner, motivated cognition, retrospective bias, romantic relationships

Personality, behavioral strengths and difficulties and performance of adolescents with high achievements in science, literature, art and sports

Personality, behavioral strengths and difficulties and performance of adolescents with high achievements in science, literature, art and sports. Kostas A. Papageorgiou et al. Personality and Individual Differences, Volume 160, 1 July 2020, 109917. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.109917

Highlights
•    Personality was more strongly related to behaviour problems than to achievement.
•    Personality may be indirectly linked with achievement via behavior problems.
•    Teacher-awarded grades, but not exam grades, were weakly connected with personality.
•    Teachers gave higher grades to students with ‘desirable’ personality traits.
•    Unlike dark traits, narcissism correlated negatively with internalizing problems.

Abstract: Individual variation in personality is related to differences in behavioral difficulties and achievement in unselected samples, and in samples selected for high achievement in various domains. This is the first study to explore and compare the connections between self-report measures of personality (Big Five and Dark Triad), behavioral strengths and difficulties, and school achievement in four tracks of high-achieving adolescents (N = 1179) selected based on their exceptional performance in: Science, Arts, Sports and Literature. Personality was more strongly related to behavioral strengths and difficulties than to achievement in all tracks. As such, personality traits may be indirectly linked with achievement via behavioral strengths and difficulties. For example, narcissism correlated negatively with behavioral difficulties but did not significantly correlate with achievement. However, achievement was correlated negatively with behavioral difficulties. Network analyses indicated that teacher-awarded grades, but not anonymous exam grades, were weakly connected with personality. Specifically, teachers awarded higher grades to students with more ‘desirable’ personality traits such as high agreeableness. Results also showed track differences in the networks of personality, behavior and achievement. These findings are discussed in the context of personality as a resilience factor against behavioural difficulties and as a contributor to school achievement in gifted adolescents.

Adults spontaneously make moral judgments consistent with the logic of universalization, and children show a comparable pattern of judgment as early as 4 years old

Levine, Sydney, Max Kleiman-Weiner, Laura Schulz, josh tenenbaum, and Fiery A. Cushman. 2020. “Universalization Reasoning Guides Moral Judgment.” PsyArXiv. February 23. osf.io/p7e6h

Abstract: To explain why an action is wrong, we sometimes say: “What if everybody did that?” In other words, even if a single person’s behavior is harmless, that behavior may be wrong if it would be harmful once universalized. We formalize the process of universalization in a computational model, test its quantitative predictions in studies of human moral judgment, and distinguish it from alternative models. We show that adults spontaneously make moral judgments consistent with the logic of universalization, and that children show a comparable pattern of judgment as early as 4 years old. We conclude that alongside other well-characterized mechanisms of moral judgment, such as outcome-based and rule-based thinking, the logic of universalizing holds an important place in our moral minds.