The effect of eyelash length on attractiveness: While eyelashes of an optimum ratio are considered more attractive, this preference is not solely a biologically adaptive phenomenon and is influenced by cultural norms

Pazhoohi, F., & Kingstone, A. (2020). The effect of eyelash length on attractiveness: A previously uninvestigated indicator of beauty. Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences, Nov 2020. https://doi.org/10.1037/ebs0000243

Abstract: Human eyelashes are one of the facial features that contributes to facial attractiveness. While enhancing the appearance of eyelashes has been practiced since antiquity, research investigations that consider the effect of their length on perceived attractiveness are scarce. Length of eyelashes can be an indicator of health, and it has recently been proposed that there is an optimum length for eye protection. In the current article, we investigated if the attractiveness of eyelash length dovetails with these evolutionary and functional proposals. Our results support this proposition, with the preference for eyelash length following an inverted-U function, with the highest ratings peaking at approximately one third of the eyes’ width. Interestingly, there is a difference between male and female faces, suggesting that while in general, eyelashes of an optimum ratio are considered more attractive, this preference is not solely a biologically adaptive phenomenon and is influenced by cultural norms.

Participants most wished to avoid information about their partners’ prior sexual behavior or infidelity, as well as their partners’ prejudices; threats to the self and relationship may influence the decision to avoid information

Avoiding information about one’s romantic partner. Maryam Hussain et al. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, November 3, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407520969856

Rolf Degen's take: https://twitter.com/DegenRolf/status/1323613704668225536

Abstract: Research links open communication and self-disclosure to a host of beneficial outcomes in romantic relationships, including better relationship quality, relationship satisfaction, feelings of closeness and commitment, and relationship longevity. However, learning some information about a partner may evoke negative consequences. In two studies, we examined the types of information people may wish to avoid learning about their past or current romantic partners (Study 1), and individual differences in avoidance of information about a current romantic partner (Study 2). Content-coding of data from Study 1 revealed that a majority (51%) of respondents wished to avoid information related to their partner’s history of sexual behavior and/or infidelity. In Study 2, participants who were older and who scored higher on measures of anxious and avoidant attachment were more likely to want to avoid information about their partner. Furthermore, replicating and extending Study 1, participants most wished to avoid information about their partners’ prior sexual behavior and/or infidelity, as well as their partners’ prejudices. We interpret our findings in terms of a threat-management framework for information avoidance, suggesting that threats to the self and relationship may influence the decision to avoid information about a romantic partner.

Keywords: Attachment, information avoidance, romantic relationships, sexuality, uncertainty

Overnighting – staying overnight at someone else’s home or having them stay overnight at your place -- is widespread throughout the epidemic, over half American adults had at least one overnight

Kelley, Jonathan, MDR Evans, and Sarah Kelley. 2020. “Let's Spend the Night Togheter: A Challenge for Medically Optimal Coronavirus Social Distancing Policies.” SocArXiv. October 29. doi:10.31235/osf.io/tsqyb

Rolf Degen's take: https://twitter.com/DegenRolf/status/1323546443282554880

Abstract: Public health efforts aiming to slow the COVID-19 epidemic and protect the vulnerable by reducing interpersonal contact and increasing interpersonal physical distance have achieved considerable success. About three-quarters of Americans report following all the recommended practices. But there is an elephant in the room: Overnighting – staying overnight at someone else’s home or having them stay overnight at your place -- is rarely mentioned publicly. But we find that overnighting is widespread throughout the epidemic thus far. In the past month, over half American adults had at least one overnight guest and about the same number (but not always the same people) spent at least one night at somebody else's home. The consequences are striking: People who overnight are more than twice as likely to report having had COVID-19. Who overnights? Overnighting is much more common among young adults (over 60% for those 25-34) than among their seniors (dipping below 40% for those age 65 and over). Moreover, risk seekers overnight much more than otherwise-similar risk-averse peers. Data: International Social Science Survey, Round 21, Cohorts 1-7, collected April –September 2020, N=9,474. Methods: Descriptive statistics and OLS.

Playing With Fear: A Field Study in Recreational Horror

Playing With Fear: A Field Study in Recreational Horror. Marc Malmdorf Andersen et al. Psychological Science, November 2, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797620972116

Rolf Degen's take: https://twitter.com/DegenRolf/status/1323520582550458368

Abstract: Haunted attractions are illustrative examples of recreational fear in which people voluntarily seek out frightening experiences in pursuit of enjoyment. We present findings from a field study at a haunted-house attraction where visitors between the ages of 12 and 57 years (N = 110) were equipped with heart rate monitors, video-recorded at peak scare points during the attraction, and asked to report on their experience. Our results show that enjoyment has an inverted-U-shaped relationship with fear across repeated self-reported measures. Moreover, results from physiological data demonstrate that the experience of being frightened is a linear function of large-scale heart rate fluctuations, whereas there is an inverted-U-shaped relationship between participant enjoyment and small-scale heart rate fluctuations. These results suggest that enjoyment is related to forms of arousal dynamics that are “just right.” These findings shed light on how fear and enjoyment can coexist in recreational horror.

Keywords: fear, enjoyment, play, heart rate, arousal, horror, open data, open materials

Most Democrats are very confident in a Biden win while most Republicans are very confident in a Trump win; also, respondents predict a fairly rosy economic scenario if their preferred candidate wins but a dire one otherwise

Coibion, Olivier and Gorodnichenko, Yuriy and Weber, Michael, Political Polarization and Expected Economic Outcomes (October 27, 2020). University of Chicago, Becker Friedman Institute for Economics Working Paper No. 2020-158, SSRN: http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3720679

Abstract: We use a large-scale representative survey of households from October 19-21 that elicits respondents’ expectations about the presidential election’s outcome as well as their economic expectations to document several new facts. First, people disagree strongly about the likely outcome of the election, despite widespread publicly available polling information. Most Democrats are very confident in a Biden win while most Republicans are very confident in a Trump win. Second, respondents predict a fairly rosy economic scenario if their preferred candidate wins but a dire one if the other candidate wins. Since most respondents are confident in their favored outcome, unconditional forecasts are similar across parties despite the fact that underlying probability distributions and conditional forecasts are very different. Third, when presented with recent polling data, most voters change their views by little unless they are independent and/or have relatively weak priors about the outcome. Information that emphasizes the uncertainty in polling data has larger effects in terms of reducing polarization in expected probabilities over different electoral outcomes. Fourth, exogenous information that changes individuals’ probability distribution over electoral outcomes also changes their unconditional forecasts in a corresponding manner. These changes in economic expectations in turn are likely to affect household economic decisions.

Keywords: Elections, political views, COVID-19, expectations, randomized controlled trial, Bayesian learning

JEL Classification: E31, C83, D84, J21, J26

Secularism, even in small amounts, is associated with population stagnation or even decline, whereas highly religious countries have higher fertility rates that promote population growth

Schnabel, Landon. 2016. “Secularism and Fertility Worldwide.” SocArXiv. July 19. doi:10.31235/osf.io/pvwpy

Rolf Degen's take: https://twitter.com/DegenRolf/status/1323497965156212737

Abstract: This study proposes and explores a new fertility determinant: societal secularism. Using country-level data from multiple sources (N=181) and multilevel data from 58 countries in the World Values Survey (N=83,301), I document a strong negative relationship between societal secularism and both country-level fertility rates and individual-level fertility behavior. Secularism, even in small amounts, is associated with population stagnation or even decline, whereas highly religious countries have higher fertility rates that promote population growth. This country-level pattern is driven by more than aggregate lower fertility of secular individuals. In fact, societal secularism is a better predictor of highly religious individuals’ fertility behavior than that of secular individuals, and this pattern is largely a function of cultural values related to gender, reproduction, and autonomy in secular societies. Beyond their importance for the religious composition of the world population, the patterns presented in this study are relevant to key fertility theories and could help account for below-replacement fertility.

The narcissistic wine consumer: How Social Attractiveness Associated with Wine Prompts Narcissists to Engage in Wine Consumption

The narcissistic wine consumer: How Social Attractiveness Associated with Wine Prompts Narcissists to Engage in Wine Consumption. Renaud Lunardo, David A. Jaud, Armando Maria Corsi. Food Quality and Preference, November 3 2020, 104107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2020.104107

Rolf Degen's take: https://twitter.com/DegenRolf/status/1323486670604410880

Highlights

• Narcissistic people associate wine with greater social attractiveness.

• Social attractiveness in turn leads to higher consumption.

• These relationships hold even when the emotional value of wine brand is low.

• A typology of narcissist consumers can be identified.

• Wine producers should encourage consuming wine in moderation.

Abstract: Wine consumption can help improve one’s social image. Given this social aspect of wine, we predict that because individuals who are high in narcissism strive for social admiration, wine represents a product of choice for them. In Study 1 (N = 654), we show that for narcissistic people, wine is associated with greater social attractiveness, which in turn leads to higher consumption of wine. We also draw a typology of narcissistic wine consumers. In Study 2 (N = 192), we replicate the mediation results of Study 1 and take a step further by examining the influence of anticipated emotional value. More specifically, we show that the sequence above whereby narcissistic people consume higher amounts of wine due to its social attractiveness not only holds, but is stronger when the emotional value that such people anticipate from wine consumption is low. In other words, narcissists engage more in wine consumption for social reasons when they do not (versus do) anticipate wine consumption as a pleasurable experience. We provide a discussion of the practical implications of our results for wine producers and policymakers.

Keywords: NarcissismWine ConsumptionSocial AttractivenessEmotional ValueCluster Analysis

Physical strength & attractiveness positively predicted Extraversion & specific facets; strength negatve predicted Emotionality & fearfulness

Functional coordination of personality strategies with physical strength and attractiveness: A multi-sample investigation at the HEXACO facet-level. Nina N. Rodriguez, Aaron W. Lukaszewski. Journal of Research in Personality, Volume 89, December 2020, 104040. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2020.104040

Highlights

• Tests HEXACO Extraversion & Emotionality correlations w/ attractiveness & strength.

• Multi-sample analysis using multiple attractiveness & strength measures.

• Strength & attractiveness positively predicted Extraversion & specific facets.

• Strength negatively predicted Emotionality & specific facets (e.g. fearfulness)

• Facet-level results give clues re: psychological mechanisms underpinning personality.

Abstract: Previous research has supported adaptationist hypotheses pertaining to the functional coordination of personality strategies with phenotypic determinants of bargaining power, such as physical strength and attractiveness. However, prior studies have focused primarily on explaining variation in Extraversion and Emotionality/Neuroticism as broadband traits. The current study synthesizes data from three subject samples (N = 766) to test correlations of physical strength and attractiveness with the HEXACO factors and facets among young adults. Our analyses reveal specific, functionally meaningful, patterns of phenotypic coordination, and thereby help illuminate which facets drive previously documented associations at the factor-level. Among both sexes, strength was an especially important predictor of facets whose secondary loadings place them in the quadrant of factor space defined by high Extraversion (Expressiveness, Liveliness, Social Boldness) and low Emotionality (Fearfulness, Anxiety). Findings bolster the hypothesis that specific personality strategies are coordinated with phenotypic components of bargaining power, and suggest that granular measures of personality (such as facets) may provide more mechanistic and functional insight than broadband trait factors.

Keywords: Evolutionary psychologyFacultative calibrationHEXACOPersonality