Straight men showed significantly stronger preferences for feminized female faces than did gay men; gay men showed significantly stronger preferences for masculinized versions of male faces than did straight men

Shiramizu V, Docherty C, DeBruine LM, Jones BC (2020) Sexual orientation predicts men’s preferences for sexually dimorphic face-shape characteristics: A replication study. PLoS ONE 15(11): e0242262. No 13 2020. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0242262

Abstract: Many researchers have proposed that straight men prefer women’s faces displaying feminine shape characteristics at least partly because mating with such women will produce healthier offspring. Although a prediction of this adaptation-for-mate-choice hypothesis is that straight men will show stronger preferences for feminized versus masculinized versions of women’s faces than will gay men, only one previous study has directly tested this prediction. Here we directly replicated that study by comparing 623 gay and 3163 straight men’s preferences for feminized versus masculinized versions of faces. Consistent with the adaptation-for-mate-choice hypothesis of straight men’s femininity preferences, we found that straight men showed significantly stronger preferences for feminized female faces than did gay men. Consistent with previous research suggesting that gay men place a premium on masculinity in potential romantic partners, we also found that gay men showed significantly stronger preferences for masculinized versions of male faces than did straight men. Together, these findings indicate the sexual orientation contributes to individual differences in men’s face preferences.

The results confirmed an exaggeration of eye width and height, lip width, and pupil width in artistic profiles, and the eyes shape was “frontalized”; theory links supernormal stimuli to aesthetic perception

Costa, M., & Bonetti, L. (2020). Eye and lips in artistic profiles. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, Nov 2020. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000360

Abstract: Distortions related to eye and lip morphometry were investigated in two studies comparing photographic versus artistic profiles. In the first study, 298 artistic profiles encompassing the whole art history were compared to 300 photographic profiles. The 2 groups were compared for shape with Procrustes analysis and for size by using 8 indexes. Estimated age was inserted as covariate. The results showed that artists exaggerated eye height and width, pupil width, lip height, and width. The triangular shape of the eye view from side perspective was modified toward a more ellipsoidal shape, depicting the eye from a three-quarter and more frontal perspective. In Study 2, 13 students from the College of the Arts–School of Art were requested to draw a profile portrait of a male or female model. The eye and lip morphometric indexes of the model were compared with those extrapolated from the drawings. The results confirmed an exaggeration of eye width and height, lip width, and pupil width in artistic profiles. Additionally, the eyes shape was “frontalized.” The exaggeration of eye and lip size and the distortion in shape are interpreted and discussed according to the theory linking supernormal stimuli to aesthetic perception.

Quantifying Economic Reasoning in Court: I find that judge economics sophistication is positively correlated with a higher frequency of pro-business decisions even after controlling for political ideology & a rich set of other covariates

Quantifying Economic Reasoning in Court: Judge Economics Sophistication and Pro-business Orientation. Siying Cao. November 13, 2020. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1U5tFHXqrcmNbCWOw5t7MqAcZ8BDMlMIN/view

Abstract: By applying computational linguistics tools to the analysis of US federal district courts’ decisions from 1932 to 2016, this paper quantifies the rise of economic reasoning in court cases that range from securities regulation to antitrust law. I then relate judges’ level of economic reasoning to their training. I find that significant judge heterogeneity in economics sophistication can be explained by attendance at law schools that have a large presence of the law and economics faculty. Finally, for all regulatory cases from 1970 to 2016, I hand code whether the judge ruled in favor of the business or the government. I find that judge economics sophistication is positively correlated with a higher frequency of pro-business decisions even after controlling for political ideology and a rich set of other judge covariates.

Keywords: law and economics, judicial decision making, text as data

JEL Classification: K0, L5, Z1

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This research can be extended in several ways. First, we can look at whether economically sophisticated judges tend to rule in a certain direction along an issue66 in tort, property, and commercial contracts. These are subject areas that have been significantly influenced by the law and economics approach. Second, the hypothesis proposed and analysis conducted in this paper can also be applied to circuit court judges. There we expect to find an even greater impact of economics knowledge because the ideological stakes are typically higher than in lower courts. Furthermore, my results suggest that economics sophistication as a shifter of decision outcome during the first stage can be used as an instrumental variable to investigate the causal effect of such decision on subsequent individual/household/firm outcomes. Finally, I hope my measure of judge economics sophistication will spur future efforts to causally identify the effects of judge knowledge through exogenously generated variation in it. 

This chapter outlines how Robert Trivers’ Parental Investment Theory has progressed from its original publication in Sexual Selection and the Descent of Man through its expansive application to research in evolutionary psychology

Parental Investment Theory. Justin K Mogilski. In The Sage Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology. SAGE, November 2020. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/345346708_Parental_Investment_Theory

Abstract: This chapter outlines how Robert Trivers’ Parental Investment Theory (PIT) has progressed from its original publication in Sexual Selection and the Descent of Man through its expansive application to research in the evolutionary psychological sciences. I begin with an abridged redux of the theory’s claims and predictions as they appeared within the original 1972 publication. After, I review groundbreaking research inspired by PIT and evaluate how well the theory has been empirically supported in the past 50 or so years. I then note several major theoretical advancements and address conflicts with other prominent theories of mating and parenting behavior. The chapter closes with several future directions that may help PIT remain a robust and relevant framework for studying human psychology within an increasingly technologically and socially complex world.

Economically successful participants overweight the role of effort in their success, perceiving high income as more deserved than unsuccessful participants; successful liberals are as meritocratic as conservatives are

Misperceiving Economic Success: Experimental Evidence on Meritocratic Beliefs and Inequality Acceptance. Fehr, Dietmar; Vollmann, Martin. Working paper, Discussion Paper Series / University of Heidelberg, Department of Economics, Volume 695. Nov 13 2020. https://doi.org/10.11588/heidok.00029071

Rolf Degen's take: https://twitter.com/DegenRolf/status/1328579040144449536

Abstract: Most people tend to equate success with merit, a tendency that is particularly pronounced among conservatives. However, in practice it is exceedingly difficult to discern the relative impact of luck and effort to economic success. Based on a large-scale online study that samples the general US population, we investigate whether individuals misperceive the importance of luck for success, and how this mediates their meritocratic beliefs and acceptance of inequality. We randomly assign participants in pairs to compete in an easy or hard work assignment. The tasks are structured such that working on the easy work assignment almost certainly results in better performance and economic success. We show that economically successful participants overweight the role of effort in their success, perceiving high income as more deserved than unsuccessful participants. Subsequently, they demand less redistributive taxation, and they also show little interest in receiving information about the true determinants of their success. These general findings hold true regardless of political orientation. Successful liberals are as meritocratic as conservatives are, sharing the same beliefs in deservingness and preferences for low redistributive taxes.

Keywords: inequality, deservedness, political views, cognitive dissonance