Almost 58% of the participants indicated that they would use three or more strategies in order to detect their partners’ infidelity; 17% would spy on the partner

Strategies for Detecting Infidelity: An Explorative Analysis. Menelaos Apostolou & Maria Ioannidou. Evolutionary Psychological Science, May 19 2021. https://rd.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40806-021-00287-9

Abstract: People frequently adopt extra-pair mating strategies, which could be potentially harmful for their legitimate partners. In order to protect themselves from the costs of cheating, people need first to detect infidelity, and for this purpose, they employ specific infidelity-detection strategies. By using a combination of qualitative research methods, we identified 47 acts that people perform in order to detect their partners’ infidelity. Using quantitative methods, we classified these acts into six broader strategies for detecting infidelity. Participants indicated that they were more likely to employ the “Observe changes in her/his behavior,” followed by the “Ask and observe her/his reactions,” and the “Check where she/he is” strategies. Almost 58% of the participants indicated that they would use three or more strategies in order to detect their partners’ infidelity. We also found that higher scorers in Machiavellianism and psychopathy were more likely to employ the identified strategies than lower scorers. In addition, sex and age effects were found for most strategies.

From 2020... Biculturals—who identify with at least two cultures—often frame switch, adapting their behavior to their shifting cultural contexts; are perceived as inauthentic, less likable, trustworthy, warm, competent

From 2020... The Cost of Being “True to Yourself” for Mixed Selves: Frame Switching Leads to Perceived Inauthenticity and Downstream Social Consequences for Biculturals. Alexandria L. West, Amy Muise, Joni Y. Sasaki. Social Psychological and Personality Science, August 12, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550620944049

Abstract: A growing population of biculturals—who identify with at least two cultures—often frame switch, adapting their behavior to their shifting cultural contexts. We demonstrate that frame switching biculturals are perceived as inauthentic by majority Americans and consequently seen as less likable, trustworthy, warm, and competent compared to biculturals who do not frame switch or a neutral control (Studies 1–3, N = 763). In Study 2, describing the bicultural’s behavior as authentic despite its inconsistency partly alleviated the negative effects of frame switching. In our preregistered Study 3, majority American women were less romantically interested in and less willing to date a bicultural who frame switched in his dating profiles (mediated by inauthenticity). The way biculturals negotiate their cultures can have social costs and create a barrier to intercultural relations.

Keywords: frame switching, authenticity, bicultural, multicultural, intercultural relations, intergroup relations

Graduating during a period of high unemployment increases entry to entrepreneurship; the firms founded by these forced entrepreneurs are more likely to survive, innovate, & receive venture-backing, compared to voluntary entrepreneurs

Hacamo, Isaac and Kleiner, Kristoph, Forced Entrepreneurs (April 29, 2021). Journal of Finance, Forthcoming. SSRN: http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2801637

Abstract: Conventional wisdom suggests labor market distress drives workers into temporary self-employment, lowering entrepreneurial quality. Analyzing employment histories for 640,000 U.S. workers, we document graduating college during a period of high unemployment does increase entry to entrepreneurship. However, compared to voluntary entrepreneurs, firms founded by forced entrepreneurs are more likely to survive, innovate, and receive venture-backing. Explaining these results, we confirm labor shocks disproportionately impact high-earners and these same workers start more successful firms. Overall, we document untapped entrepreneurial potential across the top of the income distribution and demonstrate the role of recessions in reversing this missing entrepreneurship.

Keywords: Entrepreneurship, labor markets, recessions, innovation, venture capital

JEL Classification: L26, L25, M13, J23, E32, O31, G02

Individually-housed monkeys exhibited consistently blunted sensitivity to ostensibly threatening stimuli as compared to socially-housed monkeys

Social Housing Status Impacts Rhesus Monkeys’ Affective Responding in Classic Threat Processing Tasks. Joey A. Charbonneau, David G. Amaral, Eliza Bliss-Moreau. bioRxiv, May 17 2021. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.05.16.444352

Abstract: The established literature clearly demonstrates that whether or not monkeys are socially reared has long term consequences for their affective behavior. Yet, in the context of behavioral neuroscience and pharmacological studies, social context of adult animals is often ignored. When social context has been studied in adult monkeys, such studies have typically focused on welfare-related issues, as social isolation often leads to the development of abnormal behavior, rather than the impact on outcomes in behavioral neuroscience studies. Variation in social housing conditions for adult animals could have an impact on affective responding and may have significant implications for the interpretation of data from biopsychiatry and behavioral neuroscience studies. We evaluated the affective reactivity of rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) maintained in one of four housing conditions (individually-housed, grate-paired, intermittently-paired, and continuously-paired) using two classic threat processing tasks—a test of responsivity to objects and the Human Intruder Test. Individually-housed monkeys exhibited consistently blunted sensitivity to ostensibly threatening stimuli as compared to socially-housed monkeys. Within the three socially-housed conditions, intermittently- and continuously-paired monkeys behaved similarly to each other and grate-paired monkeys exhibited relatively enhanced sensitivity to threatening stimuli. These findings suggest that the adult housing conditions of monkeys can robustly modulate affective responding in a way that may be consistent with behavioral phenotypes observed in human psychiatric conditions. Results are considered in the context of the broad behavioral and psychiatric neuroscience literatures, which have historically used individually-housed animals, pointing to the potential need to reconsider inferences drawn from those studies.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, parents in consensually nonmonogamous relationships navigated public health directives to social distance and avoid contact between households & adapted via creative strategies

Consensually nonmonogamous parent relationships during COVID-19. Melissa H Manley, Abbie E Goldberg. Sexualities, May 15, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1177/13634607211019356

Abstract: During the COVID-19 pandemic, parents in consensually nonmonogamous (CNM) relationships navigated public health directives to social distance and avoid contact between households. Many parents practicing CNM share romantic, sexual, and coparenting relationships across households, and the pandemic introduced challenges and opportunities for innovation in maintaining connection. This qualitative study sought to explore the experiences, challenges, and adaptations of CNM parents, using survey and interview data from 70 US parents collected between May and December 2020. Thematic analysis highlighted that many parents spent less time with non-cohabiting partners and more time with cohabiting partners and children, but also adapted via creative strategies such as incorporating partners into a quarantine pod, inviting partners to move in, or connecting over technology. These data illuminate the diverse ways that CNM parents engaged in and “queered” family and partner relationships during the pandemic.

Keywords: consensual nonmonogamy, polyamory, COVID-19, family relationships, parenthood

Born to Be Managers? Genetic Links between Risk-Taking and the Likelihood of Holding Managerial Positions

Lin, Jinjie and Zhao, Bingxin, Born to Be Managers? Genetic Links between Risk-Taking and the Likelihood of Holding Managerial Positions (April 18, 2021). SSRN: http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3830040

Abstract: Do genes determine who will become managers? Using the UK Biobank data, we study the phenotypic and genetic correlations between the likelihood of holding managerial positions and physical, cognitive, and mental health traits (n = 297,591). Among all traits we examine, general risk tolerance and risky behaviors (e.g., automobile speeding and the number of sexual partners) have the strongest phenotypic and genetic correlations with holding managerial positions. For example, the genetic correlation between automobile speeding and being managers is 0.39 (P = 3.94E-16). Additionally, the genetic correlations between risk-taking traits and being managers are stronger for females. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) shows holding managerial positions is associated with rs7035099 (ZNF618, 9q32), which has been linked to risk tolerance and adventurousness. Overall, our results suggest individuals with risk-taking-related genes are more likely to become managers. To the best of our knowledge, this paper is the first GWAS of the genetic effects on leadership.

Keywords: UK Biobank; manager; CEO; risk-taking; mental health; GWAS

In addition to counseling students about pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection risk, clinicians might assess patients’ engagement in choking/strangulation during sex, given the risk for serious outcomes

Herbenick D, Patterson C, Beckmeyer J, et al. Diverse Sexual Behaviors in Undergraduate Students: Findings From a Campus Probability Survey. J Sex Med 2021;XXX:XXX–XXX. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1743609521003106

Background: Probability-based surveys of college students typically assess sexual behaviors such as oral, vaginal, and anal sex. Little is known about the broader range of sexual behaviors in which students engage.

Aims: In a random sample survey of undergraduate students, we aimed to: (1) describe how recently participants had engaged in solo and partnered sexual behaviors, (2) examine how frequently participants enacted certain rough sex sexual behaviors (e.g., light spanking, hard spanking, choking, slapping, and others), (3) assess participants’ frequency of experiencing certain rough sex behaviors, (4) describe participants’ frequency of threesome/group sex, (5) assess the characteristics of participants’ experiences with choking during sex; and (6) examine choking and face slapping in regard to consent.

Methods: A confidential, online cross-sectional survey of 4,989 randomly sampled undergraduate students at a large U.S. university.

Outcomes: Participants reported having engaged in a broad range of solo and partnered sexual activities, including rough sex behaviors.

Results: The most prevalent general sexual behaviors were solo masturbation (88.6%), oral sex (79.4% received, 78.4% performed), penile-vaginal intercourse (73.5%), and partnered masturbation (71.1%). Anal intercourse was the least prevalent of these behaviors (16.8% received, 25.3% performed). Among those with any partnered sexual experience, 43.0% had choked a partner, 47.3% had been choked, 59.1% had been lightly spanked and 12.1% had been slapped on the face during sex.

Clinical translation: College health clinicians and educators need to be aware of the diverse and evolving range of solo and partnered sexual behaviors reported by students. In addition to counseling students about pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection risk, clinicians might assess patients’ engagement in diverse sexual behaviors, such as choking/strangulation during sex, given the risk for serious outcomes including death.

Strengths and limitations: Strengths of our research include the large sample size, use of random sampling, high response rate for college populations, broad range of behaviors assessed, and novel data on choking during sex. Among our limitations, we did not assess to what extent the experiences were wanted, pleasurable, or appealing to participants. Except for in relation to choking and slapping, we also did not assess issues of consent.

Conclusion: Participants reported engaging in diverse sexual behaviors, some of which have important clinical implications, are understudied, and warrant further research.

Key Words: Sex behaviorSexual activityRough sexSexual asphyxiationStrangulationCoitusOral sexanal Sex