The illiterate Himba, Namibia, are more intuitive, more religious, happier, and less utilitarian than the French participants

A 21st century cognitive portrait of the Himba, a remote people of Namibia. Bastien Trémolière, Jules Davidoff, Serge Caparos. British Journal of Psychology, November 8 2021. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjop.12539

Abstract: This research sketches the cognitive portrait of the Himba, a remote population from Northern Namibia living in a non-industrial society almost completely devoid of modern artefacts. We compared the Himba sample to a French sample, exploring cognitive reflection, moral judgement, cooperative behaviour, paranormal beliefs, and happiness. We looked for both differences and similarities across cultures, and for the way cognitive functioning is associated with a range of demographic variables. Results showed some important group differences, with the Himba being more intuitive, more religious, happier, and less utilitarian than the French participants. Further, the predictors of these beliefs and behaviours differed between the two groups. The present results provide additional support to the recent line of research targeting cultural variations and similarities, and call for the need to expand psychology research beyond the Western world.

Females responding with greater self-protectiveness than males: Mount stronger immune responses to many pathogens; react to threats with greater fear, disgust and sadness; develop more threat-based clinical conditions than males

Self-Protection as an Adaptive Female Strategy. Joyce F. Benenson, Christine E. Webb and Richard W. Wrangham. Behavioral and Brain Sciences , accepted manuscript, Nov 8 2021. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X21002417

Abstract: Many male traits are well explained by sexual selection theory as adaptations to mating competition and mate choice, whereas no unifying theory explains traits expressed more in females. Anne Campbell's “staying alive” theory proposed that human females produce stronger self-protective reactions than males to aggressive threats because self-protection tends to have higher fitness value for females than males. We examined whether Campbell's theory has more general applicability by considering whether human females respond with greater self-protectiveness than males to other threats beyond aggression. We searched the literature for physiological, behavioral, and emotional responses to major physical and social threats, and found consistent support for females’ responding with greater self-protectiveness than males. Females mount stronger immune responses to many pathogens; experience a lower threshold to detect, and lesser tolerance of, pain; awaken more frequently at night; express greater concern about physically dangerous stimuli; exert more effort to avoid social conflicts; exhibit a personality style more focused on life's dangers; react to threats with greater fear, disgust and sadness; and develop more threat-based clinical conditions than males. Our findings suggest that in relation to threat human females have relatively heightened protective reactions compared to males. The pervasiveness of this result across multiple domains suggests that general mechanisms might exist underlying females’ unique adaptations. An understanding of such processes would enhance knowledge of female health and well-being.

Those assigned to restrict social media reported relatively few benefits (increased mindfulness, but not higher life satisfaction autonomy, competence, & self-esteem, and reduced loneliness & stress) & even some costs (more negative emotion)

Walsh, Lisa C., Annie Regan, Karynna Okabe-Miyamoto, and Sonja Lyubomirsky. 2021. “Does Putting Away Your Smartphone Make You Happier? the Effects of Restricting Digital Media and Social Media on Well-being.” PsyArXiv. November 8. doi:10.31234/osf.io/c3phw

Abstract: Both scientists and laypeople have become increasingly concerned about smartphones, especially their associated digital media (e.g., email, news, gaming, and dating apps) and social media (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat). Recent correlational research links substantial declines in Gen Z well-being to digital and social media use, yet other work suggests the effects are small and unnoteworthy. To further disentangle correlation from causation and better elucidate the strength and direction of effects, we conducted a pre-registered 8-day experimental deprivation study with Gen Z individuals (N = 338). Participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: (1) restrict digital media use, (2) restrict social media use, (3) restrict water use (active control), or (4) restrict nothing (measurement-only control). Relative to controls, participants restricting digital media reported a variety of benefits, including higher life satisfaction, mindfulness, autonomy, competence, and self-esteem, and reduced loneliness and stress. In contrast, those assigned to restrict social media reported relatively few benefits (increased mindfulness) and even some costs (more negative emotion).

Common sense: The mobile internet AND old media polarized the Left, but not so much the Right; "what polarized the Right was…the polarization of the Left"

Mobile Internet and Political Polarization. Nikita Melnikov. November 1, 2021. https://b0ac9a84-177d-4e54-a19e-df525dfaf051.filesusr.com/ugd/87e482_9eb44ae506c446f9a0094db9a82bc610.pdf

Abstract: How has mobile internet affected political polarization in the United States? Using Gallup Daily Poll data covering 1,765,114 individuals in 31,499 ZIP codes between 2008 and 2017, I show that, after gaining access to 3G internet, Democratic voters became more liberal in their political views and increased their support for Democratic congressional candidates and policy priorities, while Republican voters shifted in the opposite direction. This increase in polarization largely did not take place among social media users. Instead, following the arrival of 3G, active internet and social media users from both parties became more pro-Democratic, whereas less-active users became more pro-Republican. This divergence is partly driven by differences in news consumption between the two groups: after the arrival of 3G, active internet users decreased their consumption of Fox News, increased their consumption of CNN, and increased their political knowledge. Polarization also increased due to a political realignment of voters: wealthy, well-educated people became more liberal; poor, uneducated people—more conservative.

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h/t Tyler Cowen (https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2021/11/mobile-internet-and-political-polarization.html), who comments:

My read of these results (not the author’s to be clear!) is that the mobile internet polarized the Left, but not so much the Right.  What polarized the Right was…the polarization of the Left, and not the mobile internet.

And please do note this sentence: “This increase in polarization largely did not take place among social media users.”  It seems that on-line versions of older school media did a lot of the work.

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My view from a Libertarian perspective: this is what anyone not polarized would have seen years ago. But it was very rude to say so.

Significant difference between gifted and non-gifted participants in terms of Openness to Experience in favor of gifted individuals; no significant differences in terms of extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, & neuroticism

Personality differences in gifted versus non-gifted individuals: A three-level meta-analysis. Uzeyir Ogurlu &Adnan Özbey. High Ability Studies, Nov 7 2021. https://doi.org/10.1080/13598139.2021.1985438

Abstract: Some research has investigated the big five personality dimensions among gifted individuals, but these individual studies have provided inconclusive results. The current meta-analysis examined the nature of the relationship between the big five dimensions and giftedness among individuals. Hedge’s unbiased g was used as the effect size metric, and a 3-level multilevel meta-analytic approach was applied, due to the dependency among the effect sizes obtained from the same study. The analyses used 82 effect sizes, from 13 published studies, and indicated that there was a significant difference between gifted and non-gifted participants in terms of Openness to Experience in favor of gifted individuals (g = .473, p = . 005, 95% CI [.199, .747]). However, there were no significant differences in terms of extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism. The implications and limitations of the findings are discussed.

Keywords: Giftedpersonalitythe big five modelmeta-analysismultilevel