The Virtues of Nonviolent Struggle. Stephen Wittels. MIT Working Paper, May 2017, https://ssrn.com/abstract=2981936
Abstract: There is an emerging consensus in the study of mass-based political resistance that successful nonviolent campaigns leave in their wake political conditions suitable for democracy and stability. The following paper subjects this claim to closer scrutiny. Using theory grounded in the study of conflict, revolution, and democratic transition, we make the case that a resistance campaign’s duration is an important driver of its downstream effects. ***Sudden victory is likely to leave important questions about the balance of capabilities between and within interest groups unanswered. It may also create a destabilizing legitimacy deficit for the entity endowed with the status of incumbency once calm is restored***. Further complicating matters, we argue, is the fact that the benefits of struggling en route to victory are not distributed equally across violent and nonviolent movements. To test our precise hypotheses on these points, we examine four post-campaign outcome variables in a large-N framework: levels of democracy, electoral manipulation, coup d'état attempts, and violent conflict. With the aid of flexible modeling and sensitivity analysis, we make the case that ***campaign duration significantly moderates the long-term political effects of mass-based nonviolent resistance, with harder-fought victories yielding more positive outcomes***.
Keywords: Nonviolent, Struggle, Democracy, Stability, Resistance, Campaign
My comment: Is this related to 'The "Hearts and Minds" Fallacy' paper*? It seems that we need to have a big struggle to earn respect.
* The "Hearts and Minds" Fallacy: Violence, Coercion, and Success in Counterinsurgency Warfare. Jacqueline Hazelton. International Security, Summer 2017, Pages 80-113, http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/ISEC_a_00283
Tuesday, August 15, 2017
The Emergence of Weak, Despotic and Inclusive States
The Emergence of Weak, Despotic and Inclusive States. Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson. NBER Working Paper, August 2017, http://www.nber.org/papers/w23657
Abstract: Societies under similar geographic and economic conditions and subject to similar external influences nonetheless develop very different types of states. At one extreme are weak states with little capacity and ability to regulate economic or social relations. At the other are despotic states which dominate civil society. Yet there are others which are locked into an ongoing competition with civil society and it is these, not the despotic ones, that develop the greatest capacity. We develop a dynamic contest model of the potential competition between state (controlled by a ruler or a group of elites) and civil society (representing non-elite citizens), where both players can invest to increase their power. The model leads to different types of steady states depending on initial conditions. One type of steady state, corresponding to a weak state, emerges when civil society is strong relative to the state (e.g., having developed social norms limiting political hierarchy). Another type of steady state, corresponding to a despotic state, originates from initial conditions where the state is powerful and civil society is weak. A third type of steady state, which we refer to as an inclusive state, emerges when state and civil society are more evenly matched. In this case, each party has greater incentives to invest to keep up with the other, and this leads to the most powerful and capable type of state, while simultaneously incentivizing civil society to be equally powerful as well. Our framework highlights that comparative statics with respect to structural factors such as geography, economic conditions or external threats, are conditional — in the sense that depending on initial conditions they can shift a society into or out of the basin of attraction of the inclusive state.
Abstract: Societies under similar geographic and economic conditions and subject to similar external influences nonetheless develop very different types of states. At one extreme are weak states with little capacity and ability to regulate economic or social relations. At the other are despotic states which dominate civil society. Yet there are others which are locked into an ongoing competition with civil society and it is these, not the despotic ones, that develop the greatest capacity. We develop a dynamic contest model of the potential competition between state (controlled by a ruler or a group of elites) and civil society (representing non-elite citizens), where both players can invest to increase their power. The model leads to different types of steady states depending on initial conditions. One type of steady state, corresponding to a weak state, emerges when civil society is strong relative to the state (e.g., having developed social norms limiting political hierarchy). Another type of steady state, corresponding to a despotic state, originates from initial conditions where the state is powerful and civil society is weak. A third type of steady state, which we refer to as an inclusive state, emerges when state and civil society are more evenly matched. In this case, each party has greater incentives to invest to keep up with the other, and this leads to the most powerful and capable type of state, while simultaneously incentivizing civil society to be equally powerful as well. Our framework highlights that comparative statics with respect to structural factors such as geography, economic conditions or external threats, are conditional — in the sense that depending on initial conditions they can shift a society into or out of the basin of attraction of the inclusive state.
Social Mobility and Political Instability
Social Mobility and Political Instability. Christian Houle. Journal of Conflict Resolution, https://doi.org/10.1177/0022002717723434
Abstract: Does social mobility foster political stability? While there is a vibrant literature on the effect of economic inequality on political unrest, the recent literature has remained silent about the effect of social mobility on instability. Yet, inequality and social mobility, although related, are fundamentally distinct, and immobility is likely to be perceived as even more unfair than inequality, meaning that it may generate at least as much grievances. In this article, I argue that social immobility fuels political instability. To test this hypothesis, I develop an indicator of social mobility covering more than 100 countries worldwide. I then conduct the first large-N cross-national test of the effect of social mobility on political instability to date. Consistent with my argument, I find that countries with low social mobility levels are more likely to experience riots, general strikes, antigovernment demonstrations, political assassinations, guerillas, revolutions, and civil wars.
Abstract: Does social mobility foster political stability? While there is a vibrant literature on the effect of economic inequality on political unrest, the recent literature has remained silent about the effect of social mobility on instability. Yet, inequality and social mobility, although related, are fundamentally distinct, and immobility is likely to be perceived as even more unfair than inequality, meaning that it may generate at least as much grievances. In this article, I argue that social immobility fuels political instability. To test this hypothesis, I develop an indicator of social mobility covering more than 100 countries worldwide. I then conduct the first large-N cross-national test of the effect of social mobility on political instability to date. Consistent with my argument, I find that countries with low social mobility levels are more likely to experience riots, general strikes, antigovernment demonstrations, political assassinations, guerillas, revolutions, and civil wars.
Election monitors will fail to prevent violence, or will be blamed for causing violence
The Election Monitor's Curse. Zhaotian Luo & Arturas Rozenas. American Journal of Political Science, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ajps.12320/abstract
Abstract: Election monitoring has become a key instrument of democracy promotion. Election monitors routinely expect to deter fraud and prevent post-election violence, but in reality, post-election violence often increases when monitors do expose fraud. We argue that monitors can make all elections less fraudulent and more peaceful on average, but only by causing more violence in fraudulent elections. Due to this curse, strategic election monitors can make a positive impact on elections only if their objectives are aligned in a very specific fashion. Monitors who do not aim to prevent violence can be effective only if they are unbiased, whereas monitors who do aim to prevent violence can be effective only if they are moderately biased against the government. Consequently, election monitors with misaligned objectives will fail to prevent violence, whereas monitors with well-aligned objectives will be blamed for causing violence.
Abstract: Election monitoring has become a key instrument of democracy promotion. Election monitors routinely expect to deter fraud and prevent post-election violence, but in reality, post-election violence often increases when monitors do expose fraud. We argue that monitors can make all elections less fraudulent and more peaceful on average, but only by causing more violence in fraudulent elections. Due to this curse, strategic election monitors can make a positive impact on elections only if their objectives are aligned in a very specific fashion. Monitors who do not aim to prevent violence can be effective only if they are unbiased, whereas monitors who do aim to prevent violence can be effective only if they are moderately biased against the government. Consequently, election monitors with misaligned objectives will fail to prevent violence, whereas monitors with well-aligned objectives will be blamed for causing violence.
How Sudden Censorship Can Increase Access to Information
How Sudden Censorship Can Increase Access to Information. William Hobbs & Margaret Roberts. University of California Working Paper, January 2017. https://ssrn.com/abstract=2990593
Abstract: Conventional wisdom assumes that increased censorship will strictly decrease access to information. We delineate circumstances when increases in censorship will expand access to information. When governments suddenly impose censorship on previously uncensored information, citizens accustomed to acquiring this information will be incentivized to learn methods of censorship evasion. These tools provide continued access to the newly blocked information and also extend users’ ability to access information that has long been censored. We illustrate this phenomenon using millions of individual-level actions of social media users in China before and after the block of Instagram. We show that the block inspired millions of Chinese users to acquire virtual private networks (VPNs) and join censored websites like Twitter and Facebook. Despite initially being apolitical, these new users began browsing blocked political pages on Wikipedia, following Chinese political activists on Twitter, and discussing highly politicized topics such as opposition protests in Hong Kong.
Keywords: Censorship, Social Media, China, Internet, Communications, Protests, Political Activists
My comment: First, that this increase in access is new, previously this was not possible. Second, again we confirm that we don't suffer well that something is taken away from us...
Abstract: Conventional wisdom assumes that increased censorship will strictly decrease access to information. We delineate circumstances when increases in censorship will expand access to information. When governments suddenly impose censorship on previously uncensored information, citizens accustomed to acquiring this information will be incentivized to learn methods of censorship evasion. These tools provide continued access to the newly blocked information and also extend users’ ability to access information that has long been censored. We illustrate this phenomenon using millions of individual-level actions of social media users in China before and after the block of Instagram. We show that the block inspired millions of Chinese users to acquire virtual private networks (VPNs) and join censored websites like Twitter and Facebook. Despite initially being apolitical, these new users began browsing blocked political pages on Wikipedia, following Chinese political activists on Twitter, and discussing highly politicized topics such as opposition protests in Hong Kong.
Keywords: Censorship, Social Media, China, Internet, Communications, Protests, Political Activists
My comment: First, that this increase in access is new, previously this was not possible. Second, again we confirm that we don't suffer well that something is taken away from us...
US Food Aid Increases Incidence and Duration of Civil Conflict in Recipient Countries
The Robust Relationship Between US Food Aid and Civil Conflict. Chi-Yang Chu, Daniel Henderson and Le Wang. Journal of Applied Econometrics, August 2017, Pages 1027–1032. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jae.2558/abstract
Abstract: Humanitarian aid has long been considered an important means to reduce hunger and suffering in developing countries. A recent finding by Nunn and Qian (US food aid and civil conflict, American Economic Review 2014; 104: 1630–1666) that such ***aid from the US increases the incidence and duration of civil conflict in recipient countries***, however, questions the effectiveness of this policy and poses a serious policy concern for the US government. We revisit this issue by conducting a successful replication study of the results in their paper. In order to further scrutinize their claims that a heterogeneous effect of food aid on conflict is not present, we employ a semiparametric endogenous estimation procedure. We show that their parametric models cannot be rejected and argue that their findings are robust.
Abstract: Humanitarian aid has long been considered an important means to reduce hunger and suffering in developing countries. A recent finding by Nunn and Qian (US food aid and civil conflict, American Economic Review 2014; 104: 1630–1666) that such ***aid from the US increases the incidence and duration of civil conflict in recipient countries***, however, questions the effectiveness of this policy and poses a serious policy concern for the US government. We revisit this issue by conducting a successful replication study of the results in their paper. In order to further scrutinize their claims that a heterogeneous effect of food aid on conflict is not present, we employ a semiparametric endogenous estimation procedure. We show that their parametric models cannot be rejected and argue that their findings are robust.
Are U.S. Cities Underpoliced? Theory and Evidence
Are U.S. Cities Underpoliced? Theory and Evidence. Aaron Chalfin and Justin McCrary. The Review of Economics and Statistics, http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/REST_a_00694
Abstract: We document the extent of measurement errors in the basic data set on police used in the literature on the effect of police on crime. Analyzing medium to large U.S. cities over 1960–2010, we obtain measurement error corrected estimates of the police elasticity. The magnitudes of our estimates are similar to those obtained in the quasi-experimental literature, but our approach yields much greater parameter certainty for the most costly crimes, which are the key parameters for welfare analysis. Our analysis suggests that U.S. cities are substantially underpoliced.
JEL Classification: K42, H76, J18
Abstract: We document the extent of measurement errors in the basic data set on police used in the literature on the effect of police on crime. Analyzing medium to large U.S. cities over 1960–2010, we obtain measurement error corrected estimates of the police elasticity. The magnitudes of our estimates are similar to those obtained in the quasi-experimental literature, but our approach yields much greater parameter certainty for the most costly crimes, which are the key parameters for welfare analysis. Our analysis suggests that U.S. cities are substantially underpoliced.
JEL Classification: K42, H76, J18
Content of Everyday Conversations in Iran
What Shall We Talk about in Farsi? Content of Everyday Conversations in Iran. Mahdi Dahmardeh, R. I. M. Dunbar. Human Nature, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12110-017-9300-4
Abstract: Previous empirical studies have suggested that language is primarily used to exchange social information, but our evidence on this derives mainly from English speakers. We present data from a study of natural conversations among Farsi (Persian) speakers in Iran and show that not only are conversation groups the same size as those observed in Europe and North America, but people also talk predominantly about social topics. We argue that these results reinforce the suggestion that language most likely evolved for the transmission of information about the social world. We also explore sex differences in conversational behavior: while the pattern is broadly similar between the sexes, men may be more sensitive than women are to discussing some topics in the presence of many other people.
Abstract: Previous empirical studies have suggested that language is primarily used to exchange social information, but our evidence on this derives mainly from English speakers. We present data from a study of natural conversations among Farsi (Persian) speakers in Iran and show that not only are conversation groups the same size as those observed in Europe and North America, but people also talk predominantly about social topics. We argue that these results reinforce the suggestion that language most likely evolved for the transmission of information about the social world. We also explore sex differences in conversational behavior: while the pattern is broadly similar between the sexes, men may be more sensitive than women are to discussing some topics in the presence of many other people.
Children’s Gender-Typed Behavior from Early to Middle Childhood in Adoptive Families with Lesbian, Gay, and Heterosexual Parents
Children’s Gender-Typed Behavior from Early to Middle Childhood in Adoptive Families with Lesbian, Gay, and Heterosexual Parents. Rachel H. Farr et al. Sex Roles, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-017-0812-5
Abstract: Gender-typed behaviors—both gender-conforming and nonconforming—were investigated longitudinally among children in 106 adoptive U.S. families with lesbian, gay, and heterosexual parents at two times (Wave 1, preschool-age; Wave 2, school-age) over 5 years. At Wave 1 (W1), parents reported on children’s gender-typed behavior using the Pre-School Activities Inventory (PSAI; Golombok and Rust 1993), and children’s gender-typed toy play was evaluated using observational methods. At Wave 2 (W2), children reported on their own gender-typed behavior using the Children’s Occupations, Activities, and Traits Personal Measure (COAT-PM; Liben and Bigler 2002). Observations of children’s gender-conforming toy play and parents’ reports of children’s gender nonconformity (PSAI) in early childhood (W1) were associated with children’s self-reports of gender nonconformity (COAT-PM) in middle childhood (W2); toy play was most strongly predictive of gender nonconformity 5 years later. Children’s gender-typed behavior also varied by age and gender at both time points, but no significant differences were found as a function of parental sexual orientation across time. Informative to ongoing debates about same-sex parenting, our findings indicate that among children reared by lesbian, gay, and heterosexual parents, gender-typing appears to be similar, and predominantly gender-conforming, across early to middle childhood.
Abstract: Gender-typed behaviors—both gender-conforming and nonconforming—were investigated longitudinally among children in 106 adoptive U.S. families with lesbian, gay, and heterosexual parents at two times (Wave 1, preschool-age; Wave 2, school-age) over 5 years. At Wave 1 (W1), parents reported on children’s gender-typed behavior using the Pre-School Activities Inventory (PSAI; Golombok and Rust 1993), and children’s gender-typed toy play was evaluated using observational methods. At Wave 2 (W2), children reported on their own gender-typed behavior using the Children’s Occupations, Activities, and Traits Personal Measure (COAT-PM; Liben and Bigler 2002). Observations of children’s gender-conforming toy play and parents’ reports of children’s gender nonconformity (PSAI) in early childhood (W1) were associated with children’s self-reports of gender nonconformity (COAT-PM) in middle childhood (W2); toy play was most strongly predictive of gender nonconformity 5 years later. Children’s gender-typed behavior also varied by age and gender at both time points, but no significant differences were found as a function of parental sexual orientation across time. Informative to ongoing debates about same-sex parenting, our findings indicate that among children reared by lesbian, gay, and heterosexual parents, gender-typing appears to be similar, and predominantly gender-conforming, across early to middle childhood.
Partner Choice, Investment in Children, and the Marital College Premium
Chiappori, Pierre-André, Bernard Salanié and Yoram Weiss. 2017. "Partner Choice, Investment in Children, and the Marital College Premium." American Economic Review, 107(8):2109-67. https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.20150154
Abstract: We construct a model of household decision-making in which agents consume a private and a public good, interpreted as children's welfare. Children's utility depends on their human capital, which depends on the time their parents spend with them and on the parents' human capital. We first show that as returns to human capital increase, couples at the top of the income distribution should spend more time with their children. This in turn should reinforce assortative matching, in a sense that we precisely define. We then embed the model into a transferable utility matching framework with random preferences, a la Choo and Siow (2006), which we estimate using US marriage data for individuals born between 1943 and 1972. We find that the preference for partners of the same education has significantly increased for white individuals, particularly for the highly educated. We find no evidence of such an increase for black individuals. Moreover, in line with theoretical predictions, we find that the "marital college-plus premium" has increased for women but not for men.
JEL Classification
D12 Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
J12 Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure; Domestic Abuse
J13 Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
J24 Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
Abstract: We construct a model of household decision-making in which agents consume a private and a public good, interpreted as children's welfare. Children's utility depends on their human capital, which depends on the time their parents spend with them and on the parents' human capital. We first show that as returns to human capital increase, couples at the top of the income distribution should spend more time with their children. This in turn should reinforce assortative matching, in a sense that we precisely define. We then embed the model into a transferable utility matching framework with random preferences, a la Choo and Siow (2006), which we estimate using US marriage data for individuals born between 1943 and 1972. We find that the preference for partners of the same education has significantly increased for white individuals, particularly for the highly educated. We find no evidence of such an increase for black individuals. Moreover, in line with theoretical predictions, we find that the "marital college-plus premium" has increased for women but not for men.
JEL Classification
D12 Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
J12 Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure; Domestic Abuse
J13 Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
J24 Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
Monday, August 14, 2017
Impact of Adolescent Educational Expectations on Deviant Coping During the Transition to Adulthood
Great Expectations Unmet: The Impact of Adolescent Educational Expectations on Deviant Coping During the Transition to Adulthood. Patrick Cundiff. Sociological Inquiry, August 2017, Pages 449–471, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/soin.12156/abstract
Abstract: Previous research has shown that during adolescence, holding high expectations of college education serves as a protective factor for delinquency and substance use. Little is known whether the protective factor of college expectations extends into young adulthood, especially among ambitious youth who do not earn a degree. Using longitudinal data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this research focuses on the longer term effects of adolescent educational expectations on deviant coping. This study finds that failing to realize realistically high expectations of college education during the transition to adulthood increases an individual's likelihood of deviant coping during the transition to adulthood.
Abstract: Previous research has shown that during adolescence, holding high expectations of college education serves as a protective factor for delinquency and substance use. Little is known whether the protective factor of college expectations extends into young adulthood, especially among ambitious youth who do not earn a degree. Using longitudinal data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this research focuses on the longer term effects of adolescent educational expectations on deviant coping. This study finds that failing to realize realistically high expectations of college education during the transition to adulthood increases an individual's likelihood of deviant coping during the transition to adulthood.
Adult sex ratio and social status predict mating and parenting strategies in Northern Ireland
Adult sex ratio and social status predict mating and parenting strategies in Northern Ireland. Caroline Uggla & Ruth Mace. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society: Biological Sciences, Sep 19 2017, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28760761
Abstract: Evidence from animal species indicates that a male-biased adult sex ratio (ASR) can lead to higher levels of male parental investment and that there is heterogeneity in behavioural responses to mate scarcity depending on mate value. In humans, however, there is little consistent evidence of the effect of the ASR on pair-bond stability and parental investment and even less of how it varies by an individual's mate value. In this paper we use detailed census data from Northern Ireland to test the association between the ASR and pair-bond stability and parental investment by social status (education and social class) as a proxy for mate value. We find evidence that female, but not male, cohabitation is associated with the ASR. In female-biased areas women with low education are less likely to be in a stable pair-bond than highly educated women, but in male-biased areas women with the lowest education are as likely to be in a stable pair-bond as their most highly educated peers. For both sexes risk of separation is greater at female-biased sex ratios. Lastly, our data show a weak relationship between parental investment and the ASR that depends on social class. We discuss these results in the light of recent reformulations of parental investment theory.
Abstract: Evidence from animal species indicates that a male-biased adult sex ratio (ASR) can lead to higher levels of male parental investment and that there is heterogeneity in behavioural responses to mate scarcity depending on mate value. In humans, however, there is little consistent evidence of the effect of the ASR on pair-bond stability and parental investment and even less of how it varies by an individual's mate value. In this paper we use detailed census data from Northern Ireland to test the association between the ASR and pair-bond stability and parental investment by social status (education and social class) as a proxy for mate value. We find evidence that female, but not male, cohabitation is associated with the ASR. In female-biased areas women with low education are less likely to be in a stable pair-bond than highly educated women, but in male-biased areas women with the lowest education are as likely to be in a stable pair-bond as their most highly educated peers. For both sexes risk of separation is greater at female-biased sex ratios. Lastly, our data show a weak relationship between parental investment and the ASR that depends on social class. We discuss these results in the light of recent reformulations of parental investment theory.
Sexual diversity in the United States: Results from a nationally representative probability sample of adult women and men
Sexual diversity in the United States: Results from a nationally
representative probability sample of adult women and men. Debby
Herbenick et al. PLoS One, July 2017,
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0181198
Abstract: In 2015, we conducted a cross-sectional, Internet-based, U.S. nationally representative probability survey of 2,021 adults (975 men, 1,046 women) focused on a broad range of sexual behaviors. Individuals invited to participate were from the GfK KnowledgePanel®. The survey was titled the 2015 Sexual Exploration in America Study and survey completion took about 12 to 15 minutes. The survey was confidential and the researchers never had access to respondents’ identifiers. Respondents reported on demographic items, lifetime and recent sexual behaviors, and the appeal of 50+ sexual behaviors. Most ( > 80%) reported lifetime masturbation, vaginal sex, and oral sex. Lifetime anal sex was reported by 43% of men (insertive) and 37% of women (receptive). Common lifetime sexual behaviors included wearing sexy lingerie/underwear (75% women, 26% men), sending/receiving digital nude/semi-nude photos (54% women, 65% men), reading erotic stories (57% of participants), public sex (≥43%), role-playing ( ≥ 22%), tying/being tied up ( ≥ 20%), spanking ( ≥ 30%), and watching sexually explicit videos/DVDs (60% women, 82% men). Having engaged in threesomes (10% women, 18% men) and playful whipping ( ≥ 13%) were less common. Lifetime group sex, sex parties, taking a sexuality class/workshop, and going to BDSM parties were uncommon (each < 8%). More Americans identified behaviors as “appealing” than had engaged in them. Romantic/affectionate behaviors were among those most commonly identified as appealing for both men and women. The appeal of particular behaviors was associated with greater odds that the individual had ever engaged in the behavior. This study contributes to our understanding of more diverse adult sexual behaviors than has previously been captured in U.S. nationally representative probability surveys. Implications for sexuality educators, clinicians, and individuals in the general population are discussed.
Abstract: In 2015, we conducted a cross-sectional, Internet-based, U.S. nationally representative probability survey of 2,021 adults (975 men, 1,046 women) focused on a broad range of sexual behaviors. Individuals invited to participate were from the GfK KnowledgePanel®. The survey was titled the 2015 Sexual Exploration in America Study and survey completion took about 12 to 15 minutes. The survey was confidential and the researchers never had access to respondents’ identifiers. Respondents reported on demographic items, lifetime and recent sexual behaviors, and the appeal of 50+ sexual behaviors. Most ( > 80%) reported lifetime masturbation, vaginal sex, and oral sex. Lifetime anal sex was reported by 43% of men (insertive) and 37% of women (receptive). Common lifetime sexual behaviors included wearing sexy lingerie/underwear (75% women, 26% men), sending/receiving digital nude/semi-nude photos (54% women, 65% men), reading erotic stories (57% of participants), public sex (≥43%), role-playing ( ≥ 22%), tying/being tied up ( ≥ 20%), spanking ( ≥ 30%), and watching sexually explicit videos/DVDs (60% women, 82% men). Having engaged in threesomes (10% women, 18% men) and playful whipping ( ≥ 13%) were less common. Lifetime group sex, sex parties, taking a sexuality class/workshop, and going to BDSM parties were uncommon (each < 8%). More Americans identified behaviors as “appealing” than had engaged in them. Romantic/affectionate behaviors were among those most commonly identified as appealing for both men and women. The appeal of particular behaviors was associated with greater odds that the individual had ever engaged in the behavior. This study contributes to our understanding of more diverse adult sexual behaviors than has previously been captured in U.S. nationally representative probability surveys. Implications for sexuality educators, clinicians, and individuals in the general population are discussed.
Majority Rules: Gender Composition and Sexual Norms and Behavior in High Schools
Majority Rules: Gender Composition and Sexual Norms and Behavior in High Schools. Kristen Harknett & Stephen Cranney. Population Research and Policy Review, August 2017, Pages 469-500, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11113-017-9436-2
Abstract: Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we examine the relationship between the gender composition of high schools and sexual ideals, attitudes, and behaviors reported by 12,617 students. Theory predicts that a surplus of females in a dating market gives males greater bargaining power to achieve their underlying preference for avoiding committed relationships and engaging in casual sex. We find relationships between the gender composition of a high school and sexual norms and behaviors that depart from this theoretical prediction: In high schools in which girls outnumber boys, students report a less sexually permissive normative climate and girls report less casual sex compared with their counterparts at schools in which boys outnumber girls. Our results inform predictions about social consequences following from the feminization of school institutions.
Abstract: Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we examine the relationship between the gender composition of high schools and sexual ideals, attitudes, and behaviors reported by 12,617 students. Theory predicts that a surplus of females in a dating market gives males greater bargaining power to achieve their underlying preference for avoiding committed relationships and engaging in casual sex. We find relationships between the gender composition of a high school and sexual norms and behaviors that depart from this theoretical prediction: In high schools in which girls outnumber boys, students report a less sexually permissive normative climate and girls report less casual sex compared with their counterparts at schools in which boys outnumber girls. Our results inform predictions about social consequences following from the feminization of school institutions.
Beauty in the blink of an eye: The time course of aesthetic experiences
Verhavert, S., Wagemans, J. and Augustin, M. D. (2017), Beauty in the blink of an eye: The time course of aesthetic experiences. Br J Psychol. doi:10.1111/bjop.12258
Abstract: Under normal circumstances, perception runs very fast and seemingly automatic. In just a few ms, we go from sensory features to perceiving objects. This fast time course does not only apply to general perceptual aspects but also to what we call higher-level judgements. Inspired by the study on ‘very first impressions’ by Bar, Neta, and Linz (2006, Emotion, 6, 269) the current research examined the speed and time course of three aspects of the aesthetic experience, namely beauty, specialness, and impressiveness. Participants were presented with 54 reproductions of paintings that covered a wide variety of artistic styles and contents. Presentation times were 10, 50, 100 and 500 ms in Experiment 1 and 20, 30 and 40 ms in Experiment 2. Our results not only show that consistent aesthetic judgements can be formed based on very brief glances of information, but that this speed of aesthetic impression formation also differs between different aesthetic judgements. Apparently, impressiveness judgements require longer exposure times than impressions of beauty or specialness. The results provide important evidence for our understanding of the time course of aesthetic experiences.
Abstract: Under normal circumstances, perception runs very fast and seemingly automatic. In just a few ms, we go from sensory features to perceiving objects. This fast time course does not only apply to general perceptual aspects but also to what we call higher-level judgements. Inspired by the study on ‘very first impressions’ by Bar, Neta, and Linz (2006, Emotion, 6, 269) the current research examined the speed and time course of three aspects of the aesthetic experience, namely beauty, specialness, and impressiveness. Participants were presented with 54 reproductions of paintings that covered a wide variety of artistic styles and contents. Presentation times were 10, 50, 100 and 500 ms in Experiment 1 and 20, 30 and 40 ms in Experiment 2. Our results not only show that consistent aesthetic judgements can be formed based on very brief glances of information, but that this speed of aesthetic impression formation also differs between different aesthetic judgements. Apparently, impressiveness judgements require longer exposure times than impressions of beauty or specialness. The results provide important evidence for our understanding of the time course of aesthetic experiences.
What does it mean to feel loved: Cultural consensus and individual differences in felt love
What does it mean to feel loved: Cultural consensus and individual differences in felt love. Saeideh Heshmati et al. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407517724600
Abstract: Cultural consensus theory is a statistical framework (CCT) for the study of individual differences in the knowledge of culturally shared opinions. In this article, we demonstrate how a CCT analysis can be used to study individual differences and cultural consensus on what makes people feel loved, or more generally any social behaviors that are governed by cognitive schemata. To highlight the advantages of the method, we describe a study in which people reported on their everyday experiences of feeling loved. Our unique approach to understanding this topic is to focus on people’s cognitive evaluations on what feeling loved (both romantically and nonromantically) entails by exploring the shared agreement regarding when one is most likely to feel loved and the individual differences that influence knowledge of these shared agreements. Our results reveal that people converge on a consensus about indicators of expressed love and that these scenarios are both romantic and nonromantic. Moreover, people show individual differences in (1) the amount of knowledge they have about this consensus and (2) their guessing biases in responding to items on love scenarios, depending on personality and demographics—all conclusions made possible by the CCT method.
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In our exploration of relationships between people’s ability in knowing the consensus on felt love and their demographic background, we found that depending on people’s gender, race, personality traits, and relationship status, they have differential ability of knowing the consensus on felt love. More specifically, we found that male participants show less knowledge of the consensus on felt love than female participants. This gender difference about experiences of love aligns with many of the past research on this topic (Fehr & Broughton, 2001; Hendrick, Hendrick, Foote, & Slapion-Foote, 1984; Sprecher & Toro-Morn, 2002). Specifically, research has shown that men and women differ in their thought process about the concept of love. Men are more likely to think about sexual commitment and the pleasure of intercourse when thinking about love, whereas women are more prone to thinking about love as emotional commitment and security (Buss, 2000; Cimbalo & Novell, 1993; Hazan & Shaver, 1987). This distinction between male and female perceptions of romantic love, not to be confused with love experienced in casual day-to-day interactions, could partially explain why men displayed less knowledge of the consensus in the scenarios of love presented in this study. Our items on felt love were less centered on sexual and intimate relationships and behaviors and more centered on emotional support and supportive behavior from others during everyday momentary experiences. Thus, an everyday nonsexual approach to love could be more in line with the cognitive framework of women than men.
In terms of relationship status, we also found that people in relationships know more about the consensus on felt love than people who are single. Since love is defined as an interpersonal connection between two people who share a micro-moment of positivity in the midst of their daily life (Fredrickson, 2013), people who are in a relationship and have more chances of experiencing and receiving these signals of love may have more knowledge of what makes them feel loved than those who are not in a relationship. Moreover, based on previous research, people who have maintained a good quality relationship show better relational characteristics (Stafford & Cannary, 1991) and higher emotional intelligence (Brackett, Warner, & Bosco, 2005) than people who have not and thus could be an explanation why these people know more about the shared belief about love among people.
Abstract: Cultural consensus theory is a statistical framework (CCT) for the study of individual differences in the knowledge of culturally shared opinions. In this article, we demonstrate how a CCT analysis can be used to study individual differences and cultural consensus on what makes people feel loved, or more generally any social behaviors that are governed by cognitive schemata. To highlight the advantages of the method, we describe a study in which people reported on their everyday experiences of feeling loved. Our unique approach to understanding this topic is to focus on people’s cognitive evaluations on what feeling loved (both romantically and nonromantically) entails by exploring the shared agreement regarding when one is most likely to feel loved and the individual differences that influence knowledge of these shared agreements. Our results reveal that people converge on a consensus about indicators of expressed love and that these scenarios are both romantic and nonromantic. Moreover, people show individual differences in (1) the amount of knowledge they have about this consensus and (2) their guessing biases in responding to items on love scenarios, depending on personality and demographics—all conclusions made possible by the CCT method.
---
In our exploration of relationships between people’s ability in knowing the consensus on felt love and their demographic background, we found that depending on people’s gender, race, personality traits, and relationship status, they have differential ability of knowing the consensus on felt love. More specifically, we found that male participants show less knowledge of the consensus on felt love than female participants. This gender difference about experiences of love aligns with many of the past research on this topic (Fehr & Broughton, 2001; Hendrick, Hendrick, Foote, & Slapion-Foote, 1984; Sprecher & Toro-Morn, 2002). Specifically, research has shown that men and women differ in their thought process about the concept of love. Men are more likely to think about sexual commitment and the pleasure of intercourse when thinking about love, whereas women are more prone to thinking about love as emotional commitment and security (Buss, 2000; Cimbalo & Novell, 1993; Hazan & Shaver, 1987). This distinction between male and female perceptions of romantic love, not to be confused with love experienced in casual day-to-day interactions, could partially explain why men displayed less knowledge of the consensus in the scenarios of love presented in this study. Our items on felt love were less centered on sexual and intimate relationships and behaviors and more centered on emotional support and supportive behavior from others during everyday momentary experiences. Thus, an everyday nonsexual approach to love could be more in line with the cognitive framework of women than men.
In terms of relationship status, we also found that people in relationships know more about the consensus on felt love than people who are single. Since love is defined as an interpersonal connection between two people who share a micro-moment of positivity in the midst of their daily life (Fredrickson, 2013), people who are in a relationship and have more chances of experiencing and receiving these signals of love may have more knowledge of what makes them feel loved than those who are not in a relationship. Moreover, based on previous research, people who have maintained a good quality relationship show better relational characteristics (Stafford & Cannary, 1991) and higher emotional intelligence (Brackett, Warner, & Bosco, 2005) than people who have not and thus could be an explanation why these people know more about the shared belief about love among people.
Understanding the Therapist Contribution to Psychotherapy Outcome: A Meta-Analytic Approach
Understanding the Therapist Contribution to Psychotherapy Outcome: A Meta-Analytic Approach. Robert J King et al. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, September 2017, Volume 44, Issue 5, pp 664–680, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10488-016-0783-9
Abstract: Understanding the role that therapists play in psychotherapy outcome, and the contribution to outcome made by individual therapist differences has implications for service delivery and training of therapists. In this study we used a novel approach to estimate the magnitude of the therapist contribution overall and the effect of individual therapist differences. We conducted a meta-analysis of studies in which participants were randomised to receive the same treatment either through self-help or through a therapist. We identified a total of 15 studies (commencement N = 910; completion N = 723) meeting inclusion criteria. We found no difference in treatment completion rate and broad equivalence of treatment outcomes for participants treated through self-help and participants treated through a therapist. Also, contrary to our expectations, we found that the variability of outcomes was broadly equivalent, suggesting that differences in efficacy of individual therapists were not sufficient to make therapy outcomes more variable when a therapist was involved. Overall, the findings suggest that self-help, with minimal therapist input, has considerable potential as a first-line intervention. The findings did not suggest that individual differences between therapists play a major role in psychotherapy outcome.
Abstract: Understanding the role that therapists play in psychotherapy outcome, and the contribution to outcome made by individual therapist differences has implications for service delivery and training of therapists. In this study we used a novel approach to estimate the magnitude of the therapist contribution overall and the effect of individual therapist differences. We conducted a meta-analysis of studies in which participants were randomised to receive the same treatment either through self-help or through a therapist. We identified a total of 15 studies (commencement N = 910; completion N = 723) meeting inclusion criteria. We found no difference in treatment completion rate and broad equivalence of treatment outcomes for participants treated through self-help and participants treated through a therapist. Also, contrary to our expectations, we found that the variability of outcomes was broadly equivalent, suggesting that differences in efficacy of individual therapists were not sufficient to make therapy outcomes more variable when a therapist was involved. Overall, the findings suggest that self-help, with minimal therapist input, has considerable potential as a first-line intervention. The findings did not suggest that individual differences between therapists play a major role in psychotherapy outcome.
how feminist scholars can employ empirical evidence to weaken the popularized, patriarchal theory of sexual economics
Myths of Sexual Economics Theory: Implications for Gender Equality. Laurie A. Rudman
Psychology of Women Quarterly, Volume: 41 issue: 3, page(s): 299-313. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0361684317714707
Abstract: The authors of sexual economics theory (Baumeister & Twenge, 2002; Baumeister & Vohs, 2004) argue that sex is a female commodity that women exchange for men’s resources; therefore, women (not men) are responsible for the cultural suppression of sexuality, ostensibly to preserve the value of sex. In this article, I describe the central tenets of sexual economics theory and summarize a growing body of research contradicting them. I also explain the negative implications of the claims of sexual economics theory for gender equality and heterosexual relationships. Researchers, clinicians, and educators engaged in understanding human sexuality may use the arguments provided in this article to counteract gender myths. This article also serves as a case study of how feminist scholars can employ empirical evidence to weaken a popularized, patriarchal theory.
Keywords: sexual economics theory, close relationships, human sexuality, gender equality
Psychology of Women Quarterly, Volume: 41 issue: 3, page(s): 299-313. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0361684317714707
Abstract: The authors of sexual economics theory (Baumeister & Twenge, 2002; Baumeister & Vohs, 2004) argue that sex is a female commodity that women exchange for men’s resources; therefore, women (not men) are responsible for the cultural suppression of sexuality, ostensibly to preserve the value of sex. In this article, I describe the central tenets of sexual economics theory and summarize a growing body of research contradicting them. I also explain the negative implications of the claims of sexual economics theory for gender equality and heterosexual relationships. Researchers, clinicians, and educators engaged in understanding human sexuality may use the arguments provided in this article to counteract gender myths. This article also serves as a case study of how feminist scholars can employ empirical evidence to weaken a popularized, patriarchal theory.
Keywords: sexual economics theory, close relationships, human sexuality, gender equality
Sunday, August 13, 2017
Predicting anti-vegetarian prejudice from pro-beef attitudes across cultures
What's your beef with vegetarians? Predicting anti-vegetarian prejudice from pro-beef attitudes across cultures. Megan Earle and Gordon Hodson. Personality and Individual Differences
Volume 119, 1 December 2017, Pages 52-55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2017.06.034
Highlights
• Pro-beef attitudes are robust predictors of anti-vegetarian prejudice.
• This association is found in the U.S.A., France, Brazil and Argentina.
• For Americans, this relation is particularly strong.
• Attitudes towards meat are crucial for anti-vegetarian prejudice cross-culturally.
• Relation varies in magnitude across countries.
Abstract: Contrary to other forms of prejudice (e.g., racism), explicit expressions of anti-vegetarian/vegan prejudice are common. But this bias has only recently received empirical attention, with very little cross-cultural evidence. Some theoretical approaches (e.g., Social Identity Theory) focus on social factors in understanding intergroup relations, but there is growing recognition that individual differences may also be crucial in understanding group processes. Here we hypothesize that the degree to which an individual enjoys (likes/desires/consumes) beef may be systematically related to prejudice towards non-meat eaters. Using data from the U.S.A, France, Brazil, and Argentina (N = 1695) we find that pro-beef attitudes are a robust predictor of anti-vegetarian prejudice across cultures (β = 0.47), with a particularly strong association in the USA (β = 0.65), where 43% of anti-vegetarian attitudes are explained by individual differences in beef enjoyment. This work contributes a cross-cultural comparison of anti-vegetarian prejudice and its predictors to the rapidly expanding literature on bias towards this growing social group.
Keywords: Prejudice, Meat, Vegetarian, Cross-cultural
Volume 119, 1 December 2017, Pages 52-55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2017.06.034
Highlights
• Pro-beef attitudes are robust predictors of anti-vegetarian prejudice.
• This association is found in the U.S.A., France, Brazil and Argentina.
• For Americans, this relation is particularly strong.
• Attitudes towards meat are crucial for anti-vegetarian prejudice cross-culturally.
• Relation varies in magnitude across countries.
Abstract: Contrary to other forms of prejudice (e.g., racism), explicit expressions of anti-vegetarian/vegan prejudice are common. But this bias has only recently received empirical attention, with very little cross-cultural evidence. Some theoretical approaches (e.g., Social Identity Theory) focus on social factors in understanding intergroup relations, but there is growing recognition that individual differences may also be crucial in understanding group processes. Here we hypothesize that the degree to which an individual enjoys (likes/desires/consumes) beef may be systematically related to prejudice towards non-meat eaters. Using data from the U.S.A, France, Brazil, and Argentina (N = 1695) we find that pro-beef attitudes are a robust predictor of anti-vegetarian prejudice across cultures (β = 0.47), with a particularly strong association in the USA (β = 0.65), where 43% of anti-vegetarian attitudes are explained by individual differences in beef enjoyment. This work contributes a cross-cultural comparison of anti-vegetarian prejudice and its predictors to the rapidly expanding literature on bias towards this growing social group.
Keywords: Prejudice, Meat, Vegetarian, Cross-cultural
Invention of the alphabet: a non-institutional cultural product by illiterate Canaanite miners
Invention of alphabets...
Pharaoh's Land and Beyond: Ancient Egypt and Its Neighbors. Edited by Pearce Paul Creasman, Richard H. Wilkinson. Chapter XI, The Flow of Words: Interaction in Writing and Literature during the Bronze Age. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017. ISBN 978-0190229092
The high iconicity of the hieroglyphic script again played a key role on the stage of intellectual history at another crossroad of Egyptian and Levantine cultures. […]
Unlike the case of the Minoan and Anatolian scripts, the invention of the alphabet was not born in the environment of erudite scribes, but was apparently created as a non-institutional cultural product by illiterate Canaanite miners. Though they were experts in their professional field of mining, the inventors of the alphabet were far removed from the circles of professional writing in cuneiform and Egyptian. It is precisely this naïveté that allowed them to invent something completely new, as they were unencumbered by the scripts of their day. They were able to think outside the box, inventing a novel writing system--an alphabetic script made of fewer of thirty signs.
[…]
Like the inventors of the Cretan and Anatolian hieroglyphs, the Canaanites borrowed the Egyptian idea of turning pictures into script. Yet, not being professional scribes and not working in the service of any official ideology or institution, they did not bother to invent a whole set of new icons. They adopted roughly two dozen icons from the hieroglyphs around them--those that they found useful for their own purposes--and added a few new signs of their own.
https://books.google.com/books?id=4zslDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT5&lpg=PT5&dq=%22The+Flow+of+Words:+Interaction+in+Writing+and+Literature+during+the++Bronze+Age%22&source=bl&ots=71Y_2QZ5t9&sig=8u3c5f6t42tcS6k9Qu-BuAgjadE&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
Pharaoh's Land and Beyond: Ancient Egypt and Its Neighbors. Edited by Pearce Paul Creasman, Richard H. Wilkinson. Chapter XI, The Flow of Words: Interaction in Writing and Literature during the Bronze Age. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017. ISBN 978-0190229092
The high iconicity of the hieroglyphic script again played a key role on the stage of intellectual history at another crossroad of Egyptian and Levantine cultures. […]
Unlike the case of the Minoan and Anatolian scripts, the invention of the alphabet was not born in the environment of erudite scribes, but was apparently created as a non-institutional cultural product by illiterate Canaanite miners. Though they were experts in their professional field of mining, the inventors of the alphabet were far removed from the circles of professional writing in cuneiform and Egyptian. It is precisely this naïveté that allowed them to invent something completely new, as they were unencumbered by the scripts of their day. They were able to think outside the box, inventing a novel writing system--an alphabetic script made of fewer of thirty signs.
[…]
Like the inventors of the Cretan and Anatolian hieroglyphs, the Canaanites borrowed the Egyptian idea of turning pictures into script. Yet, not being professional scribes and not working in the service of any official ideology or institution, they did not bother to invent a whole set of new icons. They adopted roughly two dozen icons from the hieroglyphs around them--those that they found useful for their own purposes--and added a few new signs of their own.
https://books.google.com/books?id=4zslDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT5&lpg=PT5&dq=%22The+Flow+of+Words:+Interaction+in+Writing+and+Literature+during+the++Bronze+Age%22&source=bl&ots=71Y_2QZ5t9&sig=8u3c5f6t42tcS6k9Qu-BuAgjadE&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
Sex Differences in Distress from Infidelity in Early Adulthood and in Later Life: On Shackelford Et Al. 2004
IJzerman, Hans, Irene Blanken, Mark Brandt, Hanneke Oerlemans, Marloes v d Hoogenhof, and Mathé Oerlemans. 2017. “Sex Differences in Distress from Infidelity in Early Adulthood and in Later Life: A Replication and Meta-analysis of Shackelford Et Al. (2004)”. PsyArXiv. June 28. osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/3urkp.
Abstract: Shackelford and colleagues (2004) found that men, compared to women, are more distressed by sexual than emotional infidelity, and this sex difference continued into older age. We conducted four high-powered replications (total N = 1,952) of this effect and found different results. A meta-analysis of original and replication studies finds the sex difference in younger samples (though with a smaller effect size), and no effect among older samples. Furthermore, we found attitude toward uncommitted sex to be a mediator (although not consistently in the same direction) between participant sex and relative distress between sexual and emotional infidelity. We hypothesize that the discrepancies between the original and replication studies may be due to changing cultural attitudes about sex across time. Confirming this speculative interpretation requires further investigation.
Abstract: Shackelford and colleagues (2004) found that men, compared to women, are more distressed by sexual than emotional infidelity, and this sex difference continued into older age. We conducted four high-powered replications (total N = 1,952) of this effect and found different results. A meta-analysis of original and replication studies finds the sex difference in younger samples (though with a smaller effect size), and no effect among older samples. Furthermore, we found attitude toward uncommitted sex to be a mediator (although not consistently in the same direction) between participant sex and relative distress between sexual and emotional infidelity. We hypothesize that the discrepancies between the original and replication studies may be due to changing cultural attitudes about sex across time. Confirming this speculative interpretation requires further investigation.
An analysis of the effects of political ideology and ethnic identity on procedural justice
Sebastian Roché, Guillaume Roux, (2017) "The “silver bullet” to good policing: a mirage: An analysis of the effects of political ideology and ethnic identity on procedural justice", Policing: An International Journal, Vol. 40 Issue: 3, pp.514-528, https://doi.org/10.1108/PIJPSM-05-2016-0073
Abstract:
Purpose: Procedural justice (PJ) during police-citizen interactions has often been portrayed as a “silver bullet” to good policing, as it could function as a means to gain trust, voluntary obedience and public cooperation. PJ research is based on the assumption that there exists “true fairness.” However, it is still unclear what people actually mean when they evaluate the police as “fair” in surveys. By focusing the analysis to underexplored aspects of PJ, namely, the identity and political antecedents of the attribution of procedural fairness, the authors highlight the social and ideological reasons that influence people’s perceptions of police fairness. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Findings: The present study finds support for the notion that aggressive policing policies (police-initiated contacts, e.g. identification checks, road stops) negatively impacts attributions of fairness to police. In addition, the findings show that ***attributions of fairness are not only interactional (i.e. related to what police do in any given situation) or related to individual cognitive phenomena, but for the most part pertain to broader social and political explanations***. Political and ethnic cleavages are the key to understanding how police are judged by the public. ***The findings therefore question the nature of what is actually measured when fairness is attributed to police, finding that more punitive and conservative respondents tend to assess the police as fair***. The authors find that the attribution of fairness seems to correspond to upholding the existing social order.
---
Design/methodology/approach: In order to explain the attribution of fairness of police, the study comprises a range of independent variables organized into five overarching domains: prior experience with police, victimization, socioeconomic status and (disadvantaged) context of residence, ethnicity and political attitudes and punitive values. The analysis is based on a representative sample of France, as well as a booster sample of a deprived, urban province (Seine-Saint-Denis) in order to better incorporate ethnic effects into the model (March 2011; n=1.498, 18+).
Research limitations/implications: This study has limitations inherent to any cross-sectional survey and the findings pertain only to a single country (France). Furthermore, the authors did not analyze all possible confounding variables to perceived fairness.
Social implications: The findings pose a practical problem for police and government to implement, as the authors ultimately find that there is no single recipe, or “silver bullet,” for being deemed fair across all social, ethnic and political groups – and, of course, the expectations of one group might conflict with those of another.
Originality/value: The study demonstrates that existing theory needs to better incorporate those explanations of fairness which extend beyond interactional processes with police, and refer instead to the social and political cleavages in society.
Keywords: Ideology, Ethnic identity, Cleavage, Police-initiated contacts, Political attitudes
Abstract:
Purpose: Procedural justice (PJ) during police-citizen interactions has often been portrayed as a “silver bullet” to good policing, as it could function as a means to gain trust, voluntary obedience and public cooperation. PJ research is based on the assumption that there exists “true fairness.” However, it is still unclear what people actually mean when they evaluate the police as “fair” in surveys. By focusing the analysis to underexplored aspects of PJ, namely, the identity and political antecedents of the attribution of procedural fairness, the authors highlight the social and ideological reasons that influence people’s perceptions of police fairness. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Findings: The present study finds support for the notion that aggressive policing policies (police-initiated contacts, e.g. identification checks, road stops) negatively impacts attributions of fairness to police. In addition, the findings show that ***attributions of fairness are not only interactional (i.e. related to what police do in any given situation) or related to individual cognitive phenomena, but for the most part pertain to broader social and political explanations***. Political and ethnic cleavages are the key to understanding how police are judged by the public. ***The findings therefore question the nature of what is actually measured when fairness is attributed to police, finding that more punitive and conservative respondents tend to assess the police as fair***. The authors find that the attribution of fairness seems to correspond to upholding the existing social order.
---
Design/methodology/approach: In order to explain the attribution of fairness of police, the study comprises a range of independent variables organized into five overarching domains: prior experience with police, victimization, socioeconomic status and (disadvantaged) context of residence, ethnicity and political attitudes and punitive values. The analysis is based on a representative sample of France, as well as a booster sample of a deprived, urban province (Seine-Saint-Denis) in order to better incorporate ethnic effects into the model (March 2011; n=1.498, 18+).
Research limitations/implications: This study has limitations inherent to any cross-sectional survey and the findings pertain only to a single country (France). Furthermore, the authors did not analyze all possible confounding variables to perceived fairness.
Social implications: The findings pose a practical problem for police and government to implement, as the authors ultimately find that there is no single recipe, or “silver bullet,” for being deemed fair across all social, ethnic and political groups – and, of course, the expectations of one group might conflict with those of another.
Originality/value: The study demonstrates that existing theory needs to better incorporate those explanations of fairness which extend beyond interactional processes with police, and refer instead to the social and political cleavages in society.
Keywords: Ideology, Ethnic identity, Cleavage, Police-initiated contacts, Political attitudes
How do we know there are issues with our senses and that reality exists?
I guess that the other animals do the same...
Pavlovian conditioning–induced hallucinations result from overweighting of perceptual priors. A. R. Powers, C. Mathys, P. R. Corlett. Science Aug 11 2017, Vol. 357, Issue 6351, pp. 596-600. DOI: 10.1126/science.aan3458
Abstract: Some people hear voices that others do not, but only some of those people seek treatment. Using a Pavlovian learning task, we induced conditioned hallucinations in four groups of people who differed orthogonally in their voice-hearing and treatment-seeking statuses. People who hear voices were significantly more susceptible to the effect. Using functional neuroimaging and computational modeling of perception, we identified processes that differentiated voice-hearers from non–voice-hearers and treatment-seekers from non–treatment-seekers and characterized a brain circuit that mediated the conditioned hallucinations. These data demonstrate the profound and sometimes pathological impact of top-down cognitive processes on perception and may represent an objective means to discern people with a need for treatment from those without.
My comment: We all suffer from hallucinations in our lives... An example is hearing our phone ringing very briefly and very softly when it is not possible that it sounded (no coverage, total isolation, and other phones could not be heard piercing the thick walls). We check and immediately find that no call is pending of being attended to. These researchers found that the cerebellum in some way dispells the hallucination with a constant check of past expectations and beliefs against reality, but some people with schizophrenia hear, with great confidence, sounds or voices ***five times*** more frequently than healthy controls. The more advanced is the illness, the less activity is seen in the cerebellum.
Pavlovian conditioning–induced hallucinations result from overweighting of perceptual priors. A. R. Powers, C. Mathys, P. R. Corlett. Science Aug 11 2017, Vol. 357, Issue 6351, pp. 596-600. DOI: 10.1126/science.aan3458
Abstract: Some people hear voices that others do not, but only some of those people seek treatment. Using a Pavlovian learning task, we induced conditioned hallucinations in four groups of people who differed orthogonally in their voice-hearing and treatment-seeking statuses. People who hear voices were significantly more susceptible to the effect. Using functional neuroimaging and computational modeling of perception, we identified processes that differentiated voice-hearers from non–voice-hearers and treatment-seekers from non–treatment-seekers and characterized a brain circuit that mediated the conditioned hallucinations. These data demonstrate the profound and sometimes pathological impact of top-down cognitive processes on perception and may represent an objective means to discern people with a need for treatment from those without.
My comment: We all suffer from hallucinations in our lives... An example is hearing our phone ringing very briefly and very softly when it is not possible that it sounded (no coverage, total isolation, and other phones could not be heard piercing the thick walls). We check and immediately find that no call is pending of being attended to. These researchers found that the cerebellum in some way dispells the hallucination with a constant check of past expectations and beliefs against reality, but some people with schizophrenia hear, with great confidence, sounds or voices ***five times*** more frequently than healthy controls. The more advanced is the illness, the less activity is seen in the cerebellum.
Academic competencies: Their interrelatedness and gender differences at their high end
Bergold, S., Wendt, H., Kasper, D., & Steinmayr, R. (2017). Academic competencies: Their interrelatedness and gender differences at their high end. Journal of Educational Psychology, 109(3), 439-449. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/edu0000140
Abstract: The present study investigated (a) how a latent profile analysis based on representative data of N = 74,868 4th graders from 17 European countries would cluster the students on the basis of their reading, mathematics, and science achievement test scores; (b) whether there would be gender differences at various competency levels, especially among the top performers; (c) and whether societal gender equity might account for possible cross-national variation in the gender ratios among the top performers. The latent profile analysis revealed an international model with 7 profiles. Across these profiles, the test scores of all achievement domains progressively and consistently increased. Thus, consistent with our expectations, (a) the profiles differed only in their individuals’ overall performance level across all academic competencies and not in their individuals’ performance profile shape. From the national samples, the vast majority of the students could be reliably assigned to 1 of the profiles of the international model. Inspection of the gender ratios revealed (b) that ***boys were overrepresented at both ends of the competency spectrum***. However, there was (c) some cross-national variation in the gender ratios among the top performers, which could be partly explained by women’s access to education and labor market participation. The interrelatedness of academic competencies and its practical implications, the role of gender equity as a possible cause of gender differences among the top performers, and directions for future research are discussed.
My comment: men are disproportionatelly brutish, have more sickos, have more retarted individuals and commit more crimes than women... but also the most intelligent of the population are desproportionately men.
I say this with a heavy heart; when a child I was a rabid militant feminist, and later I was a theoretical feminist (that is, I believed the girls were superior in most aspects to us and were the same in general intel, what me measure with IQ tests), until a few months ago. Not anymore.
Abstract: The present study investigated (a) how a latent profile analysis based on representative data of N = 74,868 4th graders from 17 European countries would cluster the students on the basis of their reading, mathematics, and science achievement test scores; (b) whether there would be gender differences at various competency levels, especially among the top performers; (c) and whether societal gender equity might account for possible cross-national variation in the gender ratios among the top performers. The latent profile analysis revealed an international model with 7 profiles. Across these profiles, the test scores of all achievement domains progressively and consistently increased. Thus, consistent with our expectations, (a) the profiles differed only in their individuals’ overall performance level across all academic competencies and not in their individuals’ performance profile shape. From the national samples, the vast majority of the students could be reliably assigned to 1 of the profiles of the international model. Inspection of the gender ratios revealed (b) that ***boys were overrepresented at both ends of the competency spectrum***. However, there was (c) some cross-national variation in the gender ratios among the top performers, which could be partly explained by women’s access to education and labor market participation. The interrelatedness of academic competencies and its practical implications, the role of gender equity as a possible cause of gender differences among the top performers, and directions for future research are discussed.
My comment: men are disproportionatelly brutish, have more sickos, have more retarted individuals and commit more crimes than women... but also the most intelligent of the population are desproportionately men.
I say this with a heavy heart; when a child I was a rabid militant feminist, and later I was a theoretical feminist (that is, I believed the girls were superior in most aspects to us and were the same in general intel, what me measure with IQ tests), until a few months ago. Not anymore.
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