Adult Human Hippocampus: No New Neurons in Sight. Jon I Arellano, Brian Harding, Jean-Leon Thomas. Cerebral Cortex, bhy106, https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhy106
Abstract: In this issue of Cerebral Cortex, Cipriani et al. are following up on the recent report of Sorrels et al. to add novel immunohistological observations indicating that, unlike rodents, adult and aging humans do not acquire new neurons in the hippocampus. The common finding emerging from these 2 different, but almost simultaneous studies is highly significant because the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus was, until recently, considered as the only structure in the human brain that may continue neurogenesis throughout the full life span.
Keywords: adult neurogenesis, dentate gyrus, human hippocampus
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During the lifetime of most vertebrate animals, there is continuous neuronal addition and/or turnover, but this seemingly useful capacity decreases drastically during evolution (e.g., Jacobson 1970). The classical neuroanatomists generally believed that, after the developmental period which ends after puberty or sometimes during adolescence, the human neuronal assembly becomes stabilized (e.g., Ramon y Cajal 1913-1914). However, a paper published 2 decades ago in Nature Medicine (Eriksson et al. 1998) reported the detection in brain neural cells of deoxybromouridine (BrdU) initially administered to cancer patients for diagnostic purposes. This finding convinced a great number of scientists and lay people that the hippocampus was not different in humans than in other mammalian species, as it seemed to also generate new neurons during the entire life span. This possibility has been considered by many as a promise for endogenous cell replacement therapies for aging and neurological diseases as well as for CNS injury repair.
Although some studies have suggested caution in the interpretation of BrdU, showing a toxic effect and its incorporation into non-dividing cells damaged by drugs or exposed to hypoxia/ ischemia (e.g., Kuan et al. 2004; Breunig et al. 2007; Spector and Johanson 2007; Duque and Rakic 2015), the report by Eriksson et al. sparkled the field, and was followed by a number of studies that tried to ratify those results using immunohistochemical methods to identify markers of neurogenesis in postmortem human tissue. Those markers were aimed to progenitors (GFAP, Nestin, vimentin, Sox2), proliferating cells (Ki67, MCM2, PCNA), and immature neurons (DCX, PSANCAM, Tuj1). However, those studies have produced heterogeneous, inconclusive, sometimes contradictory results. One important obstacle is the ability to obtain well-preserved human tissues with a short postmortem delay, that may allow to obtain clear, reliable immunostaining. Another caveat is that many of those reports studied only one marker of neurogenesis, producing inconclusive results. For example, using only Ki67 or MCM2 to identify proliferating cells without further characterization, is not a reliable method to assess neurogenesis, as the labeled cells might be producing oligodendrocytes or microglial cells (Reif et al. 2006; Knoth et al. 2010). The use of PCNA has added a lot of confusion to the field, as it is an inconsistent and unreliable marker of proliferation (Reif et al. 2006; Sanai et al. 2007). Also, morphological analysis of the cells labeled is a must, as for example, the markers of progenitors are shared with reactive astrocytes. Also DCX and PSANCAM expression has been reported in small cells with scant cytoplasm (Knoth et al. 2010; Jin et al. 2004), a morphology that is not expected in immature, migratory neurons.
Spalding et al. (2013) used an alternative technique to assess cell renewal, the neuronal content of C14 in the hippocampus. The increased levels of C14 in hippocampal neurons were interpreted as the consequence of a high and sustained level of neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus along life, in spite of the difficulty to reconcile this data with other studies in human (Knoth et al. 2010) and rodents (Ben Abdallah et al. 2010) showing that hippocampal neurogenesis has an early exponential decline before reaching low, stable adult levels.
At the time of writing this commentary, a new report has been published supporting the model that neurogenesis in the human hippocampus persists throughout adulthood (Boldrini et al. 2018). The authors of this study have, however, based their conclusion on disputable interpretations of immunelabeled cell types: some of the DCX- and PSA-NCAM-positive entities shown belong to the category of small and rounded cells described before, far from the typical elongated morphology of newly generated neurons. Also, cells identified as neuronal progenitors are Nestin- and GFAP-positive cells that do not have the characteristic polarized, radial-like morphology of progenitors and rather look very much like astrocytes.
It is clear that, irrespective of the caveats, there is widespread enthusiasm by the prospect of adult neurogenesis in humans and its therapeutic possibilities. As far as we know, there has been only one report published in 2016 (Dennis et al. 2016) reporting that hippocampal neurogenesis in adult humans is negligible. The authors found only an insignificant number of proliferating progenitors that corresponded to microglial cells and scarce DCX-expressing cells in the adult human hippocampus.
It is therefore quite a coincidence that, almost simultaneously, 2 independent papers coming from different parts of the world have used a similar approach and methodology leading to converging results and the following similar conclusions: hippocampal neurogenesis in humans decays exponentially during childhood and is absent or negligible in the adult. Those 2 papers are Sorrells et al. (2018) from the lab of Alvarez-Buylla in USA published in March in Nature, and the study by Cipriani and coworkers from the Adle-Biassette’s lab in France published in this issue of Cerebral Cortex (2018; 27: 000–000).
Cipriani et al. used a large battery of antibodies to identify progenitors, cell proliferation and differentiating neurons as well as their glial and vascular environment in the human hippocampus from early gestation to aging adults. As expected, they found abundant proliferating progenitors and newly generated neurons in the hippocampus during gestation, but they also observed a sharp decline of all the neurogenic markers after birth. It is worth to note that the analysis of hippocampal tissues at gestational and perinatal stages clearly assessed the presence of numerous proliferating progenitors and immature neurons. But those numbers decreased rapidly in early infancy, and by the age of 7, the authors detected only a few progenitors without significant proliferation and no DCX+ and Tuj1+ colabeled cells. In adults, a single cell co-expressing Nestin and Ki67 was found out of 19 samples, and only a few cells expressing DCX displaying a non-neuronal morphology (small nucleus, scant cytoplasm) were detected.
Interestingly, Cipriani et al. show almost identical results to those of Sorrells, Paredes and coworkers. Both 2 papers provide a high quality analysis of developmental and adult neurogenesis in the human hippocampus, while Sorrells et al. performed an exhaustive analysis, including transcriptome data that is, without a doubt, the most comprehensive to date. They combined the use of well-preserved human postmortem material and surgically resected hippocampi to assess for possible postmortem effects, and of an extensive battery of antibodies completed by electron microscopy analyses. As a key condition to the reliability of their study, they followed stringent criteria to identify differentiating neurons, based on the cellular morphology and the colocalization of DCX and PSA-NCAM. According to both Cipriani et al. and Sorrells, Paredes et al., DCX+ differentiating neurons, were absent from adult hippocampus samples. Both found however, small DCX+ cells with scant cytoplasm in adult samples, that were found by Sorrells, Paredes et al. to express oligodendroglial and microglial markers, expanding previous data of DCX expression in glial cells (Verwer et al. 2007; Zhang et al. 2014). Additionally, they analyzed the formation of the subgranular zone (SGZ) in humans, but they concluded that actually there is no SGZ compartment in the human dentate gyrus comparable to the SGZ of rodents. The SGZ is an important player, as it is the specific niche where postnatal progenitors coalesce and proliferate in all other mammals exhibiting adult neurogenesis. Thus, the lack of SGZ may explain the lack of adult neurogenesis in the human dentate gyrus.
As pointed out by Cipriani and coworkers in this issue, the reasoning behind their study is to shed light on the neurogenic potential of the human hippocampus as “little information about human adult neurogenesis and neural stem/progenitor cells exists to justify the investment of resources in developing new treatments in humans, and most of the available evidence is inconclusive or contradictory.” Definitely, their study together with Sorrells’ and Dennis’ contributes to bring solid and consistent arguments to inform the field about a real possibility: the human species is once again different, and no significant neurogenesis occurs in the adult human hippocampus. This finding is in tune with the lack of subventricular neurogenesis and migration of new neurons to the olfactory bulb in the adult human, which has already been consistently reported (Sanai et al. 2011; Wang et al. 2011; Bergmann et al. 2012).
Finally, the absence of significant neurogenesis in normal adult humans poses a logical question: why would the human brain loose what seems to be a useful ability: to add, renew and regenerate neurons? As well formulated in the last sentence of the abstract of Sorrells’ paper: “The early decline in hippocampal neurogenesis raises questions about how the function of the dentate gyrus differs between humans and other species in which adult hippocampal neurogenesis is preserved.” However, as pointed out by Rakic (1985), there may be an advantage in keeping your old neurons without adding new ones, when the aim is to acquire and preserve complex knowledge during many decades of life. Stability in the neuronal population over a lifetime may not be a bad thing after all.
Saturday, May 12, 2018
75 years ago… New York Times debunks (vs. foments) a health scare
75 years ago… New York Times debunks (vs. foments) a health scare. By Steven Milloy
Junkscience, May 2018, https://junkscience.com/2018/05/75-years-ago-new-york-times-debunks-vs-foments-a-health-scare/
Friday, May 11, 2018
The sunk-cost fallacy—pursuing an inferior alternative merely because we have previously invested significant, but nonrecoverable, resources in it—, a striking violation of rational decision making, can appear when costs are borne by someone other than the decision maker
The Interpersonal Sunk-Cost Effect. Christopher Y. Olivola. Psychological Science, https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797617752641
Abstract: The sunk-cost fallacy—pursuing an inferior alternative merely because we have previously invested significant, but nonrecoverable, resources in it—represents a striking violation of rational decision making. Whereas theoretical accounts and empirical examinations of the sunk-cost effect have generally been based on the assumption that it is a purely intrapersonal phenomenon (i.e., solely driven by one’s own past investments), the present research demonstrates that it is also an interpersonal effect (i.e., people will alter their choices in response to other people’s past investments). Across eight experiments (N = 6,076) covering diverse scenarios, I documented sunk-cost effects when the costs are borne by someone other than the decision maker. Moreover, the interpersonal sunk-cost effect is not moderated by social closeness or whether other people observe their sunk costs being “honored.” These findings uncover a previously undocumented bias, reveal that the sunk-cost effect is a much broader phenomenon than previously thought, and pose interesting challenges for existing accounts of this fascinating human tendency.
Keywords: decision making, heuristics, preferences, social influence, open data, open materials, preregistered
Abstract: The sunk-cost fallacy—pursuing an inferior alternative merely because we have previously invested significant, but nonrecoverable, resources in it—represents a striking violation of rational decision making. Whereas theoretical accounts and empirical examinations of the sunk-cost effect have generally been based on the assumption that it is a purely intrapersonal phenomenon (i.e., solely driven by one’s own past investments), the present research demonstrates that it is also an interpersonal effect (i.e., people will alter their choices in response to other people’s past investments). Across eight experiments (N = 6,076) covering diverse scenarios, I documented sunk-cost effects when the costs are borne by someone other than the decision maker. Moreover, the interpersonal sunk-cost effect is not moderated by social closeness or whether other people observe their sunk costs being “honored.” These findings uncover a previously undocumented bias, reveal that the sunk-cost effect is a much broader phenomenon than previously thought, and pose interesting challenges for existing accounts of this fascinating human tendency.
Keywords: decision making, heuristics, preferences, social influence, open data, open materials, preregistered
Tools do not erase but rather extend our intrinsic physical and cognitive skills; this extension is task specific because we found no evidence for superusers, benefitting from the use of a tool irrespective of the task
Osiurak, F., Navarro, J., Reynaud, E., & Thomas, G. (2018). Tools don’t—and won’t—make the man: A cognitive look at the future. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 147(5), 782-788. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/xge0000432
Abstract: The question of whether tools erase cognitive and physical interindividual differences has been surprisingly overlooked in the literature. Yet if technology is profusely available in a near or far future, will we be equal in our capacity to use it? We sought to address this unexplored, fundamental issue, asking 200 participants to perform 3 physical (e.g., fine manipulation) and 3 cognitive tasks (e.g., calculation) in both non–tool-use and tool-use conditions. Here we show that tools do not erase but rather extend our intrinsic physical and cognitive skills. Moreover, this phenomenon of extension is task specific because we found no evidence for superusers, benefitting from the use of a tool irrespective of the task concerned. These results challenge the possibility that technical solutions could always be found to make people equal. Rather, technical innovation might be systematically limited by the user’s initial degree of knowledge or skills for a given task.
Abstract: The question of whether tools erase cognitive and physical interindividual differences has been surprisingly overlooked in the literature. Yet if technology is profusely available in a near or far future, will we be equal in our capacity to use it? We sought to address this unexplored, fundamental issue, asking 200 participants to perform 3 physical (e.g., fine manipulation) and 3 cognitive tasks (e.g., calculation) in both non–tool-use and tool-use conditions. Here we show that tools do not erase but rather extend our intrinsic physical and cognitive skills. Moreover, this phenomenon of extension is task specific because we found no evidence for superusers, benefitting from the use of a tool irrespective of the task concerned. These results challenge the possibility that technical solutions could always be found to make people equal. Rather, technical innovation might be systematically limited by the user’s initial degree of knowledge or skills for a given task.
Thursday, May 10, 2018
The Napoleon Complex: When Shorter Men Take More
The Napoleon Complex: When Shorter Men Take More. Jill E. P. Knapen, Nancy M. Blaker, Mark Van Vugt. Psychological Science, https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797618772822
Abstract: Inspired by an evolutionary psychological perspective on the Napoleon complex, we hypothesized that shorter males are more likely to show indirect aggression in resource competitions with taller males. Three studies provide support for our interpretation of the Napoleon complex. Our pilot study shows that men (but not women) keep more resources for themselves when they feel small. When paired with a taller male opponent (Study 1), shorter men keep more resources to themselves in a game in which they have all the power (dictator game) versus a game in which the opponent also has some power (ultimatum game). Furthermore, shorter men are not more likely to show direct, physical aggression toward a taller opponent (Study 2). As predicted by the Napoleon complex, we conclude that (relatively) shorter men show greater behavioral flexibility in securing resources when presented with cues that they are physically less competitive. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Keywords: Napoleon complex, human height, status, behavioral flexibility, indirect aggression, open data
Abstract: Inspired by an evolutionary psychological perspective on the Napoleon complex, we hypothesized that shorter males are more likely to show indirect aggression in resource competitions with taller males. Three studies provide support for our interpretation of the Napoleon complex. Our pilot study shows that men (but not women) keep more resources for themselves when they feel small. When paired with a taller male opponent (Study 1), shorter men keep more resources to themselves in a game in which they have all the power (dictator game) versus a game in which the opponent also has some power (ultimatum game). Furthermore, shorter men are not more likely to show direct, physical aggression toward a taller opponent (Study 2). As predicted by the Napoleon complex, we conclude that (relatively) shorter men show greater behavioral flexibility in securing resources when presented with cues that they are physically less competitive. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Keywords: Napoleon complex, human height, status, behavioral flexibility, indirect aggression, open data
China's Social Credit System: An Evolving Practice of Control
Creemers, Rogier, China's Social Credit System: An Evolving Practice of Control (May 9, 2018). https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3175792
Abstract: The Social Credit System (SCS) is perhaps the most prominent manifestation of the Chinese government's intention to reinforce legal, regulatory and policy processes through the application of information technology. Yet its organizational specifics have not yet received academic scrutiny. This paper will identify the objectives, perspectives and mechanisms through which the Chinese government has sought to realise its vision of "social credit". Reviewing the system's historical evolution, institutional structure, central and local implementation, and relationship with the private sector, this paper concludes that it is perhaps more accurate to conceive of the SCS as an ecosystem of initiatives broadly sharing a similar underlying logic, than a fully unified and integrated machine for social control. It also finds that, intentions with regards to big data and artificial intelligence notwithstanding, the SCS remains a relatively crude tool. This may change in the future, and this paper suggests the dimensions to be studied in order to assess this evolution.
Abstract: The Social Credit System (SCS) is perhaps the most prominent manifestation of the Chinese government's intention to reinforce legal, regulatory and policy processes through the application of information technology. Yet its organizational specifics have not yet received academic scrutiny. This paper will identify the objectives, perspectives and mechanisms through which the Chinese government has sought to realise its vision of "social credit". Reviewing the system's historical evolution, institutional structure, central and local implementation, and relationship with the private sector, this paper concludes that it is perhaps more accurate to conceive of the SCS as an ecosystem of initiatives broadly sharing a similar underlying logic, than a fully unified and integrated machine for social control. It also finds that, intentions with regards to big data and artificial intelligence notwithstanding, the SCS remains a relatively crude tool. This may change in the future, and this paper suggests the dimensions to be studied in order to assess this evolution.
School Progress Among Children of Same-Sex Couples
School Progress Among Children of Same-Sex Couples. Caleb S. Watkins. Demography, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13524-018-0678-3
Abstract: This study uses logit regressions on a pooled sample of children from the 2012, 2013, and 2014 American Community Survey to perform a nationally representative analysis of school progress for a large sample of 4,430 children who reside with same-sex couples. Odds ratios from regressions that compare children between different-sex married couples and same-sex couples fail to show significant differences in normal school progress between households across a variety of sample compositions. Likewise, marginal effects from regressions that compare children with similar family dynamics between different-sex married couples and same-sex couples fail to predict significantly higher probabilities of grade retention for children of same-sex couples. Significantly lower grade retention rates are sometimes predicted for children of same-sex couples than for different-sex married couples, but these differences are sensitive to sample exclusions and do not indicate causal benefits to same-sex parenting.
Abstract: This study uses logit regressions on a pooled sample of children from the 2012, 2013, and 2014 American Community Survey to perform a nationally representative analysis of school progress for a large sample of 4,430 children who reside with same-sex couples. Odds ratios from regressions that compare children between different-sex married couples and same-sex couples fail to show significant differences in normal school progress between households across a variety of sample compositions. Likewise, marginal effects from regressions that compare children with similar family dynamics between different-sex married couples and same-sex couples fail to predict significantly higher probabilities of grade retention for children of same-sex couples. Significantly lower grade retention rates are sometimes predicted for children of same-sex couples than for different-sex married couples, but these differences are sensitive to sample exclusions and do not indicate causal benefits to same-sex parenting.
Despite being more egalitarian, men with more education are more likely to have careers that give them privileged status in their marriages and may have “more to lose” in their career by changing their name. Men with less education than their wives are less likely to change their surname
Emily Fitzgibbons Shafer et al, Flipping the (Surname) Script: Men's Nontraditional Surname Choice at Marriage, Journal of Family Issues (2018). DOI: 10.1177/0192513X18770218
Abstract: Using unique, nationally representative data that asks individuals about their surname choice in marriage, we explore heterosexual men’s nontraditional surname choice. We focus on how education—both absolute and relative to wives’—correlates with nontraditional surname choice. Following class-based masculinities theory, we find that men with more education are less likely to choose a nontraditional surname. Despite being more egalitarian in attitudes, men with more education are more likely to have careers that give them privileged status in their marriages and may have “more to lose” in their career by changing their name. In addition, men with less education than their wives are less likely to change their surnames. We argue that this is consistent with compensatory gender display theory. Men having less education in marriage may translate into having less earning power, which is gender nonnormative as men are culturally expected to be primary breadwinners in marriage.
Abstract: Using unique, nationally representative data that asks individuals about their surname choice in marriage, we explore heterosexual men’s nontraditional surname choice. We focus on how education—both absolute and relative to wives’—correlates with nontraditional surname choice. Following class-based masculinities theory, we find that men with more education are less likely to choose a nontraditional surname. Despite being more egalitarian in attitudes, men with more education are more likely to have careers that give them privileged status in their marriages and may have “more to lose” in their career by changing their name. In addition, men with less education than their wives are less likely to change their surnames. We argue that this is consistent with compensatory gender display theory. Men having less education in marriage may translate into having less earning power, which is gender nonnormative as men are culturally expected to be primary breadwinners in marriage.
Those applying for a qualified job emphasized their competence while downplaying their warmth; role-playing as crime witnesses, they attenuated their warmth relative to their competence; those in the role of suspects of a severe crime chose to downplay their competence
Lindholm, T. & Yzerbyt, V., (2018). When Being Nice or Being Smart Could Bring You Down: Compensatory Dynamics in Strategic Self-presentation. International Review of Social Psychology. 31(1) , p. 16. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/irsp.136
Abstract: Research shows that the two fundamental dimensions of social perception, warmth and competence, are often negatively related in our perceptions of others, the so-called compensation effect. The current experiments investigate people’s use of such compensation when self-presenting strategically to reach a desired goal. In Experiment 1, participants applying for a qualified job emphasized their competence while downplaying their warmth. In Experiments 2 and 3, participants role-playing as crime witnesses similarly attenuated their warmth relative to their competence. In contrast, in Experiment 3, participants in the role of suspects of a severe crime chose to downplay their competence. Results suggest that self-presenters are sensitive to warmth-competence dynamics in social perception as a means to promote the optimal self-image given their specific goals.
Keywords: Strategic self-presentation, warmth, competence, social compensation
Abstract: Research shows that the two fundamental dimensions of social perception, warmth and competence, are often negatively related in our perceptions of others, the so-called compensation effect. The current experiments investigate people’s use of such compensation when self-presenting strategically to reach a desired goal. In Experiment 1, participants applying for a qualified job emphasized their competence while downplaying their warmth. In Experiments 2 and 3, participants role-playing as crime witnesses similarly attenuated their warmth relative to their competence. In contrast, in Experiment 3, participants in the role of suspects of a severe crime chose to downplay their competence. Results suggest that self-presenters are sensitive to warmth-competence dynamics in social perception as a means to promote the optimal self-image given their specific goals.
Keywords: Strategic self-presentation, warmth, competence, social compensation
Age of Fathers, Mutation, and Reproduction
Age of Fathers, Mutation, and Reproduction. In Evolution and Human Reproduction. Martin Fieder and Susanne Huber. In the Oxford Handbook of Evolution, Biology, and Society, Edited by Rosemary L. Hopcroft. DOI 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190299323.013.29
Our DNA consists of roughly 3.2 billion base pairs (i.e., 3.2 billion pairs of adenine–thymine and guanine–cytosine covering the genomic information of humans, most of (p. 486) whose functions we do not yet understand) that, together with epigenetic signature, make us different from each other. Currently, we have only a relatively limited understanding of the phenotypical outcomes of our genetic makeup (Jobling, Hurles, & Tyler-Smith, 2013). Clearly, human genetics is extraordinarily complex. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that these variations in the DNA make some of us better adapted than others to certain environments. Those better adapted individuals (in the respective environments) eventually end up with more descendants. Due to the reproductive benefits for those better adapted individuals, the genetic information associated with this beneficial phenotype will spread in a population. Adaptation, however, always refers to the current environment. If the environmental conditions change, then a successful adaptation to the original environment may have no or even negative consequences on fertility. Such a maladaptive condition decreases the reproductive success of its carrier or, in the worst-case scenario, causes that lineage to die out.
Most mutations are thought to be neutral—that is, exerting no or hardly detectable effects on the phenotype—and therefore have no immediate adaptive value. Other mutations are harmful, especially if they occur in protein-encoding DNA sequences leading to an altered protein. A small number of mutations, however, may ultimately lead to a phenotype better adapted than others to its current environment. Such a phenotype will be favored by selection. The actual rate of harmful, neutral, or positive mutations, however, remains difficult to estimate (Keightley, 2012), particularly the rate of mutations that are positively selected for. In two Drosophila populations, Schneider, Charlesworth, Eyre-Walker, and Keightley (2011) estimated the rate of positive selected mutations for amino acid coding sequences (i.e., non-synonymous mutations) to be between 1% and 2% of all occurring mutations.
Where do most of the mutations come from? The very recently discovered answer in humans is impressive—from the age of the father (Kong et al., 2012). According to Kong et al., the father’s age explains nearly all newly occurring (i.e., de novo) mutations in a child. Correspondingly, detrimental parental age effects have been demonstrated for a variety of Mendelian and mental disorders and even for educational attainment (for a review, see D’Onofrio et al., 2014). The reason is that in contrast to women, in whom all cell divisions in the egg are completed before birth, men continue producing sperm throughout their reproductive lives. Consequently, the number of cell divisions and chromosome replications that a sperm cell has gone through increases with the age at which the sperm is produced. This increases the risk that “errors” occur in terms of mutations (Crow, 2000).
Because the mutations induced by male age occur randomly in the human genome, the probability that they directly affect reproductive functioning is relatively low because a detrimental mutation occurring somewhere in our genome does not necessarily affect reproductive functioning. In such cases, an individual could still reproduce normally even if he or she carries a potentially harmful mutation. It would pass those harmful mutations on to the next generation, which may then accumulate over generations. It is thus conceivable that a mechanism may exist that helps avoid excessive mutation loads in future generations. We suggest that mate selection may provide such a mechanism to (p. 487) prevent too high mutation load. This view is supported by our recent findings based on a US sample (Wisconsin Longitudinal Study), in which we demonstrated that children of older fathers are less attractive (Huber & Fieder, 2014). Moreover, offspring of older fathers face a higher risk of remaining unmarried and therefore remaining childless (Fieder & Huber, 2015). Marriage was obligatory in the previously mentioned sample, thereby providing a good indicator for mating success. Comparable findings based on large human data sets have confirmed our results (Hayward, Lummaa, & Bazykin, 2015; Arslan et al., 2016). Similar effects of paternal age have also been reported in animal species ranging from bulb mites (Prokop, Stuglik, Żabińska, & Radwan, 2007) to house sparrows (Schroeder, Nakagawa, Rees, Mannarelli, & Burke, 2015). We therefore suggest that this phenomenon is a more fundamental biological principle: An individual’s mutation load could affect mate selection, thus helping to reduce the mutation load of the progeny.
This view is also in line with the mutation–selection balance theory, proposing that a balance of forces between constantly arising, mildly harmful mutations and selection causes variation in genetic quality and phenotypic condition (Miller, 2000; Keller, 2008). This makes it unlikely that the accumulation of new deleterious mutations leads to a detectable fitness decline in current human populations (Keightley, 2012). The mutation–selection balance is assumed to be particularly important in traits influenced by many genetic loci (multigenic, such as human reproduction), providing a large target size for mutations (Keller, 2008).
Although most of the mutations induced by the age of the father are considered neutral or may be harmful, a small proportion of them are advantageous and provide fitness benefits. This raises an interesting question: Are we able to detect potentially promising mutations in a mate that may be adaptive in the long term? Detecting mutations that in the future may lead to an adaptive phenotype is unlikely. We therefore assume that this is probably a random process. Nevertheless, one can speculate that individuals choose extraordinary traits in potential mates—that is, traits that may be associated with newly induced mutations. The numerous examples include the peacock’s tail (Zahavi & Zahavi, 1999), bower birds (Uy & Borgia, 2000), as well as height (Stulp, Barrett, Tropf, & Mills, 2015) and social status in men (Fieder & Huber, 2007; Nettle & Pollet, 2008; Barthold, Myrskylä, & Jones, 2012; Hopcroft, 2015). If such traits carry adaptive benefits outweighing potentially negative impacts, then selection would favor both the carrier of those mutations and the carrier’s mating partners. Accordingly, mutations induced by a father’s age can also be viewed as a “driving force” of evolution. The reason is that without mutations, evolution would not have taken place at all, and without mutations introduced into the population by male age, evolution would at least have been much slower. The positive mutations induced by age might thus be considered an “engine of evolution,” leading to new phenotypes that could potentially be selected for.
Together with the usually higher status of older men, this positive effect might partially explain women’s preference for somewhat older men (Buss, 1989). Basically, this preference reflects a trade-off between benefits associated with higher status and possible detrimental mutations caused by higher paternal age that may be passed to (p. 488) the offspring. However, because some mutations may be adaptive, overall the benefits may outweigh the costs, at least if the age difference between spouses is not too large. Accordingly, women usually prefer men who are only moderately older than themselves (Buss, 1989; Buunk, Dijkstra, Fetchenhauer, & Kenrick, 2002; Schwarz & Hassebrauck, 2012).
Future studies may aim to measure the impact of mutations directly and not just indirectly via the age of fathers, examining, for instance, if there is any evidence for a potential link between father’s age, mutation rate, marriage fertility, and social status. According to D’Onofrio et al. (2014), higher paternal age is associated with lower educational attainment in the offspring. This finding suggests a possible association between de novo mutation rate and educational attainment, leading to the question whether social status goes beyond being solely culturally determined to also contain an inherited component. At least for educational attainment, this has recently been shown (Rietveld et al., 2013).
Our DNA consists of roughly 3.2 billion base pairs (i.e., 3.2 billion pairs of adenine–thymine and guanine–cytosine covering the genomic information of humans, most of (p. 486) whose functions we do not yet understand) that, together with epigenetic signature, make us different from each other. Currently, we have only a relatively limited understanding of the phenotypical outcomes of our genetic makeup (Jobling, Hurles, & Tyler-Smith, 2013). Clearly, human genetics is extraordinarily complex. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that these variations in the DNA make some of us better adapted than others to certain environments. Those better adapted individuals (in the respective environments) eventually end up with more descendants. Due to the reproductive benefits for those better adapted individuals, the genetic information associated with this beneficial phenotype will spread in a population. Adaptation, however, always refers to the current environment. If the environmental conditions change, then a successful adaptation to the original environment may have no or even negative consequences on fertility. Such a maladaptive condition decreases the reproductive success of its carrier or, in the worst-case scenario, causes that lineage to die out.
Most mutations are thought to be neutral—that is, exerting no or hardly detectable effects on the phenotype—and therefore have no immediate adaptive value. Other mutations are harmful, especially if they occur in protein-encoding DNA sequences leading to an altered protein. A small number of mutations, however, may ultimately lead to a phenotype better adapted than others to its current environment. Such a phenotype will be favored by selection. The actual rate of harmful, neutral, or positive mutations, however, remains difficult to estimate (Keightley, 2012), particularly the rate of mutations that are positively selected for. In two Drosophila populations, Schneider, Charlesworth, Eyre-Walker, and Keightley (2011) estimated the rate of positive selected mutations for amino acid coding sequences (i.e., non-synonymous mutations) to be between 1% and 2% of all occurring mutations.
Where do most of the mutations come from? The very recently discovered answer in humans is impressive—from the age of the father (Kong et al., 2012). According to Kong et al., the father’s age explains nearly all newly occurring (i.e., de novo) mutations in a child. Correspondingly, detrimental parental age effects have been demonstrated for a variety of Mendelian and mental disorders and even for educational attainment (for a review, see D’Onofrio et al., 2014). The reason is that in contrast to women, in whom all cell divisions in the egg are completed before birth, men continue producing sperm throughout their reproductive lives. Consequently, the number of cell divisions and chromosome replications that a sperm cell has gone through increases with the age at which the sperm is produced. This increases the risk that “errors” occur in terms of mutations (Crow, 2000).
Because the mutations induced by male age occur randomly in the human genome, the probability that they directly affect reproductive functioning is relatively low because a detrimental mutation occurring somewhere in our genome does not necessarily affect reproductive functioning. In such cases, an individual could still reproduce normally even if he or she carries a potentially harmful mutation. It would pass those harmful mutations on to the next generation, which may then accumulate over generations. It is thus conceivable that a mechanism may exist that helps avoid excessive mutation loads in future generations. We suggest that mate selection may provide such a mechanism to (p. 487) prevent too high mutation load. This view is supported by our recent findings based on a US sample (Wisconsin Longitudinal Study), in which we demonstrated that children of older fathers are less attractive (Huber & Fieder, 2014). Moreover, offspring of older fathers face a higher risk of remaining unmarried and therefore remaining childless (Fieder & Huber, 2015). Marriage was obligatory in the previously mentioned sample, thereby providing a good indicator for mating success. Comparable findings based on large human data sets have confirmed our results (Hayward, Lummaa, & Bazykin, 2015; Arslan et al., 2016). Similar effects of paternal age have also been reported in animal species ranging from bulb mites (Prokop, Stuglik, Żabińska, & Radwan, 2007) to house sparrows (Schroeder, Nakagawa, Rees, Mannarelli, & Burke, 2015). We therefore suggest that this phenomenon is a more fundamental biological principle: An individual’s mutation load could affect mate selection, thus helping to reduce the mutation load of the progeny.
This view is also in line with the mutation–selection balance theory, proposing that a balance of forces between constantly arising, mildly harmful mutations and selection causes variation in genetic quality and phenotypic condition (Miller, 2000; Keller, 2008). This makes it unlikely that the accumulation of new deleterious mutations leads to a detectable fitness decline in current human populations (Keightley, 2012). The mutation–selection balance is assumed to be particularly important in traits influenced by many genetic loci (multigenic, such as human reproduction), providing a large target size for mutations (Keller, 2008).
Although most of the mutations induced by the age of the father are considered neutral or may be harmful, a small proportion of them are advantageous and provide fitness benefits. This raises an interesting question: Are we able to detect potentially promising mutations in a mate that may be adaptive in the long term? Detecting mutations that in the future may lead to an adaptive phenotype is unlikely. We therefore assume that this is probably a random process. Nevertheless, one can speculate that individuals choose extraordinary traits in potential mates—that is, traits that may be associated with newly induced mutations. The numerous examples include the peacock’s tail (Zahavi & Zahavi, 1999), bower birds (Uy & Borgia, 2000), as well as height (Stulp, Barrett, Tropf, & Mills, 2015) and social status in men (Fieder & Huber, 2007; Nettle & Pollet, 2008; Barthold, Myrskylä, & Jones, 2012; Hopcroft, 2015). If such traits carry adaptive benefits outweighing potentially negative impacts, then selection would favor both the carrier of those mutations and the carrier’s mating partners. Accordingly, mutations induced by a father’s age can also be viewed as a “driving force” of evolution. The reason is that without mutations, evolution would not have taken place at all, and without mutations introduced into the population by male age, evolution would at least have been much slower. The positive mutations induced by age might thus be considered an “engine of evolution,” leading to new phenotypes that could potentially be selected for.
Together with the usually higher status of older men, this positive effect might partially explain women’s preference for somewhat older men (Buss, 1989). Basically, this preference reflects a trade-off between benefits associated with higher status and possible detrimental mutations caused by higher paternal age that may be passed to (p. 488) the offspring. However, because some mutations may be adaptive, overall the benefits may outweigh the costs, at least if the age difference between spouses is not too large. Accordingly, women usually prefer men who are only moderately older than themselves (Buss, 1989; Buunk, Dijkstra, Fetchenhauer, & Kenrick, 2002; Schwarz & Hassebrauck, 2012).
Future studies may aim to measure the impact of mutations directly and not just indirectly via the age of fathers, examining, for instance, if there is any evidence for a potential link between father’s age, mutation rate, marriage fertility, and social status. According to D’Onofrio et al. (2014), higher paternal age is associated with lower educational attainment in the offspring. This finding suggests a possible association between de novo mutation rate and educational attainment, leading to the question whether social status goes beyond being solely culturally determined to also contain an inherited component. At least for educational attainment, this has recently been shown (Rietveld et al., 2013).
An empirical, 21st century evaluation of phrenology: The most rigorous evaluation to date says it is bogus
An empirical, 21st century evaluation of phrenology. O. Parker Jones, F. Alfaro-Almagro, S. Jbabdi. Cortex, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2018.04.011
Abstract: Phrenology was a nineteenth century endeavour to link personality traits with scalp morphology, which has been both influential and fiercely criticised, not least because of the assumption that scalp morphology can be informative of underlying brain function. Here we test the idea empirically rather than dismissing it out of hand. Whereas nineteenth century phrenologists had access to coarse measurement tools (digital technology referring then to fingers), we were able to re-examine phrenology using 21st century methods and thousands of subjects drawn from the largest neuroimaging study to date. High-quality structural MRI was used to quantify local scalp curvature. The resulting curvature statistics were compared against lifestyle measures acquired from the same cohort of subjects, being careful to match a subset of lifestyle measures to phrenological ideas of brain organisation, in an effort to evoke the character of Victorian times. The results represent the most rigorous evaluation of phrenological claims to date.
Keywords: phrenology; MRI
Abstract: Phrenology was a nineteenth century endeavour to link personality traits with scalp morphology, which has been both influential and fiercely criticised, not least because of the assumption that scalp morphology can be informative of underlying brain function. Here we test the idea empirically rather than dismissing it out of hand. Whereas nineteenth century phrenologists had access to coarse measurement tools (digital technology referring then to fingers), we were able to re-examine phrenology using 21st century methods and thousands of subjects drawn from the largest neuroimaging study to date. High-quality structural MRI was used to quantify local scalp curvature. The resulting curvature statistics were compared against lifestyle measures acquired from the same cohort of subjects, being careful to match a subset of lifestyle measures to phrenological ideas of brain organisation, in an effort to evoke the character of Victorian times. The results represent the most rigorous evaluation of phrenological claims to date.
Keywords: phrenology; MRI
Participants had to make the real-life decision to administer an electroshock to a single mouse or allow five other mice to receive the shock. Responses to hypothetical dilemmas are not predictive of real-life dilemma behavior
Of Mice, Men, and Trolleys: Hypothetical Judgment Versus Real-Life Behavior in Trolley-Style Moral Dilemmas. Dries H. Bostyn, Sybren Sevenhant, Arne Roets. Psychological Science, https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797617752640
Abstract: Scholars have been using hypothetical dilemmas to investigate moral decision making for decades. However, whether people’s responses to these dilemmas truly reflect the decisions they would make in real life is unclear. In the current study, participants had to make the real-life decision to administer an electroshock (that they did not know was bogus) to a single mouse or allow five other mice to receive the shock. Our results indicate that responses to hypothetical dilemmas are not predictive of real-life dilemma behavior, but they are predictive of affective and cognitive aspects of the real-life decision. Furthermore, participants were twice as likely to refrain from shocking the single mouse when confronted with a hypothetical versus the real version of the dilemma. We argue that hypothetical-dilemma research, while valuable for understanding moral cognition, has little predictive value for actual behavior and that future studies should investigate actual moral behavior along with the hypothetical scenarios dominating the field.
Keywords: morality, utilitarianism, trolley, consequentialism, open data, open materials
Abstract: Scholars have been using hypothetical dilemmas to investigate moral decision making for decades. However, whether people’s responses to these dilemmas truly reflect the decisions they would make in real life is unclear. In the current study, participants had to make the real-life decision to administer an electroshock (that they did not know was bogus) to a single mouse or allow five other mice to receive the shock. Our results indicate that responses to hypothetical dilemmas are not predictive of real-life dilemma behavior, but they are predictive of affective and cognitive aspects of the real-life decision. Furthermore, participants were twice as likely to refrain from shocking the single mouse when confronted with a hypothetical versus the real version of the dilemma. We argue that hypothetical-dilemma research, while valuable for understanding moral cognition, has little predictive value for actual behavior and that future studies should investigate actual moral behavior along with the hypothetical scenarios dominating the field.
Keywords: morality, utilitarianism, trolley, consequentialism, open data, open materials
Wednesday, May 9, 2018
Human adults often show a preference for scarce over abundant goods. Examined 4‐ and 6‐year‐old children as well as chimpanzees, only children at 6 displayed such preference, especially in the presence of competitors
The preference for scarcity: A developmental and comparative perspective. Maria John, Alicia P. Melis, Daniel Read, Federico Rossano, Michael Tomasello. Psychology & Marketing, https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21109
Abstract: Human adults often show a preference for scarce over abundant goods. In this paper, we investigate whether this preference was shared by 4‐ and 6‐year‐old children as well as chimpanzees, humans’ nearest primate relative. Neither chimpanzees nor 4‐year‐olds displayed a scarcity preference, but 6‐year‐olds did, especially in the presence of competitors. We conclude that scarcity preference is a human‐unique preference that develops as humans increase their cognitive skills and social experiences with peers and competitors. We explore different potential psychological explanations for scarcity preference and conclude scarcity preference is based on children's fear of missing out an opportunity, especially when dealing with uncertainty or goods of unknown value in the presence of competitors. Furthermore, the results are in line with studies showing that supply‐based scarcity increases the desirability of hedonic goods, suggesting that even as early as 6 years of age humans may use scarce goods to feel unique or special.
Abstract: Human adults often show a preference for scarce over abundant goods. In this paper, we investigate whether this preference was shared by 4‐ and 6‐year‐old children as well as chimpanzees, humans’ nearest primate relative. Neither chimpanzees nor 4‐year‐olds displayed a scarcity preference, but 6‐year‐olds did, especially in the presence of competitors. We conclude that scarcity preference is a human‐unique preference that develops as humans increase their cognitive skills and social experiences with peers and competitors. We explore different potential psychological explanations for scarcity preference and conclude scarcity preference is based on children's fear of missing out an opportunity, especially when dealing with uncertainty or goods of unknown value in the presence of competitors. Furthermore, the results are in line with studies showing that supply‐based scarcity increases the desirability of hedonic goods, suggesting that even as early as 6 years of age humans may use scarce goods to feel unique or special.
Liberals wanted to feel more empathy and experienced more empathy than conservatives did. Liberals were also more willing to help others than conservatives were, in the United States and Germany, but not in Israel
Are Liberals and Conservatives Equally Motivated to Feel Empathy Toward
Others? Yossi Hasson et al. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167218769867
Abstract: Do liberals and conservatives differ in their empathy toward others? This question has been difficult to resolve due to methodological constraints and common use of ideologically biased targets. To more adequately address this question, we examined how much empathy liberals and conservatives want to feel, how much empathy they actually feel, and how willing they are to help others. We used targets that are equivalent in the degree to which liberals and conservatives identify with, by setting either liberals, conservatives, or ideologically neutral members as social targets. To support the generalizability of our findings, we conducted the study in the United States, Israel, and Germany. We found that, on average and across samples, liberals wanted to feel more empathy and experienced more empathy than conservatives did. Liberals were also more willing to help others than conservatives were, in the United States and Germany, but not in Israel. In addition, across samples, both liberals and conservatives wanted to feel less empathy toward outgroup members than toward ingroup members or members of a nonpolitical group.
Keywords: political ideology, empathy, motivation, emotion regulation
Abstract: Do liberals and conservatives differ in their empathy toward others? This question has been difficult to resolve due to methodological constraints and common use of ideologically biased targets. To more adequately address this question, we examined how much empathy liberals and conservatives want to feel, how much empathy they actually feel, and how willing they are to help others. We used targets that are equivalent in the degree to which liberals and conservatives identify with, by setting either liberals, conservatives, or ideologically neutral members as social targets. To support the generalizability of our findings, we conducted the study in the United States, Israel, and Germany. We found that, on average and across samples, liberals wanted to feel more empathy and experienced more empathy than conservatives did. Liberals were also more willing to help others than conservatives were, in the United States and Germany, but not in Israel. In addition, across samples, both liberals and conservatives wanted to feel less empathy toward outgroup members than toward ingroup members or members of a nonpolitical group.
Keywords: political ideology, empathy, motivation, emotion regulation
Is birth attendance a uniquely human feature? New evidence suggests that Bonobo females protect and support the parturient
Is birth attendance a uniquely human feature? New evidence suggests that Bonobo females protect and support the parturient. Elisa Demuru, Pier Francesco Ferrari, Elisabetta Palagi. Evolution and Human Behavior, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2018.05.003
Abstract: Birth attendance has been proposed as a distinguishing feature of humans (Homo sapiens) and it has been linked to the difficulty of the delivery process in our species. Here, we provide the first quantitative study based on video-recordings of the social dynamics around three births in captive bonobos (Pan paniscus), human closest living relative along with the chimpanzee. We show that the general features defining traditional birth attendance in humans can also be identified in bonobos. As in humans, birth in bonobos was a social event, where female attendants provided protection and support to the parturient until the infant was born. Moreover, bystander females helped the parturient during the expulsive phase by performing manual gestures aimed at holding the infant. Our results on bonobos question the traditional view that the “obligatory” need for assistance was the main driving force leading to sociality around birth in our species. Indeed, birth in bonobos is not hindered by physical constraints and the mother is self-sufficient in accomplishing the delivery. Although further studies are needed both in captivity and in the wild, we suggest that the similarities observed between birth attendance in bonobos and humans might be related to the high level of female gregariousness in these species. In our view, the capacity of unrelated females to form strong social bonds and cooperate could have represented the evolutionary pre-requisite for the emergence of human midwifery.
Keywords: Pan paniscus; Delivery; Protection; Support; Female gregariousness; Human birth attendance
Abstract: Birth attendance has been proposed as a distinguishing feature of humans (Homo sapiens) and it has been linked to the difficulty of the delivery process in our species. Here, we provide the first quantitative study based on video-recordings of the social dynamics around three births in captive bonobos (Pan paniscus), human closest living relative along with the chimpanzee. We show that the general features defining traditional birth attendance in humans can also be identified in bonobos. As in humans, birth in bonobos was a social event, where female attendants provided protection and support to the parturient until the infant was born. Moreover, bystander females helped the parturient during the expulsive phase by performing manual gestures aimed at holding the infant. Our results on bonobos question the traditional view that the “obligatory” need for assistance was the main driving force leading to sociality around birth in our species. Indeed, birth in bonobos is not hindered by physical constraints and the mother is self-sufficient in accomplishing the delivery. Although further studies are needed both in captivity and in the wild, we suggest that the similarities observed between birth attendance in bonobos and humans might be related to the high level of female gregariousness in these species. In our view, the capacity of unrelated females to form strong social bonds and cooperate could have represented the evolutionary pre-requisite for the emergence of human midwifery.
Keywords: Pan paniscus; Delivery; Protection; Support; Female gregariousness; Human birth attendance
Taking ownership of implicit bias has mixed outcomes—at times amplifying the expression of explicit prejudice
The Mixed Outcomes of Taking Ownership for Implicit Racial Biases. Erin Cooley, Ryan F. Lei, Taylor Ellerkamp. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167218769646
Abstract: One potential strategy for prejudice reduction is encouraging people to acknowledge, and take ownership for, their implicit biases. Across two studies, we explore how taking ownership for implicit racial bias affects the subsequent expression of overt bias. Participants first completed an implicit measure of their attitudes toward Black people. Then we either led participants to think of their implicit bias as their own or as stemming from external factors. Results revealed that taking ownership for high implicit racial bias had diverging effects on subsequent warmth toward Black people (Study 1) and donations to a Black nonprofit (Study 2) based on people’s internal motivations to respond without prejudice (Internal Motivation Scale [IMS]). Critically, among those low in IMS, owning high implicit bias backfired, leading to greater overt prejudice and smaller donations. We conclude that taking ownership of implicit bias has mixed outcomes—at times amplifying the expression of explicit prejudice.
Keywords: social cognition, implicit cognition, intergroup processes, attitudes
Abstract: One potential strategy for prejudice reduction is encouraging people to acknowledge, and take ownership for, their implicit biases. Across two studies, we explore how taking ownership for implicit racial bias affects the subsequent expression of overt bias. Participants first completed an implicit measure of their attitudes toward Black people. Then we either led participants to think of their implicit bias as their own or as stemming from external factors. Results revealed that taking ownership for high implicit racial bias had diverging effects on subsequent warmth toward Black people (Study 1) and donations to a Black nonprofit (Study 2) based on people’s internal motivations to respond without prejudice (Internal Motivation Scale [IMS]). Critically, among those low in IMS, owning high implicit bias backfired, leading to greater overt prejudice and smaller donations. We conclude that taking ownership of implicit bias has mixed outcomes—at times amplifying the expression of explicit prejudice.
Keywords: social cognition, implicit cognition, intergroup processes, attitudes
MHC-Dependent Mate Selection within 872 Spousal Pairs of European Ancestry from the Health and Retirement Study
MHC-Dependent Mate Selection within 872 Spousal Pairs of European Ancestry from the Health and Retirement Study. Zhen Qiao, Joseph E. Powell and David M. Evans. Genes 2018, 9(1), 53; doi:10.3390/genes9010053
Abstract: Disassortative mating refers to the phenomenon in which individuals with dissimilar genotypes and/or phenotypes mate with one another more frequently than would be expected by chance. Although the existence of disassortative mating is well established in plant and animal species, the only documented example of negative assortment in humans involves dissimilarity at the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) locus. Previous studies investigating mating patterns at the MHC have been hampered by limited sample size and contradictory findings. Inspired by the sparse and conflicting evidence, we investigated the role that the MHC region played in human mate selection using genome-wide association data from 872 European American spouses from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). First, we treated the MHC region as a whole, and investigated genomic similarity between spouses using three levels of genomic variation: single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), classical human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles (both four-digit and two-digit classifications), and amino acid polymorphisms. The extent of MHC dissimilarity between spouses was assessed using a permutation approach. Second, we investigated fine scale mating patterns by testing for deviations from random mating at individual SNPs, HLA genes, and amino acids in HLA molecules. Third, we assessed how extreme the spousal relatedness at the MHC region was compared to the rest of the genome, to distinguish the MHC-specific effects from genome-wide effects. We show that neither the MHC region, nor any single SNPs, classic HLA alleles, or amino acid polymorphisms within the MHC region, were significantly dissimilar between spouses relative to non-spouse pairs. However, dissimilarity in the MHC region was extreme relative to the rest of genome for both spousal and non-spouse pairs. Despite the long-standing controversy, our analyses did not support a significant role of MHC dissimilarity in human mate choice.
Keywords: disassortative mating; non-random mating; major histocompatibility complex; human leukocyte antigen; mate selection
Abstract: Disassortative mating refers to the phenomenon in which individuals with dissimilar genotypes and/or phenotypes mate with one another more frequently than would be expected by chance. Although the existence of disassortative mating is well established in plant and animal species, the only documented example of negative assortment in humans involves dissimilarity at the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) locus. Previous studies investigating mating patterns at the MHC have been hampered by limited sample size and contradictory findings. Inspired by the sparse and conflicting evidence, we investigated the role that the MHC region played in human mate selection using genome-wide association data from 872 European American spouses from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). First, we treated the MHC region as a whole, and investigated genomic similarity between spouses using three levels of genomic variation: single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), classical human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles (both four-digit and two-digit classifications), and amino acid polymorphisms. The extent of MHC dissimilarity between spouses was assessed using a permutation approach. Second, we investigated fine scale mating patterns by testing for deviations from random mating at individual SNPs, HLA genes, and amino acids in HLA molecules. Third, we assessed how extreme the spousal relatedness at the MHC region was compared to the rest of the genome, to distinguish the MHC-specific effects from genome-wide effects. We show that neither the MHC region, nor any single SNPs, classic HLA alleles, or amino acid polymorphisms within the MHC region, were significantly dissimilar between spouses relative to non-spouse pairs. However, dissimilarity in the MHC region was extreme relative to the rest of genome for both spousal and non-spouse pairs. Despite the long-standing controversy, our analyses did not support a significant role of MHC dissimilarity in human mate choice.
Keywords: disassortative mating; non-random mating; major histocompatibility complex; human leukocyte antigen; mate selection
Mass–Elite Divides in Aversion to Social Change and Support for Donald Trump
Mass–Elite Divides in Aversion to Social Change and Support for Donald Trump. Matt Grossmann, Daniel Thaler. American Politics Research, https://doi.org/10.1177/1532673X18772280
Abstract: Donald Trump won the American presidency in 2016 by overperforming expectations in upper Midwest states, surprising even Republican political elites. We argue that attitudes toward social change were an underappreciated dividing line between supporters of Trump and Hillary Clinton as well as between Republicans at the mass and elite levels. We introduce a concept and measure of aversion to (or acceptance of) social diversification and value change, assess the prevalence of these attitudes in the mass public and among political elites, and demonstrate its effects on support for Trump. Our research uses paired surveys of Michigan’s adult population and community of political elites in the Fall of 2016. Aversion to social change is strongly predictive of support for Trump at the mass level, even among racial minorities. But attitudes are far more accepting of social change among elites than the public and aversion to social change is not a factor explaining elite Trump support. If elites were as averse to social change as the electorate—and if that attitude mattered to their vote choice—they might have been as supportive of Trump. Views of social change were not as strongly related to congressional voting choices.
Keywords: political parties, vote choice, political elites, racial resentment, diversity
---
We sought to assess the relationship between attitudes toward social change and vote preference. Our measure of aversion to change is an additive scale made up of two components—respondents’ level of agreement with a pair of statements about changing cultural values:
1. “Our country is changing too fast, undermining traditional American values.”
2. “By accepting diverse cultures and lifestyles, our country is steadily improving.”
[...]
Our major dependent variable of interest, vote preference, is a three-category ordinal variable created from a survey item asking respondents which of the two major candidates they most support for the presidency in 2016. Each of these variables takes on a value of 0 if the respondent preferred Clinton, a value of 1 if the respondent preferred Trump, and a value of 0.5 if the respondent preferred another candidate or could not decide. A similar variable records the respondent’s preference between the major party candidates in their local congressional election.
Our measure of authoritarian attitudes is based on a measure used by Feldman and Stenner (1997). We constructed a 3-point scale from 0 to 1 from two binary items that asked respondents to choose which of a given pair of personal qualities is more important for a child to have: obedience versus self-reliance, and independence versus respect for elders. Preference for obedience and respect for elders were considered the more authoritarian choices. Our measure of racial resentment is a 9-point scale from 0 to 1 constructed from respondents’ reported level of agreement or disagreement with two statements about race—one positing that African Americans should overcome prejudice and work their way up without any special favors like some other minority groups did, and one (coded in the opposite direction) positing that generations of slavery and discrimination make it difficult for African Americans to work their way up financially. Higher values indicate higher levels of resentment.
Ethnocentrism is measured using a set of “feeling thermometer” questions for particular racial and religious groups, comparing the respondent’s rating of Whites to their rating of Blacks, Hispanics and Latinos, and Muslims. In particular, the variable is coded as the average difference between the score given by the respondent to “Whites” and the score the respondent gave to each of the three minority groups (rescaled from 0 to 1). Minority respondents are coded as having values of 0 on this ethnocentrism scale. Calculating the ethnocentrism of non-White respondents the same way does not change our conclusions in any significant way.
Abstract: Donald Trump won the American presidency in 2016 by overperforming expectations in upper Midwest states, surprising even Republican political elites. We argue that attitudes toward social change were an underappreciated dividing line between supporters of Trump and Hillary Clinton as well as between Republicans at the mass and elite levels. We introduce a concept and measure of aversion to (or acceptance of) social diversification and value change, assess the prevalence of these attitudes in the mass public and among political elites, and demonstrate its effects on support for Trump. Our research uses paired surveys of Michigan’s adult population and community of political elites in the Fall of 2016. Aversion to social change is strongly predictive of support for Trump at the mass level, even among racial minorities. But attitudes are far more accepting of social change among elites than the public and aversion to social change is not a factor explaining elite Trump support. If elites were as averse to social change as the electorate—and if that attitude mattered to their vote choice—they might have been as supportive of Trump. Views of social change were not as strongly related to congressional voting choices.
Keywords: political parties, vote choice, political elites, racial resentment, diversity
---
We sought to assess the relationship between attitudes toward social change and vote preference. Our measure of aversion to change is an additive scale made up of two components—respondents’ level of agreement with a pair of statements about changing cultural values:
1. “Our country is changing too fast, undermining traditional American values.”
2. “By accepting diverse cultures and lifestyles, our country is steadily improving.”
[...]
Our major dependent variable of interest, vote preference, is a three-category ordinal variable created from a survey item asking respondents which of the two major candidates they most support for the presidency in 2016. Each of these variables takes on a value of 0 if the respondent preferred Clinton, a value of 1 if the respondent preferred Trump, and a value of 0.5 if the respondent preferred another candidate or could not decide. A similar variable records the respondent’s preference between the major party candidates in their local congressional election.
Our measure of authoritarian attitudes is based on a measure used by Feldman and Stenner (1997). We constructed a 3-point scale from 0 to 1 from two binary items that asked respondents to choose which of a given pair of personal qualities is more important for a child to have: obedience versus self-reliance, and independence versus respect for elders. Preference for obedience and respect for elders were considered the more authoritarian choices. Our measure of racial resentment is a 9-point scale from 0 to 1 constructed from respondents’ reported level of agreement or disagreement with two statements about race—one positing that African Americans should overcome prejudice and work their way up without any special favors like some other minority groups did, and one (coded in the opposite direction) positing that generations of slavery and discrimination make it difficult for African Americans to work their way up financially. Higher values indicate higher levels of resentment.
Ethnocentrism is measured using a set of “feeling thermometer” questions for particular racial and religious groups, comparing the respondent’s rating of Whites to their rating of Blacks, Hispanics and Latinos, and Muslims. In particular, the variable is coded as the average difference between the score given by the respondent to “Whites” and the score the respondent gave to each of the three minority groups (rescaled from 0 to 1). Minority respondents are coded as having values of 0 on this ethnocentrism scale. Calculating the ethnocentrism of non-White respondents the same way does not change our conclusions in any significant way.
From 2004: Both males and females whose voices were rated as attractive had sex at an earlier age, had more sexual partners, more extra-pair copulation partners, and more sexual partners that were involved in a relationship with another person
Ratings of voice attractiveness predict sexual behavior and body configuration. Susan M. Hughes, Franco Dispenza, Gordon G. Gallup Jr. Evolution and Human Behavior 25 (2004) 295–304.
Abstract: We investigated the relationship between ratings of voice attractiveness and sexually dimorphic differences in shoulder-to-hip ratios (SHR) and waist-to-hip ratios (WHR), as well as different features of sexual behavior. Opposite-sex voice attractiveness ratings were positively correlated with SHR in males and negatively correlated with WHR in females. For both sexes, ratings of opposite-sex voice attractiveness also predicted reported age of first sexual intercourse, number of sexual partners, number of extra-pair copulation (EPC) partners, and number of partners that they had intercourse with that were involved in another relationship (i.e., were themselves chosen as an EPC partner). Coupled with previous findings showing a relationship between voice attractiveness and bilateral symmetry, these results provide additional evidence that the sound of a person’s voice may serve as an important multidimensional fitness indicator.
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Both males and females whose voices were rated as attractive had sex at an earlier age, had more sexual partners, more EPC partners, and more sexual partners that were involved in a relationship with another person. It is interesting that voice attractiveness ratings by members of the opposite sex were better predictors of sexual behavior than ratings by members of the same sex. Aside from Wilson (1984), who noted that lower voiced male opera singers were more inclined to have sexual affairs with fellow singers, our findings are the first to empirically implicate the existence of a relationship between voice and sexual behavior.
Individuals with attractive voices are perceived more favorably and as having more desirable personality characteristics (Zuckerman & Driver, 1989). Furthermore, the higher the ratings of voice attractiveness, the more the speaker is judged to be similar to the rater and the more the rater would like to affiliate with the speaker (Miyake & Zuckerman, 1993). This bvocal attractiveness stereotypeQ (Zuckerman & Driver, 1989; Zuckerman, Hodgins, & Miyake, 1990) may promote sexual opportunities. Although Zuckerman and Driver (1989) did not find an effect, Collins and Missing (2003) report a substantial correlation between ratings of voice attractiveness and of facial attractiveness in women. Therefore, since ratings of facial attractiveness predict semen quality in males (Soler et al., 2003) and longevity in both males and females (Henderson & Anglin, 2003), voice attractiveness may be an indicator (albeit indirect) of other fitness-related features as well.
Abstract: We investigated the relationship between ratings of voice attractiveness and sexually dimorphic differences in shoulder-to-hip ratios (SHR) and waist-to-hip ratios (WHR), as well as different features of sexual behavior. Opposite-sex voice attractiveness ratings were positively correlated with SHR in males and negatively correlated with WHR in females. For both sexes, ratings of opposite-sex voice attractiveness also predicted reported age of first sexual intercourse, number of sexual partners, number of extra-pair copulation (EPC) partners, and number of partners that they had intercourse with that were involved in another relationship (i.e., were themselves chosen as an EPC partner). Coupled with previous findings showing a relationship between voice attractiveness and bilateral symmetry, these results provide additional evidence that the sound of a person’s voice may serve as an important multidimensional fitness indicator.
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Both males and females whose voices were rated as attractive had sex at an earlier age, had more sexual partners, more EPC partners, and more sexual partners that were involved in a relationship with another person. It is interesting that voice attractiveness ratings by members of the opposite sex were better predictors of sexual behavior than ratings by members of the same sex. Aside from Wilson (1984), who noted that lower voiced male opera singers were more inclined to have sexual affairs with fellow singers, our findings are the first to empirically implicate the existence of a relationship between voice and sexual behavior.
Individuals with attractive voices are perceived more favorably and as having more desirable personality characteristics (Zuckerman & Driver, 1989). Furthermore, the higher the ratings of voice attractiveness, the more the speaker is judged to be similar to the rater and the more the rater would like to affiliate with the speaker (Miyake & Zuckerman, 1993). This bvocal attractiveness stereotypeQ (Zuckerman & Driver, 1989; Zuckerman, Hodgins, & Miyake, 1990) may promote sexual opportunities. Although Zuckerman and Driver (1989) did not find an effect, Collins and Missing (2003) report a substantial correlation between ratings of voice attractiveness and of facial attractiveness in women. Therefore, since ratings of facial attractiveness predict semen quality in males (Soler et al., 2003) and longevity in both males and females (Henderson & Anglin, 2003), voice attractiveness may be an indicator (albeit indirect) of other fitness-related features as well.
Also: Men's voices and women's choices. Sarah A.Collins. Animal Behaviour, Volume 60, Issue 6, December 2000, Pages 773-780. https://doi.org/10.1006/anbe.2000.1523
Abstract: I investigated the relationship between male human vocal characteristics and female judgements about the speaker. Thirty-four males were recorded uttering five vowels and measures were taken, from power spectrums, of the first five harmonic frequencies, overall peak frequency and formant frequencies (emphasized, resonance, frequencies within the vowel). Male body measures were also taken (age, weight, height, and hip and shoulder width) and the men were asked whether they had chest hair. The recordings were then played to female judges, who were asked to rate the males' attractiveness, age, weight and height, and to estimate the muscularity of the speaker and whether he had a hairy chest. Men with voices in which there were closely spaced, low-frequency harmonics were judged as being more attractive, older and heavier, more likely to have a hairy chest and of a more muscular body type. There was no relationship between any vocal and body characteristic. The judges' estimates were incorrect except for weight. They showed extremely strong agreement on all judgements. The results imply that there could be sexual selection through female choice for male vocal characteristics, deeper voices being preferred. However, the function of the preference is unclear given that the estimates were generally incorrect.
Tuesday, May 8, 2018
Often in conservative religious populations, fantastical thoughts, interests, and beliefs are discouraged; but individuals who reported higher fantastical cognitions and behaviors (currently and retrospectively) reported higher religious orientations
Conceptual Similarities Among Fantasy and Religious Orientations: A Developmental Perspective. Rachel B. Thibodeau; Melissa M. Brown; Alexandra F. Nancarrow; Karrie E. Elpers and Ansley Tullos Gilpin. Journal of Cognition and Culture, Volume 18, Issue 1-2, pages 31 – 46 Publication Year : 2018. DOI: 10.1163/15685373-12340021
Abstract: Often in conservative religious populations, fantastical thoughts, interests, and beliefs are discouraged because fantastical beliefs are thought to contradict religious doctrine. However, beliefs in invisible, omnipotent entities such as God and Santa Claus likely rely on similar conceptual abilities that might complement rather than contradict religiosity. Therefore, the present study examined how one’s current and retrospective fantasy orientation together are associated with religious orientation. Data from a sample of 150 adults demonstrated that propensity toward fantasy predicted degree of religious orientation in adulthood, even after controlling for an individual’s openness to experience. Specifically, individuals who reported higher fantastical cognitions and behaviors (currently and retrospectively) reported higher religious orientations. These data are counter to cultural concerns that fantastical play and thinking in childhood might undermine or contradict religious doctrine. This finding has important implications for our understanding of how religiosity and fantasy are related conceptually, as well as how cultural practices may impact conceptual development.
Keywords: conceptual development; fantasy orientation; religiosity
Abstract: Often in conservative religious populations, fantastical thoughts, interests, and beliefs are discouraged because fantastical beliefs are thought to contradict religious doctrine. However, beliefs in invisible, omnipotent entities such as God and Santa Claus likely rely on similar conceptual abilities that might complement rather than contradict religiosity. Therefore, the present study examined how one’s current and retrospective fantasy orientation together are associated with religious orientation. Data from a sample of 150 adults demonstrated that propensity toward fantasy predicted degree of religious orientation in adulthood, even after controlling for an individual’s openness to experience. Specifically, individuals who reported higher fantastical cognitions and behaviors (currently and retrospectively) reported higher religious orientations. These data are counter to cultural concerns that fantastical play and thinking in childhood might undermine or contradict religious doctrine. This finding has important implications for our understanding of how religiosity and fantasy are related conceptually, as well as how cultural practices may impact conceptual development.
Keywords: conceptual development; fantasy orientation; religiosity
Perceptual decisions require the accumulation of sensory information to a response criterion. We report that subthreshold changes in membrane voltage can represent accumulating evidence before a choice
Dendritic Integration of Sensory Evidence in Perceptual Decision-Making. Lukas N. Groschner et al. Cell, Volume 173, Issue 4, p894–905.e13, 3 May 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2018.03.075 |
Highlights
• Synaptic integration can implement a process of bounded evidence accumulation
• FoxP acts in αβc Kenyon cells (KCs) to repress the voltage-gated potassium channel Shal
• Shal regulates the ability of αβc KCs to summate synaptic inputs over time
• Altering Shal currents in αβc KCs changes spike latencies and decision times
Summary: Perceptual decisions require the accumulation of sensory information to a response criterion. Most accounts of how the brain performs this process of temporal integration have focused on evolving patterns of spiking activity. We report that subthreshold changes in membrane voltage can represent accumulating evidence before a choice. αβ core Kenyon cells (αβc KCs) in the mushroom bodies of fruit flies integrate odor-evoked synaptic inputs to action potential threshold at timescales matching the speed of olfactory discrimination. The forkhead box P transcription factor (FoxP) sets neuronal integration and behavioral decision times by controlling the abundance of the voltage-gated potassium channel Shal (KV4) in αβc KC dendrites. αβc KCs thus tailor, through a particular constellation of biophysical properties, the generic process of synaptic integration to the demands of sequential sampling.
Highlights
• Synaptic integration can implement a process of bounded evidence accumulation
• FoxP acts in αβc Kenyon cells (KCs) to repress the voltage-gated potassium channel Shal
• Shal regulates the ability of αβc KCs to summate synaptic inputs over time
• Altering Shal currents in αβc KCs changes spike latencies and decision times
Summary: Perceptual decisions require the accumulation of sensory information to a response criterion. Most accounts of how the brain performs this process of temporal integration have focused on evolving patterns of spiking activity. We report that subthreshold changes in membrane voltage can represent accumulating evidence before a choice. αβ core Kenyon cells (αβc KCs) in the mushroom bodies of fruit flies integrate odor-evoked synaptic inputs to action potential threshold at timescales matching the speed of olfactory discrimination. The forkhead box P transcription factor (FoxP) sets neuronal integration and behavioral decision times by controlling the abundance of the voltage-gated potassium channel Shal (KV4) in αβc KC dendrites. αβc KCs thus tailor, through a particular constellation of biophysical properties, the generic process of synaptic integration to the demands of sequential sampling.
Confirmed age-related decreases in sexual behavior, ideal frequency of sexual behavior, perceived changes in sexual desire, and openness to an array of sexual behaviors (e.g., having sex with multiple partners), although sexual satisfaction increased with age in women but not men
Gray, P. B., Garcia, J. R., & Gesselman, A. N. (2018). Age-related patterns in sexual behaviors and attitudes among single U.S. Adults: An evolutionary approach. Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences, http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ebs0000126
Abstract: While a large body of research has sought to understand human longevity and caregiving (e.g., the grandmother hypothesis) from an evolutionary life history perspective, this same view has rarely been brought to bear on age-related changes in human sexuality. Moreover, much of the existing research on age-related patterns in human sexual behaviors and attitudes features samples of predominantly partnered individuals. Here, we test hypotheses concerning age- and sex-related differences in measures of sexuality among 1,522 single adults 21 years of age and older from throughout the United States. Consistent with expectations, we document age-related decreases in sexual behavior, ideal frequency of sexual behavior, perceived changes in sexual desire, and openness to an array of sexual behaviors (e.g., having sex with multiple partners), although sexual satisfaction increased with age in women but not men. Also consistent with expectations, men reported more frequent sexual behavior, ideal frequency of sexual behavior, greater perceived change in sexual motivation, and more openness to various sexual behaviors (e.g., a one-night stand) compared to women. Conversely, women reported higher sexual satisfaction and were more open to getting married than men. Interaction effects were also observed, including between age and sex on sexual satisfaction, with older women reporting relatively higher sexual satisfaction than older men. We place these findings in the wider body of research on human sexuality, contrasting this evolutionary life history approach with prevailing descriptive or biomedical foci on age-related sexual dysfunction.
Abstract: While a large body of research has sought to understand human longevity and caregiving (e.g., the grandmother hypothesis) from an evolutionary life history perspective, this same view has rarely been brought to bear on age-related changes in human sexuality. Moreover, much of the existing research on age-related patterns in human sexual behaviors and attitudes features samples of predominantly partnered individuals. Here, we test hypotheses concerning age- and sex-related differences in measures of sexuality among 1,522 single adults 21 years of age and older from throughout the United States. Consistent with expectations, we document age-related decreases in sexual behavior, ideal frequency of sexual behavior, perceived changes in sexual desire, and openness to an array of sexual behaviors (e.g., having sex with multiple partners), although sexual satisfaction increased with age in women but not men. Also consistent with expectations, men reported more frequent sexual behavior, ideal frequency of sexual behavior, greater perceived change in sexual motivation, and more openness to various sexual behaviors (e.g., a one-night stand) compared to women. Conversely, women reported higher sexual satisfaction and were more open to getting married than men. Interaction effects were also observed, including between age and sex on sexual satisfaction, with older women reporting relatively higher sexual satisfaction than older men. We place these findings in the wider body of research on human sexuality, contrasting this evolutionary life history approach with prevailing descriptive or biomedical foci on age-related sexual dysfunction.
Altruists bias their giving toward those in greater need rather those who may be more competent; subtle nonverbal cues of status influence altruistic decision-making
The financial cost of status signaling: Expansive postural displays are associated with a reduction in the receipt of altruistic donations. Jessica L. Tracy, Conor M. Steckler, Daniel Randles, Eric Mercadante. Evolution and Human Behavior, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2018.05.001
Abstract: Models of human altruism suggest that decisions to help are influenced by assessments of both potential recipients' need state and their competence, as high need increases the value of gifts received, and competent recipients can most effectively use and repay gifts. Need and competence are often inversely related, however, raising the question of how altruists weigh these competing sources of information. We examined the impact of a nonverbal display (expansive posture) that, by signaling high status, simultaneously cues both low need and high competence, on actual altruistic behaviors: donations of financial aid to needy individuals. Across three studies using ecologically valid data drawn from a micro-lending charity website, men who displayed expansive posture while requesting aid faced a substantial reduction in the amount of aid they received; this effect held controlling for a range of relevant covariates. These findings demonstrate that: (a) altruists bias their giving toward those in greater need rather those who may be more competent, and (b) subtle nonverbal cues of status influence altruistic decision-making.
Keywords: Reciprocal altruism; Reciprocity; Banker's paradox; Status signal
Check also Three children are fighting over a flute. Who would you give it to? http://global-is-asian.nus.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/breakfast-lunch-www.brunch.com_.png
And: Individual risk preferences and the demand for redistribution. Manja Gärtner, Johanna Mollerstrom and David Seim. Journal of Public Economics, v 153, September 2017, Pages 49-55. http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/08/individual-risk-preferences-and-demand.html
"We document a statistically significant and robust positive relation between risk aversion and the demand for redistribution that is also economically important. We show that previously used proxies for risk aversion (such as being an entrepreneur or having a history of unemployment) do not capture the effect of our measure of risk aversion but have distinctly different effects on the demand for redistribution."
And: There are several species in which inequity aversion has been measured, like common marmosets. http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2018/02/inequity-aversion-is-observed-in-common.html
And: Social inequality aversion in mice: Analysis with stress-induced hyperthermia and behavioral preference. Shigeru Watanabe. Learning and Motivation, Volume 59, August 2017, Pages 38-46, http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/09/social-inequality-aversion-in-mice.html
And: Which is why some suspect that there is an "Evolutionary Origin of Empathy and Inequality Aversion" http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/09/evolutionary-origin-of-empathy-and.html
And: Even in dictator's games, we try to avoid the taking version, and prefer the giving version: "Over 85% of the dictators in our experiment choose to play a giving game over a taking game when the payoff possibilities are identical and, on average, dictators are willing to sacrifice over 31% of their endowment to avoid taking." http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2018/02/dictator-game-aversion-to-taking-is.html
And: Do Gender Preference Gaps Impact Policy Outcomes? Ranehill, Eva, and Weber, Roberto A. University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics, Working Papers in Economics #713. http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/11/although-lehman-sisters-may-have-acted.html
Abstract: Models of human altruism suggest that decisions to help are influenced by assessments of both potential recipients' need state and their competence, as high need increases the value of gifts received, and competent recipients can most effectively use and repay gifts. Need and competence are often inversely related, however, raising the question of how altruists weigh these competing sources of information. We examined the impact of a nonverbal display (expansive posture) that, by signaling high status, simultaneously cues both low need and high competence, on actual altruistic behaviors: donations of financial aid to needy individuals. Across three studies using ecologically valid data drawn from a micro-lending charity website, men who displayed expansive posture while requesting aid faced a substantial reduction in the amount of aid they received; this effect held controlling for a range of relevant covariates. These findings demonstrate that: (a) altruists bias their giving toward those in greater need rather those who may be more competent, and (b) subtle nonverbal cues of status influence altruistic decision-making.
Keywords: Reciprocal altruism; Reciprocity; Banker's paradox; Status signal
Check also Three children are fighting over a flute. Who would you give it to? http://global-is-asian.nus.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/breakfast-lunch-www.brunch.com_.png
And: Individual risk preferences and the demand for redistribution. Manja Gärtner, Johanna Mollerstrom and David Seim. Journal of Public Economics, v 153, September 2017, Pages 49-55. http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/08/individual-risk-preferences-and-demand.html
"We document a statistically significant and robust positive relation between risk aversion and the demand for redistribution that is also economically important. We show that previously used proxies for risk aversion (such as being an entrepreneur or having a history of unemployment) do not capture the effect of our measure of risk aversion but have distinctly different effects on the demand for redistribution."
And: There are several species in which inequity aversion has been measured, like common marmosets. http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2018/02/inequity-aversion-is-observed-in-common.html
And: Social inequality aversion in mice: Analysis with stress-induced hyperthermia and behavioral preference. Shigeru Watanabe. Learning and Motivation, Volume 59, August 2017, Pages 38-46, http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/09/social-inequality-aversion-in-mice.html
And: Which is why some suspect that there is an "Evolutionary Origin of Empathy and Inequality Aversion" http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/09/evolutionary-origin-of-empathy-and.html
And: Even in dictator's games, we try to avoid the taking version, and prefer the giving version: "Over 85% of the dictators in our experiment choose to play a giving game over a taking game when the payoff possibilities are identical and, on average, dictators are willing to sacrifice over 31% of their endowment to avoid taking." http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2018/02/dictator-game-aversion-to-taking-is.html
And: Do Gender Preference Gaps Impact Policy Outcomes? Ranehill, Eva, and Weber, Roberto A. University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics, Working Papers in Economics #713. http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/11/although-lehman-sisters-may-have-acted.html
Men’s Interest in Allying with a Previous Combatant for Future Group Combat
Men’s Interest in Allying with a Previous Combatant for Future Group Combat. Nicole Barbaro, Justin K. Mogilski, Todd K. Shackelford, Michael N. Pham. Human Nature, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12110-018-9315-5
Abstract: Intra- and intergroup conflict are likely to have been recurrent features of human evolutionary history; however, little research has investigated the factors that affect men’s combat alliance decisions. The current study investigated whether features of previous one-on-one combat with an opponent affect men’s interest in allying with that opponent for future group combat. Fifty-eight undergraduate men recruited from a psychology department subject pool participated in a one-on-one laboratory fight simulation. We manipulated fight outcome (between-subjects), perceived fighter health asymmetry (within-subjects), and the presence of a witness (within-subjects) over six sets of five rounds of fighting. Following each set, we asked men how interested they would be in allying with their opponent for future group combat. We found that men were more interested in allying with their opponent for future group combat if their opponent won the fight or if a witness was present, but perceived fighter-health asymmetry did not affect men’s decision to ally with their opponent. Exploratory analyses revealed a two-way interaction between fight outcome and the presence of a witness, such that winners without a witness present expressed less interest in allying with their opponent for future group combat. Our findings suggest that men attend to the benefits of allying with a man who has demonstrated relatively superior fighting ability. Alliance with a previous opponent for group combat may vary with the relationship value of the opponent and the utility of demonstrating cooperativeness to third-party observers. These findings inform our understanding of coalition formation.
Abstract: Intra- and intergroup conflict are likely to have been recurrent features of human evolutionary history; however, little research has investigated the factors that affect men’s combat alliance decisions. The current study investigated whether features of previous one-on-one combat with an opponent affect men’s interest in allying with that opponent for future group combat. Fifty-eight undergraduate men recruited from a psychology department subject pool participated in a one-on-one laboratory fight simulation. We manipulated fight outcome (between-subjects), perceived fighter health asymmetry (within-subjects), and the presence of a witness (within-subjects) over six sets of five rounds of fighting. Following each set, we asked men how interested they would be in allying with their opponent for future group combat. We found that men were more interested in allying with their opponent for future group combat if their opponent won the fight or if a witness was present, but perceived fighter-health asymmetry did not affect men’s decision to ally with their opponent. Exploratory analyses revealed a two-way interaction between fight outcome and the presence of a witness, such that winners without a witness present expressed less interest in allying with their opponent for future group combat. Our findings suggest that men attend to the benefits of allying with a man who has demonstrated relatively superior fighting ability. Alliance with a previous opponent for group combat may vary with the relationship value of the opponent and the utility of demonstrating cooperativeness to third-party observers. These findings inform our understanding of coalition formation.
Eyebrows Cue Grandiose Narcissism
Eyebrows Cue Grandiose Narcissism. Miranda Giacomin, Nicholas O. Rule. Journal of Personality, https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12396
Abstract
Objective: Though initially charming and inviting, narcissists often engage in negative interpersonal behaviors. Identifying and avoiding narcissists therefore carries adaptive value. Whereas past research has found that people can judge others' grandiose narcissism from their appearance (including their faces), the cues supporting these judgments require further elucidation. Here, we investigated which facial features underlie perceptions of grandiose narcissism and how they convey that information.
Method and Results: In Study 1, we explored the face's features using a variety of manipulations, ultimately finding that accurate judgments of grandiose narcissism particularly depend on a person's eyebrows. In Studies 2A‐2C, we identified eyebrow distinctiveness (e.g., thickness, density) as the primary characteristic supporting these judgments. Finally, we confirmed the eyebrows' importance in Studies 3A and 3B by measuring how much perceptions of narcissism changed when swapping narcissists' and non‐narcissists' eyebrows between faces.
Conclusions: Together, these data show that distinctive eyebrows reveal narcissists' personality to others, providing a basic understanding of the mechanism through which people can identify narcissistic personality traits with potential application to daily life.
Abstract
Objective: Though initially charming and inviting, narcissists often engage in negative interpersonal behaviors. Identifying and avoiding narcissists therefore carries adaptive value. Whereas past research has found that people can judge others' grandiose narcissism from their appearance (including their faces), the cues supporting these judgments require further elucidation. Here, we investigated which facial features underlie perceptions of grandiose narcissism and how they convey that information.
Method and Results: In Study 1, we explored the face's features using a variety of manipulations, ultimately finding that accurate judgments of grandiose narcissism particularly depend on a person's eyebrows. In Studies 2A‐2C, we identified eyebrow distinctiveness (e.g., thickness, density) as the primary characteristic supporting these judgments. Finally, we confirmed the eyebrows' importance in Studies 3A and 3B by measuring how much perceptions of narcissism changed when swapping narcissists' and non‐narcissists' eyebrows between faces.
Conclusions: Together, these data show that distinctive eyebrows reveal narcissists' personality to others, providing a basic understanding of the mechanism through which people can identify narcissistic personality traits with potential application to daily life.
Monday, May 7, 2018
When valuing time promotes subjective well-being
Making seconds count: When valuing time promotes subjective well-being. Alice Lee-Yoon, Ashley V. Whillans. Current Opinion in Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2018.05.002
Abstract: Time is a finite and precious resource, and the way that we value our time can critically shape happiness. In this article, we present a conceptual framework to explain when valuing time can enhance vs. undermine wellbeing. Specifically, we review the emotional benefits of valuing time more than money, and discuss the emotional costs of valuing time like money. Lastly, we suggest directions for future research examining the causes and consequences of the value that we place on our time.
Abstract: Time is a finite and precious resource, and the way that we value our time can critically shape happiness. In this article, we present a conceptual framework to explain when valuing time can enhance vs. undermine wellbeing. Specifically, we review the emotional benefits of valuing time more than money, and discuss the emotional costs of valuing time like money. Lastly, we suggest directions for future research examining the causes and consequences of the value that we place on our time.
Sunday, May 6, 2018
Gun-shy: Refusal to answer questions about firearm ownership
Gun-shy: Refusal to answer questions about firearm ownership. R. Urbatsch. The Social Science Journal, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soscij.2018.04.003
Highlights
• Americans increasingly decline to answer survey questions about gun ownership.
• Refusal to answer is not similarly increasing for queries about owning other goods.
• Republican-leaning respondents’ rate of refusal has risen particularly steeply.
Abstract: In recent years, surveys in the United States have faced increasing refusal to answer questions about firearm ownership, even as other similar questions see no comparable up-tick in item nonresponse. Asymmetrical polarization, elite messaging, and changing media institutions all suggest that the surging nonresponse concerning gun-ownership questions may be increasingly concentrated among those with rightward political and partisan leanings, potentially skewing inferences about gun-related issues. Data from the General Social Survey confirms that the increase in probability of declining to answer firearm-ownership questions is particularly stark among those identifying as Republicans, particularly those with a conservative outlook skeptical of government.
Keywords: Guns; Non-response; Partisanship; United States
Highlights
• Americans increasingly decline to answer survey questions about gun ownership.
• Refusal to answer is not similarly increasing for queries about owning other goods.
• Republican-leaning respondents’ rate of refusal has risen particularly steeply.
Abstract: In recent years, surveys in the United States have faced increasing refusal to answer questions about firearm ownership, even as other similar questions see no comparable up-tick in item nonresponse. Asymmetrical polarization, elite messaging, and changing media institutions all suggest that the surging nonresponse concerning gun-ownership questions may be increasingly concentrated among those with rightward political and partisan leanings, potentially skewing inferences about gun-related issues. Data from the General Social Survey confirms that the increase in probability of declining to answer firearm-ownership questions is particularly stark among those identifying as Republicans, particularly those with a conservative outlook skeptical of government.
Keywords: Guns; Non-response; Partisanship; United States
Norway, 2016: Higher income transparency increased the happiness gap between rich & poor by 29% & the life satisfaction gap by 21%. Also, higher income transparency corrected misperceptions about the income distribution and changed preferences for redistribution.
Perez-Truglia, Ricardo, The Effects of Income Transparency on Well-Being: Evidence from a Natural Experiment (February 10, 2016). https://ssrn.com/abstract=2657808
Abstract: In 2001, Norwegian tax records became easily accessible online, allowing individuals to observe the incomes of others. Because of self-image and social-image concerns, higher income transparency can increase the differences in well-being between rich and poor. We test this hypothesis using survey data from 1985-2013. We identify the causal effect of income transparency on subjective well-being by using differences-in-differences, triple-differences, and event-study analyses. We find that higher income transparency increased the happiness gap between rich and poor by 29% and the life satisfaction gap by 21%. Additionally, higher income transparency corrected misperceptions about the income distribution and changed preferences for redistribution. Last, we use the estimates for back-of-the-envelope calculations of the value of self-image and social-image.
Keywords: self-image, social-image, happiness, life satisfaction, income comparisons, relative income, disclosure policy
JEL Classification: D03, D60, D31, D80, I31, K34, Z10
Abstract: In 2001, Norwegian tax records became easily accessible online, allowing individuals to observe the incomes of others. Because of self-image and social-image concerns, higher income transparency can increase the differences in well-being between rich and poor. We test this hypothesis using survey data from 1985-2013. We identify the causal effect of income transparency on subjective well-being by using differences-in-differences, triple-differences, and event-study analyses. We find that higher income transparency increased the happiness gap between rich and poor by 29% and the life satisfaction gap by 21%. Additionally, higher income transparency corrected misperceptions about the income distribution and changed preferences for redistribution. Last, we use the estimates for back-of-the-envelope calculations of the value of self-image and social-image.
Keywords: self-image, social-image, happiness, life satisfaction, income comparisons, relative income, disclosure policy
JEL Classification: D03, D60, D31, D80, I31, K34, Z10
Past focus is generally maladaptive in terms of work and life outcomes such as depression; present focus increases life satisfaction, but correlates with impulsive behaviors; future focus is more cognitive in nature and leads to life and work achievements
Temporal Focus: Thinking about the Past, Present, and Future. Abbie J.Shipp, Brad Aeon. Current Opinion in Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2018.04.005
Highlights
• Temporal focus is the degree to which people generally think about the past, present, and future.
• Past focus is generally maladaptive in terms of work and life outcomes such as depression.
• Present focus increases life satisfaction, but correlates with impulsive behaviors.
• Future focus is more cognitive in nature and leads to life and work achievements.
• Emerging research is testing multilevel models, spatial modeling, and profiles related to time.
Abstract: We review recent findings on temporal focus—the degree to which individuals think about the past, present, and/or future. Hypothetically, focusing on each time period could be beneficial as one can learn from the past, savor the present moment, and plan for the future. Yet research demonstrates that characteristically thinking about the past is disadvantageous, thinking about the future is advantageous, and thinking about the present has mixed outcomes. This paper examines these findings to consider where individuals should focus their attention in time, highlighting established (e.g., country level differences) and emerging (e.g., temporal focus profiles) research on the topic.
Highlights
• Temporal focus is the degree to which people generally think about the past, present, and future.
• Past focus is generally maladaptive in terms of work and life outcomes such as depression.
• Present focus increases life satisfaction, but correlates with impulsive behaviors.
• Future focus is more cognitive in nature and leads to life and work achievements.
• Emerging research is testing multilevel models, spatial modeling, and profiles related to time.
Abstract: We review recent findings on temporal focus—the degree to which individuals think about the past, present, and/or future. Hypothetically, focusing on each time period could be beneficial as one can learn from the past, savor the present moment, and plan for the future. Yet research demonstrates that characteristically thinking about the past is disadvantageous, thinking about the future is advantageous, and thinking about the present has mixed outcomes. This paper examines these findings to consider where individuals should focus their attention in time, highlighting established (e.g., country level differences) and emerging (e.g., temporal focus profiles) research on the topic.
Animal models of binge drinking, current challenges to improve face validity
Animal models of binge drinking, current challenges to improve face validity. Jerome Jeanblanc et al. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.05.002
Highlights
• Binge drinking (BD) is an increasing public health issue.
• BD needs to be better defined in humans.
• BD is associated with brain damages and cognitive deficits.
• BD is a risk factor in the vulnerability to addiction.
• Either forced or voluntary exposure to ethanol are used in animals to mimic human BD.
• Relevant criteria for an animal model of BD may include voluntary and fast ingestion of a large amount of alcohol in a short period of time and at least for several days or weeks interspersed by abstinence periods.
Abstract: Binge drinking (BD), i.e., consuming a large amount of alcohol in a short period of time, is an increasing public health issue. Though no clear definition has been adopted worldwide the speed of drinking seems to be a keystone of this behavior. Developing relevant animal models of BD is a priority for gaining a better characterization of the neurobiological and psychobiological mechanisms underlying this dangerous and harmful behavior. Until recently, preclinical research on BD has been conducted mostly using forced administration of alcohol, but more recent studies used scheduled access to alcohol, to model more voluntary excessive intakes, and to achieve signs of intoxications that mimic the human behavior. The main challenges for future research are discussed regarding the need of good face validity, construct validity and predictive validity of animal models of BD.
Abbreviations: BEC, Blood Ethanol Concentration; BD, Binge Drinking; DID, Drinking In the Dark; NIAAA, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
Keywords: binge drinking; animal models; rodents; validity; alcohol
Highlights
• Binge drinking (BD) is an increasing public health issue.
• BD needs to be better defined in humans.
• BD is associated with brain damages and cognitive deficits.
• BD is a risk factor in the vulnerability to addiction.
• Either forced or voluntary exposure to ethanol are used in animals to mimic human BD.
• Relevant criteria for an animal model of BD may include voluntary and fast ingestion of a large amount of alcohol in a short period of time and at least for several days or weeks interspersed by abstinence periods.
Abstract: Binge drinking (BD), i.e., consuming a large amount of alcohol in a short period of time, is an increasing public health issue. Though no clear definition has been adopted worldwide the speed of drinking seems to be a keystone of this behavior. Developing relevant animal models of BD is a priority for gaining a better characterization of the neurobiological and psychobiological mechanisms underlying this dangerous and harmful behavior. Until recently, preclinical research on BD has been conducted mostly using forced administration of alcohol, but more recent studies used scheduled access to alcohol, to model more voluntary excessive intakes, and to achieve signs of intoxications that mimic the human behavior. The main challenges for future research are discussed regarding the need of good face validity, construct validity and predictive validity of animal models of BD.
Abbreviations: BEC, Blood Ethanol Concentration; BD, Binge Drinking; DID, Drinking In the Dark; NIAAA, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
Keywords: binge drinking; animal models; rodents; validity; alcohol
Saturday, May 5, 2018
Does waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) predict happiness? Belief about a person's essence matters
Does waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) predict happiness? Belief about a person's essence matters. Ji-eun Shin, Eunkook M. Suh. Personality and Individual Differences, Volume 131, 1 September 2018, Pages 149–155. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2018.04.037
Abstract: Physical attractiveness (PAT), despite its allure in everyday life, has been an inconsistent predictor of happiness in past studies. In this research, we find that a lay belief about the locus of a person's “essence” moderates the PAT and happiness link. Specifically, we measured how strongly one believes in the diagnostic value of the visible (e.g., status, appearance) over the invisible (e.g., mood, thoughts) aspects of a person in understanding who s/he is. As expected, the more one believed in the value of the visible features, the more central PAT was in the person's overall life, and appearance was compared more often with others (Study 1). More importantly, PAT and well-being correlated significantly only among those who strongly endorsed the visible selfhood belief (Study 2). Compared to past studies on PAT that relied heavily on self-reports, a highly objective measure of attractiveness (waist-to-hip ratio) was employed in this research. Our research uncovers a novel individual difference factor that helps to clarify why PAT predicts the happiness of some, but not of others. Whether one thinks a person's essence can be judged by one's “cover” seems to matter in the PAT and happiness link.
Keywords: Physical attractiveness; Waist-to-hip ratio; Happiness; Visible selfhood; Lay belief
Abstract: Physical attractiveness (PAT), despite its allure in everyday life, has been an inconsistent predictor of happiness in past studies. In this research, we find that a lay belief about the locus of a person's “essence” moderates the PAT and happiness link. Specifically, we measured how strongly one believes in the diagnostic value of the visible (e.g., status, appearance) over the invisible (e.g., mood, thoughts) aspects of a person in understanding who s/he is. As expected, the more one believed in the value of the visible features, the more central PAT was in the person's overall life, and appearance was compared more often with others (Study 1). More importantly, PAT and well-being correlated significantly only among those who strongly endorsed the visible selfhood belief (Study 2). Compared to past studies on PAT that relied heavily on self-reports, a highly objective measure of attractiveness (waist-to-hip ratio) was employed in this research. Our research uncovers a novel individual difference factor that helps to clarify why PAT predicts the happiness of some, but not of others. Whether one thinks a person's essence can be judged by one's “cover” seems to matter in the PAT and happiness link.
Keywords: Physical attractiveness; Waist-to-hip ratio; Happiness; Visible selfhood; Lay belief
Friday, May 4, 2018
Presenting images of baby animals, versus adult animals, as the source of meat reduced appetite for meat, but this effect was weak and found almost exclusively among women
Are Baby Animals Less Appetizing? Tenderness toward Baby Animals and Appetite for Meat. Jared Piazza, Neil McLatchie & Cecilie Olesen. Anthrozoös, Volume 31, 2018 - Issue 3, Pages 319-335. https://doi.org/10.1080/08927936.2018.1455456
Abstract: Three studies investigated whether thoughts and feelings generated by baby animals might oppose appetite for meat. A prestudy established babyness as an important factor predicting moral concern for farmed animals. Study 1 showed that presenting images of baby animals, versus adult animals, as the source of meat reduced appetite for meat, but this effect was weak and found exclusively among women. Study 2 replicated and extended study 1 using a larger sample and two new animal sources. Study 3 included a no animal comparison condition, and found greatest levels of reduced appetite for meat when the meat source was presented as a baby animal, as opposed to an adult animal or with no visual indication of the animal source. A meta-analysis of the results using Bayes factors revealed considerable cumulative evidence in favor of the hypothesis that images of baby animals temporarily reduce women’s appetite for meat. In contrast, the evidence for men was less strong. Our results highlight a tension within some omnivores between caring for baby animals and appetite for meat.
Keywords: appetite, baby animals, cuteness, human–animal interaction, meat, moral concern, tenderness
Abstract: Three studies investigated whether thoughts and feelings generated by baby animals might oppose appetite for meat. A prestudy established babyness as an important factor predicting moral concern for farmed animals. Study 1 showed that presenting images of baby animals, versus adult animals, as the source of meat reduced appetite for meat, but this effect was weak and found exclusively among women. Study 2 replicated and extended study 1 using a larger sample and two new animal sources. Study 3 included a no animal comparison condition, and found greatest levels of reduced appetite for meat when the meat source was presented as a baby animal, as opposed to an adult animal or with no visual indication of the animal source. A meta-analysis of the results using Bayes factors revealed considerable cumulative evidence in favor of the hypothesis that images of baby animals temporarily reduce women’s appetite for meat. In contrast, the evidence for men was less strong. Our results highlight a tension within some omnivores between caring for baby animals and appetite for meat.
Keywords: appetite, baby animals, cuteness, human–animal interaction, meat, moral concern, tenderness
Educational Attainments in Norway, Twins Study: Heritable factors play an important role in the transmission process, and the postulated direct effects of parents own educational attainments are negligible. The family environment does matter, but only those features that are shared between the twins themselves and not those that involve their parents
Lyngstad, Torkild H., Eivind Ystrøm, and Imac M Zambrana 2018. “An Anatomy of Intergenerational Transmission: Learning from the Educational Attainments of Norwegian Twins and Their Parents”. SocArXiv. February 7. doi:10.17605/OSF.IO/FBY2T
Abstract: Research on the intergenerational transmission of educational attainment, and transmission of social positions more generally, have long attempted to separate the relative roles of ascription and achievement. In these efforts, the bulk of research has ignored genetic inheritance. We use structural equations models and data on 4590 twin pairs and their parents to distinguish the roles of genetic and environmental influences on educational attainment in Norway, a country with high affordability and easy access to education at all levels. Our quantitative genetic models confirm the status quo; not of sociology, but of behavior genetics. Heritable factors play an important role in the transmission process, and the postulated direct effects of parents own educational attainments are negligible. The family environment does matter, but only those features that are shared between the twins themselves and not those that involve their parents. These results represent a challenge to conventional sociological theory on intergenerational transmission processes and the role of education in social stratification.
Keywords: intergenerational transmission, education, twins, Norway, parents
Abstract: Research on the intergenerational transmission of educational attainment, and transmission of social positions more generally, have long attempted to separate the relative roles of ascription and achievement. In these efforts, the bulk of research has ignored genetic inheritance. We use structural equations models and data on 4590 twin pairs and their parents to distinguish the roles of genetic and environmental influences on educational attainment in Norway, a country with high affordability and easy access to education at all levels. Our quantitative genetic models confirm the status quo; not of sociology, but of behavior genetics. Heritable factors play an important role in the transmission process, and the postulated direct effects of parents own educational attainments are negligible. The family environment does matter, but only those features that are shared between the twins themselves and not those that involve their parents. These results represent a challenge to conventional sociological theory on intergenerational transmission processes and the role of education in social stratification.
Keywords: intergenerational transmission, education, twins, Norway, parents
The Quality of Relationships That Arise From Successful Mate Poaching: Lower in relationship satisfaction, commitment and trust, and higher in jealousy, and had higher rates of romantic and sexuality infidelity
Why Find My Own When I Can Take Yours?: The Quality of Relationships That Arise From Successful Mate Poaching. Charlene F. Belu and Lucia F. O'Sullivan. Journal of Relationships Research, Volume 9, 2018, e6. https://doi.org/10.1017/jrr.2018.5
Abstract: Mate poaching occurs when a person attracts another, whom he or she knows is already in an exclusive relationship, into a sexual or romantic relationship. Mate poaching is involved in the evolution of many relationships. Yet, little is known about the quality of these relationships. We examined relationship quality between individuals whose relationships were formed via mate poaching versus not (i.e., a relationship formed serially without overlap with another relationship). We compared ratings of quality from the perspectives of poachers, poached, and co-poached individuals. Adult participants (n = 660) in a romantic relationship responded to questions assessing relationship quality. Those in relationships formed from poaching rated their relationships as lower in relationship satisfaction, commitment and trust, and higher in jealousy, and had higher rates of romantic and sexuality infidelity in their current relationship compared to individuals in non-poached relationships. Those who were poached from an existing relationship rated their current relationship as lower in commitment than did those who poached their current partner into a relationship. The study also provides first insights regarding relationship quality for those who identify as co-poached. We discuss these findings in terms of implications for understanding how relationships are formed and the qualities of those that endure.
Abstract: Mate poaching occurs when a person attracts another, whom he or she knows is already in an exclusive relationship, into a sexual or romantic relationship. Mate poaching is involved in the evolution of many relationships. Yet, little is known about the quality of these relationships. We examined relationship quality between individuals whose relationships were formed via mate poaching versus not (i.e., a relationship formed serially without overlap with another relationship). We compared ratings of quality from the perspectives of poachers, poached, and co-poached individuals. Adult participants (n = 660) in a romantic relationship responded to questions assessing relationship quality. Those in relationships formed from poaching rated their relationships as lower in relationship satisfaction, commitment and trust, and higher in jealousy, and had higher rates of romantic and sexuality infidelity in their current relationship compared to individuals in non-poached relationships. Those who were poached from an existing relationship rated their current relationship as lower in commitment than did those who poached their current partner into a relationship. The study also provides first insights regarding relationship quality for those who identify as co-poached. We discuss these findings in terms of implications for understanding how relationships are formed and the qualities of those that endure.
When do we care about political neutrality? The hypocritical nature of reaction to political bias
When do we care about political neutrality? The hypocritical nature of reaction to political bias. Omer Yair, Raanan Sulitzeanu-Kenan. PLOS, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0196674
Abstract: Claims and accusations of political bias are common in many countries. The essence of such claims is a denunciation of alleged violations of political neutrality in the context of media coverage, legal and bureaucratic decisions, academic teaching etc. Yet the acts and messages that give rise to such claims are also embedded within a context of intergroup competition. Thus, in evaluating the seriousness of, and the need for taking a corrective action in reaction to a purported politically biased act people may consider both the alleged normative violation and the political implications of the act/message for the evaluator’s ingroup. The question thus arises whether partisans react similarly to ingroup-aiding and ingroup-harming actions or messages which they perceive as politically biased. In three separate studies, conducted in two countries, we show that political considerations strongly affect partisans’ reactions to actions and messages that they perceive as politically biased. Namely, ingroup-harming biased messages/acts are considered more serious and are more likely to warrant corrective action in comparison to ingroup-aiding biased messages/acts. We conclude by discussing the implications of these findings for the implementations of measures intended for correcting and preventing biases, and for the nature of conflict and competition between rival political groups.
Abstract: Claims and accusations of political bias are common in many countries. The essence of such claims is a denunciation of alleged violations of political neutrality in the context of media coverage, legal and bureaucratic decisions, academic teaching etc. Yet the acts and messages that give rise to such claims are also embedded within a context of intergroup competition. Thus, in evaluating the seriousness of, and the need for taking a corrective action in reaction to a purported politically biased act people may consider both the alleged normative violation and the political implications of the act/message for the evaluator’s ingroup. The question thus arises whether partisans react similarly to ingroup-aiding and ingroup-harming actions or messages which they perceive as politically biased. In three separate studies, conducted in two countries, we show that political considerations strongly affect partisans’ reactions to actions and messages that they perceive as politically biased. Namely, ingroup-harming biased messages/acts are considered more serious and are more likely to warrant corrective action in comparison to ingroup-aiding biased messages/acts. We conclude by discussing the implications of these findings for the implementations of measures intended for correcting and preventing biases, and for the nature of conflict and competition between rival political groups.
Reflections on violent public executions -- Dubai case of the rapist of what they say was a 5-year-old.
Reflections on violent public executions.
1 After a human nature studies group member posts this May 04 2018:
👆👆👆Quick Justice: 5 year old was raped in Dubai... Within 15 minutes of this rape incident, the judiciary ordered the police to shoot the rapist in public view...
and I asked:
Is there a good link of that? Can we verify that?
the OP posted a video of the botched execution. No date for the video.
2 My first reply (renumbered):
Several preliminary considerations of the many we could write about:
2.1 Such a careless executor (the rapist keeps moving after two bullets to the head and needs more than four to be sure he is dead) should be thoroughly censured --- I hope that he loses his position in the local militia or police force or whatever, and his bosses' heads roll too (figuratively, of course).
2.2 It is a big risk that executions are carried on public, and even more risky with firearms. What if some bystander is accidentally wounded? Killed?
Besides the immediate cost of stray bullets, public morality is damaged in the process. As a consecuence of the little cost of violence against persons, see the reaction of the family or whatever are the women that try to desecrate the criminal's body (we don't know if they really intend to do that or just want to be seen that indignant, but knowing that the militia/police won't let them touch the rapist).
2.3 We don't know why (but this is of interest for this group, and this is what we are here to talk about), but this level of violence when responding to crimes is linked to the big violence of the crimes.
2.3.1 First of all, it is almost unheard of in most of the population of OECD countries the rape of 5-year-olds. As a proxy indicator for those rapes we can use marriage with underage girls. Of course, being underage is something that varies from country to country, but let's leave it at that, underage. Check this work (Child Marriage in the United States: How Common Is the Practice, https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2018/04/child-marriage-in-united-states-how.html, underage is less than 18 yo in this study):
For those who may think that it is not such a bad idea to be married so young, is also of interest is the prevalence of violence in those marriages: Association between adolescent marriage and marital violence among young adult women in India. Anita Raj et al. International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics, https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2018/05/from-2010-association-between.html.
[All papers have big limitations, but even so, they are what we got to study and understand the issues.]
2.3.2 Relevant to this case, the brutality of executions (and the criminal justice system) is correlated (why?) with crime brutality. Any possible reasons I think of are not convincing at all.
Does anyone have papers about this relation of system brutality and criminal's brutal behavior?
2.4 I understand the OP's uneasiness with how "delicately" are going downhill things in OECD countries. Due to abhorrence of violence, more and more things that are perfectly natural and that lots of species do, like eating meat, are getting more and more difficult to understand and, as a consequence, there is a shaming of those who eat meat, and are proposals to ban meat and related activities, and sometimes terrorism against slaughterhouses or the industry more generally. Also, there is a strengthening opinion current to give to other species legal rights beyond not being cruelly handled. I can imagine how discomforting all this is for persons everywhere, but I think we should strive to have both things: less cruel behavior with animals and at the same time keeping for humans the right to behave like many other species do when eating.
What this means for the discussion is, IMHO, that we must not use fear of going downhill as those stupid Western societies (as one can argue) to keep doing unprofessional killings like the one in the video. We should not use the extremes of those opposing the right to have meat or other customs to justify violent, botched executions.
---
Update
1 After a human nature studies group member posts this May 04 2018:
👆👆👆Quick Justice: 5 year old was raped in Dubai... Within 15 minutes of this rape incident, the judiciary ordered the police to shoot the rapist in public view...
and I asked:
Is there a good link of that? Can we verify that?
the OP posted a video of the botched execution. No date for the video.
2 My first reply (renumbered):
Several preliminary considerations of the many we could write about:
2.1 Such a careless executor (the rapist keeps moving after two bullets to the head and needs more than four to be sure he is dead) should be thoroughly censured --- I hope that he loses his position in the local militia or police force or whatever, and his bosses' heads roll too (figuratively, of course).
2.2 It is a big risk that executions are carried on public, and even more risky with firearms. What if some bystander is accidentally wounded? Killed?
Besides the immediate cost of stray bullets, public morality is damaged in the process. As a consecuence of the little cost of violence against persons, see the reaction of the family or whatever are the women that try to desecrate the criminal's body (we don't know if they really intend to do that or just want to be seen that indignant, but knowing that the militia/police won't let them touch the rapist).
2.3 We don't know why (but this is of interest for this group, and this is what we are here to talk about), but this level of violence when responding to crimes is linked to the big violence of the crimes.
2.3.1 First of all, it is almost unheard of in most of the population of OECD countries the rape of 5-year-olds. As a proxy indicator for those rapes we can use marriage with underage girls. Of course, being underage is something that varies from country to country, but let's leave it at that, underage. Check this work (Child Marriage in the United States: How Common Is the Practice, https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2018/04/child-marriage-in-united-states-how.html, underage is less than 18 yo in this study):
Approximately 6.2 of every 1,000 children surveyed had ever been married. [Prevalence] was especially high among children of American Indian or Chinese descent (10.3 and 14.2, respectively [that is, about double the average]). Immigrant children were more likely than U.S.‐born children to have been married; prevalence among children from Mexico, Central America and the Middle East was 2–4 times that of children born in the United States.
For those who may think that it is not such a bad idea to be married so young, is also of interest is the prevalence of violence in those marriages: Association between adolescent marriage and marital violence among young adult women in India. Anita Raj et al. International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics, https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2018/05/from-2010-association-between.html.
[All papers have big limitations, but even so, they are what we got to study and understand the issues.]
2.3.2 Relevant to this case, the brutality of executions (and the criminal justice system) is correlated (why?) with crime brutality. Any possible reasons I think of are not convincing at all.
Does anyone have papers about this relation of system brutality and criminal's brutal behavior?
2.4 I understand the OP's uneasiness with how "delicately" are going downhill things in OECD countries. Due to abhorrence of violence, more and more things that are perfectly natural and that lots of species do, like eating meat, are getting more and more difficult to understand and, as a consequence, there is a shaming of those who eat meat, and are proposals to ban meat and related activities, and sometimes terrorism against slaughterhouses or the industry more generally. Also, there is a strengthening opinion current to give to other species legal rights beyond not being cruelly handled. I can imagine how discomforting all this is for persons everywhere, but I think we should strive to have both things: less cruel behavior with animals and at the same time keeping for humans the right to behave like many other species do when eating.
What this means for the discussion is, IMHO, that we must not use fear of going downhill as those stupid Western societies (as one can argue) to keep doing unprofessional killings like the one in the video. We should not use the extremes of those opposing the right to have meat or other customs to justify violent, botched executions.
---
Update
Thursday, May 3, 2018
From 2010: Association between adolescent marriage and marital violence among young adult women in India
Association between adolescent marriage and marital violence among young adult women in India. Anita Raj et al. International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijgo.2010.01.022
Abstract
Objective: To assess whether a history of adolescent marriage (< 18 years) places women in young adulthood in India at increased risk of physical or sexual marital violence.
Methods: Cross‐sectional analysis was performed on data from a nationally representative household study of 124 385 Indian women aged 15–49 years collected in 2005–2006. The analyses were restricted to married women aged 20–24 years who participated in the marital violence (MV) survey module (n = 10 514). Simple regression models and models adjusted for participant demographics were constructed to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the associations between adolescent marriage and MV.
Results: Over half (58%) of the participants were married before 18 years of age; 35% of the women had experienced physical or sexual violence in their marriage; and 27% reported such abuse in the last year. Adjusted regression analyses revealed that women married as minors were significantly more likely than those married as adults to report ever experiencing MV (adjusted OR 1.77; 95% CI, 1.61–1.95) and in the last 12 months (adjusted OR 1.51; 95% CI, 1.36–1.67).
Conclusions: Women who were married as adolescents remain at increased risk of MV into young adulthood.
Abstract
Objective: To assess whether a history of adolescent marriage (< 18 years) places women in young adulthood in India at increased risk of physical or sexual marital violence.
Methods: Cross‐sectional analysis was performed on data from a nationally representative household study of 124 385 Indian women aged 15–49 years collected in 2005–2006. The analyses were restricted to married women aged 20–24 years who participated in the marital violence (MV) survey module (n = 10 514). Simple regression models and models adjusted for participant demographics were constructed to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the associations between adolescent marriage and MV.
Results: Over half (58%) of the participants were married before 18 years of age; 35% of the women had experienced physical or sexual violence in their marriage; and 27% reported such abuse in the last year. Adjusted regression analyses revealed that women married as minors were significantly more likely than those married as adults to report ever experiencing MV (adjusted OR 1.77; 95% CI, 1.61–1.95) and in the last 12 months (adjusted OR 1.51; 95% CI, 1.36–1.67).
Conclusions: Women who were married as adolescents remain at increased risk of MV into young adulthood.
Demand for heroin was more elastic than demand for saccharin (i.e., heroin had lower essential value than saccharin). When allowed to choose, most rats preferred saccharin. The essential value of heroin, but not saccharin, predicted preference
Heroin and saccharin demand and preference in rats. Lindsay P.Schwartz, Jung S.Kim, Alan Silberberg, David N.Kearns. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, Volume 178, 1 September 2017, Pages 87-93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2017.04.031
Highlights
• Rats demand for heroin was more elastic than their demand for saccharin.
• The essential value of heroin predicted subsequent choice of heroin over saccharin.
• The essential value of saccharin was unrelated to preference.
• Increased heroin access made demand for both heroin and saccharin less elastic.
• Similar exposure to saccharin did not alter these reinforcers demand elasticity.
Abstract
Background: Several recent studies have investigated the choice between heroin and a non-drug alternative reinforcer in rats. A common finding in these studies is that there are large individual differences in preference, with some rats preferring heroin and some preferring the non-drug alternative. The primary goal of the present study was to determine whether individual differences in how heroin or saccharin is valued, based on demand analysis, predicts choice.
Methods: Rats lever-pressed for heroin infusions and saccharin reinforcers on fixed-ratio schedules. The essential value of each reinforcer was obtained from resulting demand curves. Rats were then trained on a mutually exclusive choice procedure where pressing one lever resulted in heroin and pressing another resulted in saccharin. After seven sessions of increased access to heroin or saccharin, rats were reexposed to the demand and choice procedures.
Results: Demand for heroin was more elastic than demand for saccharin (i.e., heroin had lower essential value than saccharin). When allowed to choose, most rats preferred saccharin. The essential value of heroin, but not saccharin, predicted preference. The essential value of both heroin and saccharin increased following a week of increased access to heroin, but similar saccharin exposure had no effect on essential value. Preference was unchanged after increased access to either reinforcer.
Conclusion: Heroin-preferring rats differed from saccharin-preferring rats in how they valued heroin, but not saccharin. To the extent that choice models addiction-related behavior, these results suggest that overvaluation of opioids specifically, rather than undervaluation of non-drug alternatives, could identify susceptible individuals.
Highlights
• Rats demand for heroin was more elastic than their demand for saccharin.
• The essential value of heroin predicted subsequent choice of heroin over saccharin.
• The essential value of saccharin was unrelated to preference.
• Increased heroin access made demand for both heroin and saccharin less elastic.
• Similar exposure to saccharin did not alter these reinforcers demand elasticity.
Abstract
Background: Several recent studies have investigated the choice between heroin and a non-drug alternative reinforcer in rats. A common finding in these studies is that there are large individual differences in preference, with some rats preferring heroin and some preferring the non-drug alternative. The primary goal of the present study was to determine whether individual differences in how heroin or saccharin is valued, based on demand analysis, predicts choice.
Methods: Rats lever-pressed for heroin infusions and saccharin reinforcers on fixed-ratio schedules. The essential value of each reinforcer was obtained from resulting demand curves. Rats were then trained on a mutually exclusive choice procedure where pressing one lever resulted in heroin and pressing another resulted in saccharin. After seven sessions of increased access to heroin or saccharin, rats were reexposed to the demand and choice procedures.
Results: Demand for heroin was more elastic than demand for saccharin (i.e., heroin had lower essential value than saccharin). When allowed to choose, most rats preferred saccharin. The essential value of heroin, but not saccharin, predicted preference. The essential value of both heroin and saccharin increased following a week of increased access to heroin, but similar saccharin exposure had no effect on essential value. Preference was unchanged after increased access to either reinforcer.
Conclusion: Heroin-preferring rats differed from saccharin-preferring rats in how they valued heroin, but not saccharin. To the extent that choice models addiction-related behavior, these results suggest that overvaluation of opioids specifically, rather than undervaluation of non-drug alternatives, could identify susceptible individuals.
The Influence of Sexual Orientation on the Perceived Fit of Male Applicants for Both Male- and Female-Typed Jobs
The Influence of Sexual Orientation on the Perceived Fit of Male Applicants for Both Male- and Female-Typed Jobs. Heather M. Clarke and Kara A. Arnold. Front Psychol, May 03 2018, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00656
Abstract: Research demonstrates the bias faced by individuals engaged in occupations that are perceived as inconsistent with their gender. The lack of fit model and role congruity theory explain how gender stereotypes give rise to the perception that an individual lacks the attributes necessary to be successful in a gender-incongruent job. Men employed in jobs traditionally held by women are perceived as wimpy and undeserving of respect. The majority of studies in this area have, however, failed to account for the sexual orientation of the individual being rated. Therefore, we carried out an experiment where 128 adults with experience in recruitment and selection, recruited through Qualtrics, rated heterosexual and gay male applicants applying for a gender-typed job. The heterosexual male was rated less effectual, less respect-worthy, and less hirable in the female-typed job condition than in the male-typed job condition. The gay male applicant, however, was rated similarly on all criteria across job gender-types, suggesting the gay male applicant was viewed as androgynous rather than high in femininity and low in masculinity as inferred by implicit inversion theory. The implications of these findings are discussed.
Abstract: Research demonstrates the bias faced by individuals engaged in occupations that are perceived as inconsistent with their gender. The lack of fit model and role congruity theory explain how gender stereotypes give rise to the perception that an individual lacks the attributes necessary to be successful in a gender-incongruent job. Men employed in jobs traditionally held by women are perceived as wimpy and undeserving of respect. The majority of studies in this area have, however, failed to account for the sexual orientation of the individual being rated. Therefore, we carried out an experiment where 128 adults with experience in recruitment and selection, recruited through Qualtrics, rated heterosexual and gay male applicants applying for a gender-typed job. The heterosexual male was rated less effectual, less respect-worthy, and less hirable in the female-typed job condition than in the male-typed job condition. The gay male applicant, however, was rated similarly on all criteria across job gender-types, suggesting the gay male applicant was viewed as androgynous rather than high in femininity and low in masculinity as inferred by implicit inversion theory. The implications of these findings are discussed.
Four facets of conscientiousness (self-control, organisation, industriousness and responsibility) were related to lower adiposity, healthier metabolic, cardiovascular and inflammatory markers, and better performance on physical assessments
Facets of conscientiousness and objective markers of health status. Angelina R. Sutin, Yannick Stephan & Antonio Terracciano. Psychology & Health, https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2018.1464165
Abstract
Objective: To examine the association between six facets of conscientiousness (self-control, order, industriousness, traditionalism, virtue, responsibility) and objective markers of health status, including adiposity, blood markers and physical performance.
Design: Cross-sectional analysis of participants from the health and retirement study (N = 12,188).
Main Outcome Measures: Adiposity (body mass index, waist circumference), blood markers (A1c, HDL cholesterol, total cholesterol, cystatin c, c-reactive protein) and physical performance (lung function, grip strength, walking speed).
Results: Four of the six facets of conscientiousness were associated with nearly all of the health markers: Self-control, organisation, industriousness and responsibility were related to lower adiposity, healthier metabolic, cardiovascular and inflammatory markers, and better performance on physical assessments. Traditionalism and virtue had fewer associations with these objective markers.
Conclusion: This research took a facet-level approach to the association between conscientiousness and objective markers of health status. This research builds on models of conscientiousness and health to suggest that, in addition to health-risk behaviours, facets of conscientiousness are associated with more favourable biomedical markers of health status.
Keywords: responsibility, industriousness, self-control, conscientiousness, biomarkers, health status, facets
Abstract
Objective: To examine the association between six facets of conscientiousness (self-control, order, industriousness, traditionalism, virtue, responsibility) and objective markers of health status, including adiposity, blood markers and physical performance.
Design: Cross-sectional analysis of participants from the health and retirement study (N = 12,188).
Main Outcome Measures: Adiposity (body mass index, waist circumference), blood markers (A1c, HDL cholesterol, total cholesterol, cystatin c, c-reactive protein) and physical performance (lung function, grip strength, walking speed).
Results: Four of the six facets of conscientiousness were associated with nearly all of the health markers: Self-control, organisation, industriousness and responsibility were related to lower adiposity, healthier metabolic, cardiovascular and inflammatory markers, and better performance on physical assessments. Traditionalism and virtue had fewer associations with these objective markers.
Conclusion: This research took a facet-level approach to the association between conscientiousness and objective markers of health status. This research builds on models of conscientiousness and health to suggest that, in addition to health-risk behaviours, facets of conscientiousness are associated with more favourable biomedical markers of health status.
Keywords: responsibility, industriousness, self-control, conscientiousness, biomarkers, health status, facets
If we test subjects at home with everyday tasks (for example, remembering to call someone twice a day), older people do better than younger ones—although the effect is precisely the opposite in the laboratory
Foresee and Forget: How to Remember the Future. Matthias Kliegel and Nicola Ballhausen. Scientific American Mind, Scientific American Mind 29, 29 - 34 (2018), doi 10.1038/scientificamericanmind0518-29
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When Elders Do Better
If we test subjects at home with everyday tasks (for example, remembering to call someone twice a day), older people do better than younger ones—although the effect is precisely the opposite in the laboratory. This finding raises two important questions, which our team and colleagues throughout the world are examining: How is the odd discrepancy between laboratory and everyday life to be explained? And does prospective memory become less reliable with age, or does it not?
Tasks performed under laboratory conditions and those performed in daily life differ in various ways. In the laboratory memory is usually tested using standardized tasks that require multitasking. Under these conditions test subjects are generally unable to come up with mnemonic devices or use such memory aids as kitchen timers or to-do lists. For example, participants may be asked to look at a video and press a button every five minutes, tasks that have no intrinsic meaning to them. This may well be why they perform less well in the laboratory than out in the world, where priorities must be established and forgetting can have real consequences. In addition, the time span over which test subjects must retain something in memory is considerably shorter than it is in everyday life. At the same time, the lives of younger and older people are not really comparable.
The former are often engaged in study, must manage a variety of tasks and navigate unexpected situations; the lives of the latter are usually more predictable and follow a less chaotic rhythm. This circumstance makes it easier to remember. In addition, younger people may be more used to laboratory tests or feel less stressed in this setting. We also cannot rule out that an exaggerated self-image may play a role in the age paradox. Although both age groups underestimate their prospective abilities in the lab, only the younger participants tended to overestimate their performance in their usual, familiar environment. This may lead to their being less well prepared for a task.
Does prospective memory decrease as we age? If we focus only on laboratory experiments the situation is clear: This area of memory, too, becomes less reliable with age. Studies done in people’s own environments, however, have shown the capacity we need to maintain our daily lives remains intact for quite a long time, as long as we stay healthy. We are not yet able to answer the question conclusively, because too few studies have been conducted on the performance of different age groups in everyday life.
Future research must examine at least three dimensions of prospective memory: First, more experiments are needed on everyday life. Only sophisticated methods that do not interfere with the daily lives of test subjects will enable us to measure their prospective memory in a natural setting. Second, we must closely examine noncognitive factors such as motivations, emotions and stresses in order to understand this memory system. Finally, understanding the age-prospective-memory paradox may provide an opening for research aimed at maintaining certain cognitive processes and even improving them over the life span. There is some reason to hope a change in perspective from the deficits experienced by older people to the capacities that remain intact may change considerably our image of aging.
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When Elders Do Better
If we test subjects at home with everyday tasks (for example, remembering to call someone twice a day), older people do better than younger ones—although the effect is precisely the opposite in the laboratory. This finding raises two important questions, which our team and colleagues throughout the world are examining: How is the odd discrepancy between laboratory and everyday life to be explained? And does prospective memory become less reliable with age, or does it not?
Tasks performed under laboratory conditions and those performed in daily life differ in various ways. In the laboratory memory is usually tested using standardized tasks that require multitasking. Under these conditions test subjects are generally unable to come up with mnemonic devices or use such memory aids as kitchen timers or to-do lists. For example, participants may be asked to look at a video and press a button every five minutes, tasks that have no intrinsic meaning to them. This may well be why they perform less well in the laboratory than out in the world, where priorities must be established and forgetting can have real consequences. In addition, the time span over which test subjects must retain something in memory is considerably shorter than it is in everyday life. At the same time, the lives of younger and older people are not really comparable.
The former are often engaged in study, must manage a variety of tasks and navigate unexpected situations; the lives of the latter are usually more predictable and follow a less chaotic rhythm. This circumstance makes it easier to remember. In addition, younger people may be more used to laboratory tests or feel less stressed in this setting. We also cannot rule out that an exaggerated self-image may play a role in the age paradox. Although both age groups underestimate their prospective abilities in the lab, only the younger participants tended to overestimate their performance in their usual, familiar environment. This may lead to their being less well prepared for a task.
Does prospective memory decrease as we age? If we focus only on laboratory experiments the situation is clear: This area of memory, too, becomes less reliable with age. Studies done in people’s own environments, however, have shown the capacity we need to maintain our daily lives remains intact for quite a long time, as long as we stay healthy. We are not yet able to answer the question conclusively, because too few studies have been conducted on the performance of different age groups in everyday life.
Future research must examine at least three dimensions of prospective memory: First, more experiments are needed on everyday life. Only sophisticated methods that do not interfere with the daily lives of test subjects will enable us to measure their prospective memory in a natural setting. Second, we must closely examine noncognitive factors such as motivations, emotions and stresses in order to understand this memory system. Finally, understanding the age-prospective-memory paradox may provide an opening for research aimed at maintaining certain cognitive processes and even improving them over the life span. There is some reason to hope a change in perspective from the deficits experienced by older people to the capacities that remain intact may change considerably our image of aging.
In the UK, supporters of the major parties (Labour, the Conservatives & Liberal Democrats) have substantively different personality traits. Moreover, those not identifying with any party, who are close to holding the majority, are similar to those identifying with the Conservatives
The Big Five personality traits and partisanship in England. Toke Aidt, Christopher Rauh. Electoral Studies, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2018.04.017
Abstract: We propose a new framework for the study of the psychological foundation of party identification. We draw a distinction between the part of an individual's party preference that is stable throughout adult life and the dynamic part responding to lifecycle events and macro shocks. We theorize that the Big Five personality traits exert a causal effect on the stable part of an individual's party preference and provide evidence from a large nationally representative English panel dataset in support of this theory. We find that supporters of the major parties (Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats) have substantively different personality traits. Moreover, we show that those not identifying with any party, who are close to holding the majority, are similar to those identifying with the Conservatives. We show that these results are robust to controlling for cognitive skills and parental party preferences, and to estimation on a subsample of siblings. The relationship between personality traits and party identification is stable across birth cohorts.
Keywords: Big five personality traits; Party identification; Partisanship; England
Abstract: We propose a new framework for the study of the psychological foundation of party identification. We draw a distinction between the part of an individual's party preference that is stable throughout adult life and the dynamic part responding to lifecycle events and macro shocks. We theorize that the Big Five personality traits exert a causal effect on the stable part of an individual's party preference and provide evidence from a large nationally representative English panel dataset in support of this theory. We find that supporters of the major parties (Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats) have substantively different personality traits. Moreover, we show that those not identifying with any party, who are close to holding the majority, are similar to those identifying with the Conservatives. We show that these results are robust to controlling for cognitive skills and parental party preferences, and to estimation on a subsample of siblings. The relationship between personality traits and party identification is stable across birth cohorts.
Keywords: Big five personality traits; Party identification; Partisanship; England
Even when not in the focus, sexual images activate the brains' reward circuitry. Men's higher sensitivity to the rewarding value of sexual cues may be critical for their higher risk of addictive/compulsive sexual behaviors.
Neural correlates of gender differences in distractibility by sexual stimuli. J. Strahler, O. Kruse, S. Wehrum-Osinsky, T. Klucken, R. Stark. NeuroImage, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.04.072
Highlights
• 50 women and 47 men underwent fMRI during an attentional interference task.
• Sexual distractors led to prolonged response times, independent of gender.
• Men showed stronger activity in the brains’ reward circuitry.
• Trait sexual motivation correlated with nucleus caudatus activity.
• Findings may reflect mechanisms of men’s higher risk for compulsive sexual behaviors.
Abstract: Attentional interference control is a prominent feature of human cognition. To what extent sexual stimuli attract attention and interfere with cognitive tasks has still little been studied. Our study aimed to identify associations between attentional interference, sexual arousal, trait sexual motivation, and neural activity to sexual distractors while accounting for gender differences. Therefore, the present study examined the neural correlates of attentional interference by arousing sexual distractors using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Fifty women and 47 men underwent fMRI while indicating the orientation of two lines (equal or unequal) next to an explicit sexual (as compared to a neutral) picture. Results confirm prolonged response times when a sexual image was shown. There was neither a difference between genders nor an effect of sexual arousal ratings or trait sexual motivation on distractibility. Neural activity specific to sexual images was found in brain regions implicated motivation, and reward. Men as compared to women showed stronger responses in nucleus caudatus, anterior cingulate cortex, and nucleus accumbens. Trait sexual motivation was selectively correlated with nucleus caudatus activity. Taken together, findings support the notion that even when not in the focus, sexual images activate the brains' reward circuitry. Men's higher sensitivity to the rewarding value of sexual cues may be critical for their higher risk of addictive/compulsive sexual behaviors.
Keywords: Attentional interference; Visual sexual stimuli; Functional magnetic resonance imaging; Gender
Highlights
• 50 women and 47 men underwent fMRI during an attentional interference task.
• Sexual distractors led to prolonged response times, independent of gender.
• Men showed stronger activity in the brains’ reward circuitry.
• Trait sexual motivation correlated with nucleus caudatus activity.
• Findings may reflect mechanisms of men’s higher risk for compulsive sexual behaviors.
Abstract: Attentional interference control is a prominent feature of human cognition. To what extent sexual stimuli attract attention and interfere with cognitive tasks has still little been studied. Our study aimed to identify associations between attentional interference, sexual arousal, trait sexual motivation, and neural activity to sexual distractors while accounting for gender differences. Therefore, the present study examined the neural correlates of attentional interference by arousing sexual distractors using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Fifty women and 47 men underwent fMRI while indicating the orientation of two lines (equal or unequal) next to an explicit sexual (as compared to a neutral) picture. Results confirm prolonged response times when a sexual image was shown. There was neither a difference between genders nor an effect of sexual arousal ratings or trait sexual motivation on distractibility. Neural activity specific to sexual images was found in brain regions implicated motivation, and reward. Men as compared to women showed stronger responses in nucleus caudatus, anterior cingulate cortex, and nucleus accumbens. Trait sexual motivation was selectively correlated with nucleus caudatus activity. Taken together, findings support the notion that even when not in the focus, sexual images activate the brains' reward circuitry. Men's higher sensitivity to the rewarding value of sexual cues may be critical for their higher risk of addictive/compulsive sexual behaviors.
Keywords: Attentional interference; Visual sexual stimuli; Functional magnetic resonance imaging; Gender
Wednesday, May 2, 2018
In contrast to North America results, anxiety, depression and neuroticism showed no increase in two big European samples
Age of anxiety and depression revisited: A meta-analysis of two European community samples (1964-2015). JanSchürmann, JürgenMargraf. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, Volume 18, Issue 2, May–August 2018, Pages 102-112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijchp.2018.02.002
Abstract: Background/Objective: Based on studies using established psychometric scales, Twenge and coworkers have shown substantial increases in trait anxiety, depressive symptoms and neuroticism in North American population samples since the 1950s. Similar analyses for European samples have not yet been conducted. Our study therefore examined whether similar secular trends exist in German-speaking and British non-clinical samples together with possible connected societal factors. Method: A literature search identified 131 studies (N = 63,269) using the STAI, BDI or EPI in non-clinical samples between 1964 and 2015. Seven societal factors from national statistics were included. We conducted meta-analyses with displayed means and moderation analyses of publication year for all scales. Results: In contrast to North America results, anxiety, depression and neuroticism showed no increase in the two European populations. Publication year correlated negatively with and moderated trait anxiety (GER) and neuroticism (UK). Most societal factors were highly correlated with year of publication. Trait anxiety and neuroticism were significantly predicted by age at marriage and unemployment rate in German-speaking countries. Conclusion: The difference in secular trends between European and North American samples may indicate society specific developments connected to different societal factors.
Abstract: Background/Objective: Based on studies using established psychometric scales, Twenge and coworkers have shown substantial increases in trait anxiety, depressive symptoms and neuroticism in North American population samples since the 1950s. Similar analyses for European samples have not yet been conducted. Our study therefore examined whether similar secular trends exist in German-speaking and British non-clinical samples together with possible connected societal factors. Method: A literature search identified 131 studies (N = 63,269) using the STAI, BDI or EPI in non-clinical samples between 1964 and 2015. Seven societal factors from national statistics were included. We conducted meta-analyses with displayed means and moderation analyses of publication year for all scales. Results: In contrast to North America results, anxiety, depression and neuroticism showed no increase in the two European populations. Publication year correlated negatively with and moderated trait anxiety (GER) and neuroticism (UK). Most societal factors were highly correlated with year of publication. Trait anxiety and neuroticism were significantly predicted by age at marriage and unemployment rate in German-speaking countries. Conclusion: The difference in secular trends between European and North American samples may indicate society specific developments connected to different societal factors.
Odor sensitivity correlated positively with sexual experience: Participants with high olfactory sensitivity reported higher pleasantness of sexual activities; and women with high olfactory sensitivity reported a higher frequency of orgasms during sexual intercourse
Olfactory Function Relates to Sexual Experience in Adults. Johanna Bendas, Thomas Hummel, Ilona Croy. Archives of Sexual Behavior, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-018-1203-x
Abstract: The olfactory system contributes significantly to human social behavior and especially to mate choice and empathic functioning. In this context, previous research examining individuals with impaired olfactory function indicated an influence of the sense of smell on different aspects of sexuality. However, the applied samples, methods, and results are diverse and an involvement of confounding factors, such as breathing problems, depression or social insecurity cannot be ruled out. The present study examined the potential correlation between odor threshold in healthy participants and their sexual desire, sexual experience, and sexual performance. In 70 adults (28 male, 42 female; mean age 24.8 ± 4.1 years), odor threshold was assessed using the “Sniffin’ Sticks.” The participants also responded to a battery of questions on sexual desire (Sexual Desire Inventory), sexual experience (orgasm frequency, perceived pleasantness of sexual activities on a visual analogue scale) as well as sexual performance (frequency of having sex, average duration of sexual intercourse). Odor sensitivity correlated positively with sexual experience: Participants with high olfactory sensitivity reported higher pleasantness of sexual activities. Further, women with high olfactory sensitivity reported a higher frequency of orgasms during sexual intercourse. These findings were exclusively present for sexual experience; no significant correlations were detected for sexual desire or sexual performance. The experience of sexual interactions appears to be enriched by olfactory input. We discuss that the perception of certain body odors may contribute to the concept of sexual pleasure by enhanced recruitment of reward areas.
Abstract: The olfactory system contributes significantly to human social behavior and especially to mate choice and empathic functioning. In this context, previous research examining individuals with impaired olfactory function indicated an influence of the sense of smell on different aspects of sexuality. However, the applied samples, methods, and results are diverse and an involvement of confounding factors, such as breathing problems, depression or social insecurity cannot be ruled out. The present study examined the potential correlation between odor threshold in healthy participants and their sexual desire, sexual experience, and sexual performance. In 70 adults (28 male, 42 female; mean age 24.8 ± 4.1 years), odor threshold was assessed using the “Sniffin’ Sticks.” The participants also responded to a battery of questions on sexual desire (Sexual Desire Inventory), sexual experience (orgasm frequency, perceived pleasantness of sexual activities on a visual analogue scale) as well as sexual performance (frequency of having sex, average duration of sexual intercourse). Odor sensitivity correlated positively with sexual experience: Participants with high olfactory sensitivity reported higher pleasantness of sexual activities. Further, women with high olfactory sensitivity reported a higher frequency of orgasms during sexual intercourse. These findings were exclusively present for sexual experience; no significant correlations were detected for sexual desire or sexual performance. The experience of sexual interactions appears to be enriched by olfactory input. We discuss that the perception of certain body odors may contribute to the concept of sexual pleasure by enhanced recruitment of reward areas.
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