Inflammatory Biomarkers and Risk of Schizophrenia. A 2-Sample Mendelian Randomization Study

Inflammatory Biomarkers and Risk of Schizophrenia. A 2-Sample Mendelian Randomization Study. Fernando Pires Hartwig et al. JAMA Psychiatry, doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2017.3191

Key Points

Question  What is the effect of increased inflammatory biomarkers on the risk of developing schizophrenia?

Findings  In this 2-sample mendelian randomization study using summary gene-biomarker association results estimated in pooled samples ranging from 1645 to more than 80 000 individuals, 2-fold increments in circulating levels of C-reactive protein and soluble interleukin-1 receptor levels were associated with a 10% reduction and a 6% increase in the lifetime odds of developing schizophrenia.

Meaning  We found that blockade of interleukin-6 effects and low C-reactive protein levels might increase schizophrenia risk, possibly due to increased susceptibility to early life infection.

Abstract

Importance  Positive associations between inflammatory biomarkers and risk of psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, have been reported in observational studies. However, conventional observational studies are prone to bias, such as reverse causation and residual confounding, thus limiting our understanding of the effect (if any) of inflammatory biomarkers on schizophrenia risk.

Objective  To evaluate whether inflammatory biomarkers have an effect on the risk of developing schizophrenia.

Design, Setting, and Participants  Two-sample mendelian randomization study using genetic variants associated with inflammatory biomarkers as instrumental variables to improve inference. Summary association results from large consortia of candidate gene or genome-wide association studies, including several epidemiologic studies with different designs, were used. Gene-inflammatory biomarker associations were estimated in pooled samples ranging from 1645 to more than 80 000 individuals, while gene-schizophrenia associations were estimated in more than 30 000 cases and more than 45 000 ancestry-matched controls. In most studies included in the consortia, participants were of European ancestry, and the prevalence of men was approximately 50%. All studies were conducted in adults, with a wide age range (18 to >80 years).

Exposures  Genetically elevated circulating levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra), and soluble interleukin-6 receptor (sIL-6R).

Main Outcomes and Measures  Risk of developing schizophrenia. Individuals with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorders were included as cases. Given that many studies contributed to the analyses, different diagnostic procedures were used.

Results  The pooled odds ratio estimate using 18 CRP genetic instruments was 0.90 (random effects 95% CI, 0.84-0.97; P = .005) per 2-fold increment in CRP levels; consistent results were obtained using different mendelian randomization methods and a more conservative set of instruments. The odds ratio for sIL-6R was 1.06 (95% CI, 1.01-1.12; P = .02) per 2-fold increment. Estimates for IL-1Ra were inconsistent among instruments, and pooled estimates were imprecise and centered on the null.

Conclusions and Relevance  Under mendelian randomization assumptions, our findings suggest a protective effect of CRP and a risk-increasing effect of sIL-6R (potentially mediated at least in part by CRP) on schizophrenia risk. It is possible that such effects are a result of increased susceptibility to early life infection.

Beautiful Bugs, Bothersome Bugs, and FUN Bugs: Examining Human Interactions with Insects and Other Arthropods

Beautiful Bugs, Bothersome Bugs, and FUN Bugs: Examining Human Interactions with Insects and Other Arthropods. Nathan J. Shipley & Robert D. Bixler. Anthrozoös, Volume 30, 2017 - Issue 3, Pages 357-372. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08927936.2017.1335083

ABSTRACT: Because the ostensible majority of incidental human–insect (and other arthropods) interactions are negative, any interest in non-pretty “bugs” appears to be inherently demotivated. Three complementary studies explored US college students’ perceptions, knowledge, and experiences of insects to better understand folk classifications and to identify potentially new ways to present them to motivate human interest. Study 1, an open-ended survey (n = 236), found that knowledge of insects is limited to a mean of 13 insects. Of these 13 insects, most were also dichotomized as liked (beautiful bugs) or disliked (bothersome bugs). The second study, using semi-structured interviews (n = 60), revealed similar categories as found in the first study, providing further details about positive and negative perceptions of, attitudes to, and types of experiences people have with, insects and other closely related arthropods. The last study (n = 200) used a paired forced-choice scale with 10 silhouettes of insects and related arthropods to replicate and expand the findings from the first two studies. This study tested whether respondents would report interest in novel and unknown arthropods over commonly known and preferred ones. The results indicate little knowledge of the diversity of insects among a young, elite, middle-class sample of college students and the existence of two robust but small folk categories of insects/arthropods (beautiful, bothersome). Results from the third study indicated there is a group of potentially fascinating unfamiliar (FUN) insects/arthropods/bugs that could evoke interest if people were simply exposed to them. Implications for informal recreation and educational programming and a research agenda are presented.

Keywords: bug, human dimensions of insects, human–insect interactions, insects, natural history, STEM

We often believe that omitting information is more ethical than telling a prosocial lie, whereas targets often believe otherwise

Levine, E., Hart, J., Moore, K., Rubin, E., Yadav, K., & Halpern, S. (2017). The Surprising Costs of Silence: Asymmetric Preferences for Prosocial Lies of Commission and Omission. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000101

Abstract: Across 7 experiments (N = 3883), we demonstrate that communicators and targets make egocentric moral judgments of deception. Specifically, communicators focus more on the costs of deception to them—for example, the guilt they feel when they break a moral rule—whereas targets focus more on whether deception helps or harms them. As a result, communicators and targets make asymmetric judgments of prosocial lies of commission and omission: Communicators often believe that omitting information is more ethical than telling a prosocial lie, whereas targets often believe the opposite. We document these effects within the context of health care discussions, employee layoffs, and economic games, among both clinical populations (i.e., oncologists and cancer patients) and lay people. We identify moderators and downstream consequences of this asymmetry. We conclude by discussing psychological and practical implications for medicine, management, behavioral ethics, and human communication.

Implicit ambivalence of significant others: Significant others trigger positive and negative evaluations

Zayas V, Surenkok G, Pandey G. Implicit ambivalence of significant others: Significant others trigger positive and negative evaluations. Soc Personal Psychol Compass. 2017;11:e12360. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12360

Abstract: Despite the rich literature on implicit partner evaluations, there has been scant attention to a defining feature of significant other mental representations—their affective complexity. Recent findings (Zayas & Shoda, 2015), however, provide an empirical demonstration that significant others automatically and simultaneously activate positive and negative evaluations—a phenomenon we refer to as implicit ambivalence. A primary aim of this paper is to extend extant theory by elaborating on the features of the dyadic context that may contribute to the formation of implicit ambivalence. Particularly, drawing from research from relationship science, social cognition, and social neuroscience, we focus on the ability of significant others to dynamically and simultaneously confer rewards and threats, the attunement of perceivers to potential social rewards and social threats, and aspects of sense-making of another person's mind that may give rise to implicit ambivalence. From this new perspective, implicit ambivalence is not a pathological or rare state. Quite the opposite, implicit ambivalence may be a normative, typical process, that is triggered even by people who are highly positive in one's network. We identify future directions for social cognition and relationship science.

Steven Koonin's Review of the Climate Science Special Report, Nov 2017

A Deceptive New Report on Climate.

By Steven E. Koonin

True, the U.S. has had more heat waves in recent years—but no more than a century ago.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-deceptive-new-report-on-climate-1509660882
Wall Street Journal, Nov. 2, 2017


The world’s response to climate changing under natural and human influences is best founded upon a complete portrayal of the science. The U.S. government’s Climate Science Special Report, to be released Friday, does not provide that foundation. Instead, it reinforces alarm with incomplete information and highlights the need for more-rigorous review of climate assessments.

A team of some 30 authors chartered by the U.S. Global Change Research Program began work in spring 2016 on the report, “designed to be an authoritative assessment of the science of climate change.” An early draft was released for public comment in January and reviewed by the National Academies this spring. I, together with thousands of other scientists, had the opportunity to scrutinize and discuss the final draft when it was publicized in August by the New York Times . While much is right in the report, it is misleading in more than a few important places.

One notable example of alarm-raising is the description of sea-level rise, one of the greatest climate concerns. The report ominously notes that while global sea level rose an average 0.05 inch a year during most of the 20th century, it has risen at about twice that rate since 1993. But it fails to mention that the rate fluctuated by comparable amounts several times during the 20th century. The same research papers the report cites show that recent rates are statistically indistinguishable from peak rates earlier in the 20th century, when human influences on the climate were much smaller. The report thus misleads by omission.

This isn’t the only example of highlighting a recent trend but failing to place it in complete historical context. The report’s executive summary declares that U.S. heat waves have become more common since the mid-1960s, although acknowledging the 1930s Dust Bowl as the peak period for extreme heat. Yet buried deep in the report is a figure showing that heat waves are no more frequent today than in 1900. This artifice also appeared in the government’s 2014 National Climate Assessment, which emphasized a post-1980 increase in hurricane power without discussing the longer-term record. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently stated that it has been unable to detect any human impact on hurricanes.

Such data misrepresentations violate basic scientific norms. In his celebrated 1974 “Cargo Cult” lecture, the late Richard Feynman admonished scientists to discuss objectively all the relevant evidence, even that which does not support the narrative. That’s the difference between science and advocacy.

These deficiencies in the new climate report are typical of many others that set the report’s tone. Consider the different perception that results from “sea level is rising no more rapidly than it did in 1940” instead of “sea level rise has accelerated in recent decades,” or from “heat waves are no more common now than they were in 1900” versus “heat waves have become more frequent since 1960.” Both statements in each pair are true, but each alone fails to tell the full story.

Several actions are warranted. First, the report should be amended to describe the history of sea-level rise, heat waves and other trends fully and accurately. Second, the government should convene a “Red/Blue” adversarial review to stress-test the entire report, as I urged in April. Critics argue such an exercise would be superfluous given the conventional review processes, and others have questioned even the minimal time and expense that would be involved. But the report’s deficiencies demonstrate why such a review is necessary.

Finally, the institutions involved in the report should figure out how and why such shortcomings survived multiple rounds of review. How, for example, did the National Academies’ review committee conclude that the chapter on sea level rise “accurately reflects the current scientific literature on this topic”? The Academies building prominently displays Einstein’s dictum “one must not conceal any part of what one has recognized to be true.”

Mr. Koonin was undersecretary of energy for science during President Obama’s first term and is director of the Center for Urban Science and Progress at New York University.

Should we love robots? – The most liked qualities of companion dogs and how they can be implemented in social robots

Should we love robots? – The most liked qualities of companion dogs and how they can be implemented in social robots. Veronika Konok et al. Computers in Human Behavior, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.11.002

Highlights
•    people’s attitude toward dogs is better than toward robots
•    having emotions, personality and showing attachment are the main advantages of dogs
•    respondents show high agreement about the behavioral manifestation of preferred qualities
•    we give a behavioral protocol for roboticists to design social robots

Abstract

In the future, robots may live with users as long-term companions, thus it is important that some sort of attachment relationship develop between humans and agents. Man’s best friend the dog provides a model for investigating what makes a heterospecific companion a lovable social partner.

Thus, we studied people’s attitudes toward dogs and robots comparatively, with a special focus on those features in dogs that cause people to accept them in their homes and love them. Additionally, we explored from what kind of behaviors people infer these qualities.

We found that people’s attitude toward robots is much more negative than towards dogs. Having emotions, personality and showing attachment were the most frequently reported advantages of dogs. Respondents showed high agreement about the behavioral manifestation of these qualities, which are necessary for engineers to be able to implement such advantages into the social robots’ programs.

Based on our results, in the future roboticists may supply social robots with these preferred qualities, which will aid in the designing of successful social robots.

Keywords: human-robot interaction; dog; robot; attitudes; ethorobotics

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When owners were asked about what they like least about their dog (Q4), the most frequent responses were stubbornness (28%), aggression (19%) and barking (10%). Interestingly, none of the owners would replace their own dogs with one from the same breed, age and sex, which is free from the unwanted features (Q5).

Group longevity as a function of its size in agricultural societies -- groups of 50, 150 and 500 people are near optimal

Optimising human community sizes. R.I.M. Dunbar, R. Sosis. Evolution and Human Behavior, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2017.11.001

Abstract: We examine community longevity as a function of group size in three historical, small scale agricultural samples. Community sizes of 50, 150 and 500 are disproportionately more common than other sizes; they also have greater longevity. These values mirror the natural layerings in hunter-gatherer societies and contemporary personal networks. In addition, a religious ideology seems to play an important role in allowing larger communities to maintain greater cohesion for longer than a strictly secular ideology does. The differences in optimal community size may reflect the demands of different ecologies, economies and social contexts, but, as yet, we have no explanation as to why these numbers seem to function socially so much more effectively than other values.

Keywords: Small scale societies; Fractal layering; Hutterites; C19th utopian communities; Kibbutz

“There was 100% better treatment as a wife under Boko Haram. There was more gifts, better food, and a lot of sex that I always enjoyed.”

Rescued and deradicalised women are returning to Boko Haram. Why? By Hilary Matfess
http://africanarguments.org/2017/11/01/rescued-and-deradicalised-women-are-returning-to-boko-haram-why/
Girls and women who join Boko Haram simply tend to see it as the best option available to them.
African Arguments, November 1, 2017

[Photo: It is not uncommon to hear of girls and women escaping IDP camps to return to their Boko Haram husbands. Credit: UD.]

This June, reports emerged that Aisha, the wife of Boko Haram commander, had fled her home in Maiduguri. The 25-year-old reportedly escaped the city to rejoin her husband Mamman Nur and other insurgents in the Sambisa Forest.

Stories of girls and young women leaving camps for internally-displaced persons to return to the notoriously brutal Boko Haram are not uncommon in north-eastern Nigeria. But Aisha’s story is particularly troubling. She had only recently completed a targeted, nine-month long deradicalisation programme.

If Aisha returned to Boko Haram despite all the resources dedicated to her deradicalisation and rehabilitation, what does the future hold for the scores of other women who receive significantly less support?


Why women join Boko Haram

The roughly 70-person deradicalisation programme in which Aisha participated was a mixture of psychosocial support and religious education. The provision of care to women who have been traumatised is certainly valuable, but the framing of this support as a deradicalisation programme mischaracterises the motivations of women who join Boko Haram.

In my conversations with women who joined the Islamist militant group of their own volition, many cite the opportunities that being a member of the insurgency provides. Aisha, who benefitted particularly thanks to her husband’s senior role as a commander, told Reuters in February that she was given slaves who “washed, cooked, and babysat for her”. “Even the men respected me because I was Mamman Nur’s wife,” she boasted.

However, even women who were not wives of elite fighters reported that joining the group conveyed tangible benefits. One woman I spoke to said: “There was 100% better treatment as a wife under Boko Haram. There was more gifts, better food, and a lot of sex that I always enjoyed.”

Another girl who married into the insurgency told me she particularly enjoyed the sect’s mandatory, near-daily Quranic education. “I was happy because I was meeting with my friends and getting learning,” she said, contrasting this with her much more intermittent access to schooling outside the group.

As detailed in my new book Women and the War on Boko Haram, women also often joined the insurgency because of the material improvement it can bring. Many women said they were drawn to Boko Haram because brideprices are paid directly to women rather than their family and because purdah – the practice of wife seclusion that’s associated with the socio-economic elite in northern Nigeria – is practiced widely.

These benefits contrast with typical experiences outside the insurgency. Only 4% of girls in northern Nigeria complete secondary school, while a UK government report estimates that 80% of women in eight northern states are unable to read. Early marriage is prevalent, access to health care is meagre, and the maternal mortality rate in the region is five times the global average.


Coming home

Women who are rescued or removed from Boko Haram return to the material deprivation and socio-political marginalisation that drove them to the group in the first place. But in addition, they may also come to face new forms of discrimination.

According to Dr Fatima Akilu, founder of the Neem Foundation, which provides psychosocial support, women who return home face the “possibility of violence”. Women may successfully go through the deradicalisation programme, she says, but then struggle in the community because of intense stigmatisation.

This accounts for both women who joined Boko Haram voluntarily and those abducted against their will. A UNICEF and International Alert report found that some community leaders are reticent to accept abducted women back into the community as “their ideas and ways of life may now be different and may not be good for the community”.

Despite widespread recognition of the problems of reintegration, there has yet to be a broad, community-oriented sensitisation programme to help girls return home. Furthermore, deradicalisation programmes generally do not focus on the sorts of livelihood development or skills acquisition that could help these single women support themselves and their children.

This mistrust and economic insecurity puts women who return at high risk of exploitation and gender-based violence.

[Full text and reference information in the link above]
Hilary Matfess’ book Women and the War on Boko Haram Wives, Weapons, Witnesses is out on 3 November 2017.

The scientific practices of experimental psychologists have improved dramatically

Psychology's Renaissance. Leif D. Nelson, Joseph P. Simmons, and Uri Simonsohn. Annual Review of Psychology, forthcoming. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-122216-011836

Abstract: In 2010–2012, a few largely coincidental events led experimental psychologists to realize that their approach to collecting, analyzing, and reporting data made it too easy to publish false-positive findings. This sparked a period of methodological reflection that we review here and call Psychology’s Renaissance. We begin by describing how psychologists’ concerns with publication bias shifted from worrying about file-drawered studies to worrying about p-hacked analyses. We then review the methodological changes that psychologists have proposed and, in some cases, embraced. In describing how the renaissance has unfolded, we attempt to describe different points of view fairly but not neutrally, so as to identify the most promising paths forward. In so doing, we champion disclosure and preregistration, express skepticism about most statistical solutions to publication bias, take positions on the analysis and interpretation of replication failures, and contend that meta-analytical thinking increases the prevalence of false positives. Our general thesis is that the scientific practices of experimental psychologists have improved dramatically.

Keywords: p-hacking, publication bias, renaissance, methodology, false positives, preregistration

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Psychologists have long been aware of two seemingly contradictory problems with the published literature. On the one hand, the overwhelming majority of published findings are statistically significant (Fanelli 2012, Greenwald 1975, Sterling 1959). On the other hand, the overwhelming majority of published studies are underpowered and, thus, theoretically unlikely to obtain results that are statistically significant (Chase & Chase 1976, Cohen 1962, Sedlmeier & Gigerenzer 1989). The sample sizes of experiments meant that most studies should have been failing, but the published record suggested almost uniform success.

There is an old, popular, and simple explanation for this paradox. Experiments that work are sent to a journal, whereas experiments that fail are sent to the file drawer (Rosenthal 1979). We believe that this “file-drawer explanation” is incorrect. Most failed studies are not missing. They are published in our journals, masquerading as successes.

The file-drawer explanation becomes transparently implausible once its assumptions are made explicit. It assumes that researchers conduct a study and perform one (predetermined) statistical analysis. If the analysis is significant, then they publish it. If it is not significant, then the researcher gives up and starts over. This is not a realistic depiction of researcher behavior. Researchers would not so quickly give up on their chances for publication, nor would they abandon the beliefs that led them to run the study, just because the first analysis they ran was not statistically significant. They would instead explore the data further, examining, for example, whether outliers were interfering with the effect, whether the effect was significant within a subset of participants or trials, or whether it emerged when the dependent variable was coded differently. Pre-2011 researchers did occasionally file-drawer a study, although they did not do so when the study failed, but rather when p-hacking did. Thus, whereas our file drawers are sprinkled with failed studies that we did not publish, they are overflowing with failed analyses of the studies that we did publish.

Masturbation to Orgasm Stimulates the Release of the Endocannabinoid 2-Arachidonoylglycerol

Fuss J, Bindila L, Wiedemann K, et al. Masturbation to Orgasm Stimulates the Release of the Endocannabinoid 2-Arachidonoylglycerol in Humans. J Sex Med 2017;14:1372–1379. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsxm.2017.09.016

Abstract

Background: Endocannabinoids are critical for rewarding behaviors such as eating, physical exercise, and social interaction. The role of endocannabinoids in mammalian sexual behavior has been suggested because of the influence of cannabinoid receptor agonists and antagonists on rodent sexual activity. However, the involvement of endocannabinoids in human sexual behavior has not been studied.

Aim: To investigate plasma endocannabinoid levels before and after masturbation in healthy male and female volunteers.

Outcomes: Plasma levels of the endocannabinoids 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), anandamide, the endocannabinoid-like lipids oleoyl ethanolamide and palmitoyl ethanolamide, arachidonic acid, and cortisol before and after masturbation to orgasm.

Methods: In study 1, endocannabinoid and cortisol levels were measured before and after masturbation to orgasm. In study 2, masturbation to orgasm was compared with a control condition using a single-blinded, randomized, 2-session crossover design.

Results: In study 1, masturbation to orgasm significantly increased plasma levels of the endocannabinoid 2-AG, whereas anandamide, oleoyl ethanolamide, palmitoyl ethanolamide, arachidonic acid, and cortisol levels were not altered. In study 2, only masturbation to orgasm, not the control condition, led to a significant increase in 2-AG levels. Interestingly, we also found a significant increase of oleoyl ethanolamide after masturbation to orgasm in study 2.

Clinical Translation: Endocannabinoids might play an important role in the sexual response cycle, leading to possible implications for the understanding and treatment of sexual dysfunctions.

Strengths and Limitations: We found an increase of 2-AG through masturbation to orgasm in 2 studies including a single-blinded randomized design. The exact role of endocannabinoid release as part of the sexual response cycle and the biological significance of the finding should be studied further. Cannabis and other drug use and the attainment of orgasm were self-reported in the present study.

Conclusion: Our data indicate that the endocannabinoid 2-AG is involved in the human sexual response cycle and we hypothesize that 2-AG release plays a role in the rewarding consequences of sexual arousal and orgasm.

Key Words: 2-Arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG); Anandamide (AEA); Oleoyl Ethanolamide (OEA); Masturbation; Orgasm; Sexuality; Reward; Cortisol

Adolescents with autism spectrum disorder exhibited more accurate metaperceptions than did typically developing adolescents

Metaperception in Adolescents With and Without Autism Spectrum Disorder. Lauren V. Usher et al. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10803-017-3356-1

Abstract: This study compared how adolescents with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD) evaluated unfamiliar peers (i.e., perceptions), as well as how adolescents believed they were evaluated by peers (i.e., metaperceptions). The Perceptions and Metaperceptions Questionnaire was designed to quantify perceptions and metaperceptions following a live interaction. For all adolescents, more positive perceptions of the peer were associated with more positive metaperceptions. Adolescents with ASD exhibited more accurate metaperceptions than did typically developing adolescents. More positive perceptions and metaperceptions were associated with higher levels of observed social competence across groups. Findings extend our understanding of typically and atypically developing adolescents’ impressions of unfamiliar peers and their ability to discern what peers think of them.

Across the first year, most infants have approximately 2.5 times more social interactions with women than men

Differential Trajectories in the Development of Attractiveness Biases Toward Female and Male Targets. Jennifer L. Rennels and Kirsty M. Kulhanek. In "Perception of Beauty", book edited by Martha Peaslee Levine, ISBN 978-953-51-3582-1, Print ISBN 978-953-51-3581-4, Published: October 25, 2017 under CC BY 3.0 license.  DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.69342

Abstract: Across the first year, most infants have approximately 2.5 times more social interactions with women than men. There is evidence that because of this differential experience, infants develop a cognitive representation for human faces that is weighted toward female-like and attractive. Subsequently, attractiveness is more salient when infants process female relative to male faces. These early asymmetries in facial experience and the greater saliency of attractiveness for female and male targets persist into early childhood, which contributes to attractiveness influencing children’s categorization and judgments of females more strongly than for males. During middle childhood, children’s facial representations become more differentiated, which might explain increases in children’s attractiveness biases for male targets during this developmental period. By adolescence, mating interests seem to combine with these developing facial representations to influence attractiveness preferences. This chapter reviews asymmetries in the saliency of attractiveness for female and male targets from infancy to adolescence and focuses on how cognitive facial representations likely guide how attractiveness influences children’s processing of female and male targets.

Keywords: development, face processing, attractiveness bias, sex differences, stereotyped attitudes

Has the rising placebo response impacted antidepressant clinical trial outcome? Data from the US FDA 1987‐2013

Has the rising placebo response impacted antidepressant clinical trial outcome? Data from the US Food and Drug Administration 1987‐2013. Arif Khan et al. World Psychiatry. 2017 September 21; 16(3): 328. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5428172/

Abstract: More than fifteen years ago, it was noted that the failure rate of antidepressant clinical trials was high, and such negative outcomes were thought to be related to the increasing magnitude of placebo response. However, there is considerable debate regarding this phenomenon and its relationship to outcomes in more recent antidepressant clinical trials. To investigate this, we accessed the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reviews for sixteen antidepressants (85 trials, 115 trial arms, 23,109 patients) approved between 1987 and 2013. We calculated the magnitude of placebo and antidepressant responses, antidepressant‐placebo differences, as well as the effect sizes and success rates, and compared these measures over time. Exploratory analysis investigated potential changes in trial design and conduct over time. As expected, the magnitude of placebo response has steadily grown in the past 30 years, increasing since 2000 by 6.4% (r=0.46, p less than 0.001). Contrary to expectations, a similar increase has occurred in the magnitude of antidepressant response (6.0%, r=0.37, p less than 0.001). Thus, the effect sizes (0.30 vs. 0.29, p=0.42) and the magnitude of antidepressant‐placebo differences (10.5% vs. 10.3%, p=0.37) have remained statistically equivalent. Furthermore, the frequency of positive trial arms has gone up in the past 15 years (from 47.8% to 63.8%), but this difference in frequency has not reached statistical significance. Trial design features that were previously associated with a possible lower magnitude of placebo response were not implemented, and their relationship to the magnitude of placebo response could not be replicated. Of the 34 recent trials, two implemented enhanced interview techniques, but both of them were unsuccessful. The results of this study suggest that the relationship between the magnitude of placebo response and the outcome of antidepressant clinical trials is weak at best. These data further indicate that antidepressant‐placebo differences are about the same for all of the sixteen antidepressants approved by the FDA in the past thirty years.

Keywords: Antidepressants, clinical trials, placebo response, antidepressant‐placebo difference, effect size, success rate, enhanced interview techniques

The Impact of Variation in Twin Relatedness on Estimates of Heritability and Environmental Influences

The Impact of Variation in Twin Relatedness on Estimates of Heritability and Environmental Influences. Chang Liu, Peter C. M. Molenaar, and Jenae M. Neiderhiser. Behavior Genetics, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10519-017-9875-x

Abstract: By taking advantage of the natural variation in genetic relatedness among identical (monozygotic: MZ) and fraternal (dizygotic: DZ) twins, twin studies are able to estimate genetic and environmental contributions to complex human behaviors. Recently concerns have been raised about the accuracy of twin studies in light of findings of genetic and epigenetic changes in twins. One of the concerns raised is that MZ twins are not 100% genetically and epigenetically similar because they show variations in their genomes and epigenomes leading to inaccurate estimates of heritability. This article presents findings from a simulation study that examined the degree of bias in estimates of heritability and environmentality when the genetic and epigenetic similarity of MZ twins differs from 1.00 and when the genetic and epigenetic similarity of DZ twins differs from 0.50. The findings suggest that in the standard biometric model when MZ or DZ twin similarity differs from 1.00 or 0.50, respectively, the variance that should be attributed to genetic influences is instead attributed to nonshared environmental influences, thus deflating the estimates of genetic influences and inflating the estimates of nonshared environmental influences. Although estimates of genetic and nonshared environmental influences from the standard biometric model were found to deviate from “true” values, the bias was usually smaller than 10% points indicating that the interpretations of findings from previous twin studies are mostly correct.

Sex Differences in the Prevalence and Correlates of Handgun Carrying Among Adolescents in the USA

Sex Differences in the Prevalence and Correlates of Handgun Carrying Among Adolescents in the United States. Michael G. Vaughn et al. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, https://doi.org/10.1177/1541204017739072

Abstract: Handgun carrying is associated with a wide range of delinquent behaviors, but very little is known about sex differences in this behavior and current trends in handgun carrying in the United States. Using data from the 2002 to 2015 National Study of Drug Use and Health surveys, we found that the prevalence of handgun carrying among girls nearly doubled from 0.9% to 1.7% with most of this increase seen among non-Hispanic White and Hispanic girls. Although boys are more likely to carry handguns, approximately 20% of the total handgun carrying by adolescents in the United States occurs among girls. Both male and female adolescents who have carried a handgun in the past year evince a behavioral profile that is characterized by substance use, versatile delinquency, elevated risk propensity, and substantial school and family problems. However, adjusted odds ratios are consistently higher for females, suggesting that girls who engage in handgun carrying represent an important subgroup of potentially pernicious offenders that should be targeted for primary and tertiary prevention and juvenile justice system oversight.

Evidence of the Effect of Confirmation-Reports on Dishonesty

Duncan, D. and Li, D. (2017), Liar Liar: Experimental Evidence of the Effect of Confirmation-Reports on Dishonesty. Southern Economic Journal. doi:10.1002/soej.12244

Abstract: We identify the effect of confirmation-reports on dishonesty using data from an experiment where subjects are asked to roll a die and report its outcome using either a self-report or confirmation-report mechanism. We find that relative to self-reports, confirmation-reports have a positive effect on the share of subjects who report honestly. The effect on the magnitude of lies told depends greatly on the accuracy of the prefilled information on the confirmation-report. We argue that these results are driven by changes in the intrinsic costs of lying induced by the confirmation report.

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Obviously, men lie more than women in both conditions.

Prenatal androgens apparently have large effects on interests and engagement in gendered activities; moderate effects on spatial abilities; and relatively small or no effects on gender identity, gender cognitions, and gendered peer involvement

Berenbaum, S. A. (2017), Beyond Pink and Blue: The Complexity of Early Androgen Effects on Gender Development. Child Dev Perspect. doi:10.1111/cdep.12261

Abstract: Why do girls and women differ from boys and men? Gender development is typically considered to result from socialization, but sex hormones present during sensitive periods of development, particularly prenatal androgens, play an important role. Data from natural experiments, especially from females with congenital adrenal hyperplasia, show the complexity of the effects of androgens on behavior: Prenatal androgens apparently have large effects on interests and engagement in gendered activities; moderate effects on spatial abilities; and relatively small or no effects on gender identity, gender cognitions, and gendered peer involvement. These differential effects provide an opportunity to move beyond identifying sources of variation in behavior to understanding developmental processes. These processes include links among gendered characteristics, psychological and neural mechanisms underlying development, and the joint effects of biological predispositions and social experiences.

People are reluctant to be dishonest to interaction partners with dilating pupils, which are perceived positively

Pupil to pupil: The effect of a partner's pupil size on (dis)honest behavior. Jolien A. van Breen, Carsten K.W. De Dreu, Mariska E. Kret. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Volume 74, January 2018, Pages 231–245. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2017.09.009

Highlights
•    People are reluctant to be dishonest to interaction partners with dilating pupils.
•    Findings suggest that partners with dilating pupils are perceived more positively, resulting in more pro-social treatment.
•    The pro-social effects of dilating pupils were most evident in competitive contexts.
•    Pupil mimicry was restricted to non-competitive contexts.
•    The effect of observed pupil dilation on dishonesty does not rely on the occurrence of pupil mimicry between partners.

Abstract: Being observed by others fosters honest behavior. In this study, we examine a very subtle eye signal that may affect participants' tendency to behave honestly: observed pupil size. For this, we use an experimental task that is known to evoke dishonest behavior. Specifically, participants made private predictions for a coin toss and earned a bonus by reporting correct predictions. Before reporting the (in)correctness of their predictions, participants viewed videos of partners with dilating or constricting pupils. As dilating pupils are generally perceived positively, we expected that dishonesty would be reduced when participants look into the eyes of a partner with dilating pupils, especially when their own pupil size mimics the observed pupil size. In line with this prediction, Experiments 1 and 2 showed that, when earning a bonus meant harming the interaction partner, dishonesty occurred less frequently when the partner's pupils dilated rather than constricted. That is, when the interests of the self and the other conflict, participants use the pupil of the partner as a social cue to inform their behavior. However, pupil mimicry was not observed. In Experiment 3, we examined pupil mimicry and dishonesty in a context where there was no temptation to hurt the partner. Here, pupil mimicry between partners was observed, but there were no effects of the partner's pupil on dishonesty. Thus, when dishonesty harms the interaction partner, participants use pupillary cues from their partner to inform their behavior. Pupil mimicry, however, is bound to non-competitive contexts only.

Keywords: Pupil size; Pupil mimicry; Dishonesty; Interpersonal interaction; Competition

Mate choice could be random in female rats (Rattus norvegicus)

Mate choice could be random in female rats (Rattus norvegicus). Olivia Le Moëne, Eelke M. Snoeren. Physiology & Behavior, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2017.10.031

Highlights
•    Female rats prefer the male visited first in a multiple partners paradigm.
•    This mate selection is not based on the male rats, but on the location of the male.
•    It suggests that mate choice in female rats is random.

Abstract: Female mate choice is often investigated in terms of reproductive success in order to understand how male characteristics contribute to sexual attractiveness. Previous studies have found that females rats prefer mating with their first encounter rather than males visited subsequently, suggesting that the rewarding value of this first encounter is enough to reinforce mating with the first partner. Using a multiple chambers paradigm, we allowed female rats to copulate freely with three males placed each in a different chamber. Then, we switched the males' position, and let the female interact with them freely again within the same session. We tested whether female mate choice was relying rather on a preferred male rat or on a preferred mating location. The results showed that females spent most time with the male in the chamber of 1st entry in the beginning, but as soon as male rats switched chambers, the female rat continued to copulate with the new male in the same chamber of 1st entry, instead of mating with her previously preferred male rat. This suggests that the male preference is an artefact of location preference. Therefore, female mate choice seems to be rather random than the consequence of an individual choice based on male characteristics. This finding, although contradictory with the intuitive feeling that mate choice is a crucial feature in sexual and reproductive behavior, is supported by several recent observations. In the coming years, behavioral neuroscience should bring light to the brain processes at work in random mate choice.

Keywords: Female rats; Multiple partner; Sexual behavior; Mate choice; Location

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The procedures were similar to those previously described [1]. At the start of the experiment, a (sexually experienced, hormonally primed) female rat was placed in the
middle chamber of the multiple chambers set-up. The subject was allowed to move freely and habituate to the chambers for 5 minutes. Then, for another 5 minutes, the female was placed in the middle chamber, while three (sexually experienced) male rats were positioned in the three surrounding small chambers. During this time, the openings were blocked with a wire mesh allowing the female subject to see, smell and hear the male rats without any possibility of physical contact (habituation phase). The number of times the female rat sniffed the opening of each of the male chambers was determined, as an indicator of olfactory preference [10, 11].

After the habituation phase, the openings were unblocked and the female rat was allowed to move freely between the chambers for another 15 minutes (copulation phase A). During this period, the following behaviors were scored for each male: order in which the males were visited, latency to first visit, number of visits, time spent in the chambers, number of sniff episodes to the openings of the chambers, and the number of mounts, intromissions and ejaculations per male. In addition, the number of paracopulatory behaviors the female performed in the chamber of each male were counted.

After the copulation phase A, the male rats were quickly randomly placed in a different chamber and the test continued for another 15 minutes (copulation phase B). During this period, the same parameters were scored as during copulation phase A. All sessions were conducted with chambers containing “dirty bedding” that consisted of the smell of several male and female rats. This was done to limit the (potential) effects of bedding odors after the switch.

Is mindfulness research methodology improving over time? No.

Is mindfulness research methodology improving over time? A systematic review. Simon B. Goldberg et al. PLOS One, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0187298

Abstract

Background: Despite an exponential growth in research on mindfulness-based interventions, the body of scientific evidence supporting these treatments has been criticized for being of poor methodological quality.

Objectives: The current systematic review examined the extent to which mindfulness research demonstrated increased rigor over the past 16 years regarding six methodological features that have been highlighted as areas for improvement. These feature included using active control conditions, larger sample sizes, longer follow-up assessment, treatment fidelity assessment, and reporting of instructor training and intent-to-treat (ITT) analyses.

Data sources: We searched PubMed, PsychInfo, Scopus, and Web of Science in addition to a publically available repository of mindfulness studies.

Study eligibility criteria: Randomized clinical trials of mindfulness-based interventions for samples with a clinical disorder or elevated symptoms of a clinical disorder listed on the American Psychological Association’s list of disorders with recognized evidence-based treatment.

Study appraisal and synthesis methods: Independent raters screened 9,067 titles and abstracts, with 303 full text reviews. Of these, 171 were included, representing 142 non-overlapping samples.

Results: Across the 142 studies published between 2000 and 2016, there was no evidence for increases in any study quality indicator, although changes were generally in the direction of improved quality. When restricting the sample to those conducted in Europe and North America (continents with the longest history of scientific research in this area), an increase in reporting of ITT analyses was found. When excluding an early, high-quality study, improvements were seen in sample size, treatment fidelity assessment, and reporting of ITT analyses.

Conclusions and implications of key findings: Taken together, the findings suggest modest adoption of the recommendations for methodological improvement voiced repeatedly in the literature. Possible explanations for this and implications for interpreting this body of research and conducting future studies are discussed.

Virtually all irrationally inflated their moral qualities, & the absolute & relative magnitude was greater than in the other domains of positive self-evaluation

The Illusion of Moral Superiority. Ben M. Tappin, Ryan T. McKay. Social Psychological and Personality Science, https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550616673878

Abstract: Most people strongly believe they are just, virtuous, and moral; yet regard the average person as distinctly less so. This invites accusations of irrationality in moral judgment and perception—but direct evidence of irrationality is absent. Here, we quantify this irrationality and compare it against the irrationality in other domains of positive self-evaluation. Participants (N = 270) judged themselves and the average person on traits reflecting the core dimensions of social perception: morality, agency, and sociability. Adapting new methods, we reveal that virtually all individuals irrationally inflated their moral qualities, and the absolute and relative magnitude of this irrationality was greater than that in the other domains of positive self-evaluation. Inconsistent with prevailing theories of overly positive self-belief, irrational moral superiority was not associated with self-esteem. Taken together, these findings suggest that moral superiority is a uniquely strong and prevalent form of “positive illusion,” but the underlying function remains unknown.

Keywords: moral superiority, positive illusion, rationality, self-enhancement, social perception

Lighter hair linked to perceptions of youth, health & attractiveness, leads to more positive perceptions of relationship & parenting potential

Women’s hair as a cue to desired relationship and parenting characteristics. David C. Matz & Verlin B. Hinsz. The Journal of Social Psychology, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2017.1395791

ABSTRACT: We investigated how women’s hair color (blond, brown, black) and length (short, medium, long) influences males’ judgments about the women’s age, health, physical attractiveness, relationship potential and parenting capability. Results, which are generally consistent with evolutionary psychology approaches, indicate that hair color and to a lesser extent length can affect perceptions of personal characteristics. More specifically, we found that lighter hair (blond and brown) compared to darker hair (black) is generally associated with perceptions of youth, health and attractiveness, and generally leads to more positive perceptions of relationship and parenting potential. Furthermore, the relationships between variables suggest that characteristics directly related to reproductive potential may be inferred from more obvious indirect characteristics. These results suggest that males are able to make complex judgments about women concerning their desirable relationship and parenting potential based on discernable characteristics such as hair color and length.

KEYWORDS: Mate selection, person perception, physical attractiveness, hair color and length

Schadenfreude and re-construal of an objectively undeserved misfortune as a ‘deserved’ misfortune

“It wasn’t your fault, but …...”: Schadenfreude about an undeserved misfortune. Mariëtte Berndsen, rMarika Tiggemann, and Samantha Chapman. Motivation and Emotion, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11031-017-9639-1

Abstract: Although it is well-established that an objectively deserved misfortune promotes schadenfreude about the misfortune, there is a small body of research suggesting that an undeserved misfortune can also enhance schadenfreude. The aim of the present study was to investigate the processes that underlie schadenfreude about an undeserved misfortune. Participants (N = 61) were asked to respond to a scenario in which a person was responsible or not responsible for a negative action. In the responsible condition, two independent routes to schadenfreude were observed: deservingness of the misfortune (traditional route) and resentment towards the target. More importantly, results showed that when the target of the misfortune was not responsible for the negative action, the relationship between schadenfreude and resentment towards the target was mediated by the re-construal of an objectively undeserved misfortune as a ‘deserved’ misfortune. The study further found that expressing schadenfreude about another’s misfortune makes one feel better about oneself without affecting moral emotions. The findings expand our understanding of schadenfreude about undeserved negative outcomes.

Machine learning of neural representations of suicide and emotion concepts identifies suicidal youth

Machine learning of neural representations of suicide and emotion concepts identifies suicidal youth. Marcel Adam Just, Lisa Pan, Vladimir L. Cherkassky, Dana L. McMakin, Christine Cha, Matthew K. Nock & David Brent. Nature Human Behaviour (2017), doi:10.1038/s41562-017-0234-y

Abstract: The clinical assessment of suicidal risk would be substantially complemented by a biologically based measure that assesses alterations in the neural representations of concepts related to death and life in people who engage in suicidal ideation. This study used machine-learning algorithms (Gaussian Naive Bayes) to identify such individuals (17 suicidal ideators versus 17 controls) with high (91%) accuracy, based on their altered functional magnetic resonance imaging neural signatures of death-related and life-related concepts. The most discriminating concepts were ‘death’, ‘cruelty’, ‘trouble’, ‘carefree’, ‘good’ and ‘praise’. A similar classification accurately (94%) discriminated nine suicidal ideators who had made a suicide attempt from eight who had not. Moreover, a major facet of the concept alterations was the evoked emotion, whose neural signature served as an alternative basis for accurate (85%) group classification. This study establishes a biological, neurocognitive basis for altered concept representations in participants with suicidal ideation, which enables highly accurate group membership classification.

Opening a prostitution zone decreases registered sexual abuse and rape by about 30−40 pct in the first 2 years

Street Prostitution Zones and Crime. Paul Bisschop, Stephen Kastoryano, and Bas van der Klaauw. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 2017, 9(4): 28–63. https://doi.org/10.1257/pol.20150299

Abstract: This  paper  studies  the  effects  of  legal  street  prostitution  zones  on  registered  and  perceived  crime.  We  exploit  a  unique  setting  in  the  Netherlands where these tippelzones were opened in nine cities under different regulation systems. Our difference-in-difference analysis of 25 Dutch cities between 1994–2011 shows that opening a tippelzone decreases registered sexual abuse and rape by about 30−40 percent in the first two years. For cities which enforced licensing in tippel-zones, we also find reductions in drug-related crime and long-term effects on sexual assaults. Effects on perceived drug nuisance depend on the regulation system and the proximity of respondents to the tippelzone.

JEL J16, J47, K42

Ethnic diversity, out-group contacts and social trust in a high-trust society

Ethnic diversity, out-group contacts and social trust in a high-trust society. Karl Loxbo. Acta Sociologica, https://doi.org/10.1177/0001699317721615

Abstract: Although ethnic diversity is widely believed to undermine social trust, several scholars have argued that this outcome ultimately depends on the extent of high-quality contacts between diverse groups as well as the extent of equality in society. This article scrutinises these different hypotheses by exploring the association between ethnic diversity and social trust among Swedish schoolchildren. Building on data from Sweden, where legacies of equality would be expected to provide unique opportunities for building trust among diverse groups, the contribution of the article to the literature is twofold. First, it was found that contextual diversity is only weakly related to adolescents’ trust. Furthermore, while interactions revealed that a higher socio-economic level in a classroom reinforces, rather than cushions, the adverse effect, it is concluded that contextual measures obscure the micro-level dynamic underlying the association between diversity and trust in classrooms. Second, when accounting for compositional effects, and the distinction between in-group and out-group contact, the findings strongly supported the conflict hypothesis, while rejecting the contact hypothesis. The principal finding is that ethnic diversity in a classroom undermines social trust among native-born adolescents, whereas the effect is the exact opposite for minorities. In addition, social trust is only promoted if adolescents interact with members of their ethnic in-group. Because these disconcerting results were found in the high-trust context of Sweden, it is suggested that similar findings are likely in less favourable settings. The article concludes by arguing that the high levels of social trust in traditionally homogenous, but increasingly segregated, countries such as Sweden may conceal the fact that individuals primarily include others who are similar to themselves in their ‘imagined communities’.

Power as an emotional liability: Implications for perceived authenticity and trust after a transgression

Power as an emotional liability: Implications for perceived authenticity and trust after a transgression. Peter Kim et al.. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 146(10), 1379-1401. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/xge0000292

Abstract: People may express a variety of emotions after committing a transgression. Through 6 empirical studies and a meta-analysis, we investigate how the perceived authenticity of such emotional displays and resulting levels of trust are shaped by the transgressor’s power. Past findings suggest that individuals with power tend to be more authentic because they have more freedom to act on the basis of their own personal inclinations. Yet, our findings reveal that (a) a transgressor’s display of emotion is perceived to be less authentic when that party’s power is high rather than low; (b) this perception of emotional authenticity, in turn, directly influences (and mediates) the level of trust in that party; and (c) perceivers ultimately exert less effort when asked to make a case for leniency toward high rather than low-power transgressors. This tendency to discount the emotional authenticity of the powerful was found to arise from power increasing the transgressor’s perceived level of emotional control and strategic motivation, rather than a host of alternative mechanisms. These results were also found across different types of emotions (sadness, anger, fear, happiness, and neutral), expressive modalities, operationalizations of the transgression, and participant populations. Altogether, our findings demonstrate that besides the wealth of benefits power can afford, it also comes with a notable downside. The findings, furthermore, extend past research on perceived emotional authenticity, which has focused on how and when specific emotions are expressed, by revealing how this perception can depend on considerations that have nothing to do with the expression itself.

High status males invest more than high status females in lower status same-sex collaborators

High status males invest more than high status females in lower status same-sex collaborators. Henry Markovits et al. PLoS One, September 2017, http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0185408

Abstract: Studies on human cooperation using economic games rarely include ecologically relevant factors. In studies on non-human primates however, both status and sex typically influence patterns of cooperation. Across primate species, high status individuals are more likely to cooperate, though this depends on the species-specific social structure of each sex. Based on human social structure, we predict that higher status males who interact more in hierarchical groups than females, will invest more than high status females in valued same-sex peers after successful cooperation. Across three studies, 187 male and 188 female participants cooperated with a (fictitious) same-sex partner who varied in competence. Participants then divided a reward between themselves and their partner. High status was induced in three different ways in each study, social influence, leadership and power. No overall sex difference in reward sharing was observed. Consistent with the hypothesis however, across all three studies, high status males invested more than high status females in cooperative partners, suggesting that high status males intuitively evaluate sharing rewards with same-sex partners as more beneficial.

How Incidental Confidence Influences Self-Interested Behaviors: A Double-Edged Sword

How Incidental Confidence Influences Self-Interested Behaviors: A Double-Edged Sword. Claire Tsai & Jia Lin Xie. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bdm.2032

Abstract: The present research investigates how incidental confidence influences self-interested behaviors. It is well established that being in a psychological state of lower confidence causes people to experience psychological aversion that they are motivated to reduce. We study the transfer effect of confidence; people strive to compensate for lower confidence in one domain by obtaining higher status in other unrelated domains. Prior research has linked money with status and suggested that money can increase confidence. Building on this research, we proposed and showed in four experiments that lower incidental confidence increased self-interested behaviors that brought financial gains. Drawing on research on competitive altruism, we also predicted and found that when altruism, rather than money, was seen as the primary source of status, the effect of incidental confidence reversed such that lower incidental confidence decreased self-interested behaviors. Data ruled out alternative explanations and provided consistent evidence for the proposed compensatory mechanism. We also discussed theoretical and practical implications of the present research.

Cool, Callous, and in Control: Superior Inhibitory Control in Frequent Players of Video Games with Violent Content

Cool, Callous, and in Control: Superior Inhibitory Control in Frequent Players of Video Games with Violent Content. Laura Stockdale et al.  Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, nsx115, https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsx115

Abstract: Research on the effects of media violence exposure has shown robust associations among violent media exposure, increased aggressive behavior, and decreased empathy. Preliminary research indicates that frequent players of violent video games may have differences in emotional and cognitive processes compared to infrequent or non-players, yet research examining the amount and content of game play and the relation of these factors with affective and cognitive outcomes is limited. The present study measured neural correlates of response inhibition in the context of implicit attention to emotion, and how these factors are related to empathic responding in frequent and infrequent players of video games with graphically violent content. Participants completed a self-report measure of empathy as well as an affective stop-signal task that measured implicit attention to emotion and response inhibition during electroencephalography (EEG). Frequent players had lower levels of empathy as well as a reduction in brain activity as indicated by P100 and N200/P300 event related potentials (ERPs). Reduced P100 amplitude evoked by happy facial expressions was observed in frequent players compared to infrequent players, and this effect was moderated by empathy, such that low levels of empathy further reduced P100 amplitudes for happy facial expressions for frequent players compared to infrequent players. Compared to infrequent players, frequent players had reduced N200/P300 amplitude during response inhibition, indicating less neural resources were recruited to inhibit behavior. Results from the present study illustrate that chronic exposure to violent video games modulates empathy and related neural correlates associated with affect and cognition.

Keywords: graphic violent video game play, empathy, response inhibition, facial expression processing, stop-signal task, ERPs

Disentangling the Sources of Mimicry: Social Relations Analyses of the Link Between Mimicry and Liking

Disentangling the Sources of Mimicry: Social Relations Analyses of the Link Between Mimicry and Liking. Maike Salazar Kämpf et al. Psychological Science, https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797617727121

Abstract: Mimicry is an important interpersonal behavior for initiating and maintaining relationships. By observing the same participants (N = 139) in multiple dyadic interactions (618 data points) in a round-robin design, we disentangled the extent to which mimicry is due to (a) the mimicker’s general tendency to mimic (imitativity), (b) the mimickee’s general tendency to evoke mimicry (imitatability), and (c) the unique dyadic relationship between the mimicker and the mimickee. We explored how these mimicry components affected liking and metaperceptions of liking (i.e., metaliking). Employing social relations models, we found substantial interindividual differences in imitativity, which predicted popularity. However, we found only small interindividual differences in imitatability. We found support for our proposition that mimicry is a substantially dyadic construct explained mostly by the unique relationship between two people. Finally, we explored the link between dyadic mimicry and liking, and we found that a person’s initial liking of his or her interaction partner led to mimicry, which in turn increased the partner’s liking of the mimicker.

People who experience a potentially hazardous near-miss but escape without apparent damage feel more optimistic & take less protective action

Near-miss events, risk messages, and decision making. Robin L. Dillon, and Catherine H. Tinsley. Environment Systems and Decisions, March 2016, Volume 36, Issue 1, pp 34–44, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10669-015-9578-x

Abstract: Decades of research have sought to understand how disaster preparedness decisions are made. We believe one understudied factor is the impact of near-miss events. A near-miss occurs when an event (such as a hurricane or terrorist attack) has some non-trivial probability of ending in disaster (loss of life, property damage), but the negative outcome is avoided largely by chance (e.g., at the last minute, the storm dissipates or the bomb fails to detonate). In the first of two experiments, we study reactions to a hurricane threat when participants are told about prior near-miss events. We find that people with information about a prior near-miss event that has no negative consequences are less likely to take protective measures than those with either no information or information about a prior near-miss event that has salient negative information. Similar results have been shown in prior research, but we seek to understand people’s reasoning for the different reactions. We examine the role of an individual’s risk propensity and general level of optimism as possible explanatory variables for the “near-miss” effect. We find risk propensity to be stable across conditions, whereas general optimism is influenced by the type of prior near-miss information, so that optimism mediates how near-miss information impacts protective decisions. People who experience a potentially hazardous near-miss but escape without obvious cues of damage will feel more optimistic and take less protective action. In the second study, we test messages about the hazard’s risk and examine the impact of these messages to offset the influence of near-misses. We end by discussing the implications of near-misses for risk communication.

Losing loss aversion -- Current evidence does not support that losses, on balance, tend to be any more impactful than gains

Gal, David and Rucker, Derek, The Loss of Loss Aversion: Will It Loom Larger Than Its Gain? (September 30, 2017). Journal of Consumer Psychology, Forthcoming. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3049660

Abstract: Loss aversion, the principle that losses loom larger than gains, is among the most widely accepted ideas in the social sciences. The first part of this article introduces and discusses the construct of loss aversion. The second part of this article reviews evidence in support of loss aversion. The upshot of this review is that current evidence does not support that losses, on balance, tend to be any more impactful than gains. The third part of this article aims to address the question of why acceptance of loss aversion as a general principle remains pervasive and persistent among social scientists, including consumer psychologists, despite evidence to the contrary. This analysis aims to connect the persistence of a belief in loss aversion to more general ideas about belief acceptance and persistence in science. The final part of the article discusses how a more contextualized perspective of the relative impact of losses versus gains can open new areas of inquiry that are squarely in the domain of consumer psychology.

Keywords: Loss Aversion, Sociology of Science
JEL Classification: A14, M31, D03, D81, D01, G02

Higher support for redistribution by individuals with high income & lower demand for redistribution by those with low income

Sabatini, Fabio and Ventura, Marco and Yamamura, Eiji and Zamparelli, Luca (2017): Fairness and the unselfish demand for redistribution by taxpayers and welfare recipients. Ludwig-Maximilians Universitaet Muenchen, https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/82081/

Also: Fairness and the Unselfish Demand for Redistribution by Taxpayers and Welfare Recipients. Fabio Sabatini et al. Southern Economic Journal, December 12 2019. https://doi.org/10.1002/soej.12416

Abstract: We illustrate how the desire to live in a fair society that rewards individual effort and hard work triggers an unselfish though rational demand for redistribution. This leads the well off to prefer higher taxes and the poor to reject extreme progressivity. We then provide evidence of these behaviors using a nationally representative survey from Italy. Our empirical analysis confirms that a stronger aversion to unfair distributive outcomes is associated with a higher support for redistribution by individuals with high income and to a lower demand for redistribution by those with low income.

Keywords: fairness, income distribution, inequalities, taxation, Welfare, redistribution, free-riding, civic capital, social capital

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In this paper, we studied the interplay between sensitivity to fairness and the individual demand for redistribution. First, we theoretically illustrated how the desire to live in a fair society where people’s income depends on merit instead of luck can trigger an unselfish support for redistribution. An increase in the aversion to unfairness can lead the affluent to demand more redistribution even if they will bear its cost without sharing its benefits, and the poor to desire less redistribution thereby renouncing to the advantages related to higher social spending.

We then found evidence of this behavior in a representative sample of Italian taxpayers. The empirical analysis confirmed that an increase in the aversion to unfair allocations is associated with opposing attitudes towards redistribution depending on income. The size of the marginal effects is economically relevant and overcomes that of income. Of course we do not intend to establish any normative presumption equating fairness with support for big governments and high welfare spending. Rather, we show that beliefs about fairness can interact with income in determining the individual preferences for redistribution in ways that were not previously theorized and tested in the literature.

Even if we controlled for the bias of the estimates using the procedure proposed by Wooldridge (2002), we lack a clear identification mechanism standing from external information. This suggests caution in the interpretation of the coefficients. Nonetheless, the empirical evidence was shown to be fully compatible with our theoretical reasoning and also revealed interesting insights concerning, for example, the size of the influence exerted by the selfish and unselfish motives for desiring redistribution. These results have relevant policy implications, as the share of people declaring support for redistribution has been found to be a strong predictor of welfare spending and of the size of government (Alesina and Angeletos, 2005; Guiso et al. 2006).

Reminders of death would lead participants to inflate the size of self-representational objects

McCabe, S., Vail, K. E. and Arndt, J. (2017), The impact of death awareness on sizes of self-representational objects. Br. J. Soc. Psychol.. doi:10.1111/bjso.12227

Abstract: People seem to have a tendency to increase the relative size of self-representational objects. Prior research suggests that motivational factors may fuel that tendency, so the present research built from terror management theory to examine whether existential motivations – engendered by concerns about death – may have similar implications for self-relevant size biases. Specifically, across two studies (total N = 288), we hypothesized that reminders of death would lead participants to inflate the size of self-representational objects. Both studies suggested that relative to reminders of pain, mortality salience led participants to construct larger clay sculptures of themselves (vs. others; Study 1) and a larger ostensible video game avatar for the self (vs. others; Study 2).

Mothers Spend More on Daughters While Fathers Spend More on Sons

Do Mothers Spend More on Daughters While Fathers Spend More on Sons? Lambrianos Nikiforidis, Kristina M. Durante, Joseph P. Redden and Vladas Griskevicius. Journal of Consumer Psychology, https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3050165

Abstract

Do parents favor some children over others? The overwhelming majority of parents state that they treat their children equally, but parents rarely track their spending on each child. We investigate in four studies whether mothers and fathers favor specific children depending on the biological sex of the child. Evidence from the field, laboratory, and community (online panel) showed that parents exhibit systematic biases when forced to choose between spending on sons and daughters. Mothers consistently favored daughters, whereas fathers consistently favored sons. For example, parents were more likely to choose a real prize and give a real U.S. Treasury bond to the child of the same sex as themselves. These parenting biases were found in two different cultures and appear to be driven by parents identifying more strongly with children of the same sex as the parent.

Layperson Abstract

Research Finds Women Spend More Money on Daughters and Men Spend More on Sons

Parents spend more money on a child of the same sex as themselves. From estate planning and savings bonds to back-to-school supplies and cash allowances, women spend more on daughters and men spend more on sons. New research from the State University of New York, Oneonta, Rutgers Business School, and the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management finds that consumers favor investment in children who are the same sex as themselves because parents identify more strongly with children of the same sex.

This research, forthcoming in the Journal of Consumer Psychology, provides some of the first evidence that the biological sex of a child leads to a systematic bias with parents allocating more resources to the child who is the same sex as they are. Nikiforidis and colleagues became interested in this research because prior research had produced mixed results, with some research suggesting that parents spend more on boys and other research finding that girls receive more investment, particularly when a mother has a greater say in household spending. For the current study, the researchers focused their prediction on the idea that parents might systematically (if unwittingly) invest more in the child of the same sex because they more closely identify with that child.

This is consistent with the idea that people tend to spend money on things that align with their identity, and gift giving to one’s children can be a way for parents to bolster their sense of identity and live vicariously through their children. Because parents likely identify more with a child of the same sex, Nikiforidis and colleagues proposed that parents should exhibit a sex-matching bias when investing across their children.

“Although the idea that parents might play favorites is not new—we’ve all heard adages such as “like father, like son” or “daddy’s girl”—most parents strongly deny favoring one child over the other,” says Lambrianos Nikiforidis, an assistant professor of marketing at the State University of New York, Oneonta. “Even though parents say they do not have a favorite, they also admit they do not actively track investment in each child, which leaves room for bias.”

In one study, researchers had parents in the US and India who had children of each gender living at home make a decision about which of their children (son or daughter) would receive a treasury bond. Mothers were more likely to choose their daughter to receive the bond and fathers were more likely to choose the son because they identified more strongly with the child that was the same sex as themselves. These same effects emerged when parents were deciding which child would receive more in their will, and when selecting which child would participate in a drawing to win back-to-school supplies, with 76% of women choosing the girl and 87% of men choosing the boy as the recipient of the back-to-school prize pack.

The current findings have far-reaching implications. “For example, when men control the family’s financial decisions, then sons may chronically receive more resources than daughters. By contrast, if women are the primary shoppers, this can result in subtle but consistent favoritism for daughters,” says Nikiforidis. In single parent or same-sex parent households, the ramifications of this bias can be even stronger, given that there is no opposite-direction bias from the other parent to even things out.

Although the research focused on parents, it was also found that non-parents favored investing in a same-sex child. This suggests that the sex-matching bias leads to a general favoritism of same-sex people when investing resources. If more men are in positions of corporate and political power, this can translate to greater investment in programs and policies that favor men, and have implications in settings such as work, organizations, schools, charities, and more.

Oral tradition: Storytelling as specialized skill that people develop a comparative advantage in due to productivity declines with other skills

Information transmission and the oral tradition: Evidence of a late-life service niche for Tsimane Amerindians. Eric Schniter, Nathaniel T. Wilcox, Bret A. Beheim, Hillard S. Kaplan, Michael Gurven. Evolution and Human Behavior, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2017.10.006

From the introduction: In this paper, we investigate story learning and storytelling among Tsimane foragerhorticulturalists.After identifying 54 story-knowledgeable adults using the Skills Survey (Schniter et al., 2015), we surveyed them about their knowledge, telling and sourcing of 120 traditional Tsimane stories. We evaluate whether age patterns in reported knowledge and storytelling are consistent with predictions derived from ECT [Embodied Capital Theory] concerning the timing of skill maturation. We test whether storytelling is a common skill enabled by ability with other common skills, or whether storytelling is a specialized skill that people develop a comparative advantage in due to productivity declines with other skills. We also assess whether storytelling propensity is sensitive to the size and composition of potential audiences, consistent with a fitness-enhancing strategy. Finally, we evaluate whether reports of whom stories were learned from support a model of vertical, oblique, or horizontal oral tradition transmission.

Keywords: Oral tradition; Information transmission; Storytelling; Expertise; Development; Life history theory

My commentary: Which is to say, intellectuals, artists, the professoriat have low productivity in normal skills needed to sustain their own life and of their offspring and they live of their sorcery with words...

Columbia Law School: Having a gay or lesbian parent does not harm children

What does the scholarly research say about the wellbeing of children with gay or lesbian parents? Unsigned article. Columbia University Law School. March 2017. http://whatweknow.law.columbia.edu/topics/lgbt-equality/what-does-the-scholarly-research-say-about-the-wellbeing-of-children-with-gay-or-lesbian-parents/

Overview: We identified 79 scholarly studies that met our criteria [http://whatweknow.law.columbia.edu/about/selection-methodology/] for adding to knowledge about the wellbeing of children with gay or lesbian parents. Of those studies, 75 concluded that children of gay or lesbian parents fare no worse than other children. While many of the sample sizes were small, and some studies lacked a control group, researchers regard such studies as providing the best available knowledge about child adjustment, and do not view large, representative samples as essential. We identified four studies concluding that children of gay or lesbian parents face added disadvantages. Since all four took their samples from children who endured family break-ups, a cohort known to face added risks, these studies have been criticized by many scholars as unreliable assessments of the wellbeing of LGB-headed households. Taken together, this research forms an overwhelming scholarly consensus, based on over three decades of peer-reviewed research, that having a gay or lesbian parent does not harm children.

Further Evidence that Creativity and Innovation are Inhibited by Conservative Thinking

Further Evidence that Creativity and Innovation are Inhibited by Conservative Thinking: Analyses of the 2016 Presidential Election. Mark Runco, Selcuk Acar & Nur Cayirdag. Creativity Research Journal, Summer 2017, Volume 29, 2017 - Issue 3, Pages 331-336, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2017.1360069

Abstract: The investigation replicated and extended previous research showing a negative relationship between conservatism and creative accomplishment. Conservatism was estimated, as in previous research, from voting patterns. The voting data used here were from the 2016 US Presidential election. The number of patents granted per county in the United States was used as estimate of creative and innovative accomplishment. Using a 2-level multilevel approach, in which state-level influences are taken into consideration, various control variables were tested, including socioeconomic status (SES), education, income, and diversity. The results confirmed a negative relationship between conservatism and the number of patents granted. Therefore, in counties and states with high conservatism, fewer patents were granted, even after controlling for SES and population. Patents were positively related to racial diversity and education. Practical implications include the benefits of liberal thinking outside of the political arena. Liberal thinking is very likely associated with flexibility, tolerance, and openness, and according to the present results, creative accomplishment. Limitations of the research and future directions are discussed.

Withdrawn article: The Case for Colonialism

The case for colonialism. Bruce Gilley. Third World Quarterly, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2017.1369037

[PDF paper withdrawn by publisher]

WITHDRAWAL NOTICE: This Viewpoint essay has been withdrawn at the request of the academic journal editor, and in agreement with the author of the essay. Following a number of complaints, Taylor & Francis conducted a thorough investigation into the peer review process on this article. Whilst this clearly demonstrated the essay had undergone double-blind peer review, in line with the journal's editorial policy, the journal editor has subsequently received serious and credible threats of personal violence. These threats are linked to the publication of this essay. As the publisher, we must take this seriously. Taylor & Francis has a strong and supportive duty of care to all our academic editorial teams, and this is why we are withdrawing this essay.

Progressives are more ideologically consistent, a possible reason of their being more upset by dissenters

Ideological Consistency across the Political Spectrum: Liberals are More Consistent but Conservatives Become More Consistent When Coping with Existential Threat. Pelin Kesebir et al.
https://www.academia.edu/25789618/Ideological_Consistency_across_the_Political_Spectrum_Liberals_are_More_Consistent_but_Conservatives_Become_More_Consistent_When_Coping_with_Existential_Threat

Abstract: We conceptualized ideological consistency as the extent to which an individual’s attitudes
toward diverse political issues are coherent among themselves from an ideological standpoint. Four studies (Studies 1, 3 – 5) compared the ideological consistency of self-identified liberals and conservatives and two of these studies examined how their ideological consistency is affected by mortality salience. Across diverse samples and attitude measures, liberals were typically higher in ideological consistency than conservatives. In other words, conservatives’ individual-level attitudes toward diverse political issues (e.g., abortion, gun control, welfare) were more dispersed across the political spectrum than were liberals’ attitudes.

An additional study demonstrated that our findings violate conventional wisdom: the large majority of people believed, regardless of their own political orientation, that conservatives are more consistent than liberals or that the groups do not differ. Studies 4 and 5 demonstrated that death reminders increase ideological consistency for conservatives and decrease ideological consistency for liberals.

Key words: Political ideology, political attitudes, liberals, conservatives, terror management theory


Check also Authoritarianism and Affective Polarization: A New View on the Origins of Partisan Extremism. Matthew Luttig. Public Opinion Quarterly, nfx023, http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/08/authoritarianism-and-affective.html

Rhinoplasty: more symmetry, youthfulness, facial harmony, likeability, trustworthiness, confidence, femininity, attractiveness, approachability, &intelligence

The Public Face of Rhinoplasty: Impact on Perceived Attractiveness and Personality. Stephen M. Lu, David T. Hsu, Adam Perry, Lyle Leipziger, Armen K. Kasabian, Scott P. Bartlett, Charles H. Thorne, and Neil Tanna. Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open. 2017 Sep; 5(9 Suppl): 189-190, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5636560/

INTRODUCTION: The impact of aesthetic rhinoplasty has been studied from the perspective of the surgeon and the patient, but not from that of the general public. The authors assess the impact of rhinoplasty on public perception of a patient’s appearance and personality.

METHODS: A survey was created using standardized before and after photographs of ten Caucasian women who had undergone primary rhinoplasty. Photos of two additional women who had not undergone facial surgery were randomly included as controls, for a total of twelve items. Pre- and post-operative frontal and lateral photographs were placed side by side. To eliminate left/right bias, half of the items had pre-operative photos on the left, and half had post-operative photos on the left. The survey was administered via crowd-sourcing, which has been validated as a way to evaluate aesthetic outcomes. Respondents were naïve to the study purpose and were asked to evaluate which photo better represented 11 traits of appearance or personality, according to a seven-point Likert scale. A score of 1 meant the pre-operative photo was much better, 7 meant the post-operative photo was much better, and 4 meant no difference.

[due to data corruption, part of this section is in the first comment]

RESULTS: [due to data corruption, part of this section is in the first comment] 264 responses were received. Averaged scores across the 10 survey patients produced a value for each appearance or personality trait. In 10 of 11 categories (symmetry, youthfulness, facial harmony, likeability, trustworthiness, confidence, femininity, attractiveness, approachability, and intelligence), the post-operative photo was significantly favorable compared to the preoperative photo [...]. The pre-operative photo was rated higher only in aggressiveness [...].

CONCLUSION: Aesthetic rhinoplasty improves the public perception of a person’s appearance and personality in multiple aspects. Small but significant and clear differences were observed and held consistently across demographic groups.

Draft - Regarding the Seoul Times "article" on eating human fetuses for sexual powers

Draft - Regarding the Seoul Times "article" on eating human fetuses for sexual powers. Comments to a friend that sent me the Seoul Times piece. Oct 29 2017



                      __________I suggest you not to follow these links__________

Regarding news of human fetuses (not babies after being born) being cooked in Canton, China, as reported in The Seoul Times in a very strange article published as a letter to the editor [1]:

1  although the origin of that report was a hoax, almost two decades ago [2], the perspective is bad;

2  we knew that in parts of the globe some human parts were eaten until at least the 2010s for religious/cultic or medicinal/magical powers reasons:

2.1  Papua New Guinea [3], where it seems that this practice was never abandoned;

2.2  Africa [4] (not to speak of the Leopard Society decades before).

There is some documentation in Wikipedia [5], from where I took those links in this section 2.


3  that Canton or other so heavily populated areas of China are places where non-psychiatric cannibalism is practiced is very, very difficult. But we cannot rule out the practice in the future, even more easily in remote areas, since:

3.1  in the Great Leap Forward years, it happened in a large scale [6], so in some way it is a broken taboo and people who lived this is alive and transmitted the events to young people;
3.2  we know that primates eat the young, specially the males, but there is also report of a female doing it with his own baby after decomposition made the baby less recognizable [7], that is to say, it is something you can find easily in nature to eat prisoners and other defenseless beings, like the infant, the sick and the old;
3.3  there are a few times in which children are "killed" or about to be killed in artist performances, as you already know because you sent me the video of that child hanged in a cold and calculated manner by XXXTentacion [8], so again the taboo of killing children on purpose, violently, is being broken several times in places some didn't expect (I saw it in Madrid streets too).

, all this not to speak of other places of large scale events, like the Ukrainian famine in the 1930s.


4  Finally, there are persons who kill others and eat body parts for unknown reasons, but seems not really something organized or with a religious or political motivation (most likely people who should be locked up in a psychiatric institution). In any case, there have been dozens of occassions in the last decade [9] and the known victims number more than 30 just in a single case in Russia (published in Sep 2017 [9]). And all this makes relative the crime, as it stops being something unheard-of. With time and the changes in the domain of the sacred that we are living, like acceptance of euthanasia for psychiatric illnesses and euthanasia for minors, these events could be more frequent, in my opinion.


5  All this is for you to prepare for the worst. As we keep deepening our sophistication, there will be a habituation process in which the mentally sick and some evil persons will commit more of these crimes, and we've got no mechanisms to counter the influence of that process. Possible solutions include:

5.1  returning to the death penalty and making the executions clearly known, making them exemplar as a way to stigmatize more forcefully these practices, which is a way for those in the know to stop suspicious activities sooner and for the criminals to use more caution, which should help reduce the number of victims.
5.2  TBD...

But I do not foresee that this can happen in the next years.

--
Notes

[1]  http://theseoultimes.com/ST/?url=/ST/db/read.php?idx=7333
[2]  https://www.metabunk.org/debunked-chinese-fetus-soup.t2203/
[3]  http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10817610
[4]  http://www.newstimeafrica.com/archives/10128
[5]  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannibalism_in_humans
[6]  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Chinese_Famine
[7]  http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/09/prolonged-transport-and-cannibalism-of.html
[8]  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qku2WZ7aRYw
[9]  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_incidents_of_cannibalism#2010.E2.80.93present

The Impact of Media Censorship: Evidence from a Field Experiment in China

The Impact of Media Censorship: Evidence from a Field Experiment in China. Yuyu Chen and David Y. Yang. Stanford University, October 25, 2017. https://stanford.edu/~dyang1/pdfs/1984bravenewworld_draft.pdf

Abstract: Media censorship is a hallmark of authoritarian regimes. We conduct a field experiment in China to examine whether providing access to an uncensored Internet leads citizens to acquire politically sensitive information, and whether they are affected by the information. We track subjects’ media consumption, beliefs regarding the media, economic beliefs, political attitudes, and behaviors over 18 months. We find 4 main results: (i) free access alone does not induce subjects to acquire politically sensitive information; (ii) temporary encouragement leads to a persistent increase in acquisition, indicating that demand is not permanently low; (iii) acquisition brings broad, substantial, and persistent changes to knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, and intended behaviors; and (iv) social transmission of information is statistically significant but small in magnitude. We calibrate a simple model to show that, due to the low demand for, and moderate social transmission of, uncensored information, China’s censorship apparatus may remain robust for a large number of citizens receiving unencouraged access to an uncensored Internet.

Keywords: censorship, information, media, belief
JEL classification: D80, D83, L86, P26


Check also how propaganda can be effective at changing the behavior of all citizens even if most do not believe it: Propaganda and credulity, by Andrew T. Little. In Games and Economic Behavior, Volume 102, March 2017, Pages 224–232. http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/06/propaganda-can-be-effective-at-changing.html

Thirty-four Inspiring Quotes on Criticism (and How to Handle It)

34 Inspiring Quotes on Criticism (and How to Handle It) -- EXTRACT

by Henrik Edberg on February 10, 2016.

https://www.positivityblog.com/quotes-on-criticism/

1. – Dale Carnegie
2. “The pleasure of criticizing takes away from us the pleasure of being moved by some very fine things.”
   – Jean de La Bruyère
3. – Aristotle
4. – John Wooden
5. “Criticism is an indirect form of self-boasting.”
   – Emmet Fox
6. “When virtues are pointed out first, flaws seem less insurmountable.”
   – Judith Martin
7. – Neil Gaiman
8. – Norman Vincent Peale
9. “When we judge or criticize another person, it says nothing about that person; it merely says something about our own need to be critical.”
   – Unknown
10. “It is much more valuable to look for the strength in others. You can gain nothing by criticizing their imperfections.”
    – Daisaku Ikeda
11. “The artist doesn’t have time to listen to the critics. The ones who want to be writers read the reviews, the ones who want to write don’t have the time to read reviews.”
    – William Faulkner
12. “If we judge ourselves only by our aspirations and everyone else only their conduct we shall soon reach a very false conclusion.”
    – Calvin Coolidge
13. “I have yet to find the man, however exalted his station, who did not do better work and put forth greater effort under a spirit of approval than under a spirit of criticism.”
    – Charles Schwab
14. “I criticize by creation, not by finding fault.”
    – Marcus Tullius Cicero
15. “Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.”
    – Ralph Waldo Emerson
16. “Don’t criticize what you don’t understand, son. You never walked in that man’s shoes.”
    – Elvis Presley
17. – Frank A. Clark
18. “People tend to criticize their spouse most loudly in the area where they themselves have the deepest emotional need.”
    – Gary Chapman
19. “Criticism is the disapproval of people, not for having faults, but having faults different from your own.”
    – Unknown
20. “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.
    The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly.
    So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”
    – Theodore Roosevelt
21. “Before you go and criticize the younger generation, just remember who raised them.”
    – Unknown
22. “Who do you spend time with? Criticizers or encouragers? Surround yourself with those who believe in you. Your life is too important for anything less.”
    – Steve Goodier
23. “Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfills the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things.”
    – Winston Churchill
24. “He has a right to criticize, who has a heart to help.”
    – Abraham Lincoln
25. – Antoine de Saint-Exupery
26. – Eleanor Roosevelt
27. “One mustn’t criticize other people on grounds where he can’t stand perpendicular himself”
    – Mark Twain
28. “That was excellently observed’, say I, when I read a passage in an author, where his opinion agrees with mine. When we differ, there I pronounce him to be mistaken.”
    – Jonathan Swift
29. “Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do.”
    – Benjamin Franklin
30. “Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you. Love me and I may be forced to love you.”
    – William Arthur Ward
31. “A man interrupted one of the Buddha’s lectures with a flood of abuse.
    Buddha waited until he had finished and then asked him:
    If a man offered a gift to another but the gift was declined, to whom would the gift belong?
    To the one who offered it, said the man.
    Then, said the Buddha, I decline to accept your abuse and request you to keep it for yourself.”
32. – Joseph Joubert
33. – Abraham Lincoln
34. – Michel de Montaigne