Richard Feynman on Why Questions

[Transcript] Richard Feynman on Why Questions

61 Post author: Grognor 08 January 2012 07:01PM

 

I thought this video was a really good question dissolving by Richard Feynman. But it's in 240p! Nobody likes watching 240p videos. So I transcribed it. (Edit: That was in jest. The real reasons are because I thought I could get more exposure this way, and because a lot of people appreciate transcripts. Also, Paul Graham speculates that the written word is universally superior than the spoken word for the purpose of ideas.) I was going to post it as a rationality quote, but the transcript was sufficiently long that I think it warrants a discussion post instead.

Here you go:

Interviewer: If you get hold of two magnets, and you push them, you can feel this pushing between them. Turn them around the other way, and they slam together. Now, what is it, the feeling between those two magnets?
Feynman: What do you mean, "What's the feeling between the two magnets?"
Interviewer: There's something there, isn't there? The sensation is that there's something there when you push these two magnets together.
Feynman: Listen to my question. What is the meaning when you say that there's a feeling? Of course you feel it. Now what do you want to know?
Interviewer: What I want to know is what's going on between these two bits of metal?
Feynman: They repel each other.
Interviewer: What does that mean, or why are they doing that, or how are they doing that? I think that's a perfectly reasonable question.
Feynman: Of course, it's an excellent question. But the problem, you see, when you ask why something happens, how does a person answer why something happens? For example, Aunt Minnie is in the hospital. Why? Because she went out, slipped on the ice, and broke her hip. That satisfies people. It satisfies, but it wouldn't satisfy someone who came from another planet and who knew nothing about why when you break your hip do you go to the hospital. How do you get to the hospital when the hip is broken? Well, because her husband, seeing that her hip was broken, called the hospital up and sent somebody to get her. All that is understood by people. And when you explain a why, you have to be in some framework that you allow something to be true. Otherwise, you're perpetually asking why. Why did the husband call up the hospital? Because the husband is interested in his wife's welfare. Not always, some husbands aren't interested in their wives' welfare when they're drunk, and they're angry.
And you begin to get a very interesting understanding of the world and all its complications. If you try to follow anything up, you go deeper and deeper in various directions. For example, if you go, "Why did she slip on the ice?" Well, ice is slippery. Everybody knows that, no problem. But you ask why is ice slippery? That's kinda curious. Ice is extremely slippery. It's very interesting. You say, how does it work? You could either say, "I'm satisfied that you've answered me. Ice is slippery; that explains it," or you could go on and say, "Why is ice slippery?" and then you're involved with something, because there aren't many things as slippery as ice. It's very hard to get greasy stuff, but that's sort of wet and slimy. But a solid that's so slippery? Because it is, in the case of ice, when you stand on it (they say) momentarily the pressure melts the ice a little bit so you get a sort of instantaneous water surface on which you're slipping. Why on ice and not on other things? Because water expands when it freezes, so the pressure tries to undo the expansion and melts it. It's capable of melting, but other substances get cracked when they're freezing, and when you push them they're satisfied to be solid.
Why does water expand when it freezes and other substances don't? I'm not answering your question, but I'm telling you how difficult the why question is. You have to know what it is that you're permitted to understand and allow to be understood and known, and what it is you're not. You'll notice, in this example, that the more I ask why, the deeper a thing is, the more interesting it gets. We could even go further and say, "Why did she fall down when she slipped?" It has to do with gravity, involves all the planets and everything else. Nevermind! It goes on and on. And when you're asked, for example, why two magnets repel, there are many different levels. It depends on whether you're a student of physics, or an ordinary person who doesn't know anything. If you're somebody who doesn't know anything at all about it, all I can say is the magnetic force makes them repel, and that you're feeling that force.
You say, "That's very strange, because I don't feel kind of force like that in other circumstances." When you turn them the other way, they attract. There's a very analogous force, electrical force, which is the same kind of a question, that's also very weird. But you're not at all disturbed by the fact that when you put your hand on a chair, it pushes you back. But we found out by looking at it that that's the same force, as a matter of fact (an electrical force, not magnetic exactly, in that case). But it's the same electric repulsions that are involved in keeping your finger away from the chair because it's electrical forces in minor and microscopic details. There's other forces involved, connected to electrical forces. It turns out that the magnetic and electrical force with which I wish to explain this repulsion in the first place is what ultimately is the deeper thing that we have to start with to explain many other things that everybody would just accept. You know you can't put your hand through the chair; that's taken for granted. But that you can't put your hand through the chair, when looked at more closely, why, involves the same repulsive forces that appear in magnets. The situation you then have to explain is why, in magnets, it goes over a bigger distance than ordinarily. There it has to do with the fact that in iron all the electrons are spinning in the same direction, they all get lined up, and they magnify the effect of the force 'til it's large enough, at a distance, that you can feel it. But it's a force which is present all the time and very common and is a basic force of almost - I mean, I could go a little further back if I went more technical - but on an early level I've just got to tell you that's going to be one of the things you'll just have to take as an element of the world: the existence of magnetic repulsion, or electrical attraction, magnetic attraction.
I can't explain that attraction in terms of anything else that's familiar to you. For example, if we said the magnets attract like if rubber bands, I would be cheating you. Because they're not connected by rubber bands. I'd soon be in trouble. And secondly, if you were curious enough, you'd ask me why rubber bands tend to pull back together again, and I would end up explaining that in terms of electrical forces, which are the very things that I'm trying to use the rubber bands to explain. So I have cheated very badly, you see. So I am not going to be able to give you an answer to why magnets attract each other except to tell you that they do. And to tell you that that's one of the elements in the world - there are electrical forces, magnetic forces, gravitational forces, and others, and those are some of the parts. If you were a student, I could go further. I could tell you that the magnetic forces are related to the electrical forces very intimately, that the relationship between the gravity forces and electrical forces remains unknown, and so on. But I really can't do a good job, any job, of explaining magnetic force in terms of something else you're more familiar with, because I don't understand it in terms of anything else that you're more familiar with.

Liking what others “Like”: using Facebook to identify determinants of conformity

Liking what others “Like”: using Facebook to identify determinants of conformity. Johan Egebark and Mathias Ekström. Experimental Economics, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10683-017-9552-1

Abstract: In this paper we explore the micro-level determinants of conformity. Members of the social networking service Facebook express positive support to content on the website by clicking a Like button. We set up a natural field experiment to test whether users are more prone to support content if someone else has done so before. To find out to what extent conformity depends on group size and social ties we use three different treatment conditions: (1) one stranger has Liked the content, (2) three strangers have Liked the content, and (3) a friend has Liked the content. The results show that one Like from a single stranger had no impact. However, increasing the size of the influencing group doubled the probability that subjects expressed positive support. Friendship ties were also decisive. People were, on average, four times more likely to press the Like button if a friend, rather than a stranger, had done so before them. The existence of threshold effects in our experiment clearly shows that both group size and social proximity matters when opinions are shaped.

Sexual Appeal Is In The Nose -- Patterns of Eye Movements When Observers Judge Female Facial Attractiveness

Patterns of Eye Movements When Observers Judge Female Facial Attractiveness. Yan Zhang et al. Front. Psychol., https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01909

Abstract: The purpose of the present study is to explore the fixed model for the explicit judgments of attractiveness and infer which features are important to judge the facial attractiveness. Behavioral studies on the perceptual cues for female facial attractiveness implied three potentially important features: averageness, symmetry, and sexual dimorphy. However, these studies did not explained which regions of facial images influence the judgments of attractiveness. Therefore, the present research recorded the eye movements of 24 male participants and 19 female participants as they rated a series of 30 photographs of female facial attractiveness. Results demonstrated the following: (1) Fixation is longer and more frequent on the noses of female faces than on their eyes and mouths (no difference exists between the eyes and the mouth); (2) The average pupil diameter at the nose region is bigger than that at the eyes and mouth (no difference exists between the eyes and the mouth); (3) the number of fixations of male participants was significantly more than female participants. (4) Observers first fixate on the eyes and mouth (no difference exists between the eyes and the mouth) before fixating on the nose area. In general, participants attend predominantly to the nose to form attractiveness judgments. The results of this study add a new dimension to the existing literature on judgment of facial attractiveness. The major contribution of the present study is the finding that the area of the nose is vital in the judgment of facial attractiveness. This finding establish a contribution of partial processing on female facial attractiveness judgments during eye-tracking.

Same Genes, Different Brains: Neuroanatomical Differences Between Monozygotic Twins Discordant for Musical Training

Same Genes, Different Brains: Neuroanatomical Differences Between Monozygotic Twins Discordant for Musical Training. Örjan de Manzano Fredrik Ullén. Cerebral Cortex, https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhx299

Abstract: Numerous cross-sectional and observational longitudinal studies show associations between expertise and regional brain anatomy. However, since these designs confound training with genetic predisposition, the causal role of training remains unclear. Here, we use a discordant monozygotic (identical) twin design to study expertise-dependent effects on neuroanatomy using musical training as model behavior, while essentially controlling for genetic factors and shared environment of upbringing. From a larger cohort of monozygotic twins, we were able to recruit 18 individuals (9 pairs) that were highly discordant for piano practice. We used structural and diffusion magnetic resonance imaging to analyze the auditory-motor network and within-pair differences in cortical thickness, cerebellar regional volumes and white-matter microstructure/fractional anisotropy. The analyses revealed that the musically active twins had greater cortical thickness in the auditory-motor network of the left hemisphere and more developed white matter microstructure in relevant tracts in both hemispheres and the corpus callosum. Furthermore, the volume of gray matter in the left cerebellar region of interest comprising lobules I–IV + V, was greater in the playing group. These findings provide the first clear support for that a significant portion of the differences in brain anatomy between experts and nonexperts depend on causal effects of training.

Keywords: expertise, MRI, music, neuroanatomy, twins

Zero Likes – Symbolic interactions and need satisfaction online

Zero Likes – Symbolic interactions and need satisfaction online. Sabine Reich, Frank M.Schneider, and Leonie Heling. Computers in Human Behavior, Volume 80, March 2018, Pages 97-102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.10.043

Highlights
•    Likes are a form of symbolic interaction within social networking sites (SNS).
•    Zero Likes on SNS threaten fundamental needs and affect.
•    Likes from close friends (vs. acquaintances) best satisfy fundamental needs.

Abstract: The paper looks at the symbolic interactions on social networking sites, such as Likes on Facebook, and their role in users' sense of social in- or exclusion. In an online experiment, users of Facebook were asked to write a possible status update and then received note about the numbers of hypothetical Likes they received (zero, two, or thirty) and who (close friends or acquaintances) pressed the Like button. Multivariate analysis of variances showed that belongingness and self-esteem needs are threatened when people do not receive Likes. In contrast, more Likes seem to satisfy these needs better. The influence of who gives the Likes is minor compared to the sheer number of Likes.

Paying Down Credit Card Debt for Hotels Not Sofas

Quispe-Torreblanca, Edika and Stewart, Neil and Gathergood, John and Loewenstein, George, The Red, the Black, and the Plastic: Paying Down Credit Card Debt for Hotels Not Sofas (September 15, 2017). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3037416

Abstract: Using transaction data from a sample of 1.8 million credit card accounts, we provide the first field test of a major prediction of Prelec and Loewenstein’s (1998) theory of mental accounting. The prediction is that consumers will pay off expenditure on transient forms of consumption more quickly than expenditure on durables. According to the theory, this is because the pain of paying can be offset by the future anticipated pleasure of consumption only when money is spent on consumption that endures over time. Consistent with the prediction, we found that repayment of debt incurred for non-durable goods is an absolute 9% more likely than repayment of debt incurred for durable goods. The size of this effect is comparable to an increment in 15 percentage points in the credit card APR.

Keywords: mental accounting, credit cards, debt repayment
JEL Classification: D14, D91

Common sense in the New York Times: Many of our most demonized foods are actually fine for us. Like salt.

You Don’t Need to ‘Eat Clean’. By Aaron E. Carroll. The New York Times, November 5, 2017, Page SR10, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/04/opinion/sunday/relax-you-dont-need-to-eat-clean.html

We talk about food in the negative: What we shouldn’t eat, what we’ll regret later, what’s evil, dangerously tempting, unhealthy.

The effects are more insidious than any overindulgent amount of “bad food” can ever be. By fretting about food, we turn occasions for comfort and joy into sources of fear and anxiety. And when we avoid certain foods, we usually compensate by consuming too much of others.

All of this happens under the guise of science. But a closer look at the research behind our food fears shows that many of our most demonized foods are actually fine for us. Taken to extremes, of course, dietary choices can be harmful — but that logic cuts both ways.

Consider salt. It’s true that, if people with high blood pressure consume a lot of salt, it can lead to cardiovascular events like heart attacks. It’s also true that salt is overused in processed foods. But the average American consumes just over three grams of sodium per day, which is actually in the sweet spot for health.

Eating too little salt may be just as dangerous as eating too much. This is especially true for the majority of people who don’t have high blood pressure. Regardless, experts continue to push for lower recommendations.

Many of the doctors and nutritionists who recommend avoiding certain foods fail to properly explain the magnitude of their risks. In some studies, processed red meat in large amounts is associated with an increased relative risk of developing cancer. The absolute risk, however, is often quite small. If I ate an extra serving of bacon a day, every day, my lifetime risk of colon cancer would go up less than one-half of 1 percent. Even then, it’s debatable.

Nevertheless, we’ve become more and more susceptible to arguments that we must avoid certain foods completely. When one panic-du-jour wanes, we find another focus for our fears. We demonized fats. Then cholesterol. Then meat.

For some people in recent years, gluten has become the enemy, even though wheat accounts for about 20 percent of the calories consumed worldwide, more than pretty much any other food. Fewer than 1 percent of people in the United States have a wheat allergy, and fewer than 1 percent have celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder that requires sufferers to abstain from gluten. Gluten sensitivity (the catchall disorder that leads many Americans to abstain from gluten) is not well defined, and most people who self-diagnose don’t meet the criteria.

Nonetheless, at least one in five Americans regularly chooses gluten-free foods, according to a 2015 poll. Sales of products with gluten-free labels rose to $23 billion worldwide in 2014, up from $11.5 billion worldwide in 2010.

Gluten-free diets can lead to deficiencies in nutrients such as vitamin B, folate and iron. Compared with regular bagels, gluten-free ones can have a quarter more calories, two and a half times the fat, half the fiber and twice the sugar. They also cost more.

The hullabaloo over gluten echoes the panic over MSG that began roughly half a century ago, and which has yet to fully subside. MSG, or monosodium glutamate, is nothing more than a single sodium atom added to glutamic acid — an amino acid that is a key part of the mechanism by which our cells create energy. Without it, all oxygen-dependent life as we know it would die.

A 1968 letter in The New England Journal of Medicine started the frenzy; the writer reported feeling numbness, weakness and palpitations after eating at a Chinese restaurant. A few limited studies followed, along with a spate of news articles. Before long, nutrition experts and consumer advocates such as Ralph Nader were calling for MSG to be banned. The Food and Drug Administration never had to step in; food companies saw the writing on the wall, and dropped MSG voluntarily.

Many people still wrongly believe that MSG is poison. We certainly don’t need MSG in our diet, but we also don’t need to waste effort avoiding it. Our aversion to it shows how susceptible we are to misinterpreting scientific research and how slow we are to update our thinking when better research becomes available. There’s no evidence that people suffer disproportionately from the afflictions — now ranging from headaches to asthma — that MSG-averse cultures commonly associate with this ingredient. In studies all over the world, the case against MSG just doesn’t hold up.

Too often, we fail to think critically about scientific evidence. Genetically modified organisms are perhaps the best example of this.

G.M.O.s are, in theory, one of our best bets for feeding the planet’s growing population. When a 2015 Pew poll asked Americans whether they thought it was generally safe or unsafe to eat modified foods, almost 60 percent said it was unsafe. The same poll asked scientists from the American Association for the Advancement of Science the same question. Only 11 percent of them thought G.M.O.s were unsafe.

Most Americans, at least according to this poll, don’t seem to care what scientists think. In fact, Americans disagree with scientists on this issue more than just about any other, including a host of contentious topics such as vaccines, evolution and even global warming.

If people want to avoid foods, even if there’s no reason to, is that really a problem?

The answer is: yes. Because it makes food scary. And being afraid of food with no real reason is unscientific — part of the dangerous trend of anti-intellectualism that we confront in many places today.

Food should be a cause for pleasure, not panic. For most people, it’s entirely possible to eat more healthfully without living in terror or struggling to avoid certain foods altogether. If there’s one thing you should cut from your diet, it’s fear.

Aaron E. Carroll (@aaronecarroll) is a professor of pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine, and a regular contributor to The Upshot. He is the author of “The Bad Food Bible: How and Why to Eat Sinfully,” from which this essay was adapted.

The differential impact of knowledge depth and knowledge breadth on creativity over individual careers

The differential impact of knowledge depth and knowledge breadth on creativity over individual careers. Pier Vittorio Mannucci and Kevyn Yong. Academy of Management Journal, http://amj.aom.org/content/early/2017/10/23/amj.2016.0529

Abstract: While usually argued to be fostering creativity, the effect of knowledge depth and breadth on creativity is actually mixed. We take a dynamic approach to the knowledge-creativity relationship and argue that the effect of knowledge depth and knowledge breadth is likely to be contingent on career age. We propose that individuals' knowledge structures become increasingly rigid as career age grows and that because of this, knowledge depth and breadth have different effects on creativity at different points of the career. More specifically, we hypothesize that knowledge depth is more beneficial for creativity in earlier stages of one's career, when creators need to increase the complexity of knowledge structures, while knowledge breadth is more beneficial in later stages, when flexibility is most needed. We test and find support for our hypotheses in a longitudinal study set in the context of the Hollywood animation industry, a setting characterized by the presence of a variety of creators involved in knowledge-intensive activities. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.

An Evolutionary Perspective on Orgasm

Gallup, G. G., Jr., Towne, J. P., & Stolz, J. A. (2017). An Evolutionary Perspective on Orgasm. Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences, http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ebs0000104

Abstract: The capacity to experience an orgasm evolved to promote high-frequency sex in species with low reproductive rates. Growing evidence shows that orgasms also have a variety of other reproductive consequences. Based on a distinction between orgasm frequency and orgasm intensity, there is emerging evidence in humans that orgasms function to promote and fine tune what are often very different, sex-specific reproductive outcomes. We provide an overview of the effect of hormonal contraceptives on orgasm, mate choice, and sexual satisfaction. The effects of sex during pregnancy, along with orgasm induced vocalizations, facial expressions during orgasm, and the putative effects of semen exposure on orgasm and sexual functioning in females are also discussed. Recent research suggests that female orgasms evolved to promote good mate choices, and we propose that instances of orgasmic dysfunction in many women may be a byproduct of an inability to find and/or retain high-quality male partners.

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Factor into this matrix evidence showing that women who engage in extrapair copulations are more likely to be in the fertile phase of their cycle, less likely to use contraception, and more likely to experience orgasm (Baker & Bellis, 1993), and it becomes apparent that females may have been shaped by their evolutionary history to use extrapair copulations to bare children sired by genetically superior males and/or to increase the range of genetic variation among their existing children (Gallup & Burch, 2006).  By the time a woman has had three children sired by the same man, she will have sampled roughly 87.5% of his genes, and therefore, any additional children sired by the same man will be increasingly redundant genetic samples (Gallup & Ampel, 2017). By targeting high-quality males for extrapair copulations women, can have children sired by genetically superior males and as an added bonus, children sired by different males represents a hedge against an uncertain future. Consistent with this analysis women are not only more likely to experience orgasm, they also report more intense orgasms as a result of extrapair copulations (Gallup, Burch, & Mitchell, 2006). Therefore, if you are a woman whether you experience an orgasm and who you experience an orgasm with may make an important difference. Moreover, it seems reasonable to suppose that variation in orgasm intensity ought to be proportional to the magnitude of the vaginal and intrauterine contractions that occur during orgasm, which puts a reproductive premium on orgasm intensity. Suffice it to say that for all of these reasons, Lloyd’s (2005) claimed that orgasm in women was not subject to natural selection is untenable.

In contrast to females, it has been suggested that variation in ratings of orgasm intensity among males is an index or proxy for sperm recruitment (Gallup et al., 2012). Gallup et al.  predicted that the ejaculate which accompanies more intense orgasms will contain more sperm and higher concentrations of other seminal chemicals tailored to make conception more likely. For example, recent research by Pham et al. (2016) shows that estimates of ejaculate volume as a measure of ejaculate quality, correlate with the duration of cunnilingus as a prelude to sexual intercourse. Because of a history of competition for paternity, coupled with the high costs of being cuckolded, we predict that indications of partner infidelity ought to also be conducive to the occurrence of more intense orgasms in men. In other words, while more intense female orgasms may function as a mate choice mechanism, more intense orgasms in men may be a reflection of sperm recruitment mechanisms that function to compete with the possibility of rival male semen in their partner’s reproductive tract. A seemingly counterintuitive but nonetheless testable prediction that follows from this analysis would be that males who fantasize about partner infidelity during sex or masturbation would be expected to experience more intense orgasms. The growing prevalence of websites on the Internet that cater to such male fantasies provides suggestive evidence for such an effect. Research by Joyal, Cossette, and Lapierre (2015), showing that a significant proportion of men fantasize about having sex with couples that they and their partner know as well as couples they do not, is also consistent with this hypothesis.

A corollary prediction would be that variation in the reproductive value of different female partners ought to be proportional to corresponding variation in male orgasm intensity.  This could be tested by partitioning variation in the appearance of females depicted in pornographic videos to see if the composition of semen samples taken from males who masturbate while watching such videos varies as a function of how they rate their orgasms and as a function of objective variation in different fitness indicators among female pornography stars such as waist to hip ratios, facial attractiveness, breast size, and so forth. Variations in most physical dimensions of interpersonal attraction and sex appeal are well-documented proxies for underlying differences in health and fertility (Gallup & Frederick, 2010).

Recently, Joseph, Sharma, Agarwal, and Sirot (2015) found that ejaculate quality (as indexed by parameters such as ejaculate volume and number of motile sperm) goes up when men are exposed to novel/unfamiliar women, and men ejaculate faster when shown a new woman following a series of repeated exposures to the same woman. Thus, not surprisingly, the Coolidge effect (for a review, see Dewsbury, 1981) appears to be accompanied by testicular adjustments that make for a higher quality ejaculate, and we predict that under such conditions, males will report corresponding increases in orgasm intensity as well.

It is interesting that there may even be an assortative mating/social comparison component to such testicular adjustments. Leivers, Rhodes, and Simmons (2014a) found an interaction between male mate value and female attractiveness for measures of ejaculate quality.  Men with high mate value (based on attractiveness, dominance and self-perceived mate value) only produced high-quality ejaculates when given the opportunity to view images of attractive females. Just the opposite was true for men of low mate value, who produced lower quality ejaculates when viewing attractive females.  Thus, there appears to be a context dependent effect on ejaculate quality that interacts with the mate value of the male and the attractiveness of the female. High-value males only allocate high-quality ejaculates to attractive females.  Also implicating the existence of specialized ejaculate allocation mechanisms based on tradeoff effects, Leivers, Rhodes, and Simmons (2014b) found that men who engage in fewer mate guarding behaviors produce higher quality ejaculates.

In the context of the social psychological properties of orgasm and intersexual reproductive competition, evidence shows that some women fake orgasms in an effort to promote partner retention (Kaighobadi, Shackelford, & Weekes-Shackelford, 2012). Consistent with these results implicating attempts by women to feign orgasms to manipulate their mates, Brewer and Hendrie (2011) found that rather than being triggered by orgasm, copulatory vocalizations by some women were more likely to occur during male ejaculation. Indeed, Ellsworth and Bailey (2013) found that faked orgasms were correlated with the likelihood that women had engaged in sexual infidelity. Ellsworth and Bailey also found that males were more sexually satisfied with females who experienced more intense and frequent orgasms, and therefore, they speculate that variation in female orgasms may convey information about the probability of paternity.

Do Orgasms Give Women Feedback About Mate Choice? Gordon G. Gallup et al. Evolutionary Psychology, 2014. 12(5): 957-977. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/308086891

Abstract: The current study represents a preliminary investigation of the extent to which
female orgasm functions to promote good mate choices. Based on a survey of heterosexual female college students in committed relationships, how often women experienced orgasm as a result of sexual intercourse was related to their partner’s family income, his selfconfidence, and how attractive he was. Orgasm intensity was also related to how attracted they were to their partners, how many times they had sex per week, and ratings of sexual satisfaction. Those with partners who their friends rated as more attractive also tended to have more intense orgasms. Orgasm frequency was highly correlated (r = .82) with orgasm intensity, and orgasm intensity was a marginally better predictor of sexual satisfaction than orgasm frequency. Sexual satisfaction was related to how physically attracted women were to their partner and the breadth of his shoulders. Women who began having sexual intercourse at earlier ages had more sex partners, experienced more orgasms, and were more sexually satisfied with their partners. We also identified an ensemble of partner psychological traits (motivation, intelligence, focus, and determination) that predicted how often women initiated sexual intercourse. Their partner’s sense of humor not only predicted his self-confidence and family income, but it also predicted women’s propensity to initiate sex, how often they had sex, and it enhanced their orgasm frequency in comparison with other partners.

Keywords: orgasm frequency, orgasm intensity, sexual satisfaction, female initiated
intercourse, precocial sexual experience, partner sense of humor

Bystanders intervene to impede grooming in Western chimpanzees and sooty mangabeys

Bystanders intervene to impede grooming in Western chimpanzees and sooty mangabeys. Alexander Mielke, Liran Samuni, Anna Preis, Jan F. Gogarten, Catherine Crockford, Roman M. Wittig. Royal Society Open Science, DOI: 10.1098/rsos.171296

Abstract: Grooming interactions benefit groomers, but may have negative consequences for bystanders. Grooming limits bystanders' grooming access and ensuing alliances could threaten the bystander's hierarchy rank or their previous investment in the groomers. To gain a competitive advantage, bystanders could intervene into a grooming bout to increase their own grooming access or to prevent the negative impact of others' grooming. We tested the impact of dominance rank and social relationships on grooming intervention likelihood and outcome in two sympatric primate species, Western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) and sooty mangabeys (Cercocebus atys atys). In both species, rather than increasing their own access to preferred partners, bystanders intervened mainly when an alliance between groomers could have a negative impact on them: when the lower-ranking groomer was close to the bystander in rank, when either groomer was an affiliation partner whose services they could lose, or the groomers were not yet strongly affiliated with each other. Thus, bystanders in both species appear to monitor grooming interactions and intervene based on their own dominance rank and social relationships, as well as triadic awareness of the relationship between groomers. While the motivation to intervene did not differ between species, mangabeys appeared to be more constrained by dominance rank than chimpanzees.

The Humanizing Voice: Speech Reveals, and Text Conceals, a More Thoughtful Mind in the Midst of Disagreement

The Humanizing Voice: Speech Reveals, and Text Conceals, a More Thoughtful Mind in the Midst of Disagreement. Juliana Schroeder, Michael Kardas, Nicholas Epley. Psychological Science,  https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797617713798

Abstract: A person’s speech communicates his or her thoughts and feelings. We predicted that beyond conveying the contents of a person’s mind, a person’s speech also conveys mental capacity, such that hearing a person explain his or her beliefs makes the person seem more mentally capable—and therefore seem to possess more uniquely human mental traits—than reading the same content. We expected this effect to emerge when people are perceived as relatively mindless, such as when they disagree with the evaluator’s own beliefs. Three experiments involving polarizing attitudinal issues and political opinions supported these hypotheses. A fourth experiment identified paralinguistic cues in the human voice that convey basic mental capacities. These results suggest that the medium through which people communicate may systematically influence the impressions they form of each other. The tendency to denigrate the minds of the opposition may be tempered by giving them, quite literally, a voice.

Check also Your attention makes me smile: Direct gaze elicits affiliative facial expressions. Jari K. Hietanen et al. Biological Psychology, http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/11/your-attention-makes-me-smile-direct.html

Speaking From Ignorance: Not Agreeing With Others We Believe Are Correct

Speaking From Ignorance: Not Agreeing With Others We Believe Are Correct. Bert Hodges et al. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2014, Vol. 106, No. 2, 218–234. DOI: 10.1037/a0034662

Abstract: Values-pragmatics theory (Hodges & Geyer, 2006) predicts that people will sometimes disagree with others they believe are correct, for reasons similar to those explaining agreement with incorrect answers in an Asch (1956) situation. In 3 experiments, we found evidence that people in a position of ignorance sometimes do not agree with the correct answers of others in positions of knowledge. Experiments 1a and 1b found this speaking-from-ignorance (SFI) effect occurred 27% of the time. Experiment 2 introduced experimental controls and self-report data indicating that the SFI effect (30%) was generated by realizing values (e.g., truth, social solidarity) and pragmatic constraints to act cooperatively, rather than by a wide array of alternatives (e.g., normative pressure, reactance). Experiment 3 experimentally manipulated concern for truthfulness, yielding 49% nonagreeing answers, even though there were monetary incentives to give correct, agreeing answers. The overall pattern suggests that people are not so much conformists or independents as they are cooperative truth tellers under social and moral constraints. Results, while surprising for social influence theories, illustrate the dynamics of divergence and convergence that appear across studies in cultural anthropology and developmental psychology, as well as in social psychology.

Keywords: conformity, divergence, pragmatics, truth, values

Users who feature either cat or dog images in their tweets are more neurotic, less conscientious, and less agreeable

Personality Profiles of Users Sharing Animal-related Content on Social Media. Courtney Hagan, Jordan Carpenter, Lyle Ungar & Daniel Preotiuc-Pietro. Anthrozoös, Volume 30, 2017, Issue 4, Pages 671-680. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08927936.2017.1370235

ABSTRACT: Animal preferences are thought to be linked with more salient psychological traits of people, and most research examining owner personality as a differentiating factor has obtained mixed results. The rise in usage of social networks offers users a new medium in which they can broadcast their preferences and activities, including about animals. In two studies, the first on Facebook status updates and the second on images shared on Twitter, we revisited the link between Big Five personality traits and animal preference, specifically focusing on cats and dogs. We used automatic content analysis of text and images to unobtrusively measure preference for animals online using large datasets. In study 1, a dataset of Facebook status updates (n = 72,559) were analyzed and it was found that those who mentioned ownership of a cat (by using the phrase “my cat” (n = 5,053)) in their status updates were more open to experience, introverted, neurotic, and less conscientious when compared with the general population. Users mentioning ownership of a dog (by using “my dog” (n = 8,045)) were only less conscientious compared with the rest of the population. In study 2, a dataset of Twitter images was analyzed and revealed that users who featured either cat (n = 1,036) or dog (n = 1,499) images in their tweets were more neurotic, less conscientious, and less agreeable than those who did not. In addition, posting images containing cats was specific to users higher in openness, while posting images featuring dogs was associated with users higher in extraversion. These findings taken together align with some previous findings on the relationship between owner personality and animal preference, additionally highlighting some social media-specific behaviors.

Keywords: Big Five, cat people, dog people, Facebook, social media, Twitter

Supernatural Belief Is Not Modulated by Intuitive Thinking Style or Cognitive Inhibition

Supernatural Belief Is Not Modulated by Intuitive Thinking Style or Cognitive Inhibition. Miguel Farias et al. Scientific Reports 7, Article number: 15100 (2017), doi:10.1038/s41598-017-14090-9

Abstract: According to the Intuitive Belief Hypothesis, supernatural belief relies heavily on intuitive thinking—and decreases when analytic thinking is engaged. After pointing out various limitations in prior attempts to support this Intuitive Belief Hypothesis, we test it across three new studies using a variety of paradigms, ranging from a pilgrimage field study to a neurostimulation experiment. In all three studies, we found no relationship between intuitive or analytical thinking and supernatural belief. We conclude that it is premature to explain belief in gods as ‘intuitive’, and that other factors, such as socio-cultural upbringing, are likely to play a greater role in the emergence and maintenance of supernatural belief than cognitive style.

In humans, some sexual traits suggest monogamous mating, while others suggest selection for polygyny

Humans as a model species for sexual selection research. Michael Lawrence Wilson, Carrie M. Miller, Kristin N. Crouse. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Volume 284, issue 1866. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.1320

Abstract: Ever since Darwin, questions about humans have driven sexual selection research. While studies of other organisms are often justified as useful for improving understanding of humans, humans themselves can be useful models. Although humans present some drawbacks as model organisms (complicated societies, slow reproduction and strong ethical constraints on experimental options), humans nonetheless offer many advantages (being abundant, accessible and having detailed historical records for some populations). As an additional challenge, humans exhibit a rather puzzling combination of traits. Some traits (pair-bonding, biparental care and modest sexual dimorphism in body size) suggest selection for monogamous mating, while other traits (including sexual dimorphism in body composition and appearance) suggest selection for polygyny. Such puzzles have motivated research on other species, resulting in a rich set of comparative data that provides insights into humans and other species. Recent studies of visual trait dimorphism suggest that human appearance reflects adaptation for multi-level societies, rather than high levels of polygyny. In addition to biological traits, human cultural traits have undergone rapid evolution. Changes in subsistence strategies profoundly affect opportunities for sexual selection. The enormous variability of human behaviour and ecology provides abundant opportunities to test key hypotheses, and poses challenging puzzles for future research.



Check also Competing for Love: Applying Sexual Economics Theory to Mating Contests. Roy F. Baumeister et al. Journal of Economic Psychology, July 29 2017, http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/08/competing-for-love-applying-sexual.html

Personality traits AND social relationships are deeply entwined in a bidirectional way

Mund, M., Jeronimus, B. F., & Neyer, F. J. (in press). Personality and social relationships: As thick as thieves. In C. Johansen (Ed.), Your personality makes you ill: Scientific proof or wishful thinking?  San Diego: Elsevier, expected Jan 2018. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319527661_Personality_and_social_relationships_As_thick_as_thieves

Abstract: This chapter shows that personality traits and social relationships are deeply entwined in a bidirectional way: Individuals select relationships partly based on their personality traits but at the same time develop across the lifespan partly in response to changes in their social environment. Life transitions are an important catalyst of changes in personality-relationship transactions. We argue that personality traits and social relationships are so closely tied that, in our view, the link between personality and health can only be understood against the backdrop of individuals’ relationships.

Deviations from expectations drive tipping behavior more so than wins and losses, and especially close wins

Sports Sentiment and Tipping Behavior. Qi Ge. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2017.10.016

Highlights
•    Utilize data on taxi rides in New York City to investigate how emotions due to sporting event outcomes affect passengers’ tipping behavior.
•    Formulate and test a reference-dependent preferences framework of tipping behavior.
•    Find that deviations from expectations drive tipping behavior more so than wins and losses, with the most salient effects found under unexpected close wins.
•    Find no support for loss aversion in the context of tipping behavior.

Abstract: This paper utilizes a high frequency dataset on taxi rides in New York City to investigate how emotions due to sporting event outcomes affect passengers’ tipping behavior. I formulate and empirically test a reference-dependent preferences framework of tipping behavior. The results indicate that the tipping amounts are driven by deviations from expectations much more so than wins and losses, with the most salient effects found under unexpected close wins. However, there is no support for loss aversion. The findings suggest that loss averse behavior may be subdued in the presence of social norms while surprises can result in freedom on the upside of tipping.

JEL classification: D03; D12; L83; Z2
Keywords: Reference-dependent preferences; Tipping behavior; Social norms

Your attention makes me smile: Direct gaze elicits affiliative facial expressions

Your attention makes me smile: Direct gaze elicits affiliative facial expressions. Jari K. Hietanen et al. Biological Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2017.11.001

Highlights
•    Facial EMG and autonomic responses were measured to another individual’s direct and averted gaze.
•    Greater zygomatic responses were elicited by seeing another person with direct than averted gaze.
•    The results suggest that another individual’s direct gaze is an affiliative, positive signal.

Abstract: Facial electromyographic responses and skin conductance responses were measured to investigate whether, in a neutral laboratory environment, another individual’s direct gaze elicits a positive or negative affective reaction in the observer. The results showed that greater zygomatic responses associated with positive affect were elicited by seeing another person with direct as compared to averted gaze. The zygomatic responses were greater in response to another person’s direct gaze both when the participant’s own gaze was directed towards the other and when the participant was not looking directly towards the other. Compatible with the zygomatic responses, the corrugator activity (associated with negative affect) was decreased below baseline more in response to another person’s direct than averted gaze. Replicating previous research, the skin conductance responses were greater to another person’s direct than averted gaze. The results provide evidence that, in a neutral context, another individual’s direct gaze is an affiliative, positive signal.

Keywords: affect; facial EMG; eye contact; facial expression; SCR

Your need to correct wrong information you believed depends on your cognitive abilities, not your political leaning

‘Fake news’: Incorrect, but hard to correct. The role of cognitive ability on the impact of false information on social impressions. Jonas de Keersmaecker, Arne Roets. Intelligence, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intell.2017.10.005

Highlights
•    Interplay between cognitive ability and false information on attitudes was examined.
•    When people learn their attitudes are based on false information, they adjust them.
•    People low (vs high) in cognitive ability adjust attitudes to lesser extent.
•    Adjusted attitudes remained biased for people low in cognitive ability.

Abstract: The present experiment (N = 390) examined how people adjust their judgment after they learn that crucial information on which their initial evaluation was based is incorrect. In line with our expectations, the results showed that people generally do adjust their attitudes, but the degree to which they correct their assessment depends on their cognitive ability. In particular, individuals with lower levels of cognitive ability adjusted their attitudes to a lesser extent than individuals with higher levels of cognitive ability. Moreover, for those with lower levels of cognitive ability, even after the explicit disconfirmation of the false information, adjusted attitudes remained biased and significantly different from the attitudes of the control group who was never exposed to the incorrect information. In contrast, the adjusted attitudes of those with higher levels of cognitive ability were similar to those of the control group. Controlling for need for closure and right-wing authoritarianism did not influence the relationship between cognitive ability and attitude adjustment. The present results indicate that, even in optimal circumstances, the initial influence of incorrect information cannot simply be undone by pointing out that this information was incorrect, especially in people with relatively lower cognitive ability.

Keywords: Cognitive ability; Intelligence; Attitude change; Human judgment; Fake news; Cognitive bias

Experiencing disagreement is linked to experiencing more other-condemning emotions, less well-being, and less humanity-esteem. Ideology doesn't moderate these.

Brandt, Mark J, Jarret Crawford, and Daryl Van Tongeren. 2017. “Worldview Conflict in Daily Life”. PsyArXiv. September 29. doi:10.1177/1948550617733517

Abstract: Building on laboratory and survey-based research probing the psychology of ideology and the experience of worldview-conflict, we examined the association between worldview-conflict and emotional reactions, psychological well-being, humanity-esteem, and political ideology in everyday life using experience sampling. In three combined samples (Total N= 328), experiencing disagreement compared to agreement was associated with experiencing more other-condemning emotions, less well-being, and less humanity-esteem. There were no clear associations between experiencing disagreement and experiencing self-conscious emotions, positive emotions, and mental stress. None of the relationships were moderated by political ideology. These results both replicate and challenge findings from laboratory and survey-based research, and we discuss possible reasons for the discrepancies. Experience sampling methods can help researchers get a glimpse into everyday worldview-conflict.

No positive correlation between formality of clothing and mental abstraction

Cognitive consequences of formal clothing: the effects of clothing versus thinking of clothing. Axel M. Burger & Herbert Bless. Comprehensive Results in Social Psychology, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23743603.2017.1396185

ABSTRACT: This research aimed at testing whether the association of formality of clothing with mental abstraction found in prior research depends on whether individuals are (made) aware of the formality of their clothing prior to measuring mental abstraction. In two preregistered studies participants estimated the formality of their clothing and performed an action identification task (Study 1) or categorization task (Study 2) as measures of mental abstraction. In addition, we varied the order of assessing formality of clothing and mental abstraction to manipulate the accessibility of formality of clothing before completing the mental abstraction tasks. When assessing formality of clothing prior to mental abstraction we did not obtain a reliable correlation so that the assumed decrease of this relation in the reversed order condition could not be tested. When pooling the data of both experimental conditions, the results of Study 1 support the hypothesis that formality of clothing is positively correlated with mental abstraction and are compatible with the hypothesis of a causal mechanism where formality of clothing influences mental abstraction through changes in subjective social status and power. Study 2 did not yield evidence for a positive correlation between formality of clothing and mental abstraction.

KEYWORDS: Clothing, construal level, mental abstraction, accessibility

How Much Does Education Improve Intelligence? For an additional year of education, 1 to 5 IQ points

Ritchie, Stuart J, and Elliot M Tucker-Drob. 2017. “How Much Does Education Improve Intelligence? A Meta-analysis”. PsyArXiv. November 8. psyarxiv.com/kymhp

Abstract: Intelligence test scores and educational duration are positively correlated. This correlation can be interpreted in two ways: students with greater propensity for intelligence go on to complete more education, or a longer education increases intelligence. We meta-analysed three categories of quasi-experimental studies of educational effects on intelligence: those estimating education-intelligence associations after controlling for earlier intelligence, those using compulsory schooling policy changes as instrumental variables, and those using regression-discontinuity designs on school-entry age cutoffs. Across 142 effect sizes from 42 datasets involving over 600,000 participants, we found consistent evidence for beneficial effects of education on cognitive abilities, of approximately 1 to 5 IQ points for an additional year of education. Moderator analyses indicated that the effects persisted across the lifespan, and were present on all broad categories of cognitive ability studied. Education appears to be the most consistent, robust, and durable method yet to be identified for raising intelligence.

Evolutionarily (mal)adaptive behaviors and phenomena in humans: a review on fertility decline and an integrated model

Demographic studies enhance the understanding of evolutionarily (mal)adaptive behaviors and phenomena in humans: a review on fertility decline and an integrated model. Morita, M. Popul Ecol (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10144-017-0597-y

Abstract: Recently, statistical analyses of demographic datasets have come to play an important role for studies into the evolution of human life history. In the first part of this paper, I highlight fertility decline, an evolutionarily paradoxical phenomenon in terms of fitness maximization. Then, I conduct a literature review regarding the effects of socioeconomic status on the number of offspring, especially in modern developed, (post-)industrial, and low-fertility societies. Although a non-positive relationship between them has often been recognized as a general feature of fertility decline, there actually exists a great deal of variation. Based on the review, I discuss the association between socioeconomic success and reproductive success, and tackle an evolutionary question as to why people seek higher socioeconomic success that would not directly lead to higher reproductive success. It has been suggested that, in modern competitive environments, parents should set a higher value on their investment in children, and aim to have a smaller number of high-quality children. Also, parents would maintain higher socioeconomic status for themselves so as to provide high-levels of investment in their children. In the second part, I broadly consider seemingly evolutionarily (mal)adaptive outcomes besides fertility decline, including child abuse, menopause, and suicide. The integration of the major three approaches to human behavioral and psychological research (behavioral ecology, evolutionary psychology, and cultural evolution) could lead to a deeper understanding. I provide a model for the integrated approach. Rich empirical evidence accumulated in demographic studies, especially longitudinal and cross-cultural resources, can assist to develop a theoretical framework.

Smartphone use undermines enjoyment of face-to-face social interactions

Smartphone use undermines enjoyment of face-to-face social interactions. Ryan Dwyer, Kostadin Kushlev, Elizabeth Dunn. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2017.10.007

Highlights
•    We examine whether phone use impacts the benefits derived from social interactions.
•    We test the effect using a field experiment and experience sampling.
•    Phone use leads to distraction, which undermines benefits of social interaction.

Abstract: Using a field experiment and experience sampling, we found the first evidence that phone use may undermine the enjoyment people derive from real world social interactions. In Study 1, we recruited over 300 community members and students to share a meal at a restaurant with friends or family. Participants were randomly assigned to keep their phones on the table or to put their phones away during the meal. When phones were present (vs. absent), participants felt more distracted, which reduced how much they enjoyed spending time with their friends/family. We found consistent results using experience sampling in Study 2; during in-person interactions, participants felt more distracted and reported lower enjoyment if they used their phones than if they did not. This research suggests that despite their ability to connect us to others across the globe, phones may undermine the benefits we derive from interacting with those across the table.

Keywords: Mobile phones; Technology; Distraction; Social interaction; Well-being

Check also Connecting Alone: Smartphone Use, Quality of Social Interactions and Well-being. Valentina Rotondi, Luca Stanca, and Miriam Tomasuolo. Journal of Economic Psychology, http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/10/time-spent-with-friends-is-worth-less.html

Infants Distinguish Between Two Events Based on Their Relative Likelihood

Kayhan, E., Gredebäck, G. and Lindskog, M. (2017), Infants Distinguish Between Two Events Based on Their Relative Likelihood. Child Dev. doi:10.1111/cdev.12970

Abstract: Likelihood estimations are crucial for dealing with the uncertainty of life. Here, infants' sensitivity to the difference in likelihood between two events was investigated. Infants aged 6, 12, and 18 months (N = 75) were shown animated movies of a machine simultaneously drawing likely and unlikely samples from a box filled with different colored balls. In different trials, the difference in likelihood between the two samples was manipulated. The infants' looking patterns varied as a function of the magnitude of the difference in likelihood and were modulated by the number of items in the samples. Looking patterns showed qualitative similarities across age groups. This study demonstrates that infants' looking responses are sensitive to the magnitude of the difference in likelihood between two events.

Evolution of external female genital mutilation: why do males harm their mates?

Evolution of external female genital mutilation: why do males harm their mates? Pierick Mouginot, Gabriele Uhl, Lutz Fromhage. Royal Society Open Science, November 2017. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.171195

Abstract: Sperm competition may select for male reproductive traits that influence female mating or oviposition rate. These traits may induce fitness costs to the female; however, they may be costly for the males as well as any decrease in female fitness also affects male fitness. Male adaptations to sperm competition manipulate females by altering not only female behaviour or physiology, but also female morphology. In orb-weaving spiders, mating may entail mutilation of external structures of the female genitalia, which prevents genital coupling with subsequent males. Here, we present a game theoretical model showing that external female genital mutilation is favoured even under relatively high costs of mutilation, and that it is favoured by a high number of mate encounters per female and last-male sperm precedence.

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Males may evolve traits that shift the remating or oviposition rate of the female from the female’s optimum towards their own due to selection on competitive fertilization success [1,2]. Defensive adaptations to sperm competition include mate guarding, copulatory plugs,manipulative seminal fluids and internal genital damage. These adaptations can manipulate the female by altering her behaviour or physiology, but also her genital anatomy [3]. Examples of male-inflicted damages to female genitalia have been documented in numerous taxa, especially among arthropods [4,5]. Most of these genital damages are inflicted internally by the male intromittent organ, and it is debated how these harmful traits have evolved [6–8].

Recently, it has been described that males inflict external damage to the female genitalia in two species of orb-weaving spiders as a defensive adaptation to sperm competition.

Check also Male reproductive suppression: not a social affair. Z. Valentina Zizzari, Andrea Jessen, and Joris M. Koene. Current Zoology, Volume 63, Issue 5, 1 October 2017, Pages 573–579,
http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/09/homosexual-acts-may-help-impair.html

Faces with makeup were perceived to have more unrestricted sociosexuality; with more makeup were perceived as more unrestricted

Evidence that makeup is a false signal of sociosexuality. Carlota Batres et al. Personality and Individual Differences, Volume 122, 1 February 2018, Pages 148–154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2017.10.023

Highlights
•    Makeup makes women appear to have more unrestricted sociosexuality.
•    Women's self-reported sociosexuality does not relate to their makeup habits.
•    People use makeup as a cue for perceiving sociosexuality but it is an invalid cue.

Abstract: While the positive effect of makeup on attractiveness is well established, there has been less exploration into other possible functions of makeup use. Here we investigated whether one function of makeup is to signal sociosexuality. Using a large, well-controlled set of photographs, we found that faces with makeup were perceived to have more unrestricted sociosexuality than the same faces without makeup. Similarly, women wearing more makeup were perceived to have more unrestricted sociosexuality. The target women who were photographed also completed questionnaires about their makeup habits and the Sociosexual Orientation Inventory. Targets' self-reported sociosexuality was not associated with their makeup habits, with observer ratings of the amount of makeup they wore, or with observer ratings of their sociosexuality when attractiveness was controlled. Thus our study shows that people use makeup as a cue for perceiving sociosexuality but that it is an invalid cue.

Keywords: Makeup; Sociosexuality; Attractiveness; Faces; Perception

Happiness in Behaviour Genetics: An Update on Heritability and Changeability

Happiness in Behaviour Genetics: An Update on Heritability and Changeability. Ragnhild Bang Nes, Espen Røysamb. Journal of Happiness Studies, October 2017, Volume 18, Issue 5, pp 1533–1552.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-016-9781-6

Abstract: In this paper we summarize recent behaviour genetic findings on happiness measured as life satisfaction (LS) and subjective wellbeing (SWB) and discuss important implications pertaining to stability and change, including the potential of individual and societal interventions. Broadly speaking, two main research strategies explore genetic and environmental influences on happiness, including quantitative and molecular genetics. Whereas molecular genetics seeks to trace the causal pathways from specific DNA variants, quantitative genetics estimates the magnitude of overall genetic and environmental influences without specifying actual DNA sequences and usually without specifying specific environmental circumstances. Molecular genetic studies have entered the happiness arena, but have shown mixed results. Most replicated findings are therefore based on quantitative genetics and derived from twin and family studies decomposing variation and co-variation into genetic, shared, and non-shared environmental sources. Recent meta-analyses of such studies report genetic influences (i.e., heritability) to account for 32–40 % of the variation in overall happiness (i.e., SWB, LS), and indicate that heritability varies across populations, subgroups, contexts and/or constructs. When exploring stable SWB levels, heritability is reported in the 70–80 % range, whereas momentary positive affect is often entirely situational. Happiness is thus heritable, stable, variable and changeable. What do these findings imply? Can happiness be raised as a platform in individuals and societies? We suggest that individual and societal interventions that target causal pathways and address both amplifying and compensatory processes (i.e., focus on developing strengths and mitigating risks)—thus providing for positive gene-environment matchmaking, are likely to be effective and longer lasting.

Swiping right: Sociosexuality, intentions to engage in infidelity, and infidelity experiences on Tinder

Swiping right: Sociosexuality, intentions to engage in infidelity, and infidelity experiences on Tinder. Dana A. Weiser et al. Personality and Individual Differences, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2017.10.025

Highlights
•    A minority of participants reported infidelity facilitated by Tinder.
•    Most knew individuals who had used to Tinder to engage in infidelity.
•    Sociosexuality and intentions to engage in infidelity were associated with infidelity.
•    Gender not associated with infidelity when sociosexuality and intentions included.

Abstract: Tinder is a popular mobile dating app among young adults that may be used to facilitate meeting extradyadic partners. Participants who had used or were using Tinder (n = 550) indicated that most knew somebody who had used Tinder to meet extradyadic partners, and several participants reported that their own infidelity had been facilitated by Tinder. Participants were varied as to whether Tinder was an effective method for meeting extradyadic partners. Sociosexuality and intentions to engage in infidelity were associated with having used Tinder to engage in infidelity. Gender was not significantly associated with using Tinder to meet extradyadic partners when sociosexuality and intentions to engage in infidelity were also included in analyses.

Keywords: Extradyadic; Infidelity; Infidelity intentions; Online infidelity; Sociosexual orientation; Tinder

Link between our creations and our self-concept, emerging at age 5, leads us to value them more positively than others’ creations

When and how does labour lead to love? The ontogeny and mechanisms of the IKEA effect. Lauren E. Marsh, Patricia Kanngiesser, Bruce Hood. Cognition, Volume 170, January 2018, Pages 245–253.         https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2017.10.012

Abstract: We elevate our constructions to a special status in our minds. This ‘IKEA’ effect leads us to believe that our creations are more valuable than items that are identical, but constructed by another. This series of studies utilises a developmental perspective to explore why this bias exists. Study 1 elucidates the ontogeny of the IKEA effect, demonstrating an emerging bias at age 5, corresponding with key developmental milestones in self-concept formation. Study 2 assesses the role of effort, revealing that the IKEA effect is not moderated by the amount of effort invested in the task in 5-to-6-year olds. Finally, Study 3 examines whether feelings of ownership moderate the IKEA effect, finding that ownership alone cannot explain why children value their creations more. Altogether, results from this study series are incompatible with existing theories of the IKEA bias. Instead, we propose a new framework to examine biases in decision making. Perhaps the IKEA effect reflects a link between our creations and our self-concept, emerging at age 5, leading us to value them more positively than others’ creations.

Keywords: Ownership; Value; IKEA-effect; Development; Effort justification

Why Are Women More Easily Disgusted Than Men?

Sex Differences in Disgust: Why Are Women More Easily Disgusted Than Men? Laith Al-Shawaf, David M.G. Lewis, David M. Buss. Emotion Review, https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073917709940

Abstract: Women have consistently higher levels of disgust than men. This sex difference is substantial in magnitude, highly replicable, emerges with diverse assessment methods, and affects a wide array of outcomes—including job selection, mate choice, food aversions, and psychological disorders. Despite the importance of this far-reaching sex difference, sound theoretical explanations have lagged behind the empirical discoveries. In this article, we focus on the evolutionary-functional level of analysis, outlining hypotheses capable of explaining why women have higher levels of disgust than men. We present four hypotheses for sexual disgust and six for pathogen disgust, along with testable predictions. Discussion focuses on additional new hypotheses and on future research capable of adjudicating among these competing, but not mutually exclusive, hypotheses.

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In sum, there are at least four theoretically plausible, non-mutually-exclusive factors driving the evolution of women's heightened sexual disgust relative to men: (a) greater minimum obligatory parental investment (the parental investment hypothesis), (b) higher likelihood and greater costs of contracting STIs (the sexually transmitted infections hypothesis), (c) defense against rape and sexual coercion (the rape avoidance hypothesis). and (d) sex differences in reputational damage as a consequence of promiscuous or deviant sexual behavior (the reputational damage hypothesis).

[...]

In summary, we have proposed six hypotheses for the evolution of elevated female pathogen disgust: (a) reduced risk-taking among women because female vehicles are more critical than male vehicles to the long-term propagation of the genes residing in their offspring's bodies; (b) greater female likelihood of directly transmitting infections to offspring; (c) a greater role for women in keeping children away from pathogens and teaching them effective disease-avoidance principles; (d) a greater role for ancestral women in food cleaning and food preparation; (e) lower levels of disgust among men in order to convey immune strength and facilitate short-term mating; and (f) higher male thresholds for disgust related to blood, injury, and death because of selective pressures related to hunting and warfare.

Skepticism toward unfounded beliefs requires sufficient cognitive ability AND motivation to be rational

Epistemic rationality: Skepticism toward unfounded beliefs requires sufficient cognitive ability and motivation to be rational. Tomas Ståhl, Jan-Willem van Prooijen. Personality and Individual Differences, Volume 122, February 01 2018, Pages 155–163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2017.10.026

Highlights
•    Analytic thinking is not sufficient to promote skepticism toward various unfounded beliefs.
•    Analytic thinking and valuing epistemic rationality interactively predict skepticism.
•    Cognitive ability, rather than analytic cognitive style, seems to account for these findings.

Abstract: Why does belief in the paranormal, conspiracy theories, and various other phenomena that are not backed up by evidence remain widespread in modern society? In the present research we adopt an individual difference approach, as we seek to identify psychological precursors of skepticism toward unfounded beliefs. We propose that part of the reason why unfounded beliefs are so widespread is because skepticism requires both sufficient analytic skills, and the motivation to form beliefs on rational grounds. In Study 1 we show that analytic thinking is associated with a lower inclination to believe various conspiracy theories, and paranormal phenomena, but only among individuals who strongly value epistemic rationality. We replicate this effect on paranormal belief, but not conspiracy beliefs, in Study 2. We also provide evidence suggesting that general cognitive ability, rather than analytic cognitive style, is the underlying facet of analytic thinking that is responsible for these effects.

Keywords: Paranormal belief; Conspiracy belief; Cognitive ability; Analytic cognitive style; Epistemic rationality; Importance of rationality

Check also: Public Perceptions of Partisan Selective Exposure. Perryman, Mallory R.. The University of Wisconsin - Madison, ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 2017. 10607943. https://search.proquest.com/openview/20d6e3befcf61455779aebe39b91d29f/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y

And: Dispelling the Myth: Training in Education or Neuroscience Decreases but Does Not Eliminate Beliefs in Neuromyths. Kelly Macdonald et al. Frontiers in Psychology, Aug 10 2017. http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/08/training-in-education-or-neuroscience.html

And: Wisdom and how to cultivate it: Review of emerging evidence for a constructivist model of wise thinking. Igor Grossmann. European Psychologist, in press. Pre-print: http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/08/wisdom-and-how-to-cultivate-it-review.html

And: Science Denial Across the Political Divide -- Liberals and Conservatives Are Similarly Motivated to Deny Attitude-Inconsistent Science. Anthony N. Washburn, Linda J. Skitka. Social Psychological and Personality Science, http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/09/liberals-and-conservatives-are.html

And: Biased Policy Professionals. Sheheryar Banuri, Stefan Dercon, and Varun Gauri. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 8113. http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/08/biased-policy-professionals-world-bank.html.

And: Individuals with greater science literacy and education have more polarized beliefs on controversial science topics. Caitlin Drummond and Baruch Fischhoff. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 114 no. 36, pp 9587–9592, http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/09/individuals-with-greater-science.html

And: Expert ability can actually impair the accuracy of expert perception when judging others' performance: Adaptation and fallibility in experts' judgments of novice performers. By Larson, J. S., & Billeter, D. M. (2017). Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 43(2), 271–288. http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/06/expert-ability-can-actually-impair.html

And: Bottled Water and the Overflowing Nanny State, by Angela Logomasini. How Misinformation Erodes Consumer Freedom. CEI, February 17, 2009
http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2009/02/bottled-water-and-overflowing-nanny.html

And Competing cues: Older adults rely on knowledge in the face of fluency. By Brashier, Nadia M.; Umanath, Sharda; Cabeza, Roberto; Marsh, Elizabeth J.
Psychology and Aging, Vol 32(4), Jun 2017, 331-337. http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/07/competing-cues-older-adults-rely-on.html

Similar but different: Interviewing monozygotic twins discordant for musical practice

Similar but different: Interviewing monozygotic twins discordant for musical practice. Helene Eriksson et al. Musicae Scientiae, Volume: 21 issue: 3, page(s): 250-266. https://doi.org/10.1177/1029864916649791

Abstract: Musical engagement is influenced by both environmental and genetic factors. Here, we explored non-genetic influences on musical engagement by performing semi-structured interviews of 10 Swedish monozygotic twin pairs that were highly discordant for piano practicing. The interviews were organized into five sections – (i) perceived reasons for the discordance; (ii) childhood differences in specific music related variables; (iii) strong memories of music; (iv) the perceived meaning of music in life and for health; and (v) language interests – and analyzed using response categorization. The playing twins from an early age found music more interesting and enjoyable than their co-twins and also gave richer and more elaborate descriptions of the meaning of music in life, in several cases emphasizing that music was important for their personal identity. In line with this, an analysis of previously collected web questionnaire data showed that the playing twins had a significantly higher openness to experience and proneness to experience flow during musical activities. In contrast, the twins reported essentially no within-pair differences in the musical engagement of their peers, parental support, music teacher, ensemble playing, public performances, and their interest and aptitude for languages. The interviews gave no indication that the differences in musical engagement were caused by systematic environmental influences that were consistent across twin pairs. Rather, the respondents presented a wide range of different explanations for their discordance in musical activity, suggesting that the remaining influences on musical engagement, when genetics and family environment are controlled for, may be highly individual and idiosyncratic.

The dark side of experiencing job autonomy: Unethical behavior

The dark side of experiencing job autonomy: Unethical behavior. Jackson Lu et al. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Volume 73, November 2017, Pages 222-234, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022103117301051

Abstract: To date, job autonomy has been conceptualized as a job characteristic that elicits positive outcomes. In contrast, the present studies unveiled a potential dark side of experiencing job autonomy: unethical behavior. Using field surveys on Israeli employees, Studies 1 and 2 found that experienced job autonomy not only positively predicted job satisfaction (thus replicating past research), but also positively predicted unethical behavior. Using experimental designs, Studies 3a and 3b drew on actual job autonomy policies from real-world corporations to prime American employees to experience different levels of job autonomy. Compared to participants in the low-autonomy or autonomy-unrelated control conditions, participants in the high-autonomy condition were more likely to behave unethically because they felt less constrained by rules. Moreover, the relationship between experienced job autonomy and unethical behavior was moderated by the importance that participants assigned to having job autonomy, such that the experience of high job autonomy was less likely to elicit unethical behavior from participants for whom having job autonomy was more important. In addition to replicating all of these findings, Study 4 revealed that the experience of high job autonomy simultaneously increased unethical behavior and creativity, further demonstrating job autonomy to be a double-edged sword. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

The Paradox of Family Structure and Plans After Work: Why Single Childless Employees May be the Least Absorbed at Work

The Paradox of Family Structure and Plans After Work: Why Single Childless Employees May be the Least Absorbed at Work. Tracy Dumas & Jill Perry-Smith. Academy of Management Journal, http://amj.aom.org/content/early/2017/10/05/amj.2016.0086.abstract

Abstract: Existing research shows that positive family experiences can affect work positively. In this article, however, we consider how family can enhance work even when family experiences are not explicitly positive. We draw on boundary theory and cognitive psychology's current concerns theory to consider how employees' family structures and associated after-work activities affect their work absorption. A survey of business school alumni (study 1) revealed that single, childless workers reported lower absorption than workers with other family structures. Further, a daily diary study of university employees (study 2), showed that employees' planned after-work activities explained the relationship between family structure and work absorption. Specifically, single, childless workers anticipated fewer domestic after-work activities, resulting in lower work absorption. Due to similarities between domestic responsibilities and work tasks — e.g., their obligatory and goal-directed nature — anticipating domestic responsibilities after work reinforces, rather than distracts from, the work mindset, thus keeping employees more immersed psychologically in their work. This finding suggests that having a spouse and/or children can affect employees' work absorption positively through the anticipation of domestic duties after work. Thus, our study contributes to a more comprehensive view of how employees' work and non-work lives are connected.

CEOs born into poor families outperform those born into wealthy families without higher risk-taking

From Playground to Boardroom: Endowed Social Status and Managerial Performance. Fangfang Du. Arizona State University Working Paper, https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3040322

Abstract: By matching a CEO's place of residence in his or her formative years with U.S. Census survey data, I obtain an estimate of the CEO's family wealth and study the link between the CEO's endowed social status and firm performance. I find that CEOs born into poor families outperform those born into wealthy families, as measured by a variety of proxies for firm performance. There is no evidence of higher risk-taking by the CEOs from low social status backgrounds. Further, CEOs from poor families are better able to preserve the firm's human capital during periods of financial distress and demonstrate greater ability to develop successful innovation. As a result, such CEOs perform better in firms with high R&D spending.

The Paradox of Intelligence: Heritability and Malleability Coexist in Hidden Gene-Environment Interplay

Sauce, B., & Matzel, L. D. (2017). The Paradox of Intelligence: Heritability and Malleability Coexist in Hidden Gene-Environment Interplay. Psychological Bulletin. Advance online publication.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/bul0000131

Abstract: Intelligence can have an extremely high heritability, but also be malleable; a paradox that has been the source of continuous controversy. Here we attempt to clarify the issue, and advance a frequently overlooked solution to the paradox: Intelligence is a trait with unusual properties that create a large reservoir of hidden gene–environment (GE) networks, allowing for the contribution of high genetic and environmental influences on individual differences in IQ. GE interplay is difficult to specify with current methods, and is underestimated in standard metrics of heritability (thus inflating estimates of “genetic” effects). We describe empirical evidence for GE interplay in intelligence, with malleability existing on top of heritability. The evidence covers cognitive gains consequent to adoption/immigration, changes in IQ's heritability across life span and socioeconomic status, gains in IQ over time consequent to societal development (the Flynn effect), the slowdown of age-related cognitive decline, and the gains in intelligence from early education. The GE solution has novel implications for enduring problems, including our inability to identify intelligence-related genes (also known as IQ’s “missing heritability”), and the loss of initial benefits from early intervention programs (such as “Head Start”). The GE solution can be a powerful guide to future research, and may also aid policies to overcome barriers to the development of intelligence, particularly in impoverished and underprivileged populations.

The social behavioral, emotional, and cognitive mechanisms underlying narcissistic personality traits

The social behavioral, emotional, and cognitive mechanisms underlying narcissistic personality traits. Marjan Sharifi. Fachbereich Erziehungswissenschaft und Psychologie
der Freien Universität Berlin, http://diss.fu-berlin.de/diss/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/FUDISS_derivate_000000021938/Dissertation_Marjan_Sharifi.pdf

Summary
The cornerstone of a healthy society is social cohesion, which is based on good interpersonal relationships. Given the rampant rise in narcissistic values in our society (see, e.g., Twenge, & Campbell, 2009; Paris, 2014), it is important to understand the mechanisms behind this interpersonally disruptive personality trait.

This dissertation examines the underlying cognitive, emotional, and social behavioral mechanisms of individuals with a high number of narcissistic traits. Narcissists are known for their self-aggrandizing personality type which ultimately masks an insecure inner self. It is argued that the narcissists’ self-image is molded through dynamic interactions between self-enhancing intra- and exploitative interpersonal regulation strategies (Morf, & Rhodewalt, 2001). Accordingly, the three main research questions addressed in this thesis are:

1) What self-generated thoughts underlie the intra-individual regulation strategies of narcissists? 2) What are the mechanisms driving the interpersonally disruptive narcissistic social behaviors in active, and reactive roles? and 3) How does the grandiose ego of narcissists bias their judgment in assessing another person's emotional state?

The first study reveals that greater numbers of pathological narcissistic traits are associated with higher levels of mind-wandering, and the content of these thoughts were more socially focused (self- and other-related), temporally focused (past- and future-oriented), and more negative. Most notably, positive thoughts were only related to narcissism when they were associated with self-related and future-oriented thoughts. Thus, the content of the narcissist’s self-generated thoughts suggest two different patterns that could affect their intrapersonal regulation strategies: fantasy-driven thought patterns and patterns akin to rumination. These thought patterns may indicate why narcissists have a grandiose self-image and also a susceptibility to pathological vulnerability.

The second study examined ongoing social interactions where there were possibilities for acts of generosity and punishment amongst individuals with a range of pathological narcissistic traits. There were two main findings. First, narcissists are less generous in situations where there is a risk of being punished, and this maladaptive behavior is mediated with a reduction in perspective taking.

Second, higher narcissism scores are related to increased levels of punishment, and this retributive behavior is mediated by the narcissists experiencing anger. In the final study, the tendency to both experience and also attribute the social emotions of envy and Schadenfreude was examined. A competitive social comparison task was used amongst individuals with only high and low levels of grandiose narcissistic traits. It was found that high-level narcissists do not personally experience more envy or Schadenfreude compared to low-level narcissists. However, they do have a tendency to attribute these emotions onto others. These results indicate that narcissists do not use their own emotional state as a frame of reference when assessing another individual’s emotional state in a similar situation, but instead assume others will react differently.

Taken together, this thesis advances knowledge about the mechanisms underlying inter- and intra-personal regulation strategies of the narcissistic personality trait. As a result, it can serve as a possible source of inspiration for future intervention studies and further research on narcissistic personality traits.

Political voting follows not fair-mindedness (the weight on oneself versus others) but equality-efficiency tradeoffs

Distributional preferences and political behavior. Raymond Fisman, Pamela Jakiela, Shachar Kariv. Journal of Public Economics, Volume 155, November 2017, Pages 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2017.08.010

Abstract: We document the relationship between distributional preferences and voting decisions in a large and diverse sample of Americans. Using a generalized dictator game, we generate individual-level measures of fair-mindedness (the weight on oneself versus others) and equality-efficiency tradeoffs. Subjects' equality-efficiency tradeoffs predict their political decisions: equality-focused subjects are more likely to have voted for Barack Obama in 2012, and to be affiliated with the Democratic Party. Our findings shed light on how American voters are motivated by their distributional preferences.

Expectations of Western Zen fans -- Seeking Solitude in Japan’s Mountain Monasteries

We are a bit crazy... Visitors of monasteries in Japan write about their disappointing travel:

Reading up on the shukubo options before my trip, I learned that many previous visitors to Koyasan were irked by the simplicity of the lodgings. Some wrote on TripAdvisor.com that their rooms were too cold, or that they could hear their neighbors snoring through the 200-year-old paper walls of the temple. More than one reviewer complained that the multicourse vegan meals were too simple to satiate people who are accustomed to eating meat. “Take snacks or you will starve,” one warned.

Others felt that they weren’t quite receiving a good enough spiritual bang for their buck. “I expected something a bit spiritual and to feel that Zen/Buddhist vibe,” one visitor from Ohio complained, “I have to say I did not feel it.” Some complained that the monks running the temples didn’t speak enough English, or didn’t offer visitors enough individual attention. “The major disappointment came during dinner,” another wrote. “I was expecting to have the opportunity to mingle with the monks.”

Hehehehehe.

Full article :Seeking Solitude in Japan’s Mountain Monasteries. By ANNA HEZEL
The New York Times, Oct 11, 2017

at the link:

            https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/11/travel/japan-monastery-koyasan.html?_r=0

“Your eyes should be neither open nor closed,” explained the monk at the front of the room. “They should be sort of sleepy — like a Buddha.” It was my first time meditating, and I was anxious about making some sort of conspicuous misstep. I squinted, then tried to relax my eyelids, but inadvertently began to focus on the bright orange cushion of the person in front of me. I closed my eyes with an inward sigh of exasperation at having such a difficult time following instructions. The monk leading the session told us cheerfully that it might help to rest our vision on the tips of our noses.

I was sitting in the carpeted meditation hall of an 1,100-year-old Buddhist temple in Koyasan, in a mountainous region of southeastern Japan. The hall was separated from the temple’s garden by only a thin sliding wooden door, and the air inside was crisp and piney, threaded with smoke from incense burning on the altar. About 15 other sleepy-eyed tourists from the United States, Europe and Australia (the class was for English-speaking visitors) surrounded me across the floor, steadily counting their breaths.

Koyasan is one of the premier destinations for Buddhist pilgrims in Japan, and is considered one of the holiest sites in the country. It was chosen 1,200 years ago by the monk Kobo-Daishi for its lotus-like geography — a shallow valley nestled into a mountain — to be the headquarters of Esoteric Shingon Buddhism. The religion, which dates to the Tang dynasty, places an emphasis on daily ritual as a means of reaching enlightenment in an immediate, practicable way, developing what several monks described as a “Buddha nature.” Over the course of the last century, the religion’s birthplace has also attracted an increasing number of visitors without any background in Buddhism — visitors who seek out mountains, peace, history, or just a fleeting connection with the mysticism of another time.

I came for a little bit of each of these, teased by the promise of a remote corner of the country, thousands of miles removed, both physically and mentally, from the frenetic anxieties of New York. I wanted to challenge myself to a place with a different logic and rhythm, and to see myself disappear briefly into the magnitude of a 1,200-year-old rite. Also appealing was the prospect of a place that was truly dark at night — a place where the thick, spindly velvet of steep, tree-covered mountainsides soaks up the darkness completely. And like many others, as I would learn, I also wanted something a little bit naïve and capitalistic: to buy an ascetic experience.

THE MOUNTAIN IS DOTTED with a total of 52 shukubo, temples that historically offered overnight lodging to pilgrims. Most of these have also begun to welcome non-pilgrim tourists in recent decades (there are a dozen or so holdouts). For $80 to $150 per night, per person, you can sleep on a tatami mat on the floor of a traditional guest room in a 1,000-year-old temple, eat the monks’ traditional vegan fare, and participate in the daily meditation and prayer. A few of the temples advertise amenities like sutra writing classes, views of monks raking the gardens below, or natural hot springs to bathe in — features you can’t filter for on Airbnb or Hotels.com. And in the case of many of the temples, you can’t be totally sure what you are getting — an ambiguity that appealed to me in an era when every possible travel destination is so scrupulously documented and Instagrammed.

Although the temples on Koyasan were originally reserved for the most devout pilgrims, Buddhism is famously accepting of other religions. So over the last century, as temples in Japan and elsewhere began to struggle financially with fewer donations coming in, the natural solution was to open the doors a little wider and welcome visitors who were curious about Buddhism.

Reading up on the shukubo options before my trip, I learned that many previous visitors to Koyasan were irked by the simplicity of the lodgings. Some wrote on TripAdvisor.com that their rooms were too cold, or that they could hear their neighbors snoring through the 200-year-old paper walls of the temple. More than one reviewer complained that the multicourse vegan meals were too simple to satiate people who are accustomed to eating meat. “Take snacks or you will starve,” one warned.

Others felt that they weren’t quite receiving a good enough spiritual bang for their buck. “I expected something a bit spiritual and to feel that Zen/Buddhist vibe,” one visitor from Ohio complained, “I have to say I did not feel it.” Some complained that the monks running the temples didn’t speak enough English, or didn’t offer visitors enough individual attention. “The major disappointment came during dinner,” another wrote. “I was expecting to have the opportunity to mingle with the monks.”

I found these comments more entertaining than dissuasive. I wanted to go and prove to myself how little I was bothered by a chill in the air or a little noise through the walls. Maybe that would be its own form of spiritual growth on a micro scale — proof of my own congruity with the universe even under mildly uncomfortable conditions.

Arriving at this micro-enlightenment would take many modes of transportation, it turned out. Although Koyasan is only about 86 miles outside of Kyoto, the journey to get there is its own self-selecting odyssey. From Kyoto, I took three separate trains past power plants, greenhouses, small towns, backyard yuzu trees and grass tennis courts. At the base of the mountain, I shuffled off the train and onto a cable car along with a handful of European backpackers. At the top of the mountain, a bus waited for us to make the final journey along mortifyingly steep cedar-studded ravines into the center of Koyasan.

I arrived at my temple, Eko-in (part of the Danjo Garan temple complex), just as an American couple and their teenage son were checking in. A monk showed us where to put our shoes by the broad carved wood entrance. Outfitted with wooden slippers, I walked through a maze of creaky wooden hallways to my room, a small, serene square of space with elaborately painted sliding doors and a large window looking out onto the temple’s central garden. The room came equipped with a TV, a space heater, a telephone, and Wi-Fi. Waiting for me were some small red bean sweets and a kettle full of hot water for tea.

When it was time for dinner, a fleet of several monks arrived, bearing a carafe of hot sake and several lacquerware platforms for the food, each containing a clutter of small bowls. The traditional temple cuisine, called shojin-ryori, incorporates a bright variety of tastes, textures and colors. Tiny cups of vegetable broth and miso soup flocked around plates of delicate tempura squash, lotus root and shiso leaves. A pot of slightly bland but hearty cabbage and mushroom udon sat over a little flame. My favorite dish was one that Koyasan is famous for: a savory tofu-like pudding called goma dofu, made from ground sesame and arrowroot flour.

Once it was dark, I slipped out of my room and down to the main entrance of the temple to retrieve my shoes and join the nighttime tour of Okunoin Cemetery. An English-speaking monk led a group of about 20 guests from Eko-in and some of the surrounding temples through the lantern-lit paths of Japan’s largest cemetery, pointing out the moss-covered tombs of important national figures, including the inventor of Kabuki and the founder of Panasonic. Since Buddhism values all forms of life, our guide explained, not all of the graves belonged to human beings; the writing on one of them translated essentially to “R.I.P. Ants.” In the 600-year-old cedars overhead, we could hear the chirps and squeaks of flying squirrels rippling through the brisk air.

In the early morning, before breakfast was served, guests of the temple were invited to attend morning prayer and a daily fire ceremony. The printed schedule left in our room requested that visitors not use flash photography and issued a stern warning: “The morning service and fire ritual are NOT A TOURIST SHOW, monks must do them every day to show daily appreciation to Buddhist saints.”

In spite of this, few attendees of the fire ritual could resist capturing a moment or two of cellphone video: the drums, chanting and flames rising up to the ceiling of the temple as the presiding monk burned a stack of wooden slats with prayers written on them. Most managed to do this surreptitiously while kneeling quietly. About halfway through the ceremony, though, my eyes widened when I recognized a Frenchwoman from the cemetery tour standing at the back of the room, doing what could only be described as dancing to the beat of the drums. None of the monks seemed visibly bothered by her spontaneous self-expression.

KOYASAN BECAME A Unesco World Heritage site in 2004 (as part of the sacred sites of the Kii mountain range), and since then, the number of annual foreign visitors has more than quadrupled, while the number of Japanese visitors has declined.

More tourists seeking solace and simplicity can make a place a lot less placid, and as a visitor, it’s difficult to avoid the fact that you’re contributing to the din and litter that comes with this influx of foreigners. And yet, it is incredibly moving to be invited into the quiet, enveloping darkness of a cemetery at night — to add your footsteps to the tens of thousands that have worn down a stone path over the centuries. You come to realize how little space you can take up and how little noise you can make if you want to.

Jynne Martin, a friend who had recommended Koyasan, first traveled there 10 years ago and returned this past winter, staying at Shojoshin-in both times. On her first trip, she saw only two other tourists at the temple — the rest of the visitors were pilgrims. On her most recent trip, she saw exclusively tourists.

To her mild disappointment, Shojoshin-in had updated their amenities to include TV and internet in all of their guest rooms. A few convenience shops and a vending machine of beer had also been added to one of the main roads in town. Even so, for Jynne, Koyasan did not lose its magic. “I feel like there’s this echo and resonance within the forest and in the cemetery and in the temples where there’s some low hum or vibration that feels like it’s just been going for years and years,” she said. “I think there’s just a beautiful energy on the top of the mountain. Even with the TV and internet.”

After checking out of my room at Eko-in, I chatted for a few minutes with Yuta Kobayashi, one of the monks who run the temple. Mr. Kobayashi told me that while the temples in Koyasan used to rely on devout Buddhists for donations, they increasingly rely on income from tourists. “The Japanese government and the Japanese people don’t have a responsibility to keep the old buildings or to keep the old culture,” he said.

I asked him if he ever reads online reviews of his temple. He told me that he does. “Good opinions or bad opinions — I accept both,” he said. “And if I can change or make something better, I want to do my best.” The only type of review that ever irks him, he added, are reviews that accuse the temple’s 1,100-year-old rituals of being performatory or touristy. “We do this every morning,” he said with a laugh. “Even when people don’t stay here.”

At Eko-in (497 Koyasan; 0736-56-2514; ekoin.jp), for 15,000 yen per person (about $130), you can reserve a traditional guest room with a garden view, a shared bathroom and two meals. For 20,000 yen per person, you can reserve a room with a private bath and toilet. Prices fluctuate slightly based on season.

At Shojoshin-in (556 Koyasan; japaneseguesthouses.com), 10,800 to 12,960 yen per person will get you a room with a shared bathroom. For 16,200 yen per person, you can reserve a room with a private bathroom. Two meals are included, but no alcohol is served.

Guest rooms with shared bathrooms at Fukuchi-in (657 Koyasan; 0736-56-2021, fukuchiin.com) range from 14,000 to 16,500 yen per person, depending on whether or not the room has a garden view. Rooms with private toilets are available for 18,500 yen per person. An outdoor hot spring is available to all guests.

A version of this article appears in print on October 22, 2017, on Page TR7 of the New York edition with the headline: A Search for Solitude on a Mountain of Monasteries.