Dominance, phylogenetically ancient, and prestige, unique to humans, are ways to gain or maintain high rank

Dominance and Prestige: A Tale of Two Hierarchies. Jon K. Maner. Current Directions in Psychological Science.  https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721417714323

Abstract: Dominance and prestige represent evolved strategies used to navigate social hierarchies. Dominance is a strategy through which people gain and maintain social rank by using coercion, intimidation, and power. Prestige is a strategy through which people gain and maintain social rank by displaying valued knowledge and skills and earning respect. The current article synthesizes recent lines of research documenting differences between dominance- versus prestige-oriented individuals, including personality traits and emotions, strategic behaviors deployed in social interactions, leadership strategies, and physiological correlates of both behaviors. The article also reviews effects that dominance versus prestige have on the functioning and well-being of social groups. The article also presents opportunities for future research and discusses links between dominance and prestige and the social psychological literature on power and status.

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Although both dominance and prestige serve as viable routes to high social rank, the propensity to use one strategy over the other varies across individuals. Some work indicates no correlation between people’s use of dominance and prestige (Cheng et al., 2013), suggesting that use of one strategy is not contingent on use of the other. Other work suggests a positive correlation, as both strategies share in common the motivation for high rank (Maner & Mead, 2010).

The two strategies have different implications for groups and the individuals who comprise them. For example, the two strategies are characterized by different personality traits. Whereas people who use dominance are relatively aggressive, disagreeable, manipulative, and high in dark-triad traits (Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy), people who use prestige instead are
high in self-esteem, agreeableness, need for affiliation, social monitoring, fear of negative evaluation, and conscientiousness (Case & Maner, 2017; Cheng, Tracy, & Henrich, 2010; Semenya & Honey, 2015).

Dominance and prestige are also marked by different types of emotion. Dominance is associated with feelings of arrogance, superiority, and conceit (hubristic pride; Cheng et al., 2010), whereas prestige is associated with feelings of achievement, but without a sense of superiority or arrogance (authentic pride; Cheng et al., 2010; see also Liu, Yuan, Chen, & Yu, 2016). Another emotion that distinguishes dominance from prestige is humility (Weidman, Cheng, & Tracy, 2016). Prestige, but not dominance, is associated with appreciative humility, which results from a sense of personal success and leads people to celebrate others. Given these distinct profiles of personality and emotion, it comes as no surprise that people adopting a prestige strategy tend to be more well-liked than people adopting a dominance strategy (Cheng et al., 2013).

Clear evidence for physiological correlates of dominance and prestige is limited. Many findings have linked dominance to high levels of testosterone (Mazur & Booth, 1998), yet studies in humans have tended not to differentiate between dominance and prestige. One study that did so found no correlation between dominance and testosterone; instead, the study documented a negative relation between testosterone and prestige (Johnson, Burk, & Kirkpatrick, 2007), consistent with the hypothesis that prestige is associated with an active downplaying of aggression and competitiveness. Another found that testosterone was linked with use of dominance but not with one’s actual rank in the hierarchy (van der Meij, Schaveling, & Van Vugt, 2016). Dominance (but not prestige) has been linked with wider facial width-to-height ratio (Mileva, Cowan, Cobey, Knowles, & Little, 2014)—a morphological cue associated with greater testosterone, aggressiveness, and unethical behavior (Carré, McCormick, & Mondloch, 2009; Lefevre, Lewis, Perrett, & Penke, 2013; but see Bird et al., 2016). The literature on physiological aspects of dominance and prestige would benefit from further development.

Assessments of twins’ general homophobia targeting gay men

Genetic Variance in Homophobia: Evidence from Self-and Peer Reports. Alexandra Zapko-Willmes and Christian Kandler. Behavior Genetics, accepted,  https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320963054_Genetic_Variance_in_Homophobia_Evidence_from_Self-and_Peer_Reports

Abstract: The present twin study combined self- and peer assessments of twins’ general homophobia targeting gay men in order to replicate previous behavior genetic findings across different rater perspectives and to disentangle self-rater-specific variance from common variance in self- and peer-reported homophobia (i.e., rater-consistent variance). We hypothesized rater-consistent variance in homophobia to be attributable to genetic and nonshared environmental effects, and self-rater-specific variance to be partially accounted for by genetic influences. A sample of 869 twins and 1329 peer raters completed a seven item scale containing cognitive, affective, and discriminatory homophobic tendencies. After correction for age and sex differences, we found most of the genetic contributions (62%) and significant nonshared environmental contributions (16%) to individual differences in self-reports on homophobia to be also reflected in peer-reported homophobia. A significant genetic component, however, was self-report-specific (38%), suggesting that self-assessments alone produce inflated heritability estimates to some degree. Different explanations are discussed.

Listeners can reliably determine a speaker's sincerity through prosodic cues, since sincere compliments are spoken faster and with a higher pitch

The sound of (in)sincerity. Karyn Fish, Kathrin Rothermich, Marc D.Pella. Journal of Pragmatics, Volume 121, November 2017, Pages 147-161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2017.10.008

Highlights
•    Sincere compliments and prosocial lies occur frequently in communication.
•    Listeners can reliably determine a speaker's sincerity through prosodic cues.
•    Sincere compliments are spoken faster and with a higher pitch.
•    Social context biases impressions of sincerity in compliments.
•    Prosody and speaker attitude are both important for understanding speaker intentions.

Abstract: In social life, humans do not always communicate their sincere feelings, and speakers often tell ‘prosocial lies’ to prevent others from being hurt by negative truths. Data illuminating how a speaker's voice carries sincere or insincere attitudes in speech, and how social context shapes the expression and perception of (in)sincere utterances, are scarce. Here, we studied the communication of social, other-oriented lies occurring in short dialogues. We recorded paired questions (So, what do you think of my new hairdo?) and responses (I think it looks really amazing!) using a paradigm that elicited compliments which reflected the true positive opinion of the speaker (sincere) or were meant to hide their negative opinion (insincere/prosocial lie). These Question–Response pairs were then presented to 30 listeners, who rated the sincerity of the person uttering the compliment on a 5-point scale. Results showed that participants could successfully differentiate sincere compliments from prosocial lies based largely on vocal speech cues. Moreover, sincerity impressions were biased by how the preceding question was phrased (confident or uncertain). Acoustic analyses on a subset of utterances that promoted strong impressions of sincerity versus insincerity revealed that compliments perceived as being sincere were spoken faster and began with a higher pitch than those that sounded insincere, while compliments rated as insincere tended to get louder as the utterance unfolded. These data supply new evidence of the importance of vocal cues in evaluating sincerity, while emphasizing that motivations of both the speaker and hearer contribute to impressions of speaker sincerity.

Adjusting communication to take into account information available to one’s audience is routine in humans -- Now in chimpanzees

Vocalizing in chimpanzees is influenced by social-cognitive processes. Catherine Crockford, Roman M. Wittig and Klaus Zuberbühler. Science Advances  Nov 15 2017, Vol. 3, no. 11, e1701742. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1701742

Abstract: Adjusting communication to take into account information available to one’s audience is routine in humans but is assumed absent in other animals, representing a recent development on the lineage leading to humans. This assumption may be premature. Recent studies show changes in primate alarm signaling to threats according to the receivers’ risk. However, a classic problem in these and other perspective-taking studies is discerning whether signalers understand the receivers’ mental states or simply are responding to their behavior. We designed experiments to exclude concurrent reading of the receivers’ behavior by simulating receivers using prerecorded calls of other group members. Specifically, we tested whether wild chimpanzees emitted differing signals in response to a snake model when simulated receivers previously emitted either snake-related calls (indicating knowledge) or acoustically similar non–snake-related calls (indicating ignorance). Signalers showed more vocal and nonvocal signaling and receiver-directed monitoring when simulated receivers had emitted non–snake-related calls. Results were not explained by signaler arousal nor by receiver identity. We conclude that chimpanzees are aware enough of another’s perspective to target information toward ignorant group members, suggesting that the integration of signaling and social cognition systems was already emerging in early hominoid lineages before the advent of more language-specific features, such as syntax.

Blocking nocturnal blue light for insomnia: A randomized controlled trial.

Blocking nocturnal blue light for insomnia: A randomized controlled trial. Ari Shechter et al. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 2017 Oct 21;96:196-202. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2017.10.015

Abstract: The use of light-emitting electronic devices before bedtime may contribute to or exacerbate sleep problems. Exposure to blue-wavelength light in particular from these devices may affect sleep by suppressing melatonin and causing neurophysiologic arousal. We aimed to determine if wearing amber-tinted blue light-blocking lenses before bedtime improves sleep in individuals with insomnia. Fourteen individuals (n = 8 females; age ± SD 46.6 ± 11.5 y) with insomnia symptoms wore blue light-blocking amber lenses or clear placebo lenses in lightweight wraparound frames for 2 h immediately preceding bedtime for 7 consecutive nights in a randomized crossover trial (4-wk washout). Ambulatory sleep measures included the Pittsburgh Insomnia Rating Scale (PIRS) completed at the end of each intervention period, and daily post-sleep questionnaire and wrist-actigraphy. PIRS total scores, and Quality of Life, Distress, and Sleep Parameter subscales, were improved in amber vs. clear lenses condition (p-values less than 0.05). Reported wake-time was significantly delayed, and mean subjective total sleep time (TST), overall quality, and soundness of sleep were significantly higher (p-values less than 0.05) in amber vs. clear lenses condition over the 7-d intervention period. Actigraphic measures of TST only were significantly higher in amber vs. clear lenses condition (p = 0.035). Wearing amber vs. clear lenses for 2-h preceding bedtime for 1 week improved sleep in individuals with insomnia symptoms. These findings have health relevance given the broad use of light-emitting devices before bedtime and prevalence of insomnia. Amber lenses represent a safe, affordable, and easily implemented therapeutic intervention for insomnia symptoms.

KEYWORDS: Actigraphy; Behavioral intervention; Blue blocker; Insomnia; Randomized controlled trial; Sleep

Focusing on the present predicts improvements in life satisfaction but not happiness

Being present: Focusing on the present predicts improvements in life satisfaction but not happiness. Peter Felsman et al. Emotion. 2017 Oct;17(7):1047-1051. doi: 10.1037/emo0000333

Abstract: Mindfulness theorists suggest that people spend most of their time focusing on the past or future rather than the present. Despite the prevalence of this assumption, no research that we are aware of has evaluated whether it is true or what the implications of focusing on the present are for subjective well-being. We addressed this issue by using experience sampling to examine how frequently people focus on the present throughout the day over the course of a week and whether focusing on the present predicts improvements in the 2 components of subjective well-being over time — how people feel and how satisfied they are with their lives. Results indicated that participants were present-focused the majority of the time (66%). Moreover, focusing on the present predicted improvements in life satisfaction (but not happiness) over time by reducing negative rumination. These findings advance our understanding of how temporal orientation and well-being relate.

Women’s relationship satisfaction was related to similarity in left-right and liberal-conservative political attitudes

Leikas, Sointu, Ville J Ilmarinen, Markku Verkasalo, Hanna-Leena Vartiainen, and Jan-Erik Lönnqvist. 2017. “Relationship Satisfaction and Similarity of Personality Traits, Personal Values, and Attitudes”. PsyArXiv. November 15. psyarxiv.com/cs62j

Abstract: Spousal similarity and its consequences are widely studied, but methodologically challenging topics. We employed Response Surface Analysis to examine similarity along political attitudes, personal values, and personality traits. Opposite-sex couples (624 individuals) expecting a child were recruited. Spouses were highly similar regarding their political attitudes and moderately similar regarding trait Openness and the personal values Universalism and Tradition. Similarity for other traits and values was weak (e.g. Conscientiousness, Power values) or non-existent (e.g. Neuroticism, Benevolence values). Similarity in conservative vs. liberal attitudes was non-linear: a conservative-conservative union was most common. Women’s relationship satisfaction was related to similarity in left-right and liberal-conservative political attitudes, and both partners’ satisfaction was related to similarity in Self-Direction values. Similarity in personality traits was unrelated to relationship satisfaction.

Examining Overlap in Behavioral and Neural Representations of Morals, Facts, and Preferences

Theriault, Jordan E, Adam Waytz, Larisa Heiphetz, and Liane Young. 2017. “Examining Overlap in Behavioral and Neural Representations of Morals, Facts, and Preferences.”. PsyArXiv. November 14. doi:10.1037/xge0000350

Abstract: Moral objectivists generally believe that moral claims are akin to facts, whereas moral subjectivists generally believe that moral claims are more akin to preferences. Evidence from developmental and social psychology has generally favored an objectivist view; however, this work has typically relied on few examples, and analyses have disallowed statistical generalizations beyond these few stimuli. The present work addresses whether morals are represented as fact-like or preference-like, using behavioral and neuroimaging methods, in combination with statistical techniques that can a) generalize beyond our sample stimuli, and b) test whether particular item features are associated with neural activity. Behaviorally, and contrary to prior work, morals were perceived as more preference-like than fact-like. Neurally, morals and preferences elicited common magnitudes and spatial patterns of activity, particularly within dorsal-medial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC), a critical region for social cognition. This common DMPFC activity for morals and preferences was present across whole-brain conjunctions, and in individually localized functional regions of interest (targeting the Theory of Mind network). By contrast, morals and facts did not elicit any neural activity in common. Follow-up item analyses suggested that the activity elicited in common by morals and preferences was explained by their shared tendency to evoke representations of mental states. We conclude that morals are represented as far more subjective than prior work has suggested. This conclusion is consistent with recent theoretical research, which has argued that morality is fundamentally about regulating social relationships.

College-educated escorts have better outside options to prostitution, attracting fewer unpleasant clients and combining sexual services with non-sexual services such as companionship

Prostitution, hours, job amenities and education. Scott Cunningham, Todd D. Kendall. Review of Economics of the Household, December 2017, Volume 15, Issue 4, pp 1055–1080. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11150-017-9360-6

Abstract: We analyze the relationship between education and criminal behavior based on a survey of nearly 700 North American female escorts who provide (typically illegal) prostitution services. Nearly 40% of the women in our sample report college completion. College-educated women are less likely to see clients in any given week and do not earn higher average hourly wages. However, conditional on seeing any clients, college-educated prostitutes see more clients and provide longer client sessions. We demonstrate that these results are consistent with a model in which college-educated prostitutes have better outside options to prostitution, but are also able to reduce the marginal disutility of prostitution work by attracting fewer unpleasant clients and by combining sexual services with non-sexual services such as companionship, where college education may be productive.

The ability to block a moving ball affected the ball’s perceived speed

Is There a Chastity Belt on Perception? Jessica Witt, Nathan Tenhundfeld and Michael Tymoski. Psychological Science,  https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797617730892

Abstract: Can one’s ability to perform an action, such as hitting a softball, influence one’s perception? According to the action-specific account, perception of spatial layout is influenced by the perceiver’s abilities to perform an intended action. Alternative accounts posit that purported effects are instead due to nonperceptual processes, such as response bias. Despite much confirmatory research on both sides of the debate, researchers who promote a response-bias account have never used the Pong task, which has yielded one of the most robust action-specific effects. Conversely, researchers who promote a perceptual account have rarely used the opposition’s preferred test for response bias, namely, the postexperiment survey. The current experiments rectified this. We found that even for people naive to the experiment’s hypothesis, the ability to block a moving ball affected the ball’s perceived speed. Moreover, when participants were explicitly told the hypothesis and instructed to resist the influence of their ability to block the ball, their ability still affected their perception of the ball’s speed.

Consumers who experience the sensation of going against the flow pick alternatives that are normatively not preferred

Going against the Flow: The Effects of Dynamic Sensorimotor Experiences on Consumer Choice. Mina Kwon and Rashmi Adaval. Journal of Consumer Research, ucx107, https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucx107

Abstract: Sensorimotor experiences of going against the flow can affect the choices consumers make. Eight experiments show that consumers who experience the sensation of going against the flow pick alternatives that are normatively not preferred (experiments 1a and 1b). These effects are evident only when the sensations are dynamic and self-experienced (experiments 2a and 2b), subjective feelings are elicited (experiments 4a and 4b) and no other objective, external norm information is supplied (experiment 5). Experiences of going against the flow typically involve both movement and direction and are represented in memory schematically. Re-experiencing these sensations leads to the activation of this schematic representation and elicits a feeling-based behavioral disposition to do something different, or to go against one’s initial inclination (experiment 3), leading participants to pick an option that is normatively not preferred

Keywords: sensory motor experiences, embodied cognition, choice, affect, norms

Indoor Prostitution Lowers Sex Crime: Evidence from New York City

The Effect of Indoor Prostitution on Sex Crime: Evidence from New York City. Riccardo Ciacci & María Micaela Sviatschi. Columbia University Working Paper, November 25 2016. http://www.micaelasviatschi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/sex_crimeNYC.pdf

Abstract: We use a unique data set to study the effect of indoor prostitution establishments on sex crimes. We built a daily panel from January 1, 2004 to June 30, 2012 with the exact location of police stops for sex crimes and the day of opening and location of indoor prostitution establishments. We find that indoor prostitution decreases sex crime with no effect on other types of crime. We argue that the reduction is mostly driven by potential sex offenders that become customers of indoor prostitution establishments. We also rule out other mechanisms such as an increase in the number of police officers and a reduction of potential victims in areas where these businesses opened. In addition, results are robust to different data sources and measures of sex crimes apart from police stops.

Check also Street Prostitution Zones and Crime. Paul Bisschop, Stephen Kastoryano, and Bas van der Klaauw. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 2017, 9(4): 28–63. http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/10/opening-prostritution-zone-decreases.html

Psychopathy and Heroism in First Responders: Traits Cut From the Same Cloth?

Patton, C. L., Smith, S. F., & Lilienfeld, S. O. (2017). Psychopathy and Heroism in First Responders: Traits Cut From the Same Cloth? Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment. Advance online publication. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/per0000261

Abstract: Some scholars have posited that certain traits associated with psychopathy—namely, fearlessness, boldness, and willingness to take risks—are associated with greater engagement in heroic and altruistic acts; nevertheless, this conjecture has received little empirical attention. We examined the relations among psychopathic traits, heroism, altruism, workplace deviance, and leadership in first-responder (n = 138) and civilian (n = 104) samples recruited by means of an online platform. Across samples, fearless dominance, boldness, sensation seeking, and several other psychopathy-related variables were positively and significantly associated with everyday heroism and altruism. First responders scored significantly higher than did civilians on measures of psychopathy, fearlessness, boldness, heroism, and altruism, and reported significantly greater workplace deviance and participation in leadership activities. Our results support previous suggestions of ties between psychopathic traits, especially fearlessness and heroism, although they leave unresolved the question of why certain antisocial and prosocial behaviors appear to covary.

Have passive rentiers replaced the working rich at the top of the U.S. income distribution? They haven't.

Capitalists in the Twenty-First Century. Matthew Smith, Danny Yagan, Owen Zidar, and Eric Zwick. http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/owen.zidar/research/papers/capitalists.pdf

Abstract: Have passive rentiers replaced the working rich at the top of the U.S. income distribution? Using administrative data linking 10 million firms to their owners, this paper shows that private business owners who actively manage their firms are key for top income inequality. Private business income accounts for most of the rise of top incomes since 2000 and the majority of top earners receive private business income--most of which accrues to active owner-managers of mid-market firms in relatively skill-intensive and unconcentrated industries. Profit falls substantially after premature owner deaths. Top-owned firms are twice as profitable per worker as other firms despite similar risk, and rising profitability without rising scale explains most of their profit growth. Together, these facts indicate that the working rich remain central to rising top incomes in the twenty-first century.

The view that political attitudes are detached from any physical properties is unsustainable -- social justice attitude linked to genetics

A Genetic Basis of Economic Egalitarianism. Nemanja Batrićević, and Levente Littvay. Social Justice Research, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11211-017-0297-y

Abstract: Studies of political attitudes and ideologies have sought to explain their origin. They have been assumed to be a result of political values ingrained during the process of socialization until early adulthood, as well as personal political experience, party affiliation, social strata, etc. As a consequence of these environment-dominated explanations, most biology-based accounts of political preference have never been considered. However, in the light of evidence accumulated in recent years, the view that political attitudes are detached from any physical properties became unsustainable. In this paper, we investigate the origins of social justice attitudes, with special focus on economic egalitarianism and its potential genetic basis. We use Minnesota Twin Study data from 2008, collected from samples of monozygotic and dizygotic twin pairs (n = 573) in order to estimate the additive genetic, shared environmental, and unique environmental components of social justice attitudes. Our results show that the large portion of the variance in a four-item economic egalitarianism scale can be attributed to genetic factor. At the same time, shared environment, as a socializing factor, has no significant effect. The effect of environment seems to be fully reserved for unique personal experience. Our findings further problematize a long-standing view that social justice attitudes are dominantly determined by socialization.

Check also Sabatini, Fabio and Ventura, Marco and Yamamura, Eiji and Zamparelli, Luca (2017): Fairness and the unselfish demand for redistribution by taxpayers and welfare recipients. Ludwig-Maximilians Universitaet Muenchen, http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/10/higher-support-for-redistribution-by.html

Male prairie voles enjoy forcing sex on the females, the females do not enjoy not being able to escape

Mating and social exposure induces an opioid-dependent conditioned place preference in male but not in female prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster). M. Ulloa et al. Hormones and Behavior, Volume 97, January 2018, Pages 47–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2017.10.015

Highlights
•    In male prairie voles (M. ochrogaster), one ejaculation is rewarding.
•    In males, social cohabitation with mating for 6 h that leads to pair bonding is rewarding.
•    In females, neither condition induces conditioned place preference.
•    The reward state induced by one ejaculation or 6 h of mating is opioid dependent.

Abstract: In rodents, sexual stimulation induces a positive affective state that is evaluated by the conditioned place preference (CPP) test. Opioids are released during sexual behavior and modulate the rewarding properties of this behavior. Prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) are a socially monogamous species, in which copulation with cohabitation for 6 h induces a pair bond. However, the mating-induced reward state that could contribute to the establishment of the long-term pair bond has not been evaluated in this species. The present study aimed to determine whether one ejaculation or cohabitation with mating for 6 h is rewarding for voles. We also evaluated whether this state is opioid dependent. Our results demonstrate that mating with one ejaculation and social cohabitation with mating for 6 h induce a CPP in males, while exposure to a sexually receptive female without mating did not induce CPP. In the female vole, mating until one ejaculation, social cohabitation with mating, or exposure to a male without physical interaction for 6 h did not induce CPP. To evaluate whether the rewarding state in males is opioid dependent, the antagonist naloxone was injected i.p. The administration of naloxone blocked the rewarding state induced by one ejaculation and by social cohabitation with mating. Our results demonstrate that in the prairie vole, on the basis of the CPP in the testing conditions used here, the stimulation received with one ejaculation and the mating conditions that lead to pair bonding formation may be rewarding for males, and this reward state is opioid dependent.

Keywords: Sexual reward; Conditioned place preference; Social cohabitation with mating; Opioids and voles

Vanity of vanities: Consumers tell others about a positive experience if it signals expertise

Signaling Success: Word of Mouth as Self-Enhancement. Andrea C. Wojnicki, and David Godes. Customer Needs and Solutions, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40547-017-0077-8

Abstract: This paper highlights the significance and implications of self-enhancement as an important motivation for consumers’ word-of-mouth behaviors. The authors predict and demonstrate that following a given positive consumption experience, experts generate more WOM than if the experience was negative and more than novices. They do so because WOM regarding positive, successful experiences can serve as an indicator, or signal, of expertise. Four controlled experiments and one empirical study support the theory. This pattern is intensified when consumers’ expertise self-concepts are salient, and it diminishes when the context does not present the opportunity to self-enhance because the outcome of the experience is not attributable to the consumer’s expertise or because the distinction between good and bad products does not require expertise.

The Effect Of Retouched Media Images On Body Dissatisfaction

The Effect Of Retouched Media Images On Body Dissatisfaction. Danielle M Lorch. A dissertation submitted to the graduate faculty of The University of Alabama at Birmingham, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Birmingham, Alabama, 2017. https://search.proquest.com/openview/f2cc52b5b26dbf1c295d022a0f7d389a/1.pdf

Contemporary society, including social and main-stream media, perpetuate unrealistic body ideals through their promotion of slender, thin-ideal body shapes and sizes that are typically photo-shopped to appear even thinner. More specifically, portrayal of the thin-ideal can negatively influence body dissatisfaction. Viewing slender models is associated with increased body dissatisfaction, while viewing average or plus size models is associated with decreased body dissatisfaction. This difference in effect of model size (slender vs. average vs. plus-size) on body dissatisfaction varies based on whether individuals compare themselves to others they view as more or less attractive than themselves. The purpose of this study was to evaluate if displaying these media images in their original, untouched forms would reduce the effect of thin-ideal media exposure on body dissatisfaction, thin-ideal internalization, and state appearance comparison (i.e., social comparison with the media images being viewed) among college females (M age = 19.4 years).

This study was divided into two phases. Phase one (n=27) was designed to validate images used in phase two (n=244), where the effect of photo-shopping media images on outcome variables was assessed. Body dissatisfaction, thin-ideal internalization, and perceived media pressure were assessed pre- and post- exposure and state appearance comparison was assessed post-exposure. Body dissatisfaction (t (238) = -5.52, p < 0.001), thin-ideal internalization (t (237) = -2.32, p = 0.02), and perceived media pressure (t (238) = -3.58, p < 0.001) significantly increased from baseline to postexposure.

However, there were no significant group effects on body dissatisfaction (F (1, 232) = 0.02, p = 0.89), thin-ideal internalization (F (1, 231) = 3.46, p = 0.06), perceived media pressure (F (1, 232) = 1.34, p = 0.25), or state appearance comparison (F (1, 233) = 0.10, p =0.75) between the untouched and retouched conditions. These results suggest it is likely not photo-shopping of models, but rather the size and/or weight of the models being portrayed, that is associated with increased body dissatisfaction and thin-ideal internalization. Therefore, rather than focusing on policies to prohibit photo-shop use in professional media sources, it may be more beneficial to begin by implementing minimum BMI restrictions for models.

Keywords: body dissatisfaction, thin-ideal internalization, appearance comparison, thin-ideal media, photo-shop, retouched images.

Why people dox others --- Doxing = malicious release of personal sensitive information

Fifteen Minutes of Unwanted Fame: Detecting and Characterizing Doxing. Peter Snyder, Periwinkle Doerfler, Chris Kanich, and Damon McCoy. In Proceedings of IMC ’17 (November 1–3, 2017, London, UK). ACM, New York, 13 pages. https://doi.org/10.1145/3131365.3131385

Abstract: Doxing is online abuse where a malicious party harms another by releasing identifying or sensitive information. Motivations for doxing include personal, competitive, and political reasons, and web users of all ages, genders and internet experience have been targeted. Existing research on doxing is primarily qualitative. This work improves our understanding of doxing by being the first to take a quantitative approach. We do so by designing and deploying a tool which can detect dox files and measure the frequency, content, targets, and effects of doxing on popular dox-posting sites. This work analyzes over 1.7 million text files posted to paste-bin.com, 4chan.org and 8ch.net, sites frequently used to share doxes online, over a combined period of approximately thirteen weeks. Notable findings in this work include that approximately 0.3% of shared files are doxes, that online social networking accounts mentioned in these dox files are more likely to close than typical accounts, that justice and revenge are the most often cited motivations for doxing, and that dox files target males more frequently than females. We also find that recent anti-abuse efforts by social networks have reduced how frequently these doxing victims closed or restricted their accounts after being attacked. We also propose mitigation steps, such a service that can inform people when their accounts have been shared in a dox file, or law enforcement notification tools to inform authorities when individuals are at heightened risk of abuse.

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We identified four general motivations for doxing. Some doxers gave a competitive motivation for attacking their victim, such as wanting to demonstrate their “superior” abilities, or demonstrating that a target claiming to be “un-doxable” was vulnerable.

Another common motivation was revenge, or the doxer attacking because of something the target had done to the doxer. Examples of revenge motivations included the doxee “stealing” a significant other from the doxer, or the doxee being an “attention whore” in an online forum or chat.

A third recurring motivation was justice, or the doxer attacking the doxee because the doxee had previously done something immoral or unfair to a third party. This is different from a revenge motivation, where the harm being “avenged” is committed against the doxer. Examples of justice-motivated doxings include targets who were alleged to have scammed other people in an online forum, or who worked with law enforcement.

A fourth motivation we observed was political, or doxing in support of a larger goal than simply targeting individuals. Examples of political doxes included de-anonymizing KKK members, suspected child-pornography trading groups, or people working in industries that the doxers considered to be abusive to animals.

Physiological Arousal and Self-Reported Valence for Erotica Images Correlate with Sexual Policy Preferences

Amanda Friesen, Kevin B. Smith, John R. Hibbing; Physiological Arousal and Self-Reported Valence for Erotica Images Correlate with Sexual Policy Preferences, International Journal of Public Opinion Research, Volume 29, Issue 3, September 01 2017, Pages 449–470, https://doi.org/10.1093/ijpor/edw008

Abstract: Individuals do not always accurately report the forces driving their policy preferences. Such inaccuracy may result from the fact that true justifications are socially undesirable or less persuasive than competing justifications or are unavailable in conscious awareness. Because of the delicate nature of these issues, people may be particularly likely to misstate the reasons for preferences on gay marriage, abortion, abstinence-only education, and premarital sex. Advocates on both sides typically justify their preferences in terms of preserving social order, maintaining moral values, or protecting civil liberties, not in terms of their own sexual preferences. Though these are the stated reasons, in empirical tests we find that psychophysiological response to sexual images also may be a significant driver of policy attitudes.

Higher than usual Google searches for life-threatening illnesses predicted increases in searches for religious content (e.g., God, Jesus, prayer)

Searching for God: Illness-Related Mortality Threats and Religious Search Volume in Google in 16 Nations. Brett W. Pelham, Mitsuru Shimizu, Jamie Arndt, Mauricio Carvallo, Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167217736047

Abstract: We tested predictions about religiosity and terror management processes in 16 nations. Specifically, we examined weekly variation in Google search volume in each nation for 12 years (all weeks for which data were available). In all 16 nations, higher than usual weekly Google search volume for life-threatening illnesses (cancer, diabetes, and hypertension) predicted increases in search volume for religious content (e.g., God, Jesus, prayer) in the following week. This effect held up after controlling for (a) recent past and annual variation in religious search volume, (b) increases in search volume associated with religious holidays, and (c) variation in searches for a non-life-threatening illness (“sore throat”). Terror management threat reduction processes appear to occur across the globe. Furthermore, they may occur over much longer periods than those studied in the laboratory. Managing fears of death via religious belief regulation appears to be culturally pervasive.

The best estimate of the effects of campaign contact & advertising on Americans' candidates choices in general elections is zero

Kalla, Joshua and Broockman, David E., The Minimal Persuasive Effects of Campaign Contact in General Elections: Evidence from 49 Field Experiments (September 25, 2017). Forthcoming, American Political Science Review; Stanford University Graduate School of Business Research Paper No. 17-65. American Political Science Review, forthcoming, available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3042867

Abstract: Significant theories of democratic accountability hinge on how political campaigns affect Americans' candidate choices. We argue that the best estimate of the effects of campaign contact and advertising on Americans' candidates choices in general elections is zero. First, a systematic meta-analysis of 40 field experiments estimates an average effect of zero in general elections. Second, we present nine original field experiments that increase the statistical evidence in the literature about the persuasive effects of personal contact 10-fold. These experiments' average effect is also zero. In both existing and our original experiments, persuasive effects only appear to emerge in two rare circumstances. First, when candidates take unusually unpopular positions and campaigns invest unusually heavily in identifying persuadable voters. Second, when campaigns contact voters long before election day and measure effects immediately - although this early persuasion decays. These findings contribute to ongoing debates about how political elites influence citizens' judgments.

Blind woman cannot discriminate gender of target faces, but perceives happy, fearful or angry expressions

Affective blindsight in the absence of input from face processing regions in occipital-temporal cortex. Christopher L. Striemer, Robert L. Whitwell, Melvyn A. Goodale. Neuropsychologia, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.11.014

Highlights
•    Patient MC has extensive bilateral lesions to occipital and ventral-temporal cortex
•    MC is completely blind to static stimuli, but has spared motion perception
•    Despite her extensive lesions MC can discriminate between different facial emotions
•    MC cannot discriminate gender from faces, or localize targets
•    Affective blindsight does not depend on V1, or ‘face’ regions in the ventral stream

Abstract: Previous research suggests that the implicit recognition of emotional expressions may be carried out by pathways that bypass primary visual cortex (V1) and project to the amygdala. Some of the strongest evidence supporting this claim comes from case studies of “affective blindsight” in which patients with V1 damage can correctly guess whether an unseen face was depicting a fearful or happy expression. In the current study, we report a new case of affective blindsight in patient MC who is cortically blind following extensive bilateral lesions to V1, as well as face and object processing regions in her ventral visual stream. Despite her large lesions, MC has preserved motion perception which is related to sparing of the motion sensitive region MT+ in both hemispheres.

To examine affective blindsight in MC we asked her to perform gender and emotion discrimination tasks in which she had to guess, using a two-alternative forced-choice procedure, whether the face presented was male or female, happy or fearful, or happy or angry. In addition, we also tested MC in a four-alternative forced-choice target localization task. Results indicated that MC was not able to determine the gender of the faces (53% accuracy), or localize targets in a forced-choice task. However, she was able to determine, at above chance levels, whether the face presented was depicting a happy or fearful (67%, p=.006), or a happy or angry (64%, p=.025) expression. Interestingly, although MC was better than chance at discriminating between emotions in faces when asked to make rapid judgments, her performance fell to chance when she was asked to provide subjective confidence ratings about her performance. These data lend further support to the idea that there is a non-conscious visual pathway that bypasses V1 which is capable of processing affective signals from facial expressions without input from higher-order face and object processing regions in the ventral visual stream.

Keywords: blindsight; emotion; amygdala; face processing

Choices of decreasing value should provoke decreasing anxiety, but it doesn't work that way -- aversive vs. unrewarding

Shenhav, Amitai, Carolyn K D Wolf, and Uma R Karmarkar. 2017. “The Evil of Banality: When Choosing Between the Mundane Feels Like Choosing Between the Worst”. PsyArXiv. August 3. psyarxiv.com/j3yxn

Abstract: Our most important decisions often provoke the greatest anxiety, whether we seek the better of two prizes or the lesser of two evils. Yet many of our choices are more mundane, such as selecting from a slate of mediocre but acceptable restaurants. Previous research suggests that choices of decreasing value should provoke decreasing anxiety. Here we show that this is not the case. Across three behavioral studies and one fMRI study, we find that anxiety and its neural correlates demonstrate a U-shaped function of choice set value, greatest when choosing between both the highest value and lowest value sets. We show that these counterintuitive findings can be accounted for by decision-makers perceiving low-value items as aversive rather than simply unrewarding. Decision-makers thus experience anxiety from competing avoidance motivations when forced to select among such options, comparable to the competing approach motivations they experience when choosing between high-value items.