Per political party: Americans' Attitudes on Individual or Racially Inflected Genetic Inheritance

Americans' Attitudes on Individual or Racially Inflected Genetic Inheritance. Jennifer Hochschild, Maya Sen. On Reconsidering Race: Social Science Perspectives on Racial Categories in the Age of Genomics. Edited by Kazuko Suzuki, Edited by Diego A. von Vacano. https://global.oup.com/academic/product/reconsidering-race-9780190465285

From the Nov 2013 paper, about Importance of individual, and of racial or ethnic, genetic inheritance, by partisan affiliation:

Democrats and Republicans hold roughly similar views, while the category of Independents, Undecided, and “Other” differ systematically from both sets of partisans. With regard to racial or ethnic genetic inheritance (shaded columns), Independents are less likely than the other two groups to see racial inheritance in six of the eight characteristics. That includes the three items that are generally assumed to be heritable (eye color, sickle cell anemia, and cystic fibrosis), for which the Independents are arguably mistaken. But it also includes the more ambiguous category of intelligence.

With regard to individual genetic inheritance, Democrats and Republicans again resemble one another, while Independents differ. Setting aside homosexuality, Independents are again  The least likely to make genetic attributions to the three genetically-linked traits, but they are most likely to make genetic attributions to the three ambiguous traits of heart disease, intelligence, and aggressiveness. Again, reassuringly we see no variation in the very low proportions attributing the flu to either type of inheritance.

We need further research to explain the anomaly of the Independents, and how or why partisanship relates to other possible associations (for example, education, gender, and race with views about genetic determinism. But these results conform to the general finding in the academic literature that “pure” Independents and nonpartisans (the Undecided or Others) are less knowledgeable about current events and political and social facts (Keith et al. 1992). The surprising and intriguing result is the lack of difference between Republicans and Democrats in the degree to which they concur with the social constructivist view, either with regard to racial or ethnic inheritance or individual ancestral inheritance. If the GKAP survey represents Americans in general, the question of biological or social causation is not polarized in the public in the way that it is among knowledgeable experts.

This similarity is reinforced by the overall average likelihood of making genetic attributions. As we have found in every previous analysis, for all items in all groups, there are fewer attributions to racial or ethnic inheritance than to individual ancestral inheritance. But within that framework, Republicans and Democrats closely resemble one another in accepting both types of genetic causes, while Independents are less likely to accept either individual genetic inheritance or, especially, racial or ethnic genetic inheritance. That is not what we expected, and it warrants further study.

The surprise deepens when we look only at the five items that are not generally understood as heritable. For those items, Independents are the most likely to make genetic attributions, both for individual ancestral inheritance and for group-based inheritance – but Democrats are more likely than Republicans to do so, again for both types of inheritance. Even setting aside the three items that are arguably not socially constructed, Republicans are closer to being social constructivists than are Democrats. In light of the normative valences with which this chapter started, that finding needs further exploration.

The Anomalous Case of Homosexuality: We have noted several times that responses to the item, “being gay or lesbian,” differ from responses to the other three traits (heart disease, intelligence, and a tendency toward violence) for which genetic and environmental or choice-based explanations are more ambiguous. We turn finally to a direct consideration of this item. Hypothesis H5.5 posits that views on homosexuality are an exception to our overall expectation about the link between partisanship (or ideology) and social constructivism, and that is indeed the case. As table 5 shows, Democrats are much more likely than Independents or Republicans to attribute being gay or lesbian to “genes,” and slightly more likely to attribute being gay or lesbian to “race or ethnicity.” Indeed, Democrats’ relatively high agreement with “genes” for that item helps to explain the fact that overall they are less socially constructivist than Republicans.10 [10 It does not fully explain that surprising result, however, since Democrats are also just as likely or slightly more likely than Republicans to explain heart disease, intelligence, and aggression through genetic causes]

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Participants compete individually or in teams, arbitrarily assigned, or based on their political party, Democrats against Republicans. People shirked on both teams: Participants exerted less effort in teams than in individual competition

Pulling for the team: Competition between political partisans. Lingbo Huang, Peter DeScioli, Zahra Murad. http://pdescioli.com/papers/huang.descioli.murad.political.tug.of.war.draft.2018.pdf

Abstract: At every level of politics, people form groups to compete for power and resources, including political parties, special interest groups, and international coalitions. Here we use economic experiments to investigate how people balance the desire for their group’s victory versus their own expenditure of effort. We design an economic tug of war in which the side that exerts greater effort wins a reward. In Experiment 1, participants compete individually or in teams, which were assigned arbitrarily. In Experiment 2, participants compete individually or in teams based on their political party, Democrats against Republicans. In both experiments, we find that people shirked on teams: Participants exerted less effort in teams than in individual competition. The results support theories about free-riding in groups, and they depart from theories about the automatic potency of partisan motives. We discuss why it is difficult for groups, including political partisans, to mobilize toward a common goal.

Keywords: group competition, political partisanship, contest theory, shirking, free-riding

How a smiley protects health for a while: Improving hand hygiene in hospitals by activating injunctive norms through emoticon

How a smiley protects health: A pilot intervention to improve hand hygiene in hospitals by activating injunctive norms through emoticons. Susanne Gaube et al. PLOS, May 21 2018,  https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0197465

Abstract: Hand hygiene practice in hospitals is unfortunately still widely insufficient, even though it is known that transmitting pathogens via hands is the leading cause of healthcare-associated infections. Previous research has shown that improving knowledge, providing feedback on past behaviour and targeting social norms are promising approaches to improve hand hygiene practices. The present field experiment was designed to direct people on when to perform hand hygiene and prevent forgetfulness. This intervention is the first to examine the effect of inducing injunctive social norms via an emoticon-based feedback system on hand hygiene behaviour. Electronic monitoring and feedback devices were installed in hospital patient rooms on top of hand-rub dispensers, next to the doorway, for a period of 17 weeks. In the emoticon condition, screens at the devices activated whenever a person entered or exited the room. Before using the alcohol-based hand-rub dispenser, a frowny face was displayed, indicating that hand hygiene should be performed. If the dispenser was subsequently used, this picture changed to a smiley face to positively reinforce the correct behaviour. Hand hygiene behaviour in the emoticon rooms significantly outperformed the behaviour in three other tested conditions. The strong effect in this field experiment indicates that activating injunctive norms may be a promising approach to improve hand hygiene behaviour. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Relative to nonbelievers, Christians self-enhanced strongly in domains central to the Christian self-concept. The results also generalized across countries with differing levels of religiosity. Christianity does not quiet the ego

From February 2017: Christian Self-Enhancement. Jochen E Gebauer, Constantine Sedikides, Alexandra Schrade. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 113(5), 10.1037/pspp0000140

Abstract> People overestimate themselves in domains that are central to their self-concept. Critically, the psychological status of this “self-centrality principle” remains unclear. One view regards the principle as an inextricable part of human nature and, thus, as universal and resistant to normative pressure. A contrasting view regards the principle as liable to pressure (and subsequent modification) from self-effacement norms, thus questioning its universality. Advocates of the latter view point to Christianity’s robust self-effacement norms, which they consider particularly effective in curbing self-enhancement, and ascribe Christianity an ego-quieting function. Three sets of studies examined the self-centrality principle among Christians. Studies 1A and 1B (N = 2,118) operationalized self-enhancement as better-than-average perceptions on the domains of commandments of faith (self-centrality: Christians ≫ nonbelievers) and commandments of communion (self-centrality: Christians > nonbelievers). Studies 2A–2H (N = 1,779) operationalized self-enhancement as knowledge overclaiming on the domains of Christianity (self-centrality: Christians ≫ nonbelievers), communion (self-centrality: Christians > nonbelievers), and agency (self-centrality: Christians ≈ nonbelievers). Studies 3A–3J (N = 1,956) operationalized self-enhancement as grandiose narcissism on the domains of communion (self-centrality: Christians > nonbelievers) and agency (self-centrality: Christians ≈ nonbelievers). The results converged across studies, yielding consistent evidence for Christian self-enhancement. Relative to nonbelievers, Christians self-enhanced strongly in domains central to the Christian self-concept. The results also generalized across countries with differing levels of religiosity. Christianity does not quiet the ego. The self-centrality principle is resistant to normative pressure, universal, and rooted in human nature.

Rational Learners or Biased Believers: How do children form beliefs in a motivated reasoning context?

Rational Learners or Biased Believers: How do children form beliefs in a motivated reasoning context? Prachi Solanki, Zachary Horne. https://www.cognitionasu.org/s/Evidence-Assimilation-CogSci2018.pdf

Abstract: We often believe what we want, regardless of the available evidence. When evidence confirms our beliefs, we are ready to accept it, but we are skeptical of new evidence when it impugns our beliefs. Researchers have examined the factors that influence how people integrate evidence into their existing beliefs; however, it is unclear what the developmental trajectory of evidence assimilation is. This may be particularly true in situations in which evidence runs contrary to a child’s motivations. In this study, we examined the developmental trajectory of evidence assimilation with children between the ages of 4 and 12 years old. Using a simple judgment task, we tested how children responded to different distributions of evidence for a proposition when they were motivated to believe that proposition was not true. Our results suggest that children accurately tracked the available evidence, even when it was incongruent with what they were motivated to believe.

Keywords: evidence assimilation; motivated reasoning, development, cognition

Feminist ≠ Feminine? Feminist Women Are Visually Masculinized Whereas Feminist Men Are Feminized

Feminist ≠ Feminine? Feminist Women Are Visually Masculinized Whereas Feminist Men Are Feminized. Aleksander B. Gundersen, Jonas R. Kunst. Sex Roles, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-018-0931-7

Abstract: Many people hold negative stereotypes about feminists. Verbally, feminist women are often described in masculine terms whereas feminist men tend to be described in feminine terms. Here, we demonstrate that these effects extend to a fundamental perceptual level, more specifically, to the domain of face perception even in Norway, the most gender-egalitarian country of the world. Four studies were conducted using a data-driven reverse-correlation technique to test how feminist women and men are visually represented. In Studies 1 (n = 123) and 2 (n = 61), Norwegians had more masculine-looking and less feminine-looking visual representations of feminist women as compared to women with moderate gender-related beliefs or other activist identities (i.e., the control conditions). These effects, which were particularly pronounced among male participants and those with stronger hostile sexist beliefs, further explained why feminist women were perceived as threatening. In Studies 3 (n = 131) and 4 (n = 74), participants had a less masculine-looking visual representation of feminist men as compared to the control condition. This effect was especially pronounced among female participants. In addition, effects were again moderated by hostile sexism, such that participants with stronger hostile sexist beliefs visualized the feminist man as less masculine than the man in the control condition. In sum, the results suggest that people have asymmetrically gendered visual representations of feminist women and men. Feminist women are visually represented as more masculine whereas the opposite is true for feminist men. We discuss our findings in light of women’s and men’s reluctance to identify as feminists and suggest potential interventions to change biased visual representations of feminists.

From 2011 but actual as ever: Bennett's Pandering for Profit, The Transformation of Health Charities to Lobbyists

Bennett, James T., Pandering for Profit: The Transformation of Health Charities to Lobbyists (December 14, 2011). GMU Working Paper in Economics No. 11-54. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1972369

Abstract: This study explores the metamorphosis of three major voluntary health agencies — American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, and American Lung Association — from charities supported primary by donations into lobbying organizations seeking taxpayers’ funds and grants from commercial enterprises in exchange for supporting private or political initiatives only peripherally related to their charitable missions. Prior to the 1980s, lobbying was all but nonexistent, limited to seeking increased funding for disease research. Fearing loss of tax-exempt status, health charities largely avoided political advocacy. The AIDS movement revealed that vast sums could be acquired from government by intense lobbying, and this advocacy evidently did not threaten tax-exempt status. All three of these charities copied the AIDS movement and targeted tobacco tax revenues at the state level. The American Lung Association, in particular, has acted as a public relations flack for both government agencies and corporations — selling its charitable reputation as a selfless entity concerned only with public health for self-interested purposes. The implications of this transition for both the charities themselves and the public interest are analyzed and discussed.

During a comedy routine, alcohol consumption enhanced enjoyment (Duchenne) smiles-but not nonenjoyment social smiles-and elevated mood ratings

The effects of alcohol on positive emotion during a comedy routine: A facial coding analysis. Sayette MA, Creswell KG, Fairbairn CE, Dimoff JD, Bentley K, Lazerus T. Emotion. 2018 May 17. doi: 10.1037/emo0000451

Abstract: There is considerable interest in understanding the emotional effects of alcohol. While a great deal of experimental research has focused on alcohol's ability to relieve negative emotions, there has been far less focus on the effects of alcohol on positive emotions. Further, the available research on positive emotion tends to test alcohol while participants are alone. Yet alcohol is often consumed in social settings, and enhancing social pleasure is consistently identified as being a primary motive for drinking. We aimed to address this gap in the literature by investigating the impact of alcohol on positive emotional experience in a social setting. We used the Facial Action Coding System (FACS) to examine in a large sample the effects of alcohol on response to comedy in a group setting. Five hundred thirteen social drinkers (51.9% female) were assembled into groups of three unacquainted persons and administered either a moderate dose of alcohol, a placebo, or a nonalcohol control beverage. Following beverage consumption, groups listened to a roughly 5-min comedy clip while their facial expressions were video recorded. More than 5 million frames of video were then FACS-coded. Alcohol consumption enhanced enjoyment (Duchenne) smiles-but not nonenjoyment social smiles-and elevated mood ratings. Results provide multimodal evidence supporting the ability of alcohol to enhance positive emotional experience during a comedy routine delivered in a social context. More broadly, this research illustrates the value of studying emotion in a social context using both self-report and behavior-expressive approaches.

Gay Native American Males maintain greater numbers of kin, siblings, & greater means of offspring among relatives, in support of Sexually Antagonistic Hypothesis for Male Homosexuality and the Fraternal Birth Order Effect

Austin, Samuel w., "Fertility and Reproduction's Niche: Human Sexual Diversity" (2017). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers, Montana Univ. 11006. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/11006

Abstract: Biologically exploring the origins and forms of human sexuality is of paramount importance. Scientific research has indicated that homosexuality was linked to reproduction, fertility, and adaptive child caring strategies, traits that seem to display cross-cultural similarities. This suggests that sexual diversity may be one of human’s earliest adaptations. While most of the previous research has been on individuals of European descent, little research on Native American populations has been completed to test whether these patterns continue in their population.

The research presented here tests the Sexually Antagonistic Hypothesis for Male Homosexuality, Fraternal Birth Order Effect, and childhood atypical gender behaviors among Native American Males. A questionnaire was administered to 45 Androphilic Native American Males and 40 Gynephilic Native American Males (control sample). Androphilic Native Males maintain greater numbers of kin, siblings, and greater means of offspring among relatives than gynephilic Native Males; yet these groups only maintained statistically significantly larger numbers of offspring for paternal and maternal grandmothers.

In support of the Fraternal Birth Order Effect, Androphilic Native Males had greater means for older brothers and older sisters, despite 23 out of 45 (51%) total androphilic males had reported to be the first males born among their siblings. However, the two groups failed to maintain statistically significance, which is potentially due to a sampling error as a large number of androphilic respondents reported to be first born.

The recalled childhood behaviors statistically demonstrate that Androphilic Native Males exhibited greater female roles and behaviors, and less male roles and behaviors than Gynephilic Native Males. Native American males maintain patterns that are consistent to support the presence of mechanisms for Sexual Antagonism and Fraternal Birth Order Effect. Future research seeks to elucidate these findings for clarity and expand on the sample size.

Significant genetic correlation between personality traits associated with progressive political ambition & military service: military service represents a different form of political participation to which individuals are genetically predisposed

Personality and Genetic Associations With Military Service. Matthew R. Miles, Donald P. Haider-Markel. Armed Forces & Society, https://doi.org/10.1177/0095327X18765449

Abstract: Existing literature connects military service to regional characteristics and family traditions, creating real distinctions between those who serve and those who do not. We engage this discussion by examining military service as a function of personality. In the second portion, we examine military service as predisposed by genetics. Our findings indicate there is a significant heritability component of serving in the military. We find a significant genetic correlation between personality traits associated with progressive political ambition and military service, suggesting that military service represents a different form of political participation to which individuals are genetically predisposed. We discuss the long-term implications of our findings for policy makers and recruiters.

Keywords: recruitment/retention, public policy, psychology, political science

Are Free Will Believers Nicer People? (four Studies Suggest Not)

Crone, Damien, and Neil L Levy 2018. “Are Free Will Believers Nicer People? (four Studies Suggest Not)”. PsyArXiv. May 19. doi:10.17605/OSF.IO/ZPJ5X

Abstract: Free will is widely considered a foundational component of Western moral and legal codes, and yet current conceptions of free will are widely thought to fit uncomfortably with much research in psychology and neuroscience. Recent research investigating the consequences of laypeople’s free will beliefs (FWBs) for everyday moral behavior suggest that stronger FWBs are associated with various desirable moral characteristics (e.g., greater helpfulness, less dishonesty). These findings have sparked concern regarding the potential for moral degeneration throughout society as science promotes a view of human behavior that is widely perceived to undermine the notion of free will. We report four studies (combined N = 921) originally concerned with possible mediators and/or moderators of the abovementioned associations. Unexpectedly, we found no association between FWBs and moral behavior. Our findings suggest that the FWB – moral behavior association (and accompanying concerns regarding decreases in FWBs causing moral degeneration) may be overstated.

Specific musical anhedonia (impossibility to enjoy music) is not driven by difficulties in experiencing emotion from visual aesthetic stimuli nor from emotional acoustic stimuli

Chapter 18 - The impact of visual art and emotional sounds in specific musical anhedonia. Ernest Mas-Herrero et al. Progress in Brain Research, Volume 237, 2018, Pages 399-413. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.pbr.2018.03.017

Highlights
•    Two specific tasks were designed to assess sensitivity to visual art and emotional sounds.
•    Specific musical anhedonics together with two groups with average and high sensitivity to music were tested with these two tasks.
•    Results indicate that specific musical anhedonia is not driven by difficulties in experiencing emotion from visual aesthetic stimuli nor from emotional acoustic stimuli.

Abstract: A small percentage of healthy individuals do not find music pleasurable, a condition known as specific musical anhedonia. These individuals have no impairment in music perception which might account for their anhedonia; their sensitivity to primary and secondary rewards is also preserved, and they do not show generalized depression. However, it is still unclear whether this condition is entirely specific to music, or rather reflects a more general deficit in experiencing pleasure, either from aesthetic rewards in general, or in response to other types of emotional sounds. The aim of this study is to determine whether individuals with specific musical anhedonia also show blunted emotional responses from other aesthetic rewards or emotional acoustic stimuli different than music. In two tasks designed to assess sensitivity to visual art and emotional sounds, we tested 13 individuals previously identified as specific musical anhedonics, together with two more groups with average (musical hedonic, HDN) and high (musical hyperhedonics, HHDN) sensitivity to experience reward from music. Differences among groups in skin conductance response and behavioral measures in response to pleasantness were analyzed in both tasks. Notably, specific musical anhedonics showed similar hedonic reactions, both behaviorally and physiologically, as the HDN control group in both tasks. These findings suggest that music hedonic sensitivity might be distinct from other human abstract reward processing and from an individual's ability to experience emotion from emotional sounds. The present results highlight the possible existence of specific neural pathways involved in the capacity to experience reward in music-related activities.

How Low Can You(r Power) Go? It Depends on Whether You are Male or Female

How Low Can You(r Power) Go? It Depends on Whether You are Male or Female. Aleah S. M. Fontaine, Jacquie D. Vorauer. Sex Roles, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-018-0927-3

Abstract: Three online experiments were conducted to determine whether gender differences in feelings of power are most evident in objectively lower or higher power situations (total n = 1360; Studies 1 and 2: 238 and 771 U.S. MTurk respondents respectively; Study 3: 351 Canadian university students). We focused on evaluating whether men’s and women’s responses were in line with a cushioning account, whereby the higher power generally accorded to men as a group essentially serves as a back-up power source for men in lower power positions. We also evaluated support for a ceiling account, whereby women’s feelings of power are limited in higher power positions. Results were consistent with the cushioning account: Men reported feeling more powerful than women did when imagining or recalling occupying a lower power position and in a control baseline, but no gender difference was evident under higher power conditions. Results further revealed that women’s feelings of power were more variable across lower versus higher power positions than were men’s and indicated that women’s feelings of power are quite responsive to situationally afforded high power when it is available. Overall our findings suggest that occupying a higher power role eradicates gender differences in feelings of power that are otherwise evident and thus has an equalizing effect.

Children generally adhere to presentation elements of their assigned gender and there were limited differences by parental sexual orientation in any of the gender presentation variables

Bruun, Samuel T., "Looking the Part: An Examination of Longitudinal Gender Presentation Among Children with Gay, Lesbian, and Heterosexual Adoptive Parents" (2018). Theses and Dissertations--Psychology. 136. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/psychology_etds/136

Abstract: Gender presentation, appearing in a way that fits social expectations of one’s gender role, represents one of the most obvious ways in which one’s gender identity becomes salient to others. This quality is especially relevant to note given the continued controversy surrounding children’s gender role development when raised by non-heterosexual parents. The current study is an examination of how gender presentation develops in adopted children with lesbian, gay, and heterosexual parents across two time points (Wave 1: N = 106, Mage = 36.07 months; Wave 2: N = 90, Mage = 8.34). Children’s gender presentation was analyzed using a novel coding scheme, consisting of several variables meant to target the presence of gender typed clothing. These elements of appearance were compared with several measures of child outcomes. It was found that children generally adhere to presentation elements of their assigned gender and there were limited differences by parental sexual orientation in any of the gender presentation variables. Additionally, there was no association found between conformity in gender presentation and children’s self-perception or parent or child gender-typical attitudes. The results of this initial study may prove to be useful in ongoing research surrounding children’s gender typicality.

Smelling Anxiety Chemosignals Impairs Clinical Performance of Dental Students

Smelling Anxiety Chemosignals Impairs Clinical Performance of Dental Students. Preet Bano Singh Alix Young Synnøve Lind Marie Cathinka Leegaard Alessandra Capuozzo Valentina Parma. Chemical Senses, bjy028, https://doi.org/10.1093/chemse/bjy028

Abstract: Despite the fact that human body odors can transfer anxiety-related signals, the impact of such signals in real-life situations is scant. In this study, the effects of anxiety chemosignals on the performance of dental students operating on simulation units, wearing t-shirts imbued with human sweat and masked with eugenol were tested. Twenty-four 4th year dental students (17F) donated their body odors in two sessions (Anxiety and Rest). Twenty-four normosmic, sex- and age-matched test subjects who were3rd year dental students performed three dental procedures while smelling masked anxiety body odors, masked rest body odors or masker alone. The intensity and pleasantness ratings showed that the test subjects could not report perceptual differences between the odor conditions. When exposed to masked anxiety body odors the test subject’s dental performance was significantly worse than when they were exposed to masked rest body odors and masker alone, indicating that their performance was modulated by exposure to the emotional tone of the odor. These findings call for a careful evaluation of the anxiety-inducing effects of body odors in performance-related tasks and provide the first ecological evaluation of human anxiety chemosignal communication.

Keywords: anxiety body odor, chemosignals, dental performance, emotional contagion, expertise

Frogs and their sometimes irrational mate choices: Comparisons can be based on proportional rather than absolute differences; and mate preferences can be influenced by competitive decoys

‘Crazy love’: nonlinearity and irrationality in mate choice. Michael J. Ryan et al. Animal Behaviour, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.04.004

Highlights
•    Mate choice decisions are sometimes irrational.
•    Auditory grouping is not always an easy task for choosers.
•    Comparisons can be based on proportional rather than absolute differences.
•    Mate preferences can be influenced by competitive decoys.
•    Novel combinations of audio and visual cues can result in perceptual rescue.

Choosing a mate is one of the most important decisions an animal can make. The fitness consequences of mate choice have been analysed extensively, and its mechanistic bases have provided insights into how animals make such decisions. Less attention has been given to higher-level cognitive processes. The assumption that animals choose mates predictably and rationally is an important assumption in both ultimate and proximate analyses of mate choice. It is becoming clear, however, that irrational decisions and unpredictable nonlinearities often characterize mate choice. Here we review studies in which cognitive analyses seem to play an important role in the following contexts: auditory grouping; Weber's law; competitive decoys; multimodal communication; and, perceptual rescue. The sum of these studies suggest that mate choice decisions are more complex than they might seem and suggest some caution in making assumptions about evolutionary processes and simplistic mechanisms of mate choice.

Keywords: anuran; cognitive ecology; irrational choice; mate choice; nonlinearities; túngara frog

Engaging in a pre-eating ritual over a 5-day period helped reduce calorie intake; pairing a ritual with healthy eating behavior increased the likelihood of choosing healthy food subsequently; the positive effect of rituals in prosociality held even when ritualized gestures were not labeled as such

Tian, A. D., Schroeder, J., Häubl, G., Risen, J. L., Norton, M. I., & Gino, F. (2018). Enacting rituals to improve self-control. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 114(6), 851-876. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000113

Abstract: Rituals are predefined sequences of actions characterized by rigidity and repetition. We propose that enacting ritualized actions can enhance subjective feelings of self-discipline, such that rituals can be harnessed to improve behavioral self-control. We test this hypothesis in 6 experiments. A field experiment showed that engaging in a pre-eating ritual over a 5-day period helped participants reduce calorie intake (Experiment 1). Pairing a ritual with healthy eating behavior increased the likelihood of choosing healthy food in a subsequent decision (Experiment 2), and enacting a ritual before a food choice (i.e., without being integrated into the consumption process) promoted the choice of healthy food over unhealthy food (Experiments 3a and 3b). The positive effect of rituals on self-control held even when a set of ritualized gestures were not explicitly labeled as a ritual, and in other domains of behavioral self-control (i.e., prosocial decision-making; Experiments 4 and 5). Furthermore, Experiments 3a, 3b, 4, and 5 provided evidence for the psychological process underlying the effectiveness of rituals: heightened feelings of self-discipline. Finally, Experiment 5 showed that the absence of a self-control conflict eliminated the effect of rituals on behavior, demonstrating that rituals affect behavioral self-control specifically because they alter responses to self-control conflicts. We conclude by briefly describing the results of a number of additional experiments examining rituals in other self-control domains. Our body of evidence suggests that rituals can have beneficial consequences for self-control.

Affect in self‐generated thought is prevalent, positively biased, highly variable (both within & across individuals), & consistently recruits many brain areas implicated in emotional processing

Affective neuroscience of self‐generated thought. Kieran C.R. Fox, Jessica R. Andrews‐Hanna, Caitlin Mills, Matthew L. Dixon, Jelena Markovic, Evan Thompson, Kalina Christoff. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.13740

Abstract: Despite increasing scientific interest in self‐generated thought—mental content largely independent of the immediate environment—there has yet to be any comprehensive synthesis of the subjective experience and neural correlates of affect in these forms of thinking. Here, we aim to develop an integrated affective neuroscience encompassing many forms of self‐generated thought—normal and pathological, moderate and excessive, in waking and in sleep. In synthesizing existing literature on this topic, we reveal consistent findings pertaining to the prevalence, valence, and variability of emotion in self‐generated thought, and highlight how these factors might interact with self‐generated thought to influence general well‐being. We integrate these psychological findings with recent neuroimaging research, bringing attention to the neural correlates of affect in self‐generated thought. We show that affect in self‐generated thought is prevalent, positively biased, highly variable (both within and across individuals), and consistently recruits many brain areas implicated in emotional processing, including the orbitofrontal cortex, amygdala, insula, and medial prefrontal cortex. Many factors modulate these typical psychological and neural patterns, however; the emerging affective neuroscience of self‐generated thought must endeavor to link brain function and subjective experience in both everyday self‐generated thought as well as its dysfunctions in mental illness.

Partisan voters will be happier whenever a member of their party controls political office regardless of the policies; ideologues are happier when the politicians in power, regardless of party affiliation, enact their policies; those who hold extreme political views report higher levels of happiness

Jackson, Jeremy, Happy Partisans and Ideologues: State versus National (March 27, 2018). http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3145282

Abstract: The political party of elected officials can affect the happiness of the voting public through several different channels. Partisan voters will be happier whenever a member of their party controls political office regardless of the policies implemented. Ideologues are happier when the politicians in power, regardless of party affiliation, enact policies closer to those that they prefer. Using data from the Generalized Social Survey the effect of party affiliation of national and state politicians on happiness is estimated. Political ideology scores are also gathered allowing the effect of ideology and its match with respondent preferences to be estimated. It is hypothesized that state political affiliations and ideology scores should have a greater impact on citizen happiness due to results from the literature on Tiebout sorting. However, this is not the case. Presidential party affiliation and ideology have a much greater impact on happiness than national legislative affiliation/ideology or gubernatorial and state legislative affiliation/ideology. These results suggest that identity politics appear to have the greatest effect on happiness.

Keywords: Happiness, Partisanship, Ideology, Party Politics
JEL Classification: D7, I31

What seems like negative affect toward the other party is, in fact, negative affect toward partisans from either side of the aisle and political discussion in general; many people do not want their child to marry someone from their own party if that hypothetical in-law were to discuss politics frequently

Samara Klar, Yanna Krupnikov, John Barry Ryan; Affective Polarization or Partisan Disdain?: Untangling a Dislike for the Opposing Party from a Dislike of Partisanship, Public Opinion Quarterly, , nfy014, https://doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfy014

Abstract: Recent scholarship suggests that American partisans dislike other party members so much that partisanship has become the main social divide in modern politics. We argue that at least one measure of this “affective polarization” conflates a dislike for members of the other party with a dislike for partisanship in general. The measure asks people how they feel about their child marrying someone from another party. What seems like negative affect toward the other party is, in fact, negative affect toward partisans from either side of the aisle and political discussion in general. Relying on two national experiments, we demonstrate that although some Americans are politically polarized, more simply want to avoid talking about politics. In fact, many people do not want their child to marry someone from their own party if that hypothetical in-law were to discuss politics frequently. Supplementary analyses using ANES feeling thermometers show that inparty feeling thermometer ratings have decreased in recent years among weak and leaning partisans. As a result, the feeling thermometer results confirm the conclusion from the experiments. Polarization is a phenomenon concentrated in the one-third of Americans who consider themselves strong partisans. More individuals are averse to partisan politics. The analyses demonstrate how affective polarization exists alongside weakening partisan identities.

Health studies among humorists shows susceptibility to contagious diseases among improvisational artists: Found no evidence that humor positively contributes to health, and a career in a humor-related profession may be detrimental to one’s health

Health among humorists: Susceptibility to contagious diseases among improvisational artists. Gil Greengross, Rod A. Martin. Humor, https://doi.org/10.1515/humor-2017-0054

Abstract: There is a widely held belief that humor contributes to better health, but the research on this topic yields mixed results. To assess the relationship between humor and health, we compared the susceptibility to various infectious diseases of 511 comedy performers (amateur improvisational artists) and a control group of 795 non-performers that were matched to the comedy performers sample in age and sex. Subjects reported the number of episodes and the total days they had had various infectious diseases. Contrary to the prevailing sentiment that humor boosts health, results showed that the comedy performer group reported more frequent contagious diseases and more days having these infections diseases, compared to the control group. Improv artists had significantly more infections and reported more days infected than the control group on respiratory infections, head colds, stomach or intestinal flu, skin infections, and autoimmune diseases. The control group had significantly more bladder infections with non-significant difference on days infected. Results held after controlling for BMI, age, number of antibiotics used and neuroticism. We found no evidence that humor positively contributes to health, and a career in a humor-related profession may be detrimental to one’s health. Our research highlights the complex relationship between humor and health outcomes.

Keywords: humor; physical health; improvisational artists; stand-up comedy; infectious diseases

Nonbelievers were less inclined to cheat than believers; prayer acted as a self-control enhancement for believers (but not nonbelievers), decreasing their cheating to the level of nonbelievers

Alogna, V. (2018). The divergent effects of prayer on cognitive performance (Thesis, Doctor of Philosophy). University of Otago. http://hdl.handle.net/10523/7963

Abstract: Prayer is a universal religious ritual, even among the secular. Although prayer is assumed to be beneficial, the empirical evidence is sparse. What rigorous research exists, concentrates on prayer’s subjective effects and correlates. There is reason to think that these subjective mechanisms could translate to objective performance, such that praying for an objective outcome might bring about that outcome (without divine intervention) through one or more cognitive mechanisms. The primary aim of this thesis was to examine prayer’s effects on cognitive performance, and the mediating mechanisms that could account for its effects.

In two experiments, one in which prayer content was controlled and another in which participants generated the content, prayer differentially affected anagram performance depending on participants’ supernatural beliefs. Believers performed better after praying than after one of several control manipulations, and the opposite was true for nonbelievers.

Several mechanisms were explored as potential mediators of these effects. In Studies 1 and 2, emotional and arousal accounts of prayer were considered. Study 1 showed that believers who prayed experienced increased arousal and positive affect, but Study 2 did not replicate these effects. Study 2 revealed initial evidence of an alternative attributional account of prayer. Believers who prayed not only performed better on the anagram task, but also reported more internal attributions of control over their performance. However, the results of Studies 3 and 4, which investigated prayer’s effects on attributions of control, in the absence of performance were inconsistent with this account. Study 3 suggested another potential mechanism, that believers who prayed perceived their prayers as more effective in improving their performance. However, expectancy perceptions did not translate into predictions about performance, casting doubt on this account. Study 5 examined two alternative mechanisms; social influence and self-control. Preliminary results did not support a social influence account of prayer. However, results showed initial support for a self-control account of prayer, with prayer increasing the ability to forgo immediate rewards as religiosity increased. Study 6 investigated prayer’s effects on cheating, an activity associated with self-control. Overall, nonbelievers were less inclined to cheat than believers. Prayer acted as a self-control enhancement for believers (but not nonbelievers), decreasing their cheating to the level of nonbelievers.

Despite a number of limitations, most notably the absence evidence for a complete causal model, the six studies together provide a number of basic experimental and correlational findings regarding the relationship between religious belief, prayer, and performance. Future research should investigate the replicability and generalizability of these results.

It is not democracy and its credible budgets leading to military strength, as in Lake 1992; rather, it is limited government leading to military strength, Weingast 1998

Cox, Gary W. and Dincecco, Mark, The Budgetary Origins of Fiscal-Military Prowess (April 13, 2018). http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3162629

Abstract: Why modern democracies tend to win the wars they fight has been much debated. In this paper, we investigate the budgetary sources of fiscal-military prowess from the mid-17th to the early 20th centuries. We first review evidence that states adopting credible budgets accrued substantial advantages in raising taxes and loans. Because victory in war has, since the early modern period, been largely a matter of out-spending one’s opponent, credible budgets have also conferred an advantage in winning wars. Using panel data on 10 major European powers, we show that credible budgets led to significantly larger wartime expenditures and thus better chances of winning. Since credible budgets could be adopted by decidedly non-democratic countries, such as England in 1689 or Prussia in 1848, ours is not a theory of democracy leading to military strength, as in the literature beginning with Lake (1992). Rather, it is a theory of limited government leading to military strength, as in Schultz and Weingast (1998).

Keywords: fiscal-military states, credible budgets, democratic victory thesis