This post's title is mine.
The original post I based my comment on is a post about China and the US by Christopher Balding in Balding's World: Global Finance and Economics. July 17 2018. http://www.baldingsworld.com/2018/07/17/balding-out/
Excerpts:
I have been in a fair number of countries and China still remains the more foreign place that I continually have to figure out every day. Other countries have been to in Asia, developed and developing, and even Africa seem less disorienting and culturally dissimilar. This is both exhilarating, exciting, frustrating, amusing and tiring. My wife and I would frequently joke that every day you lived in China you would see something you had never seen before.
One of the most interesting thing to me was to see how my thinking evolved over time in China. Prior to coming, I was and still am a libertarian leaning professor. I had not given a lot of thought to human rights either in the United States or in China. While many are aware of a variety of the cases that receive attention, I think what struck me is how this filters down into the culture. There is a complete and utter lack of respect for the individual or person in China. People do not have innate value as people simply because they exist.
This leads most directly to a lack of respect for the law/rules/norms. One thing I began to realize over time is, while not German, how law, rule, and norm abiding Americans are with minimal fear of enforcement. Cutting in line is considered extremely rude because there is a sense of fairness and that people have equal rights. In China, line cutting is considered nearly standard operating procedure. There is a common and accepted respect for others even if just it is as simple as standing in line.
In a way, I sympathize with Chairman Xi’s emphasis on rule of law because in my experience laws/rules/norms are simply ignored. They are ignored quietly so as not to embarrass the enforcer, however, frequently, the enforcer knows rules or laws are being ignored but so long as the breaker is not egregious, both parties continue to exist in a state of blissful ignorance. Honesty without force is not normal but an outlier. Lying is utterly common, but telling the truth revolutionary.
I rationalize the silent contempt for the existing rules and laws within China as people not respecting the method for creating and establishing the rules and laws. Rather than confronting the system, a superior, or try good faith attempts to change something, they choose a type of quiet subversion by just ignoring the rule or law. This quickly spreads to virtually every facet of behavior as everything can be rationalized in a myriad of ways. Before coming to China, I had this idea that China was rigid which in some ways it is, but in reality it is brutally chaotic because there are no rules it is the pure rule of the jungle with unconstrained might imposing their will and all others ignoring laws to behave as they see fit with no sense of morality or respect for right.
I had a lawyer tell me about the corruption crackdown, and even most convicted of crimes, that people referred to them as “unlucky”. As he noted, there was almost no concept of justice even if people recognized the person had done what they were accused of having done. The discipline stemmed not from their behavior but they were cannon fodder for some game chosen by a higher authority.
China wrestles with these issues like clockwork every few years after a tragic incident goes viral. A common one is when someone is run over by a car and pedestrians just step over the body until a family member finds the body. The video goes viral, prompts a week of hand wringing, and then censors step in to talk about Confucianism and how the economy is growing. There is no innate value given to human life as precious.
A friend of mine in China who is a Christian missionary, told me a story about a time he was invited to speak at the local English corner they had in the apartment development where locals would get together hopefully with foreigners and practice English. He was asked to speak on what is the meaning of life, perfect for a part time missionary. He said he knew what people would say having lived in China for sometime but even so was stunned at how deeply and rigidly held the belief that making money was the entire meaning of life. There was no value system. There was no exogenously held right or wrong, only whether you made money. With apologies to a bastardized Dostoevsky, with money as God, all is permissible.
I could talk at length about that what I have observed, but I am not a human rights expert and what type of cultural changes or evolution it engenders. However, while the well known cases draw attention, these attitudes and responses set the tone for a culture where individuals, respect, and truth mean nothing.
This has impacted my broader thinking in that executive space (thinking of the United States but also applicable elsewhere) is that laws need to be enforced consistently not at the whim of the superior. If the law exists it should be enforced and consistent, otherwise it should be removed. Currently, the United States is going further and further in a direction where laws are applied inconsistently shifting from varying enforcement regimes under different executives. Law is not law if the government can choose whether to enforce it. Law has become the whimsy of sovereigns prone to political fancy.
This applies as well to how everyone is treated. From a President we may have reason to suspect of illegal activity to an immigrant fighting for asylum, all are innocent until proven guilty and treated humanely. I see this pernicious cycle taking place from China in the United States where decency and humanity on all sides (I am not going to apportion blame here) is swallowed by shrill invectives that people then use to justify their own lack of decency in pursuit of whatever they believe to be right. America will not return to its principles by partisans justifying increasingly coarse behavior and rhetoric.
[...]
One of the reasons principles matter is that each side feels locked in a death struggle. Principles are unwelcome to many because there are times we do not like those principles or where our side will lose if we abide by that principle. The principle matters more than the short term win or loss. All powers we demand can be used against us at some point. America needs to return to seeking to uphold the highest of principles knowing there will be times our side loses because we chose to uphold a principle. In a democracy, you are going to lose based upon historical precedent, probably about 50% of the time. That is the point of democracy. Rather than delusionaly believing in vast mandates, candidates should recognize that in recent history they have been elected on narrow margins and hew a more moderate path.
I think one of the great things about America that people forget is that it is an experiment. It is an experiment like none other that is truly unique for any major country. There is no country in the world that is in such a state of constant flux and change from a macro-historical perspective. Wave after wave over the past few hundred years of immigrants that drive ambition and innovation are hallmarks.
Any large American city will have a higher foreign born population than the entirety of China. America has one of the highest net migration rates of any major economy and accepts more immigrants than any other country. Of major economies, only Canada and Germany are higher as a percentage of foreign born population share. It is easy to focus on specific incidents that make the situation seem dire, but in reality America remains an enormously welcoming country to immigrants.
I think of an area where I know well academia and start ups. The ability of foreign born academics to rise to a position of prominence or create a start up in China is virtually zero. In the United States, Silicon Valley is rich with a foreign born population or the children of immigrants and the professor and deans ranks are filled with foreign born population. The United States is in a continual state of its own internal flux but that is what the experiment is: a country not founded on blood or ideology but a shared destiny of values and principles that all men are created equal.
The United States has repeatedly failed and continues to fall short of its ideals but has shown a greater sense of self correction than almost any other. In China you cannot talk about most of history, while in the United States there are constant reminders about failures and how to apply those lessons. We must remember that it is an ongoing experiment of values we hold to be self evident, not an already attained ideal but a continual working out of what we believe.
[...]
In China, there are very few people who I witness live a testament of their belief. Who knows if the Party member is a member because he believes in Marxism, Communism, Xi-ism, or simply wants a better apartment? Who knows if the person who claims to be a believer in democracy but complies with the Party actually believes that or just tells the foreigner? Foreigners in China in positions of influence who claim to believe in human rights but collaborate with the Party to deny Chinese citizens rights need to answer for their actions. I have little idea what people in China believe but I know that if the Party ever falls, there will be more than a billion more people claiming they were closet democracy advocates.
We should never wish adversity upon ourselves, but recognize that US ideals and values are being tested. I have every confidence that American ideals will come out stronger but make no mistake, it is a trying time. Sometimes you need to be tested in your beliefs to know those convictions hold beyond convenience or benefit.
One of my biggest fears living in China has always been that I would be detained. Though I happily pointed out the absurdity of the rapidly encroaching authoritarianism, a fact which continues to elude so many experts not living in China, I tried to make sure I knew where the line was and did not cross it. There is a profound sense of relief to be leaving safely knowing others, Chinese or foreigners, who have had significantly greater difficulties than myself. There are many cases which resulted in significantly more problems for them. I know I am blessed to make it out.
I leave China profoundly worried about the future of China and US China relations. Most attention here has focused on the Thucydides Trap where conflict results from an established and a rising power. This leaves out probably the most important variable not just the distinction between an established and a rising power but the values inherent within each state and the system they want to project defining relations between states and the citizenry to the state.
The United States under Trump and the GOP is facing a significant test and re-evaluation of its principles. However, I remain decidedly confident in the US to handle those tests. The self correction nature of democracy is on clear display. The best case scenario for the Trump administration is to minimize congressional losses with the very real possibility of losing control of the house. President Trump has lost more in the courts than he has won and is under investigations by law enforcement headed by registered Republicans. His own party has been unable to pass consequential legislation except for a tax cut. While none of this confronts the international challenges facing the United States, it speaks to the evolutionary, self corrective nature of US democracy.
The United States continues to take the largest number of immigrants and rank as one of the most open economies and investment markets in the world, even for Chinese immigrants and businesses. [...]
Conversely, China is a rising power but probably more importantly is a deeply illiberal, expansionist, authoritarian, police state opposed to human rights, democracy, free trade, and rule of law. Just as we need to consider the state, speed, and direction of change in the United States, China has been deeply illiberal authoritarian for many years, is becoming increasingly illiberal, and is accelerating the pace of change towards greater control. It both puzzles and concerns me having lived in China for nearly a decade as a public employee to hear Polyanna statements from China “experts” in the United States who talk about the opening and reform of China or refuse to consider the values being promoted. [...]
The rise of China represents a clear and explicit threat not to the United States but to the entirety of liberal democracy, human rights, and open international markets. We see the world slowly being divided into China supported authoritarian regimes of various stripes that support its creeping illiberalism across a range of areas. The tragedy of modern American foreign policy is the history of active ignorance and refusal to actively confront the Chinese norm or legal violations. The Trump administration is utterly incapable of defending the values and assembling the coalition that would respond to American leadership as they face even greater threats from China.
The concern is not over Chinese access to technology to facilitate economic development for a liberal open state. The concern is over the use of technology to facilitate human rights violations and further cement closed markets. That is a threat for which neither the United States or any other democracy loving country should apologize for.
I should note that I like many other am concerned about the level of government surveillance on citizenry. However, equating Beijing to Washington in many of these specific issues is simply non-sensical authoritarian apologetics. Let me just briefly run through some of the enormous differences. First, some have argued tech firms gather data which is true but does not distinguish what happens to the data. Unlike China, the US government does not have free access to all electronic data. Second, China uses control over electronic communication in vastly draconian cyber dystopia ways compared to the wide range of opinions that are allowed online in the rest of the world. By simple comparison, Winnie the Pooh is censored in China while in the United States the debate is over whether some information should be restricted that is deemed inaccurate. It is nothing less than authoritarian apologetics to attempt to equate the two in any serious manner.
It is profoundly misguided and short sighted to view the rise of China as tension arising either purely from rising economic development in a major state or as a bilateral conflict with the United States. China represents a clear and present threat to liberal democracies, open markets, and international system nor do they even now attempt to hide this policy. These tensions for the foreseeable future will only increase. I do not like the way Trump has handled his approach to China and the very valid concerns he raises about their practices, but I find it even more troubling the near total lack of any attempt to deal with these issue previous administrations and the surrogates have displayed for many years and continue to display. [...]
Thursday, July 19, 2018
Stronger intellectual abilities are associated with greater cortical thickness (CT) and cortical volume (CV); in relation to measured intelligence, CT and CV are more relevant measures than cortical surface area or cortical gyrification
The Relationship Between General Intelligence and Cortical Structure in Healthy Individuals. Sahil Bajaj et al. Neuroscience, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2018.07.008
Highlights
• Stronger intellectual abilities are associated with greater cortical thickness (CT) and cortical volume (CV).
• The neural basis of intellectual abilities extends beyond fronto-parietal brain regions.
• In relation to measured intelligence, CT and CV are more relevant measures than cortical surface area or cortical gyrification.
Abstract: Considerable work in recent years has examined the relationship between cortical thickness (CT) and general intelligence (IQ) in healthy individuals. It is not known whether specific IQ variables (i.e., perceptual reasoning [PIQ], verbal comprehension IQ [VIQ], and full-scale IQ [FSIQ]) are associated with multiple cortical measures (i.e., CT, cortical volume (CV), cortical surface area (CSA) and cortical gyrification (CG)) within the same individuals. Here we examined the association between these neuroimaging metrics and IQ in 56 healthy adults. At a cluster-forming threshold (CFT) of p < 0.05, we observed significant positive relationships between CT and all three IQ variables in regions within the posterior frontal and superior parietal lobes. Regions within the temporal and posterior frontal lobes exhibited positive relationships between CV and two IQ variables (PIQ and FSIQ) and regions within the inferior parietal lobe exhibited positive relationships between CV and PIQ. Additionally, CV was positively associated with VIQ in the left insula and with FSIQ within the inferior frontal gyrus. At a more stringent CFT (p < 0.01), the CT–PIQ, CT–VIQ, CT–FSIQ, and CV–PIQ relationships remained significant within the posterior frontal lobe, as did the CV–PIQ relationship within the temporal and inferior parietal lobes. We did not observe statistically significant relationships between IQ and either CSA or CG. Our findings suggest that the neural basis of IQ extends beyond previously observed relationships with fronto-parietal regions. We also conclude that CT and CV may be more useful metrics than CSA or CG in the study of intellectual abilities.
Abbreviations
CFT cluster-forming threshold
CG cortical gyrification
CSA cortical surface area
CT cortical thickness
CV cortical volume
FSIQ full-scale IQ
IQ intelligence
PIQ perceptual reasoning
VIQ verbal comprehension IQ
Highlights
• Stronger intellectual abilities are associated with greater cortical thickness (CT) and cortical volume (CV).
• The neural basis of intellectual abilities extends beyond fronto-parietal brain regions.
• In relation to measured intelligence, CT and CV are more relevant measures than cortical surface area or cortical gyrification.
Abstract: Considerable work in recent years has examined the relationship between cortical thickness (CT) and general intelligence (IQ) in healthy individuals. It is not known whether specific IQ variables (i.e., perceptual reasoning [PIQ], verbal comprehension IQ [VIQ], and full-scale IQ [FSIQ]) are associated with multiple cortical measures (i.e., CT, cortical volume (CV), cortical surface area (CSA) and cortical gyrification (CG)) within the same individuals. Here we examined the association between these neuroimaging metrics and IQ in 56 healthy adults. At a cluster-forming threshold (CFT) of p < 0.05, we observed significant positive relationships between CT and all three IQ variables in regions within the posterior frontal and superior parietal lobes. Regions within the temporal and posterior frontal lobes exhibited positive relationships between CV and two IQ variables (PIQ and FSIQ) and regions within the inferior parietal lobe exhibited positive relationships between CV and PIQ. Additionally, CV was positively associated with VIQ in the left insula and with FSIQ within the inferior frontal gyrus. At a more stringent CFT (p < 0.01), the CT–PIQ, CT–VIQ, CT–FSIQ, and CV–PIQ relationships remained significant within the posterior frontal lobe, as did the CV–PIQ relationship within the temporal and inferior parietal lobes. We did not observe statistically significant relationships between IQ and either CSA or CG. Our findings suggest that the neural basis of IQ extends beyond previously observed relationships with fronto-parietal regions. We also conclude that CT and CV may be more useful metrics than CSA or CG in the study of intellectual abilities.
Abbreviations
CFT cluster-forming threshold
CG cortical gyrification
CSA cortical surface area
CT cortical thickness
CV cortical volume
FSIQ full-scale IQ
IQ intelligence
PIQ perceptual reasoning
VIQ verbal comprehension IQ
Sunk costs are irrecoverable investments that should not influence decisions; decisions should be made on the basis of expected future consequences; but mice, rats, and humans show similar sensitivities to sunk costs in their decision-making, a vulnerability distinct from deliberation processes
Sensitivity to “sunk costs” in mice, rats, and humans. Brian M. Sweis et al. Science Jul 13 2018, Vol. 361, Issue 6398, pp. 178-181. DOI: 10.1126/science.aar8644
The impact of time wasted: The amount of time already spent on a task influences human choice about whether to continue. This dedicated time, known as the “sunk cost,” reduces the likelihood of giving up the pursuit of a reward, even when there is no indication of likely success. Sweis et al. show that this sensitivity to time invested occurs similarly in mice, rats, and humans (see the Perspective by Brosnan). All three display a resistance to giving up their pursuit of a reward in a foraging context, but only after they have made the decision to pursue the reward.
Abstract: Sunk costs are irrecoverable investments that should not influence decisions, because decisions should be made on the basis of expected future consequences. Both human and nonhuman animals can show sensitivity to sunk costs, but reports from across species are inconsistent. In a temporal context, a sensitivity to sunk costs arises when an individual resists ending an activity, even if it seems unproductive, because of the time already invested. In two parallel foraging tasks that we designed, we found that mice, rats, and humans show similar sensitivities to sunk costs in their decision-making. Unexpectedly, sensitivity to time invested accrued only after an initial decision had been made. These findings suggest that sensitivity to temporal sunk costs lies in a vulnerability distinct from deliberation processes and that this distinction is present across species.
Check also: The sunk-cost fallacy—pursuing an inferior alternative merely because we have previously invested significant, but nonrecoverable, resources in it—, a striking violation of rational decision making, can appear when costs are borne by someone other than the decision maker. https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2018/05/from-2012-status-quo-maintenance-has.html
The impact of time wasted: The amount of time already spent on a task influences human choice about whether to continue. This dedicated time, known as the “sunk cost,” reduces the likelihood of giving up the pursuit of a reward, even when there is no indication of likely success. Sweis et al. show that this sensitivity to time invested occurs similarly in mice, rats, and humans (see the Perspective by Brosnan). All three display a resistance to giving up their pursuit of a reward in a foraging context, but only after they have made the decision to pursue the reward.
Abstract: Sunk costs are irrecoverable investments that should not influence decisions, because decisions should be made on the basis of expected future consequences. Both human and nonhuman animals can show sensitivity to sunk costs, but reports from across species are inconsistent. In a temporal context, a sensitivity to sunk costs arises when an individual resists ending an activity, even if it seems unproductive, because of the time already invested. In two parallel foraging tasks that we designed, we found that mice, rats, and humans show similar sensitivities to sunk costs in their decision-making. Unexpectedly, sensitivity to time invested accrued only after an initial decision had been made. These findings suggest that sensitivity to temporal sunk costs lies in a vulnerability distinct from deliberation processes and that this distinction is present across species.
Check also: The sunk-cost fallacy—pursuing an inferior alternative merely because we have previously invested significant, but nonrecoverable, resources in it—, a striking violation of rational decision making, can appear when costs are borne by someone other than the decision maker. https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2018/05/from-2012-status-quo-maintenance-has.html
Dopamine: Its reward related function regulates the processes of energy consumption and acquisition in the body; thenergy-related book-keeping of the body at the physiological level is the common motif that links the many facets of dopamine and its functions
The many facets of dopamine: Toward an integrative theory of the role of dopamine in managing the body's energy resources. Srinivasa Chakravarthy et al. Physiology & Behavior, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2018.06.032
Highlights
• We seek to present a conceptual synthesis of the manifold physiological functions of dopamine, and the reward system of the brain with which the molecule is closely associated.
• We review the diverse role of dopamine as a reward signal, in regulation of appetite, circulation and energy management.
• We propose a theoretical frame work that the functions of dopamine in neural and physiological domains can be linked through its actions vis a vis the reward system of the brain, as a part of an extensive energy management system of the body
Abstract: In neue roscience literature, dopamine is often considered as a pleasure chemical of the brain. Dopaminergic neurons respond to rewarding stimuli which include primary rewards like opioids or food, or more abstract forms of reward like cash rewards or pictures of pretty faces. It is this reward-related aspect of dopamine, particularly its association with reward prediction error, that is highlighted by a large class of computational models of dopamine signaling. Dopamine is also a neuromodulator, controlling synaptic plasticity in several cortical and subcortical areas. But dopamine's influence is not limited to the nervous system; its effects are also found in other physiological systems, particularly the circulatory system. Importantly, dopamine agonists have been used as a drug to control blood pressure. Is there a theoretical, conceptual connection that reconciles dopamine's effects in the nervous system with those in the circulatory system? This perspective article integrates the diverse physiological roles of dopamine and provides a simple theoretical framework arguing that its reward related function regulates the processes of energy consumption and acquisition in the body. We conclude by suggesting that energy-related book-keeping of the body at the physiological level is the common motif that links the many facets of dopamine and its functions.
Highlights
• We seek to present a conceptual synthesis of the manifold physiological functions of dopamine, and the reward system of the brain with which the molecule is closely associated.
• We review the diverse role of dopamine as a reward signal, in regulation of appetite, circulation and energy management.
• We propose a theoretical frame work that the functions of dopamine in neural and physiological domains can be linked through its actions vis a vis the reward system of the brain, as a part of an extensive energy management system of the body
Abstract: In neue roscience literature, dopamine is often considered as a pleasure chemical of the brain. Dopaminergic neurons respond to rewarding stimuli which include primary rewards like opioids or food, or more abstract forms of reward like cash rewards or pictures of pretty faces. It is this reward-related aspect of dopamine, particularly its association with reward prediction error, that is highlighted by a large class of computational models of dopamine signaling. Dopamine is also a neuromodulator, controlling synaptic plasticity in several cortical and subcortical areas. But dopamine's influence is not limited to the nervous system; its effects are also found in other physiological systems, particularly the circulatory system. Importantly, dopamine agonists have been used as a drug to control blood pressure. Is there a theoretical, conceptual connection that reconciles dopamine's effects in the nervous system with those in the circulatory system? This perspective article integrates the diverse physiological roles of dopamine and provides a simple theoretical framework arguing that its reward related function regulates the processes of energy consumption and acquisition in the body. We conclude by suggesting that energy-related book-keeping of the body at the physiological level is the common motif that links the many facets of dopamine and its functions.
Focusing on time (vs. money) increases happiness; having too little or too much time is linked to less happiness; to be happier, people should spend the time they have deliberately
It’s time for happiness. Cassie Mogilner. Current Opinion in Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2018.07.002
Highlights
• Focusing on time (vs. money) increases happiness.
• Having too little time is linked to less happiness.
• Having too much time is also linked to less happiness.
• To be happier, people should spend the time they have deliberately.
Abstract: Spotlighting the logistically and existentially foundational resource of time, this review identifies that the extent to which people focus on time, the amount of time people have, and the ways people spend their time all have a significant impact on happiness. This synthesis of the past decade of research on time and happiness advises that people should (1) focus on time (not money), (2) have neither too little nor too much time, and (3) spend the time they have deliberately.
Highlights
• Focusing on time (vs. money) increases happiness.
• Having too little time is linked to less happiness.
• Having too much time is also linked to less happiness.
• To be happier, people should spend the time they have deliberately.
Abstract: Spotlighting the logistically and existentially foundational resource of time, this review identifies that the extent to which people focus on time, the amount of time people have, and the ways people spend their time all have a significant impact on happiness. This synthesis of the past decade of research on time and happiness advises that people should (1) focus on time (not money), (2) have neither too little nor too much time, and (3) spend the time they have deliberately.
Men displaying faster articulation rate and louder voices reported significantly more sexual partners; women who displayed relatively less breathy voices and shorter speech duration reported significantly fewer sexual partners
Human vocal behavior within competitive and courtship contexts and its relation to mating success. Alexandre Suire, Michel Raymond, Melissa Barkat-Defradas. Evolution and Human Behavior, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2018.07.001
Abstract: Beyond the linguistic content of their speech, speakers of both sexes convey diverse biological and psychosocial information through their voices, which are important when assessing potential mates and competitors. However, studies investigating the relationships between mating success and acoustic inter-individual differences are scarce. In this study, we investigated such relationships in both sexes in courtship and competitive interactions—as they correspond to the two different types of sexual selection—using an experimental design based on a simulated dating game. We assessed which type of sexual selection best predicted mating success, here defined as the self-reported number of sexual partners within the past year. Our results show that only acoustic inter-individual differences in the courtship context for both men and women predicted their mating success. Men displaying faster articulation rate and louder voices reported significantly more sexual partners; in contrast, men displaying higher intonation reported a greater negative effect of roughness and breathiness on their mating success. Women who displayed relatively less breathy voices and shorter speech duration reported significantly fewer sexual partners. These novel findings are discussed in light of the mate choice context and the relative contribution of both types of sexual selection shaping acoustic features of speech.
Abstract: Beyond the linguistic content of their speech, speakers of both sexes convey diverse biological and psychosocial information through their voices, which are important when assessing potential mates and competitors. However, studies investigating the relationships between mating success and acoustic inter-individual differences are scarce. In this study, we investigated such relationships in both sexes in courtship and competitive interactions—as they correspond to the two different types of sexual selection—using an experimental design based on a simulated dating game. We assessed which type of sexual selection best predicted mating success, here defined as the self-reported number of sexual partners within the past year. Our results show that only acoustic inter-individual differences in the courtship context for both men and women predicted their mating success. Men displaying faster articulation rate and louder voices reported significantly more sexual partners; in contrast, men displaying higher intonation reported a greater negative effect of roughness and breathiness on their mating success. Women who displayed relatively less breathy voices and shorter speech duration reported significantly fewer sexual partners. These novel findings are discussed in light of the mate choice context and the relative contribution of both types of sexual selection shaping acoustic features of speech.
Firearm-related violence are highly increasing in Sweden, mostly due togang-related crimes; knife/sharp weapon still most common Modus Operandi in homicides/attempted homicides; Gun Shot Wound to the head and thorax are most fatal
Firearm-related violence in Sweden – A systematic review. Ardavan Khoshnood. Aggression and Violent Behavior, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2018.07.008
Highlights
• Firearm-related violence are highly increasing in Sweden.
• Most firearm-related violence is contributed to gang-related crimes.
• Knife/Sharp weapon still most common Modus Operandi in homicides/attempted homicides.
• Gun Shot Wound to the head and thorax are most fatal.
• Cause of Death in firearm-related violence are intracranial injuries and hypovolemia.
Abstract: Recent reports state that firearm-related violence is increasing in Sweden. In order to understand the trend of firearm-related violence in Sweden with regard to rate, modus operandi (MO) and homicide typology, and for which injuries and causes of death firearm-related violence is responsible, a systematic literature review was conducted. After a thorough search in different databases, a total of 25 studies published in Swedish and English peer-review journals were identified and thus analyzed. The results show that even though knives/sharp weapons continue to be the most common MO in a violent crime in Sweden, firearm-related violence is significantly increasing in the country and foremost when discussing gang-related crimes. Moreover, firearm-related homicides and attempted homicides are increasing in the country. The studies also show that a firearm is much more lethal than a knife/sharp weapon, and that the head, thorax and the abdomen are the most lethal and serious anatomical locations in which to be hit. It is principally the three largest cities of Sweden which are affected by the many shootings in recent years. The police have severe difficulties in solving firearm-related crimes such as homicide and attempted homicide, which is why the confidence and trust for the Swedish judicial system may be decreasing among the citizens. Several reforms have taken place in Sweden in the last few years, but their effect on firearm-related violence remains to be studied.
Highlights
• Firearm-related violence are highly increasing in Sweden.
• Most firearm-related violence is contributed to gang-related crimes.
• Knife/Sharp weapon still most common Modus Operandi in homicides/attempted homicides.
• Gun Shot Wound to the head and thorax are most fatal.
• Cause of Death in firearm-related violence are intracranial injuries and hypovolemia.
Abstract: Recent reports state that firearm-related violence is increasing in Sweden. In order to understand the trend of firearm-related violence in Sweden with regard to rate, modus operandi (MO) and homicide typology, and for which injuries and causes of death firearm-related violence is responsible, a systematic literature review was conducted. After a thorough search in different databases, a total of 25 studies published in Swedish and English peer-review journals were identified and thus analyzed. The results show that even though knives/sharp weapons continue to be the most common MO in a violent crime in Sweden, firearm-related violence is significantly increasing in the country and foremost when discussing gang-related crimes. Moreover, firearm-related homicides and attempted homicides are increasing in the country. The studies also show that a firearm is much more lethal than a knife/sharp weapon, and that the head, thorax and the abdomen are the most lethal and serious anatomical locations in which to be hit. It is principally the three largest cities of Sweden which are affected by the many shootings in recent years. The police have severe difficulties in solving firearm-related crimes such as homicide and attempted homicide, which is why the confidence and trust for the Swedish judicial system may be decreasing among the citizens. Several reforms have taken place in Sweden in the last few years, but their effect on firearm-related violence remains to be studied.
Wednesday, July 18, 2018
Financial misconduct rates differ widely between major cities, up to a factor of three; rates strongly related to other unethical behavior, involving politicians, doctors, and (potentially unfaithful) spouses, in the city
The Geography of Financial Misconduct. Christopher A Parsons, Johan Sulaeman, Sheridan Titman. The Journal of Finance, https://doi.org/10.1111/jofi.12704
ABSTRACT: Financial misconduct (FM) rates differ widely between major U.S. cities, up to a factor of three. Although spatial differences in enforcement and firm characteristics do not account for these patterns, city‐level norms appear to be very important. For example, FM rates are strongly related to other unethical behavior, involving politicians, doctors, and (potentially unfaithful) spouses, in the city.
ABSTRACT: Financial misconduct (FM) rates differ widely between major U.S. cities, up to a factor of three. Although spatial differences in enforcement and firm characteristics do not account for these patterns, city‐level norms appear to be very important. For example, FM rates are strongly related to other unethical behavior, involving politicians, doctors, and (potentially unfaithful) spouses, in the city.
Have women always lived so much longer than men? The answer is that they have not, only after the sharp reduction in infectious disease in the early twentieth century
XX>XY?: The Changing Female Advantage in Life Expectancy. Claudia Goldin & Adriana Lleras-Muney. NBER Working Paper, June 2018. http://www.nber.org/papers/w24716
Abstract: Females live longer than males in most parts of the world today. Among OECD nations in recent years, the difference in life expectancy at birth is around four to six years (seven in Japan). But have women always lived so much longer than men? The answer is that they have not. We ask when and why the female advantage emerged. We show that reductions in maternal mortality and fertility are not the reasons. Rather, we argue that the sharp reduction in infectious disease in the early twentieth century played a role. The primary reason is that those who survive most infectious diseases carry a health burden that affects organs, such as the heart, as well as impacting general well-being. We use new data from Massachusetts containing information on causes of death from 1887 to show that infectious diseases disproportionately affected females between the ages of 5 and 25. Increased longevity of women, therefore, occurred as the burden of infectious disease fell for all. Our explanation does not tell us why women live longer than men, but it does help understand the timing of the increase.
Abstract: Females live longer than males in most parts of the world today. Among OECD nations in recent years, the difference in life expectancy at birth is around four to six years (seven in Japan). But have women always lived so much longer than men? The answer is that they have not. We ask when and why the female advantage emerged. We show that reductions in maternal mortality and fertility are not the reasons. Rather, we argue that the sharp reduction in infectious disease in the early twentieth century played a role. The primary reason is that those who survive most infectious diseases carry a health burden that affects organs, such as the heart, as well as impacting general well-being. We use new data from Massachusetts containing information on causes of death from 1887 to show that infectious diseases disproportionately affected females between the ages of 5 and 25. Increased longevity of women, therefore, occurred as the burden of infectious disease fell for all. Our explanation does not tell us why women live longer than men, but it does help understand the timing of the increase.
Movies: The contribution of at least one star was large, equalling roughly 10% of a film’s revenues; having a male star in a film generated a premium in the neighbourhood of 12%, while female star had no statistical impact on a movie’s performance
Gender and box office performance. Julianne Treme, Lee A. Craig & Andrew Copland. Applied Economics Letters, https://doi.org/10.1080/13504851.2018.1495818
ABSTRACT: We analyse the box office–movie star relationship since the 1990s. We find that, on average, the contribution of at least one star was large, equalling roughly 10% of a film’s revenues. Also, consistent with the substantial difference in the average compensation between male and female stars, having a male star in a film generated a premium in the neighbourhood of 12%, while female star had no statistical impact on a movie’s performance.
KEYWORDS: Movies, gender, media, star power
ABSTRACT: We analyse the box office–movie star relationship since the 1990s. We find that, on average, the contribution of at least one star was large, equalling roughly 10% of a film’s revenues. Also, consistent with the substantial difference in the average compensation between male and female stars, having a male star in a film generated a premium in the neighbourhood of 12%, while female star had no statistical impact on a movie’s performance.
KEYWORDS: Movies, gender, media, star power
Exaggerating in order to entertain the listener while sharing previous experiences can increase interpersonal closeness in new relationships; even listeners who are provided with the actual facts will show this effect
Exaggerating when retelling previous experiences fosters relational closeness. Holly E. Cole, Denise R. Beike. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407518787344
Abstract: This research explores the possibility that exaggerating in order to entertain the listener while sharing previous experiences can increase interpersonal closeness in new relationships. It is hypothesized that adding exaggerations about previous experiences will increase the quality of the story, which will lead to increased interpersonal closeness, and that even listeners who are provided with the actual facts will show this effect. Three studies with 592 total participants investigated the impact of exaggerating when sharing a story about a previous experience on feelings of closeness to the storyteller. In Study 1, participants read scenarios of a person telling a story about a previous experience. Results indicate a preference for exaggerated stories and a concomitant feeling of closeness to the storyteller. In Study 2, participants retold the events of a video to another participant who was a stranger. Participants instructed to give an entertaining recalling used more exaggerations, and listeners felt closer to them. In Study 3, participants watched a video of a confederate retelling events accurately or with clear exaggerations. Participants reported feeling closer to the confederate when exaggerations were included, even when they knew the facts the storyteller was retelling. Discussion centers on reasons why being entertaining was more beneficial in creating relationship closeness than being honest.
Keywords: Deception, exaggerations, interpersonal closeness, narratives, relationship formation, self-disclosure
Abstract: This research explores the possibility that exaggerating in order to entertain the listener while sharing previous experiences can increase interpersonal closeness in new relationships. It is hypothesized that adding exaggerations about previous experiences will increase the quality of the story, which will lead to increased interpersonal closeness, and that even listeners who are provided with the actual facts will show this effect. Three studies with 592 total participants investigated the impact of exaggerating when sharing a story about a previous experience on feelings of closeness to the storyteller. In Study 1, participants read scenarios of a person telling a story about a previous experience. Results indicate a preference for exaggerated stories and a concomitant feeling of closeness to the storyteller. In Study 2, participants retold the events of a video to another participant who was a stranger. Participants instructed to give an entertaining recalling used more exaggerations, and listeners felt closer to them. In Study 3, participants watched a video of a confederate retelling events accurately or with clear exaggerations. Participants reported feeling closer to the confederate when exaggerations were included, even when they knew the facts the storyteller was retelling. Discussion centers on reasons why being entertaining was more beneficial in creating relationship closeness than being honest.
Keywords: Deception, exaggerations, interpersonal closeness, narratives, relationship formation, self-disclosure
Considerable variance in parental warmth (27%) and stress (45%) was attributable to child genetic influences on parenting; incorporating child Big Five personality into the model roughly explained half of this variance
Genetic and Environmental Associations Between Child Personality and Parenting. Mona Ayoub et al. Social Psychological and Personality Science, https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550618784890
Abstract: Parenting is often conceptualized in terms of its effects on offspring. However, children may also play an active role in influencing the parenting they receive. Simple correlations between parenting and child outcomes may be due to parent-to-child causation, child-to-parent causation, or some combination of the two. We use a multirater, genetically informative, large sample (n = 1,411 twin sets) to gain traction on this issue as it relates to parental warmth and stress in the context of child Big Five personality. Considerable variance in parental warmth (27%) and stress (45%) was attributable to child genetic influences on parenting. Incorporating child Big Five personality into the model roughly explained half of this variance. This result is consistent with the hypothesis that parents mold their parenting in response to their child’s personality. Residual heritability of parenting is likely due to child characteristics beyond the Big Five.
Keywords: parenting, Big Five, behavior genetics, personality, personality development
Abstract: Parenting is often conceptualized in terms of its effects on offspring. However, children may also play an active role in influencing the parenting they receive. Simple correlations between parenting and child outcomes may be due to parent-to-child causation, child-to-parent causation, or some combination of the two. We use a multirater, genetically informative, large sample (n = 1,411 twin sets) to gain traction on this issue as it relates to parental warmth and stress in the context of child Big Five personality. Considerable variance in parental warmth (27%) and stress (45%) was attributable to child genetic influences on parenting. Incorporating child Big Five personality into the model roughly explained half of this variance. This result is consistent with the hypothesis that parents mold their parenting in response to their child’s personality. Residual heritability of parenting is likely due to child characteristics beyond the Big Five.
Keywords: parenting, Big Five, behavior genetics, personality, personality development
Most owners regarded cats as family members with developed socio-cognitive skills
The socio-cognitive relationship between cats and humans – companion cats (Felis catus) as their owners see them. Péter Pongrácz, Julianna Szulamit Szapu. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2018.07.004
Highlights
• In a questionnaire we inquired 157 Hungarian cat owners.
• The questions were about cat-human relationship and cats’ socio-cognitive abilities.
• The emerging traits were either cat-specific or similar to the dog-owner bond.
• Most owners regarded cats as family members with developed socio-cognitive skills.
• Better understanding of cat-human interactions may help to improve cat welfare.
Abstract: Although domestic cats are among the most common companion animals, we still know very little about the details of the cat-human relationship. With a questionnaire, we asked 157 Hungarian cat owners about their pet’s behavior, cognitive abilities and social interactions. We analyzed the responses with PCA resulting in 11 traits. The effect of cats’ and owners’ demographic variables on the main components was further analyzed with GLM. The results showed strong similarity to the surveys performed with companion dogs, but we also found features that were mainly cat-specific. We found that women considered their cats to be more communicative and empathetic, than men did (p = 0.000). The higher education owners also considered their cat as being more communicative and empathetic (p = 0.000). We also found that owners use pointing signals more often if the cat is their only pet (p = 0.000), and otherwise they do not give verbal commands often to the cat (P = 0.001). Young owners imitated cat vocalization more often (p = 0.006); while emotional matching of the cat was more commonly reported by elderly owners (p = 0.001). The more an owner initiated playing with his/her cat, the imitation of cat vocalizations was also more common in his/her case (p = 0.001). Owners think that their cat shows stronger emotional matching if otherwise they experience human-like communicative capacity from the cat (p = 0.000). Owners use more pointing signals in the case of those cats that show attention-eliciting signals in more than one modality (p = 0.000). Owners who react to the meows of unfamiliar cats, initiated interactions more often with their own cats (p = 0.000). Owners also think that cats vocalize in every possible context, and this result was not affected significantly by any of the independent factors. Our results show that owners considered their cat as a family member, and they attributed well developed socio-cognitive skills to them. Because cats have an important role as a companion animal, it would be worthy to study cat behavior with similar thoroughness as with dogs. Our questionnaire may provide a good starting point for the empirical research of cat-human communication. The deeper understanding of cats’ socio-cognitive abilities may also help to improve cat welfare.
Highlights
• In a questionnaire we inquired 157 Hungarian cat owners.
• The questions were about cat-human relationship and cats’ socio-cognitive abilities.
• The emerging traits were either cat-specific or similar to the dog-owner bond.
• Most owners regarded cats as family members with developed socio-cognitive skills.
• Better understanding of cat-human interactions may help to improve cat welfare.
Abstract: Although domestic cats are among the most common companion animals, we still know very little about the details of the cat-human relationship. With a questionnaire, we asked 157 Hungarian cat owners about their pet’s behavior, cognitive abilities and social interactions. We analyzed the responses with PCA resulting in 11 traits. The effect of cats’ and owners’ demographic variables on the main components was further analyzed with GLM. The results showed strong similarity to the surveys performed with companion dogs, but we also found features that were mainly cat-specific. We found that women considered their cats to be more communicative and empathetic, than men did (p = 0.000). The higher education owners also considered their cat as being more communicative and empathetic (p = 0.000). We also found that owners use pointing signals more often if the cat is their only pet (p = 0.000), and otherwise they do not give verbal commands often to the cat (P = 0.001). Young owners imitated cat vocalization more often (p = 0.006); while emotional matching of the cat was more commonly reported by elderly owners (p = 0.001). The more an owner initiated playing with his/her cat, the imitation of cat vocalizations was also more common in his/her case (p = 0.001). Owners think that their cat shows stronger emotional matching if otherwise they experience human-like communicative capacity from the cat (p = 0.000). Owners use more pointing signals in the case of those cats that show attention-eliciting signals in more than one modality (p = 0.000). Owners who react to the meows of unfamiliar cats, initiated interactions more often with their own cats (p = 0.000). Owners also think that cats vocalize in every possible context, and this result was not affected significantly by any of the independent factors. Our results show that owners considered their cat as a family member, and they attributed well developed socio-cognitive skills to them. Because cats have an important role as a companion animal, it would be worthy to study cat behavior with similar thoroughness as with dogs. Our questionnaire may provide a good starting point for the empirical research of cat-human communication. The deeper understanding of cats’ socio-cognitive abilities may also help to improve cat welfare.
Religious cognition places a “sex premium” on moral judgments, causing people to judge violations of conventional sexual morality as particularly objectionable; the premium is especially strong among highly religious people, and applies to both legal and illegal acts
The Sex Premium in Religiously Motivated Moral Judgment. Liana Hone, Thomas McCauley, Michael McCullough. PsyArXiv Preprints, https://psyarxiv.com/xpz5h/
Abstract: Religion encourages people to reason about moral issues deontologically rather than on the basis of the perceived consequences of specific actions. However, recent theorizing suggests that religious people’s moral convictions are actually quite strategic (albeit unconsciously so), designed to make their worlds more amenable to their favored approaches to solving life’s basic challenges. In six experiments, we find that religious cognition places a “sex premium” on moral judgments, causing people to judge violations of conventional sexual morality as particularly objectionable. The sex premium is especially strong among highly religious people, and applies to both legal and illegal acts. Religion’s influence on moral reasoning, even if deontological, emphasizes conventional sexual norms, and may reflect the strategic projects to which religion has been applied throughout history.
Abstract: Religion encourages people to reason about moral issues deontologically rather than on the basis of the perceived consequences of specific actions. However, recent theorizing suggests that religious people’s moral convictions are actually quite strategic (albeit unconsciously so), designed to make their worlds more amenable to their favored approaches to solving life’s basic challenges. In six experiments, we find that religious cognition places a “sex premium” on moral judgments, causing people to judge violations of conventional sexual morality as particularly objectionable. The sex premium is especially strong among highly religious people, and applies to both legal and illegal acts. Religion’s influence on moral reasoning, even if deontological, emphasizes conventional sexual norms, and may reflect the strategic projects to which religion has been applied throughout history.
Tuesday, July 17, 2018
Self-esteem increases in early and middle childhood, remains constant in adolescence, increases strongly in young adulthood, continues to increase in middle adulthood, peaks between 60 & 70, & then declines in old age, with a sharper drop in very old age
Orth, U., Erol, R. Y., & Luciano, E. C. (2018). Development of self-esteem from age 4 to 94 years: A meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. Psychological Bulletin. Advance online publication. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/bul0000161
Abstract: To investigate the normative trajectory of self-esteem across the life span, this meta-analysis synthesizes the available longitudinal data on mean-level change in self-esteem. The analyses were based on 331 independent samples, including data from 164,868 participants. As effect size measure, we used the standardized mean change d per year. The mean age associated with the effect sizes ranged from 4 to 94 years. Results showed that average levels of self-esteem increased from age 4 to 11 years (cumulative d = 0.34; cumulative ds are relative to age 4), remained stable from age 11 to 15, increased strongly until age 30 (cumulative d = 1.05), continued to increase until age 60 (cumulative d = 1.30), peaked at age 60 and remained constant until age 70, declined slightly until age 90 (cumulative d = 1.15), and declined more strongly until age 94 (cumulative d = 0.76). Moderator analyses were conducted for the full set of samples and for the subset of samples between ages 10 to 20 years. Although the measure of self-esteem accounted for differences in effect sizes, the moderator analyses suggested that the pattern of mean-level change held across gender, country, ethnicity, sample type, and birth cohort. The meta-analytic findings clarify previously unresolved issues about the nature and magnitude of self-esteem change in specific developmental periods (i.e., childhood, adolescence, and old age) and draw a much more precise picture of the life span trajectory of self-esteem.
Abstract: To investigate the normative trajectory of self-esteem across the life span, this meta-analysis synthesizes the available longitudinal data on mean-level change in self-esteem. The analyses were based on 331 independent samples, including data from 164,868 participants. As effect size measure, we used the standardized mean change d per year. The mean age associated with the effect sizes ranged from 4 to 94 years. Results showed that average levels of self-esteem increased from age 4 to 11 years (cumulative d = 0.34; cumulative ds are relative to age 4), remained stable from age 11 to 15, increased strongly until age 30 (cumulative d = 1.05), continued to increase until age 60 (cumulative d = 1.30), peaked at age 60 and remained constant until age 70, declined slightly until age 90 (cumulative d = 1.15), and declined more strongly until age 94 (cumulative d = 0.76). Moderator analyses were conducted for the full set of samples and for the subset of samples between ages 10 to 20 years. Although the measure of self-esteem accounted for differences in effect sizes, the moderator analyses suggested that the pattern of mean-level change held across gender, country, ethnicity, sample type, and birth cohort. The meta-analytic findings clarify previously unresolved issues about the nature and magnitude of self-esteem change in specific developmental periods (i.e., childhood, adolescence, and old age) and draw a much more precise picture of the life span trajectory of self-esteem.
Mere source attribution is sufficient to cause polarization between groups; agreement with aphorisms was high in the absence of source attribution, and substantially lower in its presence; this effect was large and not moderated by a range of variables, including education and elaboration
The source attribution effect: Demonstrating pernicious disagreement between ideological groups on non-divisive aphorisms. Paul H.P.Hanel et al. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Volume 79, November 2018, Pages 51-63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2018.07.002
Highlights
• We tested whether mere source attribution is sufficient to cause polarization between groups.
• Across four studies (N = 2182), agreement with aphorisms was high in the absence of source attribution.
• Agreement was substantially lower in the presence of source attribution.
• For example, atheists agreed less, and Christians more, with brief aphorisms presented as Bible verses.
• This effect was large and not moderated by a range of variables, including education and elaboration.
Abstract: We tested whether mere source attribution is sufficient to cause polarization between groups, even on consensual non-divisive positions. Across four studies (N = 2182), using samples from Germany, the UK, and the USA, agreement with aphorisms was high in the absence of source attribution. In contrast, atheists agreed less with brief aphorisms when they were presented as Bible verses (Studies 1 and 2), whereas Christians agreed more (Study 2). Democrats and Republicans (USA) and Labour supporters and Conservative supporters (UK) agreed more with politically non-divisive aphorisms that were presented as originating from a politician belonging to their own party (e.g., Clinton, Trump, Corbyn) than with the same aphorisms when they were presented as originating from a politician belonging to the rival party (Studies 3 and 4). This source attribution effect was not moderated by education, amount of thinking about the aphorisms, identification with the ingroup, trust, dissonance, fear of reproach, or attitude strength. We conclude that source attribution fundamentally interferes with epistemic progress in debate because of the way in which attributions of statements to sources powerfully affects reasoning about their arguments.
Highlights
• We tested whether mere source attribution is sufficient to cause polarization between groups.
• Across four studies (N = 2182), agreement with aphorisms was high in the absence of source attribution.
• Agreement was substantially lower in the presence of source attribution.
• For example, atheists agreed less, and Christians more, with brief aphorisms presented as Bible verses.
• This effect was large and not moderated by a range of variables, including education and elaboration.
Abstract: We tested whether mere source attribution is sufficient to cause polarization between groups, even on consensual non-divisive positions. Across four studies (N = 2182), using samples from Germany, the UK, and the USA, agreement with aphorisms was high in the absence of source attribution. In contrast, atheists agreed less with brief aphorisms when they were presented as Bible verses (Studies 1 and 2), whereas Christians agreed more (Study 2). Democrats and Republicans (USA) and Labour supporters and Conservative supporters (UK) agreed more with politically non-divisive aphorisms that were presented as originating from a politician belonging to their own party (e.g., Clinton, Trump, Corbyn) than with the same aphorisms when they were presented as originating from a politician belonging to the rival party (Studies 3 and 4). This source attribution effect was not moderated by education, amount of thinking about the aphorisms, identification with the ingroup, trust, dissonance, fear of reproach, or attitude strength. We conclude that source attribution fundamentally interferes with epistemic progress in debate because of the way in which attributions of statements to sources powerfully affects reasoning about their arguments.
In all technological fields, the number of patents per inventor has declined near-monotonically, except for large increases in inventor productivity in software and semiconductors in the late 1990s
Some Facts of High-Tech Patenting. Michael Webb, Nick Short, Nicholas Bloom, Josh Lerner. NBER Working Paper No. 24793, http://www.nber.org/papers/w24793
Patenting in software, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence has grown rapidly in recent years. Such patents are acquired primarily by large US technology firms such as IBM, Microsoft, Google, and HP, as well as by Japanese multinationals such as Sony, Canon, and Fujitsu. Chinese patenting in the US is small but growing rapidly, and world-leading for drone technology. Patenting in machine learning has seen exponential growth since 2010, although patenting in neural networks saw a strong burst of activity in the 1990s that has only recently been surpassed. In all technological fields, the number of patents per inventor has declined near-monotonically, except for large increases in inventor productivity in software and semiconductors in the late 1990s. In most high-tech fields, Japan is the only country outside the US with significant US patenting activity; however, whereas Japan played an important role in the burst of neural network patenting in the 1990s, it has not been involved in the current acceleration. Comparing the periods 1970-89 and 2000-15, patenting in the current period has been primarily by entrant assignees, with the exception of neural networks.
Patenting in software, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence has grown rapidly in recent years. Such patents are acquired primarily by large US technology firms such as IBM, Microsoft, Google, and HP, as well as by Japanese multinationals such as Sony, Canon, and Fujitsu. Chinese patenting in the US is small but growing rapidly, and world-leading for drone technology. Patenting in machine learning has seen exponential growth since 2010, although patenting in neural networks saw a strong burst of activity in the 1990s that has only recently been surpassed. In all technological fields, the number of patents per inventor has declined near-monotonically, except for large increases in inventor productivity in software and semiconductors in the late 1990s. In most high-tech fields, Japan is the only country outside the US with significant US patenting activity; however, whereas Japan played an important role in the burst of neural network patenting in the 1990s, it has not been involved in the current acceleration. Comparing the periods 1970-89 and 2000-15, patenting in the current period has been primarily by entrant assignees, with the exception of neural networks.
Beliefs in paranormal phenomena will lead to equal amounts of respondents identifying as democrats & republicans & these beliefs in paranormal phenomena correlate with respondents feeling more fearful when it comes to real-world threats
Ferrari, Tyler James, "Paranormal Beliefs and their Effect on American Fears and Political Identification" (2018). Political Science Student Papers and Posters. 7. https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/polisci_student_work/7
Abstract: Urban legends and conspiracy theories have been a cornerstone of American culture for many years, and these stories and theories have permeated into many aspects of society, from tourism to pop culture, but how have these stories and theories affected politics? Conspiracy theories and urban legends all revolve around the distrust of institutions, ranging from governments to the media, but there is very little research to indicate how beliefs in these types of phenomena affect political self-identification, and fear in realworld disasters. This paper seeks to answer the following: How do paranormal and abnormal beliefs influence political identification? And how do these beliefs influence one's fear into "real-world" events like natural disasters and terrorism? While prominent scholars like Sunstein note the causes and solutions of conspiracy theories while noting the damage they can cause to a society, there is little work done to see what types of voters these people are, this is something this paper aims to find. This paper hypothesizes that beliefs in paranormal phenomena will lead to equal amounts of respondents identifying as democrats and republicans and these beliefs in paranormal phenomena correlate with respondents feeling more fearful when it comes to real-world threats. Using the Chapman Survey of American fears, this paper will analyze data involving beliefs in paranormal phenomena like bigfoot and aliens, beliefs that government is covering up the truth about certain events, along with respondent's political ideology and fear in real world events. It is expected that the results will match the hypotheses stated above, showing that even in an era of great partisanship, fear of the unknown and unexplained is a bipartisan affair.
Abstract: Urban legends and conspiracy theories have been a cornerstone of American culture for many years, and these stories and theories have permeated into many aspects of society, from tourism to pop culture, but how have these stories and theories affected politics? Conspiracy theories and urban legends all revolve around the distrust of institutions, ranging from governments to the media, but there is very little research to indicate how beliefs in these types of phenomena affect political self-identification, and fear in realworld disasters. This paper seeks to answer the following: How do paranormal and abnormal beliefs influence political identification? And how do these beliefs influence one's fear into "real-world" events like natural disasters and terrorism? While prominent scholars like Sunstein note the causes and solutions of conspiracy theories while noting the damage they can cause to a society, there is little work done to see what types of voters these people are, this is something this paper aims to find. This paper hypothesizes that beliefs in paranormal phenomena will lead to equal amounts of respondents identifying as democrats and republicans and these beliefs in paranormal phenomena correlate with respondents feeling more fearful when it comes to real-world threats. Using the Chapman Survey of American fears, this paper will analyze data involving beliefs in paranormal phenomena like bigfoot and aliens, beliefs that government is covering up the truth about certain events, along with respondent's political ideology and fear in real world events. It is expected that the results will match the hypotheses stated above, showing that even in an era of great partisanship, fear of the unknown and unexplained is a bipartisan affair.
Those on the left and right are equally narcissistic but differ in which dimensions drive it: the entitlement facet of narcissism is related to conservative positions, whereas exhibitionism is related to liberal values
Narcissism and Political Orientations. Peter K. Hatemi, Zoltán Fazekas. American Journal of Political Science, https://doi.org/10.1111/ajps.12380
Abstract: The connections between narcissism and political orientations have been theorized by scholars and increasingly evoked by political parties, politicians, public intellectuals, and the media. Yet surprisingly little research has been undertaken to empirically asses the veracity of these claims. We address this lacuna by identifying the relationship between narcissism, political ideologies, and partisanship in a nationally representative sample taken days before the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Overall, we find those on the left and right are equally narcissistic. However, liberals and conservatives differ in which dimensions drive their narcissism. Specifically, we find that the entitlement facet of narcissism is uniformly related to more conservative positions, whereas exhibitionism is related to more liberal values, including political party identification. Narcissism, as a complex multidimensional construct, has an important role in understanding political ideology.
Abstract: The connections between narcissism and political orientations have been theorized by scholars and increasingly evoked by political parties, politicians, public intellectuals, and the media. Yet surprisingly little research has been undertaken to empirically asses the veracity of these claims. We address this lacuna by identifying the relationship between narcissism, political ideologies, and partisanship in a nationally representative sample taken days before the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Overall, we find those on the left and right are equally narcissistic. However, liberals and conservatives differ in which dimensions drive their narcissism. Specifically, we find that the entitlement facet of narcissism is uniformly related to more conservative positions, whereas exhibitionism is related to more liberal values, including political party identification. Narcissism, as a complex multidimensional construct, has an important role in understanding political ideology.
Questionable Research Practices prevalence in ecology: cherry picking statistically significant results 64%, p hacking 42%, and hypothesising after the results are known (HARKing) 51%. Such practices have been directly implicated in the low rates of reproducible results
Questionable research practices in ecology and evolution. Hannah Fraser et al. PLOS One, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0200303
Abstract: We surveyed 807 researchers (494 ecologists and 313 evolutionary biologists) about their use of Questionable Research Practices (QRPs), including cherry picking statistically significant results, p hacking, and hypothesising after the results are known (HARKing). We also asked them to estimate the proportion of their colleagues that use each of these QRPs. Several of the QRPs were prevalent within the ecology and evolution research community. Across the two groups, we found 64% of surveyed researchers reported they had at least once failed to report results because they were not statistically significant (cherry picking); 42% had collected more data after inspecting whether results were statistically significant (a form of p hacking) and 51% had reported an unexpected finding as though it had been hypothesised from the start (HARKing). Such practices have been directly implicated in the low rates of reproducible results uncovered by recent large scale replication studies in psychology and other disciplines. The rates of QRPs found in this study are comparable with the rates seen in psychology, indicating that the reproducibility problems discovered in psychology are also likely to be present in ecology and evolution.
Abstract: We surveyed 807 researchers (494 ecologists and 313 evolutionary biologists) about their use of Questionable Research Practices (QRPs), including cherry picking statistically significant results, p hacking, and hypothesising after the results are known (HARKing). We also asked them to estimate the proportion of their colleagues that use each of these QRPs. Several of the QRPs were prevalent within the ecology and evolution research community. Across the two groups, we found 64% of surveyed researchers reported they had at least once failed to report results because they were not statistically significant (cherry picking); 42% had collected more data after inspecting whether results were statistically significant (a form of p hacking) and 51% had reported an unexpected finding as though it had been hypothesised from the start (HARKing). Such practices have been directly implicated in the low rates of reproducible results uncovered by recent large scale replication studies in psychology and other disciplines. The rates of QRPs found in this study are comparable with the rates seen in psychology, indicating that the reproducibility problems discovered in psychology are also likely to be present in ecology and evolution.
Predictors of Distinct Types of Solitude Experiences in Daily Life
By Myself and Liking It? Predictors of Distinct Types of Solitude Experiences in Daily Life. Jennifer C. Lay et al. Journal of Personality, https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12421
Abstract
Objective: Solitude is a ubiquitous experience, often confused with loneliness, yet sometimes sought out in daily life. This study aimed to identify distinct types of solitude experiences from everyday affect/thought patterns and to examine how and for whom solitude is experienced positively versus negatively.
Method: 100 community‐dwelling adults aged 50‐85 years (64% female, 56% East Asian, 36% European, 8% Other/Mixed heritage) and 50 students aged 18‐28 years (92% female, 42% East Asian, 22% European, 36% Other/Mixed) each completed approximately 30 daily life assessments over 10 days on their current and desired social situation, thoughts, and affect.
Results: Multilevel latent profile analysis identified two types of everyday solitude: one characterized by negative affect and effortful thought (negative solitude experiences) and one characterized by calm and the near‐absence of negative affect/effortful thought (positive solitude experiences). Individual differences in social self‐efficacy and desire for solitude were associated with everyday positive solitude propensity; trait self‐rumination and self‐reflection were associated with everyday negative solitude propensity.
Conclusions: This study provides a new framework for conceptualizing everyday solitude. It identifies specific affect/thought patterns that characterize distinct solitude experience clusters, and it links these clusters with well‐established individual differences. We discuss key traits associated with thriving in solitude.
Abstract
Objective: Solitude is a ubiquitous experience, often confused with loneliness, yet sometimes sought out in daily life. This study aimed to identify distinct types of solitude experiences from everyday affect/thought patterns and to examine how and for whom solitude is experienced positively versus negatively.
Method: 100 community‐dwelling adults aged 50‐85 years (64% female, 56% East Asian, 36% European, 8% Other/Mixed heritage) and 50 students aged 18‐28 years (92% female, 42% East Asian, 22% European, 36% Other/Mixed) each completed approximately 30 daily life assessments over 10 days on their current and desired social situation, thoughts, and affect.
Results: Multilevel latent profile analysis identified two types of everyday solitude: one characterized by negative affect and effortful thought (negative solitude experiences) and one characterized by calm and the near‐absence of negative affect/effortful thought (positive solitude experiences). Individual differences in social self‐efficacy and desire for solitude were associated with everyday positive solitude propensity; trait self‐rumination and self‐reflection were associated with everyday negative solitude propensity.
Conclusions: This study provides a new framework for conceptualizing everyday solitude. It identifies specific affect/thought patterns that characterize distinct solitude experience clusters, and it links these clusters with well‐established individual differences. We discuss key traits associated with thriving in solitude.
Monday, July 16, 2018
Necrophilia in crows: Occasional contacts, which take a variety of aggressive and sexual forms, may result from an inability to mediate conflicting stimuli
Occurrence and variability of tactile interactions between wild American crows and dead conspecifics. Kaeli Swift, John M. Marzluff. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, September 5 2018, Volume 373, issue 1754, 10.1098/rstb.2017.0259
Abstract: Observations of some mammals and birds touching their dead provoke questions about the motivation and adaptive value of this potentially risky behaviour. Here, we use controlled experiments to determine if tactile interactions are characteristic of wild American crow responses to dead crows, and what the prevalence and nature of tactile interactions suggests about their motivations. In Experiment 1, we test if food or information acquisition motivates contact by presenting crows with taxidermy-prepared dead crows, and two species crows are known to scavenge: dead pigeons and dead squirrels. In Experiment 2, we test if territoriality motivates tactile interactions by presenting crows with taxidermy crows prepared to look either dead or upright and life-like. In Experiment 1, we find that crows are significantly less likely to make contact but more likely to alarm call and recruit other birds in response to dead crows than to dead pigeons and squirrels. In addition, we find that aggressive and sexual encounters with dead crows are seasonally biased. These findings are inconsistent with feeding or information acquisition-based motivation. In Experiment 2, we find that crows rarely dive-bomb and more often alarm call and recruit other crows to dead than to life-like crows, behaviours inconsistent with responses given to live intruders. Consistent with a danger response hypothesis, our results show that alarm calling and neighbour recruitment occur more frequently in response to dead crows than other stimuli, and that touching dead crows is atypical. Occasional contacts, which take a variety of aggressive and sexual forms, may result from an inability to mediate conflicting stimuli.
---
Across both experiments, we observed n = 11 attempts to mate with a crow in dead posture (4.7% of N ¼ 234 trials), 90% of which were coupled with scolding and all of which took place before the end of May. Sexual behaviours around dead conspecifics are rare, but not unique to crows. Hetero and homosexual necrophilia have been observed across a wide variety of taxa. Sexual arousal in response to dead conspecifics has been documented in bottle nosed dolphins [4] and humpback whales (Magaptera novaeangliae; [34]). Mating attempts with dead conspecifics have been observed in Richardson's ground squirrel (Citellus richardsoni), mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), sand martins (Riparia riparia) cururu toads (Rhinella steuvax) and great ameivas (Ameiva ameiva; [35.39]). The copulation posture typical of dead birds has been proposed as the releasing factor for such inappropriate attempts to mate, particularly among monomorphic birds [37]. In Experiment 2, however, we show that crows attempted to mate both with a life-like crow in neutral standing posture and a dead crow with the wings tucked close to the body. These observations call into question the validity of posture as the primary releasing factor for copulation events between crows and dead crows, and warrant further investigation.
Given the prevalence of scolding before, during or immediately following copulation events with dead, but not life-like, crows, alarm induced arousal, rather than reproductive attempts, might better explain copulation with dead crows. Increased sexual behaviour following alarm or excitement has been observed in the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata; [40]), vermillion flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus, [41]) and pied avocet (Recuruirostra avosetta; [42]). Following the death of a group member, sexual behaviour occurring outside the breeding season was observed in rhesus macaques [32]. Likewise, we observed mating attempts between presumed pairs following discovery of a dead crow. It is possible in this context that distress induces arousal resulting in copulation attempts between mates if possible, but in the immediate absence of the mate results in displacementmounting. In rooks (Corvus frugilegus), sexual displays by males sometimes stimulate reverse mounting by females [43]. In our study, females witnessing male precopulatory behaviour prior to mounting the stimulus may be responsible for the two possible instances of reverse mounting.
In addition to the multiple mating attempts with the dead and life-like crows, we also observed one attempted copulation with the dead pigeon. Attempts to mate with live heterospecifics have been observed in a variety of species including seals and non-human primates [44,45]. Although these events are rare enough that determining causal factors remains difficult, restricted access to conspecific females has been commonly observed in these cases. Such information about the crow involved in this case is not known.
Abstract: Observations of some mammals and birds touching their dead provoke questions about the motivation and adaptive value of this potentially risky behaviour. Here, we use controlled experiments to determine if tactile interactions are characteristic of wild American crow responses to dead crows, and what the prevalence and nature of tactile interactions suggests about their motivations. In Experiment 1, we test if food or information acquisition motivates contact by presenting crows with taxidermy-prepared dead crows, and two species crows are known to scavenge: dead pigeons and dead squirrels. In Experiment 2, we test if territoriality motivates tactile interactions by presenting crows with taxidermy crows prepared to look either dead or upright and life-like. In Experiment 1, we find that crows are significantly less likely to make contact but more likely to alarm call and recruit other birds in response to dead crows than to dead pigeons and squirrels. In addition, we find that aggressive and sexual encounters with dead crows are seasonally biased. These findings are inconsistent with feeding or information acquisition-based motivation. In Experiment 2, we find that crows rarely dive-bomb and more often alarm call and recruit other crows to dead than to life-like crows, behaviours inconsistent with responses given to live intruders. Consistent with a danger response hypothesis, our results show that alarm calling and neighbour recruitment occur more frequently in response to dead crows than other stimuli, and that touching dead crows is atypical. Occasional contacts, which take a variety of aggressive and sexual forms, may result from an inability to mediate conflicting stimuli.
---
Across both experiments, we observed n = 11 attempts to mate with a crow in dead posture (4.7% of N ¼ 234 trials), 90% of which were coupled with scolding and all of which took place before the end of May. Sexual behaviours around dead conspecifics are rare, but not unique to crows. Hetero and homosexual necrophilia have been observed across a wide variety of taxa. Sexual arousal in response to dead conspecifics has been documented in bottle nosed dolphins [4] and humpback whales (Magaptera novaeangliae; [34]). Mating attempts with dead conspecifics have been observed in Richardson's ground squirrel (Citellus richardsoni), mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), sand martins (Riparia riparia) cururu toads (Rhinella steuvax) and great ameivas (Ameiva ameiva; [35.39]). The copulation posture typical of dead birds has been proposed as the releasing factor for such inappropriate attempts to mate, particularly among monomorphic birds [37]. In Experiment 2, however, we show that crows attempted to mate both with a life-like crow in neutral standing posture and a dead crow with the wings tucked close to the body. These observations call into question the validity of posture as the primary releasing factor for copulation events between crows and dead crows, and warrant further investigation.
Given the prevalence of scolding before, during or immediately following copulation events with dead, but not life-like, crows, alarm induced arousal, rather than reproductive attempts, might better explain copulation with dead crows. Increased sexual behaviour following alarm or excitement has been observed in the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata; [40]), vermillion flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus, [41]) and pied avocet (Recuruirostra avosetta; [42]). Following the death of a group member, sexual behaviour occurring outside the breeding season was observed in rhesus macaques [32]. Likewise, we observed mating attempts between presumed pairs following discovery of a dead crow. It is possible in this context that distress induces arousal resulting in copulation attempts between mates if possible, but in the immediate absence of the mate results in displacementmounting. In rooks (Corvus frugilegus), sexual displays by males sometimes stimulate reverse mounting by females [43]. In our study, females witnessing male precopulatory behaviour prior to mounting the stimulus may be responsible for the two possible instances of reverse mounting.
In addition to the multiple mating attempts with the dead and life-like crows, we also observed one attempted copulation with the dead pigeon. Attempts to mate with live heterospecifics have been observed in a variety of species including seals and non-human primates [44,45]. Although these events are rare enough that determining causal factors remains difficult, restricted access to conspecific females has been commonly observed in these cases. Such information about the crow involved in this case is not known.
Children as young as 4 years old negatively evaluate & sanction free riders. Across six studies, we showed that these tendencies are robust, large in magnitude, tuned to intentional rather than unintentional noncontribution, & generally consistent across third- & first-party cases
In Defense of the Commons: Young Children Negatively Evaluate and Sanction Free Riders. Fan Yang et al. Psychological Science, https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797618779061
Abstract: Human flourishing depends on individuals paying costs to contribute to the common good, but such arrangements are vulnerable to free riding, in which individuals benefit from others’ contributions without paying costs themselves. Systems of tracking and sanctioning free riders can stabilize cooperation, but the origin of such tendencies is not well understood. Here, we provide evidence that children as young as 4 years old negatively evaluate and sanction free riders. Across six studies, we showed that these tendencies are robust, large in magnitude, tuned to intentional rather than unintentional noncontribution, and generally consistent across third- and first-party cases. Further, these effects cannot be accounted for by factors that frequently co-occur with free riding, such as nonconforming behaviors or the costs that free riding imposes on the group. Our findings demonstrate that from early in life, children both hold and enforce a normative expectation that individuals are intrinsically obligated to contribute to the common good.
Keywords: free riding, common good, norm enforcement, moral development, cooperation, open data, open materials, preregistered
Abstract: Human flourishing depends on individuals paying costs to contribute to the common good, but such arrangements are vulnerable to free riding, in which individuals benefit from others’ contributions without paying costs themselves. Systems of tracking and sanctioning free riders can stabilize cooperation, but the origin of such tendencies is not well understood. Here, we provide evidence that children as young as 4 years old negatively evaluate and sanction free riders. Across six studies, we showed that these tendencies are robust, large in magnitude, tuned to intentional rather than unintentional noncontribution, and generally consistent across third- and first-party cases. Further, these effects cannot be accounted for by factors that frequently co-occur with free riding, such as nonconforming behaviors or the costs that free riding imposes on the group. Our findings demonstrate that from early in life, children both hold and enforce a normative expectation that individuals are intrinsically obligated to contribute to the common good.
Keywords: free riding, common good, norm enforcement, moral development, cooperation, open data, open materials, preregistered
Prestigious institutions had on average 65% higher grant application success rates & 50% larger award sizes, whereas less-prestigious institutions produced 65% more publications & had a 35% higher citation impact per dollar of funding
High cost of bias: Diminishing marginal returns on NIH grant funding to institutions. Wayne P. Wahls. bioRxiv, https://doi.org/10.1101/367847
Abstract: Scientific output is not a linear function of amounts of federal grant support to individual investigators. As funding per investigator increases beyond a certain point, productivity decreases. This study reports that such diminishing marginal returns also apply for National Institutes of Health (NIH) research project grant funding to institutions. Analyses of data (2006-2015) for a representative cross-section of institutions, whose amounts of funding ranged from $3 million to $440 million per year, revealed robust inverse correlations between funding (per institution, per award, per investigator) and scientific output (publication productivity and citation impact productivity). Interestingly, prestigious institutions had on average 65% higher grant application success rates and 50% larger award sizes, whereas less-prestigious institutions produced 65% more publications and had a 35% higher citation impact per dollar of funding. These findings suggest that implicit biases and social prestige mechanisms (e.g., the Matthew effect) have a powerful impact on where NIH grant dollars go and the net return on taxpayers investments. They support evidence-based changes in funding policy geared towards a more equitable, more diverse and more productive distribution of federal support for scientific research. Success rate/productivity metrics developed for this study provide an impartial, empirically based mechanism to do so.
Abstract: Scientific output is not a linear function of amounts of federal grant support to individual investigators. As funding per investigator increases beyond a certain point, productivity decreases. This study reports that such diminishing marginal returns also apply for National Institutes of Health (NIH) research project grant funding to institutions. Analyses of data (2006-2015) for a representative cross-section of institutions, whose amounts of funding ranged from $3 million to $440 million per year, revealed robust inverse correlations between funding (per institution, per award, per investigator) and scientific output (publication productivity and citation impact productivity). Interestingly, prestigious institutions had on average 65% higher grant application success rates and 50% larger award sizes, whereas less-prestigious institutions produced 65% more publications and had a 35% higher citation impact per dollar of funding. These findings suggest that implicit biases and social prestige mechanisms (e.g., the Matthew effect) have a powerful impact on where NIH grant dollars go and the net return on taxpayers investments. They support evidence-based changes in funding policy geared towards a more equitable, more diverse and more productive distribution of federal support for scientific research. Success rate/productivity metrics developed for this study provide an impartial, empirically based mechanism to do so.
The lure of death: suicide and human evolution
Humphrey N. 2018 The lure of death: suicide and human evolution. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 373: 20170269. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2017.0269
Suicide used to be called self-murder, felo de se. In an evolutionary context, the term murder is not inappropriate. Human beings have always been murderers, killers of other living beings. First, of course, killers of animal prey for meat, but also killers of other men and women. While not every ancient human would have had first-hand experience of assassination, everyone would have known and talked about it. Then, at some point, the idea must have dawned. Here’s how the psychiatrist, Erwin Stengel has put it: ‘At some stage of evolution man must have discovered that he can kill not only animals and fellow-men but also himself. It can be assumed that life has never since been the same to him’ [1, p. 37].
The purpose of this paper is to consider just how radically life changed. I argue that the human mind must have had to evolve to a critical level of sophistication before anyone could arrive at the idea that ‘I can kill myself’. However, from then on, suicide would never have been far from people’s thoughts. When times were hard, some individuals would have been bound to see death as an attractive option. Yet killing themselves would usually—if not always—have been a maladaptive act. I explore how this played out historically, and what remedies, if any, were available.
[...]
But, now, to go deeper: when you think ‘I can kill myself’, who is this ‘self’ and what do you imagine will result from ‘killing’ it? Again, Stengel implies that early humans would have understood the inevitable consequences of self-killing from observing the killing of others. Bodily death, however caused, has effects that anyone can see and take on board. There’s the obvious bodily decay. But the most salient change is in the dead person’s role as an actor in the physical or social world. They will not be coming back. This is a fact of death that non-human animals with complex social lives can also understand up to a point. Frans de Waal describes how, when a group of chimpanzees in the Arnhem Zoo were shown a video film of the alpha-male, Nickie, who had died by drowning 2 years earlier, his erstwhile rivals panicked as if they had seen a ghost [2, p. 214]. By applying this to your own case, you would realize that you yourself once dead will no longer participate directly in the lives of others.
But we must go deeper still. For there is, of course, another meaning of ‘self’, and hence, the probability that self-killingwill have a still more significant result. When your body dies, what happens to your mind? Once you are no longer an actor in the public realm, can you no longer be a thinker or feeler in the private one? This is not of course something you or anyone else can discover from direct observation. But it is perhaps something you can deduce from circumstantial evidence. As a human, with a ‘theory of mind,’ you expect to be able to infer another person’s mental state from their outward behaviour. When, now, you observe that an individual’s body no longer behaves in any way at all—it neither acts spontaneously nor reacts to your probes—you have very good reason to suppose there is no longer anyone at home inside. True, absence of evidence is not entirely reliable as evidence of absence. But, in fact, you yourself have had plenty of direct experience of your own mind going absent at a time of pseudo-death. When you fall asleep, and your body becomes motionless and unresponsive, you know for a fact that your mind temporarily vanishes. You may remember how as a child you cried yourself to sleep and found blessed relief in the ensuing oblivion.
Suicide used to be called self-murder, felo de se. In an evolutionary context, the term murder is not inappropriate. Human beings have always been murderers, killers of other living beings. First, of course, killers of animal prey for meat, but also killers of other men and women. While not every ancient human would have had first-hand experience of assassination, everyone would have known and talked about it. Then, at some point, the idea must have dawned. Here’s how the psychiatrist, Erwin Stengel has put it: ‘At some stage of evolution man must have discovered that he can kill not only animals and fellow-men but also himself. It can be assumed that life has never since been the same to him’ [1, p. 37].
The purpose of this paper is to consider just how radically life changed. I argue that the human mind must have had to evolve to a critical level of sophistication before anyone could arrive at the idea that ‘I can kill myself’. However, from then on, suicide would never have been far from people’s thoughts. When times were hard, some individuals would have been bound to see death as an attractive option. Yet killing themselves would usually—if not always—have been a maladaptive act. I explore how this played out historically, and what remedies, if any, were available.
[...]
But, now, to go deeper: when you think ‘I can kill myself’, who is this ‘self’ and what do you imagine will result from ‘killing’ it? Again, Stengel implies that early humans would have understood the inevitable consequences of self-killing from observing the killing of others. Bodily death, however caused, has effects that anyone can see and take on board. There’s the obvious bodily decay. But the most salient change is in the dead person’s role as an actor in the physical or social world. They will not be coming back. This is a fact of death that non-human animals with complex social lives can also understand up to a point. Frans de Waal describes how, when a group of chimpanzees in the Arnhem Zoo were shown a video film of the alpha-male, Nickie, who had died by drowning 2 years earlier, his erstwhile rivals panicked as if they had seen a ghost [2, p. 214]. By applying this to your own case, you would realize that you yourself once dead will no longer participate directly in the lives of others.
But we must go deeper still. For there is, of course, another meaning of ‘self’, and hence, the probability that self-killingwill have a still more significant result. When your body dies, what happens to your mind? Once you are no longer an actor in the public realm, can you no longer be a thinker or feeler in the private one? This is not of course something you or anyone else can discover from direct observation. But it is perhaps something you can deduce from circumstantial evidence. As a human, with a ‘theory of mind,’ you expect to be able to infer another person’s mental state from their outward behaviour. When, now, you observe that an individual’s body no longer behaves in any way at all—it neither acts spontaneously nor reacts to your probes—you have very good reason to suppose there is no longer anyone at home inside. True, absence of evidence is not entirely reliable as evidence of absence. But, in fact, you yourself have had plenty of direct experience of your own mind going absent at a time of pseudo-death. When you fall asleep, and your body becomes motionless and unresponsive, you know for a fact that your mind temporarily vanishes. You may remember how as a child you cried yourself to sleep and found blessed relief in the ensuing oblivion.
Sunday, July 15, 2018
Contrary to theoretical models, experiences of victimization are not central to the development of sexual killers; instead, it is the adoption of various problematic behaviors in childhood that appear as most important
Stepping stones to sexual murder: the role of developmental factors in the etiology of sexual homicide. Eric Beauregard et al. Journal of Criminal Psychology, http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JCP-02-2018-0010
Abstract:
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of a variety of developmental factors on sexual homicide offenders (SHOs), while taking into account other components of sexual homicide theoretical models.
Design/methodology/approach: A series of logistic regression models are performed using a total of 616 incarcerated adult male sexual offenders from Canada to distinguish between three groups of sexual offenders, SHOs, violent non-homicidal sex offenders (NHSOs) and NHSOs.
Findings: Results indicate that contrary to theoretical models, experiences of victimization are not central to the development of SHOs. Instead, it is the adoption of various problematic behaviors in childhood that appear as most important in the etiology of this particular type of sexual crime. This suggests that the various existing theoretical models of sexual homicide need to be revised and/or tested with additional empirical data.
Originality/value: This is the first study to look at developmental factors using two control groups of NHSOs and violent NHSOs.
Keywords: Theoretical model, Sex offender, Etiology, Sexual homicide, Developmental factor, Sexual murder
Abstract:
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of a variety of developmental factors on sexual homicide offenders (SHOs), while taking into account other components of sexual homicide theoretical models.
Design/methodology/approach: A series of logistic regression models are performed using a total of 616 incarcerated adult male sexual offenders from Canada to distinguish between three groups of sexual offenders, SHOs, violent non-homicidal sex offenders (NHSOs) and NHSOs.
Findings: Results indicate that contrary to theoretical models, experiences of victimization are not central to the development of SHOs. Instead, it is the adoption of various problematic behaviors in childhood that appear as most important in the etiology of this particular type of sexual crime. This suggests that the various existing theoretical models of sexual homicide need to be revised and/or tested with additional empirical data.
Originality/value: This is the first study to look at developmental factors using two control groups of NHSOs and violent NHSOs.
Keywords: Theoretical model, Sex offender, Etiology, Sexual homicide, Developmental factor, Sexual murder
People are consistently more sensitive to action than to outcome value in judging the praiseworthiness of good deeds, but not harmful deeds. This observation echoes the finding that people are often insensitive to outcomes in their giving behavior
Yudkin, Daniel A., Annayah M. B. Prosser, and Molly Crockett. 2018. “Actions Speak Louder Than Outcomes in Judgments of Prosocial Behavior.” PsyArXiv. July 14. doi:10.31234/osf.io/vbsp6
Abstract: Recently proposed models of moral cognition suggest that people’s judgments of harmful acts are influenced by their consideration both of those acts’ consequences (“outcome value”), and of the feeling associated with their enactment (“action value”). Here we apply this framework to judgments of prosocial behavior, suggesting that people’s judgments of the praiseworthiness of good deeds are determined both by the benefit those deeds confer to others and by how good they would feel to perform. Three experiments confirm this prediction. After developing a new measure to assess the extent to which praiseworthiness is influenced by action and outcome values, we show how these factors make significant and independent contributions to praiseworthiness. We also find that people are consistently more sensitive to action than to outcome value in judging the praiseworthiness of good deeds, but not harmful deeds. This observation echoes the finding that people are often insensitive to outcomes in their giving behavior. Overall, this research tests and validates a novel framework for understanding moral judgment, with implications for the motivations that underlie human altruism.
Abstract: Recently proposed models of moral cognition suggest that people’s judgments of harmful acts are influenced by their consideration both of those acts’ consequences (“outcome value”), and of the feeling associated with their enactment (“action value”). Here we apply this framework to judgments of prosocial behavior, suggesting that people’s judgments of the praiseworthiness of good deeds are determined both by the benefit those deeds confer to others and by how good they would feel to perform. Three experiments confirm this prediction. After developing a new measure to assess the extent to which praiseworthiness is influenced by action and outcome values, we show how these factors make significant and independent contributions to praiseworthiness. We also find that people are consistently more sensitive to action than to outcome value in judging the praiseworthiness of good deeds, but not harmful deeds. This observation echoes the finding that people are often insensitive to outcomes in their giving behavior. Overall, this research tests and validates a novel framework for understanding moral judgment, with implications for the motivations that underlie human altruism.
Saturday, July 14, 2018
In both the U.S. & Denmark intelligence failed to predict standard party choice; this is due to opposing effects of intelligence on economic and social ideology
Different political systems suppress or facilitate the impact of intelligence on how you vote: A comparison of the U.S. and Denmark. Steven G.Ludeke, Stig H.R.Rasmussen. Intelligence, Volume 70, September–October 2018, Pages 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intell.2018.06.003
Highlights
• In both the U.S. and Denmark intelligence failed to predict standard party choice.
• This was due to opposing effects of intelligence on economic and social ideology.
• Denmark's multi-party system allows non-standard representations of party choice.
• In Denmark, significant systematic intelligence differences observed between parties.
Abstract: Intelligence is rarely studied as a predictor of vote choice, and at first glance our data supports this neglect: In samples from the U.S. and Denmark (Ns = 1419 and 953), intelligence does not predict the standard operationalization of vote choice in which parties are placed on a single left-vs-right dimension. (Standardized coefficients predicting right-wing vote choice were 0.05 and −0.03, respectively.) However, this apparent non-effect in fact reflects approximately equal and opposite effects of intelligence on vote choice as transmitted through social and economic ideology. In both countries, higher ability predicts left-wing social and right-wing economic views. The impact of intelligence on vote choice is thus most visible in true multi-party systems like Denmark, in which parties do not simply pair similar levels of social and economic conservatism, but instead provide diverse combinations of social and economic ideology. Comparing the parties closest to representing authoritarian egalitarianism (social-right plus economic-left) and libertarianism (social-left plus economic-right), we observed a 0.9 SD intelligence gap.
Highlights
• In both the U.S. and Denmark intelligence failed to predict standard party choice.
• This was due to opposing effects of intelligence on economic and social ideology.
• Denmark's multi-party system allows non-standard representations of party choice.
• In Denmark, significant systematic intelligence differences observed between parties.
Abstract: Intelligence is rarely studied as a predictor of vote choice, and at first glance our data supports this neglect: In samples from the U.S. and Denmark (Ns = 1419 and 953), intelligence does not predict the standard operationalization of vote choice in which parties are placed on a single left-vs-right dimension. (Standardized coefficients predicting right-wing vote choice were 0.05 and −0.03, respectively.) However, this apparent non-effect in fact reflects approximately equal and opposite effects of intelligence on vote choice as transmitted through social and economic ideology. In both countries, higher ability predicts left-wing social and right-wing economic views. The impact of intelligence on vote choice is thus most visible in true multi-party systems like Denmark, in which parties do not simply pair similar levels of social and economic conservatism, but instead provide diverse combinations of social and economic ideology. Comparing the parties closest to representing authoritarian egalitarianism (social-right plus economic-left) and libertarianism (social-left plus economic-right), we observed a 0.9 SD intelligence gap.
We look at 3 different measures of political success—electoral success, years in office, & access to an elite political position—& find lower levels of agreeableness are systematically correlated with greater success
Nice guys finish last: personality and political success. Jeroen Joly, Stuart Soroka, Peter Loewen. Acta Politica, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41269-018-0095-z
Abstract: Is there a link between personality and the electoral and in-office success of politicians? Using the Ten-Item Personality Inventory, we examine whether the Five-Factor Model personality traits are correlated with political success among Belgian elected officials. We look at three different measures of political success, corresponding to different stages of the political career—electoral success, years in office, and access to an elite political position—and find lower levels of agreeableness are systematically correlated with greater success. These results are in line with those found among American and European CEO’s (Boudreau et al. in J Vocat Behav 58(1):53–81, 2001). This study offers a unique insight in the type of personality voters and party leadership look for and reward among politicians.
Abstract: Is there a link between personality and the electoral and in-office success of politicians? Using the Ten-Item Personality Inventory, we examine whether the Five-Factor Model personality traits are correlated with political success among Belgian elected officials. We look at three different measures of political success, corresponding to different stages of the political career—electoral success, years in office, and access to an elite political position—and find lower levels of agreeableness are systematically correlated with greater success. These results are in line with those found among American and European CEO’s (Boudreau et al. in J Vocat Behav 58(1):53–81, 2001). This study offers a unique insight in the type of personality voters and party leadership look for and reward among politicians.
Friday, July 13, 2018
Do we perceive fine details in the visual periphery? Here, we propose that phenomenology in the visual periphery can be characterized by an inflated sense of perceptual capacity, as observers overestimate the quality of their perceptual inputs
Inflation versus filling-in: why we feel we see more than we actually do in peripheral vision
Brian Odegaard, Min Yu Chang, Hakwan Lau, Sing-Hang Cheung. bioRxiv, https://doi.org/10.1101/263244
Abstract: Do we perceive fine details in the visual periphery? Here, we propose that phenomenology in the visual periphery can be characterized by an inflated sense of perceptual capacity, as observers overestimate the quality of their perceptual inputs. Distinct from the well-known perceptual phenomenon of "filling-in" where perceptual content is generated or completed endogenously, inflation can be characterized by incorrect introspection at the subjective level. The perceptual content itself may be absent or weak (i.e., not necessarily filled-in), and yet such content is mistakenly regarded by the system as rich. Behaviorally, this can be reflected by metacognitive deficits in the degree to which confidence judgments track task accuracy, and decisional biases for observers to think particular items are present, even when they are not. In two experiments using paradigms which exploit unique attributes of peripheral vision (crowding and summary statistics), we provide evidence that both types of deficits are present in peripheral vision, as observers' reports are marked by overconfidence in discrimination judgments and high numbers of false alarms in detection judgments. We discuss potential mechanisms which may be the cause of inflation and propose future experiments to further explore this unique sensory phenomenon.
Brian Odegaard, Min Yu Chang, Hakwan Lau, Sing-Hang Cheung. bioRxiv, https://doi.org/10.1101/263244
Abstract: Do we perceive fine details in the visual periphery? Here, we propose that phenomenology in the visual periphery can be characterized by an inflated sense of perceptual capacity, as observers overestimate the quality of their perceptual inputs. Distinct from the well-known perceptual phenomenon of "filling-in" where perceptual content is generated or completed endogenously, inflation can be characterized by incorrect introspection at the subjective level. The perceptual content itself may be absent or weak (i.e., not necessarily filled-in), and yet such content is mistakenly regarded by the system as rich. Behaviorally, this can be reflected by metacognitive deficits in the degree to which confidence judgments track task accuracy, and decisional biases for observers to think particular items are present, even when they are not. In two experiments using paradigms which exploit unique attributes of peripheral vision (crowding and summary statistics), we provide evidence that both types of deficits are present in peripheral vision, as observers' reports are marked by overconfidence in discrimination judgments and high numbers of false alarms in detection judgments. We discuss potential mechanisms which may be the cause of inflation and propose future experiments to further explore this unique sensory phenomenon.
Marital duration has a negative effect on married men’s physical pleasure of marital sex, & it has no effect on married women’s sexual satisfaction
Liu, C. (2018). A theory of sex difference in changes in marital sexual satisfaction. Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences, http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ebs0000120
Abstract: This paper develops and empirically tests a theory of one of the most fundamental sex differences, namely, the sex difference in the changes in marital sexual satisfaction. Previous research reports mixed results on how sexual satisfaction changes over relationship duration. More theoretical and empirical research is needed to better understand how each sex’s sexual satisfaction changes over relationship duration. In this research, applying an evolutionary psychological perspective and human capital theory, I attempt to explain and predict how each sex’s marital sexual satisfaction changes over marital duration. Three testable hypotheses are derived and empirically tested with the National Health and Social Life Survey data. The results show that marital duration has a negative effect on married men’s physical pleasure of marital sex, and it has no effect on married women’s sexual satisfaction. Implications for other aspects of marital sex and for marriage as a social institution for channeling sex are drawn. The limitations of the research are discussed.
Abstract: This paper develops and empirically tests a theory of one of the most fundamental sex differences, namely, the sex difference in the changes in marital sexual satisfaction. Previous research reports mixed results on how sexual satisfaction changes over relationship duration. More theoretical and empirical research is needed to better understand how each sex’s sexual satisfaction changes over relationship duration. In this research, applying an evolutionary psychological perspective and human capital theory, I attempt to explain and predict how each sex’s marital sexual satisfaction changes over marital duration. Three testable hypotheses are derived and empirically tested with the National Health and Social Life Survey data. The results show that marital duration has a negative effect on married men’s physical pleasure of marital sex, and it has no effect on married women’s sexual satisfaction. Implications for other aspects of marital sex and for marriage as a social institution for channeling sex are drawn. The limitations of the research are discussed.
Unmarried men’s increased financial satisfaction was associated with decreased relationship satisfaction, and increased financial stress was associated with decreased relationship satisfaction for unmarried men and married women (actor effects)
Totenhagen, C. J., Wilmarth, M. J., Serido, J., & Betancourt, A. E. (2018). Do day-to-day finances play a role in relationship satisfaction? A dyadic investigation. Journal of Family Psychology, 32(4), 528-537. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/fam0000406
Abstract: Prior researchers have found consistent links between financial issues and relationship outcomes. Yet, because most research is cross-sectional or examines these constructs over longer periods of time (e.g., years), the microlevel processes of how and when these changes occur are unclear. In the present study, we use interdependence theory as a guide to examine the daily fluctuations of financial satisfaction and stress as well as their daily associations with relationship quality in married and unmarried heterosexual couples. Using a dyadic 14-day daily diary research design, we found both financial satisfaction and stress demonstrated significant within-person fluctuations, with women demonstrating greater volatility in financial satisfaction than men. Given that individuals varied in their perceptions of financial satisfaction and stress from day to day, we then examined how these fluctuations were associated with daily relationship satisfaction. We expected financial satisfaction would be positively associated with relationship satisfaction for both actors and partners, whereas financial stress would be negatively associated for both actors and partners. Hypotheses were partially supported. Unmarried women’s daily financial satisfaction was associated with increased relationship quality for both themselves (marginal) as well as their partners. An unexpected pattern for unmarried men’s financial satisfaction was found; their increased financial satisfaction was associated with decreased relationship satisfaction. Increased financial stress was associated with decreased relationship satisfaction for unmarried men and married women (actor effects). We discuss implications for research and practice.
Abstract: Prior researchers have found consistent links between financial issues and relationship outcomes. Yet, because most research is cross-sectional or examines these constructs over longer periods of time (e.g., years), the microlevel processes of how and when these changes occur are unclear. In the present study, we use interdependence theory as a guide to examine the daily fluctuations of financial satisfaction and stress as well as their daily associations with relationship quality in married and unmarried heterosexual couples. Using a dyadic 14-day daily diary research design, we found both financial satisfaction and stress demonstrated significant within-person fluctuations, with women demonstrating greater volatility in financial satisfaction than men. Given that individuals varied in their perceptions of financial satisfaction and stress from day to day, we then examined how these fluctuations were associated with daily relationship satisfaction. We expected financial satisfaction would be positively associated with relationship satisfaction for both actors and partners, whereas financial stress would be negatively associated for both actors and partners. Hypotheses were partially supported. Unmarried women’s daily financial satisfaction was associated with increased relationship quality for both themselves (marginal) as well as their partners. An unexpected pattern for unmarried men’s financial satisfaction was found; their increased financial satisfaction was associated with decreased relationship satisfaction. Increased financial stress was associated with decreased relationship satisfaction for unmarried men and married women (actor effects). We discuss implications for research and practice.
Thursday, July 12, 2018
Imagining their Future Selves: Children's Attitudes to Older People and their Expectations of Life at Age 70
Imagining their Future Selves: Children's Attitudes to Older People and their Expectations of Life at Age 70. Katrina Lloyd, Paula Devine, Gemma M. Carney. Children & Society, https://doi.org/10.1111/chso.12289
Abstract: Studies eliciting the views of children on ageing are rare, particularly those that focus on imagining a future self as an ‘old’ person and how this might be linked to current attitudes to older people. To address this gap, 2,365 children participated in an online survey which included questions on ageing. Findings suggest that children who hold negative views about old people visualise poorer outcomes for themselves at age 70. Implications of the findings are discussed in the context of an ageing population and the need to develop strategies to prevent the formation of prejudices against older people from an early age.
Abstract: Studies eliciting the views of children on ageing are rare, particularly those that focus on imagining a future self as an ‘old’ person and how this might be linked to current attitudes to older people. To address this gap, 2,365 children participated in an online survey which included questions on ageing. Findings suggest that children who hold negative views about old people visualise poorer outcomes for themselves at age 70. Implications of the findings are discussed in the context of an ageing population and the need to develop strategies to prevent the formation of prejudices against older people from an early age.
Traditional sex behaviors, older age of first intercourse and fewer sex partners, are related to conservative orientations; satisfaction with sex life is related to socially conservatives; adventurous and risky sex behaviors are related more to liberals
The relationship between sexual preferences and political orientations: Do positions in the bedroom affect positions in the ballot box? Peter K.Hatemi, Charles Crabtree, Rose McDermott. Personality and Individual Differences, Volume 105, 15 January 2017, Pages 318-325. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.10.008
Highlights
• Traditional sex behaviors (e.g., missionary sex) are related to conservative orientations.
• Older age of first intercourse and fewer sex partners is associated with social conservativism.
• Satisfaction with sex life is related to more socially conservative attitudes.
• Adventurous sexual behaviors (e.g., sex toys) are related to more liberal orientations.
• Risky-sex behaviors (e.g., sex with stranger), are related to more liberal orientations.
Abstract: Sex provides a strong and enduring drive in humans, infusing attitudes and influencing behavior far beyond its immediate activity. Issues involving sex are among the most prevalent and divisive in modern political discourse. However, little is known about whether the actual sexual behaviors of the public align with their political values. Using a web-based US sample, we assess the relationship between individual sexual practices and political preferences. We find that those who engage in more traditional sexual behaviors, such as missionary position sex and kissing, generally have more socially conservative attitudes, ideologies, and partisan leanings, while those who engage in more masturbation, more adventurous sex, such as using sex toys, and those who engage in more risky sex, such as having sex with someone they met on the same day, and who have more lifetime partners, generally hold more liberal positions. Though they engage in a narrower band of activities, those with more conservative orientations tend be more satisfied with their sex life. We also find substantial heterogeneity across political attitudinal dimensions. For example, individuals who hold more conservative outgroup/punishment attitudes appear similar to those who hold liberal social attitudes when it comes to risky sex behaviors.
Highlights
• Traditional sex behaviors (e.g., missionary sex) are related to conservative orientations.
• Older age of first intercourse and fewer sex partners is associated with social conservativism.
• Satisfaction with sex life is related to more socially conservative attitudes.
• Adventurous sexual behaviors (e.g., sex toys) are related to more liberal orientations.
• Risky-sex behaviors (e.g., sex with stranger), are related to more liberal orientations.
Abstract: Sex provides a strong and enduring drive in humans, infusing attitudes and influencing behavior far beyond its immediate activity. Issues involving sex are among the most prevalent and divisive in modern political discourse. However, little is known about whether the actual sexual behaviors of the public align with their political values. Using a web-based US sample, we assess the relationship between individual sexual practices and political preferences. We find that those who engage in more traditional sexual behaviors, such as missionary position sex and kissing, generally have more socially conservative attitudes, ideologies, and partisan leanings, while those who engage in more masturbation, more adventurous sex, such as using sex toys, and those who engage in more risky sex, such as having sex with someone they met on the same day, and who have more lifetime partners, generally hold more liberal positions. Though they engage in a narrower band of activities, those with more conservative orientations tend be more satisfied with their sex life. We also find substantial heterogeneity across political attitudinal dimensions. For example, individuals who hold more conservative outgroup/punishment attitudes appear similar to those who hold liberal social attitudes when it comes to risky sex behaviors.
Political-Party Affiliation as a Predictor of Usage of an Adultery Website: Democrats were least likely to use it, Libertarians were most likely, & Republicans, Greens, and unaffiliated voters were in-between
American Political-Party Affiliation as a Predictor of Usage of an Adultery Website. Kodi B. Arfer, Jason J. Jones. Archives of Sexual Behavior, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-018-1244-1
Abstract: The more politically conservative Americans are, the more restrictive their sexual attitudes are. A natural follow-up question is how this difference in attitudes relates to actual behavior. But self-reports of sexual behavior may be compromised by a social desirability bias that is influenced by the very sexual attitudes at issue. We employed a non-self-reported measure of sexual behavior: usage of the adultery-focused dating website Ashley Madison. Linking an August 2015 leak of user data from Ashley Madison to 2012 voter registration rolls from five U.S. states, we found 80,000 matches between 200,000 Ashley Madison user accounts and 50 million voters. According to simple rates in the sample, and also to predictively validated regression models controlling for state, gender, and age, we found that Democrats were least likely to use Ashley Madison, Libertarians were most likely, and Republicans, Greens, and unaffiliated voters were in between. Our results provide support for theories arguing that people with stricter sexual attitudes are paradoxically more likely to engage in deviant sexual behavior.
Abstract: The more politically conservative Americans are, the more restrictive their sexual attitudes are. A natural follow-up question is how this difference in attitudes relates to actual behavior. But self-reports of sexual behavior may be compromised by a social desirability bias that is influenced by the very sexual attitudes at issue. We employed a non-self-reported measure of sexual behavior: usage of the adultery-focused dating website Ashley Madison. Linking an August 2015 leak of user data from Ashley Madison to 2012 voter registration rolls from five U.S. states, we found 80,000 matches between 200,000 Ashley Madison user accounts and 50 million voters. According to simple rates in the sample, and also to predictively validated regression models controlling for state, gender, and age, we found that Democrats were least likely to use Ashley Madison, Libertarians were most likely, and Republicans, Greens, and unaffiliated voters were in between. Our results provide support for theories arguing that people with stricter sexual attitudes are paradoxically more likely to engage in deviant sexual behavior.
Gay & lesbian individuals are slightly more likely than heterosexual individuals to reside in more urban areas as adults but it is due to a more urban childhood contexts of gay/lesbian individuals relative to heterosexual ones
Urban Migration of Sexual Minorities in the United States: Myth or Reality? Christopher P. Scheitle, Sara K. Guthrie. Sexuality & Culture, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12119-018-9544-0
Abstract: It is often suggested that sexual minorities in the United States, especially gay men and lesbian women, move to urban areas at a higher rate than heterosexual individuals. Existing analyses of this claim are limited for one or more reasons, such as only examining patterns of current residential context without considering movement between contexts or only examining movement for partnered sexual minorities. Utilizing the General Social Survey, a probability survey of the US adult population, we compare patterns of residential context in childhood and adulthood for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and heterosexual individuals. Initial findings do suggest that gay and lesbian individuals are slightly more likely than heterosexual individuals to reside in more urban areas as adults. However, this difference is explained away by the more urban childhood contexts of gay or lesbian individuals relative to heterosexual individuals. In sum, we find no robust sexuality effect on urban migration.
Abstract: It is often suggested that sexual minorities in the United States, especially gay men and lesbian women, move to urban areas at a higher rate than heterosexual individuals. Existing analyses of this claim are limited for one or more reasons, such as only examining patterns of current residential context without considering movement between contexts or only examining movement for partnered sexual minorities. Utilizing the General Social Survey, a probability survey of the US adult population, we compare patterns of residential context in childhood and adulthood for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and heterosexual individuals. Initial findings do suggest that gay and lesbian individuals are slightly more likely than heterosexual individuals to reside in more urban areas as adults. However, this difference is explained away by the more urban childhood contexts of gay or lesbian individuals relative to heterosexual individuals. In sum, we find no robust sexuality effect on urban migration.
Potential brain age reversal after pregnancy: younger brains at 4-6 weeks postpartum
Potential brain age reversal after pregnancy: younger brains at 4-6 weeks postpartum. Eileen Luders et al. Neurosciencem https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2018.07.006
Highlights
• Brains at late postpartum were estimated to be younger than at early postpartum.
• On average, that difference was about five years.
• These findings suggest a substantial restoration / rejuvenation effect after giving birth.
• The effect seems to be already evident within 4-6 weeks postpartum.
Abstract: Pregnancy is accompanied by complex biological adaptations, including extreme hormonal fluctuations. Moreover, changes on the endocrine level are accompanied by changes in cerebral anatomy, such as reductions in brain or gray matter volume. Since declining brain and tissue volumes are characteristic for normal aging, the question arises of whether such pregnancy-induced anatomical effects are permanent or transient. To answer this question, we acquired high-resolution brain image data of 14 healthy women in their mid-twenties to late thirties at two time points: within 1-2 days of childbirth (early postpartum) and at 4-6 weeks after childbirth (late postpartum). At both time points, we estimated the brain ages for each woman using a well-validated machine learning approach based on pattern recognition. Ultimately, this algorithm – designed to identify anatomical correlates of age across the entire brain – reveals a single score for each individual: the BrainAGE index. Comparing the BrainAGE indices between both time points, female brains at late postpartum were estimated to be considerably younger than at early postpartum. On average, that difference was about five years (mean±SD: 5.4±2.4 years). These findings suggest a substantial restoration / rejuvenation effect after giving birth, which is evident already within the first couple of months.
Highlights
• Brains at late postpartum were estimated to be younger than at early postpartum.
• On average, that difference was about five years.
• These findings suggest a substantial restoration / rejuvenation effect after giving birth.
• The effect seems to be already evident within 4-6 weeks postpartum.
Abstract: Pregnancy is accompanied by complex biological adaptations, including extreme hormonal fluctuations. Moreover, changes on the endocrine level are accompanied by changes in cerebral anatomy, such as reductions in brain or gray matter volume. Since declining brain and tissue volumes are characteristic for normal aging, the question arises of whether such pregnancy-induced anatomical effects are permanent or transient. To answer this question, we acquired high-resolution brain image data of 14 healthy women in their mid-twenties to late thirties at two time points: within 1-2 days of childbirth (early postpartum) and at 4-6 weeks after childbirth (late postpartum). At both time points, we estimated the brain ages for each woman using a well-validated machine learning approach based on pattern recognition. Ultimately, this algorithm – designed to identify anatomical correlates of age across the entire brain – reveals a single score for each individual: the BrainAGE index. Comparing the BrainAGE indices between both time points, female brains at late postpartum were estimated to be considerably younger than at early postpartum. On average, that difference was about five years (mean±SD: 5.4±2.4 years). These findings suggest a substantial restoration / rejuvenation effect after giving birth, which is evident already within the first couple of months.
Rams are selected for genetic traits a producer desires to propagate in his flock; rams with limited interest in ewes was nearly 30% of the total number of breeding rams; cause can be a tempered reward pathway in combination with decreased vigilance and sensory processing in the amygdala
ASAS-SSR Triennial Reproduction Symposium: Looking Back And Moving Forward—How Reproductive Physiology Has Evolved—Male reproductive behavior: sensory signaling in the brain of low-performing domestic rams. Brenda M Alexander. Journal of Animal Science, Volume 96, Issue 7, 29 June 2018, Pages 3003–3008, https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/sky117
Abstract: Rams are selected for genetic traits a producer desires to propagate in his flock. Even though practically all sheep are naturally bred, rams are rarely evaluated for expression of sexual interest or behavior. Research at the U.S. Sheep Experiment Station reported that the proportion of rams with limited interest in ewes was nearly 30% of the total number of breeding rams. Breeding soundness tested rams with low sexual interest sire less than 16% of the lamb crop. Although producers recognize the problem, their usual solution is to increase the number of rams in breeding flocks decreasing the risk of open ewes. Increased costs and a lack of genetic progress are clearly important considerations, but the biological question as to what controls sexual interest remains intriguing. Circulating concentrations of testosterone do not differ by sexual interest among rams. However, following exposure to estrous ewes, sexually active, but not inactive, rams exhibit an increase in LH pulsatile activity, a biological response to sexual stimuli. This begs the question as to whether sexually inactive rams recognize sexual cues. Using c fos activity as an indicator of neural activity, differences in the olfactory pathway were compared among sexually active and inactive rams. Differences in fos activity were not detected in the olfactory bulb or medial amygdala. However, sexually inactive rams had lower fos activity in the central amygdala, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, and medial preoptic area of the hypothalamus following exposure to sexual evocative olfactory stimuli. This suggests sexually inactive rams detect olfactory cues but have decreased vigilance to sensory stimuli and a muted response to sexual signals in areas of the brain required for the execution of sexual performance. With the amygdala receiving and integrating sensory signals from many areas of the brain, sexually inactive rams may lack normal reward mechanisms contributing to their lack of sexual interest. Rams with limited sexual interest have decreased dopamine synthesis and a lower expression of dopamine D2 receptors following exposure to sexual stimuli. Thus, a tempered reward pathway in combination with decreased vigilance and sensory processing in the amygdala may reduce stimulation and/or responsiveness in areas of the brain required for expression of sexual behavior.
Abstract: Rams are selected for genetic traits a producer desires to propagate in his flock. Even though practically all sheep are naturally bred, rams are rarely evaluated for expression of sexual interest or behavior. Research at the U.S. Sheep Experiment Station reported that the proportion of rams with limited interest in ewes was nearly 30% of the total number of breeding rams. Breeding soundness tested rams with low sexual interest sire less than 16% of the lamb crop. Although producers recognize the problem, their usual solution is to increase the number of rams in breeding flocks decreasing the risk of open ewes. Increased costs and a lack of genetic progress are clearly important considerations, but the biological question as to what controls sexual interest remains intriguing. Circulating concentrations of testosterone do not differ by sexual interest among rams. However, following exposure to estrous ewes, sexually active, but not inactive, rams exhibit an increase in LH pulsatile activity, a biological response to sexual stimuli. This begs the question as to whether sexually inactive rams recognize sexual cues. Using c fos activity as an indicator of neural activity, differences in the olfactory pathway were compared among sexually active and inactive rams. Differences in fos activity were not detected in the olfactory bulb or medial amygdala. However, sexually inactive rams had lower fos activity in the central amygdala, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, and medial preoptic area of the hypothalamus following exposure to sexual evocative olfactory stimuli. This suggests sexually inactive rams detect olfactory cues but have decreased vigilance to sensory stimuli and a muted response to sexual signals in areas of the brain required for the execution of sexual performance. With the amygdala receiving and integrating sensory signals from many areas of the brain, sexually inactive rams may lack normal reward mechanisms contributing to their lack of sexual interest. Rams with limited sexual interest have decreased dopamine synthesis and a lower expression of dopamine D2 receptors following exposure to sexual stimuli. Thus, a tempered reward pathway in combination with decreased vigilance and sensory processing in the amygdala may reduce stimulation and/or responsiveness in areas of the brain required for expression of sexual behavior.
Sheep are one of the few animal models in which natural variations in male sexual preferences have been studied experimentally; approximately 8% of rams exhibit sexual preferences for male partners (male-oriented rams)
The Volume of a Sexually Dimorphic Nucleus in the Ovine Medial Preoptic Area/Anterior Hypothalamus Varies with Sexual Partner Preference. Charles E. Roselli et al. Endocrinology, Volume 145, Issue 2, 1 February 2004, Pages 478–483, https://doi.org/10.1210/en.2003-1098
Abstract: Sheep are one of the few animal models in which natural variations in male sexual preferences have been studied experimentally. Approximately 8% of rams exhibit sexual preferences for male partners (male-oriented rams) in contrast to most rams, which prefer female partners (female-oriented rams). We identified a cell group within the medial preoptic area/anterior hypothalamus of age-matched adult sheep that was significantly larger in adult rams than in ewes. This cell group was labeled the ovine sexually dimorphic nucleus (oSDN). In addition to a sex difference, we found that the volume of the oSDN was two times greater in female-oriented rams than in male-oriented rams. The dense cluster of neurons that comprise the oSDN express cytochrome P450 aromatase. Aromatase mRNA levels in the oSDN were significantly greater in female-oriented rams than in ewes, whereas male-oriented rams exhibited intermediate levels of expression. Because the medial preoptic area/anterior hypothalamus is known to control the expression of male sexual behaviors, these results suggest that naturally occurring variations in sexual partner preferences may be related to differences in brain anatomy and capacity for estrogen synthesis.
Abstract: Sheep are one of the few animal models in which natural variations in male sexual preferences have been studied experimentally. Approximately 8% of rams exhibit sexual preferences for male partners (male-oriented rams) in contrast to most rams, which prefer female partners (female-oriented rams). We identified a cell group within the medial preoptic area/anterior hypothalamus of age-matched adult sheep that was significantly larger in adult rams than in ewes. This cell group was labeled the ovine sexually dimorphic nucleus (oSDN). In addition to a sex difference, we found that the volume of the oSDN was two times greater in female-oriented rams than in male-oriented rams. The dense cluster of neurons that comprise the oSDN express cytochrome P450 aromatase. Aromatase mRNA levels in the oSDN were significantly greater in female-oriented rams than in ewes, whereas male-oriented rams exhibited intermediate levels of expression. Because the medial preoptic area/anterior hypothalamus is known to control the expression of male sexual behaviors, these results suggest that naturally occurring variations in sexual partner preferences may be related to differences in brain anatomy and capacity for estrogen synthesis.
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
Competent individuals endorsed cynicism only if it was warranted in a given sociocultural environment; less competent individuals embraced cynicism unconditionally, maybe an adaptive default strategy to avoid the potential costs of falling prey to others’ cunning
The Cynical Genius Illusion: Exploring and Debunking Lay Beliefs About Cynicism and Competence. Olga Stavrova, Daniel Ehlebracht. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167218783195
Abstract: Cynicism refers to a negative appraisal of human nature—a belief that self-interest is the ultimate motive guiding human behavior. We explored laypersons’ beliefs about cynicism and competence and to what extent these beliefs correspond to reality. Four studies showed that laypeople tend to believe in cynical individuals’ cognitive superiority. A further three studies based on the data of about 200,000 individuals from 30 countries debunked these lay beliefs as illusionary by revealing that cynical (vs. less cynical) individuals generally do worse on cognitive ability and academic competency tasks. Cross-cultural analyses showed that competent individuals held contingent attitudes and endorsed cynicism only if it was warranted in a given sociocultural environment. Less competent individuals embraced cynicism unconditionally, suggesting that—at low levels of competence—holding a cynical worldview might represent an adaptive default strategy to avoid the potential costs of falling prey to others’ cunning.
Keywords: cynicism, competence, lay theories, social perception
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Beside the fact that cynicism and wisdom are often intertwined in philosophy, literature, and popular culture, there are multiple other reasons for laypeople to associate cynicism with competence. Cynicism reflects a worldview that human nature is morally corrupt and human actions are driven by self-interest. The power of self-interest as the ultimate motive of human behavior has been discussed in multiple scientific disciplines (Cropanzano, Goldman, & Folger, 2005; Miller & Ratner, 1998). In evolutionary biology, selfinterested behavioral strategies are sometimes described as fitness maximizing and therefore .smart. in evolutionary terms. In neoliberal economic theory, the ability to pursue self-interest is regarded as a sign of perfect rationality (homo oeconomicus). These ideas are widely accepted among laypeople (Bay-Cheng, Fitz, Alizaga, & Zucker, 2015), suggesting that adopting a cynical view and seeing others. behavior as driven by self-interest might constitute a sign of competence in laypeople.s eyes.
At the same time, laypeople might believe cynicism to be diagnostic of substantial life experience. Many people tend to think of life as generally .nasty, brutish and short. (Norton, Anik, Aknin, & Dunn, 2011); hence, accumulating life experience can be considered as inevitably leading to the endorsement of a negative, cynical view. Indeed, research on generalized trust has recently shown that, once the perception of moral character is held constant, distrust can sometimes be seen as a sign of competence (Evans & van de Calseyde, 2017). Similarly, as people generally tend to exaggerate the degree to which others. behavior is driven by egoistic motives (Miller, 1999; Miller & Ratner, 1998), chronically high levels of suspiciousness and cynicism may be considered a sign of competence and experience in dealing with other people.
From an evolutionary perspective, the suspiciousness, precautionary reasoning, and endorsement of the .better safe than sorry. heuristic inherent to cynicism might be seen as features of a competent decision maker (Haselton & Nettle, 2006; Johnson, Blumstein, Fowler, & Haselton, 2013). According to the error management theory (Haselton & Buss, 2000), in many domains the consequences of false negative errors (e.g., believing that someone is trustworthy when they really are not) have often been more costly than false positive errors (e.g., believing that someone is untrustworthy when they really are trustworthy) over human evolutionary history, making the cognitive system of modern humans biased toward false alarms. As endorsing a cynical view is reflected in a stronger propensity to avoid false negative errors (e.g., the best way not to misplace one.s trust is not to trust at all), cynicism might be seen as a sign of competence. Taken together, these arguments suggest that, in laypersons. beliefs, cynicism might be positively associated with competence.
Cynicism and Competence in Reality
Even though social observers might think that being too cynical is wiser than being not cynical enough, this belief might not mirror the real associations of cynicism and competence. Indeed, studies using the trust game showed that people typically earned more if they were willing to trust strangers rather than not (e.g., Fetchenhauer & Dunning, 2010). Longitudinal studies corroborated this idea, suggesting that cynical individuals earn lower incomes due to their ineptitude for cooperation, and cynicism might therefore be not that smart in terms of financial success (Stavrova & Ehlebracht, 2016).
Further studies demonstrated that cynicism is more likely to be a worldview endorsed by individuals with lower rather than higher levels of education (Haukkala, 2002; Stavrova & Ehlebracht, 2018) and intelligent individuals. behavior was shown to be more likely to depart from the norms of selfinterest (Solon, 2014). Higher levels of education and competence in a broader sense might help individuals detect and avoid potential deceit in the first place, thus reducing the probability of negative social experiences, which might in turn contribute to a more positive view of human nature (Yamagishi, Kikuchi, & Kosugi, 1999). Indeed a number of studies showed general cognitive ability to be negatively related to cynical hostility (Barnes et al., 2009; Mortensen, Barefoot, & Avlund, 2012) and positively related to trust (Carl, 2014; Carl & Billari, 2014; Hooghe, Marien, & de Vroome, 2012; Oskarsson, Dawes, Johannesson, & Magnusson, 2012; Sturgis, Read, & Allum, 2010). However, even though intelligent individuals are more likely to trust strangers, high IQ is not a good predictor of the ability to differentiate between trustworthy and untrustworthy targets (Bonnefon, Hopfensitz, & De Neys, 2013). In addition, a recent meta-analysis failed to detect an association between measures of cognitive ability and Machiavellianism.a concept that includes a "cynical beliefs about human nature" facet (O.Boyle, Forsyth, Banks, & Story, 2013).
Even if a high level of competence might not allow people to accurately discriminate between honest and dishonest interaction partners, it might allow them to correctly recognize situations or environments where cynicism regarding other people.s motives and intentions might be warranted or not. In other words, high levels of competence might allow individuals to correctly identify the .corruptness. of their environment and adjust their level of cynicism to match it. Following this reasoning, high-competence individuals might hold adaptable attitudes and recur to cynicism only when it seems warranted, while their less competent counterparts might show more cognitive rigidity and.relying on the .better safe than sorry. heuristic.tend to endorse cynicism indiscriminately. Consistent with evolutionary principles, such a .better safe than sorry. strategy can prove efficient when one lacks the ability to correctly identify the relevant features of the sociocultural context one is confronted with and determine whether cynicism is warranted or not (Brumbach, Figueredo, & Ellis, 2009; Gross, 1996). In this sense, at lower levels of competence, holding a negative, cynical view as a default (assuming that people are guided by self-interest unless proven otherwise) might represent a more viable strategy than holding an overly positive view of others' morality.
In the present research, we assumed that even though cynicism might be positively associated with competence in laypeople.s beliefs, in reality, more competent individuals are less, rather than more, likely to endorse a cynical worldview, giving rise to what can be described as a .cynical genius illusion.. Consistent with the evolutionary arguments laid out above, we also predicted that the negative association between competence and cynicism will depend on the environment.s sociocultural climate. Highly competent individuals will be more likely to endorse cynicism if they live in a country where cynical views seem justified.for example, in a country with corrupted institutions and a weak rule of law.whereas low-competence individuals will embrace cynicism regardless of the characteristics of the sociocultural environment they face.
Abstract: Cynicism refers to a negative appraisal of human nature—a belief that self-interest is the ultimate motive guiding human behavior. We explored laypersons’ beliefs about cynicism and competence and to what extent these beliefs correspond to reality. Four studies showed that laypeople tend to believe in cynical individuals’ cognitive superiority. A further three studies based on the data of about 200,000 individuals from 30 countries debunked these lay beliefs as illusionary by revealing that cynical (vs. less cynical) individuals generally do worse on cognitive ability and academic competency tasks. Cross-cultural analyses showed that competent individuals held contingent attitudes and endorsed cynicism only if it was warranted in a given sociocultural environment. Less competent individuals embraced cynicism unconditionally, suggesting that—at low levels of competence—holding a cynical worldview might represent an adaptive default strategy to avoid the potential costs of falling prey to others’ cunning.
Keywords: cynicism, competence, lay theories, social perception
---
Beside the fact that cynicism and wisdom are often intertwined in philosophy, literature, and popular culture, there are multiple other reasons for laypeople to associate cynicism with competence. Cynicism reflects a worldview that human nature is morally corrupt and human actions are driven by self-interest. The power of self-interest as the ultimate motive of human behavior has been discussed in multiple scientific disciplines (Cropanzano, Goldman, & Folger, 2005; Miller & Ratner, 1998). In evolutionary biology, selfinterested behavioral strategies are sometimes described as fitness maximizing and therefore .smart. in evolutionary terms. In neoliberal economic theory, the ability to pursue self-interest is regarded as a sign of perfect rationality (homo oeconomicus). These ideas are widely accepted among laypeople (Bay-Cheng, Fitz, Alizaga, & Zucker, 2015), suggesting that adopting a cynical view and seeing others. behavior as driven by self-interest might constitute a sign of competence in laypeople.s eyes.
At the same time, laypeople might believe cynicism to be diagnostic of substantial life experience. Many people tend to think of life as generally .nasty, brutish and short. (Norton, Anik, Aknin, & Dunn, 2011); hence, accumulating life experience can be considered as inevitably leading to the endorsement of a negative, cynical view. Indeed, research on generalized trust has recently shown that, once the perception of moral character is held constant, distrust can sometimes be seen as a sign of competence (Evans & van de Calseyde, 2017). Similarly, as people generally tend to exaggerate the degree to which others. behavior is driven by egoistic motives (Miller, 1999; Miller & Ratner, 1998), chronically high levels of suspiciousness and cynicism may be considered a sign of competence and experience in dealing with other people.
From an evolutionary perspective, the suspiciousness, precautionary reasoning, and endorsement of the .better safe than sorry. heuristic inherent to cynicism might be seen as features of a competent decision maker (Haselton & Nettle, 2006; Johnson, Blumstein, Fowler, & Haselton, 2013). According to the error management theory (Haselton & Buss, 2000), in many domains the consequences of false negative errors (e.g., believing that someone is trustworthy when they really are not) have often been more costly than false positive errors (e.g., believing that someone is untrustworthy when they really are trustworthy) over human evolutionary history, making the cognitive system of modern humans biased toward false alarms. As endorsing a cynical view is reflected in a stronger propensity to avoid false negative errors (e.g., the best way not to misplace one.s trust is not to trust at all), cynicism might be seen as a sign of competence. Taken together, these arguments suggest that, in laypersons. beliefs, cynicism might be positively associated with competence.
Cynicism and Competence in Reality
Even though social observers might think that being too cynical is wiser than being not cynical enough, this belief might not mirror the real associations of cynicism and competence. Indeed, studies using the trust game showed that people typically earned more if they were willing to trust strangers rather than not (e.g., Fetchenhauer & Dunning, 2010). Longitudinal studies corroborated this idea, suggesting that cynical individuals earn lower incomes due to their ineptitude for cooperation, and cynicism might therefore be not that smart in terms of financial success (Stavrova & Ehlebracht, 2016).
Further studies demonstrated that cynicism is more likely to be a worldview endorsed by individuals with lower rather than higher levels of education (Haukkala, 2002; Stavrova & Ehlebracht, 2018) and intelligent individuals. behavior was shown to be more likely to depart from the norms of selfinterest (Solon, 2014). Higher levels of education and competence in a broader sense might help individuals detect and avoid potential deceit in the first place, thus reducing the probability of negative social experiences, which might in turn contribute to a more positive view of human nature (Yamagishi, Kikuchi, & Kosugi, 1999). Indeed a number of studies showed general cognitive ability to be negatively related to cynical hostility (Barnes et al., 2009; Mortensen, Barefoot, & Avlund, 2012) and positively related to trust (Carl, 2014; Carl & Billari, 2014; Hooghe, Marien, & de Vroome, 2012; Oskarsson, Dawes, Johannesson, & Magnusson, 2012; Sturgis, Read, & Allum, 2010). However, even though intelligent individuals are more likely to trust strangers, high IQ is not a good predictor of the ability to differentiate between trustworthy and untrustworthy targets (Bonnefon, Hopfensitz, & De Neys, 2013). In addition, a recent meta-analysis failed to detect an association between measures of cognitive ability and Machiavellianism.a concept that includes a "cynical beliefs about human nature" facet (O.Boyle, Forsyth, Banks, & Story, 2013).
Even if a high level of competence might not allow people to accurately discriminate between honest and dishonest interaction partners, it might allow them to correctly recognize situations or environments where cynicism regarding other people.s motives and intentions might be warranted or not. In other words, high levels of competence might allow individuals to correctly identify the .corruptness. of their environment and adjust their level of cynicism to match it. Following this reasoning, high-competence individuals might hold adaptable attitudes and recur to cynicism only when it seems warranted, while their less competent counterparts might show more cognitive rigidity and.relying on the .better safe than sorry. heuristic.tend to endorse cynicism indiscriminately. Consistent with evolutionary principles, such a .better safe than sorry. strategy can prove efficient when one lacks the ability to correctly identify the relevant features of the sociocultural context one is confronted with and determine whether cynicism is warranted or not (Brumbach, Figueredo, & Ellis, 2009; Gross, 1996). In this sense, at lower levels of competence, holding a negative, cynical view as a default (assuming that people are guided by self-interest unless proven otherwise) might represent a more viable strategy than holding an overly positive view of others' morality.
In the present research, we assumed that even though cynicism might be positively associated with competence in laypeople.s beliefs, in reality, more competent individuals are less, rather than more, likely to endorse a cynical worldview, giving rise to what can be described as a .cynical genius illusion.. Consistent with the evolutionary arguments laid out above, we also predicted that the negative association between competence and cynicism will depend on the environment.s sociocultural climate. Highly competent individuals will be more likely to endorse cynicism if they live in a country where cynical views seem justified.for example, in a country with corrupted institutions and a weak rule of law.whereas low-competence individuals will embrace cynicism regardless of the characteristics of the sociocultural environment they face.
Contributions of dopaminergic and non-dopaminergic neurons to VTA-stimulation induced neurovascular responses in brain reward circuits
Contributions of dopaminergic and non-dopaminergic neurons to VTA-stimulation induced neurovascular responses in brain reward circuits. Marta Brocka et al. NeuroImage, Volume 177, 15 August 2018, Pages 88-97. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.04.059
Highlights
• Optogenetic stimulation of the VTA in rats combined with fMRI and SPECT.
• Dopamine specific stimulation leads to weak fMRI BOLD responses.
• Less-specific stimulation leads to strong neurovascular responses.
• rCBF SPECT in awake animals excludes anesthesia effect.
• Neurovascular signals from the reward system are a poor predictor of DA release.
Abstract: Mapping the activity of the human mesolimbic dopamine system by BOLD-fMRI is a tempting approach to non-invasively study the action of the brain reward system during different experimental conditions. However, the contribution of dopamine release to the BOLD signal is disputed. To assign the actual contribution of dopaminergic and non-dopaminergic VTA neurons to the formation of BOLD responses in target regions of the mesolimbic system, we used two optogenetic approaches in rats. We either activated VTA dopaminergic neurons selectively, or dopaminergic and mainly glutamatergic projecting neurons together. We further used electrical stimulation to non-selectively activate neurons in the VTA. All three stimulation conditions effectively activated the mesolimbic dopaminergic system and triggered dopamine releases into the NAcc as measured by in vivo fast-scan cyclic voltammetry. Furthermore, both optogenetic stimulation paradigms led to indistinguishable self-stimulation behavior. In contrast to these similarities, however, the BOLD response pattern differed greatly between groups. In general, BOLD responses were weaker and sparser with increasing stimulation specificity for dopaminergic neurons. In addition, repetitive stimulation of the VTA caused a progressive decoupling of dopamine release and BOLD signal strength, and dopamine receptor antagonists were unable to block the BOLD signal elicited by VTA stimulation. To exclude that the sedation during fMRI is the cause of minimal mesolimbic BOLD in response to specific dopaminergic stimulation, we repeated our experiments using CBF SPECT in awake animals. Again, we found activations only for less-specific stimulation. Based on these results we conclude that canonical BOLD responses in the reward system represent mainly the activity of non-dopaminergic neurons. Thus, the minor effects of projecting dopaminergic neurons are concealed by non-dopaminergic activity, a finding which highlights the importance of a careful interpretation of reward-related human fMRI data.
Keywords: Optogenetics, BOLD, Dopamine
Highlights
• Optogenetic stimulation of the VTA in rats combined with fMRI and SPECT.
• Dopamine specific stimulation leads to weak fMRI BOLD responses.
• Less-specific stimulation leads to strong neurovascular responses.
• rCBF SPECT in awake animals excludes anesthesia effect.
• Neurovascular signals from the reward system are a poor predictor of DA release.
Abstract: Mapping the activity of the human mesolimbic dopamine system by BOLD-fMRI is a tempting approach to non-invasively study the action of the brain reward system during different experimental conditions. However, the contribution of dopamine release to the BOLD signal is disputed. To assign the actual contribution of dopaminergic and non-dopaminergic VTA neurons to the formation of BOLD responses in target regions of the mesolimbic system, we used two optogenetic approaches in rats. We either activated VTA dopaminergic neurons selectively, or dopaminergic and mainly glutamatergic projecting neurons together. We further used electrical stimulation to non-selectively activate neurons in the VTA. All three stimulation conditions effectively activated the mesolimbic dopaminergic system and triggered dopamine releases into the NAcc as measured by in vivo fast-scan cyclic voltammetry. Furthermore, both optogenetic stimulation paradigms led to indistinguishable self-stimulation behavior. In contrast to these similarities, however, the BOLD response pattern differed greatly between groups. In general, BOLD responses were weaker and sparser with increasing stimulation specificity for dopaminergic neurons. In addition, repetitive stimulation of the VTA caused a progressive decoupling of dopamine release and BOLD signal strength, and dopamine receptor antagonists were unable to block the BOLD signal elicited by VTA stimulation. To exclude that the sedation during fMRI is the cause of minimal mesolimbic BOLD in response to specific dopaminergic stimulation, we repeated our experiments using CBF SPECT in awake animals. Again, we found activations only for less-specific stimulation. Based on these results we conclude that canonical BOLD responses in the reward system represent mainly the activity of non-dopaminergic neurons. Thus, the minor effects of projecting dopaminergic neurons are concealed by non-dopaminergic activity, a finding which highlights the importance of a careful interpretation of reward-related human fMRI data.
Keywords: Optogenetics, BOLD, Dopamine
Libet’s experiment: A complex replication
Libet’s experiment: A complex replication. Tomas Dominik et al. Consciousness and Cognition, Volume 65, October 2018, Pages 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2018.07.004
Highlights
• Libet’s experiment was replicated respecting its complexity.
• The original outcomes were generally replicated with some differences.
• The report of the urge to move does not always precede the movement onset.
• The readiness potential precedes the reported time of the urge to move.
• There is a large interindividual variability in the introspective reports.
Abstract: Libet’s experiment is an influential classical study, which does not stop provoking heated debates. However, a full-scale replication has not been carried out to this day. Libet-style studies have usually focused on isolated ideas and concepts and never on the whole experiment in all its complexity. This paper presents detailed methodological description and results of a complex replication study. The methodology follows Libet’s directions closely in most cases; when it does not, the differences are described and elaborated. The results replicate Libet’s key findings, but substantial differences were found in some of the results’ categories, such as the introspective reports or the number of readiness-potentials found. The discussion also addresses some current problems pertaining the methodology of the Libet-style experiments and provides some recommendations based on a detailed process evaluation.
Highlights
• Libet’s experiment was replicated respecting its complexity.
• The original outcomes were generally replicated with some differences.
• The report of the urge to move does not always precede the movement onset.
• The readiness potential precedes the reported time of the urge to move.
• There is a large interindividual variability in the introspective reports.
Abstract: Libet’s experiment is an influential classical study, which does not stop provoking heated debates. However, a full-scale replication has not been carried out to this day. Libet-style studies have usually focused on isolated ideas and concepts and never on the whole experiment in all its complexity. This paper presents detailed methodological description and results of a complex replication study. The methodology follows Libet’s directions closely in most cases; when it does not, the differences are described and elaborated. The results replicate Libet’s key findings, but substantial differences were found in some of the results’ categories, such as the introspective reports or the number of readiness-potentials found. The discussion also addresses some current problems pertaining the methodology of the Libet-style experiments and provides some recommendations based on a detailed process evaluation.
Presence of a significant other increased facial expression of pain; presence of a stranger decreased physiological arousal; verbal support, mainly from a stranger, decreased pain and arousal; intimate relationships decreased pain through touching and viewing a romantic other
Investigating the influence of social support on experimental pain and related physiological arousal: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Xianwei Che et al. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.07.005
Highlights
• Social presence alone did not affect pain perception.
• Presence of a significant other increased facial expression of pain.
• Presence of a stranger decreased physiological arousal.
• Verbal support, mainly from a stranger, decreased pain and arousal.
• Intimate relationships decreased pain through touching and viewing a romantic other.
Abstract: Social support is demonstrated to have mixed effects on both pain and related physiological arousal. In this study, a meta-analysis was conducted to characterise these effects. A total of 2416 studies were identified in a systematic search, among which 21 were eligible for the quantitative review. The mere presence of another person was not sufficient to modulate pain perception. However, stranger presence was identified to decrease pain-related arousal (SMD = -0.31), and the presence of a significant other increased facial expression of pain (SMD = 0.21). We further found verbal support to decrease pain (SMD = -0.69) and arousal (SMD = -0.99), and we demonstrated moderate to large analgesic effects of intimate relationships through touching (SMD = -0.95) and viewing (SMD = -0.60) of a romantic partner. Finally, we presented evidence of publication bias for pain-related arousal but not for behavioural pain outcomes. Together, our findings suggest that the impact of social support on pain is context-dependent with clear communications of support and intimate relationships being of particular importance.
Highlights
• Social presence alone did not affect pain perception.
• Presence of a significant other increased facial expression of pain.
• Presence of a stranger decreased physiological arousal.
• Verbal support, mainly from a stranger, decreased pain and arousal.
• Intimate relationships decreased pain through touching and viewing a romantic other.
Abstract: Social support is demonstrated to have mixed effects on both pain and related physiological arousal. In this study, a meta-analysis was conducted to characterise these effects. A total of 2416 studies were identified in a systematic search, among which 21 were eligible for the quantitative review. The mere presence of another person was not sufficient to modulate pain perception. However, stranger presence was identified to decrease pain-related arousal (SMD = -0.31), and the presence of a significant other increased facial expression of pain (SMD = 0.21). We further found verbal support to decrease pain (SMD = -0.69) and arousal (SMD = -0.99), and we demonstrated moderate to large analgesic effects of intimate relationships through touching (SMD = -0.95) and viewing (SMD = -0.60) of a romantic partner. Finally, we presented evidence of publication bias for pain-related arousal but not for behavioural pain outcomes. Together, our findings suggest that the impact of social support on pain is context-dependent with clear communications of support and intimate relationships being of particular importance.
Sleep and nesting behavior in primates: The implications of nest construction for sleep quality & cognition, the tree‐to‐ground transition in early hominids, & the peculiarities of human sleep
Sleep and nesting behavior in primates: A review. Barbara Fruth, Nikki Tagg, Fiona Stewart. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.23373
Abstract: Sleep is a universal behavior in vertebrate and invertebrate animals, suggesting it originated in the very first life forms. Given the vital function of sleep, sleeping patterns and sleep architecture follow dynamic and adaptive processes reflecting trade‐offs to different selective pressures.
Here, we review responses in sleep and sleep‐related behavior to environmental constraints across primate species, focusing on the role of great ape nest building in hominid evolution. We summarize and synthesize major hypotheses explaining the proximate and ultimate functions of great ape nest building across all species and subspecies; we draw on 46 original studies published between 2000 and 2017. In addition, we integrate the most recent data brought together by researchers from a complementary range of disciplines in the frame of the symposium “Burning the midnight oil” held at the 26th Congress of the International Primatological Society, Chicago, August 2016, as well as some additional contributors, each of which is included as a “stand‐alone” article in this “Primate Sleep” symposium set. In doing so, we present crucial factors to be considered in describing scenarios of human sleep evolution: (a) the implications of nest construction for sleep quality and cognition; (b) the tree‐to‐ground transition in early hominids; (c) the peculiarities of human sleep.
We propose bridging disciplines such as neurobiology, endocrinology, medicine, and evolutionary ecology, so that future research may disentangle the major functions of sleep in human and nonhuman primates, namely its role in energy allocation, health, and cognition.
Abstract: Sleep is a universal behavior in vertebrate and invertebrate animals, suggesting it originated in the very first life forms. Given the vital function of sleep, sleeping patterns and sleep architecture follow dynamic and adaptive processes reflecting trade‐offs to different selective pressures.
Here, we review responses in sleep and sleep‐related behavior to environmental constraints across primate species, focusing on the role of great ape nest building in hominid evolution. We summarize and synthesize major hypotheses explaining the proximate and ultimate functions of great ape nest building across all species and subspecies; we draw on 46 original studies published between 2000 and 2017. In addition, we integrate the most recent data brought together by researchers from a complementary range of disciplines in the frame of the symposium “Burning the midnight oil” held at the 26th Congress of the International Primatological Society, Chicago, August 2016, as well as some additional contributors, each of which is included as a “stand‐alone” article in this “Primate Sleep” symposium set. In doing so, we present crucial factors to be considered in describing scenarios of human sleep evolution: (a) the implications of nest construction for sleep quality and cognition; (b) the tree‐to‐ground transition in early hominids; (c) the peculiarities of human sleep.
We propose bridging disciplines such as neurobiology, endocrinology, medicine, and evolutionary ecology, so that future research may disentangle the major functions of sleep in human and nonhuman primates, namely its role in energy allocation, health, and cognition.
Tuesday, July 10, 2018
The likelihood of a relationship ending per unit time goes down with increased duration of search before that relationship, in accord with the foraging prediction
Cohen, S. E., & Todd, P. M. (2018). Relationship foraging: Does time spent searching predict relationship length? Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences, 12(3), 139-151. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ebs0000131
Abstract: Animals foraging for resources often need to alternate between searching for and benefiting from patches of those resources. Here we explore whether such patterns of behavior can usefully be applied to the human search for romantic relationships. Optimal foraging theory (OFT) suggests that foragers should alter their time spent in patches based on how long they typically spend searching between patches. We test whether human relationship search can be described as a foraging task that fits this OFT prediction. By analyzing a large, demographically representative data set on marriage and cohabitation timing using survival analysis, we find that the likelihood of a relationship ending per unit time goes down with increased duration of search before that relationship, in accord with the foraging prediction. We consider the possible applications and limits of a foraging perspective on mate search and suggest further directions for study.
Abstract: Animals foraging for resources often need to alternate between searching for and benefiting from patches of those resources. Here we explore whether such patterns of behavior can usefully be applied to the human search for romantic relationships. Optimal foraging theory (OFT) suggests that foragers should alter their time spent in patches based on how long they typically spend searching between patches. We test whether human relationship search can be described as a foraging task that fits this OFT prediction. By analyzing a large, demographically representative data set on marriage and cohabitation timing using survival analysis, we find that the likelihood of a relationship ending per unit time goes down with increased duration of search before that relationship, in accord with the foraging prediction. We consider the possible applications and limits of a foraging perspective on mate search and suggest further directions for study.
Identification of individual subjects on the basis of their brain anatomical features
Identification of individual subjects on the basis of their brain anatomical features. Seyed Abolfazl Valizadeh, Franziskus Liem, Susan Mérillat, Jürgen Hänggi & Lutz Jäncke. Scientific Reports volume 8, Article number: 5611 (2018), https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-23696-6
Abstract: We examined whether it is possible to identify individual subjects on the basis of brain anatomical features. For this, we analyzed a dataset comprising 191 subjects who were scanned three times over a period of two years. Based on FreeSurfer routines, we generated three datasets covering 148 anatomical regions (cortical thickness, area, volume). These three datasets were also combined to a dataset containing all of these three measures. In addition, we used a dataset comprising 11 composite anatomical measures for which we used larger brain regions (11LBR). These datasets were subjected to a linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and a weighted K-nearest neighbors approach (WKNN) to identify single subjects. For this, we randomly chose a data subset (training set) with which we calculated the individual identification. The obtained results were applied to the remaining sample (test data). In general, we obtained excellent identification results (reasonably good results were obtained for 11LBR using WKNN). Using different data manipulation techniques (adding white Gaussian noise to the test data and changing sample sizes) still revealed very good identification results, particularly for the LDA technique. Interestingly, using the small 11LBR dataset also revealed very good results indicating that the human brain is highly individual.
Abstract: We examined whether it is possible to identify individual subjects on the basis of brain anatomical features. For this, we analyzed a dataset comprising 191 subjects who were scanned three times over a period of two years. Based on FreeSurfer routines, we generated three datasets covering 148 anatomical regions (cortical thickness, area, volume). These three datasets were also combined to a dataset containing all of these three measures. In addition, we used a dataset comprising 11 composite anatomical measures for which we used larger brain regions (11LBR). These datasets were subjected to a linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and a weighted K-nearest neighbors approach (WKNN) to identify single subjects. For this, we randomly chose a data subset (training set) with which we calculated the individual identification. The obtained results were applied to the remaining sample (test data). In general, we obtained excellent identification results (reasonably good results were obtained for 11LBR using WKNN). Using different data manipulation techniques (adding white Gaussian noise to the test data and changing sample sizes) still revealed very good identification results, particularly for the LDA technique. Interestingly, using the small 11LBR dataset also revealed very good results indicating that the human brain is highly individual.
Men purchase larger, more expensive engagement rings when imagining themselves mated to a more attractive woman; women desire larger, more expensive engagement rings when imagining themselves mated to a less attractive man
The Effect of Mate Value Discrepancy on Hypothetical Engagement Ring Purchases. Jaime M. Cloud, Madalyn H. Taylor. Evolutionary Psychological Science, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40806-018-0156-6
Abstract: Few material goods entail as high a cost and carry as little practical value as an engagement ring. Despite their obvious signaling value, engagement ring expenditures have rarely been studied. The purpose of the current study was to experimentally manipulate a discrepancy in the physical attractiveness of romantic partners to determine its effect on hypothetical engagement ring purchases. We predicted that (1) men would purchase larger, more expensive engagement rings when imagining themselves mated to a more attractive rather than less attractive woman and (2) women would desire larger, more expensive engagement rings when imagining themselves mated to a less attractive rather than more attractive man. We further predicted a positive correlation between women’s self-ratings of attractiveness and the size and cost of the engagement ring women chose, regardless of target attractiveness. Results supported all three predictions. Data about the cost and quality of actual engagement rings was also collected to explore their correlations with age and attractiveness discrepancies in real-world couples; however, we failed to find a consistent pattern whereby more desirable women received more expensive and higher quality engagement rings. Results from the experimental portion of the current study show that men invest greater resources in attractive women and that increased resource investment can compensate for decreased physical attractiveness within the domain of women’s mate preferences.
Abstract: Few material goods entail as high a cost and carry as little practical value as an engagement ring. Despite their obvious signaling value, engagement ring expenditures have rarely been studied. The purpose of the current study was to experimentally manipulate a discrepancy in the physical attractiveness of romantic partners to determine its effect on hypothetical engagement ring purchases. We predicted that (1) men would purchase larger, more expensive engagement rings when imagining themselves mated to a more attractive rather than less attractive woman and (2) women would desire larger, more expensive engagement rings when imagining themselves mated to a less attractive rather than more attractive man. We further predicted a positive correlation between women’s self-ratings of attractiveness and the size and cost of the engagement ring women chose, regardless of target attractiveness. Results supported all three predictions. Data about the cost and quality of actual engagement rings was also collected to explore their correlations with age and attractiveness discrepancies in real-world couples; however, we failed to find a consistent pattern whereby more desirable women received more expensive and higher quality engagement rings. Results from the experimental portion of the current study show that men invest greater resources in attractive women and that increased resource investment can compensate for decreased physical attractiveness within the domain of women’s mate preferences.
Children’s gender-stereotypical dress and appearance might be one of the first representations of children’s emerging sense of gender identity; surprisingly, mothers’ gender-role attitudes were not significantly associated with toddlers’ gender-typed appearance
The Roles of Self-Socialization and Parent Socialization in Toddlers’ Gender-Typed Appearance. May Ling et al. Archives of Sexual Behavior, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-018-1263-y
Abstract: Children’s gender-stereotypical dress and appearance might be one of the first representations of children’s emerging sense of gender identity. Gender self-socialization theories posit that as children become more aware of gender categories, they become motivated to adhere to gender stereotypes, such as by expressing interest in dressing in feminine or masculine ways. Socialization theories predict that children’s gender-typed appearance reflects parents’ choices. For example, gender-traditional parents might dress their children in gender-stereotypical ways. At the same time, dressing in gender-stereotypical ways might contribute to children’s growing awareness of gender categories. The current study investigated the factors associated with gender-typed appearance among 175 (87 girls, 88 boys) Mexican American, Dominican American, and African American 2-year-olds. We examined both child and parent contributions to early gender-typed appearance. To measure children’s early conceptual understanding of gender categories, we assessed children’s use and recognition of gender verbal labels. To examine the influence of parent socialization, we assessed mothers’ gender-role attitudes. Children’s gender-typed appearance was observed and coded during an assessment. Surprisingly, mothers’ gender-role attitudes were not significantly associated with toddlers’ gender-typed appearance. However, toddlers’ gender labeling was associated with their gender-typed appearance, suggesting that self-socialization processes can be found as early as 24 months of age.
Abstract: Children’s gender-stereotypical dress and appearance might be one of the first representations of children’s emerging sense of gender identity. Gender self-socialization theories posit that as children become more aware of gender categories, they become motivated to adhere to gender stereotypes, such as by expressing interest in dressing in feminine or masculine ways. Socialization theories predict that children’s gender-typed appearance reflects parents’ choices. For example, gender-traditional parents might dress their children in gender-stereotypical ways. At the same time, dressing in gender-stereotypical ways might contribute to children’s growing awareness of gender categories. The current study investigated the factors associated with gender-typed appearance among 175 (87 girls, 88 boys) Mexican American, Dominican American, and African American 2-year-olds. We examined both child and parent contributions to early gender-typed appearance. To measure children’s early conceptual understanding of gender categories, we assessed children’s use and recognition of gender verbal labels. To examine the influence of parent socialization, we assessed mothers’ gender-role attitudes. Children’s gender-typed appearance was observed and coded during an assessment. Surprisingly, mothers’ gender-role attitudes were not significantly associated with toddlers’ gender-typed appearance. However, toddlers’ gender labeling was associated with their gender-typed appearance, suggesting that self-socialization processes can be found as early as 24 months of age.
No evidence that facial attractiveness, femininity, averageness, or coloration are valid health cues in young adult women
No evidence that facial attractiveness, femininity, averageness, or coloration are valid health cues in young adult women. Ziyi Cai et al. https://osf.io/f9tu2/
Description: Previous reports that women with attractive faces are healthier have been widely cited as evidence that sexual selection has shaped human mate preferences. However, evidence for correlations between women’s physical health and facial attractiveness is equivocal. Moreover, positive results on this issue have generally come from studies of self-reported health in small samples. The current study took standardized face photographs of women who completed three different health questionnaires (Ns=582, 583, 572). Of these women, 221 also provided a saliva sample that was assayed for immunoglobulin A (a marker of immune function). Analyses showed no significant correlations between rated facial attractiveness and either scores on any of the health questionnaires or salivary immunoglobulin A. Furthermore there was no compelling evidence that objective measures of sexual dimorphism of face shape, averageness of face shape, or facial coloration were correlated with health. These null results do not support the prominent and influential assumption that women’s facial attractiveness is a health cue, at least in young adult women.
Description: Previous reports that women with attractive faces are healthier have been widely cited as evidence that sexual selection has shaped human mate preferences. However, evidence for correlations between women’s physical health and facial attractiveness is equivocal. Moreover, positive results on this issue have generally come from studies of self-reported health in small samples. The current study took standardized face photographs of women who completed three different health questionnaires (Ns=582, 583, 572). Of these women, 221 also provided a saliva sample that was assayed for immunoglobulin A (a marker of immune function). Analyses showed no significant correlations between rated facial attractiveness and either scores on any of the health questionnaires or salivary immunoglobulin A. Furthermore there was no compelling evidence that objective measures of sexual dimorphism of face shape, averageness of face shape, or facial coloration were correlated with health. These null results do not support the prominent and influential assumption that women’s facial attractiveness is a health cue, at least in young adult women.
List of the 20 most charismatic animals. The majority are large exotic, terrestrial mammals. These species were deemed charismatic, mainly because they were regarded as beautiful, impressive, or endangered
The twenty most charismatic species. Céline Albert, Gloria M. Luque, Franck Courchamp. PLOS, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0199149
Abstract: Charisma is a term commonly used in conservation biology to describe species. However, as the term “charismatic species” has never been properly defined, it needs to be better characterized to fully meet its potential in conservation biology. To provide a more complete depiction, we collected information from four different sources to define the species currently considered to be the most charismatic and to understand what they represent to the Western public. First, we asked respondents of two separate surveys to identify the 10 animal species that they considered to be the most charismatic and associate them with one to six traits: Rare, Endangered, Beautiful, Cute, Impressive, and Dangerous. We then identified the wild animals featured on the website homepages of the zoos situated in the world’s 100 largest cities as well as on the film posters of all Disney and Pixar films, assuming in both cases that the most charismatic species were generally chosen to attract viewers. By combining the four approaches, we set up a ranked list of the 20 most charismatic animals. The majority are large exotic, terrestrial mammals. These species were deemed charismatic, mainly because they were regarded as beautiful, impressive, or endangered, although no particular trait was discriminated, and species were heterogeneously associated with most of the traits. The main social characteristics of respondents did not have a significant effect on their choices. These results provide a concrete list of the most charismatic species and offer insights into the Western public’s perception of charismatic species, both of which could be helpful to target new species for conservation campaigns.
Abstract: Charisma is a term commonly used in conservation biology to describe species. However, as the term “charismatic species” has never been properly defined, it needs to be better characterized to fully meet its potential in conservation biology. To provide a more complete depiction, we collected information from four different sources to define the species currently considered to be the most charismatic and to understand what they represent to the Western public. First, we asked respondents of two separate surveys to identify the 10 animal species that they considered to be the most charismatic and associate them with one to six traits: Rare, Endangered, Beautiful, Cute, Impressive, and Dangerous. We then identified the wild animals featured on the website homepages of the zoos situated in the world’s 100 largest cities as well as on the film posters of all Disney and Pixar films, assuming in both cases that the most charismatic species were generally chosen to attract viewers. By combining the four approaches, we set up a ranked list of the 20 most charismatic animals. The majority are large exotic, terrestrial mammals. These species were deemed charismatic, mainly because they were regarded as beautiful, impressive, or endangered, although no particular trait was discriminated, and species were heterogeneously associated with most of the traits. The main social characteristics of respondents did not have a significant effect on their choices. These results provide a concrete list of the most charismatic species and offer insights into the Western public’s perception of charismatic species, both of which could be helpful to target new species for conservation campaigns.
Monday, July 9, 2018
A representation of the space immediately surrounding the body is the peripersonal space, PPS. [As with non-defensive behaviors,] there is evidence that representations of PPS are flexible in defensive contexts [...]. Looming images of threatening stimulli (snakes & spiders) were judged as arriving sooner than [rabbits and butterflies].
What is peripersonal space? An examination of unresolved empirical issues and emerging findings. Samuel B. Hunley, Stella F. Lourenco. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcs.1472
Abstract: Findings from diverse fields of study, including neuroscience, psychology, zoology, and sociology, demonstrate that human and non‐human primates maintain a representation of the space immediately surrounding the body, known as peripersonal space (PPS). However, progress in this field has been hampered by the lack of an agreed upon definition of PPS. Since the beginning of its formal study, scientists have argued that PPS plays a crucial role in both defensive and non‐defensive actions. Yet consensus is lacking about the cognitive and neural instantiation of these functions. In particular, researchers have begun to ask whether a single, unified system of spatial‐attentional resources supports both the defensive and non‐defensive functions of PPS or, rather, whether there are multiple, independent systems. Moreover, there are open questions about the specificity of PPS. For example: Does PPS dissociate from other well‐known phenomena such as personal space and the body schema? Finally, emerging research has brought attention to important questions about individual differences in the flexibility of PPS and the distribution of PPS in front compared to behind the body. In this advanced review, we shed light on questions about the nature of PPS, offering answers when the research permits or providing recommendations for achieving answers in future research. In so doing, we lay the groundwork for a comprehensive definition of PPS.
Abstract: Findings from diverse fields of study, including neuroscience, psychology, zoology, and sociology, demonstrate that human and non‐human primates maintain a representation of the space immediately surrounding the body, known as peripersonal space (PPS). However, progress in this field has been hampered by the lack of an agreed upon definition of PPS. Since the beginning of its formal study, scientists have argued that PPS plays a crucial role in both defensive and non‐defensive actions. Yet consensus is lacking about the cognitive and neural instantiation of these functions. In particular, researchers have begun to ask whether a single, unified system of spatial‐attentional resources supports both the defensive and non‐defensive functions of PPS or, rather, whether there are multiple, independent systems. Moreover, there are open questions about the specificity of PPS. For example: Does PPS dissociate from other well‐known phenomena such as personal space and the body schema? Finally, emerging research has brought attention to important questions about individual differences in the flexibility of PPS and the distribution of PPS in front compared to behind the body. In this advanced review, we shed light on questions about the nature of PPS, offering answers when the research permits or providing recommendations for achieving answers in future research. In so doing, we lay the groundwork for a comprehensive definition of PPS.
In recent decades, dictatorships based on mass repression have largely given way to a new model based on the manipulation of information. Instead of terror, "informational autocrats" boost their popularity by convincing the public they are competent
Guriev, Sergei M. and Treisman, Daniel, Informational Autocrats (July 5, 2018). https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3208523
Abstract: In recent decades, dictatorships based on mass repression have largely given way to a new model based on the manipulation of information. Instead of terrorizing citizens into submission, "informational autocrats" artificially boost their popularity by convincing the public they are competent. To do so, they use propaganda and silence informed members of the elite by co-optation or censorship. Using several sources--including a newly created dataset of authoritarian control techniques--we document a range of trends in recent autocracies that fit the theory: a decline in violence, efforts to conceal state repression, rejection of official ideologies, imitation of democracy, a perceptions gap between masses and elite, and the adoption by leaders of a rhetoric of performance rather than one aimed at inspiring fear.
Abstract: In recent decades, dictatorships based on mass repression have largely given way to a new model based on the manipulation of information. Instead of terrorizing citizens into submission, "informational autocrats" artificially boost their popularity by convincing the public they are competent. To do so, they use propaganda and silence informed members of the elite by co-optation or censorship. Using several sources--including a newly created dataset of authoritarian control techniques--we document a range of trends in recent autocracies that fit the theory: a decline in violence, efforts to conceal state repression, rejection of official ideologies, imitation of democracy, a perceptions gap between masses and elite, and the adoption by leaders of a rhetoric of performance rather than one aimed at inspiring fear.
Animal pointing: Changing trends and findings from 30 years of research
Krause, M. A., Udell, M. A. R., Leavens, D. A., & Skopos, L. (2018). Animal pointing: Changing trends and findings from 30 years of research. Journal of Comparative Psychology. Advance online publication. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/com0000125
Abstract: The past 30 years have witnessed a continued and growing interest in the production and comprehension of manual pointing gestures in nonhuman animals. Captive primates with diverse rearing histories have shown evidence of both pointing production and comprehension, though there certainly are individual and species differences, as well as substantive critiques of how to interpret pointing or “pointing-like” gestures in animals. Early literature primarily addressed basic questions about whether captive apes point, understand pointing, and use the gesture in a way that communicates intent (declarative) rather than motivational states (imperative). Interest in these questions continues, but more recently there has been a dramatic increase in the number of articles examining pointing in a diverse array of species, with an especially large literature on canids. This proliferation of research on pointing and the diversification of species studied has brought new and exciting questions about the evolution of social cognition, and the effects of rearing history and domestication on pointing production and, more prolifically, comprehension. A review of this work is in order. In this article, we examine trends in the literature on pointing in nonhumans. Specifically, we examine publication frequencies of different study species from 1987 to 2016. We also review data on the form and function of pointing, and evidence either supporting or refuting the conclusion that various nonhuman species comprehend the meaning of pointing gestures.
Abstract: The past 30 years have witnessed a continued and growing interest in the production and comprehension of manual pointing gestures in nonhuman animals. Captive primates with diverse rearing histories have shown evidence of both pointing production and comprehension, though there certainly are individual and species differences, as well as substantive critiques of how to interpret pointing or “pointing-like” gestures in animals. Early literature primarily addressed basic questions about whether captive apes point, understand pointing, and use the gesture in a way that communicates intent (declarative) rather than motivational states (imperative). Interest in these questions continues, but more recently there has been a dramatic increase in the number of articles examining pointing in a diverse array of species, with an especially large literature on canids. This proliferation of research on pointing and the diversification of species studied has brought new and exciting questions about the evolution of social cognition, and the effects of rearing history and domestication on pointing production and, more prolifically, comprehension. A review of this work is in order. In this article, we examine trends in the literature on pointing in nonhumans. Specifically, we examine publication frequencies of different study species from 1987 to 2016. We also review data on the form and function of pointing, and evidence either supporting or refuting the conclusion that various nonhuman species comprehend the meaning of pointing gestures.
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