Attraction to the similars: For all three relations, friendships, casual/short-term, & long-term, what counts is political views, career goals, food preferences, travel desires, & music preferences

 Domains of Similarity and Attraction in Three Types of Relationships. Stanislav Treger, James N. Masciale. Interpersona, 2018, Vol. 12(2), 254–266, doi:10.5964/ijpr.v12i2.321

Abstract: For decades, social scientists have observed that people greatly desire a partner who is similar to themselves. Less is known, however, about whether particular similarity domains (e.g., music preferences) may uniquely influence relationship formation. We address this gap by examining people’s preferences for 18 similarity domains in three types of relationships: friendships, casual/short-term, and long-term. The most important similarity domains, across the three relationship types, were political views, career goals, food preferences, travel desires, and music preferences. General similarity was most important in long-term rather than in friendships and casual/short-term relationships, with the latter two relationship types not differing from one another. This pattern emerged for all similarity domains with four exceptions: preferences for books, video games, computer brands, and cell phone brands. No sex differences emerged in similarity domains except in preferences in video games and brands of cell phones and computers. Men rated these domains to be more important than did women. All three of these differences were of relatively small effect size. We tie this work into the larger body of research on similarity and preferences for partner traits.

Keywords: attraction, mate preferences, similarity

Molecular-genetic correlates of hostile behavior in the young: robust relationships between propensity to hostile behavior with a low-active variant of the monoamine oxidase enzyme gene MAOA-A (LPR)

Molecular-genetic correlates of hostile behavior in teenagers and young adults. G.Avanesyan et al. International Journal of Psychophysiology, Volume 131, Supplement, October 2018, Page S67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2018.07.197

Studying the problem of hostile behavior of people representing different age, ethnic, and cultural groups is becoming increasingly relevant, especially in complex and conflicted societies. To date, this field of research suffers from substantial shortage of studies that explore the relationships between hereditary factors and such psychological characteristic as “hostility.” Of a particular interest is the issue of the connection between the polymorphism of the MAOA gene (often associated with the development of such hereditary complications as mental disorders, dependencies, depression, and asocial traits) and the psychological characteristics of hostile strategies in behavior. The purpose of the study: To analyze the associations of the polymorphism of the MAOA gene with hostile behavior among adolescents and young adults. Participants, materials and method: 285 male adolescents and young adults (aged 12-19) composed the study sample. The Buss-Durkee Hostility inventory scales (in adaptation of A.K Osnitsky, 1998) were used as a measure of hostility. As a gene-candidate, the genotypes and alleles of the gene determining the work of the monoamine oxidase (MAOA) enzyme were considered. Isolating genomic DNA from buccal epithelium cells was used as a method for determining polymorphic variants of MAOA gene. Further statistical analysis and data processing were carried out using the PSPP program 0.8.5 and the program STATISTICA 6.1.478.

Study results: a low-active variant of the MAOA gene is found in 18% of the participants, high-activity variant in 63%. In 98% of young adults who have allele 3 (low enzyme activity), a high level of hostility is detected (according to the Buss-Durkee technique). The results of the single-factor analysis of variance, where the genetic parameters acted as an independent variable, and the dependent variables were different forms of manifestation of hostility, indicate the presence of robust relationships (F = 24.30, p b0.05) between propensity to hostile behavior with a low-active variant of the monoamine oxidase enzyme gene MAOA-A (LPR). Among the genetic polymorphisms of the MAOA gene that determine the risk of aggressive and hostile behavior, the low-active variant of the monoamine oxidase gene MAOA-A (LPR) plays the most important role in adolescents and young adults.

Biological Processes Modulating Longevity across Primates: A Phylogenetic Genome-Phenome Analysis

Biological Processes Modulating Longevity across Primates: A Phylogenetic Genome-Phenome Analysis. Gerard Muntané et al. Molecular Biology and Evolution, Volume 35, Issue 8, 1 August 2018, Pages 1990–2004, https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msy105

Abstract: Aging is a complex process affecting different species and individuals in different ways. Comparing genetic variation across species with their aging phenotypes will help understanding the molecular basis of aging and longevity. Although most studies on aging have so far focused on short-lived model organisms, recent comparisons of genomic, transcriptomic, and metabolomic data across lineages with different lifespans are unveiling molecular signatures associated with longevity. Here, we examine the relationship between genomic variation and maximum lifespan across primate species. We used two different approaches. First, we searched for parallel amino-acid mutations that co-occur with increases in longevity across the primate linage. Twenty-five such amino-acid variants were identified, several of which have been previously reported by studies with different experimental setups and in different model organisms. The genes harboring these mutations are mainly enriched in functional categories such as wound healing, blood coagulation, and cardiovascular disorders. We demonstrate that these pathways are highly enriched for pleiotropic effects, as predicted by the antagonistic pleiotropy theory of aging. A second approach was focused on changes in rates of protein evolution across the primate phylogeny. Using the phylogenetic generalized least squares, we show that some genes exhibit strong correlations between their evolutionary rates and longevity-associated traits. These include genes in the Sphingosine 1-phosphate pathway, PI3K signaling, and the Thrombin/protease-activated receptor pathway, among other cardiovascular processes. Together, these results shed light into human senescence patterns and underscore the power of comparative genomics to identify pathways related to aging and longevity.

Keywords: evolution, longevity, primates, genotype-phenotype, aging

Kay and Ross (2003) priming findings not replicable, despite counting on higher power

Testing the effect of cooperative/competitive priming on the Prisoner’s Dilemma. A replication study. Anabel Belaus, Cecilia Reyna, Esteban Freidin. PLOS, Dec 20, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0209263

Abstract: The replicability crisis in psychology demands direct replications to test the reliability of relevant phenomena. Prime-to-behavior effects have been an area under intense scrutiny given its surprising results. However, intuitive unsurprising effects have been mostly neglected, while they may lack robustness as well. In the present study, we focused on an intuitive prime-to-behavior effect in which Kay and Ross (2003) used a 2x2 design to test cooperation/competition priming crossed with an explicit/non-explicit construal of a Prisoner’s Dilemma (PD). They found a stronger assimilation effect of priming when the situational construal anteceded the decision, but we could not reproduce their findings in the present close replication, despite counting on higher power. Even with limitations due to the unavailability of original materials, this replication presents evidence that questions the existence of the original finding, and highlights the need for further replications to get a deeper understanding of the hypothesized effect. The complete project is available at: https://osf.io/dhfns/.

Consumers are eager to express their evaluations with no ostensible purpose for doing so because externalizing one’s evaluations (likes/dislikes) enables a form of self-expression that appears to be deep & global

The Pleasure of Assessing and Expressing Our Likes and Dislikes. Daniel He Shiri Melumad Michel Tuan Pham. Journal of Consumer Research, ucy079, https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucy079

Abstract: Although consumer-behavior theory has traditionally regarded evaluations as instrumental to consumer choice, in reality consumers often assess and express what they like and dislike even when there is no decision at stake. Why are consumers so eager to express their evaluations when there is no ostensible purpose for doing so? In this research, we advance the thesis that this is because consumers derive an inherent pleasure from assessing and expressing their likes and dislikes. In support of this thesis, the results of seven studies show that compared to a variety of simple and commonplace control judgments, assessing and expressing one’s likes and dislikes results in greater task enjoyment. This occurs because externalizing one’s evaluations enables a form of self-expression that appears to be deep and global. These findings have important implications for marketers and policymakers.

Keywords: evaluation, browsing, attitudes, affect, self-expression, hedonics

Who punishes promiscuous women? Both women and women, but only women inflict costly punishment

Who punishes promiscuous women? Both women and women, but only women inflict costly punishment. Naomi K. Muggleton, Sarah R. Tarran, Corey L. Fincher. Evolution and Human Behavior, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2018.12.003

Abstract: Across human societies, female sexuality is suppressed by gendered double standards, slut shaming, sexist rape laws, and honour killings. The question of what motivates societies to punish promiscuous women, however, has been contested. Although some have argued that men suppress female sexuality to increase paternity certainty, others maintain that this is an example of intrasexual competition. Here we show that both sexes are averse to overt displays of female sexuality, but that motivation is sex-specific. In all studies, participants played an economic game with a female partner whose photograph either signalled that she was sexually-accessible or sexually-restricted. In study 1, we found that men and women are less altruistic in a Dictator Game (DG) when partnered with a woman signalling sexual-accessibility. Both sexes were less trusting of sexually-accessible women in a Trust Game (TG) (study 2); women (but not men), however, inflicted costly punishment on a sexually-accessible woman in an Ultimatum Game (UG) (study 3). Our results demonstrate that both sexes are averse to overt sexuality in women, whilst highlighting potential differences in motivation.

Go to More Parties? Rather than a time out from “real” life, social occasions hold an outsized potential to unexpectedly shift the course that real life takes

Goffman, A. (2018). Go to More Parties? Social Occasions as Home to Unexpected Turning Points in Life Trajectories. Social Psychology Quarterly, https://doi.org/10.1177/0190272518812010

Abstract: Reviving classical attention to gathering times as sites of transformation and building on more recent microsociological work, this paper uses qualitative data to show how social occasions open up unexpected bursts of change in the lives of those attending. They do this by pulling people into a special realm apart from normal life, generating collective effervescence and emotional energy, bringing usually disparate people together, forcing public rankings, and requiring complex choreography, all of which combine to make occasions sites of inspiration and connection as well as sites of offense and violation. Rather than a time out from “real” life, social occasions hold an outsized potential to unexpectedly shift the course that real life takes. Implications for microsociology, social inequality, and the life course are considered.

Keywords: emotions, interaction rituals, life course, microsociology, qualitative methods

Retraction of Sternberg (2012) "A model for ethical reasoning": Although the claims in the article seem valid, the retraction is to address substantial overlap with the author’s previously published works

"A model for ethical reasoning": Retraction of Sternberg (2012). (2018). Review of General Psychology, 22(4), 420. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/gpr0000167

Abstract: Reports the retraction of "A model for ethical reasoning" by Robert J. Sternberg (Review of General Psychology, 2012[Dec], Vol 16[4], 319-326). Although the claims in the article are scientifically valid, the retraction is to address substantial overlap with the author’s previously published works. Those previous works are as follows: Sternberg, R. J. (2010). Teaching for ethical reasoning in liberal education. Liberal Education, 96. Retrieved from https://www.aacu.org/publications-research/periodicals/teaching-ethical-reasoning-liberal-education. Sternberg, R. J. (2012). Teaching for ethical reasoning. International Journal of Educational Psychology, 1, 35–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.4471/ijep.2012.03 The Editor was alerted to this potential overlap, which was then confirmed. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2012-31876-001.) This article presents a model of ethical reasoning. The article reviews lapses in ethical reasoning and the great costs they have had for society. It presents an eight-step model of ethical reasoning that can be applied to ethical challenges and illustrates its application. It proposes that ethical reasoning can be taught across the curriculum. It further points to a source of frustration in the teaching and application of ethics: ethical drift. Finally it draws conclusions.

The Persistence of the Power Elite: Presidential Cabinets and Corporate Interlocks, 1968–2018

The Persistence of the Power Elite: Presidential Cabinets and Corporate Interlocks, 1968–2018. Timothy M. Gill. Social Currents,
https://doi.org/10.1177/2329496518797857

Abstract: In his seminal text, The Power Elite, C. Wright Mills initially drew critical attention to U.S. state power, asserting that economic, political, and military elites flow through a revolving door, cycling in and out of positions of power. Following its publication, several social scientists began to examine the nature of the U.S. state, including individuals like G. William Domhoff and Michael Useem. One particular work by Peter Freitag examined the class composition of presidential cabinets. Freitag examined whether presidential cabinet members came from the elite corporate sphere, went into the elite corporate sphere following their tenure in office, the extent of interlocks among the Democratic and Republican Parties, and whether particular cabinet positions were more interlocked with the elite corporate sphere than others. In this article, I examine these same questions, looking at presidential cabinets between 1968 and 2018, that is, across the last half-century. In doing so, I find consistency with many of Freitag’s initial findings: most presidential cabinets remain heavily interlocked, there is little difference between Democratic and Republican cabinets, and there is a significant amount of cabinet members that come from and enter the elite corporate sphere following their time in office.

Keywords: U.S. politics, political sociology, class, corporations, the state

Evolutionary approaches to understanding crime: explaining the gender gap in offending

Evolutionary approaches to understanding crime: explaining the gender gap in offending. Russil Durrant. Psychology, Crime & Law, https://doi.org/10.1080/1068316X.2018.1558224

ABSTRACT: Evolutionary approaches have the potential to make significant contributions to our understanding of criminal offending. In particular, an evolutionary perspective can help in the development of more comprehensive explanations for the main correlates of offending such as gender, age, and social class. In this article I argue that that an evolutionary perspective that draws on the conceptual resources of the extended evolutionary synthesis can help us to explain why men are more likely to be perpetrators of crime compared to women. First, I will outline the key conceptual characteristics of the extended evolutionary synthesis and tease out the implications of this approach for understanding the evolution of human behaviour. Next, I will discuss how an evolutionary approach can help us to understand the gender gap in offending. I will then present a model which outlines how an extended evolutionary perspective can usefully integrate different kinds of explanation to provide a more comprehensive explanatory account of gender differences in crime. I conclude by considering some of the wider implications of this model for crime prevention.

KEYWORDS: Evolutionary psychology, extended evolutionary synthesis, biosocial criminology, gender gap in offending

Adolescents with a trajectory of early & regular pornography use are more likely to report the initiation of sexual activity & nearly double the number of sexual partners as those with a low-use trajectory

Risk or Release?: Porn Use Trajectories and the Accumulation of Sexual Partners
Kyler R. Rasmussen, Alex Bierman. Social Currents, https://doi.org/10.1177/2329496518780929

Abstract: A central question in the study of pornography consumption is whether consumption influences risky sexual behavior. In this research, we focus on one key aspect of risky sexual behavior, the accumulation of sexual partners. Using longitudinal latent class analysis of a nationally representative sample, we determine distinct trajectories of pornography consumption. We then use hurdle models to relate membership in these trajectories to the initiation of sexual activity and accumulation of sexual partners. Even with controls for likely confounds (such as risk-taking propensity and relationship formation), we find that adolescents with a trajectory of early and regular pornography use are more likely to report the initiation of sexual activity and nearly double the number of sexual partners as those with a low-use trajectory. This research is of sociological interest because pornography consumption is becoming increasingly common well before adulthood, suggesting that recent cohorts of emerging adults may be more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior through the accumulation of multiple sexual partners.

Keywords: pornography, sexual risk, hurdle models, latent class analysis

Nonreligion is socially risky, atheism is more socially risky than other forms of nonreligion, & women and members of other marginalized groups avoid the most socially risky forms of nonreligion

From Existential to Social Understandings of Risk: Examining Gender Differences in Nonreligion. Penny Edgell, Jacqui Frost, Evan Stewart. Social Currents, Dec 2018. https://doi.org/10.1177/2329496516686619

Abstract: Across many social contexts, women are found to be more religious than men. Risk preference theory proposes that women are less likely than men to accept the existential risks associated with nonbelief. Building on previous critiques of this theory, we argue that the idea of risk is relevant to understanding the relationship between gender and religiosity if risk is understood not as existential, but as social. The research on existential risk focuses on religious identification as solely a matter of belief; as part of the movement away from this cognitivist bias, we develop the concept of social risk to theorize the ways that social location and differential levels of power and privilege influence women’s nonreligious choices. We show that women’s nonreligious preferences in many ways mirror those of other marginalized groups, including nonwhites and the less educated. We argue that nonreligion is socially risky, that atheism is more socially risky than other forms of nonreligion, and that women and members of other marginalized groups avoid the most socially risky forms of nonreligion.

Keywords: nonreligion, atheism, risk, gender

Conservatives donate more blood but less organs: care more about human body integrity, are more disgusted by the very act of organ donations, & believe that signing onto organ registries would be tempting fate

The politics of intent: Political ideology influences organ donation intentions. Eugene Y. Chan. Personality and Individual Differences, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2018.12.022

Abstract: The low supply of organs is a global concern. It is crucial to recognize the barriers, whether cognitive or emotional, that influence individuals' willingness to sign up onto organ donation registries. In the current investigation, we hypothesize that a politically-conservative ideology reduces people's organ donation intentions. This is likely since individuals with a conservative ideology care more about the integrity of the human body, are more disgusted by the very act of organ donations, and believe that signing onto such registries would be tempting fate. We test and confirm this possibility in a study with 148 Australians. The findings indicate that political ideology can be a predictor of individuals' likelihood of becoming organ donors.

In a large-scale replication & extension of Hsee et al. 2013, we cannot confirm the original paper’s findings, that mindless accumulation is a quantitatively relevant driver of overearning behavior

Overearning – Revisited. Nadine Riedel, Robert Stüber. Journal of Economic Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2018.12.009

Highlights
•    Replicate the study of Hsee, Zhang, Cai, and Zhang (2013) in a large sample of German students
•    Reject that mindless accumulation is a quantitatively relevant driver of overearning
•    Analyze the effect of task enjoyment, uncertainty and social comparison on overearning
•    Test for overearning in a dynamic setting
•    Revisit the effect of earnings caps on happiness

Abstract: In a 2013 Psychological Science article, Hsee et. al designed a controlled laboratory experiment to assess whether individuals overearn, i.e., forgo leisure to work and earn beyond their consumption needs. The authors reported evidence in line with people overearning, even at the cost of happiness, and in line with mindless accumulation being the driver of this finding. In a large-scale replication and extension of Hsee et al. (2013), we cannot confirm the original paper’s findings: Our results reject that mindless accumulation is a quantitatively relevant driver of overearning behavior. In direct replications of Hsee et al. (2013), overearning turns out to be a moderate phenomenon. Extensions to the original paper, however, suggest that task enjoyment and uncertainty about future utility of consumption may establish overearning.

Native American Beauty Standards: “paling” in Comparison to the White Norm

Marrinan, Kristen. 2018. “American Beauty Standards: “paling” in Comparison to the White Norm.” SocArXiv. December 20. doi:10.31235/osf.io/8bnh7

Abstract: America has a culturally accepted norm of what makes someone beautiful. A standard that is hard to meet. Being light-skinned, blonde and blue-eyed is the benchmark of beauty, of what is most desirable. But is that really what it takes to be attractive in America? This research examines the relationship between race, birth-place, ethnicity and self-rated attractiveness. The General Social Survey (2016) provides the quantitative data for this study. While past literature explores the connections between identity, self-esteem, and attractiveness, it does not explore the intersection of different identifying characteristics. Group position and Colourism approaches provide the theoretical foundations for the hypothesis and the research conducted in this paper. These theories also help explain why certain physical attributes are more valuable in American society. So how does the privileging of White America, specifically when measuring beauty, influence one’s opinion of their own attractiveness? This study has 1,622 respondents—non-institutionalized, English or Spanish speaking adults, who live in the country. Multiple regression analysis was used to examine the individual and collaborative relationships between the variables. The results from this study concur with some of findings from the literature. Yet, they do not support the hypotheses. The results concluded that being Non-White had little influence on one's self-rated attractiveness. Similarly, birthplace and ethnicity had no statistical significance. However, the controls, age and sex, are significant. This research explores the role identity plays in one’s view of their own beauty. Especially during a period of controversial leadership and drastic shifts in the social norms of society.

Found little evidence that the accumulation of treatment development & testing across decades increased psychotherapies benefit, 1960-2017

Are Psychotherapies for Young People Growing Stronger? Tracking Trends Over Time for Youth Anxiety, Depression, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, and Conduct Problems. John R. Weisz et al. Perspectives on Psychological Science, https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691618805436

Abstract: ith the development of empirically supported treatments over the decades, have youth psychotherapies grown stronger? To investigate, we examined changes over time in treatment effects for four frequently treated youth mental-health problems: anxiety, depression, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and conduct disorders. We used PubMed and PsycINFO to search for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that were published between January 1960 and May 2017 involving youths between the ages of 4 and 18 years. We also searched reviews and meta-analyses of youth psychotherapy research, followed reference trails in the reports we identified, and obtained additional studies identified by therapy researchers whom we contacted. We identified 453 RCTs (31,933 participants) spanning 53 years (1963–2016). Effect sizes for the problem-relevant outcome measures were synthesized via multilevel meta-analysis. We tracked temporal trends for each problem domain and then examined multiple study characteristics that might moderate those trends. Mean effect size increased nonsignificantly for anxiety, decreased nonsignificantly for ADHD, and decreased significantly for depression and conduct problems. Moderator analyses involving multiple study subgroups showed only a few exceptions to these surprising patterns. The findings suggest that new approaches to treatment design and intervention science may be needed, especially for depression and conduct problems. We suggest intensifying the search for mechanisms of change, making treatments more transdiagnostic and personalizable, embedding treatments within youth ecosystems, adapting treatments to the social and technological changes that alter youth dysfunction and treatment needs, and resisting old habits that can make treatments unduly skeuomorphic.

Keywords: psychotherapy, children, adolescents, youth, meta-analysis, mental health

Neither facial attractiveness nor its constituents, such as symmetry, are a reliable mirror of a person's health, but facial adiposity -the perceived weight in the face- is

Facial Adiposity, Attractiveness, and Health: A Review. Stefan de Jager, Nicoleen Coetzee and Vinet Coetzee. Front. Psychol., Dec 21 2018. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02562

Abstract: The relationship between facial cues and perceptions of health and attractiveness in others plays an influential role in our social interactions and mating behaviors. Several facial cues have historically been investigated in this regard, with facial adiposity being the newest addition. Evidence is mounting that a robust link exists between facial adiposity and attractiveness, as well as perceived health. Facial adiposity has also been linked to various health outcomes such as cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, blood pressure, immune function, diabetes, arthritis, oxidative stress, hormones, and mental health. Though recent advances in the analysis of facial morphology has led to significant strides in the description and quantification of facial cues, it is becoming increasingly clear that there is a great deal of nuance in the way that humans use and integrate facial cues to form coherent social or health judgments of others. This paper serves as a review of the current literature on the relationship between facial adiposity, attractiveness, and health. A key component in utilizing facial adiposity as a cue to health and attractiveness perceptions is that people need to be able to estimate body mass from facial cues. To estimate the strength of the relationship between perceived facial adiposity and body mass, a meta-analysis was conducted on studies that quantified the relationship between perceived facial adiposity and BMI/percentage body fat. Summary effect size estimates indicate that participants could reliably estimate BMI from facial cues alone (r = 0.71, n = 458).

Our findings support a view in which retronasal, but not orthonasal, odors share processing circuitry commonly associated with taste; this happens also in rats, which was disputed

Retronasal Odor Perception Requires Taste Cortex, but Orthonasal Does Not. Meredith L. Blankenship, Maria Grigorov, Donald B. Katz, Joost X. Maier. Current Biology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.11.011

Highlights
•    Retronasal, but not orthonasal, odors facilitate rapid preference learning
•    Preferences for retronasal odors are not expressed orthonasally
•    Retronasal odors potentiate the formation of orthonasal preferences
•    Inactivating taste cortex selectively impairs expression of retronasal preferences

Summary: Smells can arise from a source external to the body and stimulate the olfactory epithelium upon inhalation through the nares (orthonasal olfaction). Alternatively, smells may arise from inside the mouth during consumption, stimulating the epithelium upon exhalation (retronasal olfaction). Both ortho- and retronasal olfaction produce highly salient percepts, but the two percepts have very different behavioral implications. Here, we use optogenetic manipulation in the context of a flavor preference learning paradigm to investigate differences in the neural circuits that process information in these two submodalities of olfaction. Our findings support a view in which retronasal, but not orthonasal, odors share processing circuitry commonly associated with taste. First, our behavioral results reveal that retronasal odors induce rapid preference learning and have a potentiating effect on orthonasal preference learning. Second, we demonstrate that inactivation of the insular gustatory cortex selectively impairs expression of retronasal preferences. Thus, orally sourced (retronasal) olfactory input is processed by a brain region responsible for taste processing, whereas externally sourced (orthonasal) olfactory input is not.

People may intuitively believe that exchanging ever-more information will foster better-informed opinions & perspectives—but much of this information may be lost on minds long made up

People use less information than they think to make up their minds. Nadav Klein and Ed O’Brien. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1805327115

Significance: People readily categorize things as good or bad, a welcome adaptation that enables action and reduces information overload. The present research reveals an unforeseen consequence: People do not fully appreciate this immediacy of judgment, instead assuming that they and others will consider more information before forming conclusions than they and others actually do. This discrepancy in perceived versus actual information use reveals a general psychological bias that bears particular relevance in today’s information age. Presumably, one hopes that easy access to abundant information fosters uniformly more-informed opinions and perspectives. The present research suggests mere access is not enough: Even after paying costs to acquire and share ever-more information, people then stop short and do not incorporate it into their judgments.

Abstract: A world where information is abundant promises unprecedented opportunities for information exchange. Seven studies suggest these opportunities work better in theory than in practice: People fail to anticipate how quickly minds change, believing that they and others will evaluate more evidence before making up their minds than they and others actually do. From evaluating peers, marriage prospects, and political candidates to evaluating novel foods, goods, and services, people consume far less information than expected before deeming things good or bad. Accordingly, people acquire and share too much information in impression-formation contexts: People overvalue long-term trials, overpay for decision aids, and overwork to impress others, neglecting the speed at which conclusions will form. In today’s information age, people may intuitively believe that exchanging ever-more information will foster better-informed opinions and perspectives—but much of this information may be lost on minds long made up.

Keywords: tipping point, change, self-insight, judgment, information processing

Do movements contribute to sense of body ownership? Rubber hand illusion in expert pianists

Do movements contribute to sense of body ownership? Rubber hand illusion in expert pianists. Maria Pyasik, Adriana Salatino, Lorenzo Pia. Psychological Research, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00426-018-1137-x

Abstract: Currently, it is still debated whether, how and to what extent movements contribute to the sense of body ownership (i.e., the feeling that one’s body belongs to oneself). To answer this question, here we examined if a prolonged increase of the amount of movements affects body ownership. Specifically, we administered the rubber hand illusion paradigm within a natural condition of long-term motor practice, namely in expert pianists. We compared the illusory effects of both static (visuotactile stimulation) and dynamic (active/passive movements) versions of that paradigm in a group of expert pianists and a group of non-musicians. The illusion was measured behaviorally (proprioceptive drift) and subjectively (questionnaire). Our results showed that pianists were significantly less susceptible to any type of the illusion, compared to the non-musicians. Moreover, they did not experience the illusion in general (presenting neither the proprioceptive drift, nor the subjective feeling of ownership). These findings suggest that the increased amount of motor-related afferent and efferent signals does affect the construction and the coherence of body ownership, thus showing the role of movements in this process.

Those with larger late positive potentials in response to food‐related cues than to erotic images are more susceptible to cue‐induced eating, eat more than twice as much than those with the opposite bran reaction

The reality of “food porn”: Larger brain responses to food‐related cues than to erotic images predict cue‐induced eating. Francesco Versace et al. Psychiohysiology, https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.13309

Abstract: While some individuals can defy the lure of temptation, many others find appetizing food irresistible. The goal of this study was to investigate the neuropsychological mechanisms that increase individuals’ vulnerability to cue‐induced eating. Using ERPs, a direct measure of brain activity, we showed that individuals with larger late positive potentials in response to food‐related cues than to erotic images are more susceptible to cue‐induced eating and, in the presence of a palatable food option, eat more than twice as much as individuals with the opposite brain reactivity profile. By highlighting the presence of individual brain reactivity profiles associated with susceptibility to cue‐induced eating, these findings contribute to the understanding of the neurobiological basis of vulnerability to obesity.

School Bullying: Perpetrators and victims had relatively stable trajectories with most of the children remaining in the same role over time or becoming uninvolved

A Longitudinal Study on Stability and Transitions Among Bullying Roles. Izabela Zych et al. Child Development, https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13195

Abstract: Trajectories of stability and change in bullying roles were examined through a longitudinal prospective study of 916 school students followed up biannually from age 11 to 17. Perpetrators and victims had relatively stable trajectories with most of the children remaining in the same role over time or becoming uninvolved. Bully/victim was the most unstable role with frequent transitions to perpetrators or victims. Developmental change in bullying roles was found with a decrease in physical forms over time in bullies and victims but with persistently high perpetration and victimization in bully/victims. These findings open new horizons in research and practice related to bullying and can be useful for its early detection or design of targeted interventions.

More radical participants had less insight into the correctness of their choices & reduced updating of their confidence when presented with post-decision evidence; there is resistance to recognizing & revising incorrect beliefs

Metacognitive Failure as a Feature of Those Holding Radical Beliefs. Max Rollwage, Raymond J. Dolan, Stephen M. Fleming. Current Biology, Volume 28, Issue 24, 17 December 2018, Pages 4014-4021.e8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.10.053

Highlights
•    Metacognition refers to the ability to reflect on our cognitive processes
•    We investigated metacognitive features of radicalism in a low-level perceptual task
•    Radical participants showed less insight into the accuracy of their decisions
•    Radicals showed smaller confidence shifts in response to disconfirmatory evidence

Summary: Widening polarization about political, religious, and scientific issues threatens open societies, leading to entrenchment of beliefs, reduced mutual understanding, and a pervasive negativity surrounding the very idea of consensus [1, 2]. Such radicalization has been linked to systematic differences in the certainty with which people adhere to particular beliefs [3, 4, 5, 6]. However, the drivers of unjustified certainty in radicals are rarely considered from the perspective of models of metacognition, and it remains unknown whether radicals show alterations in confidence bias (a tendency to publicly espouse higher confidence), metacognitive sensitivity (insight into the correctness of one’s beliefs), or both [7]. Within two independent general population samples (n = 381 and n = 417), here we show that individuals holding radical beliefs (as measured by questionnaires about political attitudes) display a specific impairment in metacognitive sensitivity about low-level perceptual discrimination judgments. Specifically, more radical participants displayed less insight into the correctness of their choices and reduced updating of their confidence when presented with post-decision evidence. Our use of a simple perceptual decision task enables us to rule out effects of previous knowledge, task performance, and motivational factors underpinning differences in metacognition. Instead, our findings highlight a generic resistance to recognizing and revising incorrect beliefs as a potential driver of radicalization.

Elevated brain reward region response to food cues, & a genetic propensity for greater dopamine signaling, predict weight gain; youth who show greater food reward-cue learning show greater gains

Neural vulnerability factors for obesity. Eric Stice, Kyle Burger. Clinical Psychology Review, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2018.12.002

Highlights
•    Youth at risk for weight gain show greater reward region response to food tastes.
•    Elevated brain reward region response to food cues predicts future weight gain.
•    A genetic propensity for greater dopamine signaling predicts weight gain.
•    Youth who show greater food reward-cue learning show greater weight gain.
•    Overeating reduces reward region response to high-calorie foods.
•    Data provide strong support for the incentive sensitization theory of obesity.

Abstract: Multiple theories identify neural vulnerability factors that may increase risk for overeating and weight gain. Early cross-sectional neuroimaging studies were unable to determine whether aberrant neural responsivity was a risk factor for or a consequence of overeating. More recent obesity risk, prospective, repeated-measures, and experimental neuroimaging studies with humans have advanced knowledge of etiologic processes and neural plasticity resulting from overeating. Herein, we review evidence from these more rigorous human neuroimaging studies, in conjunction with behavioral measures reflecting neural function, as well as experiments with animals that investigated neural vulnerability theories for overeating. Findings provide support for the reward surfeit theory that posits that individuals at risk for obesity initially show hyper-responsivity of reward circuitry to high-calorie food tastes, which theoretically drives elevated intake of such foods. However, findings provide little support for the reward deficit theory that postulates that individuals at risk for obesity show an initial hypo-responsivity of reward circuitry that motives overeating. Further, results provide support for the incentive sensitization and dynamic vulnerability theories that propose that overconsumption of high-calorie foods results in increased reward and attention region responsivity to cues that are associated with hedonic reward from intake of these high-calorie foods via conditioning, as well as a simultaneous decrease in reward region responsivity to high-calorie food tastes. However, there is little evidence that this induced reduction in reward region response to high-calorie food tastes drives an escalation in overeating. Finally, results provide support for the theory that an initial deficit in inhibitory control and a bias for immediate reward contribute to overconsumption of high-calorie foods. Findings imply that interventions that reduce reward and attention region responsivity to food cues and increase inhibitory control should reduce overeating and excessive weight gain, an intervention theory that is receiving support in randomized trials.

Calling into question the conceptual & empirical distinctiveness of grit vis-à-vis self-control, & the importance of grit as a unique & independent characteristic salient for the pursuit & achievement of long-term goals

To Grit or not to Grit, that is the Question! Alexander T. Vazsonyi et al. Journal of Research in Personalitym https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2018.12.006

Highlights
•    Tested measurement of and the validity of grit, vis-à-vis self-control.
•    Lifecourse sample, from young adulthood to 55+.
•    Grit and self-control largely indistinguishable in predicting long-term goals.

Abstract: The current study tested the validity of grit as a non-cognitive construct related to, yet distinct from self-control. Data were collected from N = 1,907 adults spanning the life-course (53.1% female, M age = 41.4 years). Associations between grit and present and past goals were very similar to ones observed with self-control. Extensive model tests using structural equation modeling provided evidence of substantial overlap between these two constructs, calling into question the conceptual and empirical distinctiveness of grit vis-à-vis self-control, as well as the importance of grit as a unique and independent characteristic salient for the pursuit and achievement of long-term goals. This finding was consistent and invariant across adult developmental periods. Study implications for grit-investment are discussed.

Slasher films: Characters who were shown nude on screen, dressed in a revealing fashion, did not engage in fight behaviors against the antagonist & engaged in fewer types of pro-social behaviors were more likely to be killed

“There are Certain Rules that One Must Abide by”: Predictors of Mortality in Slasher Films. A. Dana Ménard, Angela Weaver, Christine Cabrera. Sexuality & Culture, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12119-018-09583-2

Abstract: Slasher films, a popular and lucrative sub-genre of horror movie, are often thought to be characterized by violence, gratuitous sexual content and specific, repetitive tropes; however, although these tropes have been widely discussed and even parodied, there is scant research examining their validity. Thirty top-grossing slasher films (10 each for the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s) were subjected to content analysis at the level of the individual character to examine the factors associated with character deaths or survival. Characters who were shown nude on screen, who dressed in a revealing fashion, who did not engage in fight behaviors against the antagonist and who engaged in fewer types of pro-social behaviors were more likely to be killed. Several common tropes of slasher films (e.g., virgins survive, ethnic minority characters die) were not supported. The implications of these messages of which characters are depicted as “deserving” of survival are discussed in terms of gender, sexual scripts, and agency.

Keywords: Media Content analysis Slasher film Sex Gender role Just world

An Evolutionary-emotional Perspective of Insomnia and Parasomnias: Genetic determinants, personality traits, etc.

Perogamvros, Lampros. 2018. “An Evolutionary-emotional Perspective of Insomnia and Parasomnias.” PsyArXiv. December 19. doi:10.31234/osf.io/5vma2

Abstract: Based on past literature, it is here supported that insomnia, and parasomnias such as sleepwalking, sleep terrors and nightmares, reflect an evolutionary survival mechanism, which has threat-related origins and which, in some vulnerable individuals, becomes persistent due to failure of a fear extinction function. Genetic determinants, personality traits and sleep disturbances seem to determine whether the individual will resume normal sleep after the acute phase (return to safety) or will develop the pathological condition of chronic insomnia, persistent sleepwalking in adulthood and nightmare disorder. Possible treatments targeting fear extinction are proposed, such as pharmacotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy and targeted memory reactivation during sleep.

Reactions according to social norm of politeness: Phone “talking impolitely” was devalued regarding friendliness & competence; “talking politely” was revaluated regarding friendliness but not competence

Impertinent mobiles - Effects of politeness and impoliteness in human-smartphone interaction. Astrid Carolus et al. Computers in Human Behavior, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.12.030

Highlights
•    results support research paradigm conceptualizing “smartphones as social actors”
•    smartphones elicit reactions according to social norm of politeness
•    phone “talking impolitely” was devalued regarding friendliness and competence
•    phone “talking politely” was revaluated regarding friendliness but not competence
•    gender of the phone impacted the evaluation of “impolite phones”

Abstract: This study aims to reveal first insights into human-smartphone interaction by focusing on the effects of smartphones either “speaking” politely or impolitely. Following the idea of media equation and the corresponding paradigm “computers as social actors” (CASA), smartphones are conceptualized as social agents suggested to elicit social responses in their human users (Nass, Steuer, & Tauber, 1994). In a laboratory experiment, (n = 85) participants interacted with a talking phone, which replied to them either politely or impolitely. Participants evaluated this phone twice, before and after they had received the phone’s feedback. ANOVA revealed polite phones to be evaluated significantly better than impolite phones. Comparing evaluations before and after the feedback showed that polite phones were revaluated regarding friendliness but not regarding competence. In contrast, the second evaluation of impolite phones deteriorated on both dimensions: friendliness and competence. Furthermore, results were not affected by ownership (subject’s own vs. not subject’s own phone). However, the gender of the phone (female vs. male voice) impacted the evaluation: impolite male phones were evaluated less positively regarding their competence, impolite female phones were not. Transferring the CASA paradigm to "talking smartphones” is considered as a heuristically fruitful approach to further analyze humans interacting with phones as well as with speech assistants in general. Results are discussed as an empirical contribution of conceptualizing “smartphones as social actors” (SASA), activating social norms originally exclusive for human-human interactions.

Experimentally Inducing Disgust Reduces Desire for Short-Term Mating

Experimentally Inducing Disgust Reduces Desire for Short-Term Mating. Laith Al-Shawaf, David M. G. Lewis, Maliki Eyvonne Ghossainy, David M. Buss. Evolutionary Psychological Science, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40806-018-0179-z

Abstract: Short-term mating strategies involve casual sex, multiple partners, and short-time intervals before initiating intercourse. Such strategies should be difficult to implement in the presence of high levels of sexual disgust. Researchers have therefore suggested—and found evidence for—the hypothesis that individuals with a stronger proclivity for short-term mating have lower levels of sexual disgust. Here, we suggest a related hypothesis: inducing sexual disgust should reduce desire for short-term mating. Experiment 1 (N = 341) and experiment 2 (N = 361) investigated the effects of disgust induction on desire for short-term mating. Both studies found that inducing disgust reduces desire for short-term mating, and that the effect of sexual disgust is particularly strong. These results support the novel hypothesis advanced here and corroborate the broader hypothesis that reduced sexual disgust is a previously undiscovered design feature of short-term mating strategies.

Keywords: Disgust Emotions Evolutionary psychology Sexual disgust Mating Short-term mating

Negative effects of commuting are almost completely due to individuals who commute more than 80 km (50 miles) daily per way

Commuting and Life Satisfaction Revisited: Evidence on a Non-linear Relationship. Julia Ingenfeld, Tobias Wolbring, Herbert Bless. Journal of Happiness Studies, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10902-018-0064-2

Abstract: Prior research has documented linear detrimental effects of commuting on individuals’ life satisfaction: the longer individuals’ daily commute, the less satisfied they are with their life. An inspection of the available longitudinal evidence suggests that this conclusion is almost exclusively based on a continuous operationalization of commuting time and distance with a focus on a linear relationship. In contrast, cross-sectional evidence indicates preliminary evidence for non-linear effects and suggests that negative effects of commuting are particularly likely when commuting exceeds a certain threshold of time or distance. Relying on nationally representative data for Germany, the present study applies longitudinal modelling comparing estimates from a continuous and a categorical operationalization. Results clearly indicate a non-linear association and show that negative effects of commuting are almost completely due to individuals who commute more than 80 km (50 miles) daily per way. These findings are in conflict with prior research (partly resting on the same data) proposing a linear relationship. Further analyses suggest that satisfaction with leisure time is a significant mediator of the observed non-linear effect. Results are discussed in light of prior theorizing on the consequences of commuting.

Keywords: Life satisfaction Commuting Non-linear effect Mediation Leisure satisfaction

Sexual desire may decrease after olfactory loss, and this happens more in women

Sexual desire after olfactory loss: Quantitative and qualitative reports of patients with smell disorders. Laura Schäfer et al. Physiology & Behavior, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2018.12.020

•    Smell disorder patients report decreased sexual desire after olfactory loss.
•    Depressive symptoms and smell disorder severity predict decrement in sexual desire.
•    Affected patients do typically not state sexual problems spontaneously.
•    Routine care settings should inform and explicitly ask for sexual impairment.

Abstract
Olfaction moderates human sexual experiences and smell disorder patients sometimes spontaneously complain about impairments in their sexual life. The aim of the present study was to systematically investigate the impact of olfactory dysfunction on sexualdesire.

We compared a sample of n = 100 (n = 52 women; aged 23–51 years, M = 40.1, SD = 8.2) outpatients with olfactory disorders to a sample of n = 51 healthy controls (n = 32 women; aged 21–63 years, M = 39.2, SD = 13.1). Sexual desire was assessed with a standardized questionnaire and with two additional items asking for quantitative and qualitative change of sexual desire since the onset of olfactory loss. In addition, subjects completed questionnaires about mood and partnership attachment.

Within the patients' group, 29% of the subjects reported decreased sexual desire since the onset of olfactory loss. This change was predicted by depressive symptoms and olfactory function. Qualitative reports revealed for instance that the lack of attraction due to the other's body odor impedes partnership intimacy. The change of sexual desire was significantly related to depression and severity of olfactory impairment but not to partnership attachment. However, in the standardized questionnaire about sexual desire we observed no differences between patients and controls.

To sum up, a considerable number of patients state sexual impairment as a concomitant complaint of olfactory dysfunction. Patients do typically not spontaneously report those intimate problems, routine care settings should inform about this common side effect and explicitly ask for sexual life.

Although men were accurate in their faithfulness perceptions of the female targets, men’s mating orientation did not moderate the negative association between their faithfulness ratings & the self-reported mating orientation of the women

Men’s Mating Orientation Does Not Moderate the Accuracy with which they Assess Women’s Mating Orientation from Facial Photographs. Tara DeLecce, Robert L. Matchock, Virgil Zeigler-Hill, Todd K. Shackelford. Evolutionary Psychological Science, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40806-018-00184-8

Abstract: Previous research indicates that men can accurately assess women’s mating orientation from facial photographs (DeLecce et al. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 43, 319–327, 2014). The current study investigated whether this ability is moderated by men’s own mating orientation. To that end, 89 men completed the Sociosexual Orientation Inventory (SOI)—an assessment of mating orientation—and rated the perceived faithfulness of 55 women (who also completed the SOI) depicted in facial photographs. Although men were indeed accurate in their faithfulness perceptions of the female targets, men’s mating orientation did not moderate the negative association between their faithfulness ratings and the self-reported mating orientation of the female targets. Limitations of the current study and directions for future research are addressed in the discussion.

Keywords: Mating orientation Sociosexual orientation Facial perception accuracy

Maternal mortality would be aggravated by male preference for younger females who are generally small statured and at higher risk of obstetric complications

Mate Choice and the Persistence of Maternal Mortality. Santosh Jagadeeshan, Alyssa K. Gomes, Rama S. Singh. Reproductive Sciences, https://doi.org/10.1177/1933719118812730

Abstract: Maternal mortality remains one of the leading causes of death in women of reproductive age in developing countries, and a major concern in some developed countries. It is puzzling why such a condition has not been reduced in frequency, if not eliminated, in the course of evolution. Maternal mortality is a complex phenomenon caused by several physiological and physical factors. Among the physical factors, maternal mortality due to fetopelvic disproportion remains controversial. Several explanations including evolution of bipedal locomotion, rapid brain growth, and nutritional changes and life style changes in settler communities have been proposed. The influences of human reproductive biology and sexual selection have rarely been considered to explain why maternal mortality persisted through human evolution. We entertain the hypothesis that irrespective of the causes, the risks of all factors causing maternal mortality would be aggravated by disassortative mating, specifically male preference for younger females who are generally small statured and at higher risk of obstetric complications. Maternal mortality arising due to sexual selection and mate choice would have the long-term effect of driving widowers toward younger women, often resulting in “child marriage,” which still remains a significant cause of maternal mortality globally. Evolutionarily, such a male driven mating system in polygamous human populations would have prolonged the persistence of maternal mortality despite selection acting against it. The effects may extend beyond maternal mortality because male-mate choice driven maternal mortality would reduce average reproductive life spans of women, thus influencing the evolution of menopause.

Keywords: mate choice, maternal mortality, sexual dimorphism, polygamy, obstetric dilemma, fetopelvic disproportion

Rational Self-Medication: Forward-looking individuals, lacking access to better treatment options, attempt to manage the symptoms of mental and physical pain outside of formal medical care

Rational Self-Medication. Michael E. Darden, Nicholas W. Papageorge. NBER Working Paper No. 25371, December 2018. https://www.nber.org/papers/w25371

We develop a theory of rational self-medication. The idea is that forward-looking individuals, lacking access to better treatment options, attempt to manage the symptoms of mental and physical pain outside of formal medical care. They use substances that relieve symptoms in the short run but that may be harmful in the long run. For example, heavy drinking could alleviate current symptoms of depression but could also exacerbate future depression or lead to alcoholism. Rational self-medication suggests that, when presented with a safer, more effective treatment, individuals will substitute towards it. To investigate, we use forty years of longitudinal data from the Framingham Heart Study and leverage the exogenous introduction of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). We demonstrate an economically meaningful reduction in heavy alcohol consumption for men when SSRIs became available. Additionally, we show that addiction to alcohol inhibits substitution. Our results suggest a role for rational self-medication in understanding the origin of substance abuse. Furthermore, our work suggests that punitive policies targeting substance abuse may backfire, leading to substitution towards even more harmful substances to self-medicate. In contrast, policies promoting medical innovation that provide safer treatment options could obviate the need to self-medicate with dangerous or addictive substances.

From 2014: Meet The Trailblazing Army Psychiatrist Treating PTSD With Hookers And Cocaine

Meet The Trailblazing Army Psychiatrist Treating PTSD With Hookers And Cocaine. Dick Scuttlebutt. DuffelBlog, May 4, 2014.http://www.duffelblog.com/2014/05/ptsd-hooker-cocaine-treatment

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — Lt. Col. Stanwick Hardcastle is not just the most popular psychiatrist at Womack Army Hospital because of his strong jaw, jet-black hair and piercing light blue eyes. He also happens to have earned a wide reputation as a strong supporter of prostitutes and hard drugs in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder.

“A lot of [my peers] and my bosses have trouble processing it,” said Hardcastle, in an exclusive interview with Duffel Blog. “But it makes sense if you step back from your initial revulsion and assess it rationally. What do our hurting soldiers, sailors and Marines who have PTSD seek out on their own? Sex and drugs, that’s what.”

It was a shocking discovery for the trail-blazing medical professional, who noticed soldiers were instinctively seeking the therapy that helped them most.

“I knew that some of my peers have had success using LSD, cocaine and other drugs in limited capacity,” he said. “Then I read an article in a professional journal about sexual surrogacy. After that, I just put two and two together, and decided to prescribe those things as an option for therapy.”

Hardcastle’s professional peers and many senior Army officers have trouble accepting his admittedly outside-the-box form of therapy. Behind his back, detractors derisively refer to it as the “hookers and blow” therapy, and his own performance review for the last year expressed worry at his “rush to embrace untested, socially unpalatable therapies.”

But Hardcastle’s own patients, though, beg to differ. Not a single patient he treats has committed suicide or gone on a shooting spree since he or she began the new therapy method.

Take Adam Frank, a medically-retired military policeman currently living on full medical disability in Franklin, Tenn. He sees Hardcastle twice a week for his PTSD, and reports high satisfaction with the new therapy regimen.

“It was getting kind of ridiculous,” Frank said in a phone interview. “There were all these meetings and group sessions and I had to take these pills. But Doc Hardcastle arranged for the Army to get me an eight-ball a week, plus all the Paktiya Gold I can smoke. And once a week I get a date night with one of the fine ladies from Mama Oshenka’s Very Extremely Best Escort Massage Service. All paid for on Uncle Sam’s dime, of course. I haven’t had such a relaxed, nightmare-free existence since I got blown up.”

Other patients echo Frank’s sentiments, noting that it’s hard to get up the gumption to commit suicide or a crazed attack on civilians, at a mall or university for example, when you’re pleasantly buzzing from a snort of cocaine right off the chest of a loving and attentive prostitute.

For now, Hardcastle will continue his controversial treatments. Only time will tell if the Army will allow him to keep treating his patients the best way he knows how, or shut him down.

Few people are actually trapped in filter bubbles. Why do they like to say that they are?

Few people are actually trapped in filter bubbles. Why do they like to say that they are? Plus: Are your Google results really that different from your neighbor’s? Laura Hazard Owen. NiemanLab, Dec 07 2018. http://www.niemanlab.org/2018/12/few-people-are-actually-trapped-in-filter-bubbles-why-do-they-like-to-say-that-they-are

We’re not trapped in filter bubbles, but we like to act as if we are. Few people are in complete filter bubbles in which they only consume, say, Fox News, Matt Grossmann writes in a new report for Knight (and there’s a summary version of it on Medium here). But the “popular story of how media bubbles allegedly undermine democracy” is one that people actually seem to enjoy clinging to.

“Media choice has become more of a vehicle of political self-expression than it once was,” Grossmann writes. “Partisans therefore tend to overestimate their use of partisan outlets, while most citizens tune out political news as best they can.” We use our consumption of certain media outlets as a way of signaling who we are, even if we A) actually read across fairly broad number of sources and/or B) actually don’t read all that much political news at all. This makes sense when you think about it in contexts beyond news — food, for instance. I might enjoy identifying myself on Instagram as a foodie who drinks a lot of cold brew and makes homemade bread, but I am also currently eating at a Chic-fil-A.

Grossmann looks at two different types of studies of media consumption: Studies that ask people to name news sources they consume, and studies that actually track their news consumption behavior (by, say, recording what they do online). The results of these two types of studies are different:

The key insight is that people overreport their consumption of news and underreport its variety relative to the media consumption habits revealed through direct measurement. Partisans especially seem to report much higher rates of quintessential partisan media consumption (such as Rush Limbaugh listenership) and underreport the extent to which they use nonpartisan or ideologically misaligned outlets. People may explicitly tell interviewers they rely mostly on Fox News, while their web browsing histories and Facebook logs suggest they visit several different newspapers and CNN’s website (along with many apolitical sites).

This may seem like kind of a good thing, but don’t get too excited, says Grossmann:

Republicans are not as addicted to Fox News as they claim, nor are Democrats as reliant on Rachel Maddow as they say. But that also means partisans now think of media consumption as an expressive political act, and therefore believe that they should stick to Fox, as right-thinking Republicans, or that they should be loyal to MSNBC, as right-thinking Democrats.

There is also some useful stuff on how partisan trust in the media has shifted: “Democratic trust in media is now higher than it has been in over 20 years, while the reverse is true for Republicans.”

[chart]

“Research findings thus far do not support expansive claims about partisan media bubbles or their consequences,” Grossmann writes, though this doesn’t mean that we can totally stop worrying about this; he argues we particularly need to work on strengthening local political news, as “we have a hyperpartisan and engaged subset of Americans who consume mostly national news of all kinds,” and a more robust local media could be a useful tool in drawing in the majority of Americans who consume little to no news at all.

Different people, different Google results — but is that a filter bubble? Search engine DuckDuckGo — which, to be clear, is a Google competitor — published an examination of how Google’s search results differ by user.

We asked volunteers in the U.S. to search for “gun control”, “immigration”, and “vaccinations” (in that order) at 9pm ET on Sunday, June 24, 2018. Volunteers performed searches first in private browsing mode and logged out of Google, and then again not in private mode (i.e., in “normal” mode). We compiled 87 complete result sets — 76 on desktop and 11 on mobile. Note that we restricted the study to the U.S. because different countries have different search indexes.

The main finding was that “most people saw results unique to them, even when logged out and in private browsing mode.” This, says DuckDuckGo, is a sign that “private browsing mode and being logged out of Google offered almost zero filter bubble protection.”

But are filter bubbles really the problem here? Danny Sullivan — cofounder of SearchEngineLand and now, yep, Google’s public search liasion — argues fairly persuasively that they’re not because even DuckDuckGo users see different results.

[...]

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The echo chamber is overstated: the moderating effect of political interest and diverse media. Elizabeth Dubois & Grant Blank. Information, Communication & Society, http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2018/01/the-echo-chamber-is-overstated.html

Echo Chamber? What Echo Chamber? Reviewing the Evidence. Axel Bruns. Future of Journalism 2017 Conference. http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/09/echo-chamber-what-echo-chamber.html

People generally are motivated to maintain a positive view of the self in the present; recollecting & reflecting on moral & immoral actions from the personal past jointly help to construct a morally good view of the current self

Remembering moral and immoral actions in constructing the self. Matthew L. Stanley, Paul Henne, Felipe De Brigard. Memory & Cognition, https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13421-018-0880-y

Abstract: Having positive moral traits is central to one’s sense of self, and people generally are motivated to maintain a positive view of the self in the present. But it remains unclear how people foster a positive, morally good view of the self in the present. We suggest that recollecting and reflecting on moral and immoral actions from the personal past jointly help to construct a morally good view of the current self in complementary ways. More specifically, across four studies we investigated the extent to which people believe they have changed over time after recollecting their own moral or immoral behaviors from the personal past. Our results indicate that recollecting past immoral actions is associated with stronger impressions of dissimilarity and change in the sense of self over time than recollecting past moral actions. These effects held for diverse domains of morality (i.e., honesty/dishonesty, helping/harming, fairness/unfairness, and loyalty/disloyalty), and they remained even after accounting for objective, calendar time. Further supporting a motivational explanation, these effects held when people recollected their own past actions but not when they recollected the actions of other people.

Keywords: Moral psychology Autobiographical memory Temporal self-appraisal theory Identity Self


Check also Stanley, M. L., Henne, P., Iyengar, V., Sinnott-Armstrong, W., & De Brigard, F. (2017). I’m not the person I used to be: The self and autobiographical memories of immoral actions. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2018/11/im-not-person-i-used-to-be-bad-actions.html

And The neural correlates of moral decision-making: A systematic review and meta-analysis of moral evaluations and response decision judgements. Beverley Garrigan, Anna L.R. Adlam, Peter E. Langdon. Brain and Cognition, Volume 108, October 2016, Pages 88-97. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandc.2016.07.007

An evaluation of the effects of lowering blood alcohol concentration limits for drivers on the rates of road traffic accidents and alcohol consumption: a natural experiment in the UK

An evaluation of the effects of lowering blood alcohol concentration limits for drivers on the rates of road traffic accidents and alcohol consumption: a natural experiment. Houra Haghpanahan et al. The Lancet, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)32850-2

Summary
Background: Drink driving is an important risk factor for road traffic accidents (RTAs), which cause high levels of morbidity and mortality globally. Lowering the permitted blood alcohol concentration (BAC) for drivers is a common public health intervention that is enacted in countries and jurisdictions across the world. In Scotland, on Dec 5, 2014, the BAC limit for drivers was reduced from 0·08 g/dL to 0·05 g/dL. We therefore aimed to evaluate the effects of this change on RTAs and alcohol consumption.

Methods: In this natural experiment, we used an observational, comparative interrupted time-series design by use of data on RTAs and alcohol consumption in Scotland (the interventional group) and England and Wales (the control group). We obtained weekly counts of RTAs from police accident records and we estimated weekly off-trade (eg, in supermarkets and convenience stores) and 4-weekly on-trade (eg, in bars and restaurants) alcohol consumption from market research data. We also used data from automated traffic counters as denominators to calculate RTA rates. We estimated the effect of the intervention on RTAs by use of negative binomial panel regression and on alcohol consumption outcomes by use of seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average models. Our primary outcome was weekly rates of RTAs in Scotland, England, and Wales. This study is registered with ISRCTN, number ISRCTN38602189.

Findings: We assessed the weekly rate of RTAs and alcohol consumption between Jan 1, 2013, and Dec 31, 2016, before and after the BAC limit came into effect on Dec 5, 2014. After the reduction in BAC limits for drivers in Scotland, we found no significant change in weekly RTA rates after adjustment for seasonality and underlying temporal trend (rate ratio 1·01, 95% CI 0·94–1·08; p=0.77) or after adjustment for seasonality, the underlying temporal trend, and the driver characteristics of age, sex, and socioeconomic deprivation (1·00, 0·96–1·06; p=0·73). Relative to RTAs in England and Wales, where the reduction in BAC limit for drivers did not occur, we found a 7% increase in weekly RTA rates in Scotland after this reduction in BAC limit for drivers (1·07, 1·02–1·13; p=0·007 in the fully-adjusted model). Similar findings were observed for serious or fatal RTAs and single-vehicle night-time RTAs. The change in legislation in Scotland was associated with no change in alcohol consumption, measured by per-capita off-trade sales (−0·3%, −1·7 to 1·1; p = 0·71), but a 0·7% decrease in alcohol consumption measured by per-capita on-trade sales (−0·7%, −0·8 to −0·5; p < 0·0001).

Interpretation: Lowering the driving BAC limit to 0·05 g/dL from 0·08 g/dL in Scotland was not associated with a reduction in RTAs, but this change was associated with a small reduction in per-capita alcohol consumption from on-trade alcohol sales. One plausible explanation is that the legislative change was not suitably enforced—for example with random breath testing measures. Our findings suggest that changing the legal BAC limit for drivers in isolation does not improve RTA outcomes. These findings have significant policy implications internationally as several countries and jurisdictions consider a similar reduction in the BAC limit for drivers.

No evidence that women using oral contraceptives had weaker preferences for male facial masculinity than did women not using them, suggesting that links between reproductive hormones & preferences are quite limited

Jones, Benedict C., Lisa M. DeBruine, and Amanda Hahn. 2018. “No Evidence That Women Using Oral Contraceptives Have Weaker Preferences for Masculine Characteristics in Men’s Faces.” PsyArXiv. December 17. doi:10.31234/osf.io/kne83

Abstract: Previous research has suggested that women using oral contraceptives show weaker preferences for masculine men than do women not using oral contraceptives. Such research would be consistent with the hypothesis that steroid hormones influence women’s preferences for masculine men. Recent large-scale longitudinal studies, however, have found limited evidence linking steroid hormones to masculinity preferences. Given the relatively small samples used in previous studies investigating putative associations between masculinity preferences and oral contraceptive use, we compared the facial masculinity preferences of women using oral contraceptives and women not using oral contraceptives in a large online sample of 6482 heterosexual women. We found no evidence that women using oral contraceptives had weaker preferences for male facial masculinity than did women not using oral contraceptives. These findings add to a growing literature suggesting that links between reproductive hormones and preferences are more limited than previously proposed.

Politicization as an antecedent of polarization and the definition of friends and enemies

Politicization as an antecedent of polarization: Evidence from two different political and national contexts. Bernd Simon et al. British Journal of Social Psychology , https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12307

Abstract: Using longitudinal research designs, we examine the role of politicization in the development of polarization. We conducted research in two different political and national contexts. In Study 1, we employ a panel sample of supporters of the Tea Party movement in the United States and examine the relationship between the strength of their politicization and their subsequent feelings towards conservatives versus liberals (affective polarization) as well as their subsequent perceptions of commonalities with conservatives versus liberals (cognitive polarization). In Study 2, we employ a panel sample of members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) community in Germany and examine the politicization–polarization link with regard to feelings towards, and perceived commonalities with, feminists versus supporters of a populist right‐wing political party. We obtained converging evidence suggesting that politicization promotes both affective and cognitive polarization. There was also some, but very limited evidence pointing to reverse causation. The danger of escalating polarization is discussed.

Check also Grand Old (Tailgate) Party? Partisan Discrimination in Apolitical Settings. Andrew M. Engelhardt, Stephen M. Utych. Political Behavior, https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2018/12/rolf-degen-summarizing-people-were.html

Outrageous fortune or destiny? The impacts of both the genes and the family environment tended to decline over the life course, resulting in a downward trend in family influences from all sources

Outrageous fortune or destiny? Family influences on status achievement in the early life course. J. Micah Roosa, François Nielsen. Social Science Research, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2018.12.007

Abstract: Psychologists using quantitative studies of the trait intelligence have established with much confidence that the impact of genes on intelligence increases with age, while the environmental effect of the family of origin declines. We examined the conjecture that a similar trend of increasing effect of genes/declining family environmental effect characterizes other status-related outcomes when arranged in typical age-graded sequence over adolescence and early adulthood. We used DeFries-Fulker (1985) (DF) analysis with longitudinal data on 1576 pairs of variously-related young adult siblings (MZ twins; DZ twins; full siblings; half siblings; cousins; and nonrelated siblings; mean age 28) to estimate univariate quantitative genetic decompositions for fifteen status-related outcomes roughly ordered along the early life course: Verbal IQ, High school GPA, College plans, High school graduation, Some college, College graduation, Graduate school, Educational attainment, Occupational education, Occupational wages, Personal earnings, Household income, Household assets, Home ownership, and Subjective social status, with and without covariate controls for Age, Female gender, and Race/ethnicity (black, Hispanic, other; reference white). Results for successive outcomes did not support the conjecture of increasing heritability with maturity. Rather, the impacts of both the genes and the family environment tended to decline over the life course, resulting in a downward trend in family influences from all sources. There was some evidence of a recrudescence in relative influence of the family environment for outcomes related to the household that are often shared with a spouse, such as home ownership, suggesting a role of assortative mating in status reproduction. Other findings and limitations of the study are discussed.

Check also Talent vs Luck: the role of randomness in success and failure. A. Pluchino. A. E. Biondo, A. Rapisarda. arXiv:1802.07068 [physics.soc-ph], Feb 20 2018, https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2018/02/if-it-is-true-that-some-degree-of.html

New tool that provides a means to measure the psychological and cultural distance between two societies and create a distance scale with any population as the point of comparison

Muthukrishna, Michael and Bell, Adrian and Henrich, Joseph and Curtin, Cameron and Gedranovich, Alexander and McInerney, Jason and Thue, Braden, Beyond WEIRD Psychology: Measuring and Mapping Scales of Cultural and Psychological Distance (October 2, 2018). http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3259613

Abstract: We present a new tool that provides a means to measure the psychological and cultural distance between two societies and create a distance scale with any population as the point of comparison. Since psychological data is dominated by samples drawn from the United States or other WEIRD nations, this tool provides a “WEIRD scale” to assist researchers in systematically extending the existing database of psychological phenomena to more diverse and globally representative samples. As the extreme WEIRDness of the literature begins to dissolve, the tool will become more useful for designing, planning, and justifying a wide range of comparative psychological projects. We have made our code available and developed an online application for creating other scales (including the “Sino scale” also presented in this paper). We discuss regional diversity within nations showing the relative homogeneity of the United States. Finally, we use these scales to predict various psychological outcomes.

Keywords: WEIRD people, cultural psychology, cultural distance, cross-cultural differences, replication crisis

The accurate assessment of sexual fantasy use is important for both research and forensic/clinical practice: An Exploration of the Factor Structure of Gray Et Al.’s Sexual Fantasy Questionnaire

Bartels, Ross, and Craig A. Harper. 2018. “An Exploration of the Factor Structure of Gray Et Al.’s Sexual Fantasy Questionnaire.” PsyArXiv. August 19. doi:10.31234/osf.io/wxj54

Abstract: The accurate assessment of sexual fantasy use is important for both research and forensic/clinical practice. Although a number of sexual fantasy questionnaires exist, they tend to be associated with high financial cost for researchers, outdated or ambiguous terminology, and/or embody ethical problems arising from overtly explicit items. One measure that does not contain these issues is Gray et al.’s (2003) Sexual Fantasy Questionnaire (SFQ). While the SFQ has recently gained some interest from researchers, it has not been thoroughly validated. Thus, in this study, we combined data from three online survey-based samples (N = 594) to examine the factor structure underpinning the SFQ. After conducting parallel and principal components analyses, a six-factor structure was settled upon. The resulting SFQ-revised contained 62-items, with the six factors reflecting the following fantasy themes: (1) masochistic, (2) sadistic, (3) romantic, (4) impersonal, (5) pre/tactile courtship disorder, and (6) bodily function. Data on how the six clusters differ across genders, sexual orientation, and relationship status are also provided. We also developed a short version of the SFQ-revised (37-items) for use when time or space are constrained. The theoretical and methodological significance of the revised SFQs are discussed, as well as recommendations for research and practice.

Biographies remain in our collective communicative memory the longest (20–30 years) and music the shortest (about 5.6 years)

The universal decay of collective memory and attention. Cristian Candia, C. Jara-Figueroa, Carlos Rodriguez-Sickert, Albert-László Barabási & César A. Hidalgo. Nature Human Behaviour (2018), https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-018-0474-5

Abstract: Collective memory and attention are sustained by two channels: oral communication (communicative memory) and the physical recording of information (cultural memory). Here, we use data on the citation of academic articles and patents, and on the online attention received by songs, movies and biographies, to describe the temporal decay of the attention received by cultural products. We show that, once we isolate the temporal dimension of the decay, the attention received by cultural products decays following a universal biexponential function. We explain this universality by proposing a mathematical model based on communicative and cultural memory, which fits the data better than previously proposed log-normal and exponential models. Our results reveal that biographies remain in our communicative memory the longest (20–30 years) and music the shortest (about 5.6 years). These findings show that the average attention received by cultural products decays following a universal biexponential function.

All studies find that income inequality rose after 1979, but common perceptions that all income gain went to the top 10 percent and middle class incomes stagnated (or even declined) are wrong

How Different Studies Measure Income Inequality in the US. Stephen J. Rose
Urban Institute, December 2018, https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/99455/how_different_studies_measure_income_inequality.pdf

The results from at least four studies were compared for three measures of income change: change in median incomes, share of growth captured by the top 10 percent, and the changing income share of  the top 1 percent. In all cases, Piketty and Saez (2003) were the outlier, showing the most increased inequality. And in all three measures of income change , Piketty, Saez, and Zucman (2018) found much less growth in income inequality than Piketty and Saez (2003).

This brief does a meta-analysis of different findings to estimate a “consensus” level of change...I find that instead of stagnating, real median incomes grew by just over 40 percent (1 percent a year) from  1979 to 2014;  the top 10 percent of the income ladder captured 45 percent of income growth from 1979 to  2014; and the share of the top 1 percent grew 3.5 percentage points.

All studies find that income inequality rose after 1979, but common perceptions that all income gain went to the top 10 percent and middle class incomes stagnated (or even declined) are wrong.

Compared to more moderate levels of pornography use, higher levels in emerging adulthood were associated with a lower likelihood of marriage; same for those with no use at all

Does Pornography Use Reduce Marriage Entry During Early Adulthood? Findings from a Panel Study of Young Americans. Samuel L. Perry, Kyle C. Longest. Sexuality & Culture, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12119-018-09581-4

Abstract: A number of recent studies have examined the connection between pornography use and relationship outcomes for Americans already in marriages. The current study takes this research in a different direction by examining (1) whether pornography use may be associated with entrance into marriage during early adulthood and (2) whether this association is moderated by gender and religion, two key factors strongly related to both pornography use and earlier marriage. Longitudinal data were taken from waves 1, 3, and 4 of the National Study of Youth and Religion, a nationally-representative panel study of Americans from their teenage years into early adulthood (N = 1691). It was theorized that frequent pornography use at earlier survey waves may foster more sexually progressive attitudes that may lead to devaluing marriage as an institution, and, for religious men in particular, may disincentivize marriage as a “socially legitimate” means of sexual fulfillment. The association between pornography use and marriage entry was non-linear for men and non-existent among women. Among men, higher frequency pornography viewers were not significantly different from non-viewers in their likelihood of marriage entry. Compared to more moderate levels of pornography use, however, higher levels of pornography use in emerging adulthood were associated with a lower likelihood of marriage by the final survey wave for men. Associations were not moderated by religiosity for either gender. Data limitations and implications for future research are discussed.

Keywords: Pornography Marriage Family Gender Religiosity Panel data