Urban China: Tenure change from renter to owner significantly increased subjective well-being; the effect was unaffected by the financial burdens of new homeowners

Does happiness dwell in an owner-occupied house? Homeownership and subjective well-being in urban China. Xian Zheng, Zi-qing Yuan, XiaolingZhang. Cities, Volume 96, January 2020, 102404. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2019.102404

Highlights
• We investigated the causal effect of homeownership on subjective well-being.
• The causal relationship was estimated using the difference-in-differences approach.
• Tenure change from renter to owner significantly increased subjective well-being.
• The causal effect was unaffected by the financial burdens of new homeowners.

Abstract: This study investigates the causal relationship between homeownership and subjective well-being based on household-level panel data collected from the China Household Finance Survey (CHFS) in 2011 and 2013. The extent to which homeownership contributes to the changes in subjective well-being is estimated, focusing on the heterogeneous effects across socioeconomic and demographic groups. Evidence from the identification strategies indicates that homeownership has a positive impact on subjective well-being. Moreover, the results are robust to different specifications and unaffected by the financial constraints faced by new homeowners. Our findings have useful implications for policymakers to stimulate homeownership rates to promote subjective well-being.

Keywords: Subjective well-beingHomeownershipDifference-in-DifferencesUrban China

1. Introduction

The analysis of well-being is the cornerstone of neoclassical welfare
economics, with abundant empirical literature concerning the determinants
of self-reported happiness, life satisfaction, or subjective
well-being (SWB) (Dolan, Peasgood, & White, 2008).1 As a representative
and multidimensional indicator of individual utility or
welfare, SWB is determined by the fundamental aspects of life from a
macroscopic perspective (Benjamin, Heffetz, Kimball, & Szembrot,
2014).
Housing satisfaction is one of the most decisive domains accounting
for life cycle satisfaction (Van Praag, Frijters, & Ferrer-i-Carbonell,
2003); in the words of John Howard Payne (1781–1852), “Be it ever so
humble, there is no place like home”. Intuitively, homeownership exerts
an indirect influence on overall life satisfaction through housing
satisfaction. Previous studies mainly investigate the determinants of
housing satisfaction, including housing tenure, hedonic characteristics,
individual and household attributes, neighborhood conditions, and
social interactions. In particular, homeownership has gained increasing
attention due to its potential implications for both individuals and societies.
An extensive literature provides empirical evidence supporting
a positive relationship between homeownership and SWB (Diaz-
Serrano, 2009; Dietz & Haurin, 2003; Guven & Sørensen, 2012; Ruprah,
2010; Stillman & Liang, 2010; Zumbro, 2014), whereas other studies
report a contradictory negative or insignificant relationship
(Bucchianeri, 2011; Elsinga & Hoekstra, 2005a; Parker, Watson, &
Webb, 2011).
Theoretical disputes and welfare concerns motivate our investigation
of the relationship between homeownership and SWB. For decades,
it was taken for granted that homeownership is related to welfare improvement
due to its private and social benefits. However, homeownership
is assumed to decrease SWB when the heavy financial
burden of mortgages, constraints on mobility, and uncertainty of
housing prices are considered. Many question whether homeownership
can ultimately increase SWB in consideration of housing affordability.
Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the impact of homeownership on
SWB in consideration of both benefits and potential drawbacks.
In light of this debate, we evaluate whether homeownership increases,
decreases, or has no effect on SWB. An increased understanding
of the relationship between homeownership and SWB will be beneficial
for policymakers to develop sustainable housing policies. Furthermore,
discovering the factors through which homeownership affects SWB is
crucial. In this way, policymakers can advance policies and take initiatives
to facilitate SWB according to an appropriate micro-mechanism.
Consequently, the relationship between homeownership and
SWB is an important issue in need of further research.
China's housing market provides an appealing testing ground for
analyzing the homeownership-happiness puzzle for several reasons. On
the one hand, from the standpoint of housing systems, China is usually
considered as a home-owning society rather than a cost-rental society.
In such a setting, renting is not regarded as a good alternative to
homeownership. Renting usually involves residential uncertainty or
instability of individual life conditions. In particular, renters are unable
to fulfill widely-accepted family values and practices (Elsinga &
Hoekstra, 2005b). By contrast, the homeowners reap the benefits of
social identity in marriage markets and other aspects. Accordingly, an
enthusiastic preference for homeownership has been deeply rooted in
Chinese tradition since ancient times. On the other hand, market-oriented
reform of the welfare housing system in 1998 dramatically
fueled the willingness of households to gain privatized homeownership
and increased the homeownership rate (Chen & Wen, 2017). Additionally,
China's housing market is substantially influenced by local
governments' profit-oriented land financing activities. Along with a
series of socioeconomic reforms and acceleration in urbanization,
housing prices have been soaring in recent years, especially in first-tier
cities. Given the high housing prices and price-to-rent ratios, unaffordability
poses one of the biggest challenge in the so-called superstar
cities (Chen, Hu, & Lin, 2019; Gyourko, Mayer, & Sinai, 2013). The
literature concerning the homeownership-happiness puzzle in China
continues to grow, and some studies question whether the overwhelming
financial burden can offset the positive effects of homeownership
(J. Chen & Deng, 2014; R. Chen, 2010; Cheng, King, Smyth,
& Wang, 2016; Cheng & Smyth, 2015a; Hu, 2013).
The remainder of this paper is structured as follows. Section 2
presents a literature review. Section 3 provides a theoretical framework
regarding the relationship between homeownership and SWB. The data
sources and descriptive statistical analysis used are presented in Section
4, followed by the empirical strategy in Section 5. Section 6 reports the
empirical results and robustness checks, while Section 7 summarizes
and concludes the paper.

Austin, Denver, & Portland have thriving 21st century economies, but families with children struggle to take advantage of what they offer; there is a link between gentrification & loss of children over time

Is there room for children in booming western cities? Empirical evidence from Austin, Denver, and Portland. JakeWegmann. Cities, Volume 96, January 2020, 102403. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2019.102403

Highlights
• Austin, Denver, and Portland have thriving 21st century economies.
• However, families with children struggle to take advantage of what they offer.
• There is a link between gentrification and loss of children over time.
• Single-family and missing middle housing types are key for retaining children.
• They and other cities need to specifically prioritize housing needs of children.

Abstract: Austin, Denver, and Portland are all booming cities in or on the edge of the American West. Their thriving economies and natural and urban amenities have attracted large numbers of in-migrants. As housing prices rise, families with children in particular face diminished choices about where to live. This article asks three questions: How have the child populations of Austin, Denver, and Portland fared in recent decades? Is there a link between gentrification and a decrease in family households with children? And finally, to what extent do various housing types associate with more or fewer of these households? In brief, Austin, Denver, and Portland have fared reasonably well in maintaining family life, but neighborhoods with master-planned brownfield or greenfield developments appear to have accounted for a disproportionate share of the growth in their child populations, helping to offset sharp losses in gentrifying neighborhoods closer to the cities' urban cores. As these opportunities begin to diminish in all three cities, the strong association between compact single-family and “missing middle,” or middle density, housing types and households with children suggests pathways for these three cities and others like them to retain such households, by using policy to encourage these development types.

Keywords: ChildrenMissing middle housingAffordable housingGentrificationAmerican west

Does exposure to richer and poorer neighborhoods influence wellbeing? Individuals with higher income than that of neighbors are more satisfied with life

Does exposure to richer and poorer neighborhoods influence wellbeing? Donggen Wang, Tim Schwanen, Zidan Mao. Cities, Volume 95, December 2019, 102408, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2019.102408

Highlights
• Examines the impacts of individuals' income vis-à-vis that of neighbors on life satisfaction
• Studies the effect of individuals' income vis-à-vis that of visited areas on emotional wellbeing
• Data are derived from an activity-travel diary survey conducted in 2010 in Hong Kong
• Individuals with higher income than that of neighbors are more satisfied with life
• Individuals' income vis-à-vis that of visited areas is a positive predictor of emotional wellbeing

Abstract: Geographical differences in wellbeing have attracted increased attention in the science of happiness literature and recent research has become particularly interested in high-resolution spatial differentiation within cities. This study contributes to this literature by analyzing the relationships between subjective wellbeing and relative income at the neighborhood level using activity-travel survey data from 2010 in Hong Kong. In contrast to previous studies, the analysis concentrates not only on life satisfaction but also on pleasure derived from daily activities in the city, and considers relative income in people's residential neighborhood and the neighborhoods where they conduct different types of daily activity. The results suggest that social comparisons with regard to income matter to life satisfaction as well as emotional wellbeing, that the effects occur for both the residential neighborhood and the urban places where daily activities are undertaken, and that downward income comparisons tend to have stronger effects on wellbeing than upward comparison. One theoretical implication that follows from the analysis is that the impact of social comparison in the science of happiness needs to be theorized as dynamic, mobile and contingent upon people's daily trajectories through time and urban space.

Keywords: Hong KongIncomeLife satisfactionNeighborhoodPleasureSocial comparisonWellbeing

Let There Be Variance: Individual Differences in Consecutive Self‐control in a Laboratory Setting and Daily Life

Let There Be Variance: Individual Differences in Consecutive Self‐control in a Laboratory Setting and Daily Life. Mario Wenzel et al. European Journal of Personality, June 23 2019. https://doi.org/10.1002/per.2208

Abstract: The large body of research used to support ego‐depletion effects is currently faced with conceptual and replication issues, leading to doubt over the extent or even existence of the ego‐depletion effect. By using within‐person designs in a laboratory (Study 1; 187 participants) and an ambulatory assessment study (Study 2; 125 participants), we sought to clarify this ambiguity by investigating whether prominent situational variables (such as motivation and affect) or personality traits can help elucidate when ego depletion can be observed and when not. Although only marginal ego‐depletion effects were found in both studies, these effects varied considerably between individuals, indicating that some individuals experience self‐control decrements after initial self‐control exertion and others not. However, neither motivation nor affect nor personality traits such as trait self‐control could consistently explain this variability when models were applied that controlled for variance due to targets and the depletion manipulation (Study 1) or days (Study 2) as well as for multiple testing. We discuss how the operationalization and reliability of our key measures may explain these null effects and demonstrate that alternative metrics may be required to study the consequences of the consecutive exertion of self‐control.

These results show that upright animals, regardless of whether they are predators or prey, attract attention in humans, & this could allow humans to rapidly evaluate predatory threats or the flight readiness of hunted game

Animals in Upright Postures Attract Attention in Humans. Jessica L. Yorzinski, Richard G. Coss. Evolutionary Psychological Science, August 5 2019. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40806-019-00209-w

Abstract: Individual predators differ in the level of risk they represent to prey. Because prey incur costs when responding to predators, prey can benefit by adjusting their antipredator behavior based on the level of perceived risk. Prey can potentially assess the level of risk by evaluating the posture of predators as an index of predators’ motivational state. Like other prey species, humans might evaluate predator body posture as a prominent cue for assessing danger. We tested whether human participants adjusted their visual attention based on the postures of predators by presenting participants with photographic arrays of predators (lions) that varied in postures while we recorded the participants’ gaze behavior. The participants searched for a standing lion (representing a high-risk target) among an array of reclining lions (representing low-risk distractors) or searched for a reclining lion among an array of standing lions. They also searched through similar arrays consisting of non-threatening prey (impalas) standing or reclining, rather than predators. Participants detected standing lions and impala faster than reclining lions and impala. Surprisingly, they detected standing lions at similar latencies as standing impala. They detected the reclining lions and impala more slowly because they spent more time looking at the standing lion and impala distractors and looked at more of those distractors. These results show that upright animals, regardless of whether they are predators or prey, attract attention in humans, and this could allow humans to rapidly evaluate predatory threats or the flight readiness of hunted game.

Keywords: Attention Humans Delayed disengagement Posture Predator detection

Is Well-being Associated with the Quantity and Quality of Social Interactions? Introverts may experience greater boosts in social connectedness, relative to extraverts, when engaging in deeper conversations

Sun, Jessie, Kelci Harris, and Simine Vazire. 2019. “Is Well-being Associated with the Quantity and Quality of Social Interactions?.” PsyArXiv. August 5. doi:10.31234/osf.io/xdvsa

Abstract: Social relationships are often touted as critical for well-being. However, the vast majority of studies on social relationships have relied on self-report measures of both social interactions and well-being, which makes it difficult to disentangle true associations from shared method variance. To address this gap, we assessed the quantity and quality of social interactions using both self-report and observer-based measures in everyday life. Participants (N = 256, 3,206 observations) wore the Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR), an unobtrusive audio recorder, and completed experience sampling method (ESM) self-reports of their momentary social interactions, happiness, and feelings of social connectedness, four times each day for one week. Observers rated the quantity and quality of participants’ social interactions based on the EAR recordings from the same time points. Quantity of social interactions was robustly associated with greater well-being in the moment and on average, whether they were measured with self-reports or observer reports. Conversational (conversational depth and self-disclosure) and relational (knowing and liking one’s interaction partners) aspects of social interaction quality were also generally associated with greater well-being, but the effects were larger and more consistent for self-reported (vs. observer-reported) quality variables, within-person (vs. between-person) associations, and for predicting social connectedness (vs. happiness). Finally, although most associations were similar for introverts and extraverts, our exploratory results suggest that introverts may experience greater boosts in social connectedness, relative to extraverts, when engaging in deeper conversations. This study provides compelling multi-method evidence supporting the link between more frequent and deeper social interactions and well-being.

From 2018: Genetic Endowments and Wealth Inequality

From 2018: Genetic Endowments and Wealth Inequality. Daniel Barth, Nicholas W. Papageorge, Kevin Thom. NBER Working Paper No. 24642, May 2018. https://nicholaswpapageorge.files.wordpress.com/2018/05/genes_wealth.pdf

Abstract: We show that genetic endowments linked to educational attainment strongly and robustly predict wealth at retirement. The estimated relationship is not fully explained by flexibly controlling for education and labor income. We therefore investigate a host of additional mechanisms that could help to explain the gene-wealth gradient, including inheritances, mortality, savings, risk preferences, portfolio decisions, beliefs about the probabilities of macro economic events, and planning horizons. The associations we report provide preliminary evidence that genetic endowments related to human capital accumulation are associated with wealth not only through educational attainment and labor income, but also through a facility with complex financial decision-making. Our study illustrates how economic research seeking to understand sources of inequality can benefit from recent advances in behavioral genetics linking specific observed genetic endowments to economic outcomes.
Keywords: Wealth, Inequality, Portfolio Decisions, Beliefs, Education and Genetics

Genetic & environmental sources of individual differences in homophobic tendencies towards gay men: A large proportion of genetic factors (82%) contribute to individual differences in homophobia

Sources of Individual Differences in Sociopolitical Orientations: Findings from Combining Behavior Genetic with Multi-Rater Approaches. Alexandra Zapko-Willmes. Kumulative Dissertation zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades Dr. rer. nat. im Fach Psychologie, Universität Bielefeld. Oct 2018. http://pub.uni-bielefeld.de/download/29325

Summary
In the three studies constituting this dissertation, behavior genetic and multi-rater approaches were combined to contribute to the understanding of sources of interindividual differences in broad and narrow dimensions of sociopolitical orientations. For this purpose, all studies employed structural equation modeling designs based on cross-sectional twin family and multi-rater data from the Jena Twin Study of Social Attitudes (JeTSSA; studies 1 and 2) and the Study of Personality Architecture and Dynamics (SPeADy; study 3).

Study 1 was aimed at validating and extending previous self-report studies on genetic and environmental sources of individual differences in homophobic tendencies towards gay men across multiple rater perspectives. In line with our hypotheses, we found a large proportion of genetic factors (82%) to contribute to individual differences in homophobia, with unique environmental factors (18%) explaining the remaining variance. Moreover, we found variance specific for self-reports to be partially attributable to genetic factors (20%), confirming past findings that suggested that self-reports may underlie genetic influences. Results indicate the importance of univariate behavior genetic investigations.

Study 2 was conducted to examine, whether differences in experienced parenting affect present differences in twin sibling’s right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) via a “truly” environmental pathway as opposed to a genetic mediation. We integrated genetically informed and phenotypic multi-rater models to investigate whether and how the association is confounded due to shared genetic and environmental sources of both variables. We considered offspring’s, mothers’, and fathers’ retrospective ratings of two parenting dimensions and offspring’s self- and informant reports on their RWA. Our hypotheses were generally not confirmed. An evocative genotype-environment correlation likely explained the positive link between parental responsiveness and differences in offspring’s RWA. In other words, the offspring’s genetically influenced RWA score (and associated behavior) affected their experienced parental emotional warmth and support, with a higher RWA score associated with more highly experienced responsiveness. In contrast, we found an effectively environmental positive association between differences in experienced parental demandingness and differences in twin sibling’s RWA. Parental RWA, while not associated with parental responsiveness, partly explained the link between experienced demandingness and differences in offspring’s RWA.  Findings underlined the additional insight gained through multiple raters on the environmental as well as characteristic.

Finally, study 3 examined the convergence of basic value orientations and foci of moral concern as two abstract dimensions of sociopolitical orientations. We expected the dimensions to converge based on common underlying world beliefs. The value orientation towards conservation versus openness to change was expected to converge with a moral focus on organization versus opportunity due to the underlying belief in a dangerous world. The value orientation self-transcendence versus self-enhancement was expected to converge with a moral focus on social versus individual outcomes due to the underlying (lack of) belief in a competitive world. We combined multi-rater with twin family data to investigate four criteria of convergence (structural, age-related, source-related, and the link with a key personality trait). For both expected links, we found the dimensions to be systematically linked, but reflect distinct characteristics, suggesting that they reflect characteristics of different personality layers. We discussed the role of specific motives and environmental factors contributing to differences in foci of moral concern.


Introduction
According to an old saying and etiquette rule1, one should avoid conversations about political topics, alluding to the inevitably ensuing disputes fueled by individual differences in social and political views. When viewed through historic and current events, these interindividual differences may have major individual-level, group-level, societal, and even global consequences beyond mere heated disputes. Individual preferences regarding social and political issues, subsumed under the term sociopolitical orientations, have been linked to various forms of prejudice (Altemeyer, 1996; Asbrock, Sibley, & Duckitt, 2010; Duckitt & Farre, 1994; Ekehammar, Akrami, Gylje, & Zakrisson, 2004; Hodson & Dhont, 2015), support for radical right parties (Aichholzer & Zandonella, 2016; Cornelis & Van Hiel, 2015; but see also Dunn, 2015), endorsement of human rights and associated behavior (Cohrs, Maes, Moschner, & Kielmann, 2007), and post-9/11 attitudes (Crowson, DeBacker, & Thoma, 2005, 2006), to name a few. Furthermore, its impact could be recently observed in the context of political participation and voting behavior in the Brexit referendum (Golec de Zavala, Guerra, & Simão, 2017) as well as the US presidential election (Choma & Hanoch, 2017; Womick, Rothmund, Azevedo, King, & Jost, 2018).

These findings corroborate the importance of research on the factors that contribute to individual differences in sociopolitical orientations. An important piece of this puzzle is the identification of the biological and environmental roots of these characteristics. These roots have long been regarded as being essentially – even exclusively – environmental; Genetic explanations were largely disregarded in favor of socialization explanations (e.g., Adorno, Frenkel-Brunswik, Levinson, & Sanford, 1950; Altemeyer, 1988). However, behavior genetic studies (e.g., Eaves & Eysenck, 1974; Eaves et al., 1999; Kandler, Bleidorn, & Riemann, 2012; Martin et al., 1986) have shown that environmental factors shared between twin siblings (which would reflect a large portion of the argued socialization) are not as crucial as previously assumed, and that genetic and idiosyncratic environmental effects are substantial. After decades of neglecting genetic explanations, there is no longer a “nature versus nurture” debate when it comes to sources of individual differences in sociopolitical orientations, as well as other personality characteristics2 and virtually all complex human dispositions (Polderman et al., 2015). Rather, nature and nurture are agreed to be interwoven with each other (Plomin, DeFries, & Loehlin, 1977; Scarr & McCartney, 1983). 

In this work, I sought to contribute to the understanding of the sources of interindividual differences in sociopolitical orientations. Sociopolitical orientations were studied at various levels of content-related abstraction (Section I), ranging from specific dimensions (i.e., homophobia; study 1), to broad, less specific dimensions that capture individual global social and political preferences (i.e., right-wing authoritarianism; study 2) to even more abstract motivational and affective-cognitive dimensions (i.e., value orientations and foci of moral concern; study 3). I employed both behavior genetic and multi-rater models to overcome methodological limitations (Section II) of past univariate (study 1) and multivariate (study 2) behavior genetic research, and to gain insight into the convergence of two conceptually related dimensions of sociopolitical orientations (study 3).

Homosexual consumers show negative responses to heterosexual imagery; doesn't happen in the opposite direction

Consumer Responses to Homosexual Imagery in Advertising: A Meta-Analysis. Martin Eisend & Erik Hermann. Journal of Advertising, Jul 17 2019. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2019.1628676 

Abstract: Rising support for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, paired with the considerable buying power of this group, has triggered increasing interest from marketers in the gay and lesbian market. Many companies have developed advertising with homosexual imagery to better target this group as well as the mainstream market. The findings on the persuasive effects of homosexual imagery are mixed and do not provide insights on whether and when homosexual imagery in advertising supports persuasion. To resolve the inconsistencies in findings of prior research, this article presents a meta-analysis on the effects of homosexual imagery. The integrated effect size suggests that the net persuasive effect between homosexual and heterosexual imagery does not differ. We find, however, that homosexual consumers show negative responses to heterosexual imagery. Furthermore, the moderator analysis suggests that incongruence between imagery, consumer characteristics, cultural values, explicitness of imagery, endorser gender, and product type results in unfavorable responses to homosexual advertising imagery. These findings provide guidelines for future research and implications for advertisers who intend to address consumers of various sexual orientations.

Functional connectivity shows age-related increases within resting-state networks & age-related decreases between them; genetic influences on functional connectivity remain stable throughout adolescence

Genetic and environmental influences on functional connectivity within and between canonical cortical resting-state networks throughout adolescent development in boys and girls. Jalmar Teeuw et al. NeuroImage, August 3 2019, 116073. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116073

Highlights
• We studied resting-state networks in a longitudinal adolescent twin-sibling sample.
• Functional connectivity shows age-related increases within resting-state networks.
• Functional connectivity shows age-related decreases between resting-state networks.
• Reliability modelling improves sensitivity to detect familial influences.
• Genetic influences on functional connectivity remain stable throughout adolescence.

Abstract: The human brain is active during rest and hierarchically organized into intrinsic functional networks. These functional networks are largely established early in development, with reports of a shift from a local to more distributed organization during childhood and adolescence. It remains unknown to what extent genetic and environmental influences on functional connectivity change throughout adolescent development. We measured functional connectivity within and between eight cortical networks in a longitudinal resting-state fMRI study of adolescent twins and their older siblings on two occasions (mean ages 13 and 18 years). We modelled the reliability for these inherently noisy and head-motion sensitive measurements by analyzing data from split-half sessions. Functional connectivity between resting-state networks decreased with age whereas functional connectivity within resting-state networks generally increased with age, independent of general cognitive functioning. Sex effects were sparse, with stronger functional connectivity in the default mode network for girls compared to boys, and stronger functional connectivity in the salience network for boys compared to girls. Heritability explained up to 53% of the variation in functional connectivity within and between resting-state networks, and common environment explained up to 33%. Genetic influences on functional connectivity remained stable during adolescent development. In conclusion, longitudinal age-related changes in functional connectivity within and between cortical resting-state networks are subtle but wide-spread throughout adolescence. Genes play a considerable role in explaining individual variation in functional connectivity with mostly stable influences throughout adolescence.

Keywords: LongitudinalTwinsHeritabilityAge effectsSex effects

A Decline in Propensity Toward Risk Behaviors Among US Adolescents

Borodovsky, Jacob and Krueger, Robert F. and Agrawal, Arpana and Grucza, Richard, A Decline in Propensity Toward Risk Behaviors Among US Adolescents (June 14, 2019). Available at SSRN, http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3403870

Abstract
Purpose: Over the past two decades, substance use, delinquent behaviors, and promiscuous sexual activity have declined substantially among U.S. adolescents. We aimed to determine the extent to which these trends represent declines in a general propensity to engage in risk behaviors (i.e., declines in a latent factor).
Methods: We used Youth Risk Behavior Survey data (1999-2017) (n=147,800) and examined trends in substance use (e.g., alcohol) delinquency (e.g., fighting), and sexual activity (e.g., number of partners). We conducted two types of analyses stratified by grade (9th/10th vs. 11th/12th) and sex: (1) estimation of year-specific prevalence of each behavior and modeled prevalence changes over time; (2) factor analysis and application of alignment methods to determine changes in the mean of the latent factor over time while correcting for measurement non-invariance.
Results: A single factor explained 53% (girls 11th/12th grade) to 62% (boys 9th/10th grade) of the variance in risk behaviors. Average relative annual declines in the prevalence of each behavior—except for weapon carrying—ranged from 1-6%. The structure of the latent factor was mostly unchanged over time, with notable exceptions related to differential changes in prevalence for cigarette and cannabis use. Between 1999 and 2017, the mean of the latent factor declined by between 0.54 and 0.73 standard deviations.
Conclusions: Results suggest that much of the decline in the prevalence of substance use, delinquent, and sexual behaviors among American youth from 1999-2017 reflect an approximately two-thirds standard deviation decline in the mean of a latent risk behavior factor.

Links between distress & time perception suggest the possibility of downward spirals during stressful waiting periods, such that distress makes time seem to slow down, which then exacerbates distress

Associations between Subjective Time Perception and Well‐Being during Stressful Waiting Periods. Kyla Rankin  Kate Sweeny  Sandra Xu. Stress & Health, August 2 2019, https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.2888

Abstract: The passage of time is a subjective experience and can be easily distorted by concurrent emotions. Specifically, time seems to move particularly slowly when people are in a negative emotional state. The aim of the current studies was to evaluate the bidirectional relationship between subjective time perception and distress during stressful waiting periods, during which the slow passage of time may be particularly distressing. Across studies of undergraduate students awaiting a midterm exam grade (Study 1) and law graduates awaiting bar exam results (Studies 2 and 3), results revealed consistent links between distress and time perception across the waiting periods, with tentative evidence for bidirectional relationships between these experiences. That is, people who perceived time as moving slowly while they waited tended to report greater distress across the waiting period (particularly worry, anxiety, negative emotion, and poor coping), and people who reported greater distress tended to perceive time as moving more slowly. The links between distress and time perception suggest the possibility of downward spirals during stressful waiting periods, such that distress makes time seem to slow down, which then exacerbates distress. We discuss avenues for future research and potential remedies to derail the spiral of distress and time perception.

Techniques have been identified that can modify memories at both stages of initial storage and re-storage, but implementation into clinical therapies has produced inconsistent benefits

Memory editing from science fiction to clinical practice. Elizabeth A. Phelps & Stefan G. Hofmann. Nature, volume 572, pages 43–50 (2019). July 31 2019, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1433-7

Abstract: Science fiction notions of altering problematic memories are starting to become reality as techniques emerge through which unique memories can be edited. Here we review memory-editing research with a focus on improving the treatment of psychopathology. Studies highlight two windows of memory vulnerability: initial storage, or consolidation; and re-storage after retrieval, or reconsolidation. Techniques have been identified that can modify memories at each stage, but translating these methods from animal models to humans has been challenging and implementation into clinical therapies has produced inconsistent benefits. The science of memory editing is more complicated and nuanced than fiction, but its rapid development holds promise for future applications.

J‐curve association between alcohol intake and varicose veins in Japan: The Shimane CoHRE Study

J‐curve association between alcohol intake and varicose veins in Japan: The Shimane CoHRE Study. Kunie Kohno  Hiroyuki Niihara  Tsuyoshi Hamano  Miwako Takeda  Yusei Nakagawa  Kuninori Shiwaku  Toru Nabika  Bengt Zöller  Xinjun Li  Kristina Sundquist  Jan Sundquist  Eishin Morita. Concise Communication, July 29 2019 https://doi.org/10.1111/1346-8138.15022

Abstract: The effect of alcohol intake on varicose veins (VV) has not been determined by its consumption level. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between alcohol intake and VV in an elderly general population. Using a cross‐sectional approach, the Shimane CoHRE Study data, comprising a total of 1060 participants, were analyzed. By multivariate regression analysis adjusted with basic characteristics, past work history, lifestyle‐related factors and medical history, compared with non‐drinkers, mild drinkers (<20.0 g/day) showed a significantly lower adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of VV (aOR = 0.64, P = 0.036). In a similar way, regular drinkers (1–5 days/week) showed a significantly lower aOR of VV when compared with occasional drinkers (aOR = 0.57, P = 0.032). VV and alcohol intake showed J‐curve relationships. In a stratified analysis by alcohol consumption levels, the association of smoking and VV were also observed in moderate to heavy drinkers and habitual drinkers. These findings can provide better understanding of pathophysiological mechanism and be used for evidence‐based patient education.

Re-analysis of data reveals no evidence for neonatal imitation in rhesus macaques

Re-analysis of data reveals no evidence for neonatal imitation in rhesus macaques. Jonathan Redshaw. Biology Letters, July 24 2019, https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2019.0342

Abstract: Over the past decade, a growing number of publications have claimed to provide evidence for the existence and function of neonatal imitation in rhesus macaques. Here I show that there is in fact no empirical basis for these claims. Studies of the phenomenon have consistently failed to implement the gold standard cross-target analytical approach, which controls for increases in matching responses that may not be a function of the specific modelled behaviour. Critically, a pre-registered re-analysis of the entire set of existing data using this cross-target approach shows that macaque neonates have failed to produce matching tongue protrusion or lipsmacking responses at levels greater than chance. Furthermore, there is no evidence for intra-individual consistency in ‘imitative’ responses across different actions, as imitation scores for the two actions are negatively correlated with each other. Macaque tongue protrusion and lipsmacking responses may vary as a function of general factors that fluctuate over testing sessions, rather than as a function of the specific model or of between-individual variations in imitative tendencies.

Social media comparisons: More likely to be upward than downward, & making more frequent & more extreme upward comparisons yielded greater declines in self-evaluations, mood, & life satisfaction

When Every Day is a High School Reunion: Social Media Comparisons and Self-esteem. Claire Midgley. Psychology School, Toronto Univ. PhD Thesis, Jun 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/1807/95911

Abstract: Although past research has shown that social comparisons made through social media contribute to negative outcomes, little is known about the nature of these comparisons (e.g., domains, direction, and extremity), variables that determine the outcomes of these comparisons (e.g., post valence, perceiver’s self-esteem), and how these comparisons differ from those made in other contexts (e.g. while texting or interacting face to face). In five studies (N=900), I provide the first comprehensive analysis of how individuals make and respond to social comparisons on two different social media platforms (Facebook and Instagram), using comparisons made in real-time while participants browsed their own social media news feeds (Studies 1 and 3), experimenter-generated social media content (Study 2), and reports of comparisons made in various contexts, including social media (Studies 4 and 5). I found that individuals made frequent upward comparisons on social media. Further, social media comparisons were more likely to be upward than downward, and making more frequent and more extreme upward comparisons on social media resulted in greater declines in self-evaluations, mood, and life satisfaction. In addition, individuals with lower self-esteem made more frequent and extreme upward comparisons while browsing social media, resulting in even steeper declines in self-evaluations. Finally, compared to upward comparisons in other contexts, those made on social media were more often to distant (vs. close) targets, more likely to be image-based, and resulted in greater declines in self-evaluations. Together, these studies provide the first insights into the cumulative impact of multiple social comparisons, demonstrate the unique nature of social comparisons made on social media, and clarify the role of self-esteem in online social comparison processes.

Keywords: self-esteem; social comparison; social media

Evaluating the evidential value of empirically supported psychological treatments (ESTs): Failing to strengthen efficacy

Sakaluk, J. K., Williams, A. J., Kilshaw, R. E., & Rhyner, K. T. (2019). Evaluating the evidential value of empirically supported psychological treatments (ESTs): A meta-scientific review. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 128(6), 500-509. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/abn0000421

Abstract: Empirically supported treatments (or therapies; ESTs) are the gold standard in therapeutic interventions for psychopathology. Based on a set of methodological and statistical criteria, the APA has assigned particular treatment-diagnosis combinations EST status and has further rated their empirical support as Strong, Modest, and/or Controversial. Emerging concerns about the replicability of research findings in clinical psychology highlight the need to critically examine the evidential value of EST research. We therefore conducted a metascientific review of the EST literature, using clinical trials reported in an existing online APA database of ESTs, and a set of novel evidential value metrics (i.e., rates of misreported statistics, statistical power, R-Index, and Bayes Factors). Our analyses indicated that power and replicability estimates were concerningly low across almost all ESTs, and individually, some ESTs scored poorly across multiple metrics, with Strong ESTs failing to continuously outperform their Modest counterparts. Lastly, we found evidence of improvements over time in statistical power within the EST literature, but not for the strength of evidence of EST efficacy. We describe the implications of our findings for practicing psychotherapists and offer recommendations for improving the evidential value of EST research moving forward.

Participants increased in well-being when they were assigned to act extraverted & decreased when they were assigned to act introverted; changing behavior associated with personality is possible

Margolis, S., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2019). Experimental manipulation of extraverted and introverted behavior and its effects on well-being. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/xge0000668

Abstract: Research in personality psychology has remained predominantly correlational. For example, 3 decades of research demonstrate a robust cross-sectional relationship between extraversion and positive affect. A handful of studies, however, have examined this link experimentally, showing that extraversion boosts positive affect over short durations. If this is true, behaving in an extraverted manner should be a reliable method for increasing positive affect and, thus, suitable as a well-being-increasing practice. The current study instructed participants to engage in both extraverted and introverted behavior, each for 1 week. Participants increased in well-being when they were assigned to act extraverted and decreased in well-being when they were assigned to act introverted. These findings suggest that changing behavior associated with personality is possible and can impact well-being. More broadly, this study adds to a growing body of research on the potential of experimental methods in personality psychology.

The influential hypothesis that humans imitate from birth – and that this capacity is foundational to social cognition – is currently being challenged from several angles

Individual differences in neonatal ‘imitation' fail to predict early social cognitive behaviour. Jonathan Redshaw  Mark Nielsen  Virginia Slaughter  Siobhan Kennedy‐Costantini  Janine Oostenbroek  Jessica Crimston  Thomas Suddendorf. Developemental Science, August 1 2019, https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12892 

Abstract: The influential hypothesis that humans imitate from birth – and that this capacity is foundational to social cognition – is currently being challenged from several angles. Most prominently, the largest and most comprehensive longitudinal study of neonatal imitation to date failed to find evidence that neonates copied any of nine actions at any of four time points (Oostenbroek et al., 2016). The authors of an alternative and statistically liberal post‐hoc analysis of these same data (Meltzoff et al., 2017), however, concluded that the infants actually did imitate one of the nine actions: tongue protrusion. In line with the original intentions of this longitudinal study, we here report on whether individual differences in neonatal ‘imitation' predict later‐developing social cognitive behaviours. We measured a variety of social cognitive behaviours in a subset of the original sample of infants (N = 71) during the first 18 months: object‐directed imitation, joint attention, synchronous imitation, and mirror self‐recognition. Results show that, even using the liberal operationalisation, individual scores for neonatal ‘imitation' of tongue protrusion failed to predict any of the later‐developing social cognitive behaviours. The average Spearman correlation was close to zero, mean rs = .027, 95% CI [‐.020, .075], with all Bonferroni adjusted p values > .999. These results run counter to Meltzoff et al.'s rebuttal, and to the existence of a “like me” mechanism that is foundational to human social cognition.

Sibling analysis of 232 mice: Twins were exposed to either enriched or impoverished environments; enrichment was associated with an increase in the heritability of some personality & cognitive traits

Mouse twins separated when young: A history of exploration doubles the heritability of boldness and differentially affects the heritability of measures of learning. Louis D. Matzel et al. Intelligence, Volume 74, May–June 2019, Pages 34-42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intell.2019.01.005

Highlights
• A sibling analysis of 232 mice assessed the sensitivity of heritability to environmental history
• Twins were exposed to either enriched or impoverished environments
• Learning, physical, and personality traits were all heritable
• Environmental enrichment was associated with an increase in the heritability of some personality and cognitive traits
• Estimates of heritability can be sensitive to manipulation of environmental history

Abstract: Most quantifiable traits exhibit some degree of heritability. The heritability of physical traits is often high, but the heritability of some personality traits and intelligence can also be highly heritable. Importantly, estimates of heritability can change dramatically depending on such variables as the age or the environmental history of the sample from which the estimate is obtained. Interpretation of these changing estimates is complicated in studies of humans, where (based on correlational observations) environmental variables are hard to directly control or specify. Using laboratory mice, here we could control specific environmental variables. We assessed 58 groups of four full sibling male CD-1 genetically heterogeneous mice (n = 232). Using a standard full-sibling analysis, physical characteristics (body weight and brain weight) were highly heritable (h of body weight = 0.66 on a 0–1 scale), while behaviors indicative of a personality trait (exploration/boldness) and learning abilities (in a passive avoidance and egocentric maze task) were weakly-to-moderately heritable. Half of the siblings from each set of four were housed in an “enriched” environment, which provided extensive and varied opportunities for exploration. This enrichment treatment promoted improvements in learning and a shift toward a more bold personality type. Relative to animals in control (“impoverished” environments), the history of enrichment had significant impact on estimates of heritability. In particular, the heritability of behaviors related to the personality trait (exploration/boldness) more than doubled, and a similar increase was observed for learning (in the passive avoidance task). Physical traits (brain and body weight), however, were insensitive to environmental history (where in both environments, animals received the same diet). These results indicate that heritable traits can be responsive to variations in the environment, and moreover, that estimates of heritability of learning and personality traits are strongly influenced by environments that modulate those traits.

Keywords: HeritabilityLearningEnvironmental enrichmentBoldnessBody weightBrain weight

Paternal biobehavioral influence on the family: Preliminary data from the D.A.D.I.O. Project

Paternal biobehavioral influence on the family: Preliminary data from the D.A.D.I.O. Project. Nikki J Clauss, Erin Harrington, Jennifer Byrd-Craven. Human Behavior and Evolution Society 31st annual meeting. Boston 2019. http://tiny.cc/aa1w6y

Abstract: While research on maternal influence on the family unit has increased in recent years, assessment of the paternal influence remains sparse. The goal of this research was to increase our understanding of paternal influence on the biobehavioral dynamics of the family unit. Participants consisted of 40 family units recruited between 28- and 36-weeks’ gestation. Participants completed 6 monthly questionnaires and an in-home visit when the infant was 4 months of age, during which parents and infants completed semistructured interaction tasks and provided saliva samples. Saliva was assayed for testosterone, progesterone, and cortisol. Results revealed that fathers’ testosterone was associated with father-infant synchrony (p = .03), mother-infant synchrony (p = .02), and marginally with partner synchrony (p = .08). Maternal progesterone responses were correlated with father-infant synchrony and marginally with couple satisfaction (p = .08) Finally, Infant cortisol was inversely correlated with alloparental support (p = .003). Together, results suggest that a more muted testosterone response is associated with maternal sensitive responding, that maternal progesterone and paternal testosterone may serve similar functions in the familial context, and that alloparental support facilitates infant HPA response selectivity.

The duty to vote is more widespread than the duty to be informed and almost half of those who say that they have a moral obligation to vote indicate that they do not have a duty to keep informed

Is It a Duty to Vote and to be Informed? André Blais, Carol Galais, Danielle Mayer. Political Studies Review, August 1, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1177/1478929919865467

Abstract: We know that many people feel that they have a duty to vote in elections, but we know little about what other civic duties they believe they ought to fulfill. In this study, we address the question of whether people feel that they have both a duty to vote and to be informed. We use an original Canadian survey which includes questions about whether respondents construe voting and keeping informed as duties or a matter of choice. We find that the duty to vote is more widespread than the duty to be informed and that almost half of those who say that they have a moral obligation to vote indicate that they do not have a duty to keep informed. The better educated are more likely to feel that they have a moral obligation to both vote and keep informed while younger respondents are more prone to reject both duties.

Keywords: civic duty, duty to vote, duty to be informed, choice

The Embryos of Turtles Can Influence Their Own Sexual Destinies Just by Moving Within the Egg

The Embryos of Turtles Can Influence Their Own Sexual Destinies. Yin-Zi Ye et al. Current Biology, August 1 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2019.06.038

Highlights
•    By moving within the egg, a turtle embryo can influence its own sex
•    That ability expands the range of nest conditions producing an equal sex ratio
•    Thermoregulation by embryos should buffer populations against climate change

Summary: Sessile organisms with thermally sensitive developmental trajectories are at high risk from climate change. For example, oviparous reptiles with temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD) may experience strong (potentially disastrous) shifts in offspring sex ratio if reproducing females are unable to predict incubation conditions at the time of oviposition. How then have TSD reptile taxa persisted over previous periods of extreme climatic conditions? An ability of embryos to move within the egg to select optimal thermal regimes could buffer ambient extremes, but the feasibility of behavioral thermoregulation by embryos has come under strong challenge. To test this idea, we measured thermal gradients within eggs in semi-natural nests of a freshwater turtle species with TSD, manipulated embryonic thermoregulatory ability, and modeled the effects of embryonic thermoregulation on offspring sex ratios. Behavioral thermoregulation by embryos accelerated development and influenced offspring sex ratio, expanding the range of ambient conditions under which nests produce equal numbers of male and female offspring. Model projections suggest that sex ratio shifts induced by global warming will be buffered by the ability of embryos to influence their sexual destiny via behavioral thermoregulation.

Nonstate actors (environmentally motivated organizations/individuals, tolerated or even covertly sponsored by states) appear to have increasing power, in part due to new technologies that alter actors’ capacities & incentives

Highly decentralized solar geoengineering. Jesse L. Reynolds & Gernot Wagner. Environmental Politics, Jul 29 2019. https://doi.org/10.1080/09644016.2019.1648169

ABSTRACT: Nonstate actors appear to have increasing power, in part due to new technologies that alter actors’ capacities and incentives. Although solar geoengineering is typically conceived of as centralized and state-deployed, we explore highly decentralized solar geoengineering. Done perhaps through numerous small high-altitude balloons, it could be provided by nonstate actors such as environmentally motivated nongovernmental organizations or individuals. Conceivably tolerated or even covertly sponsored by states, highly decentralized solar geoengineering could move presumed action from the state arena to that of direct intervention by nonstate actors, which could in turn, disrupt international politics and pose novel challenges for technology and environmental policy. We conclude that this method appears technically possible, economically feasible, and potentially politically disruptive. Decentralization could, in principle, make control by states difficult, perhaps even rendering such control prohibitively costly and complex.

KEYWORDS: Climate change, solar geoengineering, solar radiation management, nonstate actors, governance

Univariate analyses of structural neuroimaging data: Sex was identified with a balanced accuracy of 82.6% in cisgender, but only with 67.5% in transgender participants

Sex Matters: A Multivariate Pattern Analysis of Sex- and Gender-Related Neuroanatomical Differences in Cis- and Transgender Individuals Using Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Pia Baldinger-Melich et al. Cerebral Cortex, bhz170, August 1 2019, https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhz170

Abstract: Univariate analyses of structural neuroimaging data have produced heterogeneous results regarding anatomical sex- and gender-related differences. The current study aimed at delineating and cross-validating brain volumetric surrogates of sex and gender by comparing the structural magnetic resonance imaging data of cis- and transgender subjects using multivariate pattern analysis. Gray matter (GM) tissue maps of 29 transgender men, 23 transgender women, 35 cisgender women, and 34 cisgender men were created using voxel-based morphometry and analyzed using support vector classification. Generalizability of the models was estimated using repeated nested cross-validation. For external validation, significant models were applied to hormone-treated transgender subjects (n = 32) and individuals diagnosed with depression (n = 27). Sex was identified with a balanced accuracy (BAC) of 82.6% (false discovery rate [pFDR] < 0.001) in cisgender, but only with 67.5% (pFDR = 0.04) in transgender participants indicating differences in the neuroanatomical patterns associated with sex in transgender despite the major effect of sex on GM volume irrespective of the self-identification as a woman or man. Gender identity and gender incongruence could not be reliably identified (all pFDR > 0.05). The neuroanatomical signature of sex in cisgender did not interact with depressive features (BAC = 74.7%) but was affected by hormone therapy when applied in transgender women (P < 0.001).


Keywords: gender incongruence, gender identity, multivariate pattern analysis, sex differences, structural magnetic resonance imaging.

In this large population‐based study, either a beneficial or no effect of advanced parenthood on child problem behavior was observed

Parental Age and Offspring Childhood Mental Health: A Multi‐Cohort, Population‐Based Investigation. Maria A.J. Zondervan-Zwijnenburg et al. Child Development, July 31 2019, https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13267

Abstract: To examine the contributions of maternal and paternal age on offspring externalizing and internalizing problems, this study analyzed problem behaviors at age 10–12 years from four Dutch population-based cohorts (N = 32,892) by a multiple informant design. Bayesian evidence synthesis was used to combine results across cohorts with 50% of the data analyzed for discovery and 50% for confirmation. There was evidence of a robust negative linear relation between parental age and externalizing problems as reported by parents. In teacher‐reports, this relation was largely explained by parental socio‐economic status. Parental age had limited to no association with internalizing problems. Thus, in this large population‐based study, either a beneficial or no effect of advanced parenthood on child problem behavior was observed.

Since 1995, the mean maternal age at first birth has increased at a rate of .10 years per year in Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development countries, and in 2017 exceeded 30 years in the vast majority of these countries (OECD, 2017). Only in Mexico was the mean age of women at childbirth lower than 28 years, and only in eight countries was it between 28 and 30 years of age. Women's reproductive years generally range from about 15 to 45 years (Te Velde, 2002). Within this wide age range some periods are generally considered more suitable to have children than others, but which parental reproductive ages are optimal for offspring physical and mental health has been a matter of debate ever since individuals have engaged in active birth control. Whereas having children at an advanced age was quite common historically, when families tended to be larger (e.g., Desjardins, Bideau, & Brunet, 1994), the current trend to delay childbearing has given rise to public health concerns.

Concerns Regarding Delayed Childbearing

Concerns regarding delayed childbearing are understandable, as a large number of research reports highlight that increased maternal age at childbirth is associated with several adverse consequences, ranging from physical problems, such as increased Body Mass Index (BMI), blood pressure and height (Carslake, Tynelius, Van den Berg, Davey Smith, & Rasmussen, 2017) to psychiatric conditions, such as autism (Lee & McGrath, 2015; Sandin et al., 2012), bipolar disorder (Menezes, et al., 2010), symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress (Tearne et al., 2016), and poor social functioning (Weiser et al., 2008). More recently, increased paternal age at birth has also been associated with adverse child outcomes, such as stillbirth and cleft palate (see Nybo Andersen & Urhoj, 2017, for a review). In over 40 million live births between 2007 and 2016, having an older father increased the risk of low birthweight, Apgar score, and premature birth (Khandwala et al., 2018). A study of the Danish population, which included 2.8 million persons, found that older fathers are at risk of having offspring with intellectual disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, and schizophrenia (McGrath et al., 2014; see De Kluiver, Buizer‐Voskamp, Dolan, & Boomsma, 2017 for a review).

Several, not mutually exclusive, mechanisms have been proposed to explain the increased physical and mental health risks in offspring of older parents. First, age‐related deterioration of the functioning of women's reproductive organs, such as DNA damage in germ cells, and worse quality of oocytes and placenta, can increase the risk of obstetric and perinatal complications (Myrskylä & Fenelon, 2012). Second, male germline cells undergo cell replication cycles repeatedly during aging, with de novo point mutations accumulating over time (e.g., Jónsson et al., 2017) and the number of de novo mutations in the newborn increasing with higher age of the father at the time of conception (Francioli et al., 2015; Kong et al., 2012). Although weaker than with paternal age, de novo mutations in offspring correlate with maternal age as well (Goldmann et al., 2018; Wong et al., 2016). Third, genomic regions in the male germline may become less methylated with increasing age (Jenkins, Aston, Pflueger, Cairns, & Carrell, 2014) and alter the expression of health‐related genes. Fourth, age effects can be due to selection, with older parents differing from younger ones in characteristics that are relevant for developmental outcomes in their offspring, such as poor social skills. The influence of selection effects can be exacerbated by assortative mating (Gratten et al., 2016). Fifth, being the child of older parents carries the risk of having to cope with parental frailty or losing a parent at a relatively young age (Myrskylä & Fenelon, 2012), and the stress evoked by these experiences may trigger health problems. Most of these mechanisms involve consequences of biological aging. Parenthood at an advanced age is disadvantageous from a biological perspective; except for very young, physiologically immature mothers, younger parents are in a better physical condition.

Possible Benefits of Delayed Childbearing

Whereas the effects of older parental age on children's physical health and psychiatric disorders tend to be predominantly negative, the effects of older parental age on mental health problems with a stronger psychosocial component, such as externalizing and internalizing problems, tend to be more inconsistent. An indication that the negative consequences of high parental age may stretch beyond clinical diagnosis is provided by Tearne et al. (2015, 2016), who found that high maternal age predicted symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress in daughters, and by Janecka, Haworth, et al. (2017) who reported a negative association between advanced paternal age and social development. In contrast, in several population‐based studies, offspring of older parents, particularly of older mothers, perform better at school and work, score higher on intelligence tests, report better health and higher well‐being, use fewer drugs, and have fewer behavioral and emotional problems than offspring of younger parents (e.g., Carslake et al., 2017; McGrath et al., 2014; Myrskylä & Fenelon, 2012; Myrskylä, Barclay & Goisis, 2017; Orlebeke, Knol, Boomsma, & Verhulst, 1998; Tearne et al., 2015).

While the biology of aging seems to put older parents in an unfavorable position with regard to their offspring's physical and mental health, these contradictory effects of parental age on offspring mental health outcomes might be explained by a psychosocial perspective. Being a child of older parents can have substantial benefits (Lawlor, Mortensen, & Andersen, 2011), as older parents not only are often in a better socioeconomic position than young parents (Bray, Gunnell, & Davey Smith, 2006), thereby providing a more favorable environment for children, they also have greater life experience. Furthermore, older parents display more hardiness (McMahon, Gibson, Allen, & Saunders, 2007) and tend to have less substance use and fewer mental health problems (Kiernan, 1997), hence score higher on parenting factors that promote health and development (Janecka, Rijsdijk, et al., 2017; Kiernan, 1997). In part, positive associations of advanced parental age could be related to selection effects. In young people, substance abuse and related externalizing problems go together with earlier sexual activity (Crockett, Bingham, Chopak, & Vicary, 1996), which increases the probability that intergenerational transmission of externalizing problems occurs at an early parental age (Bailey, Hill, Oesterle, & Hawkins, 2009). Like age‐related parental characteristics that may have negative effects on offspring outcomes, the influence of such selection effects can be exacerbated by assortative mating (Gratten et al., 2016).

In sum, whereas advanced parenthood, particularly advanced paternal age, has primarily been associated with physical health and neurodevelopmental outcomes, such as autism and schizophrenia, advanced parenthood, particularly advanced maternal age, rather seems to predict mental health problems with a stronger psychosocial component, such as externalizing problems. Although it seems plausible that parental age interferes with subclinical problems and traits underlying these conditions, comprehensive evidence from population‐based cohorts is scarce and inconsistent, and more empirical evidence is desirable. Moreover, prior population‐based studies that used continuous measures of mental health problems usually focused on cognitive or behavioral problems (e.g., Carslake et al., 2017; Orlebeke et al., 1998) and, with a few exceptions that require replication in other cohorts (Janecka, Haworth, et al., 2017; Tearne et al., 2015, 2016), rarely included internalizing problems. A final reason to extend the research conducted thus far with this study is the wide variety of populations, designs, and outcomes used, which makes it hard to distinguish between substantive variation in association patterns and sample‐specific artefacts. In short, there is a need for studies that investigate both maternal and paternal age effects on continuously assessed core dimensions of offspring mental health (including internalizing problems) and that use robust analytical methods are suitable for the investigation of increased risk for both young and old parenthood.

Clearance rates for murder & other serious crimes have declined significantly for almost 60 years despite significant technological improvements in police investigations; the reasons are not well understood

Rethinking criminal investigations. John E. Eck, D. Kim Rossmo. Criminology &Public Policy, July 31 2019. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12450

Research Summary: The clearance rates for murder and other serious crimes have declined significantly for almost 60 years despite significant technological improvements in police investigations. The reasons for this are not well understood. We argue here for rethinking why, what, and how police investigators operate so as to repurpose their work for reducing crime. These changes include improved thinking by detectives to reduce investigative errors, increased focus on patterns of crimes, and better use of detective expertise in crime prevention.

Policy Implications: First, police should work to reduce investigative failures by improving investigative thinking. Second, tinkering with the administrative practices of investigative units seems unlikely to produce significant results. Third, police agencies should engage detectives in crime prevention. Finally, police agencies should connect investigations to problem solving.

The 2015 Volkswagen emissions scandal: A natural experiment to provide evidence that collective reputation externalities matter for firms; it reduced the U.S. sales of the other German auto manufacturers

Firms and Collective Reputation: a Study of the Volkswagen Emissions Scandal. Ruediger Bachmann, Gabriel Ehrlich, Ying Fan, Dimitrije Ruzic. NBER Working Paper No. 26117, July 2019. https://www.nber.org/papers/w26117

Abstract: This paper uses the 2015 Volkswagen emissions scandal as a natural experiment to provide evidence that collective reputation externalities matter for firms. We find that the Volkswagen scandal reduced the U.S. sales of the other German auto manufacturers—BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Smart—by about 105,000 vehicles worth $5.2 billion. The decline was principally driven by an adverse reputation spillover, which was reinforced by consumer substitution away from diesel vehicles and was partially offset by substitution away from Volkswagen. These estimates come from a model of vehicle demand, the conclusions of which are also consistent with difference-in-differences estimates. We provide direct evidence on internet search behavior and consumer sentiment displayed on social media to support our interpretation that the estimates reflect a reputation spillover.

Gossipers who punish social norm violators are evaluated positively

Gossipers who punish social norm violators are evaluated positively. Mark D. Cloud, Melinda M. Funk, Jaime M. Cloud. Human Behavior and Evolution Society 31st annual meeting. Boston 2019. http://tiny.cc/aa1w6y

Abstract: Studies have shown that about 65% of human conversation is occupied by gossip. Although gossipers often are scorned, Wilson et al. (2000) predicted and found that gossipers are evaluated positively if the gossip, in response to a social norm violation, is third-party punishing rather than self-serving. In this systematic replication, we expected to find similar results recruiting participants with a broader range of backgrounds. We also added a potential moderating variable – individual differences in tendency to gossip. Using TurkPrime across two experiments, we recruited 266 participants (M age = 40.17; 53% female). For both experiments, participants read different versions of a scenario involving a social-norm violation (e.g., cattle breaking a neighbor’s fence) in which a gossiper either responded in a group-serving or selfserving manner. Subsequently, participants rated their feelings toward the gossiper and completed a tendency to gossip questionnaire. We replicated the effects found by Wilson et al. (2000) in which group-serving gossipers were evaluated positively and self-serving gossipers were evaluated negatively and further found evidence for the interactive effects of tendency to gossip and participant age on those evaluations. These findings are consistent with the notion that gossip often serves as a form of third-party punishment.

Incidence & causes of human error as a source of adverse events associated with surgical care: 56.4% adverse events were due to human error, of which cognitive error accounted for 51%

Analysis of Human Performance Deficiencies Associated With Surgical Adverse Events. James W. Suliburk et al. JAMA Netw Open. 2019;2(7):e198067, July 31, 2019, doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.8067

Key Points
Question  What are the incidence and causes of human error as a source of adverse events associated with surgical care?

Findings  In a quality improvement study including 5365 operations, 188 adverse events were recorded. Of these, 106 adverse events (56.4%) were due to human error, of which cognitive error accounted for 99 of 192 human performance deficiencies (51.6%).

Meaning  Current systems-based approaches to improve surgical safety should be supplemented with additional focus on cognitive errors associated with surgical care.


Abstract
Importance  Potentially preventable adverse events remain a formidable cause of patient harm and health care expenditure despite advances in systems-based risk-reduction strategies.

Objective  To analyze and describe the incidence of human performance deficiencies (HPDs) during the provision of surgical care to identify opportunities to enhance patient safety.

Design, Setting, and Participants  This quality improvement study used a new taxonomy to inform the development and implementation of an HPD classifier tool to categorize HPDs into errors associated with cognitive, technical, and team dynamic functions. The HPD classifier tool was then used to concurrently analyze surgical adverse events in 3 adult hospital affiliates—a level I municipal trauma center, a quaternary care university hospital, and a US Veterans Administration hospital—from January 2, 2018, to June 30, 2018. Surgical trainees presented data describing all adverse events associated with surgical services at weekly hospital-based morbidity and mortality conferences. Adverse events and HPDs were classified in discussion with attending faculty and residents. Data were analyzed from July 9, 2018, to December 23, 2018.

Main Outcomes and Measures  The incidence and primary and secondary causes of HPDs were classified using an HPD classifier tool.

Results  A total of 188 adverse events were recorded, including 182 adverse events (96.8%) among 5365 patients who underwent surgical operations and 6 adverse events (3.2%) among patients undergoing nonoperative treatment. Among these 188 adverse events, 106 (56.4%) were associated with HPDs. Among these 106 HPD adverse events, a total of 192 HPDs (mean [SD], 1.8 [0.9] HPDs per HPD event) were identified. Human performance deficiencies were categorized as execution (98 HPDs [51.0%]), planning or problem solving (55 HPDs [28.6%]), communication (24 HPDs [12.5%]), teamwork (9 HPDs [4.7%]), and rules violation (6 HPDs [3.1%]). Human performance deficiencies most commonly presented as cognitive errors in execution of care or in case planning or problem solving (99 of 192 HPDs [51.6%]). In contrast, technical execution errors without other associated HPDs were observed in 20 of 192 HPDs (10.4%).

Conclusions and Relevance  Human performance deficiencies were identified in more than half of adverse events, most commonly associated with cognitive error in the execution of care. These data provide a framework and impetus for new quality improvement initiatives incorporating cognitive training to mitigate human error in surgery.


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Discussion

This study found that HPDs, or human error, were identifiable in more than half of the complications occurring in major cardiothoracic, vascular, abdominal transplant, surgical oncology, acute care, or general surgical operations performed at 3 large institutions in a major academic medical center. Given that we and others report a current surgical adverse event rate of nearly 5%,^12-15,17 our data suggest that more than 400 000 potentially preventable adverse events associated with HPDs occur among the nearly 17 million inpatient and ambulatory operative procedures performed in the United States annually.²⁰

Similarities between adverse event rates in our study compared with previous studies suggest that human error remains a significant unresolved cause of adverse events in health care delivery.^4-9,13-18 Specifically, compared with our currently reported adverse event rate of 3%, prior studies conducted as early as 2000^{7,15,17,21-30} reporting a preventable or human error event rate ranging from approximately 3% to 4% support the need for interventions beyond current systems-based strategies if we are to achieve Six Sigma safety levels.

In our current analysis, cognitive error (ie, HPD class I.A.3 and class II.A-C) was the most common specific form of HPD, classified in 99 (52%) of 192 HPDs. More specifically, cognitive error was classified in 29 of 53 isolated HPD events (55%) and 70 of 139 clustered HPD events (50%). It is interesting that lack of recognition was the most prevalent cognitive error and was classified in 19% of the HPD subclassifications, potentially reflecting the paradox that the most common dangers to patient safety are those that are initially unrecognized. This paradox raises important challenges for cognitive training.

Cognitive error was likewise the most common primary cause of adverse events in clustered HPD events, being classified as such in 31 of 53 clustered HPD events (58%). Cognitive error was a potentially preventable primary cause of adverse events in 35% of technical error HPD events. In comparison, technical errors occurring in isolation were classified in only 10% of HPD events, and systems-based (class I.A.1, class I.B, and class III), communications (class IV), or teamwork (class V) HPDs; together represented only 26% of HPD events. These findings suggest the dominant role of cognitive error as a root cause of surgical adverse events, even those that would appear to be technical rather than cognitive in nature.

Considering the relative frequency of HPD types found in our study, the prevalence of cognitive error as the most frequent isolated HPD associated with adverse events may reflect the potency of cognitive error in being able to overwhelm other potential barriers to adverse events, consistent with the Swiss cheese model of the multifactorial causality of human error by Reason.³¹ In comparison, the frequency with which cognitive error was associated with other HPDs (100 of 192 HPDs [52%]) may also reflect the snowballing effect of HPDs, as suggested by Mold and Stein³² and Woolf et al.³³

Two specific examples from our HPD analysis further highlight the potentially unrecognized role that cognitive error can also play in surgical adverse outcomes. In one case, we found that a significant technical error in a surgeon’s performance of an operation was likely precipitated by the initially unappreciated influence of the surgeon’s distraction by an outside telephone call in the operating room. The identification of distraction (ie, class II.B, lack of attention) converts an otherwise challenging technical training goal into an opportunity for behavioral training to reset following intraoperative distractions.

In a second case, a stylus that was inadvertently retained postoperatively was clearly visible but repeatedly unrecognized by radiologists in their reports prior to the patient developing a life-threatening adverse reaction. Standard event analyses would likely ascribe this outcome to clinician inattention, but we were able to further resolve this to confirmation bias (class I.A.3): the clinician dismissed their own concerns because they were not validated in official radiology reports. Like the first example, this HPD subanalysis would allow a cognitive training opportunity to teach clinicians to avoid losing their situational awareness to the convenience of alternative data.

Systems-based approaches (eg, no telephone calls in the operating room, catheter placement checklist) represent standard remedies to these HPD scenarios. However, the effectiveness of these strategies is becoming impaired by a growing checklist burnout syndrome.^{12,14,21-24,34} The option of cognitive training for health care practitioners as practiced in the aviation industry¹⁹ also fits with Swiss cheese model by Reason³¹ of multilayered human error safeguards.^10,32,35,36 As noted by Gruen et al, “protocols alone are insufficient to consistently change behavior.”¹⁵

Choosy Gulf pipefish males ignore age but prefer active females with deeply keeled bodies (choose by body depth and display); ornamentation has no effect

Choosy Gulf pipefish males ignore age but prefer active females with deeply keeled bodies. Andrew P. Anderson, Adam G. Jones. Animal Behaviour, Volume 155, September 2019, Pages 37-44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.05.018

Highlights

• We investigated factors influencing male choice in S. scovelli.
• Males chose females based on body depth and display rather than ornamentation.
• Female ornamentation was correlated with female body size, fecundity and courtship.
• Female age did not affect mate choice, female fecundity, ornamentation or courtship.
• Faster growth in females had no impact on any of the tested traits.

Abstract: Within Syngnathidae (pipefish, seadragons and seahorses), male pregnancy often results in choosy males and competitive females. Females in these species often evolve secondary sexual traits and engage in courtship displays that make their ornaments more noticeable to males. Most syngnathids probably continue to grow larger throughout their lives, but we know little about the relationship between age and mating competition in these taxa. Here, we use the Gulf pipefish, Syngnathus scovelli, to investigate the roles of ornament size, courtship activity level, age and fecundity in female mating competition. We conducted male choice trials that allowed males to choose between similarly sized females of different ages. We also measured age and size at maturity. We found that females with larger ornaments were deeper bodied and engaged in longer courtship displays, yet males chose females based on body depth and display rather than ornamentation. This result suggests that ornamentation serves to help males assess female quality. Female age plays no role in male choice or in female ornamentation. Our finding that males care more about female phenotype than female age considerably simplifies the interpretation of mating patterns in natural populations of Gulf pipefish, which are characterized by considerable age structure.
Keywords: agemate choicesex-role reversalsyngnathid

Personality similarity associated with formation and maintenance of male social bonds in macaques; males did not adapt their personality to their partners.

Personality homophily affects male social bonding in wild Assamese macaques, Macaca assamensis. Anja Ebenau et al. Animal Behaviour, Volume 155, September 2019, Pages 21-35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.05.020

Highlights
• Personality similarity associated with formation and maintenance of male social bonds.
• Dyadic bond strength increased with increased similarity in Gregariousness dimension.
• Gregariousness remained stable in migrating males that had to form new bonds.
• Males did not adapt their personality to their partners.

Abstract: Animal social bonds are defined as stable, equitable and strong affiliative and cooperative relationships similar to human friendships. Just as with human friendships, social bonds are thought to function as alliances that generate adaptive benefits via support in critical situations. In humans, similarity in many sociodemographic, behavioural and intrapersonal characteristics leads to trust and is predictive of friendships. Specifically, personality homophily (that is, the tendency of individuals to form social bonds with others who have a similar personality) may increase predictability and facilitate trust and reciprocity between partners with compatible behavioural tendencies. While evidence for social bonding in animals is accumulating, far less is known about its predictors. Here, personality homophily effects on the formation and maintenance of social bonds are shown in 24 wild male Assamese macaques at Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand. Dyadic bond strength increased with increased similarity in the trait Gregariousness (i.e. frequent and diverse neighbours within 5 m and pronounced social tolerance, as shown by high rates of friendly approaches to and by others). To differentiate whether homophily indeed predicted bond formation or whether bonded males’ personalities became more similar over time, we tested the stability of the Gregariousness traits in a subset of immigrating males that had to form new bonds. Gregariousness in these males remained stable, suggesting that males do not adapt their personality to their partner. Our results support the idea of a shared evolutionary origin of homophily as a partner choice strategy in human and nonhuman animals. The main selective advantage of personality similarity in animal social bonds may result from a more reliable cooperation between individuals with similar cooperative behavioural tendencies.

Keywords: animal social bondAssamese macaqueshomophilyhuman friendshippartner choicepersonality

Even though chili peppers can elicit aversive oral burn and pain, cues of foods containing chili recruit brain circuits underlying cue reactivity and craving for drug and natural rewards

Extreme spicy food cravers displayed increased brain activity in response to pictures of foods containing chili peppers: An fMRI study. Yizhou Zhou et al. Appetite, July 31 2019, 104379. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2019.104379

Abstract: In China, the rate of spicy food consumption is rising, and chili pepper is among the most popular spicy foods consumed nationwide. Therefore, investigation into spicy food craving is of public health interest and can also provide better insights into the mechanisms that underlie food cravings more generally. This exploratory study aimed to determine neural circuits underlying spicy food craving by comparing brain response to the cues of foods containing chili peppers in extreme cravers and non-cravers defined by scores on the Spicy Food Craving Questionnaire. A group of extreme cravers (n = 25) and a group of age- and sex-matched non-cravers (n = 26) participated in an fMRI event-related cue-reactivity paradigm, during which pictures of foods with visible chili peppers and pictures of foods with no chili peppers were presented. Results showed that extreme spicy food cravers exhibited increased activation in bilateral insula, left putamen, left dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, right inferior parietal lobule, right lingual gyrus, bilateral cuneus, left precuneus, left fusiform gyrus, and right precentral gyrus compared to non-cravers when exposed to the cues of foods containing chili versus foods without chili. While we did not observe the differential activation of orbitofrontal cortex and amygdala of this contrast in extreme cravers compared to non-cravers. Changes in beta values within the right insula, left putamen, left dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and left precuneus were positively associated with subjective spicy food craving during the scan among extreme cravers. In addition, changes in beta values within right inferior parietal lobule was significantly correlated with the frequency of spicy food intake among extreme cravers. These results align with prior work suggesting that the dorsal striatum, the anterior cingulate cortex and the insula underlie food craving.

Keywords: Spicy food cravingCue-reactivityfMRIInsulaStriatumAnterior cingulate cortex

This speaks against the idea that worldview defense following mortality salience occurs because mortality salience produces higher physiological arousal

Effects of mortality salience on physiological arousal. Johannes Klackl and Eva Jonas. Front. Psychol., Jul 2019, doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01893

Abstract: Making the inevitability of mortality salient makes people more defensive about their self-esteem and worldviews. Theoretical arguments and empirical evidence point to a mediating role of arousal in this defensive process, but evidence from physiological measurement studies is scarce and inconclusive. The present study seeks to draw a comprehensive picture of how physiological arousal develops over time in the mortality salience paradigm, and whether contemplating one’s mortality actually elicits more physiological arousal than reflecting on a death-unrelated aversive control topic. In a between-subjects design, participants were asked two open questions about their mortality or about dental pain. Cardiac, respiratory, and electrodermal indicators of arousal were measured both as participants provided written answers to the questions, and during a series of resting intervals surrounding the questions. A Bayes factor analysis indicated support for the hypothesis that the mortality salience paradigm increases physiological arousal, both while answering the two open-ended questions and afterwards. Regarding the mortality salience versus dental pain comparison, the null hypothesis of no difference was supported for most analysis segments and signals. The results indicate that the arousal elicited by mortality salience is not different from that elicited by dental pain salience. This speaks against the idea that worldview defense following mortality salience occurs because mortality salience produces higher physiological arousal. Of course, this finding does not rule the importance of other forms of arousal (i.e., subjective arousal) for mortality salience effects.

Assisted childbirth, due to high mortality, is ubiquitous; this feature likely played a critical role in shaping human sociality & may have been mediated by women’s ability to detect & respond to the hormonal status of other women

The role of oxytocin in social support during pregnancy. Citlally Contreras, Elizabeth Pillsworth. Human Behavior and Evolution Society 31st annual meeting. Boston 2019. http://tiny.cc/aa1w6y

Abstract: Childbirth poses an exceptionally high mortality risk for human females compared to non-human primates. Assisted childbirth is, therefore, a ubiquitous feature of human populations, with assistance most often provided by other women. We propose that this feature likely played a critical role in shaping human sociality and may have been mediated by women’s ability to detect and respond to the hormonal status of other women. To test this hypothesis, we designed a pilot study in which we measured oxytocin response in pregnant and non-pregnant women. Participants were nine pregnant women, six paired with a close female friend and three paired with a female stranger. Participants provided information about their reproductive histories, social networks, their relationships with their study partner, and their current pregnancy, and participated in a childbirth education class practicing birth positions and support. Oxytocin was measured in saliva, obtained from all participants at four times during the study. Results suggest that while both pregnant and non-pregnant women exhibited an increase in oxytocin levels, the greatest increase was observed among pregnant women participating with a close friend. These results will be discussed in conjunction with a survey study assessing the role of close female relationships on pregnancy, health, and experience.

Researchers have long theorized about the function of self‐esteem; could be a monitor of fundamental psychological need satisfaction

Self‐esteem as a monitor of fundamental psychological need satisfaction. Jennifer L. Howell, Nicholas Sosa, Hannah J. Osborn. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, July 30 2019. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12492

Abstract: Researchers have long theorized about the function of self‐esteem. Theories such as sociometer, terror management, and self‐determination have each received substantial empirical support, but all purport a different function of self‐esteem. Despite each theory's persuasiveness, they are sometimes at odds, and there remains no clear consensus regarding the function of self‐esteem. In the present paper, we propose the notion that self‐esteem monitors the meeting of multiple fundamental psychological needs, a theory we call the Need‐Satisfaction Framework of self‐esteem. We outline existing empirical support for our theory in the context of three well‐documented fundamental needs: belonging, self‐determination (i.e.,autonomy and competence), and meaning. Across all three needs, we review converging evidence supporting two hypotheses for self‐esteem's need‐monitoring function: (1) threats to needs lower self‐esteem and (2) high self‐esteem buffers defensive responses to need threats. We expand on established theoretical and empirical work in the domain of self‐esteem and also discuss testable future hypotheses.

Free will as a process of generative self-construction, by which an iterative search process samples from experience in an adaptively exploratory fashion, allowing the agent to explore itself in the construction of alternative futures

Neurocognitive free will. Thomas T. Hills. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Volume 286, Issue 1908. July 31 2019. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.0510

Abstract: Free will is an apparent paradox because it requires a historical identity to escape its history in a self-guided fashion. Philosophers have itemized design features necessary for this escape, scaling from action to agency and vice versa. These can be organized into a coherent framework that neurocognitive capacities provide and that form a basis for neurocognitive free will. These capacities include (1) adaptive access to unpredictability, (2) tuning of this unpredictability in the service of hierarchical goal structures, (3) goal-directed deliberation via search over internal cognitive representations, and (4) a role for conscious construction of the self in the generation and choice of alternatives. This frames free will as a process of generative self-construction, by which an iterative search process samples from experience in an adaptively exploratory fashion, allowing the agent to explore itself in the construction of alternative futures. This provides an explanation of how effortful conscious control modulates adaptive access to unpredictability and resolves one of free will's key conceptual problems: how randomness is used in the service of the will. The implications provide a contemporary neurocognitive grounding to compatibilist and libertarian positions on free will, and demonstrate how neurocognitive understanding can contribute to this debate by presenting free will as an interaction between our freedom and our will.

1. Introduction

Free will can be defined as the ability to be free from one's past and yet to simultaneously act in accordance with one's will. This is an apparent paradox because it requires that free will be an ahistorical process governed by a historical identity. The goal of this article is to show that by grounding the design features of free will called for by philosophers in a contemporary understanding of neurocognitive capacities we can resolve this paradox and understand how free will could work in a neurocognitive system.

The design features of free will have been proposed by two primary philosophical camps: the compatibilists—who hold that free will is compatible with a deterministic universe—and the libertarians—who hold that free will is compatible with an indeterministic universe. The classical compatibilists (such as Hobbes, Locke, Leibniz, Mill and Hume) claim that an agent has free will if it could have done otherwise. The neo-compatibilists (such as Frankfurt, Watson and Bratman) claim that an agent has free will when lower-order desires are aligned with higher-order desires, sometimes called ‘wanting what you want’, which invokes a hierarchy of wants and volitions that some argue presupposes a wanting ‘self’. The libertarians (such as Descartes and Kant) claim that an agent has free will if this conscious self can rationally escape the causal certainties of determinism [1,2].

Discussions of free will have thus far failed to describe how these requirements could be met by a neurocognitive system. This has hampered progress on understanding how free will could work and enfeebled our understanding of ourselves at the same time. As a result, many have provocatively claimed that free will is an illusion because unconscious neural activity at least sometimes precedes or influences conscious activity [3–5]. If consciousness is bypassed in the decision-making process then the worry is ‘that the causal chain leading up to our actions bypasses the self’ [6], eliminating the kind of free will that many people want [7,8]. Indeed, many of these provocative claims point to unconscious ‘bottom-up’ control and use it to argue that a system has no conscious ‘top-down’ control (for a variety of arguments on both sides see [4,9–13]).

However, without an explanation of how a biological system could satisfy the design features of free will, we risk logical fallacies based on mistaking parts of the system for the whole. To overcome this, we first need to understand how free will could work as a set of neurocognitive processes. We can then assess free will in relation to an operationalized architecture that is grounded in biological reality—treating free will as a quantitative trait [14,15].

Before getting to the design features, it is useful to first define what I mean by conscious control as we will revisit this idea throughout. Conscious control processes are effortful, they focus attention in the face of interference, they experience information in a serial format (one thing at a time), they can generate solutions that are not hard-wired, and they operate over a constrained cognitive workspace—working memory—to which ‘we’ have access and can later report on as a component of conscious awareness [16–20]. When additional tasks are added to consciously effortful tasks performance suffers. Effortful processes sit in contrast to automatic processes, which are fast and parallel, and do not require conscious awareness. Effortful tasks can be made automatic through repetition (like reading and driving [21]) and when they become automatic they suffer less from the addition of a secondary task. Effortful and automatic processes are typically thought to sit at opposite ends of a continuum and the evidence provided below shows that they can influence one another.

The relationship between effortful processing (sometimes called executive processing) and conscious control is well documented (e.g. [16,18,22]). If we identify effortful consciousness with the self and this effortful self plays a role in satisfying the design features of free will discussed in further detail below, then what people mean by and want from free will are satisfied by our neurocognitive capacities.

The more controlling and invested the women were, the more they engaged in mate guarding overall as well as confronted rivals, publicized their relationship, escorted their partner, used covert tactics, monopolized, & were aggressive

Validity of the mate guarding scale in women. Alita J. Cousins, Lauren E. Beverage, Madeleine A. Fugere. Human Behavior and Evolution Society 31st annual meeting. Boston 2019. http://tiny.cc/aa1w6y

Abstract: Mate guarding encompasses a variety of tactics including keeping partners committed, eliminating competitors, and keeping partners from leaving the relationship (Buss, 2002). Few scales exist that assess mate guarding and of those scales, the psychometric properties are mostly unknown. The current study set out to assess the psychometric properties of the Mate Guarding Scale. Previous analyses showed that the Mate Guarding Scale has six subscales: confronting rivals, publicizing the relationship, escorting partner, covert tactics, monopolization, and aggression. We collected data online from 1069 women. Results show that women who reported more overall mate guarding towards their partner had in turn been mate guarded more by their partner, were more invested and controlling in their relationship, and felt their relationship had more costs. Results showed that the more controlling and invested the women were, the more they engaged in mate guarding overall as well as confronted rivals, publicized their relationship, escorted their partner, used covert tactics, monopolized, and were aggressive. Women who resisted mate guarding, measured with the Resistance Behavior scale, engaged in more mate guarding overall, confronted rivals, escorted their partner, used covert tactics, monopolized, and were aggressive. These analyses show that Mate Guarding Scale has high validity.