CEO types: “Leaders,” who do multifunction, high-level meetings, & “managers,” who do individual meetings with core functions; firms that hire leaders perform better (it takes 3 years to see the difference)

Oriana Bandiera, Andrea Prat, Stephen Hansen, and Raffaella Sadun, "CEO Behavior and Firm Performance," Journal of Political Economy 0, no. 0 (-Not available-): 000. Feb 2020. https://doi.org/10.1086/705331

Abstract: We develop a new method to measure CEO behavior in large samples via a survey that collects high-frequency, high-dimensional diary data and a machine learning algorithm that estimates behavioral types. Applying this method to 1,114 CEOs in six countries reveals two types: “leaders,” who do multifunction, high-level meetings, and “managers,” who do individual meetings with core functions. Firms that hire leaders perform better, and it takes three years for a new CEO to make a difference. Structural estimates indicate that productivity differentials are due to mismatches rather than to leaders being better for all firms.

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From a 2017 version (https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=55632):
Conclusions
This paper combines a new survey methodology with a machine learning algorithm to measure the behavior of CEOs in large samples. We show that CEOs di↵er in their behavior along several dimensions, and that the data can be reduced to a summary CEO index which distinguishes between “managers” –i.e. CEOs that are primarily involved with production-related activities– and leaders -i.e. CEOs that are primarily involved in communication and coordination activities.

Guided by a simple firm-CEO assignment model, we show that there is no “best practice” in
CEO behavior—that is, a behavior that is optimal for all the firms—rather, there is evidence of
horizontal di↵erentiation in CEO behavior, and significant frictions in the assignment of CEOs to firms. In our sample of manufacturing firms across six countries we estimate that 17% of firm-CEO pairs are misassigned and that misassignments are found in all regions but are more frequent in emerging economies. The consequences for productivity are large: the implied productivity loss due to di↵erential misassignment is equal to 13% of the labor productivity gap between firms in high- and middle/low-income countries in our sample.

This paper shows that an under explored dimension of managerial activity–that is, how CEOs
spend their time–is both heterogeneous across managers and firms, and correlated with firm performance. Future work could utilize our data and methodology to inform new leadership models, which incorporate more explicitly the drivers and consequences of di↵erences in CEO behavior, and in particular explore the underlying firm-CEO matching function, which is not dealt with explicitly in the current paper. Furthermore, a possible next step of this research would be to extend the data collection to the diaries of multiple managerial figures beyond the CEO. This approach would allow us to further explore whether and how managerial interactions and team behavior vary across firms and correlate with firm performance (Hambrick and Mason, 1984). These aspects of managerial behavior, which are now largely absent from our analysis, are considered to be increasingly important in the labor market (Deming (2015)), but have so far been largely unexplored from an empirical perspective. We leave these topics for further research.

Himba men prioritize mate fidelity and current reproductive partners in investment decisions, but social obligations to past and current partners and the presence of other male investors also influence decisions

Paternity confidence and social obligations explain men's allocations to romantic partners in an experimental giving game. Brooke A.Scelza, Sean P. Prall, Kathrine Starkweather. Evolution and Human Behavior, Volume 41, Issue 1, January 2020, Pages 96-103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2019.10.007

Abstract: Paternal care in humans is facultative, with investment decisions responsive to socioecological context. In particular, paternity confidence is thought to have a significant impact on men's provisioning. However, various aspects of the relationship a man has with his partner can also influence the way he provides for his children. Previous papers have tended to focus either on these kinds of relationship dynamics or on the impact of paternity confidence. However, these categories are often intertwined and parsing their contributions can be conceptually and methodologically difficult. To better understand how paternity confidence and relationship dynamics impact men's investment decisions, we used a series of pictorial vignettes to assess the resource allocation strategies of Himba men. We focus on three traits: mate fidelity, partner type (marital or non-marital), and relationship status (current or former). Results suggest that men prioritize mate fidelity and current reproductive partners in investment decisions, but social obligations to past and current partners and the presence of other male investors also influence decisions. Himba men appear to be balancing social norms related to marriage and fatherhood with individually-driven incentives to invest in current and more faithful partners.

4. Discussion

Our results show strong evidence for our primary predictions, which are derived from life history theory, and which are fairly intuitive. Fig. 3 demonstrates this most clearly. All else equal, men favor more faithful partners (rows 1, 10, 15), partners they have formal unions with (2, 7) and, to a lesser extent, current partners (4, 9, 11, 14). Our secondary predictions, which bring these factors together into a series of potential strategies, show greatest support for the paternal investment hypothesis, as partners with omoka children are consistently short-changed in the allocations, and the social obligation hypothesis, as wives are strongly favored over other types of partners (Fig. 1, Panel D). The best fitting model included all three primary factors: partner fidelity, relationship type and relationship status, providing additional evidence that men are employing a mixed-strategy. These experimental results emphasizing a mixed strategy are aligned with behavioral data on Himba paternal investment (Prall and Scelza, 2016). Measures of children's nutritional status, fosterage status and livestock transfers show some titration of investment toward children men believe to be omoka, but these occur largely when investments occur in the more private household domain. When investments occur in more public domains, social obligations to wives and marital offspring lead men to treat biological and non-biological children more equally.

[Fig. 3. Posterior predictions of differences between categories from the best fit model predicting food allocation. Each distribution represents the difference between the two types of women, so that distributions to the right of zero indicate the first woman listed is predicted to receive more food gifts.] 

The best fitting model shows that overall girlfriends and ex-wives are treated relatively equally (Fig. 1, Panel D), but this finding masks some of the interesting variation that occurs in distributions to these two partner types (Fig. 3). In the two cases where omoka status differs between girlfriends and ex-wives (rows 12 and 13), men allocate substantially more to the partner with his biological child. Paternal investment appears to be a greater motivator than either social obligations or mating effort. Similarly, when the child is not omoka in both cases, distributions to girlfriends and ex-wives are indistinguishable (row 11). Where we see a breakdown is in the scenario where both children are omoka. Here we see men favor girlfriends over ex-wives, suggesting some support for mating effort over social obligation (row 14).

The second part of our study was designed to understand whether men are titrating their allocations dependent on whether another partner (and potential provider) is present. Men's allocations to girlfriends fit this pattern, with substantially greater giving to girlfriends who are unmarried than to those who are married. There are several explanations that could account for these results, other than the need-based explanation we are positing. Men could give less to women with other partners as a form of punishment for their infidelity. Women without other partners may also be more likely to father a man's next child, so that giving more to her represents mating effort. Our data do not allow us to test between these explanations. However, opportunistic quotes recorded during the interview process invoking differential need were frequent among our participants. In a typical iteration, one man stated, “This woman has a husband. I will help this one because she doesn't have a husband and needs support.” Therefore, we conclude that need-based considerations are likely to be one important factor in men's decision-making.

A slightly different pattern emerges in Task 2B where men made allocations across wives. Those without boyfriends still received more than those with boyfriends, but the results were less consistent. Men were much more likely to distribute resources evenly across wives than across girlfriends. In the two categories where men were distributing an even number of items (for food and clinic fees) they divided them equally between wives, 40% and 81% of the time respectively, compared to only 19% and 42% of the time with girlfriends. One man reported, “I think of them as my co-wives. You have to treat them equally so that they don't get jealous and one doesn't think that I don't like her.” In the third iteration of Task 2, men were forced to make an unequal distribution. Unlike with girlfriends, where this did not pose a problem, some men were very resistant to making a choice between their wives, with one commenting “I would cut that goat in half” rather than have to choose. This again speaks to the complex interaction of factors affecting men's strategies. Social obligation may dictate that men should treat their wives (relatively) equally, but men may also be hedging their bets, keeping both wives happy may increase their overall chance of paternity in future children.

We also surmise that need was not driving men's choices in the wife scenario to the same degree that it was with informal partners. Opportunistic comments did not stress support from another partner in the way they did in the girlfriend comparison. This may be due to the difference in obligatory provisioning that exists between formal and informal partners. While a man is obligated to provide for his wives, giving to girlfriends is voluntary. Previously, our work showed that for this reason, women had a stronger preference for generosity in boyfriends, whereas in husbands, wealth mattered more (Scelza & Prall, 2018). Here we see that men bias their giving to girlfriends based on need, but factoring in the gifts of others to their wives seems secondary to concerns about keeping the peace at home and treating wives equally.

4.1. Limitations and future directions

The experimental approach used here provides some insight as to how Himba men make decisions about allocating resources across partners of different types. While the high rates of concurrency and nonpaternity in this population mean that most men encounter these types of decisions at some point in their lives, rarely would they encounter all of them at once, highlighting an advantage of the vignette approach. However, as with all studies that use hypothetical allocations, these data may not reflect the ways that men divvy up real resources, but rather how they view social expectations to allocate resources. In response to this, many economic games use cash and follow through with distributions as promised in the game; however, this approach was not feasible here. Despite this limitation, we found that the men in our study understood the complexity of the problem before them, as highlighted by opportunistic comments made throughout the task.

In addition while we thought it was important to address the ways in which men's allocations could be altered by the presence of other providers, this is neither the only nor necessarily the most important way that need might influence giving patterns. Other factors we did not consider in this study include the relative wealth or security of the woman herself, the wealth of her parents, and her number of dependents. Similarly, we did not look at how men's own wealth or security affect his provisioning strategy. Finally, while we did not detect any effects of age or marital status in our analyses (see Fig. S7), it is possible this is due to small sample size. Future studies with larger numbers of participants could address these shortcomings, using either behavioral or experimental data.

Finally, this paper focuses exclusively on men's provisioning decisions. The emphasis on men's care as facultative in the literature drove the design of this study. However, while certain aspects of maternal care are obligate in humans (most significantly pregnancy), most care by mothers is quite variable. Future work should consider how the factors studied here impact maternal provisioning decisions.

Erotic dreams occurred in about 6% of the analyzed dreams, with men reporting slightly more erotic dreams than women; kissing was the most frequent erotic component

College students’ erotic dreams: Analysis of content and emotional tone. C. Geißler, M. Schredl. Sexologies, Volume 29, Issue 1, January–March 2020, Pages e11-e17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sexol.2019.08.003

Summary: The present study reports about the frequency, content and emotional tone of erotic dreams based on dream diary reports of a German college student sample. Four hundred and twenty-five students provided 1612 dreams, of which about 6% contained erotic themes, a figure which is in line with previous research. As for the dream content, kissing was the most frequent erotic activity, followed by intercourse and explicit sexual foreplay. Openness to experience is positively related to the frequency of erotic dreams; neuroticism and conscientiousness are associated with a rather negative emotional tone of such dreams. This supports the continuity hypothesis stating that erotic dreaming experience reflects waking life sexual activity, which is likely to be influenced by these personality dispositions. Further research should extend the knowledge of the aspects and emotional intensity of waking life sexual activity and their reflection in erotic dream content, i.e., whether experiencing unwanted and negatively perceived sexual events are associated with the emotional tone of erotic dreams. To investigate the causality of the relation between waking and dreaming sexual activity and the emotions related to it, an experimental study would be a necessary approach.

Keywords: Erotic dreamsOpenness to experienceNeuroticismConscientiousnessContinuity hypothesisDream emotions

Check also A kiss is not just a kiss: kissing frequency, sexual quality, attachment, and sexual and relationship satisfaction. Dean M. Busby,Veronica Hanna-Walker &Chelom E. Leavitt. Sexual and Relationship Therapy, Jan 31 2020. https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2020/02/kissing-frequency-was-strong-indicator.html

Discussion

Erotic dreams occurred in about 6% of the analyzed dreams, with men reporting slightly more erotic dreams than women. The Big Five scale ‘openness to experiences’ correlated positively with the frequency for the appearance of sexual motifs in dreams. As for the dream content, kissing was the most frequent erotic component, followed by intercourse and explicit sexual foreplay. In the majority of dreams, dreamers were actively taking part in the sexual event; those participants solely observing the erotic acts were mostly men. Regarding the emotional component of the erotic dreams, the judges rated the majority of the erotic dreams as emotionally toned (70%) with a small preponderance of positively toned dreams. Moreover, women's erotic dream activities were judged to be emotionally more negative than men's erotic dream activities. The Big Five scales neuroticism and conscientiousness are significantly negatively associated with the emotional tone of the erotic dream.

Before discussing each of the findings, some methodical issues have to be addressed. First, the low number of erotic dreams can cause unrepresentative results regarding erotic content, which have to be confirmed using a larger sample with a broader age range. The study did not focus on specific aspects of dreaming experience and therefore our sample should not underlie any selection bias for erotic topics. Since the majority of the participants were psychology students, the means of the NEO-PI-R scales differed from the norms presented by Ostendorf and Angleitner (2004) leading to higher scores in openness to experiences and neuroticism.

It should also be mentioned that the length of the dream has an increasing effect on the frequency of erotic topics since dream length increases any dream content variables independently of their context or meaning. As Schredl (1999) showed, different content elements (e.g., the number persons or the amount of bizarre or unrealistic elements) are positively associated with the dream's word count. The same effect was found for the analysis of dream emotions, positive as well as negative ones (Schredl, 1999). Therefore, it is crucial for the interpretation of the content analyses to control for the dream length statistically as was performed in this study. In general, the reliability between the raters for dream elements, including emotional tone, was satisfying. For two items, S2 (sexual overtures) and S4 (fore-play), Cohen's κ was considerably lower than for the other categories. It seems much harder to identify these two erotic actions, likely because they are not as explicitly and clearly operationalized as, for example, S5 (actual or attempted intercourse). As a result, it may be harder to interpret findings about these subtypes of erotic dream content.

The ratings regarding the emotional tone of the erotic dreams were conducted by external judges, not by the participants themselves. Since participants might not be comfortable fully expressing their emotions on erotic aspects, they might not record all erotic emotions. Therefore, it is likely for the external judges to underestimate the emotionality of the dream content as reported previously for emotions in general (Schredl and Doll, 1998, Sikka et al., 2014). In consideration of the aforementioned methodical aspects, the findings of this study will be discussed and put into the context of previous research.

The frequency of erotic dreams found in this sample is in line with previous findings in diary studies using college student samples (Domhoff et al., 2005–2006, Hall and Van de Castle, 1966, Nielsen et al., 2003, Rainville and Rush, 2009, Schredl et al., 1998, Zadra and Gervais, 2011). The tendency of men having more erotic dream than women fits with the findings of this study, though the effect size (d = 0.041) is considerably smaller when compared to the mean effect size of the aforementioned studies (d = 0.106). A decreasing gender difference leads to the conclusion that the difference between the findings in older studies as Hall and Van De Castle's (1966) and the finding of the recent study is caused by a cohort effect.

The frequency of erotic dreams is increased for participants with a high score on the ‘openness to experience’ scale. A person scoring high on this scale is described as curious, creative, empathic, and sensitive (Ostendorf and Angleitner, 2004). With regard to sexuality, a person with high openness to experience tends to be younger when having their first sexual intercourse (Miller et al., 2004) and is more permissive with pornography and masturbation (Fernandez and Rodriguez, 2003). High openness to experience is related to a disposition for erotophilia, i.e., he or she generally reacts positively to sexual cues (Natividade and Hutz, 2016). The participants scoring high on this scale reflecting more sexuality in their dreaming experience supports the continuity hypothesis (Schredl, 2003), since being open for experiences in general seems to implicate being open for sexual experiences. Schredl et al. (2003) found that openness to experiences is also positively associated with dream recall frequency, so it is possible for the sample of reported dreams to overestimate the frequency of erotic dreams as there may be more erotic dreams reported by participants with high openness scores. Therefore, dream recall frequency was controlled for in this study.

The content analysis of this sample's dreams differs in some aspects from the Hall and Van de Castle sample (1966). The largest of the differences appears in the frequency of kissing in erotic dreams; more than half of the erotic dreams contained this motif in the recent sample, while it occurred only in 16% of Hall and Van De Castle's (1966) and in 23% of King et al.’s (2009) sample. King et al.’s (2009) study used the Most Recent Dream method, where participants are asked to write down the most recent erotic dream they could recall. In this context, participants might be biased to report explicit sexual behavior and not so likely erotic activities like kissing. As for the comparison with Hall and Van De Castle's (1966) results, no clear methodic or content-related aspect can be identified to cause this divergence.

In order to investigate the differences in erotic dream content of today's college students compared to those in the mid-20th century, it has to be analyzed how waking life sexual activity today differs from that in the late 1940s since waking life sexuality is responsible for the content of dreaming sexuality (King et al., 2009, Schredl et al., 2009). The high percentages found by Hall and Van de Castle (1966) for sexual thoughts and fantasies could not be replicated by King et al. (2009) or the present results. Overall, it is noticeable that explicit sexual events taking place in erotic dreams are more frequent than thoughts and propositions. An explanation for this finding might be that the more explicit activity, e.g., intercourse, is emotionally more intense in waking life compared, for example to kissing, the more often it occurs in dreaming (Malinowski and Horton, 2014, Schredl, 2006).

When being rated for their active participation in sexual events while dreaming in comparison to observing said action, most participants reported themselves directly participating in the erotic events. (Crépault et al., 1977, Crépault and Couture, 1980) showed in his analyses of men and women's sexual (waking life) fantasies that, most of the time, the fantasies included themselves interacting with some part of their environment. This, again, supports the continuity hypothesis for thoughts and fantasies, stating that our waking life thoughts are reflected in the contexts of our dreams (Schredl, 2012). As men dream less often about actively engaging in sexual action than women, one possible explanation might be the frequency of pornography consumption and a higher tendency to engage in voyeurism, which is more common in young men compared to young women (Hald, 2006, Rye and Meaney, 2007). Men could thus be more used to watching others than themselves participating in sexual activity and therefore transfer this into their erotic dreaming experience. It would be interesting to investigate to what extent pornography and the active participation in erotic dreaming activity are related.

Similar to the study of King et al. (2009), erotic activities in dreams were rated by the external raters as emotionally balanced. Both neuroticism and conscientiousness are negatively associated with this emotional valence. A person scoring high on the neuroticism scale is described as anxious, nervous, insecure, and vulnerable (Ostendorf and Angleitner, 2004); with regard to sexuality, men and women with high neuroticism scores show a higher tendency for relationship infidelity, especially in women (Natividade and Hutz, 2016, Schmitt, 2004). Cheating on a partner and participating in sexual activity outside a relationship could lead to more negative experiences, cognitions and emotions about sex, which are reflected in the content of the dreams (Thompson, 1984). In line with this finding, dreams of persons with high neuroticism scores tend to contain more negative emotions such as sadness and apprehension in dreams (Gilchrist et al., 2007).

A person that scores high for conscientiousness, on the other hand, is characterized as reliable, ambitious, self-controlled, hardworking and lives up to moral principles (Jackson et al., 2010, Ostendorf and Angleitner, 2004). Natividade and Hutz (2016) reported a negative correlation of conscientiousness with the erotophilia scale, implicating negative associations with sexual cues and, thus, the erotophobic attitude could transfer into negative dream emotions. It is also possible for a person scoring high in conscientiousness to rate their experienced emotions related to erotic activities during the dream retrospectively, as he or she is more likely to react negatively to that internal sexual cue (Natividade and Hutz, 2016). Apart from that, a person scoring high on conscientiousness is very unlikely to cheat on their partner (Schmitt, 2004). It would be of some interest to measure whether unfaithfulness that occurred in this group fostered negative associations (i.e., guilt) with sexuality that can be reflected in erotic dreams. Just like King et al. (2009), the results of this study do not show a significant effect of the participant's sex on the perception of the emotional tone of erotic dreams. Descriptively however, men's dreams were rated rather positively, fitting with the finding that men tend to initiate the sexual contact while women were more likely to describe the erotic action as at least partly unwanted (Zadra and Gervais, 2011). King et al. (2009) report that nearly 8% of the reported sex dreams contained or mentioned ideas of rape or forced sex; all those dreams appeared solely in women's dreams. Since women have a greater prevalence for being victims to sexual harassment, sexual abuse or rape, the continuity hypothesis explains an incorporation of these negative sexual experiences into dreaming (Blumenthal, 1998, Pino and Meier, 1999, Ullman and Filipas, 2005).

To summarize, openness to experience is positively related to the frequency of erotic dreams; neuroticism and conscientiousness are associated with a rather negative emotional tone of the erotic dreams. This supports the continuity hypothesis (Schredl, 2003) stating that erotic dreaming experience reflects waking life sexual activity, which is likely to be influenced by these personality dispositions. For further research, it would be of interest to extend the knowledge on the aspects and emotional intensity of waking life sexual activity and their reflection in erotic dream content, i.e., whether experiencing unwanted and negatively perceived sexual events are associated with the emotional tone of erotic dreams. In this context, it would be of advantage to let the participants rate their erotic dreams for emotionality themselves as it is likely for them to be more precise in this task than an independent rater. To investigate the causality between waking and dreaming sexual activity and the emotions related to sexuality, an experimental study (Cartwright et al., 1969), such as showing an explicit erotic movie or instructing the participants to engage in sexual fantasies before bedtime, would be necessary. In addition, possible interactions between incorporating erotic material into the dream and openness to experiences could be examined.

Body odor disgust sensitivity is positively related to social, but not economic conservatism, & to implicit bias toward an outgroup; social attitudes may be linked to basic chemosensory processes (pathogen cues)

An Overprotective Nose? Implicit Bias Is Positively Related to Individual Differences in Body Odor Disgust Sensitivity. Marta Zuzanna Zakrzewska et al. Front. Psychol., February 28 2020. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00301

Abstract: Body odors are universal elicitors of disgust, a core emotion that plays a key role in the behavioral immune system (BIS) – a set of psychological functions working to avoid disease. Recent studies showed that body odor disgust sensitivity (BODS) is associated with explicit xenophobia and authoritarianism. In the current experimental pre-registered study (https://osf.io/6jkp2/), we investigated the association between olfactory pathogen cues, BODS and implicit bias toward an outgroup (tested by an implicit association test). Results show that BODS is positively related to implicit bias toward an outgroup, suggesting that social attitudes may be linked to basic chemosensory processes. These attitudes were not influenced by background odors. Additionally, BODS was related to social, but not economic conservatism. This study extends the BIS framework to an experimental context by focusing on the role of disgust and body odors in shaping implicit bias.

Discussion

In the current preregistered study, we found that disgust sensitivity to body odors (BODS) is related to implicit bias toward an outgroup. This result corroborates and extends previous findings about the relationship between BODS, a BIS-related measure (Liuzza et al., 2017), and attitudes toward outgroups (Zakrzewska et al., 2019). These findings strengthen the view that some individuals may have a more sensitive BIS which makes them prefer behaviors and attitudes that limit contact with out-groups.

Contrary to our hypothesis, implicit bias was not influenced by a background body-like unpleasant odor. We need to point out two possible drawbacks of the paradigm used in our study. First, the odors were presented constantly over the duration of an experimental block. This might have resulted in habituation (Smeets and Dijksterhuis, 2014) to the smell, and suppression of its effect, although similar studies in our lab has shown no evidence of habituation (Syrjänen et al., 2017, 2019). To confirm the null effect of odors (or to find evidence for its existence), further research is needed where odor cues are brief and paired with each target stimulus (as they are in a priming task) rather than serving as background odors. Research shows that congruency effects can be observed on a single trial level through priming, also in the olfactory modality (e.g. Olofsson et al., 2014; Kastner et al., 2016). Second, we did not use actual body odors but odors that resemble them. However, valeric acid is present in body odor, especially in disease (Pandey and Kim, 2011; Shirasu and Touhara, 2011), and the substance has been widely used as sweat-like odor in other studies (e.g. Anderson et al., 2003; Jacob et al., 2003). What may be of more importance is that the smell was not presented in a way suggesting that it came from another person. Again, we believe that a cue – target priming design could help reveal the influence of odor on group biases. In hindsight, although we did not find any odor effects, we think that similar studies would benefit from having not only a body-odor related unpleasant odor, but also another, non-bodily yet unpleasant odor, thus allowing to talk more directly about body odor disgust.

Even though the theoretical framework emphasizes the role body odors and body-odor related disgust we would like to acknowledge a potential limitation of our study in drawing conclusions about the effect of body odors. Namely, BODS is the only measure of disgust we used. While comparing BODS with other disgust measure (such as DS-R or TDDS) we could have potentially shown an olfaction-specific link between disgust sensitivity and implicit bias. However, previous study (Liuzza et al., 2017) showed that BODS is correlated with both DS-R and TDDS (0.37 > = r < = 0.65) while at the same time being more strongly related to PVD than to the other measures, pointing to the relevance of body odor disgust sensitivity (BODS) for pathogen avoidance. Thus, we believe that although including another measure of disgust could have strengthened our claims, we would not have gained much more valuable information.

Faulkner et al. (2004) showed elevated BIS activation and IAT bias for a task evoking danger (rather than general unpleasantness), yet we did not find this effect for our disease-related IAT. In fact, the two versions of the IAT were highly correlated in the current sample. Since health/illness-related words are also strongly valenced, the lack of task version effect might be explained by a difficulty to differentiate between the strength of the target group to a health/illness concept, vs. the target group to a positive/negative concept associations, especially given the relatively small sample.

Lastly, our results should be viewed in the light of the dual process framework. We could not replicate our previous findings on US samples (Liuzza et al., 2018), where we found a stable, small-to-medium relationship between RWA and BODS. It is possible that our sample, including Swedish college students, is not representative of all ranges of authoritarian attitudes (only two observations fell above the theoretical midpoint of the RWA scale). However, it should be noted that, when comparing nationally representative samples and convenience samples, Aarøe et al. (2017) found almost identical correlation coefficients for the association between individual differences in disgust sensitivity and social attitudes. By including these new data to update previous observations from Liuzza et al. (2018), we found that the previous positive relationship between BODS and RWA is still credible. Additionally, current results show a relationship between BODS and another measure of social conservatism, namely the SDS. These relationships can be explained in the light that RWA, SDS and BODS can be related to avoidance of possible pathogen threats, in the world perceived as a dangerous place. Similarly to Liuzza et al. (2018) we found no relationship between BODS and a measure of social dominance (SDO), which refers more to the perception of the world as a competitive jungle and is thus connected to other sources of prejudice, not related to disease avoidance.

Taken together, this study extends current knowledge about odor disgust and BIS with evidence suggesting that social attitudes may be linked to basic chemosensory processes.

Lucid Dreaming, Nightmares and Sleep Paralysis: Associations with Reality Testing Deficits and Paranormal Experience/Belief

Lucid Dreaming, Nightmares and Sleep Paralysis: Associations with Reality Testing Deficits and Paranormal Experience/Belief. Kenneth G. Drinkwater,  Andrew Denovan and  Neil Dagnall. Front. Psychol., Feb 28 2020, doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00471

Abstract: Focusing on lucid dreaming, this paper examined relationships between dissociated experiences related to rapid eye movement sleep (lucid dreaming, nightmares, and sleep paralysis), reality testing, and paranormal experiences/beliefs. The study comprised a UK-based online sample of 455 respondents (110 males, 345 females, Mean age = 34.46 years, SD = 15.70), who had all previously experienced lucid dreaming. Respondents completed established self-report measures assessing control within lucid dreaming, experience and frequency of nightmares, incidence of sleep paralysis, proneness to reality testing deficits (Inventory of Personality Organization subscale, IPO-RT), subjective experience of receptive psi and life after death (paranormal experience), and paranormal belief. Analysis comprised tests of correlational and predictive relationships between sleep-related outcomes, IPO-RT scores, and paranormal measures. Significant positive correlations between sleep and paranormal measures were weak. Paranormal measures related differentially to sleep indices. Paranormal experience correlated with lucid dreaming, nightmares and sleep paralysis, whereas paranormal belief related only to nightmares and sleep paralysis. IPO-RT correlated positively with all paranormal and sleep-related measures. Within the IPO-RT, the Auditory and Visual Hallucinations sub-factor demonstrated the strongest positive associations with sleep measures. Structural equation modelling indicated that Auditory and Visual Hallucinations significantly positively predicted dissociated experiences related to rapid eye movement sleep, while paranormal experience did not. However, paranormal experience was a significant predictor when analysis controlled for Auditory and Visual Hallucinations. The moderate positive association between these variables explained this effect. Findings indicated that self-generated, productive cognitive-processes (as encompassed by Auditory and Visual Hallucinations) played a significant role in conscious control and awareness of lucid dreaming, and related dissociative sleep states (sleep paralysis and nightmares).

Keywords: Lucid dreaming, Dissociated experiences, rem, Reality Testing, paranormal experiences

Although people believe using catering in first meetings will lead to successful outcomes, it creates undesirable feelings of instrumentality for the caterer, increases anxiety, & ultimately hinders performance

To be or not to be your authentic self? Catering to others’ preferences hinders performance. Francesca Gino, Ovul Sezer, Laura Huang. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, January 31 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2020.01.003

Highlights
• We examine how catering to another person’s interests influences performance.
• We find that most people use catering in an attempt to make a good impression.
• We find that compared to behaving authentically, catering harms performance.
• Catering increases anxiety and feelings of instrumentality for the caterer.

Abstract: When approaching interpersonal first meetings (e.g., job interviews), people often cater to the target’s interests and expectations to make a good impression and secure a positive outcome such as being offered the job (pilot study). This strategy is distinct from other approaches identified in prior impression management research (Studies 1A, 1B and 1C), and does not produce the benefits people expect. In a field study in which entrepreneurs pitched their ideas to potential investors (Study 2), catering harmed investors’ evaluations, while being authentic improved them. People experience greater anxiety and instrumentality when they cater to another person’s preferences than when they behave authentically (Studies 3A and 3B). Compared to behaving authentically or to a control condition, catering harms performance because trying to anticipate and fulfill others’ preferences feels instrumental and increases anxiety (Studies 4 and 5). Taken together, these results suggest that although people believe using catering in interpersonal first meetings will lead to successful outcomes, the opposite is true: catering creates undesirable feelings of instrumentality for the caterer, increases anxiety, and ultimately hinders performance.

Keywords: AuthenticityCatering: HonestySelectionAnxietyImpression management

11. General discussion

In this paper, we examined how catering to another person’s interests and expectations in interpersonal first meetings (e.g., job interviews)—compared with expressing one’s authentic thoughts and feelings—influences outcomes (e.g., getting the job). We show that this strategy is distinct from other approaches previously identified in impression management research (Studies 1A, 1B, and 1C), and that it does not produce the benefits people expect. In a pilot study, we found that most people use catering to try to make a good impression on the target and that they believe this strategy will be effective by leading to positive outcomes. However, across different contexts, we demonstrate that these lay beliefs are wrong. In a field study in which entrepreneurs pitched their ideas to potential investors, we showed that catering harmed investors’ evaluations (e.g., the likelihood of getting funded), while being authentic improved them (Study 2). In two online studies (Studies 3A and 3B), we examined why this outcome difference may occur and found that people experienced greater anxiety and instrumentality when they cater to another person’s preferences than when they behave authentically (or compared to a control condition). Finally, in two laboratory studies (Studies 4 and 5), we replicated the detrimental effect of catering on the outcome of a job interview, and we further tested the psychological mechanisms explaining this effect. We found that catering, as compared to being oneself or as compared to a control condition, leads to worse evaluations because it increases anxiety (Studies 4 and 5) and feelings of instrumentality (Study 5). Taken together, these results suggest that although people believe using catering in interpersonal first meetings will lead to successful outcomes, the opposite is true: catering creates undesirable feelings of instrumentality for the caterer, increases anxiety, and ultimately hinders performance. 11.1. Theoretical and practical implications Our work makes several theoretical contributions that fundamentally advance existing research. First, we contribute to the management and organizational behavior literature by examining the role of two different practical approaches (e.g., catering vs. being oneself) during high-stakes interactions such as job interviews and entrepreneurial pitches. Across the world, people find themselves in professional interactions like these every day. They may follow the common advice of trying to make a good impression in an attempt to manage the target’s evaluation, advice that is generally interpreted as “pleasing the other side” by catering to their interests and expectations. However, past research on interviews has overlooked the fact that impression management tactics that are other-focused or involve some exaggeration or deception may cause anxiety and distress, which may lead to lower performance (Schmit & Ryan, 1992). In addition, the entrepreneurship literature has largely ignored the possibility that entrepreneurs who engage in impression management to interest financiers and resource holders may be concealing other important parts of their message as a result, impeding their ability to receive the types of resources they so critically need (Huang & Pearce, 2015; Zott & Huy, 2007). Second, by examining how catering influences people’s performance in interpersonal first meetings, we clarify the boundaries of flattery in interactions with others. Across a wide range of situations, flattery has been found to be a successful tactic to secure positive evaluations (Vonk, 2002; Westphal & Stern, 2007). Similarly, one may expect catering to flatter the target and thus result in favorable outcomes for the actor. Here, however, we provide evidence from both the laboratory and the field that catering to another person’s interests and expectations, while flattering to the target, can be less effective than just being yourself. Catering, in fact, makes the actor feel more anxious and inauthentic, with detrimental effects on the actor’s performance. Third, this research advances our understanding of the relevance of psychology to impression management. To date, impression management research has paid scant attention to people’s psychological experience as they manage others’ impressions. Our work shows that impression management tactics cannot be fully understood without carefully considering their emotional implications. We find that catering, rather than just being oneself, increases anxiety and feelings of instrumentality and thus hinders performance. Finally, our work contributes to research on authenticity. Although there previously has been no “coherent body of literature on authentic behavior” (Harter, 2002), interest in the concept of authenticity has revived over the past decade both in social psychology and with the emergence of the “positive psychology” movement (Linley, Joseph, Harrington, & Wood, 2006; Seligman, 2002). In our research, we draw upon this body of research to demonstrate the effectiveness of being one’s authentic self compared to catering, a more common approach in interpersonal interactions. We extend existing work by showing that authenticity has important implications not only for an actor’s psychological experience (e.g., his or her emotions) but also for performance in high-stakes interpersonal settings. 11.2. Directions for Future research Despite these contributions, our work has limitations that point to possible directions for future research. First, further studies could test the boundary conditions for the detrimental effects of catering on performance. For instance, having experience with this tactic or high ability in properly executing a catering approach may result in higher rather than lower performance. The success of any form of impression management depends on whether the target perceives the actor to be sincere and authentic (Jones & Pittman, 1982; Liden & Mitchell, 1988). People who are suspected of strategically managing impressions are more likely to be seen as selfish, cold, manipulative, and untrustworthy (Stern & Westphal, 2010). Thus, skill is critical to effective impression management. Consequently, impression management attempts by politically skilled individuals are more likely to be perceived as authentic than those by less politically skilled individuals (Treadway, Ferris, Duke, Adams, & Thatcher, 2007). Examining boundary conditions for the detrimental effects of catering on performance could also shed light on the differences between our findings and those of previous research on the positive effects of assertive/other-focused impression management tactics (Bolino, Kacmar, Turnley, & Gilstrap, 2008). In addition to flattering the target, these tactics tend to be effective because they make candidates look more attractive in the eyes of those evaluating them. This is likely to occur only if candidates are actually comfortable (rather than anxious) in promoting themselves. Factors that reduce their anxiety, from individual differences such as their level of self-confidence to situational factors such as knowing that “everybody behaves inauthentically” in specific contexts or the availability of information about the target’s expectations, may lead to the type of positive effects of assertive/otherfocused impression management tactics found in prior work. Another possible boundary condition future research could explore is for the person relying on an authentic approach to be rather selffocused and preoccupied – so much so to miss important social clues. This is a case where the phenomenon we investigated may reverse. Future studies could also deepen our understanding of the emotional and cognitive consequences of catering as an impression management strategy by investigating its different forms. For example, in our studies, we focused on in-the-moment catering—that is, situations in which actors try to act like a different person in the moment, which makes them feel anxious. However, actors could also engage in a priori catering—namely, by taking actions to cater to the target before interacting with him or her (e.g., by cutting one’s hair before an interview to appear more professional to the interviewer). A priori catering may be more effective than in-the-moment catering, as it gives actors more time to prepare. Similarly, catering may involve both verbal and nonverbal inauthentic behaviors, which may affect actors differently. For instance, an actor may construe nonverbal catering attempts as more authentic than verbal ones, thus resulting in lower levels of anxiety and potentially better performance in interpersonal first meetings such as job interviews. Future research could further examine why catering hinders performance. We suggested that the greater anxiety and instrumentality catering produces are detrimental to the caterer’s cognitive resources, thus negatively affecting the caterer’s self-evaluation and self-presentation to the target. But it is also possible that the target of catering perceives anxiety and inauthenticity from the person relying on this tactic. People can tell when others are being inauthentic (Korb, With, & Niedenthal, 2014). In fact, they register that inauthenticity in their bodies, experiencing a rise in blood pressure (Butler, Egloff, & Wilhelm, 2003). This physiological response helps explain our discomfort around people who seem “fake.” Further examining whether the target of catering sees through this approach could advance our understanding of the link between catering and performance. Future research could also examine factors that may enhance authenticity. Rogers (1959) proposed that people are naturally authentic at an early age but that the constraints of social life erode this authenticity. Similarly, Harter, Stocker, and Robinson (1996) and Neff and Harter (2002) demonstrated that people are more authentic when they feel their true self is accepted by others. Though we investigated interpersonal first meetings, we suspect that catering is less common (and perhaps even more detrimental) in established relationships. Future work should focus on increasing our understanding of how and when individuals should aim for authenticity in professional settings. Future work could also investigate why people commonly view authenticity as an ineffective approach to interpersonal first meetings and professional interactions more generally. Authenticity has been correlated with an increase in self-esteem and life satisfaction (Goldman & Kernis, 2002; Wood, Linley, Maltby, Baliousis, & Joseph, 2008), relationship satisfaction (Brunell et al., 2010), psychological well-being (Ménard & Brunet, 2010; Pisarik & Larson, 2011), and mindfulness (Lakey, Kernis, Heppner, & Lance, 2008)—all outcomes that are beneficial to one’s engagement and productivity at work. Authenticity also correlates with a decrease in verbal defensiveness (Lakey et al., 2008), depressive symptoms (Ryan et al., 2005), anxiety, and stress (Ryan et al., 2005). Thus, one might ask why people view authenticity as problematic and do not behave authentically more often. In our initial pilot study, we found that most people believe catering to another person’s interests and expectations is a more promising strategy than being oneself for securing positive outcomes and would use this strategy in high-stakes interpersonal first meetings. Examining why these beliefs exist would improve our understanding of how to best help people use strategies that are effective in their interactions. Finally, in our work, we investigated contexts in which catering goals were likely to be at odds with authenticity goals—in interpersonal first meetings when individuals doubt that their true selves are what evaluators desire. Also, we manipulated this variable in our laboratory experiments to ensure independence between a catering condition and an authenticity condition. However, in life, catering motives may sometimes align with authentic, ideal-self motives. That is, who we think others want us to be and who we really are may overlap. We suspect that individuals are most at ease and least anxious in situations in which catering and authenticity motives align, and future work could explore this possibility. Relatedly, future research could explore the role of inauthenticity that catering engenders. We suggested that the greater the perceived overlap between the caterer’s set of interests and the target’s expectations, the less inauthentic catering may feel to the caterer, thus making the differences we find in our studies between catering and being authentic less pronounced. Future studies could examine the potential moderating role of the perceived overlap between the caterer’s interests and the target’s expectations.

Successful entrepreneurs' mean age at founding of successful start-ups for the 1-in-1,000 fastest growing new ventures is 45.0; prior experience in the specific industry predicts much greater rates of success

Age and High-Growth Entrepreneurship. Pierre Azoulay, Benjamin F. Jones, J. Daniel Kim, and Javier Miranda. American Economic Review: Insights. Mar 2020, Vol. 2, No. 1: Pages 65-82. https://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/aeri.20180582

Abstract: Many observers, and many investors, believe that young people are especially likely to produce the most successful new firms. Integrating administrative data on firms, workers, and owners, we study start-ups systematically in the United States and find that successful entrepreneurs are middle-aged, not young. The mean age at founding for the 1-in-1,000 fastest growing new ventures is 45.0. The findings are similar when considering high-technology sectors, entrepreneurial hubs, and successful firm exits. Prior experience in the specific industry predicts much greater rates of entrepreneurial success. These findings strongly reject common hypotheses that emphasize youth as a key trait of successful entrepreneurs. (JEL G24, J14, L26, M13, O31)

A Norwegian analyst is 8.4 %-points more likely to assign a buy rating to a Danish firm than an Austrian analyst; & is 6.7 % points more likely to assign a buy rating to a British firm than a French analyst

Pursiainen, Vesa, Cultural Biases in Equity Analysis (October 21, 2019). SSRN: http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3153900

Abstract: A more positive cultural trust bias by an equity analyst's country of origin toward a firm's headquarter country is associated with significantly more positive stock recommendations, controlling for analyst-month and firm-month fixed effects. The cultural bias effect is stronger for eponymous firms whose names mention their home country. The bias effect varies over time, increasing with negative sentiment. I find evidence of a negative North-South bias emerging during the European debt crisis, a UK-Europe divergence amid Brexit, and a Franco-British bias during the Iraq war. The share price reaction to buy recommendations by more positively biased analysts is weaker.

Keywords: cultural bias, trust, analyst recommendation, salience, sentiment
JEL Classification: A13, G02, G20, G24, D83

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My estimates suggest that a Norwegian analyst is 8.4 %-points more likely to assign a buy rating to a Danish firm than an Austrian analyst. Similarly, a Norwegian analyst is 6.7 %-points more likely to assign a buy-recommendation to a British firm than a French analyst.

[...]

This paper provides evidence that cultural biases have a significant effect on equity analysts’ stock recommendations. I further find that there is substantial time variation in the effect of such biases, and that the strength of the bias effect is highly correlated with the general sentiment. In other words, bad economic times, when the level of pessimism is high and con- sumer confidence low, are also the times when cultural biases have the largest effect. These findings are all the more significant since equity analysts are financial market professionals that are often supposed to be less susceptible to behavioral biases than non-professionals. To the extent that these results generalize to the rest of the population, they suggest a link between times of economic hardship and increased cultural biases. This might contribute to the rise of nationalism and populism during economic downturns.

My finding that the salience of the firm’s nationality affects the strength of analysts’ cultural biases is also novel in the finance literature. While there is a vast literature on priming effects in psychology literature and, to a lesser extent, in experimental economics, my results suggest that there might be interesting new applications in financial markets and in non-experimental settings that have not been fully explored.

Finally, I find evidence that significant political events can introduce new cultural biases that are strong enough to affect stock recommendations. The much-discussed North-South divide in Europe and the stereotypes of lazy Mediterraneans invoked during the European debt crisis created a clearly visible negative bias in the stock recommendations of North European analysts on South European companies. Similarly, the diplomatic rifts between the UK and the rest of Europe amid the Brexit process, as well as between France and the UK over the Iraq war can be seen in analyst stock recommendations.

Human mate choice: Individuals displaying moderate levels of altruism were rated as more desirable than those displaying higher levels (and both more so than non-altruistic individuals)

The role of altruistic costs in human mate choice. Manpal Singh Bhogal et al. Personality and Individual Differences, Volume 160, 1 July 2020, 109939. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.109939

Abstract: There is a large body of research exploring the role of altruism in mate choice, showing altruism is a mating signal. However, it is still unclear whether these traits signal good genetic quality, due to their costly nature, or good partner/parenting qualities. We report the findings of three experiments that aimed to address this, by comparing the desirability of individuals who displayed either moderate or high levels of altruistic behaviour, and non-altruistic behaviour in dictator games and hypothetical social scenarios. These experiments adopted a variety of experimental designs to test our hypotheses. We consistently found that individuals displaying moderate levels of altruism were rated as more desirable than those displaying higher levels (and both more so than non-altruistic individuals). Our findings offer strong evidence for the underlying characteristics displayed by altruistic behaviour, rather than their absolute costs, being more important in mate choice. To our knowledge, this is the first paper to report a suite of experiments providing strong support that the cost of an altruistic act is more important than the act itself in a mate choice context. These findings go beyond and extend previous literature on altruism and mating by unpacking the role of prosociality in mate choice.

Experimentally reducing free will beliefs might affect how individuals evaluate others’ behavior; but professional judges manipulated to soften belief in free will won't recommend more lenient sentences

Genschow, Oliver, Davide Rigoni, Heinz Hawickhorst, Ellen Aschermann, and Marcel Brass. 2020. “Professional Judges’ Disbelief in Free Will and Punishment.” PsyArXiv. February 28. doi:10.31234/osf.io/4ucd3

Abstract: There is a debate in psychology and philosophy on the societal consequences of casting doubts about individuals’ belief in free will. Research suggests that experimentally reducing free will beliefs might affect how individuals evaluate others’ behavior. Past research has demonstrated that reduced free will beliefs decrease laypersons’ tendency towards retributive punishment. This finding has been used as an argument for the idea that promoting anti-free will viewpoints in the public media might have severe consequences for the legal system, because it may move judges towards softer retributive punishments. However, actual implications for the legal system can only be drawn by investigating professional judges. In the present research, we investigated whether judges (N = 87) are affected by reading anti-free will messages. The results demonstrate that although reading anti-free will texts reduces judges’ belief in free will, their recommended sentences are not influenced by their (manipulated) belief in free will.

Check also Freeing or freezing decisions? Belief in free will and indecisiveness. Michail D. Kokkoris, Roy F. Baumeister, Ulrich Kühnen. Processes, Volume 154, September 2019, Pages 49-61. https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2019/09/belief-in-free-will-is-associated-with.html

Men had stronger preferences for risky behaviors than their partner’s ideal preference; relationship length was associated with a decline in women’s preference for their partner’s risk‐taking, but not men’s

Individual differences in preference for risky behaviors during courtship. Pavol Prokop  Adam Pazda. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, February 27 2020. https://doi.org/10.1111/sjop.12628

Abstract: Engaging in risky behaviors is a sexual signalling strategy that men use to procure mates. The present study investigates men’s preferences for engaging in risky behaviors (along with women’s preferences for their male partner’s risky behavior) within dating couples. We investigated associations between relationship length, self‐perceived attractiveness, sociosexuality orientation, and preference for risky behaviors in a sample of 256 couples. Results indicated that men had stronger preferences for risky behaviors than their partner’s ideal preference. Furthermore, relationship length was associated with a decline in women’s preference for their partner’s risk‐taking, but not men’s preference for their own risk‐taking. Self‐perceived attractiveness was negatively associated with risk preference, and sociosexuality orientation was not directly related to risk preference. Female preferences for less intense male risky behaviors could reflect the need of paternal investment which is required for offspring care. Decreased male sexual signalling could account for lower preferences of risky behaviors in females who are involved in longer lasting romantic relationships.

Women were more likely than men to report falling asleep after sexual intercourse, with or without orgams; postcopulatory somnolence was also enhanced by orgasm in both women & men

Gallup, G. G., Jr., Platek, S. M., Ampel, B. C., & Towne, J. P. (2020). Sex differences in the sedative properties of heterosexual intercourse. Evolutionary Behavioral SciencesFeb 2020. https://doi.org/10.1037/ebs0000196

Abstract: Based on a sample of 128 female and 98 male college students, there were significant sex differences in the sedative properties of vaginal intercourse. Consistent with predictions derived from an evolutionary model of sperm retention and human bipedalism, women were more likely than men to report falling asleep after sexual intercourse. Postcopulatory somnolence was also enhanced by orgasm in both women and men. However, with or without orgasm, women were more likely than men to report falling asleep after sex. Consistent with the possibility that seminal fluid may contain sedative-like properties, women who were being inseminated were also more likely to fall asleep after sex. There was no evidence for sex differences in the sedative properties of masturbation

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Women who were inseminated were also more likely to fall asleep... that raises the possibility that human semen may contain sedative properties... the so-called missionary position may have evolved to promote sperm retention, and anything that postpones the sumption of an upright posture after insemination would function to increase the likelihood of sperm retention and impregnation as a consequence.

The perception of attractiveness, fertility, health, and age were influenced by size, cleft distance, ptosis, and hostile sexism; individual differences in life history and self-perceived mate value also influenced preferences

Effects of Breast Size, Intermammary Cleft Distance (Cleavage) and Ptosis on Perceived Attractiveness, Health, Fertility and Age: Do Life History, Self-Perceived Mate Value and Sexism Attitude Play a Role? Farid Pazhoohi, Ray Garza & Alan Kingstone. Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology, February 28 2020. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40750-020-00129-1

Abstract
Unlike other mammals, human females have evolved so that their breasts remain enlarged. Previous research has related the size and shape of women’s breasts with women’s reproductive potential and attractiveness.

Objective: To provide a more complete picture of these issues, the current study extended previous research by investigating the effects of breast size, intermammary cleft distance, and ptosis on perceived attractiveness, health, fertility, and age while also measuring individual differences in life history, self-perceived mate value, and sexism.

Method: Participants (men and women) viewed images of women’s breasts that were manipulated for size, ptosis, and intermammary cleft; and participants rated the breasts for their perceived attractiveness, fertility, health, and age.

Results: Results showed that the perception of attractiveness, fertility, health, and age were influenced by size, cleft distance, ptosis, and hostile sexism. Individual differences in life history and self-perceived mate value also influenced preferences.

Conclusion: Our results show that perceived attractiveness of breasts is associated with perceptions of fertility, health, and age. The findings from the current study represent an important step toward achieving a comprehensive account on how women’s breasts influence perception on traits associated with mate preferences, fertility, and reproductive value.

Participants were faster at detecting target faces with conspicuous sclera (white sclera or sclera colored lighter than the iris color) compared to faces with inconspicuous sclera (sclera colored similar to the iris color or darker)

Sclera color enhances gaze perception in humans. Jessica L. Yorzinski, Jacob Miller. PLOS, February 27, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0228275

Abstract: Gaze perception is an essential behavior that allows individuals to determine where others are directing their attention but we know relatively little about the ways in which eye morphology influences it. We therefore tested whether eyes with conspicuous morphology have evolved to facilitate gaze perception. During a visual search task, we recorded the eye movements of human participants (Homo sapiens) as they searched for faces with directed gaze within arrays of faces with averted gaze or the reverse; the faces were large and upright, small and upright, or large and inverted. The faces had sclera that were conspicuous (white or colored lighter than the iris color) or inconspicuous (colored the same or darker than the iris color). We found that participants were fastest and most accurate in finding the faces with conspicuous sclera versus inconspicuous sclera. Our results demonstrate that eyes with conspicuous morphology facilitate gaze perception in humans.


Discussion

Our results support the hypothesis that eyes with conspicuous morphology have evolved to facilitate gaze perception. We found that eyes with conspicuous morphology are necessary for rapid gaze perception in humans: adult participants were faster at detecting target faces with conspicuous sclera (white sclera or sclera colored lighter than the iris color) compared to faces with inconspicuous sclera (sclera colored similar to the iris color or darker). These results demonstrate that conspicuous sclera, in contrast to the camouflaged sclera observed in most other primate species [6], are critical for rapid gaze perception in humans.

Human participants rapidly fixated target faces with conspicuous sclera. Regardless of whether participants were searching for the face with directed gaze among faces with averted gaze or the face with averted gaze among faces with directed gaze, they quickly found the target face with conspicuous sclera. In contrast, when the sclera was inconspicuous, participants spent more time searching for those faces compared to the faces with conspicuous sclera. These patterns were similar for the large faces, which simulated close-up interactions, as well as small faces, which simulated distant interactions. They were also similar for the inverted faces, which preserved low-level visual properties (such as luminance) but disrupted facial configuration [26]. Because visual attention can be strongly influenced by bottom-up processes (such as contrast; [27,28]), it is not necessarily surprising that participants were fast to fixate target faces with conspicuous sclera that exhibit high contrast. Importantly, participants were equally rapid at fixating faces with naturally-colored sclera and faces with sclera color that were lighter than the iris color; this demonstrates that digitally manipulating sclera color does not necessarily alter fixation latencies. We also found that participants were quicker to fixate target faces with light versus dark colored irises; future experiments can assess how iris color interacts with sclera color to influence gaze perception.

After participants fixated target faces with conspicuous sclera, they were quick to manually indicate that they had found the target faces (via a key press). However, when the sclera was inconspicuous, participants were much slower to manually indicate that they had found the target faces; their manual response times were especially slow for the small faces with sclera color that were darker than the iris color. These slower manual responses likely indicate that the participants were less certain of their decisions and therefore taking more time to indicate their responses. Their manual response times for faces with naturally-colored sclera and faces with sclera color that were lighter than the iris color were similar, indicating that digitally manipulating sclera color does not necessarily alter manual response latencies.

Participants were highly accurate in selecting the target faces. With the exception of the small faces with sclera that were darker than the iris color, participants were over 98% accurate in finding the correct target face. Therefore, even though participants spent more time searching for the target face when the face had inconspicuous sclera (see above), they were accurate in ultimately identifying the correct face. The only target faces that participants had difficulty in correctly identifying were the small faces with dark sclera color: they were 90% accurate in finding these target faces. Previous work found that humans are only 52% accurate in gaze perception when the sclera are darker than the iris (black sclera, white pupil, and white iris [7]). In contrast, we found that accuracy in gaze perception was over 90% regardless of sclera color. Rather than presenting stimuli in which the sclera and iris color were polar opposites [7], our stimuli only adjusted sclera color (rather than simultaneously adjusting sclera, pupil and iris color) and we did so relative to the natural iris color. Given that most primate species have sclera that closely match their iris color [6], our stimuli in which the sclera color matched the iris color closely simulated the eye morphology of these other primate species. Furthermore, our study used a gaze search task while previous work used a gaze discrimination task, which could also account for differences in accuracy levels.

Surprisingly, search efficiency was generally similar for faces with naturally-colored sclera and faces with sclera that matched the iris color. When the faces were large and upright as well as large and inverted, participants were equally efficient at searching for these faces. However, participants were less efficient at searching for faces with sclera that matched the iris color versus naturally-colored sclera when the faces were small, suggesting that sclera color in gaze perception may be especially important during distant interactions. The ability of humans to communicate with each other over large distances is likely critical to many types of interactions. This ability may be especially useful during a hunt when silent communication is critical for a successful outcome [5,29]. Previous work has shown that humans are able to reliably detect gaze direction from as far away as 10 meters [30,31] and our results suggest that sclera color contributes to this ability.

Our results support the gaze enhancement hypothesis by demonstrating that eyes with conspicuous morphology facilitate gaze perception. Humans are fastest and most accurate in gaze perception when faces have naturally-colored sclera (or sclera that are lighter than the iris color). When faces are modified so that eye morphology is less conspicuous (sclera that match the iris color or are darker than the iris color), gaze perception is slower. Given that 99% of nonhuman primates have eye morphology that is less conspicuous (with sclera color that closely matches their iris color; [6]), future experiments that examine nonhuman primates’ ability to perceive gaze would be informative. Our results demonstrate that eye morphology plays a critical role in human gaze perception and therefore impacts the evolution of social cognition.