Effects of COVID-19 home confinement on physical activity and eating behaviour Preliminary results of the ECLB-COVID19 international online-survey. Michael Brach et al. medRxiv, May 08 2020. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.05.04.20072447
Abstract
Background: Public health recommendations and governmental measures during the COVID-19 pandemic have enforced numerous restrictions on daily living including social distancing, isolation and home confinement. While these measures are imperative to abate the spreading of COVID-19, the impact of these restrictions on health behaviours and lifestyle at home is undefined. Therefore, an international online survey was launched in April 2020 in seven languages to elucidate the behavioral and lifestyle consequences of COVID-19 restrictions. This report presents the preliminary results from the first thousand responders on physical activity (PA) and nutrition behaviours.
Methods: Thirty-five research organisations from Europe, North-Africa, Western Asia and the Americas promoted the survey through their networks to the general society, in English, German, French, Arabic, Spanish, Portugese, and Slovenian languages. Questions were presented in a differential format with questions related to responses before and during confinement conditions.
Results: 1047 replies (54% women) from Asia (36%), Africa (40%), Europe (21%) and other (3%) were included into a general analysis. The COVID-19 home confinement had a negative effect on all intensities of PA (vigorous, moderate, walking and overall). Conversely, daily sitting time increased from 5 to 8 hours per day. Additionally, food consumption and meal patterns (the type of food, eating out of control, snacks between meals, number of meals) were more unhealthy during confinement with only alcohol binge drink decreasing significantly.
Conclusion: While isolation is a necessary measure to protect public health, our results indicate that it alters physical activity and eating behaviours in a direction that would compromise health. A more detailed analysis of survey data will allow for a segregation of these responses in different age groups, countries and other subgroups which will help develop bespoke interventions to mitigate the negative lifestyle behaviors manifest during the COVID-19 confinement.
Tuesday, May 12, 2020
Men less than women believe that they will be seriously affected by the coronavirus; men more than women agree that wearing a face covering is shameful, not cool, a sign of weakness, and a stigma
Capraro, Valerio, and Hélène Barcelo. 2020. “The Effect of Messaging and Gender on Intentions to Wear a Face Covering to Slow down COVID-19 Transmission.” PsyArXiv. May 11. doi:10.31234/osf.io/tg7vz
Abstract: Now that various countries are or will soon be moving towards relaxing shelter-in-place rules, it is important that people use a face covering, to avoid an exponential resurgence of the spreading of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Adherence to this measure will be made explicitly compulsory in many places. However, since it is impossible to control each and every person in a country, it is important to complement governmental laws with behavioral interventions devised to impact people’s behavior beyond the force of law. Here we report a pre-registered online experiment (N=2,459) using a heterogenous, although not representative, sample of people living in the USA, where we test the relative effect of messages highlighting that the coronavirus is a threat to “you” vs “your family” vs “your community” vs “your country” on self-reported intentions to wear a face covering. Results show that focusing on “your community” promotes intentions to wear a face covering relative to the baseline; the trend is the same when comparing “your community” to the other conditions, but not significant. We also conducted pre-registered analyses of gender differences on intentions to wear a face covering. We find that men less than women intend to wear a face covering, but this difference almost disappears in counties where wearing a face covering is mandatory. We also find that men less than women believe that they will be seriously affected by the coronavirus, and this partly mediates gender differences in intentions to wear a face covering (this is particularly ironic because official statistics actually show that men are affected by the COVID-19 more seriously than women). Finally, we also find gender differences in self-reported negative emotions felt when wearing a face covering. Men more than women agree that wearing a face covering is shameful, not cool, a sign of weakness, and a stigma; and these gender differences also mediate gender differences in intentions to wear a face covering.
Abstract: Now that various countries are or will soon be moving towards relaxing shelter-in-place rules, it is important that people use a face covering, to avoid an exponential resurgence of the spreading of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Adherence to this measure will be made explicitly compulsory in many places. However, since it is impossible to control each and every person in a country, it is important to complement governmental laws with behavioral interventions devised to impact people’s behavior beyond the force of law. Here we report a pre-registered online experiment (N=2,459) using a heterogenous, although not representative, sample of people living in the USA, where we test the relative effect of messages highlighting that the coronavirus is a threat to “you” vs “your family” vs “your community” vs “your country” on self-reported intentions to wear a face covering. Results show that focusing on “your community” promotes intentions to wear a face covering relative to the baseline; the trend is the same when comparing “your community” to the other conditions, but not significant. We also conducted pre-registered analyses of gender differences on intentions to wear a face covering. We find that men less than women intend to wear a face covering, but this difference almost disappears in counties where wearing a face covering is mandatory. We also find that men less than women believe that they will be seriously affected by the coronavirus, and this partly mediates gender differences in intentions to wear a face covering (this is particularly ironic because official statistics actually show that men are affected by the COVID-19 more seriously than women). Finally, we also find gender differences in self-reported negative emotions felt when wearing a face covering. Men more than women agree that wearing a face covering is shameful, not cool, a sign of weakness, and a stigma; and these gender differences also mediate gender differences in intentions to wear a face covering.
Individuals with broader beliefs about trauma experienced more intense negative emotions; reported more event-related distress (e.g., intrusions, nightmares) several days following
Jones, Payton J., and Richard J. McNally. 2020. “Does Broadening One's Concept of Trauma Undermine Resilience?.” PsyArXiv. May 11. doi:10.31234/osf.io/5ureb
Abstract: The term 'trauma' seems to have expanded from a narrow usage (referring exclusively to extreme events such as rape and warfare) to a broad usage (encompassing almost any event that results in emotional distress). Today, individuals vary widely in the extent to which their personal 'trauma concept' is relatively narrow or broad. In this study, we explore whether this variation is important to individuals' actual experience when facing a stressful event (in this case, watching a disturbing film clip). Individuals with broader beliefs about trauma experienced more intense negative emotions and were more likely to report viewing the film clip as a personal trauma. Moreover, those who saw the film clip as a personal trauma reported more event-related distress (e.g., intrusions, nightmares) several days following. However, we find limited support for causality, with an experimental manipulation showing a significant effect on personal trauma concepts but mixed effects on other outcomes.
Abstract: The term 'trauma' seems to have expanded from a narrow usage (referring exclusively to extreme events such as rape and warfare) to a broad usage (encompassing almost any event that results in emotional distress). Today, individuals vary widely in the extent to which their personal 'trauma concept' is relatively narrow or broad. In this study, we explore whether this variation is important to individuals' actual experience when facing a stressful event (in this case, watching a disturbing film clip). Individuals with broader beliefs about trauma experienced more intense negative emotions and were more likely to report viewing the film clip as a personal trauma. Moreover, those who saw the film clip as a personal trauma reported more event-related distress (e.g., intrusions, nightmares) several days following. However, we find limited support for causality, with an experimental manipulation showing a significant effect on personal trauma concepts but mixed effects on other outcomes.
Clarifying the Structure and Nature of Left-wing Authoritarianism
Costello, Thomas H., Shauna Bowes, Sean T. Stevens, Irwin Waldman, and Scott O. Lilienfeld. 2020. “Clarifying the Structure and Nature of Left-wing Authoritarianism.” PsyArXiv. May 11. doi:10.31234/osf.io/3nprq
Abstract: Left-wing authoritarianism (LWA) is one of the more controversial and poorly understood major constructs in political psychology. In this series of studies, we investigate LWA’s nature, structure, correlates, and psychological implications. Beginning with a broad preliminary conceptualization of LWA, we use exploratory and empirical strategies of test construction across five community samples (N = 6,292) to iteratively construct a measure of LWA with promising content validity; refine our conceptualization based on the measure’s structural and nomological validity; and update the measure to reflect these changes. We conduct quantitative tests of LWA’s relations with a host of authoritarianism-related variables, based on a priori hypotheses derived in part from right-wing authoritarianism’s well-established nomological network, and use a behavioral paradigm to show that LWA and social dominance orientation (but not right-wing authoritarianism) predict aggression towards threatening ideological opponents over and above political ideology. We conclude that a shared psychological “core” underlies authoritarianism across the political left and right.
Abstract: Left-wing authoritarianism (LWA) is one of the more controversial and poorly understood major constructs in political psychology. In this series of studies, we investigate LWA’s nature, structure, correlates, and psychological implications. Beginning with a broad preliminary conceptualization of LWA, we use exploratory and empirical strategies of test construction across five community samples (N = 6,292) to iteratively construct a measure of LWA with promising content validity; refine our conceptualization based on the measure’s structural and nomological validity; and update the measure to reflect these changes. We conduct quantitative tests of LWA’s relations with a host of authoritarianism-related variables, based on a priori hypotheses derived in part from right-wing authoritarianism’s well-established nomological network, and use a behavioral paradigm to show that LWA and social dominance orientation (but not right-wing authoritarianism) predict aggression towards threatening ideological opponents over and above political ideology. We conclude that a shared psychological “core” underlies authoritarianism across the political left and right.
Reactions and gender differences to online pictures of covered sexual organs among heterosexual young adults—Studies based on behavior, eye movement and ERP
Reactions and gender differences to online pictures of covered sexual organs among heterosexual young adults—Studies based on behavior, eye movement and ERP. Lei Han et al. Computers in Human Behavior, May 11 2020, 106425, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2020.106425
Highlights
• Sexual cognition of online sexual pictures.
• Employ eye-movement technology and ERPs to explore sexual cognition differences.
• Covered pictures can cause significant sexual arousal.
• Both naked and covered pictures can induce gender category-specific effect.
Abstract: To increase internet traffic, some online media try to attract attention by presenting pictures that cover the sexual organs of the body. However, compared with naked pictures, it remains unclear whether these covered pictures can evoke similar levels of sexual arousal in heterosexual young adults and category-specific patterns in men. To examine the above problems, this research divided female and male pictures into 4 types (fully dressed pictures, naked pictures, covered pictures and underwear-wearing pictures). Behavioral experiments, eye-movement technology and ERP measurements were employed to explore the different levels of sexual arousal between men and women in response to pictures of different sexes and types. The results revealed that the level of sexual arousal induced by covered pictures was significantly higher than that induced by naked pictures. There was no significant difference in the P300 amplitude of the parietal lobe between covered pictures and naked pictures, but in the frontal lobe, the P300 amplitude induced by covered pictures was significantly higher than that induced by naked pictures. The results indicated that unlike the process of sexual arousal induced by naked pictures, the process of sexual arousal induced by covered pictures not only included the processing of visual stimuli but also required the frontal lobe to actively construct to perceive pictures of covered sexual organs as naked pictures and thus induce sexual arousal. In addition, we also found that both covered pictures (as reflected in the levels of sexual arousal and the average amplitude of P300) and naked pictures (as reflected in the levels of sexual arousal, the number of fixations and the average amplitude of P300) can induce category specificity in heterosexual men. On the one hand, this research extends knowledge regarding sexual cognition and finds that covered pictures can also evoke category specificity in men; on the other hand, from the perspective of brain cognition, the difference in sexual cognitive processing between covered pictures and naked pictures is recognized.
Keywords: Sexual cognitionCategory specificityGender differenceEye movementERP
Highlights
• Sexual cognition of online sexual pictures.
• Employ eye-movement technology and ERPs to explore sexual cognition differences.
• Covered pictures can cause significant sexual arousal.
• Both naked and covered pictures can induce gender category-specific effect.
Abstract: To increase internet traffic, some online media try to attract attention by presenting pictures that cover the sexual organs of the body. However, compared with naked pictures, it remains unclear whether these covered pictures can evoke similar levels of sexual arousal in heterosexual young adults and category-specific patterns in men. To examine the above problems, this research divided female and male pictures into 4 types (fully dressed pictures, naked pictures, covered pictures and underwear-wearing pictures). Behavioral experiments, eye-movement technology and ERP measurements were employed to explore the different levels of sexual arousal between men and women in response to pictures of different sexes and types. The results revealed that the level of sexual arousal induced by covered pictures was significantly higher than that induced by naked pictures. There was no significant difference in the P300 amplitude of the parietal lobe between covered pictures and naked pictures, but in the frontal lobe, the P300 amplitude induced by covered pictures was significantly higher than that induced by naked pictures. The results indicated that unlike the process of sexual arousal induced by naked pictures, the process of sexual arousal induced by covered pictures not only included the processing of visual stimuli but also required the frontal lobe to actively construct to perceive pictures of covered sexual organs as naked pictures and thus induce sexual arousal. In addition, we also found that both covered pictures (as reflected in the levels of sexual arousal and the average amplitude of P300) and naked pictures (as reflected in the levels of sexual arousal, the number of fixations and the average amplitude of P300) can induce category specificity in heterosexual men. On the one hand, this research extends knowledge regarding sexual cognition and finds that covered pictures can also evoke category specificity in men; on the other hand, from the perspective of brain cognition, the difference in sexual cognitive processing between covered pictures and naked pictures is recognized.
Keywords: Sexual cognitionCategory specificityGender differenceEye movementERP
Monday, May 11, 2020
How people perceive the minds of the dead: The importance of consciousness at the moment of death
How people perceive the minds of the dead: The importance of consciousness at the moment of death. Cameron M.Doyle, Kurt Gray. Cognition, Volume 202, September 2020, 104308. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2020.104308
Abstract: Immortality is thought to be achieved through heroic deeds, reincarnation, and the afterlife. The present studies reveal an alternative path to transcending death: dying while conscious. Seven studies demonstrate that dying while more awake, aware and/or lucid leads people to see a richer postmortem mind—an effect we call conservation of consciousness. People see more mind in the deceased when they die with their eyes open (Study 1), and while awake (vs. in a coma), while suffering from ALS (vs. from Alzheimer's), while on hallucinogens (vs. sedatives), and while dreaming (vs. in a deep sleep; Study 2). This effect is robust, holding even in a between-subjects design, and even when participants are explicitly encouraged to interpret the mind perception items literally (Study 3). Perceived conservation of consciousness after death is driven more by general perceived awareness than by fear of death (Study 4) and predicts perceptions of mind beyond having a vivid (vs. dull) life (Study 5). The last wishes of the dying are also given more moral weight if made by those who ultimately die while conscious (Study 6). Perceived conservation of consciousness also occurs in the real-world context of a historic cemetery (Study 7). These results reveal a simple way to increase your influence after death and highlight both the power of endings and the subjective nature of mind.
Abstract: Immortality is thought to be achieved through heroic deeds, reincarnation, and the afterlife. The present studies reveal an alternative path to transcending death: dying while conscious. Seven studies demonstrate that dying while more awake, aware and/or lucid leads people to see a richer postmortem mind—an effect we call conservation of consciousness. People see more mind in the deceased when they die with their eyes open (Study 1), and while awake (vs. in a coma), while suffering from ALS (vs. from Alzheimer's), while on hallucinogens (vs. sedatives), and while dreaming (vs. in a deep sleep; Study 2). This effect is robust, holding even in a between-subjects design, and even when participants are explicitly encouraged to interpret the mind perception items literally (Study 3). Perceived conservation of consciousness after death is driven more by general perceived awareness than by fear of death (Study 4) and predicts perceptions of mind beyond having a vivid (vs. dull) life (Study 5). The last wishes of the dying are also given more moral weight if made by those who ultimately die while conscious (Study 6). Perceived conservation of consciousness also occurs in the real-world context of a historic cemetery (Study 7). These results reveal a simple way to increase your influence after death and highlight both the power of endings and the subjective nature of mind.
Bullshit ability is predictive of participants’ intelligence and individuals capable of producing more satisfying bullshit are judged by second-hand observers to be higher in intelligence
Turpin, Martin H., Mane Kara-Yakoubian, Alexander C. Walker, and Jonathan A. Fugelsang. 2020. “Bullshit Ability as an Honest Signal of Intelligence.” PsyArXiv. May 11. doi:10.31234/osf.io/aru3f > final version Evolutionary Psychology, May 17, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1177/14747049211000317
Abstract: The ability to navigate social systems efficiently is critical to our species. Humans appear endowed with a cognitive system that has at least partially formed to best meet the unique cognitive challenges that emerge in a highly social species. Bullshitting, a style of communication characterised by an intent to be convincing or impressive without concern for the truth, is ubiquitous within human societies. Across two studies (N = 1,017), we assess whether participants’ ability to produce satisfying and seemingly accurate bullshit (i.e., explanations of fake concepts) acts as an honest signal of their intelligence. Consistent with our hypotheses, we find that bullshit ability is predictive of participants’ intelligence and individuals capable of producing more satisfying bullshit are judged by second-hand observers to be higher in intelligence. We interpret these results as adding further evidence for human intelligence being naturally geared towards the efficient navigation of social systems. The ability to produce satisfying bullshit may serve to assist individuals in negotiating their social world, both as an energetically efficient strategy for impressing others and as an honest signal of one’s intelligence.
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Abstract: The ability to navigate social systems efficiently is critical to our species. Humans appear endowed with a cognitive system that has at least partially formed to best meet the unique cognitive challenges that emerge in a highly social species. Bullshitting, a style of communication characterised by an intent to be convincing or impressive without concern for the truth, is ubiquitous within human societies. Across two studies (N = 1,017), we assess whether participants’ ability to produce satisfying and seemingly accurate bullshit (i.e., explanations of fake concepts) acts as an honest signal of their intelligence. Consistent with our hypotheses, we find that bullshit ability is predictive of participants’ intelligence and individuals capable of producing more satisfying bullshit are judged by second-hand observers to be higher in intelligence. We interpret these results as adding further evidence for human intelligence being naturally geared towards the efficient navigation of social systems. The ability to produce satisfying bullshit may serve to assist individuals in negotiating their social world, both as an energetically efficient strategy for impressing others and as an honest signal of one’s intelligence.
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From the final version:
The current work provides initial evidence for bullshit ability as an honest signal of intelligence. We find that the ability to create satisfying and seemingly accurate bullshit (e.g., explanations of fake concepts) was associated with obtaining higher scores on two measures of cognitive ability (i.e., the Wordsum and RPM). Interestingly, we find that one’s ability to produce satisfying bullshit is independent of one’s willingness to produce bullshit. Indeed, the two were uncorrelated in our studies, and had opposite associations with measures of intelligence. Others have found similar negative associations with measures of intelligence. For example, Pennycook and Rand (2019) found that overclaiming (arguably a form of bullshitting very similar to our bullshit willingness measure) was negatively correlated with performance on the Cognitive Reflection Task. Additionally, in a study by Littrell and colleagues (2021), intelligence (as indexed by Numeracy and Wordsum) was found to be negatively associated with persuasive bullshitting frequency.
It would seem logical that those who are better at bullshitting would opt to use it more frequently, however, we do not find this here. A possible explanation may be one which appeals to Theory of Mind models of intelligence. Of the three evolutionary pressures discussed in the introduction, the current set of studies has largely focused on a Machiavellian view, that intelligence affords us opportunities to deceive others to our advantage, as well as an IQ-signaling perspective, whereby bullshitting may be useful as an honest signal of a person’s quality or fitness through signaling their intelligence. We may lean on the third pressure to explain why it is that despite their superior ability to create bullshit, intelligent people seem to display less willingness to spontaneously engage in bullshitting. Part of this explanation may be that increased intelligence also results in a more sophisticated ability to simulate the mental states of others. In casual language, this may be described as “knowing your audience” and as such, they may possess a more sophisticated understanding of when and where bullshitting will work if attempted. Further, if highly intelligent people tend to associate with similarly intelligent people due to factors related to assortative mating, for example, intelligent people preferring intelligent mates or, “like pairs with like” (Thiessen & Gregg, 1980) or general homophily (McPherson et al., 2001) they may often find themselves around people who are likely to detect attempts at bullshitting, lowering its appeal as a first-order social strategy. As previous research has argued, a determiner of whether people will make an attempt to bullshit someone is whether they believe it will go undetected (Petrocelli, 2018). If smarter people are better able to know the contents of other people’s thoughts, they may be more carefully calibrated to the conditions under which an attempt at bullshitting will be unsuccessful. Of note, “bullshit ability,” as measured in our studies, involved the production of explanations for fake concepts, while “bullshit willingness” only required that the participant be willing to rate their knowledge of such fake concepts higher than “none.” Therefore, the lack of association we observed could be due to the specific methods selected to measure these two constructs. Future work should further dissociate the processes underlying one’s ability and willingness to produce bullshit.
While work has begun examining the degree to which personality may predict receptivity to bullshit (Bainbridge et al., 2019; Čavojová et al., 2020), it has yet to be explored how personality influences the tendency or ability to bullshit. It could be the case that different personality traits (e.g., openness, honesty-humility, agreeableness; Lee & Ashton, 2004), moderate one’s willingness to engage in bullshitting. For example, a person who scores high in honesty-humility, a personality dimension which captures traits like sincerity, fairness, or modesty, may be less willing to bullshit, given that bullshitting is characterized by the desire to impress others without regard for the truth. The reverse may be true for those who are low in agreeableness, they may, especially when confronted with a disagreement, be more likely to deemphasize the importance of truth in favor of self-advancement through the use of bullshit. The numerous ways that common personality factors may interact in predicting the tendency and ability to bullshit makes for a promising topic of future exploration.
Regardless of whether bullshit ability honestly signals one’s intelligence, of potentially greater importance is that skilled bullshit producers are perceived by others as highly intelligent. From the perspective of navigating social systems, being perceived as intelligent may be just as valuable to an agent as actually being intelligent, as this perception may afford one opportunities to obtain status and form relationships as well as have greater trust placed in their competence. To this point, we observed a strong positive association between bullshit ability and perceived intelligence. However, this association was found in a situation in which those judging the intelligence of bullshit producers knew nothing of these individuals except their ability to produce satisfying explanations of real and fake concepts. Thus, it is likely that the strength of this association was overestimated in the present work as–with limited information–any signal of quality may have been exaggerated. In addition, as Bullshit Raters rated bullshit ability and perceived intelligence using similar 5-point scales, the strength of this association may be inflated due to unthoughtful responding by some participants (i.e., some participants may be inclined to simply select the same values on the scales).
Overall, we interpret these results as initial evidence that the ability to bullshit well provides an honest signal of a person’s ability to successfully navigate social systems, fitting the current work into existing frameworks whereby human intelligence is geared towards efficiently navigating such systems (Dunbar, 1998; Crow, 1993). More specifically, we propose that the ability to produce satisfying bullshit may have emerged as an energetically efficient strategy for achieving an individual’s goals (such as acquiring status or impressing mates). That is, a person can engage in the arduous process of acquiring expert skills in domains that they could then leverage to accomplish certain goals, or can use bullshit as a strategy that potentially produces the same benefits at a much smaller cost (Turpin et al., 2019). Of course, these strategies need not be mutually exclusive, as the ability to produce satisfying bullshit may help even highly skilled individuals achieve their goals over equally skilled peers. This may be especially true in domains in which success depends largely on the subjective evaluations of others (e.g., art, advertising, politics, life coaching, journalism, humanities).
Limitations
An obvious limitation of the current work is its correlational nature, meaning that we cannot conclude that being more intelligent causes a person to be a better bullshitter. The current study merely provides preliminary evidence consistent with one plausible causal model. Future work should seek to explicitly probe the causal relation between intelligence and bullshit ability if any such relation exists. In addition, as noted above, the association between perceived intelligence and bullshit ability is likely overestimated in our sample due to the limited information available to the raters and the means of assessment. With respect to the latter, future research should include alternative metrics to assess perceived intelligence (e.g., estimating the actual IQ of bullshit producers using a number rather than a rating scale) to limit the possibility of unthoughtful responding contributing to the association.
The use of the WordSum and Raven’s Progressive Matrices made the conduct of the study possible given constraints on time. Independently, they predict IQ fairly well with correlations ranging between r = .55 and r = .66 between scores on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale and Raven’s Matrices, and a correlation between Wordsum performance and IQ of r = .88 (Burke, 1985; Malhotra et al., 2007; McLaurin et al., 1973). However, more sophisticated measures for IQ would improve the accuracy of any cognitive ability measurement and therefore provide a more exact picture of the true relation between bullshit ability and cognitive ability. Relatedly, more opportunities to assess bullshit ability through either increasing the number of fake concepts participants were to bullshit about, or even better, using multiple different tasks which meet the criteria for “bullshitting” would improve our ability to draw conclusions about “bullshitting” behavior generally.
The bullshit generation task required participants to produce bullshit by explicitly directing them to ignore the truth. This is, under a Frankfurtian definition, “bullshit,” but this task is merely a substitute for the truly interesting question of how bullshit ability and cognitive ability relate in naturalistic settings, where bullshitting happens spontaneously. This artificial task is sufficient for establishing some initial evidence of the link between bullshit ability and cognitive ability, but more work is required to identify the nature of this relation.
Sunday, May 10, 2020
In simulations: Interpersonal distance is significantly reduced when the characters wear a face mask compared to other conditions
Cartaud, Alice, Quesque François, and Yann Coello. 2020. “Beware of Virus! Wearing a Face Mask Against COVID-19 Results in a Reduction of Social Distancing.” PsyArXiv. May 11. doi:10.31234/osf.io/ubzea
Abstract: In the context of Covid-19 pandemic, barrier gestures such as regular hand washing, social distancing, and wearing face mask are highly recommended. Critically, interpersonal distances depend on the physical and emotional dimensions involved in social interaction, two factors that might be affected by the current Covid-19 context. In the present internet-based experimental study, we analyzed the preferred interpersonal distance of 461 participants, when facing a virtual character either wearing a face mask or displaying a neutral, happy or angry facial expression. The results showed that interpersonal distance is significantly reduced when the characters wear a face mask compared to other conditions. Importantly, it was also reduced in participants already infected with Covid-19, or living in a low-risk area. The present findings are of dramatic importance as they indicate that the general requirement to wear a mask in social contexts can have deleterious effects, interfering with social distancing recommendations.
Abstract: In the context of Covid-19 pandemic, barrier gestures such as regular hand washing, social distancing, and wearing face mask are highly recommended. Critically, interpersonal distances depend on the physical and emotional dimensions involved in social interaction, two factors that might be affected by the current Covid-19 context. In the present internet-based experimental study, we analyzed the preferred interpersonal distance of 461 participants, when facing a virtual character either wearing a face mask or displaying a neutral, happy or angry facial expression. The results showed that interpersonal distance is significantly reduced when the characters wear a face mask compared to other conditions. Importantly, it was also reduced in participants already infected with Covid-19, or living in a low-risk area. The present findings are of dramatic importance as they indicate that the general requirement to wear a mask in social contexts can have deleterious effects, interfering with social distancing recommendations.
Individuals high in neuroticism experienced more negative affect in their daily lives during the Covid-19 pandemic
Kroencke, Lara, Katharina Geukes, Till Utesch, Niclas Kuper, and Mitja Back. 2020. “Neuroticism and Emotional Risk During the Covid-19 Pandemic.” PsyArXiv. May 10. doi:10.31234/osf.io/8c6nh
Abstract: Large-scale health crises, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, may evoke negative affective responses, which are closely linked to psychological maladjustment and psychopathology. Here, we shed light on the role of the personality trait neuroticism in predicting who is at risk and why. In a large-scale experience-sampling study based on a German convenience sample (N = 1,609; 38,120 momentary reports), individuals high in neuroticism experienced more negative affect in their daily lives during the Covid-19 pandemic. The effects of neuroticism on negative affect were substantially stronger than those of sociodemographic factors and personally experienced health threats. Underlying mechanisms included (a) higher attention to Covid-19-related information and higher engagement in Covid-19-related worries (crisis preoccupation), and (b) stronger negative affect during this preoccupation (affective reactivity). These findings highlight that global pandemics put not only people’s physical health at stake but also their psychological well-being and offer concrete starting points for large-scale prevention efforts.
Abstract: Large-scale health crises, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, may evoke negative affective responses, which are closely linked to psychological maladjustment and psychopathology. Here, we shed light on the role of the personality trait neuroticism in predicting who is at risk and why. In a large-scale experience-sampling study based on a German convenience sample (N = 1,609; 38,120 momentary reports), individuals high in neuroticism experienced more negative affect in their daily lives during the Covid-19 pandemic. The effects of neuroticism on negative affect were substantially stronger than those of sociodemographic factors and personally experienced health threats. Underlying mechanisms included (a) higher attention to Covid-19-related information and higher engagement in Covid-19-related worries (crisis preoccupation), and (b) stronger negative affect during this preoccupation (affective reactivity). These findings highlight that global pandemics put not only people’s physical health at stake but also their psychological well-being and offer concrete starting points for large-scale prevention efforts.
A concern raised by the “immunity passports” is that not-yet-infected individuals would have an incentive to expose themselves to the virus intentionally so that they can develop antibodies and get passports
Hemel, Daniel Jacob and Malani, Anup, Immunity Passports and Moral Hazard (May 8, 2020). SSRN: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3596569
Abstract: The idea of using “immunity passports” to restart the economy before the arrival of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine has attracted increasing attention as the Covid-19 crisis has escalated. Under an “immunity passport” regime, individuals who test positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies would receive certificates allowing them to return to work and potentially to participate in a broader range of activities without social distancing. One concern raised by the “immunity passport” proposal is that not-yet-infected individuals would have an incentive to expose themselves to the virus intentionally so that they can develop antibodies and obtain passports. This paper evaluates the moral-hazard risk that an immunity passport regime would generate. We develop a rudimentary rational-actor model of self-infection decisions under an immunity passport regime and then parameterize the model using early data on SARS-CoV-2 infection outcomes. Our topline result is that strategic self-infection would be privately rational for younger adults under a wide range of plausible parameters. This result raises two significant concerns. First, in the process of infecting themselves, younger adults may expose others—including older and/or immunocompromised individuals—to SARS-CoV-2, generating significant negative externalities. Second, even if younger adults can self-infect without exposing others to risk, large numbers of self-infections over a short timeframe after introduction of the immunity passport regime may impose significant congestion externalities on health care infrastructure. We then evaluate several interventions that could mitigate moral hazard under an immunity passport regime, including the extension of unemployment benefits, staggered implementation of passports, and controlled exposure of individuals who seek to self-infect. Our results underscore the importance of careful planning around moral hazard as part of any widescale immunity passport regime.
Keywords: immunity passports, immunity certificates, moral hazard, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2
JEL Classification: I10, I13, I18, J0, J4, K1,
Abstract: The idea of using “immunity passports” to restart the economy before the arrival of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine has attracted increasing attention as the Covid-19 crisis has escalated. Under an “immunity passport” regime, individuals who test positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies would receive certificates allowing them to return to work and potentially to participate in a broader range of activities without social distancing. One concern raised by the “immunity passport” proposal is that not-yet-infected individuals would have an incentive to expose themselves to the virus intentionally so that they can develop antibodies and obtain passports. This paper evaluates the moral-hazard risk that an immunity passport regime would generate. We develop a rudimentary rational-actor model of self-infection decisions under an immunity passport regime and then parameterize the model using early data on SARS-CoV-2 infection outcomes. Our topline result is that strategic self-infection would be privately rational for younger adults under a wide range of plausible parameters. This result raises two significant concerns. First, in the process of infecting themselves, younger adults may expose others—including older and/or immunocompromised individuals—to SARS-CoV-2, generating significant negative externalities. Second, even if younger adults can self-infect without exposing others to risk, large numbers of self-infections over a short timeframe after introduction of the immunity passport regime may impose significant congestion externalities on health care infrastructure. We then evaluate several interventions that could mitigate moral hazard under an immunity passport regime, including the extension of unemployment benefits, staggered implementation of passports, and controlled exposure of individuals who seek to self-infect. Our results underscore the importance of careful planning around moral hazard as part of any widescale immunity passport regime.
Keywords: immunity passports, immunity certificates, moral hazard, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2
JEL Classification: I10, I13, I18, J0, J4, K1,
Saturday, May 9, 2020
The review concludes that there is compelling evidence that the university environment is triggering high levels of stress and burnout and low levels of wellbeing for academics
Urbina, Angel. 2020. “What Do We Know About University Academics’ Mental Health? A Systematic Literature Review.” PsyArXiv. May 8. doi:10.31234/osf.io/37jhr
Abstract: There has been a growing interest on the negative influence that the environment of higher education institutions has on the mental health of academics, and there is evidence to suggest that the university environment is jeopardising academics’ physical and psychological health. This study sought to review the international literature with a view to ascertaining what the most commonly used measures are to investigate this topic, including the main stressors and coping strategies reported/used by academics and their lived experiences. A thorough review of the literature was conducted, and 28 studies were identified and critically analysed. The review concludes that there is compelling evidence that the university environment is triggering high levels of stress and burnout and low levels of wellbeing for academics. There is extremely limited research on the perceptions and lived experiences of academic staff. It is virtually unknown, what coping strategies academics use to face job demands, and our knowledge about burnout, seems to be limited by the use of one particular measure without cultural adaptations.
Abstract: There has been a growing interest on the negative influence that the environment of higher education institutions has on the mental health of academics, and there is evidence to suggest that the university environment is jeopardising academics’ physical and psychological health. This study sought to review the international literature with a view to ascertaining what the most commonly used measures are to investigate this topic, including the main stressors and coping strategies reported/used by academics and their lived experiences. A thorough review of the literature was conducted, and 28 studies were identified and critically analysed. The review concludes that there is compelling evidence that the university environment is triggering high levels of stress and burnout and low levels of wellbeing for academics. There is extremely limited research on the perceptions and lived experiences of academic staff. It is virtually unknown, what coping strategies academics use to face job demands, and our knowledge about burnout, seems to be limited by the use of one particular measure without cultural adaptations.
Are Playboy (and girl) Norms Behind the Relationship Problems Associated with Pornography Viewing in Men and Women?
Are Playboy (and girl) Norms Behind the Relationship Problems Associated with Pornography Viewing in Men and Women? Nicholas C. Borgogna, Tracey Smith, Ryon C. McDermott & Matthew Whatley. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, May 7 2020. https://doi.org/10.1080/0092623X.2020.1760980
Abstract: Research has indicated that pornography viewing is related to romantic relationship problems. However, the correlations across past studies have been small. We tested a model in which playboy norm conformity (i.e. desires to have frequent sex with multiple partners) functions as a confound between pornography viewing constructs on three romantic relationship wellbeing indicators: Relationship satisfaction, relationship commitment, and infidelity proclivity. Results from men (n = 286) and women (n = 717) indicated that the significant inverse correlations between relationship satisfaction and relationship commitment with pornography viewing constructs becomes non-significant when playboy norm conformity is accounted. Further, the positive relationship between pornography viewing and infidelity proclivity also becomes non-significant in women (no initial connection between pornography viewing and infidelity proclivity was found in men). Though conformity to playboy norms was more strongly related to all romantic relationship wellbeing indicators across genders, pornography viewing frequency was still significantly inversely correlated with relationship satisfaction for women; though the effect size was small. Moderation analyses suggested that pornography viewing frequency was more strongly inversely correlated with relationship satisfaction for women than men. Cumulatively, our results suggest conformity to playboy norms is a significant confounding variable between pornography viewing and romantic relationship wellbeing.
Keywords: Pornography, relationship satisfaction, relationship commitment, infidelity, promiscuity
Abstract: Research has indicated that pornography viewing is related to romantic relationship problems. However, the correlations across past studies have been small. We tested a model in which playboy norm conformity (i.e. desires to have frequent sex with multiple partners) functions as a confound between pornography viewing constructs on three romantic relationship wellbeing indicators: Relationship satisfaction, relationship commitment, and infidelity proclivity. Results from men (n = 286) and women (n = 717) indicated that the significant inverse correlations between relationship satisfaction and relationship commitment with pornography viewing constructs becomes non-significant when playboy norm conformity is accounted. Further, the positive relationship between pornography viewing and infidelity proclivity also becomes non-significant in women (no initial connection between pornography viewing and infidelity proclivity was found in men). Though conformity to playboy norms was more strongly related to all romantic relationship wellbeing indicators across genders, pornography viewing frequency was still significantly inversely correlated with relationship satisfaction for women; though the effect size was small. Moderation analyses suggested that pornography viewing frequency was more strongly inversely correlated with relationship satisfaction for women than men. Cumulatively, our results suggest conformity to playboy norms is a significant confounding variable between pornography viewing and romantic relationship wellbeing.
Keywords: Pornography, relationship satisfaction, relationship commitment, infidelity, promiscuity
Friday, May 8, 2020
Demographic and health factors associated with pandemic anxiety in the context of COVID-19
McElroy, Eoin. 2020. “Demographic and health factors associated with pandemic anxiety in the context of COVID-19.” PsyArXiv. May 8. doi:10.31234/osf.io/2eksd
Abstract
Objectives: The mental health consequences of COVID-19 are predicted to have a disproportionate impact on certain groups. We aimed to develop a brief measure, the Pandemic Anxiety Scale, to capture the specific aspects of the pandemic that are provoking anxiety, and explore how these vary by health and demographic factors.
Design: Data were from a convenience sample of parents (N=4,793) and adolescents (N=698) recruited in the first 6 weeks of lockdown.
Methods: Factor analytic and IRT methods were used to validate the new measure in both parent and adolescent samples. Associations between scores on the new measure and age, gender, household income, and physical health status were explored using structural equation modelling (SEM).
Results: Two factors were identified in both samples: disease-anxiety (e.g. catching, transmitting the virus) and consequence anxiety (e.g. impact on economic prospects), and unique associations with health and demographic factors were observed.
Conclusions: Anxieties due to the COVID-19 are multifaceted, and the PAS is a short, reliable and valid measure of these concerns. These anxieties are differentially associated with demographic, social and health factors, which should be considered when developing strategies to mitigate the mental health impact of the pandemic.
Abstract
Objectives: The mental health consequences of COVID-19 are predicted to have a disproportionate impact on certain groups. We aimed to develop a brief measure, the Pandemic Anxiety Scale, to capture the specific aspects of the pandemic that are provoking anxiety, and explore how these vary by health and demographic factors.
Design: Data were from a convenience sample of parents (N=4,793) and adolescents (N=698) recruited in the first 6 weeks of lockdown.
Methods: Factor analytic and IRT methods were used to validate the new measure in both parent and adolescent samples. Associations between scores on the new measure and age, gender, household income, and physical health status were explored using structural equation modelling (SEM).
Results: Two factors were identified in both samples: disease-anxiety (e.g. catching, transmitting the virus) and consequence anxiety (e.g. impact on economic prospects), and unique associations with health and demographic factors were observed.
Conclusions: Anxieties due to the COVID-19 are multifaceted, and the PAS is a short, reliable and valid measure of these concerns. These anxieties are differentially associated with demographic, social and health factors, which should be considered when developing strategies to mitigate the mental health impact of the pandemic.
Capgras and Fregoli syndromes: delusion and misidentification
Capgras and Fregoli syndromes: delusion and misidentification. Antonio Ventriglio et al. International Review of Psychiatry, May 7 2020. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540261.2020.1756625
Abstract: Capgras and Fregoli syndromes are two psychotic and complex conditions also known as Delusional Misidentification Syndromes (DMSs). Their description dates back to the beginning of XX century, and many explanatory models have been formulated through myths, psychoanalytical and psychological hypotheses, as well as neurobiological proposals. Even if DMSs are not fully considered in the modern diagnostic manuals, they still remain intriguing phenomena to be clinically observed and explained. Also, the employment of psychotropics and physical techniques in the treatment of such conditions is not supported by robust evidences and this may encourage further studies. We conclude that it would be of great interest to brush up the neglected MDSs in order to improve our knowledge on the underlying mechanisms of delusion and brain functioning.
Keywords: Capgras syndrome, Fregoli syndrome, misidentification syndromes, delusional disorder
Abstract: Capgras and Fregoli syndromes are two psychotic and complex conditions also known as Delusional Misidentification Syndromes (DMSs). Their description dates back to the beginning of XX century, and many explanatory models have been formulated through myths, psychoanalytical and psychological hypotheses, as well as neurobiological proposals. Even if DMSs are not fully considered in the modern diagnostic manuals, they still remain intriguing phenomena to be clinically observed and explained. Also, the employment of psychotropics and physical techniques in the treatment of such conditions is not supported by robust evidences and this may encourage further studies. We conclude that it would be of great interest to brush up the neglected MDSs in order to improve our knowledge on the underlying mechanisms of delusion and brain functioning.
Keywords: Capgras syndrome, Fregoli syndrome, misidentification syndromes, delusional disorder
A man’s desirability was enhanced in the presence of positive cues (i.e. when he was described as a “good” partner & his former relationship ended mutually); but it diminished in the presence of negative cues
Female Mate Copying: Measuring the Effect of Mate-Relevant Information Provided by Former Partners. Emily Scammell & Ryan C. Anderson. Evolutionary Psychological Science, May 8 2020. https://rd.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40806-020-00239-9
Abstract: One of the most important decisions an individual can make is to invest in a relationship. For women, the process of mate selection can be time-intensive, and fraught with costs and dangers. However, these risks can be minimised by modelling the mate choices of others. The propensity to imitate another’s mate choices is referred to as mate copying. Most research has focused on this behaviour in nonhumans, but evidence of its existence in humans is emerging. In the current study, 750 women evaluated men’s desirability based on vignettes containing information provided by men’s former partners. A man’s desirability was enhanced in the presence of positive cues (i.e. when he was described as a “good” partner and his former relationship ended mutually). In contrast, a man’s desirability diminished in the presence of negative cues (i.e. when he was described as a “bad” partner and/or his former relationship breakup was female initiated). Overall, the current study adds to the existing body of knowledge on mate copying by demonstrating how females incorporate social learning and innate evolutionary drives to facilitate decision-making and behaviour relating to mate selection.
Abstract: One of the most important decisions an individual can make is to invest in a relationship. For women, the process of mate selection can be time-intensive, and fraught with costs and dangers. However, these risks can be minimised by modelling the mate choices of others. The propensity to imitate another’s mate choices is referred to as mate copying. Most research has focused on this behaviour in nonhumans, but evidence of its existence in humans is emerging. In the current study, 750 women evaluated men’s desirability based on vignettes containing information provided by men’s former partners. A man’s desirability was enhanced in the presence of positive cues (i.e. when he was described as a “good” partner and his former relationship ended mutually). In contrast, a man’s desirability diminished in the presence of negative cues (i.e. when he was described as a “bad” partner and/or his former relationship breakup was female initiated). Overall, the current study adds to the existing body of knowledge on mate copying by demonstrating how females incorporate social learning and innate evolutionary drives to facilitate decision-making and behaviour relating to mate selection.
We search for information inside our heads; where does this ability come from, and what does it enable cognitive systems to do? On executive control, goal-directed cognition, self-awareness & deliberation
Foraging in Mind. Peter M. Todd, Thomas T. Hills. Current Directions in Psychological Science, May 7, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721420915861
Abstract: People and other animals can search for information inside their heads. Where does this ability come from, and what does it enable cognitive systems to do? In this article, we address the behavioral and cognitive similarities between search in external environments and internal environments (e.g., memory). These require both maplike representations and the means to navigate them, and the latter involves modulation between exploitation and exploration analogous to a foraging process called area-restricted search. These findings have implications for understanding a number of cognitive abilities commonly considered to be hallmarks of the human species, such as well-developed executive control and goal-directed cognition, autonoetic consciousness (i.e., self-awareness), deliberation, and free will. Moreover, this research extends our conception of what organisms may share these abilities and how they evolved.
Keywords: search, foraging, memory, executive function, verbal fluency task, cognitive map, episodic future thinking, self-projection
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Deliberation and self-projection
Deliberation can be defined as the ability to consider alternative courses of action. This can be instantiated as a form of internal foraging and is sometimes associated with the capacity for self-projection, imagining oneself adopting each considered course of action (or mental time travel; see Suddendorf, Addis, & Corballis, 2009). Studies with nonhuman animals have demonstrated phenomenological properties of deliberation. Recordings from hippocampal place cells in rats have shown preemptive internal foraging of choices of directions to take when navigating a maze, with hippocampal activation being followed by activation in striatal reward centers, allowing the valuing of possible future actions (Pezzulo, van der Meer, Lansink, & Pennartz, 2014; see Redish, 2016, for a review). This is called episodic future thinking, and alongside the increasing evidence for episodic memory in nonhuman animals (reviewed by Crystal, 2018), it suggests that internal foraging allows human and nonhuman animals to consider multiple courses of actions before initiating a choice. Perhaps most importantly for establishing humanlike abilities in other species (Suddendorf et al., 2009), internal foraging in nonhuman animals demonstrates the capacity for generativity, producing novel goal-directed solutions that the animal has never experienced before (Gupta, van der Meer, Touretzky, & Redish, 2010; Pfeiffer & Foster, 2013).
Self-awareness and autonoetic consciousness
Internal search requires two closely linked processes ( Jones et al., 2015): (a) a representation of the information to be searched along with some instantiation of nearness and farness, what Tolman (1948) referred to as a cognitive map, and (b) an attentional search process that controls or guides progress through the internal map. The goal-directed search process is associated with executive function and goal maintenance (Hills et al., 2010) and is synonymous with effortful consciousness, the kind of thinking associated with focused attention, one-thing-at-a-time processing, the ability to produce novelty, and self-report (e.g., Baddeley, 2007).
But internal search may also require another kind of consciousness. Any computational system (animal, robotic, or extraterrestrial) that develops an information representation and the capacity to search over it should also be able to tell the difference between internally imagined “experiences” (generated by episodic future thinking) and real experiences, or the individual will likely suffer from false memories and hallucinations. Hills and Butterfill (2015) argued that the need for this discriminative ability between internal and external foraging provides an evolutionary foothold for selfawareness, similar to what Tulving (1985) described as autonoetic consciousness.
Debates about self-awareness in animals are ongoing and have often relied on mirror self-recognition tasks using the mark test. Researchers have now observed that this task can be solved by primates, dolphins, elephants, chimpanzees, corvids, and more recently, fish. The prediction from internal-foraging research is that selfawareness, whether signaled by self-recognition or not, should be found in animals with the capacity to forage in mind as part of the mechanism that distinguishes between internal and external foraging events and thereby prevents memory errors and associated costly behaviors. (The presence of self-recognition could be an indication that a species engages in internal foraging, but this is not necessarily the case given that self-recognition may have evolved for other purposes.)
Free will and generative self-construction
Free will may at first seem beyond the scope of naturalistic accounts of cognitive capacities. But among compatibilists—people allowing for free will in a deterministic universe—standard requirements for free will include the capacity to “do otherwise” (to take alternative courses of action), to maintain goals, to deliberate over alternatives (internal foraging) in pursuit of said goals, and in the end, to be able to say “I did it” (Dennett, 2015). As our arguments above indicate, internal search and its required processes satisfy what many philosophers have characterized as these design features of compatibilist free will.
In particular, capacities for self-projection and generation of novelty in episodic future thinking lead to the possibility of generative self-construction (Hills, 2019). This involves a cognitive system, consciously aware of its own internal foraging, that experiences future versions of itself via constructive memory processes that sample from and recombine past experiences, chooses among them on the basis of the expected values associated with those experiences, and then acts to bring the chosen one about. This generative selfconstruction is a pragmatic and computational conceptualization of free will because it is built from the evolutionarily adaptive components underlying internal foraging mechanisms.
Abstract: People and other animals can search for information inside their heads. Where does this ability come from, and what does it enable cognitive systems to do? In this article, we address the behavioral and cognitive similarities between search in external environments and internal environments (e.g., memory). These require both maplike representations and the means to navigate them, and the latter involves modulation between exploitation and exploration analogous to a foraging process called area-restricted search. These findings have implications for understanding a number of cognitive abilities commonly considered to be hallmarks of the human species, such as well-developed executive control and goal-directed cognition, autonoetic consciousness (i.e., self-awareness), deliberation, and free will. Moreover, this research extends our conception of what organisms may share these abilities and how they evolved.
Keywords: search, foraging, memory, executive function, verbal fluency task, cognitive map, episodic future thinking, self-projection
---
Deliberation and self-projection
Deliberation can be defined as the ability to consider alternative courses of action. This can be instantiated as a form of internal foraging and is sometimes associated with the capacity for self-projection, imagining oneself adopting each considered course of action (or mental time travel; see Suddendorf, Addis, & Corballis, 2009). Studies with nonhuman animals have demonstrated phenomenological properties of deliberation. Recordings from hippocampal place cells in rats have shown preemptive internal foraging of choices of directions to take when navigating a maze, with hippocampal activation being followed by activation in striatal reward centers, allowing the valuing of possible future actions (Pezzulo, van der Meer, Lansink, & Pennartz, 2014; see Redish, 2016, for a review). This is called episodic future thinking, and alongside the increasing evidence for episodic memory in nonhuman animals (reviewed by Crystal, 2018), it suggests that internal foraging allows human and nonhuman animals to consider multiple courses of actions before initiating a choice. Perhaps most importantly for establishing humanlike abilities in other species (Suddendorf et al., 2009), internal foraging in nonhuman animals demonstrates the capacity for generativity, producing novel goal-directed solutions that the animal has never experienced before (Gupta, van der Meer, Touretzky, & Redish, 2010; Pfeiffer & Foster, 2013).
Self-awareness and autonoetic consciousness
Internal search requires two closely linked processes ( Jones et al., 2015): (a) a representation of the information to be searched along with some instantiation of nearness and farness, what Tolman (1948) referred to as a cognitive map, and (b) an attentional search process that controls or guides progress through the internal map. The goal-directed search process is associated with executive function and goal maintenance (Hills et al., 2010) and is synonymous with effortful consciousness, the kind of thinking associated with focused attention, one-thing-at-a-time processing, the ability to produce novelty, and self-report (e.g., Baddeley, 2007).
But internal search may also require another kind of consciousness. Any computational system (animal, robotic, or extraterrestrial) that develops an information representation and the capacity to search over it should also be able to tell the difference between internally imagined “experiences” (generated by episodic future thinking) and real experiences, or the individual will likely suffer from false memories and hallucinations. Hills and Butterfill (2015) argued that the need for this discriminative ability between internal and external foraging provides an evolutionary foothold for selfawareness, similar to what Tulving (1985) described as autonoetic consciousness.
Debates about self-awareness in animals are ongoing and have often relied on mirror self-recognition tasks using the mark test. Researchers have now observed that this task can be solved by primates, dolphins, elephants, chimpanzees, corvids, and more recently, fish. The prediction from internal-foraging research is that selfawareness, whether signaled by self-recognition or not, should be found in animals with the capacity to forage in mind as part of the mechanism that distinguishes between internal and external foraging events and thereby prevents memory errors and associated costly behaviors. (The presence of self-recognition could be an indication that a species engages in internal foraging, but this is not necessarily the case given that self-recognition may have evolved for other purposes.)
Free will and generative self-construction
Free will may at first seem beyond the scope of naturalistic accounts of cognitive capacities. But among compatibilists—people allowing for free will in a deterministic universe—standard requirements for free will include the capacity to “do otherwise” (to take alternative courses of action), to maintain goals, to deliberate over alternatives (internal foraging) in pursuit of said goals, and in the end, to be able to say “I did it” (Dennett, 2015). As our arguments above indicate, internal search and its required processes satisfy what many philosophers have characterized as these design features of compatibilist free will.
In particular, capacities for self-projection and generation of novelty in episodic future thinking lead to the possibility of generative self-construction (Hills, 2019). This involves a cognitive system, consciously aware of its own internal foraging, that experiences future versions of itself via constructive memory processes that sample from and recombine past experiences, chooses among them on the basis of the expected values associated with those experiences, and then acts to bring the chosen one about. This generative selfconstruction is a pragmatic and computational conceptualization of free will because it is built from the evolutionarily adaptive components underlying internal foraging mechanisms.
Thursday, May 7, 2020
Gender gaps in political engagement cannot be explained by women’s greater aversion to conflict, it is a product of men’s comparatively higher levels of enjoyment of arguments and disagreements
Conflict Avoidance and Gender Gaps in Political Engagement. Jennifer Wolak. Political Behavior, May 7 2020. https://rd.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11109-020-09614-5
Abstract: Why are women less likely to engage with politics as compared to men? I explore whether women avoid politics because of their lower levels of tolerance for conflict and disagreement. Men are more likely to say they enjoy a lively political argument, while women are more conflict avoidant. These differences in people’s orientations toward conflict are thought to contribute to gender gaps in political interest and engagement. I explore this using survey responses to a module of the 2016 Cooperative Congressional Election Study. I find that people’s positive reactions to conflict better explain the decision to engage in politics than negative reactions to disagreements. While women report higher levels of conflict avoidance than men, gender gaps in political engagement cannot be explained by women’s greater aversion to conflict. Instead, gender gaps are better understood as a product of men’s comparatively higher levels of enjoyment of arguments and disagreements.
Abstract: Why are women less likely to engage with politics as compared to men? I explore whether women avoid politics because of their lower levels of tolerance for conflict and disagreement. Men are more likely to say they enjoy a lively political argument, while women are more conflict avoidant. These differences in people’s orientations toward conflict are thought to contribute to gender gaps in political interest and engagement. I explore this using survey responses to a module of the 2016 Cooperative Congressional Election Study. I find that people’s positive reactions to conflict better explain the decision to engage in politics than negative reactions to disagreements. While women report higher levels of conflict avoidance than men, gender gaps in political engagement cannot be explained by women’s greater aversion to conflict. Instead, gender gaps are better understood as a product of men’s comparatively higher levels of enjoyment of arguments and disagreements.
Requests for a favor: The person being asked rewards effort put into asking; arguments of efficiency increase of giving convince only men; women give more when being reminded of their power & responsibility
Getting a Yes. An Experiment on the Power of Asking. Lisa Bruttel, Florian Stolley. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, May 7 2020, 101550. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2020.101550
Highlights
• We study arguments that make the request for a favor successful.
• Explaining why the favor is needed increases giving.
• The person being asked rewards effort put into asking.
• Arguments referring to an efficiency increase of giving convince only men.
• Women give more when being reminded of their power and responsibility.
Abstract: This paper studies how the request for a favor has to be devised in order to maximize its chance of success. We present results from a mini-dictator game, in which the recipient can send a free-form text message to the dictator before the latter decides. We find that putting effort into the message, writing in a humorous way and mentioning reasons why the money is needed pays off. Additionally, we find differences in the behavior of male and female dictators. Only men react positively to efficiency arguments, while only women react to messages that emphasize the dictators power and responsibility.
Keywords: Dictator gameCommunicationInequalityText analysisExperiment
Highlights
• We study arguments that make the request for a favor successful.
• Explaining why the favor is needed increases giving.
• The person being asked rewards effort put into asking.
• Arguments referring to an efficiency increase of giving convince only men.
• Women give more when being reminded of their power and responsibility.
Abstract: This paper studies how the request for a favor has to be devised in order to maximize its chance of success. We present results from a mini-dictator game, in which the recipient can send a free-form text message to the dictator before the latter decides. We find that putting effort into the message, writing in a humorous way and mentioning reasons why the money is needed pays off. Additionally, we find differences in the behavior of male and female dictators. Only men react positively to efficiency arguments, while only women react to messages that emphasize the dictators power and responsibility.
Keywords: Dictator gameCommunicationInequalityText analysisExperiment
Wednesday, May 6, 2020
COVID-19: We find 3 new hires for every 10 layoffs caused by the shock and estimate that 42 percent of recent layoffs will result in permanent job loss
Barrero, Jose Maria and Bloom, Nicholas and Davis, Steven J., COVID-19 Is Also a Reallocation Shock (May 5, 2020). University of Chicago, Becker Friedman Institute for Economics Working Paper No. 2020-59. SSRN: http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3592953
Abstract: Drawing on firm-level expectations at a one-year forecast horizon in the Survey of Business Uncertainty (SBU), we construct novel, forward-looking reallocation measures for jobs and sales. These measures rise sharply after February 2020, reaching rates in April that are 2.4 (3.9) times the pre-COVID average for jobs (sales). We also draw on special questions in the April SBU to quantify the near-term impact of the COVID-19 shock on business staffing. We find 3 new hires for every 10 layoffs caused by the shock and estimate that 42 percent of recent layoffs will result in permanent job loss. Our survey evidence aligns well with anecdotal evidence of large pandemic-induced demand increases at some firms, with contemporaneous evidence on gross business formation, and with a sharp pandemic-induced rise in equity return dispersion across firms. After developing the evidence, we consider implications of our evidence for the economic outlook and for policy responses to the pandemic. Unemployment benefit levels that exceed worker earnings, policies that subsidize employee retention, occupational licensing restrictions, and regulatory barriers to business formation will impede reallocation responses to the COVID-19 shock.
Keywords: COVID-19, coronavirus, reallocation shock, Survey of Business Uncertainty, CARES Act
JEL Classification: D22, D84, E24, H12, H25, J21, J62, J63, J65
Abstract: Drawing on firm-level expectations at a one-year forecast horizon in the Survey of Business Uncertainty (SBU), we construct novel, forward-looking reallocation measures for jobs and sales. These measures rise sharply after February 2020, reaching rates in April that are 2.4 (3.9) times the pre-COVID average for jobs (sales). We also draw on special questions in the April SBU to quantify the near-term impact of the COVID-19 shock on business staffing. We find 3 new hires for every 10 layoffs caused by the shock and estimate that 42 percent of recent layoffs will result in permanent job loss. Our survey evidence aligns well with anecdotal evidence of large pandemic-induced demand increases at some firms, with contemporaneous evidence on gross business formation, and with a sharp pandemic-induced rise in equity return dispersion across firms. After developing the evidence, we consider implications of our evidence for the economic outlook and for policy responses to the pandemic. Unemployment benefit levels that exceed worker earnings, policies that subsidize employee retention, occupational licensing restrictions, and regulatory barriers to business formation will impede reallocation responses to the COVID-19 shock.
Keywords: COVID-19, coronavirus, reallocation shock, Survey of Business Uncertainty, CARES Act
JEL Classification: D22, D84, E24, H12, H25, J21, J62, J63, J65
Student sex can often be predicted based on a set of achievement and attitude data; universal patterns in academic sex differences are larger than hitherto thought, & are stronger in societies with more equality
Sex-specific academic ability and attitude patterns in students across developed countries. Gijsbert Stoet, David C.Geary. Intelligence, Volume 81, July–August 2020, 101453. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intell.2020.101453
Highlights
• Student sex can often be predicted based on a set of achievement and attitude data.
• Student sex can often be predicted based on classification models from other countries.
• Universal patterns in academic sex differences are larger than hitherto thought.
• Academic sex differences are stronger in societies with more socioeconomic equality.
Abstract: The extent of sex differences in psychological traits is vigorously debated. We show that the overall sex difference in the pattern of adolescents' achievement and academic attitudes is relatively large and similar across countries. We used a binomial regression modeling approach to predict the sex of 15 and 16 year olds based on sets of academic ability and attitude variables in three cycles of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) data (N = 969,673 across 55 to 71 countries and regions). We found that the sex of students in any country can be reliably predicted based on regression models created from the data of all other countries, indicating a common (universal) sex-specific component. Averaged over three different PISA cycles (2009, 2012, 2015), the sex of 69% of students can be correctly classified using this approach, corresponding to a large effect. Moreover, the universal component of these sex differences is stronger in countries with relative income equality and women's participation in the labor force and politics. We conclude that patterns in academic sex differences are larger than hitherto thought and appear to become stronger when societies have more socioeconomic equality. We explore reasons why this may be the case and possible implications.
Check also The Gender-Equality Paradox in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education. Gijsbert Stoet, David C. Geary. Psychological Science, https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2018/02/paradoxically-sex-differences-in.html
Highlights
• Student sex can often be predicted based on a set of achievement and attitude data.
• Student sex can often be predicted based on classification models from other countries.
• Universal patterns in academic sex differences are larger than hitherto thought.
• Academic sex differences are stronger in societies with more socioeconomic equality.
Abstract: The extent of sex differences in psychological traits is vigorously debated. We show that the overall sex difference in the pattern of adolescents' achievement and academic attitudes is relatively large and similar across countries. We used a binomial regression modeling approach to predict the sex of 15 and 16 year olds based on sets of academic ability and attitude variables in three cycles of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) data (N = 969,673 across 55 to 71 countries and regions). We found that the sex of students in any country can be reliably predicted based on regression models created from the data of all other countries, indicating a common (universal) sex-specific component. Averaged over three different PISA cycles (2009, 2012, 2015), the sex of 69% of students can be correctly classified using this approach, corresponding to a large effect. Moreover, the universal component of these sex differences is stronger in countries with relative income equality and women's participation in the labor force and politics. We conclude that patterns in academic sex differences are larger than hitherto thought and appear to become stronger when societies have more socioeconomic equality. We explore reasons why this may be the case and possible implications.
Check also The Gender-Equality Paradox in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education. Gijsbert Stoet, David C. Geary. Psychological Science, https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2018/02/paradoxically-sex-differences-in.html
Appraisals of human infants' cuteness & vulnerability were influenced especially strongly by the visual perception of human infants’ eyes; these effects do not appear to be attributable to eye contact
“Parental” responses to human infants (and puppy dogs): Evidence that the perception of eyes is especially influential, but eye contact is not. Brandon M. Woo, Mark Schaller. PLoS, May 6, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0232059
Abstract: The present investigation tests: (i) whether the perception of an human infant’s eyes, relative to other facial features, especially strongly elicits “parental” responses (e.g., appraisals of cuteness and vulnerability); (ii) if, so, whether effects of the visual perception of eyes may be partially attributable to eye contact; (iii) whether the perception of non-human animals’ (puppy dogs’) eyes also especially strongly influence appraisals of their cuteness and vulnerability; and (iv) whether individual differences in caregiving motives moderate effects. Results from 5 experiments (total N = 1458 parents and non-parents) provided empirical evidence to evaluate these hypotheses: Appraisals of human infants were influenced especially strongly by the visual perception of human infants’ eyes (compared to other facial features); these effects do not appear to be attributable to eye contact; the visual perception of eyes influenced appraisals of puppy dogs, but not exactly in the same way that it influenced appraisals of human infants; and there was no consistent evidence of moderation by individual differences in caregiving motives. These results make novel contributions to several psychological literatures, including literatures on the motivational psychology of parental care and on person perception.
Abstract: The present investigation tests: (i) whether the perception of an human infant’s eyes, relative to other facial features, especially strongly elicits “parental” responses (e.g., appraisals of cuteness and vulnerability); (ii) if, so, whether effects of the visual perception of eyes may be partially attributable to eye contact; (iii) whether the perception of non-human animals’ (puppy dogs’) eyes also especially strongly influence appraisals of their cuteness and vulnerability; and (iv) whether individual differences in caregiving motives moderate effects. Results from 5 experiments (total N = 1458 parents and non-parents) provided empirical evidence to evaluate these hypotheses: Appraisals of human infants were influenced especially strongly by the visual perception of human infants’ eyes (compared to other facial features); these effects do not appear to be attributable to eye contact; the visual perception of eyes influenced appraisals of puppy dogs, but not exactly in the same way that it influenced appraisals of human infants; and there was no consistent evidence of moderation by individual differences in caregiving motives. These results make novel contributions to several psychological literatures, including literatures on the motivational psychology of parental care and on person perception.
General discussion
At the outset of this article we identified four main research questions, and the results obtained from five experiments provide answers to these questions. The following paragraphs provide a summary of the empirical answers to those questions, and their implications.
Are “parental” appraisals of young children influenced especially strongly by the visual perception of their eyes? The answer—obtained across 3 experiments—appears to be yes. Compared to control conditions (that provided perceptual access to other babyish features instead), when perceivers had perceptual access to human infants’ eyes, they perceived those infants to be cuter. There was also some evidence—which was less consistent across studies—that they also perceived those infants to be more vulnerable and in need of protection. Of course, it will be useful for future work to further replicate this result, ideally with different stimuli, to assure that these effects are not idiosyncratic to the specific stimuli employed in Experiments 1–3. It would also be useful to conduct replications that include additional control conditions too. Although previous research has linked appraisals of cuteness to the physical dimensions of eyes and other babyish features [11,13], the present findings reveal that, even compared to other facial babyish features, eyes play an outsized role in influencing the kinds of appraisals that promote caregiving responses to young children.
Is this effect attributable to eye contact? Results from 2 additional experiments indicate that the answer is no—or, at least, these results provided no evidence to compel a more affirmative answer. These null results cannot easily be attributed to floor or ceiling effects (results summarized in Tables 4 and 5 reveal ample variability on the variables of interest), nor to a failure of the eye gaze manipulation (as indicated by results on a manipulation check). These null results are interesting, given that eye contact does amplify appraisals and judgments in other domains of person perception [23–24, 32,34]. It remains unclear why no analogous effect emerged in this particular domain. Regardless, if indeed human infants’ eyes are an especially influential feature within the broader set of babyish features (as indicated by the results of Experiments 1–3), we suspect that is not because of what those eyes look at, but is instead because of what those eyes look like. The particular appearance of a person’s eyes is instrumental in conveying specific kinds of information that are relevant to parental caregiving, such as fatigue and sickness [35,36]. Adults might be especially vigilant for these kinds of clues in the faces of preverbal children, who lack the linguistic capability to communicate their needs.
Do the visual perception of eyes and eye contact influence appraisals of non-human animals? Our experiments focused on puppy dogs and—consistent with other research documenting both similarities and differences in adults’ responses to children and to dogs [37]—produced an answer that is not easily boiled down to a simple yes or no. Two experiments produced evidence that “parental” appraisals of puppy dogs are influenced especially strongly by the perception of puppy dogs’ eyes. But this effect was limited to appraisals of puppy dogs’ vulnerability and need for protection; in contrast to the positive effect of eye-visibility on appraisals of human infants’ cuteness, there was no analogous effect on appraisals of puppy dogs’ cuteness. The similar effects (on appraisals of vulnerability and need for protection) may reflect an overgeneralization effect of the same sort that leads people to judge baby-faced adults to be less capable than mature-faced adults [27]. The different effects (on appraisals of cuteness) might simply reflect idiosyncratic differences in the small samples of stimuli that were used in these studies; therefore, before drawing any confident conclusions based on these differences, it will be important for future studies to determine whether these differences also emerge when using additional sets of stimuli that, ideally, might be more representative of the entire populations of human infants and puppy dogs. If indeed these differences do replicate in future studies, they might plausibly reflect the functional different relationships that adults have with house pets [38–39] and with children. The former is primarily associated with caregiving behaviors that help pets to survive; whereas the latter is associated with many additional forms of caregiving behavior that help children not merely to survive but also to thrive (e.g., to succeed in academic pursuits and social relationships). Subjective appraisals of cuteness may tacitly connote potential to thrive and may elicit behavioral inclinations accordingly [20], and so may be more functionally relevant to adults’ relationships with children than to their relationships with dogs.
Are these effects moderated by individual differences in the protective and nurturant responses that characterize the parental care motivational system? Again, the results cannot compel a simple yes or no answer. Four of the 5 experiments yielded some evidence that these individual differences (assessed by the PCAT questionnaire) may moderate effects of eye visibility and/or eye contact; but the specific effects differed, and none of these specific moderating effects replicated across multiple studies.
Further analyses of PCAT scores revealed additional findings that—although ancillary to the four main research questions identified above—did replicate across studies and may have implications for understanding differences in adults’ responses to human infants and puppy dogs. These findings pertained to the unique predictive utility of the “protection” and “nurturance” subscales of the PCAT questionnaire. In experiments that employed photographs as stimuli (but not in experiments that employed cartoons as stimuli), individual differences in parental protectiveness more strongly predicted appraisals of puppy dogs than appraisals of human infants, whereas individual differences in parental nurturance more strongly predicted appraisals of human infants than appraisals of puppy dogs. These different patterns of association—like some of the other effects summarized above—likely reflect differences in the functional relationships that people typically have with pets and children. These novel findings extend previous results documenting different implications associated with motivational inclinations toward parental protectiveness and nurturance [30], and highlight the utility of conceptually distinguishing between—and measuring—these two underlying facets of the parental care motivational system.
Collectively, these findings contribute to the psychological literature attesting to the importance of eyes in the domain of person perception and social inference [14]. In particular, these results provide evidence that the perception of eyes is especially influential—even more influential than other facial features—in eliciting prototypically “parental” appraisals of young children. The dependent measures in these studies were limited to appraisals (e.g., subjective rating of cuteness and vulnerability) and, in future research, it would be informative to assess whether similar effects might be obtained on additional responses that may be associated with these appraisals (e.g., visual attention) and on actual caregiving behaviors (including both protective and nurturant behaviors). Additional applications to care-giving behavior might be worth exploring too—such as the implied possibility that people who are generally more attentive to other’s eyes might generally perceive children to be cuter and, consequently, to respond to children in a more caring way.
Additional results indicated that the perception of eyes may also be especially influential in eliciting specific kinds of appraisals of puppy dogs too, and these findings too might be fruitfully followed up in studies that focus on other kinds of outcomes. For instance, people find baby animals—compared to adult animals—to be less appetizing as sources of meat [40]. Might the size of this effect depend on the extent to which those animal’s eyes are perceptible? A different line of research reveals that the presence of dogs and other house pets can reduce humans’ experience of stress [41]. Might this stress-buffering effect also be moderated by visual access to those animals’ eyes? More generally, if indeed eyes have an outsized effect on “parental” responses to human infants and puppy dogs, there are a wide range of potential implications that may merit closer attention.
2012 US presidential election: Losing candidate's supporters experienced acute increases in testosterone levels on the evening of the election & flatter diurnal testosterone slopes up to 2 days after the election
Prasad, Smrithi, Erik L. Knight, Amar Sarkar, Keith M. Welker, Bethany Lassetter, and Pranjal Mehta. 2020. “Testosterone Fluctuations in Response to a Democratic Election Predict Partisan Attitudes Toward the Elected Leader.” PsyArXiv. May 6. doi:10.31234/osf.io/w6rz9
Abstract: Intergroup competitions such as democratic elections can intensify intergroup polarization and conflict. Partisan attitudes toward the elected leader can also shift following an election, but the biology underlying these attitudinal shifts remains unknown. An important factor could be the hormone testosterone, which is theorized to fluctuate during competition and to influence status-seeking. In a longitudinal study of 113 voters conducted during the 2012 US presidential election, supporters of the losing candidate experienced acute increases in testosterone levels on the evening of the election and flatter diurnal testosterone slopes up to two days after the election, compared to supporters of the winner. Furthermore, these competition-related changes in testosterone concentrations among supporters of the losing candidate were associated with less positive evaluations of the winning candidate. These findings suggest that hormonal responses to an intergroup competition may shape how we perceive elected leaders, shedding light on the biology of intergroup relations.
Abstract: Intergroup competitions such as democratic elections can intensify intergroup polarization and conflict. Partisan attitudes toward the elected leader can also shift following an election, but the biology underlying these attitudinal shifts remains unknown. An important factor could be the hormone testosterone, which is theorized to fluctuate during competition and to influence status-seeking. In a longitudinal study of 113 voters conducted during the 2012 US presidential election, supporters of the losing candidate experienced acute increases in testosterone levels on the evening of the election and flatter diurnal testosterone slopes up to two days after the election, compared to supporters of the winner. Furthermore, these competition-related changes in testosterone concentrations among supporters of the losing candidate were associated with less positive evaluations of the winning candidate. These findings suggest that hormonal responses to an intergroup competition may shape how we perceive elected leaders, shedding light on the biology of intergroup relations.
Students' Lockdown: Interaction and co-studying networks had become sparser, & more students were studying alone; stress, anxiety, loneliness, and depressive symptoms got worse (more for women)
Elmer, Timon, Kieran Mepham, and Christoph Stadtfeld. 2020. “Students Under Lockdown: Assessing Change in Students’ Social Networks and Mental Health During the COVID-19 Crisis.” PsyArXiv. May 6. doi:10.31234/osf.io/ua6tq
Abstract: This study investigates change in students’ social networks and mental health at the time of the COVID-19 crisis in April 2020. We surveyed multiple dimensions of social networks (pleasant interaction, friendship, social support, co-studying) and mental health indicators (depression, anxiety, stress, loneliness) before and during the crisis among Swiss undergraduate students (N=212). We find that interaction and co-studying networks had become sparser, and more students were studying alone. Furthermore, students’ levels of stress, anxiety, loneliness, and depressive symptoms got worse. Stressors shifted from fears of missing out on social life to worries about health, family, friends, and their future. Exploratory analyses suggest that COVID-19 specific worries, isolation in social networks, lack of interaction and emotional support, and physical isolation were associated with negative mental health trajectories. The results offer starting points to identify and support students at higher risk of social isolation and negative psychological effects during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Abstract: This study investigates change in students’ social networks and mental health at the time of the COVID-19 crisis in April 2020. We surveyed multiple dimensions of social networks (pleasant interaction, friendship, social support, co-studying) and mental health indicators (depression, anxiety, stress, loneliness) before and during the crisis among Swiss undergraduate students (N=212). We find that interaction and co-studying networks had become sparser, and more students were studying alone. Furthermore, students’ levels of stress, anxiety, loneliness, and depressive symptoms got worse. Stressors shifted from fears of missing out on social life to worries about health, family, friends, and their future. Exploratory analyses suggest that COVID-19 specific worries, isolation in social networks, lack of interaction and emotional support, and physical isolation were associated with negative mental health trajectories. The results offer starting points to identify and support students at higher risk of social isolation and negative psychological effects during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Appetite, the enteroendocrine system, gastrointestinal disease and obesity
Appetite, the enteroendocrine system, gastrointestinal disease and obesity. Benjamin Crooks, Nikoleta S. Stamataki and John T. McLaughlin. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, May 2020. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0029665120006965
Abstract: The enteroendocrine system is located in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, and makes up the largest endocrine system in the human body. Despite that, its roles and functions remain incompletely understood. Gut regulatory peptides are the main products of enteroendocrine cells, and play an integral role in the digestion and absorption of nutrients through their effect on intestinal secretions and gut motility. Several peptides, such as cholecystokinin, polypeptide YY and glucagon-like peptide-1, have traditionally been reported to suppress appetite following food intake, so-called satiety hormones. In this review, we propose that, in the healthy individual, this system to regulate appetite does not play a dominant role in normal food intake regulation, and that there is insufficient evidence to wholly link postprandial endogenous gut peptides with appetite-related behaviours. Instead, or additionally, top-down, hedonic drive and neurocognitive factors may have more of an impact on food intake. In GI disease however, supraphysiological levels of these hormones may have more of an impact on appetite regulation as well as contributing to other unpleasant abdominal symptoms, potentially as part of an innate response to injury. Further work is required to better understand the mechanisms involved in appetite control and unlock the therapeutic potential offered by the enteroendocrine system in GI disease and obesity.
Keywords: Appetite regulationEnteroendocrineDigestive diseaseObesitycholecystokininCrohn's diseaseenteroendocrine cellgastrointestinalglucagon-like peptide 1irritable bowel syndromepolypeptide YY
Abstract: The enteroendocrine system is located in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, and makes up the largest endocrine system in the human body. Despite that, its roles and functions remain incompletely understood. Gut regulatory peptides are the main products of enteroendocrine cells, and play an integral role in the digestion and absorption of nutrients through their effect on intestinal secretions and gut motility. Several peptides, such as cholecystokinin, polypeptide YY and glucagon-like peptide-1, have traditionally been reported to suppress appetite following food intake, so-called satiety hormones. In this review, we propose that, in the healthy individual, this system to regulate appetite does not play a dominant role in normal food intake regulation, and that there is insufficient evidence to wholly link postprandial endogenous gut peptides with appetite-related behaviours. Instead, or additionally, top-down, hedonic drive and neurocognitive factors may have more of an impact on food intake. In GI disease however, supraphysiological levels of these hormones may have more of an impact on appetite regulation as well as contributing to other unpleasant abdominal symptoms, potentially as part of an innate response to injury. Further work is required to better understand the mechanisms involved in appetite control and unlock the therapeutic potential offered by the enteroendocrine system in GI disease and obesity.
Keywords: Appetite regulationEnteroendocrineDigestive diseaseObesitycholecystokininCrohn's diseaseenteroendocrine cellgastrointestinalglucagon-like peptide 1irritable bowel syndromepolypeptide YY
Walkable urban environments may be conducive to a more animated and lively social climate which is reflected in heightened extraversion among residents of such areas; but it is not linked to agreeableness
The association between walkability and personality: Evidence from a large socioecological study in Japan. Friedrich M. Götz, Shinya Yoshino, Atsushi Oshio. Journal of Environmental Psychology, May 6 2020, 101438. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2020.101438
Highlights
• The link between walkability and personality is examined in a large Japanese sample.
• Walkability positively predicts extraversion above and beyond conservative controls.
• The findings advance theory on the origins of geographical differences in personality.
Abstract: Geographical personality differences robustly predict diverse consequential outcomes. However, comparatively little is known about the factors that create such differences, in particular the role of the built environment. To bridge the gap, the present study used a socioecological approach to examine the relationship between walkability and personality. Walkability reflects the degree to which urban areas are easily walkable and accessible for pedestrians. As such it is considered a defining feature of people's living environments. We utilized a large sample from the Data Sharing for Psychology in Japan (DSPJ) project, which assessed the Big Five personality traits of 5,141 Japanese residents. Walkability estimates were extracted from Walk Score, an established online platform, based on individuals' place of living. Building on prior research, we hypothesized that walkability would be positively linked to Agreeableness and Extraversion due to increased opportunities for social interactions and selective migration. Multiple regression analyses showed that walkability was positively related to Extraversion (B = 0.033; 95%CI [.019, .047]; β = 0.066), but not to Agreeableness. This pattern persisted in the presence of a conservative set of individual and socioecological controls. Taken together, our research suggests that walkable urban environments may be conducive to a more animated and lively social climate which is reflected in heightened extraversion among residents of such areas. As such it advances psych-geographical theory and our understanding of the role of the built environment in the emergence of geographical personality differences.
Keywords: Big five personalityWalkabilitySocioecological psychologyGeographical psychologyUrban planningEnvironmental studiesCity designJapan
Highlights
• The link between walkability and personality is examined in a large Japanese sample.
• Walkability positively predicts extraversion above and beyond conservative controls.
• The findings advance theory on the origins of geographical differences in personality.
Abstract: Geographical personality differences robustly predict diverse consequential outcomes. However, comparatively little is known about the factors that create such differences, in particular the role of the built environment. To bridge the gap, the present study used a socioecological approach to examine the relationship between walkability and personality. Walkability reflects the degree to which urban areas are easily walkable and accessible for pedestrians. As such it is considered a defining feature of people's living environments. We utilized a large sample from the Data Sharing for Psychology in Japan (DSPJ) project, which assessed the Big Five personality traits of 5,141 Japanese residents. Walkability estimates were extracted from Walk Score, an established online platform, based on individuals' place of living. Building on prior research, we hypothesized that walkability would be positively linked to Agreeableness and Extraversion due to increased opportunities for social interactions and selective migration. Multiple regression analyses showed that walkability was positively related to Extraversion (B = 0.033; 95%CI [.019, .047]; β = 0.066), but not to Agreeableness. This pattern persisted in the presence of a conservative set of individual and socioecological controls. Taken together, our research suggests that walkable urban environments may be conducive to a more animated and lively social climate which is reflected in heightened extraversion among residents of such areas. As such it advances psych-geographical theory and our understanding of the role of the built environment in the emergence of geographical personality differences.
Keywords: Big five personalityWalkabilitySocioecological psychologyGeographical psychologyUrban planningEnvironmental studiesCity designJapan
More than deserving someone harm, the great predictor of Schadenfreude is disliking of the target; compounding disliking with envy (malicious envy) was even a stronger predictor
The Roles of Disliking, Deservingness, and Envy in Predicting Schadenfreude. Keegan D. Greenier. Psychological Reports, May 5, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033294120921358
Abstract: Schadenfreude (pleasure about another’s misfortune) was studied using written scenarios that were manipulated to include elements that elicited disliking of the target, envy of the target, and/or deservingness of the misfortune. This was the first time all the three predictors were included in a single study, allowing for a test of their possible interactive effects. Study 1 created a large pool of scenarios based on a pilot study and had participants rate them regarding how much disliking, deservingness, or envy was felt. The eight scenarios that were most effective in eliciting the various combinations of predictors were then used in Study 2 to test for schadenfreude reactions. Results revealed strong main effects for disliking and deservingness. Interactions showed that disliking attenuated the effect of deservingness, especially for female participants. Finally, further evidence was found that malicious but not benign envy predicted schadenfreude.
Keywords: Schadenfreude, deservingness, envy, benign envy, malicious envy
Abstract: Schadenfreude (pleasure about another’s misfortune) was studied using written scenarios that were manipulated to include elements that elicited disliking of the target, envy of the target, and/or deservingness of the misfortune. This was the first time all the three predictors were included in a single study, allowing for a test of their possible interactive effects. Study 1 created a large pool of scenarios based on a pilot study and had participants rate them regarding how much disliking, deservingness, or envy was felt. The eight scenarios that were most effective in eliciting the various combinations of predictors were then used in Study 2 to test for schadenfreude reactions. Results revealed strong main effects for disliking and deservingness. Interactions showed that disliking attenuated the effect of deservingness, especially for female participants. Finally, further evidence was found that malicious but not benign envy predicted schadenfreude.
Keywords: Schadenfreude, deservingness, envy, benign envy, malicious envy
Tuesday, May 5, 2020
Mental Health Impact of COVID-19: A Global Study of Risk and Resilience Factors
Plomecka, Martyna, Susanna Gobbi, Rachael Neckels, Piotr Radziński, Beata Skórko, Samuel Lazzeri, Kristina Almazidou, et al. 2020. “Mental Health Impact of COVID-19: A Global Study of Risk and Resilience Factors.” PsyArXiv. May 5. doi:10.31234/osf.io/zj6b4
Abstract: This study anonymously screened 13,332 individuals worldwide for psychological symptoms related to Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic from March 29th to April 14th, 2020. A total of n=12,817 responses were considered valid with responses from 12 featured countries and five WHO regions. Female gender, pre-existing psychiatric condition, and prior exposure to trauma were identified as notable risk factors, whereas optimism, ability to share concerns with family and friends like usual, positive prediction about COVID-19, and daily exercise predicted fewer psychological symptoms. These results could aid in dynamic optimization of mental health services during and following COVID-19 pandemic
Abstract: This study anonymously screened 13,332 individuals worldwide for psychological symptoms related to Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic from March 29th to April 14th, 2020. A total of n=12,817 responses were considered valid with responses from 12 featured countries and five WHO regions. Female gender, pre-existing psychiatric condition, and prior exposure to trauma were identified as notable risk factors, whereas optimism, ability to share concerns with family and friends like usual, positive prediction about COVID-19, and daily exercise predicted fewer psychological symptoms. These results could aid in dynamic optimization of mental health services during and following COVID-19 pandemic
It's possible to have a psychedelic experience from placebo? Most psychedelic studies find few effects in the placebo control group, yet these effects may have been obscured by the study design, setting, etc.
Tripping on nothing: placebo psychedelics and contextual factors. Jay A. Olson, Léah Suissa-Rocheleau, Michael Lifshitz, Amir Raz & Samuel P. L. Veissière. Psychopharmacology volume 237, pages1371–1382. March 7 2020. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-020-05464-5
Abstract
Rationale: Is it possible to have a psychedelic experience from a placebo alone? Most psychedelic studies find few effects in the placebo control group, yet these effects may have been obscured by the study design, setting, or analysis decisions.
Objective: We examined individual variation in placebo effects in a naturalistic environment resembling a typical psychedelic party.
Methods: Thirty-three students completed a single-arm study ostensibly examining how a psychedelic drug affects creativity. The 4-h study took place in a group setting with music, paintings, coloured lights, and visual projections. Participants consumed a placebo that we described as a drug resembling psilocybin, which is found in psychedelic mushrooms. To boost expectations, confederates subtly acted out the stated effects of the drug and participants were led to believe that there was no placebo control group. The participants later completed the 5-Dimensional Altered States of Consciousness Rating Scale, which measures changes in conscious experience.
Results: There was considerable individual variation in the placebo effects; many participants reported no changes while others showed effects with magnitudes typically associated with moderate or high doses of psilocybin. In addition, the majority (61%) of participants verbally reported some effect of the drug. Several stated that they saw the paintings on the walls “move” or “reshape” themselves, others felt “heavy… as if gravity [had] a stronger hold”, and one had a “come down” before another “wave” hit her.
Conclusion: Understanding how context and expectations promote psychedelic-like effects, even without the drug, will help researchers to isolate drug effects and clinicians to maximise their therapeutic potential.
Abstract
Rationale: Is it possible to have a psychedelic experience from a placebo alone? Most psychedelic studies find few effects in the placebo control group, yet these effects may have been obscured by the study design, setting, or analysis decisions.
Objective: We examined individual variation in placebo effects in a naturalistic environment resembling a typical psychedelic party.
Methods: Thirty-three students completed a single-arm study ostensibly examining how a psychedelic drug affects creativity. The 4-h study took place in a group setting with music, paintings, coloured lights, and visual projections. Participants consumed a placebo that we described as a drug resembling psilocybin, which is found in psychedelic mushrooms. To boost expectations, confederates subtly acted out the stated effects of the drug and participants were led to believe that there was no placebo control group. The participants later completed the 5-Dimensional Altered States of Consciousness Rating Scale, which measures changes in conscious experience.
Results: There was considerable individual variation in the placebo effects; many participants reported no changes while others showed effects with magnitudes typically associated with moderate or high doses of psilocybin. In addition, the majority (61%) of participants verbally reported some effect of the drug. Several stated that they saw the paintings on the walls “move” or “reshape” themselves, others felt “heavy… as if gravity [had] a stronger hold”, and one had a “come down” before another “wave” hit her.
Conclusion: Understanding how context and expectations promote psychedelic-like effects, even without the drug, will help researchers to isolate drug effects and clinicians to maximise their therapeutic potential.
Red color supposedly affects cognitive functioning in achievement situations & impairs test performance; this review casts doubt on the existence of a robust color priming effect in achievement situations
Gnambs, Timo. 2020. “Limited Evidence for the Effect of Red Color on Cognitive Performance: A Meta-analysis.” PsyArXiv. May 5. doi:10.31234/osf.io/a4qdv
Abstract: Red color supposedly affects cognitive functioning in achievement situations and impairs test performance. Although this has been shown for different cognitive domains in different populations and cultural contexts, recent studies including close replications failed to corroborate this effect. Reported here is a random-effects meta-analysis of 67 effect sizes (38 samples) that compared test performance after viewing red or a control color. For anagram tests and knowledge tests no significant difference between color conditions was found (Cohen’s d of -0.06 and -0.04); for reasoning tests the pooled effect of d = -0.34, 95% CI [-0.61, -0.06] indicated significantly lower scores in the red condition. Substantially larger effects were found in initial studies as compared to subsequent research. After correcting for publication bias no evidential value for an effect of red color on intellectual performance was available. The review casts doubt on the existence of a robust color priming effect in achievement situations.
Abstract: Red color supposedly affects cognitive functioning in achievement situations and impairs test performance. Although this has been shown for different cognitive domains in different populations and cultural contexts, recent studies including close replications failed to corroborate this effect. Reported here is a random-effects meta-analysis of 67 effect sizes (38 samples) that compared test performance after viewing red or a control color. For anagram tests and knowledge tests no significant difference between color conditions was found (Cohen’s d of -0.06 and -0.04); for reasoning tests the pooled effect of d = -0.34, 95% CI [-0.61, -0.06] indicated significantly lower scores in the red condition. Substantially larger effects were found in initial studies as compared to subsequent research. After correcting for publication bias no evidential value for an effect of red color on intellectual performance was available. The review casts doubt on the existence of a robust color priming effect in achievement situations.
Seller Reputation and Price Gouging: Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic
Seller Reputation and Price Gouging: Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic. Luis Cabral, Lei Xu. May 2020. http://leixu.org/xu_price_gouging.pdf
Abstract: We test the theory that seller reputation moderates the effect of demand shocks on a seller’s propensity to price gouge. From mid January to mid March 2020, 3M masks were priced 2.72 times higher than Amazon sold them in 2019. However, the difference(in price ratios) between a post-COVID-19 entrant and an established seller is estimated to be about 1.6 at times of maximum scarcity, that is, post-COVID-19 entrants price at approximately twice the level of established sellers. Similar results are obtained for Purell hand sanitizer. We also consider cumulative reviews as a measure of what a seller has to lose from damaging its reputation and, again, obtain similar results. Finally, we explore policy implications of our results.
Keywords: price gouging, COVID-19, Amazon
JEL codes: D01
Abstract: We test the theory that seller reputation moderates the effect of demand shocks on a seller’s propensity to price gouge. From mid January to mid March 2020, 3M masks were priced 2.72 times higher than Amazon sold them in 2019. However, the difference(in price ratios) between a post-COVID-19 entrant and an established seller is estimated to be about 1.6 at times of maximum scarcity, that is, post-COVID-19 entrants price at approximately twice the level of established sellers. Similar results are obtained for Purell hand sanitizer. We also consider cumulative reviews as a measure of what a seller has to lose from damaging its reputation and, again, obtain similar results. Finally, we explore policy implications of our results.
Keywords: price gouging, COVID-19, Amazon
JEL codes: D01
High Esteem and Hurting Others Online: Contrary to Common Views, There Can Be High Self-Esteem In Trollers; Trait Sadism Moderates the Relationship Between Self-Esteem & Trolling
High Esteem and Hurting Others Online: Trait Sadism Moderates the Relationship Between Self-Esteem and Internet Trolling. Evita March and Genevieve Steele. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, May 4 2020. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2019.0652
Abstract: Internet trolling is commonly defined as disruptive online behavior, intended to provoke and distress others for amusement. Previous research has shown that gender (specifically, male), trait psychopathy, and trait sadism significantly predict engaging in trolling. In this study, we sought to replicate and extend previous research by exploring the role of self-esteem in predicting trolling, and possible interactions between self-esteem and personality. Participants (n = 400, 67.5 percent women, average age = 24.97 years [SD = 8.84]) completed an online questionnaire, including measures of psychopathy, sadism, self-esteem, and trolling behaviors. Results corroborated previous research showing gender (male) to be a significant predictor of trolling, and trait psychopathy and sadism to be significant positive predictors. Although self-esteem had no additional value on top of trait psychopathy and sadism in explaining trolling, there was a significant interaction between self-esteem and trait sadism. A moderation analysis indicated a positive relationship between self-esteem and trolling, but only when trait sadism was high. These results portray the troll as a callous individual may enjoy causing psychological harm, particularly if their self-esteem is high. These results contribute to building the psychological profile of trolls and provide future directions for research exploring trolling behaviors.
Abstract: Internet trolling is commonly defined as disruptive online behavior, intended to provoke and distress others for amusement. Previous research has shown that gender (specifically, male), trait psychopathy, and trait sadism significantly predict engaging in trolling. In this study, we sought to replicate and extend previous research by exploring the role of self-esteem in predicting trolling, and possible interactions between self-esteem and personality. Participants (n = 400, 67.5 percent women, average age = 24.97 years [SD = 8.84]) completed an online questionnaire, including measures of psychopathy, sadism, self-esteem, and trolling behaviors. Results corroborated previous research showing gender (male) to be a significant predictor of trolling, and trait psychopathy and sadism to be significant positive predictors. Although self-esteem had no additional value on top of trait psychopathy and sadism in explaining trolling, there was a significant interaction between self-esteem and trait sadism. A moderation analysis indicated a positive relationship between self-esteem and trolling, but only when trait sadism was high. These results portray the troll as a callous individual may enjoy causing psychological harm, particularly if their self-esteem is high. These results contribute to building the psychological profile of trolls and provide future directions for research exploring trolling behaviors.
Women: When pleasuring themselves, more frequent pornography use predicted lower arousal difficulty & orgasmic difficulty, greater pleasure, & more masturbatory events leading to orgasm
Effects of Pornography Use and Demographic Parameters on Sexual Response during Masturbation and Partnered Sex in Women. Sean M. McNabney, Krisztina Hevesi and David L. Rowland. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(9), 3130; April 30 2020. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17093130
Abstract: The effect of pornography on sexual response is understudied, particularly among women. A multinational, community-based sample of 2433 women at least 18 years of age completed a 42-item, opt-in questionnaire collecting information on demographic and sexual history characteristics, use of pornography during masturbation, frequency of pornography use, and sexual response parameters. Pornography use and average frequency were compared across demographic variables. We also examined how pornography frequency predicted differences in self-reported arousal difficulty; orgasmic difficulty, latency, and pleasure; and the percent of sexual activities ending in orgasm during both masturbation and partnered sex. On average, women using pornography were younger, and reported more interest in sex. Pornography frequency differed significantly by menopausal status, sexual orientation, anxiety/depression status, number of sexual partners, and origin of data collection. During masturbation, more frequent pornography use predicted lower arousal difficulty and orgasmic difficulty, greater pleasure, and a higher percentage of masturbatory events leading to orgasm. Frequency of pornography use predicted only lower arousal difficulty and longer orgasmic latencies during partnered sex, having no effect on the other outcome variables. Pornography use frequency did not predict overall relationship satisfaction or sexual relationship satisfaction. Overall, more frequent pornography use was generally associated with more favorable sexual response outcomes during masturbation, while not affecting most partnered sex parameters. Several demographic and relationship covariates appear to more consistently and strongly predict orgasmic problems during partnered sexual activity than pornography use.
Keywords: pornography; masturbation; partnered sex; sexual activity; sexual response; arousal; orgasm; orgasmic difficulty; orgasmic pleasure
Abstract: The effect of pornography on sexual response is understudied, particularly among women. A multinational, community-based sample of 2433 women at least 18 years of age completed a 42-item, opt-in questionnaire collecting information on demographic and sexual history characteristics, use of pornography during masturbation, frequency of pornography use, and sexual response parameters. Pornography use and average frequency were compared across demographic variables. We also examined how pornography frequency predicted differences in self-reported arousal difficulty; orgasmic difficulty, latency, and pleasure; and the percent of sexual activities ending in orgasm during both masturbation and partnered sex. On average, women using pornography were younger, and reported more interest in sex. Pornography frequency differed significantly by menopausal status, sexual orientation, anxiety/depression status, number of sexual partners, and origin of data collection. During masturbation, more frequent pornography use predicted lower arousal difficulty and orgasmic difficulty, greater pleasure, and a higher percentage of masturbatory events leading to orgasm. Frequency of pornography use predicted only lower arousal difficulty and longer orgasmic latencies during partnered sex, having no effect on the other outcome variables. Pornography use frequency did not predict overall relationship satisfaction or sexual relationship satisfaction. Overall, more frequent pornography use was generally associated with more favorable sexual response outcomes during masturbation, while not affecting most partnered sex parameters. Several demographic and relationship covariates appear to more consistently and strongly predict orgasmic problems during partnered sexual activity than pornography use.
Keywords: pornography; masturbation; partnered sex; sexual activity; sexual response; arousal; orgasm; orgasmic difficulty; orgasmic pleasure
Monday, May 4, 2020
Lingerie Color & perceived physical & sexual attractiveness, trustworthiness, nurturance, femininity, dominance, healthiness, social competence, affectionateness, intelligence, mate potential, parenting ability
A Choice of Color: Does Lingerie Color Affect Perceived Attractiveness and Evolutionary Fitness? Samantha Luzietti, B.A. & T. Joel Wade. EvoS Journal: The Journal of the Evolutionary Studies Consortium. 2020, NEEPS XIII, pp. 57-67. https://evostudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Luzietti-Wade_Vol11SpIss1.pdf
ABSTRACT: Prior research examining the effect of color on perceived attractiveness is equivocal.
Also, no research has examined how the color of lingerie affects perceptions. This research explored the effect of the color of lingerie that a woman was wearing on individuals’ perceptions of her attractiveness and evolutionary fitness. Three colors of lingerie were used in this study: Black lingerie, Red lingerie, and White lingerie. These images were presented to 72 men and 82 women. Participants rated the woman’s perceived physical attractiveness, sexual attractiveness, trustworthiness, nurturance, masculinity, femininity, dominance, healthiness, enthusiasm, social competence, affectionateness, intelligence, short term mate potential, long term mate potential, parenting ability, success, status, and age. It was hypothesized that the woman in white lingerie would be rated as most attractive and most evolutionarily fit. The results were partially consistent with the hypothesis. Lingerie color did not affect perceived attractiveness. But, the woman in white lingerie was rated as friendliest, most successful, best mate, and healthiest.
KEYWORDS: Lingerie, Color, Lace, Beauty, Attraction
Every day people make assumptions about each other based solely upon clothing alone. Whether you are on a first date with a person you do not know well, or moving into a new apartment building and introducing yourself to your new roommate, people are constantly making assumptions about others based on what they are wearing (see, Bowman & Lavater, 1992; Freeman, Penner, Saperstein, Scheutz, & Ambady, 2011, Kwon, & Johnson-Hillery, 1998). While the effect of outerwear color on people’s perceptions of others has been studied, the effect of underwear color has not. In today’s fast paced dating world, the initial attractiveness of an individual is very important (Etcoff, 2011).
The research on the color of an individual’s outerwear is varied. Caro (2005), Elliot and Niesta (2008) and Nunn (1999) point out that the color red enhances a male’s attraction to females in numerous non-human primate species. Exploring how there are parallel effects regarding the color red in humans, a number of researchers report that the color red enhances perceptions of women’s attractiveness, sexual receptiveness, and sexual intent (Elliot & Niesta, 2008; Elliot, Tracy, Pazda, & Beall, 2013; Guéguen, 2012; Guéguen & Jacob, 2013; Niesta, Kayser, Elliot, & Feltman, 2010; Pazda, Elliot, & Greitemeyer, 2012, 2014; Pazda, Prokop, & Elliot, 2014; Roberts, Owen, & Havlicek, 2010; Young, 2015). Red color is said to mimic bodily and facial sexual signals that occur to attract mates (Morris, 1994). Thus, men and women execute an adaptation where they are more likely to wear red when they want to appear maximally attractive to potential mates (Elliot, Greitemeyer, & Pazda, 2012; Kramer & Mulgrew, 2018). But, is red the only color individual’s wear when they want to attract others?
Kramer and Mulgrew (2018) report that people also wear more black clothing when trying to appear more attractive. Pazda, et al., (2014) report that black clothing affects attractiveness via fashionableness. So, black clothing can also enhance attractiveness. Are there other clothing colors that may also enhance attractiveness?
White clothing may also enhance women’s attractiveness. One of the criteria men employ when judging women’s attractiveness is femininity (Wade, 2000, 2003). Feinman and Gill (1978) report that men associate white colors with femininity and purity. So, it is possible that white colored clothing may also enhance women’s attractiveness. However, research has not examined the effect of white colored clothing on women’s attractiveness. Additionally, while the aforementioned research shows that red, and black clothing can enhance women’s attractiveness, that research has focused exclusively on outer clothing. To date no research has examined whether or not the aforementioned color effects also occur for perceptions of women wearing lingerie. The present research examined the perceived attractiveness and evolutionary fitness of a woman wearing black lingerie, red lingerie, or white lingerie.
ABSTRACT: Prior research examining the effect of color on perceived attractiveness is equivocal.
Also, no research has examined how the color of lingerie affects perceptions. This research explored the effect of the color of lingerie that a woman was wearing on individuals’ perceptions of her attractiveness and evolutionary fitness. Three colors of lingerie were used in this study: Black lingerie, Red lingerie, and White lingerie. These images were presented to 72 men and 82 women. Participants rated the woman’s perceived physical attractiveness, sexual attractiveness, trustworthiness, nurturance, masculinity, femininity, dominance, healthiness, enthusiasm, social competence, affectionateness, intelligence, short term mate potential, long term mate potential, parenting ability, success, status, and age. It was hypothesized that the woman in white lingerie would be rated as most attractive and most evolutionarily fit. The results were partially consistent with the hypothesis. Lingerie color did not affect perceived attractiveness. But, the woman in white lingerie was rated as friendliest, most successful, best mate, and healthiest.
KEYWORDS: Lingerie, Color, Lace, Beauty, Attraction
Every day people make assumptions about each other based solely upon clothing alone. Whether you are on a first date with a person you do not know well, or moving into a new apartment building and introducing yourself to your new roommate, people are constantly making assumptions about others based on what they are wearing (see, Bowman & Lavater, 1992; Freeman, Penner, Saperstein, Scheutz, & Ambady, 2011, Kwon, & Johnson-Hillery, 1998). While the effect of outerwear color on people’s perceptions of others has been studied, the effect of underwear color has not. In today’s fast paced dating world, the initial attractiveness of an individual is very important (Etcoff, 2011).
The research on the color of an individual’s outerwear is varied. Caro (2005), Elliot and Niesta (2008) and Nunn (1999) point out that the color red enhances a male’s attraction to females in numerous non-human primate species. Exploring how there are parallel effects regarding the color red in humans, a number of researchers report that the color red enhances perceptions of women’s attractiveness, sexual receptiveness, and sexual intent (Elliot & Niesta, 2008; Elliot, Tracy, Pazda, & Beall, 2013; Guéguen, 2012; Guéguen & Jacob, 2013; Niesta, Kayser, Elliot, & Feltman, 2010; Pazda, Elliot, & Greitemeyer, 2012, 2014; Pazda, Prokop, & Elliot, 2014; Roberts, Owen, & Havlicek, 2010; Young, 2015). Red color is said to mimic bodily and facial sexual signals that occur to attract mates (Morris, 1994). Thus, men and women execute an adaptation where they are more likely to wear red when they want to appear maximally attractive to potential mates (Elliot, Greitemeyer, & Pazda, 2012; Kramer & Mulgrew, 2018). But, is red the only color individual’s wear when they want to attract others?
Kramer and Mulgrew (2018) report that people also wear more black clothing when trying to appear more attractive. Pazda, et al., (2014) report that black clothing affects attractiveness via fashionableness. So, black clothing can also enhance attractiveness. Are there other clothing colors that may also enhance attractiveness?
White clothing may also enhance women’s attractiveness. One of the criteria men employ when judging women’s attractiveness is femininity (Wade, 2000, 2003). Feinman and Gill (1978) report that men associate white colors with femininity and purity. So, it is possible that white colored clothing may also enhance women’s attractiveness. However, research has not examined the effect of white colored clothing on women’s attractiveness. Additionally, while the aforementioned research shows that red, and black clothing can enhance women’s attractiveness, that research has focused exclusively on outer clothing. To date no research has examined whether or not the aforementioned color effects also occur for perceptions of women wearing lingerie. The present research examined the perceived attractiveness and evolutionary fitness of a woman wearing black lingerie, red lingerie, or white lingerie.
Research conflicts on efficacy of arrest for domestic violence in reducing repeat offending; these authors found that arrest is ineffective in limiting repeat offending, not likely to serve as deterrent for perpetrators
Mandatory arrest for domestic violence and repeat offending: A meta-analysis. Susan J. Hoppe et al. Aggression and Violent Behavior, May 4 2020, 101430. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2020.101430
Highlights
• Research conflicts on efficacy of arrest for domestic violence (DV) in reducing repeat offending
• Meta-analysis to synthesize results of studies
• Arrest for DV found to be ineffective in limiting repeat offending
• Arrest not likely to serve as deterrent for DV perpetrators
Abstract: Historically, domestic violence (DV) has been viewed as a private matter, which limited law enforcement's response to incidents of DV. Shifting perceptions of DV over time and a rise in public pressure to protect DV victims led to efforts within the criminal justice system to better respond to DV incidents. Specifically, mandatory arrest policies, driven by the landmark Minneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment, were widely adopted in an effort to reduce the likelihood of repeat offending and by effect revictimization. Subsequent replications of the experiment tended to find that arrest of DV offenders did not reduce the likelihood of another offense being committed over the follow-up period. To make sense of the mixed findings regarding the efficacy of mandatory arrest for DV, the current meta-analysis synthesizes the results of 11 published studies to determine whether arrest has an effect on crimes being committed following an arrest for DV. The results of the meta-analysis indicate that arrest did not limit the likelihood of another offense being committed during the follow-up periods and likely did not have a deterrent effect on DV offenders. Moderating variables, including research design and length of follow-up, were also analyzed. Policy implications and directions for future research are discussed.
Keywords: Domestic violenceMandatory arrestRepeat offendingMeta-analysis
Highlights
• Research conflicts on efficacy of arrest for domestic violence (DV) in reducing repeat offending
• Meta-analysis to synthesize results of studies
• Arrest for DV found to be ineffective in limiting repeat offending
• Arrest not likely to serve as deterrent for DV perpetrators
Abstract: Historically, domestic violence (DV) has been viewed as a private matter, which limited law enforcement's response to incidents of DV. Shifting perceptions of DV over time and a rise in public pressure to protect DV victims led to efforts within the criminal justice system to better respond to DV incidents. Specifically, mandatory arrest policies, driven by the landmark Minneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment, were widely adopted in an effort to reduce the likelihood of repeat offending and by effect revictimization. Subsequent replications of the experiment tended to find that arrest of DV offenders did not reduce the likelihood of another offense being committed over the follow-up period. To make sense of the mixed findings regarding the efficacy of mandatory arrest for DV, the current meta-analysis synthesizes the results of 11 published studies to determine whether arrest has an effect on crimes being committed following an arrest for DV. The results of the meta-analysis indicate that arrest did not limit the likelihood of another offense being committed during the follow-up periods and likely did not have a deterrent effect on DV offenders. Moderating variables, including research design and length of follow-up, were also analyzed. Policy implications and directions for future research are discussed.
Keywords: Domestic violenceMandatory arrestRepeat offendingMeta-analysis
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