Advisors want their advice to be used – but not too much: An interpersonal perspective on advice taking. Fabian Ache, Christina Rader, Mandy Hütter. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Volume 89, July 2020, 103979. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2020.103979
Highlights
• Advisors do not always want advisees to fully adopt their advice
• Advisees weight advice more strongly than advisors want for difficult items
• Both weighting more and less than advisors want causes negative evaluations
• Negative evaluations decrease willingness to give advice again
Abstract: Much advice taking research investigates whether advice weighting accords to normative principles for maximizing decision accuracy. The present research complements this normative perspective with an interpersonal one, arguing that judges should also pay attention to how much their advisors want them to weight advice. In four experiments, we found that advisors do not always want their advice to be adopted fully. Instead, they often give advice about which they are uncertain and therefore want their advice to be averaged with judges' initial opinions or not used at all. Furthermore, advisors' desired advice weighting is often congruent with the judges' actual weighting, but moderators that affect advisor or judge confidence can cause desired and actual weighting to diverge (Experiments 1 and 2). When tasks were difficult, judges put more weight on the advice than advisors desired, because increasing the difficulty of the task led advisors to want their advice weighted less, whereas judges placed more weight on the advice. The reverse was true for easy tasks (Experiment 2). Importantly, both weighting more and less than advisors desired caused advisors to evaluate judges more negatively, which resulted in reduced willingness to give advice again in the future (Experiments 3 and 4), indicating that advisors want their advice used, but not too much.
Keywords: AdviceInterpersonal relationsJudgmentOpinion revisionWisdom of crowds
Monday, June 8, 2020
All investigations of police practice that were preceded by "viral" incidents of deadly force have led to a large and statistically significant increase in homicides and total crime
Policing the Police: The Impact of "Pattern-or-Practice" Investigations on Crime. Tanaya Devi, Roland G. Fryer Jr. NBER Working Paper No. 27324, June 2020. https://www.nber.org/papers/w27324
This paper provides the first empirical examination of the impact of federal and state "Pattern-or-Practice" investigations on crime and policing. For investigations that were not preceded by "viral" incidents of deadly force, investigations, on average, led to a statistically significant reduction in homicides and total crime. In stark contrast, all investigations that were preceded by "viral" incidents of deadly force have led to a large and statistically significant increase in homicides and total crime. We estimate that these investigations caused almost 900 excess homicides and almost 34,000 excess felonies. The leading hypothesis for why these investigations increase homicides and total crime is an abrupt change in the quantity of policing activity. In Chicago, the number of police-civilian interactions decreased by almost 90% in the month after the investigation was announced. In Riverside CA, interactions decreased 54%. In St. Louis, self-initiated police activities declined by 46%. Other theories we test such as changes in community trust or the aggressiveness of consent decrees associated with investigations -- all contradict the data in important ways.
This paper provides the first empirical examination of the impact of federal and state "Pattern-or-Practice" investigations on crime and policing. For investigations that were not preceded by "viral" incidents of deadly force, investigations, on average, led to a statistically significant reduction in homicides and total crime. In stark contrast, all investigations that were preceded by "viral" incidents of deadly force have led to a large and statistically significant increase in homicides and total crime. We estimate that these investigations caused almost 900 excess homicides and almost 34,000 excess felonies. The leading hypothesis for why these investigations increase homicides and total crime is an abrupt change in the quantity of policing activity. In Chicago, the number of police-civilian interactions decreased by almost 90% in the month after the investigation was announced. In Riverside CA, interactions decreased 54%. In St. Louis, self-initiated police activities declined by 46%. Other theories we test such as changes in community trust or the aggressiveness of consent decrees associated with investigations -- all contradict the data in important ways.
People use facial information to infer others’ leadership potential across numerous domains; but what forms the basis of these judgements and how much do they matter?
How static facial cues relate to real-world leaders’ success: a review and meta-analysis. Miranda Giacomin & Nicholas O. Rule. European Review of Social Psychology, Volume 31, 2020 - Issue 1, Pages 120-148, Jun 7 2020. https://doi.org/10.1080/10463283.2020.1771935
ABSTRACT: People use facial information to infer others’ leadership potential across numerous domains; but what forms the basis of these judgements and how much do they matter? Here, we quantitatively reviewed the literature on perceptions of leaders from facial cues to better understand the association between physical appearance and leader outcomes. We used standard random-effects meta-analytic techniques to determine how appearance cues relate to leader perceptions and associated constructs. Appearance cues suggesting the presence of qualities often desired in leaders correlated with leader selection and success (M Z-r =.26, 95% CI [.21,.31]). Larger effect sizes emerged for popularity outcomes (i.e., those based on perceptions) than for performance outcomes (i.e., those based on external measures). These data help to explain how people envision leaders and their characteristics, providing potential insights to why they select and follow particular individuals over others.
KEYWORDS: Leader, person perception, facial appearance, CEO, attractiveness
ABSTRACT: People use facial information to infer others’ leadership potential across numerous domains; but what forms the basis of these judgements and how much do they matter? Here, we quantitatively reviewed the literature on perceptions of leaders from facial cues to better understand the association between physical appearance and leader outcomes. We used standard random-effects meta-analytic techniques to determine how appearance cues relate to leader perceptions and associated constructs. Appearance cues suggesting the presence of qualities often desired in leaders correlated with leader selection and success (M Z-r =.26, 95% CI [.21,.31]). Larger effect sizes emerged for popularity outcomes (i.e., those based on perceptions) than for performance outcomes (i.e., those based on external measures). These data help to explain how people envision leaders and their characteristics, providing potential insights to why they select and follow particular individuals over others.
KEYWORDS: Leader, person perception, facial appearance, CEO, attractiveness
Sunday, June 7, 2020
Does Partisanship Shape Investor Beliefs? The beliefs of partisan Republicans about equities remain relatively unfazed during the COVID-19 pandemic, while other users become considerably more pessimistic
Cookson, J. Anthony and Engelberg, Joseph and Mullins, William, Does Partisanship Shape Investor Beliefs? Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic (June 6, 2020). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3621067
Abstract: We use party-identifying language – like “Liberal Media” and “MAGA”– to identify Republican users on the investor social platform StockTwits. Using a difference-in-difference design, we find that the beliefs of partisan Republicans about equities remain relatively unfazed during the COVID-19 pandemic, while other users become considerably more pessimistic. In cross-sectional tests, we find Republicans become relatively more optimistic about stocks that suffered the most from COVID-19, but more pessimistic about Chinese stocks. Finally, stocks with the greatest partisan disagreement on StockTwits have significantly more trading in the broader market, which explains 20% of the increase in stock turnover during the pandemic.
Keywords: COVID-19, partisanship, investor beliefs, disagreement, trading volume
JEL Classification: G12, D91 ,P16
Abstract: We use party-identifying language – like “Liberal Media” and “MAGA”– to identify Republican users on the investor social platform StockTwits. Using a difference-in-difference design, we find that the beliefs of partisan Republicans about equities remain relatively unfazed during the COVID-19 pandemic, while other users become considerably more pessimistic. In cross-sectional tests, we find Republicans become relatively more optimistic about stocks that suffered the most from COVID-19, but more pessimistic about Chinese stocks. Finally, stocks with the greatest partisan disagreement on StockTwits have significantly more trading in the broader market, which explains 20% of the increase in stock turnover during the pandemic.
Keywords: COVID-19, partisanship, investor beliefs, disagreement, trading volume
JEL Classification: G12, D91 ,P16
More recently-developed crops are evaluated less favorably, whether they are produced by artificial selection (i.e., conventional breeding), natural or man-made irradiation, or genetic engineering
Recency negativity: Newer food crops are evaluated less favorably. Yoel Inbar, Jordan Phelps, Paul Rozin. Appetite, June 6 2020, 104754. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2020.104754
Abstract: Food crops produced by new technologies such as genetic engineering are widely opposed (Gaskell, Bauer, Durant, & Allum, 1999; Scott, Inbar, Wirz, Brossard, & Rozin, 2018). Here, we examine one reason for this opposition: recency. More recently-developed crops are evaluated less favorably, whether they are produced by artificial selection (i.e., conventional breeding), natural or man-made irradiation, or genetic engineering. Negative effects of recency persist in a within-subjects design where people are able to explicitly compare crops developed at different times, and an internal meta-analysis shows that the negative effect of recency is robust across measures and stimuli. These results have implications for the evaluation of crops produced using new modification techniques, including the widespread opposition to genetic engineering.
Abstract: Food crops produced by new technologies such as genetic engineering are widely opposed (Gaskell, Bauer, Durant, & Allum, 1999; Scott, Inbar, Wirz, Brossard, & Rozin, 2018). Here, we examine one reason for this opposition: recency. More recently-developed crops are evaluated less favorably, whether they are produced by artificial selection (i.e., conventional breeding), natural or man-made irradiation, or genetic engineering. Negative effects of recency persist in a within-subjects design where people are able to explicitly compare crops developed at different times, and an internal meta-analysis shows that the negative effect of recency is robust across measures and stimuli. These results have implications for the evaluation of crops produced using new modification techniques, including the widespread opposition to genetic engineering.
I Feel Better Naked: Communal Naked Activity Increases Body Appreciation by Reducing Social Physique Anxiety
I Feel Better Naked: Communal Naked Activity Increases Body Appreciation by Reducing Social Physique Anxiety. Keon West. The Journal of Sex Research, Jun 5 2020. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2020.1764470
ABSTRACT: Positive body image predicts several measures of happiness, well-being, and sexual functioning. Prior research has suggested a link between communal naked activity and positive body image, but has thus far not clarified either the direction or mechanisms of this relationship. This was the first randomized controlled trial of the effects of nakedness on body image. Two potential explanatory mediators of this effect were also investigated. Fifty-one participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups in which they interacted with other people either naked (naked condition) or clothed (control condition). All participants completed measures of body appreciation before and after the intervention, as well as measures of the relative perceived attractiveness of others and social physique anxiety immediately after the intervention. Perceived attractiveness of others was neither affected by the manipulation nor correlated with body appreciation. However, as expected, participants in the naked condition reported more body appreciation, an effect that was mediated by reductions in social physique anxiety. This research provides initial evidence that naked activity can lead to improvements in body image and evidence of a specific explanatory mechanism. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
ABSTRACT: Positive body image predicts several measures of happiness, well-being, and sexual functioning. Prior research has suggested a link between communal naked activity and positive body image, but has thus far not clarified either the direction or mechanisms of this relationship. This was the first randomized controlled trial of the effects of nakedness on body image. Two potential explanatory mediators of this effect were also investigated. Fifty-one participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups in which they interacted with other people either naked (naked condition) or clothed (control condition). All participants completed measures of body appreciation before and after the intervention, as well as measures of the relative perceived attractiveness of others and social physique anxiety immediately after the intervention. Perceived attractiveness of others was neither affected by the manipulation nor correlated with body appreciation. However, as expected, participants in the naked condition reported more body appreciation, an effect that was mediated by reductions in social physique anxiety. This research provides initial evidence that naked activity can lead to improvements in body image and evidence of a specific explanatory mechanism. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Letters To A Spanish Youngster CCLVI
Letters To A Spanish Youngster CCLVI
[...]
Your Honor the high priestess, la mia donna, Who puts in amoroso incendio il cor* and the city**,
Elizabeth Hardwick wrote about a close friend of hers†:
---
The same literary critic, in a different tack, comments of men and our aggressive eye thru her daughter's writing†:
Simone de Beauvoir describing this stage: "Men's gazes flatter and hurt her at the same time [...]."
---
If a husband cheats on her wife (or tells her the truth), a (frequent?) reaction of her is feeling guilty, inadequate, seeing herself as ugly, fat, etc. Sylvia Plath to a psychiatrist†:
Plath was a very progressive, very feminist intellectual that devoured men ("I eat men like air," she wrote). But after learning her husband had a lover, she wrote to the psychiatrist things like these†:
Simone de Beauvoir defended the Soviet Union and supported Marxism (I had to write all that to avoid saying she was a Communist, which would make the Beotians fall upon me :-) ), started modern feminism and gender ideology, defended that women were homosexual, and was called mysoginistic by her critics, but sounds desperate, anxious, submissive, completely subordinate to JP Sartre in her letters to him†:
He was much of the time away, and frequently with other women.
I only hope that Your Honor doesn't suffer so much with Your significant others.
---
On the human nature department֍:
This study of status in fourteen countries is, IMHO, interesting¶:
Ah, Fortuna cruel, Fortuna ingrata!* You were born a woman, and for that you're penalized in some of life's most fun activities, my dear governor. Believe me when I say that I am sorry for the costs that life puts upon You, and that I'd compensate You for them if You allowed me to be near You as Your confidante and one of Your best friends.
"Pieno di dolce e d'amoroso affetto"*, Yours faithfully
[...]
--
Notes
* L Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, i.44.3. Milano: Garzanti, 1974. Also, i.81.6; i.54.1.
** Anonymous epigram, in 'The Greek Anthology' translated by W R Paton, 1916, book V, 2, 1.
† Katie Roiphe's The Power Notebooks. New York: Free Press, 2020. Pages 183-4; 228; 225; 211.
‡ Memento Mori: Elizabeth Hardwick, 1916–2007. By Christian Lorentzen on December 5, 2007 https://harpers.org/2007/12/elizabeth-hardwick-1916-2007/
֍ Brown, Mitch, Lucas A. Keefer, Donald F. Sacco, and Faith L. Brown. 2020. “Demonstrate Values: Behavioral Displays of Moral Outrage as a Cue to Long-term Mate Potential.” PsyArXiv. May 22. https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2020/05/demonstrate-values-behavioral-displays.html
¶ Buss, D. M., Durkee, P. K., Shackelford, T. K., Bowdle, B. F., Schmitt, D. P., Brase, G. L., Choe, J. C., & Trofimova, I. (2020). Human status criteria: Sex differences and similarities across 14 nations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, May 2020. https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2020/05/infidelity-chastitypurity-and-long-term.html
Your Honor the high priestess, la mia donna, Who puts in amoroso incendio il cor* and the city**,
Elizabeth Hardwick wrote about a close friend of hers†:
There is something puritanical and perplexing in her lack of relaxation, her utter refusal to give an inch of the ground of her opinion. She cannot conform, cannot often like whatever her peers like. She is a very odd woman, perhaps oddest of all in this stirring sense of the importance of her own intellectual formulations.In one of her columns, she wrote of the same person‡:
There is charm and vigor and an almost violent holding of special opinions. A literary critic says of these words†:
The problem, Hardwick seems to suggest, is that there is something almost constitutionally wrong with her. Odd is the word she chooses for this wrong thing. She is standing out. She is not like us. The problems seems to be too much power, too conspicuoius and showy and flamboyant a confidence. Shares to think her own "intellectual formulaitons" are important.I'd very much love to know what Your Honor thinks of all this.
---
The same literary critic, in a different tack, comments of men and our aggressive eye thru her daughter's writing†:
My daughter is taller now than I am. She is five nine. She wears cutoff shorts and white sneakers with gold stars all over then. Even though she is fourteen, men start to follow her down the street, call to her from cards, talk to her as she is coming up the steps to our house. She writes an assignment for a class:
"Put your earphones in be aware of surroundings. Stand alone, but close enough to people that you are not totally isolated. Move away from those creepy men who watch and talk about you, and make sure to adjust your shirt so it doesn't show any skin. Actually, put your sweatshirt on. That will help. And yes, you might want to switch cars when you feel uncomfortable. You're fine. Just don't make eye contact. Remember when the drunk man asked you to come over and sit next to him and how when you didn't he cursed until you could leave the car, and think to yourself that it could be worse. Don't tell your mom about these men."
When she gets around to showing this to me, the obvious comes as a shock. The dawning of her power over men is simultaneous with ther growing vulnerability; she experiences both, so violently, at one. [...].
Simone de Beauvoir describing this stage: "Men's gazes flatter and hurt her at the same time [...]."
---
If a husband cheats on her wife (or tells her the truth), a (frequent?) reaction of her is feeling guilty, inadequate, seeing herself as ugly, fat, etc. Sylvia Plath to a psychiatrist†:
"She [the husband's lover] is so beautiful & I feel so huggish & my hair a mess & my nose huge, & my brain brainwashed & God knows how I shall keep together."
Plath was a very progressive, very feminist intellectual that devoured men ("I eat men like air," she wrote). But after learning her husband had a lover, she wrote to the psychiatrist things like these†:
How can I make these women unnecessary to him? And keep up my own sense of seductiveness and womanly power? I don't want to be sorrowful or bitter, men hate that, but what can I do in the face of these prospects?
Can you suggest a gracious procedure when you see some little (whoops, not little, big!) tart is after your husband at a party, or dinner or something? Do you leave them to it? Engage a hotel room? Smile & vanish? Smile & stand by? What I don't want to be is stern & disapproving or teary. But I am only human. I have to feel I have some ground-rights.At some point she wrote:
I am, by the way, not fat!!
Simone de Beauvoir defended the Soviet Union and supported Marxism (I had to write all that to avoid saying she was a Communist, which would make the Beotians fall upon me :-) ), started modern feminism and gender ideology, defended that women were homosexual, and was called mysoginistic by her critics, but sounds desperate, anxious, submissive, completely subordinate to JP Sartre in her letters to him†:
Sep 25 1939, [My heart is consumed by passion for you and it couldn't be more painful. This has been brewing all day, and it came down on me like a tornado in [xxx], where I broke into sobs.]
Nov 14 1940, [Nothing in my life seems to count for me, except this need I have for you.]
Dec 12 1940, [All that I can have of life without you I have—but it's nothing. I already knew that, when you were here—you are everything to me. I know it still better now, and find it both cruel and sweet.]
Jan 7 1941: [I am wasting away with longing to see you. Do think about me.]
Feb 21 1941: [I live but I'm mutilated. [...] I've dreamed hundreds of times that you are returning—I didn't go away for the Shrovetide holiday, so that I could wait for you. I scan every street corner for you. I live only for the moment when I set eyes on you again.]
He was much of the time away, and frequently with other women.
I only hope that Your Honor doesn't suffer so much with Your significant others.
---
On the human nature department֍:
Abstract: Recent findings suggest that moral outrage serves an interpersonal function of signaling trustworthiness to others and such perceptions play a uniquely important role in identifying social opportunities. We conducted four studies investigating how behavioral displays of moral outrage are perceived in the specific context of mating. Results indicated participants (particularly women) found prospective mates espousing outrage more desirable for long-term mating (Study 1), and this perception of desirability was similarly inferred among same-sex raters (Study 2). We further replicated findings in Study 1, while additionally considering the basis of women’s attraction toward outraged behavior through candidate mediators (Studies 3 and 4). Although we found consistent evidence for the long-term desirability of outraged behavior, in addition, to trustworthiness, evidence remained mixed on the extent to which evaluations of a prospective mate’s outrage was the basis of effects. We frame results from complementary perspectives of trust signaling and sexual strategies theory.
This study of status in fourteen countries is, IMHO, interesting¶:
[T]he content-level analyses further confirmed that all components of attractiveness (i.e., hygiene, appearance) and domestic skills (i.e., cooking ability, parenting skill, and cleanliness) are more central to women’s status than men’s status across the countries sampled. Sex differences in the effects of women’s sexual strategy on status are especially clear at the content level. Infidelity, chastity/purity, and long-term mating success increase women’s status more than men’s. Sexual promiscuity lowers the status of both sexes, but lowers it more dramatically for women than for men (see Figure 11).
Ah, Fortuna cruel, Fortuna ingrata!* You were born a woman, and for that you're penalized in some of life's most fun activities, my dear governor. Believe me when I say that I am sorry for the costs that life puts upon You, and that I'd compensate You for them if You allowed me to be near You as Your confidante and one of Your best friends.
"Pieno di dolce e d'amoroso affetto"*, Yours faithfully
[...]
--
Notes
* L Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, i.44.3. Milano: Garzanti, 1974. Also, i.81.6; i.54.1.
** Anonymous epigram, in 'The Greek Anthology' translated by W R Paton, 1916, book V, 2, 1.
† Katie Roiphe's The Power Notebooks. New York: Free Press, 2020. Pages 183-4; 228; 225; 211.
‡ Memento Mori: Elizabeth Hardwick, 1916–2007. By Christian Lorentzen on December 5, 2007 https://harpers.org/2007/12/elizabeth-hardwick-1916-2007/
֍ Brown, Mitch, Lucas A. Keefer, Donald F. Sacco, and Faith L. Brown. 2020. “Demonstrate Values: Behavioral Displays of Moral Outrage as a Cue to Long-term Mate Potential.” PsyArXiv. May 22. https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2020/05/demonstrate-values-behavioral-displays.html
¶ Buss, D. M., Durkee, P. K., Shackelford, T. K., Bowdle, B. F., Schmitt, D. P., Brase, G. L., Choe, J. C., & Trofimova, I. (2020). Human status criteria: Sex differences and similarities across 14 nations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, May 2020. https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2020/05/infidelity-chastitypurity-and-long-term.html
Abstract: Social status is a central and universal feature of our highly social species. Reproductively relevant resources, including food, territory, mating opportunities, powerful coalitional alliances, and group-provided health care, flow to those high in status and trickle only slowly to those low in status. Despite its importance and centrality to human social group living, the scientific understanding of status contains a large gap in knowledge—the precise criteria by which individuals are accorded high or low status in the eyes of their group members. It is not known whether there exist universal status criteria, nor the degree to which status criteria vary across cultures. Also unknown is whether status criteria are sex differentiated, and the degree of cross-cultural variability and consistency of sex-differentiated status criteria. The current article investigates status criteria across 14 countries (N = 2,751). Results provide the first systematic documentation of potentially universal and sex-differentiated status criteria. Discussion outlines important next steps in understanding the psychology of status.[xxx]
Saturday, June 6, 2020
At least 42.7% of adult women have experienced orgasm during sleep and they have significantly higher mean Female Genital Self-Image scores than women who have not experienced orgasm during sleep
Things that Go Bump in the Night: Prevalence, Genital Self-Image, and Experiences of Women Who Orgasm during Sleep. Lyndsay Irene Mercier. 2020. https://search.proquest.com/openview/c40abd9d43107928abe193964ea8cd11/1
Abstract: Despite being a common occurrence among girls and women, the distinct female (assigned at birth) experience of orgasm during sleep had not been formally studied in over 33 years, yet it has a long history of pathologizing that continues today. This study used a quantitative correlational research design with descriptive elements informed by a feminist paradigm. Findings update the research base surrounding this phenomenon, here called somnus orgasm (SO). It examined the prevalence and frequency of SO among 1,248 adult women, the largest study of its kind. Over half of this study’s participants were age 31 or older, with 21.7% age 41 or older. In this regard, this study is the first of its kind to capture the experiences of older women. The relationship between SO and Female Genital Self-Image was assessed and women’s reported feelings and reactions to their SO experiences were captured. Results indicated that at least 42.7% of adult women have experienced orgasm during sleep and that they have significantly higher mean Female Genital Self-Image Scores than women who have not experienced orgasm during sleep. Responses from open-ended questions indicated that most participants view their SO experiences overall as positive events, although many reported negative reactions to their first or early SO occurrences. Findings from this study may serve to reduce the stigma and erroneous association of SO with abnormality or deviancy by adding to the evidence that female orgasm during sleep is a common experience for women and girls.
Keywords: female orgasm, sleep orgasm, female genital self-image, somnus orgasm
Abstract: Despite being a common occurrence among girls and women, the distinct female (assigned at birth) experience of orgasm during sleep had not been formally studied in over 33 years, yet it has a long history of pathologizing that continues today. This study used a quantitative correlational research design with descriptive elements informed by a feminist paradigm. Findings update the research base surrounding this phenomenon, here called somnus orgasm (SO). It examined the prevalence and frequency of SO among 1,248 adult women, the largest study of its kind. Over half of this study’s participants were age 31 or older, with 21.7% age 41 or older. In this regard, this study is the first of its kind to capture the experiences of older women. The relationship between SO and Female Genital Self-Image was assessed and women’s reported feelings and reactions to their SO experiences were captured. Results indicated that at least 42.7% of adult women have experienced orgasm during sleep and that they have significantly higher mean Female Genital Self-Image Scores than women who have not experienced orgasm during sleep. Responses from open-ended questions indicated that most participants view their SO experiences overall as positive events, although many reported negative reactions to their first or early SO occurrences. Findings from this study may serve to reduce the stigma and erroneous association of SO with abnormality or deviancy by adding to the evidence that female orgasm during sleep is a common experience for women and girls.
Keywords: female orgasm, sleep orgasm, female genital self-image, somnus orgasm
Why some memories are prioritized over others, why memory loss sometimes leads to impaired decision-making, and why decisions are shaped by regret and counterfactual thinking
What Are Memories For? The Hippocampus Bridges Past Experience with Future Decisions. Natalie Biderman, Akram Bakkour, Daphna Shohamy. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, June 5 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2020.04.004
Highlights
. Memory plays a pervasive role in flexible decision-making that depends on inference, generalization, and deliberation.
. This function of memory in decision-making is supported by the hippocampus, suggesting that the role of the hippocampus may be to create a record of the past in the service of future behavior.
. This view reconciles findings from the fields of memory and decision-making. It offers new insight into why some memories are prioritized over others, why memory loss sometimes leads to impaired decision-making, and why decisions are shaped by regret and counterfactual thinking.
Abstract: Many decisions require flexible reasoning that depends on inference, generalization, and deliberation. Here, we review emerging findings indicating that the hippocampus, known for its role in long-term memory, contributes to these flexible aspects of value-based decision-making. This work offers new insights into the role of memory in decision-making and suggests that memory may shape decisions even in situations that do not appear, at first glance, to depend on memory at all. Uncovering the pervasive role of memory in decision-making challenges the way we define what memory is and what it does, suggesting that memory’s primary purpose may be to guide future behavior and that storing a record of the past is just one way to do so.
Keywords: memorydecision-makingamnesiahippocampusvalue
Highlights
. Memory plays a pervasive role in flexible decision-making that depends on inference, generalization, and deliberation.
. This function of memory in decision-making is supported by the hippocampus, suggesting that the role of the hippocampus may be to create a record of the past in the service of future behavior.
. This view reconciles findings from the fields of memory and decision-making. It offers new insight into why some memories are prioritized over others, why memory loss sometimes leads to impaired decision-making, and why decisions are shaped by regret and counterfactual thinking.
Abstract: Many decisions require flexible reasoning that depends on inference, generalization, and deliberation. Here, we review emerging findings indicating that the hippocampus, known for its role in long-term memory, contributes to these flexible aspects of value-based decision-making. This work offers new insights into the role of memory in decision-making and suggests that memory may shape decisions even in situations that do not appear, at first glance, to depend on memory at all. Uncovering the pervasive role of memory in decision-making challenges the way we define what memory is and what it does, suggesting that memory’s primary purpose may be to guide future behavior and that storing a record of the past is just one way to do so.
Keywords: memorydecision-makingamnesiahippocampusvalue
Estimations of Typical, Ideal, Premature Ejaculation, and Actual Latencies by Men and Female Sexual Partners of Men During Partnered Sex
Côté-Léger P, Rowland DL. Estimations of Typical, Ideal, Premature Ejaculation, and Actual Latencies by Men and Female Sexual Partners of Men During Partnered Sex. J Sex Med 2020;XX:XXX–XXX. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1743609520305348
Abstract
Background: The ejaculation latency (ELT) criterion for men with premature ejaculation (PE), including its 2 major subtypes of lifelong and acquired, relies heavily on expert opinion, yet such information represents only one source of data for this determination; furthermore, information regarding ELTs for PE within specific subgroups of men (eg, gay, bisexual) has been lacking.
Aim: To obtain data regarding men's lived experiences and expectations regarding typical ejaculation, ideal ejaculation, and PE and (for men) self-reported ejaculatory latencies during partnered sex across a variety a groups, including men vs women (ie, sexual partners of men), men with and without PE, and straight vs gay/bisexual men.
Methods: We recruited 1,065 men and sexual partners of men, asking them to estimate typical ejaculation, ideal ejaculation, and PE and (for men) self-latencies through an online survey posted on social media. Demographics, sexual identity, and sexual response data were also collected.
Results: Typical and self-reported ELTs were closely aligned with those reported in the literature, with ideal ELTs generally longer than typical ELTs. Median PE ELTs were consistently estimated around 1.5 min, with nearly all subgroups—men vs women; straight vs gay; PE and non-PE men—showing alignment on this criterion. Men with lifelong PE did not differ from men with acquired PE in either their PE ELT estimation or their self-reported ELT.
Clinical Implications: The data support the idea of extending the latency cutoff for establishing a PE diagnosis beyond the current 1-minute threshold.
Strengths & Limitations: A large sample size drawn from a multinational population powered the study, whereas the use of social media for recruitment and lack of inclusion of lesbian and asexual individuals may have missed relevant data from some who have had sexual experience with men.
Conclusion: Straight and nonstraight men do not differ in their ELT estimations. In addition, the use of different ELT criteria for lifelong vs acquired PE may be unnecessary.
Key Words: Ejaculation LatenciesPremature Ejaculation LatenciesLifelongAcquiredPerceived Typical Ejaculation Latencies
Abstract
Background: The ejaculation latency (ELT) criterion for men with premature ejaculation (PE), including its 2 major subtypes of lifelong and acquired, relies heavily on expert opinion, yet such information represents only one source of data for this determination; furthermore, information regarding ELTs for PE within specific subgroups of men (eg, gay, bisexual) has been lacking.
Aim: To obtain data regarding men's lived experiences and expectations regarding typical ejaculation, ideal ejaculation, and PE and (for men) self-reported ejaculatory latencies during partnered sex across a variety a groups, including men vs women (ie, sexual partners of men), men with and without PE, and straight vs gay/bisexual men.
Methods: We recruited 1,065 men and sexual partners of men, asking them to estimate typical ejaculation, ideal ejaculation, and PE and (for men) self-latencies through an online survey posted on social media. Demographics, sexual identity, and sexual response data were also collected.
Results: Typical and self-reported ELTs were closely aligned with those reported in the literature, with ideal ELTs generally longer than typical ELTs. Median PE ELTs were consistently estimated around 1.5 min, with nearly all subgroups—men vs women; straight vs gay; PE and non-PE men—showing alignment on this criterion. Men with lifelong PE did not differ from men with acquired PE in either their PE ELT estimation or their self-reported ELT.
Clinical Implications: The data support the idea of extending the latency cutoff for establishing a PE diagnosis beyond the current 1-minute threshold.
Strengths & Limitations: A large sample size drawn from a multinational population powered the study, whereas the use of social media for recruitment and lack of inclusion of lesbian and asexual individuals may have missed relevant data from some who have had sexual experience with men.
Conclusion: Straight and nonstraight men do not differ in their ELT estimations. In addition, the use of different ELT criteria for lifelong vs acquired PE may be unnecessary.
Key Words: Ejaculation LatenciesPremature Ejaculation LatenciesLifelongAcquiredPerceived Typical Ejaculation Latencies
Dissertation: An Examination of Sexual Fantasy And Infidelity
Haus, Katherine Rose, "AN EXAMINATION OF SEXUAL FANTASY AND INFIDELITY" (2020). Univ of Kentucky Theses and Dissertations--Kinesiology and Health Promotion. 77. https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2020.263
Abstract: Infidelity is a common behavior, influencing many people within romantic relationships (Mark & Haus, 2019). Many factors have been linked to increased infidelity engagement, but no studies exist documenting the role of sexual fantasy regarding infidelity. One such predictor of infidelity is need fulfillment, or the extent to which one’s needs are fulfilled in their relationship (Le & Agnew, 2001). Sexual fantasy is a highly common, but largely understudied sexual behavior (Lehmiller, 2018). Therefore, the aims of the current study were: 1) to document the role that sexual fantasy and need fulfillment play in infidelity, 2) to determine any potential gender differences in sexual fantasy themes and 3) to determine whether any particular type of sexual fantasy predicted infidelity. Thus, 1,062 adults in romantic relationships were recruited through a combination of social media (n = 265) and the social networking site Ashley Madison® (n = 797) to take part in an online survey. Participants provided their demographics and completed the Wilson Sexual Fantasy Questionnaire (SFQ; Wilson, 2010), the Infidelity Intentions scale (Jones et al., 2010), and a Needs-Fulfillment Measure (Le & Agnew, 2001). An independent samples t-test indicated significant gender differences in type of fantasy such that women fantasized more so than did men about sadomasochistic fantasies, but men fantasized more than did women about intimate, exploratory, and impersonal sexual fantasies. Hierarchical multivariate regression indicated lower levels of need fulfillment to be predictive of higher levels of infidelity intentions among women and men, and higher frequency of sexual fantasy to be predictive of higher levels of infidelity intentions among men. Multivariate logistic regression analyses indicated exploratory fantasy to be the most salient predictor of infidelity engagement, but was only significant among women, such that women who fantasized more frequently about exploratory fantasies were less likely to engage in physical infidelity. The findings of this study contribute to what is known about sexual fantasy and indicate that it may have a more salient role in infidelity intentions and engagement than previously thought.
1. Having sexual intercourse out of doors in a romantic setting (e.g. field of flowers, beach at night)
2. Having intercourse with a loved partner
3. Intercourse with someone you know but have not had sex with
4. Intercourse with an anonymous stranger
5. Sex with two other people
6. Participating in an orgy
7. Being forced to do something
8. Forcing someone to do something
9. Same-sex sexual behavior
10. Receiving oral sex
11. Giving oral sex
12. Watching others have sex
13. Sex with an animal
14. Whipping or spanking someone
15. Being whipped or spanked
16. Taking someone's clothes off
17. Having your clothes taken off
18. Having sex somewhere other than the bedroom
19. Being excited by material or clothing (e.g. rubber, leather, underwear)
20. Hurting a partner
21. Being hurt by a partner
22. Partner-swapping
23. Being aroused by watching someone urinate
24. Being tied up
25. Tying someone up
26. Having incestuous sexual relationships
27. Exposing yourself
28. Being promiscuous
29 Having sex with someone much younger than yourself
30. Having sex with someone much older than yourself
31. Being much sought after by the opposite sex
32. Being seduced as an "innocent"
33. Seducing an "innocent"
34. Being embarrassed by failure of sexual performance
35. Using objects for stimulation (e.g. vibrators, candles)
36. Being masturbated to orgasm by a partner
37. Looking at obscene pictures or films
38. Kissing Passionately
Abstract: Infidelity is a common behavior, influencing many people within romantic relationships (Mark & Haus, 2019). Many factors have been linked to increased infidelity engagement, but no studies exist documenting the role of sexual fantasy regarding infidelity. One such predictor of infidelity is need fulfillment, or the extent to which one’s needs are fulfilled in their relationship (Le & Agnew, 2001). Sexual fantasy is a highly common, but largely understudied sexual behavior (Lehmiller, 2018). Therefore, the aims of the current study were: 1) to document the role that sexual fantasy and need fulfillment play in infidelity, 2) to determine any potential gender differences in sexual fantasy themes and 3) to determine whether any particular type of sexual fantasy predicted infidelity. Thus, 1,062 adults in romantic relationships were recruited through a combination of social media (n = 265) and the social networking site Ashley Madison® (n = 797) to take part in an online survey. Participants provided their demographics and completed the Wilson Sexual Fantasy Questionnaire (SFQ; Wilson, 2010), the Infidelity Intentions scale (Jones et al., 2010), and a Needs-Fulfillment Measure (Le & Agnew, 2001). An independent samples t-test indicated significant gender differences in type of fantasy such that women fantasized more so than did men about sadomasochistic fantasies, but men fantasized more than did women about intimate, exploratory, and impersonal sexual fantasies. Hierarchical multivariate regression indicated lower levels of need fulfillment to be predictive of higher levels of infidelity intentions among women and men, and higher frequency of sexual fantasy to be predictive of higher levels of infidelity intentions among men. Multivariate logistic regression analyses indicated exploratory fantasy to be the most salient predictor of infidelity engagement, but was only significant among women, such that women who fantasized more frequently about exploratory fantasies were less likely to engage in physical infidelity. The findings of this study contribute to what is known about sexual fantasy and indicate that it may have a more salient role in infidelity intentions and engagement than previously thought.
1. Having sexual intercourse out of doors in a romantic setting (e.g. field of flowers, beach at night)
2. Having intercourse with a loved partner
3. Intercourse with someone you know but have not had sex with
4. Intercourse with an anonymous stranger
5. Sex with two other people
6. Participating in an orgy
7. Being forced to do something
8. Forcing someone to do something
9. Same-sex sexual behavior
10. Receiving oral sex
11. Giving oral sex
12. Watching others have sex
13. Sex with an animal
14. Whipping or spanking someone
15. Being whipped or spanked
16. Taking someone's clothes off
17. Having your clothes taken off
18. Having sex somewhere other than the bedroom
19. Being excited by material or clothing (e.g. rubber, leather, underwear)
20. Hurting a partner
21. Being hurt by a partner
22. Partner-swapping
23. Being aroused by watching someone urinate
24. Being tied up
25. Tying someone up
26. Having incestuous sexual relationships
27. Exposing yourself
28. Being promiscuous
29 Having sex with someone much younger than yourself
30. Having sex with someone much older than yourself
31. Being much sought after by the opposite sex
32. Being seduced as an "innocent"
33. Seducing an "innocent"
34. Being embarrassed by failure of sexual performance
35. Using objects for stimulation (e.g. vibrators, candles)
36. Being masturbated to orgasm by a partner
37. Looking at obscene pictures or films
38. Kissing Passionately
Friday, June 5, 2020
Grandiose narcissists consider intelligence so important bc they see it as leading to benefits across life domains; maintain & defend illusory positive intellectual self-views; & are extremely motivated to appear intelligent
Why Do Narcissists Care So Much About Intelligence? Marcin Zajenkowski, Michael Dufner. Current Directions in Psychological Science, June 4, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721420917152
Abstract: Grandiose narcissists typically pursue agentic goals, such as social status, competence, and autonomy. We argue that because high intelligence is a key asset for the attainment of such agentic goals, the concept of intelligence should play a prominent role in grandiose narcissists’ self-regulation and social behavior. We review the relevant literature and report evidence in support of this claim. Grandiose narcissists consider intelligence to be an important resource that leads to benefits across life domains, they tend to maintain and defend illusory positive intellectual self-views, and they are extremely motivated to appear intelligent to other people. Thus, even though grandiose narcissism is essentially unrelated to objectively assessed intelligence, intelligence nevertheless plays an important role in the way grandiose narcissists think, feel, and behave. We discuss potential implications for social relationships and point toward avenues for future research.
Keywords: agency, grandiose narcissism, intelligence, narcissism
Abstract: Grandiose narcissists typically pursue agentic goals, such as social status, competence, and autonomy. We argue that because high intelligence is a key asset for the attainment of such agentic goals, the concept of intelligence should play a prominent role in grandiose narcissists’ self-regulation and social behavior. We review the relevant literature and report evidence in support of this claim. Grandiose narcissists consider intelligence to be an important resource that leads to benefits across life domains, they tend to maintain and defend illusory positive intellectual self-views, and they are extremely motivated to appear intelligent to other people. Thus, even though grandiose narcissism is essentially unrelated to objectively assessed intelligence, intelligence nevertheless plays an important role in the way grandiose narcissists think, feel, and behave. We discuss potential implications for social relationships and point toward avenues for future research.
Keywords: agency, grandiose narcissism, intelligence, narcissism
Men appreciate more aggresive and sexual humor; other differences seem based in roles, not natural differences
Gender differences in humor-related traits, humor appreciation, production, comprehension, (neural) responses, use, and correlates: A systematic review. Jennifer Hofmann, Tracey Platt, Chloé Lau & Jorge Torres-Marín. Current Psychology Jun 4 2020. https://rd.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12144-020-00724-1
Abstract: All available peer-reviewed literature on humor and gender differences (1977–2018) was screened and evaluated according to a priori defined QUALSYST criteria. The 77 papers surpassing a conservative quality criterion generated seven emergent themes around humor and gender differences. In short, men score higher in the aggressive humor style (M > F), while no other gender differences were consistently reported in humor-related traits (M = F). In the prediction of negative outcomes (stress, loneliness, depression), differential effects for humor in both genders are reported, but not consistently (M ≠ F). Gender differences exist for the appreciation of sexual humor (M > F), even in mixed target stimuli, and hostile humor (both genders appreciate opposite gender target stimuli more). Gender differences are absent in nonsense and neutral humor (M = F). For humor production, three samples showed no gender differences (M = F), while three samples suggested men are funnier (M > F) and one that women are funnier (M < F). No studies reporting differences in humor comprehension were identified (M = F). For humor use and communication, gender differences were found across methods (M ≠ F), yet, they depend on the context (e.g., workplace) and may thus resemble gender roles rather than “natural differences”. Moreover, few studies provide hard data on actual humor use and communication in different domains. When exposed to humor stimuli, different neural responses of men and women in prefrontal cortex activations (or selected parts) were found (M ≠ F). Also, self-report data suggest that both genders value a sense of humor in their partner (M = F), yet women typically value the humor production abilities more than humor receptivity, while for men, the woman’s receptivity of their own humor is more important than a woman’s humor production abilities, in line with gender stereotypes (M ≠ F). To conclude, much progress has been achieved in the past 15 years to overcome methodological flaws in early works on humor and gender differences. Importantly, attention should be paid to disentangling actual gender differences from gender role expectations and gender stereotypes. Methodologically, designs need to be checked for potential bias (i.e. self-reports may accentuate roles and stereotypes) and more hard data is needed to substantiate claims from self-report studies.
Abstract: All available peer-reviewed literature on humor and gender differences (1977–2018) was screened and evaluated according to a priori defined QUALSYST criteria. The 77 papers surpassing a conservative quality criterion generated seven emergent themes around humor and gender differences. In short, men score higher in the aggressive humor style (M > F), while no other gender differences were consistently reported in humor-related traits (M = F). In the prediction of negative outcomes (stress, loneliness, depression), differential effects for humor in both genders are reported, but not consistently (M ≠ F). Gender differences exist for the appreciation of sexual humor (M > F), even in mixed target stimuli, and hostile humor (both genders appreciate opposite gender target stimuli more). Gender differences are absent in nonsense and neutral humor (M = F). For humor production, three samples showed no gender differences (M = F), while three samples suggested men are funnier (M > F) and one that women are funnier (M < F). No studies reporting differences in humor comprehension were identified (M = F). For humor use and communication, gender differences were found across methods (M ≠ F), yet, they depend on the context (e.g., workplace) and may thus resemble gender roles rather than “natural differences”. Moreover, few studies provide hard data on actual humor use and communication in different domains. When exposed to humor stimuli, different neural responses of men and women in prefrontal cortex activations (or selected parts) were found (M ≠ F). Also, self-report data suggest that both genders value a sense of humor in their partner (M = F), yet women typically value the humor production abilities more than humor receptivity, while for men, the woman’s receptivity of their own humor is more important than a woman’s humor production abilities, in line with gender stereotypes (M ≠ F). To conclude, much progress has been achieved in the past 15 years to overcome methodological flaws in early works on humor and gender differences. Importantly, attention should be paid to disentangling actual gender differences from gender role expectations and gender stereotypes. Methodologically, designs need to be checked for potential bias (i.e. self-reports may accentuate roles and stereotypes) and more hard data is needed to substantiate claims from self-report studies.
No pain, no gain: Perceived partner mate value mediates the desire-inducing effect of being hard to get
No pain, no gain: Perceived partner mate value mediates the desire-inducing effect of being hard to get during online and face-to-face encounters. Gurit E. Birnbaum, Kobi Zholtack, Harry T. Reis. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, June 4, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407520927469
Abstract: Playing hard to get is a common strategy used to attract mates. Past research has been unclear about whether and why this strategy facilitates mate pursuit. In three studies, we examined whether perceiving potential partners as hard to get instigated sexual desire and whether perceived partner mate value explained this effect. In doing so, we focused on tactics that give the impression that potential partners are hard to get and may genuinely signal their mate value (being selective in choosing mates, efforts invested in their pursuit). In all studies, participants interacted with an opposite-sex confederate and rated their perceptions of the confederate. In Study 1, participants interacted with confederates whose profile indicated that they were either hard to get or easy to attract. In Study 2, participants exerted (or not) real efforts to attract the confederate. In Study 3, interactions unfolded spontaneously and were coded for efforts made to see the confederate again. Results indicated that the perception of whether a confederate was hard to get was associated with their mate value, which, in turn, predicted greater desire and efforts to see the confederate again, suggesting that being hard to get is an effective strategy that heightens perceptions of partners’ mate value.
Keywords: Attraction, dating, hard to get, sexual desire, relationship initiation
Abstract: Playing hard to get is a common strategy used to attract mates. Past research has been unclear about whether and why this strategy facilitates mate pursuit. In three studies, we examined whether perceiving potential partners as hard to get instigated sexual desire and whether perceived partner mate value explained this effect. In doing so, we focused on tactics that give the impression that potential partners are hard to get and may genuinely signal their mate value (being selective in choosing mates, efforts invested in their pursuit). In all studies, participants interacted with an opposite-sex confederate and rated their perceptions of the confederate. In Study 1, participants interacted with confederates whose profile indicated that they were either hard to get or easy to attract. In Study 2, participants exerted (or not) real efforts to attract the confederate. In Study 3, interactions unfolded spontaneously and were coded for efforts made to see the confederate again. Results indicated that the perception of whether a confederate was hard to get was associated with their mate value, which, in turn, predicted greater desire and efforts to see the confederate again, suggesting that being hard to get is an effective strategy that heightens perceptions of partners’ mate value.
Keywords: Attraction, dating, hard to get, sexual desire, relationship initiation
USA & Denmark: Those scoring higher in narcissism participate more in politics (contacting politicians, signing petitions, joining demonstrations, donating money, & voting in midterm elections)
Narcissism in Political Participation. Zoltán Fazekas, Peter K. Hatemi. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, June 4, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167220919212
Abstract: Much attention has focused on the social, institutional, and mobilization factors that influence political participation, with a renewed interest in psychological motivations. One trait that has a deep theoretical connection to participation, but remains underexplored, is narcissism. Relying on three studies in the United States and Denmark, two nationally representative, we find that those scoring higher in narcissism, as measured by the Narcissistic Personality Inventory–40 (NPI-40), participate more in politics, including contacting politicians, signing petitions, joining demonstrations, donating money, and voting in midterm elections. Both agentic and antagonistic components of narcissism were positively and negatively related to different types of political participation when exploring the subfactors independently. Superiority and Authority/Leadership were positively related to participation, while Self Sufficiency was negatively related to participation. In addition, the combined Entitlement/Exploitativeness factor was negatively related to turnout, but only in midterm elections. Overall, the findings support a view of participation that arises in part from instrumental motivations.
Keywords narcissism, political participation, NPI, authority-seeking, superiority
Abstract: Much attention has focused on the social, institutional, and mobilization factors that influence political participation, with a renewed interest in psychological motivations. One trait that has a deep theoretical connection to participation, but remains underexplored, is narcissism. Relying on three studies in the United States and Denmark, two nationally representative, we find that those scoring higher in narcissism, as measured by the Narcissistic Personality Inventory–40 (NPI-40), participate more in politics, including contacting politicians, signing petitions, joining demonstrations, donating money, and voting in midterm elections. Both agentic and antagonistic components of narcissism were positively and negatively related to different types of political participation when exploring the subfactors independently. Superiority and Authority/Leadership were positively related to participation, while Self Sufficiency was negatively related to participation. In addition, the combined Entitlement/Exploitativeness factor was negatively related to turnout, but only in midterm elections. Overall, the findings support a view of participation that arises in part from instrumental motivations.
Keywords narcissism, political participation, NPI, authority-seeking, superiority
Thursday, June 4, 2020
Tendency for Interpersonal Victimhood (an enduring feeling that the self is a victim across different kinds of interpersonal relationships) & the need for recognition, moral elitism, lack of empathy, & rumination
The tendency for interpersonal victimhood: The personality construct and its consequences. Rahav Gabay et al. Personality and Individual Differences, Volume 165, October 15 2020, 110134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.110134
Abstract: In the present research, we introduce a conceptualization of the Tendency for Interpersonal Victimhood (TIV), which we define as an enduring feeling that the self is a victim across different kinds of interpersonal relationships. Then, in a comprehensive set of eight studies, we develop a measure for this novel personality trait, TIV, and examine its correlates, as well as its affective, cognitive, and behavioral consequences. In Part 1 (Studies 1A-1C) we establish the construct of TIV, with its four dimensions; i.e., need for recognition, moral elitism, lack of empathy, and rumination, and then assess TIV's internal consistency, stability over time, and its effect on the interpretation of ambiguous situations. In Part 2 (Studies 2A-2C) we examine TIV's convergent and discriminant validities, using several personality dimensions, and the role of attachment styles as conceptual antecedents. In Part 3 (Studies 3–4) we explore the cognitive and behavioral consequences of TIV. Specifically, we examine the relationships between TIV, negative attribution and recall biases, and the desire for revenge (Study 3), and the effects of TIV on behavioral revenge (Study 4). The findings highlight the importance of understanding, conceptualizing, and empirically testing TIV, and suggest that victimhood is a stable and meaningful personality tendency.
Keywords: VictimhoodInterpersonal relationsPersonalityCognitive biasesAttachment styles
Abstract: In the present research, we introduce a conceptualization of the Tendency for Interpersonal Victimhood (TIV), which we define as an enduring feeling that the self is a victim across different kinds of interpersonal relationships. Then, in a comprehensive set of eight studies, we develop a measure for this novel personality trait, TIV, and examine its correlates, as well as its affective, cognitive, and behavioral consequences. In Part 1 (Studies 1A-1C) we establish the construct of TIV, with its four dimensions; i.e., need for recognition, moral elitism, lack of empathy, and rumination, and then assess TIV's internal consistency, stability over time, and its effect on the interpretation of ambiguous situations. In Part 2 (Studies 2A-2C) we examine TIV's convergent and discriminant validities, using several personality dimensions, and the role of attachment styles as conceptual antecedents. In Part 3 (Studies 3–4) we explore the cognitive and behavioral consequences of TIV. Specifically, we examine the relationships between TIV, negative attribution and recall biases, and the desire for revenge (Study 3), and the effects of TIV on behavioral revenge (Study 4). The findings highlight the importance of understanding, conceptualizing, and empirically testing TIV, and suggest that victimhood is a stable and meaningful personality tendency.
Keywords: VictimhoodInterpersonal relationsPersonalityCognitive biasesAttachment styles
To beer or not to beer: A meta-analysis of the effects of beer consumption on cardiovascular health
To beer or not to beer: A meta-analysis of the effects of beer consumption on cardiovascular health. Giorgia Spaggiari et al. PLoS, June 3, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0233619
Abstract: A moderate alcohol consumption is demonstrated to exert a protective action in terms of cardiovascular risk. Although this property seems not to be beverage-specific, the various composition of alcoholic compounds could mediate peculiar effects in vivo. The aim of this study was to evaluate potential beer-mediated effects on the cardiovascular health in humans, using a meta-analytic approach (trial registration number: CRD42018118387). The literature search, comprising all English articles published until November, 30th 2019 in EMBASE, PubMed and Cochrane database included all controlled clinical trials evaluating the cardiovascular effects of beer assumption compared to alcohol-free beer, water, abstinence or placebo. Both sexes and all beer preparations were considered eligible. Outcome parameters were those entering in the cardiovascular risk charts and those related to endothelial dysfunction. Twenty-six trials were included in the analysis. Total cholesterol was significantly higher in beer drinkers compared to controls (14 studies, 3.52 mg/dL, 1.71–5.32 mg/dL). Similar increased levels were observed in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (18 studies, 3.63 mg/dL, 2.00–5.26 mg/dL) and in apolipoprotein A1 (5 studies, 0.16 mg/dL, 0.11–0.21 mg/dL), while no differences were detected in low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (12 studies, -2.85 mg/dL, -5.96–0.26 mg/dL) and triglycerides (14 studies, 0.40 mg/dL, -5.00–5.80 mg/dL) levels. Flow mediated dilation (FMD) resulted significantly higher in beer-consumers compared to controls (4 studies, 0.65%, 0.07–1.23%), while blood pressure and other biochemical markers of inflammation did not differ. In conclusion, the specific beer effect on human cardiovascular health was meta-analysed for the first time, highlighting an improvement of the vascular elasticity, detected by the increase of FMD (after acute intake), and of the lipid profile with a significant increase of HDL and apolipoprotein A1 serum levels. Although the long-term effects of beer consumption are not still understood, a beneficial effect of beer on endothelial function should be supposed.
Abstract: A moderate alcohol consumption is demonstrated to exert a protective action in terms of cardiovascular risk. Although this property seems not to be beverage-specific, the various composition of alcoholic compounds could mediate peculiar effects in vivo. The aim of this study was to evaluate potential beer-mediated effects on the cardiovascular health in humans, using a meta-analytic approach (trial registration number: CRD42018118387). The literature search, comprising all English articles published until November, 30th 2019 in EMBASE, PubMed and Cochrane database included all controlled clinical trials evaluating the cardiovascular effects of beer assumption compared to alcohol-free beer, water, abstinence or placebo. Both sexes and all beer preparations were considered eligible. Outcome parameters were those entering in the cardiovascular risk charts and those related to endothelial dysfunction. Twenty-six trials were included in the analysis. Total cholesterol was significantly higher in beer drinkers compared to controls (14 studies, 3.52 mg/dL, 1.71–5.32 mg/dL). Similar increased levels were observed in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (18 studies, 3.63 mg/dL, 2.00–5.26 mg/dL) and in apolipoprotein A1 (5 studies, 0.16 mg/dL, 0.11–0.21 mg/dL), while no differences were detected in low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (12 studies, -2.85 mg/dL, -5.96–0.26 mg/dL) and triglycerides (14 studies, 0.40 mg/dL, -5.00–5.80 mg/dL) levels. Flow mediated dilation (FMD) resulted significantly higher in beer-consumers compared to controls (4 studies, 0.65%, 0.07–1.23%), while blood pressure and other biochemical markers of inflammation did not differ. In conclusion, the specific beer effect on human cardiovascular health was meta-analysed for the first time, highlighting an improvement of the vascular elasticity, detected by the increase of FMD (after acute intake), and of the lipid profile with a significant increase of HDL and apolipoprotein A1 serum levels. Although the long-term effects of beer consumption are not still understood, a beneficial effect of beer on endothelial function should be supposed.
Achilles & Patroklos - from Edward Carpenter's book, Ioläus: An Anthology of Friendship (1902)
Achilles & Patroklos
[The following excerpt, on the lover-warriors Achilles and Patroklos (or Patroclus), is from Edward Carpenter's book, Ioläus: An Anthology of Friendship (1902). Carpenter himself translated the passage from the Iliad.]
POETRY OF FRIENDSHIP AMONG GREEKS AND ROMANS
THE fact, already mentioned, that the romance of love among the Greeks was chiefly felt towards male friends, naturally led to their poetry being largely inspired by friendship; and Greek literature contains such a great number of poems of this sort, that I have thought it worth while to dedicate the main portion of the following section to quotations from them. No translations of course can do justice to the beauty of the originals, but the few specimens given may help to illustrate the depth and tenderness as well as the temperance and sobriety which on the whole characterized Greek feeling on this subject, at any rate during the best period of Hellenic culture....
It is not always realized that the Iliad of Homer turns upon the motive of friendship, but the extracts immediately following will perhaps make this clear. E. F. M. Benecke in his Position of Women in Greek Poetry (p. 76) says of the Iliad: —
It is a story of which the main motive is the love of Achilles for Patroclus. This solution is astoundingly simple, and yet it took me so long to bring myself to accept it that I am quite ready to forgive any one who feels a similar hesitation. But those who do accept it cannot fail to observe, on further consideration, how thoroughly suitable a motive of this kind would be in a national Greek epic. For this is the motive running through the whole of Greek life, till that life was transmuted by the influence of Macedonia. The lover-warriors Achilles and Patroclus are the direct spiritual ancestors of the sacred Band of Thebans, who died to a man on the field of Chæronæa.
The following two quotations are from The Greek Poets by J. A. Symonds, ch. iii., p. 80 et seq.: —
The Iliad therefore has for its whole subject the passion of Achilles — that ardent energy or μηνις of the hero which displayed itself first as anger against Agamemnon, and afterwards as love for the lost Patroclus. The truth of this was perceived by one of the greatest poets and profoundest critics of the modern world, Dante. When Dante, in the Inferno, wished to describe Achilles, he wrote, with characteristic brevity:
“AchilleChe per amore al fine combatteo.”
(“Achilles
Who at the last was brought to fight by love.”)
In this pregnant sentence Dante sounded the whole depth of the Iliad. The wrath of Achilles for Agamemnon, which prevented him at first from fighting; the love of Achilles, passing the love of women, for Patroclus, which induced him to forego his anger and to fight at last; these are the two poles on which the Iliad turns.
After his quarrel with Agamemnon, not even all the losses of the Greeks and the entreaties of Agamemnon himself will induce Achilles to fight — not till Patroclus is slain by Hector — Patroclus, his dear friend “whom above all my comrades I honored, even as myself.” Then he rises up, dons his armor, and driving the Trojans before him revenges himself on the body of Hector. But Patroclus lies yet unburied; and when the fighting is over, to Achilles comes the ghost of his dead friend: —
The son of Peleus, by the shore of the roaring sea lay, heavily groaning, surrounded by his Myrmidons; on a fair space of sand he lay, where the waves lapped the beach. Then slumber took him, loosing the cares of his heart, and mantling softly around him, for sorely wearied were his radiant limbs with driving Hector on by windy Troy. There to him came the soul of poor Patroclus, in all things like himself, in stature, and in the beauty of his eyes and voice, and on the form was raiment like his own. He stood above the hero's head, and spake to him: —
Sleepest thou, and me hast thou forgotten, Achilles? Not in my life wert thou neglectful of me, but in death. Bury me soon, that I may pass the gates of Hades. Far off the souls, the shadows of the dead, repel me, nor suffer me to join them on the river bank; but, as it is, thus I roam around the wide-doored house of Hades. But stretch to me thy hand I entreat; for never again shall I return from Hades when once ye shall have given me the meed of funeral fire. Nay, never shall we sit in life apart from our dear comrades and take counsel together. But me hath hateful fate enveloped — fate that was mine at the moment of my birth. And for thyself, divine Achilles, it is doomed to die beneath the noble Trojan's wall. Another thing I say to thee, and bid thee do it if thou wilt obey me: — lay not my bones apart from thine, Achilles, but lay them together; for we were brought up together in your house, when Mencœtius brought me, a child, from Opus to your house, because of woeful bloodshed on the day in which I slew the son of Amphidamas, myself a child, not willing it but in anger at our games. Then did the horseman, Peleus, take me, and rear me in his house, and cause me to be called thy squire. So then let one grave also hide the bones of both of us, the golden urn thy goddess-mother gave to thee.
Him answered swift-footed Achilles: —
Why, dearest and most honoured, hast thou hither come, to lay on me this thy behest? All things most certainly will I perform, and bow to what thou biddest. But stand thou near: even for one moment let us throw our arms upon each other's neck, and take our fill of sorrowful wailing.
So spake he, and with his outstretched hands he clasped, but could not seize. The spirit, earthward, like smoke, vanished with a shriek. Then all astonished arose Achilles, and beat his palms together, and spake a piteous word: —
Heavens! is there then, among the dead, soul and the shade of life, but thought is theirs no more at all? For through the night the soul of poor Patroclus stood above my head, wailing and sorrowing loud, and bade me do his will ; it was the very semblance of himself.
So spake he, and in the hearts of all of them he raised desire of lamentation; and while they were yet mourning, to them appeared rose-fingered dawn about the piteous corpse. Iliad, xxiii. 59 et seq.
PLATO in the Symposium dwells tenderly on this relation between Achilles and Patroclus: —
[And great] was the reward of the true love of Achilles towards his lover Patroclus - his lover and not his love (the notion that Patroclus was the beloved one is a foolish error into which Æschylus has fallen, for Achilles was surely the fairer of the two, fairer also than all the other heroes; and, as Homer informs us, he was still beardless, and younger far). And greatly as the gods honor the virtue of love, still the return of love on the part of the beloved to the lover is more admired and valued and rewarded by them, for the lover has a nature more divine and worthy of worship. Now Achilles was quite aware, for he had been told by his mother, that he might avoid death and return home, and live to a good old age, if he abstained from slaying Hector. Nevertheless he gave his life to revenge his friend, and dared to die, not only on his behalf, but after his death. Wherefore the gods honored him even above Alcestis, and sent him to the Islands of the Blest. Symposium, speech of Phædrus, trans. by B. Jowett.
And on this passage Symonds has the following note: —
Plato, discussing the Myrmidones of Æschylus, remarks in the Symposium that the tragic poet was wrong to make Achilles the lover of Patroclus, seeing that Patroclus was the elder of the two, and that Achilles was the youngest and most beautiful of all the Greeks. The fact however is that Homer raises no question in our minds about the relation of lover and beloved. Achilles and Patroclus are comrades. Their friendship is equal. It was only the reflective activity of the Greek mind, working upon the Homeric legend by the light of subsequent custom, which introduced these distinctions. The Greek Poets, ch. iii. p. 103.
Assessment of Psychopathology: Is Asking Questions Good Enough?
Assessment of Psychopathology: Is Asking Questions Good Enough? Barbara Pavlova. JAMA Psychiatry. 2020;77(6):557-558. March 11 2020, doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2020.0108
The evaluation and success of our efforts to prevent, detect, and treat mental illness depend on the assessment of psychopathology. Almost all psychiatric assessments consist of asking questions, through questionnaires or interviews, about behaviors and experiences. We either ask the person being assessed or someone who knows them well. Based on the answers, we diagnose, recommend treatment, and monitor outcome. Regardless of who is reporting, overreporting and underreporting are common. People may overreport or underreport on purpose when they are hoping for benefits associated with a diagnosis (eg, educational support, time off work, or access to medication), or fearing the consequences of diagnosis, including stigma or adverse effects of medication. Beliefs about mental illness not being real, concerns about privacy, health insurance cost, and implications for custody of children are also reasons for underreporting.
Unintentional overreporting and underreporting are even more common. Many diagnoses rely on recalling duration and frequency of multiple symptoms, which is prone to memory bias. Recent events are more salient, and people are more likely to remember times when their mood was similar to the mood at the time of reporting. Mood-dependent memory impedes the assessment of bipolar disorder, where individuals typically present in the depressive phase, and correct diagnosis depends on their recall of manic episodes. What is being reported about others is also influenced by reporters’ mental state. For example, mothers experiencing depression and anxiety report more severe symptoms in their children than the children themselves.1 These biases have been demonstrated in children thanks to routine use of multiple informants. It is likely that biases of self-report in adults remain hidden, because report by others is underused in adult psychiatric practice and research. Other reporting inaccuracies may stem from reporters’ implicit and explicit biases related to age, sex, race/ethnicity, appearance, or disability of the person whose behavior they are describing.
The comparison group that the reporter uses also has an effect and is the most likely explanation for why younger children within the classroom are more often diagnosed as having attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder than their older classmates.2 Similarly, clinicians who are likely to see those who are severely ill may underestimate problems of the relatively less affected. It is likely that the comparison group also affects self-report in adults and may contribute to apparent strong effects of income inequality and urban environment on psychopathology. Self-report and report by others may have complementary strengths depending on the problem that is being evaluated. While observable problems, such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, may be suited to report by others, the less visible difficulties, including anxiety, may be more accurately captured by self-report.
The studies that evaluated the relative predictive value of information from multiple reporters suggest that while everyone comes with their own biases, each reporter also contributes to the assessment/prediction in a meaningful way. Self-rated depression questionnaire and clinician-rated interview differ, but each contributes uniquely to the prediction of antidepressant treatment outcome.3 Similarly, parents’ ratings of their offspring’s depressive symptoms as well as those self-reported by the offspring prospectively predict a new-onset mood disorder.4
Problems with self-report and recall bias have been known for decades, but alternative methods have not been adopted in practice. The impracticability of accessing multiple informants and lack of objective unbiased standards may be why we continue to use suboptimal but convenient assessment methods. To improve assessment and prediction accuracy, we need methods that are more objective and less biased.
First, observation of behavior by a person who has no stakes in the assessment result improves assessment and prediction of functional outcomes. Independent observation of classroom behavior predicts future attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder–associated impairment with greater accuracy than the parent and teacher reports.5 Independent raters unaware of parent diagnosis observed more inattention, language/thought problems, and oppositional behavior in offspring of parents with mood and psychotic disorders than in offspring of parents without these disorders.6 Ratings of behavior by independent assessors may also contribute to predicting and evaluating treatment outcome.
Second, ecological momentary assessment (ie, repeated assessment of respondents’ experiences in their natural environment in real time) minimizes memory bias. For example, it may help identify early signs of mood and energy deterioration, which could enable clinicians to intervene early to prevent a major mood episode.
Third, automated analysis of behavior has a potential to avoid biases associated with human reporters. As with human observers, automated analysis of behavior uses the discernible signs of mental state, including speech content and prosody, body movement, and facial expressions. Automated analysis of speech could contribute to diagnosis and prediction of response to treatment. For example, features of speech, including speed, articulation, or repetitiveness, may aid the diagnosis of depression. Corcoran et al7 showed that automated speech analysis can predict psychosis onset among individuals at clinical high risk with high accuracy. In addition, increased pupillary reactivity to sad words distinguished children and young people with depression from their nondepressed peers.8 Automated analysis of speech and pupillary reactivity may also identify individuals at risk for depression. Finally, actigraphy can contribute to the assessment of mental illness through identifying changes in activity and sleep that precede a relapse of psychosis or depression.9 While automated analysis of speech, pupillary reactivity, and actigraphy contribute predictive information that complements self-report, none of these has been developed and validated as a comprehensive stand-alone assessment method that could replace questionnaires and interviews.10
The limits and biases of self-report have been known for decades, and the calls for integrating more objective measurement into psychiatric assessment are not new.11 Yet little has changed in psychiatric assessment to date. The last decade has brought evidence that multisource assessment actually improves the prediction of meaningful outcomes.3,4,7 At the same time, the feasibility of objective measurement is rapidly improving with the availability of wearable technology.9 The next steps in implementing objective assessment should include prospective evaluation of predictive value of objective tests used alone or alongside established interview and questionnaire methods.10 Clinical applicability will be enhanced if these steps are informed by what is known about report biases and multisource assessment. Because each reporter contributes unique predictive information,3-5 new methods should be evaluated against multireporter assessment rather than relying on a single reporter for a standard. New technology often uses artificial intelligence to learn from existing data that include the biases reviewed here. When calibrating new methods, care must be taken to ensure fairness and avoid perpetuation of biases pertaining to race/ethnicity, sex, and education.
While objective measurement of psychopathology is desirable, the presently available methods are far from being universally applicable.10 Although reports by self and others come with various biases and inaccuracies, they will likely remain the most informative way of assessment in psychiatry in the foreseeable future. Yet these traditional methods can and should also be improved. Unbiased objective measures of mental state, with methods such as speech analysis, pupillary reactivity, and actigraphy, may help to design and calibrate self-report and clinical interview measures so that they are less prone to bias.
Combination of multireporter assessment with objective analysis of behavior offers an opportunity to improve diagnosis and prediction of mental illness to better target treatment and preventative efforts. The key to implementing this knowledge may lie in practical solutions that allow incorporating objective and unbiased assessment in the work flow of research and clinical practice.
The evaluation and success of our efforts to prevent, detect, and treat mental illness depend on the assessment of psychopathology. Almost all psychiatric assessments consist of asking questions, through questionnaires or interviews, about behaviors and experiences. We either ask the person being assessed or someone who knows them well. Based on the answers, we diagnose, recommend treatment, and monitor outcome. Regardless of who is reporting, overreporting and underreporting are common. People may overreport or underreport on purpose when they are hoping for benefits associated with a diagnosis (eg, educational support, time off work, or access to medication), or fearing the consequences of diagnosis, including stigma or adverse effects of medication. Beliefs about mental illness not being real, concerns about privacy, health insurance cost, and implications for custody of children are also reasons for underreporting.
Unintentional overreporting and underreporting are even more common. Many diagnoses rely on recalling duration and frequency of multiple symptoms, which is prone to memory bias. Recent events are more salient, and people are more likely to remember times when their mood was similar to the mood at the time of reporting. Mood-dependent memory impedes the assessment of bipolar disorder, where individuals typically present in the depressive phase, and correct diagnosis depends on their recall of manic episodes. What is being reported about others is also influenced by reporters’ mental state. For example, mothers experiencing depression and anxiety report more severe symptoms in their children than the children themselves.1 These biases have been demonstrated in children thanks to routine use of multiple informants. It is likely that biases of self-report in adults remain hidden, because report by others is underused in adult psychiatric practice and research. Other reporting inaccuracies may stem from reporters’ implicit and explicit biases related to age, sex, race/ethnicity, appearance, or disability of the person whose behavior they are describing.
The comparison group that the reporter uses also has an effect and is the most likely explanation for why younger children within the classroom are more often diagnosed as having attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder than their older classmates.2 Similarly, clinicians who are likely to see those who are severely ill may underestimate problems of the relatively less affected. It is likely that the comparison group also affects self-report in adults and may contribute to apparent strong effects of income inequality and urban environment on psychopathology. Self-report and report by others may have complementary strengths depending on the problem that is being evaluated. While observable problems, such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, may be suited to report by others, the less visible difficulties, including anxiety, may be more accurately captured by self-report.
The studies that evaluated the relative predictive value of information from multiple reporters suggest that while everyone comes with their own biases, each reporter also contributes to the assessment/prediction in a meaningful way. Self-rated depression questionnaire and clinician-rated interview differ, but each contributes uniquely to the prediction of antidepressant treatment outcome.3 Similarly, parents’ ratings of their offspring’s depressive symptoms as well as those self-reported by the offspring prospectively predict a new-onset mood disorder.4
Problems with self-report and recall bias have been known for decades, but alternative methods have not been adopted in practice. The impracticability of accessing multiple informants and lack of objective unbiased standards may be why we continue to use suboptimal but convenient assessment methods. To improve assessment and prediction accuracy, we need methods that are more objective and less biased.
First, observation of behavior by a person who has no stakes in the assessment result improves assessment and prediction of functional outcomes. Independent observation of classroom behavior predicts future attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder–associated impairment with greater accuracy than the parent and teacher reports.5 Independent raters unaware of parent diagnosis observed more inattention, language/thought problems, and oppositional behavior in offspring of parents with mood and psychotic disorders than in offspring of parents without these disorders.6 Ratings of behavior by independent assessors may also contribute to predicting and evaluating treatment outcome.
Second, ecological momentary assessment (ie, repeated assessment of respondents’ experiences in their natural environment in real time) minimizes memory bias. For example, it may help identify early signs of mood and energy deterioration, which could enable clinicians to intervene early to prevent a major mood episode.
Third, automated analysis of behavior has a potential to avoid biases associated with human reporters. As with human observers, automated analysis of behavior uses the discernible signs of mental state, including speech content and prosody, body movement, and facial expressions. Automated analysis of speech could contribute to diagnosis and prediction of response to treatment. For example, features of speech, including speed, articulation, or repetitiveness, may aid the diagnosis of depression. Corcoran et al7 showed that automated speech analysis can predict psychosis onset among individuals at clinical high risk with high accuracy. In addition, increased pupillary reactivity to sad words distinguished children and young people with depression from their nondepressed peers.8 Automated analysis of speech and pupillary reactivity may also identify individuals at risk for depression. Finally, actigraphy can contribute to the assessment of mental illness through identifying changes in activity and sleep that precede a relapse of psychosis or depression.9 While automated analysis of speech, pupillary reactivity, and actigraphy contribute predictive information that complements self-report, none of these has been developed and validated as a comprehensive stand-alone assessment method that could replace questionnaires and interviews.10
The limits and biases of self-report have been known for decades, and the calls for integrating more objective measurement into psychiatric assessment are not new.11 Yet little has changed in psychiatric assessment to date. The last decade has brought evidence that multisource assessment actually improves the prediction of meaningful outcomes.3,4,7 At the same time, the feasibility of objective measurement is rapidly improving with the availability of wearable technology.9 The next steps in implementing objective assessment should include prospective evaluation of predictive value of objective tests used alone or alongside established interview and questionnaire methods.10 Clinical applicability will be enhanced if these steps are informed by what is known about report biases and multisource assessment. Because each reporter contributes unique predictive information,3-5 new methods should be evaluated against multireporter assessment rather than relying on a single reporter for a standard. New technology often uses artificial intelligence to learn from existing data that include the biases reviewed here. When calibrating new methods, care must be taken to ensure fairness and avoid perpetuation of biases pertaining to race/ethnicity, sex, and education.
While objective measurement of psychopathology is desirable, the presently available methods are far from being universally applicable.10 Although reports by self and others come with various biases and inaccuracies, they will likely remain the most informative way of assessment in psychiatry in the foreseeable future. Yet these traditional methods can and should also be improved. Unbiased objective measures of mental state, with methods such as speech analysis, pupillary reactivity, and actigraphy, may help to design and calibrate self-report and clinical interview measures so that they are less prone to bias.
Combination of multireporter assessment with objective analysis of behavior offers an opportunity to improve diagnosis and prediction of mental illness to better target treatment and preventative efforts. The key to implementing this knowledge may lie in practical solutions that allow incorporating objective and unbiased assessment in the work flow of research and clinical practice.
Wednesday, June 3, 2020
We present converging evidence demonstrating poor reliability of task-fMRI measures
What Is the Test-Retest Reliability of Common Task-Functional MRI Measures? New Empirical Evidence and a Meta-Analysis. Maxwell L. Elliott et al. Psychological Science, June 3, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797620916786
Abstract: Identifying brain biomarkers of disease risk is a growing priority in neuroscience. The ability to identify meaningful biomarkers is limited by measurement reliability; unreliable measures are unsuitable for predicting clinical outcomes. Measuring brain activity using task functional MRI (fMRI) is a major focus of biomarker development; however, the reliability of task fMRI has not been systematically evaluated. We present converging evidence demonstrating poor reliability of task-fMRI measures. First, a meta-analysis of 90 experiments (N = 1,008) revealed poor overall reliability—mean intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) = .397. Second, the test-retest reliabilities of activity in a priori regions of interest across 11 common fMRI tasks collected by the Human Connectome Project (N = 45) and the Dunedin Study (N = 20) were poor (ICCs = .067–.485). Collectively, these findings demonstrate that common task-fMRI measures are not currently suitable for brain biomarker discovery or for individual-differences research. We review how this state of affairs came to be and highlight avenues for improving task-fMRI reliability.
Keywords: neuroimaging, individual differences, statistical analysis, cognitive neuroscience
Abstract: Identifying brain biomarkers of disease risk is a growing priority in neuroscience. The ability to identify meaningful biomarkers is limited by measurement reliability; unreliable measures are unsuitable for predicting clinical outcomes. Measuring brain activity using task functional MRI (fMRI) is a major focus of biomarker development; however, the reliability of task fMRI has not been systematically evaluated. We present converging evidence demonstrating poor reliability of task-fMRI measures. First, a meta-analysis of 90 experiments (N = 1,008) revealed poor overall reliability—mean intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) = .397. Second, the test-retest reliabilities of activity in a priori regions of interest across 11 common fMRI tasks collected by the Human Connectome Project (N = 45) and the Dunedin Study (N = 20) were poor (ICCs = .067–.485). Collectively, these findings demonstrate that common task-fMRI measures are not currently suitable for brain biomarker discovery or for individual-differences research. We review how this state of affairs came to be and highlight avenues for improving task-fMRI reliability.
Keywords: neuroimaging, individual differences, statistical analysis, cognitive neuroscience
Japanese macaques: Some adult females mount adult males in the context of heterosexual consortships; this research has implications for the evolution of non-conceptive sex in primates
Is female-male mounting functional? An analysis of the temporal patterns of sexual behaviors in Japanese macaques. Noëlle Gunst et al. Physiology & Behavior, June 3 2020, 112983. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2020.112983
Highlights
• Behavioral structure contributes to testing hypotheses about behavioral function
• Temporal analysis of mating sequences helps test the function of female-male mounts
• Female-male mounting may be a sexual solicitation in Japanese monkeys
• Female-male mounting may be a sexual adaptation in Japanese monkeys
• Our research has implications for the evolution of non-conceptive sex in primates
Abstract: In certain populations of Japanese macaques, adult females mount adult males in the context of heterosexual consortships (i.e., temporary but exclusive sexual associations between a male and a female). Previous research suggested that, in this primate species, female-male mounting (FMM) may be a behavioral adaptation. This functional hypothesis holds that FMM is a (special) courtship behaviour, or a (super) sexual solicitation, that serves the function of focusing the male's attention, preventing him from moving away, and expediting male-female mounting, in the context of high female competition for male mates. In this study, we aimed to test some of the proposed functional features of FMM in Japanese macaques by comparing the temporal structure of mating behavioral sequences, including various well-known sexual solicitations, exhibited during heterosexual consortships with and without FMM. To identify and compare recurring series of behavioral events within and across sequences, we used a temporal analysis known as “T-pattern detection and analysis”. Our results (partly) supported the “FMM as a (super) sexual solicitation” hypotheses, and supported the “FMM as a sexual adaptation” hypothesis. The utilization of TPA allows for the detection of hidden features of primates’ behaviors otherwise undetectable by using conventional quantitative approaches, such as the calculation of frequencies or durations of isolated behavioral components, disjointed from the comprehensive behavioral architecture. This study fits into the scheme of a broader investigation of the functionality of non-conceptive mounting patterns observed in Japanese macaques and a reconstruction of their evolutionary history.
Keywords: Structure-functionTemporal structureT-pattern analysisNon-conceptive sexAdaptationEvolutionary by-product
Highlights
• Behavioral structure contributes to testing hypotheses about behavioral function
• Temporal analysis of mating sequences helps test the function of female-male mounts
• Female-male mounting may be a sexual solicitation in Japanese monkeys
• Female-male mounting may be a sexual adaptation in Japanese monkeys
• Our research has implications for the evolution of non-conceptive sex in primates
Abstract: In certain populations of Japanese macaques, adult females mount adult males in the context of heterosexual consortships (i.e., temporary but exclusive sexual associations between a male and a female). Previous research suggested that, in this primate species, female-male mounting (FMM) may be a behavioral adaptation. This functional hypothesis holds that FMM is a (special) courtship behaviour, or a (super) sexual solicitation, that serves the function of focusing the male's attention, preventing him from moving away, and expediting male-female mounting, in the context of high female competition for male mates. In this study, we aimed to test some of the proposed functional features of FMM in Japanese macaques by comparing the temporal structure of mating behavioral sequences, including various well-known sexual solicitations, exhibited during heterosexual consortships with and without FMM. To identify and compare recurring series of behavioral events within and across sequences, we used a temporal analysis known as “T-pattern detection and analysis”. Our results (partly) supported the “FMM as a (super) sexual solicitation” hypotheses, and supported the “FMM as a sexual adaptation” hypothesis. The utilization of TPA allows for the detection of hidden features of primates’ behaviors otherwise undetectable by using conventional quantitative approaches, such as the calculation of frequencies or durations of isolated behavioral components, disjointed from the comprehensive behavioral architecture. This study fits into the scheme of a broader investigation of the functionality of non-conceptive mounting patterns observed in Japanese macaques and a reconstruction of their evolutionary history.
Keywords: Structure-functionTemporal structureT-pattern analysisNon-conceptive sexAdaptationEvolutionary by-product
Sperm sex ratio adjustment in a mammal: perceived male competition leads to elevated proportions of female-producing sperm
Sperm sex ratio adjustment in a mammal: perceived male competition leads to elevated proportions of female-producing sperm. Renée C. Firman, Jamie N. Tedeschi and Francisco Garcia-Gonzalez. Biology Letters, June 3 2020. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2019.0929
Abstract: Mammal sex allocation research has focused almost exclusively on maternal traits, but it is now apparent that fathers can also influence offspring sex ratios. Parents that produce female offspring under conditions of intense male–male competition can benefit with greater assurance of maximized grand-parentage. Adaptive adjustment in the sperm sex ratio, for example with an increase in the production of X-chromosome bearing sperm (CBS), is one potential paternal mechanism for achieving female-biased sex ratios. Here, we tested this mechanistic hypothesis by varying the risk of male–male competition that male house mice perceived during development, and quantifying sperm sex ratios at sexual maturity. Our analyses revealed that males exposed to a competitive ‘risk’ produced lower proportions of Y-CBS compared to males that matured under ‘no risk’ of competition. We also explored whether testosterone production was linked to sperm sex ratio variation, but found no evidence to support this. We discuss our findings in relation to the adaptive value of sperm sex ratio adjustments and the role of steroid hormones in socially induced sex allocation.
Abstract: Mammal sex allocation research has focused almost exclusively on maternal traits, but it is now apparent that fathers can also influence offspring sex ratios. Parents that produce female offspring under conditions of intense male–male competition can benefit with greater assurance of maximized grand-parentage. Adaptive adjustment in the sperm sex ratio, for example with an increase in the production of X-chromosome bearing sperm (CBS), is one potential paternal mechanism for achieving female-biased sex ratios. Here, we tested this mechanistic hypothesis by varying the risk of male–male competition that male house mice perceived during development, and quantifying sperm sex ratios at sexual maturity. Our analyses revealed that males exposed to a competitive ‘risk’ produced lower proportions of Y-CBS compared to males that matured under ‘no risk’ of competition. We also explored whether testosterone production was linked to sperm sex ratio variation, but found no evidence to support this. We discuss our findings in relation to the adaptive value of sperm sex ratio adjustments and the role of steroid hormones in socially induced sex allocation.
4. Discussion
Recent research has indicated that the sperm sex ratio is a plastic trait that responds to prevailing social conditions [9], which highlights the potential that these adjustments function as a mechanism of male-driven sex allocation [31–34]. In a previous experiment on house mice, we found that exposure to high-male density conditions during sexual development (3–12 weeks of age) resulted in the production of higher proportions of Y-CBS and larger testes [9], which taken together support the male fertility hypothesis [31]. Despite there being strong evidence that low testosterone levels lead to the production of female offspring [45], the precise mechanism by which testosterone influences sperm sex ratios is currently unknown. In the current investigation, we tested whether sperm sex ratio adjustments are linked to variation in testosterone production. Contrary to our expectation, we found that males reared under a risk of competition produced lower sperm sex ratios (i.e. more X-CBS biased) compared with males that matured in the absence of rivals. It is interesting that males exposed to the competitive environment in the current experiment (risk) produced more X-CBS biased sperm ratios than males exposed to the non-competitive environment (no risk), while the opposite result was observed in our previous study (competitive environment = ‘high-male density’; non-competitive = ‘high-female density’) [9]. While these results are seemingly contradictory, differences in experimental design are likely to account for the different responses. The degree of perceived male–male competition was comparatively less intense in our previous experiment (i.e. males maturing within the same room as other males; [9]) than what was applied in the current experiment (i.e. rival males maturing within close proximity to one another within the same experimental tub), which highlights the intriguing possibility that variation in the intensity of competition (and not just presence/absence) leads to different sperm sex ratio responses.
Theory predicts that it would be maladaptive for parents to produce male offspring in a mate competitive environment because they would be forced to compete for access to females and/or be subjected to sperm competition [20]. Conversely, with guaranteed mate availability, high-male density conditions will be evolutionarily favourable for females. Thus, the production of daughters under these conditions is expected to be advantageous to both mothers and fathers [20]. Adaptive maternal sex allocation in relation to male density within the local neighbourhood has been demonstrated in diverse species, including spider mites [21] and house mice [29]. Here, we used house mice sourced from an island population where dispersal capacity is severely restricted and consequently parents and offspring often experience the same local social conditions (see the electronic supplementary material for more information). As a consequence, it is likely that males are forced to compete with both related (sensu local mate competition; [20]) and unrelated males for access to females. We demonstrated that male house mice reared under conditions of intense male–male competition produced higher proportions of X-CBS relative to males not subjected to competition—an outcome that has the potential to have adaptive paternal consequences. Certainly, if increased numbers of female-producing sperm translate to more female offspring, sperm sex ratio adjustments could potentially be an effective strategy for males to enhance their grand-parentage under competitive conditions. We plan to explore this currently untested hypothesis in our future research.
The precise mechanism(s) controlling sex allocation in mammals is currently not well understood. In terms of paternally driven proximate mechanisms, recent research has linked variation in sperm sex ratios [34] and differential X- and Y-CBS motility to offspring sex ratios [46,47]. Further to this, there is evidence to suggest that the ultimate cause of socially induced sex ratio biases involves physiological responses via endocrine signalling [30,48]. Here, we found that the social environment influenced testosterone concentration, but only as a consequence of elevated levels in a subset of ‘risk’ males. Although these individuals produced proportions of Y-CBS at the lower end of the scale, our statistical analyses provided no evidence that sperm sex ratio plasticity is driven by variation in testosterone production. The division in testosterone levels in the ‘risk’ treatment (i.e. less than 20 ng ml−1 and greater than 30 ng ml−1) may be indicative of hormone profiles linked to social status. The default assumption is that social hierarchies are associated with differential testosterone levels, but, in fact, more often than not there is no predictive pattern (e.g. see [49] and references therein). For example, it is only the most aggressive dominant male mice that display elevated testosterone levels (relative to less aggressive dominant males and subordinate males) [49], which likely explains the pattern we have observed in our ‘risk’ treatment. Stress hormones, such as corticosterone, are more commonly associated with social status in male mice, although the direction of the effect has been inconsistent [49]. Offspring sex ratio biases have been linked to maternal stress in a number of mammals [29,30], yet the role that paternal stress plays in sex allocation remains an open question. To address this gap in knowledge, our future research will focus on the relationship between socially induced paternal stress and variation in the sperm sex ratio.
The Earliest Origins of Genetic Nurture: The Prenatal Environment Mediates the Association Between Maternal Genetics and Child Development
The Earliest Origins of Genetic Nurture: The Prenatal Environment Mediates the Association Between Maternal Genetics and Child Development. Emma Armstrong-Carter et al. Psychological Science, June 2, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797620917209
Abstract: Observed genetic associations with educational attainment may be due to direct or indirect genetic influences. Recent work highlights genetic nurture, the potential effect of parents’ genetics on their child’s educational outcomes via rearing environments. To date, few mediating childhood environments have been tested. We used a large sample of genotyped mother–child dyads (N = 2,077) to investigate whether genetic nurture occurs via the prenatal environment. We found that mothers with more education-related genes are generally healthier and more financially stable during pregnancy. Further, measured prenatal conditions explain up to one third of the associations between maternal genetics and children’s academic and developmental outcomes at the ages of 4 to 7 years. By providing the first evidence of prenatal genetic nurture and showing that genetic nurture is detectable in early childhood, this study broadens our understanding of how parental genetics may influence children and illustrates the challenges of within-person interpretation of existing genetic associations.
Keywords: genetics, childhood development, prenatal
Abstract: Observed genetic associations with educational attainment may be due to direct or indirect genetic influences. Recent work highlights genetic nurture, the potential effect of parents’ genetics on their child’s educational outcomes via rearing environments. To date, few mediating childhood environments have been tested. We used a large sample of genotyped mother–child dyads (N = 2,077) to investigate whether genetic nurture occurs via the prenatal environment. We found that mothers with more education-related genes are generally healthier and more financially stable during pregnancy. Further, measured prenatal conditions explain up to one third of the associations between maternal genetics and children’s academic and developmental outcomes at the ages of 4 to 7 years. By providing the first evidence of prenatal genetic nurture and showing that genetic nurture is detectable in early childhood, this study broadens our understanding of how parental genetics may influence children and illustrates the challenges of within-person interpretation of existing genetic associations.
Keywords: genetics, childhood development, prenatal
Tuesday, June 2, 2020
Most US transportation infrastructure is not deteriorating and the existing scientific literature and does not show that infrastructure creates growth or reduces congestion
Transportation Infrastructure in the US. Matthew Turner, Gilles Duranton, Geetika Nagpal. NBER Working Paper No. 27254, May 2020. https://www.nber.org/papers/w27254
Support for massive investments in transportation infrastructure, possibly with a change in the share of spending on transit, seems widespread. Such proposals are often motivated by the belief that our infrastructure is crumbling, that infrastructure causes economic growth, that current funding regimes disadvantage rural drivers at the expense of urban public transit, or that capacity expansions will reduce congestion. In fact, most US transportation infrastructure is not deteriorating and the existing scientific literature and does not show that infrastructure creates growth or reduces congestion. However, current annual expenditure on public transit buses exceeds that on interstate construction and maintenance. The evidence suggests the importance of an examination of how funding is allocated across modes but not of massive new expenditures.
Support for massive investments in transportation infrastructure, possibly with a change in the share of spending on transit, seems widespread. Such proposals are often motivated by the belief that our infrastructure is crumbling, that infrastructure causes economic growth, that current funding regimes disadvantage rural drivers at the expense of urban public transit, or that capacity expansions will reduce congestion. In fact, most US transportation infrastructure is not deteriorating and the existing scientific literature and does not show that infrastructure creates growth or reduces congestion. However, current annual expenditure on public transit buses exceeds that on interstate construction and maintenance. The evidence suggests the importance of an examination of how funding is allocated across modes but not of massive new expenditures.
“They Don’t Know Better Than I Do”: People Are Reluctant to Rely on the Wisdom of Crowds in Individual Decision Making
Yonah, Merav, and Yoav Kessler. 2020. ““They Don’t Know Better Than I Do”: People Are Reluctant to Rely on the Wisdom of Crowds in Individual Decision Making.” PsyArXiv. June 2. doi:10.31234/osf.io/z8nr2
Abstract: Establishing the way people decide to use or avoid information when making a decision is of great theoretical and applied interest. In particular, the “big data revolution” enable decision makers to harness the wisdom of crowds (WoC) toward reaching better decisions. The WoC is a well-documented phenomenon that highlights the potential superiority of collective wisdom over that of an individual. However, individuals may fail to acknowledge the power of collective wisdom as a means for optimizing decision outcomes. Using a random dot motion task, the present study examined situations in which decision makers must choose between relying on their own personal information or relying on the WoC in their decision. Although the latter was always the rational choice, a substantial part of the participants chose to rely on their own observation and also advised others to do so. This choice tendency was associated with higher confidence, but not with better task performance, and hence reflects overconfidence. Acknowledging and understanding this decision bias may help mitigating it in applied settings.
Abstract: Establishing the way people decide to use or avoid information when making a decision is of great theoretical and applied interest. In particular, the “big data revolution” enable decision makers to harness the wisdom of crowds (WoC) toward reaching better decisions. The WoC is a well-documented phenomenon that highlights the potential superiority of collective wisdom over that of an individual. However, individuals may fail to acknowledge the power of collective wisdom as a means for optimizing decision outcomes. Using a random dot motion task, the present study examined situations in which decision makers must choose between relying on their own personal information or relying on the WoC in their decision. Although the latter was always the rational choice, a substantial part of the participants chose to rely on their own observation and also advised others to do so. This choice tendency was associated with higher confidence, but not with better task performance, and hence reflects overconfidence. Acknowledging and understanding this decision bias may help mitigating it in applied settings.
Monday, June 1, 2020
From 2019... The Psychology of Alibis
From 2019... The Psychology of Alibis. Steve Charman, Kureva Matuku, Alexandra Mosser. Advances in Psychology and Law pp 41-72, February 6 2019. https://rd.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-11042-0_2
Abstract: The psychological study of alibis is in its nascent phase, and the empirical literature on alibis is correspondingly inchoate. This chapter reviews the current state of the literature on the psychology of alibis. First, we discuss the process of alibi generation and argue that there are three main obstacles that prevent innocent suspects from generating accurate and believable alibis: They often lack a memory of the critical event, they rely heavily on schema-based responding, and they lack the ability to produce corroborating evidence. Based on the extant literature, we propose the schema disconfirmation model as a theoretical framework in which to understand the process of alibi generation. Next, we discuss the process of alibi evaluation and delineate the factors that make alibis more or less believable. To reconcile seemingly conflicting findings, we suggest theoretical refinements to the alibi skepticism hypothesis, which claims that evaluators are particularly skeptical of alibi claims. Finally, we propose directions for future research with the aim of (a) advancing our theoretical understanding of the alibi generation and evaluation processes, and (b) encouraging researchers to adopt a system variables approach to maximize the impact alibi research can have on the collection and treatment of alibi evidence.
Keywords: Alibi generation Alibi believability Schemas Autobiographical memory Wrongful convictions Policing
Abstract: The psychological study of alibis is in its nascent phase, and the empirical literature on alibis is correspondingly inchoate. This chapter reviews the current state of the literature on the psychology of alibis. First, we discuss the process of alibi generation and argue that there are three main obstacles that prevent innocent suspects from generating accurate and believable alibis: They often lack a memory of the critical event, they rely heavily on schema-based responding, and they lack the ability to produce corroborating evidence. Based on the extant literature, we propose the schema disconfirmation model as a theoretical framework in which to understand the process of alibi generation. Next, we discuss the process of alibi evaluation and delineate the factors that make alibis more or less believable. To reconcile seemingly conflicting findings, we suggest theoretical refinements to the alibi skepticism hypothesis, which claims that evaluators are particularly skeptical of alibi claims. Finally, we propose directions for future research with the aim of (a) advancing our theoretical understanding of the alibi generation and evaluation processes, and (b) encouraging researchers to adopt a system variables approach to maximize the impact alibi research can have on the collection and treatment of alibi evidence.
Keywords: Alibi generation Alibi believability Schemas Autobiographical memory Wrongful convictions Policing
Sunday, May 31, 2020
Rational, impartial, benevolent bureaucratic government: Arthur Naftalin, Minneapolis Mayor
"You Can't Legislate the Heart": Minneapolis Mayor Charles Stenvig and the Politics of Law and Order. Jeffrey T. Manuel and Andrew Urban. American Studies, Volum 49, Number 3/4, Fall/Winter 2008. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/394619
In addition to maintaining a close connection between the mayor's office and the University of Minnesota, Naftalin's background in the social sciences led him to believe that government could ultimately function as a science, which, theoretically, could be perfected. This belief in the possibilities for rational and scientific governance of the city was evident in his long-range thinking about the possibilities of city government. Naftalin willingly outlined his programs to the press and openly theorized about how government could be improved through scientific reforms. Speculating in 1969 about the possibility of consolidating the fragmented governments in American metropolitan areas into singular, metropolitan-wide entities, Naftalin argued that with "proper computers," a single executive authority could easily—and rationally—control a widely-scattered metropolitan area. For Naftalin, a rational executive would have to make unpopular decisions based on his or her expert knowledge of what was best for the city.
In addition to maintaining a close connection between the mayor's office and the University of Minnesota, Naftalin's background in the social sciences led him to believe that government could ultimately function as a science, which, theoretically, could be perfected. This belief in the possibilities for rational and scientific governance of the city was evident in his long-range thinking about the possibilities of city government. Naftalin willingly outlined his programs to the press and openly theorized about how government could be improved through scientific reforms. Speculating in 1969 about the possibility of consolidating the fragmented governments in American metropolitan areas into singular, metropolitan-wide entities, Naftalin argued that with "proper computers," a single executive authority could easily—and rationally—control a widely-scattered metropolitan area. For Naftalin, a rational executive would have to make unpopular decisions based on his or her expert knowledge of what was best for the city.
Although evidence in modern humans does not support the prosociality hypothesis of homosexuality, the sociosexuality hypothesis has received notable support
Luoto, S. Did Prosociality Drive the Evolution of Homosexuality? Arch Sex Behav (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-020-01749-0
Introduction
Possible evolutionary origins of homosexuality is a topic that has received broad interest in the scientific community. In a recent article, Barron and Hare (2020) argued that same-sex sexual attraction (SSSA) was selected for in recent human evolution because of its “non-conceptive social benefits” in hominids and other primates in which there was strong selection for heightened prosociality and sociosexuality. Barron and Hare pitched this as a new hypothesis but failed to discuss existing work which has proposed and tested similar ideas in various ways. In formulating the prosociality hypothesis, Barron and Hare dismissed other hypotheses that have received broad empirical support, namely gender shift and endocrinological hypotheses of homosexuality. The purpose of this article is to critically discuss Barron and Hare’s prosociality hypothesis in order to help other researchers and the general public to better assess the plausibility and novelty of the prosociality and sociosexuality hypotheses of same-sex sexual attraction and behavior.
Conclusion
Although evidence in modern humans does not support the prosociality hypothesis of homosexuality, the sociosexuality hypothesis has received notable support, especially regarding a gender shift to heightened sociosexuality in nonheterosexual women (Luoto et al., 2019a, b). The biological and evolutionary underpinnings of homosexuality suggest that there are other proximate mechanisms than genetic ones (e.g., endocrinological and neurodevelopmental ones), and other ultimate functions than prosociality, that cause and maintain homosexuality in human and nonhuman animal populations. Current evidence provides little support for the hypothesis that prosociality is one such ultimate evolutionary function.
Check also Prosociality and a Sociosexual Hypothesis for the Evolution of Same-Sex Attraction in Humans. Andrew B. Barron and Brian Hare. Front. Psychol., 16 January 2020. https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2020/01/same-sex-sexual-attraction-evolved-as.html
Introduction
Possible evolutionary origins of homosexuality is a topic that has received broad interest in the scientific community. In a recent article, Barron and Hare (2020) argued that same-sex sexual attraction (SSSA) was selected for in recent human evolution because of its “non-conceptive social benefits” in hominids and other primates in which there was strong selection for heightened prosociality and sociosexuality. Barron and Hare pitched this as a new hypothesis but failed to discuss existing work which has proposed and tested similar ideas in various ways. In formulating the prosociality hypothesis, Barron and Hare dismissed other hypotheses that have received broad empirical support, namely gender shift and endocrinological hypotheses of homosexuality. The purpose of this article is to critically discuss Barron and Hare’s prosociality hypothesis in order to help other researchers and the general public to better assess the plausibility and novelty of the prosociality and sociosexuality hypotheses of same-sex sexual attraction and behavior.
Conclusion
Although evidence in modern humans does not support the prosociality hypothesis of homosexuality, the sociosexuality hypothesis has received notable support, especially regarding a gender shift to heightened sociosexuality in nonheterosexual women (Luoto et al., 2019a, b). The biological and evolutionary underpinnings of homosexuality suggest that there are other proximate mechanisms than genetic ones (e.g., endocrinological and neurodevelopmental ones), and other ultimate functions than prosociality, that cause and maintain homosexuality in human and nonhuman animal populations. Current evidence provides little support for the hypothesis that prosociality is one such ultimate evolutionary function.
Check also Prosociality and a Sociosexual Hypothesis for the Evolution of Same-Sex Attraction in Humans. Andrew B. Barron and Brian Hare. Front. Psychol., 16 January 2020. https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2020/01/same-sex-sexual-attraction-evolved-as.html
From 2015... Walking a fine line: Young people negotiate pornified heterosex
From 2015... Walking a fine line: Young people negotiate pornified heterosex. Monique Mulholland. Sexualities, 2015, Vol. 18(5/6) 731–74. DOI: 10.1177/1363460714561721
Abstract: Heteronormal histories have been shaped by a recurring set of debates about what
kinds of explicit sexual expression and representation are publicly allowed, structured
by a form of line-drawing that sanctions certain forms of public heterosexual practice in
popular culture and representation. While depictions of heterosexual activity in popular
cultural representations are tolerated within certain parameters, and while such
parameters around what is possible and acceptable have shifted over time in
Anglophone discourses of sexuality, overtly pornographic depictions are consistently
cast as a non-normative, deviant form of heterosexual expression.
Over the past decade, the emergence of ‘pornified’ culture prompts us to ask new
kinds of questions about heterosexual practice, pointing to some interesting transgressive potentials. What happens when a historically non-normative form of public sexual
expression attains a measure of social acceptability? Does this challenge the historical
signifiers of good heterosex? To explore these questions, this article draws on a study
with young people aged 12–16 in South Australian schools who have some interesting
things to say about the ‘explicit’ in public. They describe an alteration to the historical
relegation of explicit porn sex to secret private spaces, and articulate how pornified
culture works as moments for curious exploration: a fun, fleshy spectacle. However, in
making this claim, I (and they) walk a careful line. The extent to which heterosexual
porn can be a matter of ‘fun’ and experimentation is simultaneously moderated
by historically persistent signifiers of classed and gendered respectability. While the
repertoire for open acknowledgment of certain forms of play and pleasure may be
opening up (perhaps disrupting existing orthodoxies of heteronormativity in some
key ways), heteronormal conventions simultaneously constrain these possibilities.
Keywords: Gender resistance, heteronormativity, pornography, pornification, respectability, young
people
Abstract: Heteronormal histories have been shaped by a recurring set of debates about what
kinds of explicit sexual expression and representation are publicly allowed, structured
by a form of line-drawing that sanctions certain forms of public heterosexual practice in
popular culture and representation. While depictions of heterosexual activity in popular
cultural representations are tolerated within certain parameters, and while such
parameters around what is possible and acceptable have shifted over time in
Anglophone discourses of sexuality, overtly pornographic depictions are consistently
cast as a non-normative, deviant form of heterosexual expression.
Over the past decade, the emergence of ‘pornified’ culture prompts us to ask new
kinds of questions about heterosexual practice, pointing to some interesting transgressive potentials. What happens when a historically non-normative form of public sexual
expression attains a measure of social acceptability? Does this challenge the historical
signifiers of good heterosex? To explore these questions, this article draws on a study
with young people aged 12–16 in South Australian schools who have some interesting
things to say about the ‘explicit’ in public. They describe an alteration to the historical
relegation of explicit porn sex to secret private spaces, and articulate how pornified
culture works as moments for curious exploration: a fun, fleshy spectacle. However, in
making this claim, I (and they) walk a careful line. The extent to which heterosexual
porn can be a matter of ‘fun’ and experimentation is simultaneously moderated
by historically persistent signifiers of classed and gendered respectability. While the
repertoire for open acknowledgment of certain forms of play and pleasure may be
opening up (perhaps disrupting existing orthodoxies of heteronormativity in some
key ways), heteronormal conventions simultaneously constrain these possibilities.
Keywords: Gender resistance, heteronormativity, pornography, pornification, respectability, young
people
Saturday, May 30, 2020
Review evidence challenging the hypothesis that memories are processed/consolidated in sleep; the brain is in an unconscious state in sleep, akin to general anesthesia, & is incapable of meaningful cognitive processing
No cognitive processing in the unconscious, Anesthetic‐Like, state of sleep. Robert P. Vertes, Stephanie B. Linley. Journal of Comparative Neurology, May 30 2020. https://doi.org/10.1002/cne.24963
Abstract: We review evidence challenging the hypothesis that memories are processed or consolidated in sleep. We argue that the brain is in an unconscious state in sleep, akin to general anesthesia, and hence is incapable of meaningful cognitive processing – the sole purview of waking consciousness. At minimum, the encoding of memories in sleep would require that waking events are faithfully transferred to and reproduced in sleep. Remarkably, however, this has never been demonstrated, as waking experiences are never truly replicated in sleep but rather appear in very altered or distorted forms. General anesthetics (GAs) exert their effects through endogenous sleep‐wake control systems and accordingly GAs and sleep share several common features: sensory blockade, immobility, amnesia and lack of awareness (unconsciousness). The loss of consciousness in non‐REM (NREM) sleep or to GAs is characterized by: (1) delta oscillations throughout the cortex; (2) marked reductions in neural activity (from waking) over widespread regions of the cortex, most pronounced in frontal and parietal cortices; and (3) a significant disruption of the functional connectivity of thalamocortical and corticocortical networks, particularly those involved in “higher order” cognitive functions. Several (experimental) reports in animals and humans have shown that disrupting the activity of the cortex, particularly the orbitofrontal cortex, severely impairs higher order cognitive and executive functions. The profound and widespread deactivation of the cortex in the unconscious states of NREM sleep or GA would be expected to produce an equivalent, or undoubtedly a much greater, disruptive effect on mnemonic and cognitive functions. In conclusion, we contend that the unconscious, severely altered state of the brain in NREM sleep would negate any possibility of cognitive processing in NREM sleep.
Abstract: We review evidence challenging the hypothesis that memories are processed or consolidated in sleep. We argue that the brain is in an unconscious state in sleep, akin to general anesthesia, and hence is incapable of meaningful cognitive processing – the sole purview of waking consciousness. At minimum, the encoding of memories in sleep would require that waking events are faithfully transferred to and reproduced in sleep. Remarkably, however, this has never been demonstrated, as waking experiences are never truly replicated in sleep but rather appear in very altered or distorted forms. General anesthetics (GAs) exert their effects through endogenous sleep‐wake control systems and accordingly GAs and sleep share several common features: sensory blockade, immobility, amnesia and lack of awareness (unconsciousness). The loss of consciousness in non‐REM (NREM) sleep or to GAs is characterized by: (1) delta oscillations throughout the cortex; (2) marked reductions in neural activity (from waking) over widespread regions of the cortex, most pronounced in frontal and parietal cortices; and (3) a significant disruption of the functional connectivity of thalamocortical and corticocortical networks, particularly those involved in “higher order” cognitive functions. Several (experimental) reports in animals and humans have shown that disrupting the activity of the cortex, particularly the orbitofrontal cortex, severely impairs higher order cognitive and executive functions. The profound and widespread deactivation of the cortex in the unconscious states of NREM sleep or GA would be expected to produce an equivalent, or undoubtedly a much greater, disruptive effect on mnemonic and cognitive functions. In conclusion, we contend that the unconscious, severely altered state of the brain in NREM sleep would negate any possibility of cognitive processing in NREM sleep.
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