Trends in anxiety among adults in the United States, 2008-2018: Rapid increases among young adults 18-25 yo; did not significantly increase among individuals 50 years old and older

Trends in anxiety among adults in the United States, 2008-2018: Rapid increases among young adults. Renee D. Goodwin et al. Journal of Psychiatric Research, August 21 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2020.08.014

Highlights
• Anxiety increased from 2008 to 2018 among American adults
• Nearly 7% of adults and 15% of young adults reported anxiety in 2018
• Anxiety increased most rapidly among young adults ages 18-25 years old
• Anxiety did not significantly increase among individuals 50 years old and older

Abstract
Introduction In a time of global uncertainty, understanding the psychological health of the American public is imperative. There are no current data on anxiety trends among adults in the United States (US) over time. This study aimed to investigate prevalence of anxiety among US adults from 2008-2018.

Methods Data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), which is an annual, cross-sectional survey on substance use and mental health in the US, were analyzed in 2020. Prevalence of past-month anxiety was estimated among those ages ≥18, by survey year from 2008 to 2018. Time trends were tested using logistic regression.

Results Anxiety increased from 5.12% in 2008 to 6.68% in 2018 (p<.0001) among adult Americans. Stratification by age revealed the most notable increase from 7.97% to 14.66% among respondents 18-25 years old (p<.001), which was a more rapid increase than among 26-34 and 35-49 year olds (differential time trend p<.001). Anxiety did not significantly increase among those ages 50 and older. Anxiety increased more rapidly among those never married and with some college education, relative to their respective counterparts. Apart from age, marital status and education, anxiety increased consistently among sociodemographic groups.

Conclusions Anxiety is increasing among adults under age 50 in the US, with more rapid increase among young adults. To prepare for a healthier adulthood and given direct and indirect (via 24/7 media) exposure to anxiety-provoking world events, prophylactic measures that can bolster healthy coping responses and/or treatment seeking seem warranted on a broad scale.

Keywords: anxietynervousnessmental healthepidemiologyNSDUH

DISCUSSION

Overall, our results are consistent with and extend prior findings that mental health has worsened in the US by showing that anxiety, too, has broadly increased among adults in the US over the past decade. Anxiety appears most common among young adults and has increased more rapidly among 18 to 25-year-olds than among any other age group. Anxiety also increased more rapidly among those never married versus married and among those with a high school diploma or some college versus those who did not complete high school. Anxiety increased consistently across racial/ethnic, gender and income subgroups. Adults over age 50 was the only demographic subgroup amongst whom anxiety did not change from 2008 to 2018.

The overall increase in anxiety in the US population was broad and consistent across sociodemographic groups, suggesting that large-scale public health approaches to mitigate anxiety may be needed, in addition to outreach and increasing accessibility of mental health services. In terms of education, the increase in anxiety was slower among those who did not complete high school vs. those with higher formal education. Of all subgroups, unmarried adults and young adults showed the most rapid increases in anxiety. Being married has been consistently associated with health benefits (Curtin and Tejada-Vera, 2019; Kaplan and Kronick, 2006; Rendall et al., 2011). These findings may relate to many factors including differences in social isolation, social support and financial stability (Cacioppo et al. 2014; Holt-Lunstad et al. 2015; Petitte et al. 2015). Some data suggest a link between loneliness and anxiety (Igbokwe et al., 2020), though there is little research on the relationship between social isolation and anxiety. Especially considering extended social isolation across the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this is an issue that may gain even more salience in protecting the mental health of the country (Elran-Barak and Mozeikov, 2020).

Anxiety is most common and has increased most rapidly among young adults. Anxious temperament and subclinical anxiety earlier in life is associated with increased risk of subsequent onset of anxiety disorders, depression, substance use disorders and physical health problems (e.g., Bittner et al., 2004; Goodwin, 2002; Goodwin et al., 2004a, b; Olafiranye et al., 2011; Ringbäck Weitoft and Rosén, 2005; Roy-Byrne et al., 2008; Taha et al., 2014; Wittchen et al., 2003). Young adulthood is the key period of vulnerability for the onset of these conditions. Therefore, increasing anxiety in this vulnerable group would be expected to have a greater impact on longer-term mental health and functional outcomes than increases in anxiety in older age groups. In addition, anxiety or stress has been shown to influence brain development, which is not completed until approximately age 25 (e.g., McEwen, 2011; Piccolo and Noble, 2018; Saleh et al., 2017). Increased persistent anxiety among young adults therefore could have long-term impact on academic, psychological and social development. Further, the explosion of social media, which is associated with increased anxiety and depression among young people, may be a contributing factor to the increase in anxiety over time, especially after 2011 (Barthorpe et al., 2020; Hollis et al., 2020; Riehm et al., 2019).

On a population level, our findings are consistent with recent data from Sweden reporting that adults, and young adults in particular, experienced an increase in poor sleep, stress and poorer general health from 2000 to 2016 (Blom et al., 2020). Data from US adults also suggest increased levels of stress, with work and money articulated as the most common reasons for anxiety (American Psychological Association, 2014, 2016). The time frame of the current study included the 2016 presidential election, which was reported by more than half of US adults, including more than half of Millennials (ages 20 to 35), as a significant source of stress (American Psychological Association, 2017; Hoyt et al., 2018; Zeiders et al., 2019). No direct relationship between specific events and changes in anxiety can be drawn from this study. Therefore, similar to findings regarding increases in mental health problems and the 2008 financial crisis (e.g., Case and Deaton, 2015), any connection between changes in anxiety and the effect of national events on a population level would be speculative but may be important to consider in individual-level clinical efforts to address and reduce anxiety. Such relationships may be worthy of consideration in both public health and clinical planning to address the increasing anxiety that appears widespread in the US, especially among young adults. Young people are confronting more potentially anxiety-provoking world events than prior generations, and exposure to such events is now pervasive with access to 24/7 media.

While symptoms of anxiety are associated with increased likelihood of subsequent anxiety disorders and depression, treatment for subclinical anxiety has also been shown to reduce the risk of these outcomes (Goodwin and Gorman, 2002; Goodwin and Olfson, 2001). The assessment of anxiety in the current study (self-reported nervousness) is not diagnostic of either subclinical or clinical anxiety, but the finding that over 40% of those classified as having anxiety in these analyses (i.e., those reporting nervousness most or all of the time) reported past-year treatment suggests that their anxiety was related to distress or impairment, given that a minority of individuals with anxiety are seen for treatment in the US. Treatment for anxiety is delayed in the vast majority of cases (Iza et al., 2013; Kessler et al., 1998), and most anxiety symptoms or disorders go untreated due to various issues including, but not limited to, lack of awareness of symptoms and effectiveness of treatment, stigma, and lack of parity in mental health coverage (Christiana et al., 2000; Wang et al., 2004).

Limitations

Limitations of this study must be considered when interpreting these results. First, although technically synonymous with “anxiety,” “nervousness” is one expression of anxiety and neither encompasses all types of anxiety nor is reflective of a clinically diagnosed anxiety disorder. Yet, in light of the fact that a substantial percentage of respondents with anxiety reported seeking mental health treatment—on par with those with mental health problems who receive specialized treatment—supports the likelihood that this variable is capturing clinically significant anxiety (Olfson et al., 2019). There is a relative paucity of anxiety measures in national surveys assessed consistently over time. To our knowledge, this is the only measure that could be considered an indicator of anxiety that has been assessed consistently over the past decade in a nationally representative sample. Second, it is possible that the increase observed is due to differences in reporting related to decreasing stigma associated with mental disorders. However, it seems less likely that differences in age groups and other sociodemographics would be observed were that the case, and the fact that “nervousness” is not a disorder seems to reduce the likelihood that this is the sole reason for this finding, though it is possible. Third, NSDUH data are repeated cross-sectional samples and longitudinal data would be important for examining changes in anxiety, changes in variables potentially associated with anxiety, and the timing of changes in anxiety and associated variables among individuals. Finally, while this study was designed to examine sociodemographic differences in anxiety over time, there may be other variables associated with anxiety that may be useful to identify vulnerable subgroups.

Echo chambers... Contrary to this prediction, we found that moderate and uncertain participants showed a nonreciprocal attraction towards extreme and confident individuals

Zimmerman, Federico, Gerry Garbulsky, Dan Ariely, Mariano Sigman, and Joaquin Navajas. 2020. “The Nonreciprocal and Polarizing Nature of Interpersonal Attraction in Political Discussions.” PsyArXiv. August 21. doi:10.31234/osf.io/b9645

Abstract: Echo chambers in public debates are thought to emerge because people display greater preference for those holding similar political views. However, this idea requires careful testing because similarity correlates with other quantities which may drive interpersonal attraction, such as differences in political orientation, attitude extremity, and certainty. Here, we tested the attraction-similarity hypothesis in a study with an unprecedentedly large number of ecological one-shot pairwise political discussions. This setting allowed us examining a key prediction implicit in this account: liking should be reciprocal due to the symmetric nature of similarity. Contrary to this prediction, we found that moderate and uncertain participants showed a nonreciprocal attraction towards extreme and confident individuals. These results are explained by an asymmetric model where liking is modulated by the consistency and certainty of political opinions. We provide converging evidence supporting this account from quantitative model-comparison analyses and an empirical replication in an independent study. Overall, these results reject the widely spread view that political homophily drives social interactions and shed light on a principle of interpersonal attraction that may help understanding the polarization of societies.

Although some support exists that sleep is more beneficial for certain kinds of memories, the majority of studies does not support such an effect

Davidson, Per, Peter Jönsson, Ingegerd Carlsson, and Edward Pace-Schott. 2020. “Does Sleep Selectively Strengthen Certain Memories over Others? A Critical Review of the Literature.” PsyArXiv. August 21. doi:10.31234/osf.io/umn9r

Abstract: Sleep has been found to have a beneficial effect on memory consolidation. It has furthermore frequently been suggested that sleep does not strengthen all memories equally. The aim of this literature review was to examine the studies that have measured whether sleep selectively strengthens certain kinds of declarative memories more than others, depending on such factors as emotion, reward, test-expectancy or different instructions during encoding. The review of this literature revealed that although some support exists that sleep is more beneficial for certain kinds of memories, the majority of studies does not support such an effect. A second aim of this review was to examine which factors during sleep that have been found to selectively benefit certain memories over others, with a special focus on the often-suggested claim that rapid eye movement sleep primarily consolidates emotional memories. The review of this literature revealed that no sleep variable has been reliably found to be specifically associated with the consolidation of certain kinds of memories over others.

From 2009... Circumcision and semen displacement: Circumcised men were more likely to have cheated on their female partners and to think that their partners had cheated on them

From 2009... Circumcision and semen displacement. Sara M. Ressing, Rebecca L. Burch. Northeastern Evolutionary Psychology Society. 3rd Annual Conference, 2009. https://neepsociety.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/NEEPS2009PROGRAM.pdf

Abstract: This study intended to examine differences in semen displacement behaviors between circumcised and uncircumcised males in a college population. Circumcised men were more likely to have cheated on their female partners and to think that their partners had cheated on them. However, reactions to these suspicions, such as mateguarding, physical violence or sexual violence did not differ. Both types of men reacted to suspected infidelity with increased thrusting speed, depth and vigor. While uncircumcised men routinely had intercourse in the missionary position, circumcised men were more likely to engage in lateral entry and female superior positions and in anal sex. Although both men and women report similar thrusting depth, speed and vigor, circumcised men and their partners reported a significant decrease in thrusting behaviors after orgasm. Uncircumcised men may continue thrusting for a longer period after orgasm. While this would presumably result in more displacement, after orgasm it would serve as self semen displacement.

One of the foundational mechanisms of the artwork can be meaningfully conceptualized as a cognitively rich interaction which, by design, informs & exploits the mind’s predictive system

Suspended Reason and Tom Rutten. 2020. “Predictive Hermeneutics.” PsyArXiv. August 11. doi:10.31234/osf.io/tg8ym

Abstract: Recently, cognitive scientists like Clark (2016) and Hohwy (2013), alongside computational neuroscientist Karl Friston (2006, 2013) have conceptualized the mind as a hierarchical prediction system, at levels varying from the “merely” sensory to the highly conceptual. Here, we extend this thesis in order to understand the hermeneutic process as it relates to textual and artistic encounters. We argue that one of the foundational mechanisms of the artwork, as it is contemporarily conceived, can be meaningfully conceptualized as a cognitively rich interaction which, by design, informs and exploits the mind’s predictive system. We further show how this mechanism, and a predictive framework more generally, help explain a host of traditional literary, aesthetic, and art historical values, including ambiguity, defamiliarization, and reversal.


§4 Characteristics of schema-subversive art
In §3, we theorized the schema-subversive (both forced
and opportunistic) and schema-baring functions of art
objects within the predictive framework introduced in §1
and 2. Here, in §4 and 5, we speculate on other possible
dynamics between art and an audience’s schemas.

4.1 Art as superstimulus
Following Hurley et al. (2011) on humor , we propose that
art is, among other functions, a kind of higher-level
cognitive superstimulus culturally evolved to target
humans’ innate predictive structure. Agent arousal
correlates with the properties of high perceived relevance
or precision as a Bayesian input, derived, respectively,
from the work’s (perceived) topicality and the author’s
(perceived) credibility. Like a joke, which is tailored to
guide listeners to a specific interpretation of events only to
pull the rug out (Hurley, Dennett, and Adams 2011), art is
tailored to target existing compressions in a subject’s
schemas. Where classical art often reifies or activates
familiar patterns, e.g. patterns used for object recognition
(Evans 2019), contemporary works often exploit and
subvert regularity observable in the real word. In either
case, the artwork provides an intense encounter between a
subject and schema, on one side, and the art object with its
highly compression-prone or compression-breaking
information on the other.

4.2 Truthiness and adherence to model
In an art encounter, our mind updates its inferential models
about the world with respect to the work’s perceived
accuracy, an assessment made by the model itself. The
observer’s schema acts as a “check” or arbitrator on its
own incorporation of the artworks’ worldview (dynamics
and concepts); when the cartography of the work is too
implausible in the eyes of an apprehending schema, it may
be dismissed entirely. This is to say that concepts learned
directly from personal experience, and indirectly from
outside sources, are used to assess the likelihood of a
work’s worldview as conveyed through its components.

The artwork’s “truthiness” as estimated by the viewer can
be understood as its precision, or reliability (Clark 2016).
In this way the schema can be understood as a gatekeeper
to its own revision: only stimulus surpassing some level of
intelligibility and precision for a viewer will be able to
interact with the viewer’s schema and incite revision. One
consequence is that information which fits closely with an
existing schema but poorly with a ground-truth reality is
perceived by that schema as more, rather than less, likely
to be the case.
Art that presents worldviews or models of reality that are
congenial with the observer’s can be termed resonant; art
that is presented by a source who we deem authoritative is
termed credible.

Romantic and Sexual Relationships with Adult Partners Among Minor-attracted Persons

Mundy, Crystal, Hailee Lewis, and Jan Cioe. 2020. “Romantic and Sexual Relationships with Adult Partners Among Minor-attracted Persons.” PsyArXiv. August 21. doi:10.31234/osf.io/b3uhn

Abstract: Limited research has been conducted on minor-attracted persons’ romantic and sexual relationships with adult partners. This study examined reasons for such relationships among 128 self-identified minor-attracted persons. Secondary analyses explored whether age sexual orientation (i.e., degree of attraction to minors and/or adults) can be conceptualized as a continuum. We also explored whether age sexual orientation impacted reasons for engaging in sex with adult partners. The results suggest that age sexual orientation varies widely among minor-attracted persons and can be quantified using a modified Kinsey Scale. Minor-attracted persons endorsed both non-sexual and sexual reasons for engaging adult-partnered relationships. Minor-attracted persons with more exclusive attraction to minors were less likely to engage in sex for pleasure reasons and less likely to engage in romantic relationships due to love towards their adult partner; this contrasted with minor-attracted persons with less exclusive attraction to minors. These findings support the heterogeneity of minor-attracted persons, including differential reasons for engaging in adult-partnered relationships. Professionals should seek to understand the nature of their clients’ relationships and age sexual orientation to determine whether such factors are relevant. Professionals can then support clients in their search for meaningful relationships.

Check also Relationship between paraphilic interests, sex, and sexual and life satisfaction in non-clinical samples: Those with paraphilic interests rarely felt negatively affected

Exploring the relationship between paraphilic interests, sex, and sexual and life satisfaction in non-clinical samples. Crystal L. Mundy, Jan D. Cioe. The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, May 13, 2019. 

Men clearly projected more sexy & positive emotions onto the stimuli when the stimuli displayed erect nipples; women did project more positive emotions with erect nipples, but did not differ in their expression of sexy

Burch, R. L., & Widman, D. R. (2020). The point of nipple erection 1: The experience and projection of perceived emotional states while viewing women with and without erect nipples. Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences, Aug 2020. https://doi.org/10.1037/ebs0000244

Abstract: To determine whether female nipple erection is perceived as a sign of sexual arousal or interest, male and female participants were asked to rate photos of real women with and without salient nipple erection on a series of 16 emotional and physiological states, including positive, negative, and sexually aroused states. Nipple erection salience was rated by independent raters, and faces in photos were obscured to prevent discerning emotional states from facial cues. Men clearly projected more sexy and positive emotions onto the stimuli when the stimuli displayed erect nipples. Whereas women did project more positive emotions with erect nipples, they did not differ in their expression of sexy. We also observed that men’s self-ratings of sexy and positive emotions were the same as their ratings of the stimuli. Women, however, reported significantly less sexy and positive emotions for themselves relative to the stimuli.

Electrical stimulation of the human cortex: The farther removed from sensory input or motor output structures, the less likely it is that a region contributes to consciousness

Hot or not. Christof Koch. Nature Human Behaviour, Jul 2020. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-020-0925-7

Abstract: Electrical stimulation of the human cortex, undertaken for brain surgery, triggers percepts and feelings. A new study documents an ordering principle to these effects: the farther removed from sensory input or motor output structures, the less likely it is that a region contributes to consciousness.

The elicitation rate, the fraction of electrodes the participant can sense when activated (within the safety limits of the stimulation protocol), varies across the accessible cortical surface. It is as high as two out of three electrodes above visual and somatosensory areas and as low as one out of five electrodes above limbic areas or one out of six over the anterior prefrontal regions. When electrode locations were projected onto a 7- or 17-region parcellation of cerebral cortex (derived from functional MRI resting state functional connectivity of a thousand healthy adults), a compelling pattern emerged: the elicitation rate decreased monotonically along a functional-anatomical gradient, starting with sensory regions at the bottom and ending with transmodal, default-mode and limbic networks at the top. The higher up in the cortex a region is, the less likely gentle brain stimulation there will be noticed by the participating brain (Fig. 1). The silence of these frontoparietal, limbic and default mode networks is remarkable as they are thought to be central to much of cognition.

Furthermore, the varieties of distinct experiences (for example, a visual phosphene, a recall of a song, a feeling of unease) increased when ascending this gradient: while the majority of evoked responses in sensorimotor areas reflect the appropriate visual, somatosensory or motor modality, the smaller number of experiences evoked in limbic, midline and the farthest forward prefrontal region were the most diverse across participants. A variety of controls, such as sham trials and varying the amplitude of the iES, ruled out systematic confounds, such as participants having different rates of false alarm or excitability of the underlying tissue varying systematically with location.

While iES is safe and effective, it is also crude: the electrodes are many square millimetres in area and deliver up to 10 mA of bipolar current between adjacent electrodes that can modulate the excitability of a million or more pyramidal neurons and interneurons within a volume given by the resistive spread of the current, supplemented by more remote effects caused by evoking spikes in axons of passage. Still, effects induced by iES can be quite localized, with responsiveness changing from all to none within millimetres or across a sulcus3,7. The challenge for the future will be to move towards microstimulation, common in laboratory animals, in which a thousand-fold-smaller current is sent through thousand-fold-smaller electrodes to give rise to ever more specific sensations. Perhaps this will reveal the remarkable absence of auditory percepts when stimulating Heschl’s gyri, in the neighbourhood of auditory cortex.

The exacting data collected by Fox and colleagues provides critical causal, not just observational, evidence to identify the neuronal correlates of consciousness. Indeed, whether or not the epicentre of experience is in a postulated posterior hot zone or in prefrontal cortex8,9 can be addressed in this manner.

What Is a Coalition? A Systematic Review of Coalitions in Community Psychology

Lawlor, Jennifer, Zachary Neal, and Kyle Metta. 2020. “What Is a Coalition? A Systematic Review of Coalitions in Community Psychology.” PsyArXiv. August 20. doi:10.31234/osf.io/ba4yw

Abstract: Coalitions have a long history as part of the field of community psychology. While community psychologists often work with coalitions, these entities engage in a wide range of activities and structures that are not well defined within the field. In this paper, we explore the following questions: (1) What are the characteristics of coalitions that community psychologists study? (2) What are the themes in the way authors define coalitions in their work? To address these questions, we conducted a systematic review of articles about coalitions in journals serving community psychologists. Findings suggest coalitions can be characterized by a focus on local level community issues around health and wellness and include a diverse group of stakeholders. Coalitions are defined by a focus on three types of coordination: knowledge coordination, negotiated coordination, and action coordination. These types of coordination are used to address specific problems coalitions encounter and define the goals and techniques appropriate for resolving them.

Between 2002 & 2013 statin use in the US nearly doubled, cholesterol levels are falling, yet cardiovascular deaths appear to be on the rise; statin usage may lead to unhealthy behaviours that may actually increase risks

Hit or miss: the new cholesterol targets. Robert DuBroff, Aseem Malhotra, Michel de Lorgeril. BMJ Evidece-Based Medicine, Aug 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjebm-2020-111413

Abstract: Drug treatment to reduce cholesterol to new target levels is now recommended in four moderate- to high-risk patient populations: patients who have already sustained a cardiovascular event, adult diabetic patients, individuals with low density lipoprotein cholesterol levels ≥190 mg/dL and individuals with an estimated 10-year cardiovascular risk ≥7.5%. Achieving these cholesterol target levels did not confer any additional benefit in a systematic review of 35 randomised controlled trials. Recommending cholesterol lowering treatment based on estimated cardiovascular risk fails to identify many high-risk patients and may lead to unnecessary treatment of low-risk individuals. The negative results of numerous cholesterol lowering randomised controlled trials call into question the validity of using low density lipoprotein cholesterol as a surrogate target for the prevention of cardiovascular disease.

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What to do now

Cardiovascular disease continues to be the leading cause of death worldwide. Between 2002 and 2013 statin use in the US nearly doubled, cholesterol levels are falling, yet cardiovascular deaths appear to be on the rise.30 31 In Sweden, recent widespread and increasing utilisation of statins did not correlate with any significant reduction in acute myocardial infarction or mortality, while in Belgium a very modest reduction in cardiovascular events was reported between 1999 and 2005, but primarily in elderly individuals not taking statins.32 33 These population studies suggest that, despite the widespread use of statins, there has been no accompanying decline in the risk of cardiovascular events or cardiovascular mortality. In fact, there is some evidence that statin usage may lead to unhealthy behaviours that may actually increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.34 35 The evidence presented in this analysis adds to the chorus that challenges our current approach to cardiovascular disease prevention through targeted reductions of LDL-C. Given the lack of clarity on how best to prevent cardiovascular disease, we encourage informed decision-making. Ideally, this includes a discussion of absolute risk reduction and/or number needed to treat at an individual patient level in addition to reviewing the potential benefits and harms of any intervention.

Exploring the Roles of Conformity, Hazard, & Convenience in Risk Mitigation Decisions: An Observational Study of Helmet Use Among Bicyclists and E-scooter Riders in Los Angeles During Two Natural Experiments

Sparks, Adam M., Daniel M. Fessler, and Marlee Zinsser. 2019. “Exploring the Roles of Conformity, Hazard, and Convenience in Risk Mitigation Decisions: An Observational Study of Helmet Use Among Bicyclists and E-scooter Riders in Los Angeles During Two Natural Experiments.” PsyArXiv. October 7. doi:10.31234/osf.io/gspbm

Abstract: Despite the protection offered by bicycle helmets, their use varies substantially across populations of riders. Building on previous efforts to understand helmet use as reflecting tradeoffs between convenience and safety, we explore whether helmet use is influenced by conformity, that is, by a preference to make the same helmet use decision as other riders. If so, an experiment introducing more riders with or without helmets in a specific location might shift helmet use patterns among other nearby riders. We conducted an observational study of helmet use over eight months at five locations across two university campuses in Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. During this time, a bikeshare program and electronic scooter rental services were introduced in the local area. The low use of helmets among riders of these vehicles allow us to treat these as natural experiments testing the conformity hypothesis. Corresponding to the sudden appearance of numerous helmetless e-scooter riders, helmet use declined among riders of ordinary bicycles at the more hazardous study locations, a pattern we cautiously interpret as consistent with a conformity preference among ordinary cyclists traveling long distances along city streets among helmetless e-scooter riders. At the safer locations, helmet use rates increased among ordinary cyclists, which we suggest was driven by vehicle selection decisions, with the most convenience-oriented riders preferring to use e-scooters, leaving a more safety-oriented population of ordinary cyclists. The possibility that social conformity may influence risk mitigation decisions has important implications for designing and measuring the impact of public health interventions. Also of note are are empirical demonstrations that helmet use patterns can vary substantially across seemingly similar populations and over short periods of time

Moral Psychology and Artificial Agents (part 1): Ontologically Categorizing Bio-cultural Humans

Laakasuo, Michael, Anton Berg, Jukka Sundvall, Marianna Drosinou, Volo Herzon, Anton Kunnari, Mika Koverola, et al. 2020. “Moral Psychology and Artificial Agents (part 1): Ontologically Categorizing Bio-cultural Humans.” PsyArXiv. August 19. http://osf.io/29bsp

Abstract: In this chapter, we will provide theoretical background of discussion on issues related to AIs. Some of the main topics, theories and frameworks are mind perception and moral cognition, moral psychology, evolutionary psychology, trans-humanism and ontological categories shaped by evolution.



Pre-print of:
Laakasuo et al. (in press). Moral Psychology and Artificial Agents (Part 1): Ontologically
Categorizing Bio-Cultural Humans. Machine Law, Ethics and Morality in the Age of
Artificial Intelligence. Steven Thompson (ed). New York: Igi Global.

The continued influence effect refers to continuing to rely on misinformation in their reasoning even if the information has been retracted; study of impact of retraction source credibility on this effect

Ecker, Ullrich K. H., and Luke Antonio. 2020. “Can You Believe It? an Investigation into the Impact of Retraction Source Credibility on the Continued Influence Effect.” PsyArXiv. August 20

Abstract: The continued influence effect refers to the finding that people often continue to rely on misinformation in their reasoning even if the information has been retracted. The present study aimed to investigate the extent to which the effectiveness of a retraction is determined by its credibility. In particular, we aimed to scrutinize previous findings suggesting that perceived trustworthiness but not perceived expertise of the retraction source determines a retraction’s effectiveness, and that continued influence arises only if a retraction is not believed. In two experiments, we found that indeed source trustworthiness but not source expertise influences retraction effectiveness, with retractions from low-trustworthiness sources entirely ineffective. We also found that retraction belief is indeed a predictor of continued reliance on misinformation, but that substantial continued influence effects can still occur with retractions designed to be and rated as highly credible.

Consumers’ associations, perceptions and acceptance of meat and plant-based meat alternatives: While meat is being associated with positive terms, meat alternatives were viewed more negatively

Consumers’ associations, perceptions and acceptance of meat and plant-based meat alternatives. Fabienne Michel, Christina Hartmann, Michael Siegrist. Food Quality and Preference, August 20 2020, 104063. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2020.104063

Highlights
• Meat alternatives are associated with “tofu,” “vegan and vegetarian,” as well as “disgust.”
• Meat alternatives are similarly perceived to their processed meat counterparts.
• Eating meat alternatives is perceived to be more appropriate in informal situations.
• Meat alternatives similar to processed meat have the best chance to replace meat.

Abstract: The consumption of meat contributes significantly to undesirable effects on the environment. In order to reduce the impact of animal husbandry, one approach is to decrease meat consumption by substituting plant-based meat alternatives. Because the consumption of such meat alternatives is currently rather low, the aim of this research was to identify the barriers that keep people from consuming meat alternatives and increase the probability of future consumption. This was accomplished by exploring free associations people have towards meat and meat alternatives, comparing selected meat products with their respective meat alternatives using the semantic differential, and studying the perceived appropriateness of eating meat alternatives in different consumption situations. To achieve these objectives, we carried out an online survey with participants from Germany (N=1039). Our results suggest that while meat is being associated with positive terms, meat alternatives were viewed more negatively. The previous findings that meat alternatives should be similar to meat with regard to taste, texture, and ease of preparation were confirmed. Results from the direct comparison of meat with corresponding meat alternatives indicate that meat alternatives are similarly perceived to their processed meat counterparts. Regarding different consumption situations, our results show that eating meat alternatives is perceived to be more appropriate in situations where one eats alone or with family and friends. In conclusion, our findings demonstrate that meat alternatives have the best chance of successfully replacing meat when they closely resemble highly processed meat products in taste and texture and are offered at competitive prices. The recommendation for producers of meat alternatives is thus to focus on replicating processed meat products instead of trying to imitate meat cuts such as steak or escalope.

Keywords: meatmeat alternativesmeat replacementsmeat substitutesvegetarianveganplant-based

Sex Disparities in Psychiatric and Neurodegenerative Disorders: Insights from Large-scale Neuroimaging

Salminen, Lauren, Meral Tubi, Joanna Bright, and Paul Thompson. 2020. “Sex Disparities in Psychiatric and Neurodegenerative Disorders: Insights from Large-scale Neuroimaging.” PsyArXiv. August 17. doi:10.31234/osf.io/m59dg

Abstract: Sex differences are found in the incidence and expression of psychiatric and neurodegenerative conditions, and many studies suggest these differences are influenced by innate biological differences between males and females and risk factors that interact with these differences. However, few studies have used neuroimaging to examine brain signatures of disease separately by sex, and many studies of sex differences have been based on small samples and their findings have not been replicated in larger cohorts. Large-scale neuroimaging initiatives such as the Enhancing NeuroImaging Genetics through Meta-Analyses (ENIGMA) consortium, the UK Biobank, Human Connectome Project, and others offer an unprecedented source of power to address important questions about the role of sex as a risk or protective factor for suboptimal brain health, as well as sex-specific neuroimaging phenotypes in brain-related illnesses. Here we review the existing neuroimaging literature on sex differences in the human brain in healthy adults and those with the most common and debilitating psychiatric and age-related neurodegenerative conditions. Finally, we discuss key gaps in this literature and opportunities of large-scale collaborative efforts to identify, characterize, and explain how biological sex influences the human brain in health and disease.

I'm Simply the Best, Better Than All the Rest - Narcissistic Leaders and Corporate Fundraising Success

Gruda, Dritjon, Jim McCleskey, Dimitra Karanatsiou, and Athena Vakali. 2020. “I'm Simply the Best, Better Than All the Rest - Narcissistic Leaders and Corporate Fundraising Success.” PsyArXiv. August 17. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2020.110317

Abstract: We examine the relationship between leader grandiose narcissism, composed of admiration and rivalry, and corporate fundraising success in a sample of 2377 organizational leaders. To examine a large sample of leaders, we applied a machine-learning algorithm to predict leaders' personality scores based on leaders' Twitter profiles. We found that admiration was positively related to - while rivalry was negatively related to corporate fundraising success (in '000s). Analyses also showed that leader gender does not moderate this relationship, unlike initially expected. We discuss and compare our findings to previous work on narcissism and crowdfunding.

Interventions intended to reduce beliefs in climate change had much stronger effect than interventions to increase beliefs; we might tend to cling to information that gives us hope, downplaying the consequences

Rode, Jacob B., Amy Dent, Caitlin N. Benedict, Daniel B. Brosnahan, Ramona L. Martinez, and Peter Ditto. 2020. “Influencing Climate Change Attitudes: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.” OSF Preprints. August 20. doi:10.31219/osf.io/bjen5

Abstract: Researchers interested in climate change communication have investigated how people respond to messages about it. Through meta-analysis, the current research synthesizes the multitude of experimental studies on this topic to uncover which interventions are most effective at influencing attitudes about climate change. The meta-analysis focuses on experimental studies that included a control condition and measured climate change attitudes among participants in the United States. After a large literature search, 396 effect sizes were retrieved from 76 independent experiments (N = 76,054 participants). Intervention had a small, significant positive effect on attitudes, g = 0.08, 95% CI [0.06, 0.10], p < .001. Surprisingly, type of intervention was not a statistically significant moderator of this effect, nor was political affiliation. However, type of attitude was a significant moderator: the treatment-control difference in attitudes was smaller for policy support than for belief in climate change, indicating that policy attitudes are more resistant to influence than belief in climate change. Other moderators and publication bias were also tested. We conclude with policy implications and recommendations for future research.


Policy Support is Difficult to Influence

Our results indicate that climate change belief is much easier to influence than support for climate change policy. Unfortunately, policy support is arguably more important than belief with belief often seen as only instrumentally important to drive support for climate policies. Even if interventions were not effective for beliefs, meaningfully moving the dial in policy support would produce important implications for policymakers. For example, P. S. Hart and Feldman (2018) found that people were more receptive to policy when it was framed around air pollution rather than climate change, suggesting that there may be ways to garner policy support among climate skeptics without changing their minds about the existence of climate change. Although it is difficult to sway policy attitudes, there may be ways to influence policy support without first changing belief in climate change. Targeted interventions for specific policies may be articularly effective for meaningful climate action (e.g., highlighting policy effectiveness; Reynolds et al., 2020).


Future Directions

Future research should examine how and why attitudes about climate change are more sensitive to negative than positive messages about it. Moreover, future research could examine ways of offsetting this increased malleability to skeptical messages about climate change. Doing so would reduce the potential for increased uncertainty around climate science that so often sparks skepticism (e.g., Dunlap & Jacques, 2013).
In addition, our findings indicate that interventions were more effective if they were conducted in samples with a higher percentage of participants identifying as female and that attitude phrasing interacted with political affiliation. While we did not develop predictions about gender or attitude phrasing, the results may spark interest in future primary research on the topics. For example, a substantial body of research has investigated gender differences in environmental concern (e.g., Bloodhart & Swim, 2020; McCright, 2010). Future research could continue to investigate not only gender differences in climate change beliefs but also in differential response to interventions. In addition, we found that interventions were slightly more effective for conservatives when they used the term “global warming” than “climate change” (with the opposite pattern for liberals and moderates). These results add to a growing body of work on this topic (e.g., Soutter & Mõttus, 2020) and pose a new way of studying responses to the terms, namely comparing if interventions are differentially effective between them.
Our findings also suggest that research should investigate ways of making climate policy palatable. For example, previous research shows that avoiding the term “tax” is useful for garnering policy support (Hardisty et al., 2010, 2019). Additionally, framing policy as being supported by the ingroup may increase support, although findings using this strategy are somewhat mixed (Bolsen et al., 2019b; Fielding et al., 2020; Zhou, 2016). Future research should continue to focus on policy support as an intervention outcome (for a review, see Kyselá et al., 2019) and consider testing different types of policy support (e.g., word framing) along with the effectiveness of different types of interventions (e.g., ingroup support) on these more nuanced aspects of policy support.
Finally, the current meta-analysis is one of the first to organize the varied interventions on climate change attitudes into specific categories. While other unnamed categories of interventions may remain, future research could build upon past work in the same category identified in this project to help facilitate future attempts to integrate and reconcile this growing -- and potentially fracturing -- area of research.

The Dark Side of Morality: Neural Mechanisms Underpinning Moral Convictions and Support for Violence

Workman, Clifford I., Keith J. Yoder, and Jean Decety. 2020. “The Dark Side of Morality: Neural Mechanisms Underpinning Moral Convictions and Support for Violence.” PsyArXiv. August 18. doi:10.31234/osf.io/t69w4

Abstract: People are motivated by shared social values that, when held with moral conviction, can serve as compelling mandates capable of facilitating support for ideological violence. The current study examined this dark side of morality by identifying specific cognitive and neural mechanisms associated with beliefs about the appropriateness of sociopolitical violence, and determining the extent to which the engagement of these mechanisms was predicted by moral convictions. Participants reported their moral convictions about a variety of sociopolitical issues prior to undergoing functional MRI scanning. During scanning, they were asked to evaluate the appropriateness of violent protests that were ostensibly congruent or incongruent with their views about sociopolitical issues. Complementary univariate and multivariate analytical strategies comparing neural responses to congruent and incongruent violence identified neural mechanisms implicated in processing salience and in the encoding of subjective value. As predicted, neuro-hemodynamic response was modulated parametrically by individuals’ beliefs about the appropriateness of congruent relative to incongruent sociopolitical violence in ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and by moral conviction in ventral striatum. Overall moral conviction was predicted by neural response to congruent relative to incongruent violence in amygdala. Together, these findings indicate that moral conviction about sociopolitical issues serves to increase their subjective value, overriding natural aversion to interpersonal harm.

Conclusion
Sociopolitical beliefs, when held with moral conviction, can license violence in service of those beliefs despite ordinarily being morally prohibited. This study characterized the neurocognitive mechanisms underpinning moral convictions about sociopolitical issues and beliefs about the appropriateness of ideological violence. Believing violence to be appropriate was associated with parametric increases in vmPFC, while stronger moral conviction was associated with parametric increases in VS and, overall, correlated negatively with activation in amygdala. Together, these findings indicate that moral convictions about sociopolitical issues may raise their subjective value, overriding our natural aversion to interpersonal harm. Value-based decision-making in social contexts provides a powerful platform for understanding sociopolitical and moral decision-making. Disentangling the neurocognitive mechanisms fundamental to value and choice can reveal—at a granular level—physiological boundaries that ultimately constrain our moral psychologies. The theoretical advances afforded by such an undertaking enable more accurate predictions about moral conviction and its impact on social decision-making.

Check also John Villasenor's Views among college students regarding the First Amendment: Results from a new survey. Brookings, September 18, 2017. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2017/09/18/views-among-college-students-regarding-the-first-amendment-results-from-a-new-survey/

[...] a surprisingly large fraction of students believe it is acceptable to act—including resorting to violence—to shut down expression they consider offensive. And a majority of students appear to want an environment that shields them from being exposed to views they might find offensive.

Despite its apparent intuitiveness and widespread interest from across various fields, ‘effort’ is a variable that seems difficult to define; this article consider & define ‘effort’ during task performance

Steele, James. 2020. “What Is (perception Of) Effort? Objective and Subjective Effort During Task Performance.” PsyArXiv. June 6. doi:10.31234/osf.io/kbyhm

Abstract: Despite its apparent intuitiveness and widespread interest from across various fields, ‘effort’ is a variable that seems difficult to define. The purpose of this article is to consider and define ‘effort’ during task performance. In doing so I argue for a distinction between the actual effort (objective effort) required, and the perception of that effort (subjective effort), during intentional performance of tasks. I adopt a set theoretical approach to defining both actual effort and the perception of effort as both constructs and concepts. Further, I aim to present discussion and definitions that are agnostic of the specific task demands being performed (i.e. physical, cognitive, self-control, or a combination of task demands). Throughout, I attempt to draw upon and synthesise thoughts and ideas from across a multitude of disciplines (though note that this is not intended to be an exhaustive interdisciplinary review), engage in considerable armchair philosophising, and also offer what small insights I have from my own experience both as someone experiencing ‘effort’, and as a third-person observer investigating it. This work is intended to, at the very least, make my own current conceptualisation and understanding of ‘effort’ transparent to other researchers, and aid in the interpretation of any subsequent empirical work on the topic. Further, I hope that it might be of use to researchers from the various fields interested in this topic, and assist in fostering opportunities for integration of learnings across disciplines. It is my intention for this work to support further understanding of the role of ‘effort’ and its perception from a broad scientific perspective.

Adopted Children with Lesbian, Gay, & Heterosexual Parents: Children & parents alike generally demonstrated a gender-conforming presentation; also no difference by parental orientation in children’s reports of friendship quality

Longitudinal Gender Presentation and Associated Outcomes Among Adopted Children with Lesbian, Gay, and Heterosexual Parents. Samuel T. Bruun & Rachel H. Farr. Journal of GLBT Family Studies, Aug 18 2020. https://doi.org/10.1080/1550428X.2020.1802382

Abstract: Appearing culturally “gender-normative” represents one of the ways that gender identity is salient to others. In the context of continued controversy surrounding children’s gender role development in sexual minority parent families, the current study examined gender presentation (i.e., appearing gender-conforming or nonconforming) among adopted children and their lesbian, gay, and heterosexual parents across two time points over a five-year period (Wave 1: N = 106 families, child Mage  = 36.07 months; Wave 2: N = 96 families, child Mage  = 8.34 years). Children’s and parents’ gender presentation were observed and rated, focusing on gender-typed clothing and accessories, and then children’s gender presentation was compared with their self-reported friendship quality. Children and parents alike generally demonstrated a gender-conforming presentation; there were limited differences by parental sexual orientation (e.g., lesbian mothers displayed greater nonconforming presentation than other parents). There was also no difference by parental sexual orientation in children’s reports of friendship quality. Gender presentation was associated across time, with children’s nonconforming gender presentation in Wave 1 being positively associated with their nonconforming presentation in Wave 2. Children’s nonconforming gender presentation was negatively associated with children’s friendships with an interaction effect such that gender-nonconforming girls, but not boys, reported lower quality friendships.

Keywords: Children’s friendships, gender development, gender presentation, lesbian and gay parent families, longitudinal

The increasing availability of high potency cannabis increases the risk of developing cannabis psychosis, as a dose response relationship has been established as a risk factor

Are we any closer to identifying a causal relationship between cannabis and psychosis? Ian Hamilton, Harry Sumnall. Current Opinion in Psychology, August 1 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2020.07.027

Highlights
• The increasing availability of high potency cannabis increases the risk of developing cannabis psychosis, as a dose response relationship has been established as a risk factor.
• Defining and standardizing terms and measurement of cannabis products and use could usefully transform research and practice for cannabis psychosis.
• Evidence based interventions for patients with cannabis psychosis are limited and those that show promise are symptom-specific rather than treating all symptoms.
• Liberalisation of cannabis policy in some countries may support studies designed to better understand the impact of cannabis on mental health

Abstract: This review provides the reader with an update on developments in research relating to cannabis psychosis. For over four decades researchers and clinicians have focused on the relationship between exposure to cannabis and the emergence of psychotic symptoms. This has proved to be a complicated topic to investigate but research has provided some valuable insights as to the nature of this relationship while also identifying the limits of our understanding.

There are significant gaps in understanding of almost every aspect of the journey that people who have cannabis psychosis experience. Not only are treatment options limited, but we still have little evidence to help reliably predict who is at risk of developing cannabis psychosis. This would provide an opportunity to intervene early to reduce the number of people who experience this type of problem, although it is unrealistic to think it would be eliminated completely.

You Can Learn a Lot About Religion From Food

You Can Learn a Lot About Religion From Food. Adam B Cohen. Current Opinion in Psychology, August 6 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2020.07.032

Highlights
• Religions have a lot of rules about food and fasting, such as what foods are acceptable for which people to eat, and when.
• Understanding food practices can provide insight into religion, such as what it means to obey God, and the social order and worldview.
• Thinking about religious food practices can generate testable psychological hypotheses, such as whether caste- and gender-based food practices make people more attuned to class, hierarchy, and sex distinctions.
• Religious food practices provide basis for theorizing about the evolution of religious cultures, and about group and individual differences, which likely interact at multiple levels of analysis (individual motivations and dispositions, with ecological and cultural level influences).

Abstract: Religions’ food practices can illustrate a lot about religions, and can raise new research questions. I will give examples of ways in which religious food practices are reflections of broader religious ideals. Foods contain essences and are religiously symbolic; foods are a window into how people understand the necessity to obey God; food practices relate to health outcomes; and food practices reflect and inculcate social structures and worldviews. The article will go on to consider some broader questions raised including the origins and cultural evolution of food rules, and how food practices relate to group differences and individual differences.

The development of narrative identity & the emergence of personality disorders in adolescence: Adolescents & adults with PD narrate their lives in ways that are more negative & express lower agency

The development of narrative identity and the emergence of personality disorders in adolescence. Rebecca Shiner et al. Current Opinion in Psychology, August 6 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2020.07.024

Abstract: Narrative identity is likely to be important in the development of personality disorder (PD) in adolescence. Adolescents’ life narratives provide rich material that is near to their lived experiences and reveal individual differences in self and relatedness and in ways of constructing meaning. Narrative identity is linked with well-being and psychopathology and shapes coping with adversity. Preliminary research suggests that adolescents and adults with PD narrate their lives in ways that are more negative and express lower agency; narratives may also contain content reflecting PD symptoms. Youth’s narrative identities may express personality disturbances in self and relationship processes and may affect the consolidation of or recovery from emerging PD in the transition to adulthood—all possibilities worthy of future investigation.

Religions facilitate long-term, committed mating strategies by increasing paternal certainty or by pooling parenting resources; religious individuals are seen as sexually restricted, which has implications for mate choice & trust

Why are world religions so concerned with sexual behavior? Jordan W Moon. Current Opinion in Psychology, August 8 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2020.07.030

Highlights
• Religious beliefs and behavior across the world are closely linked to restricted sexual attitudes and behavior.
• Religions facilitate long-term, committed mating strategies by increasing paternal certainty or by pooling parenting resources.
• Social perceivers view religious individuals as sexually restricted, which has implications for mate choice and for trust.
• These aspects of religion may help explain why certain religions spread successfully, and why religions vary cross-culturally.

Abstract: Many religions emphasize the importance of sexual morality. This article argues mating strategies are central to understanding religion. I highlight the reproductive-religiosity model, which suggests that religious behavior is partly motivated by preferences for restricted mating strategies. I then discuss how religion can lead to reproductive benefits. Specifically, religions can make parenting a relatively safer strategy by increasing paternal certainty, which drives men toward parental investment, and alloparenting, which reduces offspring mortality rates. Next, I discuss the social implications of reproductive-religiosity, including mate selection and trust. Finally, I discuss the potential role of mating strategies in the evolution and cultural evolution of religion and discuss future directions for developing an approach to religion rooted in mating interests.

Death anxiety and religious belief relationship is inconsistent & probably near zero; extremely religious & irreligious individuals report lower death anxiety; nonbelievers pursue nonreligious forms of literal immortality

Death anxiety and religion. Jonathan Jong. Current Opinion in Psychology, August 19 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2020.08.004

Highlights
• The linear relationship between death anxiety and religious belief is inconsistent and probably averages around zero.
• There is some—albeit limited and culturally specific—evidence for a quadratic relationship between death anxiety and religion, such that extremely religious and irreligious individuals report lower death anxiety than others.
• Experiences with and proximity to death do not consistently predict religious belief.
• Reminders of death probably temporarily strengthen religious belief among believers, but not nonbelievers. Early evidence suggests that nonbelievers pursue nonreligious forms of literal immortality.

Abstract: This review summarises research on the relationship between death anxiety and religiosity. The fear of death is commonly hypothesized as a motivation for religious belief. From a Terror Management Theory perspective, religious beliefs are especially attractive because they offer both literal and symbolic immortality in the form of afterlife beliefs and belonging in venerable systems of value respectively. However, the evidence for any relationship—whether correlational or causal—between death anxiety and religious belief is weak. Indeed, evidence for death anxiety under normal (i.e., non-life threatening) circumstances is surprisingly hard to find. If the fear of death motivates religiosity, it does so subtly, weakly, and sporadically.

Self-reported ideology does drift left at liberal arts colleges, but this is explained by a peer effect: students at liberal arts colleges drift more to the left because they have more liberal peers

Why College Students Drift Left: The Stability of Political Identity and Relative Malleability of Issue Positions among College Students. Matthew Woessner, April Kelly-Woessner. PS: Political Science & Politics, August 18 2020. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049096520000396

Abstract: In considering the liberalizing effect of college on students’ political values, we argue that political identities—in the form of self-identified ideology or partisanship—are components of social identity and are resistant to change. Using data from the Higher Education Research Institute’s student surveys, we show that what movement in identity does occur is mostly a regression to the mean effect. On several issue positions, however, students move in a more uniform leftward direction. We find that liberal drift on issues is most common among students majoring in the arts and humanities. Self-reported ideology does drift left at liberal arts colleges, but this is explained by a peer effect: students at liberal arts colleges drift more to the left because they have more liberal peers. The results have implications for future research on college student political development, suggesting that attitudinal change can be more easily identified by examining shifts in policy preferences rather than changes in political identity.

Common wisdom in paleoanthropology is that Neandertals had bigger brains than recent humans; but only had significantly larger endocranial volume when compared with recent human females

Did Neandertals have large brains? Factors affecting endocranial volume comparisons. Caroline VanSickle  Zachary Cofran  David Hunt. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, August 16 2020. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24124

Abstract
Objectives: Common wisdom in paleoanthropology is that Neandertals had bigger brains than recent humans. Here we tested the hypothesis that there is no difference in brain size between Neandertals and recent humans while accounting for methodological variation and the makeup of both the Neandertal and recent human samples.

Materials and Methods: We examined endocranial volume (ECV) derived from virtually reconstructed endocasts of 11 Neandertals, six of which had associated femoral head diameters (FHD). Our recent human comparative dataset consisted of virtually measured ECV and associated FHD from 94 recent humans from the Robert J. Terry Anatomical Collection (63 male, 31 female). ECV of Neandertals and recent humans was compared using bootstrap resampling, repeating the analysis for two groupings of Neandertals (all and classic) and for three groupings of recent humans (all, males, and females). To examine brain size scaling, we completed an ordinary least squares regression of log (ECV) against log (FHD) for Neandertals and recent humans.

Results: The results of the bootstrap resampling analyses indicated that Neandertals only had significantly larger ECV when compared with recent human females. The regression between ECV and FHD suggested that Neandertals fall within the range of variation for larger humans.

Discussion: Our results demonstrate that Neandertals do not have uniquely large brains when compared with recent humans. Their brain size falls in the large end of the recent human range of variation, but does not exceed it. These results have implications for future research on Neandertal encephalization.

Those who believed they had contracted COVID-19 engaged in greater rates of concealment of their social distancing practices & evaluated concealment more positively compared to those without the virus

Dishonesty during a pandemic: The concealment of COVID-19 information. Alison M O’Connor, Angela D Evans. Journal of Health Psychology, August 17, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105320951603

Abstract: Honest disclosures of COVID-19 behaviors and symptoms is critical. A sample of adults on MTurk (N = 451, 20–82 years of age) were asked if they have concealed social distancing practices, COVID-19 symptoms, and quarantine instructions, as well as how they evaluated others’ COVID-19 concealment. Those who believed they had contracted COVID-19 engaged in greater rates of concealment and evaluated concealment more positively compared to those without the virus. As age and communal orientation increased, COVID-19 concealment behaviors decreased, and evaluations of this concealment were rated more negatively. Implications for public health initiatives and psychological theory on concealing health information is discussed.

Keywords: age, community, disclosure, health, lie-telling

Participants preferred quality over quantity when choosing for a friend vs for themselves because of heightened self-presentation concerns: People choosing for friends are more concerned about conveying poor taste

The Quality Versus Quantity Trade-Off: Why and When Choices for Self Versus Others Differ. Peggy J. Liu, Ernest Baskin. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, August 17, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167220941677

Abstract: The trade-off between quality and quantity pervades many domains of life, including that of making product choices for ourselves and others, whether as gifts or as everyday favors. In five studies (four pre-registered), participants preferred quality over quantity when choosing for a friend versus for themselves. We demonstrate that one reason why this difference in choice for self and other arises is because of heightened self-presentation concerns: People choosing for friends (vs. self) are more concerned about conveying poor taste, thus increasing choice of quality (vs. quantity). Consistent with this process, the effect is mitigated when choosing for a nonjudgmental friend or when choosing for a person whom one does not highly value. Finally, this effect is particular to quality-quantity trade-offs; it does not occur for flavor-quantity trade-offs, indicating that the effect is driven by the quality aspect rather than by the quantity aspect or by cost-per-unit considerations.

Keywords: self–other decision-making, quality, quantity, self-presentation, trade-offs

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Appearing as of bad taste was stronger motivation than appearing as cheap

Both rivalry and admiration-seeking increased with time on task & were particularly enhanced in individuals high in trait dominance or narcissism; we saw more rivalry when pitted against high-ranked opponents

Szücs, Anna, Katalin Szanto, Jade Adalbert, Aidan G. Wright, Luke Clark, and Alexandre Dombrovski. 2020. “Status, Rivalry and Admiration-seeking in Narcissism and Depression: A Behavioral Study.” PsyArXiv. April 23. doi:10.31234/osf.io/mxve9

Abstract: Humans seek admiration to boost their social rank and engage in rivalry to protect it when fearing defeat. Traits such as narcissism and affective states such as depression are thought to influence perception of rank and motivation for dominance in opposite ways, but evidence of the underlying behavioral mechanisms is scant. We investigated the effects of trait dominance, dimensionally-assessed narcissism, and depression on behavioral responses to social defeat in a rigged video game tournament designed to elicit rivalry (stealing points from opponents) and admiration-seeking (paying for rank). We tested an undergraduate sample (N = 70, mean age = 21.5 years) and a clinical sample of predominantly depressed elderly (N = 85, mean age = 62.6 years). Both rivalry and admiration-seeking increased with time on task and were particularly enhanced in individuals high in trait dominance or narcissism. Participants engaged in more rivalry when pitted against high-ranked opponents, a tendency accentuated by trait dominance and partially mitigated by depression. Our findings provide behavioral evidence that social dominance and narcissism manifest in increased rivalry and admiration-seeking during social contests. Depression does not suppress general competitiveness but selectively inhibits upward-focused rivalry.

The Threat of Symbolic Incompatibility Looms Larger Than the Threat of Status Rivalry: Symbolic Threat from Others Determines Feelings for Them More Than Status Threat

Bai, Max H., and Jeremy C. Simon. 2020. “The Threat of Symbolic Incompatibility Looms Larger Than the Threat of Status Rivalry: Symbolic Threat from Others Determines Feelings for Them More Than Status Threat.” PsyArXiv. August 15. doi:10.31234/osf.io/7wux6

Abstract: Evidence from three studies shows that the perceived symbolic threat from a group, more so than the perceived status threat, determines how people feel about it (i.e., how much they like the group). Study 1 shows that Whites’ perception of symbolic threat from racial minorities, but not status threat, predicts Whites’ favorability toward racial minorities. Using a 2×2 experiment, Study 2 shows that hypothetical immigrants described as capable of posing a status threat to Americans (versus not) or capable of posing a symbolic threat to Americans (versus not) are evaluated based on their potential symbolic threat, but not their potential status threat. Finally, the results from Study 2 replicated in another 2×2 experiment where American participants evaluated a hypothetical foreign country. Thus, the perceived symbolic threat from a group, more so than the perceived status threat, determines people’s overall attitude toward them.

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Realistic threat refers to the types of threat that imperil an in-group’s political and economic power, material well-being, and very existence.

Symbolic threats, meanwhile, originate from perceived differences in world values, morality, or beliefs between the in-group and out-groups. In other words, symbolic threats may portend conflict due to intangible value incompatibilities.

There is a consistent, substantial, & replicable connection between deep‐seated pathogen‐avoidance motivations & socially conservative party preferences due to individual differences in disgust sensitivity

The Behavioral Immune System Shapes Partisan Preferences in Modern Democracies: Disgust Sensitivity Predicts Voting for Socially Conservative Parties. Lene Aarøe  Michael Bang Petersen  Kevin Arceneaux. Political Psychology, August 17 2020. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12665

Abstract: While there is growing interest in the relationship between pathogen‐avoidance motivations and partisanship, the extant findings remain contradictory and suffer from a number of methodological limitations related to measurement and internal and external validity. We address these limitations and marshal the most complete test to date of the relationship between the behavioral immune system and partisanship, as indexed by which party people identify with and vote for. Using a unique research design, including multiple well‐powered, nationally representative samples from the United States and Denmark collected in election and nonelection contexts, our study is the first to establish in cross‐national data a consistent, substantial, and replicable connection between deep‐seated pathogen‐avoidance motivations and socially conservative party preferences across multiple validated measures of individual differences in disgust sensitivity and using large representative samples. We explore the relative contribution of the pathogen‐avoidance model and sexual strategies for accounting for this relationship.

Germany: Like-minded discussions increase one’s likelihood to perceive media as hostile; yet, only among those more politically engaged & ideologically on the left

Whose media are hostile? The spillover effect of interpersonal discussions on media bias perceptions. Laia Castro, David Nicolas Hopmann and Lilach Nir. Communications, 000010151520190140, Aug 11 2020. https://doi.org/10.1515/commun-2019-0140

Abstract: Since Eveland and Shah (2003) published their seminal study on the impact of social networks on media bias perceptions in the US, little has been researched about the interpersonal antecedents of hostile media perceptions. In this study we address this gap by investigating the role of safe, or like-minded, political discussions on individuals’ likelihood to perceive media as hostile. We use survey data from more than 5,000 individuals in Germany. Our findings reveal that like-minded discussions increase one’s likelihood to perceive media as hostile; yet, only among those more politically engaged and ideologically on the left. The significance and theoretical implications of the results are discussed in the concluding section.

Keywords: hostile media perceptions; interpersonal communication; ideology; survey; like-minded

What Processes Are Disrupted During the Attentional Blink?

Zivony, Alon, and Dominique Lamy. 2020. “What Processes Are Disrupted During the Attentional Blink? An Integrative Review of Event-related Potentials Research.” PsyArXiv. August 15. doi:10.31234/osf.io/epfbt

Abstract: Reporting the second of two targets is impaired when these appear in close succession, a phenomenon known as the attentional blink (AB). Despite decades of research, what mechanisms are affected by the AB remains unclear. Specifically, two central issues remain open: Does the AB disrupt attentional processes or reflect a structural limitation in working memory encoding? Does it disrupt perceptual processing or only post-perceptual processes? We address these questions by reviewing event-related potentials (ERP) studies of the AB. The findings reveal that the core influence of the AB is by disrupting attentional engagement (indexed by N2pc). As a consequence, while early processing (indexed by P1\N1) is spared, semantic processing (indexed by N400) and working memory (WM) encoding (indexed by P3b) are compromised: minor disruptions to attentional engagement weaken but do not eliminate semantic processing, whereas they prevent encoding in WM. Thus, semantic processing can survive the blink, whereas encoding in WM does not. To accommodate these conclusions, we suggest a Disrupted Engagement and Perception (DEaP) account of the attentional blink.

Observers underestimated the egocentric distances when there was a fence on the ground surface relative to the no-fence condition; the effect of widely spaced thick fences was larger than that of narrowly spaced ones

Inaccurate Space Perception Seeing Through Fences. Bo Dong et al. Perception, August 16, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1177/0301006620946525

Abstract: According to the sequential surface integration process hypothesis, the fine near-ground-surface representation and the homogeneous ground surface play a vital role in the representation of the ground surface. When an occluding box or opaque wall is placed between observers and targets, observers underestimate egocentric distance. However, in our daily life, many obstacles are perforated and cover the ground surface and targets simultaneously (e.g., fences). Humans see and observe through fences. The images of these fences and targets, projected onto observers’ retinas, overlap each other. This study aims to explore the effects of perforated obstacles (i.e., fences) on space perception. The results showed that observers underestimated the egocentric distances when there was a fence on the ground surface relative to the no-fence condition, and the effect of widely spaced thick wood fences was larger than that of narrowly spaced thin iron fences. We further demonstrated that this effect was quite robust when the target size had a visual angle of 1°, 2°, or 4° in three virtual reality experiments. This study may add support for the notion that the sequential surface integration process hypothesis is applicable even if the obstacle is perforated and covers the target.

Keywords: space perception, the ground-surface representation, SSIP hypothesis, fences, egocentric distance perception

How does meaning come to mind when hearing a word? Principles of Semantic Processing include that the relationship between form & meaning is not so arbitrary; that more semantic richness is better, & that experience matters

Pexman, Penny M. 2020. “How Does Meaning Come to Mind? Four Broad Principles of Semantic Processing.” PsyArXiv. August 16. doi:10.31234/osf.io/scwau

Abstract: When we see or hear a word, we can rapidly bring its meaning to mind. The process that underlies this ability is quite complex. Over the past two decades, considerable progress has been made towards understanding this process. In this paper, I offer four broad principles of semantic processing derived from lexical-semantic research. The first principle is that the relationship between form and meaning is not so arbitrary and I explore that by describing efforts to understand the relationship between form and meaning, highlighting advances from my own lab on the topics of sound symbolism and iconicity. The second principle is that more is better and I summarize previous research on semantic richness effects, and how those effects reveal the nature of semantic representation. The third principle is the many and various properties of abstract concepts. I point to abstract meaning as a challenge for some theories of semantic representation. In response to that challenge, I outline what has been learned about how those meanings are acquired and represented. The fourth principle is that experience matters, and I summarize research on the dynamic and experience-driven nature of semantic processing, detailing ways in which processing is modified by both immediate and long-term context. Finally, I describe some next steps for lexical-semantic research.

Anxiety & compulsivity have been linked to a belief that the environment is uncontrollable; we lack a mechanistic explanation of how such a belief might form; seems a difficulty in building probabilistic internal maps between actions & environmental states

Sharp, Paul B., Raymond J. Dolan, and Eran Eldar. 2020. “Cognitive Map Learning Is Disrupted in Compulsivity and Anxious Arousal.” PsyArXiv. June 14. doi:10.31234/osf.io/x29jq

Abstract: Both anxiety and compulsivity have been linked to a belief that the environment is uncontrollable. We lack a mechanistic explanation regarding how such a belief might form. Here, we propose a novel hypothesis that individuals with anxiety and compulsivity have difficulty in building probabilistic internal maps between actions and environmental states, specifically state transition learning. To address this hypothesis, we recruited a large (n=174) online sample of individuals exhibiting a range of psychopathology. We created a novel one-step revaluation task that isolated state transition learning from other processes with which it is typically confounded in computational psychiatry investigations. Results from the one-step revaluation paradigm demonstrated that both compulsivity and anxious arousal are associated with a basic disruption in state transition learning. To strengthen mechanistic inferences from this online study we developed a computational model of state transition learning and tested its validity by fitting it to a separate publicly available (n=1413) sequential decision-making data. In this independent dataset we show that compulsivity-related disruptions in state transition learning arise out of overly fast updating of state transitions estimates. We suggest that disrupted state transition learning is a promising computational phenotype that may shed light on the genesis of these pathologies as well as provide a potential target for prevention and intervention. Future work can determine if a deficit in transition learning represents a cause, consequence, or maintenance factor in compulsivity and anxious arousal.

From ‘it Has Stopped Our Lives’ to ‘spending More Time Together Has Strengthened Bonds': The Varied Experiences of Australian Families During COVID-19

Evans, Subhadra, Antonina Mikocka-Walus, Anna Klas, Lisa Olive, Emma Sciberras, Gery Karantzas, and Elizabeth Westrupp. 2020. “From ‘it Has Stopped Our Lives’ to ‘spending More Time Together Has Strengthened Bonds': The Varied Experiences of Australian Families During COVID-19.” PsyArXiv. August 17. doi:10.31234/osf.io/a9jhe

Abstract: The present study uses a qualitative approach to understand the impact of COVID-19 on family life. Australian parents of children aged 0-18 years were recruited via social media between April 8th and April 28th, 2020, when Australians were experiencing social distancing/isolation measures for the first time. As part of a larger survey, participants were asked to respond via an open-ended question about how COVID-19 had impacted their family. A total of 2,130 parents were included and represented a diverse range of family backgrounds. Inductive template thematic analysis was used to understand patterns of meaning across the texts. Six themes were derived from the data, including: 'Boredom, depression and suicide: A spectrum of emotion'; 'Families are missing the things that keep them healthy'; 'Changing family relationships: The push pull of intimacy'; 'The unprecedented demands of parenthood'; 'The unequal burden of COVID-19'; and 'Holding on to positivity'. Overall, the findings demonstrated a breadth of responses. Messages around loss and challenge were predominant, with many families reporting mental health difficulties and strained family relationships. However, not all families were negatively impacted by the restrictions, with some families reporting positive benefits and meaning, including opportunities for strengthening relationships, finding new hobbies, and developing positive characteristics such as appreciation, gratitude and tolerance

Gratitude promotes prosociality and long-term reciprocal relationships; the Dark Triad, specifically psychopathy and Machiavellianism, is negatively associated with trait gratitude

Puthillam, Arathy, Sampada Karandikar, Hansika Kapoor, and Aneree Parekh. 2020. “Gratitude Blindness: How Does the Dark Triad Experience Gratitude?.” PsyArXiv. August 7. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2020.110309

Abstract: Gratitude promotes prosociality and long-term reciprocal relationships. The Dark Triad is associated with maladaptive interactions in their social and interpersonal relationships. The present study aimed at understanding whether these individuals experience gratitude at state and trait levels, when presented with situations that differentially benefit them. The Dark Triad, specifically psychopathy and Machiavellianism, is negatively associated with trait gratitude. In situations where others are uncooperative towards them, individuals with Dark Triad traits, specifically Machiavellianism and narcissism, report poorer state gratitude. Implications are discussed, particularly in light of the Dark Triad as a defector personality hindering reciprocal altruism.

South India: Consistent with Western findings, environmental stress appeared to hasten sexual debut, decrease self-regulation & educational attainment, & increase current environmental stress in the peri-urban sample

Environmental stress and human life history strategy development in rural and peri-urban South India. George B. Richardson et al. Evolution and Human Behavior, Volume 41, Issue 3, May 2020, Pages 244-252. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2020.03.003

Abstract: Few studies have examined the role of early vs. later environment in the development of life history (LH) strategies, whether age at sexual debut mediates LH development, or whether LH indicators contribute to environmental stress in adulthood. In the current study, we addressed these gaps cross-culturally using data from Jenu Kurubas who live in the rural outskirts of Mysore (n = 133), India, and mixed-caste peri-urban residents in Mysore city (n = 222). Research took place from October 2016–July 2017. First, participants engaged in semi-structured interviews to formulate quantitative measures of current environmental stress (n = 60). Next, participants (n = 355) completed structured questionnaires that measured demographics; early and current environmental stress; and LH indicators including age at sexual debut, facets of impulsivity, education, and number of children. Structural equation modeling was used to test for the developmental cascade reported in Western studies of psychosocial acceleration (e.g., indirect effect of early environmental stress on number of children through age at sexual debut). Consistent with Western findings, environmental stress appeared to hasten sexual debut, decrease self-regulation and educational attainment, and increase current environmental stress in the peri-urban sample. Early environmental stress forecasted younger age at sexual debut in both samples; however, no other effects of early environmental stress nor any associations with current environmental stress were consistent between samples. Although age at sexual debut appeared to translate early environmental stress into greater numbers of children and current environmental stress in the peri-urban and rural samples, respectively, it was associated with different outcomes between the samples and forecasted adult environment only in the rural sample. Taken together, our findings indicate more research is needed to determine whether the developmental cascade suggested by most applications of LH theory to humans generalizes across cultures and rural and peri-urban environments.

Keywords: Life history theoryEnvironmentImpulsivitySexual debutIndia

Cultural and reproductive success and the causes of war: A Yanomamö perspective

Cultural and reproductive success and the causes of war: A Yanomamö perspective. Raymond Hames. Evolution and Human Behavior, Volume 41, Issue 3, May 2020, Pages 183-187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2020.02.008

Abstract: Inter-group competition including warfare is posited to be a key force in human evolution (Alexander, 1990; Choi & Bowles, 2007; Wrangham, 1999). Chagnon's research on the Yanomamö is seminal to understanding warfare in the types of societies characteristic of human evolutionary history. Chagnon's empirical analyses of the hypothesis that competition for status or cultural success is linked to reproduction (Irons, 1979) and warfare attracted considerable controversy. Potential causal factors include “blood revenge”, mate competition, resource shortages or inequality, and peace-making institutions (Boehm, 1984; Keeley's (1997); Meggitt, 1977; Wiessner and Pupu, 2012; Wrangham et al., 2006). Here we highlight Chagnon's contributions to the study of human warfare.

Welfare trade-off ratios (the computational element which dictate our willingness to benefit others at some cost to ourselves) & moral elevation (social emotion triggered by observing third parties behaving benevolently)

Moral elevation: Indications of functional integration with welfare trade-off calibration and estimation mechanisms. Amy Monroe. Evolution and Human Behavior, Volume 41, Issue 4, July 2020, Pages 293-302. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2020.05.002

Abstract: Moral elevation is a positive social emotion, which is triggered by observing third parties behaving benevolently, and which in turn triggers a motivation to behave benevolently towards others in general. It has been suggested that this relatively obscure emotion may be the output of a naturally selected cognitive adaptation which functions to help us retain our position in the competition for access to beneficial social relationships. This suggestion is here interpreted within the framework of ‘recalibrational emotions’. This framework offers the computational vocabulary necessary to understand how mental adaptations governing affect and motivation perform their functions at the cognitive level. Parallels are drawn between the suggested function and known phenomenological attributes of moral elevation, and the recently explicated functional operation of other social emotions (such as anger, guilt, and gratitude). Specifically, these other social emotions are thought to share a common computational pathway; recalibration of our welfare trade-off ratios (WTRs). WTRs are the computational element which dictate our willingness to benefit others at some cost to ourselves.

A series of studies was conducted to explore whether a reliable relationship exists between moral elevation and WTRs. The results suggest that elevation does have a positive recalibrational effect on our WTRs, and that it may also be functionally integrated with a mental mechanism designed by natural selection to estimate the WTRs of other social actors.

Keywords: Moral elevationWelfare trade-off ratiosCompetitive altruismEmotion