Taking pleasure in pain: How to understand masochistic sexual practices?

Taking pleasure in pain: How to understand masochistic sexual practices?  O. Benhamou. Sexologies, Volume 29, Issue 3, July–September 2020, Pages e85-e92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sexol.2020.01.002

Summary: The encounter with a patient who initially came to consult for sleep disorders, which concealed moral suffering linked to masochistic sexual practices with a Domina, was at the origin of this research work. The objective of this research is to try to understand how masochistic sexual fantasies emerge and what these sexual practices represent for their devotees, in terms of their psychological life and their sexuality. Sixteen subjects answered a questionnaire built on two axes: the sexual practices themselves (from the first fantasies to their implementation in sexuality), and the biographical path of the subjects (life history, relations with the family and the environment). This is a qualitative research, the results of which were treated in the form of thematic analysis and portraits of each subject, to reflect the uniqueness of their itinerary. The results of this research indicate that masochistic sexual practices always perform a function for those who choose them. They are most often a solution to an internal conflict linked to early relational modalities that generate suffering and/or traumatic experiences. They can also be a solution to sexual problems.

Keywords: MasochismPainSexual satisfactionViolenceFantasiesSexuality

Check also Physical Pain as Pleasure: A Theoretical Perspective. Cara R. Dunkley, Craig D. Henshaw, Saira K. Henshaw, and Lori A. Brotto. The Journal of Sex Research, Volume 57, 2020 - Issue 4, May 2 2019.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2019.1605328. Free at https://med-fom-brotto.sites.olt.ubc.ca/files/2019/05/Physical-Pain-as-Pleasure-A-Theoretical-Perspective.pdf

Abstract: Physical pain represents a common feature of Bondage and Discipline/Dominance and Submission/Sadism and Machochism (BDSM) activity. This article explores the literature accounting for how painful stimuli may be experienced as pleasurable among practitioners of BDSM, and contrasting this with how it is experienced as painful among non-BDSM individuals. We reviewed the available literature on pain and on BDSM, and used the findings to postulate a theory accounting for how painful stimuli are experienced as pleasurable. Our theory was then checked with BDSM practitioners. The emotional, physiological, and psychological elements of pain interact to facilitate the experience of pain as pleasure in BDSM. A multitude of interconnected factors was theorized to alter the experience of BDSM pain, including: neural networks, neurotransmitters, endogenous opioids and endocannabinoids, visual stimuli, environmental context, emotional state, volition and control, interpersonal connection, sexual arousal, and memories. The experience of pain in this context can bring about altered states of consciousness that may be similar to what occurs during mindfulness meditation. Through understanding the mechanisms by which pain may be experienced as pleasure, the role of pain in BDSM is demystified and, it is hoped, destigmatized.

Fig. 1:
1. Prior to the experience of pain, there is a preexisting emotional and interpersonal context based on present circumstances, memories of related past experiences, and the extent to which one feels in control. These situational factors may facilitate sexual arousal.
2. The presence of sexual arousal prior to (and/or alongside) the infliction of pain stimuli serves as an analgesic, altering levels of dopamine and oxytocin.
3. Contextual factors and sexual arousal lead to a positive anticipation of pain.
4. Context, sexual arousal, and the positive anticipation of pain set the stage for receiving pain sensations and fostering the experience of pain as pleasure.
5. Once pain is introduced, nociceptor stimulation engages bottom-up/top-down processing and produces changes in levels of dopamine, cortisol, endogenous opioids, and endogenous endocannabinoids, further influencing the psychological and physiological response to pain sensations.
6. These conditions may promote mindfulness and lead to an altered state of consciousness, colloquially called subspace, which contributes to the various mechanisms through which pain is experienced as pleasure in the context of BDSM.

Backfire effect (when a correction leads to an individual increasing their belief in the very misconception the correction is aiming to rectify): Paper suggests the effects are not a robust empirical phenomenon

Searching for the Backfire Effect: Measurement and Design Considerations. BrionySwire-Thompson, Joseph DeGutis, David Lazer. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, September 2 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jarmac.2020.06.006

Abstract: One of the most concerning notions for science communicators, fact-checkers, and advocates of truth, is the backfire effect; this is when a correction leads to an individual increasing their belief in the very misconception the correction is aiming to rectify. There is currently a debate in the literature as to whether backfire effects exist at all, as recent studies have failed to find the phenomenon, even under theoretically favorable conditions. In this review, we summarize the current state of the worldview and familiarity backfire effect literatures. We subsequently examine barriers to measuring the backfire phenomenon, discuss approaches to improving measurement and design, and conclude with recommendations for fact-checkers. We suggest that backfire effects are not a robust empirical phenomenon, and more reliable measures, powerful designs, and stronger links between experimental design and theory could greatly help move the field ahead.

Keywords: Backfire effectsBelief updatingMisinformationContinued influence effectReliability

General Audience Summary: A backfire effect is when people report believing even more in misinformation after they have seen an evidence-based correction aiming to rectify it. This review discusses the current state of the backfire literature, examines barriers to measuring this phenomenon, and concludes with recommendations for fact-checkers. Two backfire effects have gained popularity in the literature: the worldview backfire effect and the familiarity backfire effect. While these both result in increased belief after a correction, they occur due to different psychological mechanisms. The worldview backfire effect is said to occur when a person is motivated to defend their worldview because a correction challenges a person's belief system. In contrast, the familiarity backfire effect is presumed to occur when misinformation is repeated within the retraction. Failures to find or replicate both backfire effects have been widespread. Much of the literature has interpreted these failures to replicate to indicate that either (a) the backfire effect is difficult to elicit on the larger group level, (b) it is extremely item-, situation-, or individual-specific, or (c) the phenomenon does not exist at all. We suggest that backfire effects are not a robust empirical phenomenon, and that improved measures, more powerful designs, and stronger links between experimental design and theory, could greatly help move the field ahead. Fact-checkers can rest assured that it is extremely unlikely that their fact-checks will lead to increased belief at the group level. Furthermore, research has failed to show backfire effects systematically in the same subgroup, so practitioners should not avoid giving corrections to any specific subgroup of people. Finally, avoiding the repetition of the original misconception within the correction appears to be unnecessary and could even hinder corrective efforts. However, misinformation should always be clearly and saliently paired with the corrective element, and needless repetitions of the misconceptions should still be avoided.

Practical Recommendations

Regarding the worldview backfire effect, fact-checkers can rest assured that it is extremely unlikely that, at the broader group level, their fact-checks will lead to increased belief in the misinformation. Meta-analyses have clearly shown that corrections are generally effective and backfire effects are not the norm (e.g., Chan, Jones, Hall Jamieson, & Albarracín, 2017; Walter & Murphy, 2018). Furthermore, given that research has yet to systematically show backfire effects in the same subgroups, practitioners should not avoid giving corrections to any specific subgroups of people. Fact-checkers can therefore focus on other known issues such as getting the fact-checks to the individuals who are most likely to be misinformed.

Regarding the familiarity backfire effect, avoiding the repetition of the original misconception within the correction appears to be unnecessary and could even hinder corrective efforts (Ecker et al., 2017, Kendeou and O’Brien, 2014). We therefore instead suggest designing the correction first and foremost with clarity and ease of interpretation in mind. Although the familiarity backfire effect lacks evidence, we must be aware that the illusory truth effect in the absence of corrections or veracity judgments is extremely robust. Therefore, when designing a correction, the misinformation should always be clearly and saliently paired with the corrective element, and needless repetitions of the misconception should still be avoided. For instance, given that many individuals do not read further than headlines (Gabielkov, Ramachandran, Chaintreau, & Legout, 2016), the misconception should not be described in the headline alone with the correction in smaller print in the text below (Ecker, Lewandowsky, Chang, & Pillai, 2014; Ecker, Lewandowsky, Fenton, & Martin, 2014). Adding the corrective element within the headline itself, even if it is simply a salient “myth” tag associated with the misconception, can be considered good practice.

Future Research

Although improvements in both experimental measures and designs are important, Oberauer and Lewandowsky (2019) highlight that another cause of poor replicability is weak logical links between theories and empirical tests. Future research could more explicitly manipulate key factors presumed to influence belief updating, whether it be fluency, perceived item importance, strength of belief, complexity of the item wording, order of corrective elements, internal counter-arguing, source of the message, or participants’ communicating disagreement with the correction. Focusing on theoretically meaningful factors could help to better isolate the potential mechanisms behind backfire effects or the continued influence effect in general. Furthermore, it would be beneficial to be aware of other competing factors to avoid confounds. For example, when investigating the effects of familiarity, one could avoid exclusively using issues presumed to elicit worldview backfire effects (e.g., vaccines, Skurnik et al., 2007). Additionally, given that responses to corrections are likely heterogeneous, it would be beneficial to use a wide variety of issues in experiments that vary on theoretically meaningful criteria to dissociate when backfire effects occur and when they do not.

Future research should also empirically investigate common recommendations that stem from the familiarity backfire effect notion which have yet to be thoroughly examined. For example, it is unclear whether belief updating is fostered by presenting a “truth sandwich” to participants, stating the truth twice with the falsehood between (Sullivan, 2018). Preliminary findings suggest that a “bottom-loaded” correction, which first states the misconception followed by two factual statements, could be more effective than the truth sandwich (Anderson, Horton, & Rapp, 2019), although further research is required prior to firm recommendations being made.

Finally, there are additional occasions where corrections could be counter-productive that require empirical investigation. For instance, correcting facts in public political debate might not always be advisable, because it involves the acceptance of someone else's framing, allowing the person who promulgated the original falsehood to set the agenda (Lakoff, 2010; Lewandowsky, Ecker, & Cook, 2017). Furthermore, broadcasting a correction where few people believe in the misconception could be a legitimate concern, since the correction may spread the misinformation to new audiences (Kwan, 2019, Schwarz et al., 2016). For example, if the BBC widely publicized a correction to a misconception that its readership never believed to begin with, it will not reap the benefits of belief reduction, and those who do not trust this source may question its conclusion. The next crucial step is to examine such instances with real-world scenarios on social media or fact-checking websites.

The impacts of COVID-19 lockdown on sexuality: Decrease in libido, partnered activity

The impacts of COVID-19 lockdown on sexuality. Sébastien Landry, Martin Chartogne, Alexandra Landry. Sexologies, September 2 2020, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sexol.2020.08.002

Abstract: During the coronavirus crisis, French people daily life was upset by eight weeks of lockdown. This upheaval required adaptation to both the professional and personal standards of the whole population. What about the level of sexual life during this period of lockdown? Was sexuality at his peak for people confined in couple? Have auto-erotic practices been accentuated for individuals confined without sexual partner? To investigate these issues, we conducted a prospective survey using two online anonymous self-administered questionnaires - one for people living in couples and one for people living alone, without sexual partner. 844 questionnaires were analyzed - 437 for individuals confined in couple and 407 for individuals confined alone - carried out in 554 women and 291 men. Results of this study highlight changes in sexual habits in both couples and those without partners during this period. We also note an impact of the psychological experience link to the situation on sexuality. Whether the confinement is experienced positively or negatively by the subjects, repercussions on sexuality are different. We could have believed, at the beginning of the lockdown, that couples’ sexuality would increase tenfold, and that people confined alone would increase their masturbatory practices but this particular health context has unexpected repercussions on sexuality.

Keywords: lockdownsexualityinformationquality of sexual life

The intergenerational transmission of parent’s overweight differs by children’s sex and is statistically different for fathers & mothers; the effect is stronger among white children and children of older parents

Is the intergenerational transmission of overweight ‘gender assortative’? JoanCosta-Font, Mireia Jofre-Bonet. Economics & Human Biology, Volume 39, December 2020, 100907. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ehb.2020.100907

Highlights
• We study whether parents and children’s overweight (including obesity) is ‘gender assortative’.
• Gender assortative overweight is stronger among pre-school age and school-aged children.
• The parent-child associations are large and precisely estimated, and are heterogeneous by children’s age and sex.
• The parent-child associations are stronger among white children and children of older parents.

Abstract: Using almost two decades worth of data from the Health Survey for England, that contain representative records of clinically measured weight and height, this paper studies whether parents and children’s overweight (including obesity) is ‘gender assortative’. Our findings suggest that the intergenerational transmission of parent’s overweight differs by children’s sex and is statistically different for fathers and mothers. Gender assortative overweight is stronger among pre-school age and school-aged children. The parent-child associations are large and precisely estimated, heterogeneous by children’s age and sex and stronger among white children and children of older parents. These results suggest there is a gender assortative intergenerational association of overweight.

Keywords: Gender-assortative transmissionGender assortativeChild obesityChild overweightRole modelsInter-generational transmission

U.S.: With marijuana legalization, monthly sales of high calorie food increased by 3.2 percent when measured by sales and 4.5 percent when measured by volume

Recreational Marijuana Laws and Junk Food Consumption. Michele Baggio, Alberto Chong. Economics & Human Biology, September 1 2020, 100922. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ehb.2020.100922

Highlights
• Our research is the first that causally links cannabis consumption to junk food consumption.
• We apply a difference-in-difference approach by exploiting differences in the timing of the legalization of recreational marijuana (RML) across the United States and compare junk food retail sales at the county level.
• In counties located in RML states monthly sales of high calorie food increased by 3.2 percent when measured by sales and 4.5 percent when measured by volume when using our preferred identification strategy.
• Results are robust to including placebo effective dates for RMLs in treated states as well as when using Synthetic Control Methods as an alternative methodology.

Abstract: We use retail scanner data on purchases of high calorie food to study the causal relationship between recreational marijuana laws (RMLs) and consumption of high calorie food. To do this we exploit differences in the timing of introduction of recreational marijuana laws among states and find that they are complements. Specifically, in counties located in RML states monthly sales of high calorie food increased by 3.2 percent when measured by sales and 4.5 percent when measured by volume when using our preferred identification strategy. Results are robust to including placebo effective dates for RMLs in treated states and products as well as when using Synthetic Control Methods as an alternative methodology.

Keywords: Junk FoodDiff-in-DiffRecreational Marijuana LawsSynthetic Controls

We hypothesize that the effectivity of sirens as warning signals has been enhanced by natural sensory predisposition of humans to get alerted by howling of wolves; wolves reply to technical sirens with howling too

Wolf Howling and Emergency Sirens: A Hypothesis of Natural and Technical Convergence of Aposematic Signals. Diana Kořanová, Lucie Němcová, Richard Policht, Vlastimil Hart, Sabine Begall & Hynek Burda. Acta Biotheoretica (2020). Sep 2 2020. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10441-020-09389-6

Abstract: Acoustic signals serving intraspecific communication by predators are perceived by potential prey as warning signals. We analysed the acoustic characteristics of howling of wolves and found a striking similarity to the warning sounds of technical sirens. We hypothesize that the effectivity of sirens as warning signals has been enhanced by natural sensory predisposition of humans to get alerted by howling of wolves, with which they have a long history of coexistence. Psychoacoustic similarity of both stimuli seems to be supported by the fact that wolves and dogs perceive the sound of technical sirens as a relevant releasing supernormal stimulus and reply to it with howling. Inspiration by naturally occurring acoustic aposematic signals might become an interesting example of biomimetics in designing new warning sound systems.

Intelligence has been declared as a necessary, but not sufficient condition for creativity, which was subsequently translated into the so-called threshold hypothesis (after some point, intelligence is not related to creativity)

Weiss, Selina, Diana Steger, Ulrich Schroeders, and Oliver Wilhelm. 2020. “Creativity and Intelligence: An Investigation of the Threshold Hypothesis.” PsyArXiv. September 2. doi:10.31234/osf.io/89bv5

Abstract: Intelligence has been declared as a necessary, but not sufficient condition for creativity, which was subsequently translated into the so-called threshold hypothesis. This hypothesis predicts a change in the correlation between creativity and intelligence at around 1.33 standard deviations above population mean. Closer inspection of previous results—that report different thresholds or no threshold at all—suggests that a divergence is mostly due to the use of suboptimal data-analytical procedures. We apply and compare three methods that allow a continuous consideration of intelligence (e.g., local structural equation models that allows a latent variable analysis). Based on two multivariate studies (N1 = 456; N2 = 438) we examine the threshold of the creativity-intelligence relation with: a) scatterplots and heteroscedasticity analysis, b) segmented regression analysis, and c) local structural equation models. In sum, we found no evidence for the threshold hypothesis of creativity across different analytical approaches in both studies. Given the problematic history of the threshold hypothesis and its unequivocal rejection with appropriate multivariate methods we recommend to abandon the threshold once and for all.

People with disagreeable personalities (selfish, combative, and manipulative) do not have an advantage in pursuing power at work

People with disagreeable personalities (selfish, combative, and manipulative) do not have an advantage in pursuing power at work. Cameron Anderson, Daron L. Sharps, Christopher J. Soto, and Oliver P. John. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, August 31, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2005088117

Significance: Are disagreeable individuals more likely to attain power than agreeable individuals? This question is important because highly disagreeable individuals in positions of power can do a lot of damage. For example, CEOs who are nasty and bullying create cultures of abuse and tend to lead their organizations to fail. In two longitudinal prospective studies, we found that disagreeableness did not predict the attainment of power. Selfish, deceitful, and aggressive individuals were no more likely to attain power than were generous, trustworthy, and nice individuals. Why not? Disagreeable individuals were intimidating, which would have elevated their power, but they also had poorer interpersonal relationships at work, which offset any possible power advantage their behavior might have provided.

Abstract: Does being disagreeable—that is, behaving in aggressive, selfish, and manipulative ways—help people attain power? This question has long captivated philosophers, scholars, and laypeople alike, and yet prior empirical findings have been inconclusive. In the current research, we conducted two preregistered prospective longitudinal studies in which we measured participants’ disagreeableness prior to entering the labor market and then assessed the power they attained in the context of their work organization ∼14 y later when their professional careers had unfolded. Both studies found disagreeable individuals did not attain higher power as opposed to extraverted individuals who did gain higher power in their organizations. Furthermore, the null relationship between disagreeableness and power was not moderated by individual differences, such as gender or ethnicity, or by contextual variables, such as organizational culture. What can account for this null relationship? A close examination of behavior patterns in the workplace found that disagreeable individuals engaged in two distinct patterns of behavior that offset each other’s effects on power attainment: They engaged in more dominant-aggressive behavior, which positively predicted attaining higher power, but also engaged in less communal and generous behavior, which predicted attaining less power. These two effects, when combined, appeared to cancel each other out and led to a null correlation between disagreeableness and power.

Keywords: disagreeablenesspowerextraversionhierarchy