Acquisition of object-robbing behavior in macaques: After stealing inedible & more or less valuable objects from humans, they appear to use them as tokens, by returning them to humans in exchange for food

Acquisition of object-robbing and object/food-bartering behaviours: a culturally maintained token economy in free-ranging long-tailed macaques. Jean-Baptiste Leca, Noëlle Gunst, Matthew Gardiner and I. Nengah Wandia. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, Volume 376, Issue 1819, January 11 2021. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2019.0677

Abstract: The token exchange paradigm shows that monkeys and great apes are able to use objects as symbolic tools to request specific food rewards. Such studies provide insights into the cognitive underpinnings of economic behaviour in non-human primates. However, the ecological validity of these laboratory-based experimental situations tends to be limited. Our field research aims to address the need for a more ecologically valid primate model of trading systems in humans. Around the Uluwatu Temple in Bali, Indonesia, a large free-ranging population of long-tailed macaques spontaneously and routinely engage in token-mediated bartering interactions with humans. These interactions occur in two phases: after stealing inedible and more or less valuable objects from humans, the macaques appear to use them as tokens, by returning them to humans in exchange for food. Our field observational and experimental data showed (i) age differences in robbing/bartering success, indicative of experiential learning, and (ii) clear behavioural associations between value-based token possession and quantity or quality of food rewards rejected and accepted by subadult and adult monkeys, suggestive of robbing/bartering payoff maximization and economic decision-making. This population-specific, prevalent, cross-generational, learned and socially influenced practice may be the first example of a culturally maintained token economy in free-ranging animals.

4. Discussion

This field observational and experimental study of token-robbing and token/reward-bartering interactions in the free-ranging population of Balinese long-tailed macaques produced three main findings: (i) these behaviours need to be learned throughout juvenescence (i.e. until up to 4 years in this species) to be successfully performed; (ii) older monkeys preferentially selected tokens that were more valued by humans; and (iii) these more skilful and selective individuals appeared to make economic decisions, as evidenced by clear behavioural associations between value-based token possession and quantity or quality of food rewards rejected and accepted.

(a) Experiential learning

As predicted, we found a significant increase in token-robbing success from juveniles to subadults to adults, whereas the main behaviour patterns required for the successful performance of token/reward-bartering interactions were already in place from around 4 years (i.e. in subadults). Likewise, the ability to engage in more negotiated successful token/reward-bartering sequences—during which the monkey only returned the token after being proposed more food rewards, or after rejecting more food rewards, or after accepting a type of food reward different from the one(s) previously rejected—was not fully acquired before the subadult stage.

These results lend some support to the ‘experiential learning' hypothesis, whereby token-robbing and token/reward-bartering interactions are multi-stepped and complex behavioural sequences requiring perceptual learning, sensorimotor coordination and cognitive skills (e.g. memory, associative learning) to be successfully performed; they are thus gradually acquired through extended individual practice during the juvenile period, in part via experiential trial-and-error learning. It is noteworthy to mention that the development of (sub)adult-level proficiency at robbing/bartering is not only dependent on skill learning (e.g. detection, sneaky approach, self-control), but may also be constrained by physical maturation. This is particularly true during the token-robbing phase that often involves monkey–human body contact and/or requires muscular strength when a monkey has to yank on a flip-flop still worn by an adult human. In these cases, the limited physical capabilities of juveniles, and the maturing bodies of subadults, may partly explain the significant increase in token-robbing success from juveniles to subadults to adults.

Primates are characterized by the longest juvenile period in relation to life span of all mammals [20]. According to the ‘needing-to-learn' hypothesis [20], prolonged juvenility is associated with behavioural patterns that necessitate acquiring a proportionally large amount of information and/or skills to reach adult competence before individuals become reproductively mature. These behaviours include extractive foraging techniques [21] and (socio-)sexual behaviour patterns [22]. Our study indicates that both phases of the robbing/bartering practice also required experiential learning to be fully mastered.

(b) Value-based token selection

The first step in economic decision-making requires the cognitive ability to distinguish among different expected material values of a given symbolic currency (e.g. tokens, cash, virtual money). After showing that token selection was not significantly affected by token availability and the relative ease with which different types of tokens were stolen by the monkeys from human targets, our observational data revealed a marked age difference in how the monkeys responded to a human-based three-level hierarchy of valuable objects. When considering the token selection among all the prospective human targets (i.e. temple visitors with potential tokens available in a given area), juveniles did not show any preferential selection among low-valued, medium-valued and high-valued tokens, whereas subadults and adults preferentially selected high- and medium-valued tokens over low-valued ones. When two tokens of different values were available on a given human target, subadults and adults preferentially selected the higher-value token, whereas juvenile individuals did not show any significant difference. We found a similar age difference in the value-based token selection, after experimentally controlling for token accessibility and lateral bias.

These results support the ‘value-based token selection' hypothesis, positing age differences in the selection of higher-valued tokens by the monkeys during the token-robbing phase that are indicative of a developmental trajectory toward more strategic choices in more mature individuals. Subadult and adult monkeys (but not juveniles yet) have learned to map their token-robbing behaviours onto the hierarchical (and arbitrary) scale of values attributed by humans to different tokens: they preferentially selected tokens that were more likely to be exchanged for food (e.g. electronic devices, pairs of glasses) over other objects that were less valuable for humans and typically not worth bartering (e.g. empty camera bags, hairpins). Our findings are consistent with data obtained in other non-human primate species, showing that subadult and adult capuchin monkeys and chimpanzees correctly preferred a high-valued token over a low-valued token in an experimental bartering situation [1,11,23].

(c) Robbing/bartering payoff maximization

The second step in economic decision-making requires the cognitive ability (i.e. mental processes involving associative learning and memorization) to respond differently to differentially valued tokens by trying to maximize one's payoff. We found evidence for such behavioural associations between value-based token possession and quantity or quality of food rewards rejected and accepted by subadult and adult monkeys (i.e. the most skilful and selective individuals) during the token/reward-bartering phase. They consistently and actively obtained either more food rewards or a more preferred food reward in exchange for a higher-valued token. They were also more likely to end a successful bartering interaction by accepting a less preferred food reward in exchange for a lower-valued token.

Our findings support the ‘robbing/bartering payoff maximization' hypothesis in that subadult and adult monkeys strategically responded to differentially valued tokens in their possession by adjusting the amount or type of food rewards they gained from the barters. The result showing that subadults (unlike adults) failed to significantly reject more low-preferred food rewards before returning a higher-valued token may be explained in terms of poorer temporal cognition or higher impulsivity (compared to adults): subadult long-tailed macaques may either not have yet acquired the cognitive capacity to anticipate the subsequent proffering of more preferred food rewards in this specific situation, or not be patient/self-controlled enough to wait for possibly more preferred food rewards.

Overall, our field observational data are in line with laboratory-based studies showing that several non-human primate species can (i) understand the effectiveness of tokens as secondary reinforcements to make simple calculations about quantities of reward, (ii) determine an item's value on the basis of its perceived utility (e.g. exchanging only a low-preferred reward for a tool necessary to reach a more preferred reward) and (iii) recognize the appropriate conditions in which a successful exchange could occur (e.g. presence/absence of the experimenter, safe/risky experimenter) [1,2,23–27]. Other cognitive skills and temperamental traits exhibited to varying extents by non-human primates engaging in token-aided economic behaviours include preference transitivity, self-control, delay of gratification, action planning and calculated reciprocity, because they may facilitate or constrain an individual's ability to make optimal economic decisions [1,5,23,28]. Even though these characteristics were not explicitly examined in this study, some of them will be the subject of our future observational and experimental investigations.

The origins of human variation in human economic behaviour: Comparative studies of other primates can help disentangle the relative role of shared biological processes vs human-unique cultural influences in risk preferences

Variation in primate decision-making under uncertainty and the roots of human economic behaviour. Francesca De Petrillo and Alexandra G. Rosati. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, Volume 376, Issue 1819, January 11 2021. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2019.0671

Rolf Degen's take: https://twitter.com/DegenRolf/status/1348516690167029766

Abstract: Uncertainty is a ubiquitous component of human economic behaviour, yet people can vary in their preferences for risk across populations, individuals and different points in time. As uncertainty also characterizes many aspects of animal decision-making, comparative research can help evaluate different potential mechanisms that generate this variation, including the role of biological differences or maturational change versus cultural learning, as well as identify human-unique components of economic decision-making. Here, we examine decision-making under risk across non-human primates, our closest relatives. We first review theoretical approaches and current methods for understanding decision-making in animals. We then assess the current evidence for variation in animal preferences between species and populations, between individuals based on personality, sex and age, and finally, between different contexts and individual states. We then use these primate data to evaluate the processes that can shape human decision-making strategies and identify the primate foundations of human economic behaviour.

5. Conclusion: primate decision-making and human economic origins

Humans exhibit great variation in responses to risk across populations, individuals and contexts, so understanding the origins of this variation is crucial to explaining patterns of human economic behaviour. We have argued that comparative studies of decision-making can disentangle the mechanisms and the function of this variation to address questions about both the proximate mechanisms and the ultimate consequences of these decision-making patterns. As such, non-human primates provide a complementary line of evidence to test hypotheses about the origins of human economic behaviours (figure 2).

Figure 2. The origins of human variation in human economic behaviour. Comparative studies of other primates can help disentangle the relative role of shared biological processes versus human-unique cultural influences in risk preferences. Current evidence for variation across populations, individuals and contexts in primates suggests some processes are shared with humans whereas others are human-unique.

We found that non-humans sometimes show patterns of variation like those in humans. For example, emotional states, social context and some neurotransmitter systems can modulate risk preferences in primates like in humans. This suggests that at least some of the proximate psychological mechanisms driving human economic behaviour build upon cognitive, emotional and neurobiological substrates that are shared with other primates Yet other mechanisms may be more specific to humans: while humans show robust gender differences in risk preferences as well as developmental change over the life-course, there is limited evidence for parallel shifts in non-human risky choice. This suggests that this variation may stem more from human-specific mechanisms, such as cultural learning and socialization. Given that culturally based traits are more malleable and thus more amenable to interventions, this provides new clues for promoting optimal economic behaviour in humans.

A second question concerns the ultimate consequences of variation in risk preferences. Here, comparative work can provide an important line of evidence to test the adaptive consequences of different strategies. For example, there are robust species differences in responses to risk indicating that species that typically feed on more variable, heterogeneous resources are relatively more risk-seeking. Yet there are also crucial differences in human and animal patterns that may stem from humans' novel socioecological niche. Human hunter–gatherer lifestyles are characterized by a dependence on high-value and high-risk foods that may have required new social mechanisms to cope with a greater variability in foraging, such as food sharing and resource redistribution [107,116]. As a consequence, humans might have evolved new cognitive abilities and innovated new cultural practices to deal with the social risks presented by exchanges.

Yet there is still much work to be done. First, different species and questions have sometimes been tested using different tasks (figure 1), limiting some inferences across studies. In addition, primate studies, in general, are often limited by small sample sizes, especially with respect to questions of intra-individual variation. As such, comparisons of decision-making using standardized methods in larger populations with wider variation in sex, ages or particular life experiences are crucial to test these ideas. Finally, the animal choice typically involves biologically relevant rewards, but there is increasing evidence that people can be more risk-seeking when making ‘foraging’ decisions about food than in equivalent decisions involving money [67,103]. Given that humans engage in evolutionarily novel forms of economic exchange involving abstract currencies, but other primates can be trained to use and exchange tokens in specific contexts [84], animals thus present untapped opportunities to test how experience with markets impacts economic decision-making. More generally, comparative research is well-positioned to advance our understanding of human economic behaviour by pinpointing the necessary cognitive and experiential prerequisites that enable different aspects of decision-making and exchange.

Hyper-altruistic Behavior Vanishes with High Stakes: Individuals decrease the donated fraction of the pie as the stakes increase; hyper-altruistic behavior seems an artifact of the typical stakes used in lab work

Branas-Garza, Pablo, Diego A. Jorrat, Jaromir Kovarik, and Maria C. Lopez. 2021. “Hyper-altruistic Behavior Vanishes with High Stakes.” PsyArXiv. January 10. doi:10.31234/osf.io/b79e4

Rolf Degen's take: https://twitter.com/DegenRolf/status/1348330565150375944

Abstract: Using a powered and incentivized experiment, this paper explores the role of stakes in charitable giving of lottery prizes, where subjects commit to donate a fraction of the prize before they learn the outcome of the lottery. We study three stake levels: 5€ (n = 177), 100€ (n = 168), and 1,000€ (n = 171). We find that individuals decrease the donated fraction of the pie as the stakes increase. However, people still share roughly 20% of 1,000€, an amount as high as the average monthly salary of people at the age of our subjects. We further report that the number of people sharing 50% of the pie is remarkably stable across stakes but donating the whole pie -the modal behavior in charity-donation experiments- disappears with stakes. Such hyper-altruistic behavior thus seems to be an artifact of the stakes typically employed in economic and psychological experiments. Our findings point out that sharing with others is a prevalent human feature, but stakes are an important determinant of sharing and policies frequently promoted via prosocial frames (such as stressing the effects of mask-wearing or social distancing on others during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic or environmentally-friendly behaviors on future generations) may thus be miscalibrated if they disregard the stakes at play.

Perceptions of physical attractiveness: Smiling images were rated as more attractive (regardless of stimulus motion format); PPAs were based more on the perceiver than on either the target or format in which the target was presented

In the Eye of the Beholder: A Comprehensive Analysis of Stimulus Type, Perceiver, and Target in Physical Attractiveness Perceptions. Molly A. Bowdring, Michael A. Sayette, Jeffrey M. Girard & William C. Woods. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, Jan 9 2021. https://rd.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10919-020-00350-2

Abstract: Physical attractiveness plays a central role in psychosocial experiences. One of the top research priorities has been to identify factors affecting perceptions of physical attractiveness (PPA). Recent work suggests PPA derives from different sources (e.g., target, perceiver, stimulus type). Although smiles in particular are believed to enhance PPA, support has been surprisingly limited. This study comprehensively examines the effect of smiles on PPA and, more broadly, evaluates the roles of target, perceiver, and stimulus type in PPA variation. Perceivers (n = 181) rated both static images and 5-s videos of targets displaying smiling and neutral-expressions. Smiling images were rated as more attractive than neutral-expression images (regardless of stimulus motion format). Interestingly, perceptions of physical attractiveness were based more on the perceiver than on either the target or format in which the target was presented. Results clarify the effect of smiles, and highlight the significant role of the perceiver, in PPA.

Quantum money, which has recently been partially implemented in an experimental setting, offers the privacy & anonymity of physical cash, & the option to transact without the involvement of a third party

Quantum Technology for Economists. Isaiah Hull, Or Sattath, Eleni Diamanti3, and Goran Wendin. Sveriges Riksbank Working Paper Series, No. 398. December 2020. https://www.riksbank.se/globalassets/media/rapporter/working-papers/2019/no.-398-quantum-technology-for-economists.pdf

Abstract: Research on quantum technology spans multiple disciplines: physics, computer science, engineering, and mathematics. The objective of this manuscript is to provide an accessible introduction to this emerging field for economists that is centered around quantum computing and quantum money. We proceed in three steps. First, we discuss basic concepts in quantum computing and quantum communication, assuming knowledge of linear algebra and statistics, but not of computer science or physics. This covers fundamental topics, such as qubits, superposition, entanglement, quantum circuits, oracles, and the no-cloning theorem. Second, we provide an overview of quantum money, an early invention of the quantum communication literature that has recently been partially implemented in an experimental setting. One form of quantum money offers the privacy and anonymity of physical cash, the option to transact without the involvement of a third party, and the efficiency and convenience of a debit card payment. Such features cannot be achieved in combination with any other form of money. Finally, we review all existing quantum speedups that have been identified for algorithms used to solve and estimate economic models. This includes function approximation, linear systems analysis, Monte Carlo simulation, matrix inversion, principal component analysis, linear regression, interpolation, numerical differentiation, and true random number generation. We also discuss the difficulty of achieving quantum speedups and comment on common misconceptions about what is achievable with quantum computing.

Keywords: Quantum Computing, Econometrics, Computational Economics, Money, Central Banks.

JEL Classification: C50, C60, E40, E50.

Adjusting for absolute body mass index, individuals with high relative BMI are more likely to report low levels of life satisfaction; the link between relative BMI & life satisfaction is similar for both men & women

Assessing the importance of relative body weight in shaping life satisfaction: Evidence from 1 million Americans. Jinho Kim. Current Psychology, Jan 9 2021. https://rd.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12144-021-01360-z

Rolf Degen's take: https://twitter.com/DegenRolf/status/1347875756676943873

Abstract: Using data from the 2005–2008 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, this study shows that an individual’s ordinal body mass index (BMI) rank in a reference group is an important determinant of life satisfaction. This study finds that, adjusting for absolute BMI, individuals with high relative BMI are more likely to report low levels of life satisfaction. This relationship depends on group-specific social comparisons (i.e., within race/ethnic groups), especially for women. This study also shows that the link between relative BMI and life satisfaction is similar for both men and women, and persists into old age. Among women, the negative association between relative BMI and life satisfaction is driven largely by those residing in urban areas. No such patterns are found among men. To make further progress in understanding the relationship between BMI and psychological health and well-being, it is essential to consider how the meaning of an individual’s body weight might differ in reference to others’ body weight.

Playboy and Pornification: 65 Years of the Playboy Centerfold

Playboy and Pornification: 65 Years of the Playboy Centerfold. Hannah Regan. Sexuality & Culture, Jan 9 2021. https://rd.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12119-020-09809-2

Rolf Degen's take: https://twitter.com/DegenRolf/status/1347827683598737408

Abstract: In the more than 6 decades since its founding, Playboy magazine has had to contend with a great deal of cultural change, most significantly the rise of the Internet pornography industry. The magazine, particularly its signature centerfold, the Playmate of the Month, has had to adapt accordingly. In this visual analysis, I review 65 years of Playboy centerfolds to consider how their bodies—physical characteristics, positions, contexts, and explicitness—have changed, and how this reflects the broader social change to which they are subject. I find that, overall, very little changes over the years, with two notable exceptions: increased visibility of the montes pubis and the slow decreasing in the amount of pubic hair the models have, and the brief time period in which the magazine attempted to remove nudity altogether. My results show that the magazine appears to place more value on staying true to the Playboy image than to adapting to a new market and has continued to be a recognized symbol of gender and sexuality even in light of decreasing readership and publication.

Buying local: This paper's main finding is that these justifications fail to provide a strong positive ethical reason for consumers in general to adopt the practice

Should You Buy Local? Carson Young. Journal of Business Ethics, Jan 3 2021. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10551-020-04701-3

Abstract: Buying local is a prominent form of ethical consumption. We commonly assume that products that are local are in some respect ethically superior to ones that are not. This article contributes to research on local food by scrutinizing this assumption in light of some central values of the locavore movement. It identifies four central ethical causes from prior literature on locavorism: protecting the environment, promoting community, promoting small business, and contributing to the prosperity of one’s local economy. It then analyzes whether the contribution of buying local to these causes can justify the general perception that buying local is a good way to be an ethical consumer. Its main finding is that these justifications fail to provide a strong positive ethical reason for consumers in general to adopt the practice of buying local.

On one hand, an informed citizenry is allegedly necessary for a democracy to flourish; on the other hand, the most knowledgeable and passionate voters are also the most likely to think in corrupted, biased ways

Are Smarter Voters Better Voters? Michael Hannon. PhilPapers, Jan 2021. https://philpapers.org/rec/HANASV

Abstract: It is widely believed that democracies require knowledgeable citizens to function well. But the most politically knowledgeable individuals also tend to be the most partisan and the strength of partisan identity tends to corrupt political thinking. This creates a conundrum. On one hand, an informed citizenry is allegedly necessary for a democracy to flourish. On the other hand, the most knowledgeable and passionate voters are also the most likely to think in corrupted, biased ways. What to do? This paper examines this tension and draws out several lessons. First, it is not obvious that more knowledgeable voters will make better political decisions. Second, worries about voter ignorance may be misguided because partisans tend to become more dogmatic when they acquire more information. Third, ‘epistocratic’ solutions that emphasize voter knowledge are troubling, in part, because they increase the political power of the most dogmatic and biased individuals. Fourth, I suggest that solutions to citizen incompetence should focus less on voter knowledge and more on the intellectual virtue of objectivity. Unfortunately, a likely way to foster political objectivity is by encouraging political apathy.

Keywords: political knowledge  political ignorance  motivated reasoning  epistocracy  objectivity  partisan bias

The Primacy of Morality in Impression Development: Sociability (e.g., friendliness & likeability) or competence are less important than morality (e.g., honesty & trustworthiness) in our valuations of persons or groups

The Primacy of Morality in Impression Development: Theory, Research, and Future Directions. Marco Brambilla et al. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 64, Jan 2021. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/348190223

Rolf Degen's take: https://twitter.com/DegenRolf/status/1347782969738539009

Abstract: Over the past few decades, two-factor models of social cognition have emerged as a dominant framework for understanding impression development. These models suggest that two dimensions-warmth and competence-are key in shaping our cognitive, emotional, and behavioral reactions toward social targets. More recently, research has jettisoned the warmth dimension, distinguishing instead between sociability (e.g., friendliness and likeability) and morality (e.g., honesty and trustworthiness) and showing that morality is far more important than sociability (and competence) in predicting the evaluations we make of individuals and groups. Presenting research from our laboratories, we show that moral categories are central at all stages of impression development, from implicit assumptions, to information gathering and to final evaluations. Moreover, moral trait information has a dominant role in predicting people's behavioral reactions toward social targets. We also show that morality dominates impression development, because it is closely linked to the essential judgment of whether another party's intentions are beneficial or harmful. Thus, our research informs a new framework for understanding person and group perception: the Moral Primacy Model (MPM) of impression development. We conclude by discussing how the MPM relates to classic and emerging models of social cognition and by outlining a trajectory for future research.

The overconfidence transmission effect persisted over time & task domains, elevating overconfidence even days after initial exposure; may be in part responsible for why local confidence norms emerge in groups/teams/organizations

Cheng, J. T., Anderson, C., Tenney, E. R., Brion, S., Moore, D. A., & Logg, J. M. (2021). The social transmission of overconfidence. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 150(1), 157–186. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000787

Abstract: We propose and test the overconfidence transmission hypothesis, which predicts that individuals calibrate their self-assessments in response to the confidence others display in their social group. Six studies that deploy a mix of correlational and experimental methods support this hypothesis. Evidence indicates that individuals randomly assigned to collaborate in laboratory dyads converged on levels of overconfidence about their own performance rankings. In a controlled experimental context, observing overconfident peers causally increased an individual’s degree of bias. The transmission effect persisted over time and across task domains, elevating overconfidence even days after initial exposure. In addition, overconfidence spread across indirect social ties (person to person to person), and transmission operated outside of reported awareness. However, individuals showed a selective in-group bias; overconfidence was acquired only when displayed by a member of one’s in-group (and not out-group), consistent with theoretical notions of selective learning bias. Combined, these results advance understanding of the social factors that underlie interindividual differences in overconfidence and suggest that social transmission processes may be in part responsible for why local confidence norms emerge in groups, teams, and organizations.

Ageing in Better Mental Health

Ageing in Better Mental Health. Marisa Cordella, Aldo Poiani. Fulfilling Ageing pp 201-354, January 5 2021. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-60071-6_4

Abstract: This develops the topic of Ageing in better health. Here we return to the biology of ageing, that was first introduced in Chap. 1, but with a special emphasis on brain plasticity, a very important topic that is the focus of a fast-developing research program, and we also review psychological health in old age. Initially mentally healthy persons may be at risk of experiencing serious deterioration of their mental capacities as they age; therefore, we devote a section in this chapter to review mental pathologies in the elderly. Special emphasis is given to the analysis of the various forms of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease. From there we proceed to address those aspects of ageing that affect sexual behaviour. The challenges experienced by people with a disability (mental or physical) who are becoming older are also the topic of a section in this chapter. We conclude the chapter with a section devoted to older people who reach very advanced ages: the centenarians, semi-supercentenarians, and supercentenarians.

From 1999... Availability cascade is a belief formation process by which an expressed perception triggers a chain reaction that gives the perception of increasing plausibility through its rising availability in public discourse

Kuran, Timur and Sunstein, Cass R., Availability Cascades and Risk Regulation. Stanford Law Review, Vol. 51, No. 4, 1999, U of Chicago, Public Law Working Paper No. 181, U of Chicago Law & Economics, Olin Working Paper No. 384, https://ssrn.com/abstract=138144

Abstract: An availability cascade is a self-reinforcing process of collective belief formation by which an expressed perception triggers a chain reaction that gives the perception of increasing plausibility through its rising availability in public discourse. The driving mechanism involves a combination of informational and reputational motives: Individuals endorse the perception partly by learning from the apparent beliefs of others and partly by distorting their public responses in the interest of maintaining social acceptance. Availability entrepreneurs - activists who manipulate the content of public discourse - strive to trigger availability cascades likely to advance their agendas. Their availability campaigns may yield social benefits, but sometimes they bring harm, which suggests a need for safeguards. Focusing on the role of mass pressures in the regulation of risks associated with production, consumption, and the environment, Professor Timur Kuran and Cass R. Sunstein analyze availability cascades and suggest reforms to alleviate their potential hazards. Their proposals include new governmental structures designed to give civil servants better insulation against mass demands for regulatory change and an easily accessible scientific database to reduce people's dependence on popular (mis)perceptions.

Keywords: availability heuristic, informational cascades, reputational cascades, cost-benefit analysis

JEL Classification: L51, K23

Previous research has found that women at peak fertility show greater interest in extra-pair sex; however, recent replications have failed to detect this effect

Current Fertility Status Does Not Predict Sociosexual Attitudes and Desires in Normally Ovulating Women. Andrew G. Thomas.  Evolutionary Psychology,January 8, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1177/1474704920976318

Abstract: Previous research has found that women at peak fertility show greater interest in extra-pair sex. However, recent replications have failed to detect this effect. In this study, we add to this ongoing debate by testing whether sociosexuality (the willingness to have sex in the absence of commitment) is higher in women who are at peak fertility. A sample of normally ovulating women (N = 773) completed a measure of sociosexuality and had their current fertility status estimated using the backward counting method. Contrary to our hypothesis, current fertility was unrelated to sociosexual attitudes and desires, even when relationship status was included as a moderator. These findings raise further doubts about the association between fertility and desire for extra-pair sex.

Keywords: ovulatory shift hypothesis, sociosexuality, menstrual cycle, mate preferences, extra-pair mating

Discussion

The purpose of this study was to test the idea, derived from the ovulatory shift and dual-mating hypotheses (Gangestad & Thornhill, 1998; Penton-Voak et al., 1999), that women’s mating strategies change in accordance with fluctuations in fertility across the menstrual cycle. To do so we used a between-subjects sample of normally ovulating women to examine whether current fertility status could predict sociosexual desires and attitudes. Our hypothesis was not supported. No relationship was found between fertility status and attitude or desire subscales of the SOI-R. In fact, the β observed in the regression predicting sociosexual desire was in the opposite direction to that predicted (β = −.04). Exploratory analyses showed that the null effect of fertility persisted when relationship status was added to the models as a moderator. We did find that older women reported higher numbers of past partners and acts of uncommitted sex, but only if they were currently high in fertility. We did not predict this weak association and see no theoretical reason for it. Given that this effect also disappeared when covariates were added to the model (see Footnote 1) we are inclined to believe this to be a Type I error.

It is possible that the null results obtained in this study are due to the methodological issues outlined previously. The ‘gold standard’ in menstrual cycle research is to use within-subjects designs and to establish fertility status using hormonal measurements (Gangestad et al., 2016). Our study, in contrast, used a between-subjects design with self-reported cycle data and non-verified bleed-dates. Nonetheless, there are several reasons to be confident that our results are not due to a Type II error.

First, the sample size is large and surpasses the minimum requirement set out by both Gangestad et al. (2016) and Jones et al. (2019) for a sufficiently-powered between-subjects study. Second, as recommended by Gangestad et al. (2016), fertility status was not determined using high and low fertility windows, but instead measured along a continuous scale of conception risk (Wilcox et al., 2001). Finally, we employed a backwards-counting method to determine day of cycle. Due to the large degree of variability in the follicular phase compared to the comparatively consistent length of the luteal phase (Fehring et al., 2006), the backwards-counting method is the most reliable way to obtain self-report menstrual cycle data.

The results of this study converge with other recent well-powered between-subject investigations into the ovulatory-shift hypothesis (Dixson et al., 2018; Marcinkowska et al., 2018b) and within-subjects studies using hormonal measures (Jünger et al., 2018; Marcinkowska et al., 2018a). However, it should be noted that some studies suggest that fertility-related shifts in mating psychology depend on relationship status and on factors within a relationship, such as the attractiveness of one’s current partner (Haselton & Gangestad, 2006; Pillsworth & Haselton, 2006). We did not have data about perceived partner attractiveness for partnered women in our dataset, but we were able to include their relationship status in our models. Doing so did not qualitatively alter the role of fertility status. It is worth noting, however, that this exploratory analysis was underpowered. A full understanding of this moderation effect would have required us to examine sub-groups of single and pair-bonded women, effectively halving the sample. The two studies that report an effect of partner attractiveness were also both underpowered (see the calculations of Gangestad et al., 2016; Jones et al. (2019). Therefore, future research should investigate the role of relationship moderators on fertility effects in sufficiently large samples to test these hypotheses adequately.

Further consideration should be given to the role of sociosexuality in acquiring extra-pair partners. There is an established relationship between sociosexuality and infidelity (Barta & Kiene, 2005). Thus, it is reasonable to expect that waxing interest in casual sex would facilitate acts of extra-pair infidelity and that this may form part of an ovulatory shift mechanism that functions to shift mating effort away from a primary partner and toward another. However extra-pair liaisons are not exclusively casual and may involve feelings of love and commitment, such as in cases of mate-switching (Buss et al., 2017). To the extent that uncommitted sex is not a strict prerequisite for extra-pair relationships, we cannot rule out the possibility of dual-mating mechanisms in humans based solely on an absence of relationship between within-cycle fertility and SO. Potential future research could consider forgoing sociosexuality for more implicit indicators of relationship commitment, including motivated biases favoring one’s partner (e.g., positive partner illusions) or derogating alternatives (Finkel et al., 2017).

In sum, these null results raise further doubts about the hypothesized association between fertility and desire for extra-pair sex, and more specifically the role of sociosexuality as a potential moderator of this process. Should extra-pair desire change across the menstrual cycle, then this may be context specific and/or facultative. Such changes may be difficult to detect at a general group level, emphasizing the importance of well-powered within-subject designs that both use hormonal verification to reduce measurement error and take relationship context and motivation into account.

Transgender Identity Is Associated With Bullying Involvement Among Finnish Adolescents: Both as victims and as perpetrators

Transgender Identity Is Associated With Bullying Involvement Among Finnish Adolescents. Elias Heino et al. Front. Psychol., January 8 2021. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.612424

Abstract

Background: During adolescence, bullying often has a sexual content. Involvement in bullying as a bully, victim or both has been associated with a range of negative health outcomes. Transgender youth appear to face elevated rates of bullying in comparison to their mainstream peers. However, the involvement of transgender youth as perpetrators of bullying remains unclear in the recent literature.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare involvement in bullying between transgender and mainstream youth and among middle and late adolescents in a general population sample.

Methods: Our study included 139,829 students in total, divided between a comprehensive school and an upper secondary education sample. Associations between gender identity and involvement in bullying were first studied using cross-tabulations with chi-square statistics. Logistic regression was used to study multivariate associations. Gender identity was used as the independent variable, with cisgender as the reference category. Subjection to and perpetration of bullying were entered each in turn as the dependent variable. Demographic factors, family characteristics, internalizing symptoms, externalizing behaviors, and involvement in bullying in the other role were added as confounding factors. Odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) are given. The limit for statistical significance was set at p < 0.001.

Results: Both experiences of being bullied and perpetrating bullying were more commonly reported by transgender youth than by cisgender youth. Among transgender youth, all involvement in bullying was more commonly reported by non-binary youth than those identifying with the opposite sex. Logistic regression revealed that non-binary identity was most strongly associated with involvement in bullying, followed by opposite sex identity and cisgender identity. Transgender identities were also more strongly associated with perpetration of bullying than subjection to bullying.

Conclusion: Transgender identity, especially non-binary identity, is associated with both being bullied and perpetrating bullying even when a range of variables including internal stress and involvement in bullying in the opposite role are taken into account. This suggests that bullying during adolescence may serve as a mechanism of maintaining heteronormativity.

Discussion

In this study we analyzed the association of gender minority identity with involvement in bullying among a large population-based sample of adolescents. We analyzed whether the association of gender identity and involvement in bullying differed among opposite sex and non-binary identifying youth or among middle and late adolescents.

We firstly found that in our large, nationally representative sample, being bullied was generally associated with transgender identity, and with non-binary identity in particular. This finding is in line with the existing literature, which indicates that experiences of being bullied are more common among gender minority than mainstream youth (Day et al., 2018; Eisenberg et al., 2019; Johns et al., 2019; Bishop et al., 2020). Various factors could explain this disparity. Transgender youth may differ from their peers in that their behavior or appearance deviates from traditional feminine and masculine roles. This could partly explain elevated rates of being bullied as bullying is often targeted at those perceived to deviate from the mainstream (Jones et al., 2018; Price-Feeney et al., 2018). More specifically, relating to sexual orientation and gender identity, bullying sexual and gender minorities could also stem from heterosexism, which refers to efforts to maintain traditional masculine and feminine roles in society (Chesir-Teran, 2003; Toomey et al., 2012). On the other hand, internal stress, as described in gender minority stress and resilience theory (Hendricks and Testa, 2012; Testa et al., 2015), could result in constant vigilance and anticipation of being victimized through the development of hostile or depressive attribution bias thus predisposing transgender youth to detect victimization by their peers where none was actually intended.

Secondly, we found that transgender identity was generally associated with perpetrating bullying and that the association was stronger than that of transgender identity and being bullied. To the best of our knowledge, past research has not examined perpetration of bullying among gender minority youth, thus rendering comparisons to prior research impossible. In a study by Dank et al. (2014), however, it was reported that the few transgender young people in their study were the ones most likely to perpetrate dating violence among their sample.

Such aggressive behavior could arise from being victimized or having witnessed victimization of other gender or sexual minorities (Eisenberg et al., 2016), as a coping mechanism or avenue through which one could release negative feelings.

On the other hand, adolescence in general is a mentally challenging time (Paus et al., 2008) during which adolescents struggle with a series of developmental tasks such as forming peer relations and coming to grips with their sexuality (Havighurst, 1948; Seiffge-Krenke and Gelhaar, 2008). The added complexity due to the emergence and further development of transgender identity could cause extra stress for adolescents. In this context, perpetrating bullying could be seen as sign of acting out, perhaps due to transgender adolescents’ own unresolved developmental issues.

Thirdly, non-binary identity was more strongly associated with involvement in bullying than opposite sex identity. Past research has found elevated rates of being subjected to bullying among youth (Lowry et al., 2020; van Beusekom et al., 2020) and transgender youth (Gower et al., 2018) who perceive themselves as more gender non-conforming (i.e., masculine females or feminine males) than youth with no such perception. Non-binary identifying youth particularly may display gender expression that does not conform to either masculine or feminine roles, and this may make them vulnerable to being bullied either due to simply being different from the mainstream, or as a result of heterosexist control. We found, however, that not only being bullied but also engaging in bullying was even more common among non-binary (perception of gender conforms to both or neither sex or it varies) than among opposite sex identifying youth.

It may be that the process of gender identity formation is a more complex process among non-binary youth than those young people identifying with the opposite sex. Such differences could stem from the nature of non-binary identity itself, as perceived gender may fluctuate, or align with both or neither traditional gender roles. This could delay the achievement of so-called transgender identity milestones, or factors associated with the formation of transgender identity, such as first living in the gender role felt within (Wilkinson et al., 2018) as young people struggle with their still unresolved gender identity. This internal turmoil due to uncertainty about one’s own identity, could, for example, impede the formation of peer relationships, a key part of adolescent development (Laursen and Hartl, 2013). This could exacerbate internal stress and predispose non-binary youth to mental health symptoms such as depression, which are known to relate to involvement in bullying (Kaltiala-Heino and Fröjd, 2011).

Finally, regarding age differences, the existing literature shows that as adolescents mature and progress toward adulthood, involvement in bullying decreases (Boulton and Underwood, 1992; Liang et al., 2007; Coulter et al., 2018). In line with this, involvement in bullying in our data was reported less commonly by the older adolescents in the upper secondary education sample across all gender identities. The association between opposite sex identification and being bullied also leveled out when confounding was controlled for in both samples. However, regardless of lower reported prevalence, the association between non-binary identity and perpetration of bullying was stronger among the older than among the younger adolescents in our study. It might be that those adolescents who still remain involved in bullying at an older age represent adolescents with the most developmental challenges. This finding could be seen to lend support to the notion that among transgender youth the possibly more complex nature of non-binary identity (in comparison to opposite sex identifying or cisgender youth) is indeed related to additional developmental challenges.

Additionally, while involvement in bullying was less prevalent among the older students of our study, the correlation between being bullied and being a bully grew stronger. This is likewise in agreement with the assumption that when involvement in bullying becomes less common as age increases, those who remain involved likely represent adolescents with the most developmental challenges. Being both a bully and a victim (bully-victim) is known to correlate with greatest amount of mental health problems and developmental difficulties (Forero et al., 1999).

Strengths and Weaknesses of the Present Study

Our study has several strengths. Our large sample was an unselected, population-based sample representative of Finnish middle and late adolescents. This enhances the generalizability of our results.

There are indications even between European countries of variation in transgender youth’s peer relationships and psychological functioning (de Graaf et al., 2018; van der Star et al., 2018). One could speculate that such differences are even greater between European and North American adolescents. As most research on gender identity and involvement in bullying originates in the United States, we feel our study in a Northern European setting is a useful addition to the existing literature on the important subject of involvement in bullying and transgender identity.

We controlled in our analyses for a wide range of confounding factors closely related to involvement in bullying and gender minority identity. This allowed us to examine more closely the relationship between transgender identity and involvement in bullying. This is a strength of our study.

As has been recommended (Reisner et al., 2014; Eisenberg et al., 2017), we identified transgender youth with two separate questions located far apart from each other in the study questionnaire (“two-step method”). Due to the large sample size, we were additionally able to separate opposite sex identifying youth from non-binary youth, rather than grouping all transgender youth as one in our analyses.

Involvement in bullying was elicited using questions derived from WHO’s Youth Study (King et al., 1996). The WHO questions have since then been used in numerous studies across countries (for review see Kaltiala-Heino and Fröjd, 2011) which makes data elicited with them comparable with earlier research. This is a strength of our study.

Our study also has several weaknesses. In spite of our large sample, the number of transgender youth reporting perpetrating bullying was on the smaller side, although we still feel we reached adequate cell sizes for statistical validity.

In the present study, a secondary data was used. The data was not planned nor collected by us, and we were therefore unable to influence the way certain topics of interest were elicited. As a result, the way experiences of bullying were elicited in the study questionnaire made it impossible to distinguish between different types of bullying behavior in which adolescents had been involved, such as traditional school bullying or cyberbullying, or physical and verbal bullying and exclusion.

Additionally, whether respondents were living in their desired gender roles was not elicited in the questionnaire. This inhibited additional comparisons regarding involvement in bullying among those who conceal their gender identity vs. those who do not. The GMSR theory suggests concealment of one’s experienced gender identity (for example not living in the desired gender role) is a stressor that could possibly negatively affect mental health of gender minority people. One could thus speculate that living in the desired gender role could in fact reduce mental health symptoms such as depression, thus decreasing bullying involvement, a behavior associated with mental health issues. On the other hand, living in the desired gender role could manifest as behavior or appearance deviating from traditional masculine and feminine roles (such as natal girls using boys’ restrooms or natal boys having a more feminine appearance) thus predisposing youths to bullying, a behavior commonly directed to those who deviate from the mainstream. Lastly, as the study was a cross-sectional one, caution must be exercised when interpreting the results as causality cannot be determined from such data.

The Stock Market as a Casino: Associations Between Costly Excessive Stock Market Trading and Problem Gambling

Mosenhauer, Moritz, Philip W. S. Newall, and Lukasz Walasek. 2021. “The Stock Market as a Casino: Associations Between Costly Excessive Stock Market Trading and Problem Gambling.” PsyArXiv. January 8. doi:10.31234/osf.io/zqe9s

Rolf Degen's take: https://twitter.com/DegenRolf/status/1347401853458329600

Abstract: The stock market should be a unique kind of casino, where the average person wins money over time. However, previous research shows that excessive stock market trading can contribute to financial losses --- just like in any other casino. While gambling research has documented the adverse consequences of problem gambling, there has been comparatively less behavioral finance research on the correlates of excessive stock market trading. This study aimed to document whether excessive stock trading was positively associated with problem gambling, and whether this hypothesized association was robust to controlling for demographics, and objective measures of overconfidence and financial literacy in a convenience sample of 798 US investors. We found that self-reported relative stock portfolio turnover was positively associated with problem gambling, that this association was robust to controls, and occurred equally over investors of all self-reported portfolio sizes. This study showed that problem gamblers may also make suboptimal risky choices more generally, and that a behavioral dependence explanation for suboptimal investment decisions should be subject to further investigation in the behavioral finance literature.

The Psychology, Geography, and Architecture of Horror: How Places Creep Us Out

The Psychology, Geography, and Architecture of Horror: How Places Creep Us Out. Francis T. McAndrew. Evolutionary Studies in Imaginative Culture, Vol. 4, No. 2 (Fall 2020), pp. 47-62 (15 pages). https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.26613/esic.4.2.189

Rolf Degen's take: https://twitter.com/DegenRolf/status/1347223531902431239

Abstract: Why do some types of settings and some combinations of sensory information induce a sense of dread in humans? This article brings empirical evidence from psychological research to bear on the experience of horror, and explains why the tried-and-true horror devices intuitively employed by writers and filmmakers work so well. Natural selection has favored individuals who gravitated toward environments containing the “right” physical and psychological features and avoided those which posed a threat. Places that contain a bad mix of these features induce unpleasant feelings of dread and fear, and therefore have become important ingredients of the settings for horror fiction and films. This article applies McAndrew and Koehnke's (2016) theory of creepiness to the study of classic horror settings and explores the role played by architecture, isolation, association with death, and other environmental qualities in the experience of creepiness and dread.

Keywords: horror, architecture, ghosts, haunted houses, paranormal experiences, environmental psychology, evolutionary psychology

We are Programmed to Respond Emotionally to Our Physical Surroundings

It is well established that the environmental preferences of animals are under genetic control (Alcock 1993), and to some extent this appears to be true for humans as well. Research by environmental psychologists has confirmed that the most attractive natural environments contain things such as running water and open meadows surrounded by woods, the very features that would have been beneficial for the survival of early humans (Kaplan 1987). In other words, people who were drawn to the “right” places did better than those who were not, and over time their genes were favored over those of individuals who spent too much time in sparser, more barren landscapes.

But places exhibit more abstract evolutionarily relevant features as well, and it turns out that being drawn to the “right” abstract features of places may have been just as important for our ancestors’ survival. McAndrew (1993) has referred to such environmental features as psychological features, and places that lack the right psychological features set off our creep detectors.

British geographer Jay Appleton (1975) was the first to describe two qualities of physical space that determine whether a place is attractive or frightening to humans: “Prospect” and “Refuge.” Refuge means having a secure, protected place to hide where one can be sheltered from danger, while prospect refers to one’s clear, unobstructed view of the landscape. Attractive places offer us a lot of prospect and a lot of refuge, or what landscape architect Randolph Hester (1979) refers to as a “Womb with a View.”  

Our love of such spaces shows up everywhere. Universally, children love playing in enclosed spaces such as cardboard boxes, tree houses, and in bushes or other dense vegetation where they feel hidden; the concepts of prospect and refuge may help explain the almost magical quality of the feelings evoked by memories of favorite childhood hiding places and the richness of detail that can often be recalled about them decades later. Similarly, diners in restaurants usually prefer to occupy tables in corners or nooks, especially when these locations allow them to sit with their backs against a wall, and they will usually only settle for tables in the center of the room when all of the more desirable seats have been taken (McAndrew 1993).

In the words of Appleton, we love the feel of these spaces because they are, evolutionarily speaking, places where “you can see without being seen, and eat without being eaten” (Greenbie, 1982, 2).

The optimal environment for human comfort is one that offers a lot of prospect and refuge for the individual; the worst combination is very little prospect or refuge for the individual. Research has confirmed that places that offer bad combinations of prospect and refuge for us are perceived as unsafe and dangerous (Fisher and Nasar 1992), also because they may offer a lot of hiding places for people or things that may intend to do us harm.

Scary places may also lack what environmental psychologists refer to as “legibility.” Legibility reflects the ease with which a place can be recognized, organized into a pattern and recalled—in other words, a place that we can wander around in without getting lost (McAndrew 1993).

More legible places are usually preferred over less legible ones, but if we feel assured that a place is not dangerous, a dose of illegibility can actually enhance the attractiveness of a place to us; this property has been referred to as “Mystery.” Mystery implies that the place contains more information than can be seen at the moment, and that one could learn much about it by walking through it and exploring. The strategic use of mystery has been used to great effect by landscape architects in settings such as Japanese gardens (Eliovson 1978). Many studies have confirmed that people do in fact perceive mystery as a distinct quality of landscapes and that a sense of mystery can increase the attractiveness of natural environments (Kaplan and Kaplan 1989). However, when a heightened sense of mystery is accompanied by a sense of potential danger, as it is in deep narrow canyons, dark urban alleys, and houses thought to be haunted, mystery decreases the attractiveness of the place (Herzog 1987; Herzog and Smith 1988).

It is not only the psychological features of places that can make them good settings for horror. Physical features that posed a threat to our ancestors can easily become creepy, even if they have other qualities that make them beneficial to us; water is a perfect example of an indispensable and usually attractive element of a natural setting that is frequently associated with horror. Rivers, lakes, and ponds often provide the setting for horror stories about ghosts. This makes sense in that deep water has always posed a hazard to humans and drowning is a common cause of human death, both accidental and intentional. It is therefore not very surprising to find that bodies of water are frequently linked with paranormal experiences, as in the stories of haunted highways, ponds, wells, ships, and bridges detailed by Davies (2007) and Nickell (2012).

The kinds of places described above can evoke feelings of fear, horror, and being creeped out. It may be useful to think of these three related emotions as different stages of the same experience. Getting creeped out is an unpleasant state of heightened vigilance in which we grapple with ambiguity in our immediate situation. We are not sure if there is an actual danger or threat to be wary of, but the lack of clarity focuses our attention as we deal with the felt urgency of resolving the ambiguity so that we know how to proceed. Horror, on the other hand, is the growing awareness that we are indeed facing some sort of danger, although we may not yet exactly understand the nature of the threat or how best to deal with it. Fear is the clearest of the three emotions. It occurs when we clearly recognize the nature of the danger that we face and we concoct a strategy for dealing with it.

Throughout this paper, the focus will remain firmly fixed on the frightening, negative experience of horror, but it must be acknowledged that under some circumstances creepiness and horror can be seductive (Clasen, 2017), as evidenced by the sums of money we spend each year on horror movies and commercial haunted houses. Clearly, for many people, the creepy can have a peculiar “allure.”

How could such things possibly be entertaining to us?

I propose that our enjoyment of haunted houses and horror movies taps into the same evolved psychological mechanisms that exist to help us learn from the experiences of others (De Backer, Nelissen, Vyncke, Braeckman and McAndrew 2007). In the safety of a movie theater or amusement park, watching other individuals deal with serial killers, zombies, or other paranormal threats gives us the chance to mentally rehearse strategies that we might use if we would ever find ourselves in a similar situation (Clasen, Kjeldgaard-Christiansen and Johnson 2018). 

So yes, horror can be fun if it is not the real thing. Having said this, the rest of this article will concern itself with the less fun stuff.

Women: Of factors like sexual orientation/shame/pride/assertiveness/& attitudes (permissiveness, birth control &c), and endorsement of traditional gender roles & of the double standard, assertiveness better predicts more orgasms

The Big “O”: Sociocultural Influences on Orgasm Frequency and Sexual Satisfaction in Women. Anna Maree Lentz & Yuliana Zaikman. Sexuality & Culture, Jan 6 2021. https://rd.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12119-020-09811-8

Rolf Degen's take: https://twitter.com/DegenRolf/status/1347070227088089090

Abstract: Previous research revealed a gap in orgasm frequency between men and women, with women orgasming less frequently than men. Because female orgasms are rooted partially in psychological origins, this gap may be partly explained by sociocultural factors. Utilizing sexual satisfaction as an outcome measure and orgasm frequency as a mediator, we surveyed 1043 women about a multitude of factors to determine the relationship between sociocultural factors, orgasm frequency and sexual satisfaction. Because women may orgasm in different frequencies depending on context, we measured four different orgasm variables: orgasm with self (masturbation), orgasm with a familiar partner, orgasm with a new partner, and multiple orgasm frequency. Factors such as sexual orientation, sexual shame, sexual pride, sexual assertiveness, sexual attitudes (related to permissiveness, birth control and communion), endorsement of traditional gender roles, and endorsement of the sexual double standard were correlated with female orgasm frequency within different contexts. The only orgasm variable that predicted sexual satisfaction was orgasm with a familiar partner, indicating that not all orgasms can predict sexual satisfaction. Overall, sexual assertiveness was the variable that positively correlated with and predicted orgasm frequency in almost all contexts as well as sexual satisfaction. This indicates that socializing women to be more sexually assertive could potentially lead to more frequent orgasms and greater sexual satisfaction. The findings of this study can be used to bridge the orgasm gap between men and women, and in general help women in curating better and more positive sexual encounters.

Drosophila brain: The systems that mediate the pleasure component of reward in mammals, including those involving the endogenous opioid & endocannabinoid systems, are unlikely to be present in insects

Drosophila reward system - A summary of current knowledge. Jiri Dvoracek, Dalibor KodrIk. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, January 6 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.12.032

Rolf Degen's take: https://twitter.com/DegenRolf/status/1347063544802635778

Highlights

• Drosophila has a very well-developed brain enabling the associative learning.

• Reward functions of Drosophila represent a complex network system.

• Drosophila has activity-enhancing systems associated with wanting component of reward.

• Hedonic component of reward system is unlikely to be present in Drosophila.

Abstract: The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster brain is the most extensively investigated model of a reward system in insects. Drosophila can discriminate between rewarding and punishing environmental stimuli and consequently undergo associative learning. Functional models, especially those modelling mushroom bodies, are constantly being developed using newly discovered information, adding to the complexity of creating a simple model of the reward system. This review aims to clarify whether its reward system also includes a hedonic component. Neurochemical systems that mediate the ´wanting´ component of reward in the Drosophila brain are well documented, however, the systems that mediate the pleasure component of reward in mammals, including those involving the endogenous opioid and endocannabinoid systems, are unlikely to be present in insects. The mushroom body components exhibit differential developmental age and different functional processes. We propose a hypothetical hierarchy of the levels of reinforcement processing in response to particular stimuli, and the parallel processes that take place concurrently. The possible presence of activity-silencing and meta-satiety inducing levels in Drosophila should be further investigated.

Keywords: Reward systemDopamineEndogenous opioidsMushroom bodyDrosophila