Eating Vegetables Does Not Protect Against Heart Disease; BBC headline is 'Vegetables alone not enough to reduce heart risk, study finds'

Raw and Cooked Vegetable Consumption and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease: A Study of 400,000 Adults in UK Biobank. Qi Feng. Frontiers in Nutrition, Feb 21 2022. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2022.831470

Objectives: Higher levels of vegetable consumption have been associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), but the independent effect of raw and cooked vegetable consumption remains unclear.

Methods: From the UK Biobank cohort, 399,586 participants without prior CVD were included in the analysis. Raw and cooked vegetable intakes were measured with a validated dietary questionnaire at baseline. Multivariable Cox regression was used to estimate the associations between vegetable intake and CVD incidence and mortality, adjusted for socioeconomic status, health status, and lifestyle factors. The potential effect of residual confounding was assessed by calculating the percentage reduction in the likelihood ratio (LR) statistics after adjustment for the confounders.

Results: The mean age was 56 years and 55% were women. Mean intakes of raw and cooked vegetables were 2.3 and 2.8 tablespoons/day, respectively. During 12 years of follow-up, 18,052 major CVD events and 4,406 CVD deaths occurred. Raw vegetable intake was inversely associated with both CVD incidence (adjusted hazard ratio (HR) [95% CI] for the highest vs. lowest intake: 0.89 [0.83–0.95]) and CVD mortality (0.85 [0.74–0.97]), while cooked vegetable intake was not (1.00 [0.91–1.09] and 0.96 [0.80–1.13], respectively). Adjustment for potential confounders reduced the LR statistics for the associations of raw vegetables with CVD incidence and mortality by 82 and 87%, respectively.

Conclusions: Higher intakes of raw, but not cooked, vegetables were associated with lower CVD risk. Residual confounding is likely to account for much, if not all, of the observed associations. This study suggests the need to reappraise the evidence on the burden of CVD disease attributable to low vegetable intake in the high-income populations.

Press release: Eating Vegetables Does NOT Protect Against Heart Disease (scitechdaily.com)

Discussion

In this large prospective cohort study, total vegetable intake was associated with reduced risks of CVD incidence, CVD mortality, and all-cause mortality. When assessing the independent effect of raw and cooked vegetable intake, only raw vegetable intake showed inverse associations with CVD outcomes, whereas cooked vegetables showed no association. However, given the large reductions in the predictive values of total and raw vegetable intake after adjustment for socioeconomic and lifestyle factors, residual confounding is likely to account for much, if not all, of the remaining associations.

The modest inverse associations of total vegetable intake with CVD outcomes and all-cause mortality in our analyses are consistent with previous large-scale observational evidence. For example, a meta-analysis of 24 cohort studies estimated that high vegetable intake reduced all-cause mortality by about 13% (relative risk 0.87 [0.82–0.92]) (15). Previous systematic reviews showed total vegetable consumption was associated with a risk reduction in CVD incidence by 11 (15) to 18% (16), similar to the ~10% lower risk in this study. Our findings of the inverse association with MI are also in line with published meta-analyses with effect sizes ranging from 9 to 15% (15–17). Although previous studies have also demonstrated an association with a reduced risk of stroke (15–17), we did not find sufficient evidence for such an association.

In contrast to a large number of studies on total vegetable intake, there is limited evidence on the independent effect of raw and cooked vegetables on all-cause mortality. Aune et al. (15) conducted a meta-analysis that found cooked vegetable was associated with 13% (relative risk 0.87 [0.80–0.94]) lower risk of all-cause mortality, and raw vegetable was associated with 12% (relative risk 0.88 [0.79–0.98]) lower risk of mortality, although the analyses of raw and cooked vegetables were not mutually adjusted. Studies that have attempted to assess the independent effects of raw and cooked vegetable intakes on all-cause mortality have reported conflicting results. Our results are broadly consistent with the EPIC study (7), in which both raw vegetable intake and cooked vegetable intake were associated with reduced risk of all-cause mortality. By contrast, the PURE study (8) reported an inverse association with all-cause mortality for raw vegetable intake, but not for cooked vegetable intake, while an Australian cohort study (9) reported that only cooked vegetable intake was associated with lower overall mortality. The characteristics and main findings of these studies are summarized in Supplementary Table 10.

In this study, cooked vegetable intake and raw vegetable intake showed different associations with cardiovascular outcomes. We found inverse associations of raw vegetables with CVD incidence and mortality, but null associations with cooked vegetables. This is consistent with the MORGEN study, a Dutch cohort (18), in which raw, but not processed, vegetables were associated with a reduced risk of ischemic stroke. In the EPIC cohort (7), there was a stronger inverse association of CVD mortality with raw than cooked vegetables. Whereas the PURE study (8) found no evidence of an association of CVD and raw vegetable intake, and high intakes levels of cooked vegetable was positively associated with CVD incidence.

Previous studies that reported associations of higher levels of vegetable intake with lower risk of CVD have proposed various mechanisms by which these associations might be mediated. For example, it has been suggested that diets high in vegetables have, on average, fewer calories and replace foods that are high in fat, sodium, and glycemic load (15, 19). It has also been hypothesized that the lower risk might be mediated by micronutrients, namely, higher intake of vitamins, polyphenols, and antioxidant compounds (2, 5), which are required for regulating various biological processes, including anti-oxidation, anti-inflammation, lipid metabolism, and endothelial function (20). As for the different associations of raw and cooked vegetables observed in this and other studies, several possible mechanisms have been proposed in previous studies. First, it has been proposed that the kinds of vegetables that are usually consumed cooked (e.g., beans, peas, eggplant) may differ from those typically consumed raw (e.g., lettuce). Second, cooking processes can alter the digestibility of food as well as the bioavailability of nutrients (21). For example, Lee et al. found that vitamin C retention after cooking ranged from 0 to 91% for various combinations of cooking methods and vegetable, with higher retention after microwaving and lower retention after boiling (22). Third, the seasoning and oils used in cooking vegetables often increase intake of sodium and fat, which are known risk factors for CVD incidence and mortality (23, 24).

Despite these proposed mechanisms, this study indicates that observed associations of vegetable intakes with CVD risk and all-cause mortality are likely to be mostly accounted for by residual confounding. Studies using Mendelian randomization (which are less susceptible to confounding, and other biases of observational studies) might be particularly useful in reliably assessing the associations of diet on disease risk. For example, a recent Mendelian randomization study that used genetic determinants of plasma vitamin C concentration as a surrogate for vegetable intake reported a null association with ischemic heart disease (odds ratio 0.90 [0.75–1.08]) and all-cause mortality (odds ratio 0.88 [0.72–1.08]), despite strong inverse associations between vitamin C and these outcomes in observational analyses (25).

This study found the observed associations were mainly accounted for by socioeconomic status and lifestyle factors (26). Both the low socioeconomic status and major lifestyle factors, such as smoking and alcohol intake, are established risk factors for CVD, and there is strong evidence that the effect of socioeconomic status is partially mediated by the known lifestyle factors (27). For example, one study reported that an unhealthy lifestyle (including smoking, drinking, obesity, physical inactivity, and others) mediated 34–38% of the association between socioeconomic status and all-cause death (28). Therefore, given the complicated inter-relationship between socioeconomic status, lifestyle, and health outcomes, adjustment of measures of both socioeconomic status and lifestyle factors is likely to be important.

This study has some limitations. First, we did not measure intake of specific types of raw or cooked vegetables, nor were we able to account for differences in cooking methods. Second, vegetable intakes are self-reported in the baseline dietary questionnaire, although the validity and repeatability of the UK Biobank baseline dietary questionnaire have been evaluated and confirmed in previous studies (12). Third, we did not adjust for total calorie intake because such information was not available from the baseline dietary questionnaire, but we did adjusted for physical activity level and BMI, which has been shown as a valid method for isocaloric adjustment (29). Future studies should seek to address these limitations. However, such studies should also be aware of the importance of assessing reliably for residual confounding using similar methods to this report, or other approaches, such as Mendelian randomization.

Although this report does not find strong evidence of an association between higher vegetable intake and reduced risk of major CVD, the wider literature suggests that increasing vegetable intake is likely to reduce the risk of some other common diseases (4). As such, the public health recommendations on the benefits to health and the environment of a diet that is high in vegetable intake remain.

Women reported less sexual pleasure than men; for men, sex is almost invariably pleasurable

Sexual Pleasure Matters (Especially for Women) — Data from the German Sexuality and Health Survey (GeSiD). Verena Klein, Ellen Laan, Franziska Brunner & Peer Briken. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, Feb 19 2022. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13178-022-00694-y

Abstract

Introduction: Sexual pleasure has been a neglected issue in sexual health policies. Emerging trends in public health, however, emphasize the importance of sexual pleasure in preventing negative sexual health outcomes.

Methods: Using data from the German Sexuality and Health Survey (GeSiD), we tested the assumption that sexual pleasure is associated with sexual health, including a special focus on the role of gender. Participants were interviewed about their sexual experiences and health between October 2018 and September 2019. The analytical sample included 3472 partnered and single women and men who had been sexually active with a partner in the past 12 months. We examined if sexual pleasure was associated with various sexual health indicators (i.e., communication about sexually transmitted infections (STIs), condom use, and absence of sexual problems).

Results: Women reported less sexual pleasure than men. Results further indicate that sexual pleasure was associated with more sexual health indicators in women than in men.

Conclusions: Supporting emerging trends in public health our results emphasize the importance of sexual pleasure in preventing negative sexual health outcomes.

Policy Implications. To promote (especially women’s) sexual health, our results call for the implementation of comprehensive sexuality education programs that focus on more positive aspects of sex, such as sexual pleasure and agency.

Discussion

Research and sexual health policies have a long history of neglecting the role of sexual pleasure in preventing negative sexual outcomes (Ford et al., 2019). Our results point to the importance of sexual pleasure for sexual health — and even more pronounced for women. Aligning with the current public health discourse, sexual pleasure in our study was associated with making sexually healthy decisions (e.g., condom use, STI communication) and sexually satisfying experiences (e.g., oral sex engagement, absence of sexual problems, and orgasm frequency).

Although odds rations were overall small, sexual pleasure was associated with more sexual health indicators in women than in men. Ample evidence indicates that both women and men value men’s sexual pleasure more, and men are more likely to demand it during an encounter (McCabe et al., 2010; McClelland, 2011; Muehlenhard & Shippee, 2010). Globally speaking, men seem to have a better access to sexual pleasure and autonomy than women do (Hall, 2019; Higgins & Hirsch, 2007). Alingning with this assumption, in our study, men were more likely to report experiencing sexual pleasure than women. Based on those observed gender differences, it could be assumed that whereas men’s pleasure seems to be a “normal,” present condition, women’s sexual pleasure seems to be more often absent, an add-on, or at least less prioritized. That said, the results might not a function of pleasure being more important for women, but rather men’s scores lack variability (i.e., for men, sex is almost invariably pleasurable). This lower variability in scores might explain why sexual pleasure plays a more predictive role in women’s sexual health than in men’s.

Interestingly, pleasure had a greater influence on communication about STIs and condom use for partnered women than it did for single women. Public health research has emphasized that safer sex communication is interwoven with gendered power inequalities (Wingood & DiClemente, 2000). Women face more stigma when negotiating condom use (Peasant et al., 2015; Woolf & Maisto, 2008) as well as when expressing themselves in a sexually assertive manner (Klein et al., 2019). Women and men are especially likely to conform to traditional gender expectations surrounding sexual behavior (female submission vs. male dominance) in initial states of dating (Eaton & Rose, 2011). Sexual communication and safer sex negotiations, however, need some degree of assertiveness, which might undermine women’s conformity to gender norm expectations in the casual context. Nevertheless, the sample size of single women was small in the present study, what might explain the different role pleasure plays for single versus partnered women when it comes to communication about STIs and condom use.

Since our data are cross-sectional, all that is known is that sexual pleasure and the investigated sexual health indicators are associated. That said, it is possible that for instance being able to communicate about STI risk makes sex more pleasurable (by removing concerns about STIs etc.) or STI communication might be a good proxy for comfort with sexuality. There is also the possibility that sexual pleasure and safer sex practices may be linked via another third factor such as being comfortable with one’s sexuality. Moreover, we have focused on condom use as main safe-sex practice, which leaves out other safe-sex practices mostly practice by women who have sex with women such as dental dams and gloves. A closer examination of the interplay between sexual pleasure and sexual health among gender diverse samples would be an interesting venue for future research. Another limitation is that we have assessed some health behaviors such as condom use discussion retrospectively meaning that single and partnered people answered questions about different time periods. Consequently, we cannot exclude the possibility of recall biases. Although our cross-sectional, correlational study points to associations between sexual pleasure and sexual health behaviors, prospective studies that assess the influence of sexual pleasure on sexual risk and risk-reduction practices are warranted.

The present study included a large, representative sample with a balanced distribution of women and men; it is however important to keep in mind that our sample draws from Germany, a Western liberal country when it comes to sexual attitudes (i.e., acceptance of same-sex behavior, abortion, sex work; Klein & Brunner, 2018). Sexual pleasure has different meanings and varies in ascribed significance over different cultures (Hall & Graham, 2012), which limits the generalizability of our result to other cultural contexts. Societal and cultural judgements about sex, shame, and guilt have negative effects on both sexual pleasure and health (Hull, 2008).

Neuroticism and cardiovascular diseases are genetically related, and the genetic liability to neuroticism exerts causal effects on the heart

Zhang, F., Cao, H., & Baranova, A. (2022). Genetic variation mediating neuroticism’s influence on cardiovascular diseases. Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science. Feb 2022. https://doi.org/10.1037/abn0000744

Abstract: The personality of neuroticism is phenotypically associated with cardiovascular diseases (CVD), but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. We conducted Mendelian randomization analysis to investigate causal relationships between neuroticism and CVD (including coronary artery disease, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, stroke, and hypertensive disease) using summary results of genome-wide association studies for these traits. Our results show that although neuroticism has low or minimal correlations with CVD in general, there are substantial polygenic overlaps between neuroticism and CVD (20%∼97%). Mendelian randomization analysis indicates that genetic liability to neuroticism exerts causal effects on CVD, but not the reverse. A panel of pleiotropic genes is shared by neuroticism and CVD, pointing to the potential role of the SOX–WNT/β-catenin–T-cell-specific transcription factors/lymphoid enhancer factors pathway. Our study suggests that genetics may mediate the influence of neuroticism on CVD. The results shed light on mechanisms underlying phenotypic relationships between neuroticism and CVD and have implications for personalized prevention of CVD with the potential benefits of incorporating personality management into the treatment regimen.

Mental speed is high until age 60 as revealed by analysis of over a million participants; response time slowing begins as early as age 20, but this was attributable to increases in decision caution & to slower non-decisional processes

Mental speed is high until age 60 as revealed by analysis of over a million participants. Mischa von Krause, Stefan T. Radev & Andreas Voss. Nature Human Behaviour, Feb 17 2022. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-021-01282-7

Abstract: Response speeds in simple decision-making tasks begin to decline from early and middle adulthood. However, response times are not pure measures of mental speed but instead represent the sum of multiple processes. Here we apply a Bayesian diffusion model to extract interpretable cognitive components from raw response time data. We apply our model to cross-sectional data from 1.2 million participants to examine age differences in cognitive parameters. To efficiently parse this large dataset, we apply a Bayesian inference method for efficient parameter estimation using specialized neural networks. Our results indicate that response time slowing begins as early as age 20, but this slowing was attributable to increases in decision caution and to slower non-decisional processes, rather than to differences in mental speed. Slowing of mental speed was observed only after approximately age 60. Our research thus challenges widespread beliefs about the relationship between age and mental speed.

Low belief in human evolution associated with higher prejudice, racist attitudes (45 countries, diverse populations & religious settings, across time, nationally representative data); perceived similarity to animals partially mediated the link

Syropoulos, S., Lifshin, U., Greenberg, J., Horner, D. E., & Leidner, B. (2022). Bigotry and the human–animal divide: (Dis)belief in human evolution and bigoted attitudes across different cultures. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Feb 2022. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000391

Abstract: The current investigation tested if people’s basic belief in the notion that human beings have developed from other animals (i.e., belief in evolution) can predict human-to-human prejudice and intergroup hostility. Using data from the American General Social Survey and Pew Research Center (Studies 1–4), and from three online samples (Studies 5, 7, 8) we tested this hypothesis across 45 countries, in diverse populations and religious settings, across time, in nationally representative data (N = 60,703), and with more comprehensive measures in online crowdsourced data (N = 2,846). Supporting the hypothesis, low belief in human evolution was associated with higher levels of prejudice, racist attitudes, and support for discriminatory behaviors against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ), Blacks, and immigrants in the United States (Study 1), with higher ingroup biases, prejudicial attitudes toward outgroups, and less support for conflict resolution in samples collected from 19 Eastern European countries (Study 2), 25 Muslim countries (Study 3), and Israel (Study 4). Further, among Americans, lower belief in evolution was associated with greater prejudice and militaristic attitudes toward political outgroups (Study 5). Finally, perceived similarity to animals (a construct distinct from belief in evolution, Study 6) partially mediated the link between belief in evolution and prejudice (Studies 7 and 8), even when controlling for religious beliefs, political views, and other demographic variables, and were also observed for nondominant groups (i.e., religious and racial minorities). Overall, these findings highlight the importance of belief in human evolution as a potentially key individual-difference variable predicting racism and prejudice.

Disapproving evaluations in online discussions provoked negative emotions, and the evaluated authors were less willing to participate in the online discussion further

The Impact of Giving Feedback in Online Discussions: Effects of Evaluative Reply Comments on the Authors of Evaluated User Comments. Teresa K. Naab. Journal of Media Psychology: Theories, Methods, and Applications. Feb 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105/a000330

Abstract: In online discussions, users often evaluate comments from other users. On the basis of face theory, the present study analyzed the effects of evaluative replies on the evaluated comment authors. The investigation complements existing research, which has mainly focused on effects of comments on uninvolved readers. In the experimental study presented here, disapproving evaluations provoked negative and less positive emotions, and the evaluated authors were less willing to participate in the online discussion further. The authors’ perception of face threat mediated these effects. The results contribute to face theory in computer-mediated interactions and to our understanding of online discussions with dissonant standpoints.

Keywords: user comments, face theory, emotion, participation, experiment

Discussion

Applying face theory, this study conceptualized the face-threatening character of evaluative reply comments in online discussion and its impact on the authors who receive such feedback on their comments. It aimed at expanding existing research, which has mostly examined the effects of user comments on uninvolved readers.

The findings support that valenced reply comments (which are not substantiated by reasons) indeed affect the commenters who receive feedback. Comment authors recognize disapproving replies as more threatening to their positive face, that is, as less appreciating of their comment and person compared to mixed and approving replies. They also view disapproving replies as more threatening to their negative face, which means taking away their independence compared to mixed and approving replies. The valence of the evaluation explains a proper amount of variance in the perception of face threat (positive face threat: R 2 = .67, negative face threat: R 2 = .26). This supports research on face-to-face interactions, which indicates that evaluations are face-threatening acts (Brown & Levinson, 1987; Vangelisti, 1994; Zhang & Stafford, 2008).

It is an important finding that the concept of face applies to the computer-mediated context of comment sections. Compared with face-to-face interactions, participants in online discussions often interact with people they know little about. They have little status information, and power hierarchies can be lower (Dahlberg, 2001). Additionally, future interactions and the need for justifications are less likely for online discussants. However, online commenting is public and potentially reaches a broad audience; this seems to increase the desire for an advantageous self-image (Lim et al., 2012). While several communication studies have relied on face theory to understand the effects of computer-mediated communication on users (e.g., Chen & Lu, 2017), the present study is the first that tests the mediating role of both positive and negative face threat. Future studies should systematically investigate how various online settings affect the perception of face threats of evaluations, for example, by varying public availability and the relation between the conversation partners (Neubaum & Krämer, 2018).

Evaluative replies affect the emotions of the evaluated authors. Thus, a fundamental assumption in face theory applies to computer-mediated contexts. Although disapproving replies triggered both positive and negative face threats, the effect of evaluative replies on negative emotions was mediated only through negative face threats. This means it is not the contempt and disrespect of bad evaluations but their perceived imposition that provokes negative emotions. Since the tone in many comment sections is harsh, authors might not generally expect much appreciation. Consequently, a lack of positive face might not lower their emotional state. By contrast, a perceived invasion of their right to freely express their standpoint might be more provocative of negative feelings. This points to the phenomenon of reactance, which includes anger (a negative emotion) and is triggered by freedom threats (Rains, 2013). This is in line with the present finding that threats to negative face provoke a negative emotional state.

We gained a somewhat different picture of the influence of evaluative replies on positive emotions. Only a perceived threat to positive face decreased positive feelings. A surprising finding is that a higher threat to negative face triggered by disapproving replies increased positive emotions. It seems that perceived attacks against the freedom to comment as desired made the authors more alert and active. Future studies should examine the relationship between face threats and emotions in detail, for example, through manipulating various threats to negative face.

The results also call for testing the effects of evaluations on discrete emotions. The literature indicates that social media content can influence specific positive or negative emotions. Mostly, scholars have regarded discrete emotions such as anger, aversion, and anxiety (e.g., Gervais, 2015, 2017; Lu & Gall Myrick, 2016). In line with appraisal theories, studies also find that discrete emotions can exert different effects on social media behavior (e.g., Lu & Gall Myrick, 2016; Valentino et al., 2011). Therefore, empirical tests of the influence of different types of evaluations on discrete emotions, participation behavior, and the mediating role of perceived face threat are needed. Evaluating the relationship between negative face threat and anger seems particularly fruitful; imposition and limitation of one’s freedom lead to the perception of negative face threats. At the same time, when one’s goals are blocked, this can trigger anger (Carver & Harmon-Jones, 2009; on reactance, Rains, 2013). The unexpected finding of the present study, that higher negative face threat increased positive emotions, calls for a distinct analysis of the effects on enthusiasm.

Willingness to participate decreases with disapproving replies. Authors experiencing such sharp evaluation tend to withdraw from the online discussion compared to approving replies. This is in line with findings of deliberation research that disagreement undercuts willingness to prolong an interaction (McDevitt et al., 2003; Mutz, 2002; Wojcieszak & Price, 2012). Here, I found no direct effects, but the influence of the valence of the evaluation was mediated through perceived threat to positive face. The more depreciating that authors perceived the reply, the less they intended to continue participation. This also mirrors the avoidance strategy reported by face-negotiation theory (Oetzel et al., 2001), which considers that people end interactions to lower the risk of further face threats. The perception of negative face threat did not lower willingness to participate. This is interesting, on the one hand, because feedback-givers who attack the negative face might intend to exclude other commenters. However, such attempts do not seem fruitful. On the other hand, it is surprising because the assumption about reactance (Rains, 2013) would suggest that feedback-receivers would counterargue as a response to a threat to their negative face. We could speculate that attacks toward the negative face might strengthen the willingness to counter the threat for some participants, while for others, it might trigger the wish to avoid further face risks. Future studies should investigate the moderating influence of individual characteristics in more detail.

Positive emotions increased users’ willingness to continue participation in the discussion after receiving evaluative replies to their comments. This supports previous studies indicating that positive social media content increases engagement with the content (Berger & Milkman, 2012) and reinforces the behavior of enthusiastic users (Marcus et al., 2000). Interestingly, in contrast to several previous studies, negative emotions did not increase participation willingness. Several explanations could guide future research. The present study did not differentiate between distinct negative emotions. However, while anger could lead to combating one’s beliefs in the face of disagreement, anxiety could lead to enhanced elaboration and reasoning, which does not necessarily result in further comment posting (Lu & Gall Myrick, 2016). Additionally, the reply comments did not provide arguments for their negative or mixed evaluation. This might make it difficult for the evaluated authors to respond, and negative emotions might trigger processing about one’s ability and opinion instead of countering.

Unexpectedly, the reference of the evaluative reply did not influence any of the dependent variables. This might indicate a deficit of the stimulus material. The pretest suggested proper manipulation of the evaluations that were directed at the comment content and the author’s person. However, in the laboratory setting, participants know that feedback givers cannot access any information about them but their comments. Thus, the participants might have related even those evaluations only to their comments, which addressed them personally in their wording. There is strong evidence that more general criticism and ad hominem attacks are more detrimental. Thus, future studies need to investigate the effect of the reference of evaluations in more natural settings that allow interaction partners to differentiate more clearly between authors and their posts.

The study also adds to existing research on the effects of user replies because it is among the first that not only compared nonpositive evaluations (disapproving, mixed) but also approving evaluations. While disapproving and mixed replies did not cause different levels of positive emotions and of willingness to participate, approving replies actually led to more positive emotions and greater willingness to participate than the two nonpositive conditions. This suggests that user feedback that is not fully positive might have equal consequences to negative feedback eventually. However, this does not hold for the effects on perceived face threat and negative emotions. Here, the study pointed to differences in disapproving and mixed evaluations.

Limitations

The results should be interpreted only in light of several limitations. First, the study used a mock Facebook page and investigated self-reported reactions to reply comments in a hypothetical situation. This procedure aimed at increasing the internal validity of the results. However, it limits ecological validity because the participants did not engage in a personalized social network site of their choice. They were also limited to one of two topics chosen by the researcher.

Additionally, the study considered only valenced replies, and the manipulated replies comprised merely three (quite extreme) types of evaluations. Future studies need to consider the effects of evaluations that come with justifications and differentiate more nuanced assessments. For example, the present study is not able to differentiate between civil and uncivil disapproving evaluations.

Despite the broad recruitment, the sample was not representative of German Facebook users. Primarily, the respondents had a higher level of education than the actual Facebook user community. Although interest in online discussions is greater among well-educated users (Hölig & Hasebrink, 2015), it would be rash to generalize the findings. Future research should examine the moderating influence of education on the perceived face threat of different types of evaluations in online communication. In face-to-face encounters, the education level of the interactants may affect the implicit hierarchies between discussion partners. By contrast, anonymous online settings provide the chance of more equal participation (Dahlberg, 2001). As power distance is a determinant of face threats (Brown & Levinson, 1987), the effects of the education level are worthy of being tested and can advance face theory. Educational level does not seem to influence the perception of uncivil online content (Kenski et al., 2020). However, it can influence conflict behavior (Bobo & Licari, 1989). Thus, an empirical test of the moderating role on future participation behavior is needed.

MicroRNAs are deeply linked to the emergence of the complex octopus brain and the cognitive success of this group

MicroRNAs are deeply linked to the emergence of the complex octopus brain. Grygoriy Zolotarov et al. bioRxiv Feb 16 2022. https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.02.15.480520

Abstract: Soft-bodied cephalopods such as the octopus are exceptionally intelligent invertebrates with a highly complex nervous system that evolved independently from vertebrates. Because of elevated RNA editing in their nervous tissues, we hypothesized that RNA regulation may play a major role in the cognitive success of this group. We thus profiled mRNAs and small RNAs in 18 tissues of the common octopus. We show that the major RNA innovation of soft-bodied cephalopods is a massive expansion of the miRNA gene repertoire. These novel miRNAs were primarily expressed in neuronal tissues, during development, and had conserved and thus likely functional target sites. The only comparable miRNA expansions happened, strikingly, in vertebrates. Thus, we propose that miRNAs are intimately linked to the evolution of complex animal brains.

Victimless Bodily Pleasures (like gluttony, laziness, drinking, or masturbation) Are Moralized Because They Are Perceived as Reducing Self-control and Cooperativeness and as facilitating antisocial behaviors

Fitouchi, Léo, Jean-Baptiste André, Nicolas Baumard, and Daniel Nettle. 2022. “Harmless Bodily Pleasures Are Moralized Because They Are Perceived as Reducing Self-control and Cooperativeness.” PsyArXiv. February 18. doi:10.31234/osf.io/fzv43

Abstract: Why do some people moralize overindulgence in inherently victimless bodily pleasures, such as gluttony, masturbation, drinking, or laziness, when these behaviors appear devoid of any harmful consequences to other people? We test the hypothesis that these moral judgements stem from perceptions that overindulgence alters people’s self-control, thus making them more likely to cheat in cooperative interactions. In an online experiment on 400 American adults, participants judged that a target who was caused to increase his indulgence in bodily pleasures would reduce his self-control and disposition to cooperate. Participants judged, by contrast, that sustained restraint from bodily pleasures over several months would improve a target’s self-control and disposition to cooperate. The effect of indulgence (vs. restraint) on perceived change in cooperativeness was fully mediated by perceived change in self-control. This supports the idea that bodily pleasures are perceived as increasing people’s propensity to cheat because they are perceived as reducing their self-control, which is perceived necessary for cooperative behavior. Finally, the more people perceived indulgence as reducing self-control and cooperativeness, the more they regarded indulgence in victimless bodily pleasures as morally wrong (e.g., masturbation, gluttony, harmless drinking and laziness). These results provide preliminary support for the Moral disciplining theory of puritanism, according to which, although inherently harmless, bodily pleasures are condemned as indirectly facilitating antisocial behaviors through their perceived effect on self-control.

21 countries: Antipathy towards the unvaccinated is larger in countries that suffered fewer COVID-19 deaths and that have higher social trust; found no evidence that unvaccinated respondents display antipathy towards vaccinated people

Bor, Alexander, Frederik J. Jørgensen, and Michael Bang Petersen. 2022. “Prejudice Against the Vaccinated and the Unvaccinated During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Global Conjoint Experiment.” PsyArXiv. February 18. doi:10.31234/osf.io/t2g45

Abstract: Despite early hope that vaccines may end the COVID-19 pandemic, large unvaccinated minorities persist even in countries with high vaccine access. Consequently, public debates and protests have been intensifying over the issue of vaccination. Here, we ask whether people's status as either vaccinated or unvaccinated has come to reflect a socio-political cleavage that spills over even to interactions between people in everyday life. Using a standard measure of exclusionary reactions in family relationships, we quantify the antipathy between vaccinated and unvaccinated citizens in 21 countries (10,740 respondents), representative of 58\% of the world's population. Using conjoint experimental data, we demonstrate that vaccinated people have high antipathy towards the unvaccinated, 2.5 times more than towards a traditional target: immigrants from the Middle East. This antipathy reflects, in part, stereotypic inferences that unvaccinated individuals are untrustworthy and unintelligent, making the antipathy resemble prejudice towards other deviant groups. Antipathy towards the unvaccinated is larger in countries that suffered fewer COVID-19 deaths and that have higher social trust. In contrast, we find no evidence that unvaccinated respondents display antipathy towards vaccinated people, although they are equally prejudiced against immigrants. While previous research recommends framing vaccination as a moral obligation in order to increase uptake, our research documents the costs of this strategy. Whether understandable or not, the antipathy faced by the unvaccinated may exacerbate marginalization and mistrust, which are core causes of their initial vaccine hesitancy, and further entrench the conflict. The novel socio-political cleavage we document may thus be an indication that societies worldwide will leave the pandemic more divided than they entered it.

Our study provides the first evidence that facial masculinity in men is an honest signal of men’s aggressive capacity and intent within same-sex contests

Caton, Neil R., Amy Zhao, David M. G. Lewis, and Barnaby Dixson. 2022. “Facial Masculinity Predicts Men’s Actual and Perceived Aggressiveness.” PsyArXiv. February 18. doi:10.31234/osf.io/qejga

Abstract: Status obtained via dominance is a phylogenetically ancient feature of human social systems. Yet empirical evidence that men’s secondary sexual traits reliably predict success in intra-sexual contests has been hard to demonstrate. The present work provides the first test of whether masculine craniofacial structures in men predicts aggressiveness in contest competition and whether people accurately assess such aggressiveness from masculine facial cues. After placing 32,447 facial landmarks on the facial stimuli of 457 male fighters, multivariate geometric morphometric analyses extracted 142 distinct facial metrics and revealed that men with better developed masculine facial traits (e.g., large jaw, large browridge, deep-set eyes) attempted more strikes and successfully struck their opponents, including targeting the face. When rating the facial stimuli of these male fighters, participants (N = 500) used men’s masculine facial traits to accurately predict these same components of aggressiveness, including targeting the face. These findings remained robust after accounting for the fighter’s age, total fights, weight division, height, fight duration, and their opponent’s striking frequency. Our findings provide the first evidence that humans accurately forecast men’s agonistic behavior from variation in facial morphology, suggesting perceptual systems have evolved to perceive physical formidability among contemporaries and competitors.

Behavioral consistency in the digital age: The activity profile of our smartphones reveals a lot about us

Behavioral Consistency in the Digital Age. Heather Shaw et al. Psychological Science, February 17, https://doi.org/10.1177/09567976211040491

Abstract: Efforts to infer personality from digital footprints have focused on behavioral stability at the trait level without considering situational dependency. We repeated a classic study of intraindividual consistency with secondary data (five data sets) containing 28,692 days of smartphone usage from 780 people. Using per-app measures of pickup frequency and usage duration, we found that profiles of daily smartphone usage were significantly more consistent when taken from the same user than from different users (d > 1.46). Random-forest models trained on 6 days of behavior identified each of the 780 users in test data with 35.8% accuracy for pickup frequency and 38.5% accuracy for duration frequency. This increased to 73.5% and 75.3%, respectively, when success was taken as the user appearing in the top 10 predictions (i.e., top 1%). Thus, situation-dependent stability in behavior is present in our digital lives, and its uniqueness provides both opportunities and risks to privacy.

Keywords: behavioral consistency, personality, digital footprint, intraindividual, open data, preregistered

Discussion

It has been almost five decades since Mischel (1973) outlined an interactionist conception of behavioral dispositions, yet most evidence for the theory comes from observations of off-line interactions. Here, we considered consistency in digital behaviors, through studying the variation of engagement (a behavior) across several nominal situations (apps), collected unobtrusively every second across several days. We found that smartphone users have unique patterns of behaviors for 21 different apps and the cues they present to the user. These usage profiles showed a degree of intraindividual consistency over repeated daily observations that was far greater than equivalent interindividual comparisons (e.g., a person consistently uses Facebook the most and Calculator the least every day). This was true for the daily duration of app use but also the simpler measure of daily app pickups—how many times you open each app per day. It was also true for profiles derived from individual days and profiles aggregated across multiple days. Therefore, by adopting an interactionist approach in personality research, we can predict a person’s future behavior from digital traces while mapping the unique characteristics of a particular individual. Research indicates that people spend on average 4 hr per day on their smartphone and pick up their smartphone on average 85 times per day (Ellis et al., 2019). It is important that theories can adapt to the way people behave presently in digital environments.

It may be considered a limitation that when examining if-then statements, we did not examine within-app behaviors (e.g., posts and comments) that result from experiencing the active ingredients of a particular digital situation. In future studies, researchers may wish to explore data that can be retrieved from different apps that share similar behaviors (e.g., posts across different social media sites). Instead, we examined the cross-situational engagement (a behavior) with each app (situation), which is a comparatively simple digital trace that can be collected easily and unobtrusively, to demonstrate that this alone has within-user consistency.

Consequently, the extent to which our daily smartphone use could act as a digital fingerprint, sufficient to betray our privacy in anonymized data or across devices (e.g., personal phone vs. work phone), is an increasing ethical concern. Our study adds value to the existing literature by illustrating how engagement with apps alone shows within-user consistency that can identify an individual. We modeled users’ unique behaviors by training random forests and then used their exported predictions to assign them to a top-10 candidate pool in separate data with 75.25% accuracy. Thus, an app that is granted access to a smartphone’s standard activity logging could render a reasonable prediction about a user’s identity even when they are logged out of their account. Similarly, if an app receives usage data from several third-party apps, our findings show that this can be used to profile a user and provide a signature that is separate from the device ID or username. So, for example, a law enforcement investigation to identify a criminal’s new phone from knowledge of their historic phone use could reduce a candidate pool of approximately 1,000 phones to 10 phones, with a 25% risk of missing them.

Pertinently, this identification is possible with no monitoring of the conversations or behaviors within the apps themselves and without triangulation of other data, such as geo-location. Perhaps this should come as no surprise. It is consistent with other research that shows how simple metadata can be used to make inferences about a particular user, such as assessing their personality from the smartphone operating system used (Shaw et al., 2016) and determining their home location from sparse call logs (Mayer et al., 2016), as well as identifying a particular user from installed apps (Tu et al., 2018). Given that many websites and apps collect these metadata from their users, it is important to acknowledge that usage alone can be sufficient to identify a user. It underscores the need for researchers collecting digital-trace data to ensure that usage profiles cannot be reverse engineered to determine participants’ identities, particularly if data are to be shared widely. Thus, context-dependent intraindividual stability in behavior extends into our digital lives, and its uniqueness affords both opportunities and risks.

Self-identified incels are resistant to seeking or accepting mental health treatment, often because they perceive that practitioners will blame them for their inceldom, rather than societal forces such as 'lookism'

Self-reported psychiatric disorder and perceived psychological symptom rates among involuntary celibates (incels) and their perceptions of mental health treatment. Anne Speckhard & Molly Ellenberg. Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression, Feb 16 2022. https://doi.org/10.1080/19434472.2022.2029933

Abstract: This study explores the prevalence of self-reported formal diagnoses and informally identified symptoms of psychological challenges among involuntary celibates (incels). Incels are increasingly becoming a topic of research, primarily focused on their potential for violence. However, there has not been a large study of the mental health antecedents to and results of inceldom, nor has there been extensive investigation of potential psychosocial interventions for incels. This study of 272 self-identified incels found a higher self-reported prevalence of formal psychological diagnoses than in the general population. Some diagnoses and associated symptoms, like depression and anxiety, may be the result of repeated rejection by potential partners, but others, namely autism spectrum disorder, are antecedent to inceldom and may actually contribute to an individual’s difficulties in establishing sexual and romantic relationships. Despite the high self-reported prevalence of these psychosocial challenges, this study found that self-identified incels are resistant to seeking or accepting mental health treatment, often because they perceive that practitioners will blame them for their inceldom, rather than societal forces such as ‘lookism.’ The results indicate that online forums may be effective mediums for providing or advertising non-judgmental mental health treatment and exploring creative ways of helping incels achieve a better quality of life.

Keywords: Incelmen’s mental healthonline interventionsresistance to mental health treatment

In couples: Largely divergent patterns of emotional expression that predict the long-term symptoms of psychopathology of men and women

Weber, D. M., Fischer, M. S., Baucom, D. H., Baucom, B. R. W., Engl, J., Thurmaier, F., Wojda, A. K., Carrino, E. A., & Hahlweg, K. (2022). For better or worse: Associations among psychopathology symptoms, interpersonal emotion dynamics, and gender in couples. Journal of Family Psychology, 36(2), 246–257. Feb 2022. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000881

Communication has long been associated with the well-being of a couple’s relationship, and it is also important to explore associations with individual well-being. This study examined the associations between emotions communicated within couple interactions and each partner’s psychopathology symptoms concurrently and up to 3 years later. Vocally-encoded emotional arousal (f₀) was measured during couples’ (N = 56) conversations. Analyses examined each partner’s trajectories of f₀ and how each partner influenced the other’s f₀ across the conversation. The findings indicated that women experienced higher symptoms if they (a) decreased more steeply in f₀ overall and (b) returned to their baseline in f₀ more quickly. Moreover, women had higher symptoms if they had a steeper return to baseline because of men’s elevated f₀. In contrast, men experienced higher symptoms when men (a) more slowly returned to baseline and (b) changed their f₀ trajectory because of women’s elevated f₀. That is, women who expressed less emotional arousal, independently and as a result of the influence of their male partner, experienced more symptoms. In contrast, men’s symptoms were differentially associated with their own independent experience of emotional arousal (in which he experienced fewer symptoms when changing arousal more quickly) from how they responded to women’s arousal. Given how differently men’s and women’s psychopathology were associated with emotional expression, these findings raise questions about how partners can communicate to protect their own and their partner’s mental health in the short- and long-term. 

Ocean acidification effect on fish: The vast majority of large effect studies tend to be characterized by low sample sizes, yet are published in high-impact journals & have a disproportionate influence on the field in terms of citations

Meta-analysis reveals an extreme “decline effect” in the impacts of ocean acidification on fish behavior. Jeff C. Clements, Josefin Sundin, Timothy D. Clark, Fredrik Jutfelt. PLoS Biology, February 3, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001511

Abstract: Ocean acidification—decreasing oceanic pH resulting from the uptake of excess atmospheric CO2—has the potential to affect marine life in the future. Among the possible consequences, a series of studies on coral reef fish suggested that the direct effects of acidification on fish behavior may be extreme and have broad ecological ramifications. Recent studies documenting a lack of effect of experimental ocean acidification on fish behavior, however, call this prediction into question. Indeed, the phenomenon of decreasing effect sizes over time is not uncommon and is typically referred to as the “decline effect.” Here, we explore the consistency and robustness of scientific evidence over the past decade regarding direct effects of ocean acidification on fish behavior. Using a systematic review and meta-analysis of 91 studies empirically testing effects of ocean acidification on fish behavior, we provide quantitative evidence that the research to date on this topic is characterized by a decline effect, where large effects in initial studies have all but disappeared in subsequent studies over a decade. The decline effect in this field cannot be explained by 3 likely biological explanations, including increasing proportions of studies examining (1) cold-water species; (2) nonolfactory-associated behaviors; and (3) nonlarval life stages. Furthermore, the vast majority of studies with large effect sizes in this field tend to be characterized by low sample sizes, yet are published in high-impact journals and have a disproportionate influence on the field in terms of citations. We contend that ocean acidification has a negligible direct impact on fish behavior, and we advocate for improved approaches to minimize the potential for a decline effect in future avenues of research.

About one in three extremists reported being absolutely (i.e., 100%) certain of the correctness of their political beliefs, whereas about one in 15 non-extremists reported being absolutely certain

Absolute Certainty and Political Ideology: A Systematic Test of Curvilinearity. Thomas H. Costello, Shauna M. Bowes. Social Psychological and Personality Science, February 15, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1177/19485506211070410

Abstract: The present investigation examined curvilinear relations between political ideology, on the one hand, and absolute certainty and dogmatism, on the other, across six online samples (N = 2,889). Ideological extremists were more likely than others to be absolutely certain: About one in three extremists reported being absolutely (i.e., 100%) certain of the correctness of their political beliefs, whereas about one in 15 non-extremists reported being absolutely certain. Although absolute political certainty was relatively symmetrical across the political left and right, conservatives tended to report greater domain-general dogmatism than liberals. Extremism effects for domain-general dogmatism were also present, however; and ideological asymmetries in dogmatism appeared to be driven by social, rather than economic, ideology. Taken together, these findings underscore the complexity of relations between absolute certainty, dogmatism, and ideology, ultimately challenging the sufficiency of contemporary psychological accounts of ideological (a)symmetries to describe our complex political reality.

Keywords: dogmatism, extremism, certainty, political psychology, rigidity-of-the-right

On average, women’s experiences of sex are of substantially lower quality than men’s

Women Get Worse Sex: A Confound in the Explanation of Gender Differences in Sexuality. Terri D. Conley, Verena Klein. Perspectives on Psychological Science, Feb 16, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1177/17456916211041598

Abstract: Gender differences in sexuality have gained considerable attention both within and outside of the scientific community. We argue that one of the main unacknowledged reasons for these differences is simply that women experience substantially worse sex than men do. Thus, in examinations of the etiology of gender differences in sexuality, a confound has largely been unacknowledged: Women and men are treated to different experiences of what is called “sexuality” and “having sex.” We discuss four arenas in which women’s experience of sexuality may often be worse than men’s: (a) anatomical differences, (b) sexual violence, (c) stigma, and (d) masculine cultures of sexuality. Then we consider how each disparity might explain well-known gender differences in sexuality.

Keywords: gender differences, sexuality, stigma, inequality