Protective Role of the Internet in Depression for Europeans Aged 50+ Living Alone

The Protective Role of the Internet in Depression for Europeans Aged 50+ Living Alone. Patrícia Silva, Alice Delerue Matos, Roberto Martinez-Pecino. Social Media + Society, March 18, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051221077675

Abstract: Depression is a significant and limiting health problem, and living alone has been identified as an essential determinant of depressive symptoms in middle-aged and older adults. This study looks at this relationship by introducing a new factor into the equation—the Internet—which has become increasingly relevant for communication and interaction. It aims to assess to what extent the use of the Internet can mitigate the association between living alone and depression in middle-aged and older adults. This study focuses on a sample of 64,260 individuals aged 50+ who are resident in Portugal, Greece, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Luxemburg, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Estonia, and Croatia and were surveyed in the context of the SHARE project (Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe), Wave 6. The results showed that living alone relates to greater odds of depression. Nevertheless, of particular relevance is that they also evidenced that the Internet has a moderating role on this relationship, revealing a protective role, since Europeans aged 50+ who live alone and are Internet users are less likely to experience depression than other older adults. The findings reinforce the importance of policies aimed at digital inclusion to benefit the mental health of older adults who live alone in Europe.

Keywords: depression, living alone, Internet, 50+ individuals, Europe

Discussion

The main goal of this study was to analyze, with a large sample, the moderating role of the Internet in the relationship between living alone and depression in Europe, after having controlled for the influence of the characteristics of the individuals frequently associated with depression.

In this research, by the previous literature, living alone positively relates to depression (Das Gupta et al., 2020; Djernes, 2006; Gyasi et al., 2020; Hu et al., 2012; D. Russell & Taylor, 2009; Stahl et al., 2017). However, Internet use by adults aged 50+ years is related to fewer depressive symptoms in Europe. This corroborates the results of previous studies (Cotten et al., 2014; Wang et al., 2019) and may reinforce the potential importance of the Internet as a means of communication (Antonucci et al., 2017; Martinez-Pecino et al., 2013; Román-García et al., 2016; C. Russell et al., 2008).

The main result of this study is that the Internet moderates the relationship between living alone and depression; that is, adults who live alone and use the Internet are less likely to experience depression than other middle-aged and older adults, confirming our hypothesis. Considering the increasing number of older adults living alone in the current society (Mudrazija et al., 2020; Reher & Requena, 2018), the result is relevant since the study focuses on a large sample and controls for variables that have traditionally been associated with depression.

One possible explanation for this outcome is that the Internet can constitute a crucial means of communication (Antonucci et al., 2017; Martinez-Pecino et al., 2011; Reis et al., 2021) with social networks of older persons living alone, which are very important for their well-being (Djundeva et al., 2019; Gyasi et al., 2020). As stated by Papacharissi (2015), all media foster communication. Thus, our results align with recent studies that suggest that, although adults living alone have less interaction with their family, through online communication, they can communicate like people who live with their family (Nakagomi et al., 2022). In this sense, the Internet can prevent depression by increasing social contact (Nakagomi et al., 2022). Furthermore, according to Szabo et al. (2019), contact with family and friends through the Internet helps older adults to maintain their sense of belonging, increase social engagement and receive social support, which can be especially important when family members are geographically distant (Szabo et al., 2019). Thus, this study also supports the literature that indicates that social media are essential for activating, strengthening, or maintaining ties (Haythornthwaite, 2002, 2005), even in contexts where older adults reside alone. It also complements the literature that states that social media are essential resources for older adults’ mental health (Bonsaksen et al., 2021; Forsman & Nordmyr, 2017).

This study also observed the influence of the traditional determinants associated with depression, controlled in the analyses. Thus, we could observe that in Europe, as underlined in the research literature, depression is influenced by a set of sociodemographic, economic, and health characteristics. In fact, as in other studies, increasing age (Weyerer et al., 2013) and being female (Calvó-Perxas et al., 2016; Conde-Sala et al., 2019; Ylli et al., 2016; Zunzunegui et al., 2007) are positively related to depression. However, increased education reduces the chances of depressive symptoms, which also corroborates the results of other studies (Calvó-Perxas et al., 2016; Kok et al., 2012; Portellano-Ortiz et al., 2018; Ylli et al., 2016). Depression has also been associated with financial difficulties (Calvó-Perxas et al., 2016; Conde-Sala et al., 2019; Portellano-Ortiz et al., 2018; Ylli et al., 2016) and increased chronic diseases and functional limitations (Calvó-Perxas et al., 2016; Conde-Sala et al., 2019; Djernes, 2006; Huang et al., 2010; Portellano-Ortiz et al., 2018; Weyerer et al., 2013; Ylli et al., 2016).

Our results reinforce the possibility that Internet use may decrease the effect of social inequalities concerning depression in older adults (Mu et al., 2021). This is in line with research that has concluded that socio-economic characteristics contribute to disparities in depression at an older age. Using this technology can decrease this disparity, contributing to the mental health of middle-aged and older individuals (Mu et al., 2021).

This study has several limitations. The main one is that a single item was used to measure overall Internet use. Nevertheless, a yes/no response to whether someone regularly uses the Internet has frequently been used to assess Internet use by seniors (Cotten et al., 2012, 2014; Hogeboom et al., 2010; König & Seifert, 2020; König et al., 2018; Silva et al., 2017). Nonetheless, considering that the impact of the Internet in the social sphere depends on the type of activities conducted online (Chen, 2013; Hampton et al., 2009; Zhao, 2006), future studies need to consider the impact that different uses of the Internet may have on depression. It is also important to remember that Wave 6 of the SHARE project was collected in 2015. SHARE Wave 7 was dedicated to life stories, and data collection of Wave 8 was interrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since there is still evidence worldwide about the existence of a high percentage of older people who do not use the Internet (König et al., 2018; Silva et al., 2017) also of those who live alone (Mudrazija et al., 2020; Reher & Requena, 2018) and those who suffer depression (Castro-Costa et al., 2007; Conde-Sala et al., 2019), the findings of this study are entirely relevant to today’s society. Also, these issues are gaining increasing relevance in the current era marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, where recommendations for self-isolation emerge (García-Portilla et al., 2021). Since seniors are considered high risk under COVID-19, and their deaths are more common, they can accumulate stress and fear (Hui et al., 2020). The COVID-19 outbreak and associated physical distancing measures altered the social world for most older adults, but people who live alone may have been disproportionately affected (Fingerman et al., 2021). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, social isolation of the older population has intensified mental health concerns about anxiety, depression (García-Portilla et al., 2021; Sepúlveda-Loyola et al., 2020; WHO, 2020), and even suicides (Rana, 2020; Sher, 2020). As noticed by some authors, the outbreak of COVID-19 will have a long-term and profound impact on older adults’ health (Wu, 2020). Thus, attention should be paid to adults who may struggle to maintain social contacts in light of physical distancing guidelines and overcome the challenges brought by this complex environment. The outcomes of this study precisely show the need to promote Internet use to face depression among older adults living alone.

Despite the above limitations, this study contributes to the open debate about the relation between Internet use and mental health where literature shows unclear outcomes and mixed evidence of the connection between the use of the Internet, well-being, and depression (Barbosa Neves et al., 2019; Hülür & Macdonald, 2020; P. Nie et al., 2017; Quintana et al., 2018; Sum et al., 2008). Studies are often criticized due to small samples and lack of consistency in measurement, and the need to control for co-variables (Cotten et al., 2012; Hargittai et al., 2019; Hülür & Macdonald, 2020; Meshi et al., 2020). In this regard, we contribute with a large sample of 64,260 individuals of different European countries and controlling for the influence of co-variables, frequently associated with depression, to evidence the moderating role of the Internet in the relationship between living alone and depression in middle-aged and older adults, and show the importance of this technology in preventing and combating depression in those who live alone. Thus, this study has important implications for a society with an increasing number of older people who live alone. It points to the need to develop policies that address the e-inclusion of these individuals to improve their mental health.

False-Positive Social Psychology: How Deviations from Preregistrations Affect False-Positive Significance Rates

False-Positive Social Psychology: How Deviations from Preregistrations Affect False-Positive Significance Rates. Terry Cheng, Honors Thesis, UCSB, Mar 14 2022. https://osf.io/2fwz6

Abstract: Numerous solutions have been proposed to address the replication crisis, in which numerous high-profile empirical research studies cannot be replicated by other research teams. One possible explanation is that researchers have the option to adjust their data analyses after viewing the results, inflating false positive rates. One popular solution is study preregistration, the prac-tice of developing the data analysis plan before the data is collected. However, preregistrations only alleviate replication problems if researchers are held accountable to their analysis plans. Across two related studies, we explore the effectiveness of preregistration in its current form. In Study 1, we audit recent preregistered publications from a major psychology journal and observe deviations in 19 of 32 papers. In Study 2, we simulate the effects of generic deviations on the false-positive rate. We find that deviations that run more or more varied tests cause larger changes, tripling the false-positive rate in the most extreme case. We note that auditing preregistrations requires an inconsistent amount of time depending on their length and format, which we suspect contributes to the enforcement issues we observe. We suggest that researchers and journals alike adopt the asPredicted.org template for preregistrations.

Gender threats (vs. assurances) led to emotionality in men (but not women); masculinity threats led to more public discomfort, anger, guilt, & shame & these effects are specific to gender threats, as opposed to being broader social identity threats

The affective consequences of threats to masculinity. Theresa K. Vescio et al. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Volume 97, November 2021, 104195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2021.104195 

Highlights

• Gender threats (vs. assurances) led to emotionality in men (but not women).

• Masculinity threats led to more public discomfort, anger, guilt, and shame and these effects are specific to gender threats, as opposed to being broader social identity threats.

• Men reported less empathy after a social identity threat (versus assurance), both when gender was threatened and generational status was threatened.

Abstract: Three experiments (N = 1083) explored whether masculinity threats (vs. assurances) led to emotions that have been linked to well-being, social connection, and the expression of aggression, including (a) increases in feelings of shame and guilt (Experiment 1) and (b) decreases in perspective-taking and empathy (Experiment 2). In addition, we explored whether masculinity assurances (vs. threats) had a positive effect on men's feelings of pride. To determine whether the affective responses to masculinity threats were unique to gender identity, we replicated the findings in comparison to a second social identity threat (Experiment 3). Consistent with predictions, and replicating prior work, men but not women expressed more public discomfort and anger following a gender threat (vs. assurance), as well as more shame and guilt when their masculinity was threatened than when their masculinity was assured (Experiment 2). Importantly, these affective responses were unique to men experiencing gender threats (Experiment 3). Interestingly, consistent with empathy avoidance predictions, when threatened, men reported lower dispositional levels of other focused empathy (Experiment 2), but these effects were not specific to gender threats (Experiment 3). Findings revealed empathy reductions, but not diminished reports of perspective taking, in threat conditions. No consistent evidence of effects of gender feedback on men's pride (authentic or hubristic) emerged. The implications of findings are discussed.

Keywords: MasculinityGender-threatEmpathyShameGuiltSocial-identity

Homeownership is associated with a lower suicide risk for middle-aged populations, more specifically for married men, unpartnered women, and individuals living without children

Do tenants suffer from status syndrome? Homeownership, norms, and suicide in Belgium. Joan Damiens, Christine Schnor. Demographic Research, vol 46, article 16, pp 453–502, Mar 2022. https://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol46/16

Abstract

Background: Death by suicide is particularly high for the middle-aged and for single and/or childless individuals. At the same time, the risk of suicide is higher for tenants than for homeowners. The literature linking housing tenure and suicide according to age, gender, and family configuration is scarce.

Objective: This study examines the varying association between housing tenure and suicide risk according to sex, age (for adults), and household composition.

Methods: We used data from Belgium’s National Register linked to 2001 census data and death certificates. We conducted multinomial logit regression to estimate the mortality relative risk ratios by suicide and by other causes in the population aged 25 to 69 years in 2002, separately by sex.

Results: We find that homeownership was negatively associated with suicide risk for both men and women, before and after controlling for age, housing quality, and demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Interacting age and housing tenure, we find that renting is associated with a higher risk of suicide among adults in their 40s and 50s, but not among younger and older adults. Among marital and parental statuses, married men and single women with no children at home present a higher risk of suicide in mid-life when renting, compared to owning.

Conclusions: Homeownership is associated with a lower suicide risk for middle-aged populations, more specifically for married men, unpartnered women, and individuals living without children.

Contribution: Our research provides a better understanding of the role of gender and family norms in the association between housing tenure and suicide mortality.

Keywords: housing tenure, inequalities, life course, mental health, mortality, social norms, socioeconomic disparity, suicide

Multiple pathways to paternal care in primates: The case studies we have presented here challenge the assumption that male parental care & extended breeding bonds are strictly limited to species that live in pairs or form cooperatively breeding groups

Pathways to paternal care in primates. Stacy Rosenbaum, Joan B. Silk. Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews, March 15 2022. https://doi.org/10.1002/evan.21942

Abstract: Natural selection will favor male care when males have limited alternative mating opportunities, can invest in their own offspring, and when care enhances males' fitness. These conditions are easiest to fulfill in pair-bonded species, but neither male care nor stable “breeding bonds” that facilitate it are limited to pair-bonded species. We review evidence of paternal care and extended breeding bonds in owl monkeys, baboons, Assamese macaques, mountain gorillas, and chimpanzees. The data, which span social/mating systems and ecologies, suggest that there are multiple pathways by which conditions conducive to male care can arise. This diversity highlights the difficulty of making inferences about the emergence of male care in early hominins based on single traits visible in the fossil record. We discuss what types of data are most needed and the questions yet to be answered about the evolution of male care and extended breeding bonds in the primate order.

Genetic variation in a bitter taste receptor gene alter early smoking behaviors in adolescents and young adults

Does genetic variation in a bitter taste receptor gene alter early smoking behaviors in adolescents and young adults? Alaa Alsaafin et al. Addiction, March 16 2022. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.15871

Abstract

Background and aims: Variation in the TAS2R38 taste receptor gene alters the ability to taste bitter compounds. We tested whether TAS2R38 variation influences early smoking behaviors in adolescence, a critical period of acquisition when taste may influence the natural course of tobacco use.

Design and participants: Observational study (Nicotine Dependence in Teens (NDIT)). Cox proportional hazards models were conducted using data from European ancestry adolescent participants who initiated smoking during follow-up (n=219, i.e., incident smokers). In young adulthood, cross-sectional analyses were restricted to self-reported European ancestry current smokers at age 24 (n=148).

Setting: Montreal, Canada.

Measurements: In adolescents, the rates of attaining early smoking milestones were estimated for tasters {PAV diplotypes (i.e., PAV/PAV or PAV/AVI)} versus non-tasters {AVI diplotype (i.e., AVI/AVI)}. In young adults, associations between tasting status and a nicotine intake biomarker (cotinine + 3’hydroxycotinine) and past-week cigarette consumption were assessed.

Findings: Among incident smokers, similar rates to first whole cigarette were found between the diplotype groups (hazard ratio (HR)=1.05; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.75-1.48, p=0.765). However, smokers with the PAV (versus AVI) diplotypes attained monthly smoking more rapidly (HR=1.55, 95% CI 1.04-2.32, p=0.033) and had faster conversion to three different measures of tobacco dependence (International Classification of Diseases: HR=2.29, 95% CI 0.99-5.28, p=0.052; modified Fagerström Tolerance Questionnaire: HR=3.02, 95% CI 1.04-8.79, p=0.043; Hooked on Nicotine Checklist: HR=1.87, 95% CI 0.98-3.60, p=0.059). At age 24, those with PAV (versus AVI) diplotypes had higher mean cotinine + 3’hydroxycotinine (197 versus 143 ng/mL; p=0.053).

Conclusions: Adolescents with a genetic variation increasing their ability to taste bitter compounds appear to escalate more quickly to monthly smoking and tobacco dependence during adolescence and have higher nicotine intake in young adulthood versus those without that genetic variation.

Conservatives are less likely than liberals to accept welfare handouts for themselves unless the welfare program has a work requirement policy

Goenka, Shreyans and Thomas, Manoj, Are Conservatives Less Likely Than Liberals to Accept Welfare? The Psychology of Welfare Politics (April 1, 2022). Journal of the Association for Consumer Research 7(3), https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/719586

Abstract: Research has shown that conservatives tend to oppose the distribution of welfare to other people. However, are conservatives less likely than liberals to accept welfare for themselves? We find that the difference in liberals' and conservatives' welfare enrollment depends on whether the welfare program has a work requirement policy. A natural field experiment shows that when the supplemental nutritional program (SNAP) had a work requirement, liberals and conservatives were equally likely to enroll in this program. In the absence of a work requirement, conservatives were less likely than liberals to enroll in it. Follow-up experiments replicate this result and demonstrate the underlying mechanism: conservatives' adherence to binding moral values (loyalty, authority, and purity; Graham, Haidt and Nosek 2009) makes them hesitant to accept welfare without a work requirement. Policymakers can deploy marketing messages to mitigate this effect and boost conservatives' enrollment in such welfare programs.

Contrary to the social brain hypothesis, new work suggests that ecological factors, rather than social complexity, best predict bigger brain size in primates

Understanding the human brain: insights from comparative biology. Alex R. DeCasien, Robert A. Barton, James P. Higham. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, March 16 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2022.02.003

Highlights

.  New research has questioned or contradicted multiple long-standing claims about human brain evolution.

.  Contrary to the social brain hypothesis, new work suggests that ecological factors, rather than social complexity, best predict relative brain size across primate species.

.  Brain size does not have similar effects or cognitive implications in different phylogenetic lineages since it is associated with different mosaic structural changes.

.  Although the human prefrontal cortex is proportionally large, this may not represent an adaptive specialization and research emphasis on this region has distracted attention from the importance of wider neural networks.

.  Functional and anatomical integration, rather than developmental constraints, may primarily explain patterns of brain region size covariation across species.

Abstract: Human brains are exceptionally large, support distinctive cognitive processes, and evolved by natural selection to mediate adaptive behavior. Comparative biology situates the human brain within an evolutionary context to illuminate how it has been shaped by selection and how its structure relates to evolutionary function, while identifying the developmental and molecular changes that were involved. Recent applications of powerful phylogenetic methods have uncovered new findings, some of which overturn conventional wisdom about how and why brains evolve. Here, we focus on four long-standing claims about brain evolution and discuss how new work has either contradicted these claims or shown the relevant phenomena to be more complicated than previously appreciated. Throughout, we emphasize studies of non-human primates and hominins, our close relatives and recent ancestors.

Keywords: evolutionselectionneurodevelopmentneuroanatomygenomicstranscriptomics

Unflattering computer feedback was rated as less fair than human feedback

When humans and computers induce social stress through negative feedback: Effects on performance and subjective state. S. Thuillard et al. Computers in Human Behavior, March 16 2022, 107270. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2022.107270

Highlights

• Negative performance feedback from both human and computer did not impair subsequent performance on a wide range of tasks.

• Negative feedback led to increased levels of stress and negative affect but did not influence state self-esteem.

• Computer feedback was rated as less fair than human feedback.

Abstract: People increasingly work with autonomous systems, which progressively take over functions previously performed exclusively by humans. This may lead to situations in which automated agents give negative performance feedback, which represents an important work-related social stressor. Little is known about how negative feedback provided by computers (as opposed to humans) affects human performance and subjective state. A first experiment (N = 60) focused on the influence of human feedback on performance. After participants had performed a cognitive task, they received a manipulated performance feedback (either positive or negative) from a human (comparing to a control with no feedback) and subsequent performance on several cognitive tasks and the participants' subjective state was measured. The results showed that while negative feedback had a negative influence on several subjective state measures, performance remained unimpaired. In a second experiment (N = 89), participants received manipulated negative feedback by a human or by a computer (or no feedback at all) after having completed an ability test. Subsequent performance was measured on attention tasks and creativity tasks and participants' subjective state was assessed. Although participants felt stressed by both negative computer and human feedback, subsequent performance was again not impaired. However, computer feedback was rated as being less fair than human feedback. Overall, our findings show that there are costs of protecting one's performance against negative feedback and they call for caution regarding the use of negative feedback by both human and automated agents in work settings.

Keywords: social stressNegative feedbackPerformanceComputer feedbackAutomationInterpersonal fairness

The claim that personality is more important than intelligence in predicting important life outcomes has been greatly exaggerated

The claim that personality is more important than intelligence in predicting important life outcomes has been greatly exaggerated. Chen Zisman, Yoav Ganzach. Intelligence, Volume 92, May–June 2022, 101631. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intell.2022.101631

Highlights

• We conduct a replication of Borghans, Golsteyn, Heckman and Humphries (PNAS, 2016).

•We show personality as less important than intelligence in predicting life outcomes.

•For pay the predictive validity of intelligence twice as high as this of personality.

• For educational attainment and grades it was 4.4 and 5.2 as high.

• This finding contradict BGHH who argued that personality is more important.

Abstract: We conduct a replication of Borghans, Golsteyn, Heckman and Humphries (PNAS, 2016) who suggested that personality is more important than intelligence in predicting important life outcomes. We focus on the prediction of educational (educational attainment, GPA) and occupational (pay) success, and analyze two of the databases that BGHH used (the NLSY79, n = 5594 and the MIDUS, n = 2240) as well as four additional databases, (the NLSY97, n = 2962, the WLS, n = 7646, the PIAAC, n = 3605 and the ADD health, n = 3553; all databases are American except of the PIAAC which is German). We found that for educational attainment the average R2 of intelligence was .232 whereas for personality it was .053. For GPA it was .229 and .024, respectively and for pay it was .080 and .040, respectively.

Keywords: IntelligencePersonalityThe big-fiveLife outcomesEducational attainmentIncome

What Are the Necessary Conditions for Wisdom? Examining Intelligence, Creativity, Meaning-Making, and the Big-Five Traits

What Are the Necessary Conditions for Wisdom? Examining Intelligence, Creativity, Meaning-Making, and the Big-Five Traits . Mengxi Dong, Marc A. Fournier. Collabra: Psychology (2022) 8 (1): 33145. https://doi.org/10.1525/collabra.33145

Abstract: We investigated whether intelligence, creativity, meaning-making, and the Big-Five traits are necessary conditions for wisdom. We used Amazon’s TurkPrime to recruit 298 participants who ranged from 20 to 73 years of age. Participants completed measures of intelligence, creativity, meaning-making, and the Big-Five traits, along with a battery of self-report and performance wisdom measures. We used principal component analyses to reduce the wisdom battery into self-report and performance wisdom components, followed by necessary condition analysis and segmented regressions to examine whether the cognitive and personality variables under consideration here were necessary conditions for each wisdom component. We found that intelligence was necessary for the performance wisdom component whereas the Big-Five traits were necessary for the self-report wisdom component. This study is the first to demonstrate that high levels of wisdom are unlikely without some level of intelligence and adaptive personality traits.

Keywords:wisdom, intelligence, personality, necessary condition analysis, segmented regression

Necessary Conditions for Wisdom

We found that the necessary conditions for wisdom largely depended on the form of wisdom in question. Intelligence was the only necessary condition for wisdom performance. Specifically, a score above 20 on the WPT-Q, which was close to the population average on the test (Wonderlic, Inc., 2004), was necessary for scoring above average on the performance wisdom component (i.e., a component score above 1.0). However, although the association between wisdom and intelligence was positive before the estimated breakpoint at 21 and negative after it, this breakpoint was not statistically significant, possibly due to inadequate sample size. The threshold hypothesis was thus not supported. We conclude that while intelligence is a necessary condition for the kind of wisdom captured by the performance wisdom component, more empirical evidence is needed before any conclusions can be drawn about the threshold hypothesis. For self-reported wisdom, however, intelligence was not necessary. Although a significant breakpoint existed in the relation between intelligence and the self-report wisdom component, the slopes before and after the breakpoint were not significantly different from zero. It is possible that the slopes would be statistically significant with larger sample sizes; alternatively, the statistical significance of the breakpoint could indicate a Type I error. Future research with larger sample sizes should thus be conducted to cross-validate the results. We concluded that while intelligence might be required for wisdom performance, it was not necessary for self-reported wisdom.

In contrast to intelligence, the Big-Five personality traits were necessary for self-reported wisdom, but not for wisdom performance. The threshold hypothesis was not supported for any of the traits, suggesting that the relationships between these traits and the self-report wisdom component were linear. There are at least two ways to interpret the finding that the Big-Five personality traits were necessary for high scores on the self-report wisdom component. First, the findings might corroborate the proposition that wisdom is an adaptive configuration of personality characteristics (e.g., Ardelt et al., 2019). This proposition has mainly been espoused by researchers who have developed and routinely used self-report measures of wisdom. If this proposition is true, it would explain our findings.

Alternatively, the strong correlations between the Big-Five traits and the self-report wisdom component could be due to common method variance, which would suggest that necessity effects pertained to the self-report method (i.e., it was necessary to score high on one self-report measure in order to score high on another) rather than to the constructs (i.e., it was necessary to be high on a trait in order to be high on wisdom). Although similarity in measurement method does not automatically lead to inflated correlations (e.g., Spector, 2006), measures sharing similar methods can be prone to similar systematic biases, which in turn can inflate the correlation between them. For instance, meta-analytic studies have demonstrated that social desirability is a systematic response bias that is correlated with emotional stability, extraversion, conscientiousness (Ones et al., 1996) and self-report wisdom measures (Dong et al., 2022), suggesting that it could have contributed to the differences between the wisdom components in the current study. However, as social desirability was not measured, we could not confirm whether it had indeed led to inflated correlations. Future studies should thus re-examine whether the Big-Five personality traits constitute necessary conditions for self-reported wisdom while ruling out the effect of common method variance. This can be achieved in at least two ways. First, common method variance can be statistically controlled. One way to achieve this is by measuring systematic response biases (e.g., social desirability) that affect both self-report wisdom measures and measures of the Big-Five personality traits. Systematic response biases (e.g., halo) can also be modelled and controlled for using statistical techniques such as structural equation modeling. Alternatively, methods other than self-report, such as informant reports, can be used to assess the Big-Five personality traits.

Non-Necessary Predictors of Wisdom

Our findings further suggest that while some characteristics, such as creativity and meaning-making, are correlated with wisdom, they are not necessary conditions for it. Of these constructs, meaning-making has been theorized as a resource for wisdom (e.g., Glück et al., 2019). It is important to note that the findings of the current study do not rule out this possibility, as not all resources are necessary conditions. For instance, it is possible that the absence of meaning-making can be compensated by the presence of another resource, or that rather than being a necessary condition for wisdom, meaning-making may be a sufficient condition (i.e., it is impossible to be unwise if one has a strong tendency to make meaning). Future studies should therefore explore the ways in which meaning-making serves as a resource for wisdom.

Interpreting the Wisdom Components

It is important to note that although we interpreted the two wisdom components as representing performance and self-report wisdom, there are alternative interpretations. One such interpretation is to consider the components as representing general wisdom and personal wisdom. General wisdom refers to insights into life in general; it is the kind of wisdom that manifests when advising others. Personal wisdom refers to insights into one’s own life. The measures constituting the self-report wisdom component are all personal wisdom measures, whereas the measures constituting the performance wisdom component are all general wisdom measures. This perfect overlap makes it difficult to evaluate the appropriateness of either interpretation. In favor of the personal vs. general wisdom interpretation are the componential loadings of the Bremen wisdom paradigm and the 3DWS, the two measures that did not meet the .40 cut-off to be included in either component. Specifically, both measures assess personal wisdom and loaded more strongly on the self-report wisdom component (.39 and .38, respectively) than on the performance wisdom component (.16 and .09, respectively). However, as these loadings were low, we concluded that the evidence for the two components representing general and personal wisdom was not strong. Furthermore, if the self-report wisdom component actually represented personal wisdom, then it should have been more strongly correlated with meaning-making, as the lessons and insights learnt through one’s experiences should lead to more personal wisdom by transforming how one interacts with the world. However, meaning-making was instead more strongly correlated with the performance wisdom component and had no significant correlation with the self-report wisdom component, a pattern of results that is more in line with the self-report vs. performance interpretation of the components than with the personal vs. general wisdom interpretation.

Limitations and Future Directions

The current study has several limitations, all of which can inform directions for future investigations. First, the current study only offers preliminary insights that should be replicated. Specifically, the current study’s frequentist approach to statistical inferences necessitates replications to ensure that the Type I error rate is on par with the alpha level (e.g., Mayo, 2018). Furthermore, the current study might be underpowered to detect the necessity effects and changes in slope, as the sample size was planned based on the magnitude of small-to-medium effect sizes commonly found in personality and social psychology, rather than on the magnitudes of necessity effects and changes in slopes, as we had no way to reasonably estimate the latter beforehand. Future replications of the current study could use simulations to determine the sample size needed to detect the effect sizes found in the current study.

Second, the results of the current study might be dependent on the principal components extracted, suggesting that replication studies will have different results if different wisdom components are extracted. Of concern is the fact that two commonly used measures of wisdom, the 3DWS and the Bremen wisdom paradigm, were excluded from the analyses that informed the key conclusions due to low componential loadings. As the 3DWS and the Bremen wisdom paradigm are prominent wisdom measures that meaningfully contribute to the discourse on the definition and operationalization of wisdom, not including these measures may limit the generalizability of the current findings to the construct of wisdom. Findings of the current study should thus be corroborated by other datasets before more definite conclusions can be drawn regarding the necessary conditions for wisdom.

Third, the current study measured intelligence using the WPT-Q, which could not distinguish between crystallized and fluid intelligence. The WPT-Q was chosen as it was the only reliable, valid, and cost-effective instrument suitable for online, unsupervised administration. However, as crystallized intelligence, or the knowledge of the world and learnt operations, has been shown to be more strongly associated with wisdom than fluid intelligence, or the general ability to solve novel problems that is independent of learning (e.g., Dong et al., 2022; Glück et al., 2013; Grossmann et al., 2012; Mickler & Staudinger, 2008; Pasupathi et al., 2001; Staudinger et al., 1997), the inability to distinguish between the two aspects of intelligence limits the scope of the current study. Future studies should further explore the necessity of intelligence for wisdom by examining fluid and crystallized intelligence separately.

Fourth, in order to limit the length of the study protocol and avoid participant fatigue, meaning-making was only measured for one specific situation. It is possible that this one state measure of meaning-making might not accurately reflect participants’ general tendencies to make meaning out of life experiences or represent individual differences in the construct. This may then affect our ability to detect significant necessity effects of meaning-making on wisdom. Future studies should thus re-examine the necessity of meaning-making for wisdom using measures that can better reflect individuals’ general tendencies to make meaning and individual differences in the construct.

Fifth, findings of the current study should be interpreted as probabilistic and not categorical. Given that the current study examined a sample drawn from the population, not the population itself, significant necessity effects indicated that high levels of wisdom were relatively unlikely, but not impossible, with low levels of certain cognitive and personality characteristics. It is thus incorrect to conclude based on the present findings that low levels of these characteristics categorically preclude one from being wise.

Finally, the cross-sectional nature of the data and the statistical analyses employed dictate that the current study is unable to offer any insights into the causal relationships between the cognitive and personality variables on the one hand and wisdom on the other hand. Specifically, neither the NCA nor the segmented regression analysis make any causal assumptions and their results cannot be used to draw causal conclusions. Furthermore, in logic, the statement that one variable is a necessary condition for another variable is not a statement of causal relations. Given the nature of its data and analytical techniques, therefore, the results of the current study should not be interpreted as indicating that the possession of certain cognitive and personality characteristics causes, or even temporally proceeds, wisdom attainment. Instead, results of the present study simply suggest that low levels of certain cognitive and personality characteristics are associated with a low (but not zero) probability of having high levels of wisdom. We acknowledge, however, that when researchers discuss intelligence and certain personality traits as necessary conditions for wisdom, the implication is often that these conditions are necessary because they are resources that can facilitate wisdom development and manifestation. While findings of the current study are consistent with this view, they cannot speak to the causal implications of it.

Unconvenient scientific evidence: Harm over-estimators were more supportive of censoring scientific research; & those more offended by scientific findings reported greater difficulty understanding them (“motivated confusion”)

Harm Hypervigilance in Public Reactions to Scientific Evidence. Cory Clark, Maja Graso, Ilana Redstone, Philip E. Tetlock. March 2022. DOI:10.13140/RG.2.2.35921.20329

Abstract: Two preregistered studies (n = 1,423; one with a U.S. nationally representative sample) tested the harm-hypervigilance hypothesis in citizens’ risk assessments of controversial behavioral science findings. As expected, people consistently overestimated all harmful reactions to scientific findings with a medium-to-large average effect size (and underestimated all helpful ones). Additional analyses found (1) harm over-estimators were more supportive of censoring scientific research; (2) those more offended by scientific findings reported greater difficulty understanding them (“motivated confusion”); (3) social network ideological heterogeneity predicted more accurate (lower) estimates of harmful reactions (especially among ideologically extreme participants) and social network ideological homogeneity predicted more accurate (higher) estimates of helpful reactions; (4) mixed evidence on whether ideological groups overestimated harms that challenged their moral concerns. These findings raise the question: When does harm hypervigilance become net harmful by impeding scientific discovery and delaying evidence-based solutions to societal problems?

Extensive research suggests that short-term meditation interventions may hold therapeutic promise for a wide range of psychosocial outcomes; methodologically rigorous study finds null effect of mindfulness & compassion interventions

Kaplan, Deanna M., Matthias R. Mehl, Steven P. Cole, and Charles Raison. 2022. “Implications of a “null” Randomized Controlled Trial of Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions in Healthy Adults” PsyArXiv. March 15. doi:10.31234/osf.io/38xv6 - Implications of a “null” randomized controlled trial of mindfulness and compassion interventions in healthy adults

Abstract

Objective: Extensive research suggests that short-term meditation interventions may hold therapeutic promise for a wide range of psychosocial outcomes. In response to calls to subject these interventions to more methodologically rigorous tests, a randomized controlled trial tested the effectiveness of a mindfulness meditation intervention and a compassion meditation intervention against an active control in a sample of demographically diverse, medically and psychiatrically healthy adults.

Methods: Two hundred and four participants completed a battery of questionnaires to assess psychological experience, participated in a laboratory stress test to measure their biological stress reactivity, and wore the Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR) to assess daily behaviors before and after an eight-week intervention (mindfulness meditation intervention, compassion meditation intervention, or health education discussion group).

Results: Neither meditation intervention reliably impacted participants’ subjective experience, biological stress reactivity, or objectively assessed daily behaviors. Further, post-hoc moderation analyses found that neither baseline distress nor intervention engagement significantly moderated the effects.

Conclusion: Results from this trial – which was methodologically rigorous and powered to detect all but small effects – were essentially null. These results are an important data point for the body of research about meditation interventions. Implications of these non-significant effects are discussed in the context of prior studies, and future directions for contemplative intervention research are recommended.

Biological processes have provided new insights into diverging labour market trajectories; higher testosterone levels reduce the risk of becoming or staying unemployed

In And Out Of Unemployment –Labour Market Transitions And The Role Of Testosterone. Peter Eibich t al. Economics & Human Biology, March 15 2022, 101123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ehb.2022.101123

Highlights

• We examine the impact of testosterone on labour market transitions of British men.

• We link UK Household Longitudinal Study with the Health and biomarkers Survey.

• We estimate probit regression models adjusting for known confounders.

• We use genetic variants as instruments in a Mendelian Randomisation analysis.

• Higher testosterone levels reduce the risk of becoming or staying unemployed.

Abstract: Biological processes have provided new insights into diverging labour market trajectories. This paper uses population variation in testosterone levels to explain transition probabilities into and out of unemployment. We examine labour market transitions for 2,004 initially employed and 111 initially unemployed British men from the UK Household Longitudinal Study (“Understanding Society”) between 2011 and 2013. We address the endogeneity of testosterone levels by using genetic variation as instrumental variables (Mendelian Randomization). We find that for both initially unemployed men as well as initially employed men, higher testosterone levels reduce the risk of unemployment. Based on previous studies and descriptive evidence, we argue that these effects are likely driven by differences in cognitive and non-cognitive skills as well as job search behaviour of men with higher testosterone levels. Our findings suggest that latent biological processes can affect job search behaviour and labour market outcomes without necessarily relating to illness and disability.

JEL: I10J64C23

Keywords: labour market dynamicsunemploymenttestosterone