Japan: Lack of sexual interest is a risk factor for all-cause mortality in men

Sakurada K, Konta T, Murakami N, Kosugi N, Saito T, Watanabe M, et al. (2022) Association between lack of sexual interest and all-cause mortality in a Japanese general population: The Yamagata prospective observational study. PLoS ONE 17(12): e0277967, Dec 14 2022. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0277967

Abstract
Background: Sexual interest is essential for maintaining positive sexual relationships and sexual function, which have recently been recognized as important indicators of good health and quality of life. Here, we prospectively investigated associations between sexual interest and mortality in a community-based population.

Methods: This study enrolled 20,969 subjects (8,558 males and 12,411 females) aged ≥ 40 years who participated in annual health check-ups in Yamagata Prefecture. Sexual interest was assessed by a self-report questionnaire. Associations between sexual interest and increased all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease mortality, and cancer mortality were investigated by Cox proportional hazards modeling.

Results: During follow-up (median: 7.1 years), 503 subjects died; 67 deaths were due to cardiovascular disease, and 162 were due to cancer. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that all-cause mortality and cancer mortality were significantly elevated among men who lacked sexual interest (log-rank P<0.0001, P<0.05). Cox proportional hazards model analysis with adjustment for age, hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, smoking, alcohol drinking status, BMI, education, marital status, frequency of laughter, and psychological distress showed that the risk of all-cause mortality was significantly higher among men who lacked sexual interest than men who had sexual interest (hazard ratio [HR] 1.69; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.17–2.44).

Conclusion: Lack of sexual interest is suggested to be a risk factor for all-cause mortality in Japanese males over 40 years old. This finding has implications for the importance of sexual interest in increasing longevity in this population.

Discussion

Although sexual activity and sexual satisfaction are considered of benefit to psychological health and wellbeing in older groups, the association between sexual interest and longevity has not been investigated. This study is the first to prospectively examine associations between sexual interest and all-cause mortality, and cardiovascular and cancer mortality in a community-based population.

In our sample of people aged 40 years or more, 8.3% of males and 16.1% of females indicated a lack of sexual interest. Similar results were reported by Lindau et al. in two cross-sectional population-based surveys of aging conducted in the US [4]. Baseline characteristics indicated that a lack of sexual interest was associated with greater age, higher prevalence of past alcohol drinking, diabetes, low frequency of laughter, psychological distress, and lower education levels in male subjects. In female subjects, baseline characteristics showed that a lack of sexual interest was associated with greater age, higher prevalence of abstinence from alcohol, low frequency of laughter, psychological distress, divorce or widowhood, and lower education levels. For both sexes, negative psychological variables, including psychological distress and low frequency of laughter, were associated with decreased sexual interest.

Interestingly, our study suggests that lack of sexual interest is associated with all-cause mortality in males, even after adjustment for age, diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, smoking, alcohol intake, BMI, education, marital status, frequency of laughter, and psychological distress. Based on our results, we suggest that lack of sexual interest itself contributes to an increased risk of all-cause mortality, independent of established risk factors in men over 40 years old. However, it is possible that some important confounding factors were not identified or adjusted.

Although to our knowledge the mechanisms underlying the main gender difference result have yet to be clarified, men with ‘ikigai’ were at lower risk of cardiovascular mortality than men without ‘ikigai,’ subsequent to age and multivariate adjustment. Uzuki et al. found that lack of social support was associated with risk of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality, and these associations were stronger in males than females [22]. Previous studies have shown that risk-reduction effects of positive psychological factors on all-cause mortality and incidence of stroke differed according to gender [11, 17, 18]. Ikeda et al. reported that in Japan men who were divorced or widowed were at higher risk of mortality than married men, whereas no similar trend was observed in women [23]. Based on these results, we speculate that maintaining sexual interest may be related to positive psychological well-being and ‘ikigai’ especially among men.

Precisely how a lack of sexual interest impacts on health and longevity remains unknown, although several possibilities can be considered. Male lack of interest may be related with unhealthy lifestyles. In this study, men who reported a lack of sexual interest included more current smokers and cases of diabetes. Furthermore, if we assume that sexual interest is related to positive psychological factors, the absence of interest may affect a range of inflammatory, neuroendocrine, and immune responses. Positive affect is related with reduced neuroendocrine, inflammatory, and cardiovascular activities [24]. Chronic psychological stress has shown an association with suppressed immune response and increased susceptibility to malignancy and infection [25]. Further study is required to clarify the mechanisms which underlie the preventive effects of sexual interest on mortality.

The strengths of this study are its prospective design and substantial sample size. In addition, adjustment was done using a number of well-known risk factors, including age, diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, smoking status, alcohol intake, psychological distress, and medical history of depression. However, several limitations of the study should be noted. First, although we conducted multivariate analyses with adjustment for various potential confounding factors, some unidentified confounding factors may have remained. Moreover, we did not adjust for other medically relevant elements known to affect sexual function and longevity, such as neurological conditions, depression, and medications, because such information was not obtained in the baseline survey. Also, only a small number of depressed patients were included in this study. Second, we did not consider how the social regulation of sexuality differs among cultures. Similar research should be extended to other countries. Third, our question about lack of sexual interest focused on interest in the opposite sex; we did not control for sexual orientation.　Sasayama et al. reported that the prevalence of homoromantic attraction was 1.0% for females and 1.5% for males [26]. Based on these figures, the potential number of individuals in the present study with sexual interest in the same sex was estimated to be approximately 200 people. We therefore consider it unlikely that this number would have influenced our overall results. We suggest that future research should include lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQs) adults. Fourth, this study collected data on subjects who were at least 40 years old. Future research might also look more closely at the onset of decreasing interest in sex; for example, whether these results concern only men who had recently lost interest, or whether they extend to men who had little interest even when they were much younger. Fifth, all subjects participated in community-based annual health checks, and so they might have been more health-conscious and more socially active than the general population. In other words, some degree of selection bias might characterize our study sample.

Notwithstanding these limitations, the findings of this study support that idea that maintaining sexual interest has positive effects on longevity, especially in males. The Canadian government, through public health promotion materials, has begun to endorse sexual activity as one element of an “aging well” agenda [27]. In Japan, there is more prejudice about sex among the elderly than in the Western world. We hope our findings will help promote public health through advocating sexuality in Japan.

Every individual assessed as highly psychopathic produced approximately $111,000 in annual crime costs

An Economic Analysis of Crime Costs Associated with Psychopathic Personality Disorder and Violence Risk. Dylan T. Gatner et al. Criminal Justice and Behavior, December 13, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1177/00938548221140366

Abstract: Given substantial national crime costs and that psychopathic personality disorder (PPD) is a robust predictor of recidivism, a research gap exists concerning the cost of crime attributable to adults with PPD. The current study employed a bottom-up cost of illness approach to estimate the association between PPD and crime costs among Canadian men incarcerated in the federal correctional system (n = 188). Participants were rated using the Psychopathy Checklist–Revised (PCL-R) and the Historical-Clinical-Risk Management–20 (HCR-20, version 2). Group mean crime costs were highest for participants who scored highly on the PCL-R and were rated high risk on the HCR-20, and higher scores on both measures were associated with prospective costs accrued from violent and nonviolent recidivism. The findings highlight the need to improve the treatment and management of high-risk individuals with prominent psychopathic features, as it has the potential for significant financial savings for criminal justice systems.

Shared fortune leads to in-group bias, while shared misfortune does not

Fortune and identity. Gary Charness, Xin Jiang. Economics Letters, December 14 2022, 110954. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2022.110954

Abstract: While group identity can generate in-group bias, the topic of how activities generate group affiliation is largely unexplored. We experimentally study the effect of shared experience on group affiliation, varying shared experiences by paying subjects differently for the same task. The results show that shared fortune leads to in-group bias, while shared misfortune does not.

Introduction

Economists have provided evidence that people exhibit an in-group bias in a variety of contexts, including charity (Chen and Li, 2009) and truth-telling (Rong et al., 2016). Many studies have found in-group favoritism even with the minimal-group paradigm, an almost trivial intergroup categorization. However, typically economists have only considered natural-identity categories such as race, gender, ethnic and religion (Hoff and Pandey, 2006, Benjamin et al., 2010). We extend the minimal-group paradigm to an environment where initial monetary reward based one’s induced group identity is based on pure luck.

It is intuitive to think that shared experience would establish a bond among people, potentially encouraging them to help and cooperate with each other. Therefore, matching people with the same experience might lead to a form of in-group bias. However, it is difficult to study the effect of shared experience in the field without confounds. Lab experiments offer a high degree of control and seem a useful tool for studying the effect of shared experiences in a stylized environment.

This study investigates how shared misfortune and fortune shape one’s sense of group affiliation. We assume that shared experiences generate group cohesion. In addition, the literature on prospect theory and loss aversion has provided considerable evidence that negative events have a larger effect on people’s behavior than positive events. Thus, we further expected that unfortunate participants would show more in-group favoritism than the fortunate participants.

The closest cousin to our study is Cassar and Klein (2019), who found that lottery failures favor other lottery failures more than other people, and there was no significant in-group bias among lottery winners. Our results differ from theirs in that shared fortune leads to in-group bias, while shared misfortune does not. The difference may come from the inequality-generation part. Cassar and Klein (2019) informed subjects of their absolute performance in a real-effort task, and the fact that their payoffs are randomly decided. It was not clear how people identified themselves with two pieces of information. The largest contribution of our experiment is that we resolve this concern. In our experiment, participants do the same task, and have the same performance. So, it is quite clear that their payoffs from this task only reflect random luck.

One third of mentally healthy people reported visual hallucinations similar to those experienced in psychosis, such as seeing people, faces or animals

What is the frequency and nature of visual hallucinations in non-clinical participants? Charlotte Aynsworth, Julie Rolinson, Maryam Pervez, Daniel Collerton, Robert Dudley. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice. December 11 2022. https://doi.org/10.1111/papt.12440

Abstract

Objectives: There is a paucity of psychological treatments for visual hallucinations (VH). A key aspect in the psychological treatment of hallucination-related distress is normalisation to explain that these experiences are commonplace and can be non-distressing. In order to normalise VH, it is vital that more is known about VH in non-clinical populations. This study investigated the prevalence, content, context, appraisals, distress, and behavioural reactions to VH in a non-clinical sample.

Design: A cross-sectional study was conducted.

Methods: 466 students completed the Multi-Modality Unusual Sensory Experiences Questionnaire-VH subscale with additional contextual follow-up questions.

Results: Of the 466 participants, 395 (84.8%) reported anomalous visual experiences. 176 (37.77%) participants reported VH similar to the content seen in psychosis. Of the overall sample, 17.38% felt their experience met the VH definition. Participants mainly saw figures, when alone and in the evening. Participants endorsed normalising appraisals: 112 out of 176 (78.87%) believed their mind was playing tricks on them and 83 (58.45%) believed they were tired. However, many also believed the VH was a threat to their mental (66, 46.48%) or physical well-being (41, 28.87%). These negative appraisals were associated with distress.

Conclusion: VH are seemingly common in non-clinical populations and are similar in a number of ways to those of people with psychosis. Awareness that VH occur on a continuum could normalise people's experiences and reduce their negative appraisals and related distress.

In 1967, 82.7% of 25-34 years old Americans lived with their spouse; today it is 37.5%

 

Subjective orgasm experience: Heterosexual people (vs. gay & bisexual people) had a more intense experience

Evaluating the Subjective Orgasm Experience Through Sexual Context, Gender, and Sexual Orientation. Laura Elvira Muñoz-García, Carmen Gómez-Berrocal & Juan Carlos Sierra. Archives of Sexual Behavior, Dec 12 2022. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-022-02493-3

Abstract: The subjective orgasm experience (SOE) is the psychological perception of orgasm sensations and closely related to sexual health. Here, SOE was studied through the context in which it is experienced (sexual relationships and solitary masturbation), gender, and sexual orientation. For this purpose, data were collected from 4255 people (1927 men and 2328 women) of different sexual orientations (heterosexual = 1545; bisexual = 1202; and gay = 1508) who completed two versions of the Orgasm Rating Scale (ORS) for both contexts (i.e., sexual relationships and solitary masturbation) along with a socio-demographic questionnaire. Results showed that the ORS in the context of solitary masturbation is an instrument invariant by gender and sexual orientation. Significant differences in SOE were found by context: it was more intense in the context of sexual relationships (vs. solitary masturbation); by gender: women (vs. men) reported greater intensity; and by sexual orientation, with heterosexual people (vs. gay and bisexual people) having a more intense experience.

Discussion

The main objective of this study was first, to test measurement invariance by gender and sexual orientation of the Spanish version of the ORS (Mah & Binik, 2011) of Cervilla et al. (2022) in the context of solitary masturbation. Second, it was to analyze the SOE across situational (i.e., context in which orgasm was experienced: solitary masturbation vs. sexual relationships) and individual characteristics (i.e., gender and sexual orientation).

The results of the measurement invariance by gender and sexual orientation of the ORS in the solitary masturbation context confirmed that it is an invariant scale (H1), both by gender and sexual orientation. Therefore, it is a valid instrument to measure and compare the SOE of different groups (men vs. women, and heterosexual vs. bisexual vs. gay) (Pineda et al., 2018).

Previous studies indicated that the SOE was more intense in the context of sexual relationships (vs. that of solitary masturbation) (Bensman, 2011; Levin, 2007; Mah & Binik, 2002; Pinkerton et al., 2003; Santtila et al., 2007; Sierra et al., 2022). Although our results in general confirmed this pattern (H2), they also allowed us to qualify the role of context on the SOE. The results showed that the dimensions related to emotions, sensations, and intimacy were more intense in sexual relationships, while that related to the rewarding effect of orgasm was more intense in solitary masturbation. Specifically, the scores for the Affective, Sensory, and Intimacy dimensions were higher in the sexual relationships context (vs. solitary masturbation), while the scores for the Rewards dimension were more intense in the solitary masturbation context (vs. sexual relationships). Moreover, these results were repeated when the variables of an individual’s gender and sexual orientation are considered. This pattern confirmed the results of previous studies, which indicated that both men and women value partnered orgasms as more intimate and solitary orgasms as more rewarding (Mah & Binik, 2002).

Based on previous research, we expected to find a significant relationship between gender and the SOE dimensions in both contexts (Arcos-Romero & Sierra, 2019; Arcos-Romero et al., 2018; Sierra et al., 2021, 2022). In accordance with these studies (H3), women got higher scores than men on three dimensions (Affective, Sensory, and Intimacy) in the sexual relationships context, which refers to emotions, physiological changes, and the intimate aspect of the orgasmic experience. This is consistent with previous evidence showing that women associated orgasms achieved through sexual relationships with more intense bodily sensations, more intimacy, and greater connection in sexual relationships (Fahs, 2014). However, we found that on the Rewards dimension, in the context of sexual relationships, men scored higher than women, which is also consistent with previous studies in which men reported having a more rewarding orgasm (Paterson et al., 2014). Finally, no differences were found between men and women on the Rewards dimension in the solitary masturbation context. Thus, in this context, gender did not influence the rewarding aspect of orgasm.

One explanation for the gender gap in orgasm could be the idea that traditional heteronormative sexual scripts seem to grant men more agency than women, encouraging sexual acts that are more likely to produce orgasms in men (such as penile–vaginal intercourse) (Blair et al., 2017). In addition, the fact that the dimensions where women score higher than men are the ones related to emotions and intimacy is consistent with traditional sexual scripts where women are typically depicted as sexual gatekeepers who prioritize emotional closeness and fidelity. On the other hand, men scored higher in the rewarding dimension, also congruent with traditional sexual scripts where they seek a more physical aspect of sex (Masters et al., 2013). Herein, a dichotomous, antagonistic paradigm of heterosexuality is produced by the confluence of the opposing discourses in which men are pursuing subjects, while women are passive objects (Tolman, 2006). According to this perspective, female sexuality does not exist unless it results from emotional closeness and commitment to a relationship (Masters et al., 2013). Also, women may have higher evaluations when tested in research settings because they may have lower aspirations for sexual satisfaction (McClelland, 2010).

Traditionally, studies on SOE have been conducted on heterosexual people and in the context of sexual relationships (Arcos-Romero & Sierra, 2018, 2019, 2020; Arcos-Romero et al., 2018, 2019; Mah & Binik, 2001). To analyze the SOE in non-majority sexual orientations, this study included bisexual and gay people, expecting that as postulated in H4, heterosexual people would present higher scores (Frederick et al., 2018; Garcia et al., 2014). Our results showed that heterosexual, bisexual, and gay people differ on two dimensions of the solitary masturbation context (Affective and Sensory) and two dimensions in the sexual relationships context (Sensory and Rewards), partially confirming H4. The intensity of the SOE was always higher for heterosexual people than gay people, which clearly shows the need to consider sexual orientation when conducting studies on SOE, and that there were more differences between heterosexual people and gay people than between heterosexual and bisexual people. The fact that gay people reported lower SOE intensity than heterosexual and bisexual people specifically in the dimensions more related to physical experiences could be because people with same-sex partners tend to place less emphasis on the consequences, instead concentrating on the process or development of the sexual relationship rather than its outcome (Mangas et al., 2022). This may be supported by findings that suggest that same-sex couples exhibit higher levels of emotional closeness than heterosexual couples (Spitalnick & McNair, 2005), which may cause them to place a higher priority on the emotional aspects of a relationship (Mangas et al., 2022). Research also shows that queer women prioritize non-genital sexual acts like kissing, snuggling, and hugging even though orgasm is less likely to occur because of them alone (Garnets & Peplau, 2006) and even do not mention orgasm at all when describing their best sexual encounters (Chatterji et al., 2017).

Many studies conducted among gay population focus on a binary conception of sexual orientation, in which same-sex and other-sex attraction are presented as the only categories (Bradford, 2004). Because of this, people who identify as bisexual experience a unique form of stigmatization and discrimination called “biphobia” (Bradford, 2004), which stems from both the heteronormative society and LGBTIQ+ community, thus experiencing double discrimination (Brewster & Moradi, 2010; Mitchell et al., 2014). Currently, there is no information regarding the SOE of this group. In our study, we observed that bisexual people present similar scores to heterosexual people, surpassing scores of gay people in the Affective and Sensory dimensions of the solitary masturbation context, and in the Sensory dimension of the sexual relationships context. However, in the Rewards dimension of orgasm, in the sexual relationships context, they presented lower scores than heterosexual people. Considering that bisexuality is a minority orientation and is more invisible than a gay orientation, this finding could be related to the minority stress theory (Meyer, 1995), in which internalized homophobia is included as one of the processes that compose it (Meyer, 2003). However, it is not currently possible to confirm this relation because of the scarcity of data on aspects of bisexual people’s sexuality. Finally, in the remaining dimensions (Affective in the sexual relationships context, Intimacy in both contexts, and Rewards in the solitary masturbation context), no significant differences were found according to sexual orientation. Thus, we conclude that the differences by orientation in SOE are not generalized but dependent on the context and dimension studied.

Limitations and Future Research Directions

One limitation of this study was that the sample was collected using a convenience non-probability sampling technique in an online format. In addition, for bisexual people when answering the ORS, the gender of the sexual partner with whom they had the orgasm they were rating was not asked, which would have been an interesting addition. Another limitation is that no information was asked about how orgasm was obtained, which would also have added an interesting nuance. Finally, the use of the Kinsey scale to measure sexual orientation is a limitation since it reduces sexual orientation to a purely behavior matter. In this regard, bisexuality was not considered as all the responses correspondent with plurisexual orientations, but only a subset limited to the responses 3 (Predominantly heterosexual, but more than incidentally homosexual), 4 (Bisexual), and 5 (Predominantly homosexual, but more than incidentally heterosexual).

Future research should consider the influence of gender roles and attitudes toward sexual gender norms to understand and explain the processes underlying the differences between men and women in the SOE and across contexts. It should also examine and identify the factors that may be causing lower scores of SOE of people with a minority sexual orientation, which will allow the implementation of more effective programs to promote the sexual health of individuals regardless of sexual orientation (Garcia et al., 2014). Likewise, it is necessary to keep in mind that addressing dysfunctions or problems related to any aspect of orgasm should be framed considering an approach focusing on both the gender and sexual orientation of the person. 

Holiday gift giving is in retreat in the US, it was demoted as an "inferior good"

Holiday gift giving in retreat. Joel Waldfogel. Economics Letters, December 12 2022, 110952. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2022.110952

Abstract: Using US cross-section data, holiday gift giving is a normal good whose income elasticity of demand is about 0.5. As income rose 1914–2000, aggregate holiday gift expenditure grew as well. Since 2000, however, holiday giving has fallen in real terms as income has continued to rise. While gift giving remains normal in household cross sections, it behaves like an inferior good in the post-2000 national time series.

Introduction

Since Engel (1895), economists have classified goods with positive income effects as “normal” and those with negative income effects are “inferior”. These attributes are not inherent: As economies develop, the roles of particular goods can change. For example, some studies show that rice in Asia and beer in Germany have evolved from normal to inferior goods over time (Ito et al., 1989, Volland, 2012). What sort of a good is holiday gift giving in the US, and how has it changed over time?

I first document the relationship between household income and holiday gift giving implicit in cross-sectional Gallup survey data, confirming that holiday gift giving is a normal good with an income elasticity of roughly 0.5. I then examine a century’s data on per capita income and holiday gift giving (inferred from the December bump in retail sales). I show that holiday gift giving rose with income until 2000 and has since fallen in real terms even as income has continued to grow. Although gift giving is normal in cross sections of US households, it behaves like an inferior good in the national time series since 2000.1

Echo chambers and filter bubble are largely just a figment of the minds of political pundits

Echo chambers, filter bubbles, and polarisation: a literature review. Amy Ross Arguedas et al. Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, Jan 19 2022. https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/echo-chambers-filter-bubbles-and-polarisation-literature-review

Abstract: This literature review examines social scientific evidence regarding the existence, causes, and effects of online echo chambers in the context of concerns about digital platforms contributing to polarisation in our societies generally, and in relation to scientific topics, specifically. The scholarship suggests echo chambers are much less widespread than is commonly assumed, finds no support for the filter bubble hypothesis, and offers a mixed picture on polarisation and the role of news and media use in contributing to polarisation, especially given limited research outside of the United States. Evidence about echo chambers around public discussions of science is limited; however, research on science communication points to the important role of self-selection, elite cues, and small, highly active communities in shaping these debates. These findings are important as terms like echo chambers are widely used in public and policy debates, sometimes in disparate ways, and not always aligned with the evidence.

Check also other literature with references: Politically partisan left-right online news echo chambers are real, but only a minority of approximately 5% of internet news users inhabit them; the continued popularity of mainstream outlets often preclude the formation of large partisan echo chambers

Aversion toward broken patterns of simple geometric shapes predicted greater adherence to social norms

Deviancy Aversion and Social Norms. Anton Gollwitzer et al. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, December 10, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672221131378

Abstract: We propose that deviancy aversion—people’s domain-general discomfort toward the distortion of patterns (repeated forms or models)—contributes to the strength and prevalence of social norms in society. Five studies (N = 2,390) supported this hypothesis. In Study 1, individuals’ deviancy aversion, for instance, their aversion toward broken patterns of simple geometric shapes, predicted negative affect toward norm violations (affect), greater self-reported norm following (behavior), and judging norms as more valuable (belief). Supporting generalizability, deviancy aversion additionally predicted greater conformity on accuracy-orientated estimation tasks (Study 2), adherence to physical distancing norms during COVID-19 (Study 3), and increased following of fairness norms (Study 4). Finally, experimentally heightening deviancy aversion increased participants’ negative affect toward norm violations and self-reported norm behavior, but did not convincingly heighten belief-based norm judgments (Study 5). We conclude that a human sensitivity to pattern distortion functions as a low-level affective process that promotes and maintains social norms in society

Check also Aversion towards simple broken patterns predicts moral judgment Aversion towards simple broken patterns predicts moral judgment:

Anton Gollwitzer et al. Personality and Individual Differences, Volume 160, 1 July 2020, 109810. https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2020/03/aversion-towards-simple-broken-patterns.html

And: Clone images elicited higher eeriness than individuals with different faces; related to distinguishableness of each face, the duplication of identity, avoidance reactions based on disgust sensitivity, inter alia:

Yonemitsu F, Sasaki K, Gobara A, Yamada Y (2021) The clone devaluation effect: A new uncanny phenomenon concerning facial identity. PLoS ONE 16(7): e0254396. Jul 13 2021. https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2021/07/clone-images-elicited-higher-eeriness.html

General Discussion

We find that something as simple as deviancy aversion—people’s sensitivity to the distortion of patterns—contributes to the prevalence and strength of social norms in society. In Study 1, participants’ aversion toward nonsocial pattern distortion (e.g., broken patterns of geometric shapes) predicted negative affect toward social norm violations (Affect), self-reported social norm following (Behavior), and judging social norms as important (Belief). Supporting generalizability, deviancy aversion also predicted greater conformity on accuracy-oriented estimation tasks (Study 2), greater following of physical distancing norms during COVID-19 (Study 3), and greater following of fairness norms in terms of not repeating a survey for additional payment (Study 4). Finally, deviancy aversion causally heightened social norm indicators, including negative affect toward social norm violations and self-reported social norm following, but did not impact more cognitive, belief-based norm measures, such as judging norms as important and desiring tighter social norms in society (Study 5).

Our findings suggest that a low-level affective factor—deviancy aversion—plays a meaningful role in the power of social norms in society. People’s discomfort in response to pattern distortion appeared to lead them to experience norm violations as affectively aversive, in turn motivating norm adherence and conformity. Given the important role of social norms in cooperation and group functioning (e.g., Fehr & Fischbacher, 2004a; Sherif, 1936), deviancy aversion may be a low-level affective factor that contributes to social functioning in human societies.

Robustness

Our findings are robust. First, controlling for third variables, including need for closure, intolerance for ambiguity, disgust, political orientation, aversion toward unbroken patterns, novelty aversion, negativity aversion, and social desirability did not change our results (Studies 1–5). Moreover, none of these potential confounds predicted social norms as consistently as deviancy aversion did (and some failed to predict it at all; Tables 1–5).

Second, our findings are unlikely to have been driven by anthropomorphism or by participants imbuing our stimuli with agency or social content (e.g., Heider & Simmel, 1944). Past research has not found anthropomorphism to moderate links between deviancy aversion and social constructs, and in Study 5, anthropomorphism did not moderate our findings either. In addition, in Study S1, which like Study 5 examined the causal impact of deviancy aversion on social norms, only 10% to 20% of participants spontaneously generated social content or attributed agency to the broken patterns of geometric shapes (and such content did not moderate our findings; see Study S1).

Third, demand or response bias is unlikely to account for our results. Socially desirable responding did not moderate any of our results. In addition, our results remained when excluding participants who had predicted our hypothesis in Study 3, and when controlling for participants’ self-reported motivation to perform well on the deviancy word-task in Study 5. Moreover, regarding response bias, our findings remained when reverse-scaling numerous measures and when accounting for closely matched control measures, for instance, participants’ aversion toward unbroken patterns.

Theoretical Contribution

The present findings theoretically advance our understanding of social norms. Researchers have explicitly noted that affective or cognitive processes underpinning social norms are largely undiscovered despite being theoretically founded (e.g., Fehr & Fischbacher, 2004b). While researchers have shown that low-level affective processes play a large role in other domains (e.g., moral judgment; Gollwitzer, Martel, Bargh, & Chang, 2020; Haidt, 2001), such processes are still on the periphery when it comes to explaining social norms. Addressing this research gap, we find that a simple aversion to pattern distortion may be one simple affective pathway via which social norms and conformity are encouraged. Moreover, combined with past research indicating that deviancy aversion activates “intuitionist” (affective) pathways to moral judgment (Gollwitzer, Martel, Bargh, & Chang, 2020), deviancy aversion may qualify as an emotional response that is activated at the very start of the process of norm responding (e.g., when deciding whether to follow a norm or responding to norm violations). Deviancy aversion may thus qualify as an efficient affective heuristic that predisposes individuals to follow norms and denigrate norm violators (one that can only be overridden by self-regulation or deliberation; see Gollwitzer, Martel, Bargh, & Chang, 2020).

Deviancy aversion may also help explain why people so flexibly conform to norms around them. For example, on the 1962 TV Show, Candid Camera, individual people entered an elevator of occupants all facing backward. Many of these individual people conformed and joined the rather unusual behavior of staring at an elevator wall (Kent, n.d.). Outside of this staged example, norms differ depending on culture and context, and people often adapt to new norms unintentionally (see Chartrand & Bargh, 1999). Similarly to how social norms are situational, what is “patterned” or regular is also situational. Deviancy aversion may thus be a key ingredient of why people can so flexibly follow social norms. By experiencing aversion toward the violation of behavioral patterns in a specific context, people can quickly adapt to that specific environment. Indeed, this theorizing aligns with past work showing that deviancy aversion predicts context-dependent social responding in a different social domain—prejudice (prejudice against Black individuals when the majority is White, prejudice against White individuals when the majority is Black; Gollwitzer, Marshall, & Bargh, 2020). Future work should test whether deviancy aversion underlies humans’ suprising ability to flexibly and automatically adapt to the regularities and social norms in a given context.

Our findings may also inform social norms at the cultural level. Gelfand and colleagues (2011) identified nations as varying in the prevalence and rigidity of social norms—loose versus more tight societies. Although we did not find deviancy aversion to causally impact a desire for looseness vs. tightness (Study 5), past work has found higher levels of deviancy aversion in tighter cultures (China) than in looser ones (United States; Gollwitzer et al., 2017). Future research should seek to explain these contradictory findings, and more carefully examine whether loose vs. tight cultures overlap with lower vs. higher levels of deviancy aversion. If so, tight vs. loose cultures may extend beyond social norms to other domains as well; for instance, tight societies may have more rigid and patterned architecture than more loose societies.

Our findings also shed light on more specific questions. For instance, deviancy aversion may help explain why people engage in normative behaviors even when these behaviors are not clearly motivated; for example, cooperative norms that are harmful for one’s own personal gain (e.g., cooperating in a one-shot prisoner’s dilemma; Cooper et al., 1996), or descriptive norms that are not motivated by social or extrinsic factors (e.g., random trends; e.g., Muldoon et al., 2014; Schwartz & Howard, 1984). In addition, deviancy aversion may help explain why extremely positive norm-violations—such as donating one’s kidney to a stranger—are often denigrated by others (e.g., Herrmann et al., 2008; MacFarquhar, 2015). Indeed, past work has not only linked deviancy aversion to prejudice against stigmatized social outliers, but also “positive” social outliers (e.g., very smart individuals; Gollwitzer et al., 2017). Finally, deviancy aversion may help explain why even infants correct nonconforming others (Schmidt et al., 2019) and expect group-based social norms (Powell & Spelke, 2013). Given that such responses are unlikely to be driven by more conscious factors (e.g., punishment, reasoning), and that deviancy aversion has been found even in 3-year-olds, an affective discomfort toward pattern distortion may motivate such infant norm-based responding.

Our findings also directly extend research on deviancy aversion. For instance, we find deviancy aversion to impact a social construct aside from prejudice (Gollwitzer et al., 2017; Gollwitzer, Marshall, & Bargh, 2020) and moral judgment (Gollwitzer, Martel, Bargh, & Chang, 2020). In addition, we find deviancy aversion to not only relate to social norms but also have a causal impact on heightening social norm indicators (Study 5). Moreover, deviancy aversion predicted self-reported and objective behaviors that have substantial consequences, for instance, conforming to others’ judgments (Study 2), engaging in greater physical distancing norms during COVID-19 (Study 3), and reduced cheating when doing so violates fairness norms (Study 4). In doing so, we extend the potential outcomes of deviancy aversion to health (Study 2), conformity (Study 3), and fairness (Study 4) domains. Finally, we found that deviancy aversion links to social judgments even for participants who do not predict these links (Study 3), impacts social responding outside of awareness (Study 5), and fails to influence individuals’ more cognitive, belief-based judgments (Study 5). Taken together, these findings provide a new theoretical framework of deviancy aversion as an unintentional affective heuristic that influences social responding across domains by inducing negative affect toward social irregularities outside of people’s awareness.

Finally, past work finds that approximately 15% of people exhibit a stable preference for pattern distortion instead of an aversion (Gollwitzer, 2021). This 15% aligns fairly well with the percent of participants in conformity studies who refuse to conform (e.g., ~25% in Asch, 1951). Potentially, this minority group of deviancy preferers, also referred to as “rebels,” “rule-breakers,” or “trend-setters,” functions evolutionarily to motivate social norm change as well as promote opposition against social norms that are harmful (e.g., normative prejudice against minority groups, authoritarian rules).

Limitations and Caveats

First, and perhaps most importantly, though deviancy aversion positively correlated with judging social norms as valuable (Study 1), it did not causally heighten this type of more belief-based norm judgment (Study 5). Several explanations exist. In line with deviancy aversion impacting individuals’ affective responses toward norms and norm violations, these results may be driven by the norm espousal and tightness measures in Study 5 assessing more cognitive, belief-based attitudes toward social norms. This explanation aligns with the link between deviancy aversion and norm espousal being quite small in Study 1 (β = .176), and additionally, with past research indicating that deviancy aversion appears to impact social judgment via affective pathways (e.g., Gollwitzer, Martel, Bargh, & Chang, 2020).

Second, Study 5 did not include a no-treatment condition. It is thus unclear whether deviancy aversion or pattern ‘positivity’ heightens social norm indicators (or both). Supporting the former, participants’ responses to unbroken patterns did not consistently predict social norm indicators (Studies 1–4) and, in a supplemental study, deviancy aversion heightened social norms compared to a negativity aversion control condition (see Study S2). Third, the Flurp social norm measures are limited as participants may perceive the Flurps as “objects” rather than social agents. Fourth, deviancy aversion is not the only factor underlying social norms (e.g., avoiding punishment), and likely interacts with other factors to predict social norms. Fifth, the generalizability of our findings is limited. It remains unclear whether deviancy aversion predicts social norm indicators cross-culturally, predicts social norms in noisier field contexts, and predicts conformity if conformity opposes a known answer (akin to Asch’s line studies; Asch, 1951). Finally, deviancy aversion may also influence perceptions of simple statistical regularities that are not necessarily social norms (Bicchieri, 2005). This would not discount the observed effects, however. Instead, these results would align with the proposed mechanism—that social norms are regular, patterned behaviors.

Good-looking people report higher meaning in life

Pretty, meaningful lives: physical attractiveness and experienced and perceived meaning in life. Christopher A. Sanders, Alexis T. Jenkins & Laura A. King. The Journal of Positive Psychology, Dec 9 2022. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2022.2155222

Abstract: Three studies examined the association between physical attractiveness and meaning in life. Study 1 (N = 305 college students) showed that self-reported physical attractiveness positively correlated with meaning in life. Study 2 (N = 598 noncollege adults) replicated the association between self-reported physical attractiveness and meaning in life and extended those findings, demonstrating that outside perceptions of attractiveness are linked to outside perceptions of how meaningful a person’s life is. Study 3 (N = 331 targets, 97 raters) replicated these findings and probed the nuances of the relationships between outside ratings and self-reports of attractiveness and meaning in life. Across the studies, existential significance, or the feeling that one’s life matters, was the facet of meaning that primarily explained the link between attractiveness and meaning in life. In addition, a person’s view of their own attractiveness is more indicative of their well-being than outsider ratings. Implications for our understanding of meaning in life are discussed.

Keywords: Existential meaningnatural beauty

People found false feedback about their personality more accurate and appealing than the real one, even if it consisted of vague and unspecific diagnoses that could fit just about anyone

How well do we know ourselves? Disentangling self-judgment biases in perceived accuracy and preference of personality feedback. Sabina Trif, Claudia Rus, Elena Manole, Octavian Calin Duma. Psihologia Resurselor Umane, Vol. 20 No. 2 (2022), Dec 6, 2022. https://doi.org/10.24837/pru.v20i2.518

Abstract: Despite personality measurement and feedback being pervasive practices, there are self-judgment biases that may impair their usage. We set out to analyze the differences between two kinds of false feedback and real feedback on personality regarding perceived accuracy and preference. We propose that there would be no differences between false and real feedback regarding perceived accuracy, but we expect differences regarding feedback preference. A sample of 146 students completed the IPIP-50 instrument that measured the Big 5 Factors and received three kinds of feedback - a general one (Barnum effect as false feedback), a positive one (Better-than-average effect as false feedback), and a real one. They rated each regarding accuracy and preference. Results indicate differences regarding both dependent variables. Participants perceive false feedback as more accurate than the real one. Moreover, they prefer positive feedback over the other two, and general feedback compared to the real one. We discuss both theoretical and practical implications, alongside a series of limitations and future research directions.

Keywords: personality, Barnum effect, better-than-average effect, psychometrics

Can Inflammation Predict Social Media Use? Linking a Biological Marker of Systemic Inflammation with Social Media Use Among College Students and Middle-Aged Adults

Lee, David S. and Jiang, Tao and Crocker, Jennifer and Way, Baldwin M., Can Inflammation Predict Social Media Use? Linking a Biological Marker of Systemic Inflammation with Social Media Use Among College Students and Middle-Aged Adults. SSRN, Dec 5 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4281080

Abstract: Although much research has examined the impact of social media use, relatively less is known about what predicts social media use. Drawing on recent evidence that inflammation may promote social affiliative motivation, the present research proposes a novel, biopsychosocial perspective that inflammation may be associated with more social media use. Using a nationally representative sample of middle-aged adults (N = 524), Study 1 found a positive association between C-reactive protein (CRP), a biomarker of systemic inflammation, and the amount of social media people used. Study 2 (N = 228) showed that among college students CRP was prospectively associated with more social media use 6 weeks later. Providing stronger evidence of the directionality of this effect, Study 3 (N = 171) showed that CRP predicted increased social media use in the subsequent week even after controlling for current week’s use. Additionally, in exploratory analyses of CRP and different types of social media use in the same week, CRP was only associated with using social media for social interaction and not for other purposes (e.g., entertainment). The present research sheds light on a biopsychosocial antecedent to social media use and highlights potential benefits of using biological measures in social media research.

Keywords: Social media use, inflammation, C-reactive protein, mental health, physical health, well-being

Political, but not cognitive sophistication was associated with an heightened propensity for motivated reasoning, the bending of the evidence to defend the preconceived world view; so, in the end, the problem is being infected with the political virus!

 On the Independent Roles of Cognitive & Political Sophistication: Variation Across Attitudinal Objects. Joseph A. Vitriol,Joseph Sandor,Robert Vidigal,Christina Farhart. Applied Cognitive Psychology, November 29 2022. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.4022

Abstract: People are motivated to maintain consistency between importantly held identities, preferences, and judgments. In political contexts, motivated reasoning can help explain a wide range of political phenomena, including extremism, polarization, and misperceptions. However, recent findings in psychology have challenged this account. These perspectives emphasize the role of cognitive sophistication (e.g., analytical reasoning, numerical literacy) in political attitudes, but differ in terms of whether it is expected to attenuate or exacerbate politically motivated reasoning and belief in conspiracy theories. Yet prior investigations have not examined the relative and independent effects of both political and cognitive sophistication. Using data from two samples, including one sampled to approximate representativeness in the U.S., we demonstrate that both types of sophistication have independent and (at times) countervailing effects on belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories and other political attitudes. Our results are critical for theories of cognitive sophistication, political cognition, and attitudes, and the psychology of conspiracy theories.