The acute effects of alcohol on social cognition: High alcohol doses tend to have negative effects, low doses may have some positive effects, e.g., on emotion recognition

The acute effects of alcohol on social cognition: A systematic review of experimental studies. Isabelle Cristina Baltariu et al. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, March 2 2023, 109830. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2023.109830

Highlights

• This systematic review focused on social cognition changes after drinking alcohol.

• High alcohol doses (>0.8 g alcohol/kg body weight) tend to have negative effects.

• Low doses (<0.4 g/kg) may have some positive effects, e.g., on emotion recognition.

• Interpersonal characteristics may mediate the effects but remain understudied.

Abstract

Rationale: Alcohol effects on social cognition have been studied by measuring facial emotion recognition, empathy, Theory of Mind (ToM) and other forms of information processing.

Objectives: Using the PRISMA guidelines, we reviewed experimental studies that examined effects of alcohol on social cognition.

Methods: Scopus, PsycInfo, PubMed, and Embase were searched between July 2020 - January 2023. The PICO strategy was used for identifying participants, interventions, comparators, and outcomes. Participants (N=2330) were adult social alcohol users. Interventions consisted of acute alcohol administration. Comparators included placebo or the lowest alcohol dose. Outcome variables were grouped into three themes: facial processing, empathy and ToM, and perceptions of inappropriate sexual behavior.

Results: A total of 32 studies were reviewed. Studies measuring facial processing (67%) often found no effects of alcohol on the recognition of specific emotions, effects facilitated emotion recognition at lower doses but worsened emotion recognition at higher doses. In studies measuring empathy or ToM (24%), lower doses were more likely to lead to improvements while higher doses were generally impairing. Within the third group of studies (9%), moderate to high alcohol doses made it more difficult to perceive sexual aggression accurately.

Conclusions: Lower alcohol doses might sometimes help facilitate social cognition, but most data were in line with the idea that alcohol tends to worsen social cognition, particularly at higher doses. Future studies might focus on examining other moderators of the effects of alcohol on social cognition, particularly interpersonal characteristics such as trait emotional empathy and participant and target gender.

Keywords: alcoholsocial cognitionemotion recognitionempathytheory of mindaggression

4. Discussion

This systematic review summarized experimental studies on alcohol’s acute effects on social cognition, with the aim to gain a better understanding of alcohol-induced changes in social cognition as a mediator in the alcohol - aggression relationship. While people often drink with others to obtain positive interpersonal outcomes (Peele & Brodsky, 2000), changes in the processing of social stimuli may also have inadvertent negative consequences, at least in some people. To examine social cognition changes after drinking, we inspected past alcohol administration studies that assessed alcohol’s effects on facial processing (theme 1), empathy and ToM (theme 2), and perceptions of inappropriate sexual behavior (theme 3). We reviewed 32 studies involving mostly healthy adult volunteers. Methodologically, studies used a wide variety of alcohol doses (range 0.14-2.5 g/kg) and outcome measures.

With respect to theme 1, one key finding of our systematic review was that alcohol can increase the accurate recognition of happiness in emotional faces at both low and high doses (Dolder et al., 2017, Kano et al., 2003, Nagar et al., 2021, Sripada et al., 2011) while at moderate and high doses it can decrease the recognition of fear, sadness, and anger (Attwood et al., 2009a, Attwood et al., 2009b, Borrill et al., 1987, Craig et al., 2009, Dolder et al., 2017, Eastwood et al., 2020, Honan et al., 2018, Kano et al., 2003, Khouja et al., 2019, Nagar et al., 2021, Sripada et al., 2011, Stevens et al., 2008, Stevens et al., 2009). Different emotions are thought to communicate different intentions, with anger inviting confrontation and fear inviting protection, for example (Parkinson, 1996). On the one hand, this has been interpreted as alcohol inducing positive cognitive biases. On the other hand, it is possible that alcohol consumption impairs one’s sensitivity to signals of submission and distress from others, thus increasing the probability of responding aggressively (Attwood & Munafò, 2014).

The results for disgust recognition were less consistent, with both decreases and increases at moderate to high doses (Attwood et al., 2009a, Borrill et al., 1987, Eastwood et al., 2020, Felisberti and Terry, 2015). While alcohol does not always have effects on facial emotion recognition, this does not appear directly related to the administered alcohol dose, which implies that other factors may moderate the effects. For instance, gender (Craig et al., 2008), social anxiety (Stevens et al., 2009), and trait emotional empathy (Dolder et al., 2017) may have a moderating influence. The observed effects of alcohol on facial emotion recognition suggest that, in most individuals, alcohol increases social information processing in a way that may improve their mood (Dolder et al., 2017, Kano et al., 2003, Sripada et al., 2011) while particularly at higher doses the effects on social cognition may be more likely to induce a negative emotional state (Craig et al., 2008; Eastwood et al., 2020; Honan et al., 2018) thereby explaining a higher risk for aggression (Heinz et al., 2011). Besides impairing detection of negative expressions, drinking alcohol can increase the misclassification of negative expressions as neutral (Atwood et al., 2009a; Kamboj et al., 2013). While this may serve to reduce social anxiety (Stevens et al., 2008), thereby making alcohol a social lubricant, at the same time alcohol might reduce controlled, effortful cognitive processing, thereby creating a narrowing effect on attention. In this process, called “alcohol myopia”, the range of social cues that can be adequately processed becomes restricted (Steele & Josephs, 1990). Even though alcohol can have an anxiety- reducing effect at lower doses, at higher doses can negatively influence social judgment (Francis et al., 2019, Johnson et al., 2018, Herzog, 1999).

A second key finding for theme 1 was that while at moderate doses alcohol can increase facial scanning and improve facial memory (Colloff & Flowe; 2016) at high and moderate doses these cognitive processes are more likely to become disrupted. In general, studies were more likely to find positive effects on social information processing at lower doses and to find impairing effects at higher alcohol doses (Borrill et al., 1987, Harvey, 2014, Sripada et al., 2011). These findings are in line with the idea that dose moderates the effects of alcohol on social cognition. For example the findings in the study by Penton-Voak et al. (2012) suggest that after a moderate alcohol dose women perceive a threat in men but they can have increased sex-related cognitions; while men get worse at perceiving social signals this leading to escalating male-male aggression.

With respect to theme 2, while studies found that moderate doses had variable effects, high doses generally decreased empathy and ToM (Battista et. al., 2014; Francis et al., 2019; Hu et al., 2018; Karlén et al., 2019). The decrease in empathy may be closely linked to impaired recognition of negative emotions (particularly fear and sadness) as mentioned above. Moreover, decreased empathic ability has been linked to aggression before (Dethier and Blairy, 2012, Philippot et al., 2005).

Finally, three studies that focused on perceptions of inappropriate sexual behavior (theme 3) all found that, at moderate to high doses, alcohol negatively influences the accurate processing of cues of sexual aggression (Gross et al., 2001, Loiselle and Fuqua, 2007). These results could be taken to mean that alcohol increases the risk of sexual aggression. This idea is consistent with multiple previous studies that found increased hostility and aggressive behavior after alcohol, even though these studies generally did not focus on sexual aggression (Bushman and Cooper, 1990, Ogle and Miller, 2004). Indeed, while all reviewed studies focused on aggression between men and women, experimental studies on the effect of alcohol on aggression have generally not examined both participant gender and target gender.

The results for alcohol’s effects on the perception of inappropriate sexual behavior can be connected to the aforementioned results on facial emotion processing (theme 1): the reduced anger recognition accuracy (Khouja et al., 2019) and increased tendency to see happy expressions (Dolder et al., 2017, Khouja et al., 2019) could help explain why, after moderate doses of alcohol, women had worse risk detection while listening to a date rape (Loiselle & Fuqua, 2007). Similarly, men’s tendency to judge women’s friendliness and arousal as higher after a moderate or high alcohol doses may be due to impaired processing of sad, disgusted, and fearful (Felisberti and Terry, 2015, Honan et al., 2018, Kamboj et al., 2013) expressions, in combination with improved processing of happy expressions (Dolder et al., 2017, Kano et al., 2003, Sripada et al., 2011). Moreover, men’s decreased perception of antisocial behavior at high alcohol doses (Karlén et al., 2019) fits with the results about decreased anger recognition (Borrill et al., 1987, Khouja et al., 2019). Importantly, women but not men became better at perceiving antisocial behavior, both with the moderate alcohol dose and with the high dose (Karlén et al., 2019). These findings are in line with previous studies that confirmed the alcohol-aggression link: experimental studies showed that acute alcohol consumption can lead to aggression (Chermack and Taylor, 1995, Dougherty et al., 1999, Giancola, 2002, Giancola, 2004, Zeichner et al., 1994), while correlational studies found that even in the context of chronic alcohol use aggression is most often reported during episodes of acute intoxication (Chermack & Giancola, 1997). In line with our results, clinical evidence suggests that emotion recognition and ToM ability is indeed impaired in AUD individuals (Kumar et al., 2022, Le Berre, 2019), and this is thought to be due to the large amount of drinking.

Overall, our review suggests that although alcohol in lower doses may improve social functioning, at higher doses alcohol is particularly likely to impair social cognition, thereby it may increase the risk of aggression in some people. Specifically, while results were not consistent across studies, lower doses were able to increase facial scanning (Colloff and Flowe, 2016, Penton-Voak et al., 2012), happiness recognition (Dolder et al., 2017, Kano et al., 2003), empathy and ToM (Dolder et al., 2017, Johnson et al., 2018), and decrease the recognition of negative emotions (Atwood et al., 2009b; Craig et al., 2008; Eastwood et al., 2020; Honan et al., 2018; Kamboj et al., 2013; Nagar et al., 2021). Higher alcohol doses were able to decrease not only the recognition of negative emotions (Sripada et al., 2011) but also facial scanning (Colloff and Flowe, 2016, Honan et al., 2018), and happiness recognition (Kano et al., 2003), empathy and ToM (Francis et al., 2019, Herzog, 1999, Thiel et al., 2018). The fact that results were not consistent across studies might partially be due to moderating factors other than alcohol dose. Individual characteristics such as participant gender (Battista et al., 2014; Craig et al., 2008; Karlén et al., 2019, Penton-Voak et al., 2012) and social anxiety (Stevens et al., 2008, Stevens et al., 2009) may play a role, but so may situational variables such as target gender (Penton-Voak et. al., 2012) and social context (e.g., Dolder et al., 2017; Thiel et al., 2018). For one, we propose that more careful studies of (participant and target) gender as a potential moderator of the effects of alcohol on social cognition are needed. Importantly, researchers conducting these studies should decide on whether to vary doses by participant gender or not. Additionally, we propose to study relevant interpersonal characteristics as potential moderators, such as trait emotional empathy (Dolder et al., 2017, Giancola, 2003).

4.1. Limitations of the review

We previously noted that the studies reviewed in this manuscript used a wide variety of alcohol doses (range 0.14-2.5 g/kg). While categorizing alcohol doses into low, moderate, and high facilitates their interpretation, this categorization could lead to missing subtle differences between doses, as BAC would more accurately represent alcohol levels in the blood (Martin and Sayette, 1993). However, only two of the reviewed studies (Kamboj et al., 2013, Nagar et al., 2021) compared alcohol’s effects at lower and higher BAC.

Related, we also noted that the experimental procedures for alcohol administration differed substantially between studies. In this context, it is of relevance that alcohol has biphasic effects: stimulation is observed on the ascending limb of the absorption curve and sedation is observed on the descending limb (Pihl et al., 2003). To get to the peak of the ascending limb it takes 36 minutes and to get to the peak of the descending limb 109 minutes (Marczinski & Fillmore, 2005). In some studies, participants were asked to start completing performance measures of social cognition immediately after alcohol consumption (Francis et al., 2019, Stevens et al., 2009, Thiel et al., 2018), while in another study, participants were instructed to wait 40 minutes while completing baseline questionnaires (Kamboj et al., 2013) or to complete the task only when the desired level of intoxication was achieved (assessed using breathalyzer tests) (Colloff & Flowe, 2016). Participants in the former studies were thus more likely to complete tasks while on the ascending limb than participants in the latter studies. This between-study variation in the time between alcohol administration and social cognition assessment might help explain between-study variation in the effects of alcohol on facial emotion processing (theme 1), for example. In addition, not all facial emotion recognition studies report an overall alcohol effect on general emotion recognition, however in which studies this information was available, this effect also varied from small (Khojua et al., 2019; Padula et al., 2011), moderate (Borrill et al., 1987;Craig et al., 2008; Eastwood et al., 2020; Felisberti & Terry, 2015; Tucker & Vuchinich, 1983) and high (Honan et al., 2017; Nagar et al., 2021; Sripada et al., 2011).

Another limitation of our review was that we included blinded studies (involving double or single blinding, see Table 1) (Atwood et al., 2009a; Atwood et al., 2009b; Craig et al., 2008; Dolder et al., 2017; Felisberti and Terry, 2015; Kano et al., 2003), unblinded studies (Battista et al., 2014, Farris et al., 2010, Herzog, 1999), and studies for which blinding was not reported (Stevens et al., 2008, Stevens et al., 2009). Most of these studies included participants who at least expected to drink alcohol during the study. People with alcohol expectations tend to adapt their behavior to match expected alcohol effects (Martin and Sayette, 1993). Therefore, the use of an effective placebo manipulation is generally recommended (Babor, 2000) but our review included studies that differed in the way the blinding was organized and if it was successful. Also, studies did not report information on the blinding of researchers, and if this was checked.

A final limitation of our review is that the measures used to assess aspects of social cognition variables varied widely across studies. Some of the reviewed tasks offer more ecological validity in the assessment of social cognition thanks to the stimuli having similarities with real life situations during which a person might consider others’ emotions, thoughts, intentions, or behaviors (Hogenelst et al., 2015). Examples include the empathic accuracy task, or the video tape of interpersonal violence situation, and even the audiotape of the date rape. Conversely, results from basic tasks involving simple stimuli, e.g. black and white still images of facial expressions should be interpreted in light of their relative lack of ecological validity.

4.2. Implications of this review for future research

The present review shows that drinking alcohol can negatively affect social cognition, particularly at higher doses. This supports the idea that changes in social cognition can mediate alcohol’s effect on aggression. However, given substantial variability in results between studies, even at comparable (low-moderate-high) doses, we recommend that future studies focus on elucidating which person-level and situation-level variables might act as moderators. For example, at the person level, factors like alcohol tolerance, metacognitive processes, personality factors (Kalant, 1996, Kuntsche et al., 2008, Spada and Wells, 2006) might be interesting to study because the alcohol aggression relationship may not be present all the time and in all individuals. Also, situational aspects of a social interaction involving alcohol (or an interaction-like situation created in a performance-based measure) might be considered. For example, the next step would be studying the behavior in a social interaction situation (Zawacki, 2011) or employing several potential relevant social cognition measures after drinking (Schreiter et al., 2013).

Finally, the finding that alcohol can acutely impair social cognition, particularly at higher alcohol doses (this review) does not exclude the possibility of reverse causality. That is, by improving social cognition, social drinking may be reduced. In other words, social cognition training may diminish alcohol use in social settings, which may have clinical implications. Several such training options are available: micro-expressions training (Russell et al., 2006), example emotion and ToM imitation training (Mazza et al., 2010), and a dynamic interactive social cognition training in virtual reality (Nijman et al., 2020). While the effects of social cognition training on drinking in a social context have not been studied, to learn more about the role of social cognition in the alcohol-aggression link, this may be an important next step.

Pet ownership was most prevalent amongst Whites (70.4%), lowest amongst African Americans (29.0%)

Examining U.S. pet ownership using the General Social Survey. Jennifer W. Applebaum, Chuck W. Peek & Barbara A. Zsembik. The Social Science Journal, Volume 60, 2023 - Issue 1, Mar 6 2020. https://doi.org/10.1080/03623319.2020.1728507

Abstract: Pets are an important aspect of many families and households, but how many Americans have them? The purpose of this study is to compare point estimates of pet ownership in the U.S. from the General Social Survey (GSS) to estimates from other surveys, and to report demographic and social correlates to pet ownership. Wide discrepancies in estimates of U.S. pet ownership have been previously reported, relying on private industry surveys that do not disclose sampling design. Further, some surveys that reported pet ownership were not available for public use and/or did not lend themselves to social science due to a limited number of other measures of important social and demographic characteristics. U.S. estimates of pet ownership from the GSS tended to be slightly higher than those based on the American Veterinary Medical Association Pet Ownership and Demographics Sourcebook and consistently lower than estimates based on the American Pet Products Association National Pet Owners Survey. Pet ownership varied by race/ethnicity, age, size of place, household composition, and dwelling type. Number and type of pets also varied considerably by social and demographic characteristics. We conclude that the 2018 GSS has several advantages for studying human–animal interaction including a nationally representative sample, availability of a wide range of covariates, and public accessibility.

Women’s orgasms appear to have a cultural competency component, wherein women need some kind of knowledge that enables women to “know” what an orgasm is and to “recognize” it

Women’s Experiences of Different Types of Orgasms—A Call for Pleasure Literacy? Katharina Weitkamp & Fabienne Seline Verena Wehrli. International Journal of Sexual Health, Mar 1 2023. https://doi.org/10.1080/19317611.2023.2182861

Abstract

Background: There is an ongoing controversy about women’s sexuality and the existence of different orgasms. The debate is tilted toward anatomical and physiological evidence, which often leaves subjective experiences out of the picture. The aim of the current mixed-methods study was to capture women’s accounts of their experiences of orgasmic states.

Methods: As part of a larger online survey, 513 women (M = 25.89 years, SD = 5.60) from a community sample filled in open-ended questions on their experience of different kinds of orgasms. Additionally, women rated semantic differentials with bipolar adjectives characterizing vaginal and clitoral orgasms. A sub-sample of n = 257 women (50%) had experienced both, vaginal and clitoral orgasms and rated both separately on the semantic differential.

Results: Wilcoxon signed-rank test showed significant differences in that clitoral orgasms were, amongst others, rated as sharper, easier, and more controllable, while vaginal orgasms were rated as wilder, deeper, more pulsating, and extending. In open-ended questions, women talked about various other orgasmic experiences, such as mixed clitoral/vaginal orgasms, whole body, cervical, anal, or mental orgasms. Some women were uncertain about their orgasmic experiences.

Conclusion: It is time to integrate anatomical, psychophysiological, and experiential data and conclude that either “all clitoral” or “clitoral and vaginal” falls short to do justice to the complexity of women’s orgasms. Understanding and defining these various types of orgasms and allowing for the apparent diversity to have its place in research and in social discourse is a task for future research and pleasure-positive sex education to increase pleasure literacy.

Men working non-daytime/rotating shifts and those with physically demanding jobs have higher sperm concentration and total sperm count as well as higher estradiol and total testosterone concentrations

Occupational factors and markers of testicular function among men attending a fertility center. Lidia Mínguez-Alarcón, Paige L Williams, Irene Souter, Jennifer B Ford, Ramy Abou Ghayda, Russ Hauser, Jorge E Chavarro, for the Earth Study Team. Human Reproduction, dead027, Feb 11 2023. https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/dead027

Abstract

Study Question: Are occupational factors associated with markers of testicular function among men attending a fertility center?

Summary Answer: Men working non-daytime/rotating shifts and those with physically demanding jobs have higher sperm concentration and total sperm count as well as higher estradiol and total testosterone concentrations.

What Is Known Already: Semen quality has declined during recent decades and has been negatively correlated with higher risks of common chronic diseases and mortality, highlighting its public health importance beyond fertility and reproduction. While most of the previous epidemiology literature on male fertility has focused on environmental exposures, dietary factors, and other related variables, little attention has been paid to occupational factors.

Study Design, Size, Duration: This observational study included 377 men who were male partners in couples seeking infertility treatment at a fertility center, who enrolled in the Environment and Reproductive Health (EARTH) study between 2005 and 2019.

Participants/Materials, Setting, Methods: Self-reported information on lifting/moving heavy objects, typical shift, and physical level of exertion at work was collected from a take-home questionnaire. Semen samples were analyzed following World Health Organization guidelines. Enzyme immunoassays were used to assess reproductive hormone concentrations. Linear regression models were used to evaluate the association between occupational factors and measures of testicular function, while adjusting for covariates such as age, BMI, education, race, smoking, and abstinence time, and accounting for multiple semen samples (mean = 2, min–max = 1–9) in analyses for semen parameters.

Main Results And The Role Of Chance: Men had a median (interquartile range) age of 36 (33, 39) years and were predominantly Caucasian (87%). Of the men who completed the survey, 12% reported often lifting or moving heavy objects at work, 6% reported heavy physical exertion at work, and 9% reported evening or rotating shifts. Men who reported often lifting or moving heavy objects at work had 46% higher sperm concentrations (P = 0.01) and 44% higher total counts (P = 0.01) compared with men who reported never lifting or moving heavy objects at work. Similar results were found for men working in rotating shifts compared to those in day shifts, as well as for men involved in heavy levels of physical exertion compared to those with light levels at work. We also found that men involved in heavy/moderate levels of physical exertion at work had higher circulating testosterone concentrations compared to those with lighter exertion (adjusted means of 515 and 427 ng/dl, respectively, P = 0.08), and men who often moved/lifted heavy objects at work had higher estradiol concentrations, compared to those who never did (adjusted means of 36.8 and 27.1 pg/ml, respectively, P = 0.07). Men working evening/rotating shifts had 24% higher testosterone (P = 0.04) and 45% higher estradiol concentrations (P = 0.01), compared to men working day shifts. No associations were observed for ejaculated volume, total motility, morphologically normal sperm, or serum FSH and LH concentrations.

Limitations, Reasons For Caution: Due to our study design which recruited men from couples seeking fertility treatment, it may not be possible to generalize our findings to men from the general population. Also, as is the case of all studies based on self-reported questionnaires, measurement error and misclassification of the exposure are potential concerns.

Wider Implications Of The Findings: Physically demanding jobs and rotating or evening shift occupations may be associated with higher testicular function in men measured as higher sperm concentrations and counts as well as higher serum testosterone and estradiol levels. Confirmation of these findings in other non-fertility clinic study populations is warranted.

Keywords: occupational, work shift, physical exertion, semen parameters, testosterone

This article argues that “open source intelligence (OSINT)” is a fundamentally incoherent concept that should be abandoned

There Is No Such Thing as Open Source Intelligence. Joseph M. Hatfield. International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence, Mar 1 2023. https://doi.org/10.1080/08850607.2023.2172367

Abstract: This article argues that “open source intelligence (OSINT)” is a fundamentally incoherent concept that should be abandoned. It does so in two steps. First, by challenging the underlying criteria used to demarcate it as a separate “INT” among its more traditional peers. Second, through a historical critique that argues that “OSINT” as a conceptual category served a transitionary stage that has long passed. That is, it helped intelligence practitioners and scholars appreciate the influx of valuable unclassified information made newly available by the World Wide Web in the 1990s, but the advantages gained from this notion have now declined, and the concept is now a liability. By discarding the term altogether, and recategorizing openly derived sources of information back into their traditional homes, significant conceptual and analytical benefits can be attained.

Happiness was associated with worse reasoning; happiness may not be predictive of the rate of cognitive decline over time

The association between happiness and cognitive function in the UK Biobank. Xianghe Zhu, Martina Luchetti, Damaris Aschwanden, Amanda A. Sesker, Yannick Stephan, Angelina R. Sutin & Antonio Terracciano. Current Psychology, Mar 01 2023. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12144-023-04446-y

Abstract: Feelings of happiness have been associated with better performance in creative and flexible thinking and processing. Less is known about whether happier individuals have better performance on basic cognitive functions and slower rate of cognitive decline. In a large sample from the UK Biobank (N = 17,885; Age 40–70 years), we examine the association between baseline happiness and cognitive function (speed of processing, visuospatial memory, reasoning) over four assessment waves spanning up to 10 years of follow-up. Greater happiness was associated with better speed and visuospatial memory performance across assessments independent of vascular or depression risk factors. Happiness was associated with worse reasoning. No association was found between happiness and the rate of change over time on any of the cognitive tasks. The cognitive benefits of happiness may extend to cognitive functions such as speed and memory but not more complex processes such as reasoning, and happiness may not be predictive of the rate of cognitive decline over time. More evidence on the association between psychological well-being and different cognitive functions is needed to shed light on potential interventional efforts.

Migrants at Sea: Search and Rescue Operations induced more crossings in dangerous conditions, offsetting their intended safety benefits; despite the increased mortality, these operations likely increased aggregate migrant welfare

Migrants at Sea: Unintended Consequences of Search and Rescue Operations. Claudio Deiana, Vikram Maheshri, Giovanni Mastrobuoni. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, Feb 2023. https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/pol.20220014

Abstract: Many developed countries currently both face and resist strong migratory pressure, fueling irregular migration. The Central Mediterranean Sea is among the most dangerous crossings for irregular migrants in the world. In response to mounting deaths, European nations intensified search and rescue operations in 2013. We develop a model of irregular migration to identify the effects of these operations. Leveraging exogenous variation from rapidly varying crossing conditions, we find that smugglers responded by sending boats in adverse weather and shifting from seaworthy boats to flimsy rafts. As a result, these operations induced more crossings in dangerous conditions, ultimately offsetting their intended safety benefits due to moral hazard and increasing the realized ex post crossing risk for migrants. Despite the increased risk, these operations likely increased aggregate migrant welfare; nevertheless, a more successful policy should instead restrict the supply of rafts and expand legal alternatives for migration.

Opposed to expectations, individuals with a higher propensity to engage in casual sex paid greater attention to pathogen cues

An Eye Tracking Study Examining the Role of Mating Strategies, Perceived Vulnerability to Disease, and Disgust in Attention to Pathogenic Cues. Ray Garza, Farid Pazhoohi, Laith Al-Shawaf & Jennifer Byrd-Craven. Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology, March 1 2023. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40750-023-00211-4

Abstract: Disgust is an emotion that regulates disease avoidance and reduces the likelihood of pathogenic infections. Existing research suggests a bidirectional relationship between disgust and mating, where disgust inhibits sexual behavior and sexual behavior inhibits disgust. In the current study, we investigated the role of individual differences and mating motivations on visual attention to pathogenic cues. Participants (N = 103) were randomly assigned to a mating prime or control condition, and they were asked to view images of pathogenic cues (i.e., rotten food, exposed cuts, bodily fluids) paired with their non-pathogenic counterparts. The findings showed no effect of mating prime on visual attention to pathogenic stimuli; however, dispositional mating strategies (SOI-R) were associated with attention to pathogenic stimuli. Individuals with unrestricted sociosexual orientations viewed pathogenic stimuli longer. The findings demonstrate that dispositional mating orientation is associated with greater attention to disgusting images, a link between pathogens and mating orientation that warrants further exploration.

Discussion

In the current study, we examined if a short-term mating prime and individual differences in short term-mating (i.e., SOI) would predict visual attention to pathogen cues. We tested if short-term mating, whether primed or dispositional, would inhibit attention to pathogen related cues resulting in lower viewing time. We found that participants viewed images containing pathogen cues longer than non-pathogen cues. With respect to the role of mating psychology, the short-term mating prime did not have an effect on visual attention to pathogen related cues. However, individual differences in short-term mating orientation were associated viewing time, with a stronger short-term mating orientation predicting greater viewing time for pathogen cues. Individual differences in pathogen disgust and perceived vulnerability did not predict visual attention to pathogen related cues.

These findings demonstrate that individuals attend more to pathogen-salient compared to non-pathogen salient information. This was shown in looking behavior (number of fixations) and overall attention (dwell time). This bolsters the notion that pathogen cues represent a threat and that attending to that threat may provide individuals with a means to prepare or respond to such stimuli. It has been suggested that attending to threatening information is an automatic and mandatory response (Schmidt et al., 2016), which is an evolved mechanism to be able to monitor threating situations (Belopolsky et al., 2011). For instance, individuals display more visual attention when given a signal that indicates a threatening situation (i.e., signaling a shock) (Nissens et al., 2017) or angry facial expressions (Belopolsky et al., 2011). Individuals also orient their eye movements to threatening stimuli even when instructed to attend to other visual stimuli (Schmidt et al., 2015). Although it has often been suggested that attending to threatening stimuli is automatic, we did not find that individuals automatically attended to pathogen cues first compared to non-pathogen cues, as we found that first fixation durations were longer for non-pathogen cues. Visual measurements, such as first fixation durations, are supposed to capture automatic responses to a stimulus at the onset of presentation (Conklin et al., 2018). Perhaps pathogen cues represent a stimulus that requires intentional visual processing to determine whether or not the pathogen represents immediate threat based on our experience with a type of pathogen exposure (i.e., mucus running down a person’s face).

The mating prime was not associated with attention to pathogen cues. This finding suggests that experimentally inducing short-term mating through a hypothetical mating prompt does not downregulate one’s attention to pathogen cues. There was a positive association between individual differences in short-term mating and visual attention (i.e., number of fixations, dwell time) to pathogen cues. Contrary to our expected predictions, individuals with a propensity to engage in uncommitted sexual encounters did not show reduced attention to viewing pathogen cues. The reasons for this finding are unclear. One possibility is that people with stronger short-term mating orientation, who often have lower disgust, can afford to look at pathogens more closely or for longer without being as strongly affected as their more easily disgusted counterparts. Considering that individuals with a short-term mating orientation prioritize partners with putative indicators of high-quality genes (Buss & Schmitt, 1992), they may be attentive to cues that indicate a higher level of pathogen presence in order to choose the best fit mate and avoid unfit partners. Interestingly, this relationship was seen in the sample of women. Research has shown that women are more easily disgusted than men, on average (Al-Shawaf & Lewis, 2013; Al-Shawaf et al., 2016, 2015; Curtis et al., 2004; Tybur et al., 2012). Since women may suffer greater costs (e.g., the possibility of passing an infection on to dependent offspring) in contracting pathogens, they may be more attentive to pathogen related information when engaging in short-term mating behaviors. Compared to males, females have a greater minimum obligatory parental investment and incur a greater cost in in mating decisions (Trivers, 1972). Therefore, displaying a heightened attentional response to potentially threating cues may be an adaptive response for women who are oriented toward uncommitted sexual behaviors. Conversely, individuals with a lower short-term mating orientation (i.e., more restricted sociosexuality) were less likely to view pathogen cues. This may suggest that individuals who are less likely to engage in uncommitted sexual behaviors or pursue multiple sexual opportunities are more likely to avoid pathogen cues and avoid looking at them. Individuals with a lower propensity for short-term mating are more likely to report higher levels of disgust (Al-Shawaf et al., 2015), and this may result in them looking away from disgusting stimuli. These interpretations should be taken with caution, as they are preliminary and need to be replicated in addition to testing alternative explanations. Finally, individual differences in pathogen disgust and perceived vulnerability were not associated with greater attention to pathogen cues. Previous research has suggested that individuals who report higher disgust and feel more vulnerable to disease have a heightened response system (Safra et al., 2021), making them more vigilant and aware of threat-related stimuli (Mahkanova & Shepard, 2020), such as pathogen cues. However, in the present study, the two measures of trait-level pathogen avoidance were not associated with differences in the amount of attention paid to pathogen cues.

Overall, these findings show that individuals display more attention to pathogen-related cues compared to non-pathogen cues. This finding is in line with the general principle that humans have evolved cognitive mechanisms that are designed to detect recurrent adaptive threats, including avoiding pathogens. Detecting pathogen-related information in an environment would have been beneficial throughout ancestral conditions, and it is still important in modern times. The cognitive mechanisms that are involved, such as attention, help individuals make assessments of the potential threat, and perhaps may influence decision making systems.

There are several limitations to this study. First, The mating prime, which consisted of asking participants to imagine themselves in a hypothetical scenario, may not have been an effective mating prime manipulation. It is possible that a stronger or more ecologically valid mating manipulation may inhibit disgust more effectively – consequently, using other mating manipulations (i.e., images, videos) is warranted. Second, our sample represents another limitation – for this methodologically intensive eye-tracking study, we relied primarily on a sample of WEIRD university students. Curtis et al. (2004) showed that disgust sensitivity declines with age, therefore, it is important to attempt to replicate these findings with older adults and with participants from different cultures. However, Raifee et al. (2022) did not find any evidence for age-related declines in pathogen disgust. Third, in this study we only tested the role of short-term mating and its association with viewing pathogen cues. It is possible that priming pathogen cues may reduce interest in short-term mating opportunities, and this may be dependent on one’s dispositional short-term mating orientation. Perhaps an eye-tracking study with separate blocks testing each mechanism (short-term mating – pathogen cues, pathogen cues – short-term mating) can help clarify those relationships. Fourth, this study was conducted at the onset of Covid-19 infections. It is possible that disgust sensitivity was heightened due to rising infections, which may have increased pathogen cue attention. Finally, this study shows that those with a stronger short-term mating orientation attend to pathogens longer, but it remains to be seen whether those with a stronger long-term mating orientation display similar or different attentional response systems (STM and LTM orientation appear to be two different constructs and not merely opposite ends of the same continuum; see Jackson & Kirkpatrick, 2007). This represents a useful future direction for researchers interested in the relationship between mating orientation, disgust, and how this connection may manifest itself through attention to visual stimuli.

Parents experienced a large increase in life satisfaction and happiness in the years surrounding the birth of their first child; most well-being changes bounced back in 5 years

Asselmann, E., & Specht, J. (2023). Baby bliss: Longitudinal evidence for set-point theory around childbirth for cognitive and affective well-being. Emotion, Feb 2023. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0001217

Abstract

Background: Becoming a parent relates not only to joy but also to new challenges. Consistent with set-point theory, previous research found that life satisfaction increased around childbirth but decreased back to baseline in the following years. However, it remains unresolved whether individual facets of affective well-being show lasting or temporary changes around childbirth.

Method: In 5,532 first-time parents from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), we tested how life satisfaction, happiness, sadness, anxiety, and anger changed in the five years before and five years after becoming a parent.

Results: Parents experienced a large increase in life satisfaction and happiness in the years surrounding the birth of their first child. This increase was most pronounced in the first year of parenthood. Sadness and anger decreased in the years before childbirth, reached their lowest point in the first year of parenthood, and increased in the following years. Anxiety slightly increased in the five years before childbirth but was lower thereafter. Most well-being changes bounced back in the long run, resulting in comparable well-being levels five years after versus five years before becoming a parent.

Conclusions: These findings suggest that set-point theory also applies to different facets of affective well-being across the transition to parenthood.

Monkeys: Our data support that masturbation in males may be a sexual outlet for individuals that do not have a current sexual partner, while in females it may function in mate attraction by advertising receptivity

Non-Reproductive Sexual Behavior in Wild White-Thighed Colobus Monkeys (Colobus vellerosus). Julie A. Teichroeb, Stephanie A. Fox, Shelby Samartino, Eva C. Wikberg & Pascale Sicotte. Archives of Sexual Behavior, February 27 2023. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-023-02561-2

Abstract: Rare behaviors are often missing from published papers, hampering phylogenetic analyses. Here, we report, for the first time, masturbation and same-sex sexual behavior (SSB) in both male and female black-and-white colobus monkeys. We recorded these behaviors during 32 months of observation (1573 h of focal animal sampling) on Colobus vellerosus collected at the Boabeng–Fiema Monkey Sanctuary in Ghana. Males were observed masturbating and involved in SSB more than females. Subadult males were the age-sex class that engaged in both of these behaviors most often and a third of all SSB observed in young males occurred when they were forming an all-male band (AMB), which are temporally transient social groups in this species. Our data support that masturbation in males may be a sexual outlet for individuals that do not have a current sexual partner, while in females it may function in mate attraction by advertising receptivity. SSB may occur as an evolutionary byproduct but given the temporal clustering of observed events in males prior to AMB formation, our data best support the hypothesis that these behaviors facilitate male-male bonding (i.e., act as social glue). Within AMB’s, males engage in coalitionary behavior to take over social groups containing females and strong bonds are important for success and later access to females, which could have selected for SSB in C. vellerosus.

Both left and right tend to perceive tweets that contradict their own political views as outpourings of bots

Political Bot Bias in the Perception of Online Discourse. Shane Schweitzer, Kyle S. H. Dobson, and Adam Waytz. Social Psychological and Personality Science, February 27, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1177/19485506231156020

Abstract: Four nationally representative studies (N = 1,986; three preregistered) find evidence for a bias in how people perceive opposing viewpoints expressed through online discourse. These studies elucidate a political bot bias, where political partisans (vs. their out-party) are more likely to view counter-ideological (vs. ideologically consistent) tweets to be social media bots (vs. humans). Study 1 demonstrates that American Democrats and Republicans are more likely to attribute tweets to bots when those tweets express counter-ideological views. Study 2 demonstrated this bias with actual bot tweets generated by the Russian government and comparable human tweets. Study 3 demonstrated this bias manifests in the context of real recent elections and is associated with markers of political animosity. Study 4 experimentally demonstrates the consequences of bot attribution for perceptions of online political discourse. Our findings document a consistent bias that has implications for political discussion online and political polarization more broadly.