Psychotherapy was a marvellous invention, but initial enthusiasm regarding its efficacy has now been obfuscated due to scientific biases that systematically inflate estimates

Raising awareness for the replication crisis in clinical psychology by focusing on inconsistencies in psychotherapy research: how much can we rely on published findings from efficacy trials? Michael P. Hengartner. Front. Psychol. | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00256

Summary and conclusions: As in other psychological specialties (see Bakker et al., 2012), effect sizes published in the clinical psychological literature are often heterogeneous and inflated due to various scientific biases including allegiance bias (Luborsky et al., 1999), publication bias (Driessen et al., 2015), unblinded outcome assessors (Khan et al., 2012), sponsorship bias (Cristea et al., 2017b), or small sample sizes (Cuijpers et al., 2010b). After adjustment for systematic biases, efficacy estimates for various psychotherapy modalities tend to be disappointingly small (Cristea et al., 2017a; Cuijpers et al., 2010b). Some evidence suggests that when efficacy is estimated based exclusively on unbiased high-quality trials, effects of psychotherapy could fall below the threshold for clinical relevance (Cuijpers et al., 2014a). Recently, some psychotherapy researchers hence raised the controversial point that effects of both psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy for depression may entirely reflect a placebo effect (Cuijpers & Cristea, 2015). Of further concern is the gap between treatment efficacy in controlled laboratory trials and treatment effectiveness in naturalistic real-world settings (Hallfors & Cho, 2007; Westen et al., 2004). The literature reviewed in this commentary was restricted to the efficacy of clinical psychological interventions, as that topic is highly relevant for clinical psychology. Nevertheless, conflicting and irreproducible findings have been detected and discussed in various other hot topics within clinical psychology, including the effect of menopause on the occurrence of depression (Hengartner, 2017; Rössler et al., 2016), the putative consequences of violent video games (Calvert et al., 2017; Ferguson and Kilburn, 2010), or inconsistent associations between psychopathology and stress physiology (Chida and Hamer, 2008; Rosmalen and Oldehinkel, 2011). Even though the replication crisis was mostly addressed within social psychology, I conclude that it is no less pernicious and prevalent in clinical psychology. Psychotherapy was a marvellous invention, but initial enthusiasm regarding its efficacy has now been obfuscated due to scientific biases that systematically inflate estimates. Being aware of these issues may certainly improve our scientific and clinical endeavours.

While women no longer tend to marry up in education, they still do in terms of earnings

The Reversal of the Gender Gap in Education and its Consequences for Family Life. Jan Van Bavel, Christine Schwartz, Albert Esteve. Forthcoming in Annual Review of Sociology, vol. 44, 2018. https://lirias.kuleuven.be/handle/123456789/611965

Abstract: While men tended to receive more education than women in the past, the gender gap in education has reversed in recent decades in most Western and many non-Western countries. We review the literature about the implications for union formation, assortative mating, the division of paid and unpaid work, and union stability in Western countries. The bulk of the evidence points to a narrowing of gender differences in mate preferences and declining aversion to female status-dominant relationships. Couples in which wives have more education than their husbands now outnumber those in which husbands have more. While such marriages were more unstable in the past, existing studies indicate that this is no longer true. In addition, recent studies show less evidence of gender display in housework when wives have higher status than their husbands. Despite these shifts, other research documents the continuing influence of the breadwinner-homemaker model of marriage.

Significant liberal/conservative differences in self-reported emotional expressivity, in facial emotional expressivity measured physiologically, in the perceived emotional expressivity and ideology of political elites

In your face: Emotional expressivity as a predictor of ideology. Johnathan Caleb Peterson et al. Politics and the Life Sciences, https://doi.org/10.1017/pls.2017.13

Abstract: Research suggests that people can accurately predict the political affiliations of others using only information extracted from the face. It is less clear from this research, however, what particular facial physiological processes or features communicate such information. Using a model of emotion developed in psychology that treats emotional expressivity as an individual-level trait, this article provides a theoretical account of why emotional expressivity may provide reliable signals of political orientation, and it tests the theory in four empirical studies. We find statistically significant liberal/conservative differences in self-reported emotional expressivity, in facial emotional expressivity measured physiologically, in the perceived emotional expressivity and ideology of political elites, and in an experiment that finds that more emotionally expressive faces are perceived as more liberal.

Paradoxically!!!, the sex differences in the magnitude of relative academic strengths and pursuit of STEM degrees rose with increases in national gender equality

The Gender-Equality Paradox in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education. Gijsbert Stoet, David C. Geary. Psychological Science,  https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797617741719

Abstract: The underrepresentation of girls and women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields is a continual concern for social scientists and policymakers. Using an international database on adolescent achievement in science, mathematics, and reading (N = 472,242), we showed that girls performed similarly to or better than boys in science in two of every three countries, and in nearly all countries, more girls appeared capable of college-level STEM study than had enrolled. Paradoxically, the sex differences in the magnitude of relative academic strengths and pursuit of STEM degrees rose with increases in national gender equality. The gap between boys’ science achievement and girls’ reading achievement relative to their mean academic performance was near universal. These sex differences in academic strengths and attitudes toward science correlated with the STEM graduation gap. A mediation analysis suggested that life-quality pressures in less gender-equal countries promote girls’ and women’s engagement with STEM subjects.

Keywords: cognitive ability, cross-cultural differences, educational psychology, science education, sex differences, open materials

Attentional and evaluative biases help people maintain relationships by avoiding infidelity

Attentional and evaluative biases help people maintain relationships by avoiding infidelity. McNulty, James K., Meltzer, Andrea L., Makhanova, Anastasia, Maner, Jon K. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Feb 12 , 2018, http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000127

Abstract: Two longitudinal studies of 233 newlywed couples suggest that automatic attentional and evaluative biases regarding attractive relationship alternatives can help people maintain relationships by avoiding infidelity. Both studies assessed participants’ tendency to automatically disengage attention from photos of attractive, opposite sex individuals; one study assessed participants’ tendency to devalue those individuals by comparing their attractiveness evaluations to evaluations made by single people, and both studies assessed infidelity and relationship status multiple times for approximately three years. Several sources of devaluation emerged, but only participants’ history of short-term sex predicted both biases; having more short-term sexual partners was associated with being slower to disengage attention from attractive alternatives, and, among men, evaluating such individuals more positively. In turn, both processes exerted indirect effects on relationship dissolution by predicting infidelity; being 100 ms faster to disengage attention from attractive alternatives or rating them 2 scale points lower in attractiveness was associated with a decrease in the odds of infidelity of approximately 50%; the effect of devaluation on infidelity was stronger among participants who evidenced steeper declines in marital satisfaction. These associations emerged because unfaithful individuals took longer to disengage attention from attractive alternatives compared with other social targets and did not differ from singles in their evaluations of those alternatives. Among several other predictors of infidelity, partner attractiveness was associated with a decrease in the odds of infidelity among men but not women. These findings suggest a role for basic psychological processes in predicting infidelity, highlight the critical role of automatic processes in relationship functioning, and suggest novel ways to promote relationship success.

Episodic memory is geared to supply human beings with unexpected events worth telling. In our species, producing unexpectedness is crucial to have a chance of attracting friends

Remembered events are unexpected (Commentary on Mahr & Csibra: Why do we remember? The communicative function of episodic memory). Jean-Louis Dessalles. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 2018, 41, p. 22. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322640013_Remembered_events_are_unexpected

Abstract: We remember a small proportion of our experiences as events. Are these events selected
because they are useful and can be proven true, or rather because they are unexpected? 

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Episodic memory is geared to supply human beings with unexpected events worth telling.
In our species, producing unexpectedness is crucial to have a chance of attracting friends
(Dessalles 2014). The question of reliability is subordinate to the criterion of unexpectedness.
We select a tiny proportion of our experiences and we remember them, not because they are
true, but because they are unexpected.

Many people believe in immortality. Seven studies reveal that good- and evil-doers are perceived to possess more immortality—albeit different kinds

To Be Immortal, Do Good or Evil. Kurt Gray et al. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167217754068

Abstract: Many people believe in immortality, but who is perceived to live on and how exactly do they live on? Seven studies reveal that good- and evil-doers are perceived to possess more immortality—albeit different kinds. Good-doers have “transcendent” immortality, with their souls persisting beyond space and time; evil-doers have “trapped” immortality, with their souls persisting on Earth, bound to a physical location. Studies 1 to 4 reveal bidirectional links between perceptions of morality and type of immortality. Studies 5 to 7 reveal how these links explain paranormal perceptions. People generally tie paranormal events to evil spirits (Study 5), but this depends upon location: Evil spirits are perceived to haunt houses and dense forests, whereas good spirits are perceived in expansive locations such as mountaintops (Study 6). However, even good spirits may be seen as trapped on Earth given extenuating circumstances (Study 7). Materials include a scale for measuring trapped and transcendent immorality.

Keywords: immortality, morality, death, supernatural, paranormal

Partisan animus began to rise in the 1980s, & it has grown dramatically over the past two decades. As partisan affect has intensified, it is also more structured; ingroup favoritism is increasingly associated with outgroup animus

Iyengar, S. and Krupenkin, M. (2018), The Strengthening of Partisan Affect. Political Psychology, 39: 201–218. doi:10.1111/pops.12487

Abstract: Partisanship continues to divide Americans. Using data from the American National Election Studies (ANES), we find that partisans not only feel more negatively about the opposing party, but also that this negativity has become more consistent and has a greater impact on their political participation. We find that while partisan animus began to rise in the 1980s, it has grown dramatically over the past two decades. As partisan affect has intensified, it is also more structured; ingroup favoritism is increasingly associated with outgroup animus. Finally, hostility toward the opposing party has eclipsed positive affect for ones' own party as a motive for political participation.

Killing experiment subjects: “If we could reduce particulate matter to levels that are healthy we would have an identical impact to finding a cure for cancer"

Enstrom’s Expose of Air Pollution Epidemiology Problems. John Dale Dunn. Dose-Response, Volume: 16 issue: 1, https://doi.org/10.1177/1559325817749414

Excerpts:

Dr James Enstrom’s article in the January-March 2017 issue of Dose Response titled “Fine Particulate Matter and Total Mortality in Cancer Prevention Study Cohort Reanalysis” exposes United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-sponsored air pollution epidemiological research misconduct, characterized by a history of using small associations observational epidemiology to project grand claims of hundreds of thousands of deaths from fine particle air pollution. For more than 2 decades, the EPA and its sponsored epidemiologists have used this deplorable method and ignored the rule that dominates the Bradford Hill Rules of proof of causation—the importance of a robust effect as expressed in relative risks (RR) that are at least 2.0 (100% effect) or more. Enstrom exposes the perfidy.

The rules on strength of association (relative risk) are discussed in depth in the chapter on epidemiology of the Federal Judicial Center’s Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence, (National Academy of Sciences Press, 3rd Edition, 2011). The authors of the epidemiology chapter include Leon Gordis, MD, MPH, DrPH, an iconic figure in epidemiology and long-time Chair of Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.1

Dr Robert Devlin, senior scientist for the EPA human experiments project of the past 3 decades, admitted in a sworn affidavit filed in a lawsuit in the Eastern District of Virginia that the EPA sponsored human exposure air pollution experiments because the epidemiological research claiming deaths from air pollution sponsored by the EPA was not proof of causation.2

[...]

But wait, in September, 2011 US EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson testified to congress that fine particles kill hundreds of thousands of people in America every year, a claim based on EPA epidemiology.3 She said in colloquy with then Representative Markey (D Mass) “If we could reduce particulate matter to levels that are healthy we would have an identical impact to finding a cure for cancer. (pp.H6380)”4 How can the EPA sponsor human experiments ethically and in good faith when they assert publically that fine particle air pollution is acutely lethal, toxic, and carcinogenic?

Dr. Enstrom says:

…the null CPS II PM2.5 mortality findings in this article directly challenge the original positive Pope 1995 findings, and they raise serious doubts about the CPS II epidemiologic evidence supporting the PM2.5 NAAQS. These findings demonstrate the importance of independent and transparent analysis of underlying data. Finally, these findings provide strong justification for further independent analysis of CPS II cohort data.

If big government money was taken out of this toxic mix producing bad research, there would be no small association results used to project hundreds of thousands of deaths in America. Epidemiological researchers on environmental issues and their institutions are providing many United States federal agencies — with what agencies pay for and desire from paid researchers, scientific arguments to justify agency regulatory actions and impress on the country their preferences and ambitious agendas.

[...]

Follow the money and influence. Science is for sale. Mencken said the goal of practical politics is “…keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.”

[...]

[References in the original link]

Sexual Identity, Same-Same Relationships, and Health Dynamics: New Evidence from Australia

Sexual Identity, Same-Same Relationships, and Health Dynamics: New Evidence from Australia. Joseph J. Sabia, Mark Wooden, Thanh Tam Nguyen. Economics & Human Biology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ehb.2018.02.005

Highlights
•    This study is the first to estimate dynamic health effects of same-sex relationships.
•    We exploit newly available population-based data from Australia.
•    We use the dynamic panel model pioneered by Kohn and Averett (2014).
•    Health benefits of same-sex partnering are smaller than for opposite-sex coupling.

Abstract: Prior research has found that opposite-sex marital and cohabiting relationships are associated with improvements in health. However, studies examining the health dynamics of same-sex relationships are sparser because few nationally representative longitudinal datasets collect information on adults’ sexual identity. Using newly available data on sexual minorities from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey, we estimate the effects of Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual (LGB) identification and same-sex relationships on health dynamics. We document two key findings. First, sexual minorities in Australia are more likely to engage in risky health behaviors and report worse health than their heterosexual counterparts. Second, after exploiting the longitudinal nature of the HILDA and accounting for selection into relationships using the dynamic panel approach of Kohn and Averett (2014), we find that while opposite-sex partnerships are associated with a 3 to 7 percentage-point decline in risky health behaviors and improved physical and mental health, the health benefits of same-sex relationships are weaker, particularly for men.

Keywords: sexual identity; same-sex relationships; health dynamics

Subjective Well-Being and Academic Achievement: A Meta-Analysis

Subjective Well-Being and Academic Achievement: A Meta-Analysis. Susanne Bücker et al. Journal of Research in Personality, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2018.02.007

Highlights
•    A meta-analysis on the association of SWB and academic achievement was conducted.
•    The correlation between academic achievement and SWB was statistically significant.
•    Low-achieving students do not necessarily report low well-being.
•    High-achieving students do not automatically have high well-being.

Abstract: Is the subjective well-being (SWB) of high achieving students generally higher compared to low achieving students? In this meta-analysis, we investigated the association between SWB and academic achievement by synthesizing 151 effect sizes from 47 studies with a total of 38,946 participants. The correlation between academic achievement and SWB was small to medium in magnitude and statistically significant at r = .164, 95% CI [0.113, 0.216]. The correlation was stable across various levels of demographic variables, different domains of SWB, and was stable across alternative measures of academic achievement or SWB. Overall, the results suggest that low-achieving students do not necessarily report low well-being, and that high-achieving students do not automatically have high well-being.

Keywords: academic achievement; subjective well-being; life satisfaction; academic satisfaction; meta-analysis

All studies gave support for the extremity hypothesis, which states that people use can-statements to describe the topmost values in a distribution of outcomes, regardless of their actual probabilities

It can become 5 °C warmer: The extremity effect in climate forecasts. Teigen, Karl Halvor, Filkuková, Petra, and Hohle, Sigrid Møyner. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, Feb 12 , 2018, http://psycnet.apa.org/buy/2018-05795-001

Abstract: Climate projections and other predictions are often described as outcomes that can happen, indicating possibilities that are imaginable, but uncertain. Whereas the meanings of other uncertainty terms have been extensively studied, the uses of modal verbs like can and will have rarely been examined. Participants in five experiments were shown graphs and verbal statements showing projections of future global warming, sea level rise, and other climate-related issues. All studies gave support for the extremity hypothesis, which states that people use can-statements to describe the topmost values in a distribution of outcomes, regardless of their actual probabilities. Despite their extremity, outcomes that can happen are believed to have a substantial likelihood of occurrence. The extremity effect was replicated in 2 languages (Norwegian and English), and with several related terms (can, possible, could, and may). The combination of extremity and exaggerated likelihood conveyed by such statements could lead to serious miscommunications.

How to spot hype in the field of psychotherapy: A 19-item checklist

How to spot hype in the field of psychotherapy: A 19-item checklist. Meichenbaum, Donald, and Lilienfeld, Scott O. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, Vol 49(1), Feb 2018, 22-30. http://psycnet.apa.org/buy/2018-05600-002

Abstract: How can consumers of psychotherapies, including practitioners, students, and clients, best appraise the merits of therapies, especially those that are largely or entirely untested? We propose that clinicians, patients, and other consumers should be especially skeptical of interventions that have been substantially overhyped and overpromoted. To that end, we offer a provisional “Psychotherapy Hype Checklist,” which consists of 19 warning signs suggesting that an intervention’s efficacy and effectiveness have been substantially exaggerated. We hope that this checklist will foster a sense of healthy self-doubt in practitioners and assist them to become more discerning consumers of the bewildering psychotherapy marketplace. This checklist should also be useful in identifying the overhyping of well-established treatments.

The list as PDF file: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RXZ75sEnpTpqExb_KP0buaL6V2yZagvE/view

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Psychotherapy “Hype ” Checklist

(1) Substantial exaggeration of claims of treatment effectiveness

(2) Conveying of powerful and unfounded expectancy effects

(3) Excessive appeal to authorities or “gurus"

(4) Heavy reliance on endorsements from presumed experts

(5) Use of a slick sales pitch and the use of extensive promotional efforts, including sale of paraphernalia

(6) Establishment of accreditation and credentialing procedures

(7) Tendency of treatment followers to insulate themselves from criticism

(8) Extensive use of “psychobabble”

(9) Extensive use of “neurobabble”

(10) Tendency of advocates to be defensive and dismissive of critics; selective reporting of contradictory findings, such as the results of dismantling studies

(11) Extensive reliance on anecdotal evidence

(12) Claims that treatment “fits all"

(13) Claims that treatment is “evidence-based" on the basis of informal clinical observations

(14) Inadequate empirical support: Limited reports or omission of treatment outcome information, such as patient selection criteria, drop-out rates, and follow-up data

(15) No proposed scientific basis for change mechanisms; proposed theoretical treatment mechanism lacks “connectivity" with extant science

(16) Repeated use of implausible ad hoc maneuvers to explain away negative findings

(17) Comparison of treatment with weak and “intent to fail" treatment groups, or with only partial

(incomplete) treatment conditions

(18) Failure to consider or acknowledge potential allegiance and decline effects

(19) Failure to consider differential credibility checks across treatment groups; failure to consider the role of non-specific factors, such as the therapeutic alliance

Peer Pressure: Experimental Evidence from Restroom Behavior

Cardinale Lagomarsino, B., Gutman, M., Freira, L., Lanzalot, M. L., Lauletta, M., Malchik, L. E., Montano Campos, F., Pacini, B., Rossi, M. A. and Valencia, C. (2017), Peer Pressure: Experimental Evidence from Restroom Behavior. Econ Inq, 55: 1579–1584. doi:10.1111/ecin.12437

Abstract: We provide experimental evidence on the effect of peer pressure on individual behavior. Specifically, we study the effect of being exposed to an observer in a public restroom on handwashing and urinal flushing behavior. Our estimates show that being exposed to an observer increases the probability of handwashing by 13 percentage points and the probability of urinal flushing by 15 percentage points. Given that handwashing and urinal flushing have social benefits that exceed individual benefits, our findings provide support for peer pressure as an additional way of addressing the social suboptimality arising from externalities.

JEL: C91, C93

Deceptive Affectionate Messages as Mate Retention Behaviors

Affection, Deception, and Evolution: Deceptive Affectionate Messages as Mate Retention Behaviors. Madeleine H. Redlick, Anita L. Vangelisti. Evolutionary Psychology,  https://doi.org/10.1177/1474704917753857

Abstract: This study explored how partner mate value (PMV) and factors indicative of the relational climate (i.e., commitment and satisfaction) might affect individuals’ tendency to use deceptive affectionate messages (DAMs). Participants (N = 203) responded to a survey including measures regarding these variables. Contrary to predictions, PMV and the tendency to engage in DAMs were significantly and negatively associated with one another. Analyses further indicated that commitment significantly moderated the negative association between PMV and DAMs. The present study also provided evidence that when commitment to the relationship is low, satisfaction mediates the negative association between PMV and DAMs.

Keywords: communication, deception, affection, commitment, satisfaction

my research topic is " analysis of content of teenager's dream "

Nihal D asked:

Hey everyone ! Actually i'm new in this group and i need ur help ....i'm in college and doing research for the first time....my research topic is " analysis of content of teenager's dream " is this ok ? I have chosen this ....i know this research already exists but i'm not able to find it on internet...and i also need a questionnaire on this.....so , can u guys help me in any way....??

The Words of Adolescents’ Dreams: A Quantitative Analysis. Alfio Maggiolini, Paolo Azzone, Katia Provantini, Daniele Vigan`o, and Salvatore Freni. Dreaming, Vol. 13, No. 2, June 2003. https://rd.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1023354225941


Abstract: This research detects the most common words recurring in 326 adolescents’ dream language. The analyzed dreams have been previously recorded and then transcribed. Grouping words, we obtained the frequency of the main parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives and pronouns). Among the nouns, far more frequently represented are terms that refer to important objects of an affective relation. Other significant nouns relate to objects linked to both familial and extra-familial environments. Words related to family relations declined in frequency as age increased and were substituted by terms that refer to relations among friends and to the external world and its objects. Some of these results can be usefully compared with the conclusions derived from the application of other methods of content analysis. This method using dream language analysis could be applied to research concerning dream content, also through specific dictionaries (groups of words defined and classified in relation to a certain theme).

KEYWORDS: dream content; text analysis; adolescence.

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Why do women regret casual sex more than men do?

Why do women regret casual sex more than men do? Leif Edward Ottesen Kennair et al. Personality and Individual Differences, Volume 127, 1 June 2018, Pages 61–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2018.01.044

Highlights
•    Six proximate factors related to casual sex regret examined.
•    Worry, disgust, and pressure predicted more regret.
•    Sexual gratification, sexual competency of partner, and taking initiative predicted less sexual regret.
•    Most predictors had a stronger impact on women's casual sex regret.
•    Predictors of casual sex regret were not moderated by nation.

Abstract

Sex differences in sexual regret are found to be robust across nations. Participants in Norway (N = 547) and the United States (N = 216) reported their level of regret for their most recent casual sexual experience. Participants also reported on proximate factors hypothesized to predict casual sex regret: negative emotions (worry), feeling pressured to have sex, low sexual gratification, partner's sexual competence, and to what extent they initiated the sexual encounter.

Results suggest that greater feelings of worry, experiencing disgust, and feeling pressured to have sex predicted more regret for casual sex. In contrast, experiencing higher levels of sexual gratification, finding the partner to be sexually competent, and being the one taking the initiative predicted less sexual regret. Predictors of casual sex regret were not moderated by nation. However, relative to men, most of these predictors had a stronger impact on women's likelihood of regretting their most recent casual sex encounter. Discussion focuses on disgust, the key predictor of sexual regret, addresses limitations of the current study, and suggests future lines of research.

Keywords: Casual Sex; Regret; Disgust; Worry; Pressure; Gratification; Initiative; Sex Differences


Check also Majority Rules: Gender Composition and Sexual Norms and Behavior in High Schools. Kristen Harknett & Stephen Cranney. Population Research and Policy Review, August 2017, Pages 469-500, http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/08/majority-rules-gender-composition-and.html

And Sexual regret in US and Norway: Effects of culture and individual differences in religiosity and mating strategy. By Mons Bendixen et al. Personality and Individual Differences, October 1 2017, Pages 246–251, http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/06/sexual-regret-in-us-and-norway-effects.html

The Global Spatial Distribution of Economic Activity: Nature, History, and the Role of Trade

The Global Spatial Distribution of Economic Activity: Nature, History, and the Role of Trade. J. Vernon Henderson, Adam Storeygard, Tim L. Squires, David N. Weil. NBER Working Paper No. 22145. http://www.nber.org/papers/w22145

Abstract: We study the distribution of economic activity, as proxied by lights at night, across 250,000 grid cells of average area 560 square kilometers. We first document that nearly half of the variation can be explained by a parsimonious set of physical geography attributes. A full set of country indicators only explains a further 10%. When we divide geographic characteristics into two groups, those primarily important for agriculture and those primarily important for trade, we find that the agriculture variables have relatively more explanatory power in countries that developed early and the trade variables have relatively more in countries that developed late, despite the fact that the latter group of countries are far more dependent on agriculture today. We explain this apparent puzzle in a model in which two technological shocks occur, one increasing agricultural productivity and the other decreasing transportation costs, and in which agglomeration economies lead to persistence in urban locations. In countries that developed early, structural transformation due to rising agricultural productivity began at a time when transport costs were still relatively high, so urban agglomerations were localized in agricultural regions. When transport costs fell, these local agglomerations persisted. In late developing countries, transport costs fell well before structural transformation. To exploit urban scale economies, manufacturing agglomerated in relatively few, often coastal, locations. With structural transformation, these initial coastal locations grew, without formation of more cities in the agricultural interior.

Cues to paternity: Do partner fidelity and offspring resemblance predict daughter-directed sexual aversions?

Cues to paternity: Do partner fidelity and offspring resemblance predict daughter-directed sexual aversions? Joseph Billingsley et al. Evolution and Human Behavior, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2018.02.001

Abstract: Despite the profound influence of relatedness on mating and cooperative behavior in humans, the cues men use to assess paternity and guide offspring-directed behavior have yet to be fully resolved. According to leading theories of kin detection, kinship cues should influence both sexual and altruistic motivations because of fitness consequences associated with inbreeding and welfare tradeoff decisions, respectively. Prior work with paternity assessment, however, has generally evaluated candidate cues solely by demonstrating associations with altruism. Here we (i) replicate past work that found effects of phenotypic resemblance and perceived partner fidelity on offspring investment; and (ii) evaluate whether both phenotypic resemblance and perceived partner fidelity meet the more stringent criteria suggested by theory—that is, whether they also predict inbreeding aversions. We report on two studies, one from a population-based sample of Finnish fathers (N = 390), the other from a Mechanical Turk sample (N = 700), and furnish evidence in strong support of perceived partner fidelity as a cue to paternity. Support for resemblance as a cue to paternity was decidedly weaker. We discuss a non-kin-based role that resemblance might play in altruistic decision-making, consider whether men might use additional kinship cues to meet the computational challenges associated with paternity assessment, and provide suggestions for future research.

Keywords: Kin detection; Paternity uncertainty; Partner fidelity; Facial resemblance; Phenotypic resemblance

Having a best friend in middle school who is more intelligent is prospectively associated with greater adolescent intelligence at the start of high school

Meldrum, Ryan, Nicholas Kavish, and Brian Boutwell 2018. “On the Longitudinal Association Between Peer and Adolescent Intelligence: Can Our Friends Make Us Smarter?”. PsyArXiv. February 10. psyarxiv.com/tvj9z

Abstract: For decades now scholars have examined various aspects concerning the development of intelligence across the lifespan. Little research, however, has considered the potential for peers to influence intellectual growth over time. To advance this area of research, we use data collected on 715 adolescents and their best friends who participated in the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development to examine the longitudinal association between best friend and adolescent intelligence. The results of our analyses indicate that, even after controlling for prior levels of intelligence and a number of other potential selection factors, having a best friend in middle school who is more intelligent is prospectively associated with greater adolescent intelligence at the start of high school.

Immoral targets are seen as less competent because their immoral actions led them to be viewed as low in social intelligence

Unethical and Inept? The Influence of Moral Information on Perceptions of Competence. Jennifer E. Stellar, Robb Willer. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2018, Vol. 114, No. 2, 195–210. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000097

Abstract: While moral character heavily influences global evaluations of others (Goodwin, Piazza, & Rozin, 2014), its causal effect on perceptions of others’ competence (i.e., one’s knowledge, skills, and abilities) is less clear. We found that people readily use information about another’s morality when judging their competence, despite holding folk intuitions that these domains are independent. Across 6 studies (n  = 1,567), including 2 preregistered experiments, participants judged targets who committed hypothetical transgressions (Studies 1 and 3), cheated on lab tasks (Study 2), acted selfishly in economic games (Study 4), and received low morality ratings from coworkers (Study 5 and 6) as less competent than control or moral targets. These findings were specific to morality and were not the result of incidentally manipulating impressions of warmth (Study 4), nor were they fully explained by a general halo effect (Studies 2 and 3). We hypothesized that immoral targets are seen as less competent because their immoral actions led them to be viewed as low in social intelligence. Studies 4 and 5 supported this prediction, demonstrating that social intelligence was a more reliable mediator than perceptions of self-control or general intelligence. An experimental test of this mediation argument found that presenting targets as highly socially intelligent eliminated the negative effect of immoral information on judgments of competence (Study 6). These results suggest that information about a person’s moral character readily influences perceptions of their competence.

Keywords: morality, competence, social intelligence, social perception
Supplemental materials: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000097.supp

A meta-analysis of the relationship between intelligence and visual “taste” measures

Myszkowski, N., Çelik, P., & Storme, M. (2018). A meta-analysis of the relationship between intelligence and visual “taste” measures. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 12(1), 24-33. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/aca0000099

Abstract: What makes individuals experts in judging aesthetic value is actively researched in a variety of ways. In the visual domain, one classical paradigm—used in “T” (for Taste) tests (Eysenck, 1983)—consists in comparing one’s evaluative judgments of beauty with a standard judgment—provided by consensual or expert agreement. The association between general intelligence (g) and performance in “T” tests has been investigated since over 70 years (Eysenck, 1940; Myszkowski, Storme, Zenasni, & Lubart, 2014), but has led to a variety results, from negative weak to positive strong correlations. We aimed at clearing the resulting confusion through a meta-analysis of the correlations observed in the literature (k = 23, N = 1,531). We found a significant positive weak to moderate correlation between g and “T” (ρ = .30, 95% CI (confidence interval) = [.23, .36], z = 9.00, p < .001), suggesting that common cognitive processes are involved in both g and “T”. Reinforcing this conclusion, no publication bias was found through the regression test, and none of the tested moderators—year of publication, gender, age, “T” measure, and g measure—had a significant effect on the correlation.

In mental rotation, homosexual men were somewhat in-between heterosexual men and women. There was no significant group difference on spatial location memory. Homosexual men were also sex atypical on male-favoring spatial-related tasks and female-favoring spatial-related tasks. Homosexual women tended to be sex-typical (similar to heterosexual women).

Xu, Yin, Sam Norton, and Qazi Rahman 2017. “Sexual Orientation and Cognitive Ability: A Multivariate Meta-analytic Follow-up”. PsyArXiv. September 25. psyarxiv.com/chg2r

Abstract: A cross-sex shift model of human sexual orientation differences predicts that homosexual men should perform or score in the direction of heterosexual women, and homosexual women in the direction of heterosexual men, in behavioral domains such as cognition and personality. In order to test whether homosexual men and women’s cognitive performance was closer to that of heterosexual men or that of heterosexual women (i.e., sex atypical for their sex), we conducted a multivariate meta-analysis based on data from our previous meta-analysis (Xu, Norton, & Rahman, 2017). A subset of this data was used and comprised a total of 49 samples and 251,393 participants. The multivariate meta-analysis revealed that homosexual men were indeed sex-atypical in mental rotation (Hedges’ g = -0.36) and the Water Level Test (Hedges’ g = -0.55). In mental rotation, homosexual men were somewhat in-between heterosexual men and women. There was no significant group difference on spatial location memory. Homosexual men were also sex atypical on male-favoring spatial-related tasks (Hedges’ g = -0.54), and female-favoring spatial-related tasks (Hedges’ g = 0.38). Homosexual women tended to be sex-typical (similar to heterosexual women). There were no significant group differences on male-favoring other tasks or female-favoring verbal-related tasks. Heterosexual men and women differed significantly on female-favoring other tasks. These results support the cross-sex shift hypothesis which predicts that homosexual men perform in the direction of heterosexual women in sex differentiated cognitive domains. However, the type of task and cognitive domain tested is critical.

Near ovulation, women were willing to accept lesser versions of a product (a $5,000 diamond ring in lieu of a $7,000 one) as long as they had better products than other women. And, ovulating women kept more money for themselves in the Dictator Game rather than give it to another woman

Durante KM, Griskevicius V. Evolution and consumer psychology. Consum Psychol Rev. 2018;1:4–21. https://doi.org/10.1002/arcp.1001

Abstract: An evolutionary theoretical approach considers the adaptive function of behavior. Here we discuss what it means to use an evolutionary approach to generate predictions about consumer behavior and the value of applying an evolutionary lens to the study of consumer psychology. We begin with a discussion of the core insights of evolutionary theory and the common misperceptions associated with an evolutionary approach to the study of behavior. We then detail how specific evolutionarily informed theories can be applied to four core areas of consumer research: risk preference, competition and luxury consumption, self-control and temporal preferences, and the consumer behavior of women and families. We also discuss the strengths and limitations of an evolutionarily informed research program.

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The ovulatory shift hypothesis suggests that mating goals are particularly salient for women near ovulation. For example, when it comes to fashion, research shows that ovulation has a large effect on women’s desire to look more attractive and dress in sexier outfits (Durante, Griskevicius, Hill, Perilloux, & Li, 2011; Durante, Li, & Haselton, 2008; Saad & Stenstrom, 2012). The desire to dress sexy at ovulation was found to be related specifically to outcompeting other women for access to the best men available. For example, ovulation has the strongest effect on women’s desire for sexier clothing when women know that there are many other attractive women in their local environment (Durante et al., 2011), that is, when there is lots of competition for mates.

Thus, if status competition and luxury consumption are related to mating, the ovulatory shift hypothesis may shed light on women’s desire for luxury products. Recent research drawing on this hypothesis proposed the idea that ovulation should not only enhance women’s mating motivations, but also women’s desire to compete with other women for status (Durante, Griskevicius, Cantú, & Simpson, 2014). This idea is consistent with research in nonhuman primates. For example, female rhesus monkeys become more aggressive and competitive with other females (not males) during the ovulatory phase (Walker, Wilson, & Gordon, 1983; Wallen, 2000).

Putting this lens to women’s desire for luxury goods, it was found that, near ovulation, women desire more expensive products and this effect is related to increased competitive tendencies (Durante et al., 2014; Kim, Durante, Griskevicius, & Nikiforidis, 2017). For example, in one study, ovulating and nonovulating women made product choices that could either  maximize absolute gains or maximize gains relative to other women (Durante et al., 2014). The findings showed that ovulation made women more competitive with regard to other women. Near ovulation, women were willing to accept lesser versions of a product (a $5,000 diamond ring in lieu of a $7,000 diamond ring) as long as they had better products than other women. And, ovulating women kept more money for themselves in the Dictator Game rather than give it to another woman. Ovulating women also prefer luxury (compared to nonluxury) products and conspicuous goods as a direct reflection of a desire to outcompete rival women for status and access to mates (Kim et al., 2017). When it comes to wanting multiple versions of products, ovulation enhances this, too (Durante & Arsena, 2014).


Check also The Rival Wears Prada: Luxury Consumption as a Female Competition Strategy. Liselot Hudders et al. Evolutionary Psychology, Volume: 12 issue: 3.  https://doi.org/10.1177/147470491401200306

Abstract: Previous studies on luxury consumption demonstrated that men spend large sums of money on luxury brands to signal their mate value to women and, thus, increase their reproductive success. Although women also spend copious amounts of money on luxuries, research focusing on women's motives for luxury consumption is rather scarce. Relying on costly signaling and intrasexual competition theory, the goal of the current study was to test whether female intrasexual competition in a mate attraction context triggers women's spending on luxuries. The results of the first experiment reveal that an intrasexual competition context enhances women's preferences for attractiveness enhancing, but not for non-attractiveness related luxuries such as a smartphone. This finding indicates that women may use luxury consumption as a self-promotion strategy during within-sex competitions, as these luxuries improve their advantages against same-sex rivals for mates. A follow-up study shows that compared to women who do not consume luxuries, women who do so are perceived as more attractive, flirty, young, ambitious, sexy, and less loyal, mature and smart by other women. These results suggest that luxury consumption may provide information about a women's willingness to engage in sex, as well as her views about other women, and consequently, her success in intrasexual competitions.

Keywords: women, intrasexual competition, luxury consumption, sex differences, status

Physically inactive lifestyle is associated with long-term detrimental personality trajectories: steeper declines in conscientiousness, openness, extraversion and agreeableness

Physical Activity and Personality Development over Twenty Years: Evidence from Three Longitudinal Samples. Yannick Stephan et al. Journal of Research in Personality, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2018.02.005

Highlights
•    Physical activity is related to personality change over 20 years in three samples.
•    Physical inactivity was related to declines in conscientiousness in three samples.
•    A physically inactive lifestyle is associated with detrimental personality trajectories.

Abstract: A physically inactive lifestyle is associated with maladaptive patterns of personality development over relatively short follow-up periods. The present study extends existing research by examining whether this association persists over 20 years. Participants (total N = 8,723) were drawn from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study Graduates and Siblings samples and the Midlife in the United States Study. Controlling for demographic factors and disease burden, baseline physical inactivity was related to steeper declines in conscientiousness in all three samples and a meta-analysis (β=-.06). The meta-analysis further showed that lower physical activity was associated with declines in openness (β=-.05), extraversion (β=-.03), and agreeableness (β=-.03). These findings provide evidence that a physically inactive lifestyle is associated with long-term detrimental personality trajectories.

Keywords: Personality development; physical inactivity; adulthood

High parental investment in childhood was associated with increased mate value in adulthood

Antfolk, Jan,and Agneta Sjölund 2018. “Parental Investment and Mate Value”. PsyArXiv. February 10. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2018.02.004

Abstract: Stressors in the childhood environment, such as decreased parental investment (PI) regulates an individual’s reproductive behaviors. The effect of these behaviors on fitness is partly determined by individual mate value (MV). We tested whether PI during childhood is associated to MV in adulthood. Adult men and women (N = 1244) reported received maternal and paternal investment, and also current MV. We found that high PI in childhood was associated with increased MV in adulthood. Additionally, there was a positive correlation between maternal and paternal investment and the association between paternal investment and MV was mediated through maternal investment. We conclude that PI, especially maternal investment, might influence MV in offspring.

Finding Meaning at Work: The Role of Inspiring and Funny YouTube Videos on Work-Related Well-Being

Finding Meaning at Work: The Role of Inspiring and Funny YouTube Videos on Work-Related Well-Being. Sophie H. Janicke-Bowles, Diana Rieger, Winston Connor III. Journal of Happiness Studies, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10902-018-9959-1

Abstract: Watching online videos on social media is a common activity in today’s digital age, but its’ impact on employee well-being at work has not been investigated yet. The current study tried to fill this gap by investigating the role hedonic and eudaimonic online videos play on employee’s stress levels and well-being at work. An online experiment with 200 full time employees in the US was conducted exploring the role of inspiring affect and positive affect on three distinct well-being outcomes: subjective well-being, psychological well-being and social well-being at the workplace. A path model suggests unique effects for inspiring videos on indicators of subjective (vitality), psychological (meaning at work) and social (relatedness at work) well-being. In addition, appreciating the good things in life mediated the relationship between inspiring affect and meaning and relatedness at work. Furthermore, employees generally felt less stressed after watching any type of online video (including a non-entertaining control video), but felt the highest energy surge after watching an elevating video. Implications about the role of online videos for employees’ well-being are discussed.

A moderate financial incentive can increase effort, but not intelligence test performance in adult volunteers

Gignac, G. E. (2018), A moderate financial incentive can increase effort, but not intelligence test performance in adult volunteers. Br J Psychol. doi:10.1111/bjop.12288

Abstract: A positive correlation between self-reported test-taking motivation and intelligence test performance has been reported. Additionally, some financial incentive experimental evidence suggests that intelligence test performance can be improved, based on the provision of financial incentives. However, only a small percentage of the experimental research has been conducted with adults. Furthermore, virtually none of the intelligence experimental research has measured the impact of financial incentives on test-taking motivation. Consequently, we conducted an experiment with 99 adult volunteers who completed a battery of intelligence tests under two conditions: no financial incentive and financial incentive (counterbalanced). We also measured self-reported test-taking importance and effort at time 1 and time 2. The financial incentive was observed to impact test-taking effort statistically significantly. By contrast, no statistically significant effects were observed for the intelligence test performance scores. Finally, the intelligence test scores were found to correlate positively with both test-taking importance (rc = .28) and effort (rc = .37), although only effort correlated uniquely with intelligence (partial rc = .26). In conjunction with other empirical research, it is concluded that a financial incentive can increase test-taking effort. However, the potential effects on intelligence test performance in adult volunteers seem limited.

By examining online visitation data across mobile and desktop platforms in the months leading up to and following the 2016 presidential election, we indeed find the fake news audience comprises a small, disloyal group of heavy internet users

Nelson, Jacob and Taneja, Harsh, The Small, Disloyal Fake News Audience: The Role of Audience Availability in Fake News Consumption (January 23, 2018). New Media & Society, Forthcoming. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3107731

Abstract: In light of the recent U.S. election, many fear that “fake news” has become a force of enormous reach and influence within the news media environment. We draw on well-established theories of audience behavior to argue that the online fake news audience, like most niche content, would be a small subset of the total news audience, especially those with high availability. By examining online visitation data across mobile and desktop platforms in the months leading up to and following the 2016 presidential election, we indeed find the fake news audience comprises a small, disloyal group of heavy internet users. We also find that social network sites play an outsized role in generating traffic to fake news. With this revised understanding, we revisit the democratic implications of the fake news crisis.

Keywords: fake news, news audience, political communication, 2016 election, social media

The echo chamber is overstated: the moderating effect of political interest and diverse media. Elizabeth Dubois & Grant Blank. Information, Communication & Society, http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2018/01/the-echo-chamber-is-overstated.html

Check also Processing political misinformation: comprehending the Trump phenomenon. Briony Swire, Adam J. Berinsky, Stephan Lewandowsky, Ullrich K. H. Ecker. Royal Society Open Science, published on-line March 01 2017. DOI: 10.1098/rsos.160802, http://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/4/3/160802

Competing cues: Older adults rely on knowledge in the face of fluency. By Brashier, Nadia M.; Umanath, Sharda; Cabeza, Roberto; Marsh, Elizabeth J. Psychology and Aging, Vol 32(4), Jun 2017, 331-337. http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/07/competing-cues-older-adults-rely-on.html

Stanley, M. L., Dougherty, A. M., Yang, B. W., Henne, P., & De Brigard, F. (2017). Reasons Probably Won’t Change Your Mind: The Role of Reasons in Revising Moral Decisions. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/09/reasons-probably-wont-change-your-mind.html

Science Denial Across the Political Divide — Liberals and Conservatives Are Similarly Motivated to Deny Attitude-Inconsistent Science. Anthony N. Washburn, Linda J. Skitka. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 10.1177/1948550617731500. http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/09/liberals-and-conservatives-are.html

Biased Policy Professionals. Sheheryar Banuri, Stefan Dercon, and Varun Gauri. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 8113. http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/08/biased-policy-professionals-world-bank.html

Dispelling the Myth: Training in Education or Neuroscience Decreases but Does Not Eliminate Beliefs in Neuromyths. Kelly Macdonald et al. Frontiers in Psychology, Aug 10 2017. http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/08/training-in-education-or-neuroscience.html

Individuals with greater science literacy and education have more polarized beliefs on controversial science topics. Caitlin Drummond and Baruch Fischhoff. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 114 no. 36, pp 9587–9592, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1704882114, http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/09/individuals-with-greater-science.html

Expert ability can actually impair the accuracy of expert perception when judging others' performance: Adaptation and fallibility in experts' judgments of novice performers. By Larson, J. S., & Billeter, D. M. (2017). Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 43(2), 271–288. http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/06/expert-ability-can-actually-impair.html

Public Perceptions of Partisan Selective Exposure. Perryman, Mallory R. The University of Wisconsin - Madison, ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 2017. 10607943. http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/10/citizens-believe-others-especially.html

The Myth of Partisan Selective Exposure: A Portrait of the Online Political News Audience. Jacob L. Nelson, and James G. Webster. Social Media + Society, http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/09/the-myth-of-partisan-selective-exposure.html

Echo Chamber? What Echo Chamber? Reviewing the Evidence. Axel Bruns. Future of Journalism 2017 Conference. http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/09/echo-chamber-what-echo-chamber.html

Fake news and post-truth pronouncements in general and in early human development. Victor Grech. Early Human Development, http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/09/fake-news-and-post-truth-pronouncements.html

Consumption of fake news is a consequence, not a cause of their readers’ voting preferences
Kahan, Dan M., Misinformation and Identity-Protective Cognition (October 2, 2017). Social Science Research Network, http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/10/consumption-of-fake-news-is-consequence.html

Free Will, Determinism, and Intuitive Judgments About the Heritability of Behavior: educated mothers with multiple children emerge as particularly accurate in their judgments of trait heritability

Willoughby, Emily A., 2018. “Free Will, Determinism, and Intuitive Judgments About the Heritability of Behavior”. Open Science Framework. February 10. https://osf.io/ezg2j

Abstract: The fact that genes and environment contribute differentially to variation in human behaviors, traits and attitudes is central to the field of behavior genetics. To the public, perceptions about these differential contributions may affect ideas about human agency. We surveyed two independent samples (N = 301 and N = 740) to assess beliefs about free will, determinism, political orientation, and the relative contribution of genes and environment to 21 human traits. We find that beliefs about the heritability of these traits cluster into four distinct groups, which differentially predict both beliefs about human agency and political orientation. Despite apparent ideological influences on these beliefs, the correspondence between lay judgments of heritabilities and published estimates is large (r = .77). Belief in genetic determinism emerges as a modest predictor of accuracy in these judgments. Additionally, educated mothers with multiple children emerge as particularly accurate in their judgments of the heritabilities of these traits.

No matter how far in the past a person behaved greedily or immorally, information about her negative behaviors is hardly discounted at all. In contrast, recent positive behaviors are much more influential than behaviors that occurred a long time ago

Brandimarte, L., Vosgerau, J., & Acquisti, A. (2018). Differential discounting and present impact of past information. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 147(1), 74-92. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/xge0000372

Abstract: How does information about a person’s past, accessed now, affect individuals’ impressions of that person? In 2 survey experiments and 2 experiments with actual incentives, we compare whether, when evaluating a person, information about that person’s past greedy or immoral behaviors is discounted similarly to information about her past generous or moral behaviors. We find that, no matter how far in the past a person behaved greedily or immorally, information about her negative behaviors is hardly discounted at all. In contrast, information about her past positive behaviors is discounted heavily: recent behaviors are much more influential than behaviors that occurred a long time ago. The lesser discounting of information about immoral and greedy behaviors is not caused by these behaviors being more influential, memorable, extreme, or attention-grabbing; rather, they are perceived as more diagnostic of a person’s character than past moral or generous behaviors. The phenomenon of differential discounting of past information has particular relevance in the digital age, where information about people’s past is easily retrieved. Our findings have significant implications for theories of impression formation and social information processing.

Reciprocal altruism among non-human animals is much more widespread than currently assumed: rats in Norway trade food and services

Reciprocal Trading of Different Commodities in Norway Rats. Manon K. Schweinfurth, Michael Taborsky. Current Biology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2017.12.058

Highlights
    •    Norway rats reciprocally trade food for allogrooming, and vice versa
    •    Experimental proof of tit-for-tat-like exchange of different services in animals
    •    The study suggests that reciprocal commodity trading in animals may be common

Summary: The prevalence of reciprocal cooperation in non-human animals is hotly debated [1, 2]. Part of this dispute rests on the assumption that reciprocity means paying like with like [3]. However, exchanges between social partners may involve different commodities and services. Hitherto, there is no experimental evidence that animals other than primates exchange different commodities among conspecifics based on the decision rules of direct reciprocity. Here, we show that Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) apply direct reciprocity rules when exchanging two different social services: food provisioning and allogrooming. Focal rats were made to experience partners either cooperating or non-cooperating in one of the two commodities. Afterward, they had the opportunity to reciprocate favors by the alternative service. Test rats traded allogrooming against food provisioning, and vice versa, thereby acting by the rules of direct reciprocity. This might indicate that reciprocal altruism among non-human animals is much more widespread than currently assumed.

Rolf Degen summarizes: Contrary to earlier believes, humans have at least as many - if not more - Olfactory Receptor genes as monkeys and apes, with color vision being no limiting factor

Evolution of Genes for Color Vision and the Chemical Senses in Primates. Shoji Kawamura, Amanda D. Melin. Chapter in Evolution of the Human Genome I. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-4-431-56603-8_10

Abstract: Primates are generally regarded as visually oriented mammals, trading a sense of smell for good sight. However, recent studies have questioned this simplistic view, and it is not well understood the extent to which senses have evolved interactively or in concert with each other in primates including humans. For example, the number of olfactory receptor genes is not as clearly differentiated between species with different color vision as once asserted. Among senses, receptors of stimuli for vision, olfaction, and bitter/sweet/umami tastes all belong to the G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) family, for which the genetic mechanism of signal perception is well understood. Thus, it is now possible to explore the evolutionary correlation among different senses in primates by studying these receptor groups for interspecies divergence, intraspecies diversity, and functional differences among variants. In this chapter, we review recent findings on these receptors and senses in humans and other primates and discuss the future directions of studies on their sensory evolution.



[Screenshot from https://twitter.com/DegenRolf/status/961876566023143424]