Tuesday, February 13, 2018

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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