Tuesday, August 7, 2018

Higher levels of childhood intelligence predict increased support for economic conservatism in adulthood; this link was partially mediated by educational attainment & achieved social class/income

Higher levels of childhood intelligence predict increased support for economic conservatism in adulthood. Gary J.Lewis, Timothy C.Bates. Intelligence, Volume 70, September–October 2018, Pages 36-41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intell.2018.07.006

Highlights
•    Higher intelligence is associated with lower levels of social conservatism.
•    Does intelligence also predict economically conservative attitudes?
•    We addressed this question using two large, longitudinal UK based cohorts.
•    Childhood intelligence positively predicted economic conservatism in adulthood.
•    This link was partially mediated by educational attainment and achieved social class/income.

Abstract: A number of studies have reported that higher intelligence is associated with socially liberal attitudes. Less clear, however, is whether this link extends to economic attitudes, although there are indications that higher intelligence is associated with economically conservative attitudes. Here in two large, longitudinal UK cohorts (each N > 7100) we assessed whether childhood intelligence predicted adulthood economic attitudes. In both cohorts we saw that higher levels of childhood (age 10–11) intelligence were related to higher levels of economic conservatism in adulthood (age 30–33). These effects were robust to the inclusion of potential confounders (sex, parental social class, childhood conduct problems). Moreover, this pathway was at least partially mediated by educational attainment and achieved social class/income. These findings confirm the importance of intelligence as an important phenotype for understanding the origins of economic attitudes. Implications for self-interest and rational-interest theories are discussed.

Exploring the Impact of Personal and Partner Traits on Sexuality: Sexual Excitation, Sexual Inhibition, and Big Five Predict Sexual Function in Couples

Exploring the Impact of Personal and Partner Traits on Sexuality: Sexual Excitation, Sexual Inhibition, and Big Five Predict Sexual Function in Couples. Julia Velten, Julia Brailovskaia & Jürgen Margraf. The Journal of Sex Research, https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2018.1491521

Abstract: Sexual difficulties are common among women and men and are associated with various mental and physical health problems. Although psychological traits are known to impact sexual attitudes and behavior, sexuality- and personality-related traits have not been jointly investigated to assess their relevance for sexual functioning in couples. The aim of this study was to investigate how psychological traits of two partners influence women’s and men’s sexual function. Data from 964 couples, representative of the adult population in Germany, were analyzed. Sexual function was assessed with the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) and the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF). Sexuality-related traits were measured with the Sexual Excitation/Sexual Inhibition Inventory for Women and Men (SESII-W/M). Personality was measured with self-report and partner-rating versions of the Big Five Inventory (BFI). Sexual excitation was a positive and sexual inhibition was a negative predictor of sexual function in both genders. Women whose partners were sexually inhibited reported lower sexual function. Conscientious individuals reported better sexual function. Women whose partners were more conscientious also had better sexual function. Assessing partner-related factors may be helpful to identify predisposing and maintaining factors of sexual dysfunctions, especially in women.

When consumers self-create a product, they appreciate it to a greater degree, are likely to consume it more mindfully, & experience greater domain-specific & general well-being; private self-consciousness strengthens the effect

The self-creation effect: making a product supports its mindful consumption and the consumer’s well-being. Johanna Brunneder, Utpal Dholakia. Marketing Letters, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11002-018-9465-6

Abstract: Popular cultural movements such as Slow Food and the Maker Movement emphasize product self-creation―personally creating products, then consuming them, as a core value. We present the first research to examine how product self-creation affects the individual’s consumption experience of such products and their well-being. Seven field and lab studies provide evidence that when consumers self-create a product, they appreciate it to a greater degree, are likely to consume it more mindfully, and experience greater domain-specific and general well-being. The individual’s private self-consciousness strengthens the effect. Self-creating products offers consumers with a practical, versatile, and personal interest-driven way to transcend their traditional role, to consume more consciously and sustainably, while concurrently enhancing the enjoyment of their consumption experience.

Children were taught how to deceive to win a game; these children deceived better than control children, & improved their executive function & theory of mind skills; claim it is the 1st experiment to show learning to deceive enhances cognitive skills in children

Learning to deceive has cognitive benefits. Xiao Pan Ding et al. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, Volume 176, December 2018, Pages 26-38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2018.07.008

Highlights
•    Children played hide-and-seek game on four consecutive days.
•    Experimental children were taught how to deceive to win the game.
•    We found experimental children deceived better than control children.
•    Experimental children improved their executive function and theory of mind skills.
•    It is first to show learning to deceive enhances cognitive skills in children.

Abstract: Recent evolutionary, cultural, and economic theories have postulated strong connections between human sociality and complex cognition. One prediction derived from this work is that deception should confer cognitive benefits on children. The current research tests this possibility by examining whether learning to deceive during early childhood promotes more advanced theory of mind and executive function skills during a time when these skills are undergoing rapid development. A total of 42 children (Mage = 40.45 months; 22 boys and 20 girls) who showed no initial ability to deceive were randomly assigned to an experimental condition or a control condition. In both conditions, they played a hide-and-seek game against an adult opponent on 4 consecutive days, but only the children in the experimental condition were taught how to deceive the opponent in order to win the game. Unlike children in the control condition, children in the experimental condition significantly improved their executive function and theory of mind skills, providing the first evidence that learning to deceive causally enhances cognitive skills in young children.