Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Moderating uncivil comments leads to lower task accuracy, & to more emotional exhaustion & lower task satisfaction; emotional exhaustion leads to lower comment moderation accuracy

The downsides of digital labor: Exploring the toll incivility takes on online comment moderators. Martin J.Riedl, Gina Masullo Chen, Kelsey N. Whipple. Computers in Human Behavior, January 22 2020, 106262. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2020.106262

Highlights
•    Comment moderation, due to incivility, is a task prone to emotional exhaustion.
•    Moderating uncivil comments leads to lower task accuracy.
•    It also leads to more emotional exhaustion and lower task satisfaction.
•    Mediation effect of emotional exhaustion leads to lower comment moderation accuracy.
•    No effect of moderating uncivil comments on flow, an immersive (work) experience.

Abstract: This study sought to understand the effects of moderating uncivil online comments on the people who do this task. Results from an experiment (N = 747) show that moderating only uncivil comments made moderators less accurate at that task, more emotionally exhausted, and more dissatisfied with the task, relative to moderating only civil comments or a mix of civil and uncivil comments. In addition, results show evidence of a mediation effect. Specifically, moderating all uncivil comments made people more emotionally exhausted, and this exhaustion in turn led people to be less accurate in picking which comments to reject or accept for publication on a news site comment thread. However, moderating comments had no effect on perceptions of flow, an immersive experience, conceptually borne out of the field of positive psychology. Results suggest breaking up strenuous online labor tasks, such as comment moderation, and alternating comment moderation with other types of work to reduce the deleterious effects of the task.

Keywords: Content moderation, Online incivility, Flow theory, Online news comments, Emotional exhaustion, Comment moderation

From 2008: Is it a boy or a girl? The father’s family might provide a clue

From 2008: Trends in Population Sex Ratios May be Explained by Changes in the Frequencies of Polymorphic Alleles of a Sex Ratio Gene. Corry Gellatly. Evolutionary Biology volume 36, pages190–200, December 10 2008. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11692-008-9046-3

Abstract: A test for heritability of the sex ratio in human genealogical data is reported here, with the finding that there is significant heritability of the parental sex ratio by male, but not female offspring. A population genetic model was used to examine the hypothesis that this is the result of an autosomal gene with polymorphic alleles, which affects the sex ratio of offspring through the male reproductive system. The model simulations show that an equilibrium sex ratio may be maintained by frequency dependent selection acting on the heritable variation provided by the gene. It is also shown that increased mortality of pre-reproductive males causes an increase in male births in following generations, which explains why increases in the sex ratio have been seen after wars, also why higher infant and juvenile mortality of males may be the cause of the male-bias typically seen in the human primary sex ratio. It is concluded that various trends seen in population sex ratios are the result of changes in the relative frequencies of the polymorphic alleles of the proposed gene. It is argued that this occurs by common inheritance and that parental resource expenditure per sex of offspring is not a factor in the heritability of sex ratio variation.

Popular writing: Is it a boy or a girl? The father’s family might provide a clue. Robyn Horsager-Boehrer. The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, June 25, 2019. https://utswmed.org/medblog/it-boy-or-girl-fathers-family-might-provide-clue/
Researchers in England set out to determine whether this is true. They downloaded family trees from the Genealogy Forum, then eliminated data they felt weren’t accurate – for instance, people reported as having more than two parents or a discrepancy in an individual's sex. This left researchers with 927 family trees that had at least three generations and included over half a million individuals dating back to 1600.

Their findings were telling. In the computer models, when researchers removed men from the population data before they had a chance to start families, there was an increase in the number of male babies born in the next generation. The researchers also found that the sex ratio for families followed the father's side, not the mother's side. For example, if a man had more brothers, his own children were more likely to be male; if he had more sisters, he was more likely to have daughters. This was not found to be the case for women.

According to this study, the explanation might be due to a gene that controls the balance of X- and Y-carrying sperm. Men carrying a gene that leads to their sperm having more Y chromosomes have more sons. During times of war and large casualties of male soldiers, those families are more likely to have more surviving sons. And when those men have children, they, like their fathers, might be more likely to have baby boys. This could account for the temporary increase in the sex ratio for that time period.

Optimal Subjective Age Bias: Feeling Younger by a Set Amount, but No More, Is Beneficial for Life Satisfaction

Blöchl, Maria, Steffen Nestler, and David Weiss. 2020. “An Optimal Margin of Subjective Age Bias: Feeling Younger by a Set Amount, but No More, Is Beneficial for Life Satisfaction.” PsyArXiv. January 22. doi:10.31234/osf.io/pfxqh

Abstract: The majority of adults feels considerably younger than their chronological age. Numerous studies suggest that maintaining a youthful subjective age promotes successful ageing, but the extent to which feeling younger promotes life satisfaction is not well understood. Here, we use polynomial regression models and response surface methodology to accurately model and test the relationships between subjective age, chronological age, and life satisfaction in in a large sample spanning adulthood (N = 7,356; 36 – 89 years). We find that people who feel younger by a certain amount, but not more (or less), are most satisfied with their life. In addition, our findings suggest that the optimal discrepancy between subjective and chronological age increases across adulthood. These findings support an optimal margin perspective of the subjective age bias and highlight that beyond a certain point, distancing oneself from one’s own age may be psychologically harmful.

The past is regularly the only thing that can determine present social realities such as commitments, entitlements, & obligations; episodic memory may have developed only once humans were able to represent the social effects of events

Witnessing, Remembering, and Testifying: Why the Past Is Special for Human Beings. Johannes B. Mahr, Gergely Csibra. Perspectives on Psychological Science, January 21, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691619879167

Abstract: The past is undeniably special for human beings. To a large extent, both individuals and collectives define themselves through history. Moreover, humans seem to have a special way of cognitively representing the past: episodic memory. As opposed to other ways of representing knowledge, remembering the past in episodic memory brings with it the ability to become a witness. Episodic memory allows us to determine what of our knowledge about the past comes from our own experience and thereby what parts of the past we can give testimony about. In this article, we aim to give an account of the special status of the past by asking why humans have developed the ability to give testimony about it. We argue that the past is special for human beings because it is regularly, and often principally, the only thing that can determine present social realities such as commitments, entitlements, and obligations. Because the social effects of the past often do not leave physical traces behind, remembering the past and the ability to bear testimony it brings is necessary for coordinating social realities with other individuals.

Keywords: episodic memory, testimony, commitments




Inferences of Parenting Ability from Bodily Cues: High-fat female targets were perceived to have more positive & less negative parenting abilities; breast size did not influence perceptions of female parenting ability

Dad and Mom Bods? Inferences of Parenting Ability from Bodily Cues. Donald F. Sacco, Kaitlyn Holifield, Kelsey Drea, Mitch Brown & Alicia Macchione. Evolutionary Psychological Science, Jan 22 2020. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40806-020-00229-x

Abstract: Though much research has explored how facial and bodily features connote heritable fitness, particularly in the context of short-term mating, such cues similarly may influence perceptions of potential parenting ability. The current study explored how body fat variation and breast size in female targets and body fat and muscularity variation in male targets influence men’s and women’s perceptions of targets’ positive (e.g., nurturance) and negative (e.g., hostility) parenting capacities. Participants viewed 4 female targets orthogonally manipulated along dimensions of adiposity (high vs. low) and breast size (small vs. large), and 4 male targets orthogonally manipulated along similar adiposity dimensions and muscularity (small vs. large) before indicating targets’ inferred parenting ability. High-fat female targets were perceived to have more positive and less negative parenting abilities relative to low-fat female targets, an effect that was most pronounced among women; breast size did not influence perceptions of female parenting ability. For male targets, high fat and small muscles were perceived as more indicative of positive parenting abilities and less indicative toward negative abilities; the low body fat/high muscle male target was perceived to have especially negative parenting abilities. These results suggest body cues often associated with good genes and short-term mating success also systematically influence perceptions of parenting ability.

Declines in Religiosity Predict Increases in Violent Crime—but Not Among Countries With Relatively High Average IQ

Declines in Religiosity Predict Increases in Violent Crime—but Not Among Countries With Relatively High Average IQ. Cory J. Clark et al. Psychological Science, January 21, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797619897915

Abstract: Many scholars have argued that religion reduces violent behavior within human social groups. Here, we tested whether intelligence moderates this relationship. We hypothesized that religion would have greater utility for regulating violent behavior among societies with relatively lower average IQs than among societies with relatively more cognitively gifted citizens. Two studies supported this hypothesis. Study 1, a longitudinal analysis from 1945 to 2010 (with up to 176 countries and 1,046 observations), demonstrated that declines in religiosity were associated with increases in homicide rates—but only in countries with relatively low average IQs. Study 2, a multiverse analysis (171 models) using modern data (97–195 countries) and various controls, consistently confirmed that lower rates of religiosity were more strongly associated with higher homicide rates in countries with lower average IQ. These findings raise questions about how secularization might differentially affect groups of different mean cognitive ability.

Keywords: IQ, intelligence, self-control, religion, religiosity, crime, violence, open data, open materials, preregistered


Not replicable: Self-objectified women might themselves contribute to the maintenance of the patriarchal status quo, for instance, by participating less in collective action

Two Preregistered Direct Replications of “Objects Don’t Object: Evidence That Self-Objectification Disrupts Women’s Social Activism”. Matthias De Wilde et al. Psychological Science, January 21, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797619896273

Abstract: Self-objectification has been claimed to induce numerous detrimental consequences for women at the individual level (e.g., sexual dysfunction, depression, eating disorders). Additionally, at the collective level, it has been proposed that self-objectified women might themselves contribute to the maintenance of the patriarchal status quo, for instance, by participating less in collective action. In 2013, Calogero found a negative link between self-objectification and collective action, which was mediated by the adoption of gender-specific system justification. Here, we report two preregistered direct replications (PDRs) of Calogero’s original study. We conducted these PDRs after three failures to replicate the positive relation between self-objectification and gender-specific system-justification belief in correlational studies. Results of the two PDRs, in which we used a Bayesian approach, supported the null hypothesis. This work has important theoretical implications because it challenges the role attributed to self-objectified women in the maintenance of patriarchy.

Keywords: self-objectification, system justification, reproducibility, mini meta-analysis, open data, open materials, preregistered


Forgetfulness contributes to the maintenance of a positive and coherent self-image (“Guardian”), the facilitation of efficient cognitive function ("Librarian"), & the development of a creative and flexible worldview (“Inventor”)

The Many Faces of Forgetting: Toward a Constructive View of Forgetting in Everyday Life. Jonathan M.Fawcett, Justin C.Hulbert. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, January 21 2020.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jarmac.2019.11.002

Abstract: Forgetting is often considered a fundamental cognitive failure, reflecting the undesirable and potentially embarrassing inability to retrieve a sought-after experience or fact. For this reason, forgetfulness has been argued to form the basis of many problems associated with our memory system. We highlight instead how forgetfulness serves many purposes within our everyday experience, giving rise to some of our best characteristics. Drawing from cognitive, neuroscientific, and applied research, we contextualize our findings in terms of their contributions along three important (if not entirely independent) roles supported by forgetting, namely (a) the maintenance of a positive and coherent self-image (“Guardian”), (b) the facilitation of efficient cognitive function (“Librarian”), and (c) the development of a creative and flexible worldview (“Inventor”). Together, these roles depict an expanded understanding of how forgetting provides memory with many of its cardinal virtues.
The Many Faces of Forgetting: Toward a Constructive View of Forgetting in Everyday Life. Jonathan M.Fawcett, Justin C.Hulbert. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, January 21 2020.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jarmac.2019.11.002