On the positive association between candy and fruit gum consumption and hyperactivity in children and adolescents with ADHD. Nicole Wolff et al. Zeitschrift für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und Psychotherapie. https://doi.org/10.1024/1422-4917/a000609
Abstract
Objective: The purpose of the present study was the analysis of the association between consumption of candy and fruit gums, diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and behavioural problems.
Methods: In total, 1,187 children and adolescents of the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS) were analyzed. Results: It was observed that children and adolescents with ADHD as compared to healthy controls (HC) reported to consume more frequently and higher amounts of candy and fruit gums and that hyperactivity was associated with frequent candy and fruit gum consumption.
Conclusions: Because with the present design no conclusions on causality or directionality of the found associations could be drawn, results are discussed quite broadly in the light of several previously published interpretations, also to serve as a generator for further research. One more innovative speculation is that children and adolescents with ADHD may consume more frequently candy and fruit gums in order i) to compensate for their higher needs of energy resulting from hyperactive behaviour and/or ii) to compensate for the ADHD-typical deficits in the “reward cascade”.
Keywords: ADHD, nutrition, hyperactivity, children, adolescents
Saturday, August 25, 2018
Weak positive correlation for psychopathic tendencies & leadership emergence, weak negative association with leadership effectiveness, & moderate negative correlation with transformational leadership
Shall We Serve the Dark Lords? A Meta-Analytic Review of Psychopathy and Leadership. Karen Landay, Peter D Harms, Marcus Credé. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327039686
Abstract: Both scholars and the popular press have expressed concern regarding the potential prevalence of individuals with psychopathic tendencies in corporate leadership positions and the negative effects they may have on both individual workers and their organizations as a whole. However, research to date has been inconclusive as to whether such individuals are more likely to emerge as leaders or if they are (in)effective leaders. In order to clarify the state of the literature, we conducted a meta-analysis on the association between psychopathic personality characteristics and leadership emergence, leadership effectiveness, and transformational leadership. Our results, based on data from 92 independent samples, showed a weak positive correlation for psychopathic tendencies and leadership emergence, a weak negative association for psychopathic tendencies and leadership effectiveness, and a moderate negative correlation for psychopathic tendencies and transformational leadership. Subgroup analyses on methodological factors did not indicate any differences from the main results. However, moderator analyses showed a gender difference in these associations such that psychopathic tendencies in men were weakly positively correlated with leadership emergence and effectiveness and negatively correlated with transformational leadership, while psychopathic tendencies in women were negatively associated with effectiveness and transformational leadership, and largely unassociated with emergence. Additionally, small but consistent curvilinear associations were found for all leadership criteria. Overall, these results suggest that concern over psychopathic tendencies in organizational leaders may be overblown, but that gender can function to obscure real effects.
Abstract: Both scholars and the popular press have expressed concern regarding the potential prevalence of individuals with psychopathic tendencies in corporate leadership positions and the negative effects they may have on both individual workers and their organizations as a whole. However, research to date has been inconclusive as to whether such individuals are more likely to emerge as leaders or if they are (in)effective leaders. In order to clarify the state of the literature, we conducted a meta-analysis on the association between psychopathic personality characteristics and leadership emergence, leadership effectiveness, and transformational leadership. Our results, based on data from 92 independent samples, showed a weak positive correlation for psychopathic tendencies and leadership emergence, a weak negative association for psychopathic tendencies and leadership effectiveness, and a moderate negative correlation for psychopathic tendencies and transformational leadership. Subgroup analyses on methodological factors did not indicate any differences from the main results. However, moderator analyses showed a gender difference in these associations such that psychopathic tendencies in men were weakly positively correlated with leadership emergence and effectiveness and negatively correlated with transformational leadership, while psychopathic tendencies in women were negatively associated with effectiveness and transformational leadership, and largely unassociated with emergence. Additionally, small but consistent curvilinear associations were found for all leadership criteria. Overall, these results suggest that concern over psychopathic tendencies in organizational leaders may be overblown, but that gender can function to obscure real effects.
Increases in Sex with Same-sex Partners Across U.S. Cohorts Born 1920-1998
Mishel, Emma, Paula England, Jessie Ford, and Monica Caudillo. 2018. “Increases in Sex with Same-sex Partners Across U.S. Cohorts Born 1920-1998: A Race-gender Intersection.” SocArXiv. August 24. doi:10.31235/osf.io/af8qk
Abstract: We examine change across U.S. cohorts born between 1920 and 1998 in their probability of having had sex with same-sex partners last year and since age 18. We explore how trends differ by gender, race and class background. We use data from the 1988-2016 General Social Surveys. We find steady increases across birth cohorts in the proportion of men and women who have had both male and female sexual partners since age 18. A key finding is a race-gender intersection: black men and women of all races had similar increases— increases which were much steeper than those observed for white men. We suggest that women’s increase is rooted in a long-term asymmetry in gender change, in which nonconformity to gender norms in many arenas is more acceptable for women than men. As the increase for men is largest among black men—and this is the population most affected by the rise of mass incarceration—we suggest the latter may be a contributing factor.
Abstract: We examine change across U.S. cohorts born between 1920 and 1998 in their probability of having had sex with same-sex partners last year and since age 18. We explore how trends differ by gender, race and class background. We use data from the 1988-2016 General Social Surveys. We find steady increases across birth cohorts in the proportion of men and women who have had both male and female sexual partners since age 18. A key finding is a race-gender intersection: black men and women of all races had similar increases— increases which were much steeper than those observed for white men. We suggest that women’s increase is rooted in a long-term asymmetry in gender change, in which nonconformity to gender norms in many arenas is more acceptable for women than men. As the increase for men is largest among black men—and this is the population most affected by the rise of mass incarceration—we suggest the latter may be a contributing factor.
Pleasantness was induced by mere imagination of touch without any tactile stimulation, & touch that was sexually arousing for the receiver was rated as more sexually arousing for the giver as well, pointing to top-down, learned expectations of sensory pleasure and erogeneity
Dissociable sources of erogeneity in social touch: Imagining and perceiving C-Tactile optimal touch in erogenous zones. Elena Panagiotopoulou, Maria Laura Filippetti, Antje Gentsch, Aikaterini Fotopoulou. PLOS One, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0203039
Abstract: Previous research points to two major hypotheses regarding the mechanisms by which touch can be experienced as erotogenic. The first concerns the body part to which touch is applied (erogenous zones) and the second the modality of touch (sensual touch optimal in activating C Tactile afferents). In this study, we explored for the first time the relation between those two mechanisms in actual and imagined social touch. In a first experiment, we randomly assigned “Giver” and “Receiver” roles within 19 romantic couples (20 females, 18 males, age 32.34 ± 8.71SD years) and asked the “Giver” to apply CT-optimal (3 cm/s) vs. CT-suboptimal (18 cm/s) touch on an erogenous (neck) vs. non-erogenous zone (forehead) of their partner. We then obtained ratings of pleasantness and sexual arousal from both “Receivers” and “Givers”. In a second experiment, 32 healthy females (age 25.16 ± 5.91SD years) were asked to imagine CT-optimal vs. CT-suboptimal stimulation (stroking vs. patting) and velocity (3 cm/s vs. 18 cm/s) on different erogenous vs. non-erogenous zones and rate pleasantness. While both erogenous body part and CT-optimal, sensual touch were found to increase pleasant and erotic sensations, the results showed a lack of an interaction. Furthermore, Pleasantness was induced by mere imagination of touch without any tactile stimulation, and touch that was sexually arousing for the receiver was rated as more sexually arousing for the giver as well, pointing to top-down, learned expectations of sensory pleasure and erogeneity. Taken together, these studies provide the first direct evidence that while both the body location to which touch is applied and the mode of touch contribute to pleasant and erotic sensations, these two factors appear to mediate subjective pleasantness and erogeneity by, at least partly, independent mechanisms.
Abstract: Previous research points to two major hypotheses regarding the mechanisms by which touch can be experienced as erotogenic. The first concerns the body part to which touch is applied (erogenous zones) and the second the modality of touch (sensual touch optimal in activating C Tactile afferents). In this study, we explored for the first time the relation between those two mechanisms in actual and imagined social touch. In a first experiment, we randomly assigned “Giver” and “Receiver” roles within 19 romantic couples (20 females, 18 males, age 32.34 ± 8.71SD years) and asked the “Giver” to apply CT-optimal (3 cm/s) vs. CT-suboptimal (18 cm/s) touch on an erogenous (neck) vs. non-erogenous zone (forehead) of their partner. We then obtained ratings of pleasantness and sexual arousal from both “Receivers” and “Givers”. In a second experiment, 32 healthy females (age 25.16 ± 5.91SD years) were asked to imagine CT-optimal vs. CT-suboptimal stimulation (stroking vs. patting) and velocity (3 cm/s vs. 18 cm/s) on different erogenous vs. non-erogenous zones and rate pleasantness. While both erogenous body part and CT-optimal, sensual touch were found to increase pleasant and erotic sensations, the results showed a lack of an interaction. Furthermore, Pleasantness was induced by mere imagination of touch without any tactile stimulation, and touch that was sexually arousing for the receiver was rated as more sexually arousing for the giver as well, pointing to top-down, learned expectations of sensory pleasure and erogeneity. Taken together, these studies provide the first direct evidence that while both the body location to which touch is applied and the mode of touch contribute to pleasant and erotic sensations, these two factors appear to mediate subjective pleasantness and erogeneity by, at least partly, independent mechanisms.
Friday, August 24, 2018
Effects of a Hypnosis Session Before General Anesthesia on Postoperative Outcomes in Patients Who Underwent Minor Breast Cancer Surgery
Effects of a Hypnosis Session Before General Anesthesia on Postoperative
Outcomes in Patients Who Underwent Minor Breast Cancer Surgery - The HYPNOSEIN Randomized Clinical Trial. Jibba Amraoui et al. JAMA Network Open. 2018;1(4):e181164. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.1164
Key Points
Question What is the benefit of a short hypnosis session before general anesthesia on postoperative outcomes (pain, nausea/vomiting, fatigue, comfort/well-being, anxiety, postanesthesia care unit length of stay, and patient satisfaction) in patients who underwent minor breast cancer surgery?
Findings In this randomized clinical trial, 150 women were randomized to receive hypnosis or a control group, and the mean breast pain score before discharge was 1.75 in the control arm vs 2.63 in the hypnosis arm. At discharge, no statistically significant difference in breast pain was reported.
Meaning No benefit of hypnosis was found on postoperative breast pain; however, hypnosis seems to have other benefits regarding fatigue, anxiety, and patient satisfaction.
Abstract
Importance Hypnosis is now widespread in medical practice and is emerging as an alternative technique for pain management and anxiety. However, its effects on postoperative outcomes remain unclear.
Objective To evaluate the efficacy of a preoperative hypnosis session for reducing postoperative breast pain in patients who underwent minor breast cancer surgery.
Design, Setting, and Participants The HYPNOSEIN prospective randomized clinical trial was conducted from October 7, 2014, to April 5, 2016. In this multicenter study in France, 150 women scheduled for minor breast cancer surgery were randomized between control and hypnosis arms, and 148 (71 control and 77 hypnosis) were included in the intent-to-treat analysis.
Intervention On the day of surgery, eligible patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to the control arm or the hypnosis arm. Patients (but not the care teams) were blinded to the arm to which they were assigned. A 15-minute hypnosis session before general anesthesia in the operating room was performed in the hypnosis arm.
Main Outcomes and Measures The primary end point was breast pain reduction (by 2 on a visual analog scale), assessed immediately before discharge from the postanesthesia care unit (PACU). Secondary end points were nausea/vomiting, fatigue, comfort/well-being, anxiety, and PACU length of stay, assessed at different times until postoperative day 30.
Results The median patient age was 57 years (range, 33-79 years) in the control arm and 53 years (range, 20-84 years) in the hypnosis arm. Baseline characteristics were similar in the 2 arms. The median duration of the hypnosis session was 6 minutes (range, 2-15 minutes). The use of intraoperative opioids and hypnotics was lower in the hypnosis arm. The mean (SD) breast pain score (range, 0-10) was 1.75 (1.59) in the control arm vs 2.63 (1.62) in the hypnosis arm (P = .004). At PACU discharge and with longer follow-up, no statistically significant difference in breast pain was reported. Fatigue was significantly lower in the hypnosis arm on the evening of surgery (mean [SD] score, 3.81 [2.15] in the control arm vs 2.99 [2.56] in the hypnosis arm; P = .03). The median PACU length of stay was 60 minutes (range, 20-290 minutes) in the control arm vs 46 minutes (range, 5-100 minutes) in the hypnosis arm (P = .002). Exploratory analyses according to patient perception of whether she received hypnosis showed significantly lower fatigue scores in the perceived hypnosis subgroup on the evening of surgery (mean [SD], 4.13 [2.26] for no perceived hypnosis vs 2.97 [2.42] for perceived hypnosis; P = .01). Anxiety was also significantly lower on the evening of surgery in the perceived hypnosis subgroup (mean [SD], 0.75 [1.64] for perceived hypnosis vs 1.67 [2.29] for no perceived hypnosis; P = .03).
Conclusions and Relevance The results of this study do not support a benefit of hypnosis on postoperative breast pain in women undergoing minor breast cancer surgery. However, other outcomes seem to be improved, which needs to be confirmed by further studies.
Key Points
Question What is the benefit of a short hypnosis session before general anesthesia on postoperative outcomes (pain, nausea/vomiting, fatigue, comfort/well-being, anxiety, postanesthesia care unit length of stay, and patient satisfaction) in patients who underwent minor breast cancer surgery?
Findings In this randomized clinical trial, 150 women were randomized to receive hypnosis or a control group, and the mean breast pain score before discharge was 1.75 in the control arm vs 2.63 in the hypnosis arm. At discharge, no statistically significant difference in breast pain was reported.
Meaning No benefit of hypnosis was found on postoperative breast pain; however, hypnosis seems to have other benefits regarding fatigue, anxiety, and patient satisfaction.
Abstract
Importance Hypnosis is now widespread in medical practice and is emerging as an alternative technique for pain management and anxiety. However, its effects on postoperative outcomes remain unclear.
Objective To evaluate the efficacy of a preoperative hypnosis session for reducing postoperative breast pain in patients who underwent minor breast cancer surgery.
Design, Setting, and Participants The HYPNOSEIN prospective randomized clinical trial was conducted from October 7, 2014, to April 5, 2016. In this multicenter study in France, 150 women scheduled for minor breast cancer surgery were randomized between control and hypnosis arms, and 148 (71 control and 77 hypnosis) were included in the intent-to-treat analysis.
Intervention On the day of surgery, eligible patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to the control arm or the hypnosis arm. Patients (but not the care teams) were blinded to the arm to which they were assigned. A 15-minute hypnosis session before general anesthesia in the operating room was performed in the hypnosis arm.
Main Outcomes and Measures The primary end point was breast pain reduction (by 2 on a visual analog scale), assessed immediately before discharge from the postanesthesia care unit (PACU). Secondary end points were nausea/vomiting, fatigue, comfort/well-being, anxiety, and PACU length of stay, assessed at different times until postoperative day 30.
Results The median patient age was 57 years (range, 33-79 years) in the control arm and 53 years (range, 20-84 years) in the hypnosis arm. Baseline characteristics were similar in the 2 arms. The median duration of the hypnosis session was 6 minutes (range, 2-15 minutes). The use of intraoperative opioids and hypnotics was lower in the hypnosis arm. The mean (SD) breast pain score (range, 0-10) was 1.75 (1.59) in the control arm vs 2.63 (1.62) in the hypnosis arm (P = .004). At PACU discharge and with longer follow-up, no statistically significant difference in breast pain was reported. Fatigue was significantly lower in the hypnosis arm on the evening of surgery (mean [SD] score, 3.81 [2.15] in the control arm vs 2.99 [2.56] in the hypnosis arm; P = .03). The median PACU length of stay was 60 minutes (range, 20-290 minutes) in the control arm vs 46 minutes (range, 5-100 minutes) in the hypnosis arm (P = .002). Exploratory analyses according to patient perception of whether she received hypnosis showed significantly lower fatigue scores in the perceived hypnosis subgroup on the evening of surgery (mean [SD], 4.13 [2.26] for no perceived hypnosis vs 2.97 [2.42] for perceived hypnosis; P = .01). Anxiety was also significantly lower on the evening of surgery in the perceived hypnosis subgroup (mean [SD], 0.75 [1.64] for perceived hypnosis vs 1.67 [2.29] for no perceived hypnosis; P = .03).
Conclusions and Relevance The results of this study do not support a benefit of hypnosis on postoperative breast pain in women undergoing minor breast cancer surgery. However, other outcomes seem to be improved, which needs to be confirmed by further studies.
Higher early adulthood cognitive ability was associated with more frequent alcohol consumption & binge drinking in midlife; the relation did not change to a large degree when further adjusted for education, & if any resulted in a stronger association
The interplay between cognitive ability, alcohol consumption, and health characteristics. E. Degerud et al. Psychological Medicine, Volume 48, Issue 12, September 2018, pp. 2011-2022. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291717003543
Abstract
Background: Higher cognitive ability is associated with favourable health characteristics. The relation between ability and alcohol consumption, and their interplay with other health characteristics, is unclear. We aimed to assess the relationship between cognitive ability and alcohol consumption and to assess whether alcohol consumption relates differently to health characteristics across strata of ability.
Methods: For 63 120 Norwegian males, data on cognitive ability in early adulthood were linked to midlife data on alcohol consumption frequency (times per month, 0–30) and other health characteristics, including cardiovascular risk factors and mental distress. Relations were assessed using linear regression and reported as unstandardised beta coefficients [95% confidence interval (CI)].
Results: The mean ± s.d. frequency of total alcohol consumption in the sample was 4.0 ± 3.8 times per month. In the low, medium, and high group of ability, the frequencies were 3.0 ± 3.3, 3.7 ± 3.5, and 4.7 ± 4.1, respectively. In the full sample, alcohol consumption was associated with physical activity, heart rate, fat mass, smoking, and mental distress. Most notably, each additional day of consumption was associated with a 0.54% (0.44–0.64) and 0.14% (0.09–0.18) increase in the probability of current smoking and mental distress, respectively. In each strata of ability (low, medium, high), estimates were 0.87% (0.57–1.17), 0.48% (0.31–0.66) and 0.49% (0.36–0.62) for current smoking, and 0.44% (0.28–0.60), 0.10% (0.02–0.18), and 0.09% (0.03–0.15) for mental distress, respectively.
Conclusions: Participants with low cognitive ability drink less frequently, but in this group, more frequent alcohol consumption is more strongly associated with adverse health characteristics.
Abstract
Background: Higher cognitive ability is associated with favourable health characteristics. The relation between ability and alcohol consumption, and their interplay with other health characteristics, is unclear. We aimed to assess the relationship between cognitive ability and alcohol consumption and to assess whether alcohol consumption relates differently to health characteristics across strata of ability.
Methods: For 63 120 Norwegian males, data on cognitive ability in early adulthood were linked to midlife data on alcohol consumption frequency (times per month, 0–30) and other health characteristics, including cardiovascular risk factors and mental distress. Relations were assessed using linear regression and reported as unstandardised beta coefficients [95% confidence interval (CI)].
Results: The mean ± s.d. frequency of total alcohol consumption in the sample was 4.0 ± 3.8 times per month. In the low, medium, and high group of ability, the frequencies were 3.0 ± 3.3, 3.7 ± 3.5, and 4.7 ± 4.1, respectively. In the full sample, alcohol consumption was associated with physical activity, heart rate, fat mass, smoking, and mental distress. Most notably, each additional day of consumption was associated with a 0.54% (0.44–0.64) and 0.14% (0.09–0.18) increase in the probability of current smoking and mental distress, respectively. In each strata of ability (low, medium, high), estimates were 0.87% (0.57–1.17), 0.48% (0.31–0.66) and 0.49% (0.36–0.62) for current smoking, and 0.44% (0.28–0.60), 0.10% (0.02–0.18), and 0.09% (0.03–0.15) for mental distress, respectively.
Conclusions: Participants with low cognitive ability drink less frequently, but in this group, more frequent alcohol consumption is more strongly associated with adverse health characteristics.
Mindfulness makes one more aware of present and incoming information & is relevant to food choice and food sustainability issues; it may increase disgust & reduce attitudes toward eating insects
Mindfulness and Willingness to Try Insects as Food: The Role of Disgust. Eugene Y. Chan. Food Quality and Preference, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2018.08.014
Highlights
• Mindfulness makes one more aware of present and incoming information.
• Mindfulness is relevant to food choice and food sustainability issues.
• We study and test the impact of mindfulness on insect-eating attitudes.
• Mindfulness may increase disgust and reduce attitudes toward eating bugs.
• Results from three studies are consistent with this theorizing.
Abstract: Mindfulness, commonly associated with Buddhism, refers to the state of being aware, taking note of what is going on within oneself and outside of the world. In the current research, we examine the possible impact of mindfulness on willingness to try insect foods. We present the results of three studies—one correlational and two experimental—illustrating that mindfulness increases disgust and lowers willingness to try eating insects. On the one hand, this counters existing literature that mindfulness reduces emotional reactivity. On the other hand, it is in-line with mindfulness making one more aware and accepting of present and incoming information, which would conceivably include context-relevant emotions such as disgust in the case of eating insects that Western cultures see as disgusting. Our findings support the latter possibility. We situate our work within the literature on the various impacts of mindfulness on food choice. We also discuss implications for food sustainability practitioners.
Highlights
• Mindfulness makes one more aware of present and incoming information.
• Mindfulness is relevant to food choice and food sustainability issues.
• We study and test the impact of mindfulness on insect-eating attitudes.
• Mindfulness may increase disgust and reduce attitudes toward eating bugs.
• Results from three studies are consistent with this theorizing.
Abstract: Mindfulness, commonly associated with Buddhism, refers to the state of being aware, taking note of what is going on within oneself and outside of the world. In the current research, we examine the possible impact of mindfulness on willingness to try insect foods. We present the results of three studies—one correlational and two experimental—illustrating that mindfulness increases disgust and lowers willingness to try eating insects. On the one hand, this counters existing literature that mindfulness reduces emotional reactivity. On the other hand, it is in-line with mindfulness making one more aware and accepting of present and incoming information, which would conceivably include context-relevant emotions such as disgust in the case of eating insects that Western cultures see as disgusting. Our findings support the latter possibility. We situate our work within the literature on the various impacts of mindfulness on food choice. We also discuss implications for food sustainability practitioners.
Thursday, August 23, 2018
The Evolution of Human Female Sexual Orientation
The Evolution of Human Female Sexual Orientation. Austin John Jeffery et al. [in press, Evolutionary Psychological Science, July 2018]. http://toddkshackelford.com/downloads/Jeffery-et-al-EPS.pdf
Abstract: Female sexual orientation has received less theoretical and empirical attention than male sexual orientation and few reviews are devoted to female sexual orientation. Moreover, research investigating female sexual orientation often underappreciates insights afforded by evolutionary theory. This review begins with an overview of the literature on female sexual identification, sexual perception, sexual fluidity, sexual expression, and the biology of female sexual orientation. Female same-sex sexual behaviors in the non-human apes are then described, providing a comparative context for the following discussion of hypotheses for the evolution of human female same-sex sexual attractions and behaviors. These hypotheses are organized as byproduct hypotheses or adaptation hypotheses and we include discussions of dysfunction, heterosis, sexual antagonism, epigenetics, weak selection, self-domestication, sexual frustration, mate attraction, alloparenting, polygyny, and other topics. We conclude by highlighting the challenges posed by evolutionary studies of human psychology.
Keywords: evolution, female homosexuality, female sexuality, sexual orientation
Abstract: Female sexual orientation has received less theoretical and empirical attention than male sexual orientation and few reviews are devoted to female sexual orientation. Moreover, research investigating female sexual orientation often underappreciates insights afforded by evolutionary theory. This review begins with an overview of the literature on female sexual identification, sexual perception, sexual fluidity, sexual expression, and the biology of female sexual orientation. Female same-sex sexual behaviors in the non-human apes are then described, providing a comparative context for the following discussion of hypotheses for the evolution of human female same-sex sexual attractions and behaviors. These hypotheses are organized as byproduct hypotheses or adaptation hypotheses and we include discussions of dysfunction, heterosis, sexual antagonism, epigenetics, weak selection, self-domestication, sexual frustration, mate attraction, alloparenting, polygyny, and other topics. We conclude by highlighting the challenges posed by evolutionary studies of human psychology.
Keywords: evolution, female homosexuality, female sexuality, sexual orientation
Introduction of a machine translation system has significantly increased international trade on eBay, increasing exports by 17.5%; heterogeneous treatment effects are all consistent with a substantial reduction in translation-related search costs
Does Machine Translation Affect International Trade? Evidence from a Large Digital Platform. Erik Brynjolfsson, Xiang Hui, Meng Liu. NBER Working Paper No. 24917, Aug 2018. www.nber.org/papers/w24917
Abstract: Artificial intelligence (AI) is surpassing human performance in a growing number of domains. However, there is limited evidence of its economic effects. Using data from a digital platform, we study a key application of AI: machine translation. We find that the introduction of a machine translation system has significantly increased international trade on this platform, increasing exports by 17.5%. Furthermore, heterogeneous treatment effects are all consistent with a substantial reduction in translation-related search costs. Our results provide causal evidence that language barriers significantly hinder trade and that AI has already begun to improve economic efficiency in at least one domain.
Abstract: Artificial intelligence (AI) is surpassing human performance in a growing number of domains. However, there is limited evidence of its economic effects. Using data from a digital platform, we study a key application of AI: machine translation. We find that the introduction of a machine translation system has significantly increased international trade on this platform, increasing exports by 17.5%. Furthermore, heterogeneous treatment effects are all consistent with a substantial reduction in translation-related search costs. Our results provide causal evidence that language barriers significantly hinder trade and that AI has already begun to improve economic efficiency in at least one domain.
Physically attractive women had more intelligent husbands; a man's physical attractiveness was not associated with his wife’s intelligence; the results provide new information on cross-trait assortative mating
Cross-Trait Assortment for Intelligence and Physical Attractiveness. Curtis S. Dunkel et al. In press, Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences, July 2018. http://toddkshackelford.com/downloads/Dunkel-et-al-EBS.pdf
Abstract: We investigated cross-trait assortative mating for the traits of physical attractiveness and intelligence using data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. It was hypothesized that more physically attractive individuals would have a spouse that was more intelligent, but that this association would be moderated by sex. Specifically, we predicted that more physically attractive women would have more intelligent husbands, but that a man’s physical attractiveness would not predict his wife’s intelligence. The results of correlation and regression analyses were consistent with these predictions, although the effect sizes were small. Additionally, we identified an interaction in which women’s physical attractiveness was more strongly associated with their husbands’ intelligence for more intelligent women than for less intelligent women. We conclude with suggestions for further research addressing cross-trait assortative mating for physical attractiveness and intelligence.
Abstract: We investigated cross-trait assortative mating for the traits of physical attractiveness and intelligence using data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. It was hypothesized that more physically attractive individuals would have a spouse that was more intelligent, but that this association would be moderated by sex. Specifically, we predicted that more physically attractive women would have more intelligent husbands, but that a man’s physical attractiveness would not predict his wife’s intelligence. The results of correlation and regression analyses were consistent with these predictions, although the effect sizes were small. Additionally, we identified an interaction in which women’s physical attractiveness was more strongly associated with their husbands’ intelligence for more intelligent women than for less intelligent women. We conclude with suggestions for further research addressing cross-trait assortative mating for physical attractiveness and intelligence.
Exploring the Relationship Between Depression and Dementia
Exploring the Relationship Between Depression and Dementia. Rita Rubin. JAMA. Published online August 22, 2018. doi:10.1001/jama.2018.11154
Diagnosing and treating depression in people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or with dementia presents special challenges, but doing so can improve the quality of their lives as well as the lives of their caregivers and, in the case of MCI, might even delay progression to dementia.
Image description not available.
Researchers are still trying to tease out the relationship between depression and dementia. While depression does not appear to cause dementia, it likely is a risk factor, just as dementia is a risk factor for depression, said George Alexopoulos, MD, founder and director of the Weill-Cornell Institute of Geriatric Psychiatry. At least 20% of people with dementia develop a depressive syndrome, Alexopoulos said.
Often, though, the depression comes first. Some studies suggest that depression in early life is a risk factor for dementia, while depression later in life can be a prodrome of dementia, Alexopoulos said. Although findings are mixed, a 2014 review of the literature concluded that there is convincing evidence to suggest that depression can be a risk factor and a prodromal symptom of dementia.
In a more recent large longitudinal cohort study published in 2017 in JAMA Psychiatry, researchers followed the trajectory of depressive symptoms and dementia in 10 189 UK men and women over 28 years. Unlike some previous studies, this one found that depressive symptoms in midlife, even if chronic or recurring, were not associated with an increased risk of dementia. However, participants with depressive symptoms later in life had a higher risk of dementia. Depressive symptoms appear to be a prodromal feature of dementia or, perhaps, share common causes, such as neurodegeneration and inflammation, but they do not appear to increase the risk of dementia, according to the authors.
In contrast, another longitudinal study involving 4992 older Australian men, published 2 months earlier, found that those who had a history of depression earlier in life did have a higher risk of dementia than those who did not. However, the association was greater in men who were depressed when they entered the study. Treatment with antidepressants did not decrease the risk of depression-associated dementia, leading the authors to conclude that late-life depression should be considered an early sign of dementia, not a modifiable risk factor.
“Any time you have the first episode (of depression) at a later age, that’s always concerning for a neurodegenerative disorder,” said Anna Burke, MD, a geriatric psychiatrist and the director of neuropsychiatry at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, who was not involved with either study.
Raj Shah, MD, an associate professor of family medicine with the Rush University Alzheimer Disease Center in Chicago, recommends that a first episode of depression in older individuals be considered a sentinel event, the same way a fall is. Both events should spur questions about whether patients need to have their medication adjusted or whether the fall or the mood change is a marker of other conditions, Shah said.
Difficult Diagnosis
Depression is often overlooked when it accompanies dementia, Burke said.
“The problem is the DSM-5 [Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fifth Edition)] criteria we use for major depressive disorder don’t necessarily fit for this population, much like in children, where depression presents differently,” she said.
As with children, adults living with dementia and depression might not talk about emotional pain or feeling down, Burke said. Instead, they might exhibit irritability—“they may just get a little more feisty,” she said—and an increase in somatic symptoms, such as aches and pains and gastrointestinal complaints.
“Sometimes people don’t get diagnosed with depression because there is such a huge overlap in symptoms between depression and dementia as well as growing older,” Burke said. Symptoms common to both depression and dementia include loss of interest in activities and hobbies, social withdrawal, and impaired thinking.
Because the symptoms overlap, caregivers might not recognize depression in people with dementia. “I’m often the first person to bring it up,” Burke said. “Even when people do seek treatment in the community, many physicians are not focused on treating anything beyond the memory changes. Nobody ever really discusses the behavioral changes, the changes in mood.”
Still, Alexopoulos said, “If you see the patient at the wrong time, you may miss it. Patients with dementia underreport depression, and caregivers are unreliable reporters.”
As David Steffens, MD, MHS, explained, “It’s hard to notice a change in mood when somebody can’t really voice how they’re feeling.”
But that doesn’t mean depression is insignificant in the setting of dementia. “One reason to treat depression is that depression makes underlying cognitive impairment much worse,” said Steffens, chairman of psychiatry at the University of Connecticut. “You want to give them their best cognitive chance.” Besides antidepressants, he said, psychiatrists have sometimes used electroconvulsive therapy to treat severe depression in people with mild dementia.
Drug Therapy
The prescribing of antidepressants to people with dementia appears to be increasing, according to a UK study published in 2017. Trends in diagnosis and treatment of people with dementia suggest that the proportion prescribed antidepressants rose from 28% to 36.6% from 2005 to 2015.
Antidepressants don’t seem to work as well in people with dementia, possibly because “depression in dementia is a different illness” than depression in people with normal cognition, Alexopoulos said. Cognitive control dysfunction in dementia appears to decrease the effectiveness of some selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), he and his coauthors wrote in a 2015 article. “I think it is appropriate to try to treat with as little medication as you can,” in part because polypharmacy can lead to delirium syndromes in patients with dementia, Alexopoulos said.
Although the study of Australian men found that taking antidepressants did not reduce the risk of depression-associated dementia, recent research suggests that the drugs might slow the progression to dementia in people with MCI and depression. That study, published in 2017, found that taking the antidepressant citalopram (Celexa), an SSRI, for more than 4 years was associated with a delay in progression from MCI to Alzheimer disease by about 3 years. “Three years is a big deal in this age group,” Alexopoulos said. Experiments in mice and healthy humans have shown that citalopram reduces amyloid plaque, one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer disease.
Treating depression in people with MCI with antidepressants might slow the progression to dementia, but little is known about whether drugs and other interventions developed to treat Alzheimer disease have any effect on depression.
Most clinical trials of potential Alzheimer disease treatments do not consider neuropsychiatric symptoms such as depression or irritability as primary research targets, even though “these symptoms are widely recognized as the most stressful and challenging manifestations of dementia,” concluded authors of a recent review article. Only 17.7% of the relevant studies they found on clinicaltrials.gov tested the effect of pharmacological or nonpharmacological interventions on neuropsychiatric symptoms, they wrote.
Beyond Medication and Talk Therapy
People with MCI might still be able to benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy or psychotherapy, but that becomes less likely as they decline, Burke said. “A huge part of psychotherapy is being able to remember what happened in a session.”
Even individuals whose dementia is too advanced for talk therapy can still benefit from lifestyle changes, though, Burke said. Engaging them in social activities and modifying their environment to minimize triggers that make them anxious or irritable can help improve their quality of life, she said.
A recent pilot study suggested that increasing exposure to daylight can reduce depression in people with dementia. The 12-week study involved 77 people living in 8 dementia care communities. At 4 of the communities, staff took study participants to a room with windows for socialization from 8 am to 10 am each day. At the other 4 communities, staff took study participants to socialize in the mornings in a room illuminated only with typical artificial light.
At the end of the study, participants who had socialized in the rooms with daylight had a statistically significant decrease in their scores on the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia, while the other participants did not. More studies are needed to determine the appropriate timing, duration, wavelength, and intensity of light exposure for adults with dementia, the researchers concluded.
Another recent study suggested a perceived lack of social engagement is also associated with depressive symptoms in people with dementia. Researchers measured social engagement, medication use, and depressive symptoms in 402 community-dwelling adults whose average age was 86 years. The data were collected during the first interview at which the participants met the criteria for a dementia diagnosis. The researchers found a link between perceived social isolation and the severity of depressive symptoms but not between antidepressant use and severity of depressive symptoms.
Because the study participants were newly diagnosed, their dementia was mild to moderate. “At that stage, people can still engage,” coauthor Shah said. “If we break down some of the stigma around the diagnosis of dementia, it will help people build cultures of support and inclusiveness.”
Diagnosing and treating depression in people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or with dementia presents special challenges, but doing so can improve the quality of their lives as well as the lives of their caregivers and, in the case of MCI, might even delay progression to dementia.
Image description not available.
Researchers are still trying to tease out the relationship between depression and dementia. While depression does not appear to cause dementia, it likely is a risk factor, just as dementia is a risk factor for depression, said George Alexopoulos, MD, founder and director of the Weill-Cornell Institute of Geriatric Psychiatry. At least 20% of people with dementia develop a depressive syndrome, Alexopoulos said.
Often, though, the depression comes first. Some studies suggest that depression in early life is a risk factor for dementia, while depression later in life can be a prodrome of dementia, Alexopoulos said. Although findings are mixed, a 2014 review of the literature concluded that there is convincing evidence to suggest that depression can be a risk factor and a prodromal symptom of dementia.
In a more recent large longitudinal cohort study published in 2017 in JAMA Psychiatry, researchers followed the trajectory of depressive symptoms and dementia in 10 189 UK men and women over 28 years. Unlike some previous studies, this one found that depressive symptoms in midlife, even if chronic or recurring, were not associated with an increased risk of dementia. However, participants with depressive symptoms later in life had a higher risk of dementia. Depressive symptoms appear to be a prodromal feature of dementia or, perhaps, share common causes, such as neurodegeneration and inflammation, but they do not appear to increase the risk of dementia, according to the authors.
In contrast, another longitudinal study involving 4992 older Australian men, published 2 months earlier, found that those who had a history of depression earlier in life did have a higher risk of dementia than those who did not. However, the association was greater in men who were depressed when they entered the study. Treatment with antidepressants did not decrease the risk of depression-associated dementia, leading the authors to conclude that late-life depression should be considered an early sign of dementia, not a modifiable risk factor.
“Any time you have the first episode (of depression) at a later age, that’s always concerning for a neurodegenerative disorder,” said Anna Burke, MD, a geriatric psychiatrist and the director of neuropsychiatry at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, who was not involved with either study.
Raj Shah, MD, an associate professor of family medicine with the Rush University Alzheimer Disease Center in Chicago, recommends that a first episode of depression in older individuals be considered a sentinel event, the same way a fall is. Both events should spur questions about whether patients need to have their medication adjusted or whether the fall or the mood change is a marker of other conditions, Shah said.
Difficult Diagnosis
Depression is often overlooked when it accompanies dementia, Burke said.
“The problem is the DSM-5 [Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fifth Edition)] criteria we use for major depressive disorder don’t necessarily fit for this population, much like in children, where depression presents differently,” she said.
As with children, adults living with dementia and depression might not talk about emotional pain or feeling down, Burke said. Instead, they might exhibit irritability—“they may just get a little more feisty,” she said—and an increase in somatic symptoms, such as aches and pains and gastrointestinal complaints.
“Sometimes people don’t get diagnosed with depression because there is such a huge overlap in symptoms between depression and dementia as well as growing older,” Burke said. Symptoms common to both depression and dementia include loss of interest in activities and hobbies, social withdrawal, and impaired thinking.
Because the symptoms overlap, caregivers might not recognize depression in people with dementia. “I’m often the first person to bring it up,” Burke said. “Even when people do seek treatment in the community, many physicians are not focused on treating anything beyond the memory changes. Nobody ever really discusses the behavioral changes, the changes in mood.”
Still, Alexopoulos said, “If you see the patient at the wrong time, you may miss it. Patients with dementia underreport depression, and caregivers are unreliable reporters.”
As David Steffens, MD, MHS, explained, “It’s hard to notice a change in mood when somebody can’t really voice how they’re feeling.”
But that doesn’t mean depression is insignificant in the setting of dementia. “One reason to treat depression is that depression makes underlying cognitive impairment much worse,” said Steffens, chairman of psychiatry at the University of Connecticut. “You want to give them their best cognitive chance.” Besides antidepressants, he said, psychiatrists have sometimes used electroconvulsive therapy to treat severe depression in people with mild dementia.
Drug Therapy
The prescribing of antidepressants to people with dementia appears to be increasing, according to a UK study published in 2017. Trends in diagnosis and treatment of people with dementia suggest that the proportion prescribed antidepressants rose from 28% to 36.6% from 2005 to 2015.
Antidepressants don’t seem to work as well in people with dementia, possibly because “depression in dementia is a different illness” than depression in people with normal cognition, Alexopoulos said. Cognitive control dysfunction in dementia appears to decrease the effectiveness of some selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), he and his coauthors wrote in a 2015 article. “I think it is appropriate to try to treat with as little medication as you can,” in part because polypharmacy can lead to delirium syndromes in patients with dementia, Alexopoulos said.
Although the study of Australian men found that taking antidepressants did not reduce the risk of depression-associated dementia, recent research suggests that the drugs might slow the progression to dementia in people with MCI and depression. That study, published in 2017, found that taking the antidepressant citalopram (Celexa), an SSRI, for more than 4 years was associated with a delay in progression from MCI to Alzheimer disease by about 3 years. “Three years is a big deal in this age group,” Alexopoulos said. Experiments in mice and healthy humans have shown that citalopram reduces amyloid plaque, one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer disease.
Treating depression in people with MCI with antidepressants might slow the progression to dementia, but little is known about whether drugs and other interventions developed to treat Alzheimer disease have any effect on depression.
Most clinical trials of potential Alzheimer disease treatments do not consider neuropsychiatric symptoms such as depression or irritability as primary research targets, even though “these symptoms are widely recognized as the most stressful and challenging manifestations of dementia,” concluded authors of a recent review article. Only 17.7% of the relevant studies they found on clinicaltrials.gov tested the effect of pharmacological or nonpharmacological interventions on neuropsychiatric symptoms, they wrote.
Beyond Medication and Talk Therapy
People with MCI might still be able to benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy or psychotherapy, but that becomes less likely as they decline, Burke said. “A huge part of psychotherapy is being able to remember what happened in a session.”
Even individuals whose dementia is too advanced for talk therapy can still benefit from lifestyle changes, though, Burke said. Engaging them in social activities and modifying their environment to minimize triggers that make them anxious or irritable can help improve their quality of life, she said.
A recent pilot study suggested that increasing exposure to daylight can reduce depression in people with dementia. The 12-week study involved 77 people living in 8 dementia care communities. At 4 of the communities, staff took study participants to a room with windows for socialization from 8 am to 10 am each day. At the other 4 communities, staff took study participants to socialize in the mornings in a room illuminated only with typical artificial light.
At the end of the study, participants who had socialized in the rooms with daylight had a statistically significant decrease in their scores on the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia, while the other participants did not. More studies are needed to determine the appropriate timing, duration, wavelength, and intensity of light exposure for adults with dementia, the researchers concluded.
Another recent study suggested a perceived lack of social engagement is also associated with depressive symptoms in people with dementia. Researchers measured social engagement, medication use, and depressive symptoms in 402 community-dwelling adults whose average age was 86 years. The data were collected during the first interview at which the participants met the criteria for a dementia diagnosis. The researchers found a link between perceived social isolation and the severity of depressive symptoms but not between antidepressant use and severity of depressive symptoms.
Because the study participants were newly diagnosed, their dementia was mild to moderate. “At that stage, people can still engage,” coauthor Shah said. “If we break down some of the stigma around the diagnosis of dementia, it will help people build cultures of support and inclusiveness.”
We assigned endowments to individuals who could spend all or part of those endowments on a charitable donation; consistent with our hypothesis, subjects may engage in charitable giving to signal their smarts
Giving to Charity to Signal Smarts Evidence from a Lab Experiment. Felipe Montano, Ricardo Perez-Truglia. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2018.08.004
Highlights
• We propose individuals give to charity to signal smarts.
• We designed a laboratory experiment to test this hypothesis.
• Individuals have to donate out of an endowment.
• We randomize the publicity of the donation.
• We randomize if the endowments are distributed at random or according to intelligence.
• We find suggestive evidence that donations are used to signal smarts.
Abstract: The literature on charitable giving suggests that individuals may use their charitable donations to signal their altruism or their income. We argue that, rather than signaling income per se, individuals may want to signal other unobservable characteristics that correlate to income, such as their intelligence. We designed a laboratory experiment to test this hypothesis. We assigned endowments to individuals who could spend all or part of those endowments on a charitable donation. We cross-randomized the visibility of donations and the individuals’ perceptions about the effect of intelligence on the allocation of endowments. We found that the effect of donation visibility on donation amounts depends sharply on whether the individuals perceive that endowments are determined by intelligence. This evidence suggests that, consistent with our hypothesis, subjects may engage in charitable giving to signal their smarts.
Highlights
• We propose individuals give to charity to signal smarts.
• We designed a laboratory experiment to test this hypothesis.
• Individuals have to donate out of an endowment.
• We randomize the publicity of the donation.
• We randomize if the endowments are distributed at random or according to intelligence.
• We find suggestive evidence that donations are used to signal smarts.
Abstract: The literature on charitable giving suggests that individuals may use their charitable donations to signal their altruism or their income. We argue that, rather than signaling income per se, individuals may want to signal other unobservable characteristics that correlate to income, such as their intelligence. We designed a laboratory experiment to test this hypothesis. We assigned endowments to individuals who could spend all or part of those endowments on a charitable donation. We cross-randomized the visibility of donations and the individuals’ perceptions about the effect of intelligence on the allocation of endowments. We found that the effect of donation visibility on donation amounts depends sharply on whether the individuals perceive that endowments are determined by intelligence. This evidence suggests that, consistent with our hypothesis, subjects may engage in charitable giving to signal their smarts.
Women not using the contraceptive pill (naturally cycling women) reported spending more time applying cosmetics than did women who use the contraceptive pill; the faces of these naturally cycling women were rated as wearing more cosmetics
Evidence That the Hormonal Contraceptive Pill Is Associated With Cosmetic Habits. Carlota Batres et al. Front. Psychol., Aug 23 2018, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01459
Abstract: Hormonal contraception is known to cause subtle but widespread behavioral changes. Here, we investigated whether changes in cosmetic habits are associated with use of the hormonal contraceptive pill. We photographed a sample of women (N = 36) who self-reported whether or not they use the contraceptive pill, as well as their cosmetic habits. A separate sample of participants (N = 143) rated how much makeup these target women appeared to be wearing. We found that women not using the contraceptive pill (i.e., naturally cycling women) reported spending more time applying cosmetics for an outing than did women who use the contraceptive pill. We also found that the faces of these naturally cycling women were rated as wearing more cosmetics than the faces of the women using the contraceptive pill. Thus, we found clear associations between contraceptive pill use and makeup use. This provides evidence consistent with the possibility that cosmetic habits, and grooming behaviors more generally, are affected by hormonal contraception.
Abstract: Hormonal contraception is known to cause subtle but widespread behavioral changes. Here, we investigated whether changes in cosmetic habits are associated with use of the hormonal contraceptive pill. We photographed a sample of women (N = 36) who self-reported whether or not they use the contraceptive pill, as well as their cosmetic habits. A separate sample of participants (N = 143) rated how much makeup these target women appeared to be wearing. We found that women not using the contraceptive pill (i.e., naturally cycling women) reported spending more time applying cosmetics for an outing than did women who use the contraceptive pill. We also found that the faces of these naturally cycling women were rated as wearing more cosmetics than the faces of the women using the contraceptive pill. Thus, we found clear associations between contraceptive pill use and makeup use. This provides evidence consistent with the possibility that cosmetic habits, and grooming behaviors more generally, are affected by hormonal contraception.
Is an amygdala necessary to experience and perceive fear? One potential mechanism for not perceiving fear is a failure to spontaneously attend to widened eyes, the most distinctive physical feature portrayed in symbolic fear expressions
Seeing Fear: It’s All in the Eyes? Lisa Feldman Barrett. Trends in Neurosciences, Volume 41, Issue 9, September 2018, Pages 559-563. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tins.2018.06.009
Abstract: Is an amygdala necessary to experience and perceive fear? Intriguing evidence comes from patient S.M. who lost her left and right amygdalae to disease. Initial testing suggested that S.M.’s most defining symptom was an inability to recognize fear in other people’s facial expressions. A fascinating paper by Adolphs and colleagues in 2005 examined one potential mechanism for this impairment: a failure to spontaneously attend to widened eyes, the most distinctive physical feature portrayed in symbolic fear expressions. This study helped to invigorate debates about the brain basis of fear and paved the way for a more nuanced understanding of amygdalar function.
Abstract: Is an amygdala necessary to experience and perceive fear? Intriguing evidence comes from patient S.M. who lost her left and right amygdalae to disease. Initial testing suggested that S.M.’s most defining symptom was an inability to recognize fear in other people’s facial expressions. A fascinating paper by Adolphs and colleagues in 2005 examined one potential mechanism for this impairment: a failure to spontaneously attend to widened eyes, the most distinctive physical feature portrayed in symbolic fear expressions. This study helped to invigorate debates about the brain basis of fear and paved the way for a more nuanced understanding of amygdalar function.
Wednesday, August 22, 2018
Extraordinary Altruists Exhibit Enhanced Self–Other Overlap in Neural Responses to Distress
Extraordinary Altruists Exhibit Enhanced Self–Other Overlap in Neural Responses to Distress. Kristin M. Brethel-Haurwitz et al. Psychological Science, https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797618779590
Abstract: Shared neural representations during experienced and observed distress are hypothesized to reflect empathic neural simulation, which may support altruism. But the correspondence between real-world altruism and shared neural representations has not been directly tested, and empathy’s role in promoting altruism toward strangers has been questioned. Here, we show that individuals who have performed costly altruism (donating a kidney to a stranger; n = 25) exhibit greater self–other overlap than matched control participants (n = 27) in neural representations of pain and threat (fearful anticipation) in anterior insula (AI) during an empathic-pain paradigm. Altruists exhibited greater self–other correspondence in pain-related activation in left AI, highlighting that group-level overlap was supported by individual-level associations between empathic pain and firsthand pain. Altruists exhibited enhanced functional coupling of left AI with left midinsula during empathic pain and threat. Results show that heightened neural instantiations of empathy correspond to real-world altruism and highlight limitations of self-report.
Keywords: altruism, empathy, neural simulation, nondirected living kidney donation
Abstract: Shared neural representations during experienced and observed distress are hypothesized to reflect empathic neural simulation, which may support altruism. But the correspondence between real-world altruism and shared neural representations has not been directly tested, and empathy’s role in promoting altruism toward strangers has been questioned. Here, we show that individuals who have performed costly altruism (donating a kidney to a stranger; n = 25) exhibit greater self–other overlap than matched control participants (n = 27) in neural representations of pain and threat (fearful anticipation) in anterior insula (AI) during an empathic-pain paradigm. Altruists exhibited greater self–other correspondence in pain-related activation in left AI, highlighting that group-level overlap was supported by individual-level associations between empathic pain and firsthand pain. Altruists exhibited enhanced functional coupling of left AI with left midinsula during empathic pain and threat. Results show that heightened neural instantiations of empathy correspond to real-world altruism and highlight limitations of self-report.
Keywords: altruism, empathy, neural simulation, nondirected living kidney donation
Mate value: Kindness, & physical attraction desirability saturate at the 90th percentile, although we do not tire of them; but intelligence, & easygoingness are fastidious after the 90th percentile
Exceptional intelligence and easygoingness may hurt your prospects: Threshold effects for rated mate characteristics. Gilles E. Gignac, Clare L. Starbuck. British Journal of Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1111/bjop.12342
Abstract: Prospective mate characteristics such as kindness, intelligence, easygoingness, and physical attraction are ranked consistently highly by both men and women. However, rank measurement does not allow for determinations of what level of a mate characteristic is rated most desirable. Based on a more informative percentile scale measurement approach, it was reported recently that mean desirability ratings of IQ in a prospective partner peaked at the 90th percentile, with a statistically significant reduction from the 90th to the 99th percentiles. The purpose of this investigation was to replicate the recently reported non‐linear desirability effect associated with IQ, in addition to the evaluation of three other valued mate characteristics: easygoing, kindness, and physical attraction. Based on a sample of 214 young adults, it was found that all four mate characteristics peaked at the 90th percentile. However, the IQ and easygoing mean desirability ratings evidenced statistically significant mean reductions across the 90th to the 99th percentiles, whereas kindness and physical attraction did not. Finally, the objectively and subjectively assessed intelligence of the participants was not found to be associated with the participants’ desirability ratings of IQ. We interpreted the results to be consistent with a broadly conceptualized threshold hypothesis, which states that the perceived benefits of valued mate characteristics may not extend beyond a certain point. However, mate characteristics such as intelligence and easygoing become somewhat less attractive at very elevated levels, at least based on preference ratings, for reasons that may be biological and/or psycho‐social in nature.
Abstract: Prospective mate characteristics such as kindness, intelligence, easygoingness, and physical attraction are ranked consistently highly by both men and women. However, rank measurement does not allow for determinations of what level of a mate characteristic is rated most desirable. Based on a more informative percentile scale measurement approach, it was reported recently that mean desirability ratings of IQ in a prospective partner peaked at the 90th percentile, with a statistically significant reduction from the 90th to the 99th percentiles. The purpose of this investigation was to replicate the recently reported non‐linear desirability effect associated with IQ, in addition to the evaluation of three other valued mate characteristics: easygoing, kindness, and physical attraction. Based on a sample of 214 young adults, it was found that all four mate characteristics peaked at the 90th percentile. However, the IQ and easygoing mean desirability ratings evidenced statistically significant mean reductions across the 90th to the 99th percentiles, whereas kindness and physical attraction did not. Finally, the objectively and subjectively assessed intelligence of the participants was not found to be associated with the participants’ desirability ratings of IQ. We interpreted the results to be consistent with a broadly conceptualized threshold hypothesis, which states that the perceived benefits of valued mate characteristics may not extend beyond a certain point. However, mate characteristics such as intelligence and easygoing become somewhat less attractive at very elevated levels, at least based on preference ratings, for reasons that may be biological and/or psycho‐social in nature.
Cleaner wrasse pass the mark test. What are the implications for consciousness and self-awareness testing in animals?
Cleaner wrasse pass the mark test. What are the implications for consciousness and self-awareness testing in animals? Masanori Kohda et al. bioRxiv, https://doi.org/10.1101/397067
Abstract: The ability to perceive and recognise a reflected mirror image as self (mirror self-recognition, MSR) is considered a hallmark of cognition across species. Although MSR has been reported in mammals and birds, it is not known to occur in any other major taxon. A factor potentially limiting the ability to test for MSR is that the established assay for MSR, the mark test, shows an interpretation bias towards animals with the dexterity (or limbs) required to touch a mark. Here, we show that the cleaner wrasse fish, Labroides dimidiatus, passes through all phases of the mark test: (i) social reactions towards the reflection, (ii) repeated idiosyncratic behaviours towards the mirror (contingency testing), and (iii) frequent observation of their reflection. When subsequently provided with a coloured tag, individuals attempt to remove the mark in the presence of a mirror but show no response towards transparent marks, or to coloured marks in the absence of a mirror. This remarkable finding presents a challenge to our interpretation of the mark test – do we accept that these behavioural responses in the mark test, which are taken as evidence of self-recognition in other species, mean that fish are self-aware? Or do we conclude that these behavioural patterns have a basis in a cognitive process other than self-recognition? If the former, what does this mean for our understanding of animal intelligence? If the latter, what does this mean for our application and interpretation of the mark test as a metric for animal cognitive abilities?
Abstract: The ability to perceive and recognise a reflected mirror image as self (mirror self-recognition, MSR) is considered a hallmark of cognition across species. Although MSR has been reported in mammals and birds, it is not known to occur in any other major taxon. A factor potentially limiting the ability to test for MSR is that the established assay for MSR, the mark test, shows an interpretation bias towards animals with the dexterity (or limbs) required to touch a mark. Here, we show that the cleaner wrasse fish, Labroides dimidiatus, passes through all phases of the mark test: (i) social reactions towards the reflection, (ii) repeated idiosyncratic behaviours towards the mirror (contingency testing), and (iii) frequent observation of their reflection. When subsequently provided with a coloured tag, individuals attempt to remove the mark in the presence of a mirror but show no response towards transparent marks, or to coloured marks in the absence of a mirror. This remarkable finding presents a challenge to our interpretation of the mark test – do we accept that these behavioural responses in the mark test, which are taken as evidence of self-recognition in other species, mean that fish are self-aware? Or do we conclude that these behavioural patterns have a basis in a cognitive process other than self-recognition? If the former, what does this mean for our understanding of animal intelligence? If the latter, what does this mean for our application and interpretation of the mark test as a metric for animal cognitive abilities?
Tuesday, August 21, 2018
Election Outcome and Tax Compliance: The Role of Political Party Affiliation, Affect Balance, and Trust in Government
Election Outcome and Tax Compliance: The Role of Political Party Affiliation, Affect Balance, and Trust in Government. Nicholas C. Hunt, Govind S. Iyer, Peggy Jimenez. Applied Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1111/apps.12165
Abstract: The present study examines partisan reactions to Presidential election outcomes. Our model investigates the interactive role of political party affiliation on the relationship between identification with the winning party and affect balance. We subsequently examine how tax compliance intentions are influenced by this moderation relationship through affect balance and trust in government. We conducted a quasi‐experiment one week prior to the first mass 2016 presidential primary, where 12 of the 50 U.S. states voted to decide which candidates would represent the republican and democratic parties in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election. Our sample consisted of 205 Republicans and Democrats. We manipulated press releases showing various presidential candidates winning the presidency to examine how matches / mismatches between partisans’ political party affiliation and the party winning the election influence citizens’ overall feelings, beliefs, and intentions. We find election outcomes generate significant overall positive or negative feelings (i.e. affect balance) among partisans, which influences beliefs about trust in government, and subsequently their tax compliance intentions. Political party moderates the relationship between election outcomes and affect balance in such a way that democrats experience greater overall positive affect balance when their party wins the election compared to republicans.
Abstract: The present study examines partisan reactions to Presidential election outcomes. Our model investigates the interactive role of political party affiliation on the relationship between identification with the winning party and affect balance. We subsequently examine how tax compliance intentions are influenced by this moderation relationship through affect balance and trust in government. We conducted a quasi‐experiment one week prior to the first mass 2016 presidential primary, where 12 of the 50 U.S. states voted to decide which candidates would represent the republican and democratic parties in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election. Our sample consisted of 205 Republicans and Democrats. We manipulated press releases showing various presidential candidates winning the presidency to examine how matches / mismatches between partisans’ political party affiliation and the party winning the election influence citizens’ overall feelings, beliefs, and intentions. We find election outcomes generate significant overall positive or negative feelings (i.e. affect balance) among partisans, which influences beliefs about trust in government, and subsequently their tax compliance intentions. Political party moderates the relationship between election outcomes and affect balance in such a way that democrats experience greater overall positive affect balance when their party wins the election compared to republicans.
For girls, sought-after schools reduce teen motherhood, increase educational attainment, increase earnings, & improve health; for boys, the results are mixed
Do Parents Know Best? The Short and Long-Run Effects of Attending The Schools that Parents Prefer. Diether W. Beuermann, C. Kirabo Jackson. NBER Working Paper No. 24920. www.nber.org/papers/w24920
Abstract: Recent studies document that, in many cases, sought after schools do not improve student test scores. Three explanations are that (i) existing studies identify local average treatment effects that do not generalize to the average student, (ii) parents cannot discern schools’ causal impacts, and (iii) parents value schools that improve outcomes not well measured by test scores. To shed light on this, we employ administrative and survey data from Barbados. Using discrete choice models, we document that most parents have strong preferences for the same schools. Using a regression-discontinuity design, we estimate the causal impact of attending a preferred school on a broad array of outcomes. As found in other settings, preferred schools have better peers, but do not improve short-run test scores. We implement a new statistical test and find that this null effect is not due to school impacts being different for marginal students than for the average student. Looking at longer-run outcomes, for girls, preferred schools reduce teen motherhood, increase educational attainment, increase earnings, and improve health. In contrast, for boys, the results are mixed. The pattern for girls is consistent with parents valuing school impacts on outcomes not well measured by test scores, while the pattern for boys is consistent with parents being unable to identify schools’ causal impacts. Our results indicate that impacts on test scores may be an incomplete measure of school quality.
Abstract: Recent studies document that, in many cases, sought after schools do not improve student test scores. Three explanations are that (i) existing studies identify local average treatment effects that do not generalize to the average student, (ii) parents cannot discern schools’ causal impacts, and (iii) parents value schools that improve outcomes not well measured by test scores. To shed light on this, we employ administrative and survey data from Barbados. Using discrete choice models, we document that most parents have strong preferences for the same schools. Using a regression-discontinuity design, we estimate the causal impact of attending a preferred school on a broad array of outcomes. As found in other settings, preferred schools have better peers, but do not improve short-run test scores. We implement a new statistical test and find that this null effect is not due to school impacts being different for marginal students than for the average student. Looking at longer-run outcomes, for girls, preferred schools reduce teen motherhood, increase educational attainment, increase earnings, and improve health. In contrast, for boys, the results are mixed. The pattern for girls is consistent with parents valuing school impacts on outcomes not well measured by test scores, while the pattern for boys is consistent with parents being unable to identify schools’ causal impacts. Our results indicate that impacts on test scores may be an incomplete measure of school quality.
The idea of the media as immoral, government-controlled and manipulative is essentially rooted in populist attitudes rather than in left-wing or right-wing attitudes; these people are not only angry, but also more politically active and do more often express their opinion in the media
Johanna Schindler, Claudia Fortkord, Lone Posthumus, Magdalena Obermaier, Nayla, Fawzi, Carsten Reinemann, Where does media hostility lead from? On the connection between populist attitudes, media hostility, negative emotions and participation (title autamtically translated from: Woher kommt und wozu führt Medienfeindlichkeit? Zum Zusammenhang von populistischen Einstellungen, Medienfeindlichkeit, negativen Emotionen und Partizipation) in: M&K Medien & Kommunikationswissenschaft, Seite 283 - 301. M&K, Jahrgang 66 (2018), Heft 3, ISSN print: 1615-634X, ISSN online: 1615-634X, DOI: 10.5771/1615-634X-2018-3-283
Abstract: Sensing an increase in hate speech and physical aggression against journalists, we see a new level of hostility towards the media, and with it potentially far-reaching consequences for society in general. However, little is known so far about both the individual causes of media hostility and its influence on individual media-related emotions and behaviour. We set out to determine the influence of populist attitudes, i.e. the significance of the idea of a homogenous, ‘good’ people v an ‘evil’ elite on media hostility. Our study, moreover, examines the broader consequence of hostile attitudes towards the media. Drawing on data from an online survey with 1,102 participants, we show how the idea of the media as immoral, government-controlled and manipulative is essentially rooted in populist attitudes rather than in left-wing or right-wing attitudes. The effects of populist attitudes on the level of media hostility can be seen to be mediated partially by the level of the perceived representation of participants’ own interests in the media, and by the use of alternative media. People showing hostile attitudes towards the media are not only angry, but they are also more politically active and do more often express their opinion in the media.
Abstract: Sensing an increase in hate speech and physical aggression against journalists, we see a new level of hostility towards the media, and with it potentially far-reaching consequences for society in general. However, little is known so far about both the individual causes of media hostility and its influence on individual media-related emotions and behaviour. We set out to determine the influence of populist attitudes, i.e. the significance of the idea of a homogenous, ‘good’ people v an ‘evil’ elite on media hostility. Our study, moreover, examines the broader consequence of hostile attitudes towards the media. Drawing on data from an online survey with 1,102 participants, we show how the idea of the media as immoral, government-controlled and manipulative is essentially rooted in populist attitudes rather than in left-wing or right-wing attitudes. The effects of populist attitudes on the level of media hostility can be seen to be mediated partially by the level of the perceived representation of participants’ own interests in the media, and by the use of alternative media. People showing hostile attitudes towards the media are not only angry, but they are also more politically active and do more often express their opinion in the media.
Gender equality & sex differences in personality, & evidence from a large, multi-national sample: Bigger differences when gender equality is greater
Gender equality and sex differences in personality: evidence from a large, multi-national sample. Tim Kaiser, Univ of Salzburg. July 2018. DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/6NUHX
Aim: findings on sex differences in personality are robust and stable across countries. Previous studies have also shown that these differences are greater in countries with greater gender equality. However, earlier studies have shortcomings as they either (a) did not use valid indicators of gender equality and development, (b) only studied broad domains of personality, (c) did not address issues of measurement invariance. The aim of this study is to replicate previous findings on the correlation between gender equality and sex differences in a methodologically robust way. Method: a large, multinational (N = 926,383) dataset was used to examine sex differences in Big Five facet scores for 70 countries. Difference scores were aggregated to a multivariate effect size (Mahalanobis' D).
Results: effect sizes were large (average D = 1.96), but varied across countries. Countries' difference scores were related to an index of gender equality, revealing a positive weighted correlation of r = .335.
Conclusion: using multivariate effect sizes derived from latent scores with invariance constraints, the study of sex differences in personality becomes more robust und replicable. Sex differences in personality should not be interpreted as results of unequal treatment, but as indicator of successful gender equality policies.
Aim: findings on sex differences in personality are robust and stable across countries. Previous studies have also shown that these differences are greater in countries with greater gender equality. However, earlier studies have shortcomings as they either (a) did not use valid indicators of gender equality and development, (b) only studied broad domains of personality, (c) did not address issues of measurement invariance. The aim of this study is to replicate previous findings on the correlation between gender equality and sex differences in a methodologically robust way. Method: a large, multinational (N = 926,383) dataset was used to examine sex differences in Big Five facet scores for 70 countries. Difference scores were aggregated to a multivariate effect size (Mahalanobis' D).
Results: effect sizes were large (average D = 1.96), but varied across countries. Countries' difference scores were related to an index of gender equality, revealing a positive weighted correlation of r = .335.
Conclusion: using multivariate effect sizes derived from latent scores with invariance constraints, the study of sex differences in personality becomes more robust und replicable. Sex differences in personality should not be interpreted as results of unequal treatment, but as indicator of successful gender equality policies.
Many studies have revealed the existence of intimate partner violence among lesbian and gay couples, & its incidence is comparable to (Turell, 2000) or higher than that among heterosexual couples (Messinger, 2011; Kelley et al., 2012)
When Intimate Partner Violence Meets Same Sex Couples: A Review of Same Sex Intimate Partner Violence. Luca Rollè, Giulia Giardina, Angela M. Caldarera, Eva Gerino and Piera Brustia. Front. Psychol., August 21 2018. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01506
Abstract: Over the past few decades, the causes of and intervention for intimate partner violence (IPV) have been approached and studied. This paper presents a narrative review on IPV occurring in same sex couples, that is, same sex IPV (SSIPV). Despite the myth that IPV is exclusively an issue in heterosexual relationships, many studies have revealed the existence of IPV among lesbian and gay couples, and its incidence is comparable to (Turell, 2000) or higher than that among heterosexual couples (Messinger, 2011; Kelley et al., 2012). While similarities between heterosexual and lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) IPV were found, unique features and dynamics were present in LGB IPV. Such features are mainly related to identification and treatment of SSIPV in the community and to the need of taking into consideration the role of sexual minority stressors. Our findings show there is a lack of studies that address LGB individuals involved in IPV; this is mostly due to the silence that has historically existed around violence in the LGB community, a silence built on fears and myths that have obstructed a public discussion on the phenomenon. We identified the main themes discussed in the published studies that we have reviewed here. The reviews lead us to the conclusion that it is essential to create a place where this subject can be freely discussed and approached, both by LGB and heterosexual people.
Abstract: Over the past few decades, the causes of and intervention for intimate partner violence (IPV) have been approached and studied. This paper presents a narrative review on IPV occurring in same sex couples, that is, same sex IPV (SSIPV). Despite the myth that IPV is exclusively an issue in heterosexual relationships, many studies have revealed the existence of IPV among lesbian and gay couples, and its incidence is comparable to (Turell, 2000) or higher than that among heterosexual couples (Messinger, 2011; Kelley et al., 2012). While similarities between heterosexual and lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) IPV were found, unique features and dynamics were present in LGB IPV. Such features are mainly related to identification and treatment of SSIPV in the community and to the need of taking into consideration the role of sexual minority stressors. Our findings show there is a lack of studies that address LGB individuals involved in IPV; this is mostly due to the silence that has historically existed around violence in the LGB community, a silence built on fears and myths that have obstructed a public discussion on the phenomenon. We identified the main themes discussed in the published studies that we have reviewed here. The reviews lead us to the conclusion that it is essential to create a place where this subject can be freely discussed and approached, both by LGB and heterosexual people.
Thirsty participants in a dictator's game share water more often equally with powerless, anonymous others than they do money, even when they earned both types of rewards previously; so that altruistic behavior is more likely to occur when it comes to sharing primary rewards
How selfish is a thirsty man? A pilot study on comparing sharing behavior with primary and secondary rewards. Astrid Kause, Oliver Vitouch, Judith Glück. PLOS One, August 20, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0201358
Abstract: Human social interactions in daily life involve sharing various types of rewards. Previous research evolving around issues of selfish versus altruistic behavior indicates that when individuals share rewards like money with powerless others, some are purely selfish while a substantial number shares evenly. It is, however, mostly unknown how they share primary rewards like water, compared to secondary rewards like money. We adopt the widely studied Dictator Game for comparing water to be divided among study participants with a monetary reward. We show that thirsty participants share water more often equally with powerless, anonymous others than they do money. This is the case even when they earned both types of rewards in a preceding task. Results indicate that altruistic behavior is more likely to occur when it comes to sharing primary rewards. The ecologically more valid scenario employed in this study provides initial evidence that the concept of a self-interested homo economicus might not apply to everyday social interactions involving rewards other than money.
Abstract: Human social interactions in daily life involve sharing various types of rewards. Previous research evolving around issues of selfish versus altruistic behavior indicates that when individuals share rewards like money with powerless others, some are purely selfish while a substantial number shares evenly. It is, however, mostly unknown how they share primary rewards like water, compared to secondary rewards like money. We adopt the widely studied Dictator Game for comparing water to be divided among study participants with a monetary reward. We show that thirsty participants share water more often equally with powerless, anonymous others than they do money. This is the case even when they earned both types of rewards in a preceding task. Results indicate that altruistic behavior is more likely to occur when it comes to sharing primary rewards. The ecologically more valid scenario employed in this study provides initial evidence that the concept of a self-interested homo economicus might not apply to everyday social interactions involving rewards other than money.
We analyzed people’s ratings of whiskies featured at different serial positions in the tastings; we found a recency effect: people gave their highest rating to whiskies in the last position, and voted the last whisky as their favorite more frequently
In the real world, people prefer their last whisky when tasting options in a long sequence. Adele Quigley-McBride et al. PLOS One, August 20, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0202732
Abstract: When people in laboratory studies sample products in a sequence, they tend to prefer options presented first and last. To what extent do these primacy and recency effects carry over to real-world settings where numerous sources of information determine preferences? To investigate this question, we coded archival data from 136 actual whisky tastings each featuring seven whiskies. We analyzed people’s ratings of whiskies featured at different serial positions in the tastings. We found a recency effect: people gave their highest rating to whiskies in the last position, and voted the last whisky as their favorite more frequently. This recency effect persisted when we controlled for the counter explanation that whiskies with higher alcohol content tended to occupy later serial positions. The recency effect also persisted when we controlled for the age of the whiskies. Taken together, our findings suggest that the order of presentation matters in real-world settings, closely resembling what happens in laboratory settings with longer sequences of options.
Abstract: When people in laboratory studies sample products in a sequence, they tend to prefer options presented first and last. To what extent do these primacy and recency effects carry over to real-world settings where numerous sources of information determine preferences? To investigate this question, we coded archival data from 136 actual whisky tastings each featuring seven whiskies. We analyzed people’s ratings of whiskies featured at different serial positions in the tastings. We found a recency effect: people gave their highest rating to whiskies in the last position, and voted the last whisky as their favorite more frequently. This recency effect persisted when we controlled for the counter explanation that whiskies with higher alcohol content tended to occupy later serial positions. The recency effect also persisted when we controlled for the age of the whiskies. Taken together, our findings suggest that the order of presentation matters in real-world settings, closely resembling what happens in laboratory settings with longer sequences of options.
Monday, August 20, 2018
Plutarch already said it: Pay less attention to the social networks...
Speaking of the Twitter of his era, Plutarch said:
This doesn't mean he was consistent... But the comment is quite valid still, IMHO.
Plutarch, De curiositate, 520d-e. Available at http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0290%3Astephpage%3D520d. Translation in
'Graffiti and the Literary Landscape in Roman Pompeii,' by Kristina Milnor. Oxford University Press, Jan 2014, page 273.
"τί γὰρ χαλεπόν ἐστιν ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς τὰς ἐπὶ τῶν τάφων ἐπιγραφὰς μὴ ἀναγιγνώσκειν, ἢ τί δυσχερὲς ἐν τοῖς περιπάτοις τὰ κατὰ τῶν τοίχων γράμματα (or ἐπιγράμματα) τῇ ὄψει παρατρέχειν, ὑποβάλλοντας αὑτοῖς ὅτι χρήσιμον οὐδὲν οὐδ᾽ ἐπιτερπὲς ἐν τούτοις γέγραπται: ἀλλ᾽ ‘ἐμνήσθη’ ὁ δεῖνα τοῦ δεῖνος ἐπ᾽ ἀγαθῷ καὶ ‘φίλων ἄριστος’ ὅδε τις, καὶ πολλὰ τοιαύτης γέμοντα φλυαρίας: ἃ δοκεῖ μὲν οὐ βλάπτειν ἀναγιγνωσκόμενα, βλάπτει δὲ λεληθότως τῷ μελέτην παρεμποιεῖν τοῦ ζητεῖν τὰ μὴ προσήκοντα;".
Approx: For what is difficult in not noticing the inscriptions on tombstones along the roadways, or what is vexatious about passing over with your eye as you wander about those writings in the walls, as we suggest to ourselves that there is nothing written in them which is either useful or pleasing -- only so-and-so 'remembers' so-and-so, and 'wishes him the best', and is 'the best of friends', and many things full of such ridiculousness? Giving attention to such things may not seem to hurt, but the harm comes from creating the desire to search out things which are not your business.
This doesn't mean he was consistent... But the comment is quite valid still, IMHO.
Plutarch, De curiositate, 520d-e. Available at http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0290%3Astephpage%3D520d. Translation in
'Graffiti and the Literary Landscape in Roman Pompeii,' by Kristina Milnor. Oxford University Press, Jan 2014, page 273.
People think about the future more often than the past (30% compared to 13%), and prospective memory occupies our thoughts approximately 13–15% of the time, of which 61% were internally cued, rather than externally triggered
Hey buddy, why don’t we take it outside: An experience sampling study of prospective memory. Francis T. Anderson, Mark A. McDaniel. Memory & Cognition, https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13421-018-0849-x
Abstract: Relatively little research has focused on how prospective memory (PM) operates outside of the laboratory, partially due to the methodological problems presented by naturalistic memory research in general and by the unique challenges of PM in particular. Experience sampling methods (ESM) offer a fruitful avenue for this type of research, as recent work from Gardner and Ascoli (Psychology and Aging, 30, 209-219, 2015) has shown. They found that people thought about PM around 15% of the time, and that future thinking was more common than past thinking. In two studies, we replicated our own findings and those reported by Gardner and Ascoli. To summarize, people think about the future more often than the past (30% compared to 13%), and PM occupies our thoughts approximately 13–15% of the time, supporting claims made by some researchers that our episodic memory systems are forward-looking (Klein in Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 2, 222-234, 2013). Of those PM thoughts, participants reported that 61% were internally cued, rather than externally triggered. Through the use of multi-level modeling, we additionally found that PM thoughts were more likely when the respondant was alone than with people, and earlier in the day. Finally, we found that participants higher in neuroticism were more likely to report thinking of PM, and that this was driven entirely by the anxiety facet. Most generally, we hope to have demonstrated the value of ESM to help researchers investigate and understand naturalistic PM.
Abstract: Relatively little research has focused on how prospective memory (PM) operates outside of the laboratory, partially due to the methodological problems presented by naturalistic memory research in general and by the unique challenges of PM in particular. Experience sampling methods (ESM) offer a fruitful avenue for this type of research, as recent work from Gardner and Ascoli (Psychology and Aging, 30, 209-219, 2015) has shown. They found that people thought about PM around 15% of the time, and that future thinking was more common than past thinking. In two studies, we replicated our own findings and those reported by Gardner and Ascoli. To summarize, people think about the future more often than the past (30% compared to 13%), and PM occupies our thoughts approximately 13–15% of the time, supporting claims made by some researchers that our episodic memory systems are forward-looking (Klein in Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 2, 222-234, 2013). Of those PM thoughts, participants reported that 61% were internally cued, rather than externally triggered. Through the use of multi-level modeling, we additionally found that PM thoughts were more likely when the respondant was alone than with people, and earlier in the day. Finally, we found that participants higher in neuroticism were more likely to report thinking of PM, and that this was driven entirely by the anxiety facet. Most generally, we hope to have demonstrated the value of ESM to help researchers investigate and understand naturalistic PM.
Accounting for the shared environment in cognitive abilities and academic achievement with measured socioecological context
Accounting for the shared environment in cognitive abilities and academic achievement with measured socioecological contexts. Laura E. Engelhardt, Jessica A. Church, K. Paige Harden, Elliot M. Tucker‐Drob. Developmental Science, https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12699
Abstract: Behavioral and molecular genetic research has established that child cognitive ability and academic performance are substantially heritable, but genetic variation does not account for all of the stratification of cognitive and academic outcomes across families. Which specific contexts and experiences contribute to these shared environmental influences on cognitive ability and academic achievement? Using an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse sample of N = 1728 twins ages 7–20 from the Texas Twin Project, we identified specific measured family, school, and neighborhood socioecological contexts that statistically accounted for latent shared environmental variance in cognitive abilities and academic skills. Composite measures of parent socioeconomic status (SES), school demographic composition, and neighborhood SES accounted for moderate proportions of variation in IQ and achievement. Total variance explained by the multilevel contexts ranged from 15% to 22%. The influence of family SES on IQ and achievement overlapped substantially with the influence of school and neighborhood predictors. Together with race, the measured socioecological contexts explained 100% of shared environmental influences on IQ and approximately 79% of shared environmental influences on both verbal comprehension and reading ability. In contrast, nontrivial proportions of shared environmental variation in math performance were left unexplained. We highlight the potential utility of constructing “polyenvironmental risk scores” in an effort to better predict developmental outcomes and to quantify children's and adolescents’ interrelated networks of experiences. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at: https://youtu.be/77E_DctFsr0
Abstract: Behavioral and molecular genetic research has established that child cognitive ability and academic performance are substantially heritable, but genetic variation does not account for all of the stratification of cognitive and academic outcomes across families. Which specific contexts and experiences contribute to these shared environmental influences on cognitive ability and academic achievement? Using an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse sample of N = 1728 twins ages 7–20 from the Texas Twin Project, we identified specific measured family, school, and neighborhood socioecological contexts that statistically accounted for latent shared environmental variance in cognitive abilities and academic skills. Composite measures of parent socioeconomic status (SES), school demographic composition, and neighborhood SES accounted for moderate proportions of variation in IQ and achievement. Total variance explained by the multilevel contexts ranged from 15% to 22%. The influence of family SES on IQ and achievement overlapped substantially with the influence of school and neighborhood predictors. Together with race, the measured socioecological contexts explained 100% of shared environmental influences on IQ and approximately 79% of shared environmental influences on both verbal comprehension and reading ability. In contrast, nontrivial proportions of shared environmental variation in math performance were left unexplained. We highlight the potential utility of constructing “polyenvironmental risk scores” in an effort to better predict developmental outcomes and to quantify children's and adolescents’ interrelated networks of experiences. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at: https://youtu.be/77E_DctFsr0
Well-being benefits and costs of an extraverted behavior intervention conducted in everyday life: positive and negative affects, feelings of authenticity, and tiredness—more introverted participants had weaker positive affect increases
Jacques-Hamilton, Rowan, Jessie Sun, and Luke Smillie. 2018. “Costs and Benefits of Acting Extraverted: A Randomized Controlled Trial.” PsyArXiv. August 20. doi:10.31234/osf.io/8ze6w
Abstract: Evidence suggests that extraverted (i.e., bold, agentic) behavior increases positive affect (PA), and could be targeted in wellbeing interventions. However, this evidence is either causally ambiguous or has questionable ecological validity, and the potential costs of sustained extraverted behavior have received minimal attention. To address these limitations, we conducted the first randomized controlled trial (RCT) examining the wellbeing benefits and costs of an extraverted behavior intervention conducted in everyday life. Participants (n = 147) were randomly assigned to an “act-extraverted” intervention or a “sham” (active control) intervention for one week in everyday life. Additional data for a contact control condition were obtained from a previous study (n = 76). Wellbeing outcomes included PA and negative affect (NA), feelings of authenticity, and tiredness—assessed both in the moment and retrospectively. There was a positive overall effect of the acting extraverted intervention on PA and authenticity. However, wellbeing outcomes also depended on dispositional extraversion: more introverted participants had weaker PA increases, experienced increased NA and tiredness, and decreased feelings of authenticity. Implications for wellbeing interventions and personality theory are discussed.
Abstract: Evidence suggests that extraverted (i.e., bold, agentic) behavior increases positive affect (PA), and could be targeted in wellbeing interventions. However, this evidence is either causally ambiguous or has questionable ecological validity, and the potential costs of sustained extraverted behavior have received minimal attention. To address these limitations, we conducted the first randomized controlled trial (RCT) examining the wellbeing benefits and costs of an extraverted behavior intervention conducted in everyday life. Participants (n = 147) were randomly assigned to an “act-extraverted” intervention or a “sham” (active control) intervention for one week in everyday life. Additional data for a contact control condition were obtained from a previous study (n = 76). Wellbeing outcomes included PA and negative affect (NA), feelings of authenticity, and tiredness—assessed both in the moment and retrospectively. There was a positive overall effect of the acting extraverted intervention on PA and authenticity. However, wellbeing outcomes also depended on dispositional extraversion: more introverted participants had weaker PA increases, experienced increased NA and tiredness, and decreased feelings of authenticity. Implications for wellbeing interventions and personality theory are discussed.
Rolf Degen summarizing: The actual clientele for "green" and "ethical" products is far smaller than the share of people who advocate those, constituting what Timur Kuran calls "preference falsification."
Green consumption: Closing the intention‐behavior gap. Hung Vu Nguyen, Cuong Hung Nguyen, Thoa Thi Bao Hoang. Sustainable Development, https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.1875
Abstract: Green consumption has become an important academic and practical topic. However, a recurring theme in the literature has been the attitude‐behavior gap in green consumption. Taking the cognitive view in studying consumer behaviors, this study theoretically developed and tested two key moderators to the relationship between green consumption intention and behavior, namely green product availability and perceived consumer effectiveness. Under high levels of the moderators, the relationship between the intention and the behavior were hypothesized to be stronger. Our data sample of 416 consumers in two large cities in Vietnam provided support for the hypotheses. Our study results thus contribute to the green consumption literature by explaining the attitude‐behavior gap. Our study also contributes to the broader literature by explaining the inconsistency in consumer behavior. Implications and recommendations for further research are also discussed.
Abstract: Green consumption has become an important academic and practical topic. However, a recurring theme in the literature has been the attitude‐behavior gap in green consumption. Taking the cognitive view in studying consumer behaviors, this study theoretically developed and tested two key moderators to the relationship between green consumption intention and behavior, namely green product availability and perceived consumer effectiveness. Under high levels of the moderators, the relationship between the intention and the behavior were hypothesized to be stronger. Our data sample of 416 consumers in two large cities in Vietnam provided support for the hypotheses. Our study results thus contribute to the green consumption literature by explaining the attitude‐behavior gap. Our study also contributes to the broader literature by explaining the inconsistency in consumer behavior. Implications and recommendations for further research are also discussed.
People high in brooding rumination were also more likely to report thinking about a past experience when probed at random during the day; optimists were more likely to report more vivid and positive future-oriented, but not past-oriented thoughts
Thinking about the past and future in daily life: an experience sampling study of individual differences in mental time travel. Roger E. Beaty, Paul Seli, Daniel L. Schacter. Psychological Research, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00426-018-1075-7
Abstract: Remembering the past and imagining the future are hallmarks of mental time travel. We provide evidence that such experiences are influenced by individual differences in temporal and affective biases in cognitive style, particularly brooding rumination (a negative past-oriented bias) and optimism (a positive future-oriented bias). Participants completed a 7-day, cellphone-based experience-sampling study of temporal orientation and mental imagery. Multilevel models showed that individual differences in brooding rumination predicted less vivid and positive past- and future-oriented thoughts, even after controlling for depressed mood. People high in brooding rumination were also more likely to report thinking about a past experience when probed at random during the day. Conversely, optimists were more likely to report more vivid and positive future-oriented, but not past-oriented thoughts, although they did not report thinking more or less often about the past and future. The results suggest that temporal and affective biases in cognitive style influence how people think about the past and future in daily life.
Abstract: Remembering the past and imagining the future are hallmarks of mental time travel. We provide evidence that such experiences are influenced by individual differences in temporal and affective biases in cognitive style, particularly brooding rumination (a negative past-oriented bias) and optimism (a positive future-oriented bias). Participants completed a 7-day, cellphone-based experience-sampling study of temporal orientation and mental imagery. Multilevel models showed that individual differences in brooding rumination predicted less vivid and positive past- and future-oriented thoughts, even after controlling for depressed mood. People high in brooding rumination were also more likely to report thinking about a past experience when probed at random during the day. Conversely, optimists were more likely to report more vivid and positive future-oriented, but not past-oriented thoughts, although they did not report thinking more or less often about the past and future. The results suggest that temporal and affective biases in cognitive style influence how people think about the past and future in daily life.
Men sexually fantasized more frequently about sadistic, impersonal, pre/tactile courtship disorder, and bodily function themes, while women reported a greater use of masochistic fantasies; there was no sex difference regarding the use of romantic fantasies
Bartels, Ross, and Craig A. Harper. 2018. “An Exploration of the Factor Structure of Gray Et Al.’s Sexual Fantasy Questionnaire.” PsyArXiv. August 19. doi:10.31234/osf.io/wxj54
Abstract: The accurate assessment of sexual fantasy use is important for both research and forensic/clinical practice. Although a number of sexual fantasy questionnaires exist, they tend to be associated with high financial cost for researchers, outdated or ambiguous terminology, and/or embody ethical problems arising from overtly explicit items. One measure that does not contain these issues is Gray et al.’s (2003) Sexual Fantasy Questionnaire (SFQ). While the SFQ has recently gained some interest from researchers, it has not been thoroughly validated. Thus, in this study, we combined data from three online survey-based samples (N = 594) to examine the factor structure underpinning the SFQ. After conducting parallel and principal components analyses, a six-factor structure was settled upon. The resulting SFQ-revised contained 62-items, with the six factors reflecting the following fantasy themes: (1) masochistic, (2) sadistic, (3) romantic, (4) impersonal, (5) pre/tactile courtship disorder, and (6) bodily function. Data on how the six clusters differ across genders, sexual orientation, and relationship status are also provided. We also developed a short version of the SFQ-revised (37-items) for use when time or space are constrained. The theoretical and methodological significance of the revised SFQs are discussed, as well as recommendations for research and practice.
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[...] men sexually fantasized more frequently about sadistic, impersonal, pre/tactile courtship disorder, and bodily function themes, while women reported a greater use of masochistic fantasies. There was no sex difference regarding the use of romantic fantasies. In relation to sexual orientation, heterosexual participants sexually fantasized less frequently across all clusters or themes, compared to participants who identified as having a non-heterosexual sexual orientation. The only exception to this general trend was in relation to romantic fantasies, where there was no difference between heterosexual and non-heterosexual participants. Participants who were in a relationship at the time of data collection reported more frequent use of all fantasy clusters, with the exception of pre/tactile courtship disorder fantasies. Age was generally unrelated to any fantasy cluster (r’s < .21).
Abstract: The accurate assessment of sexual fantasy use is important for both research and forensic/clinical practice. Although a number of sexual fantasy questionnaires exist, they tend to be associated with high financial cost for researchers, outdated or ambiguous terminology, and/or embody ethical problems arising from overtly explicit items. One measure that does not contain these issues is Gray et al.’s (2003) Sexual Fantasy Questionnaire (SFQ). While the SFQ has recently gained some interest from researchers, it has not been thoroughly validated. Thus, in this study, we combined data from three online survey-based samples (N = 594) to examine the factor structure underpinning the SFQ. After conducting parallel and principal components analyses, a six-factor structure was settled upon. The resulting SFQ-revised contained 62-items, with the six factors reflecting the following fantasy themes: (1) masochistic, (2) sadistic, (3) romantic, (4) impersonal, (5) pre/tactile courtship disorder, and (6) bodily function. Data on how the six clusters differ across genders, sexual orientation, and relationship status are also provided. We also developed a short version of the SFQ-revised (37-items) for use when time or space are constrained. The theoretical and methodological significance of the revised SFQs are discussed, as well as recommendations for research and practice.
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[...] men sexually fantasized more frequently about sadistic, impersonal, pre/tactile courtship disorder, and bodily function themes, while women reported a greater use of masochistic fantasies. There was no sex difference regarding the use of romantic fantasies. In relation to sexual orientation, heterosexual participants sexually fantasized less frequently across all clusters or themes, compared to participants who identified as having a non-heterosexual sexual orientation. The only exception to this general trend was in relation to romantic fantasies, where there was no difference between heterosexual and non-heterosexual participants. Participants who were in a relationship at the time of data collection reported more frequent use of all fantasy clusters, with the exception of pre/tactile courtship disorder fantasies. Age was generally unrelated to any fantasy cluster (r’s < .21).
Sunday, August 19, 2018
Umpteenth time the citizen is willingly robbed: Gov't utility makes less efficient panels, closes production line, retools premises & tries again with federal (Italian gov't) and confederal (EU Commision) money
In Shadow of Mt. Etna, Europe Makes a Last Stand for Solar. Stanley Reed and Keith Bradsher. The New York Times, Aug 18 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/16/business/energy-environment/europe-italy-solar-energy-china.html
Many governmens do this, allowing themselves to support experiments with the citizen's money despite previous costly failures. Example this time in Italy, courtesy of the New York Times.
After shutting down a previous line that made panels a third less efficient than Chinese technology, they are at it again:
They speak of ENEL as if it were a utility company:
But these are ENEL owners, data from 2017, starting with the most important one (https://www.marketscreener.com/ENEL-70935/company/):
Name Equities %
Government of Italy 2,397,856,331 23.60%
The Vanguard Group, Inc. 204,756,632 2.01%
Norges Bank Investment Management 192,438,206 1.89%
BlackRock Fund Advisors 134,870,693 1.33%
Capital Research & Management Co (World Investors) 129,335,830 1.27%
BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Ltd. 110,581,006 1.09%
Capital Research & Management Co (Global Invest's) 102,060,459 1.00%
Franklin Mutual Advisers LLC 87,716,590 0.86%
JPMorgan Asset Management (UK) Ltd 80,839,145 0.80%
BlackRock Advisors (UK) Ltd. 62,558,753 0.62%
And now, again after about two decades trying and losing money, they are at it again:
How is this new production line getting the money? Are they competing with others, or are they getting their backs covered? See the guarantors:
This is the real reason for the governments support (with both federal and national level backers): Government assistance to regions, according to quotas:
There is nothing that can be done, since everybody has stakes in this kind of fraud. The citizen expects to take some of the spoils of the Treasury to give employment or at least subsidies to their children. And the politician gives his closest ones good jobs and a future.
Many governmens do this, allowing themselves to support experiments with the citizen's money despite previous costly failures. Example this time in Italy, courtesy of the New York Times.
After shutting down a previous line that made panels a third less efficient than Chinese technology, they are at it again:
CATANIA, Italy — The enormous glass building on the outskirts of this Sicilian city had been intended for making silicon wafers for flash memory chips. That plan got crushed by the global financial crisis.
Built in the early 2000s, it was overhauled in 2011 to churn out conventional panels used to build solar farms in Greece, Italy and South Africa. Once again, the factory struggled, this time losing ground to Chinese rivals that trumped it on price, as well as on technology.
They speak of ENEL as if it were a utility company:
Now, the facility’s owner, the Italian utility Enel, is changing tack again, betting on an advanced, commercially untested system for solar panels. This time, Enel hopes it finally has what it takes to challenge the industry behemoth — China.
But these are ENEL owners, data from 2017, starting with the most important one (https://www.marketscreener.com/ENEL-70935/company/):
Name Equities %
Government of Italy 2,397,856,331 23.60%
The Vanguard Group, Inc. 204,756,632 2.01%
Norges Bank Investment Management 192,438,206 1.89%
BlackRock Fund Advisors 134,870,693 1.33%
Capital Research & Management Co (World Investors) 129,335,830 1.27%
BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Ltd. 110,581,006 1.09%
Capital Research & Management Co (Global Invest's) 102,060,459 1.00%
Franklin Mutual Advisers LLC 87,716,590 0.86%
JPMorgan Asset Management (UK) Ltd 80,839,145 0.80%
BlackRock Advisors (UK) Ltd. 62,558,753 0.62%
And now, again after about two decades trying and losing money, they are at it again:
Enel believes that by focusing on an esoteric technology, it can afford to make panels here and avoid a price war. It hopes that its products, which can capture more energy from the sun’s rays than those of rivals, will offer greater value than cheaper models.
China is a tough challenger to beat. The country’s manufacturers have established giant factories, complex supply chains and global networks of suppliers. Having driven prices relentlessly lower, they, too, are now innovating, rivaling the world’s best in efficiency while scoring breakthroughs like building enormous floating solar farms or experimenting with installing solar panels in roads.
“Making solar power is not rocket science,” said Jenny Chase, a solar analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, a research firm. “It is something you can do more cheaply when you have a big manufacturing base.”
[...]
In the latest such instance, as prices for solar power dropped sharply in recent years, the Italian utility came to a difficult conclusion: Its panels were already a third less efficient than those developed by Chinese manufacturers, and that gap is likely to widen over time.
“We said to ourselves: ‘We have bought the company. What do we do?’” said Antonello Irace, the head of the Catania unit, known as EGP 3Sun.
Mr. Irace eventually admitted defeat, shutting down the old production line last fall to retool the plant.
How is this new production line getting the money? Are they competing with others, or are they getting their backs covered? See the guarantors:
Enel is spending 87.5 million euros, or about $101 million, on new equipment and other changes, of which the Italian government is chipping in €14 million. The European Union is adding an extra €9 million to help cover operating expenses.Deep, intelligent intervention of a patriotic man, who fights for the greening of the economy, the planet's health and for all of humanity:
The Catania plant is likely to begin producing state-of-the-art solar panels next year, after trial runs in the coming months. It is embracing heterojunction technology, a system that has not been commercially proven. It involves adding a new, microscopic layer of silicon to solar cells, increasing their ability to gather sunlight and convert it into electricity.
These new panels will also be “bifacial,” meaning they will be able to gather light not only directly from the sun but also from stray beams that bounce off the ground.
Enel expects that panels made in the first year will be able to convert around 20 percent of sunlight to energy, which is toward the higher end of industry averages. It hopes to reach 25 percent in five years — which would help offset their higher cost.
That could make a big difference in winning projects. Bids on giant solar farms worth hundreds of millions of dollars are increasingly price sensitive, and costs are falling fast.
Mr. Irace said the new designs were especially promising for the sunny Middle East, where countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have been ramping up solar programs.
Those efforts may amount to little, however, if Enel cannot produce its panels on a larger scale, sufficient to compete with rivals from China.
For now, Enel aims to produce around 500,000 panels a year, a drop in the bucket compared with its Chinese competitors. In effect, it is “shipping cartons and crates,” said Chris Buckland, head of technology at Lightsource BP, a British solar developer. By contrast, Chinese companies are filling “40-foot containers.”
The Italian utility’s difficulties ramping up output point to the vastly changing fortunes of the solar sectors in Europe and China.
[...]
That is the route Enel is trying to follow in Sicily. Although heterojunction technology is not patented, Enel hopes that refinements it has made to the manufacturing process will give it a head start on rivals.
“We have to manufacture modern, advanced, innovative products in their initial life cycle,” said Antonio Cammisecra, the chief executive of Enel Green Power.
This is the real reason for the governments support (with both federal and national level backers): Government assistance to regions, according to quotas:
If Enel succeeds, it will give a crucial lift to a region that has lost as much as a quarter of its industrial capacity since the financial crisis, said Armando Castronuovo, an expert on the area at the University of Catania. The city’s economic backbone — agribusiness and tourism — has held up relatively well, but youth unemployment remains around 40 percent.
Enel has drawn on the local university to find the advanced science graduates necessary to ensure it can continue to come up with cutting-edge technology. In all, it has preserved some 300 jobs at the plant and a nearby research center.
There is nothing that can be done, since everybody has stakes in this kind of fraud. The citizen expects to take some of the spoils of the Treasury to give employment or at least subsidies to their children. And the politician gives his closest ones good jobs and a future.
Enhancing CCTV: Pixel averages improve face identification from poor‐quality images
Enhancing CCTV: Averages improve face identification from poor‐quality images. Kay L. Ritchie et al. Applied Cognitive Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.3449
Summary: Low‐quality images are problematic for face identification, for example, when the police identify faces from CCTV images. Here, we test whether face averages, comprising multiple poor‐quality images, can improve both human and computer recognition. We created averages from multiple pixelated or nonpixelated images and compared accuracy using these images and exemplars. To provide a broad assessment of the potential benefits of this method, we tested human observers (n = 88; Experiment 1), and also computer recognition, using a smartphone application (Experiment 2) and a commercial one‐to‐many face recognition system used in forensic settings (Experiment 3). The third experiment used large image databases of 900 ambient images and 7,980 passport images. In all three experiments, we found a substantial increase in performance by averaging multiple pixelated images of a person's face. These results have implications for forensic settings in which faces are identified from poor‐quality images, such as CCTV.
Summary: Low‐quality images are problematic for face identification, for example, when the police identify faces from CCTV images. Here, we test whether face averages, comprising multiple poor‐quality images, can improve both human and computer recognition. We created averages from multiple pixelated or nonpixelated images and compared accuracy using these images and exemplars. To provide a broad assessment of the potential benefits of this method, we tested human observers (n = 88; Experiment 1), and also computer recognition, using a smartphone application (Experiment 2) and a commercial one‐to‐many face recognition system used in forensic settings (Experiment 3). The third experiment used large image databases of 900 ambient images and 7,980 passport images. In all three experiments, we found a substantial increase in performance by averaging multiple pixelated images of a person's face. These results have implications for forensic settings in which faces are identified from poor‐quality images, such as CCTV.
Human testes are relatively small for body size: Copulatory and Postcopulatory Sexual Selection in Primates
Copulatory and Postcopulatory Sexual Selection in Primates. A F Dixson. Folia Primatologica 2018;89:258–286. https://doi.org/10.1159/000488105
Abstract: Many aspects of primate reproductive anatomy and physiology have been influenced by copulatory and postcopulatory sexual selection, especially so in taxa where multiple-partner matings by females result in the sperm of rival males competing for access to a given set of ova (sperm competition). However, the female reproductive system also exerts profound effects upon sperm survival, storage and transport, raising the possibility that female traits influence male reproductive success (via cryptic female choice). Current knowledge of sperm competition and cryptic choice in primates and other mammals is reviewed here. The relevance of these comparative studies to our understanding of human reproduction and evolution is discussed.
Abstract: Many aspects of primate reproductive anatomy and physiology have been influenced by copulatory and postcopulatory sexual selection, especially so in taxa where multiple-partner matings by females result in the sperm of rival males competing for access to a given set of ova (sperm competition). However, the female reproductive system also exerts profound effects upon sperm survival, storage and transport, raising the possibility that female traits influence male reproductive success (via cryptic female choice). Current knowledge of sperm competition and cryptic choice in primates and other mammals is reviewed here. The relevance of these comparative studies to our understanding of human reproduction and evolution is discussed.
White-collar offenders, including those holding high-trust organizational positions, engaged in regulatory income tax violations and regulatory traffic violations at significantly higher levels than did controls
Rule-violating behaviour in white-collar offenders: A control group comparison. Joost HR van Onna, Victor R van der Geest, Adriaan JM Denkers. European Journal of Criminology, https://doi.org/10.1177/1477370818794114
Abstract: This study aims at enhancing our understanding of criminogenic individual-level factors in white-collar crime, that is, fraudulent acts carried out in an occupational capacity or setting. We do so by examining consistency of rule-violating behaviour across different settings outside the occupational context in a sample of white-collar offenders (n = 637) and comparing it with a matched control group (n = 1809), controlling for socio-demographic, crime and organizational characteristics. Results show that white-collar offenders, including those holding high-trust organizational positions, engaged in regulatory income tax violations and regulatory traffic violations at significantly higher levels than did controls. This study concludes that individual characteristics are likely to underlie the identified cross-contextual consistency in rule-violating behaviour and debates the relevance of the findings for white-collar crime in organizations.
Keywords: control group, high-trust position, individual differences, rule violation, white-collar offenders
Abstract: This study aims at enhancing our understanding of criminogenic individual-level factors in white-collar crime, that is, fraudulent acts carried out in an occupational capacity or setting. We do so by examining consistency of rule-violating behaviour across different settings outside the occupational context in a sample of white-collar offenders (n = 637) and comparing it with a matched control group (n = 1809), controlling for socio-demographic, crime and organizational characteristics. Results show that white-collar offenders, including those holding high-trust organizational positions, engaged in regulatory income tax violations and regulatory traffic violations at significantly higher levels than did controls. This study concludes that individual characteristics are likely to underlie the identified cross-contextual consistency in rule-violating behaviour and debates the relevance of the findings for white-collar crime in organizations.
Keywords: control group, high-trust position, individual differences, rule violation, white-collar offenders
Antisocial personality constructs: Tactical and strategic image cultivation and defense behavior
Profiles and profile comparisons between Dark Triad constructs on self‐presentation tactic usage and tactic beliefs. William Hart, Gregory K. Tortoriello, Kyle Richardson, Christopher J. Breeden. Journal of Personality, https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12411
Abstract
Objective: The present research profiled antisocial personality constructs in relation to tactical self‐presentation behaviors and various beliefs associated with such tactical behavior.
Method: An MTurk sample (N = 524; Mage = 37.89; 61% female) completed indices of the Dark Triad (DT; narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy) and self‐reported their use of various self‐presentation tactics, their beliefs about the subjective logic for executing the tactics (which encompassed ratings of the tactics’ utility, ease of execution, and normativity), and the potential for each tactic to arouse self‐recrimination.
Results: Results revealed high convergence between the DT constructs on a relatively malignant approach to self‐presentation. DT constructs related to enhanced usage, enhanced subjective logic, and reduced self‐recrimination ratings for all the tactics, except pro‐social ones (exemplification and apologizing). Nonetheless, results also revealed some notable anticipated instances of nonconvergences between the DT constructs and tactic usage.
Conclusions: The findings highlight that DT constructs function rather similarly at the level of self‐presentation and suggest value in considering the DT constructs as indicative of strategic, subjectively logical image cultivation and defense behavior.
Abstract
Objective: The present research profiled antisocial personality constructs in relation to tactical self‐presentation behaviors and various beliefs associated with such tactical behavior.
Method: An MTurk sample (N = 524; Mage = 37.89; 61% female) completed indices of the Dark Triad (DT; narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy) and self‐reported their use of various self‐presentation tactics, their beliefs about the subjective logic for executing the tactics (which encompassed ratings of the tactics’ utility, ease of execution, and normativity), and the potential for each tactic to arouse self‐recrimination.
Results: Results revealed high convergence between the DT constructs on a relatively malignant approach to self‐presentation. DT constructs related to enhanced usage, enhanced subjective logic, and reduced self‐recrimination ratings for all the tactics, except pro‐social ones (exemplification and apologizing). Nonetheless, results also revealed some notable anticipated instances of nonconvergences between the DT constructs and tactic usage.
Conclusions: The findings highlight that DT constructs function rather similarly at the level of self‐presentation and suggest value in considering the DT constructs as indicative of strategic, subjectively logical image cultivation and defense behavior.
Memory for everyday driving: Large number of “false alarm” answers suggested recall was coloured by what usually happens on familiar roads
Memory for everyday driving. Samuel G. Charlton, Nicola J. Starkey. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, Volume 57, August 2018, Pages 129-138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2017.06.007
Highlights
• Drivers completed 14 km circuit of familiar roads on road or in video-based simulator.
• Participants’ free recall of drive frequently included bad behaviour of other drivers.
• No observed differences between on-road and simulated drives in accuracy of cued recall.
• Large number of “false alarm” answers suggested recall was coloured by what usually happens on familiar roads.
Abstract: As drivers, we often have the sense that we can recall very little about our everyday trips, particularly on familiar roads when nothing untoward occurs. The failure to recall incidental events from a routine drive is not surprising if these drives are performed at a fairly automatic or preconscious level of engagement. Some researchers have suggested that danger, difficulty, and consequentiality are what make events and actions memorable for drivers. To investigate what drivers remember from a routine trip, we asked participants (n = 75) to drive familiar local roads on a 15 km urban route either on-road in an instrumented car, or in the University of Waikato driving simulator (with and without a passenger). At ten predetermined locations on the drive participants were asked to provide ratings of perceived risk, difficulty and anxiety. At the end of the drive, participants were asked a free recall question about what they remembered from the drive, followed by cued recall questions about six of the locations from the drive prompted by photographs. In general, participants recalled very similar things from the drive, notably what they saw as the poor behaviour of other drivers. The participants’ recall accuracy was rather poor, with memory for whether they had stopped at a particular location having the highest accuracy. Memory of whether there were vehicles ahead and whether they had stopped had a high number of recall false alarms, adding to the suggestion that participants remembered the locations and what usually happens there rather than detailed recollections of a particular occasion. There were no observed relationships between recall accuracy and perceptions of driving risk, difficulty, or anxiety. The results indicated that memories of everyday driving are combinations of examples of bad behaviour of other road users and our recollections of what typically happens at familiar locations.
Highlights
• Drivers completed 14 km circuit of familiar roads on road or in video-based simulator.
• Participants’ free recall of drive frequently included bad behaviour of other drivers.
• No observed differences between on-road and simulated drives in accuracy of cued recall.
• Large number of “false alarm” answers suggested recall was coloured by what usually happens on familiar roads.
Abstract: As drivers, we often have the sense that we can recall very little about our everyday trips, particularly on familiar roads when nothing untoward occurs. The failure to recall incidental events from a routine drive is not surprising if these drives are performed at a fairly automatic or preconscious level of engagement. Some researchers have suggested that danger, difficulty, and consequentiality are what make events and actions memorable for drivers. To investigate what drivers remember from a routine trip, we asked participants (n = 75) to drive familiar local roads on a 15 km urban route either on-road in an instrumented car, or in the University of Waikato driving simulator (with and without a passenger). At ten predetermined locations on the drive participants were asked to provide ratings of perceived risk, difficulty and anxiety. At the end of the drive, participants were asked a free recall question about what they remembered from the drive, followed by cued recall questions about six of the locations from the drive prompted by photographs. In general, participants recalled very similar things from the drive, notably what they saw as the poor behaviour of other drivers. The participants’ recall accuracy was rather poor, with memory for whether they had stopped at a particular location having the highest accuracy. Memory of whether there were vehicles ahead and whether they had stopped had a high number of recall false alarms, adding to the suggestion that participants remembered the locations and what usually happens there rather than detailed recollections of a particular occasion. There were no observed relationships between recall accuracy and perceptions of driving risk, difficulty, or anxiety. The results indicated that memories of everyday driving are combinations of examples of bad behaviour of other road users and our recollections of what typically happens at familiar locations.
Saturday, August 18, 2018
Astonishing numbers of people remain blissfully unaware of fundamental truths about their own bodies
Where ignorance is bliss, ‘tis folly to be wise. Chris Potter, ENT & Audiology News, Vol 27, no 3, July/Aug 2018.
https://www.entandaudiologynews.com/media/11976/entja18-potterssoapbox.pdf
I’m not sure about you, but I seem to exist in a sea of incompetence and ignorance, constantly surrounded by amateurish chumps and feckless underachievers. Now, a lesser man may be daunted by this outlook, but I see it as my purpose in life to personally confront these issues and tirelessly educate sufferers as to their areas of deficiency. Despite my selfless dedication, a surprising number of colleagues fail to appreciate my efforts. Indeed, some even appear rather agitated by my forensic dissection of their personal inadequacies and bold exhortations to self-improvement. Rather than being discouraged by this attitude, I stand firm in the knowledge that the weight of scientific evidence lies (for once in my clinical life) firmly behind me.
[...]
However, astonishing numbers of people remain blissfully unaware of fundamental truths about their own bodies. Around 60% of men with a fracture injury of the hand or foot will have completely forgotten about it to the extent of complete denial within 15 years [1]. Somewhat surprisingly, 36% of circumcised men attending an STD clinic were quite certain they were uncircumcised [2]. Just read that sentence again and remember those 36% are free to vote and bear arms.
https://www.entandaudiologynews.com/media/11976/entja18-potterssoapbox.pdf
I’m not sure about you, but I seem to exist in a sea of incompetence and ignorance, constantly surrounded by amateurish chumps and feckless underachievers. Now, a lesser man may be daunted by this outlook, but I see it as my purpose in life to personally confront these issues and tirelessly educate sufferers as to their areas of deficiency. Despite my selfless dedication, a surprising number of colleagues fail to appreciate my efforts. Indeed, some even appear rather agitated by my forensic dissection of their personal inadequacies and bold exhortations to self-improvement. Rather than being discouraged by this attitude, I stand firm in the knowledge that the weight of scientific evidence lies (for once in my clinical life) firmly behind me.
[...]
However, astonishing numbers of people remain blissfully unaware of fundamental truths about their own bodies. Around 60% of men with a fracture injury of the hand or foot will have completely forgotten about it to the extent of complete denial within 15 years [1]. Somewhat surprisingly, 36% of circumcised men attending an STD clinic were quite certain they were uncircumcised [2]. Just read that sentence again and remember those 36% are free to vote and bear arms.
Spoilers Affect the Enjoyment of Television Episodes but Not Short Stories
Spoilers Affect the Enjoyment of Television Episodes but Not Short Stories. Thomas A. Daniel, Jeffrey S. Katz. Psychological Reports, https://doi.org/10.1177/0033294118793971
Abstract: While spoilers are culturally regarded as something that detracts enjoyment from a narrative, research has presented a complicated picture. When Leavitt and Christenfeld presented participants plot-crucial information to individuals before reading a short story, the story was subsequently enjoyed as much as, or more than, unspoiled stories. Other research shows that these findings may be driven by an interaction of individual differences, such as need for cognition, rather than a broad spoiling effect. In Experiment 1, we tested if reported enjoyment of a narrative decreased even when participants were alerted to the presence of a plot spoiler, to extend previous findings for short stories while adding a condition informing participants beforehand that their short stories was being spoiled. Experiment 2 extended this methodology to full-length episodes of television. Our results were different from previously reported positive effects of spoilers and show that spoilers, under certain circumstances, have a negative effect on enjoyment for television but not short stories.
Keywords: Creativity, decision-making, thinking styles, fan behavior, language proficiency
Abstract: While spoilers are culturally regarded as something that detracts enjoyment from a narrative, research has presented a complicated picture. When Leavitt and Christenfeld presented participants plot-crucial information to individuals before reading a short story, the story was subsequently enjoyed as much as, or more than, unspoiled stories. Other research shows that these findings may be driven by an interaction of individual differences, such as need for cognition, rather than a broad spoiling effect. In Experiment 1, we tested if reported enjoyment of a narrative decreased even when participants were alerted to the presence of a plot spoiler, to extend previous findings for short stories while adding a condition informing participants beforehand that their short stories was being spoiled. Experiment 2 extended this methodology to full-length episodes of television. Our results were different from previously reported positive effects of spoilers and show that spoilers, under certain circumstances, have a negative effect on enjoyment for television but not short stories.
Keywords: Creativity, decision-making, thinking styles, fan behavior, language proficiency
Friday, August 17, 2018
Native speakers of Hebrew, Korean, Spanish, and English inflate their earnings less when they use a foreign language; it's due to a dual system account that suggests that self‐serving dishonesty is an automatic tendency, supported by a fast and intuitive system
Honesty Speaks a Second Language. Yoella Bereby‐Meyer et al. Topics in Cognitive Science, Jul 2018, https://doi.org/10.1111/tops.12360
Abstract: Theories of dishonest behavior implicitly assume language independence. Here, we investigated this assumption by comparing lying by people using a foreign language versus their native tongue. Participants rolled a die and were paid according to the outcome they reported. Because the outcome was private, they could lie to inflate their profit without risk of repercussions. Participants performed the task either in their native language or in a foreign language. With native speakers of Hebrew, Korean, Spanish, and English, we discovered that, on average, people inflate their earnings less when they use a foreign language. The outcome is explained by a dual system account that suggests that self‐serving dishonesty is an automatic tendency, which is supported by a fast and intuitive system. Because using a foreign language is less intuitive and automatic, it might engage more deliberation and reduce the temptation to lie. These findings challenge theories of ethical behavior to account for the role of the language in shaping ethical behavior.
Abstract: Theories of dishonest behavior implicitly assume language independence. Here, we investigated this assumption by comparing lying by people using a foreign language versus their native tongue. Participants rolled a die and were paid according to the outcome they reported. Because the outcome was private, they could lie to inflate their profit without risk of repercussions. Participants performed the task either in their native language or in a foreign language. With native speakers of Hebrew, Korean, Spanish, and English, we discovered that, on average, people inflate their earnings less when they use a foreign language. The outcome is explained by a dual system account that suggests that self‐serving dishonesty is an automatic tendency, which is supported by a fast and intuitive system. Because using a foreign language is less intuitive and automatic, it might engage more deliberation and reduce the temptation to lie. These findings challenge theories of ethical behavior to account for the role of the language in shaping ethical behavior.
Memory distortion may not always be maladaptive: in some cases, distortion can result from a memory system that optimally combines information in the service of the broader goals of the person
The adaptive nature of false memories is revealed by gist-based distortion of true memories. Timothy Brady, Daniel Schacter, George Alvarez. August 17, 2018. https://psyarxiv.com/zeg95/
Abstract: Human memory systems are subject to many imperfections, including memory distortions and the creation of false memories. Here, we demonstrate a case where memory distortion is adaptive, increasing the overall accuracy of memories. Participants viewed multiple real-world objects from a given category (10 airplanes, 10 backpacks…), and later recalled the color of each object. Participants were generally accurate, but even when they remembered having seen an item and remembered its color, they nevertheless reported the color as closer to the average color of its category than it really was. Although participants’ memories were systematically distorted, they were distorted in a way that is consistent with minimizing their average error according to a simple Bayesian analysis. In addition, and consistent with the Bayesian analysis, the bias toward the category center was larger when participant’s had greater uncertainty about the color of an item, but was present in all circumstances -- even when participants remembered an item, remembered its color, and reported high confidence in their color memory. Thus, memory distortion may not always be maladaptive: in some cases, distortion can result from a memory system that optimally combines information in the service of the broader goals of the person. Furthermore, this framework for thinking about memory distortion suggests that false memory can be thought of on a continuum with true memory: the greater uncertainty participants have about an individual item memory, the more they weight their gist memory; with no item information, they weight only their gist memory.
Abstract: Human memory systems are subject to many imperfections, including memory distortions and the creation of false memories. Here, we demonstrate a case where memory distortion is adaptive, increasing the overall accuracy of memories. Participants viewed multiple real-world objects from a given category (10 airplanes, 10 backpacks…), and later recalled the color of each object. Participants were generally accurate, but even when they remembered having seen an item and remembered its color, they nevertheless reported the color as closer to the average color of its category than it really was. Although participants’ memories were systematically distorted, they were distorted in a way that is consistent with minimizing their average error according to a simple Bayesian analysis. In addition, and consistent with the Bayesian analysis, the bias toward the category center was larger when participant’s had greater uncertainty about the color of an item, but was present in all circumstances -- even when participants remembered an item, remembered its color, and reported high confidence in their color memory. Thus, memory distortion may not always be maladaptive: in some cases, distortion can result from a memory system that optimally combines information in the service of the broader goals of the person. Furthermore, this framework for thinking about memory distortion suggests that false memory can be thought of on a continuum with true memory: the greater uncertainty participants have about an individual item memory, the more they weight their gist memory; with no item information, they weight only their gist memory.
Thursday, August 16, 2018
Evidence from the Berlin Wall: Positive relationship between urban density & productivity in a virtuous circle of ‘cumulative causation’
The Economics of Density: Evidence From the Berlin Wall. Gabriel M. Ahlfeldt, Stephen J. Redding, Daniel M. Sturm, Nikolaus Wolf. Econometrica, 2015. https://doi.org/10.3982/ECTA10876
Abstract: This paper develops a quantitative model of internal city structure that features agglomeration and dispersion forces and an arbitrary number of heterogeneous city blocks. The model remains tractable and amenable to empirical analysis because of stochastic shocks to commuting decisions, which yield a gravity equation for commuting flows. To structurally estimate agglomeration and dispersion forces, we use data on thousands of city blocks in Berlin for 1936, 1986, and 2006 and exogenous variation from the city's division and reunification. We estimate substantial and highly localized production and residential externalities. We show that the model with the estimated agglomeration parameters can account both qualitatively and quantitatively for the observed changes in city structure. We show how our quantitative framework can be used to undertake counterfactuals for changes in the organization of economic activity within cities in response, for example, to changes in the transport network.
Abstract: This paper develops a quantitative model of internal city structure that features agglomeration and dispersion forces and an arbitrary number of heterogeneous city blocks. The model remains tractable and amenable to empirical analysis because of stochastic shocks to commuting decisions, which yield a gravity equation for commuting flows. To structurally estimate agglomeration and dispersion forces, we use data on thousands of city blocks in Berlin for 1936, 1986, and 2006 and exogenous variation from the city's division and reunification. We estimate substantial and highly localized production and residential externalities. We show that the model with the estimated agglomeration parameters can account both qualitatively and quantitatively for the observed changes in city structure. We show how our quantitative framework can be used to undertake counterfactuals for changes in the organization of economic activity within cities in response, for example, to changes in the transport network.
Prenatal and postnatal cortisol and testosterone are related to parental caregiving quality in fathers, but not in mothers
Prenatal and postnatal cortisol and testosterone are related to parental caregiving quality in fathers, but not in mothers. Peter A. Bos et al. Psychoneuroendocrinology, Volume 97, November 2018, Pages 94-103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.07.013
Highlights
• Prenatal quality of caregiving interacted with T and CORT in fathers.
• Postnatal quality of caregiving interacted with T and CORT in fathers.
• Postnatal quality of paternal caregiving was negatively associated with prenatal CORT.
• No associations were observed between T or CORT and maternal quality of caregiving.
• These data show the value of a crying simulator for studying human parenting.
Abstract: Testosterone and cortisol have both been implicated in human parenting behavior. We investigated the relations between observed quality of caregiving during parent-child interactions and pre- and postnatal testosterone and cortisol levels, in both mothers (N = 88) and fathers (N = 57). Testosterone and cortisol were measured before and after interaction with an infant simulator (prenatal) and with their own child (postnatal) to index basal levels as well as steroid reactivity to the interaction. Our findings are that in fathers, interactions between cortisol and testosterone are related to quality of caregiving both pre- and postnatally. Prenatally there was a stronger negative relation between T and quality of caregiving in fathers with lower cortisol levels, and postnatally there was a stronger negative relation between cortisol and quality of caregiving in fathers high in testosterone levels. Furthermore, prenatal cortisol levels were related to paternal quality of caregiving during interaction with their own child. In mothers, no associations between quality of caregiving and our endocrine measures were observed. We interpret our findings in the context of hyperreactive physiological responses observed in parents at risk for insensitive caregiving, and in light of the dual-hormone hypothesis. The current findings contribute to the growing literature on the endocrine antecedents of human caregiving behavior.
Highlights
• Prenatal quality of caregiving interacted with T and CORT in fathers.
• Postnatal quality of caregiving interacted with T and CORT in fathers.
• Postnatal quality of paternal caregiving was negatively associated with prenatal CORT.
• No associations were observed between T or CORT and maternal quality of caregiving.
• These data show the value of a crying simulator for studying human parenting.
Abstract: Testosterone and cortisol have both been implicated in human parenting behavior. We investigated the relations between observed quality of caregiving during parent-child interactions and pre- and postnatal testosterone and cortisol levels, in both mothers (N = 88) and fathers (N = 57). Testosterone and cortisol were measured before and after interaction with an infant simulator (prenatal) and with their own child (postnatal) to index basal levels as well as steroid reactivity to the interaction. Our findings are that in fathers, interactions between cortisol and testosterone are related to quality of caregiving both pre- and postnatally. Prenatally there was a stronger negative relation between T and quality of caregiving in fathers with lower cortisol levels, and postnatally there was a stronger negative relation between cortisol and quality of caregiving in fathers high in testosterone levels. Furthermore, prenatal cortisol levels were related to paternal quality of caregiving during interaction with their own child. In mothers, no associations between quality of caregiving and our endocrine measures were observed. We interpret our findings in the context of hyperreactive physiological responses observed in parents at risk for insensitive caregiving, and in light of the dual-hormone hypothesis. The current findings contribute to the growing literature on the endocrine antecedents of human caregiving behavior.
Small to moderate effect sizes suggest that working together with a friend and simply having a friend were related significantly and positively both to cognitive and academic performance outcome
Do Friendships Afford Academic Benefits? A Meta-analytic Study. Kathryn R. Wentzel, Sophie Jablansky, Nicole R. Scalise. Educational Psychology Review, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10648-018-9447-5
Abstract: Using meta-analytic techniques, we examined systematically the evidence linking friendship to academically related outcomes, asking: To what extent is friendship related to academic performance and to academically related cognitive skills? Based on 22 studies that yielded 81 effect sizes and 28 independent samples, we examined relations between friendship and academically related cognitive skills (e.g., scientific reasoning, linguistic skills, spatial memory) and performance (e.g., academic grades, test scores). The role of friendship was defined in one of two ways: working with mutual friends on academic tasks and the experience of having friendships (as indicated by having at least one reciprocated friend or a number of friends). Small to moderate effect sizes suggest that working together with a friend and simply having a friend were related significantly and positively both to cognitive and performance outcomes. Student (sex, age, country of origin) and methodological (measurement, design) characteristics were not significant moderators of relations between friendship and academically related outcomes.
Abstract: Using meta-analytic techniques, we examined systematically the evidence linking friendship to academically related outcomes, asking: To what extent is friendship related to academic performance and to academically related cognitive skills? Based on 22 studies that yielded 81 effect sizes and 28 independent samples, we examined relations between friendship and academically related cognitive skills (e.g., scientific reasoning, linguistic skills, spatial memory) and performance (e.g., academic grades, test scores). The role of friendship was defined in one of two ways: working with mutual friends on academic tasks and the experience of having friendships (as indicated by having at least one reciprocated friend or a number of friends). Small to moderate effect sizes suggest that working together with a friend and simply having a friend were related significantly and positively both to cognitive and performance outcomes. Student (sex, age, country of origin) and methodological (measurement, design) characteristics were not significant moderators of relations between friendship and academically related outcomes.
The Psychology of Euthanasia: Why There Are No Easy Answers
The Psychology of Euthanasia: Why There Are No Easy Answers. Miguel Ricou & Tony Wainwright. European Psychologist. https://doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040/a000331
Abstract. Voluntary euthanasia has been legalized in several countries and associated with this development there has been much discussion concerning the relationship between the ethical principle of autonomy and the respect for human life. Psychological science should make a significant contribution to understanding how polarizing positions may be taken in such debates. However, little has been written concerning the implications of this research for the euthanasia debate and about the contributions of psychology. In the same way, very little is written about the psychologist’s role in countries where voluntary euthanasia or assisted suicide is legalized. We take as a starting assumption that there are no solutions that will meet everyone’s wishes or needs, but that an understanding of psychological ideas, can assist in developing strategies that may help people with opposing views come to some agreement. In our view, it is fundamental to a fruitful analysis, to leave aside a polarized approach and to understand that an eventual answer to the question of how we approach voluntary euthanasia will only be achieved after the hard process of carefully considering the consequences of having either legalized voluntary euthanasia or its prohibition, in the context of a psychological understanding.
Keywords: euthanasia, suffering, psychology, ethics, decision-making
Abstract. Voluntary euthanasia has been legalized in several countries and associated with this development there has been much discussion concerning the relationship between the ethical principle of autonomy and the respect for human life. Psychological science should make a significant contribution to understanding how polarizing positions may be taken in such debates. However, little has been written concerning the implications of this research for the euthanasia debate and about the contributions of psychology. In the same way, very little is written about the psychologist’s role in countries where voluntary euthanasia or assisted suicide is legalized. We take as a starting assumption that there are no solutions that will meet everyone’s wishes or needs, but that an understanding of psychological ideas, can assist in developing strategies that may help people with opposing views come to some agreement. In our view, it is fundamental to a fruitful analysis, to leave aside a polarized approach and to understand that an eventual answer to the question of how we approach voluntary euthanasia will only be achieved after the hard process of carefully considering the consequences of having either legalized voluntary euthanasia or its prohibition, in the context of a psychological understanding.
Keywords: euthanasia, suffering, psychology, ethics, decision-making
Placebo and nocebo effects constitute a major part of treatment success in medical interventions; there is interest in optimizing placebo effects to improve existing treatments and in examining ways to minimize nocebo effects to improve clinical outcome
Psychobiological Mechanisms of Placebo and Nocebo Effects: Pathways to Improve Treatments and Reduce Side Effects. Keith J. Petrie and Winfried Rief, Annual Review of Psychology, Vol. 70:- (Volume publication date January 2019). https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010418-102907
Abstract: Placebo effects constitute a major part of treatment success in medical interventions. The nocebo effect also has a major impact, as it accounts for a significant proportion of the reported side effects for many treatments. Historically, clinical trials have aimed to reduce placebo effects; however, currently, there is interest in optimizing placebo effects to improve existing treatments and in examining ways to minimize nocebo effects to improve clinical outcome. To achieve these aims, a better understanding of the psychological and neurobiological mechanisms of the placebo and nocebo response is required. This review discusses the impact of the placebo and nocebo response in health care. We also examine the mechanisms involved in the placebo and nocebo effects, including the central mechanism of expectations. Finally, we examine ways to enhance placebo effects and reduce the impact of the nocebo response in clinical practice and suggest areas for future research.
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Open-Label Placebos
There has been recent interest in the use of open-label placebos, i.e., placebos that patients take knowing that they do not contain active medicine. Open-label placebos avoid the ethical issues involved in the deceptive prescription of placebos, which violates informed consent and may compromise the clinician–patient relationship. In the studies that have used open-label placebos, positive expectations are typically established by describing the power of the placebo effect as being established through conditioning and expectations and working through mind–body processes to improve health. The patient is informed that, even though they are not taking any active medicine, a placebo may still help improve health.
An initial RCT of 80 patients with IBS assigned patients to open-label placebo pills described as being “made of an inert substance, like sugar pills, that have been shown in clinical studies to produce significant improvements in IBS symptoms through mind-body self-healing processes” (Kaptchuk et al. 2010, p. 1) or to a no-treatment control group with the same amount ofprovider contact. Findings revealed significant improvements in symptoms at the 3-week follow-up.
The study demonstrated that open-label placebos delivered with a convincing rationale can improve subjective symptom reports in IBS. This prompted other researchers to investigate whether open-label placebos could improve outcomes in other conditions. Positive effects from open-label placebos have now been demonstrated in low-back pain (Carvalho et al. 2016), allergic rhinitis (Schaefer et al. 2016), and cancer-related fatigue (Hoenemeyer et al. 2018). A review of five open-label placebo studies found a positive medium effect size on subjective symptoms (Charlesworth et al. 2017).
While the initial results of studies of open-label placebos have been positive, there are some reasons to be cautious about the findings. A recent study evaluated the effect of open-label placebos on an objective, measurable physiological outcome, wound healing, and found no effect (Mathur et al. 2018), suggesting that the main benefit from open-label placebos could be restricted to subjective symptoms. The participants recruited into the initial studies for a mind–body treatment are also more likely to be receptive to open-label placebos than individuals with a preference for more traditional medical treatments. A further question at this stage is whether open-label placebo treatment will be acceptable to doctors and therefore more widely adopted.
To summarize, initial attempts to make use of placebo mechanisms to improve treatment outcomes indicate that this strategy could have enormous potential to improve clinical care. A number of the factors that have been found to improve placebo response could be easily incorporated into current treatments to maximize outcomes. These include optimizing patient’s expectations prior to treatment, using a positive role model to demonstrate treatment effectiveness, and inducing positive pretreatment experiences with similar drug treatments. Improving aspects of the clinical interaction, such empathy, shared decision making, and patient perceptions of physician competence, is also likely to lead to improved outcomes, although future research in this area is needed. It is likely that open-label placebos will also play a role in treatment in the future as an adjunct to standard therapies, either to reduce side effects or to maximize response to treatment, but the exact niche of open-label placebos has yet to be established.
Abstract: Placebo effects constitute a major part of treatment success in medical interventions. The nocebo effect also has a major impact, as it accounts for a significant proportion of the reported side effects for many treatments. Historically, clinical trials have aimed to reduce placebo effects; however, currently, there is interest in optimizing placebo effects to improve existing treatments and in examining ways to minimize nocebo effects to improve clinical outcome. To achieve these aims, a better understanding of the psychological and neurobiological mechanisms of the placebo and nocebo response is required. This review discusses the impact of the placebo and nocebo response in health care. We also examine the mechanisms involved in the placebo and nocebo effects, including the central mechanism of expectations. Finally, we examine ways to enhance placebo effects and reduce the impact of the nocebo response in clinical practice and suggest areas for future research.
---
Open-Label Placebos
There has been recent interest in the use of open-label placebos, i.e., placebos that patients take knowing that they do not contain active medicine. Open-label placebos avoid the ethical issues involved in the deceptive prescription of placebos, which violates informed consent and may compromise the clinician–patient relationship. In the studies that have used open-label placebos, positive expectations are typically established by describing the power of the placebo effect as being established through conditioning and expectations and working through mind–body processes to improve health. The patient is informed that, even though they are not taking any active medicine, a placebo may still help improve health.
An initial RCT of 80 patients with IBS assigned patients to open-label placebo pills described as being “made of an inert substance, like sugar pills, that have been shown in clinical studies to produce significant improvements in IBS symptoms through mind-body self-healing processes” (Kaptchuk et al. 2010, p. 1) or to a no-treatment control group with the same amount ofprovider contact. Findings revealed significant improvements in symptoms at the 3-week follow-up.
The study demonstrated that open-label placebos delivered with a convincing rationale can improve subjective symptom reports in IBS. This prompted other researchers to investigate whether open-label placebos could improve outcomes in other conditions. Positive effects from open-label placebos have now been demonstrated in low-back pain (Carvalho et al. 2016), allergic rhinitis (Schaefer et al. 2016), and cancer-related fatigue (Hoenemeyer et al. 2018). A review of five open-label placebo studies found a positive medium effect size on subjective symptoms (Charlesworth et al. 2017).
While the initial results of studies of open-label placebos have been positive, there are some reasons to be cautious about the findings. A recent study evaluated the effect of open-label placebos on an objective, measurable physiological outcome, wound healing, and found no effect (Mathur et al. 2018), suggesting that the main benefit from open-label placebos could be restricted to subjective symptoms. The participants recruited into the initial studies for a mind–body treatment are also more likely to be receptive to open-label placebos than individuals with a preference for more traditional medical treatments. A further question at this stage is whether open-label placebo treatment will be acceptable to doctors and therefore more widely adopted.
To summarize, initial attempts to make use of placebo mechanisms to improve treatment outcomes indicate that this strategy could have enormous potential to improve clinical care. A number of the factors that have been found to improve placebo response could be easily incorporated into current treatments to maximize outcomes. These include optimizing patient’s expectations prior to treatment, using a positive role model to demonstrate treatment effectiveness, and inducing positive pretreatment experiences with similar drug treatments. Improving aspects of the clinical interaction, such empathy, shared decision making, and patient perceptions of physician competence, is also likely to lead to improved outcomes, although future research in this area is needed. It is likely that open-label placebos will also play a role in treatment in the future as an adjunct to standard therapies, either to reduce side effects or to maximize response to treatment, but the exact niche of open-label placebos has yet to be established.
Wednesday, August 15, 2018
Thrifty targets are perceived as more intelligent, higher in self-control, more likable, emotionally closer to participants, lower in perceived vanity, lower in valuation of wealth in other, cheaper, and lower in short-term mating effort
Thrifty Spending as a (Paradoxically) Costly Signal: Perceptions of Others' Traits and Mating Patterns as a Function Of Their Spending Style. Lynzee J.Murray, Masters Thesis, 2018, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1525457591695131
Abstract: According to the bargain hunting hypothesis, thriftiness requires a host of personality characteristics and psychological traits, namely contentiousness, intelligence, and self-control. Another part of the bargain hunting hypothesis attempts to explain why people, especially women, are often excited by the great deals they get and are motivated to tell others about them. According to this hypothesis, signaling thriftiness may signal to others a host of desirable traits, including the aforementioned traits as well as a good moral character, a long-term mating orientation, and a disinclination toward infidelity. In the current study, participants were asked to think of someone they know whose is thrifty or who engages in conspicuous consumption and to evaluate this person on a variety of personality and mating-related dimensions. We predicted that in comparison to conspicuous-consumption targets, thrifty targets would be perceived as more intelligent (including creativity and problem solving), conscientious, higher in self-control, more likeable, emotionally closer with participants, more agreeable, higher in moral character/virtue, lower in their degree of perceived vanity and in their valuation of wealth in others, and cheaper. We also predicted that thrifty targets would be perceived/rated as lower in short-term mating effort and infidelity probability, and higher in parenting effort and desirability as a long-term mate. The finding of our study supported the predictions that thrifty targets would be perceived as more intelligent, higher in self-control, more likable, emotionally closer to participants, lower in perceived vanity, lower in valuation of wealth in other, cheaper, and lower in short-term mating effort. Our findings also provided partial support for our predictions that thrifty targets would be perceived as more agreeable, higher in moral character, lower in infidelity probability, and higher in parenting effort and desirability as a long-term mate.
Subjects/Keywords: Psychology; Spending; Evolutionary Psychology; Thriftiness; Consumer Psychology; Conspicuous Consumption; Costly Signaling Theory
Abstract: According to the bargain hunting hypothesis, thriftiness requires a host of personality characteristics and psychological traits, namely contentiousness, intelligence, and self-control. Another part of the bargain hunting hypothesis attempts to explain why people, especially women, are often excited by the great deals they get and are motivated to tell others about them. According to this hypothesis, signaling thriftiness may signal to others a host of desirable traits, including the aforementioned traits as well as a good moral character, a long-term mating orientation, and a disinclination toward infidelity. In the current study, participants were asked to think of someone they know whose is thrifty or who engages in conspicuous consumption and to evaluate this person on a variety of personality and mating-related dimensions. We predicted that in comparison to conspicuous-consumption targets, thrifty targets would be perceived as more intelligent (including creativity and problem solving), conscientious, higher in self-control, more likeable, emotionally closer with participants, more agreeable, higher in moral character/virtue, lower in their degree of perceived vanity and in their valuation of wealth in others, and cheaper. We also predicted that thrifty targets would be perceived/rated as lower in short-term mating effort and infidelity probability, and higher in parenting effort and desirability as a long-term mate. The finding of our study supported the predictions that thrifty targets would be perceived as more intelligent, higher in self-control, more likable, emotionally closer to participants, lower in perceived vanity, lower in valuation of wealth in other, cheaper, and lower in short-term mating effort. Our findings also provided partial support for our predictions that thrifty targets would be perceived as more agreeable, higher in moral character, lower in infidelity probability, and higher in parenting effort and desirability as a long-term mate.
Subjects/Keywords: Psychology; Spending; Evolutionary Psychology; Thriftiness; Consumer Psychology; Conspicuous Consumption; Costly Signaling Theory
False memories can be caused by sleep deprivation, mindfulness meditation, and exposure to fake news, & no one is immune – not even people who can remember nearly every detail of their own lives
Current Directions in False Memory Research. Cara Laney, Elizabeth F. Loftus. Chapter 18 of Diversity in Harmony – Insights from Psychology: Proceedings of the 31st International Congress of Psychology. Aug 10 2018. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119362081.ch18
Summary: False memory is an active and dynamic research area. This chapter discusses some of the most recent advances in theory, methodology, and application, as well as recent findings. Recent work has reinterpreted false memory through lenses of evolutionary psychology, pre‐ and postgoal emotions, and persuasion. New findings include false memories caused by sleep deprivation, mindfulness meditation, and exposure to fake news. Various procedures for differentiating between true and false memories are discussed; new research suggests that although some people may be especially susceptible to some kinds of false memories, no one is immune – not even people who can remember nearly every detail of their own lives. Some recent critiques of false memory research are summarized and disputed (as are some false memory findings). The critiques have come from parts of the therapeutic community working to minimize the impact of false memory research, but the impact – especially in the legal domain – remains clear.
Check also Can Mindfulness Be Too Much of a Good Thing? The Value of a Middle Way. Willoughby B Britton. Current Opinion in Psychology, Jan 2019. https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2019/01/few-psychological-or-physiological.html
Summary: False memory is an active and dynamic research area. This chapter discusses some of the most recent advances in theory, methodology, and application, as well as recent findings. Recent work has reinterpreted false memory through lenses of evolutionary psychology, pre‐ and postgoal emotions, and persuasion. New findings include false memories caused by sleep deprivation, mindfulness meditation, and exposure to fake news. Various procedures for differentiating between true and false memories are discussed; new research suggests that although some people may be especially susceptible to some kinds of false memories, no one is immune – not even people who can remember nearly every detail of their own lives. Some recent critiques of false memory research are summarized and disputed (as are some false memory findings). The critiques have come from parts of the therapeutic community working to minimize the impact of false memory research, but the impact – especially in the legal domain – remains clear.
Check also Can Mindfulness Be Too Much of a Good Thing? The Value of a Middle Way. Willoughby B Britton. Current Opinion in Psychology, Jan 2019. https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2019/01/few-psychological-or-physiological.html
Tuesday, August 14, 2018
Duping delight is the pleasure or satisfaction derived from successfully deceiving another person; may at first seem pathological behavior engaged by only a minority of the most deviant, but looked at more broadly, can be widely observed
Measuring Deception: A Look at Antecedents to Deceptive Intent. Randall J. Boyle, Jeffrey A. Clements and Jeffrey Gainer Proudfoot. The American Journal of Psychology, Vol. 131, No. 3 (Fall 2018), pp. 347-367. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/amerjpsyc.131.3.0347
Abstract: A Deceptive Belief Inventory scale is developed and validated using 10 first-order factors to represent 3 second-order constructs (deception confidence, duping delight, and guiltless deception). A new theoretical model describing how deception confidence, duping delight, and guiltless deception may influence a person's intent to deceive others is also tested. Traditional deceptive communication research has focused on situation-specific factors surrounding deception. This study focuses on understanding and assessing a person's propensity to deceive others. The findings of this study can be used to better understand the factors that may influence a person's reported propensity to deceive and ultimately be used to improve security procedures designed to protect critical information systems.
Abstract: A Deceptive Belief Inventory scale is developed and validated using 10 first-order factors to represent 3 second-order constructs (deception confidence, duping delight, and guiltless deception). A new theoretical model describing how deception confidence, duping delight, and guiltless deception may influence a person's intent to deceive others is also tested. Traditional deceptive communication research has focused on situation-specific factors surrounding deception. This study focuses on understanding and assessing a person's propensity to deceive others. The findings of this study can be used to better understand the factors that may influence a person's reported propensity to deceive and ultimately be used to improve security procedures designed to protect critical information systems.
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