Romantic Love vs. Reproduction Opportunities: Disentangling the Contributions of Different Anxiety Buffers under Conditions of Existential Threat

Romantic Love vs. Reproduction Opportunities: Disentangling the Contributions of Different Anxiety Buffers under Conditions of Existential Threat. By Annedore Hoppe, Immo Fritsche & Nicolas Koranyi. European Journal of Social Psychology, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ejsp.2322/abstract

Abstract: Romantic relationships and offspring are discussed as anxiety buffers in terror management processes. We examined the relationship between these possible buffers and tested whether romantic relationships reduce existential threat due to reproduction opportunities or if they represent a distinct anxiety buffer. Contrary to our initial expectations, thinking about a positive romantic relationship without (vs. with) own children increased partner affect (Study 1) and commitment (Study 2) and decreased punishment intentions (Study 2) after mortality salience. These effects were mediated by participants’ desire for romantic love. Furthermore, thinking about positive non-parental (vs. parental) romantic relationships lowered death-thought accessibility (Study 3). Together, these findings suggest that romantic relationships form a distinct anxiety buffer which is only effective when the cultural (romance) instead of the biological (having children) nature of the relationship is highlighted. We discuss the role of anxiety buffer salience for determining whether offspring concerns buffer or increase existential threat.

My comment: the article is much more interesting that the summary. The introduction is, although brief, very good. It speaks about TMT, terror management theory (which is summarized in a chapter of the Handbook of prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination: 2nd edition -- anyone wishing to get the chapter can ask for it), and anxiety buffers (pantallas o buffers de/contra la ansiedad). Please read the full article if you've got the time, less than 36 double-spaced pages, about 18 single-spaced ones.

Excessive users of violent video games do not show emotional desensitization: An fMRI study

Excessive users of violent video games do not show emotional desensitization: An fMRI study. Gregor Szycik et al. Brain Imaging and Behavior, June 2017, Pages 736–743, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27086318

Abstract: Playing violent video games have been linked to long-term emotional desensitization. We hypothesized that desensitization effects in excessive users of violent video games should lead to decreased brain activations to highly salient emotional pictures in emotional sensitivity brain regions. Twenty-eight male adult subjects showing excessive long-term use of violent video games and age and education matched control participants were examined in two experiments using standardized emotional pictures of positive, negative and neutral valence. No group differences were revealed even at reduced statistical thresholds which speaks against desensitization of emotion sensitive brain regions as a result of excessive use of violent video games.

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Remember too: Overstated evidence for short-term effects of violent games on affect and behavior: A reanalysis of Anderson et al. (2010). By Hilgard, Joseph; Engelhardt, Christopher R.; Rouder, Jeffrey N. Psychological Bulletin, Vol 143(7), Jul 2017, 757-774. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/bul0000074

Nervousness while in an unfamiliar context, perceived as uppity or classy

David Brooks has a point – upper class kids have invisible cultural advantages. By Henry Farrell. The Washington Post, Jul 11, 2017. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2015/09/23/why-are-working-class-kids-less-likely-to-get-elite-jobs-they-study-too-hard-at-college

A few years ago, an older working-class woman had done a special favor for me, and I wanted to show her my gratitude. I took her out to a restaurant that wasn’t fancy, exactly, but it was a definite cut above Chili’s. To me, this was my way of showing her my gratitude: to take her to a place that was out of the ordinary. At the table, I was distressed to see her obviously struggling to enjoy herself. She appeared anxious and uncomfortable, and I couldn’t figure out why.

Later, her daughter told me that as grateful as her mother was for the invitation, she was a nervous wreck at the restaurant. Her mom saw unfamiliar words on the menu, and felt stupid. And she thought everybody in the restaurant was surely looking at her, and seeing that she didn’t belong.

Coke vs. Pepsi: Brand Compatibility, Relationship Power, and Life Satisfaction

Coke vs. Pepsi: Brand Compatibility, Relationship Power, and Life Satisfaction. Danielle Brick et al.
Journal of Consumer Research, https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucx079

Abstract: Individuals often evaluate, purchase, and consume brands in the presence of others, including close others. Yet relatively little is known about the role brand preferences play in relationships. In the present research, the authors explore how the novel concept of brand compatibility, defined as the extent to which individuals have similar brand preferences (e.g., both partners prefer the same brand of soda, etc.), influences life satisfaction. The authors propose that when brand compatibility is high, life satisfaction will also be high. Conversely, because low brand compatibility may be a source of conflict for the relationship, the authors propose that it will be associated with reduced life satisfaction. Importantly, the authors predict that the effects of brand compatibility on conflict and life satisfaction will depend upon relationship power. Across multiple studies and methodologies, including experimental designs (studies 2, 3, 5) and dyadic data from real-life couples (studies 1, 4, 6), the authors test and find support for their hypotheses. By exploring how a potentially unique form of compatibility influences life satisfaction, including identifying a key moderator and an underlying mechanism, the current research contributes to the literatures on branding, close relationships, consumer well-being, and relationship power.

Keywords: brand compatibility, close relationships, relationship power, consumer well-being, multilevel modeling, actor-partner interdependence model

Violence Against Women and Household Ownership of Radios, Computers, and Phones in 20 Countries

Violence Against Women and Household Ownership of Radios, Computers, and Phones in 20 Countries. Lauren Cardoso & Susan Sorenson. American Journal of Public Health, July 2017, Pages 1175-1181, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28520478

Methods: Women aged 15 to 49 years in 20 countries were surveyed via UNICEF’s Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys between 2006 and 2014. Multivariate logistic regressions accounted for individual-, household-, and structural-level variables.

Results: Household ownership of any ICT (radio, computer, fixed phone, or mobile phone but not television) was associated with increased odds of women rejecting wife beating. The largest association was with computer ownership: women in homes with a computer were more likely to reject wife beating (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.81; 97.5% confidence interval [CI] = 1.69, 1.93). Number of ICTs was important: women in households with 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 ICTs (vs 0) were more likely to reject wife-beating justifications (AOR = 1.10 [97.5% CI = 1.03, 1.17]; AOR = 1.10 [97.5% CI = 1.03, 1.18]; AOR = 1.19 [97.5% CI = 1.11, 1.29]; AOR = 1.71 [97.5% CI = 1.54, 1.88]; and AOR = 2.85 [97.5% CI = 2.48, 3.26]; respectively).

Conclusions: Independent of household wealth, country development, and other sociodemographic factors, the more ICTs in a household, the more likely that women will reject wife-beating justifications. Policymakers and program planners should consider potential implications of ICT access relating to intimate partner violence.

Cross-Disciplinary Survey of Beliefs about Human Nature, Culture, and Science

Joseph Carroll et al.: Cross-Disciplinary Survey of Beliefs about Human Nature, Culture, and Science. Evolutionary Studies in Imaginative Culture, Vol. 1 | No. 1 | Spring 2017. http://journals.academicstudiespress.com/index.php/ESIC/article/view/10/52

Abstract: How far has the Darwinian revolution come? To what extent have evolutionary ideas penetrated into the social sciences and humanities? Are the “science wars” over? Or do whole blocs of disciplines face off over an unbridgeable epistemic gap? To answer questions like these, contributors to top journals in 22 disciplines were surveyed on their beliefs about human nature, culture, and science. More than 600 respondents completed the survey. Scoring patterns divided into two main sets of disciplines. Genetic influences were emphasized in the evolutionary social sciences, evolutionary humanities, psychology, empirical study of the arts, philosophy, economics, and political science. Environmental influences were emphasized in most of the humanities disciplines and in anthropology, sociology, education, and women’s or gender studies. Confidence in scientific explanation correlated positively with emphasizing genetic influences on behavior, and negatively with emphasizing environmental influences. Knowing the current actual landscape of belief should help scholars avoid sterile debates and ease the way toward fruitful collaborations with neighboring disciplines.

Keywords: human nature, culture, science, science wars, cultural construction, evolutionary social science, social science, humanities, biocultural theory

Increasing consumer well-being: Risk as potential driver of happiness

Increasing consumer well-being: Risk as potential driver of happiness. Nawel Ayadi, Corina Paraschiv & Eric Vernette. Applied Economics, Summer 2017, Pages 4321-4335, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2017.1282142

Abstract: This article investigates the relation between risk and individual well-being. We propose a theoretical model of happiness that makes a distinction between ex ante evaluations of happiness and ex post assessments. The main assumptions of the model are tested through three studies based on anchoring vignettes. We show that, even if, ex ante, consumers fear high risk and do not associate it to a high level of happiness, their ex post evaluation of well-being is generally higher when identical consequences result from a high-risk situation than from a low-risk situation. Control over risk-taking reinforces the gap between ex ante and ex post measures of happiness. Thus, our article provides empirical evidence about a positive relation between risk and individual well-being, suggesting that risky experiences have the potential to increase consumer well-being.

Keywords: Well-being, happiness, risk, vignettes
JEL classific'n: D12, D81, I31

How Unequal Perceptions of User Reviews Impact Price Competition

How Unequal Perceptions of User Reviews Impact Price Competition. By Pelin Pekgün, Michael Galbreth & Bikram Ghosh
Decision Sciences, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/deci.12273/abstract

Abstract: When a consumer cannot fully assess her valuations of competing products prior to purchase, she must make a purchase decision based on imperfect product information. However, with the advent of online channels for widely disseminating individual user reviews, consumers are now able to learn from the experiences of others and update their expectations regarding product valuations. We analyze the interaction of user reviews and experience uncertainty, with a specific focus on the potential for negative and positive reviews to be weighted differently in a consumer's assessment of the valence of the posted reviews. We find that overweighting of negative reviews by consumers can lead to surprising results in terms of pricing and profits in a competitive context. In particular, if consumer awareness is higher for the lower quality product, it can charge higher prices and realize higher profits in equilibrium than its higher quality competitor when consumers are strongly influenced by negative reviews. We also show that a higher weighting on positive reviews by consumers always helps the firm with a lower consumer awareness.

Dispositional Negativity in the Wild: Social Environment Governs Momentary Emotional Experience

Dispositional Negativity in the Wild: Social Environment Governs Momentary Emotional Experience. Alexander Shackman et al. Emotion, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28604044

Abstract: Dspositional negativity - the tendency to experience more frequent or intense negative emotions - is a fundamental dimension of temperament and personality. Elevated levels of dispositional negativity have profound consequences for public health and wealth, drawing the attention of researchers, clinicians, and policymakers. Yet, relatively little is known about the factors that govern the momentary expression of dispositional negativity in the real world. Here, we used smart phone-based experience-sampling to demonstrate that the social environment plays a central role in shaping the moment-by-moment emotional experience of 127 young adults selectively recruited to represent a broad spectrum of dispositional negativity. Results indicate that individuals with a more negative disposition derive much larger emotional benefits from the company of close companions - friends, romantic partners, and family members - and that these benefits reflect heightened feelings of social connection and acceptance. These results set the stage for developing improved interventions and provide new insights into the interaction of emotional traits and situations in the real world, close to clinically and practically important end-points.

Relative and Absolute Deprivation’s Relationship With Violent Crime in the US: Testing an Interaction Effect Between Income Inequality & Disadvantage

Relative and Absolute Deprivation’s Relationship With Violent Crime in the United States: Testing an Interaction Effect Between Income Inequality and Disadvantage. By Bert Burraston, James C. McCutcheon, Stephen J. Watts, http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0011128717709246

Abstract: Relative deprivation and absolute deprivation both have effects on crime. Although these two concepts are often treated as separate, some scholarship has suggested that the two may be complementary. The current study assesses whether the effects of relative and absolute deprivation interact statistically in their effect on violent crime by testing an interaction effect between income inequality and disadvantage. Using data from U.S. counties, hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) regression models show that there is a significant interaction between relative and absolute deprivation predicting violent crime rates. The plot of this interaction shows that when absolute deprivation is high, there is less violence in high inequality counties than in counties with medium levels of inequality. The implication of this finding is discussed.