Men’s attractiveness actually decreased if he was presented as the partner of an unattractive woman

Mate Copying and the Effects of Sexual History on Romantic Desirability. Ryan Corley Anderson. Evolutionary Psychological Science, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs40806-018-0143-y

Abstract: Mate copying typically refers to the idea that the likelihood of an individual being chosen as a romantic partner varies as a function of how they are assessed by (generally opposite sex) others. The phenomenon has been well documented among nonhumans, but mate copying among humans has only really begun to receive attention from an academic audience in the last decade. Although our understanding of mate copying can be broadly encapsulated by the statement “sexual experience is desirable,” the long-standing and deeply ingrained social prescriptions against promiscuity present a challenge to this dictum. This paper attempts to address this inconsistency by reviewing literature supportive of and inconsistent with the above statement. It is concluded that the two ideas, although seemingly opposing, are not mutually exclusive.

The documented potential of humor for the maintenance of well-being is impressive, thereby rendering exaggerations and insufficiently substantiated claims of additional effects unnecessary

Humor and well-being: A little less is quite enough. Ilona Papousek. International Journal of Humor Research, https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/humr.ahead-of-print/humor-2016-0114/humor-2016-0114.xml

Abstract: Paul McGhee, one of the most influential pioneers in the field of humor research has been engaged for decades in exploring how humor can be used for the maintenance or improvement of well-being in the face of adversity. The present paper reviews recent empirical research corroborating several of his propositions. Undeniably, the benefits of humor can be much greater when one generates his or her own humor compared to just passively consuming humor. The active use of humor can be a potent tool to successfully cope with and appropriately recover from stressful situations, especially if it becomes a habitual response to adverse circumstances. While the ice is thin with regard to any beneficial effects of humor on physical health, it certainly may enhance the quality of life of patients. The paper concludes with the general evaluation that the documented potential of humor for the maintenance of well-being is impressive, thereby rendering exaggerations and insufficiently substantiated claims of additional effects unnecessary.

Keywords: Humor production; humor appreciation; humor training; laughter; coping; health

Face identification is more accurate when people collaborate in social dyads than when they work alone; accuracy peaks at near perfection with eight participants

Jeckeln, G., Hahn, C. A., Noyes, E., Cavazos, J. G. and O'Toole, A. J. (2018), Wisdom of the social versus non-social crowd in face identification. Br J Psychol. doi:10.1111/bjop.12291

Abstract: Face identification is more accurate when people collaborate in social dyads than when they work alone (Dowsett & Burton, 2015, Br. J. Psychol., 106, 433). Identification accuracy is also increased when the responses of two people are averaged for each item to create a ‘non-social’ dyad (White, Burton, Kemp, & Jenkins, 2013, Appl. Cogn. Psychol., 27, 769; White et al., 2015, Proc. R. Soc. B Biol. Sci., 282, 20151292). Does social collaboration add to the benefits of response averaging for face identification? We compared individuals, social dyads, and non-social dyads on an unfamiliar face identity-matching test. We also simulated non-social collaborations for larger groups of people. Individuals and social dyads judged whether face image pairs depicted the same- or different identities, responding on a 5-point certainty scale. Non-social dyads were constructed by averaging the responses of paired individuals. Both social and non-social dyads were more accurate than individuals. There was no advantage for social over non-social dyads. For larger non-social groups, performance peaked at near perfection with a crowd size of eight participants. We tested three computational models of social collaboration and found that social dyad performance was predicted by the decision of the more accurate partner. We conclude that social interaction does not bolster accuracy for unfamiliar face identity matching in dyads beyond what can be achieved by averaging judgements.

Are personality traits a good predictors of the type of watched pornography? Analysis of the relationship between personality traits and the preference of a chosen pornographic categories

Are personality traits a good predictors of the type of watched pornography? Analysis of the relationship between personality traits and the preference of a chosen pornographic categories. Rafał Gerymski, Institute of Psychology, Opole University.  https://depot.ceon.pl/handle/123456789/14659

Abstract: The aim of this work was the further exploration of the relationship between selected personality factors and the preference of a given type of pornography. Data from 136 respondents aged between 19 and 56 years was used for the analysis. Selected personality traits were examined using the TIPI-PL questionnaire. Subjects were presented with 25 categories of pornographic films and were asked to select the keywords they use to search for pornography on the Internet. Data exploration has shown that the viewers of pornographic films are characterized by a significantly higher level of extraversion and emotional stability in relation to people who do not use pornography. In addition, it was shown that openness to experience turned out to be a significant predictor of the preferences of pornographic categories such as „BDSM”, „group sex” or „big penis”. Further research should take into account other features of the human psyche that may be related to pornographic preferences and examine the attractiveness of a given type of pornography.

Myths and Misconceptions in Developmental and Neuro-Psychology

Myths and Misconceptions in Developmental and Neuro-Psychology. Adrian Furnham. Psychology, Vol.9 No.2, February 2018. DOI 10.4236/psych.2018.92016

ABSTRACT: The current study examined the prevalence of psychological myths and misconceptions in two areas of psychology: Developmental and Neuro-Psychology. In all 220 participants completed two questionnaires both derived from two recently published books, in which they rated to what extent, they thought various statements/facts about the brain and about child development were True or False. A large number of these myths were rated as True (Definitely or Partly) indicating the extent to which people had misconceptions about this area of psychology. There were few significant demographic correlates of the total correct score (determined by rating the myth as False) indicating no clear pattern in what sort of person has these misconceptions. Implications and limitations are discussed.

KEYWORDS: Psychology, Education, Myths, Misconceptions, Psychological Knowledge, Misrepresentations

Check also Seven myths of memory. Nicola S. Clayton, , Clive Wilkins. Behavioural Processes, http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/12/seven-myths-of-memory.html

And Class Dis-Mythed: Exploring the Prevalence and Perseverance of Myths in Upper-Level Psychology Courses. Michael Root and Caroline Stanley.
http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/10/typical-courses-and-critical-thinking.html

And Dispelling the Myth: Training in Education or Neuroscience Decreases but Does Not Eliminate Beliefs in Neuromyths. Kelly Macdonald et al. Frontiers in Psychology, Aug 10 2017. http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/08/training-in-education-or-neuroscience.html

People tend to rate low their ability to tell lies convincingly and at the same time believe that they are better lie detectors than the average person. Study of personality, demographic and psychophysiological correlates

Chapter 15 – Personality, Demographic, and Psychophysiological Correlates of People's Self-Assessed Lying Abilities. Eitan Elaad. In Detecting Concealed Information and Deception, 2018, Pages 353–376, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-812729-2.00015-X

Abstract: Previous research indicated that people tend to rate low their ability to tell lies convincingly and at the same time believe that they are better lie detectors than the average person. The present chapter highlights correlations of the low self-assessed lie-telling ability and of the relatively high self-assessed lie-detection ability. A mini metaanalysis was performed on observations gathered from 16 experimental groups. The analysis shows demographic differences in these assessments. It was observed that religiosity, gender, age, and on-the-job lie-related experience, are moderators of the lie-telling and lie-detection ability assessments. Personality dimensions such as the Big Five attributes are also associated with people's lie-related ability assessments. It was further observed that high lie-telling ability raters preferred plausible deception over implausible truth. Finally, larger physiological responses to critical items in the Concealed Information Test were found among high lie-telling ability raters. Suggestions for future research are provided.

Keywords: Age; Big five; Concealed information test; Lie-detection ability; Lie-telling ability; Lying preference; Mini metaanalysis; Religiosity; Self-assessments

A Case of Pathological Collecting Behavior

Pathological collecting behavior. Michitaka Funayama et al. Cortex, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2018.02.014

Here we describe the development of pathological collecting behavior, which was observed in a patient with right orbitofrontal damage after subarachnoid hemorrhage [...]. His pathological collection behavior was first noticed 11 years post-onset (at age 59) when he began searching out detergents, newspapers, bottles of milk and beer, and hangers every day, mainly from garbage dumps [...]. At age 66, he began washing window screens and his car and cleaning his bathroom several times per day.

At age 76, during his stereotypical automobile washing, he removed the license plate to thouroughly wash underneath it; while doing so, he dropped a screw for the fight side of his car's license plate into the sewer. He was unable to retrieve the screw, and henceforth he began stealing screws from only the right side of license plates of other people's cars. His wife warned him not to collect them, and he always told her that he would never do it again; moreover, he surely knew that stealing was not permitted under any circumstances. However, he collected more than 50 screws over the following 2 months, but eventually he was arrested and again hospitalized in our psychiatry ward. Notably, even after his discharge from our ward, he could still work as a salesclerk at his liquor store.

From Swiping to Casual Sex and/or Committed Relationships: Exploring the Experiences of Tinder Users

From Swiping to Casual Sex and/or Committed Relationships: Exploring the Experiences of Tinder Users. Elisabeth Timmermans, Cédric Courtois. The Information Society 34(2), March 2018, DOI 10.1080/01972243.2017.1414093

Abstract: To better understand if and how the mechanics of the process Tinder imposes on its users (i.e., swiping, matching, and starting conversations) influences the resulting sexual or romantic interactions, we collected data from 1038 Belgian Tinder users. Our findings show that a user’s swiping quantity does not guarantee a higher number of Tinder matches, women have generally more matches than men and men usually have to start a conversation on Tinder. Moreover, while having conversations was positively associated with reporting having had offline Tinder encounters, less than half of our sample reported having had an offline meeting with another Tinder user. Whereas more than one third of those offline encounters lead to casual sex, more than a quarter of those offline encounters result in the formation of a committed relationship. Such findings indicate that Tinder is not “just a hookup app”, as often assumed in public discourse. We argue it is plausible that sexual encounters will eventually lead to committed relationships in a society where initiation of relationship formation with dating has been replaced by hooking up.

Comments to "If Christianity or Communism were called diseases, would they then look for the chemical and genetic “causes” of these “conditions”?"

A person wrote in Facebook's Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology group:  "Psychiatrists look for twisted molecules and defective genes as the causes of schizophrenia, because schizophrenia is the name of a disease. If Christianity or Communism were called diseases, would they then look for the chemical and genetic “causes” of these “conditions”?
     Thomas Szasz, Hungarian psychiatrist

It seems that there are several contributions of biological nature to our social behavior.

1  Regarding Communism:

1.1  "We document a statistically significant and robust positive relation between risk aversion and the demand for redistribution that is also economically important. We show that previously used proxies for risk aversion (such as being an entrepreneur or having a history of unemployment) do not capture the effect of our measure of risk aversion but have distinctly different effects on the demand for redistribution." From Individual risk preferences and the demand for redistribution. Manja Gärtner, Johanna Mollerstrom and David Seim. Journal of Public Economics, v 153, September 2017, Pages 49-55. http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/08/individual-risk-preferences-and-demand.html


1.2  There are several species in which inequity aversion has been measured, like common marmosets. http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2018/02/inequity-aversion-is-observed-in-common.html

Or check this: Social inequality aversion in mice: Analysis with stress-induced hyperthermia and behavioral preference. Shigeru Watanabe. Learning and Motivation, Volume 59, August 2017, Pages 38-46, http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/09/social-inequality-aversion-in-mice.html

Which is why some suspect that there is an "Evolutionary Origin of Empathy and Inequality Aversion" http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/09/evolutionary-origin-of-empathy-and.html


1.3  Even in dictator's games, we try to avoid the taking version, and prefer the giving version: "Over 85% of the dictators in our experiment choose to play a giving game over a taking game when the payoff possibilities are identical and, on average, dictators are willing to sacrifice over 31% of their endowment to avoid taking." http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2018/02/dictator-game-aversion-to-taking-is.html



2  Regarding religiosity:

2.1  there are good reasons to believe that religiosity is a substantially heritable trait. Good summary here: "The Future of Secularism: A Biologically Informed Theory Supplemented with Cross-Cultural Evidence" http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/08/the-future-of-secularism-biologically.html


2.2  "In spite of increased secularization in American culture and a growing distrust of organized religion, religious involvement, personal religiosity, and spirituality are still viewed as highly desirable characteristics." Examining Social Desirability in Measures of Religion and Spirituality Using the Bogus Pipeline. Ann E. Jones and Marta Elliott. Review of Religious Research. March 2017, Volume 59, Issue 1, pp 47–64. http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/08/examining-social-desirability-in.html

2.3  Being Atheist is linked to genes, which is a way to say than being religious is linked to the other genes. See The Mutant Says in His Heart, “There Is No God”: the Rejection of Collective Religiosity Centred Around the Worship of Moral Gods Is Associated with High Mutational Load. Edward Dutton, Guy Madison, Curtis Dunkel. Evolutionary Psychological Science, http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/12/the-rejection-of-collective-religiosity.html



These authors are not saying that genetics make us more religious than not, or more redistributive than not, as an originally predetermined outcome... What they say is that being redistributive and religious was favored by the ancestors, and those with such behaviours reproduced better (more than the others), and are now dominant behaviors.

Of course, we don't know if that is a good idea or not, but we can discuss such theories, since they help explain observed behaviors.

Disclaimer: I am an Atheist (although I am not mad at religous people, I respect them).

An Investigation of Islamic Well-Being and Mental Health

An Investigation of Islamic Well-Being and Mental Health. Ali Eryilmaz, Naci Kula. Journal of Religion and Health, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10943-018-0588-0

Abstract: The overall aim of this study was to develop the Islamic Well-Being Scale and examine the relationship between mental health and Islamic well-being. In this study, four sub-studies were performed to create the one-factor Islamic Well-Being Scale, perform a confirmatory factor analysis and validate the Islamic Well-Being Scale, differentially predict ill-being and well-being outcomes using the Islamic Well-Being Scale, and compare individuals with different Islamic belief levels using the Islamic Well-Being Scale. In total, 170 adults, 209 adults, 216 theological faculty students and 152 undergraduate educational faculty students participated in each sub-study. Several scales related to well-being and ill-being were used in this study. The Islamic Well-Being Scale was found to be valid and reliable. Islamic well-being was related to certain indicators of well-being and ill-being.

Keywords: Islam Well-Being Ill-Being Scale

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From the Islamic perspective, three important criteria of happiness are evident. First, all Muslims who claim to be Muslims must first believe in the basic principles of Islam (Eryılmaz 2015; Joshanloo 2013; Skinner 2010). Therefore, they must believe in Allah, the prophets, the angels, the Hereafter, fate and scripture (Qur’an, 4/136). In essence, the principles of faith in Islam enable individuals to feel self-confident because they believe in Allah’s existence and power and remember and trust Him. According to the Qur’an, ‘‘Hearts find peace only by commemoration of God’’ (Qur’an, 13/28). Second, Islam means surrendering to the will of God (Haque 2004; Husain 1998). In Islam, followers must obey God’s divine laws. These rules include evaluating Islamic rituals, ethics, individual and social problems and the solutions to these problems from the perspective of the creator. These divine laws explain how happiness can be reached on Earth and in the Hereafter (Nasr 2003). Indeed, the attainment of happiness on Earth and in the Hereafter by mankind is expressed in relation to the fulfillment of the divine laws as follows: ‘‘Whosoever doth the law of Allah, his bans, and his respect, his righteousness is on the right hand of this Lord’’ (Qur’an, 22/30). The term ‘‘Fad/Fardh’’ describes the rules that should be observed at least at a minimum level. Fulfilling these obligations is necessary for one to be happy on Earth and in the Hereafter (Sajedi 2008). According to the Qur’an, ‘‘Allah does not lose the reward of those who do good works’’ (Qur’an, 9/120–121). Third, individuals must be called to Allah’s will to be happy both on Earth and in the Hereafter (Haque 2004; Joshanloo 2013). Therefore, Muslims must avoid the following seven major sins: human killing (Qur’an, 2/85, 178; 4/29, 92–93), adultery (Qur’an, 17/32, 4/15, 25; 24/2–10; 25/68–69; 33/30/65/1), drinking (Qur’an, 2/219; 5/90–91), breaking bonds with relatives (Qur’an, 4/1; 13/21–25), gambling (Qur’an, 2/219; 5/90–91) and bearing false witness against another (Qur’an, 4/135; 5/8; 25/75). To engage in such behavior is to be a party to corruptions that harm the Islamic religion (Qur’an, 4/117; 7/152; 10/32; 57/27).

...

Religion and spirituality are related to individual happiness (Hills and Argyle 2001; Tellegen et al. 1999; Ellison 1991; Francis and Robbins 2000; Wills 2009). Many studies have investigated religion and well-being (Paloutzian and Park 2005; Pargament and Abu-Raiya 2007; Spilka et al. 2003). Many of these studies focused on Christian populations (Abu-Raiya and Pargament 2011; Hills and Argyle 2001) and Muslim populations (Abdel-Khalek and Lester 2007; Abdel-Khalek and Naceur 2007; Abdel-Khalek and Thorson 2006; Alavi 2007; Baroun 2006; Eryılmaz 2014, 2015). However, studies examining happiness among adherents of Islam are lacking. Most studies have explored individual happiness in terms of Western concepts of well-being. Moreover, in these studies, the definition of happiness is humanistic rather than religious. From a humanistic perspective, happiness is a matter of what happens between birth and death. From a religious perspective, happiness extends to include periods before and after birth and death. Islam and well-being have only been examined theoretically or in review studies (Husain 1998; Joshanloo 2013; Nasr 2003; Sajedi 2008; Skinner 2010). Most scale development studies are based on Islamic religiosity. Abu-Raiya and Pargament (2011) reviewed 14 scale development studies in their literature review. However, no scale that directly measured Islamic well-being was identified in these studies. Abu-Raiya and Pargament (2011) state that studies on Islamic well-being should be conducted separately from studies of wellbeing in other cultures and should not consider Muslim life, worldviews and communication styles. Moreover, there are very few empirical studies on Islamic well-being because valid and reliable measurement tools are limited, making this an emerging field. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the relationships between Islamic well-being and mental health.

...

According to the results of this study, there is a weak positive relationship between Islamic well-being and mental health. Many reasons explain this relationship, such as the view of Islam on life, humans and happiness. According to Islam, the mind, heart and soul are required to reach man’s ultimate reality, which reveals the ultimate knowledge and happiness that is pre-emptive of a healthy mind. Islamic scholars believe that virtues and a good character will emerge by declining nafs-i emmareyi (animal spirit) and nafs-i lavvamah (logic soul), which directs human behavior according to the thoughts of the body angels. Happiness is in the heart of man in Islam. Mental calmness, calmness, feelings of well-being and comfort are the indicators of happiness. Happiness is the result of proper behavior both internally and externally, and a strong belief is the main source of happiness. Allah stated that ‘‘Whoever acts properly as a believer, we will bestow a good life on him who cannot go astray or suffer from my advice. But whoever turns away from my advice lives a difficult life’’ (Quran 16: 97). Ghazali stated in his book, ‘‘The Alchemy of Happiness,’’ that happiness can only be found by turning to God. To understand life and obtain happiness, one must understand himself/herself as if he/she were God and the world and that he is a lifesaver. One can only obtain true peace and maintain long-term purity by submitting to the will of God and following his rules (Husain 1998, p. 282). To achieve happiness in this world and the world to come, Muslims must choose to experience happiness in the Hereafter. In Islamic philosophy, happiness and apocalyptic science are interrelated. According to Islam, adherent Muslims can live in this world and the other world with positive feelings, such as peace, satisfaction, happiness and gratitude (Joshanloo 2013). There are approaches that treat happiness as a departure from the id (Khademi 2009; Mattila 2011) and those that deny, ignore or kill the id. However, to be a human being is a part of the id personality, and the id only dies when the individual does. Another perspective in Islamic terms is not to kill the id but to fulfill its wishes and anticipations while meeting Islamic criteria. Therefore, satisfaction based on the rules of instinct will make people happy to a certain extent. The accuracy of this explanation is indicated by the results of this study.

Given these explanations, it is necessary to underline the important points of Islamic well-being. Islamic well-being recommends modest pleasure rather than unlimited pleasure. Happiness derived from personal growth and capacity building is more important in the Hereafter than in this life because of the limited scope for personal growth and capacity building in the secular world. Islam views well-being in terms of the afterlife and its possibilities because compared to eternity, life on earth is but a drop in the ocean.

Is bilingualism associated with enhanced executive functioning in adults? It seems not.

Lehtonen, M., Soveri, A., Laine, A., Järvenpää, J., de Bruin, A., & Antfolk, J. (2018). Is bilingualism associated with enhanced executive functioning in adults? A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/bul0000142

Abstract: Because of enduring experience of managing two languages, bilinguals have been argued to develop superior executive functioning compared with monolinguals. Despite extensive investigation, there is, however, no consensus regarding the existence of such a bilingual advantage. Here we synthesized comparisons of bilinguals’ and monolinguals’ performance in six executive domains using 891 effect sizes from 152 studies on adults. We also included unpublished data, and considered the potential influence of a number of study-, task-, and participant-related variables. Before correcting estimates for observed publication bias, our analyses revealed a very small bilingual advantage for inhibition, shifting, and working memory, but not for monitoring or attention. No evidence for a bilingual advantage remained after correcting for bias. For verbal fluency, our analyses indicated a small bilingual disadvantage, possibly reflecting less exposure for each individual language when using two languages in a balanced manner. Moreover, moderator analyses did not support theoretical presuppositions concerning the bilingual advantage. We conclude that the available evidence does not provide systematic support for the widely held notion that bilingualism is associated with benefits in cognitive control functions in adults.

Psychosocial factors affecting resilience in Nepalese individuals with earthquake-related spinal cord injury

Psychosocial factors affecting resilience in Nepalese individuals with earthquake-related spinal cord injury: a cross-sectional study. Muna Bhattarai, Khomapak Maneewat, Wipa Sae-Sia. BMC Psychiatry, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186%2Fs12888-018-1640-z

Abstract

Background: One of many types of injuries following an earthquake is spinal cord injury (SCI) which is a life-long medically complex injury and high-cost health problem. Despite several negative consequences, some persons with SCI are resilient enough to achieve positive adjustment, greater acceptance, and better quality of life. Since resilience is influenced by several factors and can vary by context, it is beneficial to explore factors that affect the resilience of people who sustained spinal cord injury from the 2015 earthquake in Nepal.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study included 82 participants from the Spinal Injury Rehabilitation Center and communities in Nepal. Participants completed the Demographic and Injury-related Questionnaire, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, Moorong Self-efficacy Scale, Intrinsic Spirituality Scale, and Patient Health Questionnaire-9. Pearson’s correlation and point biserial correlation analyses were performed to examine associations between resilience and independent variables. A hierarchical regression analysis was used to identify the influence of certain factors.

Results: Findings indicated significant associations between resilience and social support (r = 0.42, p < 0.001), self-efficacy (r = 0.53, p < 0.001), depressive mood (r = − 0.50, p < 0.001) and demographic variables which included sex (r = 0.47, p < 0.001), employment (r = 0.27, p = 0.016), and current living location (r = 0.24, p = 0.029). There was a non-significant association between resilience and spirituality (r = − 0.12, p > 0.05). In hierarchical regression analysis, an overall regression model explained 46% of the variance in resilience. Self-efficacy (β = 0.28, p = 0.007) and depressive mood (β = − 0.24, p = 0.016) significantly determined resilience after controlling the effect of demographic variables. Among the demographic factors, being male significantly explained the variance in resilience (β = 0.31, p = 0.001).

Conclusions: Multiple psychosocial and demographic factors were associated with resilience in people who sustained an earthquake-related SCI. Mental health professionals should demonstrate concern and consider such factors in allocating care in this group. Development of intervention research concerning resilience is recommended to strengthen resilience in order to improve rehabilitation outcomes and enhance reintegration of individuals with SCI into their communities.

Keywords: Resilience Social support Self-efficacy Spirituality Depressive mood Earthquake Spinal cord injury Nepal

Voice pitch predicts electability, but does not signal leadership ability

Voice pitch predicts electability, but does not signal leadership ability. Casey A. Klofstad, Rindy C. Anderson. Evolution and Human Behavior, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2018.02.007

Abstract: Voice pitch, the perceived “highness” or “lowness” of a voice, influences how humans perceive and treat each other in various ways. One example is the selection of leaders. A growing number of studies, both experimental and observational, show that individuals with lower-pitched voices are more likely to win elected office. This leads to the yet untested question of whether individuals with lower voices are actually better leaders. That is, is voice pitch a reliable signal of leadership ability? Here we address this question with an observational study of the vocal pitch and leadership ability of elected officials, and an experiment where subjects were asked to respond to persuasive political policy statements made by speakers with different pitched voices. Both studies lead to the same conclusion: voice pitch does not correlate with leadership ability.

Keywords: Voice pitch, Leadership, Vote choice, Persuasion, Perception

If there’s a penis, it’s most likely a man: Investigating the social construction of gender using eye tracking

If there’s a penis, it’s most likely a man: Investigating the social construction of gender using eye tracking. Frederike Wenzlaff, Peer Briken, Arne Dekker. PLOS One, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0193616

Abstract: In their foundational work on the social construction of gender, Kessler and McKenna (1978) investigated the relationship between gender attribution and genital attribution. We used digital reproductions of the original stimuli to replicate their findings in the current social context. To further investigate the underlying decision processes we applied eye tracking. The stimuli shown varied in the composition of gender cues: from those more commonly associated with maleness to associated with femaleness. Applying the ethnomethodological approach originally used, participants were asked to decide for each stimulus whether they saw a man or a woman and to indicate subjective confidence with the decision. In line with the original results we found that the genital attribution contributed immensely to the gender attribution. Also, male gender was ascribed more often when the penis was present than was female gender when the vulva was shown. Eye tracking revealed that overall most dwell time as a proxy for important information was dedicated to the head, chest and genital areas of all the stimuli. Total dwell time depended on whether the gender attribution was made in line with the depicted genital, if the genital was a penis. Attributing female gender when a penis was present was associated with longer total dwell time, unlike attributing male gender with a vulva shown. This is indicative of higher cognitive effort and more difficulty ignoring the penis as opposed to the vulva. We interpret this finding in context of the persistent male dominance as well as to the socio-cultural understanding of the vulva as a concealed and therefore seemingly absent organ. In summary, we were able to show that the gender attribution is still closely linked to genital attribution when having a binary forced choice task and that the penis is a special cue in this attribution process.

Jünger, Gerlach, & Penke, 2018. No Evidence for Ovulatory Cycle Shifts in Women’s Preferences for Men’s Behaviors in a Pre-registered Study

Jünger, Julia, Tanja M Gerlach, and Lars Penke 2018. “Jünger, Gerlach, & Penke, 2018. No Evidence for Ovulatory Cycle Shifts in Women’s Preferences for Men’s Behaviors in a Pre-registered Study”. PsyArXiv. March 1. psyarxiv.com/7g3xc

Abstract: The existence of ovulatory cycle shifts in women’s mate preferences has been discussed controversially. There is evidence that naturally cycling women in their fertile phase, compared to their luteal phase, evaluate specific behavioral cues in men as more attractive for short-term relationships. However, recent research has cast doubt on these findings. We addressed this debate in a large, pre-registered within-subject study including salivary hormone measures and luteinizing hormone tests. One-hundred-fifty-seven female participants rated natural videos of 70 men in flirtatious dyadic interactions on sexual and long-term attractiveness. Multilevel comparisons across two ovulatory cycles revealed significant cycle shifts: When fertile, women’s ratings of men’s sexual and long-term attractiveness increased. Contrary to previous findings, behavioral cues as displayed in men’s flirting behavior did not interact with cycle phase to predict these shifts. Effects were only found for partnered women, not for singles. Hormonal mechanisms and implications for estrus theories are discussed.