Current evolutionary adaptiveness of anxiety: Extreme phenotypes of anxiety predict increased fertility across multiple generations

Current evolutionary adaptiveness of anxiety: Extreme phenotypes of anxiety predict increased fertility across multiple generations. Nicholas C. Jacobson, Michael J. Roche. Journal of Psychiatric Research, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2018.10.002

Abstract

Objective: Although recent research has begun to examine the impact of elevated anxiety on evolutionary fitness, no prior research has examined anxiety across a continuum. Such research is important as the effect of traits across a continuum on fertility hold important implications for the levels and distribution of the traits in later generations.

Method: In a three-generational sample (N = 2657) the linear and quadratic relationship between anxiety and the number of children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren 15 years later was examined.

Results: The findings suggested that anxiety had a positive quadratic relationship with the number of children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren 15 years later. These relationships were not significantly moderated by sex. Moreover, most of the variance between anxiety and the number of great-grandchildren was explained by anxiety's influence on the number of children and grandchildren, as opposed to anxiety having an independent direct impact on the number of great-grandchildren.

Conclusion: These findings suggest that extreme values from the mean anxiety are associated with increased evolutionary fitness within the modern environment.

Influence of small gifts on the outcome of business negotiations: small gifts matter, but tend to be counterproductive when purchasing and sales agents meet for the first time

Hidden Persuaders: Do Small Gifts Lubricate Business Negotiations? Michel André Maréchal, Christian Thöni. Management Science, https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2018.3113

Abstract: Gift-giving customs are ubiquitous in social, political, and business life. Legal regulation and industry guidelines for gifts are often based on the assumption that large gifts potentially influence behavior and create conflicts of interest, but small gifts do not. However, scientific evidence on the impact of small gifts on business relationships is scarce. We conducted a natural field experiment in collaboration with sales agents of a multinational consumer products company to study the influence of small gifts on the outcome of business negotiations. We find that small gifts matter. On average, sales representatives generate more than twice as much revenue when they distribute a small gift at the onset of their negotiations. However, we also find that small gifts tend to be counterproductive when purchasing and sales agents meet for the first time, suggesting that the nature of the business relationship crucially affects the profitability of gifts.

Correlational but Not Causal Relationship Between Music Skill and Cognitive Ability

Sala, Giovanni, and Fernand Gobet. 2018. “Elvis Has Left the Building: Correlational but Not Causal Relationship Between Music Skill and Cognitive Ability.” PsyArXiv. September 8. doi:10.31234/osf.io/auzr

Abstract: Music training is commonly thought to have a positive impact on overall cognitive skills and academic achievement. This belief relies on the idea that engaging in an intellectually demanding activity helps to foster overall cognitive function. In this brief review, we show that, while music skill positively correlates with cognitive ability, music training does not enhance non-music cognitive skills or academic achievement. Interestingly, no significant effect on cognitive outcomes is observed even when music training leads to changes in the participants’ functional neural patterns. Crucially, the conclusion that music skills acquired by training do not generalize to non-music skills has been reached by several independent research groups via different methodologies. Such converging evidence suggests that the outcomes are highly reliable. The results have major implications. First, implementing music-training programs with the purpose of boosting individuals’ academic achievement or domain-general cognitive skills is not recommendable. Second, neural patterns induced by music training probably denote improvements in music-specific skills rather than overall cognitive function. Third, Thorndike and Woodworth’s (1901) common elements theory and theories based on chunking find further support. To date, far transfer remains a chimera.

Narcissism appears to be positively correlated with short-term mating (e.g., promiscuity), suggesting that narcissism gets pushed into subsequent generations via promiscuous activity, but narcissists are not physically attractive at the unadorned level

Did Narcissism Evolve? Nicholas S. Holtzman. Handbook of Trait Narcissism pp 173-181, https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-92171-6_19

Abstract: This chapter, like each chapter in the edited book, focuses on narcissism (arrogance, exploitativeness, self-admiration, etc.). My goal is to entertain and evaluate the possibility that narcissism evolved. It is important to point out that, by way of background, just because something is morally suspect does not mean that it didn’t evolve; indeed, bad things can evolve. But despite narcissism being heritable, there is no direct evidence that narcissism is caused by specific genes, indicating that the evolutionary mechanisms are unknown. Through which pathways—such as mating pathways—does narcissism get passed onto the next generation? Narcissism appears to be positively correlated with short-term mating (e.g., promiscuity), suggesting that narcissism gets pushed into subsequent generations via promiscuous activity. The idea that narcissism evolved via short-term mating, however, is currently questionable, mainly because narcissists are not physically attractive at the unadorned level; in theory, narcissists should be attractive at the unadorned level because short-term mating situations select for raw attractiveness. All told, the prospect of narcissism having evolved is in a precarious position as of this writing. Several gaps in the literature lead to a call for more molecular genetic research and collaborative, large-scale behavioral research.

Keywords: Evolution Evolutionary psychology Genes Mating Narcissism Short-term mating

While risky sexual behavior & negative psychological correlates are associated with sexting & younger populations, the same might not be true for a nonuniversity-based, older adult sample

Sexting Leads to “Risky” Sex? An Analysis of Sexting Behaviors in a Nonuniversity-Based, Older Adult Population. Joseph M. Currin, Randolph D. Hubach, Carissa Sanders & Tonya R. Hammer. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, Volume 43, 2017 - Issue 7, Pages 689-702. https://doi.org/10.1080/0092623X.2016.1246390

Abstract: Since few researchers have analyzed sexting behaviors in nonuniversity-based adult samples, we sought to determine if sexting is associated with negative psychological correlates and risky sexual behaviors in this population. Analysis of individuals who indicated having vaginal or anal sex in the past 12 months and who identified as single (n = 377) showed that condomless sex is independent of sexting behaviors. Results for those in committed relationships (n = 374) and having had vaginal or anal sex in the past 12 months also demonstrated condomless sex and sexting behaviors were not related. Furthermore, alcohol consumption and relational health were predictive of sexting behaviors in adults in committed relationships. These findings demonstrate that while risky sexual behavior and negative psychological correlates are associated with sexting and younger populations, the same might not be true for a nonuniversity-based, older adult sample.

A reduction in the corporate income tax burden encourages adoption of the C corporation legal form; improved capital reallocation increases the overall productive efficiency in the economy and therefore reduce unemployment by up to 7pct

Corporate Income Tax, Legal Form of Organization, and Employment. Daphne Chen, Shi Qi, and Don Schlagenhauf. American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics. Oct 2018, Vol. 10, No. 4: Pages 270-304. https://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/mac.20140103

Abstract: A dynamic stochastic occupational choice model with heterogeneous agents is developed to evaluate the impact of a corporate income tax reduction on employment. In this framework, the key margin is the endogenous entrepreneurial choice of the legal form of organization. A reduction in the corporate income tax burden encourages adoption of the C corporation legal form, which reduces capital constraints on firms. Improved capital reallocation increases the overall productive efficiency in the economy and therefore expands the labor market. Relative to the benchmark economy, a corporate income tax cut can reduce the nonemployment rate by up to 7 percent. (JEL E24, H25, H32, J23, J24)

Sharing political rumors: Associated with "chaotic" motivations to "burn down" the entire established democratic "cosmos," not because those are viewed to be true but because they are believed to mobilize the audience against disliked elites

A "Need for Chaos" and the Sharing of Hostile Political Rumors in Advanced Democracies. Michael Bang Petersen, Mathias Osmundsen, Kevin Arceneaux. 114 th Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Boston, MA, August 30 - September 2, 2018. https://osf.io/zsdce

Abstract: The circulation of hostile political rumors (including but not limited to false news and conspiracy theories) has gained prominence in public debates across advanced democracies. Here, we provide the first comprehensive assessment of the psychological syndrome that elicits motivations to share hostile political rumors among citizens of democratic societies. Against the notion that sharing occurs to help one mainstream political actor in the increasingly polarized electoral competition against other mainstream actors, we demonstrate that sharing motivations are associated with "chaotic" motivations to "burn down" the entire established democratic "cosmos". We show that this extreme discontent is associated with motivations to share hostile political rumors, not because such rumors are viewed to be true but because they are believed to mobilize the audience against disliked elites. We introduce an individual difference measure, the "Need for Chaos", to measure these motivations and illuminate their social causes, linked to frustrated status-seeking. Finally, we show that chaotic motivations are surprisingly widespread within advanced democracies, having some hold in up to 40 percent of the American national population.

German middle-aged homosexual men: 5.5% only had sexual experiences with women, and 10.3% recently had vaginal intercourse; of this, only 1/4 ever had sexual experience with a man, and 3/4 had only engaged in sexual activity with a woman

Goethe VE, Angerer H, Dinkel A, et al. Concordance and Discordance of Sexual Identity, Sexual Experience, and Current Sexual Behavior in 45-Year-Old-Men: Results From the German Male Sex-Study. Sex Med 201;X:XXX-XXX. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esxm.2018.08.001

Abstract

Introduction: Discordance of various aspects of sexual orientation has been mostly studied in young adults or in small samples of heterosexual men. Studies focusing on concordance and discordance of aspects of sexual orientation in representative samples of middle-aged men including homosexual men are scarce.

Aim: To investigate concordant and discordant sexual behavior in 45-year-old German men with a special focus on homosexual identified men.

Methods: Data for this cross-sectional study were collected within the German Male Sex-Study. Participants were 45-year-old Caucasian males from the general population. Men self-reported on sexual identity, sexual experience, and current sexual behavior. Associations between sexual identity, experience, and behavior were analyzed using the chi-square test.

Main Outcome Measure: Associations of sexual identity with sexual experience and behavior in a community-based sample of men, and discordance of sexual identity and behavior especially in the subgroup of homosexual men.

Results: 12,354 men were included in the study. 95.1% (n = 11.749) self-identified as heterosexual, 3.8% (n = 471) as homosexual, and 1.1% (n = 134) as bisexual. Sexual identity was significantly associated with sexual experience and behavior. 85.5% of all men had recently been sexually active, but prevalence of sexual practices varied. In hetero- and bisexuals, vaginal intercourse was the most common sexual practice, whereas oral sex was the most common in homosexuals. A discordance of sexual identity was especially found in homosexual men: 5.5% of homosexuals only had sexual experiences with women, and 10.3% of homosexuals recently had vaginal intercourse. In this latter subgroup, only one-quarter ever had sexual experience with a man, and three-quarters had only engaged in sexual activity with a woman.

Conclusion: Sexual identity is associated with differences in sexual experience and behavior in German middle-aged men. A considerable proportion of homosexual identified men live a heterosexual life.

Having a political discussion with an out-group member led to more positive moral and affective evaluations of out-group members than having a discussion with an in-group member

Does Having a Political Discussion Help or Hurt Intergroup Perceptions? Drawing Guidance From Social Identity Theory and the Contact Hypothesis. Robert M. Bond, Hillary C. Shulman, Michael Gilbert. Bond Vol 12 (2018), http://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/9033

Abstract: This experiment (N = 238) tested propositions from social identity theory alongside the intergroup contact hypothesis to examine whether having a political discussion with an in-group (politically similar) or out-group (politically different) member affects subsequent evaluations of these social groups. Although several experimental results provide strong support for the antisocial predictions proposed by social identity theory, ultimately it was found that having a political discussion with an out-group member led to more positive moral and affective evaluations of out-group members than having a discussion with an in-group member. This result is consistent with the contact hypothesis and supports the notion that political discussions across party lines can produce positive social outcomes.

Keywords: contact hypothesis, intergroup relations, political discussions, political polarization, social identity theory

Selection for low male voice pitch is generally assumed to occur because it is a valid cue of formidability, but data suggest this is wrong

Sensory Exploitation, Sexual Dimorphism, and Human Voice Pitch. David R. Feinberg, Benedict C. Jones, Marie M. Armstrong. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2018.09.007

Abstract: Selection for low male voice pitch is generally assumed to occur because it is a valid cue of formidability. Here we summarize recent empirical challenges to this hypothesis. We also outline an alternative account in which selection for low male voice pitch is a byproduct of sensory exploitation.

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Contrary to previous suggestions, deep male voices are no reliable indicators of "manly" attributes such as formidability, immunocompetence, or semen quality.

High physical attractiveness is related to low public self-consciousness, whereas low physical attractiveness is related to high public self-consciousness

Does beauty matter?: Exploring the relationship between self-consciousness and physical attractiveness. Wei-Lun Chang. Kybernetes, https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/K-12-2017-0494

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between self-consciousness and physical attractiveness from a psychological perspective, examining the relationship of physical attractiveness with the three dimensions of self-consciousness.

Design/methodology/approach: The research involved investigating the relationship between self-consciousness and physical attractiveness, focusing on how the three self-consciousness dimensions (i.e., private self-consciousness, public self-consciousness and social anxiety) affected physical attractiveness. Clustering techniques using self-organizing maps of data mining and decision trees were used in this study. The primal concept of clustering entails grouping unsorted and disorganized raw data and arranging data with similar properties into clusters. Classification primarily involves establishing classification models according to the category attributes of existing data. These models can be used to predict the classes of new data and determine interdata relationships and data characteristics.

Findings: Public self-consciousness was most strongly related to physical attractiveness, whereas the other two dimensions exhibited no obvious relationship to physical attractiveness. It may be concluded that people with higher physical attractiveness draw attention from others more easily and are more likely to be evaluated positively, and that they thus tend to be more confident in front of others and less likely to care about the opinions of others. Alternatively, perhaps people with lower public self-consciousness care less about how others view them and have the courage to express themselves, which signifies confidence and increases their physical attractiveness.

Practical implications: This research investigated the importance of self-consciousness that may apply to recruitment in practice. People with low public self-consciousness may have high confidence and efficiency. People have low social anxiety may not be nervous or anxious in public and easy to speak to strangers. This kind of employees are appropriate for the jobs involving team work and interaction such as public relations. Hence, companies can apply our findings to search appropriate employees except the first impression of appearance.

Originality/value: The results revealed that high physical attractiveness is related to low public self-consciousness, whereas low physical attractiveness is related to high public self-consciousness. Good-looking people tend to attract attention from others. The relationship between private self-consciousness and physical attractiveness is non-significant. The relationship between social anxiety and physical attractiveness is non-significant.

Keywords: Decision trees, Self-Organizing maps, Physical attractiveness, Self-consciousness

Why Suburban Districts Need Public Charter Schools Too. Emily Langhorne. Progressive Policy Institute

Why Suburban Districts Need Public Charter Schools Too. Emily Langhorne. Progressive Policy Institute, Oct 2 2018, https://www.progressivepolicy.org/publications/why-suburban-districts-need-public-charter-schools-too/

On November 8, 2016, while the rest of the world anxiously awaited the outcome of the U.S. presidential election, a subset of voters with a keen interest in education had their eyes on Massachusetts. This was the day Bay Staters would vote on Ballot Question 2, a proposal to raise the state’s cap on public charter schools by up to 12 new schools per year.

Massachusetts is home to some of the highest performing charter schools in the country, with especially impressive gains at schools serving urban, low-income and minority students. In Boston, one of the eight districts in the state to have reached its cap on charter schools, students at charters learn the equivalent of an extra year of math and reading each year, when compared to their peers with similar demographics and past test scores at the city’s traditional public schools.1The local school district, Boston Public Schools (BPS), enrolls about 53,000 students in a city of about 77,000 students. Currently, public charters enroll only about 10,000 students, but there are more than 32,000 children on waitlists for these schools.

Greedy individuals find a variety of transgressions more acceptable and justifiable as well as indicate that they have more often engaged in a variety of transgressions; were more likely to take a bribe and also preferred higher bribes

Greedy bastards: Testing the relationship between wanting more and unethical behavior. Terri G.Seuntjens, Marcel Zeelenberg, Nielsvan de Ven, Seger M.Breugelmans. Personality and Individual Differences, Volume 138, 1 February 2019, Pages 147-156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2018.09.027

Abstract: Greed is often seen as immoral. Although the assumption that greed elicits unethical behavior is widespread, there is surprisingly little empirical research testing this relationship. We present a series of three studies investigating the association between greed and unethical behavior, using different methodologies and samples from the USA, The Netherlands, and Belgium. Study 1 (3 samples, total N = 3413) reveals that more greedy individuals find a variety of transgressions more acceptable and justifiable as well as indicate that they have more often engaged in a variety of transgressions compared to less greedy individuals. Study 2 (N = 172) replicated these findings in an incentivized behavioral laboratory study where participants decided to accept a bribe or not. Greedy people were more likely to take a bribe and also preferred higher bribes. Study 3 (N = 302) examined a potential process relating greed to unethical behavior. Greedy people were more likely to transgress because they found the positive outcomes associated with the transgression more desirable, and therefore displayed lower self-control. Implications for general theories of greed and morality are discussed.

Recycle more, waste more? When recycling efforts increase resource consumption

Recycle more, waste more? When recycling efforts increase resource consumption. Baolong Ma, Xiaofei Li, Zhongjun Jiang, Jiefan Jiang. Journal of Cleaner Production, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.09.063

Abstract: Governments spend significant amounts of money to promote recycling lifestyles to the public; however, they cannot maximize the beneficial effects of recycling without avoiding its potential negative consequences. In this research, we empirically examine the effects of recycling efforts on subsequent resource usage by analyzing the online survey data of 356 participants in China. Based on partial least squares-structural equation modeling, the results show that (1) recycling efforts have a positive effect on resource consumption, which suggests that engaging in recycling leads individuals to use significantly more resources in the future; (2) the positive effect of recycling efforts on resource consumption is mediated by environmental self-identity and feelings of pride; and (3) consideration of future consequences negatively moderates the effects of recycling efforts on environmental self-identity and on feelings of pride. That is, consideration of future consequences mitigates the positive effects of recycling efforts on resource consumption. The paper concludes with a discussion of the theoretical and managerial implications of our findings.

Genetic factors contribute substantially to the variations of various types of narcissism, stability of narcissism as well as its associations with other personalities, & the distinctions between different types of narcissism; environments (mostly non-shared by family members) also play important roles

The Etiology of Narcissism: A Review of Behavioral Genetic Studies. Yu L. L. Luo. Huajian Cai. In Handbook of Trait Narcissism pp 149-156, https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-92171-6_16

Abstract: A great deal of research has delved into the etiology of narcissism via behavioral genetic methodologies in recent years. These studies have established that genetic factors contribute substantially to (1) the variations of various types of narcissism, (2) the stability of narcissism as well as its associations with other personalities, and (3) the distinctions between different types of narcissism. In the meantime, environments (mostly non-shared by family members) also play important roles in these situations. Together, these findings shed light on the origins of narcissism. Future studies may further examine how genetic and environmental factors interplay with each other in influencing narcissism and even what gene(s) is associated with narcissism.