Do movements contribute to sense of body ownership? Rubber hand illusion in expert pianists

Do movements contribute to sense of body ownership? Rubber hand illusion in expert pianists. Maria Pyasik, Adriana Salatino, Lorenzo Pia. Psychological Research, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00426-018-1137-x

Abstract: Currently, it is still debated whether, how and to what extent movements contribute to the sense of body ownership (i.e., the feeling that one’s body belongs to oneself). To answer this question, here we examined if a prolonged increase of the amount of movements affects body ownership. Specifically, we administered the rubber hand illusion paradigm within a natural condition of long-term motor practice, namely in expert pianists. We compared the illusory effects of both static (visuotactile stimulation) and dynamic (active/passive movements) versions of that paradigm in a group of expert pianists and a group of non-musicians. The illusion was measured behaviorally (proprioceptive drift) and subjectively (questionnaire). Our results showed that pianists were significantly less susceptible to any type of the illusion, compared to the non-musicians. Moreover, they did not experience the illusion in general (presenting neither the proprioceptive drift, nor the subjective feeling of ownership). These findings suggest that the increased amount of motor-related afferent and efferent signals does affect the construction and the coherence of body ownership, thus showing the role of movements in this process.

Those with larger late positive potentials in response to food‐related cues than to erotic images are more susceptible to cue‐induced eating, eat more than twice as much than those with the opposite bran reaction

The reality of “food porn”: Larger brain responses to food‐related cues than to erotic images predict cue‐induced eating. Francesco Versace et al. Psychiohysiology, https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.13309

Abstract: While some individuals can defy the lure of temptation, many others find appetizing food irresistible. The goal of this study was to investigate the neuropsychological mechanisms that increase individuals’ vulnerability to cue‐induced eating. Using ERPs, a direct measure of brain activity, we showed that individuals with larger late positive potentials in response to food‐related cues than to erotic images are more susceptible to cue‐induced eating and, in the presence of a palatable food option, eat more than twice as much as individuals with the opposite brain reactivity profile. By highlighting the presence of individual brain reactivity profiles associated with susceptibility to cue‐induced eating, these findings contribute to the understanding of the neurobiological basis of vulnerability to obesity.

School Bullying: Perpetrators and victims had relatively stable trajectories with most of the children remaining in the same role over time or becoming uninvolved

A Longitudinal Study on Stability and Transitions Among Bullying Roles. Izabela Zych et al. Child Development, https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13195

Abstract: Trajectories of stability and change in bullying roles were examined through a longitudinal prospective study of 916 school students followed up biannually from age 11 to 17. Perpetrators and victims had relatively stable trajectories with most of the children remaining in the same role over time or becoming uninvolved. Bully/victim was the most unstable role with frequent transitions to perpetrators or victims. Developmental change in bullying roles was found with a decrease in physical forms over time in bullies and victims but with persistently high perpetration and victimization in bully/victims. These findings open new horizons in research and practice related to bullying and can be useful for its early detection or design of targeted interventions.

More radical participants had less insight into the correctness of their choices & reduced updating of their confidence when presented with post-decision evidence; there is resistance to recognizing & revising incorrect beliefs

Metacognitive Failure as a Feature of Those Holding Radical Beliefs. Max Rollwage, Raymond J. Dolan, Stephen M. Fleming. Current Biology, Volume 28, Issue 24, 17 December 2018, Pages 4014-4021.e8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.10.053

Highlights
•    Metacognition refers to the ability to reflect on our cognitive processes
•    We investigated metacognitive features of radicalism in a low-level perceptual task
•    Radical participants showed less insight into the accuracy of their decisions
•    Radicals showed smaller confidence shifts in response to disconfirmatory evidence

Summary: Widening polarization about political, religious, and scientific issues threatens open societies, leading to entrenchment of beliefs, reduced mutual understanding, and a pervasive negativity surrounding the very idea of consensus [1, 2]. Such radicalization has been linked to systematic differences in the certainty with which people adhere to particular beliefs [3, 4, 5, 6]. However, the drivers of unjustified certainty in radicals are rarely considered from the perspective of models of metacognition, and it remains unknown whether radicals show alterations in confidence bias (a tendency to publicly espouse higher confidence), metacognitive sensitivity (insight into the correctness of one’s beliefs), or both [7]. Within two independent general population samples (n = 381 and n = 417), here we show that individuals holding radical beliefs (as measured by questionnaires about political attitudes) display a specific impairment in metacognitive sensitivity about low-level perceptual discrimination judgments. Specifically, more radical participants displayed less insight into the correctness of their choices and reduced updating of their confidence when presented with post-decision evidence. Our use of a simple perceptual decision task enables us to rule out effects of previous knowledge, task performance, and motivational factors underpinning differences in metacognition. Instead, our findings highlight a generic resistance to recognizing and revising incorrect beliefs as a potential driver of radicalization.

Elevated brain reward region response to food cues, & a genetic propensity for greater dopamine signaling, predict weight gain; youth who show greater food reward-cue learning show greater gains

Neural vulnerability factors for obesity. Eric Stice, Kyle Burger. Clinical Psychology Review, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2018.12.002

Highlights
•    Youth at risk for weight gain show greater reward region response to food tastes.
•    Elevated brain reward region response to food cues predicts future weight gain.
•    A genetic propensity for greater dopamine signaling predicts weight gain.
•    Youth who show greater food reward-cue learning show greater weight gain.
•    Overeating reduces reward region response to high-calorie foods.
•    Data provide strong support for the incentive sensitization theory of obesity.

Abstract: Multiple theories identify neural vulnerability factors that may increase risk for overeating and weight gain. Early cross-sectional neuroimaging studies were unable to determine whether aberrant neural responsivity was a risk factor for or a consequence of overeating. More recent obesity risk, prospective, repeated-measures, and experimental neuroimaging studies with humans have advanced knowledge of etiologic processes and neural plasticity resulting from overeating. Herein, we review evidence from these more rigorous human neuroimaging studies, in conjunction with behavioral measures reflecting neural function, as well as experiments with animals that investigated neural vulnerability theories for overeating. Findings provide support for the reward surfeit theory that posits that individuals at risk for obesity initially show hyper-responsivity of reward circuitry to high-calorie food tastes, which theoretically drives elevated intake of such foods. However, findings provide little support for the reward deficit theory that postulates that individuals at risk for obesity show an initial hypo-responsivity of reward circuitry that motives overeating. Further, results provide support for the incentive sensitization and dynamic vulnerability theories that propose that overconsumption of high-calorie foods results in increased reward and attention region responsivity to cues that are associated with hedonic reward from intake of these high-calorie foods via conditioning, as well as a simultaneous decrease in reward region responsivity to high-calorie food tastes. However, there is little evidence that this induced reduction in reward region response to high-calorie food tastes drives an escalation in overeating. Finally, results provide support for the theory that an initial deficit in inhibitory control and a bias for immediate reward contribute to overconsumption of high-calorie foods. Findings imply that interventions that reduce reward and attention region responsivity to food cues and increase inhibitory control should reduce overeating and excessive weight gain, an intervention theory that is receiving support in randomized trials.

Calling into question the conceptual & empirical distinctiveness of grit vis-à-vis self-control, & the importance of grit as a unique & independent characteristic salient for the pursuit & achievement of long-term goals

To Grit or not to Grit, that is the Question! Alexander T. Vazsonyi et al. Journal of Research in Personalitym https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2018.12.006

Highlights
•    Tested measurement of and the validity of grit, vis-à-vis self-control.
•    Lifecourse sample, from young adulthood to 55+.
•    Grit and self-control largely indistinguishable in predicting long-term goals.

Abstract: The current study tested the validity of grit as a non-cognitive construct related to, yet distinct from self-control. Data were collected from N = 1,907 adults spanning the life-course (53.1% female, M age = 41.4 years). Associations between grit and present and past goals were very similar to ones observed with self-control. Extensive model tests using structural equation modeling provided evidence of substantial overlap between these two constructs, calling into question the conceptual and empirical distinctiveness of grit vis-à-vis self-control, as well as the importance of grit as a unique and independent characteristic salient for the pursuit and achievement of long-term goals. This finding was consistent and invariant across adult developmental periods. Study implications for grit-investment are discussed.

Slasher films: Characters who were shown nude on screen, dressed in a revealing fashion, did not engage in fight behaviors against the antagonist & engaged in fewer types of pro-social behaviors were more likely to be killed

“There are Certain Rules that One Must Abide by”: Predictors of Mortality in Slasher Films. A. Dana Ménard, Angela Weaver, Christine Cabrera. Sexuality & Culture, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12119-018-09583-2

Abstract: Slasher films, a popular and lucrative sub-genre of horror movie, are often thought to be characterized by violence, gratuitous sexual content and specific, repetitive tropes; however, although these tropes have been widely discussed and even parodied, there is scant research examining their validity. Thirty top-grossing slasher films (10 each for the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s) were subjected to content analysis at the level of the individual character to examine the factors associated with character deaths or survival. Characters who were shown nude on screen, who dressed in a revealing fashion, who did not engage in fight behaviors against the antagonist and who engaged in fewer types of pro-social behaviors were more likely to be killed. Several common tropes of slasher films (e.g., virgins survive, ethnic minority characters die) were not supported. The implications of these messages of which characters are depicted as “deserving” of survival are discussed in terms of gender, sexual scripts, and agency.

Keywords: Media Content analysis Slasher film Sex Gender role Just world

An Evolutionary-emotional Perspective of Insomnia and Parasomnias: Genetic determinants, personality traits, etc.

Perogamvros, Lampros. 2018. “An Evolutionary-emotional Perspective of Insomnia and Parasomnias.” PsyArXiv. December 19. doi:10.31234/osf.io/5vma2

Abstract: Based on past literature, it is here supported that insomnia, and parasomnias such as sleepwalking, sleep terrors and nightmares, reflect an evolutionary survival mechanism, which has threat-related origins and which, in some vulnerable individuals, becomes persistent due to failure of a fear extinction function. Genetic determinants, personality traits and sleep disturbances seem to determine whether the individual will resume normal sleep after the acute phase (return to safety) or will develop the pathological condition of chronic insomnia, persistent sleepwalking in adulthood and nightmare disorder. Possible treatments targeting fear extinction are proposed, such as pharmacotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy and targeted memory reactivation during sleep.

Reactions according to social norm of politeness: Phone “talking impolitely” was devalued regarding friendliness & competence; “talking politely” was revaluated regarding friendliness but not competence

Impertinent mobiles - Effects of politeness and impoliteness in human-smartphone interaction. Astrid Carolus et al. Computers in Human Behavior, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.12.030

Highlights
•    results support research paradigm conceptualizing “smartphones as social actors”
•    smartphones elicit reactions according to social norm of politeness
•    phone “talking impolitely” was devalued regarding friendliness and competence
•    phone “talking politely” was revaluated regarding friendliness but not competence
•    gender of the phone impacted the evaluation of “impolite phones”

Abstract: This study aims to reveal first insights into human-smartphone interaction by focusing on the effects of smartphones either “speaking” politely or impolitely. Following the idea of media equation and the corresponding paradigm “computers as social actors” (CASA), smartphones are conceptualized as social agents suggested to elicit social responses in their human users (Nass, Steuer, & Tauber, 1994). In a laboratory experiment, (n = 85) participants interacted with a talking phone, which replied to them either politely or impolitely. Participants evaluated this phone twice, before and after they had received the phone’s feedback. ANOVA revealed polite phones to be evaluated significantly better than impolite phones. Comparing evaluations before and after the feedback showed that polite phones were revaluated regarding friendliness but not regarding competence. In contrast, the second evaluation of impolite phones deteriorated on both dimensions: friendliness and competence. Furthermore, results were not affected by ownership (subject’s own vs. not subject’s own phone). However, the gender of the phone (female vs. male voice) impacted the evaluation: impolite male phones were evaluated less positively regarding their competence, impolite female phones were not. Transferring the CASA paradigm to "talking smartphones” is considered as a heuristically fruitful approach to further analyze humans interacting with phones as well as with speech assistants in general. Results are discussed as an empirical contribution of conceptualizing “smartphones as social actors” (SASA), activating social norms originally exclusive for human-human interactions.

Experimentally Inducing Disgust Reduces Desire for Short-Term Mating

Experimentally Inducing Disgust Reduces Desire for Short-Term Mating. Laith Al-Shawaf, David M. G. Lewis, Maliki Eyvonne Ghossainy, David M. Buss. Evolutionary Psychological Science, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40806-018-0179-z

Abstract: Short-term mating strategies involve casual sex, multiple partners, and short-time intervals before initiating intercourse. Such strategies should be difficult to implement in the presence of high levels of sexual disgust. Researchers have therefore suggested—and found evidence for—the hypothesis that individuals with a stronger proclivity for short-term mating have lower levels of sexual disgust. Here, we suggest a related hypothesis: inducing sexual disgust should reduce desire for short-term mating. Experiment 1 (N = 341) and experiment 2 (N = 361) investigated the effects of disgust induction on desire for short-term mating. Both studies found that inducing disgust reduces desire for short-term mating, and that the effect of sexual disgust is particularly strong. These results support the novel hypothesis advanced here and corroborate the broader hypothesis that reduced sexual disgust is a previously undiscovered design feature of short-term mating strategies.

Keywords: Disgust Emotions Evolutionary psychology Sexual disgust Mating Short-term mating

Negative effects of commuting are almost completely due to individuals who commute more than 80 km (50 miles) daily per way

Commuting and Life Satisfaction Revisited: Evidence on a Non-linear Relationship. Julia Ingenfeld, Tobias Wolbring, Herbert Bless. Journal of Happiness Studies, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10902-018-0064-2

Abstract: Prior research has documented linear detrimental effects of commuting on individuals’ life satisfaction: the longer individuals’ daily commute, the less satisfied they are with their life. An inspection of the available longitudinal evidence suggests that this conclusion is almost exclusively based on a continuous operationalization of commuting time and distance with a focus on a linear relationship. In contrast, cross-sectional evidence indicates preliminary evidence for non-linear effects and suggests that negative effects of commuting are particularly likely when commuting exceeds a certain threshold of time or distance. Relying on nationally representative data for Germany, the present study applies longitudinal modelling comparing estimates from a continuous and a categorical operationalization. Results clearly indicate a non-linear association and show that negative effects of commuting are almost completely due to individuals who commute more than 80 km (50 miles) daily per way. These findings are in conflict with prior research (partly resting on the same data) proposing a linear relationship. Further analyses suggest that satisfaction with leisure time is a significant mediator of the observed non-linear effect. Results are discussed in light of prior theorizing on the consequences of commuting.

Keywords: Life satisfaction Commuting Non-linear effect Mediation Leisure satisfaction

Sexual desire may decrease after olfactory loss, and this happens more in women

Sexual desire after olfactory loss: Quantitative and qualitative reports of patients with smell disorders. Laura Schäfer et al. Physiology & Behavior, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2018.12.020

•    Smell disorder patients report decreased sexual desire after olfactory loss.
•    Depressive symptoms and smell disorder severity predict decrement in sexual desire.
•    Affected patients do typically not state sexual problems spontaneously.
•    Routine care settings should inform and explicitly ask for sexual impairment.

Abstract
Olfaction moderates human sexual experiences and smell disorder patients sometimes spontaneously complain about impairments in their sexual life. The aim of the present study was to systematically investigate the impact of olfactory dysfunction on sexualdesire.

We compared a sample of n = 100 (n = 52 women; aged 23–51 years, M = 40.1, SD = 8.2) outpatients with olfactory disorders to a sample of n = 51 healthy controls (n = 32 women; aged 21–63 years, M = 39.2, SD = 13.1). Sexual desire was assessed with a standardized questionnaire and with two additional items asking for quantitative and qualitative change of sexual desire since the onset of olfactory loss. In addition, subjects completed questionnaires about mood and partnership attachment.

Within the patients' group, 29% of the subjects reported decreased sexual desire since the onset of olfactory loss. This change was predicted by depressive symptoms and olfactory function. Qualitative reports revealed for instance that the lack of attraction due to the other's body odor impedes partnership intimacy. The change of sexual desire was significantly related to depression and severity of olfactory impairment but not to partnership attachment. However, in the standardized questionnaire about sexual desire we observed no differences between patients and controls.

To sum up, a considerable number of patients state sexual impairment as a concomitant complaint of olfactory dysfunction. Patients do typically not spontaneously report those intimate problems, routine care settings should inform about this common side effect and explicitly ask for sexual life.

Although men were accurate in their faithfulness perceptions of the female targets, men’s mating orientation did not moderate the negative association between their faithfulness ratings & the self-reported mating orientation of the women

Men’s Mating Orientation Does Not Moderate the Accuracy with which they Assess Women’s Mating Orientation from Facial Photographs. Tara DeLecce, Robert L. Matchock, Virgil Zeigler-Hill, Todd K. Shackelford. Evolutionary Psychological Science, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40806-018-00184-8

Abstract: Previous research indicates that men can accurately assess women’s mating orientation from facial photographs (DeLecce et al. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 43, 319–327, 2014). The current study investigated whether this ability is moderated by men’s own mating orientation. To that end, 89 men completed the Sociosexual Orientation Inventory (SOI)—an assessment of mating orientation—and rated the perceived faithfulness of 55 women (who also completed the SOI) depicted in facial photographs. Although men were indeed accurate in their faithfulness perceptions of the female targets, men’s mating orientation did not moderate the negative association between their faithfulness ratings and the self-reported mating orientation of the female targets. Limitations of the current study and directions for future research are addressed in the discussion.

Keywords: Mating orientation Sociosexual orientation Facial perception accuracy

Maternal mortality would be aggravated by male preference for younger females who are generally small statured and at higher risk of obstetric complications

Mate Choice and the Persistence of Maternal Mortality. Santosh Jagadeeshan, Alyssa K. Gomes, Rama S. Singh. Reproductive Sciences, https://doi.org/10.1177/1933719118812730

Abstract: Maternal mortality remains one of the leading causes of death in women of reproductive age in developing countries, and a major concern in some developed countries. It is puzzling why such a condition has not been reduced in frequency, if not eliminated, in the course of evolution. Maternal mortality is a complex phenomenon caused by several physiological and physical factors. Among the physical factors, maternal mortality due to fetopelvic disproportion remains controversial. Several explanations including evolution of bipedal locomotion, rapid brain growth, and nutritional changes and life style changes in settler communities have been proposed. The influences of human reproductive biology and sexual selection have rarely been considered to explain why maternal mortality persisted through human evolution. We entertain the hypothesis that irrespective of the causes, the risks of all factors causing maternal mortality would be aggravated by disassortative mating, specifically male preference for younger females who are generally small statured and at higher risk of obstetric complications. Maternal mortality arising due to sexual selection and mate choice would have the long-term effect of driving widowers toward younger women, often resulting in “child marriage,” which still remains a significant cause of maternal mortality globally. Evolutionarily, such a male driven mating system in polygamous human populations would have prolonged the persistence of maternal mortality despite selection acting against it. The effects may extend beyond maternal mortality because male-mate choice driven maternal mortality would reduce average reproductive life spans of women, thus influencing the evolution of menopause.

Keywords: mate choice, maternal mortality, sexual dimorphism, polygamy, obstetric dilemma, fetopelvic disproportion

Rational Self-Medication: Forward-looking individuals, lacking access to better treatment options, attempt to manage the symptoms of mental and physical pain outside of formal medical care

Rational Self-Medication. Michael E. Darden, Nicholas W. Papageorge. NBER Working Paper No. 25371, December 2018. https://www.nber.org/papers/w25371

We develop a theory of rational self-medication. The idea is that forward-looking individuals, lacking access to better treatment options, attempt to manage the symptoms of mental and physical pain outside of formal medical care. They use substances that relieve symptoms in the short run but that may be harmful in the long run. For example, heavy drinking could alleviate current symptoms of depression but could also exacerbate future depression or lead to alcoholism. Rational self-medication suggests that, when presented with a safer, more effective treatment, individuals will substitute towards it. To investigate, we use forty years of longitudinal data from the Framingham Heart Study and leverage the exogenous introduction of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). We demonstrate an economically meaningful reduction in heavy alcohol consumption for men when SSRIs became available. Additionally, we show that addiction to alcohol inhibits substitution. Our results suggest a role for rational self-medication in understanding the origin of substance abuse. Furthermore, our work suggests that punitive policies targeting substance abuse may backfire, leading to substitution towards even more harmful substances to self-medicate. In contrast, policies promoting medical innovation that provide safer treatment options could obviate the need to self-medicate with dangerous or addictive substances.