Harper, Craig A., and Thom Baguley. 2019. ““you Are Fake News”: Ideological (a)symmetries in Perceptions of Media Legitimacy” PsyArXiv. January 23. doi:10.31234/osf.io/ym6t5
Abstract: The concept of ‘fake news’ has exploded into the public’s consciousness since the election of Donald Trump to the US presidency in late 2016. Since then, this phrase has witnessed a more than 350% increase in its popular usage, and was named Collins Dictionary’s word of the year for 2017. However, the concept of fake news has received surprisingly little attention within the social psychological literature. We present three well-powered studies (combined N = 2,275) using American and British samples to establish whether liberal and conservative partisans are motivated to believe fake news (Study 1; n = 722) or dismiss true news that contradicts their position as being fake (Study 2; n = 570). We found support for both of these hypotheses. Further, these effects were asymmetrically moderated by collective narcissism, need for cognition, and faith in intuition (Study 3; n = 983). Together, our findings suggest that partisans of both sides of the political spectrum engage with the ‘fake news’ label (and perceive media story legitimacy) in a way that is consistent with a motivated reasoning approach, though these motivations appear to differ between-groups. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed, particularly in relation to growing levels of political polarization and incivility in modern Western democracies.
Wednesday, January 23, 2019
There were to Neanderthals two effective methods of minimizing C vitamin loss and prevent scurvy: eating meat raw (fresh or frozen); and eating the meat after it has been putrefied
Neanderthals, vitamin C, and scurvy. John D.Speth. Quaternary International, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2018.11.042
Abstract: This paper explores the role of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) in the foodways of hunter-gatherers—both ethnohistoric and Paleolithic—whose diet seasonally or over much of the year, of necessity, was comprised largely of animal foods. In order to stave off scurvy, such foragers had to obtain a minimum of about 10 mg per day of vitamin C. However, there is little to no vitamin C in muscle meat, being concentrated instead in various internal organs and brain. Even ruminant stomach contents, despite the abundance of partially digested plants, contains almost none. Moreover, many of the “meatiest” anatomical units in a carcass, such as the thigh muscles or “hams” associated with the femur, are extremely lean in most wild ungulates, making them nutritionally much less valuable to northern foragers than archaeologists commonly assume (for example, Inuit and other indigenous peoples of the arctic and subarctic commonly use the thigh meat as dog food). Vitamin C is also the most unstable vitamin, rapidly degrading or disappearing when exposed to water, air, light, heat, and pH levels above about 4.0. As a consequence, common methods of preparing meat for storage and consumption (e.g., drying, roasting, boiling) may lead to significant loss of vitamin C. There are two effective methods of minimizing such loss: (1) eating meat raw (fresh or frozen); and (2) eating the meat after it has been putrefied. Putrefaction has distinct advantages that make it a common, if not essential, way of preparing and preserving meat among northern latitude foragers and, for the same reasons, very likely also among Paleolithic foragers in the colder climes of Pleistocene Eurasia. Putrefaction “pre-digests” the meat (including the organs), making it much less costly to ingest and metabolize than raw meat; and it lowers the pH, greatly increasing the stability of vitamin C. These observations offer insights into critical nutritional constraints that likely had to be addressed by Neanderthals and later hominins in any context where their diet was heavily meat-based for a substantial part of the year.
10.1016/j.quaint.2018.09.003
Abstract: This paper explores the role of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) in the foodways of hunter-gatherers—both ethnohistoric and Paleolithic—whose diet seasonally or over much of the year, of necessity, was comprised largely of animal foods. In order to stave off scurvy, such foragers had to obtain a minimum of about 10 mg per day of vitamin C. However, there is little to no vitamin C in muscle meat, being concentrated instead in various internal organs and brain. Even ruminant stomach contents, despite the abundance of partially digested plants, contains almost none. Moreover, many of the “meatiest” anatomical units in a carcass, such as the thigh muscles or “hams” associated with the femur, are extremely lean in most wild ungulates, making them nutritionally much less valuable to northern foragers than archaeologists commonly assume (for example, Inuit and other indigenous peoples of the arctic and subarctic commonly use the thigh meat as dog food). Vitamin C is also the most unstable vitamin, rapidly degrading or disappearing when exposed to water, air, light, heat, and pH levels above about 4.0. As a consequence, common methods of preparing meat for storage and consumption (e.g., drying, roasting, boiling) may lead to significant loss of vitamin C. There are two effective methods of minimizing such loss: (1) eating meat raw (fresh or frozen); and (2) eating the meat after it has been putrefied. Putrefaction has distinct advantages that make it a common, if not essential, way of preparing and preserving meat among northern latitude foragers and, for the same reasons, very likely also among Paleolithic foragers in the colder climes of Pleistocene Eurasia. Putrefaction “pre-digests” the meat (including the organs), making it much less costly to ingest and metabolize than raw meat; and it lowers the pH, greatly increasing the stability of vitamin C. These observations offer insights into critical nutritional constraints that likely had to be addressed by Neanderthals and later hominins in any context where their diet was heavily meat-based for a substantial part of the year.
10.1016/j.quaint.2018.09.003
Many animals show evidence of culture (innovations in multiple domains whose frequencies are influenced by social learning), but only humans show strong evidence of complex, cumulative culture. Why?
Teaching and curiosity: sequential drivers of cumulative cultural evolution in the hominin lineage. Carel P. van Schaik, Gauri R. Pradhan, Claudio Tennie. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, January 2019, 73:2, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00265-018-2610-7
Abstract: Many animals, and in particular great apes, show evidence of culture, in the sense of having multiple innovations in multiple domains whose frequencies are influenced by social learning. But only humans show strong evidence of complex, cumulative culture, which is the product of copying and the resulting effect of cumulative cultural evolution. The reasons for this increase in complexity have recently become the subject of extensive debate. Here, we examine these reasons, relying on both comparative and paleoarcheological data. The currently best-supported inference is that culture began to be truly cumulative (and so, outside the primate range) around 500,000 years ago. We suggest that the best explanation for its onset is the emergence of verbal teaching, which not only requires language and thus probably coevolved with the latter’s evolution but also reflects the overall increase in proactive cooperation due to extensive allomaternal care. A subsequent steep increase in cumulative culture, roughly 75 ka, may reflect the rise of active novelty seeking (curiosity), which led to a dramatic range expansion and steep increase in the diversity and complexity of material culture. A final, and continuing, period of acceleration began with the Neolithic (agricultural) revolution.
Keywords: Cumulative culture Stone tools Out of Africa Imitation Verbal instruction Teaching
Abstract: Many animals, and in particular great apes, show evidence of culture, in the sense of having multiple innovations in multiple domains whose frequencies are influenced by social learning. But only humans show strong evidence of complex, cumulative culture, which is the product of copying and the resulting effect of cumulative cultural evolution. The reasons for this increase in complexity have recently become the subject of extensive debate. Here, we examine these reasons, relying on both comparative and paleoarcheological data. The currently best-supported inference is that culture began to be truly cumulative (and so, outside the primate range) around 500,000 years ago. We suggest that the best explanation for its onset is the emergence of verbal teaching, which not only requires language and thus probably coevolved with the latter’s evolution but also reflects the overall increase in proactive cooperation due to extensive allomaternal care. A subsequent steep increase in cumulative culture, roughly 75 ka, may reflect the rise of active novelty seeking (curiosity), which led to a dramatic range expansion and steep increase in the diversity and complexity of material culture. A final, and continuing, period of acceleration began with the Neolithic (agricultural) revolution.
Keywords: Cumulative culture Stone tools Out of Africa Imitation Verbal instruction Teaching
Short periods of unoccupied waking rest can facilitate consolidation in a manner similar to that proposed to occur during sleep
Memory Consolidation during Waking Rest. Erin J. Wamsley. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2018.12.007
Abstract: Recent studies show that brief periods of rest after learning facilitate consolidation of new memories. This effect is associated with memory-related brain activity during quiet rest and suggests that in our daily lives, moments of unoccupied rest may serve an essential cognitive function.
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In fact, a growing body of evidence suggests that short periods of unoccupied waking rest can facilitate consolidation in a manner similar to that proposed to occur during sleep [1–3,5,6] (quiet wake conditions, Figure 1). Our group and others have demonstrated that a 15min period of eyes-closed rest following encoding enhances memory for both procedural [5] and declarative [1,2] memory tasks, compared to an equivalent period spent completing a distractor task. Other recent studies have demonstrated that post-learning rest enhances subsequent memory for spatial and temporal information [7] , facilitates insight into a complex problem [3] , and enhances auditory statistical learning [6]. These memory effects can be maintained for a week or more after the rest intervention [2,7]. Together, these observations suggest that even during wakefulness, memory is preferentially consolidated during offline states characterized by reduced attentional demands.
Thus, the fundamental insight yielded by these new studies of waking rest is not so much that consolidation can occur during wakefulness but that consolidation is not uniformly distributed throughout all of wakefulness. Instead, memory is preferentially facilitated during periods of unoccupied time in which attentional and cognitive demands are reduced [1,2,5]. This insight helps us to understand the necessary and sufficient conditions for consolidation to occur. Increasingly, it appears that for many forms of consolidation, sleep-specific neural mechanisms may not be strictly required. Instead, both sleep and other of fl ine states share common neurobiological features essential for consolidation to take place.
Indeed, many of the same neurobiological mechanisms thought to underlie sleep’s effect on memory are shared in common by waking rest. First, cellular-level memory ‘reactivation’ occurs during quiescent waking rest in the hippocampus as well as in other brain regions. During this process, sequences of neuronal fi ring representing recent experience are reiterated of fl ine. Blocking these reactivations impairs learning and memory [8]. In humans, a growing number of neuroimaging studies demonstrate memory-related brain activity during periods of post-training rest that predicts subsequent memory. For example, fMRI has been used to demonstrate that patterns of hippocampal activity characterizing encoding persist into post-learning rest and that this predicts subsequent memory [9]. Our own group has meanwhile reported that low-frequency electroencephalogram oscillations thought to support consolidation during sleep similarly predict memory retention across quiet waking rest [1]. And the neuromodulatory environment during quiet rest is also well own group has meanwhile reported that low-frequency electroencephalogram oscillations thought to support consolidation during sleep similarly predict memory retention across quiet waking rest [1]. And the neuromodulatory environment during quiet rest is also well suited to facilitate consolidation; in both sleep and quiet rest, acetylcholine levels are substantially reduced from active waking levels, thought to promote hippocampal-cortical communication dynamics that benefit consolidation, as opposed to new learning. Thus, converging lines of evidence suggest that like sleep, rest benefits memory by enabling an active process of consolidation, facilitated by the offline reactivation and synaptic plasticity.
Abstract: Recent studies show that brief periods of rest after learning facilitate consolidation of new memories. This effect is associated with memory-related brain activity during quiet rest and suggests that in our daily lives, moments of unoccupied rest may serve an essential cognitive function.
---
In fact, a growing body of evidence suggests that short periods of unoccupied waking rest can facilitate consolidation in a manner similar to that proposed to occur during sleep [1–3,5,6] (quiet wake conditions, Figure 1). Our group and others have demonstrated that a 15min period of eyes-closed rest following encoding enhances memory for both procedural [5] and declarative [1,2] memory tasks, compared to an equivalent period spent completing a distractor task. Other recent studies have demonstrated that post-learning rest enhances subsequent memory for spatial and temporal information [7] , facilitates insight into a complex problem [3] , and enhances auditory statistical learning [6]. These memory effects can be maintained for a week or more after the rest intervention [2,7]. Together, these observations suggest that even during wakefulness, memory is preferentially consolidated during offline states characterized by reduced attentional demands.
Thus, the fundamental insight yielded by these new studies of waking rest is not so much that consolidation can occur during wakefulness but that consolidation is not uniformly distributed throughout all of wakefulness. Instead, memory is preferentially facilitated during periods of unoccupied time in which attentional and cognitive demands are reduced [1,2,5]. This insight helps us to understand the necessary and sufficient conditions for consolidation to occur. Increasingly, it appears that for many forms of consolidation, sleep-specific neural mechanisms may not be strictly required. Instead, both sleep and other of fl ine states share common neurobiological features essential for consolidation to take place.
Indeed, many of the same neurobiological mechanisms thought to underlie sleep’s effect on memory are shared in common by waking rest. First, cellular-level memory ‘reactivation’ occurs during quiescent waking rest in the hippocampus as well as in other brain regions. During this process, sequences of neuronal fi ring representing recent experience are reiterated of fl ine. Blocking these reactivations impairs learning and memory [8]. In humans, a growing number of neuroimaging studies demonstrate memory-related brain activity during periods of post-training rest that predicts subsequent memory. For example, fMRI has been used to demonstrate that patterns of hippocampal activity characterizing encoding persist into post-learning rest and that this predicts subsequent memory [9]. Our own group has meanwhile reported that low-frequency electroencephalogram oscillations thought to support consolidation during sleep similarly predict memory retention across quiet waking rest [1]. And the neuromodulatory environment during quiet rest is also well own group has meanwhile reported that low-frequency electroencephalogram oscillations thought to support consolidation during sleep similarly predict memory retention across quiet waking rest [1]. And the neuromodulatory environment during quiet rest is also well suited to facilitate consolidation; in both sleep and quiet rest, acetylcholine levels are substantially reduced from active waking levels, thought to promote hippocampal-cortical communication dynamics that benefit consolidation, as opposed to new learning. Thus, converging lines of evidence suggest that like sleep, rest benefits memory by enabling an active process of consolidation, facilitated by the offline reactivation and synaptic plasticity.
Tuesday, January 22, 2019
Emotion Perception in Members of Mensa: Better at differentiating emotion, above all anger; the positive manifold extends also to social cognition, & runs counter to the concept of a cost to giftedness
Emotion Perception in Members of Norwegian Mensa. Jens Egeland. Front. Psychol., Jan 23 2019, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00027
Abstract: Are people with superior intelligence also superior in interpreting the emotions of others? Some studies find that an underlying g-factor links all mental processes leading to an expectation of a positive answer to the question, while other studies find that there is a cost to giftedness. No previous study have tested social cognition among highly gifted, or the Mensa society specifically. The study measures emotion recognition in 63 members of the Norwegian Mensa and 101 community controls. The Mensa group had a higher total score on the EmoBio test and was specifically better at differentiating the anger emotion, otherwise hypothesized to be mediated by subcortical processes. There was no difference in heterogeneity between the groups, contrary to the expectation of an autistic subgroup in Mensa. The study indicate that the positive manifold extends also to social cognition, and runs counter to the concept of a cost to giftedness.
Abstract: Are people with superior intelligence also superior in interpreting the emotions of others? Some studies find that an underlying g-factor links all mental processes leading to an expectation of a positive answer to the question, while other studies find that there is a cost to giftedness. No previous study have tested social cognition among highly gifted, or the Mensa society specifically. The study measures emotion recognition in 63 members of the Norwegian Mensa and 101 community controls. The Mensa group had a higher total score on the EmoBio test and was specifically better at differentiating the anger emotion, otherwise hypothesized to be mediated by subcortical processes. There was no difference in heterogeneity between the groups, contrary to the expectation of an autistic subgroup in Mensa. The study indicate that the positive manifold extends also to social cognition, and runs counter to the concept of a cost to giftedness.
Supermarket Access and Childhood Bodyweight: Supermarket openings reduce the weight of low-income children, although by little
Supermarket Access and Childhood Bodyweight: Evidence from Store Openings and Closings. Di Zeng et al. Economics & Human Biology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ehb.2019.01.004
Highlights
• We assess the child weight impacts of supermarket openings and closings.
• There is little overall impact with either supermarket openings or closings.
• Supermarket openings reduce the weight of low-income children.
• Supermarket closings does not have a clear impact on children.
Abstract: Retail food environment is increasingly considered in relation to obesity. This study investigates the impacts of access to supermarkets, the primary source of healthy foods in the United States, on the bodyweight of children. Empirical analysis uses individual-level panel data covering health screenings of public schoolchildren from Arkansas with annual georeferenced business lists, and utilizes the variations of supermarket openings and closings. There is little overall impact in either case. However, supermarket openings are found to reduce the BMI z-scores of low-income children by 0.090 to 0.096 standard deviations. Such impact remains in a variety of robustness exercises. Therefore, improvement in healthy food access could at least help reduce childhood obesity rates among certain population groups.
Highlights
• We assess the child weight impacts of supermarket openings and closings.
• There is little overall impact with either supermarket openings or closings.
• Supermarket openings reduce the weight of low-income children.
• Supermarket closings does not have a clear impact on children.
Abstract: Retail food environment is increasingly considered in relation to obesity. This study investigates the impacts of access to supermarkets, the primary source of healthy foods in the United States, on the bodyweight of children. Empirical analysis uses individual-level panel data covering health screenings of public schoolchildren from Arkansas with annual georeferenced business lists, and utilizes the variations of supermarket openings and closings. There is little overall impact in either case. However, supermarket openings are found to reduce the BMI z-scores of low-income children by 0.090 to 0.096 standard deviations. Such impact remains in a variety of robustness exercises. Therefore, improvement in healthy food access could at least help reduce childhood obesity rates among certain population groups.
Sexual arousal was associated with reduced disgust & reduced judgments of disease risk, & with enhanced willingness to have sex with all (risky & non-risky) targets; trait disgust was a predictor
The Role of Disgust in Male Sexual Decision-Making. Megan Oaten et al. Front. Psychol., Jan 22 2019, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02602
Abstract: Sexual arousal is known to increase risky behaviors, such as having unprotected sex. This may in part relate to the emotion of disgust, which normally serves a disease avoidant function, and is suppressed by sexual arousal. In this report we examine disgust's role in sexual decision-making. Male participants received two study packets that were to be completed at home across two different time-points. Participants were asked to complete one packet in a sexually aroused state and the other in a non-aroused state. Participants were asked to rate: (1) arousal, (2) disgust, (3) willingness for sex, and (4) disease risk toward a range of female targets, which varied in level of potential disease risk (sex-worker vs. non sex-worker) and attractiveness. A measure of trait disgust was also included along with other related scales. Sexual arousal was associated with reduced disgust and reduced judgments of disease risk for all targets—these latter two variables being correlated—and with enhanced willingness to have sex with all of the depicted persons. Willingness to have sex when aroused (in contrast to non-aroused) was predicted by disease risk judgments and trait disgust, suggesting both direct (state) and indirect (trait) effects of disgust on sexual decision-making.
Abstract: Sexual arousal is known to increase risky behaviors, such as having unprotected sex. This may in part relate to the emotion of disgust, which normally serves a disease avoidant function, and is suppressed by sexual arousal. In this report we examine disgust's role in sexual decision-making. Male participants received two study packets that were to be completed at home across two different time-points. Participants were asked to complete one packet in a sexually aroused state and the other in a non-aroused state. Participants were asked to rate: (1) arousal, (2) disgust, (3) willingness for sex, and (4) disease risk toward a range of female targets, which varied in level of potential disease risk (sex-worker vs. non sex-worker) and attractiveness. A measure of trait disgust was also included along with other related scales. Sexual arousal was associated with reduced disgust and reduced judgments of disease risk for all targets—these latter two variables being correlated—and with enhanced willingness to have sex with all of the depicted persons. Willingness to have sex when aroused (in contrast to non-aroused) was predicted by disease risk judgments and trait disgust, suggesting both direct (state) and indirect (trait) effects of disgust on sexual decision-making.
Mistaken belief that genetic influence implies genetic essentialism, and is therefore tantamount to prejudice, is raised as possible reason why heritability is often ignored in the social sciences
Nature vs. nurture is nonsense: On the necessity of an integrated genetic, social, developmental, and personality psychology. Fiona Kate Barlow. Australian Journal of Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1111/ajpy.12240
Abstract: The field of behavioural genetics unambiguously demonstrates that heritable individual differences exist and are important in explaining human behaviour. Despite this, some psychological perspectives ignore this research. If we wish to comprehensively understand the impact of parenting, the environment, or any social factor, however, we must engage with genetics. In this article, I review research that reveals that genes affect not only our personalities, but the way that we understand and react to the social world. Studies further reveal that notable life events are in part explained by genetic variance. I detail how this could be the case through active, evocative, and passive genetic correlations, and go on to argue that all complex psychological traits are likely the result of multifaceted gene by environment interactions. A mistaken belief that genetic influence implies genetic essentialism, and is therefore tantamount to prejudice, is raised as possible reason why heritability is often ignored in the social sciences. The article concludes with practical suggestions for how we can embrace behavioural genetics as our methods struggle to match the divine complexity of human existence.
Abstract: The field of behavioural genetics unambiguously demonstrates that heritable individual differences exist and are important in explaining human behaviour. Despite this, some psychological perspectives ignore this research. If we wish to comprehensively understand the impact of parenting, the environment, or any social factor, however, we must engage with genetics. In this article, I review research that reveals that genes affect not only our personalities, but the way that we understand and react to the social world. Studies further reveal that notable life events are in part explained by genetic variance. I detail how this could be the case through active, evocative, and passive genetic correlations, and go on to argue that all complex psychological traits are likely the result of multifaceted gene by environment interactions. A mistaken belief that genetic influence implies genetic essentialism, and is therefore tantamount to prejudice, is raised as possible reason why heritability is often ignored in the social sciences. The article concludes with practical suggestions for how we can embrace behavioural genetics as our methods struggle to match the divine complexity of human existence.
Monty Hall Dilemmas in capuchin monkeys, rhesus macaques, and humans
Monty Hall Dilemmas in capuchin monkeys, rhesus macaques, and humans. Watzek, Julia, Whitham, Will, Washburn, David A, Brosnan, Sarah. International Journal of Comparative PsychologyVolume 31, https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1jn0t21r
Abstract: The Monty Hall Dilemma (MHD) is a simple probability puzzle famous for its counterintuitive solution. Participants initially choose among three doors, one of which conceals a prize. A different door is opened and shown not to contain the prize. Participants are then asked whether they would like to stay with their original choice or switch to the other remaining door. Although switching doubles the chances of winning, people overwhelmingly choose to stay with their original choice. To assess how experience and the chance of winning affect decisions in the MHD, we used a comparative approach to test 264 college students, 24 capuchin monkeys, and 7 rhesus macaques on a nonverbal, computerized version of the game. Participants repeatedly experienced the outcome of their choices and we varied the chance of winning by changing the number of doors (three or eight). All species quickly and consistently switched doors, especially in the eight-door condition. After the computer task, we presented humans with the classic text version of the MHD to test whether they would generalize the successful switch strategy from the computer task. Instead, participants showed their characteristic tendency to stick with their pick, regardless of the number of doors. This disconnect between strategies in the classic version and a repeated nonverbal task with the same underlying probabilities may arise because they evoke different decision-making processes, such as explicit reasoning versus implicit learning.
Abstract: The Monty Hall Dilemma (MHD) is a simple probability puzzle famous for its counterintuitive solution. Participants initially choose among three doors, one of which conceals a prize. A different door is opened and shown not to contain the prize. Participants are then asked whether they would like to stay with their original choice or switch to the other remaining door. Although switching doubles the chances of winning, people overwhelmingly choose to stay with their original choice. To assess how experience and the chance of winning affect decisions in the MHD, we used a comparative approach to test 264 college students, 24 capuchin monkeys, and 7 rhesus macaques on a nonverbal, computerized version of the game. Participants repeatedly experienced the outcome of their choices and we varied the chance of winning by changing the number of doors (three or eight). All species quickly and consistently switched doors, especially in the eight-door condition. After the computer task, we presented humans with the classic text version of the MHD to test whether they would generalize the successful switch strategy from the computer task. Instead, participants showed their characteristic tendency to stick with their pick, regardless of the number of doors. This disconnect between strategies in the classic version and a repeated nonverbal task with the same underlying probabilities may arise because they evoke different decision-making processes, such as explicit reasoning versus implicit learning.
On the associations between indicators of resting arousal levels, physiological reactivity, sensation seeking, and psychopathic traits
On the associations between indicators of resting arousal levels, physiological reactivity, sensation seeking, and psychopathic traits. Nicholas Kavish et al. Personality and Individual Differences, Volume 141, 15 April 2019, Pages 218-225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2019.01.013
Abstract: Despite consistent findings associating autonomic activity, such as resting heart rate, with antisocial behavior, the research connecting autonomic variables to related phenotypes, such as psychopathy and sensation seeking, has been mixed. The existing research in this area has been limited by underpowered samples, focused predominantly on incarcerated males, frequently dichotomized samples into “psychopaths” and controls, and failed to consider potential gender differences. The current study sought to address some of these limitations using a relatively large undergraduate sample (N = 453), four measures of autonomic activity (e.g., resting heart rate, resting skin conductance, heart rate reactivity, and skin conductance reactivity), a sensation seeking scale, and two measures of psychopathic traits. In order to thoroughly assess possible gender differences, the analyses were conducted for males and females separately. Few significant associations were found between the autonomic and psychological variables, and most became insignificant after controlling for age and race and correcting for multiple comparisons. The current study offers little support for an association between autonomic activity and sensation seeking or psychopathic traits.
Abstract: Despite consistent findings associating autonomic activity, such as resting heart rate, with antisocial behavior, the research connecting autonomic variables to related phenotypes, such as psychopathy and sensation seeking, has been mixed. The existing research in this area has been limited by underpowered samples, focused predominantly on incarcerated males, frequently dichotomized samples into “psychopaths” and controls, and failed to consider potential gender differences. The current study sought to address some of these limitations using a relatively large undergraduate sample (N = 453), four measures of autonomic activity (e.g., resting heart rate, resting skin conductance, heart rate reactivity, and skin conductance reactivity), a sensation seeking scale, and two measures of psychopathic traits. In order to thoroughly assess possible gender differences, the analyses were conducted for males and females separately. Few significant associations were found between the autonomic and psychological variables, and most became insignificant after controlling for age and race and correcting for multiple comparisons. The current study offers little support for an association between autonomic activity and sensation seeking or psychopathic traits.
Extensive comparison 22 kHz vocalizations in rats with human cry: 76% of common features; vocalizations may be an evolutionary vocal homolog of human crying, expressing anxiety, not depression
Emission of 22 kHz vocalizations in rats as an evolutionary equivalent of human crying: Relationship to depression. Stefan M. Brudzynski. Behavioural Brain Research, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2019.01.033
Highlights
• Rat 22 kHz ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) were compared with human crying
• Extensive comparison of 22 kHz USV with human cry showed 76% of common features
• Rat 22 kHz USVs may be treated as an evolutionary vocal homolog of human crying
• Rat 22 kHz USVs and human crying are both expressing anxiety and not depression
Abstract: There is no clear relationship between crying and depression based on human neuropsychiatric observations. This situation originates from lack of suitable animal models of human crying. In the present article, an attempt will be made to answer the question whether emission of rat aversive vocalizations (22 kHz calls) may be regarded as an evolutionary equivalent of adult human crying. Using this comparison, the symptom of crying in depressed human patients will be reanalyzed. Numerous features and characteristics of rat 22 kHz aversive vocalizations and human crying vocalizations are equivalent. Comparing evolutionary, biological, physiological, neurophysiological, social, pharmacological, and pathological aspects have shown vast majority of common features. It is concluded that emission of rat 22 kHz vocalizations may be treated as an evolutionary vocal homolog of human crying, although emission of 22 kHz calls is not exactly the same phenomenon because of significant differences in cognitive processes between these species. It is further concluded that rat 22 kHz vocalizations and human crying vocalizations are both expressing anxiety and not depression. Analysis of the relationship between anxiety and depression reported in clinical studies supports this conclusion regardless of the nature and extent of comorbidity between these pathological states.
Highlights
• Rat 22 kHz ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) were compared with human crying
• Extensive comparison of 22 kHz USV with human cry showed 76% of common features
• Rat 22 kHz USVs may be treated as an evolutionary vocal homolog of human crying
• Rat 22 kHz USVs and human crying are both expressing anxiety and not depression
Abstract: There is no clear relationship between crying and depression based on human neuropsychiatric observations. This situation originates from lack of suitable animal models of human crying. In the present article, an attempt will be made to answer the question whether emission of rat aversive vocalizations (22 kHz calls) may be regarded as an evolutionary equivalent of adult human crying. Using this comparison, the symptom of crying in depressed human patients will be reanalyzed. Numerous features and characteristics of rat 22 kHz aversive vocalizations and human crying vocalizations are equivalent. Comparing evolutionary, biological, physiological, neurophysiological, social, pharmacological, and pathological aspects have shown vast majority of common features. It is concluded that emission of rat 22 kHz vocalizations may be treated as an evolutionary vocal homolog of human crying, although emission of 22 kHz calls is not exactly the same phenomenon because of significant differences in cognitive processes between these species. It is further concluded that rat 22 kHz vocalizations and human crying vocalizations are both expressing anxiety and not depression. Analysis of the relationship between anxiety and depression reported in clinical studies supports this conclusion regardless of the nature and extent of comorbidity between these pathological states.
Monday, January 21, 2019
In Canada, the gap in Atheism prevalence of men and women is widening
The evolution of the gender religiosity gap among the Canadian-born. Maryam Dilmaghani. Review of Social Economy, https://doi.org/10.1080/00346764.2018.1562198
Abstract: The higher religiosity of women in the Western Christian societies is one of the best documented findings in the religious scholarship. In spite of the recent vibrancy of secular movements in North America, the higher religiosity of women appears persistent. As a result, the gender ratio is greatly skewed in the secular groups in favour of males. For instance, for every atheist female in North America, there are at least three males. Using the Canadian General Social Surveys of 1985–2014, this paper examines how the gender religiosity gap has evolved among the Canadian-born. Throughout the period, Canadian-born women are found less likely to be unaffiliated and show a greater frequency of religious attendance. The religious attendance gap is found to be closing. The unaffiliation gap, on the other hand, seems to have widened in the 21st century. Limiting the analyses to the gainfully employed respondents only reduces the religious attendance gap. For the high earners, the attendance gap effectively disappears, while a large unaffiliation gap persists into the 2010s. This pattern is best explained by the recent literature asserting that men and women are differentially socially sanctioned for the adoption of a secularized identity. The alleged sexism of the new secular movements is also noted as a potential explanation. The examination of the recent Canadian data on perceived religious and gender discrimination produces evidence congruent with both of these potential explanations.
Keywords: Gender, religiosity, secularity, Canada
Abstract: The higher religiosity of women in the Western Christian societies is one of the best documented findings in the religious scholarship. In spite of the recent vibrancy of secular movements in North America, the higher religiosity of women appears persistent. As a result, the gender ratio is greatly skewed in the secular groups in favour of males. For instance, for every atheist female in North America, there are at least three males. Using the Canadian General Social Surveys of 1985–2014, this paper examines how the gender religiosity gap has evolved among the Canadian-born. Throughout the period, Canadian-born women are found less likely to be unaffiliated and show a greater frequency of religious attendance. The religious attendance gap is found to be closing. The unaffiliation gap, on the other hand, seems to have widened in the 21st century. Limiting the analyses to the gainfully employed respondents only reduces the religious attendance gap. For the high earners, the attendance gap effectively disappears, while a large unaffiliation gap persists into the 2010s. This pattern is best explained by the recent literature asserting that men and women are differentially socially sanctioned for the adoption of a secularized identity. The alleged sexism of the new secular movements is also noted as a potential explanation. The examination of the recent Canadian data on perceived religious and gender discrimination produces evidence congruent with both of these potential explanations.
Keywords: Gender, religiosity, secularity, Canada
Is Meat Sexy? Meat symbolizes status both evolutionarily & in modern times; men’s sexual motivation system might increase preference for meat; women, when are sexually motivated, might have less meat
Is Meat Sexy? Meat Preference as a Function of the Sexual Motivation System. Eugene Y.Chan, Natalina Zlatevska. Food Quality and Preference, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2019.01.008
Highlights
• Meat symbolizes status both evolutionarily and in modern times.
• Thus, men’s sexual motivation system might increase their preference for meat.
• Men’s desire for status mediates the effect.
• An internal meta-analysis shows that women, when they are sexually motivated, might lower meat consumption.
• The findings add to knowledge about how evolutionary processes shape food preferences.
Abstract: When their sexual motivation system is activated, men behave in ways that would increase their desirability as a mating partner to women. For example, they take greater risks and become more altruistic. We examine the possibility that men’s sexual motivation, when elicited, can influence their preference for meat because meat signals status to others, including women—and signalling status is one way to help men achieve their mating goals. We find support for this hypothesis in three studies involving consumption (Study 1) and preference (Studies 2 and 3) for meat. Men’s desire for status mediates their liking for meat. In contrast, when their sexual motivation system is activated, women like meat less, possibly since they pursue other strategies such as beauty and health to make themselves desirable to men. Thus, we suggest that evolutionary processes shape food preferences. We discuss the contributions and limitations of our results as well as practical implications for reducing meat consumption—to not only improve one’s physical health but food sustainability.
Highlights
• Meat symbolizes status both evolutionarily and in modern times.
• Thus, men’s sexual motivation system might increase their preference for meat.
• Men’s desire for status mediates the effect.
• An internal meta-analysis shows that women, when they are sexually motivated, might lower meat consumption.
• The findings add to knowledge about how evolutionary processes shape food preferences.
Abstract: When their sexual motivation system is activated, men behave in ways that would increase their desirability as a mating partner to women. For example, they take greater risks and become more altruistic. We examine the possibility that men’s sexual motivation, when elicited, can influence their preference for meat because meat signals status to others, including women—and signalling status is one way to help men achieve their mating goals. We find support for this hypothesis in three studies involving consumption (Study 1) and preference (Studies 2 and 3) for meat. Men’s desire for status mediates their liking for meat. In contrast, when their sexual motivation system is activated, women like meat less, possibly since they pursue other strategies such as beauty and health to make themselves desirable to men. Thus, we suggest that evolutionary processes shape food preferences. We discuss the contributions and limitations of our results as well as practical implications for reducing meat consumption—to not only improve one’s physical health but food sustainability.
Demographic, phenotypic, and genetic characteristics of centenarians in Okinawa and Japan: Part 1—centenarians in Okinawa
Demographic, phenotypic, and genetic characteristics of centenarians in Okinawa and Japan: Part 1—centenarians in Okinawa. Bradley J. Willcox, Donald Craig Willcox, Makoto Suzuki. Mechanisms of Ageing and Development, Volume 165, Part B, July 2017, Pages 75-79, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mad.2016.11.001
Highlights
• Okinawa has among the longest lifespans and highest prevalence rates of centenarians in the world − greater than 85% are female.
• The Okinawan centenarian phenotype is typically shorter, leaner, has less prevalent age-related disease, and healthier metabolic profiles than other Japanese.
• Despite consumption of a diet consistent with natural caloric restriction, which likely contributed to the longevity phenotype, Okinawans are also genetically distinct from other Asian populations.
• The relative contribution of environment versus genetics to the longevity phenotype in Okinawa is still under investigation.
Abstract: A study of elderly Okinawans has been carried out by the Okinawa Centenarian Study (OCS) research group for over four decades. The OCS began in 1975 as a population-based study of centenarians (99-year-olds and older) and other selected elderly persons residing in the main island of the Japanese prefecture of Okinawa. As of 2015, over 1000 centenarians have been examined. By several measures of health and longevity the Okinawans can claim to be the world’s healthiest and longest-lived people. In this paper we explore the demographic, phenotypic, and genetic characteristics of this fascinating population.
Highlights
• Okinawa has among the longest lifespans and highest prevalence rates of centenarians in the world − greater than 85% are female.
• The Okinawan centenarian phenotype is typically shorter, leaner, has less prevalent age-related disease, and healthier metabolic profiles than other Japanese.
• Despite consumption of a diet consistent with natural caloric restriction, which likely contributed to the longevity phenotype, Okinawans are also genetically distinct from other Asian populations.
• The relative contribution of environment versus genetics to the longevity phenotype in Okinawa is still under investigation.
Abstract: A study of elderly Okinawans has been carried out by the Okinawa Centenarian Study (OCS) research group for over four decades. The OCS began in 1975 as a population-based study of centenarians (99-year-olds and older) and other selected elderly persons residing in the main island of the Japanese prefecture of Okinawa. As of 2015, over 1000 centenarians have been examined. By several measures of health and longevity the Okinawans can claim to be the world’s healthiest and longest-lived people. In this paper we explore the demographic, phenotypic, and genetic characteristics of this fascinating population.
Republicans have greater longevity compared to Democrats, adjusting for demographics; partly explained by Republican's higher socioeconomic status, & partly by their personal responsibility ethos
Political parties and mortality: The role of social status and personal responsibility. Viji Diane Kannan et al. Social Science & Medicine, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.01.029
Highlights
• Republicans have greater longevity compared to Democrats, adjusting for demographics.
• This relationship is partly explained by Republican's higher socioeconomic status.
• This relationship is partly explained by Republican's personal responsibility ethos.
Abstract: Previous research findings across a variety of nations show that affiliation with the conservative party is associated with greater longevity; however, it is thus far unclear what characteristics contribute to this relationship. We examine the political party/mortality relationship in the United States context. The goal of this paper is two-fold: first, we seek to replicate the mortality difference between Republicans and Democrats in two samples, controlling for demographic confounders. Second, we attempt to isolate and test two potential contributors to the relationship between political party affiliation and mortality: (1) socioeconomic status and (2) dispositional traits reflecting a personal responsibility ethos, as described by the Republican party. Graduate and sibling cohorts from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study were used to estimate mortality risk from 2004 to 2014. In separate Cox proportional hazards models controlling for age and sex, we adjusted first for markers of socioeconomic status (such as wealth and education), then for dispositional traits (such as conscientiousness and active coping), and finally for both socioeconomic status and dispositional traits together. Clogg's method was used to test the statistical significance of attenuation in hazard ratios for each model. In both cohorts, Republicans exhibited lower mortality risk compared to Democrats (Hazard Ratios = 0.79 and 0.73 in graduate and sibling cohorts, respectively [p < 0.05]). This relationship was explained, in part, by socioeconomic status and traits reflecting personal responsibility. Together, socioeconomic factors and dispositional traits account for about 52% (graduates) and 44% (siblings) of Republicans' survival advantage. This study suggests that mortality differences between political parties in the US may be linked to structural and individual determinants of health. These findings highlight the need for better understanding of political party divides in mortality rates.
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