Social discounting: A higher weight on future generations changes both climate and fiscal policy; absent fiscal policy adjustments, the social cost of carbon is not the optimal tax

Be careful what you calibrate for: Social discounting in general equilibrium. Lint Barrage. Journal of Public Economics, Volume 160, April 2018, Pages 33-49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2018.02.012

Highlights
•    Social discounting is assessed in a general equilibrium climate-economy model.
•    A higher weight on future generations changes both climate and fiscal policy.
•    Optimal policy includes an effective capital income subsidy.
•    Optimal policy includes labor-consumption wedge that is decreasing over time.
•    Absent fiscal policy adjustments, the social cost of carbon is not the optimal tax.

Abstract: Concerns about intergenerational equity have led to an influential practice of setting social utility discount rates based on ethical considerations rather than to match household behavior, particularly in climate change economics (e.g., Stern, 2006). This paper formalizes the broader policy implications of this approach in general equilibrium by characterizing jointly optimal environmental and fiscal policies in a climate-economy model with differential planner-household discounting. First, I show that decentralizing the optimal allocation requires not only high carbon prices but also fundamental changes to tax policy: If the government discounts the future less than households, implementing the optimal allocation requires an effective capital income subsidy (a negative intertemporal wedge), and, in a setting with distortionary taxation, an effective labor-consumption tax wedge that is decreasing over time. Second, if the government cannot subsidize capital income, the constrained-optimal carbon tax may be up to 50% below the present value of marginal damages (the social cost of carbon) due to the general equilibrium effects of climate policy on household savings. Third, given the choice to optimize either carbon, capital, or labor income taxes, the socially discounting planner's welfare ranking is ambiguous over a standard range of parameters. Overall, in general equilibrium, a policy-maker's choice to adopt differential social discounting may thus overturn conventional recommendations for both environmental and fiscal policy.

More frequent usage of Twitter positively affects the acquisition of current affairs knowledge; opposite is found for Facebook, particularly for citizens with less political interest

Social network sites and acquiring current affairs knowledge: The impact of Twitter and Facebook usage on learning about the news. Mark Boukes. Journal of Information Technology & Politics, Feb 06 2019. https://doi.org/10.1080/19331681.2019.1572568

Abstract: This study investigates how the use of Twitter and Facebook affects citizens’ knowledge acquisition, and whether this effect is conditional upon people’s political interest. Using a panel survey design with repeated measures of knowledge acquisition, this study is able to disentangle causality and to demonstrate that more frequent usage of Twitter positively affects the acquisition of current affairs knowledge. The opposite is found for Facebook: More frequent Facebook usage causes a decline in knowledge acquisition. This negative effect of Facebook usage occurred particularly for citizens with less political interest, thereby, amplifying the existing knowledge gap between politically interested and uninterested citizens.

KEYWORDS: Social network sites, learning effects, current affairs knowledge, Facebook, Twitter, social media, knowledge gap

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To date, no research has been able to convincingly unveil a causal relationship between the usage of specific social networks sites and the acquisition of current affairs knowledge. This is partly due to the reliance on cross-sectional datasets. Survey research cannot determine the directionality of causal relationships: Associations between SNS usage and knowledge may identify a selection mechanism (i.e., knowledge causing SNS use) rather than a media effect. Using a panel survey design (three-waves; n = 3,240) with a repeated measure of (new) current affairs knowledge, the current study has a unique ability to analyze whether the two social networks most often used for news consumption (respectively Facebook and Twitter, [...]) affect the current affairs information that citizens acquire.

Judged originals (inaccurately) labeled as revisions to be superior to revisions (inaccurately) labeled as originals, or when revisions were trivial, incidental, non-existent, & even objectively worse than the original

Garcia-Rada, Ximena and John, Leslie K. and O'Brien, Ed and Norton, Michael I., The Revision Bias (February 4, 2019). Harvard Business School NOM Unit Working Paper No. 19-087. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3329340

Abstract: Things change. Things also get changed—often. Why? The obvious reason is that revising things makes them better. In the current research, we document a less obvious reason: Revising things makes people think they are better, absent objective improvement. We refer to this phenomenon as the revision bias. Nine studies document this effect and provide insight into its psychological underpinnings. In Study 1, MBA students perceived their revised resumes to be of higher quality the more they differed from their original versions, but this perception was not justified: observers judged originals (inaccurately) labeled as revisions to be superior to revisions (inaccurately) labeled as originals. Study 2 pinpoints the direction of the effect: revisions are appealing, as opposed to originals being unappealing. Moreover, the revision bias holds in a variety of settings in which the revision is devoid of objective improvement: when revisions are trivial (Study 3A), incidental (Study 3B), non-existent (Study 3C), and even objectively worse than the original (Study 3D). Study 4 directly tests the self-fulfilling nature of the revision bias, testing whether mere revision framing leads people to become less critical of the experience—in this study, less sensitive to possible bugs while playing an otherwise identical “revised” video game—and whether this mediates the effect of revision framing on positive evaluations. Studies 5A and 5B offer further support by testing whether the revision bias is accentuated when people engage in a holistic processing style, whether measured as an individual difference (Study 5A) or experimentally induced (Study 5B).

Keywords: change, heuristics and biases, framing, sequences, judgment

Even though theories of dynamic equilibrium include phenomena of ruptures, homeostasis & tension, these are understood as momentary alterations of a condition that must be restored to maintain integrity

Affective semiosis and affective logic. Luca Tateo. New Ideas in Psychology, Volume 48, January 2018, Pages 1-11, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.newideapsych.2017.08.002

Abstract: Psychology values consistency, reduction of uncertainty, causality and continuity as normative aspects of mental life. Even though theories of dynamic equilibrium include phenomena of ruptures, homeostasis and tension as part of the psychological functioning, these are understood as momentary alterations of a condition that must be restored in order to maintain the integrity of the system. Yet in everyday life one can observe phenomena in which human beings constantly move ahead the conditions of living and the limits of what is somehow acceptable. Tension, ambivalence and uncertainty are part of existence and the most part of us can perfectly live with it, if not actively looking for it.

Traditional logic underneath psychology cannot account for this meaning-making process. We then need to think about a specific form of affective logic that can enable us to understand extreme phenomena not as pathologies but as special forms of meaning-making. I will outline an affective semiosis process based on an affective logic, drawing from the ideas of Peirce's semiotics, Meinong's theory of objectives, Wittegenstein's concept of “seeing-as”, Herbst's co-genetic logic and Simmel's complementarity between binding and unbinding.

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According to Peirce, in his famous distinction between “seminars” and “laboratories” philosophers, the “true scientific Eros” (Peirce, CP 1.620)1 is not pursued by those who “love only the truth already in their possession and, thus, conceive their task as steadfast and uncompromising defense of their property” (Colapietro, 1988, p. xvii), rather by the “painstaking and cooperative inquirer” (Colapietro, 1988, p. xvii), who thinks that discover is an everending quest.

Reference
Colapietro,V.M. (1988). Peirce's approach to the self: A semiotic perspective on human subjectivity. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.

From 2018. The quiet virtues of sadness: A selective theoretical and interpretative appreciation of its potential contribution to wellbeing

The quiet virtues of sadness: A selective theoretical and interpretative appreciation of its potential contribution to wellbeing. Tim Lomas. New Ideas in Psychology, Volume 49, April 2018, Pages 18-26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.newideapsych.2018.01.002

Abstract: Critical emotion theorists have raised concerns that “normal” human emotions like sadness are increasingly being pathologised as disorders. Counter efforts have consequently been made to normalise such emotions, such as by highlighting their ubiquity and appropriacy. This paper goes slightly further by suggesting that sadness may not merely be normal, but could have inherent value, and might even be an integral component of a flourishing life. It offers a selective theoretical and interpretative review of literature on the potential “virtues” of sadness. Three overarching themes are identified, each comprising four subthemes: (a) sadness as a mode of protection (including as a warning, as prompting disengagement, as a mode of conservation, and as enhancing accuracy); (b) sadness as an expression of care (including as a manifestation of love, of longing, of compassion, and eliciting care); and (c) sadness as a vehicle for flourishing (including as a moral sensibility, as engendering psychological development, as an aesthetic sensibility, and as integral to fulfilment). It is thus hoped that the paper can contribute to a more “positive” cultural discourse around sadness, suggesting that, for many people, experiences of sadness may serve an important function in their lives.

Prevalent practice in the literature of using correlated common and specific factors as independent predictors in classical ANOVA models is both statistically unsound and conceptually distorted

The misleading Dodo Bird verdict. How much of the outcome variance is explained by common and specific factors? Giulio de Felice et al. New Ideas in Psychology, Volume 54, August 2019, Pages 50-55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.newideapsych.2019.01.006

Abstract: The literature on psychotherapy research makes use of the so-called "Dodo Bird Verdict" to show that therapeutic change owes more to common factors than to specific techniques. According to the bulk of the empirical literature, common factors explain 30–70% of therapy outcome variance, while specific factors account for between 5% and 15%. This formulation is based on the assumption that common and specific factors are independent of each other. The present study uses a systematic review of the literature to empirically demonstrate that common and specific factors of change are actually correlated. In other words, the prevalent practice in the literature of using correlated common and specific factors as independent predictors in classical ANOVA models is both statistically unsound and conceptually distorted. We offer several alternative proposals for a sensible re-evaluation of the Dodo Bird verdict.

Examining the effect of combat excitement & diminished civilian solidarity on life satisfaction for American veterans

Examining the effect of combat excitement & diminished civilian solidarity on life satisfaction for American veterans. Gary Senecal et al. New Ideas in Psychology, Volume 52, January 2019, Pages 12-17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.newideapsych.2018.09.001

Abstract: The data accounting for the difficulties many OIF and OEF veterans experience upon reintegration into civilian society have been thoroughly documented over the last fifteen years. Among these difficulties, some veterans experience antisocial, self-injurious, and violent tendencies upon returning to civilian life. In this research project, 220 veterans were completed self-report surveys pertaining to their transition from military life to a civilian career. Some of the participants' responses revealed that there was a significant emotional and motivational dimension to the formation of otherwise aggressive and self-destructive tendencies activated upon leaving their military careers and culture. The term combat excitement was coined to articulate participants’ anticipation of enemy contact while deployed. This study demonstrates that high levels of combat excitement correlated with lower life satisfaction and lower civilian solidarity for participants in their civilian lives after leaving an active duty setting. Furthermore, civilians solidarity had a strong positive correlation with life satisfaction for participants. Ultimately, this study looks at how significant strong civilian relationships are vital to the health and life satisfaction of veterans as they leave active duty, as well as how combat excitement can weaken the tendency of veterans to have strong civilian relationships after service.

Social contents in dreams: Dreams were found to contain more social interactions than corresponding waking life; prosocial social simulations were not specifically aimed at familiar persons

Social contents in dreams: An empirical test of the Social Simulation Theory. Jarno Tuominen et al. Consciousness and Cognition, Volume 69, March 2019, Pages 133-145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2019.01.017

Highlights
•    Hypotheses from the Social Simulation Theory of dreaming were tested.
•    A novel content analysis method, the Social Content Scale, was developed.
•    Dreams were found to contain more social interactions than corresponding waking life.
•    Prosocial social simulations were not specifically aimed at familiar persons.
•    REM and NREM reports did not differ in prosocial or aggressive interactions.

Abstract: Social Simulation Theory (SST) considers the function of dreaming to be the simulation of social events. The Sociality Bias and the Strengthening hypotheses of SST were tested. Social Content Scale (SCS) was developed to quantify social events. Additionally, we attempted to replicate a previous finding (McNamara et al., 2005, Psychological Science) of REM dreams as predisposed to aggressive, and NREM dreams to prosocial interactions.

Further, we investigated the frequency and quality of interactions in late vs early REM and NREM dreams. Data consisted of wake, REM and NREM home dream reports (N = 232, 116, 116, respectively) from 15 students. Dreams overrepresented social events compared to wake reports, supporting the Sociality Bias hypothesis. However, the Strengthening Hypothesis was not supported. We weren’t able to replicate the McNamara et al. finding, and no time of night effect was found. While SST gained partial support, further research on social contents in dreams is required.

High Socioeconomic Status Predicts Substance Use and Alcohol Consumption in U.S. Undergraduates; Asians & married students were the least likely to use alcohol & drugs

High Socioeconomic Status Predicts Substance Use and Alcohol Consumption in U.S. Undergraduates. Chris C. Martin. Substance Use & Misuse, Feb 15 2019. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2018.1559193

Abstract: Background: In health sociology, the prevailing consensus is that socioeconomic status (SES) lowers illness risk. This model neglects the fact that unhealthful consumption patterns may covary with affluence. The current study examines consumption of drugs and alcohol among affluent U.S. college students.

Objectives: The article tests the hypothesis that undergraduate students from high-SES households have higher rates and levels of drug and alcohol consumption than their peers.

Methods: The study used self-report data from 18,611 18- to 24-year-old undergraduates across 23 public and private U.S. institutions from the Healthy Minds 2016 dataset. Results: I found that high-SES undergraduates were more likely than peers to use marijuana, choose varied drugs, consume alcohol frequently, and use alcohol and substances to cope with stress. The first three results were robust after controlling for gender, race, residence type, and relationship status. Marital status and race were stronger predictors than SES. Asians and married students were the least likely to use alcohol and drugs.

Conclusions/Importance: Findings supported the main hypotheses, and the effects were robust to controls. Consumption of illicit drugs and alcohol may be one hitherto neglected reason for downward mobility among economically privileged college students.

Keywords: Higher education, social class, substance use, alcohol, young adulthood, Asian Americans

Telomere Length And Health Outcomes: Of 50 possible outcomes studied, only important for gastric cancer and, probably, diabetes and Alzheimer's disease

Telomere Length And Health Outcomes: An umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of observational studies. Lee Smith et al. Ageing Research Reviews, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arr.2019.02.003

Highlights
• Shorter telomere length are associated with higher risk of non-communicable disease.

• Until now no attempt has been made to capture the breadth of outcomes associated with telomere length.

• This review indicates that shorter telomere length has a highly suggestive association with incidence of only specific cancer types, and has suggestive evidence with diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease risks.

• Telomere length has a weak association with heightened risks in a range of other important health outcomes (n = 20), whereas it has no role with others, including 27 outcomes out of 50.


Abstract: The aim of the present study was to map and grade evidence for the relationships between telomere length with a diverse range of health outcomes, using an umbrella review of systematic reviews with meta-analyses. We searched for meta-analyses of observational studies reporting on the association of telomere length with any health outcome (clinical disease outcomes and intermediate traits). For each association, random-effects summary effect size, 95% confidence interval (CI), and 95% prediction interval were calculated. To evaluate the credibility of the identified evidence, we assessed also heterogeneity, evidence for small-study effect and evidence for excess significance bias. Twenty-one relevant meta-analyses were identified reporting on 50 different outcomes and including a total of 326 observational studies. The level of evidence was high only for the association of short telomeres with higher risk of gastric cancer in the general population (relative risk, RR = 1.95, 95%CI: 1.68-2.26), and moderate for the association of shorter telomeres with diabetes or with Alzheimer’s disease, even if limited to meta-analyses of case-control studies. There was weak evidence for twenty outcomes and not significant association for 27 health outcomes. The present umbrella review demonstrates that shorter telomere length may have an important role in incidence gastric cancer and, probably, diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. At the same time, conversely to general assumptions, it does not find strong evidence supporting the notion that shorter telomere length plays an important role in many health outcomes that have been studied thus far.

Keywords: Telomere lengthumbrella reviewobservational studies

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Some of the outcomes studied:

Disease-free survival in chronic lymphocytic leukemia
Esophageal cancer
Head and neck cancer
Overall survival in glioma
Overall survival in lung cancer
Prostate cancer
Skin cancer - basal cell carcinoma
Skin cancer - melanoma
Depression
Stroke
Myocardial Infarction
type II diabetes mellitus
coronary heart disease
All-cause mortality in breast cancer
Bladder cancer
Breast cancer
Cancer recurrence
in breast cancer
Cancerspecific mortality in breast cancer
Colorectal cancer
Disease-free survival in colorectal cancer
Hepatocellular carcinoma
Lung cancer
Lymphoma - Hodgkin's lymphoma
Ovarian cancer
Overall survival in bladder cancer
Overall survival in chronic lymphocytic leukemia
Overall survival in colorectal cancer
Overall survival in esophageal cancer
Overall survival in ovarian cancer
Progressionfree survival in lung cancer
Renal cell carcinoma
AF  (incident)

Holding a green self-image & life satisfaction: Pro-environmental norms are experienced by greens as a standard of reference in the process of green status competition & by non-greens as a source of social pressure

Pro-environmental norms and subjective well-being: Panel evidence from the UK. Binder, Martin; Blankenberg, Ann-Kathrin; Welsch, Heinz; Oldenburg Discussion Papers in Economics V-417-19, 2019. https://www.econstor.eu/handle/10419/190962

Abstract: Tying in with a small number of studies on green norms, identity and subjective well-being, this paper studies the relationship between holding a green self-image and life satisfaction in the UK. Focusing on (sub-national) regions as the unit of reference, we investigate if and how the individual-level greenness-satisfaction relationship varies with measures of the prevalence and distribution (disparity) of greenness at the regional level, taking these measures as indicators of a green social norm. Two key findings emerge from our analysis. First, life satisfaction is negatively related to the regional-level mean (prevalence) and positively related to the regional-level diversity of greenness, while being unrelated to the degree of polarization of greenness. Taking the prevalence as a direct and diversity as an inverse measure of the validity of a greenness norm, these results are consistent with the idea that the norm is experienced (by greens) as a standard of reference in the process of green status competition or (by non-greens) as a source of social pressure. Second, the well-being benefits from holding a greener self-image are unrelated to the prevalence and diversity of greenness, but positively related to the polarization of greenness for those either very green or not green at all. This is consistent with the idea that green self-image yields well-being benefits through identity, that is, by identifying with the own group and differentiating oneself from other groups - a possibility that relies on sufficiently large differentiation/polarization of groups. We discuss differences between these results and previous findings based on measures of nation-wide prevalence and disparity of greenness.

Females preferred fungus‐infected males over other males; maybe these males invested their energetic resources to increase their attractiveness at the risk of survival, in a terminal investment fashion

Female choice for sick males over healthy males: Consequences for offspring. Alicia Reyes‐Ramirez et al. Ethology, Feb 15 2019, https://doi.org/10.1111/eth.12854

Abstract: Sexual selection theory indicates that ornament expression in males is in close relation to their condition. This “honesty” relationship serves as the basis for female choice: Females would mate with healthy males over sick males after assessing male ornament signal expression and derive benefits for their progeny. Here, we investigated female mate choice for infected and non‐infected males, male survival after infection (to corroborate the negative effect of infection), and fitness consequences of female preferences using Tenebrio molitor beetles. Male infection was produced having two types of challenges as follows: males infected with entomopathogenic fungi and males infected with nylon implants. Similar to previous studies, we corroborated that females preferred fungus‐infected males over positive control, negative control, and nylon‐challenged males. Survival was the lowest for fungus‐treated males followed by nylon‐treated and control males. Females mated with fungus‐treated males laid fewer and smaller eggs, and the laid eggs had less lipid content with a reduced eclosion success compared to females mated with non‐challenged males. Our interpretation is that fungus‐treated males invested their energetic resources to increase their attractiveness at the risk of survival, in a terminal investment fashion. Females, however, would have corrected their choice by investing less in their offspring.

Humor reduces the perceived veracity of proximal statements; diminishes the perceived veracity of negative disclosures; adding humor to negative disclosures boosts perceptions of warmth and competence

The impression management benefits of humorous self-disclosures: How humor influences perceptions of veracity. T. Bradford Bitterly et al. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Volume 151, March 2019, Pages 73-89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2019.01.005

Highlights
• Humor reduces the perceived veracity of proximal statements.
• Humor diminishes the perceived veracity of negative disclosures.
• Adding humor to negative disclosures boosts perceptions of warmth and competence.
• Humor is a powerful impression management tool.

Abstract: Across five studies, we identify humor as a powerful impression management tool that influences perceptions of veracity. In many domains, such as negotiations and interviews, individuals face a challenge with respect to disclosing negative information and managing impressions. For example, an interviewer may ask an applicant to name their greatest weakness. In these settings, disclosures that reveal negative information (e.g., “I am not good at math.”) can harm perceptions of warmth and competence. We demonstrate that pairing a humorous statement with a disclosure (e.g., “I am not good at math. Geometry is where I draw the line.”) changes perceptions of the veracity of the disclosure; disclosures are less likely to be judged as true when they are accompanied by a humorous statement than when they are not. We introduce the Speaker's Inferred Motive (SIM) Model and consider the possibility that (a) speakers pursue different motives, such as a transmission-of-ideas motive (to convey information) or an entertainment motive (to amuse an audience), (b) audience members infer the speaker’s motive, and (c) these inferences influence perceptions of the veracity of proximal disclosures. As a result, by using humor, a speaker may signal a shift in motive and diminish perceptions of the veracity of both the humorous statement and proximal claims. Taken together, when a target discloses negative information, including information that is highly relevant to the conversational partner, the use of humor can boost perceptions of warmth and competence. We discuss implications of our findings with respect to communication, interpersonal perception, and impression management.

We propose a novel tripartite taxonomy of Schadenfreude: Aggression, rivalry, and justice; the process of dehumanization may lie at the core of Schadenfreude

Schadenfreude deconstructed and reconstructed: A tripartite motivational model. Shensheng Wang, Scott O. Lilienfeld, Philippe Rochat. New Ideas in Psychology, Volume 52, January 2019, Pages 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.newideapsych.2018.09.002

Highlights
•    Research from diverse subdisciplines of psychology sheds light on Schadenfreude.
•    We propose a novel tripartite taxonomy of Schadenfreude: Aggression, rivalry, and justice.
•    The process of dehumanization may lie at the core of Schadenfreude.

Abstract: Schadenfreude is the distinctive pleasure people derive from others' misfortune. Research over the past three decades points to the multifaceted nature of Schadenfreude rooted in humans’ concerns for social justice, self-evaluation, and social identity. Less is known, however, regarding how the differing facets of Schadenfreude are interrelated and take shape in response to these concerns. To address these questions, we review extant theories in social psychology and draw upon evidence from developmental, personality, and clinical research literature to propose a novel, tripartite, taxonomy of Schadenfreude embedded in a motivational model. Our model posits that Schadenfreude comprises three separable but interrelated subforms (aggression, rivalry, and justice), which display different developmental trajectories and personality correlates. This model further posits that dehumanization plays a central role in both eliciting Schadenfreude and integrating its various facets. In closing, we point to fruitful directions for future research motivated by this novel account of Schadenfreude.

It challenges the use of cognitive-behavioural psychological models underpinning many of the dominant & popular accounts of emotion in the neurosciences; gives importance to the cultural-historical school

Emotions, social activity and neuroscience: The cultural-historical formation of emotion. Ian Burkitt. New Ideas in Psychology, Volume 54, August 2019, Pages 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.newideapsych.2018.11.001

Abstract: This article challenges the use of cognitive-behavioural psychological models underpinning many of the dominant and popular accounts of emotion in the neurosciences. Acknowledging that neurobiology is important for any understanding of emotion, an alternative model of neuropsychology is sought in the work of theorists of the cultural-historical school, particularly A. N. Leontyev and A. R. Luria. The importance of their work in stressing the key role of intentional social activity, culture, and language in the formation of human neuropsychological functions is developed into a theory of emotions that can provide an alternative for emotion studies. In this theory, activity, culture, history, and individual ontogeny play the defining role in structuring the neurobiological systems that underlie emotions, as opposed to the evolution of behaviours that are hard-wired into the brain and function as automatic responses. Instead, it is understood that there is a continuum between evolution and human social and cultural development.