Tech heavy users are lower in well-being than less frequent users; tech nonusers are generally lower in well-being than light users of digital media, suggesting that limited use may be beneficial

More Time on Technology, Less Happiness? Associations Between Digital-Media Use and Psychological Well-Being. Jean M. Twenge. Current Directions in Psychological Science, May 22, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721419838244

Abstract: Studies using large samples consistently find that more frequent users of digital media are lower in psychological well-being than less frequent users; even data sets used as evidence for weak effects show that twice as many heavy users (vs. light users) are low in well-being. Differences in perspective may stem from the statistics used; I argue that comparing well-being across levels of digital-media use is more useful than the percentage of variance explained, as most studies on digital-media use do not measure other influences on well-being (e.g., genetics, trauma), and these other influences, unlike frequency of digital-media use, are rarely controllable. Nonusers are generally lower in well-being than light users of digital media, however, suggesting that limited use may be beneficial. Longitudinal and experimental studies suggest that at least some of the causation moves from digital-media use to lower well-being. Mechanisms may include the displacement of activities more beneficial to well-being (sleep, face-to-face social interaction), upward social comparison, and cyberbullying.

Keywords: digital media, well-being, happiness, depression, social media, electronic devices

Check also The Sad State of Happiness in the United States and the Role of Digital Media. Jean M. Twenge. World Happiness Report 2019, Mar 20 2019. https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2019/03/the-sad-state-of-happiness-in-united.html

We say that olfaction is a very powerful thing, that we recognize some smells from our childhood when we find them again later in life, but we almost never dream smells.

Olfactory perception in dreams: Analysis of a long dream series. Michael Schredl. International Journal of Dream Research,     Vol 12, No 1 (April 2019)
https://doi.org/10.11588/ijodr.2019.1.57845

Abstract: The present study analyzed the frequency of olfactory perceptions in a long dream series (N = 11,180 dreams) reported by a single participant. Overall, about 0.30% of the dreams included references to olfactory perceptions with unpleasant odors outweighing positive ones. Moreover, most of the olfactory perceptions are uncommon with regard to typical everyday life. To expand these findings, it would be very interesting to study larger samples using a diary paradigm including explicit questions about type, quality, and commonness of the dream odors.


4. Discussion

The present findings confirm previous results showing that spontaneously mentioned olfactory perceptions in dreams are rare since the frequency found in this male dreamer (0.30%) was close to the figure of 0.11% diary dreams re-ported by males that include references to olfactory percep-tions (Zadra et al., 1998). However, one has to keep in mind that the dreamer was not aware of the study’s rationale, i.e., analyzing olfactory perceptions, and, thus, the spontaneously reported olfactory perceptions might be an underestimation compared to a paradigm with explicit questions about sensory perceptions after recording the dreams (Carskadon et al., 1989).

From a methodological viewpoint it has to be considered that the codings were done by the dreamer himself alone; there was no second external judge so that interrater reliabilities could be ascertained. However, previous research indicated that for simple scales measuring the presence or absence of a specific topic have shown high interrater reli-ability (Schredl, Burchert, & Grabatin, 2004). As reported in previous studies (Arshamian, 2007; Carska-don et al., 1989; Monroe, 1899; Stevenson & Case, 2004-05; Weitz et al., 2010) the olfactory perception included a large variety of topics. However, a closer look showed that only one third of the contexts in which olfactory perceptions in the dreams were experienced also occurred in the dream-er’s everyday life, most of the olfactory perception contexts were unusual for the dreamer or even bizarre (ketchup with fish smell) – indicating the dreams are not simple replays of waking life experiences (Fosse, Fosse, Hobson, & Stick-gold, 2003; Malinowski & Horton, 2014). This contributes to the discussion whether dream content is continuous and/
discontinuous to waking life (Hobson & Schredl, 2011). In this context, it would be interesting to study odor experts (perfumers, chefs, oenologists etc.) who focus quite often on olfactory perceptions during the day.

Most of the spontaneously reported odors in this dream series were unpleasant. One might speculate that there might be a report bias similar to the underreporting of positive emotions compared to negative emotions (Röver & Schredl, 2017; Schredl & Doll, 1998; Sikka, Feilhauer, Valli, & Revon-suo, 2017). To test this hypothesis, it would be interesting to ask explicitly for olfactory perceptions in the dream and their emotional quality after the dream is recorded. Although the reported dream examples in the literature are mainly nega-tive (Wayne & Clinco, 1959; Weed & Hallam, 1896; Zadra et al., 1998), the preponderance of negative odors in dreams might be characteristic for this special dreamer, i.e., larger samples are necessary to corroborate this finding. It would also be interesting to test pleasantness/unpleasantness in the context of other sensory modalities like visual or audi-tory experiences. As the olfactory system is closely linked to the limbic system (Gottfried, 2006), one would not expect a strong relationship between perception per se and emo-tions.

To summarize, the analysis of this dream series indicate that olfactory perceptions in dreams are quite rare, mainly unpleasant und uncommon regarding the context compared to everyday life. Due to the design (single case study), the findings raise a lot of questions as to what olfactory per-ceptions look like in larger dream samples and/or in other subjects, for example, in odor experts. It would be very in-teresting to carry out an experimental dream study using ambulatory assessment techniques with one group regularly reminded to focus on olfaction during the day and answer-ing questions about type, pleasantness and commonness of the odor. According to the continuity hypothesis (Schredl, 2018), the percentage of olfactory dreams should increase and the pleasant/unpleasant ratio of waking olfactory per-ception should be reflected in the participants’ dreams. These studies might help to elucidate the interesting rela-tionship between olfaction, sleep, and dreams.

In the pre-Christmas shopping season prosocial subjects almost donate 50% less compared to prosocials in summer; the higher prosocials’ self-reported stress level, the lower the donations; no "donation fatigue" effect

Müller Stephan, Rau HA (2019) Too cold for warm glow? Christmas-season effects in charitable giving. PLoS ONE 14(5): e0215844. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0215844

Abstract: This paper analyzes seasonal effects and their potential drivers in charitable giving. We conduct two studies to analyze whether donations to the German Red Cross differ between the Christmas season and summer. In study 1 we find that in the pre-Christmas shopping season prosocial subjects almost donate 50% less compared to prosocials in summer. In study 2 we replicate the low donations in the Christmas season. In an extensive questionnaire we control for several causes of this effect. The data suggest that the higher prosocials’ self-reported stress level, the lower the donations. The higher their relative savings, the lower the giving. Our questionnaire rules out that “donation fatigue” matters. That is, donations do not depend on the number of charitable campaigns subjects are confronted with and their engagement in these activities during Christmas season outside the lab.

Preoperative anxiety of hospitalized patients exposed to Spiritist “passe” showed greater reductions in anxiety & muscle tension & increases in well-being than those exposed Sham or standard medical care

Effect of Spiritist “Passe” on Preoperative Anxiety of Surgical Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Double-Blind. Élida Mara Carneiro et al. Journal of Religion and Health, May 22 2019. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10943-019-00841-7

Abstract: The objective of this study was to evaluate the preoperative anxiety of hospitalized patients exposed to Spiritist “passe,” laying on of hand with the intention of healing (Sham) and without laying on of hand. Other variables as depression, pain, physiological parameters, muscle tension, and well-being were assessed. Patients in the Spiritist “passe” intervention group showed greater reductions in anxiety (p < 0.05) and muscle tension (p < 0.01) and increases in well-being (p < 0.01). More marked reductions in preoperative anxiety and muscle tension and improvement in well-being were observed in patients exposed to Spiritist “passe” compared to Sham or standard medical care.

Keywords: Spiritual healing Energy therapies Complementary therapies Anxiety Surgery

Does Fraternal Birth Order Predict Male Homosexuality, Bisexuality, and Heterosexual Orientation with Same-Sex Attraction? Evidence from a Greek-Speaking Sample from Greece

Does Fraternal Birth Order Predict Male Homosexuality, Bisexuality, and Heterosexual Orientation with Same-Sex Attraction? Evidence from a Greek-Speaking Sample from Greece. Menelaos Apostolou. Archives of Sexual Behavior, May 22 2019. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-019-01466-3

Abstract: Studies have established that having older brothers is associated with an increased incidence of male homosexuality. This so-called fraternal birth order effect has been found in different times and cultural settings. The current study attempted to examine whether this effect was present in the Greek cultural context and whether it could also predict bisexuality or heterosexuality with occasional same-sex attractions. On the basis of an online sample of 1617 Greek-speaking participants, it was found that, for men, a higher number of older brothers were associated with an increased probability to be homosexual, but it had no effect on the probability to be bisexual or heterosexual with same-sex attractions. In women, the number of older brothers had not any effect on sexual orientation.

Keywords: Fraternal birth order effect Sexual orientation Homosexuality Same-sex attraction Bisexuality Older brothers

Coverture’s demise in the US: Women’s rights led to shifts in household portfolios; a positive shock to credit supply; & a reallocation of labor towards non-agriculture & capital intensive industries, aiding industrialization

Women’s Liberation as a Financial Innovation. Moshe Hazan and David Weiss. October 23, 2018. https://m.tau.ac.il/~davidweiss/WomenRights.pdf

ABSTRACT: In one of the greatest extensions of property rights in human history, common law countries began giving rights to married women in the 1850s. Before this “women’s liberation,” the doctrine of coverture strongly incentivized parents of daughters to hold real estate, rather than financial assets such as money, stocks, or bonds. We exploit the staggered nature of coverture’s demise across US states to show that women’s rights led to shifts in household portfolios; a positive shock to the supply of credit; and a reallocation of labor towards non-agriculture and capital intensive industries. Investor protection deepened financial markets aiding industrialization.

Keywords: Women’s liberation, financial innovation, investor protection, economic growth.

 Property rights are at the heart of capitalism’s ability to efficiently allocate resources. Inone of the greatest extensions of property rights in human history, common law countriesbegan giving rights to married women in the second half of the19th century. Before this“women’s liberation,” married women were subject to the laws of coverture.1Coverturehad detailed regulations as to which spouse had ownership and control over various aspectsof property, both before and after marriage, and strongly incentivized women to hold realestate, rather than financial assets such as money, stocks, orbonds. This paper explores theeconomic ramifications of coverture’s demise, and the resultant expansion of investor pro-tection to women. We exploit the staggered nature of coverture’s demise across the United States to show that these rights had a large impact on household portfolios, credit markets, and labor allocations.

Under coverture, property was divided into two types. Moveable property (also referredto as “personal property”), including money, stocks, bonds, furniture, and livestock, became the husband’s property entirely upon marriage. He could sell or give the property away, oreven bequeath it to others. Real assets, such as land and structures, were placed under the husband’s partial control while remaining in the wife’s name. He could manage the assets as he saw fit, including any income generated by the assets, but he could not sell orbequeath the property without his wife’s consent.2 After analyzing the laws of coverture, Holcombe (1983) concludes that “[w]hatever the reasons forthe distinction between realand personal [moveable] property, the legal rules applyingto these categories of propertywere substantially different. The common law afforded married women considerable protection with respect to real property. It afforded no protection for their personal property.” (Holcombe 1983, p.20).

By differentially allocating property rights, coverture affected portfolio incentives notonly for women, but for parents wishing to bequeath or gift assets to their daughters. Con-sider a father who wants to bequeath his estate to his daughter upon his death. He wouldface an incentive to hold his wealth in real assets. Indeed, parents did bequeath to daughtersin the US as primogeniture was abandoned after the War of Independence. The default became to divide equally inheritances of both types of assets equally among children, including girls (Shammas, Salmon and Dahlin 1987, p.67). Therefore, our first prediction is that undoing coverture should cause portfolios to shift towards moveable assets, such as financial assets, because removing legal constraints allows households to purchase assets withhigher returns or diversify their portfolios.3This shift in portfolios towards moveable assets represents an increase in the supply of financial assets. Accordingly, our second predictionis that after rights are granted, we expect bank deposits–and loans–to increase, along with a reduction in interest rates. An increase in the supply of loanable funds should aid industrialization, as entrepreneurs find capital to be cheaper and thus invest more readily. Greater industrialization yields a sectoral reallocation of workers. Accordingly, our third predictionis that coverture’s demise leads to a shift in the labor forceaway from agriculture. More-over, even within the non-agricultural sector, cheaper capital causes greater investment inindustries that are more capital intensive. Thus, our fourth and final prediction is that rightslead to a relative increase in employment in capital intensive industries.

Those assigned to the perspective taking intervention did not empathize more than subjects assigned to no intervention; instead, subjects assigned to the objective intervention down-regulated their emotions & empathized less

Wondra, Joshua D., and Sylvia Morelli. 2018. “Limitations of the Evidence That Perspective Taking Increases Empathy.” PsyArXiv. October 13. doi:10.31234/osf.io/95fnr

Abstract: Perspective taking is commonly believed to increase empathy. To support this idea, empirical research must show two pieces of evidence. First, perspective taking interventions should make people empathize more than they would by default. Second, the increase in empathy should be due to perspective taking, and not some other feature of the intervention. Much of the evidence that perspective taking increases empathy comes from studies that compare a perspective taking condition to a condition where subjects are asked to “remain objective”. However, if subjects are not objective to begin with, then asking them to “remain objective” might make them empathize less, which makes it unclear if perspective taking also makes them empathize more. In two new experiments and one replication of the well-known “Katie Banks” experiment, subjects were assigned to a perspective taking intervention, an objective intervention, or no intervention. Subjects assigned to the perspective taking intervention did not empathize more than subjects assigned to no intervention; instead, subjects assigned to the objective intervention down-regulated their emotions and empathized less. Further evidence about whether, when, and how perspective taking increases empathy is needed.

Memento mori, melancholy, and the resident ornamental hermit: A person paid to dress like a druid, serve wine and read poetry, living in your estate's grotto

Before the Garden Gnome, the Ornamental Hermit: A Real Person Paid to Dress like a Druid. Allison Meier. Atlas Obscura, March 18, 2014. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-history-of-hermits-in-gardens

While some gardeners might now throw in a gnome statue among their flowers and shrubberies, back in the 18th century wealthy estate owners were hiring real people to dress as druids, grow their hair long, and not wash for years. These hired hermits would lodge in shacks, caves, and other hermitages constructed in a rustic manner in rambling gardens. It was a practice mostly found in England, although it made it up to Scotland and over to Ireland as well.

Gordon Campbell, a Professor of Renaissance Studies at the University of Leicester, recently published The Hermit in the Garden: From Imperial Rome to Ornamental Gnome with Oxford University Press. It’s the first book to delve into the history of the ornamental hermit in Georgian England. As Campbell explains in this video for the book:

“Recruiting a hermit wasn’t always easy. Sometimes they were agricultural workers, and they were dressed in a costume, often in a druid’s costume. There was no agreement on how druids dressed, but in some cases they wore what we would call a dunce’s cap. It’s a most peculiar phenomenon, and understanding it is one of the reasons why I have written this book.”

How the live-in hermit came to be a fashionable touch to a splendid garden goes back to the Roman emperor Hadrian with his villa at Tivoli, which included a small lake with a structure in it built for one person to retreat. When the ruins of this early hermitage were unearthed in the 16th century, it was suggested that Pope Pius IV build one for himself, which he did at the Casina Pio IV. Yet from here it gradually verged away from religious devotees isolating themselves for spiritual reflection to hermitting being an 18th century profession for those willing to put up with the stipulations.

As Campbell cites from an advertisement referenced in Sir William Gell’s A Tour in the Lakes Made in 1797, ”the hermit is never to leave the place, or hold conversation with anyone for seven years during which he is neither to wash himself or cleanse himself in any way whatever, but is to let his hair and nails both on hands and feet, grow as long as nature will permit them.”

Others asked that their hermits not wear shoes or even to entertain party guests with personalized poetry or the serving of wine. It might seem like a whimsical garden feature, but in fact it was all about that most celebrated of Georgian England emotions: melancholy. Introspection and a somberness of spirit were prized among the elite, and the roles they asked their hermits to play embodied this. A 1784 guide to the Hawkstone estate in Shropshire belonging to Sir Richard Hill describes its resident hermit:

“You pull a bell, and gain admittance. The hermit is generally in a sitting posture, with a table before him, on which is a skull, the emblem of mortality, an hour-glass, a book and a pair of spectacles. The venerable bare-footed Father, whose name is Francis (if awake) always rises up at the approach of strangers. He seems about 90 years of age, yet has all his sense to admiration. He is tolerably conversant, and far from being unpolite.”

We care about the minds of others, attempting to understand others' thoughts, attitudes, beliefs, intentions, & emotions; but perspective taking or increasing attention to behavioral cues increase accuracy only in very specific circumstances

Through a looking glass, darkly: Using mechanisms of mind perception to identify accuracy, overconfidence, and underappreciated means for improvement. Nicholas Epley, Tal Eyal. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, May 22 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.aesp.2019.04.002

Abstract: People care about the minds of others, attempting to understand others' thoughts, attitudes, beliefs, intentions, and emotions using a highly sophisticated process of social cognition. Others' minds are among the most complicated systems that any person will ever think about, meaning that inferences about them are also made imperfectly. Research on the processes that enable mental state inference has largely developed in isolation from research examining the accuracy of these inferences, leaving the former literature somewhat impractical and the latter somewhat atheoretical. We weave these literatures together by describing how basic mechanisms that govern the activation and application of mental state inferences help to explain systematic patterns of accuracy, error, and confidence in mind perception. Altering any of these basic processes, such as through perspective taking or increasing attention to behavioral cues, is likely to increase accuracy only in very specific circumstances. We suggest the most widely effective method for increasing accuracy is to avoid these inference processes altogether by getting another's perspective directly (what we refer to as perspective getting). Those in the midst of understanding the mind of another, however, seem largely unable to detect when they are using an effective versus ineffective strategy while engaging in mind reading, meaning that the most effective approaches for increasing interpersonal understanding are likely to be highly undervalued. Understanding how mind perception is activated and applied can explain accuracy and error, identifying effective strategies that mind readers may nevertheless fail to appreciate in their everyday lives.

Early-life family disruption (death or divorce of a parent) causes fund managers to be more risk averse when they manage their own funds

Betzer, André and Limbach, Peter and Rau, P. Raghavendra and Schürmann, Henrik, Till Death (Or Divorce) Do us Part: Early-Life Family Disruption and Fund Manager Behavior (March 16, 2019). SSRN http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3353686

Abstract: We show that early-life family disruption (death or divorce of a parent) causes fund managers to be more risk averse when they manage their own funds. Treated managers take lower idiosyncratic, systematic, and downside risk than untreated managers. This effect is most pronounced for managers who experienced family disruption during their formative years and in cases of parental deaths when the bereaved parent either had no new partner or had little social support. Treated managers also invest less in lottery-like stocks, make smaller tracking errors, and bet less on factors during recessions, but do not perform worse than their untreated cohorts. Our evidence indicates that familial background affects economic decisions later in life even for finance professionals.

Keywords: Family Disruption, Formative Experiences, Portfolio Activities, Risk-Taking
JEL Classification: G11, G23, G41

Popular version: Broken Homes Produce More Cautious Fund Managers, https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/b1fhb6b555gjlq/Broken-Homes-Produce-More-Cautious-Fund-Managers

Crews would routinely return with whales that had been left to rot, “which could not be used for food. This was not regarded as a problem by anybody.”

The Most Senseless Environmental Crime of the 20th Century. Charles Homans. Pacific Standard, Jun 14, 2017. https://psmag.com/social-justice/the-senseless-environment-crime-of-the-20th-century-russia-whaling-67774

Fifty years ago 180,000 whales disappeared from the oceans without a trace, and researchers are still trying to make sense of why. Inside the most irrational environmental crime of the century.

Excerpts:

*  In fact, the country’s fleets had killed nearly 18 times that many, along with thousands of unreported whales of other species. It had been an elaborate and audacious deception: Soviet captains had disguised ships, tampered with scientific data, and misled international authorities for decades. In the estimation of the marine biologists Yulia Ivashchenko, Phillip Clapham, and Robert Brownell, it was “arguably one of the greatest environmental crimes of the 20th century.”

*  Why did a country with so little use for whales kill so many of them?

*  The Japanese, motivated as they were by domestic demand for whale meat, were “at least understandable” in their actions, he wrote. “I should not say that as a scientist, but it is possible to understand the difference between a motivated and unmotivated crime.” Japanese whalers made use of 90 percent of the whales they hauled up the spillway; the Soviets, according to Berzin, used barely 30 percent. Crews would routinely return with whales that had been left to rot, “which could not be used for food. This was not regarded as a problem by anybody.”

*  The scientific report for the Sovetskaya Rossiya fleet’s 1970-71 season noted that the ship captains and harpooners who most frequently violated international whaling regulations also received the most Communist Party honors. “Lies became an inalienable part and perhaps even a foundation of Soviet whaling,” Berzin wrote.

*  Clapham and Ivashchenko now think that Soviet whalers killed at least 180,000 more whales than they reported between 1948 and 1973. It’s a testament to the enormous scale of legal commercial whaling that this figure constitutes only a small percentage—in some oceans, about five percent—of the total killed by whalers in the 20th century. The Soviets, Dmitri Tormosov told me, were well aware of all that had come before them, and were driven by a kind of fatalistic nationalism. “The point,” he says, “was to catch up and get their portion of whale resources before they were all gone. It wasn’t intended to be a long industry.”

Mate Choice in Visually Impaired and Blind People

Are You Seeing Him/Her? Mate Choice in Visually Impaired and Blind People. Or Fekler, Ya’Arit Bokek-Cohen & Yoram Braw. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, May 15 2019. https://doi.org/10.1080/1034912X.2019.1617412

ABSTRACT: We examined whether individuals who are VI (visually impaired; people with low vision or totally blind) choose their romantic partners differently than those who are sighted. The theoretical framework that informed our inquiry is Social Exchange Theory. Fifty-five participants who are VI and fifty-one participants who are sighted were administered mate preference and marital satisfaction questionnaires. Participants who are VI also answered open-ended questions regarding difficulties in finding a suitable mate. Participants who are VI did not significantly differ from participants who are sighted in their rated importance of traits of an ideal romantic partner, as well as their relationship satisfaction. No tradeoff of resources among participants who are VI and their partners was found, i.e. they did not “pay” for their disability by coupling with a partner who has a lower socio-economic status than theirs. Participants who were VI told about their main difficulties in finding a mate and offered proposals to mitigate these difficulties. We conclude by proposing ways to help individuals who are VI to establish intimate relationships.

KEYWORDS: Blindness, visual impairment, mate choice, reading aloud questionnaire, romantic relationship, social exchange

How Eroticism and Nurturance Differs in Polyamorous and Monogamous Relationships

Eroticism Versus Nurturance: How Eroticism and Nurturance Differs in Polyamorous and Monogamous Relationships. Rhonda N. Balzarini et al. Social Psychology, April 17, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-9335/a000378

Abstract. Romantic partners provide both erotic and nurturing experiences, though these may emerge more strongly in different phases of a relationship. Unlike individuals in monogamous relationships, those in polyamorous relationships can pursue multiple romantic relationships simultaneously, potentially allowing them to experience higher levels of eroticism and nurturance. This research examined eroticism and nurturance among individuals in polyamorous and monogamous relationships. As expected, polyamorous participants experienced less eroticism but more nurturance in their relationships with their primary partner compared to secondary. Furthermore, people in polyamorous relationships reported more nurturance with primary partners and eroticism with secondary partners compared to people in monogamous relationships. These findings suggest that polyamory may provide a unique opportunity for individuals to experience both eroticism and nurturance simultaneously.

Keywords: polyamory, monogamy, nurturance, eroticism, relationship length



Romantic relationships are important to health and well-being (Coombs, 1991; Lillard & Waite, 1995; Putzke, Elliott, & Richards, 2001; Simon, 2002), in part because they often meet people’s needs for emotional support, care, and sexual gratification (Hazan & Shaver, 1994). However, fulfilling these needs simultaneously can be challenging, as the experience of eroticism (i.e., feeling of arousal, passion, lust, sexual pleasure) and nurturance (i.e., feelings of intimacy, warmth and love) often follow different time courses in a relationship (Hatfield, Traupmann, & Sprecher, 1984; Sprecher & Regan, 1998; Tennov, 1979; Winston, 2004). As a result, individuals in relationships are often stuck trying to balance their need for eroticism and their need for nurturance (Hazan & Shaver, 1994), as experiences of eroticism are more prominent in the early stages, and experiences of nurturance develop over time as erotic desires decline. People in polyamorous relationships – relationships that involve consensual intimate relationships with more than one partner – may seek out additional relationships in order to fulfill multiple needs by different partners. In the current research we sought to assess whether partners in polyamorous relationships differ with regard to their experienced eroticism and nurturance, and whether individuals in polyamorous relationships are able to maintain higher levels of eroticism and nurturance than individuals in monogamous relationships through having multiple relationships.

Theoretical Framework

Van Anders Sexual Configuration Theory (2015) advances that eroticism, or “aspects of sexuality tied to bodily pleasure, orgasm, arousal, tantalization, and related concepts,” and nurturance, or “warm loving feelings and closeness,” serve fundamental roles in relationships. Sexual Configuration Theory proposes that individuals may pursue some intimate relationships for eroticism, others for nurturance, and still others for both of these qualities. While van Anders (2015) provides a theoretical context for the role of eroticism and nurturance in relationships, and while research related to these concepts – such as passionate and companionate love – can help provide insight into how eroticism and nurturance may be experienced in relationships, to date it remains unclear if engaging in relationships with multiple partners results in different experiences with eroticism and nurturance. That is, do individuals who engage in polyamorous relationships and thus have multiple simultaneous partners experience higher levels of eroticism and nurturance than those who rely on one partner to meet their needs?

Passionate and Companionate Love

While the current paper seeks to assess eroticism and nurturance, the fulfillment of these needs has most often been studied in the context of love, which is frequently conceptualized as either passionate or companionate (Hatfield & Walster, 1978). Consequently, we rely on research on passionate and companionate love to serve as a proxy for what might be found when exploring eroticism and nurturance in relationships.

Passionate love is characterized as an intensely emotional state that involves longing for union with another person and strong sexual desire between partners. With companionate love, in contrast, strong sexual desire is replaced by increased intimacy (e.g., caring, understanding, attachment) that requires time to develop fully (Sprecher & Regan, 1998). Although passionate and companionate love are not mutually exclusive, they may be more prominent at different stages of a relationship. More specifically, passionate love is most closely associated with the early stages or the “honeymoon” period of a relationship (though passion can still be experienced in the later stages, it tends to decline on average), and companionate love with the later stages (Hatfield et al., 1984; Sprecher & Regan, 1998).

Outsourcing Needs in Relationships

The differing time courses of passionate and companionate love are also consistent with evolutionary perspectives about the formation of adult pair bonds. Since pair bonds require time and close physical proximity to form, the characteristics of the early stage of a relationship include an intense longing for closeness with a partner (Hazan & Diamond, 2000; Tennov, 1979). However, over time, an attachment bond is thought to form, reducing the intensity of the desire for physical proximity as the relationship becomes more predictable and familiar (Eagle, 2007). Therefore, from an evolutionary perspective, feelings of passionate love are the mechanism by which initial attraction becomes attachment, facilitating the initiation of longer term romantic relationships. Social and evolutionary psychologists even agree on a timeframe for this shift, such that passionate love is thought to last approximately 2 years, ±6 months (Tennov, 1979), while attachment bonds typically form 1.5–3 years after a relationship is initiated (Winston, 2004).

Importantly, Eagle (2007) argues the features of attachment work against erotic desire. According to Eagle, for a romantic partner to serve as an attachment figure they need to be available, familiar, and predictable. These characteristics, however, thwart feelings of sexual desire, which she argues is conversely ignited by novelty and unpredictability. If, in fact, familiarity and predictability are key features of an attachment figure and if sexual desire for a partner is diminished by these characteristics, then once an attachment bond is formed in a relationship, it is likely that sexual desire will decrease. Similar ideas are echoed by Mitchell (2002) and Perel (2007) who have independently argued that initial erotic desire – and related feelings of passion – wanes as partners impose boundaries on one-another to reduce relational insecurity, and that sexual desire can be negatively impacted by increasing closeness and familiarity. Clinical reports (Levine, 2003), along with qualitative (Sims & Meana, 2010) and quantitative research (Levy, 1994) provide additional support for these arguments, such that familiarity, monotony, preoccupation with non-sexual matters, and predictability are shown to undermine erotic desire.

To the extent that passionate and companionate love are related to eroticism and nurturance, this research and theorizing may suggest differing trajectories for the experience of erotic desire and nurturance. If this is the case, like different forms of love, it may be challenging to experience high levels of eroticism and nurturance with one romantic partner at a single point in time. In fact, this problem is likely compounded by the burden of contemporary expectations about the functions of romantic relationships. Today, it is commonly assumed that committed relationships should meet many higher order needs like happiness and personal fulfillment, while at the same time, many couples find it challenging to invest the time and energy needed to fulfill all these needs (see Finkel, Hui, Carswell, & Larson, 2014). One solution to this problem is to alter expectations about romantic relationships and outsource needs. Indeed, it has been proposed that couples could alter their expectations about relationships; that is, rather than relying on one partner to meet both erotic and nurturant needs, individuals could outsource their needs to other relationships, diversifying their need fulfillment across multiple romantic or sexual partners (Conley, Matsick, Moors, & Ziegler, 2017; Conley & Moors, 2014).

In consensually non-monogamous relationships, all partners agree it is acceptable to have additional romantic or sexual partners (Conley, Ziegler, Moors, Matsick, & Valentine, 2013). Given that consensual non-monogamy provides the opportunity to simultaneously pursue relationships, it may be possible for individuals in consensually non-monogamous relationships to concurrently experience high levels of eroticism along with nurturance through relationships with various partners. Thus, if relationships tend to decline in eroticism and increase in nurturance over time, it is possible that individuals in consensually non-monogamous relationships seek out secondary relationships to experience both eroticism and nurturance.

Relationship Orientation

In the current research we focus on polyamory, the practice and acceptance of having multiple emotionally close relationships with the consent of all partners involved (Barker & Langdridge, 2010). Polyamorous relationships are particularly useful to study in this context because unlike other popular forms of consensually non-monogamous relationships (e.g., open and swinging), partners are permitted to seek both eroticism and nurturance outside of a dyad. The most common polyamorous relationship configuration is characterized by a distinction between primary and secondary relationship partners (Balzarini, Dharma, Kohut, Campbell, Lehmiller, et al., 2018; Veaux, 2011; Veaux, Hardy, & Gill, 2014). In this configuration, a primary relationship is between two partners who have been together for a longer duration, typically share a household and finances, who are married, and who have or are raising children together (if children are desired) (Balzarini et al., 2017; Balzarini, Dharma, Kohut, Campbell, Lehmiller, et al., 2018; Sheff, 2013; Veaux, 2011). In such arrangements, partners beyond the primary relationship are often referred to as “secondary” partners and consist of less ongoing commitments and a shorter relationship duration (Balzarini et al., 2017; Balzarini, Dharma, Kohut, Campbell, Lehmiller, et al., 2018).

Previous research has shown that meaningful differences also emerge among partners in polyamorous and monogamous relationships. For example, Mogilski and colleagues (2017) found that individuals engage in more mate retention behaviors (i.e., public signals of possession, direct guarding) and report greater satisfaction with monogamous and primary partners compared to secondary partners. Furthermore, Balzarini, Dharma, Kohut, Campbell, Lehmiller, et al. (2018) found that participants reported greater acceptance from friends and family, as well as higher investment, satisfaction, and commitment in relationships with monogamous or primary partners compared to secondary partners. In contrast, participants reported greater quality of alternatives, higher romantic secrecy (e.g., they hid more aspects of their relationship from others) and a greater proportion of time spent on sexual activity in their relationship with secondary partners compared to their relationships with primary partners and to reports for monogamous partners (Balzarini, Dharma, Kohut, Campbell, Lehmiller, et al., 2018). This research suggests that primary partners resemble monogamous partners in many ways, though secondary partners seem to diverge with proportion of time spent on sex being one of the unique features that is higher among secondary partners. In contrast to Balzarini, Dharma, Kohut, Campbell, Lehmiller, et al. (2018) findings, Mitchell and colleagues (2014) found that polyamorous individuals actually reported more sexual contact with primary partners (which could be because people tend to spend more time with primary compared to secondary partners) but greater fulfillment of sexual needs with their secondary partners compared to primary. While this research did not assess comparisons to monogamous relationships, it still provides initial evidence in support of the idea that individuals may seek out consensual extradyadic relationships in order to have diverse needs fulfilled.

Although primary-secondary relationships are the most common polyamorous arrangement (Balzarini, Dharma, Kohut, Campbell, Lehmiller, et al., 2018), not all people in such relationships identify with this labeling, instead, some consider multiple partners to be primary (co-primary) or no partners to be primary (non-primary; Balzarini, Dharma, Kohut, Campbell, Lehmiller, et al., 2018; Labriola, 2003). The only study to date to assess relationship quality among such configurations has found that even in co-primary and non-primary relationships, there is often a partner who can be characterized as more primary, or “pseudo-primary,” and another as more secondary, or “pseudo-secondary.” Despite the designated primary status, individuals in polyamorous relationships who reject primary-secondary status are often more inclined to live with one partner over another, and this partner is typically the individual with whom they are married to and have kids with. In such cases, participants report greater acceptance from friends and family, higher commitment, investment and communication for this partner (pseudo-primary), and romantic secrecy and proportion of time spent on sex for the pseudo-secondary partner. Balzarini and colleagues (2018) have argued that such differences may reflect the practical allocation of relationship investments imposed by a society that is not particularly tolerant of consensually non-monogamous relationships that may occur despite motivated striving for equality across partners. As such, in co-primary and non-primary relationships, the pseudo- primary partner resembles primary partners in primary-secondary configurations and we would therefore expect to find similar patterns of eroticism and nurturance across these alternative forms of polyamorous relationships.

Cross Partner Effects

If individuals in consensually non-monogamous relationships are able to experience higher levels of eroticism and nurturance through having their needs met across partners, it is possible that the diversification of needs could influence concurrent relationships. Indeed, recent research by Muise and colleagues (2018) suggests that greater sexual need fulfillment with a primary partner was associated with greater sexual satisfaction with their secondary partner, though greater sexual need fulfillment with a secondary partner was associated with less satisfaction with a primary partner. Furthermore, while research by Mitchell and colleagues (2014) found that greater need fulfillment (in some domains) with one partner was associated with less satisfaction with the other, when need fulfillment was low with one partner, having another partner meet those needs was associated with higher satisfaction with both partners. Though when need fulfillment was lower in one relationship, need fulfillment in another relationship detracted from satisfaction, resulting in lower satisfaction with the first partner. This research suggests that diversifying needs across partners can have both detrimental and beneficial effects.

Current Study

Building on previous research (Balzarini et al., 2017; Balzarini, Dharma, Kohut, Campbell, Lehmiller, et al., 2018; Mogilski et al., 2017) assessing differences among polyamorous and monogamous partners, and drawing on Sexual Configuration Theory (van Anders, 2015), we sought to assess the extent to which eroticism and nurturance differ among polyamorous and monogamous partners. Given that primary relationships in polyamory resemble monogamous relationships and both of these relationships are characterized by greater commitment, investments, and efforts to retain a mate (Balzarini, Dharma, Kohut, Campbell, Holmes, et al., 2018; Mogilski et al., 2017), we would expect these relationships to be characterized by greater nurturance. Conversely, most evidence suggests a greater proportion of time is spent on sexual activity with secondary partners (Balzarini et al., 2017; Balzarini, Dharma, Kohut, Campbell, Lehmiller, et al., 2018; Balzarini, Dobson, Kohut, & Lehmiller, 2018; see Mitchell et al., 2014 for an exception) and that secondary partners provide greater sexual need fulfillment than primary partners (Mitchell et al., 2014) – which provides preliminary evidence that these relationships may be characterized as more erotically fulfilling. If this is the case, it would suggest that individuals in polyamorous relationships are experiencing higher levels of eroticism and nurturance than individuals in monogamous relationships through diversifying their needs. Additionally, we also sought to explore whether there are unique benefits diversifying needs across partners, thus we wanted to assess whether experiencing more eroticism or nurturance with one partner in a polyamorous relationship influenced a concurrent relationship. Lastly, given that previous research has shown that monogamous and polyamorous participants present important demographics differences (see Balzarini, Dharma, Kohut, Campbell, Holmes, et al., 2018 for a review) and because sociodemographic factors may influence eroticism and nurturance (van Anders, 2015), we further sought to assess how relationship orientation (e.g., monogamous vs. polyamorous), primary status (e.g., identifying partners as primary-secondary, co-primary, and non-primary), relationship length, gender, sexual orientation, and age impacted reports of eroticism and nurturance.

Better natural: Perceived attractiveness from the natural condition was 1.5 points higher than perceived attractiveness from the simulated upper lip filler injection, & 2.6 points higher than the simulated upper lip lift

Perception of upper lip augmentation utilizing simulated photography. Gary Linkov, Elizabeth Wick, Dorina Kallogjeri, Collin L. Chen, Gregory H. Branham. May 15, 2019. Archives of Plastic Surgery 2019;46(3):248-254. https://doi.org/10.5999/aps.2018.01319

Abstract
Background: No head to head comparison is available between surgical lip lifting and upper lip filler injections to decide which technique yields the best results in patients. Despite the growing popularity of upper lip augmentation, its effect on societal perceptions of attractiveness, successfulness and overall health in woman is unknown.

Methods: Blinded casual observers viewed three versions of independent images of 15 unique patient lower faces for a total of 45 images. Observers rated the attractiveness, perceived success, and perceived overall health for each patient image. Facial perception questions were answered on a visual analog scale from 0 to 100, where higher scores corresponded to more positive responses.

Results: Two hundred and seventeen random observers with an average age of 47 years (standard deviation, 15.9) rated the images. The majority of observers were females (n=183, 84%) of white race (n=174, 80%) and had at least some college education (n=202, 93%). The marginal mean score for perceived attractiveness from the natural condition was 1.5 points (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.9–2.18) higher than perceived attractiveness from the simulated upper lip filler injection condition, and 2.6 points higher (95% CI, 1.95–3.24) than the simulated upper lip lift condition. There was a moderate to strong correlation between the scores of the same observer.

Conclusions: Simulated upper lip augmentation is amenable to social perception analysis. Scores of the same observer for attractiveness, successfulness, and overall health are strongly correlated. Overall, the natural condition had the highest scores in all categories, followed by simulated upper lip filler, and lastly simulated upper lip lift.

Keywords: Lip / Surgery, plastic / Injections / Perception

Ideological migration: Observational Data on 150 Erstwhile Democrats

Klein, Daniel B. and Fleming, Cy, WalkAway: Observational Data on 150 Erstwhile Democrats (May 17, 2019). Forthcoming, SOCIETY; George Mason University Department of Economics Research Paper Series. SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3389650

Abstract: #WalkAway signifies walking away from the Democratic Party. The movement was launched in June 2018 by Brandon Straka, when he uploaded what became the prototypical video of an individual telling his or her story about walking away. During 130 days, 150 erstwhile Democrats provided video testimonials at Straka’s official YouTube channel. Of the 150 erstwhile Democrats, 23% report catching a lot of grief, plus another 16% report catching some grief, for questioning or deviating from leftist opinions. Most importantly, 70% suggest a civility gap between the left and non-left. These are lower bounds, since the testimonials are spontaneous monologues, not replies to questions. Many other observed features are reported, to deepen our thinking about ideological migration. However, filters involved in the sample must be borne in mind. A linked Excel file contains complete data.

Keywords: ideology, ideological migration, party politics, nationalism
JEL Classification: A13, H0, P0, Z1