Reasons people enjoy sexist humor and accept it as inoffensive

Reasons people enjoy sexist humor and accept it as inoffensive. Scott Parrott & Toby Hopp. Atlantic Journal of Communication, May 23 2019. https://doi.org/10.1080/15456870.2019.1616737

ABSTRACT: An experiment examined factors that inform participants’ enjoyment of anti-female humor and their acceptance of the humor as inoffensive. Participants (n = 101) were exposed to sexist humor that was communicated by either (a) a male disparager, (b) a female disparager, or (c) a disparager whose sex was not identified. A path model examined the contribution of four predictors – the experimental manipulation and audience members’ hostile sexism, sex, and perceptions of social acceptance of the humor – in their reported personal acceptance and enjoyment of the insulting humor. The results suggested that men both found anti-female sexist humor more acceptable and enjoyed it more than women; that sexist humor was found to be more personally acceptable when communicated by a woman; that hostile sexism was positively associated with personal acceptance of sexist humor as inoffensive; and that perceived social acceptance was positively associated with personal acceptance of disparaging humor as inoffensive.

Sexual Identity & Behavior Among U.S. High School Students, 2005–2015: Prevalence of non-heterosexual identities increased over time, but only female youth reported significantly more same-sex behavior over time

Sexual Identity and Behavior Among U.S. High School Students, 2005–2015. Gregory Phillips II. Archives of Sexual Behavior, May 23 2019. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-019-1404-y

Abstract: Sexual orientation is a multidimensional construct which is increasingly recognized as an important demographic characteristic in population health research. For this study, weighted Youth Risk Behavior Survey data were pooled across 47 jurisdictions biennially from 2005 to 2015, resulting in a national sample of 98 jurisdiction-years (344,815 students). Respondents were a median of 15.5 years, 49.9% male, and 48.8% White. Sexual identity and behavior trends from 2005 to 2015 were assessed with logistic regression analysis. Overall, 13.9% of females and 7.0% of males identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB), or not sure, while 9.1% of females and 4.2% of males indicated both same-and-different-sex behavior or same-sex behavior. In total, 17.0% of female and 8.5% of male youth reported non-heterosexual (LGB or not sure) sexual identity, same-sex sexual behavior, or both. LGB youth were approximately twice as likely as other youth to report lifetime sexual behavior. White and Asian youth were less likely to report non-heterosexual identity and/or have engaged in same-sex sexual behaviors than youth of other races/ethnicities. Prevalence of non-heterosexual identities increased over time for both sexes, but only female youth reported significantly more same-sex behavior over time. This is the first study to simultaneously assess adolescent sexual identity and behavior over time within a national dataset. These findings are critical for understanding the sexual health needs of adolescents and for informing sexual health policy and practice.

Keywords: Sexual minority Sexual behavior Sexual identity Youth Risk Behavior Survey Sexual orientation

After witnessing a conspecific in a negative state, ravens perform in a negatively biased manner; our findings suggest negative emotional contagion in ravens, & in turn advance our understanding of the evolution of empathy

Negative emotional contagion and cognitive bias in common ravens (Corvus corax). Jessie E. C. Adriaense, Jordan S. Martin, Martina Schiestl, Claus Lamm, and Thomas Bugnyar. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, May 20, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1817066116

Significance: To successfully and efficiently live in social groups, we need information about each other’s emotions. Emotional contagion has been suggested to facilitate such information transmission, yet it remains difficult to measure this in animals. Previous research has often focused on overt behavior but lacked additional methods for investigating emotional valence. This study provides a solution by integrating data on behavior and responses to a cognitive bias test, which is designed to infer a subject’s underlying emotional state. We demonstrate that after witnessing a conspecific in a negative state, ravens perform in a negatively biased manner on a judgment task. Our findings thus suggest negative emotional contagion in ravens, and in turn advance our understanding of the evolution of empathy.

Abstract: Emotional contagion is described as an emotional state matching between subjects, and has been suggested to facilitate communication and coordination in complex social groups. Empirical studies typically focus on the measurement of behavioral contagion and emotional arousal, yet, while highly important, such an approach often disregards an additional evaluation of the underlying emotional valence. Here, we studied emotional contagion in ravens by applying a judgment bias paradigm to assess emotional valence. We experimentally manipulated positive and negative affective states in demonstrator ravens, to which they responded with increased attention and interest in the positive condition, as well as increased redirected behavior and a left-eye lateralization in the negative condition. During this emotion manipulation, another raven observed the demonstrator’s behavior, and we used a bias paradigm to assess the emotional valence of the observer to determine whether emotional contagion had occurred. Observers showed a pessimism bias toward the presented ambiguous stimuli after perceiving demonstrators in a negative state, indicating emotional state matching based on the demonstrators’ behavioral cues and confirming our prediction of negative emotional contagion. We did not find any judgment bias in the positive condition. This result critically expands upon observational studies of contagious play in ravens, providing experimental evidence that emotional contagion is present not only in mammalian but also in avian species. Importantly, this finding also acts as a stepping stone toward understanding the evolution of empathy, as this essential social skill may have emerged across these taxa in response to similar socioecological challenges.

Keywords: emotional contagionavian empathyanimal emotioncognitive bias paradigm

The general population believes that traumatic experiences can be unconsciously repressed for many years & then recovered; same for deliberate memory suppression; emotionally compelling movies seem a cause of these beliefs

Otgaar, Henry, and Jane Wang. 2019. "Belief in Unconscious Repressed Memory Is Widespread: A Comment on Brewin, Li, Ntarantana, Unsworth, and Mcneilis" (in Press). OSF Preprints. May 23. doi:10.31219/osf.io/a4n7h

Abstract: What does believing in repressed memory mean? In a recent paper in this journal, Brewin, Li, Ntarantana, Unsworth, and McNeilis (in press; Study 3) argued and provided data that when people are asked to indicate their belief in repressed memory, they actually think of deliberate memory suppression rather than unconscious repressed memory. Hence, the authors contended that belief in genuine (unconscious) repression is not in fact widespread in the general population. They further argued that in contrast to belief in unconscious repressed memory, belief in deliberate memory suppression is not scientifically controversial. In this commentary, we show that they are incorrect on both counts. Although Brewin and colleagues surveyed people to indicate their belief in deliberate memory suppression, they neglected to ask their participants whether they (also) believed in unconscious repressed memory. We asked people from the general population whether they believe that traumatic experiences can be unconsciously repressed for many years and then recovered. In two studies of the general population, we found high endorsement rates [Study 1: 59.2% (n = 45); Study 2: 67.1% (n = 53)] of the belief in unconscious repressed memory. These endorsement rates did not statistically differ from endorsement rates to statements on repressed memory and deliberate memory suppression. In contrast to what Brewin et al. argue, belief in unconscious repressed memory is alive and well.  Finally, we contend that Brewin et al. overstated the scientific evidence bearing on deliberate repression (suppression).

The more attractive a man was judged to be, the more likely it was that participants were willing to have sex with him & the less likely women were to intend to use a condom during sex

Eleftheriou A, Bullock S, Graham CA, Skakoon-Sparling S, Ingham R (2019) Does attractiveness influence condom use intentions in women who have sex with men? PLoS ONE 14(5): e0217152. May 23, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0217152

Abstract
Objectives: Attractiveness judgements have been shown to affect interpersonal relationships. The present study explored the relationships between perceived attractiveness, perceived sexual health status, condom use intentions and condom use resistance in women.

Setting: The study data were collected using an online questionnaire.

Participants: 480 English-speaking women who have sex with men, between 18–32 years old.

Outcome measures: Women were asked to rate the attractiveness of 20 men on the basis of facial photographs, to estimate the likelihood that each man had a sexually transmitted infection (STI), and to indicate their willingness to have sex with each man without a condom. Condom resistance tactics were also measured and their influence on condom use intentions was assessed.

Results: The more attractive a man was judged to be, the more likely it was that participants were willing to have sex with him (r (478) = 0.987, p < .001). Further, the more attractive a man was judged to be, the less likely women were to intend to use a condom during sex (r = -0.552, df = 478, p = .007). The average perceived STI likelihood for a man had no significant association with his average perceived attractiveness or with participants’ average willingness to have sex with him. The more attractive a participant judged herself to be, the more she believed that, overall, men are likely to have a STI (r = 0.103, df = 478, p < .05).

Conclusions: Women’s perceptions of men’s attractiveness influence their condom use intentions; such risk biases should be incorporated into sexual health education programmes and condom use interventions.

Partisans think their political rivals are selecting biased news sources that bolster extremity: The more undesirably biased voters considered a source, the more news they assumed their political rivals received from that source

Where the Other Side Gets News: Audience Perceptions of Selective Exposure in the 2016 Election. Mallory R Perryman. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, edz012, May 18 2019. https://doi.org/10.1093/ijpor/edz012

Abstract: Building on research on selective exposure, hostile media perceptions, and presumed media influence, this study explores what citizens believe about their political rivals’ news habits and introduces the idea of perceived selective exposure: the extent to which citizens believe their political opponents curate media diets of like-minded political news. Results from a national survey of voters (N = 657) show that during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, voters disagreed about the extent to which prominent news sources favored Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. The more undesirably biased voters considered a source, the more news they assumed their political rivals received from that source. This perceived selectivity was consequential: A belief that others’ news habits were weighted toward like-minded media was linked to a belief that others’ election news choices had reinforced their attitudes. Partisans think their political rivals are selecting biased news sources that bolster extremity.

Solving mate shortages thru compensatory mating tactics: Lowering standards, travelling farther to find a satisfactory partner, and abstaining

Jonason, P. K., Betes, S. L., & Li, N. P. (2019). Solving mate shortages: Lowering standards, searching farther, and abstaining. Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ebs0000174

Abstract: Although much work on mating psychology has focused on mate preferences and responses to desirable sexual and romantic offers, less is known about what happens when individuals face a lack of mating options. We present 2 studies on (hypothetical) compensatory mating tactics. In Study 1 (N = 299), participants were asked to imagine they were struggling to find long-term and short-term mates and we revealed sex differences and context-specific effects consistent with parental investment theory. In Study 2 (N = 282), participants were asked to imagine they had been incapable of finding a short-term and long-term mate for 6 months despite actively trying to find one and then report the likelihood of abstaining, lowering their standards, and traveling farther to find a satisfactory partner; results largely (and conceptually) replicated those from Study 1 but document the role of attachment and (self-reported) mate value in accounting for individual differences in adopting the 3 mating tactics. We frame our results in terms of how people might solve mate shortages.

Humans can use an intuitive sense of statistics to make predictions about uncertain future events; some of these abilities can emerge in preverbal infants and non-human primates such as apes and capuchins

Rhesus macaques use probabilities to predict future events. Francesca De Petrillo, Alexandra G. Rosati. Evolution and Human Behavior, May 23 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2019.05.006

Abstract: Humans can use an intuitive sense of statistics to make predictions about uncertain future events, a cognitive skill that underpins logical and mathematical reasoning. Recent research shows that some of these abilities for statistical inferences can emerge in preverbal infants and non-human primates such as apes and capuchins. An important question is therefore whether animals share the full complement of intuitive reasoning abilities demonstrated by humans, as well as what evolutionary contexts promote the emergence of such skills. Here, we examined whether free-ranging rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) can use probability information to infer the most likely outcome of a random lottery, in the first test of whether primates can make such inferences in the absence of direct prior experience. We developed a novel expectancy-violation looking time task, adapted from prior studies of infants, in order to assess the monkeys' expectations. In Study 1, we confirmed that monkeys (n = 20) looked similarly at different sampled items if they had no prior knowledge about the population they were drawn from. In Study 2, monkeys (n = 80) saw a dynamic ‘lottery’ machine containing a mix of two types of fruit outcomes, and then saw either the more common fruit (expected trial) or the relatively rare fruit (unexpected trial) fall from the machine. We found that monkeys looked longer when they witnessed the unexpected outcome. In Study 3, we confirmed that this effect depended on the causal relationship between the sample and the population, not visual mismatch: monkeys (n = 80) looked equally at both outcomes if the experimenter pulled the sampled item from her pocket. These results reveal that rhesus monkeys spontaneously use information about probability to reason about likely outcomes, and show how comparative studies of nonhumans can disentangle the evolutionary history of logical reasoning capacities.

We assessed 10 individuals who reported abduction by space aliens and whose claims were linked to apparent episodes of sleep paralysis during which hypnopompic hallucinations were interpreted as alien beings

Sleep Paralysis, Sexual Abuse, and Space Alien Abduction. Richard J. McNally, Susan A. Clancy. Transcultural Psychiatry, March 1, 2005. https://doi.org/10.1177/1363461505050715

Abstract: Sleep paralysis accompanied by hypnopompic (‘upon awakening’) hallucinations is an often-frightening manifestation of discordance between the cognitive/perceptual and motor aspects of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Awakening sleepers become aware of an inability to move, and sometimes experience intrusion of dream mentation into waking consciousness (e.g. seeing intruders in the bedroom). In this article, we summarize two studies. In the first study, we assessed 10 individuals who reported abduction by space aliens and whose claims were linked to apparent episodes of sleep paralysis during which hypnopompic hallucinations were interpreted as alien beings. In the second study, adults reporting repressed, recovered, or continuous memories of childhood sexual abuse more often reported sleep paralysis than did a control group. Among the 31 reporting sleep paralysis, only one person linked it to abuse memories. This person was among the six recovered memory participants who reported sleep paralysis (i.e. 17% rate of interpreting it as abuse-related). People rely on personally plausible cultural narratives to interpret these otherwise baffling sleep paralysis episodes.

Keywords: alien abduction, recovered memories, sexual abuse, sleep paralysis

Senegal: In urban areas, being a woman increases probability of a worker being informal by 8.5%; education is usually more relevant for women; having kids reduces men’s probability but increases women’s

Informality and Gender Gaps Going Hand in Hand. Vivian Malta; Lisa L Kolovich; Angelica Martinez; Marina Mendes Tavares. IMF Working Paper No. 19/112, May 23, 2019. https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WP/Issues/2019/05/23/Informality-and-Gender-Gaps-Going-Hand-in-Hand-46888

Summary: In sub-Saharan Africa women work relatively more in the informal sector than men. Many factors could explain this difference, including women’s lower education levels, legal barriers, social norms and demographic characteristics. Cross-country comparisons indicate strong associations between gender gaps and higher female informality. This paper uses microdata from Senegal to assess the probability of a worker being informal, and our main findings are: (i) in urban areas, being a woman increases this probability by 8.5 percent; (ii) education is usually more relevant for women; (iii) having kids reduces men’s probability of being informal but increases women’s.

Fruit bats, social mammals, form seasonal bonds through producer-scrounger interactions; females mate with males from which they scrounge food; each female scrounges from a unique set of preferred males, & no male prevailed

Food for Sex in Bats Revealed as Producer Males Reproduce with Scrounging Females. Lee Harten et al. Current Biology, May 23 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2019.04.066

Highlights
•    Egyptian fruit bats form seasonal bonds through producer-scrounger interactions
•    Genetic paternity tests of pups were used to examine the food-for-sex hypothesis
•    Females mate with males from which they scrounge food
•    Each female scrounges from a unique set of preferred males, and no male prevailed

Summary: Food sharing is often evolutionarily puzzling, because the provider’s benefits are not always clear. Sharing among kin may increase indirect fitness [1], but when non-kin are involved, different mechanisms were suggested to act. Occasionally, “tolerated theft” [2, 3] is observed, merely because defending a resource is not cost effective. Sharing may also be explained as “costly signaling” [4, 5], where individuals signal their high qualities by distributing acquired resources, as has been suggested to occur in certain human cultures [6]. Alternatively, a transferred food item might be compensated for in later interactions [7]. In vampire bats, blood sharing reflects reciprocity between non-kin colony members [8, 9, 10], and long-term social bonds affect food sharing in chimpanzees [11]. Food may also be exchanged for other goods or social benefits [12, 13, 14]. One reciprocity-based explanation for intersexual food sharing is the food-for-sex hypothesis [15, 16, 17]. This hypothesis proposes that males share food with females in exchange for mating opportunities. Studies on human hunter-gatherer societies suggest that males with increased foraging success have higher reproductive success [18, 19]. Male chimpanzees, which in contrast to humans do not maintain pair bonds, were suggested to share food with females to increase their mating opportunities [16] (but see [20]). Bats, which are long-lived social mammals [21, 22], provide an opportunity to study long-term social reciprocity mechanisms. We monitored producer-scrounger interactions of a captive Egyptian fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus) colony for more than a year and genetically determined the paternity of the pups that were born in the colony. We found that females carry the young of males from which they used to scrounge food, supporting the food-for-sex hypothesis in this species.


Food for Sex in Bats Revealed as Producer Males Reproduce with Scrounging Females

People who posted health messages on social media subsequently became more likely to act on those, not wanting to appear as hypocrites

When audiences become advocates: Self-induced behavior change through health message posting in social media. Robin L. Nabi et al. Computers in Human Behavior, May 23 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2019.05.030

Highlights
●    Posting a health video to Facebook enhanced the poster’s own health behavior.
●    Message sharing was best predicted by intensity of emotional response.
●    Health behavior self-efficacy also boosted message sharing.
●    Directives to share the message did not boost sharing behavior.

Abstract: Couched within the self-effects paradigm of social media influence, this research examines how posting a health promotion message to one’s social media influences one’s own, versus others’, later health behaviors, with emphasis on emotional intensity and message sharing directives. 382 participants viewed one of eight versions of a melanoma awareness video and were given the opportunity to post it to their Facebook page. Video sharers reported increased sun safety behavior one week later, even after accounting for a range of sun safety-related predictors. Emotional intensity and self-efficacy emerged as key message sharing predictors. These findings align with cognitive dissonance theory, offering unique evidence in a mediated context with relatively enduring effects, and expands the dialogue about the self-persuasive power of social media.

Chimpanzees: A case of food storage shows some future-oriented cognition; we need for a more nuanced interpretation of their cognitive skills & an in-depth understanding of their unique socio-ecological niche

Wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) exploit tortoises (Kinixys erosa) via percussive technology. Simone Pika, Harmonie Klein, Sarah Bunel, Pauline Baas, Erwan Théleste & Tobias Deschner. Scientific Reports 9, Article number: 7661 (2019). https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-43301-8

Abstract: Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), one of humankinds’ closest living relatives, are known to hunt and consume the meat of various animal taxa. Although some researchers have presented indirect evidence that chimpanzees may also prey on tortoises, until now, direct observations of this behaviour did not exist. Here, we provide systematic descriptions of the first observations of chimpanzee predation on tortoises (Kinixys erosa). We made these unprecedented observations on newly habituated chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) of the Rekambo community, living in the Loango National Park, Gabon. The behaviour qualified as customary, that is occurring in most or all adult males, involved a distinct smashing technique, and resulted frequently in food sharing with other group members. Our observations shed new light on the hitherto little understood percussive technology of chimpanzees, and expand our current knowledge on chimpanzees’ dietary and predatory repertoires with respect to reptiles. We also report a case of food storage and discuss it in the context of future-oriented cognition. Our findings suggest the need for more nuanced interpretations of chimpanzees’ cognitive skills in combination with an in-depth understanding of their unique socio-ecological niches. They further emphasize the importance of nonhuman primate field observations to inform theories of hominin evolution.

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My comments: I intuitively didn't trust the assurances that these primates didn't think of the next day. Here, they store some of the food for the next day.

There are lots of reports of chimps not saving tools for the next day's labors. But this is probably so because most are too simple. Now, some have been seen thinking of their needs in the future.

Consumers select and prepare foods with higher amounts of sugar when experiencing sadness relative to when they feel guilt

The effects of guilt and sadness on sugar consumption. Sarah Lefebvre, Jonathan Hasford, Ze Wang. Journal of Business Research, Volume 100, July 2019, Pages 130-138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.03.023

Abstract: This research examines how the discrete negative emotions of guilt and sadness impact individual preference for carbohydrates, specifically in the form of sugar. Using Cognitive Appraisal Theory and research in biological psychology, we identify how these two discrete emotions influence the release of cortisol, which impacts sugar preferences. The results of four studies indicate that consumers select and prepare foods with higher amounts of sugar when experiencing sadness relative to when they feel guilt. Implications for public policy as well as marketing practitioners are discussed.

Shoplifted items, as advertised via ‘haul’ photographs on social media, would be those relevant for increasing mate value (cosmetic, skin and hair care products, perfumes, and products that signal luxury and financial status)

The Five Finger Discount: Shoplifting as a Reproductive Strategy for Increasing Mate Value. Catherine A. Bourgeois, Geneva Reid, Maryanne L. Fisher. Human Ethology, Volume 34, 83-92,  published May 23, 2019
https://doi.org/10.22330/he/34/083-092

ABSTRACT: Shoplifting, the act of taking an item from a store without paying for it, is prevalent on social media platforms. Shoplifters post photographs featuring their stolen items, often including the retail value of each item, and tag the photograph as either a ‘lifting haul’ or ‘shoplifting haul’ so that it may be found by others. We argue that the items targeted for shoplifting relate to one’s desire to increase their mate value. In contemporary life, one has the ability to alter and manipulate their perceived mate value, via the aid of cosmetic, skin and hair care products, perfumes, and products that signal luxury and financial status. When viewed in this context, an evolutionary analysis of shoplifting via the specific items targeted for theft may shed light on intrasexual competition in terms of individuals competing to improve their relative mate value. Hence, we hypothesized that shoplifted items, as advertised via ‘haul’ photographs on social media, would be those relevant for increasing mate value (e.g., improve one’s appearance or markers of financial status). A researcher blind to the study hypothesis coded the stolen items within the photographs and the coded items were then categorized into themes for analysis. Our hypothesis was supported. We discuss the use of social media platforms for effectively conducting human ethological research.

Keywords:Social media, Mate value, Shoplifting, Luxury products, Intrasexual competition.