Crone, Damien, and Neil L Levy 2018. “Are Free Will Believers Nicer People? (four Studies Suggest Not)”. PsyArXiv. May 19. doi:10.17605/OSF.IO/ZPJ5X
Abstract: Free will is widely considered a foundational component of Western moral and legal codes, and yet current conceptions of free will are widely thought to fit uncomfortably with much research in psychology and neuroscience. Recent research investigating the consequences of laypeople’s free will beliefs (FWBs) for everyday moral behavior suggest that stronger FWBs are associated with various desirable moral characteristics (e.g., greater helpfulness, less dishonesty). These findings have sparked concern regarding the potential for moral degeneration throughout society as science promotes a view of human behavior that is widely perceived to undermine the notion of free will. We report four studies (combined N = 921) originally concerned with possible mediators and/or moderators of the abovementioned associations. Unexpectedly, we found no association between FWBs and moral behavior. Our findings suggest that the FWB – moral behavior association (and accompanying concerns regarding decreases in FWBs causing moral degeneration) may be overstated.
Sunday, May 20, 2018
Saturday, May 19, 2018
Specific musical anhedonia (impossibility to enjoy music) is not driven by difficulties in experiencing emotion from visual aesthetic stimuli nor from emotional acoustic stimuli
Chapter 18 - The impact of visual art and emotional sounds in specific musical anhedonia. Ernest Mas-Herrero et al. Progress in Brain Research, Volume 237, 2018, Pages 399-413. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.pbr.2018.03.017
Highlights
• Two specific tasks were designed to assess sensitivity to visual art and emotional sounds.
• Specific musical anhedonics together with two groups with average and high sensitivity to music were tested with these two tasks.
• Results indicate that specific musical anhedonia is not driven by difficulties in experiencing emotion from visual aesthetic stimuli nor from emotional acoustic stimuli.
Abstract: A small percentage of healthy individuals do not find music pleasurable, a condition known as specific musical anhedonia. These individuals have no impairment in music perception which might account for their anhedonia; their sensitivity to primary and secondary rewards is also preserved, and they do not show generalized depression. However, it is still unclear whether this condition is entirely specific to music, or rather reflects a more general deficit in experiencing pleasure, either from aesthetic rewards in general, or in response to other types of emotional sounds. The aim of this study is to determine whether individuals with specific musical anhedonia also show blunted emotional responses from other aesthetic rewards or emotional acoustic stimuli different than music. In two tasks designed to assess sensitivity to visual art and emotional sounds, we tested 13 individuals previously identified as specific musical anhedonics, together with two more groups with average (musical hedonic, HDN) and high (musical hyperhedonics, HHDN) sensitivity to experience reward from music. Differences among groups in skin conductance response and behavioral measures in response to pleasantness were analyzed in both tasks. Notably, specific musical anhedonics showed similar hedonic reactions, both behaviorally and physiologically, as the HDN control group in both tasks. These findings suggest that music hedonic sensitivity might be distinct from other human abstract reward processing and from an individual's ability to experience emotion from emotional sounds. The present results highlight the possible existence of specific neural pathways involved in the capacity to experience reward in music-related activities.
Highlights
• Two specific tasks were designed to assess sensitivity to visual art and emotional sounds.
• Specific musical anhedonics together with two groups with average and high sensitivity to music were tested with these two tasks.
• Results indicate that specific musical anhedonia is not driven by difficulties in experiencing emotion from visual aesthetic stimuli nor from emotional acoustic stimuli.
Abstract: A small percentage of healthy individuals do not find music pleasurable, a condition known as specific musical anhedonia. These individuals have no impairment in music perception which might account for their anhedonia; their sensitivity to primary and secondary rewards is also preserved, and they do not show generalized depression. However, it is still unclear whether this condition is entirely specific to music, or rather reflects a more general deficit in experiencing pleasure, either from aesthetic rewards in general, or in response to other types of emotional sounds. The aim of this study is to determine whether individuals with specific musical anhedonia also show blunted emotional responses from other aesthetic rewards or emotional acoustic stimuli different than music. In two tasks designed to assess sensitivity to visual art and emotional sounds, we tested 13 individuals previously identified as specific musical anhedonics, together with two more groups with average (musical hedonic, HDN) and high (musical hyperhedonics, HHDN) sensitivity to experience reward from music. Differences among groups in skin conductance response and behavioral measures in response to pleasantness were analyzed in both tasks. Notably, specific musical anhedonics showed similar hedonic reactions, both behaviorally and physiologically, as the HDN control group in both tasks. These findings suggest that music hedonic sensitivity might be distinct from other human abstract reward processing and from an individual's ability to experience emotion from emotional sounds. The present results highlight the possible existence of specific neural pathways involved in the capacity to experience reward in music-related activities.
How Low Can You(r Power) Go? It Depends on Whether You are Male or Female
How Low Can You(r Power) Go? It Depends on Whether You are Male or Female. Aleah S. M. Fontaine, Jacquie D. Vorauer. Sex Roles, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-018-0927-3
Abstract: Three online experiments were conducted to determine whether gender differences in feelings of power are most evident in objectively lower or higher power situations (total n = 1360; Studies 1 and 2: 238 and 771 U.S. MTurk respondents respectively; Study 3: 351 Canadian university students). We focused on evaluating whether men’s and women’s responses were in line with a cushioning account, whereby the higher power generally accorded to men as a group essentially serves as a back-up power source for men in lower power positions. We also evaluated support for a ceiling account, whereby women’s feelings of power are limited in higher power positions. Results were consistent with the cushioning account: Men reported feeling more powerful than women did when imagining or recalling occupying a lower power position and in a control baseline, but no gender difference was evident under higher power conditions. Results further revealed that women’s feelings of power were more variable across lower versus higher power positions than were men’s and indicated that women’s feelings of power are quite responsive to situationally afforded high power when it is available. Overall our findings suggest that occupying a higher power role eradicates gender differences in feelings of power that are otherwise evident and thus has an equalizing effect.
Abstract: Three online experiments were conducted to determine whether gender differences in feelings of power are most evident in objectively lower or higher power situations (total n = 1360; Studies 1 and 2: 238 and 771 U.S. MTurk respondents respectively; Study 3: 351 Canadian university students). We focused on evaluating whether men’s and women’s responses were in line with a cushioning account, whereby the higher power generally accorded to men as a group essentially serves as a back-up power source for men in lower power positions. We also evaluated support for a ceiling account, whereby women’s feelings of power are limited in higher power positions. Results were consistent with the cushioning account: Men reported feeling more powerful than women did when imagining or recalling occupying a lower power position and in a control baseline, but no gender difference was evident under higher power conditions. Results further revealed that women’s feelings of power were more variable across lower versus higher power positions than were men’s and indicated that women’s feelings of power are quite responsive to situationally afforded high power when it is available. Overall our findings suggest that occupying a higher power role eradicates gender differences in feelings of power that are otherwise evident and thus has an equalizing effect.
Children generally adhere to presentation elements of their assigned gender and there were limited differences by parental sexual orientation in any of the gender presentation variables
Bruun, Samuel T., "Looking the Part: An Examination of Longitudinal Gender Presentation Among Children with Gay, Lesbian, and Heterosexual Adoptive Parents" (2018). Theses and Dissertations--Psychology. 136. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/psychology_etds/136
Abstract: Gender presentation, appearing in a way that fits social expectations of one’s gender role, represents one of the most obvious ways in which one’s gender identity becomes salient to others. This quality is especially relevant to note given the continued controversy surrounding children’s gender role development when raised by non-heterosexual parents. The current study is an examination of how gender presentation develops in adopted children with lesbian, gay, and heterosexual parents across two time points (Wave 1: N = 106, Mage = 36.07 months; Wave 2: N = 90, Mage = 8.34). Children’s gender presentation was analyzed using a novel coding scheme, consisting of several variables meant to target the presence of gender typed clothing. These elements of appearance were compared with several measures of child outcomes. It was found that children generally adhere to presentation elements of their assigned gender and there were limited differences by parental sexual orientation in any of the gender presentation variables. Additionally, there was no association found between conformity in gender presentation and children’s self-perception or parent or child gender-typical attitudes. The results of this initial study may prove to be useful in ongoing research surrounding children’s gender typicality.
Abstract: Gender presentation, appearing in a way that fits social expectations of one’s gender role, represents one of the most obvious ways in which one’s gender identity becomes salient to others. This quality is especially relevant to note given the continued controversy surrounding children’s gender role development when raised by non-heterosexual parents. The current study is an examination of how gender presentation develops in adopted children with lesbian, gay, and heterosexual parents across two time points (Wave 1: N = 106, Mage = 36.07 months; Wave 2: N = 90, Mage = 8.34). Children’s gender presentation was analyzed using a novel coding scheme, consisting of several variables meant to target the presence of gender typed clothing. These elements of appearance were compared with several measures of child outcomes. It was found that children generally adhere to presentation elements of their assigned gender and there were limited differences by parental sexual orientation in any of the gender presentation variables. Additionally, there was no association found between conformity in gender presentation and children’s self-perception or parent or child gender-typical attitudes. The results of this initial study may prove to be useful in ongoing research surrounding children’s gender typicality.
Smelling Anxiety Chemosignals Impairs Clinical Performance of Dental Students
Smelling Anxiety Chemosignals Impairs Clinical Performance of Dental Students. Preet Bano Singh Alix Young Synnøve Lind Marie Cathinka Leegaard Alessandra Capuozzo Valentina Parma. Chemical Senses, bjy028, https://doi.org/10.1093/chemse/bjy028
Abstract: Despite the fact that human body odors can transfer anxiety-related signals, the impact of such signals in real-life situations is scant. In this study, the effects of anxiety chemosignals on the performance of dental students operating on simulation units, wearing t-shirts imbued with human sweat and masked with eugenol were tested. Twenty-four 4th year dental students (17F) donated their body odors in two sessions (Anxiety and Rest). Twenty-four normosmic, sex- and age-matched test subjects who were3rd year dental students performed three dental procedures while smelling masked anxiety body odors, masked rest body odors or masker alone. The intensity and pleasantness ratings showed that the test subjects could not report perceptual differences between the odor conditions. When exposed to masked anxiety body odors the test subject’s dental performance was significantly worse than when they were exposed to masked rest body odors and masker alone, indicating that their performance was modulated by exposure to the emotional tone of the odor. These findings call for a careful evaluation of the anxiety-inducing effects of body odors in performance-related tasks and provide the first ecological evaluation of human anxiety chemosignal communication.
Keywords: anxiety body odor, chemosignals, dental performance, emotional contagion, expertise
Abstract: Despite the fact that human body odors can transfer anxiety-related signals, the impact of such signals in real-life situations is scant. In this study, the effects of anxiety chemosignals on the performance of dental students operating on simulation units, wearing t-shirts imbued with human sweat and masked with eugenol were tested. Twenty-four 4th year dental students (17F) donated their body odors in two sessions (Anxiety and Rest). Twenty-four normosmic, sex- and age-matched test subjects who were3rd year dental students performed three dental procedures while smelling masked anxiety body odors, masked rest body odors or masker alone. The intensity and pleasantness ratings showed that the test subjects could not report perceptual differences between the odor conditions. When exposed to masked anxiety body odors the test subject’s dental performance was significantly worse than when they were exposed to masked rest body odors and masker alone, indicating that their performance was modulated by exposure to the emotional tone of the odor. These findings call for a careful evaluation of the anxiety-inducing effects of body odors in performance-related tasks and provide the first ecological evaluation of human anxiety chemosignal communication.
Keywords: anxiety body odor, chemosignals, dental performance, emotional contagion, expertise
Frogs and their sometimes irrational mate choices: Comparisons can be based on proportional rather than absolute differences; and mate preferences can be influenced by competitive decoys
‘Crazy love’: nonlinearity and irrationality in mate choice. Michael J. Ryan et al. Animal Behaviour, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.04.004
Highlights
• Mate choice decisions are sometimes irrational.
• Auditory grouping is not always an easy task for choosers.
• Comparisons can be based on proportional rather than absolute differences.
• Mate preferences can be influenced by competitive decoys.
• Novel combinations of audio and visual cues can result in perceptual rescue.
Choosing a mate is one of the most important decisions an animal can make. The fitness consequences of mate choice have been analysed extensively, and its mechanistic bases have provided insights into how animals make such decisions. Less attention has been given to higher-level cognitive processes. The assumption that animals choose mates predictably and rationally is an important assumption in both ultimate and proximate analyses of mate choice. It is becoming clear, however, that irrational decisions and unpredictable nonlinearities often characterize mate choice. Here we review studies in which cognitive analyses seem to play an important role in the following contexts: auditory grouping; Weber's law; competitive decoys; multimodal communication; and, perceptual rescue. The sum of these studies suggest that mate choice decisions are more complex than they might seem and suggest some caution in making assumptions about evolutionary processes and simplistic mechanisms of mate choice.
Keywords: anuran; cognitive ecology; irrational choice; mate choice; nonlinearities; túngara frog
Highlights
• Mate choice decisions are sometimes irrational.
• Auditory grouping is not always an easy task for choosers.
• Comparisons can be based on proportional rather than absolute differences.
• Mate preferences can be influenced by competitive decoys.
• Novel combinations of audio and visual cues can result in perceptual rescue.
Choosing a mate is one of the most important decisions an animal can make. The fitness consequences of mate choice have been analysed extensively, and its mechanistic bases have provided insights into how animals make such decisions. Less attention has been given to higher-level cognitive processes. The assumption that animals choose mates predictably and rationally is an important assumption in both ultimate and proximate analyses of mate choice. It is becoming clear, however, that irrational decisions and unpredictable nonlinearities often characterize mate choice. Here we review studies in which cognitive analyses seem to play an important role in the following contexts: auditory grouping; Weber's law; competitive decoys; multimodal communication; and, perceptual rescue. The sum of these studies suggest that mate choice decisions are more complex than they might seem and suggest some caution in making assumptions about evolutionary processes and simplistic mechanisms of mate choice.
Keywords: anuran; cognitive ecology; irrational choice; mate choice; nonlinearities; túngara frog
Friday, May 18, 2018
Engaging in a pre-eating ritual over a 5-day period helped reduce calorie intake; pairing a ritual with healthy eating behavior increased the likelihood of choosing healthy food subsequently; the positive effect of rituals in prosociality held even when ritualized gestures were not labeled as such
Tian, A. D., Schroeder, J., Häubl, G., Risen, J. L., Norton, M. I., & Gino, F. (2018). Enacting rituals to improve self-control. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 114(6), 851-876. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000113
Abstract: Rituals are predefined sequences of actions characterized by rigidity and repetition. We propose that enacting ritualized actions can enhance subjective feelings of self-discipline, such that rituals can be harnessed to improve behavioral self-control. We test this hypothesis in 6 experiments. A field experiment showed that engaging in a pre-eating ritual over a 5-day period helped participants reduce calorie intake (Experiment 1). Pairing a ritual with healthy eating behavior increased the likelihood of choosing healthy food in a subsequent decision (Experiment 2), and enacting a ritual before a food choice (i.e., without being integrated into the consumption process) promoted the choice of healthy food over unhealthy food (Experiments 3a and 3b). The positive effect of rituals on self-control held even when a set of ritualized gestures were not explicitly labeled as a ritual, and in other domains of behavioral self-control (i.e., prosocial decision-making; Experiments 4 and 5). Furthermore, Experiments 3a, 3b, 4, and 5 provided evidence for the psychological process underlying the effectiveness of rituals: heightened feelings of self-discipline. Finally, Experiment 5 showed that the absence of a self-control conflict eliminated the effect of rituals on behavior, demonstrating that rituals affect behavioral self-control specifically because they alter responses to self-control conflicts. We conclude by briefly describing the results of a number of additional experiments examining rituals in other self-control domains. Our body of evidence suggests that rituals can have beneficial consequences for self-control.
Abstract: Rituals are predefined sequences of actions characterized by rigidity and repetition. We propose that enacting ritualized actions can enhance subjective feelings of self-discipline, such that rituals can be harnessed to improve behavioral self-control. We test this hypothesis in 6 experiments. A field experiment showed that engaging in a pre-eating ritual over a 5-day period helped participants reduce calorie intake (Experiment 1). Pairing a ritual with healthy eating behavior increased the likelihood of choosing healthy food in a subsequent decision (Experiment 2), and enacting a ritual before a food choice (i.e., without being integrated into the consumption process) promoted the choice of healthy food over unhealthy food (Experiments 3a and 3b). The positive effect of rituals on self-control held even when a set of ritualized gestures were not explicitly labeled as a ritual, and in other domains of behavioral self-control (i.e., prosocial decision-making; Experiments 4 and 5). Furthermore, Experiments 3a, 3b, 4, and 5 provided evidence for the psychological process underlying the effectiveness of rituals: heightened feelings of self-discipline. Finally, Experiment 5 showed that the absence of a self-control conflict eliminated the effect of rituals on behavior, demonstrating that rituals affect behavioral self-control specifically because they alter responses to self-control conflicts. We conclude by briefly describing the results of a number of additional experiments examining rituals in other self-control domains. Our body of evidence suggests that rituals can have beneficial consequences for self-control.
Affect in self‐generated thought is prevalent, positively biased, highly variable (both within & across individuals), & consistently recruits many brain areas implicated in emotional processing
Affective neuroscience of self‐generated thought. Kieran C.R. Fox, Jessica R. Andrews‐Hanna, Caitlin Mills, Matthew L. Dixon, Jelena Markovic, Evan Thompson, Kalina Christoff. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.13740
Abstract: Despite increasing scientific interest in self‐generated thought—mental content largely independent of the immediate environment—there has yet to be any comprehensive synthesis of the subjective experience and neural correlates of affect in these forms of thinking. Here, we aim to develop an integrated affective neuroscience encompassing many forms of self‐generated thought—normal and pathological, moderate and excessive, in waking and in sleep. In synthesizing existing literature on this topic, we reveal consistent findings pertaining to the prevalence, valence, and variability of emotion in self‐generated thought, and highlight how these factors might interact with self‐generated thought to influence general well‐being. We integrate these psychological findings with recent neuroimaging research, bringing attention to the neural correlates of affect in self‐generated thought. We show that affect in self‐generated thought is prevalent, positively biased, highly variable (both within and across individuals), and consistently recruits many brain areas implicated in emotional processing, including the orbitofrontal cortex, amygdala, insula, and medial prefrontal cortex. Many factors modulate these typical psychological and neural patterns, however; the emerging affective neuroscience of self‐generated thought must endeavor to link brain function and subjective experience in both everyday self‐generated thought as well as its dysfunctions in mental illness.
Abstract: Despite increasing scientific interest in self‐generated thought—mental content largely independent of the immediate environment—there has yet to be any comprehensive synthesis of the subjective experience and neural correlates of affect in these forms of thinking. Here, we aim to develop an integrated affective neuroscience encompassing many forms of self‐generated thought—normal and pathological, moderate and excessive, in waking and in sleep. In synthesizing existing literature on this topic, we reveal consistent findings pertaining to the prevalence, valence, and variability of emotion in self‐generated thought, and highlight how these factors might interact with self‐generated thought to influence general well‐being. We integrate these psychological findings with recent neuroimaging research, bringing attention to the neural correlates of affect in self‐generated thought. We show that affect in self‐generated thought is prevalent, positively biased, highly variable (both within and across individuals), and consistently recruits many brain areas implicated in emotional processing, including the orbitofrontal cortex, amygdala, insula, and medial prefrontal cortex. Many factors modulate these typical psychological and neural patterns, however; the emerging affective neuroscience of self‐generated thought must endeavor to link brain function and subjective experience in both everyday self‐generated thought as well as its dysfunctions in mental illness.
Partisan voters will be happier whenever a member of their party controls political office regardless of the policies; ideologues are happier when the politicians in power, regardless of party affiliation, enact their policies; those who hold extreme political views report higher levels of happiness
Jackson, Jeremy, Happy Partisans and Ideologues: State versus National (March 27, 2018). http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3145282
Abstract: The political party of elected officials can affect the happiness of the voting public through several different channels. Partisan voters will be happier whenever a member of their party controls political office regardless of the policies implemented. Ideologues are happier when the politicians in power, regardless of party affiliation, enact policies closer to those that they prefer. Using data from the Generalized Social Survey the effect of party affiliation of national and state politicians on happiness is estimated. Political ideology scores are also gathered allowing the effect of ideology and its match with respondent preferences to be estimated. It is hypothesized that state political affiliations and ideology scores should have a greater impact on citizen happiness due to results from the literature on Tiebout sorting. However, this is not the case. Presidential party affiliation and ideology have a much greater impact on happiness than national legislative affiliation/ideology or gubernatorial and state legislative affiliation/ideology. These results suggest that identity politics appear to have the greatest effect on happiness.
Keywords: Happiness, Partisanship, Ideology, Party Politics
JEL Classification: D7, I31
Abstract: The political party of elected officials can affect the happiness of the voting public through several different channels. Partisan voters will be happier whenever a member of their party controls political office regardless of the policies implemented. Ideologues are happier when the politicians in power, regardless of party affiliation, enact policies closer to those that they prefer. Using data from the Generalized Social Survey the effect of party affiliation of national and state politicians on happiness is estimated. Political ideology scores are also gathered allowing the effect of ideology and its match with respondent preferences to be estimated. It is hypothesized that state political affiliations and ideology scores should have a greater impact on citizen happiness due to results from the literature on Tiebout sorting. However, this is not the case. Presidential party affiliation and ideology have a much greater impact on happiness than national legislative affiliation/ideology or gubernatorial and state legislative affiliation/ideology. These results suggest that identity politics appear to have the greatest effect on happiness.
Keywords: Happiness, Partisanship, Ideology, Party Politics
JEL Classification: D7, I31
Thursday, May 17, 2018
What seems like negative affect toward the other party is, in fact, negative affect toward partisans from either side of the aisle and political discussion in general; many people do not want their child to marry someone from their own party if that hypothetical in-law were to discuss politics frequently
Samara Klar, Yanna Krupnikov, John Barry Ryan; Affective Polarization or Partisan Disdain?: Untangling a Dislike for the Opposing Party from a Dislike of Partisanship, Public Opinion Quarterly, , nfy014, https://doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfy014
Abstract: Recent scholarship suggests that American partisans dislike other party members so much that partisanship has become the main social divide in modern politics. We argue that at least one measure of this “affective polarization” conflates a dislike for members of the other party with a dislike for partisanship in general. The measure asks people how they feel about their child marrying someone from another party. What seems like negative affect toward the other party is, in fact, negative affect toward partisans from either side of the aisle and political discussion in general. Relying on two national experiments, we demonstrate that although some Americans are politically polarized, more simply want to avoid talking about politics. In fact, many people do not want their child to marry someone from their own party if that hypothetical in-law were to discuss politics frequently. Supplementary analyses using ANES feeling thermometers show that inparty feeling thermometer ratings have decreased in recent years among weak and leaning partisans. As a result, the feeling thermometer results confirm the conclusion from the experiments. Polarization is a phenomenon concentrated in the one-third of Americans who consider themselves strong partisans. More individuals are averse to partisan politics. The analyses demonstrate how affective polarization exists alongside weakening partisan identities.
Abstract: Recent scholarship suggests that American partisans dislike other party members so much that partisanship has become the main social divide in modern politics. We argue that at least one measure of this “affective polarization” conflates a dislike for members of the other party with a dislike for partisanship in general. The measure asks people how they feel about their child marrying someone from another party. What seems like negative affect toward the other party is, in fact, negative affect toward partisans from either side of the aisle and political discussion in general. Relying on two national experiments, we demonstrate that although some Americans are politically polarized, more simply want to avoid talking about politics. In fact, many people do not want their child to marry someone from their own party if that hypothetical in-law were to discuss politics frequently. Supplementary analyses using ANES feeling thermometers show that inparty feeling thermometer ratings have decreased in recent years among weak and leaning partisans. As a result, the feeling thermometer results confirm the conclusion from the experiments. Polarization is a phenomenon concentrated in the one-third of Americans who consider themselves strong partisans. More individuals are averse to partisan politics. The analyses demonstrate how affective polarization exists alongside weakening partisan identities.
Health studies among humorists shows susceptibility to contagious diseases among improvisational artists: Found no evidence that humor positively contributes to health, and a career in a humor-related profession may be detrimental to one’s health
Health among humorists: Susceptibility to contagious diseases among improvisational artists. Gil Greengross, Rod A. Martin. Humor, https://doi.org/10.1515/humor-2017-0054
Abstract: There is a widely held belief that humor contributes to better health, but the research on this topic yields mixed results. To assess the relationship between humor and health, we compared the susceptibility to various infectious diseases of 511 comedy performers (amateur improvisational artists) and a control group of 795 non-performers that were matched to the comedy performers sample in age and sex. Subjects reported the number of episodes and the total days they had had various infectious diseases. Contrary to the prevailing sentiment that humor boosts health, results showed that the comedy performer group reported more frequent contagious diseases and more days having these infections diseases, compared to the control group. Improv artists had significantly more infections and reported more days infected than the control group on respiratory infections, head colds, stomach or intestinal flu, skin infections, and autoimmune diseases. The control group had significantly more bladder infections with non-significant difference on days infected. Results held after controlling for BMI, age, number of antibiotics used and neuroticism. We found no evidence that humor positively contributes to health, and a career in a humor-related profession may be detrimental to one’s health. Our research highlights the complex relationship between humor and health outcomes.
Keywords: humor; physical health; improvisational artists; stand-up comedy; infectious diseases
Abstract: There is a widely held belief that humor contributes to better health, but the research on this topic yields mixed results. To assess the relationship between humor and health, we compared the susceptibility to various infectious diseases of 511 comedy performers (amateur improvisational artists) and a control group of 795 non-performers that were matched to the comedy performers sample in age and sex. Subjects reported the number of episodes and the total days they had had various infectious diseases. Contrary to the prevailing sentiment that humor boosts health, results showed that the comedy performer group reported more frequent contagious diseases and more days having these infections diseases, compared to the control group. Improv artists had significantly more infections and reported more days infected than the control group on respiratory infections, head colds, stomach or intestinal flu, skin infections, and autoimmune diseases. The control group had significantly more bladder infections with non-significant difference on days infected. Results held after controlling for BMI, age, number of antibiotics used and neuroticism. We found no evidence that humor positively contributes to health, and a career in a humor-related profession may be detrimental to one’s health. Our research highlights the complex relationship between humor and health outcomes.
Keywords: humor; physical health; improvisational artists; stand-up comedy; infectious diseases
Nonbelievers were less inclined to cheat than believers; prayer acted as a self-control enhancement for believers (but not nonbelievers), decreasing their cheating to the level of nonbelievers
Alogna, V. (2018). The divergent effects of prayer on cognitive performance (Thesis, Doctor of Philosophy). University of Otago. http://hdl.handle.net/10523/7963
Abstract: Prayer is a universal religious ritual, even among the secular. Although prayer is assumed to be beneficial, the empirical evidence is sparse. What rigorous research exists, concentrates on prayer’s subjective effects and correlates. There is reason to think that these subjective mechanisms could translate to objective performance, such that praying for an objective outcome might bring about that outcome (without divine intervention) through one or more cognitive mechanisms. The primary aim of this thesis was to examine prayer’s effects on cognitive performance, and the mediating mechanisms that could account for its effects.
In two experiments, one in which prayer content was controlled and another in which participants generated the content, prayer differentially affected anagram performance depending on participants’ supernatural beliefs. Believers performed better after praying than after one of several control manipulations, and the opposite was true for nonbelievers.
Several mechanisms were explored as potential mediators of these effects. In Studies 1 and 2, emotional and arousal accounts of prayer were considered. Study 1 showed that believers who prayed experienced increased arousal and positive affect, but Study 2 did not replicate these effects. Study 2 revealed initial evidence of an alternative attributional account of prayer. Believers who prayed not only performed better on the anagram task, but also reported more internal attributions of control over their performance. However, the results of Studies 3 and 4, which investigated prayer’s effects on attributions of control, in the absence of performance were inconsistent with this account. Study 3 suggested another potential mechanism, that believers who prayed perceived their prayers as more effective in improving their performance. However, expectancy perceptions did not translate into predictions about performance, casting doubt on this account. Study 5 examined two alternative mechanisms; social influence and self-control. Preliminary results did not support a social influence account of prayer. However, results showed initial support for a self-control account of prayer, with prayer increasing the ability to forgo immediate rewards as religiosity increased. Study 6 investigated prayer’s effects on cheating, an activity associated with self-control. Overall, nonbelievers were less inclined to cheat than believers. Prayer acted as a self-control enhancement for believers (but not nonbelievers), decreasing their cheating to the level of nonbelievers.
Despite a number of limitations, most notably the absence evidence for a complete causal model, the six studies together provide a number of basic experimental and correlational findings regarding the relationship between religious belief, prayer, and performance. Future research should investigate the replicability and generalizability of these results.
Abstract: Prayer is a universal religious ritual, even among the secular. Although prayer is assumed to be beneficial, the empirical evidence is sparse. What rigorous research exists, concentrates on prayer’s subjective effects and correlates. There is reason to think that these subjective mechanisms could translate to objective performance, such that praying for an objective outcome might bring about that outcome (without divine intervention) through one or more cognitive mechanisms. The primary aim of this thesis was to examine prayer’s effects on cognitive performance, and the mediating mechanisms that could account for its effects.
In two experiments, one in which prayer content was controlled and another in which participants generated the content, prayer differentially affected anagram performance depending on participants’ supernatural beliefs. Believers performed better after praying than after one of several control manipulations, and the opposite was true for nonbelievers.
Several mechanisms were explored as potential mediators of these effects. In Studies 1 and 2, emotional and arousal accounts of prayer were considered. Study 1 showed that believers who prayed experienced increased arousal and positive affect, but Study 2 did not replicate these effects. Study 2 revealed initial evidence of an alternative attributional account of prayer. Believers who prayed not only performed better on the anagram task, but also reported more internal attributions of control over their performance. However, the results of Studies 3 and 4, which investigated prayer’s effects on attributions of control, in the absence of performance were inconsistent with this account. Study 3 suggested another potential mechanism, that believers who prayed perceived their prayers as more effective in improving their performance. However, expectancy perceptions did not translate into predictions about performance, casting doubt on this account. Study 5 examined two alternative mechanisms; social influence and self-control. Preliminary results did not support a social influence account of prayer. However, results showed initial support for a self-control account of prayer, with prayer increasing the ability to forgo immediate rewards as religiosity increased. Study 6 investigated prayer’s effects on cheating, an activity associated with self-control. Overall, nonbelievers were less inclined to cheat than believers. Prayer acted as a self-control enhancement for believers (but not nonbelievers), decreasing their cheating to the level of nonbelievers.
Despite a number of limitations, most notably the absence evidence for a complete causal model, the six studies together provide a number of basic experimental and correlational findings regarding the relationship between religious belief, prayer, and performance. Future research should investigate the replicability and generalizability of these results.
It is not democracy and its credible budgets leading to military strength, as in Lake 1992; rather, it is limited government leading to military strength, Weingast 1998
Cox, Gary W. and Dincecco, Mark, The Budgetary Origins of Fiscal-Military Prowess (April 13, 2018). http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3162629
Abstract: Why modern democracies tend to win the wars they fight has been much debated. In this paper, we investigate the budgetary sources of fiscal-military prowess from the mid-17th to the early 20th centuries. We first review evidence that states adopting credible budgets accrued substantial advantages in raising taxes and loans. Because victory in war has, since the early modern period, been largely a matter of out-spending one’s opponent, credible budgets have also conferred an advantage in winning wars. Using panel data on 10 major European powers, we show that credible budgets led to significantly larger wartime expenditures and thus better chances of winning. Since credible budgets could be adopted by decidedly non-democratic countries, such as England in 1689 or Prussia in 1848, ours is not a theory of democracy leading to military strength, as in the literature beginning with Lake (1992). Rather, it is a theory of limited government leading to military strength, as in Schultz and Weingast (1998).
Keywords: fiscal-military states, credible budgets, democratic victory thesis
Abstract: Why modern democracies tend to win the wars they fight has been much debated. In this paper, we investigate the budgetary sources of fiscal-military prowess from the mid-17th to the early 20th centuries. We first review evidence that states adopting credible budgets accrued substantial advantages in raising taxes and loans. Because victory in war has, since the early modern period, been largely a matter of out-spending one’s opponent, credible budgets have also conferred an advantage in winning wars. Using panel data on 10 major European powers, we show that credible budgets led to significantly larger wartime expenditures and thus better chances of winning. Since credible budgets could be adopted by decidedly non-democratic countries, such as England in 1689 or Prussia in 1848, ours is not a theory of democracy leading to military strength, as in the literature beginning with Lake (1992). Rather, it is a theory of limited government leading to military strength, as in Schultz and Weingast (1998).
Keywords: fiscal-military states, credible budgets, democratic victory thesis
Wednesday, May 16, 2018
Happiness and Longevity: Unhappy People Die Young, Otherwise Happiness Probably Makes No Difference
Happiness and Longevity: Unhappy People Die Young, Otherwise Happiness Probably Makes No Difference. Bruce Headey, Jongsay Yong. Social Indicators Research, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11205-018-1923-2
Abstract: Based on analysis of long-running panel surveys in Germany and Australia, we offer a revised assessment of the relationship between subjective well-being (happiness, life satisfaction) and longevity. Most previous research has reported a linear positive relationship; the happier people are, the longer they live (Diener and Chan in Appl Psychol Health Well-Being 3:1–43, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1758-0854.2010.01045.x). Results from these two panels indicate that, if a linear model is assumed, the standard positive relationship between life satisfaction and longevity is found. However, an alternative viewpoint merits consideration. It appears that the relationship between happiness and longevity may be non-linear. The evidence is strong that unhappy people die young. Otherwise, across the rest of the distribution, happiness appears to make no difference to longevity. Our findings are consistent using alternative methods of estimation, and are robust with or without controlling for a range of variables known to affect longevity, including socio-economic variables, behavioral choices (e.g. exercise, smoking) and health status.
Abstract: Based on analysis of long-running panel surveys in Germany and Australia, we offer a revised assessment of the relationship between subjective well-being (happiness, life satisfaction) and longevity. Most previous research has reported a linear positive relationship; the happier people are, the longer they live (Diener and Chan in Appl Psychol Health Well-Being 3:1–43, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1758-0854.2010.01045.x). Results from these two panels indicate that, if a linear model is assumed, the standard positive relationship between life satisfaction and longevity is found. However, an alternative viewpoint merits consideration. It appears that the relationship between happiness and longevity may be non-linear. The evidence is strong that unhappy people die young. Otherwise, across the rest of the distribution, happiness appears to make no difference to longevity. Our findings are consistent using alternative methods of estimation, and are robust with or without controlling for a range of variables known to affect longevity, including socio-economic variables, behavioral choices (e.g. exercise, smoking) and health status.
Meta-analysis of attempts to correct misinformation (k = 65). Results indicate that corrective messages have a moderate influence on belief in misinformation; however, it is more difficult to correct for misinformation in the context of politics & marketing than health
How to unring the bell: A meta-analytic approach to correction of misinformation. Nathan Walter & Sheila T. Murphy. Communication Monographs, https://doi.org/10.1080/03637751.2018.1467564
Abstract: The study reports on a meta-analysis of attempts to correct misinformation (k = 65). Results indicate that corrective messages have a moderate influence on belief in misinformation (r = .35); however, it is more difficult to correct for misinformation in the context of politics (r = .15) and marketing (r = .18) than health (r = .27). Correction of real-world misinformation is more challenging (r = .14), as opposed to constructed misinformation (r = .48). Rebuttals (r = .38) are more effective than forewarnings (r = .16), and appeals to coherence (r = .55) outperform fact-checking (r = .25), and appeals to credibility (r = .14).
Abstract: The study reports on a meta-analysis of attempts to correct misinformation (k = 65). Results indicate that corrective messages have a moderate influence on belief in misinformation (r = .35); however, it is more difficult to correct for misinformation in the context of politics (r = .15) and marketing (r = .18) than health (r = .27). Correction of real-world misinformation is more challenging (r = .14), as opposed to constructed misinformation (r = .48). Rebuttals (r = .38) are more effective than forewarnings (r = .16), and appeals to coherence (r = .55) outperform fact-checking (r = .25), and appeals to credibility (r = .14).
Iraq is wasting its oil wealth for the adherence of the ruling parties to rule and the people under poverty
Iraq is wasting its oil wealth for the adherence of the ruling parties to rule and the people under poverty, by Matin
May xx, 2018
[your text here]
May xx, 2018
[your text here]
Maternal Educational Attainment and Sex Ratio at Birth by Race in the US, 2007–2015: Supporting the Trivers–Willard hypothesis
Maternal Educational Attainment and Sex Ratio at Birth by Race in the US, 2007–2015. Victor Grech. Journal of Biosocial Science, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021932018000123
Summary: Many factors influence the male:female birth ratio (number of male births divided by total births, M/T). Studies have suggested that this ratio may be positively correlated with the education levels of mothers. This study assessed the effect of maternal education on M/T in the US population overall and by racial group. Number of live births by sex of the child, maternal educational level reached and race were obtained from the Centres for Disease Control (CDC Wonder) for the period 2007–2015. The total study sample comprised 28,268,183 live births. Overall, for the four available recorded racial groups (Asian/Pacific Islander, White, American Indian/Alaska Native and Black/African American), M/T rose significantly with increasing education levels (p < 0.0001). When analysed by race, this relationship was only found for White births (p < 0.0001). The M/T of Black births rose with increasing maternal education level up to associate degree level (p=ns), then fell significantly with higher levels of education (χ 2=4.5, p=0.03). No significant trends were present for Asian/Pacific Islander or American Indian/Alaska Native births. Socioeconomic indicators are generally indicators of better condition and in this study educational attainment was overall found to be positively correlated with M/T, supporting the Trivers–Willard hypothesis.
Summary: Many factors influence the male:female birth ratio (number of male births divided by total births, M/T). Studies have suggested that this ratio may be positively correlated with the education levels of mothers. This study assessed the effect of maternal education on M/T in the US population overall and by racial group. Number of live births by sex of the child, maternal educational level reached and race were obtained from the Centres for Disease Control (CDC Wonder) for the period 2007–2015. The total study sample comprised 28,268,183 live births. Overall, for the four available recorded racial groups (Asian/Pacific Islander, White, American Indian/Alaska Native and Black/African American), M/T rose significantly with increasing education levels (p < 0.0001). When analysed by race, this relationship was only found for White births (p < 0.0001). The M/T of Black births rose with increasing maternal education level up to associate degree level (p=ns), then fell significantly with higher levels of education (χ 2=4.5, p=0.03). No significant trends were present for Asian/Pacific Islander or American Indian/Alaska Native births. Socioeconomic indicators are generally indicators of better condition and in this study educational attainment was overall found to be positively correlated with M/T, supporting the Trivers–Willard hypothesis.
It could be argued that psychopathic personality traits may be adaptive in the military; interpersonal affective deficits seen in psychopathy are protective against the development of PTSD symptoms in a sample of combat-exposed soldiers
Psychopathic Personality Traits in the Military: An Examination of the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scales in a Novel Sample. Joye C. Anestis et al. Assessment, https://doi.org/10.1177/1073191117719511
Abstract: The Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale is a short, self-report measure initially developed to assess psychopathic traits in noninstitutionalized samples. The present study aimed to explore factor structure and convergent and discriminant validity of the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale in a large U.S. military sample (90.7% Army National Guard). Factor analytic data, regression, and correlational analyses point to the superiority of Brinkley, Diamond, Magaletta, and Heigel’s three-factor model in this sample. Implications for theory and the study of psychopathic personality traits in a military sample are discussed.
Keywords: psychopathy, assessment, military, self-report, Levenson
---
[...] an important next step for this line of research is to examine how psychopathic personality traits help and/or hurt service members in discharging their duty. On the one hand, it could be argued that psychopathic personality traits may be adaptive in the military. For example, National Guard and Reserve members are more likely than other service members to develop problems during and after deployment (Hotopf et al., 2006; Iversen et al., 2009; Milliken, Auchterlonie, & Hoge, 2007), yet recent research has noted that the interpersonal.affective deficits seen in psychopathy are protective against the development of PTSD symptoms in a sample of combat-exposed Army National Guard members (J. C. Anestis, Harrop, Anestis, & Green, 2017). Additionally, entering military service often requires a period of physical separation from home.this transition might be easier for individuals with psychopathic traits who have less intense connections to others. Military culture emphasizes traits such as authoritarianism, leadership, and secrecy (Hall, 2011; Strom et al., 2012), areas of potential strength for someone possessing psychopathic personality traits. Military service may even be particularly important for individuals with psychopathic traits who engaged in criminal activity prior to enlistment. Prior research points to a negative relationship between military service and criminal activity, and this negative relationship has been shown to be stronger for those who engaged in criminal activity prior to enlistment than those who did not (e.g., Maruna & Roy, 2007). Thus, military service may serve as a .turning point. for these at-risk adolescents (Teachman & Tedrow, 2016). The hypothesized adaptive function of psychopathic personality traits in the military may also be related to the literature on resilience, as personality factors related to psychopathy have also been found to be related to postdeployment psychological resiliency (e.g., agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability; Lee, Sudom, & Zamorski, 2013). At the same time, psychopathic personality traits may be detrimental to successful military service. Military culture is collectivist in nature and places emphasis on values such as loyalty, teamwork, obedience, and discipline (Strom et al., 2012). Individuals with psychopathic traits may struggle in this context and be at higher risk for discipline problems and discharge (e.g., Fiedler, Oltmanns, & Turkheimer, 2004). Future research should explore the likely multifaceted function of these personality traits as they relate to military service, particularly the likelihood that the relationship is curvilinear (e.g., certain psychopathic personality traits may be adaptive or related to resilience up to a certain level at which point they become maladaptive). Furthermore, from the perspective of the Two-Process (Patrick & Bernat, 2009) or Dual Pathway (Fowles & Dindo, 2009) models of psychopathy, the highly structured and intense doctrination of military training may moderate expression of the impulsive deficits and externalizing tendencies of psychopathy, and commitment to a group and a code of honor may mitigate expression of the interpersonal.affective deficits, allowing members of the military expressing psychopathy-related traits to function better than forensic/offender samples demonstrating comparable mean trait expression.
Abstract: The Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale is a short, self-report measure initially developed to assess psychopathic traits in noninstitutionalized samples. The present study aimed to explore factor structure and convergent and discriminant validity of the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale in a large U.S. military sample (90.7% Army National Guard). Factor analytic data, regression, and correlational analyses point to the superiority of Brinkley, Diamond, Magaletta, and Heigel’s three-factor model in this sample. Implications for theory and the study of psychopathic personality traits in a military sample are discussed.
Keywords: psychopathy, assessment, military, self-report, Levenson
---
[...] an important next step for this line of research is to examine how psychopathic personality traits help and/or hurt service members in discharging their duty. On the one hand, it could be argued that psychopathic personality traits may be adaptive in the military. For example, National Guard and Reserve members are more likely than other service members to develop problems during and after deployment (Hotopf et al., 2006; Iversen et al., 2009; Milliken, Auchterlonie, & Hoge, 2007), yet recent research has noted that the interpersonal.affective deficits seen in psychopathy are protective against the development of PTSD symptoms in a sample of combat-exposed Army National Guard members (J. C. Anestis, Harrop, Anestis, & Green, 2017). Additionally, entering military service often requires a period of physical separation from home.this transition might be easier for individuals with psychopathic traits who have less intense connections to others. Military culture emphasizes traits such as authoritarianism, leadership, and secrecy (Hall, 2011; Strom et al., 2012), areas of potential strength for someone possessing psychopathic personality traits. Military service may even be particularly important for individuals with psychopathic traits who engaged in criminal activity prior to enlistment. Prior research points to a negative relationship between military service and criminal activity, and this negative relationship has been shown to be stronger for those who engaged in criminal activity prior to enlistment than those who did not (e.g., Maruna & Roy, 2007). Thus, military service may serve as a .turning point. for these at-risk adolescents (Teachman & Tedrow, 2016). The hypothesized adaptive function of psychopathic personality traits in the military may also be related to the literature on resilience, as personality factors related to psychopathy have also been found to be related to postdeployment psychological resiliency (e.g., agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability; Lee, Sudom, & Zamorski, 2013). At the same time, psychopathic personality traits may be detrimental to successful military service. Military culture is collectivist in nature and places emphasis on values such as loyalty, teamwork, obedience, and discipline (Strom et al., 2012). Individuals with psychopathic traits may struggle in this context and be at higher risk for discipline problems and discharge (e.g., Fiedler, Oltmanns, & Turkheimer, 2004). Future research should explore the likely multifaceted function of these personality traits as they relate to military service, particularly the likelihood that the relationship is curvilinear (e.g., certain psychopathic personality traits may be adaptive or related to resilience up to a certain level at which point they become maladaptive). Furthermore, from the perspective of the Two-Process (Patrick & Bernat, 2009) or Dual Pathway (Fowles & Dindo, 2009) models of psychopathy, the highly structured and intense doctrination of military training may moderate expression of the impulsive deficits and externalizing tendencies of psychopathy, and commitment to a group and a code of honor may mitigate expression of the interpersonal.affective deficits, allowing members of the military expressing psychopathy-related traits to function better than forensic/offender samples demonstrating comparable mean trait expression.
Lottery losers behave significantly more dishonestly than lottery winners; dishonesty monotonically increases with the size of loss incurred in the lottery; winning a lottery has not the same effect on dishonesty as winning a competition
Losing a Real-Life Lottery and Dishonest Behavior. Erez Sinivera, Gideon Yaniv. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2018.05.005
Highlight
• We investigate the effect of winning and losing a real-life lottery on dishonesty
• Lottery losers behave significantly more dishonestly than lottery winners
• Dishonesty monotonically increases with the size of loss incurred in the lottery
• Winning a lottery has not the same effect on dishonesty as winning a competition
Abstract: We report the results of an experiment destined to examine the effect of winning and losing a real-life scratch-card lottery on subsequent dishonest behavior. People who were observed purchasing scratch cards at selling kiosks were offered, upon completing scratching their cards and discovering whether (and how much) they have won or lost, to participate in a simple task with monetary payoffs and an opportunity to increase their pay by acting dishonestly. The results reveal that lottery losers behave significantly more dishonestly than lottery winners and that honesty monotonically increases with the net profit derived from the lottery (amount won minus lottery price). It thus follows that winning a lottery has not the same effect on moral disengagement as winning a competition which has been shown in the literature to engender dishonest behavior.
Key words: Scratch-Card Lottery; Lottery Winners; Lottery Losers; Dishonest Behavior
Highlight
• We investigate the effect of winning and losing a real-life lottery on dishonesty
• Lottery losers behave significantly more dishonestly than lottery winners
• Dishonesty monotonically increases with the size of loss incurred in the lottery
• Winning a lottery has not the same effect on dishonesty as winning a competition
Abstract: We report the results of an experiment destined to examine the effect of winning and losing a real-life scratch-card lottery on subsequent dishonest behavior. People who were observed purchasing scratch cards at selling kiosks were offered, upon completing scratching their cards and discovering whether (and how much) they have won or lost, to participate in a simple task with monetary payoffs and an opportunity to increase their pay by acting dishonestly. The results reveal that lottery losers behave significantly more dishonestly than lottery winners and that honesty monotonically increases with the net profit derived from the lottery (amount won minus lottery price). It thus follows that winning a lottery has not the same effect on moral disengagement as winning a competition which has been shown in the literature to engender dishonest behavior.
Key words: Scratch-Card Lottery; Lottery Winners; Lottery Losers; Dishonest Behavior
Tuesday, May 15, 2018
Are Sex Differences in Mating Strategies Overrated? Sociosexual Orientation as a Dominant Predictor in Online Dating Strategies
Are Sex Differences in Mating Strategies Overrated? Sociosexual Orientation as a Dominant Predictor in Online Dating Strategies. Lara Hallam, Charlotte J. S. De Backer, Maryanne L. Fisher, Michel Walrave. Evolutionary Psychological Science, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40806-018-0150-z
Abstract: Past research has extensively focused on sex differences in online dating strategies but has largely neglected sex-related individual difference variables such as sociosexuality. Sociosexuality (i.e., a measure of the number of restrictions people place on sexual relationships) gained attention in the 1990s among social and evolutionary psychologists, but has not been fully embraced by social scientists investigating interpersonal relationships and individual differences. Our aim is to investigate whether previously documented sex differences in mating strategies can be partially explained by sociosexuality, as a proximate manifestation of sex, by replicating a study about motives to use online dating applications, using an online survey. A first MANCOVA analysis (N = 254 online daters) not controlling for sociosexuality showed a significant main effect for age and sex. Adding sociosexuality to this analysis, a significant main effect of sociosexuality appeared indicating that individuals with a preference for unrestricted sexual relationships are more motivated to use online dating for reasons related to casual sex, whereas individuals who prefer restricted sexual relationships are more motivated to use online dating to find romance. Interestingly, the original main effect for sex and the significant interactions were eliminated. We argue that in social scientific research, scholars should pay more attention to sociosexuality when doing research about mating strategies.
Abstract: Past research has extensively focused on sex differences in online dating strategies but has largely neglected sex-related individual difference variables such as sociosexuality. Sociosexuality (i.e., a measure of the number of restrictions people place on sexual relationships) gained attention in the 1990s among social and evolutionary psychologists, but has not been fully embraced by social scientists investigating interpersonal relationships and individual differences. Our aim is to investigate whether previously documented sex differences in mating strategies can be partially explained by sociosexuality, as a proximate manifestation of sex, by replicating a study about motives to use online dating applications, using an online survey. A first MANCOVA analysis (N = 254 online daters) not controlling for sociosexuality showed a significant main effect for age and sex. Adding sociosexuality to this analysis, a significant main effect of sociosexuality appeared indicating that individuals with a preference for unrestricted sexual relationships are more motivated to use online dating for reasons related to casual sex, whereas individuals who prefer restricted sexual relationships are more motivated to use online dating to find romance. Interestingly, the original main effect for sex and the significant interactions were eliminated. We argue that in social scientific research, scholars should pay more attention to sociosexuality when doing research about mating strategies.
"Cousin Marriage Is Not Choice: Muslim Marriage and Underdevelopment"
Edlund, Lena. 2018. "Cousin Marriage Is Not Choice: Muslim Marriage and Underdevelopment." AEA Papers and Proceedings, 108():353-57. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20181084
Abstract: According to classical Muslim marriage law, a woman needs her guardian's (viz. father's) consent to marry. However, the resulting marriage payment, the mahr, is hers. This split bill may lie behind the high rates of consanguineous marriage in the Muslim world, where country estimates range from 20 to 60 percent. Cousin marriage can stem from a form of barter in which fathers contribute daughters to an extended family bridal pool against sons' right to draw from the same pool. In the resulting system, women are robbed of their mahr and sons marry by guarding their sisters' "honor" heeding clan elders.
Abstract: According to classical Muslim marriage law, a woman needs her guardian's (viz. father's) consent to marry. However, the resulting marriage payment, the mahr, is hers. This split bill may lie behind the high rates of consanguineous marriage in the Muslim world, where country estimates range from 20 to 60 percent. Cousin marriage can stem from a form of barter in which fathers contribute daughters to an extended family bridal pool against sons' right to draw from the same pool. In the resulting system, women are robbed of their mahr and sons marry by guarding their sisters' "honor" heeding clan elders.
Unexamined assumptions and unintended consequences of routine screening for depression
Unexamined assumptions and unintended consequences of routine screening for depression. Lisa Cosgrove et al. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, Volume 109, June 2018, Pages 9-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2018.03.007
1. Assumption 1: The condition has a detectable early asymptomatic stage, but is progressive and, without early treatment, there will be worse health outcomes
2. Assumption 2: In the absence of screening, patients will not be identified and treated
3. Assumption 3: Depression treatments are effective for patients who screen positive but have not reported symptoms
4. Unintended consequence 1: overdiagnosis and overtreatment
5. Unintended consequence 2: the nocebo effect
6. Unintended consequence 3: misuse of resources
7. Conclusion
The therapeutic imperative in medicine means that we are good at rushing to do things that might “save lives” but not good at not doing, or undoing [30] (p348).
Sensible health care policy should be congruent with evidence. As Mangin astutely noted, our goodhearted desire to “do something” often undermines our ability to interrogate our assumptions and accept empirical evidence. Before implementing any screening program there must be high-quality evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that the program will result in sufficiently large improvements in health to justify both the harms incurred and the use of scarce healthcare resources.
Helping people who struggle with depression is a critically important public health issue. But screening for depression, over and above clinical observation, active listening and questioning, will lead to over-diagnosis and over-treatment, unnecessarily create illness identities in some people, and exacerbate health disparities by reducing our capacity to care for those with more severe mental health problems—the ones, often from disadvantaged groups—who need the care the most.
1. Assumption 1: The condition has a detectable early asymptomatic stage, but is progressive and, without early treatment, there will be worse health outcomes
2. Assumption 2: In the absence of screening, patients will not be identified and treated
3. Assumption 3: Depression treatments are effective for patients who screen positive but have not reported symptoms
4. Unintended consequence 1: overdiagnosis and overtreatment
5. Unintended consequence 2: the nocebo effect
6. Unintended consequence 3: misuse of resources
7. Conclusion
The therapeutic imperative in medicine means that we are good at rushing to do things that might “save lives” but not good at not doing, or undoing [30] (p348).
Sensible health care policy should be congruent with evidence. As Mangin astutely noted, our goodhearted desire to “do something” often undermines our ability to interrogate our assumptions and accept empirical evidence. Before implementing any screening program there must be high-quality evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that the program will result in sufficiently large improvements in health to justify both the harms incurred and the use of scarce healthcare resources.
Helping people who struggle with depression is a critically important public health issue. But screening for depression, over and above clinical observation, active listening and questioning, will lead to over-diagnosis and over-treatment, unnecessarily create illness identities in some people, and exacerbate health disparities by reducing our capacity to care for those with more severe mental health problems—the ones, often from disadvantaged groups—who need the care the most.
Research shows that “evidence-based” therapies are weak treatments. Their benefits are trivial. Most patients do not get well. Even the trivial benefits do not last.
Where Is the Evidence for “Evidence-Based” Therapy? Jonathan Shedler. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, Volume 41, Issue 2, June 2018, Pages 319-329. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psc.2018.02.001
Buzzword. noun. An important-sounding u sually technical word or phrase often oflittle meaning used chiefly to impress.
“Evidence-based therapy” has become a marketing buzzword. The term “evidence based” comes from medicine. It gained attention in the 1990s and was initially a call for critical thinking. Proponents of evidence-based medicine recognized that “We’ve always done it this way” is poor justification for medical decisions. Medical decisions should integrate individual clinical expertise, patients’ values and preferences, and relevant scientific research.1
But the term evidence based has come to mean something very different for psychotherapy. It has been appropriated to promote a specific ideology and agenda. It is now used as a code word for manualized therapy—most often brief, one-sizefits- all forms of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). “Manualized” means the therapy is conducted by following an instruction manual. The treatments are often standardized or scripted in ways that leave little room for addressing the needs of individual patients.
Behind the “evidence-based” therapy movement lies a master narrative that increasingly dominates the mental health landscape. The master narrative goes something like this: “In the dark ages, therapists practiced unproven, unscientific therapy. Evidence-based therapies are scientifically proven and superior.” The narrative has become a justification for all-out attacks on traditional talk therapy—that is, therapy aimed at fostering self-examination and self-understanding in the context of an ongoing, meaningful therapy relationship.
Here is a small sample of what proponents of “evidence-based” therapy say in public: “The empirically supported psychotherapies are still not widely practiced. As a result, many patients do not have access to adequate treatment” (emphasis added).2 Note the linguistic sleight-of-hand: If the therapy is not “evidence based” (read, manualized), it is inadequate. Other proponents of “evidence-based” therapies go further in denigrating relationship-based, insight-oriented therapy: “The disconnect between what clinicians do and what science has discovered is an unconscionable embarrassment.”3 The news media promulgate the master narrative. The Washington Post ran an article titled “Is your therapist a little behind the times?” which likened traditional talk therapy to pre-scientific medicine when “healers commonly used ineffective and often injurious practices such as blistering, purging and bleeding.” Newsweek sounded a similar note with an article titled, “Ignoring the evidence: Why do Psychologists reject science?”
Note how the language leads to a form of McCarthyism. Because proponents of brief, manualized therapies have appropriated the term “evidence-based,” it has become nearly impossible to have an intelligent discussion about what constitutes good therapy. Anyone who questions “evidence-based” therapy risks being branded anti-evidence and anti-science.
One might assume, in light of the strong claims for “evidence-based” therapies and the public denigration of other therapies, that there must be extremely strong scientific evidence for their benefits. There is not. There is a yawning chasm between what we are told research shows and what research actually shows. Empirical research actually shows that “evidence-based” therapies are ineffective for most patients most of the time. First, I discuss what empirical research really shows. I then take a closer look at troubling practices in “evidence-based” therapy research.
PART I: WHAT RESEARCH REALLY SHOWS
Research shows that “evidence-based” therapies are weak treatments. Their benefits are trivial. Most patients do not get well. Even the trivial benefits do not last.
Buzzword. noun. An important-sounding u sually technical word or phrase often oflittle meaning used chiefly to impress.
“Evidence-based therapy” has become a marketing buzzword. The term “evidence based” comes from medicine. It gained attention in the 1990s and was initially a call for critical thinking. Proponents of evidence-based medicine recognized that “We’ve always done it this way” is poor justification for medical decisions. Medical decisions should integrate individual clinical expertise, patients’ values and preferences, and relevant scientific research.1
But the term evidence based has come to mean something very different for psychotherapy. It has been appropriated to promote a specific ideology and agenda. It is now used as a code word for manualized therapy—most often brief, one-sizefits- all forms of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). “Manualized” means the therapy is conducted by following an instruction manual. The treatments are often standardized or scripted in ways that leave little room for addressing the needs of individual patients.
Behind the “evidence-based” therapy movement lies a master narrative that increasingly dominates the mental health landscape. The master narrative goes something like this: “In the dark ages, therapists practiced unproven, unscientific therapy. Evidence-based therapies are scientifically proven and superior.” The narrative has become a justification for all-out attacks on traditional talk therapy—that is, therapy aimed at fostering self-examination and self-understanding in the context of an ongoing, meaningful therapy relationship.
Here is a small sample of what proponents of “evidence-based” therapy say in public: “The empirically supported psychotherapies are still not widely practiced. As a result, many patients do not have access to adequate treatment” (emphasis added).2 Note the linguistic sleight-of-hand: If the therapy is not “evidence based” (read, manualized), it is inadequate. Other proponents of “evidence-based” therapies go further in denigrating relationship-based, insight-oriented therapy: “The disconnect between what clinicians do and what science has discovered is an unconscionable embarrassment.”3 The news media promulgate the master narrative. The Washington Post ran an article titled “Is your therapist a little behind the times?” which likened traditional talk therapy to pre-scientific medicine when “healers commonly used ineffective and often injurious practices such as blistering, purging and bleeding.” Newsweek sounded a similar note with an article titled, “Ignoring the evidence: Why do Psychologists reject science?”
Note how the language leads to a form of McCarthyism. Because proponents of brief, manualized therapies have appropriated the term “evidence-based,” it has become nearly impossible to have an intelligent discussion about what constitutes good therapy. Anyone who questions “evidence-based” therapy risks being branded anti-evidence and anti-science.
One might assume, in light of the strong claims for “evidence-based” therapies and the public denigration of other therapies, that there must be extremely strong scientific evidence for their benefits. There is not. There is a yawning chasm between what we are told research shows and what research actually shows. Empirical research actually shows that “evidence-based” therapies are ineffective for most patients most of the time. First, I discuss what empirical research really shows. I then take a closer look at troubling practices in “evidence-based” therapy research.
PART I: WHAT RESEARCH REALLY SHOWS
Research shows that “evidence-based” therapies are weak treatments. Their benefits are trivial. Most patients do not get well. Even the trivial benefits do not last.
The neuronal circuitry associated with higher intelligence is organized in a sparse and efficient manner, fostering more directed information processing and less cortical activity during reasoning
Diffusion markers of dendritic density and arborization in gray matter predict differences in intelligence. Erhan Genç, Christoph Fraenz, Caroline Schlüter, Patrick Friedrich, Rüdiger Hossiep, Manuel C. Voelkle, Josef M. Ling, Onur Güntürkün & Rex E. Jung. Nature Communications, volume 9, Article number: 1905 (2018), doi:10.1038/s41467-018-04268-8
Abstract: Previous research has demonstrated that individuals with higher intelligence are more likely to have larger gray matter volume in brain areas predominantly located in parieto-frontal regions. These findings were usually interpreted to mean that individuals with more cortical brain volume possess more neurons and thus exhibit more computational capacity during reasoning. In addition, neuroimaging studies have shown that intelligent individuals, despite their larger brains, tend to exhibit lower rates of brain activity during reasoning. However, the microstructural architecture underlying both observations remains unclear. By combining advanced multi-shell diffusion tensor imaging with a culture-fair matrix-reasoning test, we found that higher intelligence in healthy individuals is related to lower values of dendritic density and arborization. These results suggest that the neuronal circuitry associated with higher intelligence is organized in a sparse and efficient manner, fostering more directed information processing and less cortical activity during reasoning.
Abstract: Previous research has demonstrated that individuals with higher intelligence are more likely to have larger gray matter volume in brain areas predominantly located in parieto-frontal regions. These findings were usually interpreted to mean that individuals with more cortical brain volume possess more neurons and thus exhibit more computational capacity during reasoning. In addition, neuroimaging studies have shown that intelligent individuals, despite their larger brains, tend to exhibit lower rates of brain activity during reasoning. However, the microstructural architecture underlying both observations remains unclear. By combining advanced multi-shell diffusion tensor imaging with a culture-fair matrix-reasoning test, we found that higher intelligence in healthy individuals is related to lower values of dendritic density and arborization. These results suggest that the neuronal circuitry associated with higher intelligence is organized in a sparse and efficient manner, fostering more directed information processing and less cortical activity during reasoning.
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