An evolutionary approach to paranoia that more fully accounts for its complex social phenomenology & considers how it can be understood in light of our evolved social cognition, to form coalitions & coordinate between groups in situations of cooperation & competition

Raihani, Nichola, and Vaughan Bell. 2018. “An Evolutionary Perspective on Paranoia.” PsyArXiv. September 2. doi:10.31234/osf.io/fgrnx

Abstract: Although paranoia is the most commonly presenting symptom of psychosis, paranoid thoughts occur frequently in the general population and range widely in severity, from mild socio-evaluative concerns to frank delusions about the harmful intentions of others. Furthermore, paranoia commonly appears after a surprisingly diverse range of difficulties including trauma, brain injury, sleep deprivation, drug use, and psychiatric and neurological disorder. Evolutionary accounts of paranoia have been proposed before but have largely focused on paranoia as a misplaced threat response. Although social threat is clearly a key component, the experience of paranoia is markedly more complex than these accounts would lead us to believe: paranoia can involve multiple alterations in the perception of the social environment, the identification of specific but seemingly arbitrary groups as the source of persecution, and extended beliefs about conspiracy and complex coordination between the perceived persecutors. Here, we argue for an evolutionary approach to paranoia that more fully accounts for its complex social phenomenology and considers how it can be understood in light of our evolved social cognition. More specifically, in terms of the ability to form coalitions and coordinate between groups in situations of cooperation and competition.

Dispositional free riders cooperate only when punishment is possible, whereas dispositional conditional cooperators cooperate without punishment; punishment by DCC and DFR is practically identical

Dispositional free riders do not free ride on punishment. Till O. Weber, Ori Weisel & Simon Gächter. Nature Communications, volume 9, Article number: 2390 (2018). https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-04775-8

Abstract: Strong reciprocity explains prosocial cooperation by the presence of individuals who incur costs to help those who helped them (‘strong positive reciprocity’) and to punish those who wronged them (‘strong negative reciprocity’). Theories of social preferences predict that in contrast to ‘strong reciprocators’, self-regarding people cooperate and punish only if there are sufficient future benefits. Here, we test this prediction in a two-stage design. First, participants are classified according to their disposition towards strong positive reciprocity as either dispositional conditional cooperators (DCC) or dispositional free riders (DFR). Participants then play a one-shot public goods game, either with or without punishment. As expected, DFR cooperate only when punishment is possible, whereas DCC cooperate without punishment. Surprisingly, dispositions towards strong positive reciprocity are unrelated to strong negative reciprocity: punishment by DCC and DFR is practically identical. The ‘burden of cooperation’ is thus carried by a larger set of individuals than previously assumed.

Gender Effects of BDSM Participants on Self-Reported Psychological Distress Levels: BDSM as leisure reduces stress for females and males, with stress reduction being more significant with females

Gender Effects of BDSM Participants on Self-Reported Psychological Distress Levels. Thea Alvarado, Emily E. Prior, Jeremy N. Thomas, DJ Williams. http://journalofpositivesexuality.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Gender-Effects-of-BDSM-Participants-on-Self-Reported-Psychological-Distress-Levels-Alvarado-Prior-Thomas-Williams.pdf

Brief Description: This study examines the connections between perceived stress, gender, and BDSM as a leisure activity that may reduce stress for individuals. This study found statistically significant results that BDSM as leisure reduces stress for females and males, with stress reduction being more significant with females.

Keywords: gender, stress, BDSM, power, BDSM as leisure

A Failure of Academic Quality Control: Rachel Maines' The Technology of Orgasm as a cautionary tale for how easily falsehoods can be come embedded in the humanities

A Failure of Academic Quality Control: The Technology of Orgasm. Lieberman & Schatzberg. Journal of Positive Sexuality, Vol. 4, No. 2, August 2018. http://journalofpositivesexuality.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Failure-of-Academic-Quality-Control-Technology-of-Orgasm-Lieberman-Schatzberg.pdf

Abstract: The Technology of Orgasm by Rachel Maines is one of the most widely cited works on the history of sex and technology. Maines argues that Victorian physicians routinely used electromechanical vibrators to stimulate female patients to orgasm as a treatment for hysteria.  She claims that physicians did not perceive the practice as sexual because it did not involve vaginal penetration. The vibrator was, according to Maines, a labor-saving technology to replace the well -established medical practice of clitoral massage for hysteria. This argument has been repeated almost verbatim in dozens of scholarly works, popular books and articles, a Broadway play, and a feature-length film. Although a few scholars have challenged parts of the book, no one has contested her central argument in the pe er-reviewed literature.  In this article, we carefully assess the sources cited in the book. We found no evidence in these sources that physicians ever used electromechanical vibrators to induce orgasms in female patients as a medical treatment. The success of Technology of Orgasm serves as a cautionary tale for how easily falsehoods can be come embedded in the humanities.

We analyze whether subjective well-being predicts better chances of surviving diseases such as cancer or heart conditions; well-being doesn't mitigate the effect these diseases have on mortality; same happens with life satisfaction

Smile or Die: Can Subjective Well-Being Increase Survival in the Face of Substantive Health Impairments? Martin Binder, Guido Buenstorf. Economics & Human Biology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ehb.2018.08.004

Highlights
•    Subjective well-being increases survival in BHPS panel data set for UK
•    This effect captures in part the assessment of one’s health status
•    This effect disappears when controlling for endogeneity by lagging SWB
•    Specific illnesses (e.g. cancer) decrease survival but SWB does not moderate this
•    SWB is at best protective rather than curative when it comes to mortality

Abstract: A robust relationship between subjective well-being and mortality has been established in the literature, but few studies address how subjective well-being interacts with the impact of concrete diseases on survival. In addition, issues of endogeneity between bad health and subjective well-being are ignored when it comes to survival. We assess both for the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS; 1991-2008) and specifically analyze whether subjective well-being predicts better chances of surviving diseases such as cancer or heart conditions. We find that several of the studied diseases consistently decrease survival chances in our sample (e.g. hazard ratio 3.47 for cancer), also when controlling for the severity of health problems. But our results do not suggest that well-being mitigates the effect these diseases have on mortality. Life satisfaction also does not predict longer survival in the data set if we control for the endogeneity of subjective well-being.

Non-pharmacological factors modulate pharmacological action of drugs; environmental conditions shape drug search and self-administration; social stress is a crucial determinant of effects; drug instrumentalization allows highly specific drug use in non-addicts

Non-pharmacological factors that determine drug use and addiction. Serge H. Ahmed e al. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.08.015

Highlights
•    Non-pharmacological factors modulate pharmacological action of addictive drugs.
•    We review the neurobiological mechanisms of non-pharmacological influences.
•    Environmental conditions shape drug search and self-administration.
•    Social stress is a crucial determinant of drug effects.
•    Drug instrumentalization allows highly specific drug use in non-addicts.
•    Behavioral alternatives shape drug choice and consumption patterns.

Abstract: Based on their pharmacological properties, psychoactive drugs are supposed to take control of the natural reward system to finally drive compulsory drug seeking and consumption. However, psychoactive drugs are not used in an arbitrary way as pure pharmacological reinforcement would suggest, but rather in a highly specific manner depending on non-pharmacological factors. While pharmacological effects of psychoactive drugs are well studied, neurobiological mechanisms of non-pharmacological factors are less well understood. Here we review the emerging neurobiological mechanisms beyond pharmacological reinforcement which determine drug effects and use frequency. Important progress was made on the understanding of how the character of an environment and social stress determine drug self-administration. This is expanded by new evidence on how behavioral alternatives and opportunities for drug instrumentalization generate different patterns of drug choice. Emerging evidence suggests that the neurobiology of non-pharmacological factors strongly determines pharmacological and behavioral drug action and may, thus, give rise for an expanded system’s approach of psychoactive drug use and addiction.

Having higher income does not increase the tendency to believe that income is deserved due to effort; in the case of health, higher self reported state of health seems to increase the tendency to associate bad health with bad habits & lifestyle choices

Merit or luck - An interpretation of people’s beliefs from an economic perspective. Karen Høgholen. May 11th 2018, Master of Philosophy in Economics, Department of Economics, University of Oslo, https://www.duo.uio.no/bitstream/handle/10852/63119/7/H-gholen-Karen.pdf

Abstract: This thesis studies the tendency people seem to have to belittle the role of luck in life outcomes, especially in the aftermath of success. Translating high income and high state of health to reflect sings of success, I analyse whether having high income or high state of health affects the proneness to believe, that income or health is achieved mainly trough own actions rather than luck. Beliefs around luck are noted to be affecting preferences over redistribution, and this aspect is explored by investigating the relationship between beliefs about societal versus individual responsibility over drug addiction problems. Ordered and binary logistic regression models are constructed to inspect the relationship between beliefs and belief determining predictors, utilising data from a Norwegian survey scanning people’s opinions around drug addiction and responsibility. The main findings suggest that having higher income does not significantly increase the tendency to believe that income is deserved due to effort. Whereas in the case of health, higher self reported state of health seems to increase the tendency to associate bad health with bad habits and lifestyle choices. For the aspect of beliefs about redistribution, it seems like the more the cause of an addiction is related to individual responsibility, the higher is the tendency to think that the addiction problem remains to be solved by the individual himself, rather than being something the society should be responsible for. The role of beliefs in economic theory in general, and what implications beliefs around luck and control have in a policy context is discussed. Parts of an economic model of belief forming mechanisms by Benabou and Tirole (2006), is also presented as an inspiration for the overall themes discussed in this thesis.

The gender gap in risk-taking among the most competent students reduced the odds that high-ability women received top exam scores, creating gender inequality in outcomes among top performers

Who’s on Top?: Gender Differences in Risk-Taking Produce Unequal Outcomes for High-Ability Women and Men. Susan R. Fisk. Social Psychology Quarterly, https://doi.org/10.1177/0190272518796512

Abstract: Research shows that men are more likely to take risks than women, but there is scant evidence that this produces gender inequality. To address this gap, I analyzed engineering exam scores that used an unusual grading procedure. I found small average gender differences in risk-taking that did not produce gendered outcomes for students of average or poor ability. But the gender gap in risk-taking among the most competent students reduced the odds that high-ability women received top exam scores. These results demonstrate that gender differences in risk-taking can produce gender inequality in outcomes among top performers. This suggests that the upward mobility of high-ability women may be depressed relative to equally competent men in male-typed institutional settings in which outcomes are influenced by both ability and risk-taking. In this manner, these results provide new insights into the microlevel social-psychological processes that produce and reproduce gender inequality.

Keywords: gender, gender inequality, mobility, risk-taking, work

Civil inattention: Even when action has been taken to clean it up, plastic bags filled with dog droppings have been thrown onto the ground in certain carefully selected spots or even hung up in trees or displayed on fence posts or railings

Gross, Mathias, Horta, Ana (2017). Dog shit happens: human–canine interactions and the immediacy of excremental presence. In Bradley H. Brewster and Antony J. Puddephatt (Eds.), Microsociological Perspectives for Environmental Sociology, pp. 143-160. London & New York: Routledge. http://hdl.handle.net/10451/26761

Abstract: When it comes to a human’s best friend it seems Western societies turn a blind eye to practices that fail to meet their usually high standards of everyday hygiene. This chapter will explore practices related to canine excrement and the micro-interactionist strategies deployed by dog owners and non-owners to cope with it. We present here the results of our own observations of the habitual behavior of dog-walkers at various times of the day in various settings, mainly in Germany and Portugal – the authors’ respective countries of residence – but also report on similar observations made in Poland, France, Belgium, Britain, and Japan. Our account is also based on our own experiences of dog walking and engaging in the removal of excrement. We draw additionally on a number of informal conversations with dog owners and non-owners on such topics, including the techniques used to deal with excrement, as well as reports and discussions published online. In thus exploring the ways dog waste is removed, we try and solve the riddle of why, in some cases, even when action has been taken to clean it up, plastic bags filled with dog droppings have been thrown onto the ground in certain carefully selected spots or even hung up in trees or displayed on fence posts or railings. The chapter will present inquiries into micro-forms of interactional behavior and dog walking and pooping practices. Some of these strategies will be accounted for as qualitatively new forms of what Erving Goffman (1971) once referred to as civil inattention. Thus, we explore the logic of civil inattention by focusing on what might be called “poop on display.”

Populations of lateral entorhinal cortex neurons represent time inherently through the encoding of experience: this may be integrated with spatial inputs from the medial entorhinal cortex in the hippocampus, storing a unified representation of what, where and when

Integrating time from experience in the lateral entorhinal cortex. Albert Tsao, Jørgen Sugar, Li Lu, Cheng Wang, James J. Knierim, May-Britt Moser & Edvard I. Moser. Nature (2018), https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0459-6

Abstract: The encoding of time and its binding to events are crucial for episodic memory, but how these processes are carried out in hippocampal–entorhinal circuits is unclear. Here we show in freely foraging rats that temporal information is robustly encoded across time scales from seconds to hours within the overall population state of the lateral entorhinal cortex. Similarly pronounced encoding of time was not present in the medial entorhinal cortex or in hippocampal areas CA3–CA1. When animals’ experiences were constrained by behavioural tasks to become similar across repeated trials, the encoding of temporal flow across trials was reduced, whereas the encoding of time relative to the start of trials was improved. The findings suggest that populations of lateral entorhinal cortex neurons represent time inherently through the encoding of experience. This representation of episodic time may be integrated with spatial inputs from the medial entorhinal cortex in the hippocampus, allowing the hippocampus to store a unified representation of what, where and when.

Seen a widening gap between star firms (defined as those in top 10% of return on invested capital in any year) & the rest of the economy over time, especially in industries that rely on a skilled labor force, until you measure well intangible capital

Ayyagari, Meghana and Demirgüç-Kunt, Asli and Maksimovic, Vojislav, Who are America's Star Firms? (August 13, 2018). http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3230154

Abstract: There is widespread concern about a growing gap between top-performing publicly listed firms and the rest of the economy and the implications of this for rising inequality in the U.S. Using conventional return calculations, there is indeed a widening gap between star firms (defined as those in top 10% of return on invested capital in any year) and the rest of the economy over time, especially in industries that rely on a skilled labor force. However, once measurement error in intangible capital is accounted for, this gap shrinks dramatically and has not been widening over time. While pricing power, as measured by markups, predicts star firm status, a large fraction of star firms have low markups and there is no evidence that star firms are cutting output or investment more than other firms for the same markup. The effect of star status is persistent. Five years later, star firms have higher growth, pro ts, and Tobin's Q. A small subset of exceptional firms may pose more pressing policy concerns with much higher returns and the potential to exercise market power in the future.

Keywords: star firms, intangible capital, organizational capital, industry concentration, ROIC, capital expenditure
JEL Classification: G30, G31, G32, L22, L23, L25

We knew that people search for balance in moral behavior such that they feel licensed to behave less morally after a previous moral act (licensing) & cleanse previous morally questionable behaviors by subsequently behaving more morally (cleansing)

Taking Close Others’ Environmental Behavior Into Account When Striking the Moral Balance? Evidence for Vicarious Licensing, Not for Vicarious Cleansing. Marijn H. C. Meijers et al. Environment and Behavior, https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916518773148

Abstract: Research shows that people search for balance in their moral (e.g., environmentally friendly) behaviors such that they feel licensed to behave less morally after a previous moral act (licensing) and cleanse previous morally questionable behaviors by subsequently behaving more morally (cleansing). This article investigates whether this balancing may extend to close others, but not to nonclose others, and tests vicarious licensing and cleansing in the environmental domain. Study 1 showed that vicarious licensing effects are more likely when a close other displayed environmentally friendly (vs. neutral) behavior. Study 2 showed that environmental vicarious licensing effects are more likely for close than nonclose others. Studies 3 and 4 suggested that vicarious licensing effects, but not vicarious cleansing effects are more likely for close (vs. nonclose) others. Finally, a meta-analysis showed that overall these studies provide evidence for vicarious licensing effects, but not for vicarious cleansing effects in the environmental domain.

Keywords: environmentally friendly, licensing, cleansing, vicarious, self–other overlap, morality

We ask whether people in a strategic situation follow the Golden Rule, that is, do not treat others in ways that they find disagreeable to themselves; over three quarters of the experiments' subjects do so

Role-Reversal Consistency: An Experimental Study of the Golden Rule. Miguel A. Costa‐Gomes, Yuan Ju, Jiawen Li. Economic Inquiry, https://doi.org/10.1111/ecin.12708

Abstract: We report an experiment that asks whether people in a strategic situation behave according to the Golden Rule, that is, do not treat others in ways that they find disagreeable to themselves, a property that we call role‐reversal consistency. Overall, we find that over three quarters of the subjects are role‐reversal consistent. Regression analysis suggests that this finding is not driven by players maximizing their subjective expected monetary earnings given their stated beliefs about their opponents' behavior. We find that subjects' stated beliefs and actions reveal mild projection bias. (JEL C78, C91)

Jerkies, tacos, burgers: individuals low on subjective socioeconomic status have a greater preference for meat, effect driven by a desire for status & not by felt hunger or power, & not generalizable to plant foods

Jerkies, tacos, and burgers: Subjective socioeconomic status and meat preference. Eugene Y. Chan, Natalina Zlatevska. Appetite, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2018.08.027

Abstract: In mankind's evolutionary past, those who consumed meat were strong and powerful and thus man saw meat as indicative of social status. This symbolic connection between meat and status persists today. Thus, based upon psychological theories of compensation, individuals low on subjective socioeconomic status (SES) should have a greater preference for meat, as meat may be substitutable for the status that they lack. Three experiments tested this premise. Participants who felt low on subjective SES preferred meat-based foods compared to participants who felt high on it (Experiment 1). The effect is driven by a desire for status (Experiments 2–3) and not by felt hunger or power (Experiments 1–2) and not generalizable to plant foods (Experiment 3). The results suggest a symbolic link between meat and status, which has intriguingly not yet been empirically shown, and we also demonstrate a consequence of the link for food preference. The results may be of use for doctors who advise eating less meat to improve physical health and for environmental advocates who argue that meat consumption exacerbates global warming. We will also discuss the contributions of and further avenues based on our work.

Participants stated their opinions about salient political issues, & we covertly altered some of their responses to indicate an opposite position; we asked to verify the manipulated responses, & only half of the manipulations were corrected by the participants

False beliefs and confabulation can lead to lasting changes in political attitudes. Strandberg T, Sivén D, Hall L, Johansson P, Pärnamets P. Journal of experimental psychology. General 147:9 2018 Sep pg 1382-1399. http://psycnet.apa.org/record/2018-42340-004

Abstract: In times of increasing polarization and political acrimony, fueled by distrust of government and media disinformation, it is ever more important to understand the cognitive mechanisms behind political attitude change. In two experiments, we present evidence that false beliefs about one's own prior attitudes and confabulatory reasoning can lead to lasting changes in political attitudes. In Experiment 1 (N = 140), participants stated their opinions about salient political issues, and using the Choice Blindness Paradigm we covertly altered some of their responses to indicate an opposite position. In the first condition, we asked the participants to immediately verify the manipulated responses, and in the second, we also asked them to provide underlying arguments behind their attitudes. Only half of the manipulations were corrected by the participants. To measure lasting attitude change, we asked the participants to rate the same issues again later in the experiment, as well as one week after the first session. Participants in both conditions exhibited lasting shifts in attitudes, but the effect was considerably larger in the group that confabulated supporting arguments. We fully replicated these findings in Experiment 2 (N = 232). In addition, we found that participants' analytical skill correlated with their correction of the manipulation, whereas political involvement did not. This study contributes to the understanding of how confabulatory reasoning and self-perceptive processes can interact in lasting attitude change. It also highlights how political expressions can be both stable in the context of everyday life, yet flexible when argumentative processes are engaged.

The increased use of financial contracts to manage household risk is associated with a decline in religious adherence & smaller church congregations, a cost-benefit analysis leads households to replace their participation in social networks with lower-cost financial contracts

Cronqvist, Henrik and Warachka, Mitch and Yu, Frank, Does Finance Make Us Less Social? (July 2018). http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3229344

Abstract: Formal financial contracts and informal risk-sharing agreements within social networks both enable households to manage risk. Using an exogenous reduction in the cost of financial contracting, we find that the increased use of financial contracts to manage household risk is associated with a decline in religious adherence and smaller church congregations. These results indicate that a cost-benefit analysis leads households to replace their participation in social networks with lower-cost financial contracts. Our study contributes toward understanding the implications of emerging technologies known collectively as FinTech that lower the cost of financial contracting.

Keywords: Household Risk Management, Social Networks, FinTech
JEL Classification: G02, G28

Voters face tradeoffs between self-interest and the common good; experiment participants are more likely to choose the policy that earns them more money, even when the policy is detrimental to the common good

Selfish and Cooperative Voting: Can the Majority Restrain Themselves? Bowen Cho, Scott Bokemper, Andrew W. Delton. Political Behavior, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11109-018-9495-z

Abstract: At every scale from small committees to national elections, voters face tradeoffs between self-interest and the common good. We report three experiments in which participants vote for policies with real payoffs at stake. We manipulate self-interest by randomly assigning participants to two groups in society with different policy payoffs. Participants in the majority group are confronted by a simple choice between a policy that is better for themselves or a policy that is best for society. Overall, we find a clear effect of self-interest: Participants are more likely to choose the policy that earns them more money, compared to participants in the other group, even when the policy is detrimental to the common good. Simultaneously, we observe considerable levels of cooperative voting among participants in the majority, ranging from 47% to 79% across different payoff regimes. Finally, participants were not more cooperative when voting compared to when they chose between the same policies with a lottery or leader institution, departing from the hypothesis that voting institutions promote cooperative motives. We discuss implications for multiple literatures about voting behavior.

Perceptions of scientific consensus do not predict later beliefs about the reality of climate change, but the inverse pathway was significant for liberals: personal beliefs about the reality of anthropogenic CC prospectively predicted subsequent estimates of consensus

Perceptions of scientific consensus do not predict later beliefs about the reality of climate change: A test of the gateway belief model using cross-lagged panel analysis. John Richard Kerr, Marc Stewart Wilson. Journal of Environmental Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2018.08.012

Highlights
•    Study examined link between perceptions of scientific consensus and beliefs.
•    Variables captured at two time points in student sample.
•    Perceived consensus does not predict later personal climate beliefs.
•    Beliefs predict later perceived consensus for liberal, but not conservative, voters.

Abstract: The gateway belief model posits that perceptions of scientific agreement play a causal role in shaping beliefs about the existence of anthropogenic climate change. However, experimental support for the model is mixed. The current study takes a longitudinal approach, examining the causal relationships between perceived consensus and beliefs. Perceptions of scientific consensus and personal beliefs about climate change were collected over a five-month period in a student sample (N = 356). Cross-lagged panel analysis revealed that perceived scientific consensus did not prospectively predict personal agreement with the reality of climate change, thus the current study did not find support for the gateway belief model. However, the inverse pathway was significant for those with liberal voting intentions: personal beliefs about the reality of anthropogenic climate change prospectively predicted subsequent estimates of consensus. The results suggest that individuals’ perceptions of a consensus among scientists do not have a strong influence on their personal beliefs about climate change.

Why Milk Consumption is the Bigger Problem: Ethical Implications and Deaths per Calorie Created of Milk (and cheese!) Compared to Meat Production

Why Milk Consumption is the Bigger Problem: Ethical Implications and Deaths per Calorie Created of Milk Compared to Meat Production. Karin Kolbe. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, August 2018, Volume 31, Issue 4, pp 467–481. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10806-018-9740-9

Abstract: Pictures of sides of beef, hanging from overhead rails in refrigerated warehouses and meat-processing plants, often leave a feeling of unease. These pictures provoke the notion that human beings have no right to inflict suffering and death on other sentient beings for the sole purpose of providing food. However, the ethical analysis conducted in this study shows that meat production, if animal welfare and deaths per calorie created are considered, is less of a pressing problem compared to the production of milk. While meat can be provided with minimal suffering to animals, the consumption of milk is always associated with considerable suffering during the dairy cow’s life-span and the lives of their offspring. Moreover, more bovine deaths per unit of calorific value created are associated with milk production compared to meat production. The vegan movement, which is currently growing, wishes to minimise farm animal suffering as much as possible. However, if a vegan diet is not possible, consumers should make an informed decision about the products they consume. Replacement of the calories obtained from meat with those from milk and dairy products is not rational if animal welfare is considered.

Spending time on social media, regardless of its purpose, relates to perceiving the United States as more politically polarized, which can help reduce polarization except in the group of those not using social media, those older than 75

Gollwitzer, Anton, Social Media Use Relates to Perceiving the United States as More Politically Polarized (March 9, 2018). http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3137325

Abstract: Much research has examined the role news media and social media play in political polarization. There has been less focus on whether and how social media influences people’s perception of political polarization in society. In one study (N = 328), we examined whether increased social media use relates to perceiving the United States political climate as more or less polarized. Time spent on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) related to perceiving politics as more polarized. This relationship remained when controlling for other variables such as age and political orientation. Of participants who reported using social media, whether they used it for socializing or information gathering did not relate to their level of perceived political polarization. We conclude that spending time on social media, regardless of its purpose, relates to perceiving the United States as more politically polarized. Possible mechanisms and implications of this relationship are discussed.

Keywords: perceived political polarization, social media, information gathering

Subjects are more willing to lie through a delegate than to lie directly

Lying Through Others: Does Delegation Promote Deception? Glynis Gawn RobertInnes. Journal of Economic Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2018.08.005

Highlights
•    Studies how delegation affects lie aversion.
•    Controls for other economic channels by which delegation can affect deception.
•    Presents classroom experiments involving black and white lies.
•    Finds that subjects are more willing to lie through a delegate than to lie directly.

Abstract: How do agency relationships affect an individual’s willingness to lie for monetary advantage? Does lie aversion decline if a lie (or truth) is sent through an agent, rather than sent directly by the individual? In a recent paper, Erat (2013) shows that a significant proportion of his subjects prefer to delegate a deception decision. We present experiments designed to focus on one of several possible explanations for this intriguing behavior – that delegation reduces lie aversion. The experiments reveal that subjects are more willing to lie through a delegate than to lie directly despite controlling for potential effects of delegated decision-making on preferences over payoffs, probabilities of actions, and/or the desire to avoid taking a decision.

Men are more likely to offer financial correct answers & women are slightly more likely to offer incorrect ones but women are considerably more likely to say "don't know," losing the opportunity to hazard a guess

On the Gender Gap in Financial Knowledge: Decomposing the Effects of Don't Know and Incorrect Responses. Zibei Chen, James C. Garand. Social Science Quarterly, https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.12520

Objectives: Past studies have consistently shown that women have lower levels of financial knowledge than men, and hence there is a noticeable gender gap in financial knowledge. We reconsider the conventional measures of financial knowledge by disentangling don't know (DK) responses and incorrect answers and comparing the effect of these two disparate responses’ on the gender gap in financial knowledge.

Methods: Using data from the 2012 National Financial Capability Studies data set, we estimate a series of ordinary least squares regression and multinomial logit models of the gender gap in DK and incorrect responses.

Results: We find a strong gender gap in financial knowledge, but with a twist: (1) men are more likely to offer correct answers; (2) women are slightly more likely to offer incorrect answers; but (3) women are considerably more likely to provide DK responses. Hence women may exhibit lower levels of financial knowledge because they lose the opportunity to hazard a guess and arrive at a correct answer based either on partial knowledge or on random chance. We consider the possibility that there are psychological processes at work involving risk acceptance and confidence in financial knowledge that prompt women to give DK responses at a rate higher than men.

Conclusion: We suggest that future research should consider the relative roles of DK and incorrect responses in measuring financial knowledge.

Traditions refer to ‘the virtuous person,’ implying that a class of individuals exists who have achieved a virtuous state; there is little evidence for class structure, & there is support for thinking of virtue as something we must pursue rather than a state that we achieve

Are there virtuous types? Finite mixture modeling of the VIA Inventory of Strengths. Dawn M. Berger & Robert E. McGrath. The Journal of Positive Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2018.1510021

ABSTRACT: Philosophical and religious traditions often refer to ‘the virtuous person.’ This terminology usually carries with it the assumption that a class of individuals exists who have achieved a virtuous state. This study attempted to test that implication. The VIA Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS) is intended as a comprehensive assessment of character strengths, which are conceptualized as markers of virtuous character. One prior study using taxometric methods found no evidence for the existence of such a category of individuals using VIA-IS scores. Subsequent literature has suggested the superiority of finite mixture modeling for identifying categorical structure. Latent profile analyses of 1–10 classes were conducted in a stratified sample of 10,000 adults. The results provided little evidence for class structure, and support thinking of virtue as something we must continuously pursue rather than a state that we achieve.

KEYWORDS: Character strengths, virtue, latent profile analysis (LPA), finite mixture modeling (FMM)

Economic well-being in rural India is clearly increasing across castes; the highest castes are happier than the others; the happiness pattern across the low & middle castes is flat or even downward sloping, which we attribute to the dynamics of downward & upward comparisons

The relationship between status and happiness: Evidence from the caste system in rural India. Bert Van Landeghem, Anneleen Vandeplas. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2018.08.006

Highlights
•    In both regions under study, we find that economic well-being in rural India is clearly increasing across castes.
•    We also find that the highest castes are happier than the lower and middle castes.
•    The happiness pattern across the low and middle castes is either flat or even downward sloping, which we attribute to the dynamics of downward and upward comparisons.

Abstract: A large number of empirical studies have investigated the link between social status and happiness; however, in observational data, identification challenges remain severe. This study exploits the fact that, in India, people are assigned a caste from birth. Two similar surveys of household heads (each with N=1000) in rural Punjab and Andhra Pradesh show an increasing pattern of economic welfare with caste hierarchy. This illustrates that, in the rural regions under study, one’s caste is still an important determinant of opportunities in life. Subsequently, we find that the castes at the top are clearly more satisfied than the lower and middle castes. This result, which is in line with the predictions of all major social comparison theories, is robust across the two case studies. The pattern across low and middle castes, however, is less clear, reflecting the complex theoretical relationship between being of middle rank, on the one hand, and behaviour, aspirations, and well-being, on the other hand. In the Punjab sample, we even find a significant U-shaped pattern, with the middle castes being the least happy. Interestingly, these patterns resemble those found for Olympic medallists (first documented by Medvec et al., 1995).