Is Antagonistic Pleiotropy Ubiquitous in Aging Biology? Steven N Austad Jessica M Hoffman. Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health, eoy033, https://doi.org/10.1093/emph/eoy033
Abstract: George Williams’ 1957 paper developed the antagonistic pleiotropy hypothesis of aging, which had previously been hinted at by Peter Medawar. Antagonistic pleiotropy, as it applies to aging, hypothesizes that animals possess genes that enhance fitness early in life but diminish it in later life and that such genes can be favored by natural selection because selection is stronger early in life even as they cause the aging phenotype to emerge. No genes of the sort hypothesized by Williams were known sixty years ago, but modern molecular biology has now discovered hundreds of genes that, when their activity is enhanced, suppressed, or turned off, lengthen life and enhance health under laboratory conditions. Does this provide strong support for Williams’ hypothesis? What are the implications of Williams’ hypothesis for the modern goal of medically intervening to enhance and prolong human health? Here we briefly review the current state of knowledge on antagonistic pleiotropy both under wild and laboratory conditions. Overall, whenever antagonistic pleiotropy effects have been seriously investigated, they have been found. However, not all trade-offs are directly between reproduction and longevity as is often assumed. The discovery that antagonistic pleiotropy is common if not ubiquitous implies that a number of molecular mechanisms of aging may be widely shared among organisms and that these mechanisms of aging can be potentially alleviated by targeted interventions.
Topic: aging phenotype genes longevity molecular biology reproductive physiological process pleiotropism elderly
Sunday, October 14, 2018
Strong discrepancy between stated and revealed behavior: given a natural setting, people may actually behave inconsistently with the way in which they otherwise “brand” themselves; this is a big problem for predictability of survey answers
Why (field) experiments on unethical behavior are important: Comparing stated and revealed behavior. Yonas Alema et al. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2018.08.026
Highlights
• Field experiment on unethical behavior.
• Comparison of stated behavior and revealed behavior.
• Experiment induces reciprocity and guilt in two treatments.
• Result 1: strong discrepancy between stated and revealed behavior.
• Result 2: inducing reciprocity and guilt reduces unethical behavior compared to control.
Abstract: Understanding unethical behavior is essential to many phenomena in the real world. We carry out a field experiment in a unique setting that varies the levels of reciprocity and guilt in an ethical decision. A survey more than one year before the field experiment allows us to compare at the individual level stated unethical behavior with revealed behavior in the same situation in the field. Our results indicate a strong discrepancy between stated and revealed behavior, regardless of the specific treatment in the field experiment. This suggests that, given a natural setting, people may actually behave inconsistently with the way in which they otherwise “brand” themselves. Our findings raise caution about the interpretation of stated behavioral measures commonly used in research on unethical behavior. In addition, we show that inducing reciprocity and guilt leads to a decrease in unethical behavior.
Highlights
• Field experiment on unethical behavior.
• Comparison of stated behavior and revealed behavior.
• Experiment induces reciprocity and guilt in two treatments.
• Result 1: strong discrepancy between stated and revealed behavior.
• Result 2: inducing reciprocity and guilt reduces unethical behavior compared to control.
Abstract: Understanding unethical behavior is essential to many phenomena in the real world. We carry out a field experiment in a unique setting that varies the levels of reciprocity and guilt in an ethical decision. A survey more than one year before the field experiment allows us to compare at the individual level stated unethical behavior with revealed behavior in the same situation in the field. Our results indicate a strong discrepancy between stated and revealed behavior, regardless of the specific treatment in the field experiment. This suggests that, given a natural setting, people may actually behave inconsistently with the way in which they otherwise “brand” themselves. Our findings raise caution about the interpretation of stated behavioral measures commonly used in research on unethical behavior. In addition, we show that inducing reciprocity and guilt leads to a decrease in unethical behavior.
Antisocial behavior is heritable, but heritability varies by subtype and age; adversity predicts antisocial behavior directly & moderates genetic effects; we need genome-wide association studies of antisocial behavior with larger sample sizes
Genetic influences on antisocial behavior: recent advances and future directions. Arianna M Gard, Hailey L Dotterer, Luke W Hyde. Current Opinion in Psychology, Volume 27, June 2019, Pages 46-55, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2018.07.013
Highlights
• The heterogeneity of antisocial behavior needs to be considered in genetic studies.
• Antisocial behavior is heritable, but heritability varies by subtype and age.
• Adversity predicts antisocial behavior directly and moderates genetic effects.
• Genome-wide association studies of antisocial behavior with larger sample sizes are needed.
• Polygenic risk scores may capture cumulative genetic effects on antisocial behavior.
• Neurogenetics links genes to behavior via the brain.
Abstract: Understanding the etiology of antisocial behavior (i.e. violence, criminality, rule-breaking), is essential to the development of more effective prevention and intervention strategies. We provide a summary of the genetic correlates of antisocial behavior, drawing upon findings from behavioral, molecular, and statistical genetics. Across methodologies, our review highlights the centrality of environmental moderators of genetic effects, and how behavioral heterogeneity in antisocial behavior is an important consideration for genetic studies. We also review novel analytic techniques and neurogenetic approaches that can be used to examine how genetic variation predicts antisocial behavior. Finally, to illustrate how findings may converge across approaches, we describe pathways from genetic variability in oxytocin signaling to subtypes of antisocial behavior.
Highlights
• The heterogeneity of antisocial behavior needs to be considered in genetic studies.
• Antisocial behavior is heritable, but heritability varies by subtype and age.
• Adversity predicts antisocial behavior directly and moderates genetic effects.
• Genome-wide association studies of antisocial behavior with larger sample sizes are needed.
• Polygenic risk scores may capture cumulative genetic effects on antisocial behavior.
• Neurogenetics links genes to behavior via the brain.
Abstract: Understanding the etiology of antisocial behavior (i.e. violence, criminality, rule-breaking), is essential to the development of more effective prevention and intervention strategies. We provide a summary of the genetic correlates of antisocial behavior, drawing upon findings from behavioral, molecular, and statistical genetics. Across methodologies, our review highlights the centrality of environmental moderators of genetic effects, and how behavioral heterogeneity in antisocial behavior is an important consideration for genetic studies. We also review novel analytic techniques and neurogenetic approaches that can be used to examine how genetic variation predicts antisocial behavior. Finally, to illustrate how findings may converge across approaches, we describe pathways from genetic variability in oxytocin signaling to subtypes of antisocial behavior.
Saturday, October 13, 2018
The high regard of organic food is a meme; not in genetic terms, but as a cultural artefact that spreads, affects social cognition, & propagates in the social environment as a true statement to be believed
Organic Food Appeals to Intuition and Triggers Stereotypes. Marjaana Lindeman, Joonas Anttila. International Journal of Psychological Studies, Vol. 10, No. 3 (2018). DOI:10.5539/ijps.v10n3p66
Abstract: Evidence suggests that the benefits of organic food are overstated. In study 1, factors predicting positive attitudes toward organic food (OF), food processing and additives were investigated. Intuitive thinking style was the strongest predictor, followed by categorical thinking, belief in simplicity of knowledge and susceptibility to health myths. In Study 2, the effect of OF consumer status on perceived warmth and competence was examined. OF-positive participants rated the OF consumer similarly as the conventional consumer. However, OF-negative participants regarded the OF consumer as warmer but less competent than the conventional consumer. In Study 3, perceptions of a couple were examined similarly. OF consumer couple's relationship was more idealized by the OF-positive participants whereas other participants regarded the OF consumer couple's relationship as less satisfactory. In addition, intuitive thinking style increased positive judgments about the stimulus persons in Studies 2 and 3. Eating organic food may thus evoke positive and negative stereotypes, and intuitive thinkers may be especially receptive to OF marketing and influenced by a preference for natural.
Check also Sweet taste of prosocial status signaling: When eating organic foods makes you happy and hopeful. Petteri Puska et al. Appetite, https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/11/consumers-told-their-organic-food.html
Abstract: Evidence suggests that the benefits of organic food are overstated. In study 1, factors predicting positive attitudes toward organic food (OF), food processing and additives were investigated. Intuitive thinking style was the strongest predictor, followed by categorical thinking, belief in simplicity of knowledge and susceptibility to health myths. In Study 2, the effect of OF consumer status on perceived warmth and competence was examined. OF-positive participants rated the OF consumer similarly as the conventional consumer. However, OF-negative participants regarded the OF consumer as warmer but less competent than the conventional consumer. In Study 3, perceptions of a couple were examined similarly. OF consumer couple's relationship was more idealized by the OF-positive participants whereas other participants regarded the OF consumer couple's relationship as less satisfactory. In addition, intuitive thinking style increased positive judgments about the stimulus persons in Studies 2 and 3. Eating organic food may thus evoke positive and negative stereotypes, and intuitive thinkers may be especially receptive to OF marketing and influenced by a preference for natural.
Check also Sweet taste of prosocial status signaling: When eating organic foods makes you happy and hopeful. Petteri Puska et al. Appetite, https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/11/consumers-told-their-organic-food.html
Dopaminergic basis for signaling belief updates, but not surprise, and the link to paranoia
Dopaminergic basis for signaling belief updates, but not surprise, and the link to paranoia. Matthew M. Nour, Tarik Dahoun, Philipp Schwartenbeck, Rick A. Adams, Thomas H. B. FitzGerald, Christopher Coello, Matthew B. Wall, Raymond J. Dolan, and Oliver D. Howes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1809298115
Significance: To survive in changing environments animals must use sensory
information to form accurate representations of the world. Surprising sensory information might signal that our current beliefs about the world are inaccurate, motivating a belief update. Here, we investigate the neuroanatomical and neurochemical mechanisms underlying the brain’s ability to update beliefs following informative sensory cues. Using multimodal brain imaging in healthy human participants, we demonstrate that dopamine is strongly related to neural signals encoding belief updates, and that belief updating itself is closely related to the expression of individual differences in paranoid ideation. Our results shed new light on the role of dopamine in making inferences and are relevant for understanding psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia, where dopamine function is disrupted.
Abstract: Distinguishing between meaningful and meaningless sensory information is fundamental to forming accurate representations of the world. Dopamine is thought to play a central role in processing the meaningful information content of observations, which motivates an agent to update their beliefs about the environment. However, direct evidence for dopamine’s role in human belief updating is lacking. We addressed this question in healthy volunteers who performed a model-based fMRI task designed to separate the neural processing of meaningful and meaningless sensory information. We modeled participant behavior using a normative Bayesian observer model and used the magnitude of the model-derived belief update following an observation to quantify its meaningful information content. We also acquired PET imaging measures of dopamine function in the same subjects. We show that the magnitude of belief updates about task structure (meaningful information), but not pure sensory surprise (meaningless information), are encoded in midbrain and ventral striatum activity. Using PET we show that the neural encoding of meaningful information is negatively related to dopamine-2/3 receptor availability in the midbrain and dexamphetamine-induced dopamine release capacity in the striatum. Trial-by-trial analysis of task performance indicated that subclinical paranoid ideation is negatively related to behavioral sensitivity to observations carrying meaningful information about the task structure. The findings provide direct evidence implicating dopamine in model-based belief updating in humans and have implications for understating the pathophysiology of psychotic disorders where dopamine function is disrupted.
Significance: To survive in changing environments animals must use sensory
information to form accurate representations of the world. Surprising sensory information might signal that our current beliefs about the world are inaccurate, motivating a belief update. Here, we investigate the neuroanatomical and neurochemical mechanisms underlying the brain’s ability to update beliefs following informative sensory cues. Using multimodal brain imaging in healthy human participants, we demonstrate that dopamine is strongly related to neural signals encoding belief updates, and that belief updating itself is closely related to the expression of individual differences in paranoid ideation. Our results shed new light on the role of dopamine in making inferences and are relevant for understanding psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia, where dopamine function is disrupted.
Abstract: Distinguishing between meaningful and meaningless sensory information is fundamental to forming accurate representations of the world. Dopamine is thought to play a central role in processing the meaningful information content of observations, which motivates an agent to update their beliefs about the environment. However, direct evidence for dopamine’s role in human belief updating is lacking. We addressed this question in healthy volunteers who performed a model-based fMRI task designed to separate the neural processing of meaningful and meaningless sensory information. We modeled participant behavior using a normative Bayesian observer model and used the magnitude of the model-derived belief update following an observation to quantify its meaningful information content. We also acquired PET imaging measures of dopamine function in the same subjects. We show that the magnitude of belief updates about task structure (meaningful information), but not pure sensory surprise (meaningless information), are encoded in midbrain and ventral striatum activity. Using PET we show that the neural encoding of meaningful information is negatively related to dopamine-2/3 receptor availability in the midbrain and dexamphetamine-induced dopamine release capacity in the striatum. Trial-by-trial analysis of task performance indicated that subclinical paranoid ideation is negatively related to behavioral sensitivity to observations carrying meaningful information about the task structure. The findings provide direct evidence implicating dopamine in model-based belief updating in humans and have implications for understating the pathophysiology of psychotic disorders where dopamine function is disrupted.
Friday, October 12, 2018
Mice: Performance in behavioral tasks did not correlate strongly with number of neurons; whereas neuronal number is a good predictor of cognitive skills across species, it is not a predictor of cognitive across individuals within a species
Lack of correlation between number of neurons and behavioral performance in Swiss mice. Kleber Neves, Gerson D. Guercio, Yuri Anjos-Travassos, Stella Costa, Ananda Perozzo, Karine Montezuma, Suzana Herculano-Houzel, Rogerio Panizzutti
bioRxiv 428607; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/428607
Abstract: Neuronal number varies by several orders of magnitude across species, and has been proposed to predict cognitive capability across species. Remarkably, numbers of neurons vary across individual mice by a factor of 2 or more. We directly addressed the question of whether there is a relationship between performance in behavioral tests and the number of neurons in functionally relevant structures in the mouse brain. Naive Swiss mice went through a battery of behavioral tasks designed to measure cognitive, motor and olfactory skills. We estimated the number of neurons in different brain regions (cerebral cortex, hippocampus, olfactory bulb, cerebellum and remaining areas) and crossed the two datasets to test the a priori hypothesis of correlation between cognitive abilities and numbers of neurons. As previous evidence indicates that environmental enrichment may increase neurogenesis and improve neuronal survival, we added a control group that did not undergo cognitive testing to rule out the possibility that our test battery could alter the neuronal number. We found that behavioral testing did not change numbers of neurons in the cerebral cortex and in the hippocampus. Surprisingly, performance in the behavioral tasks did not correlate strongly with number of neurons in any of the brain regions studied. Our results show that whereas neuronal number is a good predictor of cognitive skills across species, it is not a predictor of cognitive, sensory or motor ability across individuals within a species, which suggests that other factors are more relevant for explaining cognitive differences between individuals of the same species.
bioRxiv 428607; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/428607
Abstract: Neuronal number varies by several orders of magnitude across species, and has been proposed to predict cognitive capability across species. Remarkably, numbers of neurons vary across individual mice by a factor of 2 or more. We directly addressed the question of whether there is a relationship between performance in behavioral tests and the number of neurons in functionally relevant structures in the mouse brain. Naive Swiss mice went through a battery of behavioral tasks designed to measure cognitive, motor and olfactory skills. We estimated the number of neurons in different brain regions (cerebral cortex, hippocampus, olfactory bulb, cerebellum and remaining areas) and crossed the two datasets to test the a priori hypothesis of correlation between cognitive abilities and numbers of neurons. As previous evidence indicates that environmental enrichment may increase neurogenesis and improve neuronal survival, we added a control group that did not undergo cognitive testing to rule out the possibility that our test battery could alter the neuronal number. We found that behavioral testing did not change numbers of neurons in the cerebral cortex and in the hippocampus. Surprisingly, performance in the behavioral tasks did not correlate strongly with number of neurons in any of the brain regions studied. Our results show that whereas neuronal number is a good predictor of cognitive skills across species, it is not a predictor of cognitive, sensory or motor ability across individuals within a species, which suggests that other factors are more relevant for explaining cognitive differences between individuals of the same species.
Industrial Revolution: Some psychological traits –lower level of time discounting, higher level of optimism, decreased materialistic orientation, & higher level of trust in others– are likely to increase the rate of innovation
Psychological Origins of the Industrial Revolution. Nicolas Baumard. Behavioral and Brain Sciences (forthcoming), https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X1800211X
Since the Industrial Revolution, human societies have experienced high and sustained rates of economic growth. Recent explanations of this sudden and massive change in economic history have held that modern growth results from an acceleration of innovation. But it is unclear why the rate of innovation drastically accelerated in England in the 18th century. An important factor might be the alteration of individual preferences with regard to innovation due to the unprecedented living standards of the English during that period, for two reasons. First, recent developments in economic history challenge the standard Malthusian view according to which living standards were stagnant until the Industrial Revolution. Pre-industrial England enjoyed a level of affluence that was unprecedented in history. Second, Life History Theory, a branch of evolutionary biology, has demonstrated that the human brain is designed to respond adaptively to variations in resources in the local environment. In particular, a more favorable environment (high resources, low mortality) triggers the expression of future-oriented preferences. In this paper, I argue that some of these psychological traits –a lower level of time discounting, a higher level of optimism, decreased materialistic orientation, and a higher level of trust in others– are likely to increase the rate of innovation. I review the evidence regarding the impact of affluence on preferences in contemporary as well as past populations, and conclude that the impact of affluence on neuro-cognitive systems may partly explain the modern acceleration of technological innovations and the associated economic growth.
Since the Industrial Revolution, human societies have experienced high and sustained rates of economic growth. Recent explanations of this sudden and massive change in economic history have held that modern growth results from an acceleration of innovation. But it is unclear why the rate of innovation drastically accelerated in England in the 18th century. An important factor might be the alteration of individual preferences with regard to innovation due to the unprecedented living standards of the English during that period, for two reasons. First, recent developments in economic history challenge the standard Malthusian view according to which living standards were stagnant until the Industrial Revolution. Pre-industrial England enjoyed a level of affluence that was unprecedented in history. Second, Life History Theory, a branch of evolutionary biology, has demonstrated that the human brain is designed to respond adaptively to variations in resources in the local environment. In particular, a more favorable environment (high resources, low mortality) triggers the expression of future-oriented preferences. In this paper, I argue that some of these psychological traits –a lower level of time discounting, a higher level of optimism, decreased materialistic orientation, and a higher level of trust in others– are likely to increase the rate of innovation. I review the evidence regarding the impact of affluence on preferences in contemporary as well as past populations, and conclude that the impact of affluence on neuro-cognitive systems may partly explain the modern acceleration of technological innovations and the associated economic growth.
Rolf Degen summarizing: If competition is framed as competition with oneself, rather than with other people, women are more competitive than men
Gender differences in interpersonal and intrapersonal competitive behavior. Jeffrey Carpenter, Rachel Frank, Emiliano Huet-Vaughn. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2018.10.003
Highlights
• We ask if gender affects an individual’s willingness to compete against oneself
• Our lab experiment randomly sorts subjects to compete against others or themselves
• Women select intrapersonal competition more than interpersonal competition
• Women select intrapersonal competition comparatively more than men
• Perseverance or ”grit” does not predict competitive behavior
• Men are more risk-seeking and this has some effect on the inclination to compete
Abstract: Gender differences in competitive behavior continue to be documented by econo-mists and other social scientists; however, the bulk of the research addresses competition with others and excludes other economically relevant contests. In this paper, we ask: how does gender affect how individuals react to competing against themselves? In a laboratory experiment in which some subjects compete against others and some compete against themselves, we find women select into intrapersonal competition at significantly higher rates than interpersonal competition and comparatively more than men. In addition, we find that while perseverance or “grit” does not explain the gender difference in behavior, risk attitudes have some explanatory power.
Highlights
• We ask if gender affects an individual’s willingness to compete against oneself
• Our lab experiment randomly sorts subjects to compete against others or themselves
• Women select intrapersonal competition more than interpersonal competition
• Women select intrapersonal competition comparatively more than men
• Perseverance or ”grit” does not predict competitive behavior
• Men are more risk-seeking and this has some effect on the inclination to compete
Abstract: Gender differences in competitive behavior continue to be documented by econo-mists and other social scientists; however, the bulk of the research addresses competition with others and excludes other economically relevant contests. In this paper, we ask: how does gender affect how individuals react to competing against themselves? In a laboratory experiment in which some subjects compete against others and some compete against themselves, we find women select into intrapersonal competition at significantly higher rates than interpersonal competition and comparatively more than men. In addition, we find that while perseverance or “grit” does not explain the gender difference in behavior, risk attitudes have some explanatory power.
Schadenfreude is higher in real-life situations compared to psychologists' experiments in the lab
Schadenfreude is higher in real-life situations compared to hypothetical scenarios. Maria Luz Gonzalez-Gadea, Agustin Ibanez, Mariano Sigman. PLOS, October 11, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0205595
Abstract: Schadenfreude (i.e., the pleasure derived from another’s misfortune) has been widely studied by having participants imagine how they would feel in hypothetical scenarios describing another person’s pain or misfortune. However, research on affective forecasting shows that self-judgments of emotions are inaccurate in hypothetical situations. Here we show a study in which we first presented a hypothetical schadenfreude situation and few months later, due to an exceptional circumstance, the situation turned out to happen in reality. This fortuitous circumstance allowed us to compare people’s imagined emotional reactions with their actual feelings. Results showed that schadenfreude was higher in the real situation than in the hypothetical one. More importantly, participants used different proxies to predict their emotional reaction: while out-group dislike served as a proxy of schadenfreude in both types of scenario, the degree of in-group identification also increased schadenfreude in those who had experienced the real event, arguably a mechanism to promote positive self-evaluation. These results highlight the importance of assessing schadenfreude in the heat of the moment.
Abstract: Schadenfreude (i.e., the pleasure derived from another’s misfortune) has been widely studied by having participants imagine how they would feel in hypothetical scenarios describing another person’s pain or misfortune. However, research on affective forecasting shows that self-judgments of emotions are inaccurate in hypothetical situations. Here we show a study in which we first presented a hypothetical schadenfreude situation and few months later, due to an exceptional circumstance, the situation turned out to happen in reality. This fortuitous circumstance allowed us to compare people’s imagined emotional reactions with their actual feelings. Results showed that schadenfreude was higher in the real situation than in the hypothetical one. More importantly, participants used different proxies to predict their emotional reaction: while out-group dislike served as a proxy of schadenfreude in both types of scenario, the degree of in-group identification also increased schadenfreude in those who had experienced the real event, arguably a mechanism to promote positive self-evaluation. These results highlight the importance of assessing schadenfreude in the heat of the moment.
Thursday, October 11, 2018
More-skilled workers tend to live in larger cities where they earn higher wages; larger cities are also more unequal
Inequality in and across Cities. Jessie Romero and Felipe F. Schwartzman. Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Economic Brief October 2018, No. 18-10. https://www.richmondfed.org/publications/research/economic_brief/2018/eb_18-10
Abstract: Inequality in the United States has an important spatial component. More-skilled workers tend to live in larger cities where they earn higher wages. Less-skilled workers make lower wages and do not experience similar gains even when they live in those cities. This dynamic implies that larger cities are also more unequal. These relationships appear to have become more pronounced as inequality has increased. The evidence points to externalities among high-skilled workers as a significant contributor to those patterns.
Abstract: Inequality in the United States has an important spatial component. More-skilled workers tend to live in larger cities where they earn higher wages. Less-skilled workers make lower wages and do not experience similar gains even when they live in those cities. This dynamic implies that larger cities are also more unequal. These relationships appear to have become more pronounced as inequality has increased. The evidence points to externalities among high-skilled workers as a significant contributor to those patterns.
Distinct facial expressions represent pain and pleasure across cultures
Distinct facial expressions represent pain and pleasure across cultures. Chaona Chen, Carlos Crivelli, Oliver G. B. Garrod, Philippe G. Schyns, José-Miguel Fernández-Dols, and Rachael E. Jack. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1807862115
Significance: Humans often use facial expressions to communicate social messages. However, observational studies report that people experiencing pain or orgasm produce facial expressions that are indistinguishable, which questions their role as an effective tool for communication. Here, we investigate this counterintuitive finding using a new data-driven approach to model the mental representations of facial expressions of pain and orgasm in individuals from two different cultures. Using complementary analyses, we show that representations of pain and orgasm are distinct in each culture. We also show that pain is represented with similar face movements across cultures, whereas orgasm shows differences. Our findings therefore inform understanding of the possible communicative role of facial expressions of pain and orgasm, and how culture could shape their representation.
Abstract: Real-world studies show that the facial expressions produced during pain and orgasm—two different and intense affective experiences—are virtually indistinguishable. However, this finding is counterintuitive, because facial expressions are widely considered to be a powerful tool for social interaction. Consequently, debate continues as to whether the facial expressions of these extreme positive and negative affective states serve a communicative function. Here, we address this debate from a novel angle by modeling the mental representations of dynamic facial expressions of pain and orgasm in 40 observers in each of two cultures (Western, East Asian) using a data-driven method. Using a complementary approach of machine learning, an information-theoretic analysis, and a human perceptual discrimination task, we show that mental representations of pain and orgasm are physically and perceptually distinct in each culture. Cross-cultural comparisons also revealed that pain is represented by similar face movements across cultures, whereas orgasm showed distinct cultural accents. Together, our data show that mental representations of the facial expressions of pain and orgasm are distinct, which questions their nondiagnosticity and instead suggests they could be used for communicative purposes. Our results also highlight the potential role of cultural and perceptual factors in shaping the mental representation of these facial expressions. We discuss new research directions to further explore their relationship to the production of facial expressions.
Significance: Humans often use facial expressions to communicate social messages. However, observational studies report that people experiencing pain or orgasm produce facial expressions that are indistinguishable, which questions their role as an effective tool for communication. Here, we investigate this counterintuitive finding using a new data-driven approach to model the mental representations of facial expressions of pain and orgasm in individuals from two different cultures. Using complementary analyses, we show that representations of pain and orgasm are distinct in each culture. We also show that pain is represented with similar face movements across cultures, whereas orgasm shows differences. Our findings therefore inform understanding of the possible communicative role of facial expressions of pain and orgasm, and how culture could shape their representation.
Abstract: Real-world studies show that the facial expressions produced during pain and orgasm—two different and intense affective experiences—are virtually indistinguishable. However, this finding is counterintuitive, because facial expressions are widely considered to be a powerful tool for social interaction. Consequently, debate continues as to whether the facial expressions of these extreme positive and negative affective states serve a communicative function. Here, we address this debate from a novel angle by modeling the mental representations of dynamic facial expressions of pain and orgasm in 40 observers in each of two cultures (Western, East Asian) using a data-driven method. Using a complementary approach of machine learning, an information-theoretic analysis, and a human perceptual discrimination task, we show that mental representations of pain and orgasm are physically and perceptually distinct in each culture. Cross-cultural comparisons also revealed that pain is represented by similar face movements across cultures, whereas orgasm showed distinct cultural accents. Together, our data show that mental representations of the facial expressions of pain and orgasm are distinct, which questions their nondiagnosticity and instead suggests they could be used for communicative purposes. Our results also highlight the potential role of cultural and perceptual factors in shaping the mental representation of these facial expressions. We discuss new research directions to further explore their relationship to the production of facial expressions.
Evolutionary Explanations for Humor and Creativity. Or it is sexual selection?
Creativity and Humor. Chapter 10 - Evolutionary Explanations for Humor and Creativity. Aaron Kozbelt. Explorations in Creativity Research 2019, Pages 205-230. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-813802-1.00010-7
Abstract: In this chapter, I explore evolutionary explanations for humor and creativity, via humor production—the ability to generate a verbal comment or behavior that other people find funny. Proposed evolutionary mechanisms for the origin of the human capacity for humor production include Darwinian natural selection and sexual selection. Natural selection explanations for humor are hampered by the difficulty of distinguishing genuine adaptations from evolutionary by-products, and by a problematic emphasis on group selection. A sexual selection view of humor as a trait-indicator of genetic fitness has been studied extensively and boasts impressive empirical support. Alternatives to the trait-indicator view, such as the use of humor to signal compatibility, interest, or warmth, have also been suggested. The wide range of interpersonal contexts in which humor production can play out suggests a pluralism of mechanisms underlying humor production ability—rich fodder for future research.
Abstract: In this chapter, I explore evolutionary explanations for humor and creativity, via humor production—the ability to generate a verbal comment or behavior that other people find funny. Proposed evolutionary mechanisms for the origin of the human capacity for humor production include Darwinian natural selection and sexual selection. Natural selection explanations for humor are hampered by the difficulty of distinguishing genuine adaptations from evolutionary by-products, and by a problematic emphasis on group selection. A sexual selection view of humor as a trait-indicator of genetic fitness has been studied extensively and boasts impressive empirical support. Alternatives to the trait-indicator view, such as the use of humor to signal compatibility, interest, or warmth, have also been suggested. The wide range of interpersonal contexts in which humor production can play out suggests a pluralism of mechanisms underlying humor production ability—rich fodder for future research.
Silver medalists’ life expectancy is less than that of gold and bronze medalists; perceived dissatisfactory competition outcomes may adversely affect health
The Effects of Competition Outcomes on Health: Evidence from the Lifespans of U.S. Olympic Medalists. Adriaan Kalwij. Economics & Human Biology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ehb.2018.10.001
Highlights
• Silver medalists’ life expectancy is less than that of gold and bronze medalists.
• Perceived dissatisfactory competition outcomes may adversely affect health.
• Competition outcomes could play a causal role in the positive SES-health gradient.
Abstract: This paper investigates the effects of competition outcomes on health by using U.S. Olympic medalist lifespans and medal colors as a natural experiment. Whereas the life expectancies of gold and bronze medalists do not differ significantly, life expectancy of silver medalists is about 2.4 and 3.9 years less than these former, respectively. These findings are readily explainable by insights from behavioral economics, psychology, and human biology, which suggest that (perceived) dissatisfactory competition outcomes may adversely affect health. Competition outcomes that affect socioeconomic status (SES) could, therefore, play an important causal role in the positive SES-health gradient among the general population.
Highlights
• Silver medalists’ life expectancy is less than that of gold and bronze medalists.
• Perceived dissatisfactory competition outcomes may adversely affect health.
• Competition outcomes could play a causal role in the positive SES-health gradient.
Abstract: This paper investigates the effects of competition outcomes on health by using U.S. Olympic medalist lifespans and medal colors as a natural experiment. Whereas the life expectancies of gold and bronze medalists do not differ significantly, life expectancy of silver medalists is about 2.4 and 3.9 years less than these former, respectively. These findings are readily explainable by insights from behavioral economics, psychology, and human biology, which suggest that (perceived) dissatisfactory competition outcomes may adversely affect health. Competition outcomes that affect socioeconomic status (SES) could, therefore, play an important causal role in the positive SES-health gradient among the general population.
Wednesday, October 10, 2018
Firms headquartered in countries with strict environmental policies perform their polluting activities abroad in countries with relatively weaker policies, but emit less overall CO2 globally due to strict policies at home
Exporting Pollution. Itzhak Ben-David, Stefanie Kleimeier, Michael Viehs. NBER Working Paper No. 25063. http://www.nber.org/papers/w25063
Abstract: Despite awareness of the detrimental impact of CO2 pollution on the world climate, countries vary widely in how they design and enforce environmental laws. Using novel micro data about firms’ CO2 emissions levels in their home and foreign countries, we document that firms headquartered in countries with strict environmental policies perform their polluting activities abroad in countries with relatively weaker policies. These effects are stronger for firms in high-polluting industries and with poor corporate governance characteristics. Although firms export pollution, they nevertheless emit less overall CO2 globally in response to strict environmental policies at home.
Abstract: Despite awareness of the detrimental impact of CO2 pollution on the world climate, countries vary widely in how they design and enforce environmental laws. Using novel micro data about firms’ CO2 emissions levels in their home and foreign countries, we document that firms headquartered in countries with strict environmental policies perform their polluting activities abroad in countries with relatively weaker policies. These effects are stronger for firms in high-polluting industries and with poor corporate governance characteristics. Although firms export pollution, they nevertheless emit less overall CO2 globally in response to strict environmental policies at home.
Hillary Clinton: 'You cannot be civil with a political party that wants to destroy what you stand for'
Clinton: 'You cannot be civil with a political party that wants to destroy what you stand for'. Rachel Ventresca, CNN, October 9, 2018, https://edition.cnn.com/2018/10/09/politics/hillary-clinton-civility-congress-cnntv
Washington (CNN)Hillary Clinton said Tuesday that civility in America can only begin again if Democrats win back the House or Senate this fall.
"You cannot be civil with a political party that wants to destroy what you stand for, what you care about," Clinton said in an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour. "That's why I believe, if we are fortunate enough to win back the House and or the Senate, that's when civility can start again. But until then, the only thing that the Republicans seem to recognize and respect is strength."
Clinton alluded to previous controversies -- like the 2000 election recount to the "swift boat" attacks against John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election to the confirmation of Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh -- as evidence of what she sees as hardball tactics by Republicans.
"I remember what they did to me for 25 years -- the falsehoods, the lies, which unfortunately people believe because the Republicans have put a lot of time, money, and effort in promoting them," Clinton said. "So when you're dealing with an ideological party that is driven by the lust for power, that is funded by corporate interests who want a government that does its bidding, it's -- you can be civil, but you can't overcome what they intend to do unless you win elections."
Clinton said a top priority of a Democratic House and Senate should be to scrutinize President Donald Trump. Asked if Democrats should impeach Trump, Clinton sidestepped.
"The question about impeachment — you know, that will be left to others to decide," Clinton said. "I want to stop the degrading of the rule of law. The delegitimizing of elections. One of their priorities should be, let's protect our elections. Let's make sure that we have electoral security. Let's end the suppression of voters. So there is a big agenda if the Democrats take over."
CNN's Mick Krever contributed to this report.
Washington (CNN)Hillary Clinton said Tuesday that civility in America can only begin again if Democrats win back the House or Senate this fall.
"You cannot be civil with a political party that wants to destroy what you stand for, what you care about," Clinton said in an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour. "That's why I believe, if we are fortunate enough to win back the House and or the Senate, that's when civility can start again. But until then, the only thing that the Republicans seem to recognize and respect is strength."
Clinton alluded to previous controversies -- like the 2000 election recount to the "swift boat" attacks against John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election to the confirmation of Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh -- as evidence of what she sees as hardball tactics by Republicans.
"I remember what they did to me for 25 years -- the falsehoods, the lies, which unfortunately people believe because the Republicans have put a lot of time, money, and effort in promoting them," Clinton said. "So when you're dealing with an ideological party that is driven by the lust for power, that is funded by corporate interests who want a government that does its bidding, it's -- you can be civil, but you can't overcome what they intend to do unless you win elections."
Clinton said a top priority of a Democratic House and Senate should be to scrutinize President Donald Trump. Asked if Democrats should impeach Trump, Clinton sidestepped.
"The question about impeachment — you know, that will be left to others to decide," Clinton said. "I want to stop the degrading of the rule of law. The delegitimizing of elections. One of their priorities should be, let's protect our elections. Let's make sure that we have electoral security. Let's end the suppression of voters. So there is a big agenda if the Democrats take over."
CNN's Mick Krever contributed to this report.
Backward magical contagion: discomfort or pleasure when something like hair falls into the possession of a negatively- or positively-perceived individual; lots of people experience such fear
Reversing the causal arrow: Incidence and properties of negative backward magical contagion in Americans. Paul Rozin, Christopher Dunn, Natalie Fedotova. Judgment and Decision Making, Vol. 13, No. 5, Sept 2018, pp. 441-450, http://journal.sjdm.org/14/14511/jdm14511.html
Abstract: Backward magical contagion describes instances in which individuals (sources) express discomfort or pleasure when something connected to them (medium; e.g., hair, a diary) falls into the possession of a negatively- or positively-perceived individual (recipient). The reaction seems illogical, since it is made clear that the source will never experience the object again, and the psychological effect appears to reverse the standard forward model of causality. Backward magical contagion was originally believed to be a belief held only within traditional cultures. Two studies examined negative backward contagion in adult Americans in online surveys. Study 1 indicated that backward contagion effects occur commonly, particularly when a recipient knows of the medium’s source. Study 2 showed that backward contagion effects tend to be neutralized when the recipient burns the object, as opposed to just possessing it or discarding it. Ironically, in traditional cultures, burning is a particularly potent cause of backward contagion.
Keywords: magic, contagion, backward causation
Abstract: Backward magical contagion describes instances in which individuals (sources) express discomfort or pleasure when something connected to them (medium; e.g., hair, a diary) falls into the possession of a negatively- or positively-perceived individual (recipient). The reaction seems illogical, since it is made clear that the source will never experience the object again, and the psychological effect appears to reverse the standard forward model of causality. Backward magical contagion was originally believed to be a belief held only within traditional cultures. Two studies examined negative backward contagion in adult Americans in online surveys. Study 1 indicated that backward contagion effects occur commonly, particularly when a recipient knows of the medium’s source. Study 2 showed that backward contagion effects tend to be neutralized when the recipient burns the object, as opposed to just possessing it or discarding it. Ironically, in traditional cultures, burning is a particularly potent cause of backward contagion.
Keywords: magic, contagion, backward causation
Risk Factors Related to Cognitive Distortions Toward Women and Moral Disengagement: A Study on Sex Offenders
Risk Factors Related to Cognitive Distortions Toward Women and Moral Disengagement: A Study on Sex Offenders. Giulio D’Urso, Irene Petruccelli, Simona Grilli, Ugo Pace. Sexuality & Culture, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12119-018-9572-9
Abstract: Violence against women is a heterogeneous phenomenon worldwide. In order to better understand this phenomenon, it is also necessary to study the offenders against women. Therefore, the present study investigates, in the light of risk factors, the individual and social characteristics (related to adolescence), the moral disengagement strategies and cognitive distortions of 120 sex offenders detained in Italian jails. We administered the semi-structured interview for data collection regarding family, social and medical histories and the manner in which the deviant act was carried out, the Moral Disengagement Scale, and the Vindictive Rape Attitude Questionnaire to investigate the presence of cognitive distortions toward women. Results show important risk factors in the genesis of moral disengagement strategies in the offenders: the use of substances and being institutionalized in their past. In addition, through a multiple regression model, we noticed how education levels represent a negative predictor of cognitive distortions towards women and the attribution of blame to a positive predictor. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Keywords: Sex offenders Moral disengagement Cognitive distortions Risk factors Substance abuse Institutionalization Adolescence
Abstract: Violence against women is a heterogeneous phenomenon worldwide. In order to better understand this phenomenon, it is also necessary to study the offenders against women. Therefore, the present study investigates, in the light of risk factors, the individual and social characteristics (related to adolescence), the moral disengagement strategies and cognitive distortions of 120 sex offenders detained in Italian jails. We administered the semi-structured interview for data collection regarding family, social and medical histories and the manner in which the deviant act was carried out, the Moral Disengagement Scale, and the Vindictive Rape Attitude Questionnaire to investigate the presence of cognitive distortions toward women. Results show important risk factors in the genesis of moral disengagement strategies in the offenders: the use of substances and being institutionalized in their past. In addition, through a multiple regression model, we noticed how education levels represent a negative predictor of cognitive distortions towards women and the attribution of blame to a positive predictor. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Keywords: Sex offenders Moral disengagement Cognitive distortions Risk factors Substance abuse Institutionalization Adolescence
Relationships and Infidelity in Pornography: An Analysis of Pornography Streaming Websites
Relationships and Infidelity in Pornography: An Analysis of Pornography Streaming Websites. Kyler R. Rasmussen, Daniel Millar, Jeremy Trenchuk. Sexuality & Culture, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12119-018-9574-7
Abstract: Research suggests that pornography has the potential to inform sexual and romantic scripts, but no studies have examined the relational content within modern mainstream pornography. In this article, we present a content analysis of 190 sexually explicit online video clips from mainstream pornography streaming websites, coding for the relationship between participants (if any) and whether the video portrayed acts of infidelity. We also contrasted those clips with a comparison sample of 77 YouTube videos. We found that depictions of on-screen committed relationships were relatively rare in pornography (7.9% of videos) compared to YouTube (18.2%), but that infidelity was relatively common (25.3% vs. 2.6%), with pornography more likely to depict women as engaging in infidelity than men. Relational content was more likely to be included in a pornographic clip when the video portrayed a fictional narrative. These findings are consistent with past research connecting pornography consumption with open and liberal sexuality.
Keywords: Casual sex Content analysis Infidelity Pornography
Abstract: Research suggests that pornography has the potential to inform sexual and romantic scripts, but no studies have examined the relational content within modern mainstream pornography. In this article, we present a content analysis of 190 sexually explicit online video clips from mainstream pornography streaming websites, coding for the relationship between participants (if any) and whether the video portrayed acts of infidelity. We also contrasted those clips with a comparison sample of 77 YouTube videos. We found that depictions of on-screen committed relationships were relatively rare in pornography (7.9% of videos) compared to YouTube (18.2%), but that infidelity was relatively common (25.3% vs. 2.6%), with pornography more likely to depict women as engaging in infidelity than men. Relational content was more likely to be included in a pornographic clip when the video portrayed a fictional narrative. These findings are consistent with past research connecting pornography consumption with open and liberal sexuality.
Keywords: Casual sex Content analysis Infidelity Pornography
Studies with the strongest research designs indicate that psychotherapy may be considerably less effective than we tend to believe; in fact, different psychotherapies may be equally ineffective
Insight Into Insight in Psychotherapy. Per Høglend. American Journal of Psychiatry, https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2018.18050634
There have been more than 5,000 randomized controlled trials of psychotherapy. Most meta-analyses conclude that psychotherapy is effective for a range of disorders, and different modalities of therapy are equally effective. However, studies with the strongest research designs indicate that psychotherapy may be considerably less effective than we tend to believe (1). In fact, different psychotherapies may be equally ineffective. Too many patients fail to respond or continue to experience residual symptoms after treatment termination. All treatments for mental disorders have a wide margin for improvement.
Mental health professionals still believe that psychotherapy can be improved by theoretical discussion, logic, and expert opinion (2). This may be one of the reasons for the existence of several hundred “brand name” psychotherapies. However, in order to improve clinical theories, treatment interventions, and training, we need to identify how psychotherapy works—the mechanisms of change underlying the treatment effects (3). It is only with the specification of mediators of change, whether psychological (3) or biological (4), that the field will move forward. Many mechanisms may have an impact in the complex process of psychotherapy, but insight is regarded as one of the most important mechanisms of change, not only in dynamic psychotherapy (5) but also, increasingly, in cognitive behavioral therapy (6) and experiential psychotherapy (7).
In this regard, the study reported in this issue of the Journal by Jennissen and colleagues (8) is timely. This is the first meta-analysis of studies with data on the insight-outcome correlation. The meta-analysis is generally well done, with all of the elements that one would want to see—checks for heterogeneity, study quality, weighting, risk of publication bias. The authors screened more than 12,000 abstracts, assessed 261 full-text papers, and ended up with 22 studies (with 23 effect sizes). Their definition of insight is broad, but it is mainstream and reasonably accurate. They define it as “patients’ understanding of associations between past and present experiences, typical relationship patterns, and the relation between interpersonal challenges, emotional experience, and psychological symptoms.” The eligibility criteria used are sensible. [...]
[...]
Jennissen et al. report a consistent pattern of associations between insight and outcome across disorders and therapy types. There was a significant moderate relationship (r=0.31) between insight and treatment outcome. The study was not powered to detect moderators of the insight-outcomes associations. Overall, the findings constitute preliminary support for the importance of insight in different forms of psychotherapy.
Jennissen and colleagues’ choice to include many different diagnoses and different treatments in their meta-analysis may reflect current developments in our field. Given the shared brain circuitry, genes found across disorders, medications used across disorders, and the reality of considerable comorbidity, there is growing recognition that only a few domains of dysfunction may extend across the many DSM diagnostic categories. Caspi et al. (9) have argued that psychopathology could be explained with one general psychopathology dimension. The Research Domain Criteria initiative of the National Institute of Mental Health focuses on only a few domains of dysfunction, social processes being one of them. Transdiagnostic approaches and unified trans-theoretical treatment protocols may improve future research.
Jennissen and colleagues’ meta-analysis estimated a moderate association between insight and psychotherapy outcome across diagnostic categories and different schools of psychotherapy. Its magnitude is comparable to effect sizes of established treatment factors, such as therapeutic alliance. A large number of studies have documented a moderate but consistent relationship between therapeutic alliance and outcome, across different treatments and diagnoses (10). Brain changes, too, mainly in the prefrontal cortex, cingulate gyrus, and amygdala, are associated with symptom improvement across different diagnoses and treatments (11). However, an association with outcome is necessary but not sufficient. Just like insight and alliance, brain changes may be a consequence of symptom change or a proxy for some other therapeutic change processes. Further longitudinal research with study designs that include most or all steps in mediation research is necessary to establish insight, or alliance, or brain changes as mechanisms for treatment outcome. In our own research into the effect of insight on the outcome of psychotherapy, my colleagues and I found that use of a specific technique in dynamic psychotherapy (transference work) increased gain of insight during therapy substantially, with a subsequent improvement in outcome (12).
[full text and references in link above]
---
8 Jennissen S, Huber J, Ehrenthal JC, et al.: Association between insight and outcome of psychotherapy: systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Psychiatry 2018;175:961–969
There have been more than 5,000 randomized controlled trials of psychotherapy. Most meta-analyses conclude that psychotherapy is effective for a range of disorders, and different modalities of therapy are equally effective. However, studies with the strongest research designs indicate that psychotherapy may be considerably less effective than we tend to believe (1). In fact, different psychotherapies may be equally ineffective. Too many patients fail to respond or continue to experience residual symptoms after treatment termination. All treatments for mental disorders have a wide margin for improvement.
Mental health professionals still believe that psychotherapy can be improved by theoretical discussion, logic, and expert opinion (2). This may be one of the reasons for the existence of several hundred “brand name” psychotherapies. However, in order to improve clinical theories, treatment interventions, and training, we need to identify how psychotherapy works—the mechanisms of change underlying the treatment effects (3). It is only with the specification of mediators of change, whether psychological (3) or biological (4), that the field will move forward. Many mechanisms may have an impact in the complex process of psychotherapy, but insight is regarded as one of the most important mechanisms of change, not only in dynamic psychotherapy (5) but also, increasingly, in cognitive behavioral therapy (6) and experiential psychotherapy (7).
In this regard, the study reported in this issue of the Journal by Jennissen and colleagues (8) is timely. This is the first meta-analysis of studies with data on the insight-outcome correlation. The meta-analysis is generally well done, with all of the elements that one would want to see—checks for heterogeneity, study quality, weighting, risk of publication bias. The authors screened more than 12,000 abstracts, assessed 261 full-text papers, and ended up with 22 studies (with 23 effect sizes). Their definition of insight is broad, but it is mainstream and reasonably accurate. They define it as “patients’ understanding of associations between past and present experiences, typical relationship patterns, and the relation between interpersonal challenges, emotional experience, and psychological symptoms.” The eligibility criteria used are sensible. [...]
[...]
Jennissen et al. report a consistent pattern of associations between insight and outcome across disorders and therapy types. There was a significant moderate relationship (r=0.31) between insight and treatment outcome. The study was not powered to detect moderators of the insight-outcomes associations. Overall, the findings constitute preliminary support for the importance of insight in different forms of psychotherapy.
Jennissen and colleagues’ choice to include many different diagnoses and different treatments in their meta-analysis may reflect current developments in our field. Given the shared brain circuitry, genes found across disorders, medications used across disorders, and the reality of considerable comorbidity, there is growing recognition that only a few domains of dysfunction may extend across the many DSM diagnostic categories. Caspi et al. (9) have argued that psychopathology could be explained with one general psychopathology dimension. The Research Domain Criteria initiative of the National Institute of Mental Health focuses on only a few domains of dysfunction, social processes being one of them. Transdiagnostic approaches and unified trans-theoretical treatment protocols may improve future research.
Jennissen and colleagues’ meta-analysis estimated a moderate association between insight and psychotherapy outcome across diagnostic categories and different schools of psychotherapy. Its magnitude is comparable to effect sizes of established treatment factors, such as therapeutic alliance. A large number of studies have documented a moderate but consistent relationship between therapeutic alliance and outcome, across different treatments and diagnoses (10). Brain changes, too, mainly in the prefrontal cortex, cingulate gyrus, and amygdala, are associated with symptom improvement across different diagnoses and treatments (11). However, an association with outcome is necessary but not sufficient. Just like insight and alliance, brain changes may be a consequence of symptom change or a proxy for some other therapeutic change processes. Further longitudinal research with study designs that include most or all steps in mediation research is necessary to establish insight, or alliance, or brain changes as mechanisms for treatment outcome. In our own research into the effect of insight on the outcome of psychotherapy, my colleagues and I found that use of a specific technique in dynamic psychotherapy (transference work) increased gain of insight during therapy substantially, with a subsequent improvement in outcome (12).
[full text and references in link above]
---
8 Jennissen S, Huber J, Ehrenthal JC, et al.: Association between insight and outcome of psychotherapy: systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Psychiatry 2018;175:961–969
Domesticated Foxes Developing Laughter To Please Us
Domesticated Foxes Laugh with You (and Without You). Lee Alan Dugatkin. Psychology Today, Oct 2018, https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/the-prince-evolution/201810/domesticated-foxes-laugh-you-and-without-you
Excerpts:
[...]
This part of the story begins in the 1980s when Lyudmila heard some of the domesticated foxes vocalizing in an odd new way, making a high-pitched “haaaaaw, haaaaaw, haw, haw, haw” sound when people approached them. Lyudmila thought it sounded like they were laughing and called it the “ha ha” vocalization. But neither Lyudmila nor the other researchers in the fox study had knowledge of how to study vocalizations, so not much came of the new sounds. Then, in 2005, Lyudmila got a phone call from Svetlana Gogoleva.
[...]
[...] What she found was that the “ha ha” sounds mimicked the sound of human laughter very closely. Closer than any other nonhuman vocalization. When she looked at a spectrogram that allowed her to visualize the domesticated fox “ha ha” sound, and a spectrogram of human laughter, she was hard pressed to tell the difference. The similarity was astonishing. Almost eerie. Of course, the domesticated foxes make their “ha ha” sound regardless of what we might consider funny. But that doesn’t change the fact that the domestication experiment has now produced foxes that not only act and look like a lapdog, but will give you a “ha ha” when you need a laugh, as well as when you do not.
Gogoleva and Lyudmila hypothesize that the tame foxes make the “ha ha” sound to attract human attention and prolong interaction with people. Somehow, they propose, the tame foxes have become adept at pleasing us by the sound of our own laughter. How, they don’t know, but a more pleasant way for one species to bond with another is hard to imagine.
Check also Smiles as Multipurpose Social Signals. Jared Martin et al. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/09/origin-of-smile-in-animals-could-be.html and references therein.
Excerpts:
[...]
This part of the story begins in the 1980s when Lyudmila heard some of the domesticated foxes vocalizing in an odd new way, making a high-pitched “haaaaaw, haaaaaw, haw, haw, haw” sound when people approached them. Lyudmila thought it sounded like they were laughing and called it the “ha ha” vocalization. But neither Lyudmila nor the other researchers in the fox study had knowledge of how to study vocalizations, so not much came of the new sounds. Then, in 2005, Lyudmila got a phone call from Svetlana Gogoleva.
[...]
[...] What she found was that the “ha ha” sounds mimicked the sound of human laughter very closely. Closer than any other nonhuman vocalization. When she looked at a spectrogram that allowed her to visualize the domesticated fox “ha ha” sound, and a spectrogram of human laughter, she was hard pressed to tell the difference. The similarity was astonishing. Almost eerie. Of course, the domesticated foxes make their “ha ha” sound regardless of what we might consider funny. But that doesn’t change the fact that the domestication experiment has now produced foxes that not only act and look like a lapdog, but will give you a “ha ha” when you need a laugh, as well as when you do not.
Gogoleva and Lyudmila hypothesize that the tame foxes make the “ha ha” sound to attract human attention and prolong interaction with people. Somehow, they propose, the tame foxes have become adept at pleasing us by the sound of our own laughter. How, they don’t know, but a more pleasant way for one species to bond with another is hard to imagine.
Check also Smiles as Multipurpose Social Signals. Jared Martin et al. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/09/origin-of-smile-in-animals-could-be.html and references therein.
Tuesday, October 9, 2018
Emotional toll that psychotherapy may impose on mental health professionals: A protective role of quality of life was not observed for clinical supervision or personal therapy
Laverdière, O., Kealy, D., Ogrodniczuk, J. S., Chamberland, S., & Descôteaux, J. (2018). Psychotherapists’ professional quality of life. Traumatology, http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/trm0000177
Abstract: Psychotherapists’ daily activities entail working closely with individuals presenting with psychological distress and suffering from various mental disorders. This work relies upon relational and emotional capacities that are drawn upon during therapy sessions. Increasingly, researchers and clinicians have directed their attention toward examining the emotional toll that psychotherapy may impose on mental health professionals and the impact of such work on their professional quality of life. However, to date, psychotherapists in general practice have not been the focus of inquiry, which is the objective of the current study. To this end, 240 psychotherapists were surveyed, completing questionnaires relating to their working conditions, professional quality of life, and dispositional empathy. Results indicated significant negative associations between dimensions of professional quality of life and various work characteristics, such as workload, conducting only long-term psychotherapies or only with individuals, working in institutional settings, and working with trauma victims. A protective role was not observed for clinical supervision or personal therapy, but dispositional empathy was positively associated to dimensions of professional quality of life. Findings are discussed in relation to professional activities and self-care practices.
Abstract: Psychotherapists’ daily activities entail working closely with individuals presenting with psychological distress and suffering from various mental disorders. This work relies upon relational and emotional capacities that are drawn upon during therapy sessions. Increasingly, researchers and clinicians have directed their attention toward examining the emotional toll that psychotherapy may impose on mental health professionals and the impact of such work on their professional quality of life. However, to date, psychotherapists in general practice have not been the focus of inquiry, which is the objective of the current study. To this end, 240 psychotherapists were surveyed, completing questionnaires relating to their working conditions, professional quality of life, and dispositional empathy. Results indicated significant negative associations between dimensions of professional quality of life and various work characteristics, such as workload, conducting only long-term psychotherapies or only with individuals, working in institutional settings, and working with trauma victims. A protective role was not observed for clinical supervision or personal therapy, but dispositional empathy was positively associated to dimensions of professional quality of life. Findings are discussed in relation to professional activities and self-care practices.
We Slow as We Age, but May Not Need to Slow Too Much
We Slow as We Age, but May Not Need to Slow Too Much. Gretchen Reynolds. The New York Times, Oct. 3, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/03/well/move/running-age-declines-slower.html
Although declines in running and other activities are unavoidable, they may be less steep than many of us fear.
Most of us who are older competitive runners are not able to race at anywhere near the same speed as we did when we were 30.
But we can perhaps aim to slow down at the same pace as Bernard Lagat, Ed Whitlock and other greats of masters running, according to a timely new analysis by two professors from Yale University.
The new analysis, which refines famous past research by one of the scientists, finds that, although declines in running performance with age are ineluctable, they may be less steep than many of us fear.
And, perhaps most important, the new research updates a popular formula and calculator that runners past the age of 40 can use to determine how fast we can expect to slow down and provides us with reasonable, age-appropriate finishing-time targets for ourselves.
Scientists do not know precisely why, from a physiological standpoint, we are less able to maintain our old, swifter pace as we reach middle age.
There is evidence from past studies that even in lifelong athletes, hearts become a bit less efficient over time at pumping blood and delivering oxygen and muscles a bit less adept at creating sustained power.
Changes deep within our cells, particularly in the energy-producing mitochondria, are thought to contribute to these age-related performance declines, as are simpler explanations such as creeping weight gain and a drop-off in hard training.
But the upshot is that, after a certain point, we cannot keep up with the kids or with our own previous bests.
Professor Ray Fair, an economist at Yale who mainly analyzes and predicts election outcomes, is familiar with this tribulation, since, now in his mid-70s, he is also an experienced masters marathon runner whose times have been slowing year by year.
About a decade ago, he began to wonder whether his rate of performance decline was typical and, being a predictive statistical modeler, decided to find out.
He turned first to information about world records for runners by age group. These times represent what is possible by the best runners in the world as they age.
And cumulatively, he found, the records proved that champion runners slow like the rest of us.
But there was a pattern to the slowing, Dr. Fair realized. As he reported in a 2007 study, the masters world record times rose in a linear fashion, with some hiccups, until about age 70, when they begin to soar at a much higher rate.
Using statistical modeling based on this pattern, Dr. Fair developed a formula that could predict how fast other, less-exceptional runners might expect to run as they grew older. He incorporated this formula into an influential calculator that he made available free on his website. (The calculator also predicts age-related performance declines in swimming and chess, using the same statistical techniques.)
The calculator soon became popular with runners, for whom it provided age-adjusted viable goal times, allowing them to swap despondency about their current plodding for gratification if they had managed to remain at or near their “regression line,” as Dr. Fair termed the age-adjusted predicted finishes.
But recently, Dr. Fair began to question whether his statistical model provided the best estimates of people’s likely race times and, for the new analysis, which was published in print this month in The Review of Economics and Statistics, he approached a Yale colleague, Edward Kaplan.
Dr. Kaplan is an expert in a complex type of statistical analysis known as extreme value theory, which focuses on exceptional deviations from the norm.
By definition, world records are exceptional deviations from the norm.
Together, Dr. Fair and Dr. Kaplan reanalyzed data about world masters running records through 2016 for the 5K, 10K, half marathon and marathon events, up to age 95.
They used only men’s records, since the number of older female participants has been small, Dr. Fair says, making current women’s records statistically suspect.
They then ran the numbers, using several different models, and found that, over all, age-adjusted finishing times are slightly slower now than in the 2007 version, rising about 1 percent a year.
But runners seem to be maintaining that rate of decline longer, until they are about age 80, when slowness drastically intensifies.
But even for 90-year-olds, the decline is limited, Dr. Fair points out.
Nonagenarians can expect to be “about twice as slow as they were in their prime,” he says, “which I think is encouraging.”
Interestingly, the new study’s extreme-value analysis also suggests that older runners have not yet become as fast as they could be.
The complicated calculations indicate that current world records for older runners theoretically could drop by as much as 8 percent in the future, Dr. Kaplan says, providing all of us new benchmarks for our own aging performance.
Dr. Fair has now introduced an updated version of his calculator, incorporating the new models.
To use it, visit his endearingly austere website at fairmodel.econ.yale.edu/aging and click on the link entitled “All other running (2018 updated age factors).”
There, enter your best time for whichever event interests you and the age at which you set that time. If you were younger than 40, use age 40 anyway, since the calculator assumes you will not have slowed much before reaching that age, Dr. Fair says.
You then will see your predicted times for your chosen event at every age through 95.
These figures presume that you have continued to train and maintain high fitness over the years, which many of us have not.
They also assume that recreational runners age and slow at the same rate as world-class runners, which has not been proven experimentally.
But even with these limitations, Dr. Fair says, the predictions give us something to shoot for.
“Aim for your regression line,” he says.
A version of this article appears in print on Oct. 9, 2018, on Page D4 of the New York edition with the headline: Slowing as We Grow Older
Although declines in running and other activities are unavoidable, they may be less steep than many of us fear.
Most of us who are older competitive runners are not able to race at anywhere near the same speed as we did when we were 30.
But we can perhaps aim to slow down at the same pace as Bernard Lagat, Ed Whitlock and other greats of masters running, according to a timely new analysis by two professors from Yale University.
The new analysis, which refines famous past research by one of the scientists, finds that, although declines in running performance with age are ineluctable, they may be less steep than many of us fear.
And, perhaps most important, the new research updates a popular formula and calculator that runners past the age of 40 can use to determine how fast we can expect to slow down and provides us with reasonable, age-appropriate finishing-time targets for ourselves.
Scientists do not know precisely why, from a physiological standpoint, we are less able to maintain our old, swifter pace as we reach middle age.
There is evidence from past studies that even in lifelong athletes, hearts become a bit less efficient over time at pumping blood and delivering oxygen and muscles a bit less adept at creating sustained power.
Changes deep within our cells, particularly in the energy-producing mitochondria, are thought to contribute to these age-related performance declines, as are simpler explanations such as creeping weight gain and a drop-off in hard training.
But the upshot is that, after a certain point, we cannot keep up with the kids or with our own previous bests.
Professor Ray Fair, an economist at Yale who mainly analyzes and predicts election outcomes, is familiar with this tribulation, since, now in his mid-70s, he is also an experienced masters marathon runner whose times have been slowing year by year.
About a decade ago, he began to wonder whether his rate of performance decline was typical and, being a predictive statistical modeler, decided to find out.
He turned first to information about world records for runners by age group. These times represent what is possible by the best runners in the world as they age.
And cumulatively, he found, the records proved that champion runners slow like the rest of us.
But there was a pattern to the slowing, Dr. Fair realized. As he reported in a 2007 study, the masters world record times rose in a linear fashion, with some hiccups, until about age 70, when they begin to soar at a much higher rate.
Using statistical modeling based on this pattern, Dr. Fair developed a formula that could predict how fast other, less-exceptional runners might expect to run as they grew older. He incorporated this formula into an influential calculator that he made available free on his website. (The calculator also predicts age-related performance declines in swimming and chess, using the same statistical techniques.)
The calculator soon became popular with runners, for whom it provided age-adjusted viable goal times, allowing them to swap despondency about their current plodding for gratification if they had managed to remain at or near their “regression line,” as Dr. Fair termed the age-adjusted predicted finishes.
But recently, Dr. Fair began to question whether his statistical model provided the best estimates of people’s likely race times and, for the new analysis, which was published in print this month in The Review of Economics and Statistics, he approached a Yale colleague, Edward Kaplan.
Dr. Kaplan is an expert in a complex type of statistical analysis known as extreme value theory, which focuses on exceptional deviations from the norm.
By definition, world records are exceptional deviations from the norm.
Together, Dr. Fair and Dr. Kaplan reanalyzed data about world masters running records through 2016 for the 5K, 10K, half marathon and marathon events, up to age 95.
They used only men’s records, since the number of older female participants has been small, Dr. Fair says, making current women’s records statistically suspect.
They then ran the numbers, using several different models, and found that, over all, age-adjusted finishing times are slightly slower now than in the 2007 version, rising about 1 percent a year.
But runners seem to be maintaining that rate of decline longer, until they are about age 80, when slowness drastically intensifies.
But even for 90-year-olds, the decline is limited, Dr. Fair points out.
Nonagenarians can expect to be “about twice as slow as they were in their prime,” he says, “which I think is encouraging.”
Interestingly, the new study’s extreme-value analysis also suggests that older runners have not yet become as fast as they could be.
The complicated calculations indicate that current world records for older runners theoretically could drop by as much as 8 percent in the future, Dr. Kaplan says, providing all of us new benchmarks for our own aging performance.
Dr. Fair has now introduced an updated version of his calculator, incorporating the new models.
To use it, visit his endearingly austere website at fairmodel.econ.yale.edu/aging and click on the link entitled “All other running (2018 updated age factors).”
There, enter your best time for whichever event interests you and the age at which you set that time. If you were younger than 40, use age 40 anyway, since the calculator assumes you will not have slowed much before reaching that age, Dr. Fair says.
You then will see your predicted times for your chosen event at every age through 95.
These figures presume that you have continued to train and maintain high fitness over the years, which many of us have not.
They also assume that recreational runners age and slow at the same rate as world-class runners, which has not been proven experimentally.
But even with these limitations, Dr. Fair says, the predictions give us something to shoot for.
“Aim for your regression line,” he says.
A version of this article appears in print on Oct. 9, 2018, on Page D4 of the New York edition with the headline: Slowing as We Grow Older
Sexual Arousal Patterns of Identical Twins with Discordant Sexual Orientations
Sexual Arousal Patterns of Identical Twins with Discordant Sexual Orientations. Tuesday M. Watts, Luke Holmes, Jamie Raines, Sheina Orbell & Gerulf Rieger. Scientific Reports, volume 8, Article number: 14970 (2018). https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-33188-2
Abstract: Genetically identical twins can differ in their self-reported sexual orientations. However, whether the twins’ subjective reports reflect valid differences in their sexual orientations is unknown. Measures of sexual orientation, which are free of the limitations of self-report, include genital arousal and pupil dilation while viewing sexual stimuli depicting men or women. We examined these responses in 6 male twin pairs and 9 female twin pairs who reported discordant sexual orientations. Across measures, heterosexual male twins responded more strongly to women than to men. Their homosexual co-twins showed an opposite pattern. Heterosexual female twins responded equally to both sexes, whereas their homosexual co-twins responded somewhat more to women than men. These differences within pairs were similar to differences between unrelated heterosexual and homosexual males and females. Our study provides physiological evidence confirming twins’ discordant sexual orientations, thereby supporting the importance of the non-shared environment for the development of sexual orientation and sexual arousal.
Abstract: Genetically identical twins can differ in their self-reported sexual orientations. However, whether the twins’ subjective reports reflect valid differences in their sexual orientations is unknown. Measures of sexual orientation, which are free of the limitations of self-report, include genital arousal and pupil dilation while viewing sexual stimuli depicting men or women. We examined these responses in 6 male twin pairs and 9 female twin pairs who reported discordant sexual orientations. Across measures, heterosexual male twins responded more strongly to women than to men. Their homosexual co-twins showed an opposite pattern. Heterosexual female twins responded equally to both sexes, whereas their homosexual co-twins responded somewhat more to women than men. These differences within pairs were similar to differences between unrelated heterosexual and homosexual males and females. Our study provides physiological evidence confirming twins’ discordant sexual orientations, thereby supporting the importance of the non-shared environment for the development of sexual orientation and sexual arousal.
Research from diverse subdisciplines of psychology sheds light on Schadenfreude; novel tripartite taxonomy of Schadenfreude: Aggression, rivalry, and justice; the process of dehumanization may lie at the core of Schadenfreude
Schadenfreude deconstructed and reconstructed: A tripartite motivational model. Shensheng Wang, Scott O. Lilienfeld, Philippe Rochat. New Ideas in Psychology, Volume 52, January 2019, Pages 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.newideapsych.2018.09.002
Highlights
• Research from diverse subdisciplines of psychology sheds light on Schadenfreude.
• We propose a novel tripartite taxonomy of Schadenfreude: Aggression, rivalry, and justice.
• The process of dehumanization may lie at the core of Schadenfreude.
Abstract: Schadenfreude is the distinctive pleasure people derive from others' misfortune. Research over the past three decades points to the multifaceted nature of Schadenfreude rooted in humans’ concerns for social justice, self-evaluation, and social identity. Less is known, however, regarding how the differing facets of Schadenfreude are interrelated and take shape in response to these concerns. To address these questions, we review extant theories in social psychology and draw upon evidence from developmental, personality, and clinical research literature to propose a novel, tripartite, taxonomy of Schadenfreude embedded in a motivational model. Our model posits that Schadenfreude comprises three separable but interrelated subforms (aggression, rivalry, and justice), which display different developmental trajectories and personality correlates. This model further posits that dehumanization plays a central role in both eliciting Schadenfreude and integrating its various facets. In closing, we point to fruitful directions for future research motivated by this novel account of Schadenfreude.
Highlights
• Research from diverse subdisciplines of psychology sheds light on Schadenfreude.
• We propose a novel tripartite taxonomy of Schadenfreude: Aggression, rivalry, and justice.
• The process of dehumanization may lie at the core of Schadenfreude.
Abstract: Schadenfreude is the distinctive pleasure people derive from others' misfortune. Research over the past three decades points to the multifaceted nature of Schadenfreude rooted in humans’ concerns for social justice, self-evaluation, and social identity. Less is known, however, regarding how the differing facets of Schadenfreude are interrelated and take shape in response to these concerns. To address these questions, we review extant theories in social psychology and draw upon evidence from developmental, personality, and clinical research literature to propose a novel, tripartite, taxonomy of Schadenfreude embedded in a motivational model. Our model posits that Schadenfreude comprises three separable but interrelated subforms (aggression, rivalry, and justice), which display different developmental trajectories and personality correlates. This model further posits that dehumanization plays a central role in both eliciting Schadenfreude and integrating its various facets. In closing, we point to fruitful directions for future research motivated by this novel account of Schadenfreude.
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