Weak positive correlation for psychopathic tendencies & leadership emergence, weak negative association with leadership effectiveness, & moderate negative correlation with transformational leadership

Shall We Serve the Dark Lords? A Meta-Analytic Review of Psychopathy and Leadership. Karen Landay, Peter D Harms, Marcus Credé. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327039686

Abstract: Both scholars and the popular press have expressed concern regarding the potential prevalence of individuals with psychopathic tendencies in corporate leadership positions and the negative effects they may have on both individual workers and their organizations as a whole. However, research to date has been inconclusive as to whether such individuals are more likely to emerge as leaders or if they are (in)effective leaders. In order to clarify the state of the literature, we conducted a meta-analysis on the association between psychopathic personality characteristics and leadership emergence, leadership effectiveness, and transformational leadership. Our results, based on data from 92 independent samples, showed a weak positive correlation for psychopathic tendencies and leadership emergence, a weak negative association for psychopathic tendencies and leadership effectiveness, and a moderate negative correlation for psychopathic tendencies and transformational leadership. Subgroup analyses on methodological factors did not indicate any differences from the main results. However, moderator analyses showed a gender difference in these associations such that psychopathic tendencies in men were weakly positively correlated with leadership emergence and effectiveness and negatively correlated with transformational leadership, while psychopathic tendencies in women were negatively associated with effectiveness and transformational leadership, and largely unassociated with emergence. Additionally, small but consistent curvilinear associations were found for all leadership criteria. Overall, these results suggest that concern over psychopathic tendencies in organizational leaders may be overblown, but that gender can function to obscure real effects.

Increases in Sex with Same-sex Partners Across U.S. Cohorts Born 1920-1998

Mishel, Emma, Paula England, Jessie Ford, and Monica Caudillo. 2018. “Increases in Sex with Same-sex Partners Across U.S. Cohorts Born 1920-1998: A Race-gender Intersection.” SocArXiv. August 24. doi:10.31235/osf.io/af8qk

Abstract: We examine change across U.S. cohorts born between 1920 and 1998 in their probability of having had sex with same-sex partners last year and since age 18. We explore how trends differ by gender, race and class background. We use data from the 1988-2016 General Social Surveys. We find steady increases across birth cohorts in the proportion of men and women who have had both male and female sexual partners since age 18. A key finding is a race-gender intersection: black men and women of all races had similar increases— increases which were much steeper than those observed for white men. We suggest that women’s increase is rooted in a long-term asymmetry in gender change, in which nonconformity to gender norms in many arenas is more acceptable for women than men. As the increase for men is largest among black men—and this is the population most affected by the rise of mass incarceration—we suggest the latter may be a contributing factor.

Pleasantness was induced by mere imagination of touch without any tactile stimulation, & touch that was sexually arousing for the receiver was rated as more sexually arousing for the giver as well, pointing to top-down, learned expectations of sensory pleasure and erogeneity

Dissociable sources of erogeneity in social touch: Imagining and perceiving C-Tactile optimal touch in erogenous zones. Elena Panagiotopoulou, Maria Laura Filippetti, Antje Gentsch, Aikaterini Fotopoulou. PLOS One, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0203039

Abstract: Previous research points to two major hypotheses regarding the mechanisms by which touch can be experienced as erotogenic. The first concerns the body part to which touch is applied (erogenous zones) and the second the modality of touch (sensual touch optimal in activating C Tactile afferents). In this study, we explored for the first time the relation between those two mechanisms in actual and imagined social touch. In a first experiment, we randomly assigned “Giver” and “Receiver” roles within 19 romantic couples (20 females, 18 males, age 32.34 ± 8.71SD years) and asked the “Giver” to apply CT-optimal (3 cm/s) vs. CT-suboptimal (18 cm/s) touch on an erogenous (neck) vs. non-erogenous zone (forehead) of their partner. We then obtained ratings of pleasantness and sexual arousal from both “Receivers” and “Givers”. In a second experiment, 32 healthy females (age 25.16 ± 5.91SD years) were asked to imagine CT-optimal vs. CT-suboptimal stimulation (stroking vs. patting) and velocity (3 cm/s vs. 18 cm/s) on different erogenous vs. non-erogenous zones and rate pleasantness. While both erogenous body part and CT-optimal, sensual touch were found to increase pleasant and erotic sensations, the results showed a lack of an interaction. Furthermore, Pleasantness was induced by mere imagination of touch without any tactile stimulation, and touch that was sexually arousing for the receiver was rated as more sexually arousing for the giver as well, pointing to top-down, learned expectations of sensory pleasure and erogeneity. Taken together, these studies provide the first direct evidence that while both the body location to which touch is applied and the mode of touch contribute to pleasant and erotic sensations, these two factors appear to mediate subjective pleasantness and erogeneity by, at least partly, independent mechanisms.

Effects of a Hypnosis Session Before General Anesthesia on Postoperative Outcomes in Patients Who Underwent Minor Breast Cancer Surgery

Effects of a Hypnosis Session Before General Anesthesia on Postoperative Outcomes in Patients Who Underwent Minor Breast Cancer Surgery - The HYPNOSEIN Randomized Clinical Trial. Jibba Amraoui et al. JAMA Network Open. 2018;1(4):e181164. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.1164

Key Points

Question  What is the benefit of a short hypnosis session before general anesthesia on postoperative outcomes (pain, nausea/vomiting, fatigue, comfort/well-being, anxiety, postanesthesia care unit length of stay, and patient satisfaction) in patients who underwent minor breast cancer surgery?

Findings  In this randomized clinical trial, 150 women were randomized to receive hypnosis or a control group, and the mean breast pain score before discharge was 1.75 in the control arm vs 2.63 in the hypnosis arm. At discharge, no statistically significant difference in breast pain was reported.

Meaning  No benefit of hypnosis was found on postoperative breast pain; however, hypnosis seems to have other benefits regarding fatigue, anxiety, and patient satisfaction.

Abstract

Importance  Hypnosis is now widespread in medical practice and is emerging as an alternative technique for pain management and anxiety. However, its effects on postoperative outcomes remain unclear.

Objective  To evaluate the efficacy of a preoperative hypnosis session for reducing postoperative breast pain in patients who underwent minor breast cancer surgery.

Design, Setting, and Participants  The HYPNOSEIN prospective randomized clinical trial was conducted from October 7, 2014, to April 5, 2016. In this multicenter study in France, 150 women scheduled for minor breast cancer surgery were randomized between control and hypnosis arms, and 148 (71 control and 77 hypnosis) were included in the intent-to-treat analysis.

Intervention  On the day of surgery, eligible patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to the control arm or the hypnosis arm. Patients (but not the care teams) were blinded to the arm to which they were assigned. A 15-minute hypnosis session before general anesthesia in the operating room was performed in the hypnosis arm.

Main Outcomes and Measures  The primary end point was breast pain reduction (by 2 on a visual analog scale), assessed immediately before discharge from the postanesthesia care unit (PACU). Secondary end points were nausea/vomiting, fatigue, comfort/well-being, anxiety, and PACU length of stay, assessed at different times until postoperative day 30.

Results  The median patient age was 57 years (range, 33-79 years) in the control arm and 53 years (range, 20-84 years) in the hypnosis arm. Baseline characteristics were similar in the 2 arms. The median duration of the hypnosis session was 6 minutes (range, 2-15 minutes). The use of intraoperative opioids and hypnotics was lower in the hypnosis arm. The mean (SD) breast pain score (range, 0-10) was 1.75 (1.59) in the control arm vs 2.63 (1.62) in the hypnosis arm (P = .004). At PACU discharge and with longer follow-up, no statistically significant difference in breast pain was reported. Fatigue was significantly lower in the hypnosis arm on the evening of surgery (mean [SD] score, 3.81 [2.15] in the control arm vs 2.99 [2.56] in the hypnosis arm; P = .03). The median PACU length of stay was 60 minutes (range, 20-290 minutes) in the control arm vs 46 minutes (range, 5-100 minutes) in the hypnosis arm (P = .002). Exploratory analyses according to patient perception of whether she received hypnosis showed significantly lower fatigue scores in the perceived hypnosis subgroup on the evening of surgery (mean [SD], 4.13 [2.26] for no perceived hypnosis vs 2.97 [2.42] for perceived hypnosis; P = .01). Anxiety was also significantly lower on the evening of surgery in the perceived hypnosis subgroup (mean [SD], 0.75 [1.64] for perceived hypnosis vs 1.67 [2.29] for no perceived hypnosis; P = .03).

Conclusions and Relevance  The results of this study do not support a benefit of hypnosis on postoperative breast pain in women undergoing minor breast cancer surgery. However, other outcomes seem to be improved, which needs to be confirmed by further studies.

Higher early adulthood cognitive ability was associated with more frequent alcohol consumption & binge drinking in midlife; the relation did not change to a large degree when further adjusted for education, & if any resulted in a stronger association

The interplay between cognitive ability, alcohol consumption, and health characteristics. E. Degerud et al. Psychological Medicine, Volume 48, Issue 12, September 2018, pp. 2011-2022. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291717003543

Abstract

Background: Higher cognitive ability is associated with favourable health characteristics. The relation between ability and alcohol consumption, and their interplay with other health characteristics, is unclear. We aimed to assess the relationship between cognitive ability and alcohol consumption and to assess whether alcohol consumption relates differently to health characteristics across strata of ability.

Methods: For 63 120 Norwegian males, data on cognitive ability in early adulthood were linked to midlife data on alcohol consumption frequency (times per month, 0–30) and other health characteristics, including cardiovascular risk factors and mental distress. Relations were assessed using linear regression and reported as unstandardised beta coefficients [95% confidence interval (CI)].

Results: The mean ± s.d. frequency of total alcohol consumption in the sample was 4.0 ± 3.8 times per month. In the low, medium, and high group of ability, the frequencies were 3.0 ± 3.3, 3.7 ± 3.5, and 4.7 ± 4.1, respectively. In the full sample, alcohol consumption was associated with physical activity, heart rate, fat mass, smoking, and mental distress. Most notably, each additional day of consumption was associated with a 0.54% (0.44–0.64) and 0.14% (0.09–0.18) increase in the probability of current smoking and mental distress, respectively. In each strata of ability (low, medium, high), estimates were 0.87% (0.57–1.17), 0.48% (0.31–0.66) and 0.49% (0.36–0.62) for current smoking, and 0.44% (0.28–0.60), 0.10% (0.02–0.18), and 0.09% (0.03–0.15) for mental distress, respectively.

Conclusions: Participants with low cognitive ability drink less frequently, but in this group, more frequent alcohol consumption is more strongly associated with adverse health characteristics.

Mindfulness makes one more aware of present and incoming information & is relevant to food choice and food sustainability issues; it may increase disgust & reduce attitudes toward eating insects

Mindfulness and Willingness to Try Insects as Food: The Role of Disgust. Eugene Y. Chan. Food Quality and Preference, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2018.08.014

Highlights
•    Mindfulness makes one more aware of present and incoming information.
•    Mindfulness is relevant to food choice and food sustainability issues.
•    We study and test the impact of mindfulness on insect-eating attitudes.
•    Mindfulness may increase disgust and reduce attitudes toward eating bugs.
•    Results from three studies are consistent with this theorizing.

Abstract: Mindfulness, commonly associated with Buddhism, refers to the state of being aware, taking note of what is going on within oneself and outside of the world. In the current research, we examine the possible impact of mindfulness on willingness to try insect foods. We present the results of three studies—one correlational and two experimental—illustrating that mindfulness increases disgust and lowers willingness to try eating insects. On the one hand, this counters existing literature that mindfulness reduces emotional reactivity. On the other hand, it is in-line with mindfulness making one more aware and accepting of present and incoming information, which would conceivably include context-relevant emotions such as disgust in the case of eating insects that Western cultures see as disgusting. Our findings support the latter possibility. We situate our work within the literature on the various impacts of mindfulness on food choice. We also discuss implications for food sustainability practitioners.

The Evolution of Human Female Sexual Orientation

The Evolution of Human Female Sexual Orientation. Austin John Jeffery et al. [in press, Evolutionary Psychological Science, July 2018]. http://toddkshackelford.com/downloads/Jeffery-et-al-EPS.pdf

Abstract: Female sexual orientation has received less theoretical and empirical attention than male sexual orientation and few reviews are devoted to female sexual orientation. Moreover, research investigating female sexual orientation often underappreciates insights afforded by evolutionary theory. This review begins with an overview of the literature on female sexual identification, sexual perception, sexual fluidity, sexual expression, and the biology of female sexual orientation. Female same-sex sexual behaviors in the non-human apes are then described, providing a comparative context for the following discussion of hypotheses for the evolution of human female same-sex sexual attractions and behaviors. These hypotheses are organized as byproduct hypotheses or adaptation hypotheses and we include discussions of dysfunction, heterosis, sexual antagonism, epigenetics, weak selection, self-domestication, sexual frustration, mate attraction, alloparenting, polygyny, and other topics. We conclude by highlighting the challenges posed by evolutionary studies of human psychology.

Keywords: evolution, female homosexuality, female sexuality, sexual orientation

Introduction of a machine translation system has significantly increased international trade on eBay, increasing exports by 17.5%; heterogeneous treatment effects are all consistent with a substantial reduction in translation-related search costs

Does Machine Translation Affect International Trade? Evidence from a Large Digital Platform. Erik Brynjolfsson, Xiang Hui, Meng Liu. NBER Working Paper No. 24917, Aug 2018. www.nber.org/papers/w24917

Abstract: Artificial intelligence (AI) is surpassing human performance in a growing number of domains. However, there is limited evidence of its economic effects. Using data from a digital platform, we study a key application of AI: machine translation. We find that the introduction of a machine translation system has significantly increased international trade on this platform, increasing exports by 17.5%. Furthermore, heterogeneous treatment effects are all consistent with a substantial reduction in translation-related search costs. Our results provide causal evidence that language barriers significantly hinder trade and that AI has already begun to improve economic efficiency in at least one domain.

Physically attractive women had more intelligent husbands; a man's physical attractiveness was not associated with his wife’s intelligence; the results provide new information on cross-trait assortative mating

Cross-Trait Assortment for Intelligence and Physical Attractiveness. Curtis S. Dunkel et al. In press, Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences, July 2018. http://toddkshackelford.com/downloads/Dunkel-et-al-EBS.pdf

Abstract: We investigated cross-trait assortative mating for the traits of physical attractiveness and intelligence using data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. It was hypothesized that more physically attractive individuals would have a spouse that was more intelligent, but that this association would be moderated by sex. Specifically, we predicted that more physically attractive women would have more intelligent husbands, but that a man’s physical attractiveness would not predict his wife’s intelligence. The results of correlation and regression analyses were consistent with these predictions, although the effect sizes were small. Additionally, we identified an interaction in which women’s physical attractiveness was more strongly associated with their husbands’ intelligence for more intelligent women than for less intelligent women. We conclude with suggestions for further research addressing cross-trait assortative mating for physical attractiveness and intelligence.

Exploring the Relationship Between Depression and Dementia

Exploring the Relationship Between Depression and Dementia. Rita Rubin. JAMA. Published online August 22, 2018. doi:10.1001/jama.2018.11154

Diagnosing and treating depression in people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or with dementia presents special challenges, but doing so can improve the quality of their lives as well as the lives of their caregivers and, in the case of MCI, might even delay progression to dementia.
Image description not available.

Researchers are still trying to tease out the relationship between depression and dementia. While depression does not appear to cause dementia, it likely is a risk factor, just as dementia is a risk factor for depression, said George Alexopoulos, MD, founder and director of the Weill-Cornell Institute of Geriatric Psychiatry. At least 20% of people with dementia develop a depressive syndrome, Alexopoulos said.

Often, though, the depression comes first. Some studies suggest that depression in early life is a risk factor for dementia, while depression later in life can be a prodrome of dementia, Alexopoulos said. Although findings are mixed, a 2014 review of the literature concluded that there is convincing evidence to suggest that depression can be a risk factor and a prodromal symptom of dementia.

In a more recent large longitudinal cohort study published in 2017 in JAMA Psychiatry, researchers followed the trajectory of depressive symptoms and dementia in 10 189 UK men and women over 28 years. Unlike some previous studies, this one found that depressive symptoms in midlife, even if chronic or recurring, were not associated with an increased risk of dementia. However, participants with depressive symptoms later in life had a higher risk of dementia. Depressive symptoms appear to be a prodromal feature of dementia or, perhaps, share common causes, such as neurodegeneration and inflammation, but they do not appear to increase the risk of dementia, according to the authors.

In contrast, another longitudinal study involving 4992 older Australian men, published 2 months earlier, found that those who had a history of depression earlier in life did have a higher risk of dementia than those who did not. However, the association was greater in men who were depressed when they entered the study. Treatment with antidepressants did not decrease the risk of depression-associated dementia, leading the authors to conclude that late-life depression should be considered an early sign of dementia, not a modifiable risk factor.

“Any time you have the first episode (of depression) at a later age, that’s always concerning for a neurodegenerative disorder,” said Anna Burke, MD, a geriatric psychiatrist and the director of neuropsychiatry at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, who was not involved with either study.

Raj Shah, MD, an associate professor of family medicine with the Rush University Alzheimer Disease Center in Chicago, recommends that a first episode of depression in older individuals be considered a sentinel event, the same way a fall is. Both events should spur questions about whether patients need to have their medication adjusted or whether the fall or the mood change is a marker of other conditions, Shah said.

Difficult Diagnosis

Depression is often overlooked when it accompanies dementia, Burke said.

“The problem is the DSM-5 [Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fifth Edition)] criteria we use for major depressive disorder don’t necessarily fit for this population, much like in children, where depression presents differently,” she said.

As with children, adults living with dementia and depression might not talk about emotional pain or feeling down, Burke said. Instead, they might exhibit irritability—“they may just get a little more feisty,” she said—and an increase in somatic symptoms, such as aches and pains and gastrointestinal complaints.

“Sometimes people don’t get diagnosed with depression because there is such a huge overlap in symptoms between depression and dementia as well as growing older,” Burke said. Symptoms common to both depression and dementia include loss of interest in activities and hobbies, social withdrawal, and impaired thinking.

Because the symptoms overlap, caregivers might not recognize depression in people with dementia. “I’m often the first person to bring it up,” Burke said. “Even when people do seek treatment in the community, many physicians are not focused on treating anything beyond the memory changes. Nobody ever really discusses the behavioral changes, the changes in mood.”

Still, Alexopoulos said, “If you see the patient at the wrong time, you may miss it. Patients with dementia underreport depression, and caregivers are unreliable reporters.”

As David Steffens, MD, MHS, explained, “It’s hard to notice a change in mood when somebody can’t really voice how they’re feeling.”

But that doesn’t mean depression is insignificant in the setting of dementia. “One reason to treat depression is that depression makes underlying cognitive impairment much worse,” said Steffens, chairman of psychiatry at the University of Connecticut. “You want to give them their best cognitive chance.” Besides antidepressants, he said, psychiatrists have sometimes used electroconvulsive therapy to treat severe depression in people with mild dementia.

Drug Therapy

The prescribing of antidepressants to people with dementia appears to be increasing, according to a UK study published in 2017. Trends in diagnosis and treatment of people with dementia suggest that the proportion prescribed antidepressants rose from 28% to 36.6% from 2005 to 2015.

Antidepressants don’t seem to work as well in people with dementia, possibly because “depression in dementia is a different illness” than depression in people with normal cognition, Alexopoulos said. Cognitive control dysfunction in dementia appears to decrease the effectiveness of some selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), he and his coauthors wrote in a 2015 article. “I think it is appropriate to try to treat with as little medication as you can,” in part because polypharmacy can lead to delirium syndromes in patients with dementia, Alexopoulos said.

Although the study of Australian men found that taking antidepressants did not reduce the risk of depression-associated dementia, recent research suggests that the drugs might slow the progression to dementia in people with MCI and depression. That study, published in 2017, found that taking the antidepressant citalopram (Celexa), an SSRI, for more than 4 years was associated with a delay in progression from MCI to Alzheimer disease by about 3 years. “Three years is a big deal in this age group,” Alexopoulos said. Experiments in mice and healthy humans have shown that citalopram reduces amyloid plaque, one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer disease.

Treating depression in people with MCI with antidepressants might slow the progression to dementia, but little is known about whether drugs and other interventions developed to treat Alzheimer disease have any effect on depression.

Most clinical trials of potential Alzheimer disease treatments do not consider neuropsychiatric symptoms such as depression or irritability as primary research targets, even though “these symptoms are widely recognized as the most stressful and challenging manifestations of dementia,” concluded authors of a recent review article. Only 17.7% of the relevant studies they found on clinicaltrials.gov tested the effect of pharmacological or nonpharmacological interventions on neuropsychiatric symptoms, they wrote.

Beyond Medication and Talk Therapy

People with MCI might still be able to benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy or psychotherapy, but that becomes less likely as they decline, Burke said. “A huge part of psychotherapy is being able to remember what happened in a session.”

Even individuals whose dementia is too advanced for talk therapy can still benefit from lifestyle changes, though, Burke said. Engaging them in social activities and modifying their environment to minimize triggers that make them anxious or irritable can help improve their quality of life, she said.

A recent pilot study suggested that increasing exposure to daylight can reduce depression in people with dementia. The 12-week study involved 77 people living in 8 dementia care communities. At 4 of the communities, staff took study participants to a room with windows for socialization from 8 am to 10 am each day. At the other 4 communities, staff took study participants to socialize in the mornings in a room illuminated only with typical artificial light.

At the end of the study, participants who had socialized in the rooms with daylight had a statistically significant decrease in their scores on the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia, while the other participants did not. More studies are needed to determine the appropriate timing, duration, wavelength, and intensity of light exposure for adults with dementia, the researchers concluded.

Another recent study suggested a perceived lack of social engagement is also associated with depressive symptoms in people with dementia. Researchers measured social engagement, medication use, and depressive symptoms in 402 community-dwelling adults whose average age was 86 years. The data were collected during the first interview at which the participants met the criteria for a dementia diagnosis. The researchers found a link between perceived social isolation and the severity of depressive symptoms but not between antidepressant use and severity of depressive symptoms.

Because the study participants were newly diagnosed, their dementia was mild to moderate. “At that stage, people can still engage,” coauthor Shah said. “If we break down some of the stigma around the diagnosis of dementia, it will help people build cultures of support and inclusiveness.”

We assigned endowments to individuals who could spend all or part of those endowments on a charitable donation; consistent with our hypothesis, subjects may engage in charitable giving to signal their smarts

Giving to Charity to Signal Smarts Evidence from a Lab Experiment. Felipe Montano, Ricardo Perez-Truglia. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2018.08.004

Highlights
•    We propose individuals give to charity to signal smarts.
•    We designed a laboratory experiment to test this hypothesis.
•    Individuals have to donate out of an endowment.
•    We randomize the publicity of the donation.
•    We randomize if the endowments are distributed at random or according to intelligence.
•    We find suggestive evidence that donations are used to signal smarts.

Abstract: The literature on charitable giving suggests that individuals may use their charitable donations to signal their altruism or their income. We argue that, rather than signaling income per se, individuals may want to signal other unobservable characteristics that correlate to income, such as their intelligence. We designed a laboratory experiment to test this hypothesis. We assigned endowments to individuals who could spend all or part of those endowments on a charitable donation. We cross-randomized the visibility of donations and the individuals’ perceptions about the effect of intelligence on the allocation of endowments. We found that the effect of donation visibility on donation amounts depends sharply on whether the individuals perceive that endowments are determined by intelligence. This evidence suggests that, consistent with our hypothesis, subjects may engage in charitable giving to signal their smarts.

Women not using the contraceptive pill (naturally cycling women) reported spending more time applying cosmetics than did women who use the contraceptive pill; the faces of these naturally cycling women were rated as wearing more cosmetics

Evidence That the Hormonal Contraceptive Pill Is Associated With Cosmetic Habits. Carlota Batres et al. Front. Psychol., Aug 23 2018, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01459

Abstract: Hormonal contraception is known to cause subtle but widespread behavioral changes. Here, we investigated whether changes in cosmetic habits are associated with use of the hormonal contraceptive pill. We photographed a sample of women (N = 36) who self-reported whether or not they use the contraceptive pill, as well as their cosmetic habits. A separate sample of participants (N = 143) rated how much makeup these target women appeared to be wearing. We found that women not using the contraceptive pill (i.e., naturally cycling women) reported spending more time applying cosmetics for an outing than did women who use the contraceptive pill. We also found that the faces of these naturally cycling women were rated as wearing more cosmetics than the faces of the women using the contraceptive pill. Thus, we found clear associations between contraceptive pill use and makeup use. This provides evidence consistent with the possibility that cosmetic habits, and grooming behaviors more generally, are affected by hormonal contraception.

Is an amygdala necessary to experience and perceive fear? One potential mechanism for not perceiving fear is a failure to spontaneously attend to widened eyes, the most distinctive physical feature portrayed in symbolic fear expressions

Seeing Fear: It’s All in the Eyes? Lisa Feldman Barrett. Trends in Neurosciences, Volume 41, Issue 9, September 2018, Pages 559-563. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tins.2018.06.009

Abstract: Is an amygdala necessary to experience and perceive fear? Intriguing evidence comes from patient S.M. who lost her left and right amygdalae to disease. Initial testing suggested that S.M.’s most defining symptom was an inability to recognize fear in other people’s facial expressions. A fascinating paper by Adolphs and colleagues in 2005 examined one potential mechanism for this impairment: a failure to spontaneously attend to widened eyes, the most distinctive physical feature portrayed in symbolic fear expressions. This study helped to invigorate debates about the brain basis of fear and paved the way for a more nuanced understanding of amygdalar function.

Extraordinary Altruists Exhibit Enhanced Self–Other Overlap in Neural Responses to Distress

Extraordinary Altruists Exhibit Enhanced Self–Other Overlap in Neural Responses to Distress. Kristin M. Brethel-Haurwitz et al. Psychological Science, https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797618779590

Abstract: Shared neural representations during experienced and observed distress are hypothesized to reflect empathic neural simulation, which may support altruism. But the correspondence between real-world altruism and shared neural representations has not been directly tested, and empathy’s role in promoting altruism toward strangers has been questioned. Here, we show that individuals who have performed costly altruism (donating a kidney to a stranger; n = 25) exhibit greater self–other overlap than matched control participants (n = 27) in neural representations of pain and threat (fearful anticipation) in anterior insula (AI) during an empathic-pain paradigm. Altruists exhibited greater self–other correspondence in pain-related activation in left AI, highlighting that group-level overlap was supported by individual-level associations between empathic pain and firsthand pain. Altruists exhibited enhanced functional coupling of left AI with left midinsula during empathic pain and threat. Results show that heightened neural instantiations of empathy correspond to real-world altruism and highlight limitations of self-report.

Keywords: altruism, empathy, neural simulation, nondirected living kidney donation

Mate value: Kindness, & physical attraction desirability saturate at the 90th percentile, although we do not tire of them; but intelligence, & easygoingness are fastidious after the 90th percentile

Exceptional intelligence and easygoingness may hurt your prospects: Threshold effects for rated mate characteristics. Gilles E. Gignac, Clare L. Starbuck. British Journal of Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1111/bjop.12342

Abstract: Prospective mate characteristics such as kindness, intelligence, easygoingness, and physical attraction are ranked consistently highly by both men and women. However, rank measurement does not allow for determinations of what level of a mate characteristic is rated most desirable. Based on a more informative percentile scale measurement approach, it was reported recently that mean desirability ratings of IQ in a prospective partner peaked at the 90th percentile, with a statistically significant reduction from the 90th to the 99th percentiles. The purpose of this investigation was to replicate the recently reported non‐linear desirability effect associated with IQ, in addition to the evaluation of three other valued mate characteristics: easygoing, kindness, and physical attraction. Based on a sample of 214 young adults, it was found that all four mate characteristics peaked at the 90th percentile. However, the IQ and easygoing mean desirability ratings evidenced statistically significant mean reductions across the 90th to the 99th percentiles, whereas kindness and physical attraction did not. Finally, the objectively and subjectively assessed intelligence of the participants was not found to be associated with the participants’ desirability ratings of IQ. We interpreted the results to be consistent with a broadly conceptualized threshold hypothesis, which states that the perceived benefits of valued mate characteristics may not extend beyond a certain point. However, mate characteristics such as intelligence and easygoing become somewhat less attractive at very elevated levels, at least based on preference ratings, for reasons that may be biological and/or psycho‐social in nature.

Cleaner wrasse pass the mark test. What are the implications for consciousness and self-awareness testing in animals?

Cleaner wrasse pass the mark test. What are the implications for consciousness and self-awareness testing in animals? Masanori Kohda et al. bioRxiv, https://doi.org/10.1101/397067

Abstract: The ability to perceive and recognise a reflected mirror image as self (mirror self-recognition, MSR) is considered a hallmark of cognition across species. Although MSR has been reported in mammals and birds, it is not known to occur in any other major taxon. A factor potentially limiting the ability to test for MSR is that the established assay for MSR, the mark test, shows an interpretation bias towards animals with the dexterity (or limbs) required to touch a mark. Here, we show that the cleaner wrasse fish, Labroides dimidiatus, passes through all phases of the mark test: (i) social reactions towards the reflection, (ii) repeated idiosyncratic behaviours towards the mirror (contingency testing), and (iii) frequent observation of their reflection. When subsequently provided with a coloured tag, individuals attempt to remove the mark in the presence of a mirror but show no response towards transparent marks, or to coloured marks in the absence of a mirror. This remarkable finding presents a challenge to our interpretation of the mark test – do we accept that these behavioural responses in the mark test, which are taken as evidence of self-recognition in other species, mean that fish are self-aware? Or do we conclude that these behavioural patterns have a basis in a cognitive process other than self-recognition? If the former, what does this mean for our understanding of animal intelligence? If the latter, what does this mean for our application and interpretation of the mark test as a metric for animal cognitive abilities?

Election Outcome and Tax Compliance: The Role of Political Party Affiliation, Affect Balance, and Trust in Government

Election Outcome and Tax Compliance: The Role of Political Party Affiliation, Affect Balance, and Trust in Government. Nicholas C. Hunt, Govind S. Iyer, Peggy Jimenez. Applied Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1111/apps.12165

Abstract: The present study examines partisan reactions to Presidential election outcomes. Our model investigates the interactive role of political party affiliation on the relationship between identification with the winning party and affect balance. We subsequently examine how tax compliance intentions are influenced by this moderation relationship through affect balance and trust in government. We conducted a quasi‐experiment one week prior to the first mass 2016 presidential primary, where 12 of the 50 U.S. states voted to decide which candidates would represent the republican and democratic parties in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election. Our sample consisted of 205 Republicans and Democrats. We manipulated press releases showing various presidential candidates winning the presidency to examine how matches / mismatches between partisans’ political party affiliation and the party winning the election influence citizens’ overall feelings, beliefs, and intentions. We find election outcomes generate significant overall positive or negative feelings (i.e. affect balance) among partisans, which influences beliefs about trust in government, and subsequently their tax compliance intentions. Political party moderates the relationship between election outcomes and affect balance in such a way that democrats experience greater overall positive affect balance when their party wins the election compared to republicans.

For girls, sought-after schools reduce teen motherhood, increase educational attainment, increase earnings, & improve health; for boys, the results are mixed

Do Parents Know Best? The Short and Long-Run Effects of Attending The Schools that Parents Prefer. Diether W. Beuermann, C. Kirabo Jackson. NBER Working Paper No. 24920. www.nber.org/papers/w24920

Abstract: Recent studies document that, in many cases, sought after schools do not improve student test scores. Three explanations are that (i) existing studies identify local average treatment effects that do not generalize to the average student, (ii) parents cannot discern schools’ causal impacts, and (iii) parents value schools that improve outcomes not well measured by test scores. To shed light on this, we employ administrative and survey data from Barbados. Using discrete choice models, we document that most parents have strong preferences for the same schools. Using a regression-discontinuity design, we estimate the causal impact of attending a preferred school on a broad array of outcomes. As found in other settings, preferred schools have better peers, but do not improve short-run test scores. We implement a new statistical test and find that this null effect is not due to school impacts being different for marginal students than for the average student. Looking at longer-run outcomes, for girls, preferred schools reduce teen motherhood, increase educational attainment, increase earnings, and improve health. In contrast, for boys, the results are mixed. The pattern for girls is consistent with parents valuing school impacts on outcomes not well measured by test scores, while the pattern for boys is consistent with parents being unable to identify schools’ causal impacts. Our results indicate that impacts on test scores may be an incomplete measure of school quality.

The idea of the media as immoral, government-controlled and manipulative is essentially rooted in populist attitudes rather than in left-wing or right-wing attitudes; these people are not only angry, but also more politically active and do more often express their opinion in the media

Johanna Schindler, Claudia Fortkord, Lone Posthumus, Magdalena Obermaier, Nayla, Fawzi, Carsten Reinemann, Where does media hostility lead from? On the connection between populist attitudes, media hostility, negative emotions and participation (title autamtically translated from: Woher kommt und wozu führt Medienfeindlichkeit? Zum Zusammenhang von populistischen Einstellungen, Medienfeindlichkeit, negativen Emotionen und Partizipation) in: M&K Medien & Kommunikationswissenschaft, Seite 283 - 301. M&K, Jahrgang 66 (2018), Heft 3, ISSN print: 1615-634X, ISSN online: 1615-634X, DOI:  10.5771/1615-634X-2018-3-283

Abstract: Sensing an increase in hate speech and physical aggression against journalists, we see a new level of hostility towards the media, and with it potentially far-reaching consequences for society in general. However, little is known so far about both the individual causes of media hostility and its influence on individual media-related emotions and behaviour. We set out to determine the influence of populist attitudes, i.e. the significance of the idea of a homogenous, ‘good’ people v an ‘evil’ elite on media hostility. Our study, moreover, examines the broader consequence of hostile attitudes towards the media. Drawing on data from an online survey with 1,102 participants, we show how the idea of the media as immoral, government-controlled and manipulative is essentially rooted in populist attitudes rather than in left-wing or right-wing attitudes. The effects of populist attitudes on the level of media hostility can be seen to be mediated partially by the level of the perceived representation of participants’ own interests in the media, and by the use of alternative media. People showing hostile attitudes towards the media are not only angry, but they are also more politically active and do more often express their opinion in the media.

Gender equality & sex differences in personality, & evidence from a large, multi-national sample: Bigger differences when gender equality is greater

Gender equality and sex differences in personality: evidence from a large, multi-national sample. Tim Kaiser, Univ of Salzburg. July 2018. DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/6NUHX

Aim: findings on sex differences in personality are robust and stable across countries. Previous studies have also shown that these differences are greater in countries with greater gender equality. However, earlier studies have shortcomings as they either (a) did not use valid indicators of gender equality and development, (b) only studied broad domains of personality, (c) did not address issues of measurement invariance. The aim of this study is to replicate previous findings on the correlation between gender equality and sex differences in a methodologically robust way. Method: a large, multinational (N = 926,383) dataset was used to examine sex differences in Big Five facet scores for 70 countries. Difference scores were aggregated to a multivariate effect size (Mahalanobis' D).

Results: effect sizes were large (average D = 1.96), but varied across countries. Countries' difference scores were related to an index of gender equality, revealing a positive weighted correlation of r = .335.

Conclusion: using multivariate effect sizes derived from latent scores with invariance constraints, the study of sex differences in personality becomes more robust und replicable. Sex differences in personality should not be interpreted as results of unequal treatment, but as indicator of successful gender equality policies.

Many studies have revealed the existence of intimate partner violence among lesbian and gay couples, & its incidence is comparable to (Turell, 2000) or higher than that among heterosexual couples (Messinger, 2011; Kelley et al., 2012)

When Intimate Partner Violence Meets Same Sex Couples: A Review of Same Sex Intimate Partner Violence. Luca Rollè, Giulia Giardina, Angela M. Caldarera, Eva Gerino and Piera Brustia. Front. Psychol., August 21 2018. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01506

Abstract: Over the past few decades, the causes of and intervention for intimate partner violence (IPV) have been approached and studied. This paper presents a narrative review on IPV occurring in same sex couples, that is, same sex IPV (SSIPV). Despite the myth that IPV is exclusively an issue in heterosexual relationships, many studies have revealed the existence of IPV among lesbian and gay couples, and its incidence is comparable to (Turell, 2000) or higher than that among heterosexual couples (Messinger, 2011; Kelley et al., 2012). While similarities between heterosexual and lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) IPV were found, unique features and dynamics were present in LGB IPV. Such features are mainly related to identification and treatment of SSIPV in the community and to the need of taking into consideration the role of sexual minority stressors. Our findings show there is a lack of studies that address LGB individuals involved in IPV; this is mostly due to the silence that has historically existed around violence in the LGB community, a silence built on fears and myths that have obstructed a public discussion on the phenomenon. We identified the main themes discussed in the published studies that we have reviewed here. The reviews lead us to the conclusion that it is essential to create a place where this subject can be freely discussed and approached, both by LGB and heterosexual people.

Thirsty participants in a dictator's game share water more often equally with powerless, anonymous others than they do money, even when they earned both types of rewards previously; so that altruistic behavior is more likely to occur when it comes to sharing primary rewards

How selfish is a thirsty man? A pilot study on comparing sharing behavior with primary and secondary rewards. Astrid Kause, Oliver Vitouch, Judith Glück. PLOS One, August 20, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0201358

Abstract: Human social interactions in daily life involve sharing various types of rewards. Previous research evolving around issues of selfish versus altruistic behavior indicates that when individuals share rewards like money with powerless others, some are purely selfish while a substantial number shares evenly. It is, however, mostly unknown how they share primary rewards like water, compared to secondary rewards like money. We adopt the widely studied Dictator Game for comparing water to be divided among study participants with a monetary reward. We show that thirsty participants share water more often equally with powerless, anonymous others than they do money. This is the case even when they earned both types of rewards in a preceding task. Results indicate that altruistic behavior is more likely to occur when it comes to sharing primary rewards. The ecologically more valid scenario employed in this study provides initial evidence that the concept of a self-interested homo economicus might not apply to everyday social interactions involving rewards other than money.

We analyzed people’s ratings of whiskies featured at different serial positions in the tastings; we found a recency effect: people gave their highest rating to whiskies in the last position, and voted the last whisky as their favorite more frequently

In the real world, people prefer their last whisky when tasting options in a long sequence. Adele Quigley-McBride et al. PLOS One, August 20, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0202732

Abstract: When people in laboratory studies sample products in a sequence, they tend to prefer options presented first and last. To what extent do these primacy and recency effects carry over to real-world settings where numerous sources of information determine preferences? To investigate this question, we coded archival data from 136 actual whisky tastings each featuring seven whiskies. We analyzed people’s ratings of whiskies featured at different serial positions in the tastings. We found a recency effect: people gave their highest rating to whiskies in the last position, and voted the last whisky as their favorite more frequently. This recency effect persisted when we controlled for the counter explanation that whiskies with higher alcohol content tended to occupy later serial positions. The recency effect also persisted when we controlled for the age of the whiskies. Taken together, our findings suggest that the order of presentation matters in real-world settings, closely resembling what happens in laboratory settings with longer sequences of options.

Plutarch already said it: Pay less attention to the social networks...

Speaking of the Twitter of his era, Plutarch said:

"τί γὰρ χαλεπόν ἐστιν ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς τὰς ἐπὶ τῶν τάφων ἐπιγραφὰς μὴ ἀναγιγνώσκειν, ἢ τί δυσχερὲς ἐν τοῖς περιπάτοις τὰ κατὰ τῶν τοίχων γράμματα (or ἐπιγράμματα) τῇ ὄψει παρατρέχειν, ὑποβάλλοντας αὑτοῖς ὅτι χρήσιμον οὐδὲν οὐδ᾽ ἐπιτερπὲς ἐν τούτοις γέγραπται: ἀλλ᾽ ‘ἐμνήσθη’ ὁ δεῖνα τοῦ δεῖνος ἐπ᾽ ἀγαθῷ καὶ ‘φίλων ἄριστος’ ὅδε τις, καὶ πολλὰ τοιαύτης γέμοντα φλυαρίας: ἃ δοκεῖ μὲν οὐ βλάπτειν ἀναγιγνωσκόμενα, βλάπτει δὲ λεληθότως τῷ μελέτην παρεμποιεῖν τοῦ ζητεῖν τὰ μὴ προσήκοντα;".

Approx: For what is difficult in not noticing the inscriptions on tombstones along the roadways, or what is vexatious about passing over with your eye as you wander about those writings in the walls, as we suggest to ourselves that there is nothing written in them which is either useful or pleasing -- only so-and-so 'remembers' so-and-so, and 'wishes him the best', and is 'the best of friends', and many things full of such ridiculousness? Giving attention to such things may not seem to hurt, but the harm comes from creating the desire to search out things which are not your business.

This doesn't mean he was consistent... But the comment is quite valid still, IMHO.

Plutarch, De curiositate, 520d-e. Available at http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0290%3Astephpage%3D520d. Translation in
'Graffiti and the Literary Landscape in Roman Pompeii,' by Kristina Milnor. Oxford University Press, Jan 2014, page 273.

People think about the future more often than the past (30% compared to 13%), and prospective memory occupies our thoughts approximately 13–15% of the time, of which 61% were internally cued, rather than externally triggered

Hey buddy, why don’t we take it outside: An experience sampling study of prospective memory. Francis T. Anderson, Mark A. McDaniel. Memory & Cognition, https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13421-018-0849-x

Abstract: Relatively little research has focused on how prospective memory (PM) operates outside of the laboratory, partially due to the methodological problems presented by naturalistic memory research in general and by the unique challenges of PM in particular. Experience sampling methods (ESM) offer a fruitful avenue for this type of research, as recent work from Gardner and Ascoli (Psychology and Aging, 30, 209-219, 2015) has shown. They found that people thought about PM around 15% of the time, and that future thinking was more common than past thinking. In two studies, we replicated our own findings and those reported by Gardner and Ascoli. To summarize, people think about the future more often than the past (30% compared to 13%), and PM occupies our thoughts approximately 13–15% of the time, supporting claims made by some researchers that our episodic memory systems are forward-looking (Klein in Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 2, 222-234, 2013). Of those PM thoughts, participants reported that 61% were internally cued, rather than externally triggered. Through the use of multi-level modeling, we additionally found that PM thoughts were more likely when the respondant was alone than with people, and earlier in the day. Finally, we found that participants higher in neuroticism were more likely to report thinking of PM, and that this was driven entirely by the anxiety facet. Most generally, we hope to have demonstrated the value of ESM to help researchers investigate and understand naturalistic PM.

Accounting for the shared environment in cognitive abilities and academic achievement with measured socioecological context

Accounting for the shared environment in cognitive abilities and academic achievement with measured socioecological contexts. Laura E. Engelhardt, Jessica A. Church, K. Paige Harden, Elliot M. Tucker‐Drob. Developmental Science, https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12699

Abstract: Behavioral and molecular genetic research has established that child cognitive ability and academic performance are substantially heritable, but genetic variation does not account for all of the stratification of cognitive and academic outcomes across families. Which specific contexts and experiences contribute to these shared environmental influences on cognitive ability and academic achievement? Using an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse sample of N = 1728 twins ages 7–20 from the Texas Twin Project, we identified specific measured family, school, and neighborhood socioecological contexts that statistically accounted for latent shared environmental variance in cognitive abilities and academic skills. Composite measures of parent socioeconomic status (SES), school demographic composition, and neighborhood SES accounted for moderate proportions of variation in IQ and achievement. Total variance explained by the multilevel contexts ranged from 15% to 22%. The influence of family SES on IQ and achievement overlapped substantially with the influence of school and neighborhood predictors. Together with race, the measured socioecological contexts explained 100% of shared environmental influences on IQ and approximately 79% of shared environmental influences on both verbal comprehension and reading ability. In contrast, nontrivial proportions of shared environmental variation in math performance were left unexplained. We highlight the potential utility of constructing “polyenvironmental risk scores” in an effort to better predict developmental outcomes and to quantify children's and adolescents’ interrelated networks of experiences. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at: https://youtu.be/77E_DctFsr0

Well-being benefits and costs of an extraverted behavior intervention conducted in everyday life: positive and negative affects, feelings of authenticity, and tiredness—more introverted participants had weaker positive affect increases

Jacques-Hamilton, Rowan, Jessie Sun, and Luke Smillie. 2018. “Costs and Benefits of Acting Extraverted: A Randomized Controlled Trial.” PsyArXiv. August 20. doi:10.31234/osf.io/8ze6w

Abstract: Evidence suggests that extraverted (i.e., bold, agentic) behavior increases positive affect (PA), and could be targeted in wellbeing interventions. However, this evidence is either causally ambiguous or has questionable ecological validity, and the potential costs of sustained extraverted behavior have received minimal attention. To address these limitations, we conducted the first randomized controlled trial (RCT) examining the wellbeing benefits and costs of an extraverted behavior intervention conducted in everyday life. Participants (n = 147) were randomly assigned to an “act-extraverted” intervention or a “sham” (active control) intervention for one week in everyday life. Additional data for a contact control condition were obtained from a previous study (n = 76). Wellbeing outcomes included PA and negative affect (NA), feelings of authenticity, and tiredness—assessed both in the moment and retrospectively. There was a positive overall effect of the acting extraverted intervention on PA and authenticity. However, wellbeing outcomes also depended on dispositional extraversion: more introverted participants had weaker PA increases, experienced increased NA and tiredness, and decreased feelings of authenticity. Implications for wellbeing interventions and personality theory are discussed.