Rolf Degen summarizing: Men respond to all kinds of womanly stimuli with a rise in testosterone, which may not even subside with age

Human reproductive behavior, life history, and the Challenge Hypothesis: A 30-year review, retrospective and future directions. Peter B. Gray et al. Hormones and Behavior, May 25 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2019.04.017

Highlights
•    Reviews research on human life histories and the Challenge Hypothesis.
•    We conducted a citation analysis of 400 Google Scholar citations in the human literature, identifying key patterns.
•    We review findings within several domains: competition, courtship and sexual behavior, and partnerships and paternal care.
•    We discuss extensions of the Challenge Hypothesis to juvenile and senescent life stages.
•    We discuss how research on testosterone administration provides causal insight into effects of testosterone in humans.

Abstract: The Challenge Hypothesis (Wingfield et al., 1990) originally focused on adult male avian testosterone elevated in response to same-sex competition in reproductive contexts. The purpose of the present paper is to demonstrate how the Challenge Hypothesis has shaped ideas about human life histories. We conduct a citation analysis, drawing upon 400 Google Scholar citations in the human literature to identify patterns in this body of scholarship. We cover key factors, such as context and personality traits, that help explain variable testosterone responses such as winning/losing to adult competitive behavior. Findings from studies on courtship and sexual behavior indicate some variation in testosterone responses depending on factors such as motivation. A large body of research indicates that male testosterone levels are often lower in contexts of long-term committed partnerships and nurturant fathering and aligned with variation in male mating and parenting effort. As the Challenge Hypothesis is extended across the life course, DHEA and androstenedione (rather than testosterone) appear more responsive to juvenile male competitive behavior, and during reproductive senescence, baseline male testosterone levels decrease just as male life history allocations show decreased mating effort. We discuss how research on testosterone administration, particularly in older men, provides causal insight into effects of testosterone in humans, and how this “natural experiment” can be viewed in light of the Challenge Hypothesis. We synthesize central concepts and findings, such as an expanded array of costs of testosterone that inform life history tradeoffs between maintenance and reproductive effort, and we conclude with directions for future research.

People are unable to self-project into deteriorated versions of themselves; this is not based on similarity in mind or body, as say philosophical & psychological theories

De Freitas, Julian, and George Alvarez. 2019. “Struggling to Imagine Ourselves.”  PsyArXiv. May 11. doi:10.31234/osf.io/c4wqg

Abstract: The uniquely human ability to imagine alternate versions of ourselves draws on specialized neural networks and plays a critical role in planning and decision making. But is there any constraint on our ability to self-project into a remembered or anticipated version of ourselves? And if so, might this constraint also affect our ability to relate to others? Here we show that people are unable to self-project into deteriorated versions of themselves. This psychological roadblock is not based on similarity in mind or body, as current philosophical and psychological theories predict, but on an overlapping cognitive template— in order to feel that someone is you, you have to attribute to them a shared essence. Moreover, individual differences in how people identify with different versions of themselves predict their ethical opinions, including endorsement of abortion or assisted death, suggesting that the capacity for self-projection also constrains people’s moral judgments about others.

An association between women's physical attractiveness and the length of their reproductive career in a nationally representative sample

An association between women's physical attractiveness and the length of their reproductive career in a prospectively longitudinal nationally representative sample. Satoshi Kanazawa. American Journal of Human Biology, May 23 2019. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.23256

Abstract
Objectives: Why is physical attractiveness more important for women's mate value in long‐term mating than in short‐term mating? This article replicates Bovet et al.'s (Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 2018; 31:229–238) recent finding that physically attractive women have a later expected age of menopause.

Methods: I analyzed the prospectively longitudinal, nationally representative sample of women in the National Child Development Study, applying t‐test and multiple regression analyses.

Results: Analyses showed that girls rated physically attractive at age 7 underwent menarche 3.12 months earlier than other girls, and they had 32% smaller odds of having undergone menopause before age 51. The results suggest that more physically attractive women have longer reproductive careers, explaining why physical attractiveness may be a more important determinant of women's mate value in long‐term mating than in short‐term mating.

Conclusions: Women's physical attractiveness predicts the timing of menarche and menopause, thereby the length of their reproductive careers.

A Different Take on the Big Bang Theory: Examining the Influence of Asperger Traits on the Perception and Attributional Confidence of a Fictional TV Character Portraying Characteristics of Asperger Syndrome

A Different Take on the Big Bang Theory: Examining the Influence of Asperger Traits on the Perception and Attributional Confidence of a Fictional TV Character Portraying Characteristics of Asperger Syndrome. Brenda Rourke & Rory McGloin. Atlantic Journal of Communication, Volume 27, 2019 - Issue 2, Pages 127-138. Feb 26 2019. https://doi.org/10.1080/15456870.2019.1574797

ABSTRACT: Research shows that media figures can influence the construction of one’s personal and social identity. However, there are few studies that examine representations of stigmatized groups with developmental disorders, such as those with autism spectrum disorders. This research examines the effect of a viewer’s scores on the autism quotient (AQ) and their relationship with homophily and attributional confidence towards Sheldon on The Big Bang Theory, who is suspected of having Asperger’s syndrome (AS). Guided by uncertainty reduction theory the results indicated a positive relationship between the dimensions of the AQ and homophily with Sheldon, and a positive relationship between higher scores on the AQ and attributional confidence towards Sheldon. The implications of identification with fictional television characters for individuals with AS, and the application of the AQ in future research are discussed relative to the current findings.

KEYWORDS: Asperger’s syndrome, uncertainty reduction, homophily, empathy, attributional confidence

Reasons people enjoy sexist humor and accept it as inoffensive

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Keywords: emotional contagionavian empathyanimal emotioncognitive bias paradigm

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tech heavy users are lower in well-being than less frequent users; tech nonusers are generally lower in well-being than light users of digital media, suggesting that limited use may be beneficial

More Time on Technology, Less Happiness? Associations Between Digital-Media Use and Psychological Well-Being. Jean M. Twenge. Current Directions in Psychological Science, May 22, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721419838244

Abstract: Studies using large samples consistently find that more frequent users of digital media are lower in psychological well-being than less frequent users; even data sets used as evidence for weak effects show that twice as many heavy users (vs. light users) are low in well-being. Differences in perspective may stem from the statistics used; I argue that comparing well-being across levels of digital-media use is more useful than the percentage of variance explained, as most studies on digital-media use do not measure other influences on well-being (e.g., genetics, trauma), and these other influences, unlike frequency of digital-media use, are rarely controllable. Nonusers are generally lower in well-being than light users of digital media, however, suggesting that limited use may be beneficial. Longitudinal and experimental studies suggest that at least some of the causation moves from digital-media use to lower well-being. Mechanisms may include the displacement of activities more beneficial to well-being (sleep, face-to-face social interaction), upward social comparison, and cyberbullying.

Keywords: digital media, well-being, happiness, depression, social media, electronic devices

Check also The Sad State of Happiness in the United States and the Role of Digital Media. Jean M. Twenge. World Happiness Report 2019, Mar 20 2019. https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2019/03/the-sad-state-of-happiness-in-united.html

We say that olfaction is a very powerful thing, that we recognize some smells from our childhood when we find them again later in life, but we almost never dream smells.

Olfactory perception in dreams: Analysis of a long dream series. Michael Schredl. International Journal of Dream Research,     Vol 12, No 1 (April 2019)
https://doi.org/10.11588/ijodr.2019.1.57845

Abstract: The present study analyzed the frequency of olfactory perceptions in a long dream series (N = 11,180 dreams) reported by a single participant. Overall, about 0.30% of the dreams included references to olfactory perceptions with unpleasant odors outweighing positive ones. Moreover, most of the olfactory perceptions are uncommon with regard to typical everyday life. To expand these findings, it would be very interesting to study larger samples using a diary paradigm including explicit questions about type, quality, and commonness of the dream odors.


4. Discussion

The present findings confirm previous results showing that spontaneously mentioned olfactory perceptions in dreams are rare since the frequency found in this male dreamer (0.30%) was close to the figure of 0.11% diary dreams re-ported by males that include references to olfactory percep-tions (Zadra et al., 1998). However, one has to keep in mind that the dreamer was not aware of the study’s rationale, i.e., analyzing olfactory perceptions, and, thus, the spontaneously reported olfactory perceptions might be an underestimation compared to a paradigm with explicit questions about sensory perceptions after recording the dreams (Carskadon et al., 1989).

From a methodological viewpoint it has to be considered that the codings were done by the dreamer himself alone; there was no second external judge so that interrater reliabilities could be ascertained. However, previous research indicated that for simple scales measuring the presence or absence of a specific topic have shown high interrater reli-ability (Schredl, Burchert, & Grabatin, 2004). As reported in previous studies (Arshamian, 2007; Carska-don et al., 1989; Monroe, 1899; Stevenson & Case, 2004-05; Weitz et al., 2010) the olfactory perception included a large variety of topics. However, a closer look showed that only one third of the contexts in which olfactory perceptions in the dreams were experienced also occurred in the dream-er’s everyday life, most of the olfactory perception contexts were unusual for the dreamer or even bizarre (ketchup with fish smell) – indicating the dreams are not simple replays of waking life experiences (Fosse, Fosse, Hobson, & Stick-gold, 2003; Malinowski & Horton, 2014). This contributes to the discussion whether dream content is continuous and/
discontinuous to waking life (Hobson & Schredl, 2011). In this context, it would be interesting to study odor experts (perfumers, chefs, oenologists etc.) who focus quite often on olfactory perceptions during the day.

Most of the spontaneously reported odors in this dream series were unpleasant. One might speculate that there might be a report bias similar to the underreporting of positive emotions compared to negative emotions (Röver & Schredl, 2017; Schredl & Doll, 1998; Sikka, Feilhauer, Valli, & Revon-suo, 2017). To test this hypothesis, it would be interesting to ask explicitly for olfactory perceptions in the dream and their emotional quality after the dream is recorded. Although the reported dream examples in the literature are mainly nega-tive (Wayne & Clinco, 1959; Weed & Hallam, 1896; Zadra et al., 1998), the preponderance of negative odors in dreams might be characteristic for this special dreamer, i.e., larger samples are necessary to corroborate this finding. It would also be interesting to test pleasantness/unpleasantness in the context of other sensory modalities like visual or audi-tory experiences. As the olfactory system is closely linked to the limbic system (Gottfried, 2006), one would not expect a strong relationship between perception per se and emo-tions.

To summarize, the analysis of this dream series indicate that olfactory perceptions in dreams are quite rare, mainly unpleasant und uncommon regarding the context compared to everyday life. Due to the design (single case study), the findings raise a lot of questions as to what olfactory per-ceptions look like in larger dream samples and/or in other subjects, for example, in odor experts. It would be very in-teresting to carry out an experimental dream study using ambulatory assessment techniques with one group regularly reminded to focus on olfaction during the day and answer-ing questions about type, pleasantness and commonness of the odor. According to the continuity hypothesis (Schredl, 2018), the percentage of olfactory dreams should increase and the pleasant/unpleasant ratio of waking olfactory per-ception should be reflected in the participants’ dreams. These studies might help to elucidate the interesting rela-tionship between olfaction, sleep, and dreams.

In the pre-Christmas shopping season prosocial subjects almost donate 50% less compared to prosocials in summer; the higher prosocials’ self-reported stress level, the lower the donations; no "donation fatigue" effect

Müller Stephan, Rau HA (2019) Too cold for warm glow? Christmas-season effects in charitable giving. PLoS ONE 14(5): e0215844. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0215844

Abstract: This paper analyzes seasonal effects and their potential drivers in charitable giving. We conduct two studies to analyze whether donations to the German Red Cross differ between the Christmas season and summer. In study 1 we find that in the pre-Christmas shopping season prosocial subjects almost donate 50% less compared to prosocials in summer. In study 2 we replicate the low donations in the Christmas season. In an extensive questionnaire we control for several causes of this effect. The data suggest that the higher prosocials’ self-reported stress level, the lower the donations. The higher their relative savings, the lower the giving. Our questionnaire rules out that “donation fatigue” matters. That is, donations do not depend on the number of charitable campaigns subjects are confronted with and their engagement in these activities during Christmas season outside the lab.

Preoperative anxiety of hospitalized patients exposed to Spiritist “passe” showed greater reductions in anxiety & muscle tension & increases in well-being than those exposed Sham or standard medical care

Effect of Spiritist “Passe” on Preoperative Anxiety of Surgical Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Double-Blind. Élida Mara Carneiro et al. Journal of Religion and Health, May 22 2019. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10943-019-00841-7

Abstract: The objective of this study was to evaluate the preoperative anxiety of hospitalized patients exposed to Spiritist “passe,” laying on of hand with the intention of healing (Sham) and without laying on of hand. Other variables as depression, pain, physiological parameters, muscle tension, and well-being were assessed. Patients in the Spiritist “passe” intervention group showed greater reductions in anxiety (p < 0.05) and muscle tension (p < 0.01) and increases in well-being (p < 0.01). More marked reductions in preoperative anxiety and muscle tension and improvement in well-being were observed in patients exposed to Spiritist “passe” compared to Sham or standard medical care.

Keywords: Spiritual healing Energy therapies Complementary therapies Anxiety Surgery

Does Fraternal Birth Order Predict Male Homosexuality, Bisexuality, and Heterosexual Orientation with Same-Sex Attraction? Evidence from a Greek-Speaking Sample from Greece

Does Fraternal Birth Order Predict Male Homosexuality, Bisexuality, and Heterosexual Orientation with Same-Sex Attraction? Evidence from a Greek-Speaking Sample from Greece. Menelaos Apostolou. Archives of Sexual Behavior, May 22 2019. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-019-01466-3

Abstract: Studies have established that having older brothers is associated with an increased incidence of male homosexuality. This so-called fraternal birth order effect has been found in different times and cultural settings. The current study attempted to examine whether this effect was present in the Greek cultural context and whether it could also predict bisexuality or heterosexuality with occasional same-sex attractions. On the basis of an online sample of 1617 Greek-speaking participants, it was found that, for men, a higher number of older brothers were associated with an increased probability to be homosexual, but it had no effect on the probability to be bisexual or heterosexual with same-sex attractions. In women, the number of older brothers had not any effect on sexual orientation.

Keywords: Fraternal birth order effect Sexual orientation Homosexuality Same-sex attraction Bisexuality Older brothers

Coverture’s demise in the US: Women’s rights led to shifts in household portfolios; a positive shock to credit supply; & a reallocation of labor towards non-agriculture & capital intensive industries, aiding industrialization

Women’s Liberation as a Financial Innovation. Moshe Hazan and David Weiss. October 23, 2018. https://m.tau.ac.il/~davidweiss/WomenRights.pdf

ABSTRACT: In one of the greatest extensions of property rights in human history, common law countries began giving rights to married women in the 1850s. Before this “women’s liberation,” the doctrine of coverture strongly incentivized parents of daughters to hold real estate, rather than financial assets such as money, stocks, or bonds. We exploit the staggered nature of coverture’s demise across US states to show that women’s rights led to shifts in household portfolios; a positive shock to the supply of credit; and a reallocation of labor towards non-agriculture and capital intensive industries. Investor protection deepened financial markets aiding industrialization.

Keywords: Women’s liberation, financial innovation, investor protection, economic growth.

 Property rights are at the heart of capitalism’s ability to efficiently allocate resources. Inone of the greatest extensions of property rights in human history, common law countriesbegan giving rights to married women in the second half of the19th century. Before this“women’s liberation,” married women were subject to the laws of coverture.1Coverturehad detailed regulations as to which spouse had ownership and control over various aspectsof property, both before and after marriage, and strongly incentivized women to hold realestate, rather than financial assets such as money, stocks, orbonds. This paper explores theeconomic ramifications of coverture’s demise, and the resultant expansion of investor pro-tection to women. We exploit the staggered nature of coverture’s demise across the United States to show that these rights had a large impact on household portfolios, credit markets, and labor allocations.

Under coverture, property was divided into two types. Moveable property (also referredto as “personal property”), including money, stocks, bonds, furniture, and livestock, became the husband’s property entirely upon marriage. He could sell or give the property away, oreven bequeath it to others. Real assets, such as land and structures, were placed under the husband’s partial control while remaining in the wife’s name. He could manage the assets as he saw fit, including any income generated by the assets, but he could not sell orbequeath the property without his wife’s consent.2 After analyzing the laws of coverture, Holcombe (1983) concludes that “[w]hatever the reasons forthe distinction between realand personal [moveable] property, the legal rules applyingto these categories of propertywere substantially different. The common law afforded married women considerable protection with respect to real property. It afforded no protection for their personal property.” (Holcombe 1983, p.20).

By differentially allocating property rights, coverture affected portfolio incentives notonly for women, but for parents wishing to bequeath or gift assets to their daughters. Con-sider a father who wants to bequeath his estate to his daughter upon his death. He wouldface an incentive to hold his wealth in real assets. Indeed, parents did bequeath to daughtersin the US as primogeniture was abandoned after the War of Independence. The default became to divide equally inheritances of both types of assets equally among children, including girls (Shammas, Salmon and Dahlin 1987, p.67). Therefore, our first prediction is that undoing coverture should cause portfolios to shift towards moveable assets, such as financial assets, because removing legal constraints allows households to purchase assets withhigher returns or diversify their portfolios.3This shift in portfolios towards moveable assets represents an increase in the supply of financial assets. Accordingly, our second predictionis that after rights are granted, we expect bank deposits–and loans–to increase, along with a reduction in interest rates. An increase in the supply of loanable funds should aid industrialization, as entrepreneurs find capital to be cheaper and thus invest more readily. Greater industrialization yields a sectoral reallocation of workers. Accordingly, our third predictionis that coverture’s demise leads to a shift in the labor forceaway from agriculture. More-over, even within the non-agricultural sector, cheaper capital causes greater investment inindustries that are more capital intensive. Thus, our fourth and final prediction is that rightslead to a relative increase in employment in capital intensive industries.

Those assigned to the perspective taking intervention did not empathize more than subjects assigned to no intervention; instead, subjects assigned to the objective intervention down-regulated their emotions & empathized less

Wondra, Joshua D., and Sylvia Morelli. 2018. “Limitations of the Evidence That Perspective Taking Increases Empathy.” PsyArXiv. October 13. doi:10.31234/osf.io/95fnr

Abstract: Perspective taking is commonly believed to increase empathy. To support this idea, empirical research must show two pieces of evidence. First, perspective taking interventions should make people empathize more than they would by default. Second, the increase in empathy should be due to perspective taking, and not some other feature of the intervention. Much of the evidence that perspective taking increases empathy comes from studies that compare a perspective taking condition to a condition where subjects are asked to “remain objective”. However, if subjects are not objective to begin with, then asking them to “remain objective” might make them empathize less, which makes it unclear if perspective taking also makes them empathize more. In two new experiments and one replication of the well-known “Katie Banks” experiment, subjects were assigned to a perspective taking intervention, an objective intervention, or no intervention. Subjects assigned to the perspective taking intervention did not empathize more than subjects assigned to no intervention; instead, subjects assigned to the objective intervention down-regulated their emotions and empathized less. Further evidence about whether, when, and how perspective taking increases empathy is needed.

Memento mori, melancholy, and the resident ornamental hermit: A person paid to dress like a druid, serve wine and read poetry, living in your estate's grotto

Before the Garden Gnome, the Ornamental Hermit: A Real Person Paid to Dress like a Druid. Allison Meier. Atlas Obscura, March 18, 2014. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-history-of-hermits-in-gardens

While some gardeners might now throw in a gnome statue among their flowers and shrubberies, back in the 18th century wealthy estate owners were hiring real people to dress as druids, grow their hair long, and not wash for years. These hired hermits would lodge in shacks, caves, and other hermitages constructed in a rustic manner in rambling gardens. It was a practice mostly found in England, although it made it up to Scotland and over to Ireland as well.

Gordon Campbell, a Professor of Renaissance Studies at the University of Leicester, recently published The Hermit in the Garden: From Imperial Rome to Ornamental Gnome with Oxford University Press. It’s the first book to delve into the history of the ornamental hermit in Georgian England. As Campbell explains in this video for the book:

“Recruiting a hermit wasn’t always easy. Sometimes they were agricultural workers, and they were dressed in a costume, often in a druid’s costume. There was no agreement on how druids dressed, but in some cases they wore what we would call a dunce’s cap. It’s a most peculiar phenomenon, and understanding it is one of the reasons why I have written this book.”

How the live-in hermit came to be a fashionable touch to a splendid garden goes back to the Roman emperor Hadrian with his villa at Tivoli, which included a small lake with a structure in it built for one person to retreat. When the ruins of this early hermitage were unearthed in the 16th century, it was suggested that Pope Pius IV build one for himself, which he did at the Casina Pio IV. Yet from here it gradually verged away from religious devotees isolating themselves for spiritual reflection to hermitting being an 18th century profession for those willing to put up with the stipulations.

As Campbell cites from an advertisement referenced in Sir William Gell’s A Tour in the Lakes Made in 1797, ”the hermit is never to leave the place, or hold conversation with anyone for seven years during which he is neither to wash himself or cleanse himself in any way whatever, but is to let his hair and nails both on hands and feet, grow as long as nature will permit them.”

Others asked that their hermits not wear shoes or even to entertain party guests with personalized poetry or the serving of wine. It might seem like a whimsical garden feature, but in fact it was all about that most celebrated of Georgian England emotions: melancholy. Introspection and a somberness of spirit were prized among the elite, and the roles they asked their hermits to play embodied this. A 1784 guide to the Hawkstone estate in Shropshire belonging to Sir Richard Hill describes its resident hermit:

“You pull a bell, and gain admittance. The hermit is generally in a sitting posture, with a table before him, on which is a skull, the emblem of mortality, an hour-glass, a book and a pair of spectacles. The venerable bare-footed Father, whose name is Francis (if awake) always rises up at the approach of strangers. He seems about 90 years of age, yet has all his sense to admiration. He is tolerably conversant, and far from being unpolite.”