Three categories of monogamy maintenance strategies to avoid relationship threats are commonly used: Proactive Avoidance (of attractive alternatives), Relationship Enhancement, and Low Self‐Monitoring and Derogation (in the face of extradyadic attraction). Not very successfully...

Ain’t misbehavin? Monogamy maintenance strategies in heterosexual romantic relationships. Brenda H. Lee, Lucia F. O'Sullivan. Personal Relationships, https://doi.org/10.1111/pere.12235

Abstract: Monogamy is a near universal expectation in intimate relationships in Western societies and is typically defined as sexual and romantic exclusivity to one partner. This research informs the paradox between monogamy intentions and high rates of infidelity. Monogamy maintenance (MM) strategies used in response to relationship threats posed by attraction to extradyadic others were identified and characterized. Across three samples, 741 U.S. adults in intimate relationships completed surveys addressing MM. Twenty‐four strategies emerged in three factors—Proactive Avoidance (of attractive alternatives), Relationship Enhancement, and Low Self‐Monitoring and Derogation (in the face of extradyadic attraction). All MM factors were commonly endorsed, yet were largely unsuccessful at forestalling infidelity.


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The derogation of attractive alternatives was included in the preliminary MMI [MM inventory] both in the form of outward behaviors that may be perceived as rude or socially disengaging (e.g., “Intentionally ignored the looks from this other person when they were looking at me”; “Treated this other person rudely”), and in the form of self-directed talk (e.g., “Told myself that this other person was bad for me”; “Looked for unflattering things in this other person”). These strategies were intentional extensions of previously identified automatic responses to attractive others in experimental contexts—namely, inattention and hostility (Maner et al., 2009; Plant et al., 2010). The outward strategies directed toward the attractive other were infrequently endorsed, indicating that although individuals may engage in stronger forms of derogation with fleeting relationship threats, they typically derogate attractive others in the form of selfdirected talk within the social contexts of their lives.

Check also Attentional and evaluative biases help people maintain relationships by avoiding infidelity. McNulty, James K., Meltzer, Andrea L., Makhanova, Anastasia, Maner, Jon K. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Feb 12 , 2018, https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2018/02/attentional-and-evaluative-biases-help.html  

Some Unwanted Events and Side Effects in Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Negative wellbeing/distress (27% of patients), worsening of symptoms (9%), strains in family relations (6%)

Unwanted Events and Side Effects in Cognitive Behavior Therapy. Marie-Luise Schermuly-Haupt, Michael Linden, A. John Rush. Cognitive Therapy and Research, June 2018, Volume 42, Issue 3, pp 219–229. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10608-018-9904-y

Abstract: Side effects (SEs) are negative reactions to an appropriately delivered treatment, which must be discriminated from unwanted events (UEs) or consequences of inadequate treatment. One hundred CBT therapists were interviewed for UEs and SEs in one of their current outpatients. Therapists reported 372 UEs in 98 patients and SEs in 43 patients. Most frequent were "negative wellbeing/distress" (27% of patients), "worsening of symptoms" (9%), "strains in family relations" (6%); 21% of patients suffered from severe or very severe and 5% from persistent SEs. SEs are unavoidable and frequent also in well-delivered CBT. They include both symptoms and the impairment of social life. Knowledge about the side effect profile can improve early recognition of SEs, safeguard patients, and enhance therapy outcome.

Sexual activity and desire decreased in men, especially in the young and middle-age groups; a contribution is the decrease of men living with a partner

Beutel ME, Burghardt J, Tibubos AN, et al. Declining Sexual Activity and Desire in Men—Findings From Representative German Surveys, 2005 and 2016. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, Volume 15, Issue 5, May 2018, Pages 750–756. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsxm.2018.03.010

Abstract

Background: Surveys have indicated an increase of sexual activity in aging men; recently, however, a decrease of sexual activity has been reported in young men.

Aim: To assess (i) sexual activity and desire and their determinants across the age range in a population-based male sample and (ii) their changes over 11 years.

Methods: A representative survey of men (N = 1,095) 18 to 93 years old from 2016 was compared with a survey from 2005 (N = 1,106 men) with the same age range. Samples were drawn from the German population at random using standardized sampling procedures. Questions were filled out by participants in the presence of a trained interviewer. Sexual activity was compared using logistic regression with the factors survey (2005 vs 2016), living with a partner (yes vs no), and age. Frequency of sexual desire was compared using analysis of covariance with the factors survey (2005 vs 2016), living with a partner (yes vs no), and the covariate age.

Outcomes: Sexual activity was assessed as having been intimate with someone in the past year; frequency of sexual desire was evaluated within the past 4 weeks.

Results: The great majority of men cohabiting with a partner in 2016 was sexually active and indicated sexual desire until 70 years of age; half did so at an older age. Across the age range, men living without a partner reported considerably less sexual activity and desire. Compared with 2005, fewer men reported living with a partner. The overall proportion of men reporting sexual activity deceased from 81% to 73% in 2016 and absent sexual desire increased from 8% to 13%.

Clinical Translation: The findings highlight the relevance of living with a partner for sexual activity and desire. We advocate using a measure of sexual activity that encompasses many variants of intimate behavior.

Strengths and Limitations: Large and methodologically comparable population-based samples were compared. However, interpretations are limited by the absence of longitudinal data. We did not assess the effect of having a partner living elsewhere.

Conclusion: Sexual activity and desire decreased, especially in the young and middle-age groups. The decrease of men living with a partner contributed to this decreased sexual activity and desire. There was a generation effect, with younger and middle-age men living without a partner becoming less sexually active and experiencing less desire compared with the previous survey. The findings unveil changes in sexual activity and desire in a short time span.

Key Words: Sexual Desire; Sexual Activity; Partnership; Representative Sample

The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is not only necessary but also sufficient for pain-related negative emotion; it preferentially encodes the emotional-affective component of pain rather than sensory-discriminative component

A new perspective on the anterior cingulate cortex and affective pain. Xiao Xiao, Yu-Qiu Zhang. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.03.022

Highlights
•    The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is not only necessary but also sufficient for pain-related negative emotion.
•    The ACC preferentially encodes the emotional-affective component of pain rather than sensory-discriminative component.
•    The neural network of the ACC with amygdala, BNST, PFC, IC, VLO, and some other limbic structures contributes to the negative emotion of pain.

Abstract: Pain is a complex experience including sensory-discriminative and emotional-affective components. Base on the intensity and chronification of pain, pain is divided into physiological and pathological pain. Anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), which is activated by noxious and contextual stimuli, is involved in pain processing, especially affective pain, the neural mechanisms of the ACC involvement in affective pain have yet to be elaborated. This review summarizes the main progresses and recent findings from our and other laboratories regarding the ACC and affective pain. Most evidence provided new insights into the neural mechanisms underlying affective pain. Excitation of ACC pyramidal neurons is necessary and sufficient for the pain-related negative emotion. We also sketched other brain regions associated with the ACC and discussed the role of these brain regions in affective pain. Actually, it is likely that the neural network between these brain regions is critical for the negative affect of pain. In particular, the important advances within the optogenetic filed provide new opportunities to deepen and expand our understanding of the affective pain.

When both the original study and its failed replication are correct

Noah, T., Schul, Y., & Mayo, R. (2018). When both the original study and its failed replication are correct: Feeling observed eliminates the facial-feedback effect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 114(5), 657-664. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000121

Abstract: This article suggests a theoretically driven explanation for a replication failure of one of the basic findings in psychology: the facial-feedback effect. According to the facial-feedback hypothesis, the facial activity associated with particular emotional expressions can influence people’s affective experiences. Recently, a replication attempt of this effect in 17 laboratories around the world failed to find any support for the effect. We hypothesize that the reason for the failure of replication is that the replication protocol deviated from that of the original experiment in a critical factor. In all of the replication studies, participants were alerted that they would be monitored by a video camera, whereas the participants in the original study were not monitored, observed, or recorded. Previous findings indicate that feeling monitored or observed reduces reliance on internal cues in making judgments. Therefore, we hypothesize that recording the participants in the replication experiments reduced their reliance on the facial-feedback. To test the hypothesis, we replicated the facial-feedback experiment in 2 conditions: one with a video-camera and one without it. The results revealed a significant facial-feedback effect in the absence of a camera, which was eliminated in the camera’s presence. These findings suggest that minute differences in the experimental protocol might lead to theoretically meaningful changes in the outcomes. In our view, the theoretical and methodological approach advocated by our study changes failed replications from being the “end of the road” regarding entire fields of study into a new road for growth regarding our understanding of human nature.

An ambient coffee-like scent improved performance on an analytical reasoning task because it created higher performance expectations. Kind of placebo effect.

The impact of coffee-like scent on expectations and performance. Adriana Madzharo, Ning Ye, Maureen Morrin, Lauren Block. Journal of Environmental Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2018.04.001

Highlights
•    An ambient coffee-like scent improved performance on an analytical reasoning task.
•    The scent created higher performance expectations.
•    Expectations about alertness are also associated with the scent.
•    An ambient coffee-like scent had a placebo effect on behavior.

ABSTRACT: The present research explores the effect of an ambient coffee-like scent (versus no scent) on expectations regarding performance on an analytical reasoning task as well as on actual performance. We show that people in a coffee-scented (versus unscented) environment perform better on an analytical reasoning task due to heightened performance expectations (Study 1). We further show that people expect that being in a coffee-scented environment will increase their performance because they expect it will increase their physiological arousal level (Study 2). Our results thus demonstrate that a coffee-like scent (which actually contains no caffeine) can elicit a placebo effect.

Keywords: olfaction; performance; coffee-like scent; placebo effects

India's liberalization cannot be explained with wealth-maximization alone; the prevalent ideology in India changed dramatically before the liberalization; commerce was looked upon as anti-social, now it is celebrated

The role of ideological change in India's economic liberalization. Nimish Adhia. The Journal of Socio-Economics, Volume 44, June 2013, Pages 103-111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2013.02.015

Abstract: The paper describes the role of ideological change in India's economic liberalization and provides evidence for it. Since the 1980s the most prevalent ideology has changed from condemning commerce and profit as anti-social, to tolerating—even applauding—commercial success. The paper reports on a content analysis of the most popular Hindi film each year since 1955, and finds that characters of rich merchants have changed from being portrayed as villains to being portrayed as heroes.

Highlights
► I argue that India's liberalization cannot be explained with wealth-maximization alone. ► The prevalent ideology in India changed dramatically before the liberalization. ► Commerce was looked upon as anti-social, now it is celebrated. ► Content and narrative analysis of Indian films reveals the change in ideology.

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The injunction of performing one’s duty without regard to outcomes has been the basis of much of the Indian philosophical and religious discourse.

The dilemma is recurrent in Indian films.... From the 1950s to the 1980s, the dilemmas invariably resolve in favor of duty. The mother in Mother India (1956) shoots and kills her wayward son as he attempts to kidnap a woman—an action that would have been shameful for the village. “I am the mother of the entire village,” she says as she picks up the gun. As the son collapses to the ground, she wails and rushes to his side, and is shown to lament his death for the rest of her life, but the film valorizes her as “Mother India.”

But then starting with Ram Teri Ganga Maili (1986) there is a spate of films that celebrate the assertion of one’s desire. The assertion commonly takes the form of falling in love—an audacious act in a society where the sexual mores are conservative and a majority of marriages are arranged on basis of familial and community criteria. The young lovers in the big hit Qayamat se Qayamat tak (Doomsday to Doomsday, 1988) elope and endure enormous hardships on account of their families’ opposition. The families had a falling out in the past when they were neighboring landlords in the country. The demands of familial loyalty, shown to arise in this way from a feudal setup and concluding in the death of the young lovers, are condemned by the film as savage and outdated. “We are not the property of our parents,” the young man once counsels his beloved. “We need not be carriers of their legacy of hate.”

Perceived mental health from men’s facial appearance reflected actual mental health; results held for subclinical autistic quotient, depressive symptoms, and schizotypy; and accuracy was not explained by attractiveness or other appearance variables

Cues to mental health from men’s facial appearance. Robert Ward, , Naomi Jane Scott. Journal of Research in Personality, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2018.04.007

Highlights
•    Perceived mental health from men’s facial appearance reflected actual mental health.
•    Results held for subclinical autistic quotient, depressive symptoms, and schizotypy.
•    Accuracy was not explained by attractiveness or other appearance variables.
•    Mental health vulnerability could lead to negative social evaluation.

Abstract: Previous work shows that mental health can be evident from neutral facial appearance. We assessed the accuracy of mental health perceptions from facial appearance, and how perceived mental health related to other appearance cues, specifically attractiveness, perceived physical health, and masculinity. We constructed composite images from men scoring high and low on autistic quotient, depressive symptoms, and schizotypy inventories, and asked observers to rate these images for mental health. We found perceived mental health reflected actual mental health in all cases. Furthermore, the accuracy of mental health inference was not fully explained by other appearance cues. We consider implications of accurate mental health detection from appearance, and the possibility that appearance could be a risk factor for mental health issues.

Keywords: facial appearance; mental health; attractiveness; masculinity