Hoogeveen, Suzanne, Eric-Jan Wagenmakers, Aaron Kay, and Michiel van Elk. 2019. “Compensatory Control and Belief in God: A Registered Replication Report Across Two Countries.” PsyArXiv. September 27. doi:10.31234/osf.io/vqu2x
Abstract: Compensatory Control Theory (CCT) suggests that religious belief systems provide an external source of control that can substitute a perceived lack of personal control. In a seminal paper, Kay et al. (2008) experimentally demonstrated that a threat to personal control increases endorsement of the existence of a controlling God. In the current registered report, we conducted a high-powered (N = 829) direct replication of this effect, using samples from the Netherlands and the United States. Our results show moderate to strong evidence for the absence of an experimental effect across both countries: belief in a controlling God did not increase after a threat compared to an affirmation of personal control. In a complementary preregistered analysis, an inverse relation between general feelings of personal control and belief in a controlling God was found in the US, but not in the Netherlands. We discuss potential reasons for the replication failure of the experimental effect and cultural mechanisms explaining the cross-country difference in the correlational effect. Together, our findings suggest that experimental manipulations of control may be ineffective in shifting belief in God, but that individual differences in the experience of control may be related to religious beliefs in a way that is consistent with CCT.
Friday, September 27, 2019
Religiosity Predicts Evidentiary Standards: Religious individuals exhibited a bias for believing religious claims relative to scientific claims, while nonreligious guys were consistent in their standards of evidence across domains
Religiosity Predicts Evidentiary Standards. Emilio J. C. Lobato et al. Social Psychological and Personality Science, September 9, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550619869613
Abstract: Research shows that religious and nonreligious individuals have different standards of evidence for religious and scientific claims. Here, in a preregistered replication and extension of McPhetres and Zuckerman, participants read about an effect attributed to either a scientific or religious cause, then assessed how much evidence, in the form of successful replications, would be needed to confirm or to reject the causal claim. As previously observed, religious individuals exhibited a bias for believing religious claims relative to scientific claims, while nonreligious individuals were consistent in their standards of evidence across domains. In a novel extension examining standards of evidence with respect to failures of replication, we found that religious individuals were consistent across domains, whereas nonreligious individuals indicated a lower threshold for rejecting religious claims relative to scientific claims. These findings indicate asymmetries in the evaluation of claims based on the presence versus absence of supportive evidence.
Keywords: religion, science, evidence, decision-making
Abstract: Research shows that religious and nonreligious individuals have different standards of evidence for religious and scientific claims. Here, in a preregistered replication and extension of McPhetres and Zuckerman, participants read about an effect attributed to either a scientific or religious cause, then assessed how much evidence, in the form of successful replications, would be needed to confirm or to reject the causal claim. As previously observed, religious individuals exhibited a bias for believing religious claims relative to scientific claims, while nonreligious individuals were consistent in their standards of evidence across domains. In a novel extension examining standards of evidence with respect to failures of replication, we found that religious individuals were consistent across domains, whereas nonreligious individuals indicated a lower threshold for rejecting religious claims relative to scientific claims. These findings indicate asymmetries in the evaluation of claims based on the presence versus absence of supportive evidence.
Keywords: religion, science, evidence, decision-making
Facebook is found as a useful tool to fulfil human needs, which predict continued Facebook use intentions of participants, and further, satisfaction with life
Who Needs Social Networking? An Empirical Enquiry into the Capability of Facebook to Meet Human Needs and Satisfaction with Life. David Houghton, Andrew Pressey, Doga Istanbulluoglu. Computers in Human Behavior, September 27 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2019.09.029
Highlights:
• Investigation into the fulfilment of human needs through Facebook use.
• SEM to assess human needs, Facebook use and Satisfaction with Life.
• Facebook fulfils needs, and continued use is associated with satisfaction with life.
Abstract: Social Network Sites (SNS) have been the topic of much scholarly and public debate for the most part of the 21st century. A number of studies have investigated the benefits and drawbacks to using SNS, with Facebook the largest example boasting billions of active monthly users. In recent months, media commentary has raised a number of concerning cases surrounding Facebook’s use of data, its connection with other organizations and its legitimacy, making a number of open public calls to abandon the platform. However, active users still number in the billions, raising the question, “does Facebook achieve something on a fundamental human and social level that users are willing to overlook the potential drawback to its use?” Using Maslow’s needs hierarchy, this study adopts a survey approach (n=316) and explores the capacity for Facebook to satisfy human needs. Findings identify Facebook as a useful tool to fulfil human needs, which predict continued Facebook use intentions of participants, and further, satisfaction with life. These findings offer a broad-based view of Facebook use and its resonance with key motivators of behavior, supporting both Maslow’s needs hierarchy and highlighting the importance of need fulfilment for continued service use and satisfaction with life.
Check also The economic effects of Facebook. Roberto Mosquera et al. Experimental Economics, September 26 2019. https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2019/09/those-who-are-off-facebook-for-one-week.html:
Highlights:
• Investigation into the fulfilment of human needs through Facebook use.
• SEM to assess human needs, Facebook use and Satisfaction with Life.
• Facebook fulfils needs, and continued use is associated with satisfaction with life.
Abstract: Social Network Sites (SNS) have been the topic of much scholarly and public debate for the most part of the 21st century. A number of studies have investigated the benefits and drawbacks to using SNS, with Facebook the largest example boasting billions of active monthly users. In recent months, media commentary has raised a number of concerning cases surrounding Facebook’s use of data, its connection with other organizations and its legitimacy, making a number of open public calls to abandon the platform. However, active users still number in the billions, raising the question, “does Facebook achieve something on a fundamental human and social level that users are willing to overlook the potential drawback to its use?” Using Maslow’s needs hierarchy, this study adopts a survey approach (n=316) and explores the capacity for Facebook to satisfy human needs. Findings identify Facebook as a useful tool to fulfil human needs, which predict continued Facebook use intentions of participants, and further, satisfaction with life. These findings offer a broad-based view of Facebook use and its resonance with key motivators of behavior, supporting both Maslow’s needs hierarchy and highlighting the importance of need fulfilment for continued service use and satisfaction with life.
Check also The economic effects of Facebook. Roberto Mosquera et al. Experimental Economics, September 26 2019. https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2019/09/those-who-are-off-facebook-for-one-week.html:
Those who are off Facebook for one week reduce news consumption, are less likely to recognize politically-skewed news stories, report being less depressed and engage in healthier activities. These results are strongest for men. Our results further suggest that, after the restriction, Facebook’s value increases, consistent with information loss or that using Facebook may be addictive.
The Social Effects of Internet Deprivation: Can You Engage in Political Activity Without Internet Access? Very little, it seems
Can You Engage in Political Activity Without Internet Access? The Social Effects of Internet Deprivation. Ryan Shandler, Michael L Gross, Daphna Canetti. Political Studies Review, September 26, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1177/1478929919877600
Abstract: To what extent can you engage in political activity in the modern age without Internet access? The growing dependence on Internet access to fulfill basic civil functions is threatened by increasing personal and societal cyber vulnerability. In this article, we explore the extent to which citizens are able, or unable, to engage in specific political activities in the absence of Internet connectivity. To concretize the subject, we test how Internet deprivation affects the ability to realize three basic elements of political participation: political expression, civic association, and access to information. To measure this, we develop a new experimental methodology that tests people’s ability to complete tasks related to each function under simulated treatments of Internet access or deprivation. This empirical methodology offers a new framework through which to quantify the realization of social tasks under experimental conditions. Early results suggest that the absence of Internet access significantly reduces task completion for activities related to political expression and political association and conditionally reduces task completion for practices associated with freedom of information. Having substantiated this empirical framework, we encourage its application to additional forms of political activity.
Keywords: Internet access, Internet deprivation, cyber policy, freedom of speech, cyber terrorism
Abstract: To what extent can you engage in political activity in the modern age without Internet access? The growing dependence on Internet access to fulfill basic civil functions is threatened by increasing personal and societal cyber vulnerability. In this article, we explore the extent to which citizens are able, or unable, to engage in specific political activities in the absence of Internet connectivity. To concretize the subject, we test how Internet deprivation affects the ability to realize three basic elements of political participation: political expression, civic association, and access to information. To measure this, we develop a new experimental methodology that tests people’s ability to complete tasks related to each function under simulated treatments of Internet access or deprivation. This empirical methodology offers a new framework through which to quantify the realization of social tasks under experimental conditions. Early results suggest that the absence of Internet access significantly reduces task completion for activities related to political expression and political association and conditionally reduces task completion for practices associated with freedom of information. Having substantiated this empirical framework, we encourage its application to additional forms of political activity.
Keywords: Internet access, Internet deprivation, cyber policy, freedom of speech, cyber terrorism
When a woman is more attractive than her mate, men desire to mate poach, and if a woman is less attractive than her partner, men desire to mate copy
Moran, J. B., & Wade, T. J. (2019). Perceptions of a mismatched couple: The role of attractiveness on mate poaching and copying. Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences, Sep 2019. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ebs0000187
Abstract: This research investigated how a couple’s discrepancy in attractiveness influences men’s decision to mate poach or mate copy. The participants (N = 97 heterosexual men) were presented with 3 photos of a quasi couple in which the woman was consistent, and the 3 men were unattractive, equally, or more attractive than her. This study used ranking questions to assess heterosexual men’s perception of a couple. Participants were asked to drag and drop the 3 randomized photos in order of preference for 8 randomized questions regarding mate poaching and mate copying. Eight Friedman tests were conducted and revealed a significant difference between the rankings of the photos for each situation. These findings suggest that there are clear differences between the conditional mating strategies men use. Results revealed that when a woman is more attractive than her mate, men desire to mate poach, and if a woman is less attractive than her partner, men desire to mate copy.
Abstract: This research investigated how a couple’s discrepancy in attractiveness influences men’s decision to mate poach or mate copy. The participants (N = 97 heterosexual men) were presented with 3 photos of a quasi couple in which the woman was consistent, and the 3 men were unattractive, equally, or more attractive than her. This study used ranking questions to assess heterosexual men’s perception of a couple. Participants were asked to drag and drop the 3 randomized photos in order of preference for 8 randomized questions regarding mate poaching and mate copying. Eight Friedman tests were conducted and revealed a significant difference between the rankings of the photos for each situation. These findings suggest that there are clear differences between the conditional mating strategies men use. Results revealed that when a woman is more attractive than her mate, men desire to mate poach, and if a woman is less attractive than her partner, men desire to mate copy.
The relationship between tickling, sensation, and laughter is complex; tickling or its mere anticipation makes us laugh, but not when we self-tickle; the study uses rats to understand self-tickle suppression & tickle anticipation
Behavioral and Cortical Correlates of Self-Suppression, Anticipation, and Ambivalence in Rat Tickling. Shimpei Ishiyama, Lena V. Kaufmann, Michael Brecht. Current Biology, September 26 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2019.07.085
Highlights
• Self-touch suppresses vocalizations and cortical excitation
• Self-touch suppression is rescued by blocking cortical inhibition
• Rats show ambivalent response to tickling
• Layer 5 somatosensory cortex represents tickle anticipation
Summary: The relationship between tickling, sensation, and laughter is complex. Tickling or its mere anticipation makes us laugh, but not when we self-tickle. We previously showed rat somatosensory cortex drives tickling-evoked vocalizations and now investigated self-tickle suppression and tickle anticipation. We recorded somatosensory cortex activity while tickling and touching rats and while rats touched themselves. Allo-touch and tickling evoked somatotopic cortical excitation and vocalizations. Self-touch induced wide-ranging inhibition and vocalization suppression. Self-touch also suppressed vocalizations and cortical responses evoked by allo-touch or cortical microstimulation. We suggest a global-inhibition model of self-tickle suppression, which operates without the classically assumed self versus other distinction. Consistent with this inhibition hypothesis, blocking cortical inhibition with gabazine abolished self-tickle suppression. We studied anticipation in a nose-poke-for-tickling paradigm. Although rats nose poked for tickling, they also showed escaping, freezing, and alarm calls. Such ambivalence (“Nervenkitzel”) resembles tickle behaviors in children. We conclude that self-touch-induced GABAergic cortical inhibition prevents self-tickle, whereas anticipatory layer 5 activity drives anticipatory laughter.
Highlights
• Self-touch suppresses vocalizations and cortical excitation
• Self-touch suppression is rescued by blocking cortical inhibition
• Rats show ambivalent response to tickling
• Layer 5 somatosensory cortex represents tickle anticipation
Summary: The relationship between tickling, sensation, and laughter is complex. Tickling or its mere anticipation makes us laugh, but not when we self-tickle. We previously showed rat somatosensory cortex drives tickling-evoked vocalizations and now investigated self-tickle suppression and tickle anticipation. We recorded somatosensory cortex activity while tickling and touching rats and while rats touched themselves. Allo-touch and tickling evoked somatotopic cortical excitation and vocalizations. Self-touch induced wide-ranging inhibition and vocalization suppression. Self-touch also suppressed vocalizations and cortical responses evoked by allo-touch or cortical microstimulation. We suggest a global-inhibition model of self-tickle suppression, which operates without the classically assumed self versus other distinction. Consistent with this inhibition hypothesis, blocking cortical inhibition with gabazine abolished self-tickle suppression. We studied anticipation in a nose-poke-for-tickling paradigm. Although rats nose poked for tickling, they also showed escaping, freezing, and alarm calls. Such ambivalence (“Nervenkitzel”) resembles tickle behaviors in children. We conclude that self-touch-induced GABAergic cortical inhibition prevents self-tickle, whereas anticipatory layer 5 activity drives anticipatory laughter.
Those who are off Facebook for one week reduce news consumption, are less likely to recognize politically-skewed news stories, report being less depressed and engage in healthier activities; these results are strongest for men
The economic effects of Facebook. Roberto Mosquera et al. Experimental Economics, September 26 2019. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10683-019-09625-y
Abstract: Social media permeates many aspects of our lives, including how we connect with others, where we get our news and how we spend our time. Yet, we know little about the economic effects for users. In 2017, we ran a large field experiment with over 1765 individuals to document the value of Facebook to users and its causal effect on news, well-being and daily activities. Participants reveal how much they value one week of Facebook usage and are then randomly assigned to a validated Facebook restriction or normal use. One week of Facebook is worth $67. Those who are off Facebook for one week reduce news consumption, are less likely to recognize politically-skewed news stories, report being less depressed and engage in healthier activities. These results are strongest for men. Our results further suggest that, after the restriction, Facebook’s value increases, consistent with information loss or that using Facebook may be addictive.
Abstract: Social media permeates many aspects of our lives, including how we connect with others, where we get our news and how we spend our time. Yet, we know little about the economic effects for users. In 2017, we ran a large field experiment with over 1765 individuals to document the value of Facebook to users and its causal effect on news, well-being and daily activities. Participants reveal how much they value one week of Facebook usage and are then randomly assigned to a validated Facebook restriction or normal use. One week of Facebook is worth $67. Those who are off Facebook for one week reduce news consumption, are less likely to recognize politically-skewed news stories, report being less depressed and engage in healthier activities. These results are strongest for men. Our results further suggest that, after the restriction, Facebook’s value increases, consistent with information loss or that using Facebook may be addictive.
Thursday, September 26, 2019
The link between people’s social relationships and their level of self-esteem is truly reciprocal in all developmental stages across the life span, reflecting a positive feedback loop between the constructs
Harris, M. A., & Orth, U. (2019, September 26). The Link Between Self-Esteem and Social Relationships: A Meta-Analysis of Longitudinal Studies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Sep 26 2019. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000265
Theorists have long assumed that people’s self-esteem and social relationships influence each other. However, the empirical evidence has been inconsistent, creating substantial uncertainty about whetherrelationships are in fact an influential factor in self-esteem development and vice versa. This meta-analysis synthesizes the available longitudinal data on the prospective effect of social relationships on self-esteem (48 samples including 46,231 participants) and the prospective effect of self-esteem on social relationships (35 samples including 21,995 participants). All effects controlled for prior levels of the outcomes. Results showed that relationships and self-esteem reciprocally predict each other over time with similar effect sizes (beta=.08 in both directions). Moderator analyses suggested that the effects heldcacross sample characteristics such as mean age, gender, ethnicity, and time lag between assessments, except for the self-esteem effect on relationships, which was moderated by type of relationship partner (stronger for general relationships than for specific partners) and relationship reporter (stronger for self-reported than for informant-reported relationship characteristics). The findings support assumptions of classic and contemporary theories on the influence of social relationships on self-esteem and on the consequences of self-esteem for the relationship domain. In sum, the findings suggest that the link between people’s social relationships and their level of self-esteem is truly reciprocal in all developmental stages across the life span, reflecting a positive feedback loop between the constructs.
Keywords: longitudinal studies, meta-analysis, prospective effects, self-esteem, social relationships
Theorists have long assumed that people’s self-esteem and social relationships influence each other. However, the empirical evidence has been inconsistent, creating substantial uncertainty about whetherrelationships are in fact an influential factor in self-esteem development and vice versa. This meta-analysis synthesizes the available longitudinal data on the prospective effect of social relationships on self-esteem (48 samples including 46,231 participants) and the prospective effect of self-esteem on social relationships (35 samples including 21,995 participants). All effects controlled for prior levels of the outcomes. Results showed that relationships and self-esteem reciprocally predict each other over time with similar effect sizes (beta=.08 in both directions). Moderator analyses suggested that the effects heldcacross sample characteristics such as mean age, gender, ethnicity, and time lag between assessments, except for the self-esteem effect on relationships, which was moderated by type of relationship partner (stronger for general relationships than for specific partners) and relationship reporter (stronger for self-reported than for informant-reported relationship characteristics). The findings support assumptions of classic and contemporary theories on the influence of social relationships on self-esteem and on the consequences of self-esteem for the relationship domain. In sum, the findings suggest that the link between people’s social relationships and their level of self-esteem is truly reciprocal in all developmental stages across the life span, reflecting a positive feedback loop between the constructs.
Keywords: longitudinal studies, meta-analysis, prospective effects, self-esteem, social relationships
Non-Religious Identities and Life Satisfaction: Questioning the Universality of a Linear Link between Religiosity and Well-Being
Non-Religious Identities and Life Satisfaction: Questioning the Universality of a Linear Link between Religiosity and Well-Being. Katharina Pöhls et al. Journal of Happiness Studies, September 26 2019. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10902-019-00175-x
Abstract: Previous research has frequently found a positive relation between religiosity compared to non-religiosity and psychological well-being. Recent studies have demonstrated differences between types of non-religious individuals and the relevance of a fit between individual (non-)religiosity and characteristics of the country a person is living in. This study combined the previous (partially) competing lines of research for the first time and examined the connection between self-identifying as specifically atheist, non-religious without further distinction, weakly religious, or highly religious and life satisfaction. World Values Survey data of 24 countries worldwide that vary in their social norms of religiosity and societal levels of development were used for a quantitative intercultural comparison (N = 33,879). In contrast to most previous research, a multilevel regression analysis showed no differences between highly religious, indistinct non-religious, and atheist individuals’ level of life satisfaction when the fit between individual (non-)religiosity and country characteristics was included. Weakly religious individuals though were significantly less satisfied with life than highly religious individuals. Thus, our results indicate that only in religious societies, identifying as non-religious/atheist is related to lower life satisfaction. When controlling for the context, a curvilinear relation between (non-)religiosity and life satisfaction emerged. Additionally, atheists differed in their sensitivity towards the social norm of religiosity from indistinct non-religious individuals—their well-being varied dependent on living in a country with many other secular individuals or not. These results demonstrate differences between subgroups of (non-)religious individuals and they call into question a general benefit of religiosity for subjective well-being independent of societal context.
Keywords: Non-religiosity Atheism Religiosity Belief certainty Person-culture fit Life satisfaction
Abstract: Previous research has frequently found a positive relation between religiosity compared to non-religiosity and psychological well-being. Recent studies have demonstrated differences between types of non-religious individuals and the relevance of a fit between individual (non-)religiosity and characteristics of the country a person is living in. This study combined the previous (partially) competing lines of research for the first time and examined the connection between self-identifying as specifically atheist, non-religious without further distinction, weakly religious, or highly religious and life satisfaction. World Values Survey data of 24 countries worldwide that vary in their social norms of religiosity and societal levels of development were used for a quantitative intercultural comparison (N = 33,879). In contrast to most previous research, a multilevel regression analysis showed no differences between highly religious, indistinct non-religious, and atheist individuals’ level of life satisfaction when the fit between individual (non-)religiosity and country characteristics was included. Weakly religious individuals though were significantly less satisfied with life than highly religious individuals. Thus, our results indicate that only in religious societies, identifying as non-religious/atheist is related to lower life satisfaction. When controlling for the context, a curvilinear relation between (non-)religiosity and life satisfaction emerged. Additionally, atheists differed in their sensitivity towards the social norm of religiosity from indistinct non-religious individuals—their well-being varied dependent on living in a country with many other secular individuals or not. These results demonstrate differences between subgroups of (non-)religious individuals and they call into question a general benefit of religiosity for subjective well-being independent of societal context.
Keywords: Non-religiosity Atheism Religiosity Belief certainty Person-culture fit Life satisfaction
Canada: Similar to the findings in the alcohol literature, the upper 10% of cannabis users accounted for approximately two-thirds of all cannabis consumed in the country
Who consumes most of the cannabis in Canada? Profiles of cannabis consumption by quantity. Russell C. Callaghan et al. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, September 25 2019, 107587. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2019.107587
Highlights
• Study pooled Waves 1-3 of the 2018 Canadian National Cannabis Survey (n = 18,900).
• Surveys assessed cannabis use by quantity across seven major cannabis-product types.
• A standard joint measure was created, based on physical production equivalencies.
• The upper 10% of Canadian cannabis users accounted for 66% of all cannabis consumed.
Abstract
Aim: To establish whether the population-level pattern of cannabis use by quantity is similar to the distributions previously reported for alcohol, in which a small subset of drinkers accounts for a majority of total population alcohol consumption.
Method: The current study pooled Waves 1-3 of the 2018 National Cannabis Survey (n = 18,900; 2584 past-three-month cannabis users), a set of stratified, population-based surveys designed to assess cannabis consumption and related behaviors in Canada. Each survey systematically measured self-reported cannabis consumption by quantity across seven of the major cannabis-product types. In order to enable the conversion of self-reported consumption of non-flower cannabis products into a standard joint equivalent (SJE: equal to 0.5 g of dried cannabis), we created conversion metrics for physical production equivalencies across cannabis products.
Results: Similar to the findings in the alcohol literature, study results show that cannabis consumption is highly concentrated in a small subset of users: the upper 10% of cannabis users accounted for approximately two-thirds of all cannabis consumed in the country. Males reported consuming more cannabis by volume than females (approximately 60% versus 40%), with young males (15-34 years old) being disproportionately represented in the heaviest-using subgroups.
Conclusions: Most of the cannabis used in Canada is consumed by a relatively small population of very heavy cannabis users. Future research should attempt to identify the characteristics of the heaviest-using groups, as well as how population-level cannabis consumption patterns relate to the calculus of cannabis-related harms in society.
Keywords: CannabisMarijuanaSurveyQuantityStandard Joint
Highlights
• Study pooled Waves 1-3 of the 2018 Canadian National Cannabis Survey (n = 18,900).
• Surveys assessed cannabis use by quantity across seven major cannabis-product types.
• A standard joint measure was created, based on physical production equivalencies.
• The upper 10% of Canadian cannabis users accounted for 66% of all cannabis consumed.
Abstract
Aim: To establish whether the population-level pattern of cannabis use by quantity is similar to the distributions previously reported for alcohol, in which a small subset of drinkers accounts for a majority of total population alcohol consumption.
Method: The current study pooled Waves 1-3 of the 2018 National Cannabis Survey (n = 18,900; 2584 past-three-month cannabis users), a set of stratified, population-based surveys designed to assess cannabis consumption and related behaviors in Canada. Each survey systematically measured self-reported cannabis consumption by quantity across seven of the major cannabis-product types. In order to enable the conversion of self-reported consumption of non-flower cannabis products into a standard joint equivalent (SJE: equal to 0.5 g of dried cannabis), we created conversion metrics for physical production equivalencies across cannabis products.
Results: Similar to the findings in the alcohol literature, study results show that cannabis consumption is highly concentrated in a small subset of users: the upper 10% of cannabis users accounted for approximately two-thirds of all cannabis consumed in the country. Males reported consuming more cannabis by volume than females (approximately 60% versus 40%), with young males (15-34 years old) being disproportionately represented in the heaviest-using subgroups.
Conclusions: Most of the cannabis used in Canada is consumed by a relatively small population of very heavy cannabis users. Future research should attempt to identify the characteristics of the heaviest-using groups, as well as how population-level cannabis consumption patterns relate to the calculus of cannabis-related harms in society.
Keywords: CannabisMarijuanaSurveyQuantityStandard Joint
Positive associations among curiosity lability & depression, & negative ones among curiosity lability & life satisfaction and flourishing; curiosity is higher on days of greater happiness & physical activity
Within‐person variability in curiosity during daily life and associations with well‐being. David M. Lydon‐Staley, Perry Zurn, Danielle S. Bassett. The Journal of Personality, September 13 2019. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12515
Abstract
Objective: Curiosity promotes engagement in novel situations and the accruement of resources that promote well‐being. An open question is the extent to which curiosity lability, the degree to which curiosity fluctuates over short timescales, impacts well‐being.
Method: We use data from a 21‐day daily diary as well as trait measures in 167 participants (mean age = 25.37 years, SD = 7.34) to test (a) the importance of curiosity lability for depression, flourishing, and life satisfaction, (b) day‐to‐day associations among curiosity and happiness, depressed mood, anxiety, and physical activity, and (c) the role of day's mood as a mediator between physical activity and curiosity.
Results: We observe positive associations among curiosity lability and depression, as well as negative associations among curiosity lability and both life satisfaction and flourishing. Curiosity is higher on days of greater happiness and physical activity, and lower on days of greater depressed mood. We find evidence consistent with day's depressed mood and happiness being mediators between physical activity and curiosity.
Conclusions: Greater consistency in curiosity is associated with well‐being. We identify several potential sources of augmentation and blunting of curiosity in daily life and provide support for purported mechanisms linking physical activity to curiosity via mood.
4 DISCUSSION
Curiosity promotes engagement with novel and challenging stimuli and situations, leading to the accruement of resources, and promoting well‐being (Fredrickson & Cohn, 2008). It is through consistently acting on one's curiosity that high trait curiosity is thought to promote well‐being (Kashdan et al., 2018), necessitating a consideration of the extent to which curiosity lability, fluctuations in curiosity over the time scale of days, and a measure of inconsistency in one's curiosity, may undermine well‐being. We quantified between‐person differences in curiosity lability over the course of 21 days and tested the associations between curiosity lability and depression, life satisfaction, and flourishing. Consistent with the hypothesized importance of consistent curiosity in promoting well‐being, individuals with relatively greater fluctuations in curiosity around their average level of curiosity during the daily diary protocol had decreased life satisfaction and increased depression. Notably, the association between curiosity lability and both life satisfaction and depression was significant above and beyond a trait measure of curiosity, indicating the added value of considering dynamics in curiosity for understanding well‐being. A main effect of curiosity lability on flourishing was not observed. Instead, inconsistency in curiosity was associated with lower flourishing only for participants with below average levels of trait curiosity.
After revealing the importance of within‐person fluctuations in curiosity for well‐being, we examined the extent to which happiness, depressed mood, anxiety, and physical activity acted as potential sources of augmentation and blunting of curiosity in daily life. In line with previous laboratory findings (Rodrigue et al., 1987) and perspectives that positive emotions motivate exploration (Diener & Diener, 1996) while negative emotions restrict exploration (Fredrickson, 2004), we observed that days of higher than usual depressed mood were associated with lower than usual curiosity, and that days of higher than usual happiness were associated with higher than usual curiosity. These results suggest that negative associations among depressed mood and curiosity generalize to ecologically valid, naturalistic fluctuations in mood and curiosity occurring during the course of daily life.
Within‐person variability in anxiety was not associated with changes in curiosity. Due in great part to the Latin sense of cura as meticulous, painstaking, even obsessive care (Leigh, 2013), curiosity and anxiety have been densely intertwined historically, promulgating the notion that curiosity “has always an appearance of giddiness, restlessness, and anxiety” (Burke, 1958, p. 31). Early psychological theories proposed that curiosity may result from the identification of contradictions and ambiguities that leads to an unpleasant feeling some have interpreted as anxiety (Berlyne, 1960; Dollard & Miller, 1950; Spielberger & Starr, 1994). Other perspectives view anxiety as a state that interferes with the exploratory behavior characteristic of curiosity (Kashdan et al., 2004). The contrasting associations among anxiety and curiosity may be differentially present prior to curiosity‐driven exploration and during the process of curiosity‐driven engagement with novel stimuli and situations. Testing these distinct pathways will require repeated measures at more fine‐grained timescales than were available in the daily diary reports in the present study.
We replicate previously observed between‐person associations among curiosity and physical activity (Brand et al., 2010), with higher levels of average physical activity across the 21‐day daily diary protocol associated with higher levels of average curiosity. In addition to replicating this between‐person finding, our collection of intensive repeated measures allowed us to disentangle within‐person and between‐person associations among physical activity and curiosity, and to demonstrate that the association among physical activity and curiosity was also evident at the within‐person level, with days of greater than usual physical activity being associated with greater than usual curiosity. Results of the within‐person mediation analyses are consistent with frameworks suggesting that physical activity's association with curiosity is partially mediated via physical activity's effects on positive and depressed mood (Berger & Owen, 1992; Penedo & Dahn, 2005; Rehor et al., 2001). Further study of physical activity using modes, scales, and intensities titrated to disabled bodies, moreover, could deepen and extend the present study to account for a population significantly understudied in the literature on curiosity.
6 CONCLUSIONS
In summary, the present study extends previous examinations of the association among curiosity and well‐being by demonstrating that the extent to which one consistently reports feeling curious during the course of daily life is associated with well‐being. The findings emphasize the importance of considering dynamics in curiosity and, by observing within‐person associations among curiosity, depressed mood, happiness, and physical activity, begin the task of identifying potential sources of augmentation and blunting of curiosity in daily life that may be targeted to realize consistent curiosity.
Abstract
Objective: Curiosity promotes engagement in novel situations and the accruement of resources that promote well‐being. An open question is the extent to which curiosity lability, the degree to which curiosity fluctuates over short timescales, impacts well‐being.
Method: We use data from a 21‐day daily diary as well as trait measures in 167 participants (mean age = 25.37 years, SD = 7.34) to test (a) the importance of curiosity lability for depression, flourishing, and life satisfaction, (b) day‐to‐day associations among curiosity and happiness, depressed mood, anxiety, and physical activity, and (c) the role of day's mood as a mediator between physical activity and curiosity.
Results: We observe positive associations among curiosity lability and depression, as well as negative associations among curiosity lability and both life satisfaction and flourishing. Curiosity is higher on days of greater happiness and physical activity, and lower on days of greater depressed mood. We find evidence consistent with day's depressed mood and happiness being mediators between physical activity and curiosity.
Conclusions: Greater consistency in curiosity is associated with well‐being. We identify several potential sources of augmentation and blunting of curiosity in daily life and provide support for purported mechanisms linking physical activity to curiosity via mood.
4 DISCUSSION
Curiosity promotes engagement with novel and challenging stimuli and situations, leading to the accruement of resources, and promoting well‐being (Fredrickson & Cohn, 2008). It is through consistently acting on one's curiosity that high trait curiosity is thought to promote well‐being (Kashdan et al., 2018), necessitating a consideration of the extent to which curiosity lability, fluctuations in curiosity over the time scale of days, and a measure of inconsistency in one's curiosity, may undermine well‐being. We quantified between‐person differences in curiosity lability over the course of 21 days and tested the associations between curiosity lability and depression, life satisfaction, and flourishing. Consistent with the hypothesized importance of consistent curiosity in promoting well‐being, individuals with relatively greater fluctuations in curiosity around their average level of curiosity during the daily diary protocol had decreased life satisfaction and increased depression. Notably, the association between curiosity lability and both life satisfaction and depression was significant above and beyond a trait measure of curiosity, indicating the added value of considering dynamics in curiosity for understanding well‐being. A main effect of curiosity lability on flourishing was not observed. Instead, inconsistency in curiosity was associated with lower flourishing only for participants with below average levels of trait curiosity.
After revealing the importance of within‐person fluctuations in curiosity for well‐being, we examined the extent to which happiness, depressed mood, anxiety, and physical activity acted as potential sources of augmentation and blunting of curiosity in daily life. In line with previous laboratory findings (Rodrigue et al., 1987) and perspectives that positive emotions motivate exploration (Diener & Diener, 1996) while negative emotions restrict exploration (Fredrickson, 2004), we observed that days of higher than usual depressed mood were associated with lower than usual curiosity, and that days of higher than usual happiness were associated with higher than usual curiosity. These results suggest that negative associations among depressed mood and curiosity generalize to ecologically valid, naturalistic fluctuations in mood and curiosity occurring during the course of daily life.
Within‐person variability in anxiety was not associated with changes in curiosity. Due in great part to the Latin sense of cura as meticulous, painstaking, even obsessive care (Leigh, 2013), curiosity and anxiety have been densely intertwined historically, promulgating the notion that curiosity “has always an appearance of giddiness, restlessness, and anxiety” (Burke, 1958, p. 31). Early psychological theories proposed that curiosity may result from the identification of contradictions and ambiguities that leads to an unpleasant feeling some have interpreted as anxiety (Berlyne, 1960; Dollard & Miller, 1950; Spielberger & Starr, 1994). Other perspectives view anxiety as a state that interferes with the exploratory behavior characteristic of curiosity (Kashdan et al., 2004). The contrasting associations among anxiety and curiosity may be differentially present prior to curiosity‐driven exploration and during the process of curiosity‐driven engagement with novel stimuli and situations. Testing these distinct pathways will require repeated measures at more fine‐grained timescales than were available in the daily diary reports in the present study.
We replicate previously observed between‐person associations among curiosity and physical activity (Brand et al., 2010), with higher levels of average physical activity across the 21‐day daily diary protocol associated with higher levels of average curiosity. In addition to replicating this between‐person finding, our collection of intensive repeated measures allowed us to disentangle within‐person and between‐person associations among physical activity and curiosity, and to demonstrate that the association among physical activity and curiosity was also evident at the within‐person level, with days of greater than usual physical activity being associated with greater than usual curiosity. Results of the within‐person mediation analyses are consistent with frameworks suggesting that physical activity's association with curiosity is partially mediated via physical activity's effects on positive and depressed mood (Berger & Owen, 1992; Penedo & Dahn, 2005; Rehor et al., 2001). Further study of physical activity using modes, scales, and intensities titrated to disabled bodies, moreover, could deepen and extend the present study to account for a population significantly understudied in the literature on curiosity.
6 CONCLUSIONS
In summary, the present study extends previous examinations of the association among curiosity and well‐being by demonstrating that the extent to which one consistently reports feeling curious during the course of daily life is associated with well‐being. The findings emphasize the importance of considering dynamics in curiosity and, by observing within‐person associations among curiosity, depressed mood, happiness, and physical activity, begin the task of identifying potential sources of augmentation and blunting of curiosity in daily life that may be targeted to realize consistent curiosity.
Childhood experience of parents’ lying is related to lying to parents in adulthood, and to adulthood maladjustments; parenting by lying may negatively impact children’s later psychosocial functioning
Parenting by lying in childhood is associated with negative developmental outcomes in adulthood
Author links open overlay panel Peipei Setoh et al. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, September 26 2019, 104680. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2019.104680
Highlights
• Childhood experience of parents’ lying is related to lying to parents in adulthood.
• Childhood experience of parents’ lying is related to adulthood maladjustments.
• Parenting by lying may negatively impact children’s later psychosocial functioning.
Abstract: Parenting by lying refers to the parenting practice of deception to try to control children’s behavioral and affective states. Although the practice is widely observed across cultures, few studies have examined its associations with psychological outcomes in adulthood. The current research fills this gap by sampling 379 young Singaporean adults who reported on their childhood exposure to parenting by lying, their current deceptive behaviors toward parents, and their psychosocial adjustment. Results revealed that the adults who remembered being exposed to higher levels of parenting by lying in childhood showed higher levels of deception toward their parents and higher levels of psychosocial maladjustment. Our findings suggest that parenting by lying may have negative implications for children’s psychosocial functioning later in life.
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Rolf Degen summary:
Author links open overlay panel Peipei Setoh et al. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, September 26 2019, 104680. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2019.104680
Highlights
• Childhood experience of parents’ lying is related to lying to parents in adulthood.
• Childhood experience of parents’ lying is related to adulthood maladjustments.
• Parenting by lying may negatively impact children’s later psychosocial functioning.
Abstract: Parenting by lying refers to the parenting practice of deception to try to control children’s behavioral and affective states. Although the practice is widely observed across cultures, few studies have examined its associations with psychological outcomes in adulthood. The current research fills this gap by sampling 379 young Singaporean adults who reported on their childhood exposure to parenting by lying, their current deceptive behaviors toward parents, and their psychosocial adjustment. Results revealed that the adults who remembered being exposed to higher levels of parenting by lying in childhood showed higher levels of deception toward their parents and higher levels of psychosocial maladjustment. Our findings suggest that parenting by lying may have negative implications for children’s psychosocial functioning later in life.
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Rolf Degen summary:
"Childhood experience of parents’ lying is related to lying to parents in adulthood." The paper doesn't even consider the possibility that this could be linked to a common genetic disposition.
192 Countries, 2001-2018: The strongest predictors of variation in entrepreneurial activity were normative, with social norms being the most strongly associated with entrepreneurialism & rates of organizational founding
Assenova, Valentina, Why Are Some Societies More Entrepreneurial than Others? Evidence from 192 Countries over 2001-2018 (January 25, 2019). SSRN: http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3449762
Abstract: Why do societies vary in their rates of entrepreneurship and organizational founding? Drawing on the largest available longitudinal sample comprising 192 countries over 2001-2018, I examine the evidence in relation to several explanations, including variation in the density of established organizations, national investment in research and development (R&D), technology transfer to new companies, the quality of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education, venture capital (VC) availability, and governmental support and policies for entrepreneurship. Contrary to prevailing theories, there is limited empirical support for these explanations. Rather, the evidence shows that the strongest predictors of cross-national variation in entrepreneurial activity were normative, with social norms being the most strongly associated with entrepreneurialism and rates of organizational founding. This study further examines the relationship between norms and societal culture and finds that more gender-egalitarian societies and societies that value and reward performance and endorse status privileges had on average higher rates of organizational founding, net of differences in national income and economic growth. The paper discusses the implications of these findings in relation to research on the social determinants of entrepreneurship and organizational founding.
Keywords: entrepreneurship; organization theory; cross-national differences
JEL Classification: M13, L26, L53
Abstract: Why do societies vary in their rates of entrepreneurship and organizational founding? Drawing on the largest available longitudinal sample comprising 192 countries over 2001-2018, I examine the evidence in relation to several explanations, including variation in the density of established organizations, national investment in research and development (R&D), technology transfer to new companies, the quality of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education, venture capital (VC) availability, and governmental support and policies for entrepreneurship. Contrary to prevailing theories, there is limited empirical support for these explanations. Rather, the evidence shows that the strongest predictors of cross-national variation in entrepreneurial activity were normative, with social norms being the most strongly associated with entrepreneurialism and rates of organizational founding. This study further examines the relationship between norms and societal culture and finds that more gender-egalitarian societies and societies that value and reward performance and endorse status privileges had on average higher rates of organizational founding, net of differences in national income and economic growth. The paper discusses the implications of these findings in relation to research on the social determinants of entrepreneurship and organizational founding.
Keywords: entrepreneurship; organization theory; cross-national differences
JEL Classification: M13, L26, L53
Women and men differ in the perception of their technological capabilities, with women having a worse perception of their own skills, although they do not differ in goal achievement
Similarities and Differences between Genders in the Usage of Computer with Different Levels of Technological Complexity. Sabrina Sobieraj, Nicole C. Krämer. Computers in Human Behavior, September 25 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2019.09.021
Highlights
• Women and men differ in the perception of their technological capabilities
• Women and men do not differ in goal achievement
• Women and men slightly differ in their affect depending on technologies’ complexity
Abstract: Research on technology usage and acceptance has demonstrated that women and men use technology differently, and also differ in their self-perception regarding technology (e.g., women see themselves as less capable). Gender role beliefs, according to which women are expected to be less interested in and less capable of using technologies than men, have been discussed as one major reason for these differences. Such differing attributions of women and men can induce negative experiences in terms of negative feelings and can reinforce the feelings of uncertainty experienced by women. We therefore assume that the usage of technology, especially with increasing complexity, may induce more negative experiences in women than in men. We conducted a 2 (male, female) x 3 (technological complexity) between-subjects lab experiment (N = 148) to examine the interaction between technological complexity and users’ gender. The analyses revealed that women and men differ in the perception of their technological capabilities, but not in goal achievement. Additionally, we found slight gender differences concerning positive affect, but not concerning negative affect, depending on technologies’ complexity.
Highlights
• Women and men differ in the perception of their technological capabilities
• Women and men do not differ in goal achievement
• Women and men slightly differ in their affect depending on technologies’ complexity
Abstract: Research on technology usage and acceptance has demonstrated that women and men use technology differently, and also differ in their self-perception regarding technology (e.g., women see themselves as less capable). Gender role beliefs, according to which women are expected to be less interested in and less capable of using technologies than men, have been discussed as one major reason for these differences. Such differing attributions of women and men can induce negative experiences in terms of negative feelings and can reinforce the feelings of uncertainty experienced by women. We therefore assume that the usage of technology, especially with increasing complexity, may induce more negative experiences in women than in men. We conducted a 2 (male, female) x 3 (technological complexity) between-subjects lab experiment (N = 148) to examine the interaction between technological complexity and users’ gender. The analyses revealed that women and men differ in the perception of their technological capabilities, but not in goal achievement. Additionally, we found slight gender differences concerning positive affect, but not concerning negative affect, depending on technologies’ complexity.
Piloerection (goosebumps) Is Not a Reliable Physiological Correlate of Awe
McPhetres, Jonathon, and Andrew Shtulman. 2019.
“Piloerection (goosebumps) Is Not a Reliable Physiological Correlate of Awe.” OSF
Preprints. September 25. doi:10.31219/osf.io/72j4w
Abstract: In scientific and popular literature, piloerection (e.g. goosebumps) is often described as being related to the experience of awe, though this correlation has not been tested empirically. Using two pre-registered and independently collected samples (N = 233), we examined the objective physiological occurrence of piloerection in response to awe-inducing stimuli. Stimuli were selected to satisfy three descriptors of awe, including perceptual vastness, virtual reality, and expectancy-violating events. The stimuli reliably elicited self-reported awe to a great extent, in line with hypotheses. However, awe-inducing stimuli were not associated with the objective occurrence of piloerection. While participants self-reported high levels of goosebumps and “the chills,” there was no physical evidence of this. These results suggest that piloerection is not reliably connected to the experience of awe—at least using stimuli known to elicit awe in an experimental setting.
Abstract: In scientific and popular literature, piloerection (e.g. goosebumps) is often described as being related to the experience of awe, though this correlation has not been tested empirically. Using two pre-registered and independently collected samples (N = 233), we examined the objective physiological occurrence of piloerection in response to awe-inducing stimuli. Stimuli were selected to satisfy three descriptors of awe, including perceptual vastness, virtual reality, and expectancy-violating events. The stimuli reliably elicited self-reported awe to a great extent, in line with hypotheses. However, awe-inducing stimuli were not associated with the objective occurrence of piloerection. While participants self-reported high levels of goosebumps and “the chills,” there was no physical evidence of this. These results suggest that piloerection is not reliably connected to the experience of awe—at least using stimuli known to elicit awe in an experimental setting.
A large number of Americans believe their physical health has been harmed by their exposure to politics & even more report that politics has resulted in emotional costs and lost friendships
Friends, relatives, sanity, and health: The costs of politics. Kevin B. Smith, Matthew V. Hibbing, John R. Hibbing. PLoS ONE 14(9), e0221870, September 25, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0221870
Abstract: Political scientists have long known that political involvement exacts costs but they have typically defined these costs in relatively narrow, largely economic terms. Though anecdotal evidence suggests that the costs of politics may in fact extend beyond economics to frayed personal relationships, compromised emotional stability, and even physical problems, no systematic evidence on these broader costs exists. We construct and validate batteries of survey items that delineate the physical, social, and emotional costs of political engagement and administer these items to a demographically representative sample of U.S. adults. The results suggest that a large number of Americans believe their physical health has been harmed by their exposure to politics and even more report that politics has resulted in emotional costs and lost friendships.
Abstract: Political scientists have long known that political involvement exacts costs but they have typically defined these costs in relatively narrow, largely economic terms. Though anecdotal evidence suggests that the costs of politics may in fact extend beyond economics to frayed personal relationships, compromised emotional stability, and even physical problems, no systematic evidence on these broader costs exists. We construct and validate batteries of survey items that delineate the physical, social, and emotional costs of political engagement and administer these items to a demographically representative sample of U.S. adults. The results suggest that a large number of Americans believe their physical health has been harmed by their exposure to politics and even more report that politics has resulted in emotional costs and lost friendships.
Deception Detection: Emotion recognition training was not found to impact on accuracy
Zloteanu, Mircea. 2019. “Emotion Recognition and Deception Detection.” PsyArXiv. September 25. doi:10.31234/osf.io/crzne
Abstract: People hold strong beliefs regarding the role of emotional cues in detecting deception. While research on the diagnostic value of such cues has been mixed, their influence on human veracity judgments should not be ignored. Here, we address the relationship between emotional information and veracity judgments. In Study 1, the role of emotion recognition in the process of detecting naturalistic lies was investigated. Decoders’ accuracy was compared based on differences in trait empathy and their ability to recognize microexpressions and subtle expressions. Accuracy was found to be unrelated to facial cue recognition but negatively related to empathy. In Study 2, we manipulated decoders’ emotion recognition ability and the type of lies they saw: experiential or affective. Decoders either received emotion recognition training, bogus training, or no training. In all scenarios, training was not found to impact on accuracy. Experiential lies were easier to detect than affective lies, but, affective emotional lies were easier to detect than affective unemotional lies. The findings suggest that emotion recognition has a complex relationship with veracity judgments.
Abstract: People hold strong beliefs regarding the role of emotional cues in detecting deception. While research on the diagnostic value of such cues has been mixed, their influence on human veracity judgments should not be ignored. Here, we address the relationship between emotional information and veracity judgments. In Study 1, the role of emotion recognition in the process of detecting naturalistic lies was investigated. Decoders’ accuracy was compared based on differences in trait empathy and their ability to recognize microexpressions and subtle expressions. Accuracy was found to be unrelated to facial cue recognition but negatively related to empathy. In Study 2, we manipulated decoders’ emotion recognition ability and the type of lies they saw: experiential or affective. Decoders either received emotion recognition training, bogus training, or no training. In all scenarios, training was not found to impact on accuracy. Experiential lies were easier to detect than affective lies, but, affective emotional lies were easier to detect than affective unemotional lies. The findings suggest that emotion recognition has a complex relationship with veracity judgments.
Male juvenile rats and laughter: There was evidence that tickling showed rebound and emotional contagion effects
Relationships between play and responses to tickling in male juvenile rats. Tayla Hammond et al. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, September 25 2019, 104879. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2019.104879
Highlights
• Solitary but not social play increased prior to and potentially in anticipation of tickling sessions
• There were substantial differences between cohorts in their tickling responses and play behaviour.
• Taking account of cohort there was evidence that tickling showed rebound and emotional contagion effects
• Cohort effects may be explained by differences in physical condition prior to tickling.
Abstract: Play is a putatively positive experience and of key interest to the study of affective state in animals. Rats produce 50 kHz ultrasonic vocalisation (USVs) during positive experiences, including social play and tickling. The tickling paradigm is intended to mimic social play resulting in positively valanced ultrasonic vocalisation (USV) production. We tested two hypotheses on the relationship between tickling and play: that tickling would increase play behaviour or that play behaviour would increase in anticipation of tickling, and that tickling would share some specific properties of play (rebound and emotional contagion of unexposed cage mates). Male Wistar rats (N = 64, with 32 rats/cohort) of 28 days of age were housed in pairs with one rat assigned to be tickled and one as the non-tickled control. Production of 50 kHz USVs and hand-following behaviour was measured. Prior to handling, solitary and social play was recorded for 5 minutes in the home cage. A two-day break in tickling was used to assess a potential rebound increase in responses to tickling. Only one rat within each cage was handled to assess emotional contagion through changes in the behaviour of the cage-mate. Solitary but not social play increased prior to tickling relative to controls (p = 0.01). There were marked differences between cohorts; tickled rats in C2 produced less 50 kHz USVs than those in C1 (p = 0.04) and overall, C2 rats played less than rats in C1 (social p = 0.04 and solitary p < 0.001) and had a lighter start weight on arrival (p = 0.009) compared with cohort 1 (C1). In C1, there was evidence of rebound in USV production (p < 0.001) and a contagious effect of tickling reflected by increased hand-following in cage mates (p = 0.02). We found a positive relationship between start weight and USV responses to tickling (Rs = 0.43, p < 0.001), suggesting that the divergence in USV production may be due to developmental differences between cohorts. The results suggest that the relationship between tickling and play is complex in that tickling only affected solitary and not social play, and that tickling responses showed rebound and contagion effects on cage-mates which were specific to cohort responses to tickling.
Highlights
• Solitary but not social play increased prior to and potentially in anticipation of tickling sessions
• There were substantial differences between cohorts in their tickling responses and play behaviour.
• Taking account of cohort there was evidence that tickling showed rebound and emotional contagion effects
• Cohort effects may be explained by differences in physical condition prior to tickling.
Abstract: Play is a putatively positive experience and of key interest to the study of affective state in animals. Rats produce 50 kHz ultrasonic vocalisation (USVs) during positive experiences, including social play and tickling. The tickling paradigm is intended to mimic social play resulting in positively valanced ultrasonic vocalisation (USV) production. We tested two hypotheses on the relationship between tickling and play: that tickling would increase play behaviour or that play behaviour would increase in anticipation of tickling, and that tickling would share some specific properties of play (rebound and emotional contagion of unexposed cage mates). Male Wistar rats (N = 64, with 32 rats/cohort) of 28 days of age were housed in pairs with one rat assigned to be tickled and one as the non-tickled control. Production of 50 kHz USVs and hand-following behaviour was measured. Prior to handling, solitary and social play was recorded for 5 minutes in the home cage. A two-day break in tickling was used to assess a potential rebound increase in responses to tickling. Only one rat within each cage was handled to assess emotional contagion through changes in the behaviour of the cage-mate. Solitary but not social play increased prior to tickling relative to controls (p = 0.01). There were marked differences between cohorts; tickled rats in C2 produced less 50 kHz USVs than those in C1 (p = 0.04) and overall, C2 rats played less than rats in C1 (social p = 0.04 and solitary p < 0.001) and had a lighter start weight on arrival (p = 0.009) compared with cohort 1 (C1). In C1, there was evidence of rebound in USV production (p < 0.001) and a contagious effect of tickling reflected by increased hand-following in cage mates (p = 0.02). We found a positive relationship between start weight and USV responses to tickling (Rs = 0.43, p < 0.001), suggesting that the divergence in USV production may be due to developmental differences between cohorts. The results suggest that the relationship between tickling and play is complex in that tickling only affected solitary and not social play, and that tickling responses showed rebound and contagion effects on cage-mates which were specific to cohort responses to tickling.
People in creative occupations and the entertainment industry – artists (both genders), musicians (males) and actors (males) – were at increased risk of suicide
Occupation-specific suicide risk in England: 2011–2015. Ben Windsor-Shellard and David Gunnell. The British Journal of Psychiatry, Volume 215, Issue 4, October 2019 , pp. 594-599. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.2019.69
Abstract
Background: Previous research has documented marked occupational differences in suicide risk, but these estimates are 10 years old and based on potentially biased risk assessments.
Aims: To investigate occupation-specific suicide mortality in England, 2011–2015.
Method: Estimation of indirectly standardised mortality rates for occupations/occupational groups based on national data.
Results: Among males the highest risks were seen in low-skilled occupations, particularly construction workers (standardised mortality ratio [SMR] 369, 95% CI 333–409); low-skilled workers comprised 17% (1784/10 688) of all male suicides (SMR 144, 95% CI 137–151). High risks were also seen among skilled trade occupations (SMR 135 95% CI 130–139; 29% of male suicides). There was no evidence of increased risk among some occupations previously causing concern: male healthcare professionals and farmers. Among females the highest risks were seen in artists (SMR 399, 95% CI 244–616) and bar staff (SMR 182, 95% CI 123–260); nurses also had an increased risk (SMR 123, 95% CI 104–145). People in creative occupations and the entertainment industry – artists (both genders), musicians (males) and actors (males) – were at increased risk, although the absolute numbers of deaths in these occupations were low. In males (SMR 192, 95% CI 165–221) and females (SMR 170, 95% CI 149–194), care workers were at increased risk and had a considerable number of suicide deaths.
Conclusions: Specific contributors to suicide in high-risk occupations should be identified and measures – such as workplace-based interventions – put in place to mitigate this risk. The construction industry seems to be an important target for preventive interventions.
Abstract
Background: Previous research has documented marked occupational differences in suicide risk, but these estimates are 10 years old and based on potentially biased risk assessments.
Aims: To investigate occupation-specific suicide mortality in England, 2011–2015.
Method: Estimation of indirectly standardised mortality rates for occupations/occupational groups based on national data.
Results: Among males the highest risks were seen in low-skilled occupations, particularly construction workers (standardised mortality ratio [SMR] 369, 95% CI 333–409); low-skilled workers comprised 17% (1784/10 688) of all male suicides (SMR 144, 95% CI 137–151). High risks were also seen among skilled trade occupations (SMR 135 95% CI 130–139; 29% of male suicides). There was no evidence of increased risk among some occupations previously causing concern: male healthcare professionals and farmers. Among females the highest risks were seen in artists (SMR 399, 95% CI 244–616) and bar staff (SMR 182, 95% CI 123–260); nurses also had an increased risk (SMR 123, 95% CI 104–145). People in creative occupations and the entertainment industry – artists (both genders), musicians (males) and actors (males) – were at increased risk, although the absolute numbers of deaths in these occupations were low. In males (SMR 192, 95% CI 165–221) and females (SMR 170, 95% CI 149–194), care workers were at increased risk and had a considerable number of suicide deaths.
Conclusions: Specific contributors to suicide in high-risk occupations should be identified and measures – such as workplace-based interventions – put in place to mitigate this risk. The construction industry seems to be an important target for preventive interventions.
Internet use resulted in better answers, but also in significant and persistent overestimation of information problem-solving ability and performance, even in more accurate postdictive metacognitive judgments
Will using the Internet to answer knowledge questions increase users’ overestimation of their own ability or performance? Stephanie Pieschl. Media Psychology, Sep 24 2019. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2019.1668810
Abstract: Using the Internet is ubiquitous, but not all of the consequences of this habitual technology use are known. Theoretical models and related research suggest that the act of searching for information on the Internet itself may bias users toward overestimating themselves. The current study is the first direct empirical test of this assumption. In a two-by-two design, n = 184 participants were randomly assigned to between-subject Internet or NoInternet conditions in each of two phases: In the Induction Phase 1, participants made predictive metacognitive judgments about their ability to answer a first set of explanatory knowledge questions. In the Target Phase 2, they made predictive and postdictive metacognitive judgments about their ability to answer a second, entirely unrelated set of explanatory knowledge questions and answered two of these questions. Results show that Internet use affected tasks only in the same phase, but not in subsequent unrelated phases. Internet use resulted in better answers, but also in significant and persistent overestimation of information problem-solving ability and performance, even in more accurate postdictive metacognitive judgments. Potential consequences of this side effect of Internet use are discussed such as premature termination of information problem-solving and suboptimal performance.
Check also Illusion of Knowledge through Facebook News? Effects of Snack News in a News Feed on Perceived Knowledge, Attitude Strength, and Willingness for Discussions. Svenja Schäfer. Computers in Human Behavior, September 4 2019. https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2019/09/illusion-of-knowledge-through-facebook.html
Abstract: Using the Internet is ubiquitous, but not all of the consequences of this habitual technology use are known. Theoretical models and related research suggest that the act of searching for information on the Internet itself may bias users toward overestimating themselves. The current study is the first direct empirical test of this assumption. In a two-by-two design, n = 184 participants were randomly assigned to between-subject Internet or NoInternet conditions in each of two phases: In the Induction Phase 1, participants made predictive metacognitive judgments about their ability to answer a first set of explanatory knowledge questions. In the Target Phase 2, they made predictive and postdictive metacognitive judgments about their ability to answer a second, entirely unrelated set of explanatory knowledge questions and answered two of these questions. Results show that Internet use affected tasks only in the same phase, but not in subsequent unrelated phases. Internet use resulted in better answers, but also in significant and persistent overestimation of information problem-solving ability and performance, even in more accurate postdictive metacognitive judgments. Potential consequences of this side effect of Internet use are discussed such as premature termination of information problem-solving and suboptimal performance.
Check also Illusion of Knowledge through Facebook News? Effects of Snack News in a News Feed on Perceived Knowledge, Attitude Strength, and Willingness for Discussions. Svenja Schäfer. Computers in Human Behavior, September 4 2019. https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2019/09/illusion-of-knowledge-through-facebook.html
Laypeople Can Predict Which Social Science Studies Replicate
Hoogeveen, Suzanne, Alexandra Sarafoglou, and Eric-Jan Wagenmakers. 2019. “Laypeople Can Predict Which Social Science Studies Replicate.” PsyArXiv. September 25. doi:10.31234/osf.io/egw9d
Abstract: Large-scale collaborative projects recently demonstrated that several key findings from the social science literature could not be replicated successfully. Here we assess the extent to which a finding’s replication success relates to its intuitive plausibility. Each of 27 high-profile social science findings was evaluated by 233 people without a PhD in psychology. Results showed that these laypeople predicted replication success with above-chance performance (i.e., 58%). In addition, when laypeople were informed about the strength of evidence from the original studies, this boosted their prediction performance to 67%. We discuss the prediction patterns and apply signal detection theory to disentangle detection ability from response bias. Our study suggests that laypeople’s predictions contain useful information for assessing the probability that a given finding will replicate successfully.
Abstract: Large-scale collaborative projects recently demonstrated that several key findings from the social science literature could not be replicated successfully. Here we assess the extent to which a finding’s replication success relates to its intuitive plausibility. Each of 27 high-profile social science findings was evaluated by 233 people without a PhD in psychology. Results showed that these laypeople predicted replication success with above-chance performance (i.e., 58%). In addition, when laypeople were informed about the strength of evidence from the original studies, this boosted their prediction performance to 67%. We discuss the prediction patterns and apply signal detection theory to disentangle detection ability from response bias. Our study suggests that laypeople’s predictions contain useful information for assessing the probability that a given finding will replicate successfully.
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Just 4% of participants appeared to use prior research to make probability estimates—most seemed to focus on the latest study, ignoring/discounting prior ones, even when they had more statistics classes
Is One Study as Good as Three? College Graduates Seem to Think So, Even if They Took Statistics Classes. m W Burt Thompson et al. Psychology Learning & Teaching, September 25, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1177/1475725719877590
Abstract: When people interpret the outcome of a research study, do they consider other relevant information such as prior research? In the current study, 251 college graduates read a single brief fictitious news article. The article summarized the findings of a study that found positive results for a new drug. Three versions of the article varied the amount and type of previous research: (a) two prior studies that found the drug did not work, (b) no prior studies of the drug, or (c) two prior studies that found the drug had a positive effect. After reading the article, participants estimated the probability the drug is effective. Average estimates were similar for the three articles, even for participants who reported more statistics experience. Overall, just 4% of participants appeared to use prior research to make probability estimates—most seemed to focus on the latest study, while ignoring or discounting prior studies. Implications for statistics education and reporting are discussed.
Keywords; Statistics education, statistics misconception, base rate neglect
Check also: Political partisans disagreed about the importance of conditional probabilities; highly numerate partisans were more polarized than less numerate partisans
It depends: Partisan evaluation of conditional probability importance. Leaf Van Boven et al. Cognition, Mar 2 2019, https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2019/03/political-partisans-disagreed-about.html
And: Biased Policy Professionals. Sheheryar Banuri, Stefan Dercon, and Varun Gauri. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 8113. https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/08/biased-policy-professionals-world-bank.html
And: Dispelling the Myth: Training in Education or Neuroscience Decreases but Does Not Eliminate Beliefs in Neuromyths. Kelly Macdonald et al. Frontiers in Psychology, Aug 10 2017. https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/08/training-in-education-or-neuroscience.html
And: Wisdom and how to cultivate it: Review of emerging evidence for a constructivist model of wise thinking. Igor Grossmann. European Psychologist, in press. Pre-print: https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/08/wisdom-and-how-to-cultivate-it-review.html
And: Individuals with greater science literacy and education have more polarized beliefs on controversial science topics. Caitlin Drummond and Baruch Fischhoff. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 114 no. 36, pp 9587–9592, https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/09/individuals-with-greater-science.html
And: Expert ability can actually impair the accuracy of expert perception when judging others' performance: Adaptation and fallibility in experts' judgments of novice performers. By Larson, J. S., & Billeter, D. M. (2017). Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 43(2), 271–288. https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/06/expert-ability-can-actually-impair.html
And: Collective Intelligence for Clinical Diagnosis—Are 2 (or 3) Heads Better Than 1? Stephan D. Fihn. JAMA Network Open. 2019;2(3):e191071, https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2019/03/one-conclusion-that-can-be-drawn-from.html
Quashing the hopes of personalized antidepressants: "Our findings did not provide empirical support for individual differences in response to antidepressants"
Munkholm, Klaus, Stephanie Winkelbeiner, and Philipp Homan. 2019. “Individual Response to Antidepressants for Depression in Adults – a Simulation Study and Meta-analysis.” PsyArXiv. September 25. doi:10.31234/osf.io/m4aqc
Abstract
Background. The observation that some patients appear to respond better to antidepressants for depression than others encourages the assumption that the effect of antidepressants differs between individuals and that treatment can be personalized. To test this assumption, we compared the outcome variance in the group of patients receiving antidepressants with the outcome variance of the group of patients receiving placebo in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of adults with major depressive disorder (MDD). An increased variance in the antidepressant group would indicate individual differences in response to antidepressants. In addition, we illustrate in a simulation study why attempts to personalize antidepressant treatment using RCTs might be misguided.
Methods. We first illustrated the variance components of trials by simulating RCTs and crossover trials of antidepressants versus placebo. Second, we analyzed data of a large meta-analysis of antidepressants for depression, including a total of 222 placebo-controlled studies from the dataset that reported outcomes on the 17 or 21 item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale or the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale. We performed inverse variance, random-effects meta-analyses of the variability ratio (VR) between the antidepressant and placebo groups.
Outcomes. The meta-analyses of the VR comprised 345 comparisons of 19 different antidepressants with placebo in a total of 61144 adults with an MDD diagnosis. Across all comparisons, we found no evidence for a larger variance in the antidepressant group compared with placebo overall (VR = 1.00, 95% CI: 0.98; 1.01, I2 = 0%) or for any individual antidepressant.
Interpretation. Our findings did not provide empirical support for individual differences in response to antidepressants.
Abstract
Background. The observation that some patients appear to respond better to antidepressants for depression than others encourages the assumption that the effect of antidepressants differs between individuals and that treatment can be personalized. To test this assumption, we compared the outcome variance in the group of patients receiving antidepressants with the outcome variance of the group of patients receiving placebo in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of adults with major depressive disorder (MDD). An increased variance in the antidepressant group would indicate individual differences in response to antidepressants. In addition, we illustrate in a simulation study why attempts to personalize antidepressant treatment using RCTs might be misguided.
Methods. We first illustrated the variance components of trials by simulating RCTs and crossover trials of antidepressants versus placebo. Second, we analyzed data of a large meta-analysis of antidepressants for depression, including a total of 222 placebo-controlled studies from the dataset that reported outcomes on the 17 or 21 item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale or the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale. We performed inverse variance, random-effects meta-analyses of the variability ratio (VR) between the antidepressant and placebo groups.
Outcomes. The meta-analyses of the VR comprised 345 comparisons of 19 different antidepressants with placebo in a total of 61144 adults with an MDD diagnosis. Across all comparisons, we found no evidence for a larger variance in the antidepressant group compared with placebo overall (VR = 1.00, 95% CI: 0.98; 1.01, I2 = 0%) or for any individual antidepressant.
Interpretation. Our findings did not provide empirical support for individual differences in response to antidepressants.
Adolescent drinking has declined across many developed countries from the turn of the century; we aim to explore existing evidence examining possible reasons for this decline; the main reason could be shifts in parental practices
Why is adolescent drinking declining? A systematic review and narrative synthesis. Rakhi Vashishtha et al. Addiction Research & Theory, Sep 23 2019. https://doi.org/10.1080/16066359.2019.1663831
Abstract
Background: Adolescent drinking has declined across many developed countries from the turn of the century. The aim of this review is to explore existing evidence examining possible reasons for this decline.
Methods: We conducted systematic searches across five databases: Medline, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Informit Health and Scopus. Studies were included if association between declining alcohol consumption and potential explanatory factors were measured over time. Narrative synthesis was undertaken due to substantial methodological heterogeneity in these studies.
Results: 17 studies met the inclusion criteria. Five studies found moderate evidence for changes in parental practices as a potential cause for the decline. Five studies that examined whether alcohol policy changes influenced the decline found weak evidence of association. Three studies explored whether alcohol use has been substituted by illicit substances but no evidence was found. Two studies examined the effect of a weaker economy; both identified increase in adolescent alcohol use during times of economic crisis. One study indicated that changes in exposure to alcohol advertising were positively associated with the decline and another examined the role of immigration of non-drinking populations but found no evidence of association. One study tested participation in organised sports and party lifestyle as a potential cause but did not use robust analytical methods and therefore did not provide strong evidence of association for the decline.
Conclusions: The most robust and consistent evidence was identified for shifts in parental practices. Further research is required using robust analytical methods such as ARIMA modelling techniques and utilising cross-national data.
Keywords: Drinking, review, decline, downward trend, adolescents
Abstract
Background: Adolescent drinking has declined across many developed countries from the turn of the century. The aim of this review is to explore existing evidence examining possible reasons for this decline.
Methods: We conducted systematic searches across five databases: Medline, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Informit Health and Scopus. Studies were included if association between declining alcohol consumption and potential explanatory factors were measured over time. Narrative synthesis was undertaken due to substantial methodological heterogeneity in these studies.
Results: 17 studies met the inclusion criteria. Five studies found moderate evidence for changes in parental practices as a potential cause for the decline. Five studies that examined whether alcohol policy changes influenced the decline found weak evidence of association. Three studies explored whether alcohol use has been substituted by illicit substances but no evidence was found. Two studies examined the effect of a weaker economy; both identified increase in adolescent alcohol use during times of economic crisis. One study indicated that changes in exposure to alcohol advertising were positively associated with the decline and another examined the role of immigration of non-drinking populations but found no evidence of association. One study tested participation in organised sports and party lifestyle as a potential cause but did not use robust analytical methods and therefore did not provide strong evidence of association for the decline.
Conclusions: The most robust and consistent evidence was identified for shifts in parental practices. Further research is required using robust analytical methods such as ARIMA modelling techniques and utilising cross-national data.
Keywords: Drinking, review, decline, downward trend, adolescents
Hedonic responses to music are the result of connectivity between structures involved in auditory perception as a predictive process, & those involved in the brain's dopaminergic reward system
Musical anhedonia and rewards of music listening: current advances and a proposed model. Amy M. Belfi, Psyche Loui. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, September 23 2019. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.14241
Abstract: Music frequently elicits intense emotional responses, a phenomenon that has been scrutinized from multiple disciplines that span the sciences and arts. While most people enjoy music and find it rewarding, there is substantial individual variability in the experience and degree of music‐induced reward. Here, we review current work on the neural substrates of hedonic responses to music. In particular, we focus the present review on specific musical anhedonia, a selective lack of pleasure from music. Based on evidence from neuroimaging, neuropsychology, and brain stimulation studies, we derive a neuroanatomical model of the experience of pleasure during music listening. Our model posits that hedonic responses to music are the result of connectivity between structures involved in auditory perception as a predictive process, and those involved in the brain's dopaminergic reward system. We conclude with open questions and implications of this model for future research on why humans appreciate music.
Introduction
The capacity to perceive, produce, and appreciate music, together termed musicality,1 has been a growing topic of interest in the past 20 years of cognitive neuroscience. While most cognitive neuroscience studies on musicality focus on music perception and production skills, there has been a recent explosion of interest in the appreciation of music.2, 3 Multiple research programs in the cognitive neuroscience of music have involved comparing participants with different types and levels of musical training.4-7 However, to cognitive neuroscientists who are not particularly concerned with music, these studies may appear to be highly specialized and of limited interest as they seem to focus on a special population—highly trained musicians. In contrast, studies on the appreciation of music can be thought of as more general and inclusive, encompassing the vast majority of humans regardless of formal musical training.
Humans show knowledge of fundamental musical building blocks, such as rhythm and beat, from as early as 1 day old,8 and as shown from the success of the multibillion‐dollar music industry, humans around the world enjoy music. One of the most frequently reported reasons for listening to music is the overwhelming influence it has on feelings and emotions.9 Music has been deemed an ultimate group bonding activity;10, 11 this is supported by structural features of melody, harmony, and scales that are observed across many cultures,12 as well as the ubiquity of songs that serve social functions, such as lullabies, dance songs, healing songs, and love songs, across cultures.13 Singing and making music together enhance social interactions and group bonding14, 15 and elicit physiological effects that are observable from infancy.16 Even in the few cultures where music is not produced in groups, members of these cultures nevertheless enjoy singing for each other,17 suggesting that the capacity for music enjoyment, that is, the rewarding aspects of music, may be intrinsic to humans as a social species. Together, these lines of research suggest that understanding why humans love music may offer a window into how humans interact in a social environment.
The rapid growth of research on musical enjoyment, specifically in cognitive neuroscience, may also be facilitated in part by recent findings on the role of dopamine in coding for prediction and reward. Since the classic observations that stimulating dopaminergic neurons elicits motivated behavior,18 and that dopaminergic neurons signal changes in the predictability of rewards,19 thousands of studies have identified a set of regions within the human brain that are especially sensitive to reward. These regions center around the midbrain (the ventral tegmental area and substantia nigra (SN)), the dorsal and ventral striatum (VS) (the caudate, putamen, nucleus accumbens (NAcc), and globus pallidus), and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC).20 These areas, which we refer to throughout this article as the reward system, are reliably activated during the experience of unconditionally rewarding, evolutionarily salient stimuli, such as food and sex, as well as stimuli that are strongly associated with such rewards, such as money. Findings from the monetary incentive delay task show that cues that predict monetary rewards reliably activate the striatum and mPFC,21 core areas of the reward network. Interestingly, activity in the striatum is also observed when social stimuli (faces) are substituted for monetary rewards,22, 23 suggesting that social and monetary cues tap into “common neural currency” of the reward system.22
The findings that food and sex activate the same reward system can be readily explained as being evolutionarily adaptive: being motivated to seek out these stimuli improves our chances of survival. In contrast, the adaptive value of music—and aesthetic stimuli more generally—is less obvious. Nevertheless, much recent work has shown that music engages the reward system (as reviewed below; see also Ref. 24). While music ranks highly among the pleasures in life,25, 26 recent work has identified a unique condition of people with specific musical anhedonia:27, 28 people who are insensitive to the rewarding aspects of music despite normal hedonic responses to other sensory and aesthetic stimuli, and normal auditory perceptual abilities.29 The existence of this unique population raises many important questions. Some of these questions include:
. The nature versus nurture of musical reward sensitivity: Does musical anhedonia run in families? When and how did it develop? What, if any, genetic underpinnings might predispose an individual toward musical anhedonia? What is its developmental trajectory?
. Domain‐specificity versus domain‐generality of reward sensitivity: Are there specific neural pathways for music reward that are separate from general reward? What are the neural pathways through which specific stimuli (such as music) come to have privileged access to the reward system? What endows a certain stimulus with privileged access to the reward system?
. Psychological associations and clinical comorbidity: What are the associations between musical anhedonia and psychological traits, both in the normal range (e.g., big five personality traits) and clinical populations? What is the comorbidity between musical anhedonia and personality, mood, and communication disorders?
. The evolution of music: To what extent do nonhuman animals also show reward sensitivity to music? Have there been people with musical anhedonia for as long as there has been music? By extension, if people with musical anhedonia have survived for generations with no apparent disadvantage alongside the rest of the population who have normal reward sensitivity to music, then the lack of reward sensitivity to music seems not to affect their survival. If this is the case, then why do we seek out music?
Here, we review the recent cognitive neuroscience evidence for musical engagement of the reward system, as well as an extreme end of the spectrum of individual differences in sensitivity to music reward in specific musical anhedonia. Based on our review of the literature, we propose a model that accounts for the nature of the auditory access to the human reward system, and its disruption in musical anhedonia.
The effect of close elections on the life expectancy of politicians: Winners outlive losers by over a year, on average
Run for your life? The effect of close elections on the life expectancy of politicians. Mark Borgschulte, Jacob Vogler. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, September 24 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2019.09.003
Highlights
• Examine effect of winning or losing a close election on the life expectancy of candidates.
• Regression discontinuity design estimated using newly-collected data on winning and losing candidates for governor, senator, and representative in the United States.
• Winners outlive losers by over a year, on average.
• Largest effects for governors and candidates who run later in US history.
• No discernable effect of stress on life expectancy.
Abstract: We estimate the causal effect of election to political office on natural lifespan using a regression discontinuity design and a novel dataset of winning and losing candidates for US governor, senator, and House representative. We find that candidates gain over a year of life from winning a close election. The effect is strongest for governors, and has grown larger over the course of US history. We also examine the effect of stress experienced in office, finding that serving in more challenging situations is not associated with reduced lifespan.
Highlights
• Examine effect of winning or losing a close election on the life expectancy of candidates.
• Regression discontinuity design estimated using newly-collected data on winning and losing candidates for governor, senator, and representative in the United States.
• Winners outlive losers by over a year, on average.
• Largest effects for governors and candidates who run later in US history.
• No discernable effect of stress on life expectancy.
Abstract: We estimate the causal effect of election to political office on natural lifespan using a regression discontinuity design and a novel dataset of winning and losing candidates for US governor, senator, and House representative. We find that candidates gain over a year of life from winning a close election. The effect is strongest for governors, and has grown larger over the course of US history. We also examine the effect of stress experienced in office, finding that serving in more challenging situations is not associated with reduced lifespan.
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
German middle-aged men having ≥2 children, higher frequency of solo-masturbation, perceived importance of sexuality, & higher sexual self-esteem were less likely to have low sexual desire
Meissner VH, Schroeter L, Köhn F-M, et al. Factors Associated with Low Sexual Desire in 45-Year-Old Men: Findings from the German Male Sex-Study. J Sex Med Volume 16, Issue 7, July 2019, Pages 981-991. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1743609519311622
Abstract
Introduction Although low sexual desire is 1 of the most common sexual dysfunctions in men, there is a lack of studies investigating associated factors in large, population-based samples of middle-aged men.
Aim To survey the prevalence of low sexual desire in a population-based sample of 45-year-old German men and to evaluate associations with a broad set of factors.
Methods Data were collected between April 2014–April 2016 within the German Male Sex-Study. Participants were asked to fill out questionnaires about 6 sociodemographic, 5 lifestyle, and 8 psychosocial factors, as well as 6 comorbidities and 4 factors of sexual behavior. Simple and multiple logistic regressions were used to assess potential explanatory factors.
Main Outcome Measures We found a notable prevalence of low sexual desire in middle-aged men and detected associations with various factors.
Results 12,646 men were included in the analysis, and prevalence of low sexual desire was 4.7%. In the multiple logistic regression with backward elimination, 8 of 29 factors were left in the final model. Men having ≥2 children, higher frequency of solo-masturbation, perceived importance of sexuality, and higher sexual self-esteem were less likely to have low sexual desire. Premature ejaculation, erectile dysfunction, and lower urinary tract symptoms were associated with low sexual desire.
Clinical Implications Low sexual desire is common in middle-aged men, and associating factors that can potentially be modified should be considered during assessment and treatment of sexual desire disorders.
Strengths & Limitations The strength of our study is the large, population-based sample of middle-aged men and the broad set of assessed factors. However, because of being part of a prostate cancer screening trial, a recruiting bias is arguable.
Conclusion Our study revealed that low sexual desire among 45-year-old men is a common sexual dysfunction, with a prevalence of nearly 5% and might be affected by various factors, including sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, as well as comorbidities and sexual behavior.
Key Words: Sexual Desire Sexual Dysfunction Sexual Behavior Lifestyle Comorbidity Representative Sample
Theories link threat with right-wing political beliefs; our findings show that political beliefs and perceptions of threat are linked, but that the relationship is nuanced
Brandt, Mark J., Felicity M. Turner-Zwinkels, Beste Karapirinler, Florian van Leeuwen, Michael Bender, Yvette van Osch, and Byron G. Adams. 2019. “The Association Between Threat and Politics Depends on the Type of Threat, the Political Domain, and the Country.” PsyArXiv. September 24. doi:10.31234/osf.io/e9uk7
Abstract: Theories link threat with right-wing political beliefs. We use the World Values Survey (72,836 participants) to test how different types of threat (economic, violence, and surveillance) are associated with different types of political beliefs (social, economic, and political identification) across 42 different countries. The association between threat and political beliefs depends on the type of threat, the type of political beliefs, and the country. Economic threats tended to be associated with more left-wing economic beliefs, violence threats tended to be associated with more general right-wing beliefs, and surveillance threats tended to be associated with more right-wing economic beliefs and more left-wing social beliefs. Additional analyses explored how 24 country characteristics might help explain variation in the threat-political beliefs association; however, these analyses identified few cross-country characteristics that consistently helped. Our findings show that political beliefs and perceptions of threat are linked, but that the relationship is nuanced.
Abstract: Theories link threat with right-wing political beliefs. We use the World Values Survey (72,836 participants) to test how different types of threat (economic, violence, and surveillance) are associated with different types of political beliefs (social, economic, and political identification) across 42 different countries. The association between threat and political beliefs depends on the type of threat, the type of political beliefs, and the country. Economic threats tended to be associated with more left-wing economic beliefs, violence threats tended to be associated with more general right-wing beliefs, and surveillance threats tended to be associated with more right-wing economic beliefs and more left-wing social beliefs. Additional analyses explored how 24 country characteristics might help explain variation in the threat-political beliefs association; however, these analyses identified few cross-country characteristics that consistently helped. Our findings show that political beliefs and perceptions of threat are linked, but that the relationship is nuanced.
There is no number sense as traditionally conceived; neural substrates of number sense are more widely distributed than common consensus says, complicating the neurobiological evidence linking number sense to numerical abilities
Challenging the neurobiological link between number sense and symbolic numerical abilities. Eric D. Wilkey. Daniel Ansari. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, September 23 2019. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.14225
Abstract: A significant body of research links individual differences in symbolic numerical abilities, such as arithmetic, to number sense, the neurobiological system used to approximate and manipulate quantities without language or symbols. However, recent findings from cognitive neuroscience challenge this influential theory. Our current review presents an overview of evidence for the number sense account of symbolic numerical abilities and then reviews recent studies that challenge this account, organized around the following four assertions. (1) There is no number sense as traditionally conceived. (2) Neural substrates of number sense are more widely distributed than common consensus asserts, complicating the neurobiological evidence linking number sense to numerical abilities. (3) The most common measures of number sense are confounded by other cognitive demands, which drive key correlations. (4) Number sense and symbolic number systems (Arabic digits, number words, and so on) rely on distinct neural mechanisms and follow independent developmental trajectories. The review follows each assertion with comments on future directions that may bring resolution to these issues.
Abstract: A significant body of research links individual differences in symbolic numerical abilities, such as arithmetic, to number sense, the neurobiological system used to approximate and manipulate quantities without language or symbols. However, recent findings from cognitive neuroscience challenge this influential theory. Our current review presents an overview of evidence for the number sense account of symbolic numerical abilities and then reviews recent studies that challenge this account, organized around the following four assertions. (1) There is no number sense as traditionally conceived. (2) Neural substrates of number sense are more widely distributed than common consensus asserts, complicating the neurobiological evidence linking number sense to numerical abilities. (3) The most common measures of number sense are confounded by other cognitive demands, which drive key correlations. (4) Number sense and symbolic number systems (Arabic digits, number words, and so on) rely on distinct neural mechanisms and follow independent developmental trajectories. The review follows each assertion with comments on future directions that may bring resolution to these issues.
How Stress Affects Performance and Competitiveness Across Gender
How Stress Affects Performance and Competitiveness Across Gender. Jana Cahlíková, Lubomír Cingl, Ian Levely. Management Science, Jul 16 2019. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2019.3400
Abstract: Because many key career events, such as examinations and interviews, involve competition and stress, gender differences in response to these factors could help to explain the labor market gender gap. In a laboratory experiment, we manipulate psychosocial stress using the Trier Social Stress Test and confirm that this is effective by measuring salivary cortisol level and heart rate. Subjects perform in a real-effort task under both tournament and piece-rate incentives, and we elicit willingness to compete. We find that women under heightened stress perform worse than women in the control group when compensated with tournament incentives, whereas there is no treatment difference under piece-rate incentives. For men, stress does not affect output under competition or under piece rate. The gender gap in willingness to compete is not affected by stress, but stress decreases competitiveness overall, which is related to performance for women. Our results could explain gender differences in performance under competition, with implications for hiring practices and incentive structures in firms.
Abstract: Because many key career events, such as examinations and interviews, involve competition and stress, gender differences in response to these factors could help to explain the labor market gender gap. In a laboratory experiment, we manipulate psychosocial stress using the Trier Social Stress Test and confirm that this is effective by measuring salivary cortisol level and heart rate. Subjects perform in a real-effort task under both tournament and piece-rate incentives, and we elicit willingness to compete. We find that women under heightened stress perform worse than women in the control group when compensated with tournament incentives, whereas there is no treatment difference under piece-rate incentives. For men, stress does not affect output under competition or under piece rate. The gender gap in willingness to compete is not affected by stress, but stress decreases competitiveness overall, which is related to performance for women. Our results could explain gender differences in performance under competition, with implications for hiring practices and incentive structures in firms.
Disagreeable men produce higher-quality ejaculates: A Preliminary but Methodologically Improved Investigation of the Relationships Between Major Personality Dimensions and Human Ejaculate Quality
A Preliminary but Methodologically Improved Investigation of the Relationships Between Major Personality Dimensions and Human Ejaculate Quality. Tara DeLecce et al. [in press, Personality and Individual Differences, September 2019]. toddkshackelford.com/downloads/Delecce-et-al-PAID.pdf
Abstract: Some research has reported relationships between personality dimensions and ejaculate quality, but this research has methodological limitations. In the current study, we investigated the relationships between six major personality dimensions and ejaculate quality in a design that offered several methodological improvements over previous research. Forty-fivefertile men provided two masturbatory ejaculates and completed a measure ofpersonality (HEXACO-60) assessing honesty-humility, emotionality, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience. Agreeablenesswas the only personality dimension associated with ejaculate quality,aftercontrolling statistically for participant age, Body Mass Index, and abstinence duration, and this association was negative. However, once the covariates of BMI, age, and abstinence duration were included in a hierarchical regression (along with the six personality dimensions), agreeableness was no longer a statistically significant predictor of ejaculate quality, although the direction of the relationship remained negative. The current study adds to previous research documenting that psychological attributes—including major dimensions of personality—may be associated with ejaculate quality. We highlight limitations of the current research and identify directions for future study.
Keywords: personality; agreeableness; ejaculate quality; semenanalysis; HEXACO
Abstract: Some research has reported relationships between personality dimensions and ejaculate quality, but this research has methodological limitations. In the current study, we investigated the relationships between six major personality dimensions and ejaculate quality in a design that offered several methodological improvements over previous research. Forty-fivefertile men provided two masturbatory ejaculates and completed a measure ofpersonality (HEXACO-60) assessing honesty-humility, emotionality, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience. Agreeablenesswas the only personality dimension associated with ejaculate quality,aftercontrolling statistically for participant age, Body Mass Index, and abstinence duration, and this association was negative. However, once the covariates of BMI, age, and abstinence duration were included in a hierarchical regression (along with the six personality dimensions), agreeableness was no longer a statistically significant predictor of ejaculate quality, although the direction of the relationship remained negative. The current study adds to previous research documenting that psychological attributes—including major dimensions of personality—may be associated with ejaculate quality. We highlight limitations of the current research and identify directions for future study.
Keywords: personality; agreeableness; ejaculate quality; semenanalysis; HEXACO
Greta Thunberg's zeal, as the press summarized her speech at the UN Climate Summit, Sep 23, 2019 — updated Jan 2020
Greta Thunberg's character, as the press summarized her speech at the UN Climate Summit, Sep 23, 2019:
At the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Jan 2020:
"How dare you. You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words."
"This is all wrong. I shouldn’t be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you."
"People are suffering. People are dying and dying ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is the money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth," she said Monday, as she fought back tears. "How dare you! For more than 30 years the science has been crystal clear."
"You are failing us but young people are starting to understand your betrayal."
“The eyes of all future generations are upon you and if you choose to fail us, I say we will never forgive you.”
At the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Jan 2020:
“Our house is still on fire. Your inaction is fueling the flames by the hour, and we are telling you to act as if you loved your children above all else.”
Greetings in wild chimpanzees: Signals of submission (the greetings are started by the low-position individual)
Social relationships and greetings in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): use of signal combinations. Eva Maria Luef, Simone Pika. Primates, September 24 2019. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10329-019-00758-5
Abstract: Signals of submission, so-called ‘greetings’, represent an important tool for the regulation of social life in primates. In chimpanzees, vocalizations and gestures are commonly employed to communicate greetings, however, the topic of signal complexity (i.e., combinations of signals) during greeting instances has been neglected by research to date. Here, we investigate combinatorial possibilities in vocal greetings in a free-ranging group of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and study how greeter sex, rank relationship between an interacting pair, and strength of the social bond of a greeting dyad influence signal complexity. Results show that the social bond and the dominance distance between individuals engaged in a greeting bout are important determiners for vocal combinations. The findings indicate that greeting signals in chimpanzees, like other vocal signals of the species, can become subject to social influences.
Keywords: Chimpanzees Pan troglodytes Ngogo Greeting Pant-grunt Combinations Repetitions
Abstract: Signals of submission, so-called ‘greetings’, represent an important tool for the regulation of social life in primates. In chimpanzees, vocalizations and gestures are commonly employed to communicate greetings, however, the topic of signal complexity (i.e., combinations of signals) during greeting instances has been neglected by research to date. Here, we investigate combinatorial possibilities in vocal greetings in a free-ranging group of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and study how greeter sex, rank relationship between an interacting pair, and strength of the social bond of a greeting dyad influence signal complexity. Results show that the social bond and the dominance distance between individuals engaged in a greeting bout are important determiners for vocal combinations. The findings indicate that greeting signals in chimpanzees, like other vocal signals of the species, can become subject to social influences.
Keywords: Chimpanzees Pan troglodytes Ngogo Greeting Pant-grunt Combinations Repetitions
While praise from a manager has no effect, criticism negatively impacts workers' job satisfaction & perception of the task's importance; when female managers give opinion, the negative effects double for both male & female workers
Do Workers Discriminate against Female Bosses? Martin Abel. IZA Discussion Papers No. 12611, September 2019. https://www.iza.org/publications/dp/12611/do-workers-discriminate-against-female-bosses
Abstract: I hire 2,700 workers for a transcription job, randomly assigning the gender of their (fictitious) manager and provision of performance feedback. While praise from a manager has no effect, criticism negatively impacts workers' job satisfaction and perception of the task's importance. When female managers, rather than male, deliver this feedback, the negative effects double in magnitude. Having a critical female manager does not affect effort provision but it does lower workers' interest in working for the firm in the future. These findings hold for both female and male workers. I show that results are consistent with gendered expectations of feedback among workers. By contrast, I find no evidence for the role of either attention discrimination or implicit gender bias.
Keywords: gender discrimination gig economy female leadership
Abstract: I hire 2,700 workers for a transcription job, randomly assigning the gender of their (fictitious) manager and provision of performance feedback. While praise from a manager has no effect, criticism negatively impacts workers' job satisfaction and perception of the task's importance. When female managers, rather than male, deliver this feedback, the negative effects double in magnitude. Having a critical female manager does not affect effort provision but it does lower workers' interest in working for the firm in the future. These findings hold for both female and male workers. I show that results are consistent with gendered expectations of feedback among workers. By contrast, I find no evidence for the role of either attention discrimination or implicit gender bias.
Keywords: gender discrimination gig economy female leadership
Rolf Degen summarizing: Body and facial attractiveness were more important to men, whereas personality attractiveness was more important to women in real-life dating interactions
Sidari M, Lee A, Murphy S, Sherlock J, Barnaby D & Zietsch B (2019)
Preferences for sexually dimorphic body characteristics revealed in a
large sample of speed daters. Social Psychological and Personality
Science, forthcoming. https://dspace.stir.ac.uk/handle/1893/30130
Abstract: While hundreds of studies have investigated the indices that make up attractive body shapes, these studies were based on preferences measured in the lab using pictorial stimuli. Whether these preferences translate into real-time, face-to-face evaluations of potential partners is unclear. Here 539 (275 female) participants in 75 lab-based sessions had their body dimensions measured before engaging in round-robin speed dates. After each date they rated each other’s body, face, personality, and overall attractiveness, and noted whether they would go on a date with the partner. Women with smaller waists and lower waist-to-hip ratios were found most attractive, and men with broader shoulders and higher shoulder-to-waist (or hips) ratios were found most attractive. Taller individuals were preferred by both sexes. Our results show that body dimensions associated with greater health, fertility, and (in men) formidability influence face-to-face evaluations of attractiveness, consistent with a role of intersexual selection in shaping human bodies
Abstract: While hundreds of studies have investigated the indices that make up attractive body shapes, these studies were based on preferences measured in the lab using pictorial stimuli. Whether these preferences translate into real-time, face-to-face evaluations of potential partners is unclear. Here 539 (275 female) participants in 75 lab-based sessions had their body dimensions measured before engaging in round-robin speed dates. After each date they rated each other’s body, face, personality, and overall attractiveness, and noted whether they would go on a date with the partner. Women with smaller waists and lower waist-to-hip ratios were found most attractive, and men with broader shoulders and higher shoulder-to-waist (or hips) ratios were found most attractive. Taller individuals were preferred by both sexes. Our results show that body dimensions associated with greater health, fertility, and (in men) formidability influence face-to-face evaluations of attractiveness, consistent with a role of intersexual selection in shaping human bodies
While journalists may indeed be biased toward telling certain types of stories, audience judgements may be biased as well: Rival partisans thought media attention was unfair with their views
Biased Gatekeepers? Partisan Perceptions of Media Attention in the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election. Mallory R. Perryman. Journalism Studies, Mar 27 2019. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2019.1598888
ABSTRACT: Deciding which stories to cover is an essential function of the press, and pundits and citizens commonly criticize journalists for these so-called “gatekeeping” choices. While journalists may indeed be biased toward telling certain types of stories, research on the hostile media perception (HMP) suggests that audience judgments about how journalists divvy up attention may be biased as well–shaped, at least in part, by partisan preferences. This study explores how partisanship impacted perceptions of media coverage among news consumers (N = 657) shortly before the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Results show that, across a variety of news stories involving the candidates, polling, and key election issues, rival partisans had diverging impressions of media attention that were not explained by differing news habits. A relative HMP pattern is evident when partisans evaluate how media allocate attention across news topics.
KEYWORDS: Audience perceptions, election news, gatekeeping, hostile media perception, partisanship, perceived bias, U.S. elections
ABSTRACT: Deciding which stories to cover is an essential function of the press, and pundits and citizens commonly criticize journalists for these so-called “gatekeeping” choices. While journalists may indeed be biased toward telling certain types of stories, research on the hostile media perception (HMP) suggests that audience judgments about how journalists divvy up attention may be biased as well–shaped, at least in part, by partisan preferences. This study explores how partisanship impacted perceptions of media coverage among news consumers (N = 657) shortly before the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Results show that, across a variety of news stories involving the candidates, polling, and key election issues, rival partisans had diverging impressions of media attention that were not explained by differing news habits. A relative HMP pattern is evident when partisans evaluate how media allocate attention across news topics.
KEYWORDS: Audience perceptions, election news, gatekeeping, hostile media perception, partisanship, perceived bias, U.S. elections
Chimpanzees do not share, by themselves, the spoils with cooperators; the cooperators need to beg to get their reward
How chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) share the spoils with collaborators
and bystanders. Maria John et al. PLOS One, September 23, 2019.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0222795
Abstract: Chimpanzees hunt cooperatively in the wild, but the factors influencing food sharing after the hunt are not well understood. In an experimental study, groups of three captive chimpanzees obtained a monopolizable food resource, either via two individuals cooperating (with the third as bystander) or via one individual acting alone alongside two bystanders. The individual that obtained the resource first retained most of the food but the other two individuals attempted to obtain food from the "captor" by begging. We found the main predictor of the overall amount of food obtained by bystanders was proximity to the food at the moment it was obtained by the captor. Whether or not an individual had cooperated to obtain the food had no effect. Interestingly, however, cooperators begged more from captors than did bystanders, suggesting that they were more motivated or had a greater expectation to obtain food. These results suggest that while chimpanzee captors in cooperative hunting may not reward cooperative participation directly, cooperators may influence sharing behavior through increased begging.
Abstract: Chimpanzees hunt cooperatively in the wild, but the factors influencing food sharing after the hunt are not well understood. In an experimental study, groups of three captive chimpanzees obtained a monopolizable food resource, either via two individuals cooperating (with the third as bystander) or via one individual acting alone alongside two bystanders. The individual that obtained the resource first retained most of the food but the other two individuals attempted to obtain food from the "captor" by begging. We found the main predictor of the overall amount of food obtained by bystanders was proximity to the food at the moment it was obtained by the captor. Whether or not an individual had cooperated to obtain the food had no effect. Interestingly, however, cooperators begged more from captors than did bystanders, suggesting that they were more motivated or had a greater expectation to obtain food. These results suggest that while chimpanzee captors in cooperative hunting may not reward cooperative participation directly, cooperators may influence sharing behavior through increased begging.
Monday, September 23, 2019
We Are Upright-Walking Cats: Human Limbs as Sensory Antennae During Locomotion
We Are Upright-Walking Cats: Human Limbs as Sensory Antennae During Locomotion. Gregory E. P. Pearcey and E. Paul Zehr. Physiology, Aug 7 2019. https://doi.org/10.1152/physiol.00008.2019
Abstract: Humans and cats share many characteristics pertaining to the neural control of locomotion, which has enabled the comprehensive study of cutaneous feedback during locomotion. Feedback from discrete skin regions on both surfaces of the human foot has revealed that neuromechanical responses are highly topographically organized and contribute to “sensory guidance” of our limbs during locomotion.
Abstract: Humans and cats share many characteristics pertaining to the neural control of locomotion, which has enabled the comprehensive study of cutaneous feedback during locomotion. Feedback from discrete skin regions on both surfaces of the human foot has revealed that neuromechanical responses are highly topographically organized and contribute to “sensory guidance” of our limbs during locomotion.
Chimpanzees, like human children, do not rely solely on their own actions to make use of novel causal relations, but they can learn causal sequences based on observation alone
Chimpanzees
use observed temporal directionality to learn novel causal relations.
Claudio Tennie. Primates, September 23 2019.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10329-019-00754-9
Abstract: We investigated whether chimpanzees use the temporal sequence of external events to determine causation. Seventeen chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) witnessed a human experimenter press a button in two different conditions. When she pressed the “causal button” the delivery of juice and a sound immediately followed (cause-then-effect). In contrast, she pressed the “non-causal button” only after the delivery of juice and sound (effect-then-cause). When given the opportunity to produce the desired juice delivery themselves, the chimpanzees preferentially pressed the causal button, i.e., the one that preceded the effect. Importantly, they did so in their first test trial and even though both buttons were equally associated with juice delivery. This outcome suggests that chimpanzees, like human children, do not rely solely on their own actions to make use of novel causal relations, but they can learn causal sequences based on observation alone. We discuss these findings in relation to the literature on causal inferences as well as associative learning.
Keywords: Causal cognition Social learning Chimpanzees Action representation Simultaneous conditioning Primate cognition
Abstract: We investigated whether chimpanzees use the temporal sequence of external events to determine causation. Seventeen chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) witnessed a human experimenter press a button in two different conditions. When she pressed the “causal button” the delivery of juice and a sound immediately followed (cause-then-effect). In contrast, she pressed the “non-causal button” only after the delivery of juice and sound (effect-then-cause). When given the opportunity to produce the desired juice delivery themselves, the chimpanzees preferentially pressed the causal button, i.e., the one that preceded the effect. Importantly, they did so in their first test trial and even though both buttons were equally associated with juice delivery. This outcome suggests that chimpanzees, like human children, do not rely solely on their own actions to make use of novel causal relations, but they can learn causal sequences based on observation alone. We discuss these findings in relation to the literature on causal inferences as well as associative learning.
Keywords: Causal cognition Social learning Chimpanzees Action representation Simultaneous conditioning Primate cognition
Consumers view time-donations as morally better than money-donations because they perceive time-donations as signaling greater emotional investment in the cause & therefore better moral character
Johnson, Samuel G. B., and Seo Y. Park. 2019. “Moral Signaling Through Donations of Money and Time.” PsyArXiv. September 23. doi:10.31234/osf.io/tg9xs
Abstract: Prosocial acts typically take the form of time- or money-donations. Do third-parties differ in how they evaluate these different kinds of donations? Here, we show that consumers view time-donations as more morally praiseworthy than money-donations, even when the resource investment is comparable. This moral preference occurs because consumers perceive time-donations as signaling greater emotional investment in the cause and therefore better moral character; this occurs despite consumers’ belief that time-donations are less effective than money-donations (Study 1). The more signaling power of time-donations has downstream implications for interpersonal attractiveness in a dating context (Study 2) and for donor decision-making (Study 3). Moreover, donors who are prompted with an affiliation rather (versus dominance) goal are likelier to favor time-donations (Study 3). However, reframing money-donations in terms of time (e.g., donating a week’s salary) reduced and even reversed these effects (Study 4). These results support theories of prosociality that place reputation-signaling as a key motivator of consumers’ moral behavior. We discuss implications for the charity market and for social movements, such as effective altruism, that seek to maximize the social benefit of consumers’ altruistic acts.
Abstract: Prosocial acts typically take the form of time- or money-donations. Do third-parties differ in how they evaluate these different kinds of donations? Here, we show that consumers view time-donations as more morally praiseworthy than money-donations, even when the resource investment is comparable. This moral preference occurs because consumers perceive time-donations as signaling greater emotional investment in the cause and therefore better moral character; this occurs despite consumers’ belief that time-donations are less effective than money-donations (Study 1). The more signaling power of time-donations has downstream implications for interpersonal attractiveness in a dating context (Study 2) and for donor decision-making (Study 3). Moreover, donors who are prompted with an affiliation rather (versus dominance) goal are likelier to favor time-donations (Study 3). However, reframing money-donations in terms of time (e.g., donating a week’s salary) reduced and even reversed these effects (Study 4). These results support theories of prosociality that place reputation-signaling as a key motivator of consumers’ moral behavior. We discuss implications for the charity market and for social movements, such as effective altruism, that seek to maximize the social benefit of consumers’ altruistic acts.
Humans may have evolved to experience far greater pain, malaise & suffering than the rest of the animal kingdom, due to their intense sociality giving them a reasonable chance of receiving help
The neuroscience of vision and pain: evolution of two disciplines. Barbara L. Finlay. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Volume 374, Issue 1785, September 23 2019. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2019.0292
Abstract: Research in the neuroscience of pain perception and visual perception has taken contrasting paths. The contextual and the social aspects of pain judgements predisposed pain researchers to develop computational and functional accounts early, while vision researchers tended to simple localizationist or descriptive approaches first. Evolutionary thought was applied to distinct domains, such as game-theoretic approaches to cheater detection in pain research, versus vision scientists' studies of comparative visual ecologies. Both fields now contemplate current motor or decision-based accounts of perception, particularly predictive coding. Vision researchers do so without the benefit of earlier attention to social and motivational aspects of vision, while pain researchers lack a comparative behavioural ecology of pain, the normal incidence and utility of responses to tissue damage. Hybrid hypotheses arising from predictive coding as used in both domains are applied to some perplexing phenomena in pain perception to suggest future directions. The contingent and predictive interpretation of complex sensations, in such domains as ‘runner's high’, multiple cosmetic procedures, self-harm and circadian rhythms in pain sensitivity is one example. The second, in an evolutionary time frame, considers enhancement of primary perception and expression of pain in social species, when expressions of pain might reliably elicit useful help.
---
My comments: Could it be that those who experienced no pain died much more frequently (hemorrhages, internal damage, etc) than those who experienced pain and asked for support?
---
From 2015... The unique pain of being human. Barbara Finlay. New Scientist, Volume 226, Issue 3020, May 9 2015, Pages 28-29. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0262-4079(15)30311-0
We seem to experience pain differently to other animals. Why, wonders neuroscientist Barbara Finlay
FOR years I worked in Brazil on the evolution of vision in primates and was often stationed near monkeys who had undergone caesarean sections. Their recovery was impressive – in stark contrast with my own after two
C-sections. Within hours, the monkeys would be sitting, climbing and annoying each other.
Looking at these unbothered monkeys, I began to think that some causes of the sensation of pain in humans might be fundamentally different to those in other animals.
The basic function of pain is the same for all vertebrates: it alerts an animal to potential damage and reduces activity after trauma. It is often argued that pain must be different in humans because of our ability to anticipate it or imagine its effects on us. But independent of whether cognition and culture can modify
pain, I am suggesting a more basic difference in humans compared with animals: that some varieties, such as labour pain, appear only in humans, and others such as posttrauma pain are magnified.
These forms of pain appear in tandem with the ability to recruit help, to elicit an altruistic response in others. By “help” I mean the simple protection and provisioning that parents supply to children, not medical intervention – although our medical interventions probably first grew from this basis. This view arises from work carried out nearly 50 years ago by pain researcher Patrick Wall. He was the first person to suggest a functional view of pain – that it should be understood as a mixture of sensation and the motivation to make it stop, not sensation alone. His starting point was the now wellresearched placebo effect. His account explained how rituals or procedures offered by a doctor or shaman, regardless of the efficacy or even existence of an actual treatment, could reduce pain.
But even with this early advocate for a functional view of it, studies of pain have mainly concentrated on receptors and specific clinical manifestations, while neglecting its purpose. Pain is a motivational signal to get an animal to do something – escape from a source of damage, protect a wound or devote energy to recovery. Wall argued that one of its roles in humans is as a motivation to seek help from some trusted source. When that goal is satisfied, pain is relieved.
I want to extend this view. I think that, over evolutionary time, several stimuli and situations that are not painful in other animals have come to be experienced as painful for humans. This is because our obvious distress elicits help from others and hence offers a survival advantage. This is distinct from the numerous demonstrations that context and culture can alter our sensation of pain. I argue that the primary circuitry of pain and malaise has been changed in human evolution in cases where getting help from others would be useful.
The pain of altruism
There is much indirect evidence in support of this “pain of altruism”. Take, for instance, the fact that certain types of pain are not associated with any physiological damage, and studies that show the presence of others can affect reported sensations of pain. Labour pain is another good example.
Across all human cultures, there are nearly always helpers, from relatives to medical professionals, who attend births. Giving birth is risky and help at any level improves survival. The cliché scenario of a mother from some exotic tribe going off to give birth alone is not unheard of, but is exceedingly rare. By contrast, among our primate relatives, solitary birth is the norm.
Human childbirth appears to be uniquely painful among members of the animal kingdom. Typically, scientists have accounted for this in terms of the size mismatch between the infant’s head and the mother’s pelvis, and not in terms of differences in social structure.
Human birth is dangerous, but we are not the only primates at risk – the smallest-bodied, large-brained monkeys, like marmosets, have similar head to pelvis disproportionality and birth-related mortality. Yet compared with humans, primates appear to give birth with little pain. Ungulates such as horses and cattle produce large, long-limbed offspring with a substantial chance of complications, but with little evidence of distress. Any such evidence, in fact, could prove fatal by alerting predators. So why is childbirth so painful for women? The source of labour pain is the contraction of the uterus and dilation of the cervix, but these are not damaging or pathological in themselves. Rather they predict a risky and potentially lethal event: the actual birth, to occur hours later. I suggest that protracted labour pains make us show distress and recruit help from others well in advance of the birth – a strategy that offers a survival advantage, as the offspring of those who seek help are more likely to survive.
But if the pain of labour is not linked to tissue damage and is primarily a call to enlist help, why does it have to be so excruciating? Helping someone in pain comes at a cost to the helper, and societies can’t afford to tolerate “cheating” in the form of excessive malingering or fake pain. I think that the pain of altruism may be connected to the concept of honest signalling in behavioural biology, whereby producing a signal has to be sufficiently costly to deter cheaters and freeloaders. Pain could be the obligatory cost of an honest signal, in the same way that a peacock’s tail or stag’s antlers are hard-to-fake signs of their owner’s underlying fitness.
However, since pain has no concrete physical manifestation that others can verify, cheating is difficult to eliminate – there is probably not one person reading this article who has never exaggerated pain or illness for their own benefit. If feeling pain to recruit the help of others is an evolutionarily assembled neural construct, this could be triggered in error. Perhaps this is what happens in the case of mysterious but distressing illnesses for which a direct physical cause cannot be found.
The pain of altruism also explains why malaise after trauma and infection are long and exaggerated for humans compared with laboratory mice. Mice, like most non-human animals, cannot provide the high level of social support needed to nurse an individual with an illness or a broken leg. Such injured animals must confine their energetically expensive immune response to the minimum time needed to survive without help.
It is also possible that this pain of altruism has been extended to domesticated livestock and pets, as they too can enlist human help. In contrast, most adult animals in the wild try to avoid showing disability or distress, which might attract rivals or predators.
Periods of extended illness might only be feasible in species where individuals protect and provide for others for such lengths of time. If help from others is the root cause of some types of pain, then this needs to be factored into our understanding of pain and disease. An evolutionary calculation that we cannot be aware of, rather than a specific physical cause, could be the source of much real agony.
Other Unexplained Agony
Pain exists to get an animal to change its behaviour. This functional account of pain may explain some ongoing mysteries, such as the cause of the muscle soreness that follows a day of intense exercise, which has eluded physiological explanation. The popular idea that it is due to the build-up of lactic acid has been discounted, as have other proposed theories. Bodybuilders have found that the optimal way to build muscle is to take a rest day after a strenuous workout. Perhaps nature has converged on the same idea, and muscle soreness is simply a signal to rest, to enable optimal muscle building.
Abstract: Research in the neuroscience of pain perception and visual perception has taken contrasting paths. The contextual and the social aspects of pain judgements predisposed pain researchers to develop computational and functional accounts early, while vision researchers tended to simple localizationist or descriptive approaches first. Evolutionary thought was applied to distinct domains, such as game-theoretic approaches to cheater detection in pain research, versus vision scientists' studies of comparative visual ecologies. Both fields now contemplate current motor or decision-based accounts of perception, particularly predictive coding. Vision researchers do so without the benefit of earlier attention to social and motivational aspects of vision, while pain researchers lack a comparative behavioural ecology of pain, the normal incidence and utility of responses to tissue damage. Hybrid hypotheses arising from predictive coding as used in both domains are applied to some perplexing phenomena in pain perception to suggest future directions. The contingent and predictive interpretation of complex sensations, in such domains as ‘runner's high’, multiple cosmetic procedures, self-harm and circadian rhythms in pain sensitivity is one example. The second, in an evolutionary time frame, considers enhancement of primary perception and expression of pain in social species, when expressions of pain might reliably elicit useful help.
---
My comments: Could it be that those who experienced no pain died much more frequently (hemorrhages, internal damage, etc) than those who experienced pain and asked for support?
---
From 2015... The unique pain of being human. Barbara Finlay. New Scientist, Volume 226, Issue 3020, May 9 2015, Pages 28-29. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0262-4079(15)30311-0
We seem to experience pain differently to other animals. Why, wonders neuroscientist Barbara Finlay
FOR years I worked in Brazil on the evolution of vision in primates and was often stationed near monkeys who had undergone caesarean sections. Their recovery was impressive – in stark contrast with my own after two
C-sections. Within hours, the monkeys would be sitting, climbing and annoying each other.
Looking at these unbothered monkeys, I began to think that some causes of the sensation of pain in humans might be fundamentally different to those in other animals.
The basic function of pain is the same for all vertebrates: it alerts an animal to potential damage and reduces activity after trauma. It is often argued that pain must be different in humans because of our ability to anticipate it or imagine its effects on us. But independent of whether cognition and culture can modify
pain, I am suggesting a more basic difference in humans compared with animals: that some varieties, such as labour pain, appear only in humans, and others such as posttrauma pain are magnified.
These forms of pain appear in tandem with the ability to recruit help, to elicit an altruistic response in others. By “help” I mean the simple protection and provisioning that parents supply to children, not medical intervention – although our medical interventions probably first grew from this basis. This view arises from work carried out nearly 50 years ago by pain researcher Patrick Wall. He was the first person to suggest a functional view of pain – that it should be understood as a mixture of sensation and the motivation to make it stop, not sensation alone. His starting point was the now wellresearched placebo effect. His account explained how rituals or procedures offered by a doctor or shaman, regardless of the efficacy or even existence of an actual treatment, could reduce pain.
But even with this early advocate for a functional view of it, studies of pain have mainly concentrated on receptors and specific clinical manifestations, while neglecting its purpose. Pain is a motivational signal to get an animal to do something – escape from a source of damage, protect a wound or devote energy to recovery. Wall argued that one of its roles in humans is as a motivation to seek help from some trusted source. When that goal is satisfied, pain is relieved.
I want to extend this view. I think that, over evolutionary time, several stimuli and situations that are not painful in other animals have come to be experienced as painful for humans. This is because our obvious distress elicits help from others and hence offers a survival advantage. This is distinct from the numerous demonstrations that context and culture can alter our sensation of pain. I argue that the primary circuitry of pain and malaise has been changed in human evolution in cases where getting help from others would be useful.
The pain of altruism
There is much indirect evidence in support of this “pain of altruism”. Take, for instance, the fact that certain types of pain are not associated with any physiological damage, and studies that show the presence of others can affect reported sensations of pain. Labour pain is another good example.
Across all human cultures, there are nearly always helpers, from relatives to medical professionals, who attend births. Giving birth is risky and help at any level improves survival. The cliché scenario of a mother from some exotic tribe going off to give birth alone is not unheard of, but is exceedingly rare. By contrast, among our primate relatives, solitary birth is the norm.
Human childbirth appears to be uniquely painful among members of the animal kingdom. Typically, scientists have accounted for this in terms of the size mismatch between the infant’s head and the mother’s pelvis, and not in terms of differences in social structure.
Human birth is dangerous, but we are not the only primates at risk – the smallest-bodied, large-brained monkeys, like marmosets, have similar head to pelvis disproportionality and birth-related mortality. Yet compared with humans, primates appear to give birth with little pain. Ungulates such as horses and cattle produce large, long-limbed offspring with a substantial chance of complications, but with little evidence of distress. Any such evidence, in fact, could prove fatal by alerting predators. So why is childbirth so painful for women? The source of labour pain is the contraction of the uterus and dilation of the cervix, but these are not damaging or pathological in themselves. Rather they predict a risky and potentially lethal event: the actual birth, to occur hours later. I suggest that protracted labour pains make us show distress and recruit help from others well in advance of the birth – a strategy that offers a survival advantage, as the offspring of those who seek help are more likely to survive.
But if the pain of labour is not linked to tissue damage and is primarily a call to enlist help, why does it have to be so excruciating? Helping someone in pain comes at a cost to the helper, and societies can’t afford to tolerate “cheating” in the form of excessive malingering or fake pain. I think that the pain of altruism may be connected to the concept of honest signalling in behavioural biology, whereby producing a signal has to be sufficiently costly to deter cheaters and freeloaders. Pain could be the obligatory cost of an honest signal, in the same way that a peacock’s tail or stag’s antlers are hard-to-fake signs of their owner’s underlying fitness.
However, since pain has no concrete physical manifestation that others can verify, cheating is difficult to eliminate – there is probably not one person reading this article who has never exaggerated pain or illness for their own benefit. If feeling pain to recruit the help of others is an evolutionarily assembled neural construct, this could be triggered in error. Perhaps this is what happens in the case of mysterious but distressing illnesses for which a direct physical cause cannot be found.
The pain of altruism also explains why malaise after trauma and infection are long and exaggerated for humans compared with laboratory mice. Mice, like most non-human animals, cannot provide the high level of social support needed to nurse an individual with an illness or a broken leg. Such injured animals must confine their energetically expensive immune response to the minimum time needed to survive without help.
It is also possible that this pain of altruism has been extended to domesticated livestock and pets, as they too can enlist human help. In contrast, most adult animals in the wild try to avoid showing disability or distress, which might attract rivals or predators.
Periods of extended illness might only be feasible in species where individuals protect and provide for others for such lengths of time. If help from others is the root cause of some types of pain, then this needs to be factored into our understanding of pain and disease. An evolutionary calculation that we cannot be aware of, rather than a specific physical cause, could be the source of much real agony.
Other Unexplained Agony
Pain exists to get an animal to change its behaviour. This functional account of pain may explain some ongoing mysteries, such as the cause of the muscle soreness that follows a day of intense exercise, which has eluded physiological explanation. The popular idea that it is due to the build-up of lactic acid has been discounted, as have other proposed theories. Bodybuilders have found that the optimal way to build muscle is to take a rest day after a strenuous workout. Perhaps nature has converged on the same idea, and muscle soreness is simply a signal to rest, to enable optimal muscle building.
Persistence of pain in humans and other mammals
Persistence of pain in humans and other mammals. Amanda C. de C. Williams. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Volume 374, Issue 1785, September 23 2019. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2019.0276
Abstract: Evolutionary models of chronic pain are relatively undeveloped, but mainly concern dysregulation of an efficient acute defence, or false alarm. Here, a third possibility, mismatch with the modern environment, is examined. In ancestral human and free-living animal environments, survival needs urge a return to activity during recovery, despite pain, but modern environments allow humans and domesticated animals prolonged inactivity after injury. This review uses the research literature to compare humans and other mammals, who share pain neurophysiology, on risk factors for pain persistence, behaviours associated with pain, and responses of conspecifics to behaviours. The mammal populations studied are mainly laboratory rodents in pain research, and farm and companion animals in veterinary research, with observations of captive and free-living primates. Beyond farm animals and rodent models, there is virtually no evidence of chronic pain in other mammals. Since evidence is sparse, it is hard to conclude that it does not occur, but its apparent absence is compatible with the mismatch hypothesis.
Abstract: Evolutionary models of chronic pain are relatively undeveloped, but mainly concern dysregulation of an efficient acute defence, or false alarm. Here, a third possibility, mismatch with the modern environment, is examined. In ancestral human and free-living animal environments, survival needs urge a return to activity during recovery, despite pain, but modern environments allow humans and domesticated animals prolonged inactivity after injury. This review uses the research literature to compare humans and other mammals, who share pain neurophysiology, on risk factors for pain persistence, behaviours associated with pain, and responses of conspecifics to behaviours. The mammal populations studied are mainly laboratory rodents in pain research, and farm and companion animals in veterinary research, with observations of captive and free-living primates. Beyond farm animals and rodent models, there is virtually no evidence of chronic pain in other mammals. Since evidence is sparse, it is hard to conclude that it does not occur, but its apparent absence is compatible with the mismatch hypothesis.
Humans’ left cheek portrait bias extends to chimpanzees: Depictions of chimps on Instagram
Humans’ left cheek portrait bias extends to chimpanzees: Depictions of chimps on Instagram. Annukka K. Lindell. Laterality: Asymmetries of Body, Brain and Cognition, Sep 22 2019. https://doi.org/10.1080/1357650X.2019.1669631
ABSTRACT: When posing for portraits, humans favour the left cheek. This preference is argued to stem from the left cheek’s greater expressivity: as the left hemiface is predominantly controlled by the emotion-dominant right hemisphere, it expresses emotion more intensely than the right hemiface. Whether this left cheek bias extends to our closest primate relatives, chimpanzees, has yet to be determined. Given that humans and chimpanzees share the same oro-facial musculature and contralateral cortical innervation of the face, it appears probable that humans would also choose to depict chimps showing the more emotional left cheek. This paper thus examined portrait biases in images of chimpanzees. Two thousand photographs were sourced from Instagram’s “Most Recent” feed using the #chimpanzee, and coded for pose orientation (left, right) and portrait type (head and torso, full body). As anticipated, there were significantly more left cheek (57.2%) than right cheek images (42.8%), with the bias observed across both head and torso and full body portraits. Thus humans choose to depict chimpanzees just as we depict ourselves: offering the left cheek. As such, these data confirm that the left cheek bias is observed in both human and non-human primates, consistent with an emotion-based account of the orientation preference.
KEYWORDS: Left, right, emotion, photo, primate
ABSTRACT: When posing for portraits, humans favour the left cheek. This preference is argued to stem from the left cheek’s greater expressivity: as the left hemiface is predominantly controlled by the emotion-dominant right hemisphere, it expresses emotion more intensely than the right hemiface. Whether this left cheek bias extends to our closest primate relatives, chimpanzees, has yet to be determined. Given that humans and chimpanzees share the same oro-facial musculature and contralateral cortical innervation of the face, it appears probable that humans would also choose to depict chimps showing the more emotional left cheek. This paper thus examined portrait biases in images of chimpanzees. Two thousand photographs were sourced from Instagram’s “Most Recent” feed using the #chimpanzee, and coded for pose orientation (left, right) and portrait type (head and torso, full body). As anticipated, there were significantly more left cheek (57.2%) than right cheek images (42.8%), with the bias observed across both head and torso and full body portraits. Thus humans choose to depict chimpanzees just as we depict ourselves: offering the left cheek. As such, these data confirm that the left cheek bias is observed in both human and non-human primates, consistent with an emotion-based account of the orientation preference.
KEYWORDS: Left, right, emotion, photo, primate
In face perception, reducing visual input greatly increases perceived attractiveness; left/right half faces look far more attractive than bilaterally symmetric whole faces
Face perception loves a challenge: Less information sparks more attraction. Javid Sadr, Lauren Krowicki. Vision Research, Volume 157, April 2019, Pages 61-83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.visres.2019.01.009
Highlights
• In face perception, reducing visual input greatly increases perceived attractiveness.
• This “partial information effect” occurs with blur, contrast reduction, and occlusion.
• Left/right half faces look far more attractive than bilaterally symmetric whole faces.
• There are no male/female differences in this “less is more” enhancement effect.
Abstract: Examining hedonic questions of processing fluency, objective stimulus clarity, and goodness-of-fit in face perception, across three experiments (blur, contrast, occlusion) in which subjects performed the simple, natural task of rank-ordering faces by attractiveness, we find a very consistent and powerful effect of reduced visual input increasing perceived attractiveness. As images of faces are blurred (i.e., as higher spatial frequencies are lost, mimicking at-a-distance, eccentric, or otherwise unaccommodated viewing, tested down to roughly 6 cycles across the face), reduced in contrast (linearly, down to 33% of the original image’s), and even half-occluded, the viewer’s impression of the faces’ attractiveness, relative to non- or less-degraded faces, is greatly enhanced. In this regard, the blur manipulation exhibits a classic exponential profile, the contrast manipulation follows a simple linear trend. Given the far superior attractiveness of half-occluded faces, which have no symmetry whatsoever, we also see that it may be incorrect to claim that facial symmetry is attractive and perhaps more accurate that asymmetry may be unattractive. As tested with a total of 200 novel female faces over three experiments, we find absolutely no male/female differences in this “partial information effect” of enhanced subjective attraction, nor do we find differences across the repetition of the task through to a second block of trials in which the faces are re-encountered and no longer novel. Finally, whereas objective stimulus quality is reduced, we suggest a positive hedonic experience arises as a subjective phenomenological index of enhanced perceptual goodness-of-fit, counter-intuitively facilitated by what may be stimulus-distilling image-level manipulations.
Highlights
• In face perception, reducing visual input greatly increases perceived attractiveness.
• This “partial information effect” occurs with blur, contrast reduction, and occlusion.
• Left/right half faces look far more attractive than bilaterally symmetric whole faces.
• There are no male/female differences in this “less is more” enhancement effect.
Abstract: Examining hedonic questions of processing fluency, objective stimulus clarity, and goodness-of-fit in face perception, across three experiments (blur, contrast, occlusion) in which subjects performed the simple, natural task of rank-ordering faces by attractiveness, we find a very consistent and powerful effect of reduced visual input increasing perceived attractiveness. As images of faces are blurred (i.e., as higher spatial frequencies are lost, mimicking at-a-distance, eccentric, or otherwise unaccommodated viewing, tested down to roughly 6 cycles across the face), reduced in contrast (linearly, down to 33% of the original image’s), and even half-occluded, the viewer’s impression of the faces’ attractiveness, relative to non- or less-degraded faces, is greatly enhanced. In this regard, the blur manipulation exhibits a classic exponential profile, the contrast manipulation follows a simple linear trend. Given the far superior attractiveness of half-occluded faces, which have no symmetry whatsoever, we also see that it may be incorrect to claim that facial symmetry is attractive and perhaps more accurate that asymmetry may be unattractive. As tested with a total of 200 novel female faces over three experiments, we find absolutely no male/female differences in this “partial information effect” of enhanced subjective attraction, nor do we find differences across the repetition of the task through to a second block of trials in which the faces are re-encountered and no longer novel. Finally, whereas objective stimulus quality is reduced, we suggest a positive hedonic experience arises as a subjective phenomenological index of enhanced perceptual goodness-of-fit, counter-intuitively facilitated by what may be stimulus-distilling image-level manipulations.
Humans have likely spent the vast majority of our history as a species in relatively egalitarian, small-scale societies; this does not mean humans are by nature egalitarian, but that ecological & demographic conditions suppressed dominance
Making and unmaking egalitarianism in small-scale human societies. Chris von Rueden. Current Opinion in Psychology, Volume 33, June 2020, Pages 167-171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2019.07.037
Highlights
• Modal political organization of ancestral human societies is egalitarianism.
• Role of prestige in human hierarchy is a contributing factor to egalitarianism.
• Historical shifts to greater inequality include coercive and non-coercive forces.
Abstract: Humans have likely spent the vast majority of our history as a species in relatively egalitarian, small-scale societies. This does not mean humans are by nature egalitarian. Rather, the ecological and demographic conditions common to small-scale societies favored the suppression of steep, dominance-based hierarchy and incentivized relatively shallow, prestige-based hierarchy. Shifts in ecological and demographic conditions, particularly with the spread of agriculture, weakened constraints on coercion.
Check also: Romanticizing the Hunter-Gatherer, Despite the Girl Infanticide, the Homicide Rate, etc.
Highlights
• Modal political organization of ancestral human societies is egalitarianism.
• Role of prestige in human hierarchy is a contributing factor to egalitarianism.
• Historical shifts to greater inequality include coercive and non-coercive forces.
Abstract: Humans have likely spent the vast majority of our history as a species in relatively egalitarian, small-scale societies. This does not mean humans are by nature egalitarian. Rather, the ecological and demographic conditions common to small-scale societies favored the suppression of steep, dominance-based hierarchy and incentivized relatively shallow, prestige-based hierarchy. Shifts in ecological and demographic conditions, particularly with the spread of agriculture, weakened constraints on coercion.
Check also: Romanticizing the Hunter-Gatherer, Despite the Girl Infanticide, the Homicide Rate, etc.
Romanticizing the Hunter-Gatherer. William Buckner. Quillette, December 16, 2017. https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/12/romanticizing-hunter-gatherer-despite.html
Zimmermann's World Resources And Industries, 1st edition, 1933
Zimmermann's World Resources And Industries, 1st edition, 1933
https://drive.google.com/open?id=10USDzBnuR0GxZS30wvuWBlZ7DyZ1oAiB
Erich Walter Zimmermann, resource economist, was born in Mainz, Germany, on July 31, 1888 and died in Austin, United States of America, on February 16, 1961. He was an economist at the University of North Carolina and later the University of Texas.
Zimmermann of the Institutional school of economics[1] called his real world theory the functional theory of mineral resources. His followers have coined the term resourceship to describe the theory.[2] Unlike traditional descriptive inventories, Zimmermann's method offered a synthetic assessment of the human, cultural, and natural factors that determine resource availability.
Zimmermann rejected the assumption of fixity. Resources are not known, fixed things; they are what humans employ to service wants at a given time. To Zimmermann (1933, 3; 1951, 14), only human "appraisal" turns the "neutral stuff" of the earth into resources.[3] What are resources today may not be tomorrow, and vice versa. According to Zimmermann, "resources are not, they become."[4] "According to the definition of ew Zimmerman, the word ,"resource " does not refer to a thing but to a function which a thing may perform to an operation in which it may take part,namely,the function or operation of attaining a given end such a satisfying a want.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=10USDzBnuR0GxZS30wvuWBlZ7DyZ1oAiB
Erich Walter Zimmermann, resource economist, was born in Mainz, Germany, on July 31, 1888 and died in Austin, United States of America, on February 16, 1961. He was an economist at the University of North Carolina and later the University of Texas.
Zimmermann of the Institutional school of economics[1] called his real world theory the functional theory of mineral resources. His followers have coined the term resourceship to describe the theory.[2] Unlike traditional descriptive inventories, Zimmermann's method offered a synthetic assessment of the human, cultural, and natural factors that determine resource availability.
Zimmermann rejected the assumption of fixity. Resources are not known, fixed things; they are what humans employ to service wants at a given time. To Zimmermann (1933, 3; 1951, 14), only human "appraisal" turns the "neutral stuff" of the earth into resources.[3] What are resources today may not be tomorrow, and vice versa. According to Zimmermann, "resources are not, they become."[4] "According to the definition of ew Zimmerman, the word ,"resource " does not refer to a thing but to a function which a thing may perform to an operation in which it may take part,namely,the function or operation of attaining a given end such a satisfying a want.
Bibliography
- “Resources of the South”, The South-Atlantic Quarterly (July 1933)
- World Resources and Industries: A Functional Appraisal of the Availability of Agricultural and Industrial Resources (1933) New York: Harper & Brothers
- World Resources and Industries, 2nd revised ed. (1951) New York: Harper & Brothers
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