Tuesday, December 14, 2021

Episodic thoughts of the past and future rarely occur in either N2 sleep or REM sleep; episodic thoughts in wakefulness tend to be future-focused and involve planning

Episodic thought distinguishes spontaneous cognition in waking from REM and NREM sleep. Benjamin Baird et al. Consciousness and Cognition, Volume 97, January 2022, 103247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2021.103247

Highlights

• Episodic thoughts of the past and future rarely occur in either N2 sleep or REM sleep.

• In contrast, episodic thought is a common feature of waking spontaneous thought.

• Episodic thoughts in wakefulness tend to be future-focused and involve planning.

• Autonoetic consciousness may differentiate spontaneous thoughts in sleep and wake.

Abstract: Evidence suggests continuity between cognition in waking and sleeping states. However, one type of cognition that may differ is episodic thoughts of the past and future. The current study investigated this across waking, NREM sleep and REM sleep. We analyzed thought reports obtained from a large sample of individuals (N = 138) who underwent experience-sampling during wakefulness as well as serial awakenings in sleep. Our data suggest that while episodic thoughts are common during waking spontaneous thought, episodic thoughts of both the past and the future rarely occur in either N2 or REM sleep. Moreover, replicating previous findings, episodic thoughts during wakefulness exhibit a strong prospective bias and frequently involve autobiographical planning. Together, these results suggest that the occurrence of spontaneous episodic thoughts differs substantially across waking and dreaming sleep states. We suggest that this points to a difference in the way that human consciousness is typically experienced across the sleep-wake cycle.

Keywords: DreamingMind-wanderingSpontaneous thoughtEpisodic future thoughtEpisodic memoryAutonoetic consciousnessMental time travel

Check also The cognitive neuroscience of lucid dreaming. Benjamin Baird, Sergio A. Mota-Rolim, Martin Dresler. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, Volume 100, May 2019, Pages 305-323. https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2019/03/the-cognitive-neuroscience-of-lucid.html


Monday, December 13, 2021

Rolf Degen summarizing... A happy love life requires a hormonal balancing act because testosterone levels must be high or low at the right point in time

Testosterone tradeoffs in close relationships. Robin S. Edelstein. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, December 13 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.aesp.2021.11.004

Abstract: Research on testosterone has long been dominated by a focus on “high testosterone” behaviors, such as aggression, competition, and dominance. The vast majority of this work, including in humans, has also been conducted in exclusively male samples, based in part on presumed links between testosterone and masculinity. Yet testosterone is implicated in many psychological and interpersonal processes for both men and women, and “low testosterone” behaviors may be particularly critical for ongoing close relationships. This fairly narrow focus on high testosterone, in men, leaves major gaps in our understanding of the social neuroendocrinology of close relationships, particularly as related to positive processes like caregiving, support-seeking, and intimacy. The goal of this review is to integrate the literature on testosterone in close relationships, in both men and women, with an eye toward closeness, intimacy, and other positive processes that likely contribute to and are supported by individual differences in testosterone and changes in testosterone over time. I focus on testosterone in the context of romantic and parent-child relationships, and highlight directions for future research that can help to fill important gaps in this literature. Further, I argue that, because close relationships are inherently dynamic and dyadic, longitudinal research that includes both men and women, and ideally both couple members, is critical for a complete understanding of the role of testosterone in close relationship processes.

Keywords: HormonesRomantic relationshipsParent-child relationshipsDyadicLongitudinal


Orthorexia nervosa (fixation on food purity, involving ritualized eating patterns & a rigid avoidance of “unhealthy foods”) seems not a new disorder but rather a new cultural manifestation of anorexia nervosa, fostered by the rise in diet culture and healthism

Cultural Shifts in the Symptoms of Anorexia Nervosa: The case of orthorexia nervosa. Anushua Bhattacharya et al. Appetite, December 12 2021, 105869. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2021.105869

Abstract: Orthorexia Nervosa (ON) is a term describing a fixation on food purity, involving ritualized eating patterns and a rigid avoidance of “unhealthy foods.” Those self-identified as having ON tend to focus on food composition and feel immense guilt after eating food deemed “unhealthy.” Although not formally recognized as a psychiatric disorder by the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), ON has received increasing attention since its identification in 1997. There is ongoing work to establish diagnostic and empirical tools for measuring ON; embedded in this is the question as to whether or not ON is a new eating disorder. In this paper, we argue ON is not a new psychiatric disorder but rather a new cultural manifestation of anorexia nervosa (AN). We begin by providing an overview of historical representations and classification of eating disorders, with a specific focus on AN. This is followed by discussion of the rise in diet culture and healthism since the 19th century. We conclude by examining the diagnostic validity and utility of ON through a discussion of empirical evidence. Classifying ON under the diagnostic umbrella of AN may improve our understanding of factors underlying restrictive eating behaviors.

Keywords: Orthorexia nervosaAnorexia nervosaHealthy eatingEating disorders



Sunday, December 12, 2021

After more than 70 years of research efforts, the question of where memory information is stored in the brain remains unresolved

Where is Memory Information Stored in the Brain? James Tee, Desmond P. Taylor. arXiv Dec 10 2021. https://arxiv.org/abs/2112.05362

Within the scientific research community, memory information in the brain is commonly believed to be stored in the synapse - a hypothesis famously attributed to psychologist Donald Hebb. However, there is a growing minority who postulate that memory is stored inside the neuron at the molecular (RNA or DNA) level - an alternative postulation known as the cell-intrinsic hypothesis, coined by psychologist Randy Gallistel. In this paper, we review a selection of key experimental evidence from both sides of the argument. We begin with Eric Kandel's studies on sea slugs, which provided the first evidence in support of the synaptic hypothesis. Next, we touch on experiments in mice by John O'Keefe (declarative memory and the hippocampus) and Joseph LeDoux (procedural fear memory and the amygdala). Then, we introduce the synapse as the basic building block of today's artificial intelligence neural networks. After that, we describe David Glanzman's study on dissociating memory storage and synaptic change in sea slugs, and Susumu Tonegawa's experiment on reactivating retrograde amnesia in mice using laser. From there, we highlight Germund Hesslow's experiment on conditioned pauses in ferrets, and Beatrice Gelber's experiment on conditioning in single-celled organisms without synapses (Paramecium aurelia). This is followed by a description of David Glanzman's experiment on transplanting memory between sea slugs using RNA. Finally, we provide an overview of Brian Dias and Kerry Ressler's experiment on DNA transfer of fear in mice from parents to offspring. We conclude with some potential implications for the wider field of psychology.

Subjects: Neurons and Cognition (q-bio.NC); Artificial Intelligence (cs.AI); Information Theory (cs.IT)


The most compelling evidence for something approaching human-like visual self-recognition is seen only in great apes, despite an impressive range of sometimes highly original procedures employed to study many monkey species

Mirror Self-Recognition. James R. Anderson and David L. Butler. In The Cambridge Handbook of Animal Cognition, Allison B. Kaufman, Josep Call and James C. Kaufman, eds. Jul 2021. https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/cambridge-handbook-of-animal-cognition/mirror-selfrecognition/E00B36F6CE100695BDF781881067D3B0

Summary: This chapter reviews five decades of research on reactions to mirrors and self-recognition in nonhuman primates, starting with Gallup’s (1970) pioneering experimental demonstration of self-recognition in chimpanzees and its apparent absence in monkeys. Taking a decade-by-decade approach, developments in the field are presented separately for great apes on the one hand, and all other primates on the other (prosimians, monkeys, and so-called lesser apes), considering both empirical studies and theoretical issues. The literature clearly shows that among nonhuman primates the most compelling evidence for something approaching human-like visual self-recognition is seen only in great apes, despite an impressive range of sometimes highly original procedures employed to study many monkey species. In the past decade, research has been shifting from simple questions about whether great apes can self-recognize (now considered beyond doubt), to addressing possible biological bases for individual and species differences in the strength of self-recognition, analysis of possible adaptive functions of the capacity for self-visualization, and searching for evidence of self-recognition in a range of nonprimate species.


"Dark participation" (malicious online participation including offensive speech, hate speech, fake news, and conspiracy theories) harms the well-being of victims, but for the perpetrators it might provide unique gratifications including experiences of pleasure

Dark Social Media Participation and Well-being. Thorsten Quandt, Johanna Klapproth, Lena Frischlich. Current Opinion in Psychology, December 11 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.11.004

Highlights

• Dark participation describes various forms of malicious online participation including offensive speech, hate speech, fake news, and conspiracy theories.

• Dark participation entails the participation of, at least, the perpetrators and victims—often also observers.

• Dark participation can severely harm the well-being of victims and can have noxious effects on intergroup relationships and society at large.

• For the perpetrators, dark participation might provide unique gratifications including experiences of pleasure that are yet to be fully explored by research.

Abstract: In recent years, there have been increasing global concerns about the abuse of digital technologies for malicious “dark participation,” the spreading of digital offenses, hate speech, fake news, and conspiracy theories. Clearly, dark participation can have severe effects on the victims and on society at large. However, less is known about the impact of dark participation on the perpetrators’ well-being. Preliminary research on the perpetrators indicates positive emotions and specific gratifications resulting from their behavior, in particular when it is fully consistent with their ideologies. Uncovering these gratifications—and the positive effects dark participation may have on perpetrators’ well-being—could be the key to a better understanding of the dark side of social media.

Keywords: conspiracy theoriesdark participationfake newshate speechincivilityoffensive speechperpetratorsvictimswell-being


Saturday, December 11, 2021

“Treatment-prevalence paradox”: Treatments for depression have supposedly improved, and their availability has markedly increased since the 1980s; mysteriously the general population prevalence of depression has not decreased

More treatment but no less depression: The treatment-prevalence paradox. Johan Ormel et al. Clinical Psychology Review, December 11 2021, 102111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2021.102111

Abstract: Treatments for depression have improved, and their availability has markedly increased since the 1980s. Mysteriously the general population prevalence of depression has not decreased. This “treatment-prevalence paradox” (TPP) raises fundamental questions about the diagnosis and treatment of depression. We propose and evaluate seven explanations for the TPP. First, two explanations assume that improved and more widely available treatments have reduced prevalence, but that the reduction has been offset by an increase in: 1) misdiagnosing distress as depression, yielding more “false positive” diagnoses; or 2) an actual increase in depression incidence. Second, the remaining five explanations assume prevalence has not decreased, but suggest that: 3) treatments are less efficacious and 4) less enduring than the literature suggests; 5) trial efficacy doesn't generalize to real-world settings; 6) population-level treatment impact differs for chronic-recurrent versus non-recurrent cases; and 7) treatments have some iatrogenic consequences. Any of these seven explanations could undermine treatment impact on prevalence, thereby helping to explain the TPP. Our analysis reveals that there is little evidence that incidence or prevalence have increased as a result of error or fact (Explanations 1 and 2), and strong evidence that (a) the published literature overestimates short- and long-term treatment efficacy, (b) treatments are considerably less effective as deployed in “real world” settings, and (c) treatment impact differs substantially for chronic-recurrent cases relative to non-recurrent cases. Collectively, these 4 explanations likely account for most of the TPP. Lastly, little research exists on iatrogenic effects of current treatments (Explanation 7), but further exploration is critical.


We replicate the famous “invisible gorilla” experiment where a salient gorilla is unnoticed; a single-neuron fires only when the patient is conscious of the gorilla; a different neuron fires when the patient first notices the gorilla

Single neuron evidence of inattentional blindness in humans. Brandon Freiberg, Moran Cerf. Neuropsychologia, December 10 2021, 108111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.108111

Highlights

• We study a patient undergoing brain surgery with electrodes implanted in her head.

• We replicate the famous “invisible gorilla” experiment where a salient gorilla is unnoticed.

• A single-neuron fires only when the patient is conscious of the gorilla.

• A different neuron fires when the patient first notices the gorilla.

• An interplay between the network (LFP) and the neurons drives the conscious experience.

Abstract: Recording directly from the brain of a patient undergoing neurosurgery with electrodes implanted deep in her skull we identified neurons that change their properties when the patient became consciously aware of content. Specifically, we showed the patient an established clip of a gorilla passing through the screen, unnoticeable, in a classic inattentional blindness task, and identified a neuron in the right amygdala that fired only when the patient was aware of the gorilla. A different neuron coded the moment of insight, when the patient realized that she had missed the salient gorilla in previous trials. A third cluster of neurons fired when the patient was exposed to a post-clip question (“How many passes did you count?“) and reflected on the content. Neurons in this cluster altered their response behavior between unaware and aware states.

To investigate the interplay between the neurons' activity and characterize the potential cascade of information flow in the brain that leads to conscious awareness, we looked at the neurons' properties change, their activities’ alignment and the correlation across the cells. Examining the coherence between the spiking activity of the responsive neurons and the field potentials in neighboring sites we identified an alignment in the alpha and theta bands. This spike-field coherence hints at an involvement of attention and memory circuits in the perceptual awareness of the stimulus.

Taken together, our results suggest that conscious awareness of content emerges when there is alignment between individual neurons' activity and the local field potentials. Our work provides direct neural correlate for the psychological process by which one can look at things directly but fail to perceive them with the “mind's eye”.

Keywords: Inattentional blindnessHuman electrophysiologySinge neuron recordingSpike-field coherenceConsciousness


The prevalence of consanguineous marriage among the Arab population in Israel increased significantly from 36.3% to 41.6% in the decade 2007-2017; first-cousin and closer marriages constituted about 50% of total consanguineous marriages

The prevailing trend of consanguinity in the Arab society of Israel: is it still a challenge? Rajech Sharkia et al. J Biosoc Sci. 2021 Dec 6;1-5. doi: 10.1017/S0021932021000675

Abstract: The aim of this study was to determine the trend of consanguineous marriage among the Arab population in Israel. Socio-demographic data for the Arab population were extracted from national health surveys conducted in Israel in 2007 and 2017. The prevalence of consanguineous marriage among the Arab population in Israel increased significantly from 36.3% to 41.6% in the decade from 2007 to 2017. First-cousin and closer marriages constituted about 50% of total consanguineous marriages in the two periods surveyed. Consanguinity was found to be significantly related to religion and place of residence. Thus, the prevalence of consanguineous marriage remains high among the Arab population in Israel, similar to other Arab societies. These findings affect the health of future generations and impose a challenge for health care professionals.

Keywords: Consanguinity; Marriage and mate selection.


Creativity and unethicality are positively related as predicted by theory, and that some studies have failed at finding it because they used self-reports to assess unethicality rather than objective measures (and the subjects lied!)

Storme, M., Celik, P., & Myszkowski, N. (2021). Creativity and unethicality: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 15(4), 664–672. Dec 2021. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000332

Abstract: A growing line of research suggests that creativity and unethicality are intrinsically related to one another. However, the idea has been challenged both by theoretical arguments and by heterogeneous empirical findings. In the present work, we review the literature to reconcile seemingly opposed theoretical views on the relationship between creativity and unethicality. We then conduct a meta-analysis to clear up confusion about heterogeneous empirical findings in the literature (k = 36, N = 6783). We find a weak positive correlation between the 2 constructs (r = .09, 95% confidence interval [.01, .17], t = 2.24, p < .05). Consistent with social desirability response bias theory (Randall & Fernandes, 1991), we find that the correlation is significant in studies that rely upon objective measures of unethicality—that is, behavioral measures or other-reports—but not in studies that rely upon self-reports of unethicality. Altogether, our work suggests that creativity and unethicality are positively related as predicted by theory, and that some studies have failed at finding it because they used self-reports to assess unethicality rather than objective measures. Theoretical, methodological, and practical implications are discussed. 


Friday, December 10, 2021

The heritability of most personality traits decreases with age, being overridden by the accumulation of highly idiosyncratic life experiences

Kandler, C., Bratko, D., Butković, A., Hlupić, T. V., Tybur, J. M., Wesseldijk, L. W., de Vries, R. E., Jern, P., & Lewis, G. J. (2021). How genetic and environmental variance in personality traits shift across the life span: Evidence from a cross-national twin study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 121(5), 1079–1094, Dec 2021. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000366

Abstract: Decades of research have shown that about half of individual differences in personality traits is heritable. Recent studies have reported that heritability is not fixed, but instead decreases across the life span. However, findings are inconsistent and it is yet unclear whether these trends are because of a waning importance of heritable tendencies, attributable to cumulative experiential influences with age, or because of nonlinear patterns suggesting Gene × Environment interplay. We combined four twin samples (N = 7,026) from Croatia, Finland, Germany, and the United Kingdom, and we examined age trends in genetic and environmental variance in the six HEXACO personality traits: Honesty-Humility, Emotionality, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness. The cross-national sample ranges in age from 14 to 90 years, allowing analyses of linear and nonlinear age differences in genetic and environmental components of trait variance, after controlling for gender and national differences. The amount of genetic variance in Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Openness followed a reversed U-shaped pattern across age, showed a declining trend for Honesty-Humility and Conscientiousness, and was stable for Emotionality. For most traits, findings provided evidence for an increasing relative importance of life experiences contributing to personality differences across the life span. The findings are discussed against the background of Gene × Environment transactions and interactions.


Definite eveningness was associated with increased odds for reporting self-perceived loneliness & lonely evening-types had significantly smaller right hippocampal volume as compared to morning & more socially connected evening types

Night Owls and Lone Wolves. Ray Norbury. Biological Rhythm Research, Dec 9 2021. https://doi.org/10.1080/09291016.2021.2014083

Abstract: Diurnal preference for evening time has been associated with poorer physical and mental health outcomes. In the current report, perceived loneliness and brain structure (hippocampal and amygdala volumes) were compared in a large (N = 4684) sample of morning- and evening-type individuals. Definite eveningness was associated with increased odds for reporting self-perceived loneliness and lonely evening-types had significantly smaller right hippocampal volume as compared to morning and more socially connected evening types. These data add to the mounting body of evidence linking an evening profile with increased risk for psychiatric disorder.

Keywords: Chronotypeeveningnessdiurnal preferencelonelinesshippocampus


Around the world, 60.40% of participants reported that they are currently trying to change their personalities, with the highest percentage in Thailand (81.91%) and the lowest in Kenya (21.41%), most of all emotional stability

Baranski, E., Gardiner, G., Lee, D., Funder, D. C., & Members of the International Situations Project. (2021). Who in the world is trying to change their personality traits? Volitional personality change among college students in six continents. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 121(5), 1140–1156, Dec 2021. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000389

Abstract: Recent research conducted largely in the United States suggests that most people would like to change one or more of their personality traits. Yet almost no research has investigated the degree to which and in what ways volitional personality change (VPC), or individuals’ active efforts toward personality change, might be common around the world. Through a custom-built website, 13,278 college student participants from 55 countries and one of a larger country (Hong Kong, S.A.R.) using 42 different languages reported whether they were currently trying to change their personality and, if so, what they were trying to change. Around the world, 60.40% of participants reported that they are currently trying to change their personalities, with the highest percentage in Thailand (81.91%) and the lowest in Kenya (21.41%). Among those who provide open-ended responses to the aspect of personality they are trying to change, the most common goals were to increase emotional stability (29.73%), conscientiousness (19.71%), extraversion (15.94%), and agreeableness (13.53%). In line with previous research, students who are trying to change any personality trait tend to have relatively low levels of emotional stability and happiness. Moreover, those with relatively low levels of socially desirable traits reported attempting to increase what they lacked. These principal findings were generalizable around the world.


Moderate occupational complexity may be a “goldilocks range” for using personality to predict occupational performance

Occupational characteristics moderate personality–performance relations in major occupational groups. Michael P. Wilmot, Deniz S. Ones. Journal of Vocational Behavior, Volume 131, December 2021, 103655. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2021.103655

Highlights

• Occupational characteristics moderate relations of personality and performance in major occupational groups.

• Personality–occupational performance relations differ considerably across nine major occupational groups.

• Traits show higher criterion-related validities when experts rate them as more relevant to occupational requirements.

• Moderate occupational complexity may be a “goldilocks range” for using personality to predict occupational performance.

• Occupational characteristics are important, if overlooked, contextual variables.

Abstract

Personality predicts performance, but the moderating influence of occupational characteristics on its performance relations remains underexamined. Accordingly, we conduct second-order meta-analyses of the Big Five traits and occupational performance (i.e., supervisory ratings of overall job performance or objective performance outcomes). We identify 15 meta-analyses reporting 47 effects for 9 major occupational groups (clerical, customer service, healthcare, law enforcement, management, military, professional, sales, and skilled/semiskilled), which represent N = 89,639 workers across k = 539 studies. We also integrate data from the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) concerning two occupational characteristics: 1) expert ratings of Big Five trait relevance to its occupational requirements; and 2) its level of occupational complexity. We report three major findings. First, relations differ considerably across major occupational groups. Conscientiousness predicts across all groups, but other traits have higher validities when they are more relevant to occupational requirements: agreeableness for healthcare; emotional stability for skilled/semiskilled, law enforcement, and military; extraversion for sales and management; and openness for professional. Second, expert ratings of trait relevance mostly converge with empirical relations. For 77% of occupational groups, the top-two most highly rated traits match the top-two most highly predictive traits. Third, occupational complexity moderates personality–performance relations. When groups are ranked by complexity, multiple correlations generally follow an inverse-U shaped pattern, which suggests that moderate complexity levels may be a “goldilocks range” for personality prediction. Altogether, results demonstrate that occupational characteristics are important, if often overlooked, contextual variables. We close by discussing implications of findings for research, practice, and policy.

Keywords: PersonalityOccupational characteristicsOccupational requirementsOccupational relevanceOccupational complexitySecond-order meta-analysisO*NET


The field of bioaesthetics seeks to understand how modern humans may have first developed art appreciation & is informed by considering a broad range of fields including painting, sculpture, music & the built environment

Bee Representations in Human Art and Culture through the Ages. Prendergast, K. S., Garcia, J. E., Howard, S. R., Ren, Z., McFarlane, S. J., & Dyer, A. G. Art & Perception, Dec 8 2021. https://doi.org/10.1163/22134913-bja10031

Abstract: The field of bioaesthetics seeks to understand how modern humans may have first developed art appreciation and is informed by considering a broad range of fields including painting, sculpture, music and the built environment. In recent times there has been a diverse range of art and communication media representing bees, and such work is often linked to growing concerns about potential bee declines due to a variety of factors including natural habitat fragmentation, climate change, and pesticide use in agriculture. We take a broad view of human art representations of bees to ask if the current interest in artistic representations of bees is evidenced throughout history, and in different regions of the world prior to globalisation. We observe from the earliest records of human representations in cave art over 8,000 years old through to ancient Egyptian carvings of bees and hieroglyphics, that humans have had a long-term relationship with bees especially due to the benefits of honey, wax, and crop pollination. The relationship between humans and bees frequently links to religious and spiritual representations in different parts of the world from Australia to Europe, South America and Asia. Art mediums have frequently included the visual and musical, thus showing evidence of being deeply rooted in how different people around the world perceive and relate to bees in nature through creative practice. In modern times, artistic representations extend to installation arts, mixed-media, and the moving image. Through the examination of the diverse inclusion of bees in human culture and art, we show that there are links between the functional benefits of associating with bees, including sourcing sweet-tasting nutritious food that could have acted, we suggest, to condition positive responses in the brain, leading to the development of an aesthetic appreciation of work representing bees.

Keywords: Ancient; perception; aesthetics; moving image; iconography; motif; modern; contemporary


8. Discussion and Considerations

Throughout this appraisal we have observed and reflected upon bee representations in human culture throughout early existence to current day, from ancient artefacts to South American and Chinese cultural perspectives, to physical and behavioural aesthetic interpretations of the bees’ attributes, and evolving methodologies within the human creative process. The representations we observe traverse a diversity of art practice, for example: the ancient song lines of First Nation peoples’ culture recording relationships with sugarbag bees in Australia, to the music of the Yunnan Province in China, and the bee-inspired drones in contemporary music. The types of artwork representing bees extend across many domains, consistent with proposals by Westphal-Fitch and Fitch (2018) that this is the type of broad and long-term evidence is required to inform how functional use and cultural practices may lead to aesthetic appreciations for art representing a particular motif. Indeed, the bee appears to be ubiquitous in human awareness and is often a positive reinforcing relationship that provides for us, informs our methods of conception and sharing of knowledge, and the way in which we may contemplate our co-existence for survival and prosperity. In this regard, bees like the European honeybee, South American bees and the Australian native sugarbag bee all produce a sweet-tasting and highly nutritious food like honey, and this may provide a relatively straightforward neurobiological pathway for how a conditioned appetitive experience enables a perceived positive or beautiful experience in an individual, and such an experience may lead to developing aesthetic appreciation for artwork associated with bees. Indeed, we hypothesise that most artwork appears to represent bees that produce such rewards, and this evidence extends around the world and for different bee species. In a similar fashion, bee art may be considered to promote both positive responses that may link to appetitive conditioning and sweet rewards, but alternatively to aversive responses to stings processed by different regions of the brain (see Section 7.2.4). Taken together, these links to how and why different people find bee art representations engaging suggest that aesthetic appeal to engage audience attention extends beyond a beautiful experience to either positive or aversive salient neural representations that cause occasion for artwork to stand out in the mind of the observer (Vessel et al., 2012).

In modern and contemporary arts practice, a ‘collective’ sense of connection to bees is a recurring theme, and how creative endeavours can contribute to further expand our global awareness of the plight of these important insects. Certainly, the mediums through which bees are represented and appraised have diversified, so too have the types of bees being represented. We propose that this is likely due to readily accessible and digestible science communication of which many practitioners are seeking to further the aesthetic capabilities (and legitimacy) of their works. Indeed, we now witness science and technology as an evolving tool and palette for creation, and for some artist such as Wolfgang Buttress (2021b) and AnneMarie Maes (2021) among others, this union is vital to conveying the human story of understanding the world we live in through art.


We have identified data fabrication, falsification and fraud as the primary reason for the retraction of papers in psychology; clearly, this is also an issue in other disciplines.

Russell, Craig, Cox, Adam, Tourish, Dennis and Thorpe, Alistair (2020) Using retracted journal articles in psychology to understand research misconduct in the social sciences: What is to be done? Research Policy, 49 (4). a103930. ISSN 0048-7333. http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/89876

Abstract: This paper explores the nature and impact of research misconduct in psychology by analyzing 160 articles that were retracted from prominent scholarly journals between 1998 and 2017. We compare findings with recent studies of retracted papers in economics, and business and management, to profile practices that are likely to be problematic in cognate social science disciplines. In psychology, the principal reason for retraction was data fabrication. Retractions took longer to make, and generally were from higher ranked and more prestigious journals, than in the two cognate disciplines. We recommend that journal editors should be more forthcoming in the reasons they provide for article retractions. We also recommend that the discipline of psychology gives a greater priority to the publication of replication studies; initiates a debate about how to respond to failed replications; adopts a more critical attitude to the importance of attaining statistical significance; discourages p-hacking and Hypothesizing After Results are Known (HARKing); assesses the long-term effects of pre-registering research; and supports stronger procedures to attest to the authenticity of data in research papers. Our contribution locates these issues in the context of a growing crisis of confidence in the value of social science research. We also challenge individual researchers to reassert the primacy of disinterested academic inquiry above pressures that can lead to an erosion of scholarly integrity.

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We have identified data fabrication, falsification and fraud as the primary reason for the retraction of papers in psychology. Clearly, this is also an issue in other disciplines.

Thursday, December 9, 2021

Life in space habitats may: detrimentally impact the sexual functions of astronauts, restrict privacy & access to intimate partners, impose hygiene protocols & abstinence policies, and heighten sexual violence risks

The Case for Space Sexology. S. Dubé,M. Santaguida,D. Anctil,L. Giaccari &J. Lapierre. The Journal of Sex Research, Dec 8 2021. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2021.2012639

Abstract: Space poses significant challenges for human intimacy and sexuality. Life in space habitats during long-term travel, exploration, or settlement may: detrimentally impact the sexual and reproductive functions of astronauts, restrict privacy and access to intimate partners, impose hygiene protocols and abstinence policies, and heighten risks of interpersonal conflicts and sexual violence. Together, this may jeopardize the health and well-being of space inhabitants, crew performance, and mission success. Yet, little attention has been given to the sexological issues of human life in space. This situation is untenable considering our upcoming space missions and expansion. It is time for space organizations to embrace a new discipline, space sexology: the scientific study of extraterrestrial intimacy and sexuality. To make this case, we draw attention to the lack of research on space intimacy and sexuality; discuss the risks and benefits of extraterrestrial eroticism; and propose an initial biopsychosocial framework to envision a broad, collaborative scientific agenda on space sexology. We also underline key anticipated challenges faced by this innovative field and suggest paths to solutions. We conclude that space programs and exploration require a new perspective – one that holistically addresses the intimate and sexual needs of humans – in our pursuit of a spacefaring civilization.


Of all interventions to increase weekly gym visits, the best results were given by microrewards for returning to the gym after a missed workout

Megastudies improve the impact of applied behavioural science. Katherine L. Milkman et al. Nature, Dec 8 2021. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-04128-4

Abstract: Policy-makers are increasingly turning to behavioural science for insights about how to improve citizens’ decisions and outcomes1. Typically, different scientists test different intervention ideas in different samples using different outcomes over different time intervals2. The lack of comparability of such individual investigations limits their potential to inform policy. Here, to address this limitation and accelerate the pace of discovery, we introduce the megastudy—a massive field experiment in which the effects of many different interventions are compared in the same population on the same objectively measured outcome for the same duration. In a megastudy targeting physical exercise among 61,293 members of an American fitness chain, 30 scientists from 15 different US universities worked in small independent teams to design a total of 54 different four-week digital programmes (or interventions) encouraging exercise. We show that 45% of these interventions significantly increased weekly gym visits by 9% to 27%; the top-performing intervention offered microrewards for returning to the gym after a missed workout. Only 8% of interventions induced behaviour change that was significant and measurable after the four-week intervention. Conditioning on the 45% of interventions that increased exercise during the intervention, we detected carry-over effects that were proportionally similar to those measured in previous research3,4,5,6. Forecasts by impartial judges failed to predict which interventions would be most effective, underscoring the value of testing many ideas at once and, therefore, the potential for megastudies to improve the evidentiary value of behavioural science.


Creativity: Contrarianism

Contrarianism. Mark A Runco, Director of Creativity Research & Programming, Southern Oregon University, Ashland. In Encyclopedia of Creativity 3rd ed. Prinzter, Runco eds. Elsevier 2020.


Introduction

Mickey Mouse was created by Walt Disney in the late 1920s. Mickey was a result of collaboration; Disney worked with his brother Roy and Ub Iwerks. Walt could no longer use his ‘star performer,’ Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, because his previous distributor held the rights. Disney needed a new star, and Mickey was conceived.

Why a mouse? As a matter of fact Walt wanted a cat. He discussed this with Roy and Ub, and they decided on a mouse. That decision was implicitly contrarian because Disney and his collaborators wanted to do what no one else was doing. The character Krazy Kat was already widely known and a second feline would be unoriginal. For that reason Walt and his collaborators decided on a mouse – to be different and unique.

Interestingly, the original suggestion was to call the new character ‘Mortimer,’ but Walt’s wife Lily decided that “Mickey” was more appropriate. The discussion between Walt and Lily, summarized inWalt Disney: An American Original (Thomas, 1994), can be described in terms of group dynamics and strategies, Walt being very contrarian, and Lily making sure that the new mouse would have a name which would sound right to the general public. “Mickey Mouse” has a nice ring to it; and like other creative names, labels, and titles, it is fitting in some aesthetic sense. This is true of all creative insights and ideas, not just names, labels, and titles. Creative work is original, but it is more than just original. It is original and fitting. Sometimes the latter is a matter of aesthetic fit. Originality and fit (or effectiveness) are the two requirements of the standard definition of creativity.


Rationale for Contrarianism

There is quite a bit of detail about contrarianism in the economic and investment theories of creativity (Rubenson, 1991; Rubenson & Runco, 1992, 1995; Runco, 1991; Sternberg & Lubart, 1991). The rationale for contrarianism is as follows: Originality is a critical aspect of creativity, and contrarianism has a high probability of leading to an original idea or behavior. It can be very practical because people can mindfully consider what others are doing and then do something different and original. If you just ask them to ‘be original,’ they may have some difficulty. There is often no clear-cut criterion with which they can actually judge their originality. But if you tell them to ‘do what others are not doing,’ they have something concrete to think about and to use in their efforts.

It is easy to be impressed by the contrarian tactic and see its value. There are several reasons. First, as just noted, it is operational and practical. It gives individuals something they can use when judging their ideas or behavior. Second, novel behaviors and actions are salient. For this reason the results of the contrarian effort are obvious. They often capture attention and may thus be rewarding.  Third, it is an easy tactic to explain to others. Teachers, for example, can easily describe this tactic to their charges. A number of empirical projects have demonstrated how easily original thinking can be enhanced with contrarianism and other simple tactics.  Many biographies, autobiographies, and case studies mention contrarianism and tie it to creativity. The next section reviews example cases. The pros and cons of the contrarian tactics will then be discussed, as will limitations of case studies. As is true of all cases, they are merely illustrations, not evidence.


Individuals Who Have Used Contrarian Strategies

Many famous creative persons have used a contrarian tactic, in addition to Walt Disney. Gandhi was a contrarian, especially in his methods of passive resistance. These were fitting and original, given his beliefs and objectives. He found a way to both resist (which is in itself contrarian, at least vis-à-vis the British) and yet remain a passivist. Gandhi’s passive resistance is paradoxical, being both resistance and passive, but this is true of many creative things. Passive resistance was paradoxical, contrarian, creative, and effective.  James Watson, who shared the Nobel Prize for his work on the structure of DNA, was contrarian as well. He collaborated with Francis Crick, and their competition with Linus Pauling was fierce (Watson, 1968). Sometimes competition requires contrarianism in that you do not want others to do what you are doing – or at least not until you have finished or established yourself.  In the medical research field Henry Heimlich (who developed the Heimlich maneuver) was long known as a maverick and nonconformist. Most recently he proposed curing patients with AIDS by giving them malaria. The Los Angeles Times claimed that “this is not the first time the 74-year-old Heimlich’s headstrong approach to medicine has shocked, even outraged the Establishment.” Heimlich was quoted as saying, “I don’t do ordinary things. I don’t follow all the rules if there’s a better, faster way to do it” (Oct. 30, 1994: A30).

The Los Angeles Times also published an article, “Renegades Reinvent the Bicycle.” Apparently the mountain bike – a modification of what Britannica called “the most efficient means yet devised to convert human energy into propulsion” – “came out of nowhere, a product of counterculture – invented by hippies, no less, a ragtag of pot-smokers and Haight–Ashbury drifters who barely got through high school.” Note the term counterculture. This is one way of describing a group of contrarians.

A final example from the Los Angeles Times is Rock ‘n’ Roll. In a 1998 Times book review rock is called “a disagreement with established power – a refutation of authority’s influence” (4/15/98, p. E6). Not that rock ‘n’ roll is the only rebellious kind of music. Duke Ellington was, for instance, quite the contrarian. Arnold Ludwig, author of The Price of Greatness, explained how “Knowingly or not, Ellington exploited traditional musical rules as inspiration for his jazz. If he learned that he was not supposed to use parallel fifths, he immediately would find a way to do so; if told that major sevenths must always rise, he would write a tune in which the line descended from the major seventh; and if the tritone was forbidden, he would find the earliest opportunity to use it and, to emphasize the point, would let it stand alone and exposed” (pp. 7–8).

The comment, “knowingly or not” is critical because by definition tactics and strategies are intentional. Unintentional contrarianism may best be viewed as oppositional thinking, which Ludwig (1995) defined as “the almost automatic tendency to adopt a contrary or opposite response” (pp. 7–8). Both contrarianism and oppositional thinking focus on what others are not doing, but the former is intentional, and thus tied to discretion, while the latter is unintentional and thus less likely to benefit creativity.  Discretion will be discussed further below. But first several other examples of contrarianism should be mentioned.  Ludwig also described the work of Sigmund Freud. Certainly Freud’s work was original, and yet it fit with his observations and with certain lines of medical theory. Freud was oppositional, and perhaps contrarian, in his efforts to do original work and in his nonconformity.

In the arts, Picasso described cubism as follows: “We were trying to move in a direction opposite to Impressionism.” This is pure contrarianism, especially in its direction – namely, opposite to Impressionism. It is not just a reaction to others, and not just different, but opposite. In her chapter in the Creativity Research Handbook Stephanie Dudek argued that the Dadaists and Surrealists were “particularly determined to burn all bridges behind them.” In this light, contrarianism breaks with tradition. That implies that avant-garde is inherently contrarian. As Dudek put it, avant-garde is “by definition art that is ahead of its time, that is shocking, disturbing, and therefore viewed as socially objectionable. Its specific aim is to undermine the existing order and to replace it with another. It attempts to do this by contradiction, challenge, confrontation, and self-assertion.”

Turning from the visual arts, consider next Bruce Lee. He developed an original system of martial arts – Jeet Kune Do – but had to fight the established, traditional schools because they did not want to teach any such techniques outside of Asia. Bruce broke with tradition.

Howard Gruber described how the famed developmental psychologist Jean Piaget used several specific strategies. First, Piaget always thought with a pencil in his hand. This is a simple but useful tactic, given how fleeting creative insights can be. Second, Piaget read outside his own field. Third, he did not read inside his own field. And last, he always had a target or “whipping boy.” The last of these implies working independently, imagining one’s critics, which is a kind of contrarianism. B. F. Skinner also suggested that scientists read outside their own field. This too is a kind of contrarianism, or at least increases the likelihood of it. Avoiding one’s own field is even more contrarian.

Dr Seuss, prolific author of children’s literature, broke rules on every page of every book. He made up his own words, used many an ungrammatical sentence, and defied the laws of physics in the actions of his characters. Gertrude Stein and e. e. cummings also come to mind; they too broke certain literary traditions.  Although instructive, these cases – Disney, Gandhi, Heimlich, Ellington, Freud, Picasso, Piaget, Skinner, Seuss, Stein, and Cummings – are famous creators. Generalizations from them are therefore questionable. As noted above, case studies are always only examples, not evidence.


Contrarianism in the Service of Creativity

Two distinctions will help to determine when contrarianism is in fact associated with creativity. First is the distinction between contrarianism and oppositional thinking. The former is intentional and the latter an unintentional tendency toward nonconformity and unconventionality. Similarly critical is the distinction between contrarianism that is intentionally used for the sake of creativity, and that which is used merely to insure originality and salience. Contrarianism does not guarantee creativity; it can have other outcomes or be directed to other objectives, including originality. But originality does not insure creativity; it is necessary but not sufficient. It follows that contrarianism for the sake of originality may lead only to deviance and not to creativity.  Salience is a possibility because contrarianism does lead to originality – the contrarian is different and unique – but it may just attract attention without actually introducing a truly creative idea or act. Original behaviors and actions are salient and thus do grab our attention. Creativity, on the other hand, probably is much more likely when the intention is creativity rather than mere salience or popularity. This is contrarianism in the service of creativity. When that is the intention, there is likely to be some fit, appropriateness, or effectiveness, as well as originality. Recall here that creativity requires both originality and effectiveness. Contrarianism only contributes to the former and can inhibit the latter.

Even contrarianism in the service of creativity has potential problems. First is what I once called misplaced investments (Runco, 1995). This occurs when the creator uses a contrarian tactic, but does so to the extent that he or she is investing time into being different and therefore not investing time and energy into the topic or problem itself. The investment is misplaced because time invested into being different is often time away from good focused work. This is especially problematic because quite a bit of research suggests that persistence and immersion is often a requirement for creative insights and breakthroughs.  A second potential problem is that contrarianism can lead the individual to break rules that should not be broken. It may be that the creator is reinforced for contrarianism because it leads to creative insights, but then fails to exercise discretion and applies the same tactic in areas where some conventionality should be respected. The proposals from Feldman, Gardner, and Csikszentmihalyi in 1999 and Gruber in 1993, that moral and humanitarian values should be clearly encouraged along with creativity, are relevant here. If contrarianism leads the individual to break the important rules that keep society running smoothly, we have an example of what Robert McLaren called the Dark Side of Creativity. Examples of this were given by Russell Eisenman and Richard Brower in the Special Issue of the Creativity Research Journal which was devoted to Creativity and Deviance. Brower provided long lists of eminent creators who spent time in jail. A more recent branch of this research used the term malevolent creativity. Even more recent empirical work by Jack Goncalo demonstrated how very simple decisions (e.g., about diet) that involve a disregard for rules have clear implications for when individuals have opportunities to act creatively.


Creativity as Postconventional Contrarianism

One useful way to think of contrarianism is as postconventional creativity. The term postconventional originated in developmental theories. It is a mature stage of development and follows the preconventional and conventional stages of development. A child in the first of these stages is unaware of rules, norms, and conventions, and in fact does not recognize the value of rules. His or her games are ever-changing; there are no stable rules to keep the child moving toward an objective. Moral judgments at this age are based on rewards and punishers rather than a sense of right and wrong. The child is, however, often quite creative in art and expression.  Ask a group of preschoolers to draw pretty trees and you will get trees with pink, purple, and polka-dotted rather than green leaves. Preschool children pick their colors based on preference rather than convention. They are highly self-expressive, and that can be a very good thing for creative behavior.

Individuals in the conventional stage are well aware of rules – and in fact hold to very literal interpretations of them. They see the value of conventions. Conventional behavior allows them to fit in with one’s peer group, for instance, but sometimes the conventional individual puts too much effort into doing just that. The result is a tendency away from anything unconventional and original, which means that creativity is not possible. Conventional individuals respond to peer pressure and hate bending rules. This explains the fourth-grade slump in creativity, when many children become noticeably less original in their ideation. Conventionality also leads them to a literal use of language, and it certainly is apparent in their playing games (completely by the rules rather than improvising as needed) and in their art. Children in this stage are likely to only draw trees that have green leaves. Not a polka dot in sight.

The third stage is postconventional. Here the individual is aware of rules, norms, and conventions, but make decisions for him- or herself rather than blindly conforming. Conventions are taken into account, but so is the immediate context. If asked to draw “what trees look like,” leaves may very well be green, but if asked to draw a beautiful tree, the leaves may include rainbow colors or whatever color is the individual’s favorite. This same capacity to recognize conventions but think for one’s self is exactly what was meant earlier by exercising discretion. With discretion, contrarianism will be used appropriately, in the service of creativity. Without discretion, contrarianism is blind and constant, probably oppositional rather than adaptive and effective. Contrarianism must be mindful to capture the originality and effectiveness that are both required for creativity.


References

Goncalo, J., 2019, August. Presentation at the Festschrift for Teresa Amabile. Harvard Business School, Cambridge, MA.

Ludwig, A., 1995. The Price of Greatness. Guilford Press, New York.

Rubenson, D.L., 1991. On creativity, economics, and baseball. Creativ. Res. J. 4, 205–209.

Rubenson, D.L., Runco, M.A., 1992. The psychoeconomic approach to creativity. New Ideas Psychol. 10, 131–147.

Rubenson, D.L., Runco, M.A., 1995. The psychoeconomic view of creative work in groups and organizations. Creativ. Innov. Manag. 4, 232–241.

Runco, M.A., 1991. On economic theories of creativity (Comment). Creativ. Res. J. 4, 198–200.

Runco, M.A., 1995. Insight for creativity, expression for impact. Creativ. Res. J. 8, 377–390.

Sternberg, R.J., Lubart, T., 1991. Short selling investment theories of creativity? A reply to Runco. Creativ. Res. J. 4, 200–202.

Thomas, B., 1994. Walt Disney: An American Original Disney.

Watson, J.D., 1968. The Double Helix. New American Library, New York.

 

Does Godwin’s law (rule of Nazi analogies) apply in observable reality? An empirical study of selected words in 199 million Reddit posts

Does Godwin’s law (rule of Nazi analogies) apply in observable reality? An empirical study of selected words in 199 million Reddit posts. Gabriele Fariello, Dariusz Jemielniak, Adam Sulkowski. New Media & Society, December 7, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448211062070

Abstract: As Godwin’s Law states, “as a discussion on the Internet grows longer, the likelihood of a person being compared to Hitler, or another Nazi reference, increases.” However, even though the theoretical probability of an infinitely long conversation including any term should approach 1.0, in practice, conversations cannot be infinite in length, and this long-accepted axiom is impossible to observe. By analyzing 199 million Reddit posts, we note that, after a certain point, the probability of observing the terms “Nazi” or “Hitler” actually decreases significantly with conversation length. In addition, a corollary of Godwin’s Law holds that “the invocation of Godwin’s Law is usually done by an individual that is losing the argument,” and, thus, that comparisons to Nazis are a signal of a discussion’s end. In other words, comparing one’s interlocutor to Hitler is supposed to be a conversation-killer. While it is difficult to determine whether a discussion on a given topic ended or not in a large dataset, we observe a marked increase in conversation length when the words “Hitler” or “Nazi” are newly interjected. Given that both of these observations challenge widely accepted and intuitive truisms, other words were run through the same set of tests. Within the context of the initial question, these results suggest that it is not inevitable that conversations eventually disintegrate into reductio ad Hitlerum, and that such comparisons are not conversation-killers. The results moreover suggest that we may underestimate, in the popular imagination, how much conversations may actually become narrower and therefore may tend to have a more impoverished or limited vocabulary as they stretch on. All of these observations provoke questions for further research.

Keywords: Computational linguistics, digital culture, online conversations, Reddit


National Narcissism predicts the Belief in and the Dissemination of Conspiracy Theories During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence From 56 Countries

National Narcissism predicts the Belief in and the Dissemination of Conspiracy Theories During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence From 56 Countries. Anni Sternisko et al. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, December 7, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672211054947

Abstract: Conspiracy theories related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have propagated around the globe, leading the World Health Organization to declare the spread of misinformation an “Infodemic.” We tested the hypothesis that national narcissism—a belief in the greatness of one’s nation that requires external recognition—is associated with the spread of conspiracy theories during the COVID-19 pandemic. In two large-scale national surveys (NTotal = 950) conducted in the United States and the United Kingdom, and secondary analysis of data from 56 countries (N = 50,757), we found a robust, positive relationship between national narcissism and proneness to believe and disseminate conspiracy theories related to COVID-19. Furthermore, belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories was related to less engagement in health behaviors and less support for public-health policies to combat COVID-19. Our findings illustrate the importance of social identity factors in the spread of conspiracy theories and provide insights into the psychological processes underlying the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19, conspiracy theories, collective narcissism, social identity, public health

In three studies, with data from 51,707 participants from 56 countries, we examined the relationships between national narcissism, COVID-19 conspiracy theories, and health behaviors and policy attitudes. Across culturally diverse samples, we found that greater national narcissism was associated with stronger belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories (Studies 1–3). In the United States and the United Kingdom, national narcissism was also positively related to intentions to disseminate COVID-19 conspiracy theories (Studies 1 and 2). This relationship was mediated by greater belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories (Studies 1 and 2). These relationships were very robust12 and persisted when we adjusted for a series of relevant covariates. National narcissism might be an important risk factor for the spread of conspiracy theories during the pandemic.

We found correlational evidence suggesting that belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories may have serious consequences for the global containment of the pandemic. Across 56 countries, belief in COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs were related to less adherence to public health guidelines (i.e., physical hygiene, physical distancing; Study 3) and less support for public health policies (Studies 2 and 3). These effects were generally small which may partly be due to restricted variance. People reported high engagement in health behavior and policy support but low belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories. Given the globality and contagiousness of the virus, however, even subtle negligence can be detrimental. We also found that COVID-19 conspiracy theory beliefs mediated a negative relationship between national narcissism and engagement in health behaviors (Study 3) and policy support (Studies 2 and 3).

Theoretical Contributions and Implications

Our study expands previous work on conspiracy theories and public health by examining the role of social identity processes. We found that national narcissism—a defensive belief in the greatness of one’s nation that requires external recognition—was positively related to the readiness to believe and disseminate COVID-19 conspiracy theories. Critically, neither general ingroup positivity (Studies 1–3) nor individual narcissism (Study 3) could fully account for our findings. It was the defensive love for the nation—captured in national narcissism—that seemed to be crucial.

Furthermore, the relationship between national narcissism and belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories persisted when adjusting for participants’ belief in conspiracy theories unrelated to COVID-19 (Study 1), suggesting that national narcissists are not drawn to simply any kind of conspiracy theories (see Bertin et al., 2021Cichocka, Marchlewska, & Golec de Zavala, 2016). In fact, national narcissism was unrelated to belief in conspiracy theories about topics like politics (e.g., 9/11 inside job) and other public health issues (e.g., HIV, vaccines; see Supplement Table 9.1). This suggests that at the time of data collection COVID-19 conspiracy theories corresponded to a specific social identity need (Enders & Uscinski, 2021Sternisko et al., 2020Uscinski et al., 2020), presumably the desire to deny or deflect national shortcomings exposed by the pandemic.

Even though belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories and national narcissism were associated with reflexive open-mindedness (Study 1) and low reflection (Study 3), the association between national narcissism and belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories remained significant when we adjusted for these factors, as well as factual knowledge about COVID-19 (Study 2). These findings highlight that conspiracy theory beliefs among national narcissists are not simply a product of limited cognitive effort and gullibility (Van Bavel & Pereira, 2018Zmigrod et al., 2018). Certain strategies to reduce the spread of misinformation like accuracy nudges (Pennycook et al., 2020) and media education (Basol et al., 2020) may therefore prove less effective for national narcissists.

Furthermore, we found that the relationship between national narcissism and conspiracy theory beliefs occurs outside the context of intergroup conflict. We found that national narcissists latched onto conspiracy theories specifically related to COVID-19, regardless of who is the alleged conspirator. This suggests that conspiracy theories are a generalized maladaptive ingroup defense strategy among national narcissists (Cislak et al., 2021Marchlewska et al., 2019).

Little research has examined the psychological risk factors for the spread of conspiracy theories. We found that national narcissism may be a risk factor for the dissemination of conspiracy theories (Hughes & Machan, 2021). At first, our findings may seem obvious: people with stronger conspiracy theory beliefs—people high in national narcissism—should also be more likely to disseminate them. However, the formation and dissemination of people’s public beliefs are much more complex (León-Medina et al., 2020). For instance, people anticipate negative judgment and social exclusion for publicly supporting conspiracy theories (Lantian et al., 2018). In such situations, private and public opinions often become misaligned (León-Medina et al., 2020). Our findings hint at an interesting psychological phenomenon worth future investigation: National narcissists may be more willing than others to imperil their personal image in the interest of defending their ingroup’s image.

Exploratory analyses found evidence that national narcissists’ stronger belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories is linked to less engagement in health behaviors and less support for policies mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic. However, looking at the total and direct effects of national narcissism a more complicated picture emerged. In Study 2, national narcissism was negatively related to policy support after adjusting for national identification. However, national narcissism was positively albeit weakly, related to policy support and physical hygiene and was not related to physical distancing in Study 3 (Van Bavel, Cichocka et al., 2020). When we accounted for conspiracy theories in our mediation models, the direct relationships remained positive, yet weak. These findings suggest that while national narcissism might be associated with lower willingness to adhere to pandemic related guidelines via conspiracy beliefs, other psychological processes might be operating in parallel motivating national narcissists to support policies and regulations to the extent they view them as beneficial to maintaining the positive ingroup image (Cislak et al., 2021Gronfeldt et al., 2021). More research is needed to unpack these relationships.

Limitations and Future Directions

We found that the relationship between national narcissism and belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories was relatively robust across contexts. Nevertheless, some countries deviated from general trends, suggesting that our findings are not universally true. Furthermore, participants from Africa and the Middle East were still underrepresented in our studies. In addition, we only measured dissemination intentions in Studies 1 and 2, both of which were conducted in Western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic (W.E.I.R.D) countries. This limits the generalizability of the corresponding findings. We encourage research to replicate our findings with these populations and also explore potential moderators (see Supplement Tables S1.7, S1.8, S2.7, S2.8, S3.4 on gender and ethnicity). We also highlight that all measures relied on self-report and slightly varied across studies. Despite these variations in measurements, our results were consistent across studies which lends further confidence in our conclusions. Last, we note that beliefs in conspiracy theories were quite low. As such, our work is best understood as examining the underlying motives of those who depart from a norm of skepticism towards conspiracy theories.

Since national narcissism is relatively stable over time (Cichocka et al., 2018), we suspect that national narcissism motivates the belief in and dissemination of COVID-19 conspiracy theories, which translates into adverse health behaviors and attitudes rather than the reverse. However, our data is cross-sectional. More work is needed to justify this interpretation. If future research finds evidence that national narcissism increases people’s proneness to believe and disseminate COVID-19 conspiracy theories, practical implications are worthwhile exploring. For instance, underscoring that the national in-group is disadvantaged in fighting the pandemic might heighten the need to assert the image of the group and further fuel conspiracy theories (Marchlewska et al., 2018). Conversely, public health messages might benefit from stressing that the adherence to health guidelines such as getting the COVID-19 vaccine helps protect the nation’s image.

Gender Roles in the Millennium: Who Pays and Is Expected to Pay for Romantic Dates?

Gender Roles in the Millennium: Who Pays and Is Expected to Pay for Romantic Dates? Hao Wu et al. Psychological Reports, December 7, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1177/00332941211057144

Abstract: Research on monetary decisions and behaviors in dating relationships is very limited. The purpose of this study was to examine college students’ current practice and expectations for date payment for first and subsequent romantic dates in the framework of gender role theory. A sample of 552 heterosexual college students took an online survey that included questions about their actual and expected payment for their first and subsequent dates. Participants also completed several measures regarding their gender roles. The findings indicated that traditional gender norms in dating continue to be popular in the new millennium because in actual practice, men almost always paid the whole bill of the first dates and paid more for subsequent dates. When asked who should pay for the dates, participants also expected men to pay more for first and subsequent dates. Women did show some willingness to share date expenses, although nowhere close to be completely even. The findings also indicated that gender role attitudes played little role in actual practice but had a stronger role in date payment expectations, showing that individuals subscribing to traditional gender inequality views tended to believe that men should pay more for dates.

Keywords: Sex, gender role, gender norm, gender attitudes, date payment


Wednesday, December 8, 2021

The nature of privilege: intergenerational wealth in animal societies

The nature of privilege: intergenerational wealth in animal societies. Jennifer E Smith, B Natterson-Horowitz, Michael E Alfaro. Behavioral Ecology, arab137, December 7 2021. https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arab137

Abstract: Wealth inequality is widespread across human societies, from pastoral and small-scale agricultural groups to large modern social structures. The intergenerational transfer of wealth privileges some individuals over others through the transmission of resources external to an individual organism. Privileged access to household wealth (e.g., land, shelter, silver) positively influences the destinies of some (and their descendants) over others in human societies. Strikingly parallel phenomena exist in animal societies. Inheritance of nongenetic commodities (e.g., a nest, territory, tool) external to an individual also contributes greatly to direct fitness in animals. Here, we illustrate the evolutionary diversity of privilege and its disparity-generating effects on the evolutionary trajectories of lineages across the Tree of Life. We propose that integration of approaches used to study these patterns in humans may offer new insights into a core principle from behavioral ecology—differential access to inherited resources—and help to establish a broad, comparative framework for studying inequality in animals.

Intergenerational transfer of material wealth within family lineages

Intergenerational transfer of material wealth can drive inequality within family lineages of animals. In North American red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus), a mother may store spruce cones on her territory and privilege her daughter by bequeathing a rich territory to her; daughters who receive these resources survive longer and reproduce earlier than those without (Smith 1968). Male food hoarders can also influence the lifetime fitness of subsequent owners of middens and these effects persist across multiple owners (Fisher et al. 2019). Because these food hoards outlive their owners, these indirect effects alter the environments that others experience. Thus, when some offspring receive a cone stash and others do not, this perpetuates inequality across generations privileging some individuals over others. Whereas many species, including the red squirrels described here, modify their local resource distributions (Laland et al. 1999Olding-Smee 2012), studying the evolutionary dynamics associated with the intergenerational transfer of these constructed niches requires explicit study within a comparative framework.

The material transfer of (nongenetic) material wealth contributes to the extinction (vs. expansion) of family lineages and advantage individuals of the philopatric (vs. dispersing) sex across species. For spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta), individuals from multiple maternal lineages join forces to defend a shared territory, but high-born philopatric females and their descendants have privileged access to resources within them (Holekamp et al. 2012) (Figure 2). Differential access promotes the extinction of nonprivileged family lineages but expands land ownership by privileged animals; these effects are further ameliorated by differential access to social support within groups (Smith, Van Horn, et al. 2010Strauss and Holekamp 2019). In contrast, territory acquisition by a young male red grouse (Lagopus lagopus scotica) is impacted by paternal presence (Watson et al. 1994) (Figure 2). Philopatric sons with nearby fathers gain larger and more defended territories than individuals whose fathers are no longer alive. Thus, the comparative study of wealth transfer across animals should therefore offer insights into the evolutionary dynamics of family groups and the consequences of sex-biased dispersal in animals.

The transgenerational use of activity sites can also contribute to the accumulation of stone tools within lineages. Taï Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) (Mercader et al. 2002) and bearded capuchin monkeys (Cebus libidinosus) (Elisabetta et al. 2013) inherit tools produced at nut-cracking sites via the paternal and maternal lines, respectively. Individuals that inherit are advantaged over others who do not in terms of their ability to gain access to key food resources; these beneficial effects are further compounded through the transfer of social information (e.g., traditions for how to use inherited materials) across generations. These examples shed light on the direct and indirect role of wealth transfer in shaping legacies of inequality along bloodlines over multiple time scales. These effects of intergenerational wealth mobility are likely stronger for some species than for others, as we discuss below, and therefore should be the subject of a quantitative study by behavioral ecologists to understand the breadth of their influence.

Intergenerational transfer of material wealth among non-kin

Intergenerational transfer of material wealth is not limited to genetic relatives within animal societies and can impose similar disparity-generating effects through preferential treatment by non-kin. For instance, privileged access to shelter (e.g., a nest) can transcend bloodlines in European paper wasps (Polistes dominula). Inheritance of built structures from kin or non-kin advantage wasps fortunate enough to receive them (Leadbeater et al. 2011). As a result, females who share nests with others are more likely to inherit structures and produce offspring than less privileged lone females. Within some termite societies structures may be inherited from kin, but inheritance can also occur when different lineages merge to share “real estate” (Thorne et al. 2003). The merging of families accelerates inheritance, increasing opportunities for resource acquisition for future generations, benefiting some termite lineages over others to further perpetuate the cycle of privilege. In some cases, disadvantaged individuals wait for privileged individuals to perish, as occurs, for example, in the clown anemonefish (Amphiprion percula) which lives in groups composed of non-relatives (Buston 2004). The non-breeding fish queue to inherit high-quality anemones from non-kin, but not all individuals inherit, and these effects can compound across multiple generations. Further inquiry into understanding selective processes shaping resource transfer among non-kin within a comparative perspective could offer new insights into the evolutionary origins of cooperation among non-relatives.