Women prefer less risk & less competition, prioritize equality over efficiency and report a greater willingness to share wealth

Gender preference gaps & voting for redistribution. Eva Ranehill & Roberto A. Weber. Experimental Economics, Jan 6 2022. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10683-021-09741-8

Abstract: There is substantial evidence that women tend to support different policies and political candidates than men. Many studies also document gender differences in a variety of important preference dimensions, such as risk-taking, competition and pro-sociality. However, the degree to which differential voting by men and women is related to these gaps in more basic preferences requires an improved understanding. We conduct an experiment in which individuals in small laboratory “societies” repeatedly vote for redistribution policies and engage in production. We find that women vote for more egalitarian redistribution and that this difference persists with experience and in environments with varying degrees of risk. This gender voting gap is accounted for partly by both gender gaps in preferences and by expectations regarding economic circumstances. However, including both these controls in a regression analysis indicates that the latter is the primary driving force. We also observe policy differences between male- and female-controlled groups, though these are substantially smaller than the mean individual differences—a natural consequence of the aggregation of individual preferences into collective outcomes.

Conclusion

We study the relationship between gender gaps in policy preferences and gaps in more basic preferences. There is widespread evidence that men and women differ in their attitudes toward risk, competition and inequality. Several studies also document that men and women sometimes exhibit different voting behavior, with women favoring greater redistribution. However, the degree to which gender gaps in the policy preferences of men and women are the direct result of more basic preference gaps—rather than of other factors, such as differential economic circumstances—requires better understanding.

To investigate this question, we design an experimental environment in which individuals repeatedly vote for redistribution policies and then engage in production subject to these policies. Consistent with evidence from outside the laboratory, women tend to vote for more egalitarian redistributive policies than men. This gap is substantial and persists with experience and is also very similar in environments with and without risk in the relationship between work and initial income.

We also replicate many previously observed gender gaps in more basic preferences. Women prefer less risk and less competition, prioritize equality over efficiency and report a greater willingness to share wealth. They are also less confident about their relative baseline performance in the task that we employ as the production activity, despite there being no gap in actual baseline performance. We then investigate the extent to which these gaps in basic preferences and expectations can account for the gender gap in voting. Our data suggest that preferences do play a role in voting behavior—particularly social preferences and competitiveness. However, differential expectations of future economic outcomes between men and women appear to have a larger impact on voting behavior. In combination, these two sets of factors go a long way in explaining the gender gap in policy preferences.

Finally, we also study whether the gender gap in policy preferences yields different policies enacted in groups where women, rather than men, hold the majority. We find this to be the case, but the magnitude and statistical strength of the group-level policy gaps is considerably smaller than the gaps at the individual level. Some of this naturally reflects a centralizing tendency of many social choice rules, including those like ours in which the median preferences have a large degree of impact.

Our work is important for better understanding how policies enacted in societies and organizations may change as women exert greater influence and control. First, our finding that expectations about relative performance appear to be a more important factor in explaining the gender gap in voting than gaps in more fundamental preferences indicates that the tendency for women to favor greater redistribution than men may diminish as women obtain better economic outcomes and security. Second, the relatively small policy gaps that we observe at the group level between male-dominated and female-dominated groups indicates that changes in policy outcomes from women exerting greater policy control may not be as dramatic as one might expect when extrapolating from average preference gaps at the individual level. Thus, claims that the world would be a fundamentally different place if women were to control policymaking should be tempered by the fact that such impacts may be relatively small. Our findings also provide an interpretation for why male- and female-majority groups often do not produce very different outcomes, despite the fact that gender differences in preferences seem quite reliable.

It is also worth noting that our evidence comes from contexts that we designed to create a straightforward relationship between the types of preferences often found to differ by gender and the unidimensional policy domain over which people vote. A natural open question is whether such differences persist in other contexts—for example, when the relationship between gender gaps in preferences for risk, competition and equality do not line up to predict concordant directional effects on policy preferences. Our work thus highlights the need for more careful study of precisely how gender differences scale up and persist over time to shape firms, institutions and societies.

Testing associations between women’s cycle phase or hormone levels and pathogen disgust or contamination sensitivity, the authors find no compelling evidence for upregulated pathogen disgust in the luteal phase or higher progesterone levels

Hormones, ovulatory cycle phase and pathogen disgust: A longitudinal investigation of the Compensatory Prophylaxis Hypothesis. Julia Stern, Victor Shiramizu. Hormones and Behavior, Volume 138, February 2022, 105103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2021.105103

Highlights

• Testing associations between women’s cycle phase or hormone levels and pathogen disgust or contamination sensitivity

• No compelling evidence for upregulated pathogen disgust in the luteal phase or when progesterone levels are higher

• Results in contrast to the Compensatory Prophylaxis Hypothesis

• No differences in results for women with a current infection

Abstract: Multiple studies have argued that disgust, especially pathogen disgust and contamination sensitivity, change across women's ovulatory cycle, with higher levels in the luteal phase due to an increase in progesterone levels. According to the Compensatory Prophylaxis Hypothesis (CPH), women have a higher disgust sensitivity to pathogen cues when in the luteal phase (or when progesterone levels are higher), because progesterone is associated with suppressed immune responses. Evidence for this hypothesis is rather mixed and uncertain, as the largest study conducted so far reported no compelling evidence for an association between progesterone levels and pathogen disgust. Further, ovulatory cycle research has been criticized for methodological shortcomings, such as invalid cycle phase estimates, no direct hormone assessments, small sample sizes or between-subjects studies. To address these issues and to contribute to the literature, we employed a large, within-subjects design (N = 257 with four sessions each), assessments of salivary hormone levels and cycle phase estimates based on luteinizing hormone tests. A variety of multilevel models suggest no compelling evidence that self-reported pathogen disgust or contamination sensitivity is upregulated in the luteal phase or tracks changes in women's hormone levels. We further found no compelling evidence for between-subjects associations of pathogen disgust or contamination sensitivity and hormone levels. Results remain robust across different analytical decisions (e.g. in a subsample of women reporting feeling sick). We discuss explanations for our results, limitations of the current study and provide directions for future research.

Keywords: Pathogen disgustContamination sensitivityProgesteroneHormonesOvulatory cycleCompensatory Prophylaxis Hypothesis

4. Discussion

In the current study, we aimed to test the CPH by employing a longitudinal design, a large sample size, direct hormone assessments and LH-test validated cycle phase estimates. Across a variety of different analyses, we found no compelling evidence that pathogen disgust or contamination sensitivity is related to LH-validated cycle phase or different hormones levels (within-subjects and between-subjects). We further found no significant effects for women who reported feeling sick in our data.

Previous studies testing the CPH yield mixed findings. Our results are in line with the results by Jones et al. (2018) who also reported no compelling evidence that pathogen disgust tracks changes in women's salivary progesterone, estradiol, testosterone, or cortisol. They are further in line with studies not reporting compelling evidence for an association of different cycle phases and increased pathogen disgust (e.g. Fessler and Navarrete, 2003; Żelaźniewicz et al., 2016), but in contrast to previous studies reporting significant effects for either (within-subjects or between-subjects) hormone levels or different cycle phases.

Fleischman and Fessler (2018) published three possible explanations for the null results reported by Jones et al. (2018): a) that the CPH might be entirely wrong, b) measurement issues might explain differences in findings, c) progesterone might not be the driving factor. We argue that these three explanations might also pertain to our findings, as they were virtually identical to the findings published by Jones et al. (2018), although Jones et al. (2018) did not specifically assess women's cycle phases. Of course, it is possible that the CPH is wrong and that “changes in immune functioning are too small or not consistent enough to exert selective pressure on mechanisms governing behavior” (Fleischman and Fessler, 2018, p. 468). However, we refrain from such strong conclusions based on our findings, given that there are always limitations in single datasets, that absence of evidence does not equal evidence of absence and that our results might not be generalizable to other contexts or samples (e.g. pregnant women). Nevertheless, we think that our findings further challenge the CPH. We agree that differences in used measures might at least partly explain differences in findings between studies. For example, we did not investigate disgust responses to pictures depicting disease cues, for which some previous studies reported findings in line with the CPH (Fleischman and Fessler, 2011; Miłkowska et al., 2021). However, not using pictures in the current study does not explain differences in findings of self-reported pathogen disgust or contamination sensitivity via questionnaires also used by Fleischman and Fessler (2011) or Milkowska et al., 2019, Miłkowska et al., 2021. Other differences in methods (besides used stimuli) might be more likely to explain differences in findings. For example, the study by Jones et al. (2018) and the current study are the studies with the largest sample sizes so far, and also the only large-scale within-subject studies with direct hormone assessments. Further, our study used randomized sessions (e.g. not all participants started testing in the same cycle phase), whereas every participant had her first testing session in the fertile phase in the studies by Milkowska et al., 2019, Miłkowska et al., 2021. Interestingly, Fleischman and Fessler (2018) also stated that the higher test power in the study by Jones et al. (2018) suggests that the CPH might rather be wrong than differences in results could be explained by measurement issues. Regarding the potential explanation that progesterone is not the driving factor that regulates disgust sensitivity, we agree that other factors related to pregnancy might lead to upregulated disgust sensitivity. To investigate which factors are actually responsible for fluctuations in disgust sensitivity (and higher disgust sensitivity when pregnant), we suggest that future studies should collect data from pregnant women, as only testing pregnant women can answer this research question properly.

4.1. Limitations

We note several limitations regarding our study that might be addressed in subsequent research. First, whereas we investigated whether different self-report questionnaires or different analyses yield different findings regarding our research question, we did not investigate disgust responses to pictures or videos depicting disease cues. Second, we cannot draw strong conclusions on whether having an infection might moderate shifts in disgust sensitivity across the cycle. Although we did not find compelling evidence for this claim, only a very small number of our participants reported feeling sick (potentially as, if they were truly sick, they would not have attended the session). Third, due to ethical constraints, our study was observational, not experimental. Hence, it remains unclear whether progesterone administration might raise disgust, comparably to mice (Bressan and Kramer, 2021).

Although sex hormones play a key role in sex differences in susceptibility, severity, outcomes, and response to therapy of different diseases, sex chromosomes are also increasingly recognized as an important factor

Y chromosome is moving out of sex determination shadow. Raheleh Heydari, Zohreh Jangravi, Samaneh Maleknia, Mehrshad Seresht-Ahmadi, Zahra Bahari, Ghasem Hosseini Salekdeh & Anna Meyfour. Cell & Bioscience volume 12, Article number: 4. January 4 2022. https://cellandbioscience.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13578-021-00741-y

Abstract: Although sex hormones play a key role in sex differences in susceptibility, severity, outcomes, and response to therapy of different diseases, sex chromosomes are also increasingly recognized as an important factor. Studies demonstrated that the Y chromosome is not a ‘genetic wasteland’ and can be a useful genetic marker for interpreting various male-specific physiological and pathophysiological characteristics. Y chromosome harbors male‑specific genes, which either solely or in cooperation with their X-counterpart, and independent or in conjunction with sex hormones have a considerable impact on basic physiology and disease mechanisms in most or all tissues development. Furthermore, loss of Y chromosome and/or aberrant expression of Y chromosome genes cause sex differences in disease mechanisms. With the launch of the human proteome project (HPP), the association of Y chromosome proteins with pathological conditions has been increasingly explored. In this review, the involvement of Y chromosome genes in male-specific diseases such as prostate cancer and the cases that are more prevalent in men, such as cardiovascular disease, neurological disease, and cancers, has been highlighted. Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying Y chromosome-related diseases can have a significant impact on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases.

Conclusion

Although most sex differences in occurrence and prevalence of diseases have been associated with the function of sex hormones, molecular studies have assigned a hormone-independent role to the differential expression of genes, especially those located on sex chromosomes. Y chromosome genes independently and/or in conjunction with sex hormones, beyond their X-linked collective tasks determine the male-specific characteristics. In this review, we highlighted major recent findings on the contribution of Y chromosome genes to disease susceptibility to various human diseases and showed that how LOY and translation/function failure of Y chromosome genes can affect the pathogenesis of male-specific diseases.

Despite the vast investigation, little knowledge exists on the molecular mechanisms involved in these sex disparities. This might have been originated from the biological limitations and/or experimental issues such as low expression of MSY genes in rare organs or cell types, high similarity with their X counterparts, hormone effects on intracellular processes, and the absence of mixed-sex experimental groups in cellular, animal, and human studies. In the human Y chromosome proteome project, as a part of the Chromosome-Centric Human Proteome Project (C-HPP), the function of MSY proteins was explored in organ development by taking advantage of PSCs, which are capable of differentiation into all cell types of the human body [171]. We believe that hormone-free systems like PSC and their derivatives as well as organoids, which are in vitro generated copies of human organs, can facilitate the mechanistic studies to explore the role of Y chromosome genes in health and disease and provide novel insights into gender disparity and sex-specific therapeutic strategies for diseases.

 

Loss of Faith and Decrease in Trust in a Higher Source During COVID-19 in Germany: Developments were observed in both Catholics & Protestants, and in both younger & older persons

Loss of Faith and Decrease in Trust in a Higher Source During COVID-19 in Germany. Arndt Büssing, Klaus Baumann & Janusz Surzykiewicz. Journal of Religion and Health, Jan 5 2022. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10943-021-01493-2

Abstract: Many people relied on their faith as one resource in order to cope during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Germany, between the eighteen months from June 2020 to November 2021, different participants at different times were assessed during different phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. The total sample of this continuous cross-sectional survey consisted of 4,693 participants. Analyses revealed that with the 2nd wave of the infection and its 2nd lockdown, trust in a Higher Source, along with praying and meditation decreased. Also, the sharp increase in corona-related stressors was associated with a decline of wellbeing and a continuing loss of faith. These developments were observed in both Catholics and Protestants, and in both younger and older persons. In addition, the long phases of insecurity and social isolation lacking the significant support usually given by religious communities may have likewise challenged the religious-coping capacities of religious/spiritual people themselves.

Discussion

This cross-sectional survey of different participants at different times during the different phases of the pandemic found that stressor scores rose sharply while wellbeing decreased during the 2nd wave of the pandemic (Table 1). In accord with this, trust in a supporting “Higher Source” declined parallel to the decline of wellbeing, and numerous people stated that they had lost their faith (increasing from 3 to 22%) because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The respective pattern of decline persisted during the first half of 2021, and only started to improve slightly during the 4th wave. These changes cannot be solely explained by differences in the cohorts with respect to non-religious persons or younger participants who may not have held strong bounds to institutional religiosity. This loss of faith and decrease in trust was observed not only in both Catholics and Protestants, but also in those who are not religiously affiliated but may have other sources of spiritual trust. These non-religiously affiliated persons were not necessarily lacking spiritual sources, but rather may have distanced themselves from institutional religiosity. In fact, 17% stated that have faith which is a strong hold in difficult times and 24% stated that they have confidence in a higher power that is sustaining them. Further, a small fraction of these non-religiously affiliated is still praying or practicing meditation, and therefore this small fraction (some of which may have lost what they may call their ‘faith’) may rely on their personal spiritual resources -, resources which were not or no longer institutionally organized.

The age differences within cohorts cannot fully explain the observed changes either, as Loss of faith and decline of trust in a Higher Source are observed in both younger persons (< = 40 years of age) and older persons > 40 years of age. While Loss of faith showed no significant gender-related effect, trust in a Higher Source was stronger in women than men. Regression analyses confirmed that (for participants´ Loss of faith) the recruiting time prior and after the 2nd wave was the best predictor of the increase in stressors and the decline of wellbeing. Thus, the 2nd lockdown (with a much stronger increase in infected persons and hospitalized patients after the all-too-confident summer months that followed the shock of the 1st lockdown) was associated with a rise of perceived stressors such as restrictions in daily life, of being under pressure/stressed, of anxiety/insecurity, of loneliness/social isolation, and of financial-economic difficulties due to the corona pandemic (these are the topics of the 5NRS addressing the “Stressors”). While a considerable part of respondents reported that they had found hope in their faith to cope with the outcomes of the pandemic in the first phase, later with the months-long continuation of the pandemic and its strict distance recommendations, many of these faithful may have lost some of their courage and faith. Similarly, we observed a decline of praying and meditation during the pandemic, and a decrease in participants´ satisfaction with the support of their local religious/spiritual communities. This was found not only in both Catholics and Protestants, but also in those who stated they are not religiously affiliated (but may nevertheless have interest in religious and spiritual resources). However, in Germany the first vaccinations of older persons and groups-at-risk started at the end of December 2020, and a year later in December 2021 all those who were willing to be vaccinated had received it (about 2/3 of the population). This seems to have reduced some of the fears of a complicated course of COVID-19 in many participants, and could be the reason why participants´ wellbeing was starting to improve slightly during the 4th wave of the pandemic (which so far affects predominantly, but not exclusively, non-vaccinated people). Nevertheless, Loss of faith is still increasing, and religious trust and confidence are still rather low.

International studies and statements from the first phase of the pandemic would assume that faith/religiosity is an important resource to cope with the pandemic (Asadzandi et al., 2020; Barmania & Reiss 2020; Edara et al., 2021; Koenig 2020; Kowalczyk et al., 2020; Peteet 2020; Pirutinsky et al., 2020). A study from Poland assumed a “protective influence” of a person´s faith (Kowalczyk et al., 2020). In that study, 72% of Catholics from Poland agreed that their faith was important to cope with the pandemic, and more women than men stated that their faith was strengthened because of the hazard. Further, particularly young women from Poland assumed that their “faith will protect them from the coronavirus infection, probably because they may assume that God as the ‘merciful father’ will save them from all evil and suffering (Kowalczyk et al., 2020). In American Orthodox Jews, trust in God and related positive religious coping was related to less stress, while struggles with God and negative religious coping was related to more stress and other negative impacts related to the pandemic (Pirutinsky et al., 2020). Among Muslims from Iran, phases of spiritual dryness (related to the perception that God is not responding and not helping) were reported during the pandemic, although most would still regard themselves as religious (Büssing et al., 2021b). Both the view of God as a helping one, and positive expectations that God will intervene have been expressed particularly in the first phase of the pandemic when hope was prevailing predominantly in religious societies and specific faith groups. However, for both Catholics and Protestants in rather secular Germany, there was an obvious decline of religious trust and confidence associated with the sharp rise of infection rates during the 2nd wave of the pandemic, which seems to persist during the next waves. This would indicate that their expectations of a helping God may have declined during the course of the pandemic as death rates increased (that those who died were not ‘rescued’ or protected from the virus by God). Whether this can be interpreted in terms of magic beliefs, or of fideism, or of the theodicy question, or as a matter of (passive) resignation, is open to discussion and probably differs individually.

The observed decrease in participants’ trust in a Higher Source (whatever may support them during the pandemic) along with the 2nd and the following waves was predicted best by the levels of a person’s religious affiliation, increased age, strong wellbeing, and time of recruitment before the 2nd lockdown. It can be expected that religious trust can best be explained by a person´s religiosity, and religious people are more often older. However, the corona-related burden affected both religious and non-religious people, and both groups showed a loss of confidence. While there are several studies that underline the idea that religious coping is helpful to deal with stressful life events, this study would indicate that long phases of insecurity and social isolation with the lack of support by religious/spiritual communities (and thus declining satisfaction with their support) may have likewise challenged the religious coping capacities of religious persons themselves. This could be seen in the context of ‘defeat stress’ resulting in feelings of loneliness and social isolation on the one hand (Büssing 2022), and ‘spiritual exclusion’ on the other hand. All in terms of pandemic-related social exclusion due to the required restrictions imposed in order to protect people at risk.

Particularly during the pandemic, circumstances arose that put religious institutions at trouble and constituted a challenge to the personal religiosity and religious commitment of believers. As a result, the important functions of religion as revealed in its integrative and meaning-making role were severely curtailed. Likewise, the ritual and communal performance of religious practices had been limited (due to the restrictions) and subsequently transferred online and to private living. Religious activities had temporarily changed from the prevailing congregational forms of faith to more individual and private ones, e.g., realized in the family at home. In our study, we have observed a decline parallel to the course of the pandemic in the frequency of praying and meditation in Catholics and Protestants. It seems as if the pandemic did not generally encourage people to rely more strongly on traditional religiosity. Instead, more flexible forms of religiosity were practiced in private and according to one's own preferences. This could also explain the observation that the non-religiously affiliated participants, (who nevertheless may have interest in religious and spiritual issues), stated that they have confidence in a higher supporting source and are more active in meditation than they are in praying.

The challenge for the communities and institutions will be to re-attract and re-integrate into their liturgies and services all those who have experienced that their religiosity can be practiced even without the religious institutions or the communal forms of worship services. A study from Ireland explored how the Christian clergy have framed their adoption of online ministries during the COVID-19 pandemic as opportunities for the churches to retain some significance (Ganiel 2021). During the first phase of the pandemic, older Seventh-day Adventists from Germany benefited from the free church´s digital media resources and experienced a positive impact on their wellbeing in spite of the lockdown restrictions (Büssing et al., 2021c). A study from Italy showed that people who reported a COVID-19 contagion in their family were more frequently using digital religious services (via web, radio and television) and prayer during the pandemic. Whether these short-term coping strategies have changed their religious behavior and faith in the long run is unclear. Under difficult circumstances, a short-term religious revival might take place, even in contexts where the process of secularization is in progress (Molteni et al., 2021). In fact, the increase in existential insecurity can result in needs for religious reassurance (Höllinger & Muckenhuber 2019; Molteni et al., 2021), and thus religious beliefs and behaviors can indeed play a beneficial role when experiencing such insecurity or anxiety (Davis et al., 2021; Narimani & Eyni 2021; Prazeres et al., 2020). Yet, as shown in this study, in some societies this might not be true on a larger scale.

It seems that, due to the long course of social distancing and related restrictions, more or less vital social and religious bonds between people and local religious communities were affected and even disrupted. In Germany, the satisfaction with the support from the local religious communities during the first phases of the pandemic was rather low (33% persons with a religious affiliation stated satisfaction, as compared to 74% of religious brothers and sisters) (Büssing 2021). Here we underline a constant decline of such satisfaction with support from the local communities. Further, when sacred spaces (i.e., the churches) are not easily accessible, people may lose access to the center of their public religious life, and thus they may either develop new forms of spiritual practices in privacy or simply get used to the loss. Counted et al., (2020) described that the pandemic has affected the connections with other people not only in the direct neighborhood and in the faith community, but also in places of work and of worship – and this may have resulted in spiritual struggles which can be indicated by the loss of faith as seen in this study.

Limitations

This study refers to data collected from different participants recruited via snowball sampling. We have no control over who has participated nor over whom we did not reach with this approach, and therefore we do not assume that the findings are representative of the general Germany society. Due to the fact that we relied on an online survey tool, people without internet access could not participate, and therefore we certainly have not reached all social groups in a comparable manner.

The compositions of the different ‘time cohorts’ of persons continuously recruited during the course of the pandemic are quite similar, but nevertheless differ in specific details. It seems that participants who stated that they have no (or not any longer) religious affiliation may have increased with the later phases of the pandemic. To overcome this potential bias, we also differentiated the responses of a) persons with and without a religious affiliation, b) those specifically with a Catholic and a Protestant background (the group of other religious affiliations was too small to rely on), and c) those with lower age (< = 40 years) and higher age (> 40 years). Religious persons living in monastic structures (brothers and sisters, monks and nuns) who were participating predominantly directly after the first lockdown were excluded from the analyses to avoid a bias due to the responses of these highly religious persons. However, the addressed effects were observed in all the remaining sub-groups.

Israeli scientists train goldfish to steer fish tank around room

From fish out of water to new insights on navigation mechanisms in animals. Shachar Givon et al. Behavioural Brain Research, Volume 419, February 15 2022, 113711. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2021.113711

Abstract: Navigation is a critical ability for animal survival and is important for food foraging, finding shelter, seeking mates and a variety of other behaviors. Given their fundamental role and universal function in the animal kingdom, it makes sense to explore whether space representation and navigation mechanisms are dependent on the species, ecological system, brain structures, or whether they share general and universal properties. One way to explore this issue behaviorally is by domain transfer methodology, where one species is embedded in another species’ environment and must cope with an otherwise familiar (in our case, navigation) task. Here we push this idea to the limit by studying the navigation ability of a fish in a terrestrial environment. For this purpose, we trained goldfish to use a Fish Operated Vehicle (FOV), a wheeled terrestrial platform that reacts to the fish’s movement characteristics, location and orientation in its water tank to change the vehicle’s; i.e., the water tank’s, position in the arena. The fish were tasked to “drive” the FOV towards a visual target in the terrestrial environment, which was observable through the walls of the tank, and indeed were able to operate the vehicle, explore the new environment, and reach the target regardless of the starting point, all while avoiding dead-ends and correcting location inaccuracies. These results demonstrate how a fish was able to transfer its space representation and navigation skills to a wholly different terrestrial environment, thus supporting the hypothesis that the former possess a universal quality that is species-independent.

Popular version: Israeli scientists train goldfish to steer car around room. Jan 2 2022. https://www.timesofisrael.com/just-keep-driving-beersheba-scientists-train-goldfish-to-steer-car-around-room/

Across firms, social and financial performance are correlated but that improvements in social performance seldom precede increased financial performance

Building Knowledge by Mapping Model Uncertainty in Six Studies of Social & Financial Performance. Luca Berchicci, Andrew A. King. Strategic Management Journal, December 27 2021. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.3374

Research Summary: Many scholars bemoan the difficulty of learning from individual research reports. Replication is often prescribed as a salve, but few replications are conducted, and even fewer allow the formation of a coherent understanding. In this article, we propose a complement to replication that emphasizes the mapping of epistemic uncertainties. We demonstrate our approach by exploring the results of six related studies on the link between social and financial performance. We show that our method allows the synthesis of seemingly conflicting findings, and we propose that it should be used proactively, prior to replication, to speed the growth of knowledge.

Managerial Summary: Any single empirical study provides a weak basis for inference. As a result, scholars advocate repeated analysis of important issues, but evidence from replications can be hard to integrate into a coherent understanding. For example, six important studies of the link between corporate social and financial performance have been published in this journal, but their conflicting results have defied integration. We show that a new approach to empirical research allows their reconciliation: all six suggest that across firms, social and financial performance are correlated but that improvements in social performance seldom precede increased financial performance.

Greater time in military service correlated with higher resilience for women but had little correlation for men; might be due to relative reduction in resilience for those goal-oriented women trained at West Point who leave the service

Psychological Resilience in West Point Graduates: Results From a Nationally Representative Study. Melissa M. Thomas et al. Chronic Stress, Nov 5 2021. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/24705470211053850

Abstract

Background: The purpose of this study was to examine factors associated with psychological resilience in a nationally representative sample of West Point graduates.

Aims: The aims of this study were to (a) employ a dimensional approach to operationalizing psychological resilience in a trauma-exposed population that had been highly trained and educated in persisting in the face of stress, was previously unstudied, and in which we could examine correlates of resilience, (b) identify key psychosocial factors, character traits, health variables, military experiences, and coping strategies as potential correlates of psychological resilience; and (c) examine whether reported gender moderated any of these associations in this population.

Methods: A nationally representative sample of 1342 West Point graduates after gender integration from classes 1980 to 2011 were surveyed. Psychological resilience was operationalized using a discrepancy-based approach in which a measure of composite psychological distress (current posttraumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety and depression symptoms) was regressed on measures of cumulative trauma burden. A multivariable linear regression model was then employed to identify factors that were independently associated with psychological resilience scores.

Results: Purpose in life (29.8% of relative variance explained [RVE]), fewer perceived negative experiences in the military (20.6% RVE), social support (9.6% RVE), and grit (9.5% RVE) were the strongest correlates of psychological resilience scores for both women and men. Time in service was positively associated with resilience in women only.

Conclusion: This study identifies key correlates of psychological resilience in West Point graduates, individuals who are highly trained to persevere in the face of stress and then were trauma-exposed. Most of these factors are modifiable and can be targeted in stress prevention and treatment interventions, especially for high-stress professions such as the military, frontline health care providers, and first responders.

Popular version: What West Point Graduates Can Teach Us About Stress and Resilience. Jan 2 2022. https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/what-west-point-graduates-can-teach-us-about-stress-and-resilience/

Discussion

To our knowledge, this study is the first to examine factors associated with psychological resilience in a nationally representative sample of West Point graduates. A notable strength of this investigation was access to and study of a sample of individuals extensively trained to be resilient who have high risk of exposure to stressful events. The assessment of psychological resilience used a discrepancy-based approach that computes each participant’s individual level of distress in relation to what is expected at the population level. This approach generates a measure of psychological resilience that spans the full-dimensional spectrum from high vulnerability to high resilience. Given previous criticisms that operationalizations of psychological resilience should not be limited to PTSD symptoms, we chose to employ a more comprehensive assessment of psychological distress that included PTSD, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. In addition, a wide range of psychosocial factors, character traits, health variables, military experiences, as well as coping strategies that could be linked to psychological resilience were measured and assessed.

Results revealed that purpose in life, social support, and grit were most strongly associated with resilience. Report of fewer negative experiences in the military was also associated with resilience and, for women, greater time in service was correlated with resilience. Results of the current study suggest multiple factors contribute to the capacity to weather adversity. Importantly, these factors are modifiable and thus use of multimodal prevention and treatment efforts may be effective in maintaining and building psychological resilience for both men and women.

Purpose in life was most strongly associated with psychological resilience. Potential behavioral mechanisms underlying this association include a positive relationship between purpose in life and physical activity, internal locus of control, better sleep quality, better emotion regulation, and use of preventive health care services.^37–39 Interventions that may help enhance purpose in life for high-risk populations exposed to stress and trauma include using meaning-based therapies, such as logotherapy, and integration of meaning- and purpose-centered activities in other established psychotherapies, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy.^40–43 Development of purpose in life also might lead to an increase in other protective factors, such as motivation to engage in social interactions.³⁷

Military service provides both subjective positive and negative experiences that influence veterans’ mental health later in life.⁴⁴ For example, veterans who report more negative military experiences may be more likely to develop PTSD symptoms later in life and have increased odds of current suicidal ideation and current mental health disorders.^45,46 Results of our study extend this work to suggest that reports of drinking problems, witnessing death and destruction, and worsening physical health may be linked to reduced psychological resilience. Although witnessing death and destruction as a negative consequence of military service may appear to be embedded in our trauma exposure calculation, the trauma exposure measure is based on whether exposure to an event occurred, not whether it is perceived as having a negative consequence in one's life. It is the perception of the event being negative that we found to be related to lower psychological resilience. Given the cross-sectional design of our study, however, we are unable to ascertain whether negative perceptions of reported events are influenced by current mental health difficulties, or if the endorsement of more negative effects drives risk for psychological distress and general maladaptive perceptions of one's life (eg relationships, finances, health).⁴⁶ Nevertheless, this finding underscores the importance of addressing negative mental and physical health consequences of perceived trauma, as well as screening for and treating current risky drinking behaviors and poor health in efforts to help promote resilience.

Social support was also strongly associated with psychological resilience. Greater perceptions of social support may help increase psychological resilience by promoting self-esteem, active coping strategies, a sense of control, evaluation of potentially stressful events as less threatening, and motivation to adopt healthfully and reduce risky behaviors.¹ Encouraging involvement in one's community, as well as community policies and programs that support and enhance connection by promoting safe neighborhoods, affordable housing, and public spaces for assembly and exercise are all methods of promoting and improving social support.⁴⁷ Of note, positive social support has been shown to activate the parasympathetic nervous system and brain regions implicated in the processing of safety cues and stimulate the release of oxytocin, which is known to have anxiolytic effects.^48,49

Grit has 2 main components, perseverance of efforts and consistency of interest.^21,50–52 The first component, perseverance of efforts is thought to overlap with the construct of resilience since it refers to maintaining goals even when obstacles are encountered. Some studies show grit is associated with a reduced tendency for suicide ideation and decreased burnout in doctors and surgical residents.^53–55 In studying West Point cadets, Duckworth and colleagues found that those who had higher grit at the entry to the academy were less likely to drop out of the first basic training summer than less gritty peers, even after controlling for SAT scores, high school class rank, and conscientiousness.⁵² Recently, Duckworth et al.⁵⁶ also found that grit and physical ability in a cohort of West Point cadets were better predictors of 4-year graduation from the Academy than cognitive ability. Additionally, grit has been associated with resilience itself but, to our knowledge, this is only based on self-reported resilience scales, such as the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale©.^57,58 Our study adds to this literature by identifying a relationship between grit and psychological resilience using a resilience score measured on a continuum. This is an important identified relationship since grit is also a modifiable factor. Therapeutic interventions to promote a growth mindset and work on goal-setting and discovering one's passions may help increase grit.^59,60

Results did not indicate gender differences in factors associated with resilience except for the greater time in service, which was associated with greater resilience in women only.^61-63 This is perhaps a result of women who stay in the military longer being those who have accommodated to the military environment and learned to cope and survive in a male-dominated hierarchical environment.⁶⁴ It is also possible that there are psychological vulnerabilities from leaving military service that are inherent to women only. One reason women are more likely to leave the service than men are due to family obligations, such as having children. Driven, gritty women who obtain training and education by attending West Point then no longer work or fill the role of a military officer may become more vulnerable to mental health issues later in life. This is perhaps due to a loss of purpose in life or career goals, whereas men who leave the military are more often pursuing a different career. For those who opt to leave the military and pursue a different career, female veterans often seek careers in similarly male-dominated fields and have reported difficulty integrating into the civilian workforce due to differences in dress, behavior (posture, assertiveness), identity issues, and disconnection from their civilian female counterparts.^64,65 Efforts to support a smooth transition for women into civilian careers may alleviate these experiences, particularly regarding the unique challenges they may face.

Limitations of this study include the use of self-report measures, which may be subject to recall bias, although this is a similar possibility with clinician-administered scales. The response rate of the survey was also a limitation. However, with our sampling strategy of overrepresenting women, we achieved statistically significant results for gender comparisons; and, through age, class year, racial, and branch demographics for the population, we were able to achieve a representative sample of the targeted population. Although social support and grit appear to play a role in psychological resilience, the amount of variance explained by each was relatively low. Finally, given the cross-sectional design, we cannot establish temporal or causal associations. Consequently, it is unclear if the greater purpose in life, social support, and grit give rise to greater resilience or vice versa, or if these associations are bidirectionally linked over time. To date, all of the known studies that have employed a discrepancy based psychological resilience approach to operationalizing resilience have done so using cross-sectional data.^9,10 Longitudinal studies employing prospective designs are needed to evaluate the application of a discrepancy-based approach and evaluate the role of flexible self-regulation and other time-varying factors in contributing to resilience.⁶⁶

Both men and women evaluate a man as more creative and socially skilled when he is attractive, and women regard him as having higher mate value when his female friends are attractive... but these and related effects are quite nuanced

Mr. Popular: Effects of implicit and explicit social endorsement. Ryan C. Anderson & Beatriz Escobar. Current Psychology, Jan 5 2022. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12144-021-02679-3

Abstract: Humans are a social species with a high degree of information sharing. Character information is transferred between individuals frequently. Making a decision about who to mate with is one of the most consequential choices an individual makes, hence it pays to attend to any cheaply available mate-relevant information on offer. Building on previous research reporting a mating advantage for men romantically associated with women, here we present 3 studies examining the effects of being popular with the opposite sex. In all three studies men and women were presented with (and asked to evaluate) visual profiles of individuals of the opposite sex. Study 1 (N = 294) found that both men and women evaluate a man as more creative and socially skilled when he is attractive, and that women regard him as having higher mate value when his female friends are attractive. Study 2 (N = 233) found that men, but not women, considered profiles that were highly popular with the opposite sex to be more desirable. Study 3 (N = 765) found that neither men’s nor women’s desirability ratings of opposite-sex others were influenced by how popular that individual was with members of the opposite sex. It was concluded that while both men and women can be influenced by social information implicitly offered by others, this phenomenon is quite nuanced. Several possible theoretical and methodological explanations are considered, adding valuable knowledge to the existing body of research about mate copying propensity.