Monday, May 16, 2022

Pornography consumption is relatively frequent in all age groups, not only the overstudied 18-30 age range; the most popular topic is two people having ordinary sex

Pornography Consumption in People of Different Age Groups: an Analysis Based on Gender, Contents, and Consequences. Rafael Ballester-Arnal, Marta García-Barba, Jesús Castro-Calvo, Cristina Giménez-García & Maria Dolores Gil-Llario. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, May 14 2022. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13178-022-00720-z

Abstract

Introduction: Pornography consumption has increased exponentially in recent decades. Most studies conducted so far are focused on adult samples (typically, between 18 and 30 years old), limiting the generalizability of their results. This study aims to create a taxonomy that groups various pornographic contents and thus explore different aspects of its use (e.g., preference for different pornographic content, excessive and problematic use) in people at different life stages.

Methods: Between 2016 and 2019, 8,040 individuals (71.3% men) between 12 and 85 years old (M = 33.25, SD = 14.31) completed a battery that explores pathological and non-pathological pornography use. Participants were distributed into five age groups (< 18 years old, between 18–25, 26–40, 41–60, and > 60) to perform the different analyses (ANOVA and chi-square tests for the differences between the groups, EFA for the analyses of categories of pornographic content, and hierarchical linear regressions to identify the factors related to problematic use).

Results: Pornography use was highly prevalent (> 85%) in all age groups. Using a data-driven approach, we found that the pornographic content explored in this research can be classified within four categories. Using this taxonomy, we found differences according to the age for most of the pornographic content explored (e.g., sexual intercourse with opposite-sex partners [71.6–84.5% in males and 70.2–89.5% in females]). Finally, we found that age conditions the way in which preference for different pornographic content increases the risk of excessive and problematic use.

Conclusions: Pornography consumption is frequent in different age groups, although it varies depending on age and content. In addition, some particular pornographic contents were identified that increase the risk of developing an addiction in different developmental stages.

Policy Implications: This study provides a preliminary foundation for identifying the unique characteristics of pornography use in different age groups as well as content related to increased problematic use.

Discussion

In this study, we aimed to (1) generate a data-driven taxonomy of pornographic contents, (2) analyze and compare the use of different pornographic materials in different age groups, and (3) explore whether the use of different pornographic content predicted an increased risk of cybersex addiction. In this sense, we found four categories of pornography to classify the wide variety of normophilic (i.e., vaginal, anal, oral, and group sex) and paraphilic or non-mainstream contents (i.e., sadomasochism, fetish, bondage and dominance, violent coercive, and bizarre/extreme) (Hald, 2006; Hald & Štulhofer, 2016; Štulhofer et al., 2010). As for the preference for different pornographic contents in different age groups, contents depicting sexual intercourse were the most consumed in practically all age groups, with hardly any variation according to age and gender. Other content that may be classified as unusual or uncommon such as sexual relations with more than two people or sexual activity involving domination and submission are also relatively frequent in men and women, although they decrease in the more extreme age ranges (children and adolescents and elderly). Finally, this study provides a nuanced description of which particular pornographic contents increase the risk of cybersex addiction in different developmental stages.

As one of our main objectives, in this study, we have created a taxonomy of pornographic content that comprises four categories: soft pornography, sexual intercourse, unusual sexual interests, and chronophilias. This classification resonates with other more theoretical proposals that have not been empirically proven, such as that proposed by Leonhardt et al. (2019) with their categories sexually suggestive, sexually explicit, and paraphilic, according to the degree of sexual explicitness and the kind of sexual content. Except for the small nuance of the chronophilias where according to our results seem to have some distinction of what could be considered "paraphilic" or "unusual sexual interest", although both categories have a high correlation with each other. On the contrary, our taxonomy differs from that proposed by Hald and Štulhofer (2016). With a methodology similar to that employed in this study, they suggested a classification into three categories, focusing on gender, sexual orientation, or non-mainstream pornographic contents. These differences may be due to the number of participants (being much larger in our study) and, above all, to the age range of the respondents. In our study, we cover much broader age ranges that help us to take into account the differences in the consumption of pornography that can occur at different stages of life (Ballester-Arnal et al., 2021; Ševčíková et al., 2020), offering us a taxonomy of pornographic content with greater validity and internal consistency.

Analyzing the consumption of pornography following this categorization, we observe that, in general, there are hardly any variations in the pornographic content searched based on age, and, following the same line as the most recent research, we show a slight decrease in the consumption of pornography in older adults compared to younger people (Price et al., 2016). The most frequent pornography preferences in both genders in the different age groups explored is classified as normophilic (i.e., sexual intercourse with opposite or same sex partners). These data would not support the hypothesis that some authors hold about the increase in recent decades in exposure to paraphilic pornography, mainly among men, especially that containing sexual violence or child pornography (Davis et al., 2018; Romito & Beltramini, 2015). This hypothesis is given by the apparent increase in aggressive content in pornographic videos, especially the more subtle violence (Bridges et al., 2010; Carrotte et al., 2020) and how viewing of this pornographic material can favor the acquisition of these sexual scripts in offline sexual behaviors (Bridges et al., 2016; Wright, 2011). However, as studies like those of Baer et al. (2015) or Shor and Seida (2019) show, despite the increase in paraphilic content available online, this type of online sexual content is the least consumed by users, as well as the worst valued. Except for the use of online pornography with adolescents’ sexual content, whose frequency is logically higher among the group of children and adolescents who would seek sexual practices with their peers, so it could not be considered a paraphilic practice. Our results reflect lower percentages of paraphilic pornography interests than other studies, which may be due to methodological differences, including the characteristics of the participants (clinical vs non-clinical sample, cultural differences, etc.) or the limited list of pornographic content provided (Hald & Štulhofer, 2016; Neutze et al., 2011; Sun et al., 2015).

Lastly, we explore the relationship between different pornographic content and cybersex addiction. Our results show that only a few types of pornography have been linked to cybersex addiction. Specifically, viewing some pornography content classified as unusual (pornography involving domination or submission or sexual intercourse with more than two people) or paraphilic (chronophilias) is related to cybersex addiction measured by the ISST. Some studies suggest that persistent pornography users may exhibit habituation to normophilic content, which translates into an increase in the use of unusual and extreme pornographic material (Foubert, 2016; Hilton & Clark, 2011; Tripodi et al., 2015). This habituation may be due to the development of tolerance, one of the characteristic symptoms of addictions which, in the particular case of cybersex addiction, may be reflected in a need to seek more exciting and extreme content (i.e., paraphilic) to achieve previous sexual satisfaction (Lewczuk et al., 2021). This phenomenon may explain why the consumption of this particular pornographic content may be related to the development of cybersex addiction. However, as some authors suggest, this relationship may occur in the opposite direction: a previous interest in paraphilic sexual content (in the most severe cases, the presence of a previous paraphilic disorder) may increase the use of the Internet for sexual purposes (Griffiths, 2012; Ross et al., 2012). It would therefore be necessary to further investigate the relationship between these two variables to determine how they are interrelated.

In our study, we also found that the use of non-paraphilic pornographic contents (sexual intercourse with same-sex partners or nude people showing their genitals) increased the risk of developing cybersex addiction, although not in all age groups. This may be due to factors such as anonymity and accessibility, cybersex factors related to its addictive potential (Cooper et al., 1999; Griffiths, 2012). These characteristics of cybersex allow people to experiment with sexuality over the Internet by facilitating access to sexual content that cannot be accessed offline. For example, in sexual relations with same-sex partner –punished in many contexts– or fulfilling certain sexual fantasies that are not easily accessible offline may increase the consumption in people (Castro-Calvo et al., 2018; Giménez-García et al., 2021; Green et al., 2012; Ross et al., 2012). This would explain why factors such as belonging to a sexual minority or sexual dissatisfaction, regardless of having paraphilic sexual attractions or not, have been linked to the problematic cybersex use (Daspe et al., 2018; Studer et al., 2019). Another factor that has been related to a predisposition to problematic cybersex use is gender, specifically being a man (Ballester-Arnal et al., 2021; Weinstein et al., 2015; Wéry & Billieux, 2016). Our results also show this relationship in all age groups; however, in general, the different pornography content does not affect cybersex addiction in a different way. These data show the need to take into account the type of pornography content consumed online when evaluating addiction to pornography and/or cybersex, regardless of age and gender.

This study is not without its limitations. On the one hand, we find limitations related to the sample, including a smaller sample size in some groups (children, adolescents, and the elderly) and the type of sampling (convenience sampling). Furthermore, as it is a cross-sectional study, we do not take into account the effect of the birth cohort which, as other studies such as Price et al. (2016) or Wright (2013) show, could further enrich the study and provide data on both effects (age and year of birth) on pornography consumption. Another limitation of our study is related to the percentage of women in the sample: the proportion of women in the sample notably decreased with age (in particular, in older age ranges), meaning that women in these age ranges are underrepresented in our research. This underrepresentation of women in older age ranges may be explained by the traditional values and social norms related to the expression of sexuality in women: compared to men, women have been more often judged when expressing their sexual experiences and interests (Lai & Hynie, 2011; Zaikman & Marks, 2017). These negative experiences may explain their lower rates of participation in a study focused on sexual behavior and also explain why younger girls (less exposed to traditional sexual scripts) are more likely to participate and report their sexual experiences. Other sociodemographic variables—such as sexual orientation or cultural differences—have also been related to the use of the Internet for sexual purposes (Bőthe et al., 2020b; Green et al., 2012; Velezmoro et al., 2012) but are not analyzed in this research. Therefore, future studies analyzing the effect that these variables have on the use of pornography in different life stages warrant further research.

Another important limitation of this study is the evaluation of cybersex addiction. Due to the multiple manifestations it represents (including the problematic consumption of pornography) (Varfi et al., 2019), the discrepancies in its definition and diagnostic criteria (Wéry & Billieux, 2017) and the limited number of validated questionnaires, especially in Spanish; in this study we decided to use a more general measure of cybersex addiction to assess the excessive and problematic use of pornography. Our taxonomy of pornography was based on only 10 types of content, not including others such as MILF or hentai that can also be prevalent in society (Ogas & Gaddam, 2011; PornHub, 2019), which is another limitation. In future studies, it would be interesting to include a greater number of types of pornography, as well as to explore the frequency of use of each type to know if the negative consequences are associated with a single or prolonged viewing (Kingston et al., 2008; Lewczuk et al, 2021), or the level of arousal, being also an important aspect in the development of addiction (Laier et al., 2013). Despite the limitations described above, we consider that our work provides relevant information on some issues very little studied so far, such as pornographic preferences in men and women in different age groups or how it affects the viewing of specific sexual pornographic content in cybersex addiction, among others.

Those who held more superstitious beliefs were more fearful of getting COVID-19

Superstitious beliefs, locus of control, and feeling at risk in the face of Covid-19. Arvid Hoffmann et al. Personality and Individual Differences, Volume 196, October 2022, 111718. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2022.111718

Highlights

• We examined superstitious beliefs, locus of control, and feeling at risk of Covid-19.

• Superstitious beliefs were positively related to feeling at risk of Covid-19.

• Internal locus of control was negatively related to feeling at risk of Covid-19.

• Internal locus of control negatively moderated the effect of superstitious beliefs.

Abstract: Unprecedented uncertainty during the Covid-19 pandemic stimulated anxiety among individuals, while the associated health restrictions contributed to a feeling of loss of control. Prior research suggests that, in times of crisis, some individuals rely on superstitious beliefs as a coping mechanism, but it remains unclear whether superstition is positively or negatively associated with fear of Covid-19 during the pandemic, and the role that individuals' locus of control plays in this regard. In two studies conducted among individuals in Belgium and the U.S., we therefore examined the relationship between superstitious beliefs, locus of control, and feeling at risk of Covid-19. Across both countries, we found that superstition is positively, and internal locus of control negatively, related with feeling at risk of Covid-19. Moreover, in Belgium, the effect of superstition was less pronounced for individuals with a higher level of internal locus of control. The absence of an interaction effect between superstition and locus of control in the U.S. could be explained by this country's higher level of superstitious beliefs and lower level of internal locus of control combined with a stronger feeling of being at risk of Covid-19 or cultural differences such as Belgium's higher uncertainty avoidance compared to the U.S.

Keywords: Covid-19FearFeeling at riskLocus of controlPandemicSuperstitious beliefs

5. General discussion

The results of our two studies improve our understanding of the role of superstitious beliefs on feeling at risk of Covid-19. Our findings add to prior work by documenting how being superstitious increased one's fear of Covid-19, no matter whether the individual held positive or negative superstitious beliefs (cf. Wiseman & Watt, 2004). Thus, superstitious beliefs did not seem to act as a coping mechanism to deal with an uncertain situation as suggested by some recent studies (Schippers, 2020), but rather were associated with an increased feeling of being at risk. Furthermore, unlike the inconclusive findings of prior research (Stanke & Taylor, 2004), we demonstrated across both our studies that an internal locus of control was negatively correlated with individuals' superstitious beliefs and was also negatively related to their fear of Covid-19.

In light of the necessity to better understand the drivers of individuals' feeling of being at risk of Covid-19 to be able to improve public health measures and policy communications, our findings provide several practical guidelines. Specifically, it is important for public policy makers to understand which measures can help restore within individuals a sense of control over their life outcomes and reduce the reliance on superstitious rituals. Health interventions focused on helping individuals understand their sources of personal power, their core beliefs, and envisioning future goals can assist in building their personal agency (Shankar et al., 2019). Given that fear appeals often have unintended consequences, such as distrust in public health authorities, skepticism of health messaging, and a lack of uptake in recommended health behaviors (Stolow et al., 2020), our recommendations aim to reduce fear and increase knowledge.

Practically speaking, our findings lead us to posit that policy makers should: (i) address misinformation and reduce the reliance on unverified sources such as social media to fight superstitious beliefs about Covid-19 and help individuals distinguish facts from unfounded opinions; (ii) highlight the ability of individuals to reduce the spread of the virus through their own actions, stressing individuals' personal agency to stimulate their internal locus of control; and (iii) provide clear and verified facts on infectiousness and mortality, using an intuitive way to present probabilities to decrease the fear of Covid-19 among individuals with lower numeracy.

Similar to “accuracy nudges” designed to reduce the spread of Covid-19 misinformation on social media (Pennycook et al., 2020), to stimulate individuals to question superstitious beliefs policy makers could use statements such as “Rely on facts, not feelings in fighting Covid-19.” To increase internal locus of control and decrease fear of Covid-19, campaigns could also include statements such as “I have the power to slow the spread.” Indeed, similar to the famous World War II slogan, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2021) stressed individuals' potential for control over the pandemic and infection by stating “We Can Do It!”

Optimal intervention design might vary due to cultural differences. Apart from the aforementioned difference in uncertainty avoidance between Belgium and the U.S., which suggests that successful interventions in Belgium need to focus on reducing ambiguity, there is also an important difference between both countries in terms of their long-term orientation. Belgium scores much higher than the U.S. in this regard (82 vs. 26) (Hofstede et al., 2005), and individuals in the former (latter) country might thus be more responsive to health communication highlighting the long-term (short-term) virtues of changes in behavior in order to fight Covid-19.

Despite its contributions, our research was subject to some limitations which provide opportunities for future research. First, although we used a well-established measure of locus of control from Rotter (1966) and found that it had satisfactory reliability, we also found that two items that were scored in the opposite direction of the other five items had low loadings, suggesting the need for scales without reversed items as per Swain et al. (2008). Second, research should further investigate the interaction effect between superstitious beliefs and internal locus of control on feeling at risk of Covid-19 using samples from different countries, as we found such an interaction effect in Belgium but not in the U.S. Related to this is the need to more formally account for cultural differences. Third, we note that the zero-order correlations between the key variables was substantially higher in the Amazon Mturk sample of Study 2 compared to the Qualtrics sample of Study 1, which could indicate common method variance bias. However, our tests in this regard did not support such an explanation and research has shown that Amazon Mturk samples are not more prone to bias than other participant pools, offering reliable data (Paolacci & Chandler, 2014). Hence, we call for future research to examine this issue in more detail. Fourth, we measured fear of Covid-19 by adapting an item from the well-established Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire of Broadbent et al. (2006) but acknowledge that more recently a dedicated Covid-19 Phobia Scale (C19P-S) has been developed by Arpaci et al. (2020). To examine generalizability across alternative measures, future research could also include the C19P-S scale in examinations of the relationship between superstitious beliefs, internal locus of control, and fear of Covid-19. Finally, given the cross-sectional nature of our studies, we cannot make claims regarding causality. Future research could run longitudinal surveys or experiments to establish causality.

Letters To A Spanish Youngster CCLXX

Letters To A Spanish Youngster CCLXX

[...]

Your Honor the admired priest of Aphrodite, the best servant of Love,/Su Señoría el admirado sacerdote de Afrodita, el mejor sirviente de Amor,

I think these poems of ibn Gabirol* suit my purpose of showing how much I miss You and how sorrowful I am for not being useful to Your person:/Creo que estos poemos de ibn Gabirol se ajustan a mi propósito de mostrarle cuánto le hecho de menos y cuán pesaroso me siento por no ser útil a Su personaL

[Cry for his father’s death/Llanto por la muerte de su padre]

                                                                        [En el día

                                                                         de la separación se me agotaron

                                                                         los ojos en el llanto

                                                                         [...]

                                                                         Si invoco a mis amigos       en vano es su consuelo

                                                                         [...]

                                                                         Es para mí más dura la dolencia

                                                                         de la separación que cualquier otra

                                                                         enfermedad

                                                                         [...]

                                                                         Al marcharse mi [amado]       me dejó desolado

                                                                         y llevando tras él mi corazón

                                                                         segó mi pensamiento

                                                                         ¿Cómo voy a vivir sin él? Mi alma

                                                                         por él se ha consumido hasta el extremo

                                                                         [...]

                                                                         Una cosa te pido: hazle presente

                                                                         la magnitud de mis anhelos. […]


[Lamentations for some friends departure/Lamento por la partida de unos amigos]

                                                                        [Dejadme solo, amigos;       voy a amargarme en llanto

                                                                         y quizás con mis lágrimas sofoque

                                                                         la llama de mi alma; que es su hoguera

                                                                         un infierno, […]

                                                                         No bien me he sosegado       y espero encontrar cura,

                                                                         la angustia de mi alma se despierta

                                                                         y crece mi tumulto.

                                                                         Me muero de dolor, y tengo el bálsamo

                                                                         de Guil’ad al alcance de la mano;          <<< Jer 8.22

                                                                         […]

                                                                         Yo juro por mi alma que me importa

                                                                         su alma y su sosiego [...]

                                                                         Con corazón cabal y con certeza

                                                                         siempre le amé […]

                                                                         Dios guarde a mis amigos, mis amados,

                                                                         que tomaron camino

                                                                         y al tiempo de alejarse, se alejaron

                                                                         mi gozo y mi contento.

                                                                         […] ¿Y cómo

                                                                         podré vivir después de su partida

                                                                         y permaneceré tras su viaje

                                                                         cuando ellos son mi alma,       mi espíritu y mi aliento?

                                                                         […]

                                                                         Espero, sin embargo, que regrese

                                                                         mi alma hacia mi cuerpo;       y tengo la esperanza

                                                                         de hallarle a mi dolencia       remedio y refrigerio

                                                                         volviendo a mis amados,

                                                                         guardando su alianza y contemplando

                                                                         sus rostros que iluminan mis tinieblas.]



[On the lovers’ separation/Sobre la separación de los amantes]


                                                                        [Los nuncios del amor,       que habitan en las almas

                                                                         mostrando a los amantes       las reglas del querer,

                                                                         se alegran mientras dura       la unión[.]

                                                                         […]

                                                                         De cierto son fatiga       los días del que ama;

                                                                         al hombre de amoríos       llamadle hombre de penas:

                                                                         los días de la unión

                                                                         del fuego del amor       se quedan consumidos,

                                                                         las noches de abandono

                                                                         se nublan de amargura y de lamento.

                                                                         Ya sea para bien o para mal,

                                                                         que caiga yo por tanto

                                                                         en manos de la unión todos mis días.]


Unhappy and in pain for being of no use for Your Honor, giving no comfort or help, Yours faithfully/Infeliz y con el dolor de no ser de utilidad a Su Señoría, a la que no doy consuelo o ayuda, Suyo fielmente

                 a. r. ante Su Señoría,

--

Notes

*  Adapted from Selected Poems of Solomon ibn Gabirol, translated by Peter Cole (Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press, 2001), & the Spanish version from Selomó ibn Gabirol—Poesía secular, by Elena Romero (Madrid: Alfaguara, 1978).

 

Sunday, May 15, 2022

Some social wasps recognise each other’s faces and memorise information about the status of other individuals; such information can be acquired through observing interactions between familiar individuals and might involve transitive inference

Social cognition in insects. Lars Chittka, Natacha Rossi. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, May 12, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2022.04.001

Highlights

Some social wasps recognise each other’s faces and memorise information about the status of other individuals; such information can be acquired through observing interactions between familiar individuals and might involve transitive inference.

Bumblebees can learn simple ‘tool use’ techniques by observing skilled conspecifics and such techniques can spread through entire colonies in a process akin to cultural diffusion of novel innovations.

Female fruit flies copy mate preferences from other females and such preferences might be maintained over generations via conformity bias.

Given these forms of advanced social cognition in insects, we suggest investigating whether the elaborate architectures of social insect colonies might in part be the result of cultural evolution processes, even possibly in the distant past.


Abstract: Insects feature some of the most complex societies in the animal kingdom, but a historic perception persists that such complexity emerges from interactions between individuals whose behaviours are largely guided by innate routines. Challenging this perception, recent work shows that insects feature many aspects of social intelligence found in vertebrate societies, such as individual recognition, learning object manipulation by observation, and elements of cultural traditions. Insects also display emotion-like states, which may be linked to social behaviours such as rescuing others from danger. We review recent developments in insect social cognition and speculate that some forms of now-hardwired behaviour (e.g., nest construction) could have initially been the result of individual innovation and subsequent cultural spread, with evolution later cementing these behaviours into innate behaviour routines.


Comparisons made faces look more attractive, even comparisons with more attractive faces

Comparisons make faces more attractive: An ERP study. Shangfeng Han, Jie Hu, Jie Gao, Jiayu Fan, Xinyun Xu, Pengfei Xu, Yuejia Luo. Brain and Behavior, May 12 2022. https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.2561

Abstract: Facial attractiveness judgment largely depends on the characteristics of the facial structure and the personality of the observer. However, little is known about the influence of contextual variations on facial attractiveness. In this electroencephalogram study, participants judged the attractiveness of faces presented individually or in pairs with either a higher-attractive face (HAF) or lower-attractive face (LAF). The attractiveness judgment rating of the target face was significantly higher when presented in pairs with HAFs or LAFs than when presented individually and was accompanied by a larger late positive complex. These results suggest that contextual faces enhance the attractiveness judgment of target faces. Microstate analyses revealed that the global field power (GFP) of state 3 was significantly correlated with the attractiveness judgment in the HAF condition whereas the GFP of state 2 was significantly correlated with the attractiveness judgment in the LAF condition. Interestingly, the GFP of state 2 mediated the relationship between narcissism and facial attractiveness judgment in the context of LAFs. Source location analyses showed that states 3 and 2 activated the superior and middle frontal gyrus, which are involved in emotion processing. Our findings suggest that facial attractiveness can be enhanced by contextual comparison with other faces, subject to personality of the observer.


Quantum computers are expected to break modern public key cryptography owing to Shor’s algorithm; as a result, these cryptosystems need to be replaced by quantum-resistant algorithms

Transitioning organizations to post-quantum cryptography. David Joseph, Rafael Misoczki, Marc Manzano, Joe Tricot, Fernando Dominguez Pinuaga, Olivier Lacombe, Stefan Leichenauer, Jack Hidary, Phil Venables & Royal Hansen. Nature volume 605, pages 237–243. May 11 2022. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04623-2


Abstract: Quantum computers are expected to break modern public key cryptography owing to Shor’s algorithm. As a result, these cryptosystems need to be replaced by quantum-resistant algorithms, also known as post-quantum cryptography (PQC) algorithms. The PQC research field has flourished over the past two decades, leading to the creation of a large variety of algorithms that are expected to be resistant to quantum attacks. These PQC algorithms are being selected and standardized by several standardization bodies. However, even with the guidance from these important efforts, the danger is not gone: there are billions of old and new devices that need to transition to the PQC suite of algorithms, leading to a multidecade transition process that has to account for aspects such as security, algorithm performance, ease of secure implementation, compliance and more. Here we present an organizational perspective of the PQC transition. We discuss transition timelines, leading strategies to protect systems against quantum attacks, and approaches for combining pre-quantum cryptography with PQC to minimize transition risks. We suggest standards to start experimenting with now and provide a series of other recommendations to allow organizations to achieve a smooth and timely PQC transition.


The Mania of Narcissus (Joseph Guislain 1852, ‘the patient infatuated with his beauty, his charms, his wit, dress, talents, and birth’) is not restricted to the clinical setting, & a larger-scale narcissism can interfere with planetary health

Planetary Health: We Need to Talk about Narcissism. Alan C. Logan and Susan L. Prescott. Challenges 2022, 13(1), 19; May 7 2022. https://doi.org/10.3390/challe13010019

Abstract: Concepts of planetary health attempt to collectively address the biological, psychological, social, and cultural factors contributing to “Anthropocene Syndrome”, which encompasses the many wicked interrelated challenges of our time. It is increasingly evident that the wide array of causative factors is underpinned by attitudes, values, and worldviews. Emerging research suggests that certain dispositions or ‘traits’—observable along the continuum from individuals to large groups—may be central to the promotion of health of all systems, at all scales. Here in this viewpoint, we focus on the personality trait of narcissism in the collective context of planetary health. First described in 1852 by pioneering psychiatrist Joseph Guislain, the Mania of Narcissus refers to ‘the patient infatuated with his beauty, his charms, his wit, dress, talents, and birth’. We argue that Guislain’s observations are not restricted to the clinical setting, and that a larger-scale narcissism can interfere with the principles of planetary health. We propose that increasing narcissism, at scales ranging from the individual to the collective, is an important consideration in attitudes and behaviors that undermine health along the continuum of person, place, and planet. Despite a growing body of research directed at collective narcissism, and the role that empathy plays in healthy relationships between humans and nature, it is our contention that the role of narcissism and empathy are important but neglected aspects of the planetary health agenda.

Keywords: value systems; narcissism; attitudes; behaviors; mental health crisis; COVID-19; non-communicable diseases (NCDs); health inequities; environmental degradation; planetary health; social justice; social and economic determinants of health; biodiversity losses; climate change; the exposome



Whimsical playfulness (liking odd and/or unusual things, persons, or activities) was related to the Seven Sexy traits (small effect sizes)

“Play with me, Darling!” Testing the Associations Between Adult Playfulness and Indicators of Sexuality. Kay Brauer et al. The Journal of Sex Research. May 2022. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/360336481

Abstract: Previous studies have shown that individual differences in adult playfulness are important in interpersonal relationships. However, there is a lack of research on the role of playfulness in human sexuality. Using three studies with four independently collected samples (Ntotal = 1,124) we tested the differential relations between global playfulness and four facets of playfulness (Other-directed, Lighthearted, Intellectual, Whimsical; OLIW) with broad (“Sexy Seven”) and narrow (sociosexuality, sexual sensation seeking, and sexual compulsivity) sexuality-related personality traits and sadomasochistic sexual practices (BDSM). Our main findings were: (1) Each of the Sexy Seven traits was related to global playfulness or at least one playfulness facet while only Whimsical playfulness (liking odd and/or unusual things, persons, or activities) was related to each Sexy Seven trait; (2) Sexual sensation seeking related to playfulness with small effect sizes (f2 ≤ 0.11), Whimsical playfulness positively related to narrow traits of sexuality; and (3) those engaging in BDSM were more playful than non-practitioners. The findings support the notion that playfulness (particularly Whimsical playfulness) relates to sexuality-related personality traits and sadomasochistic practices may be one way of expressing adult playfulness.



4.5% of University Students Reported Exchanging Sex for Money or Other Compensation in a Public Univ Sample

University Students Who Report Exchanging Sex for Money or Other Compensation: Findings from a Public University Sample. Lara B. Gerassi, Sarah Lowe & Kate Walsh. Archives of Sexual Behavior, May 12 2022. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-021-02215-1

Abstract: Whether and how university students exchange sex for financial compensation in the USA is critically understudied. The purpose of this secondary analysis was to determine whether undergraduate and graduate students at a large public university report exchanging sex for financial or other compensation, and identify factors (e.g., demographics, childhood adversity, mental health) associated with exchanging sex. Participants were 600 college students (Mage = 21.3 years [SD = 3.8]); 72% cisgender women; 43.4% racial/ethnic minority) from a large public university in the Northeastern USA who completed cross-sectional, online questionnaires about lifetime trauma, adversity exposure, sexual behaviors, and current mental health and substance use symptoms. A total of 4.5% of participants reported exchanging sex for money, alcohol/drugs, or other forms of compensation. Bivariate analysis revealed that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans students (versus cisgender, heterosexual students), students who had more severe childhood trauma, who reported being removed from their family home in childhood, and students who were diagnosed with a mental health disorder before age 18 were more likely to report exchanging sex. In a multivariable model, only emotional neglect and greater alcohol use problems were significantly associated with likelihood of exchanging sex. To our knowledge, this is the first US study to determine whether university students exchange sex for money, alcohol/drugs, or other compensation. Findings suggest that universities could consider addressing exchanging sex in person-centered, supportive sexual health programming, university health services responses, and community spaces that support LGBTQ+ students. Future research is needed to understand students’ circumstances in exchanging sex and differentiate compensation type.


The findings are inconsistent with those of the original study and provide evidence that altruism does not predict mating success in humans

Judd, L. J., Mills, J. G., & Allen, M. S. (2022). Altruism does not predict mating success in humans: A direct replication. Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/ebs0000298

Abstract: Altruistic behavior is predicted to be a costly signal that benefits an individual in terms of reproductive success. This study sought to directly replicate a previous investigation that demonstrated a positive association between altruism and indices of mating success (Arnocky et al., 2017). Participants (n = 445; 329 women, 116 men; Mage = 22.9 years) completed measures of altruism, personality, self-reported mating success, lifetime sexual partners, lifetime casual sex partners, and frequency of copulation with their current sexual partner. Linear regression models demonstrated that, across models both including and excluding the covariates of age and personality, altruism was unrelated to self-reported mating success, lifetime sexual partners, casual sexual partners, and frequency of copulation. Findings remained unchanged in sensitivity analyses with nonheterosexual participants removed from the sample and with data transformed to remove skewness. Overall, the findings are inconsistent with those of the original study and provide evidence that altruism does not predict mating success in humans. Further research is needed that tests for cross-cultural variation to determine whether altruism has a role in mating success across world regions.