Past research has found that sexualized women are often dehumanized (i.e., attributed reduced human qualities).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA behavioral economic reinforcer pathology model theorizes that alcohol problems are influenced by steep delay discounting, overvaluation of alcohol reinforcement, and low reinforcement from alcohol-free activities. Extending this account to the comorbidity of alcohol problems and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the present study tested the hypothesis that alcohol problems and PTSD symptom severity would interact and be positively associated with indicators from these three domains. High-risk emerging adults from North America (Study 1, = 1,311, = 22.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe mating effort questionnaire (MEQ) is a multi-dimensional self-report instrument that captures factors reflecting individual effort in upgrading from a current partner, investment in a current partner, and mate seeking when not romantically paired. In the current studies, we sought to revise the MEQ so that it distinguishes among two facets of mate seeking-mate locating and mate attracting-to enable a more nuanced measurement and understanding of individual mating effort. Moreover, we developed additional items to better measure partner investment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Aims: Behavioral economic theory predicts that high alcohol demand and high proportionate alcohol-related reinforcement are important determinants of risky alcohol use in emerging adults, but the majority of research to date has been cross-sectional in nature. The present study investigated prospective and dynamic relationships between alcohol demand and proportionate alcohol-related reinforcement in relation to heavy drinking days and alcohol problems.
Design: Longitudinal cohort with assessments every 4 months for 20 months.
Few studies have examined changes in posttraumatic-stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology across an extended time period during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study used a longitudinal cohort design to examine: (1) changes in overall PTSD symptoms and symptom clusters; (2) moderators of change; (3) the clinical significance of observed changes; and (4) correlates of clinically meaningful changes. Community adults (N = 1412) were assessed using the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) at 10 timepoints (October 2018 - April 2022).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExclusion from social relationships is a painful experience that may threaten an individual's status and dominance. The steroid hormone testosterone, which fluctuates rapidly in response to such threats, may be implicated in subsequent behavioral action (e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Differences in healthcare delivery systems and pathways to mental healthcare for Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members and Veterans may contribute to variations in mental health services use (MHSU) and the factors associated with it. We: (1) estimated the prevalence of past 12-month MHSU (≥1 visit with a medical or mental health professional); and (2) identified sociodemographic, military-, trauma-, and health-related variables associated with MHSU among CAF members and Veterans.
Methods: The current study used data from the 2018 CAF Members and Veterans Mental Health Follow-Up Survey (CAFVMHS).
Attractiveness judgements influence desires to initiate and maintain romantic relationships. Testosterone also predicts relationship initiation and maintenance; such effects may be driven by the hormone's modulation of attractiveness judgements, but no studies have investigated causal (and situation-dependent) effects of the hormone on these judgements. Using a placebo-controlled cross-over design, our preregistered analyses revealed order- and relationship- dependent effects: single heterosexual men judged the women as more appealing when testosterone was administered first (and placebo second), but marginally less appealing when placebo was administered first (and testosterone second).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDespite global efforts to rapidly distribute COVID-19 vaccines, early estimates suggested that 29-35% of the population were hesitant/unwilling to receive them. Countering such vaccine hesitancy is thus an important priority. Across two sets of online studies (total = 1584) conducted in the UK before (August-October 2020) and immediately after the first effective vaccine was publicly announced (November 10-19, 2020), brief exposure (<1 min) to vaccination memes boosted the potentially life-saving intention to vaccinate against COVID-19.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Intrasexual Competition Scale (ICS) measures the extent to which individuals view their interaction with same-sex others in competitive terms. Although it is frequently used in studies investigating differences in mating behavior, the factor structure of the ICS has never been confirmed. Researchers have yet to use multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis to test whether the properties of the scale are equivalent between the sexes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLike other animals, humans are sensitive to facial cues of threat. Recent evidence suggests that we use this information to dynamically calibrate competitive decision-making over resources, ceding more to high-threat individuals (who appear more willing/able to retaliate) and keeping more from low-threat individuals. Little is known, however, about the biological factors that support such threat assessment and decision-making systems.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Challenge Hypothesis (Wingfield et al., 1990) originally focused on adult male avian testosterone elevated in response to same-sex competition in reproductive contexts. The purpose of the present paper is to demonstrate how the Challenge Hypothesis has shaped ideas about human life histories.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLittle is known about the neurobiological pathways through which testosterone promotes aggression or about the people in whom this effect is observed. Using a psychopharmacogenetic approach, we found that testosterone increases aggression in men ( N = 308) with select personality profiles and that these effects are further enhanced among those with fewer cytosine-adenine-guanine (CAG) repeats in exon 1 of the androgen receptor (AR) gene, a polymorphism associated with increased AR efficiency. Testosterone's effects were rapid (~30 min after administration) and mediated, in part, by subjective reward associated with aggression.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeuropsychopharmacology
February 2019
The social heuristic hypothesis posits that human cooperation is an intuitive response that is expressed especially under conditions of time-constraint. Conversely, it proposes that for individuals given an opportunity for reflection, cooperation is more likely to be curtailed by an optimizing process calibrated to maximize individual benefit in a given situation. Notably, the steroid hormone testosterone has also been implicated in intuitive decision-making, including both prosocial and anti-social behaviors, with effects strongest in men with particular dispositional characteristics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTopic: The Brief Services psychotherapy paradigm has evolved to produce cost-effective and clinically significant outcomes in children's mental health. Though its clinical evaluation is still in its infancy, it has been utilized to a much lesser degree with autism spectrum disorders, which typically require a longer-term approach to psychotherapy treatment.
Purpose: The current paper introduces a novel, four-session intervention that aims to decrease anxiety experienced by clients presenting with high-functioning autism.
The zeitgeist for brief services psychotherapy efficacy is well underway within the individual and family therapy treatment modalities. However, this paradigm shift, to produce clinically significant mental health outcomes in a much shorter time, has evolved to a much lesser degree within the treatment group format. Longer-term treatment group protocols typically do not match treatment-seeking behaviors with high dropout rates for clients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Recent evidence suggests that psychedelic use predicts reduced perpetration of intimate partner violence among men involved in the criminal justice system. However, the extent to which this association generalizes to community samples has not been examined, and potential mechanisms underlying this association have not been directly explored.
Aims: The present study examined the association between lifetime psychedelic use and intimate partner violence among a community sample of men and women.
Previous research has linked the facial width-to-height ratio (FWHR) to a host of psychological and behavioral characteristics, primarily in men. In two studies, we examined novel links between FWHR and sex drive. In Study 1, a sample of 145 undergraduate students revealed that FWHR positively predicted sex drive.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Neuroendocrinol
October 2017
Rapid testosterone fluctuations in response to social stimuli are observed across a wide range of species, and the highly conserved nature of these fluctuations suggests an adaptive function. This paper reviews the current literature on testosterone reactivity, primarily in human males, and illustrates how life-history theory provides an adequate theoretical framework to interpret findings. The review is structured around supporting evidence suggesting that situations implicated in mating effort either directly (e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA contribution to a special issue on Hormones and Human Competition. Since Archer's (2006) influential meta-analysis, there has been a major increase in the number of studies investigating the effect of competition outcome on testosterone reactivity patterns in humans. Despite this increased research output, there remains debate as to whether competition outcome modulates testosterone concentrations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Although traditional wisdom suggests that baseline levels of testosterone (T) promote aggressive behavior, decades of research have produced findings that have been largely weak and inconsistent. However, more recent experimental work suggests that exogenous administration of T rapidly potentiates amygdala and hypothalamus responses to angry facial expressions. Notably, these brain regions are rich in androgen receptors and play a key role in modulating aggressive behavior in animal models.
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