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Schleifenbaum L, Stern J, Driebe JC, Wieczorek LL, Gerlach TM, Arslan RC, Penke L. Ovulatory cycle shifts in human motivational prioritisation of sex and food. Horm Behav 2024; 162:105542. [PMID: 38636206 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2024.105542] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2023] [Revised: 02/19/2024] [Accepted: 04/03/2024] [Indexed: 04/20/2024]
Abstract
Previous research on the endogenous effects of ovarian hormones on motivational states in women has focused on sexual motivation. The Motivational Priority Shifts Hypothesis has a broader scope. It predicts a shift from somatic to reproductive motivation when fertile. In a highly powered preregistered online diary study across 40 days, we tested whether 390 women report such an ovulatory shift in sexual and eating motivation and behaviour. We compared 209 naturally cycling women to 181 women taking hormonal contraceptives (HC) to rule out non-ovulatory changes across the cycle as confounders. We found robust ovulatory decreases in food intake and increases in general sexual desire, in-pair sexual desire and initiation of dyadic sexual behaviour. Extra-pair sexual desire increased mid-cycle, but the effect did not differ significantly in HC women, questioning an ovulatory effect. Descriptively, solitary sexual desire and behaviour, dyadic sexual behaviour, appetite, and satiety showed expected mid-cycle changes that were diminished in HC women, but these failed to reach our strict preregistered significance level. Our results provide insight into current theoretical debates about ovulatory cycle shifts while calling for future research to determine motivational mechanisms behind ovulatory changes in food intake and considering romantic partners' motivational states to explain the occurrence of dyadic sexual behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lara Schleifenbaum
- Georg August University Goettingen, Germany; Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Germany
| | | | | | | | - Tanja M Gerlach
- Georg August University Goettingen, Germany; Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Germany; Queen's University Belfast, UK
| | | | - Lars Penke
- Georg August University Goettingen, Germany; Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Germany.
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Arslan RC, Schilling KM, Gerlach TM, Penke L. "Using 26,000 diary entries to show ovulatory changes in sexual desire and behavior": Correction to Arslan et al. (2018). J Pers Soc Psychol 2023; 125:1238. [PMID: 31219291 DOI: 10.1037/pspp0000251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2023]
Abstract
Reports an error in "Using 26,000 diary entries to show ovulatory changes in sexual desire and behavior" by Ruben C. Arslan, Katharina M. Schilling, Tanja M. Gerlach and Lars Penke (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Advanced Online Publication, Aug 27, 2018, np). In the original article the number of participants available for robustness checks should have been 1,054, not 1,043; this applies to the third sentence in the abstract, the first sentence of the second paragraph in the Participants section, the first sentence of the second paragraph in the Robustness Checks section, and the subsample size of women in Table 3. The correct number of naturally cycling usable data should have been 429, not 421. The correct number of diary days should have been 26,680, not 25,948. The correct percentage of diary days in the fourth sentence in the Exclusion Criteria section should have been 5%. Figure 1 should have included guessing hypotheses (n 40) and long diary interruptions (n 41) as further reasons for exclusion, and an error in the effsize R package led to the reporting of inflated effect sizes for the differences between hormonal contraceptive users and non-users in Table 1. Figure 1, Table 1, and Table 3 have been corrected. All versions of this article have been corrected. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2018-41799-001.) Previous research reported ovulatory changes in women's appearance, mate preferences, extra- and in-pair sexual desire, and behavior, but has been criticized for small sample sizes, inappropriate designs, and undisclosed flexibility in analyses. In the present study, we sought to address these criticisms by preregistering our hypotheses and analysis plan and by collecting a large diary sample. We gathered more than 26,000 usable online self-reports in a diary format from 1,054 women, of which 429 were naturally cycling. We inferred the fertile period from menstrual onset reports. We used hormonal contraceptive users as a quasi-control group, as they experience menstruation, but not ovulation. We probed our results for robustness to different approaches (including different fertility estimates, different exclusion criteria, adjusting for potential confounds, moderation by methodological factors). We found robust evidence supporting previously reported ovulatory increases in extra-pair desire and behavior, in-pair desire, and self-perceived desirability, as well as no unexpected associations. Yet, we did not find predicted effects on partner mate retention behavior, clothing choices, or narcissism. Contrary to some of the earlier literature, partners' sexual attractiveness did not moderate the cycle shifts. Taken together, the replicability of the existing literature on ovulatory changes was mixed. We conclude with simulation-based recommendations for reading the past literature and for designing future large-scale preregistered within-subject studies to understand ovulatory cycle changes and the effects of hormonal contraception. Interindividual differences in the size of ovulatory changes emerge as an important area for further study. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruben C Arslan
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development
| | | | - Tanja M Gerlach
- Georg Elias Muller Institute of Psychology, University of Gottingen
| | - Lars Penke
- Georg Elias Muller Institute of Psychology, University of Gottingen
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Mader N, Arslan RC, Schmukle SC, Rohrer JM. Emotional (in)stability: Neuroticism is associated with increased variability in negative emotion after all. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2212154120. [PMID: 37253012 PMCID: PMC10266024 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2212154120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2022] [Accepted: 04/30/2023] [Indexed: 06/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The personality trait neuroticism is tightly linked to mental health, and neurotic people experience stronger negative emotions in everyday life. But, do their negative emotions also show greater fluctuation? This commonsensical notion was recently questioned by [Kalokerinos et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 112, 15838-15843 (2020)], who suggested that the associations found in previous studies were spurious. Less neurotic people often report very low levels of negative emotion, which is usually measured with bounded rating scales. Therefore, they often pick the lowest possible response option, which severely constrains the amount of emotional variability that can be observed in principle. Applying a multistep statistical procedure that is supposed to correct for this dependency, [Kalokerinos et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 112, 15838-15843 (2020)] no longer found an association between neuroticism and emotional variability. However, like other common approaches for controlling for undesirable effects due to bounded scales, this method is opaque with respect to the assumed mechanism of data generation and might not result in a successful correction. We thus suggest an alternative approach that a) takes into account that emotional states outside of the scale bounds can occur and b) models associations between neuroticism and both the mean and variability of emotion in a single step with the help of Bayesian censored location-scale models. Simulations supported this model over alternative approaches. We analyzed 13 longitudinal datasets (2,518 individuals and 11,170 measurements in total) and found clear evidence that more neurotic people experience greater variability in negative emotion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina Mader
- Department of Psychology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig04109, Germany
| | - Ruben C. Arslan
- Department of Psychology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig04109, Germany
| | | | - Julia M. Rohrer
- Department of Psychology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig04109, Germany
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Haux LM, Engelmann JM, Arslan RC, Hertwig R, Herrmann E. Chimpanzee and Human Risk Preferences Show Key Similarities. Psychol Sci 2023; 34:358-369. [PMID: 36595467 DOI: 10.1177/09567976221140326] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Risk preference impacts how people make key life decisions related to health, wealth, and well-being. Systematic variations in risk-taking behavior can be the result of differences in fitness expectations, as predicted by life-history theory. Yet the evolutionary roots of human risk-taking behavior remain poorly understood. Here, we studied risk preferences of chimpanzees (86 Pan troglodytes; 47 females; age = 2-40 years) using a multimethod approach that combined observer ratings with behavioral choice experiments. We found that chimpanzees' willingness to take risks shared structural similarities with that of humans. First, chimpanzees' risk preference manifested as a traitlike preference that was consistent across domains and measurements. Second, chimpanzees were ambiguity averse. Third, males were more risk prone than females. Fourth, the appetite for risk showed an inverted-U-shaped relation to age and peaked in young adulthood. Our findings suggest that key dimensions of risk preference appear to emerge independently of the influence of human cultural evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lou M Haux
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development
| | - Jan M Engelmann
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley
| | - Ruben C Arslan
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development
| | - Ralph Hertwig
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development
| | - Esther Herrmann
- Centre for Comparative and Evolutionary Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth
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Blake KR, McCartney M, Arslan RC. Menstrual cycle and hormonal contraception effects on self-efficacy, assertiveness, regulatory focus, optimism, impulsiveness, and risk-taking. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2022.104382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/31/2022]
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Anvari F, Efendić E, Olsen J, Arslan RC, Elson M, Schneider IK. Bias in Self-Reports: An Initial Elevation Phenomenon. Social Psychological and Personality Science 2022. [DOI: 10.1177/19485506221129160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Researchers have long worried about a phenomenon where study participants give higher ratings on self-report scales the first time they take a survey compared to subsequent times, particularly for negative subjective experiences. Recent experimental evidence, using samples of U.S. college students, suggests that this initial elevation phenomenon is due to an upward bias in people’s initial responses. Such bias potentially undermines the validity of many research findings. However, more recent studies have found little evidence in support of the phenomenon. To investigate the robustness of the initial elevation phenomenon, we conducted the largest experiments to date in diverse online samples ( N = 5,285 across three studies, from Prolific.co). We observed an initial elevation on self-reports of negative subjective experiences such as mood and mental and physical health symptoms. Our findings show that the threats to validity posed by the phenomenon are real and need to be reckoned with.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Jerome Olsen
- Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods, Bonn, Germany
| | - Ruben C. Arslan
- University of Leipzig, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
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Holzleitner IJ, Driebe JC, Arslan RC, Hahn AC, Lee AJ, O'Shea KJ, Gerlach TM, Penke L, Jones BC, DeBruine LM. No increased inbreeding avoidance during the ovulatory phase of the menstrual cycle. Evol Hum Sci 2022; 4:e47. [PMID: 37588927 PMCID: PMC10426077 DOI: 10.1017/ehs.2022.41] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2021] [Revised: 08/08/2022] [Accepted: 08/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Mate preferences and mating-related behaviours are hypothesised to change over the menstrual cycle to increase reproductive fitness. Recent large-scale studies suggest that previously reported hormone-linked behavioural changes are not robust. The proposal that women's preference for associating with male kin is down-regulated during the ovulatory (high-fertility) phase of the menstrual cycle to reduce inbreeding has not been tested in large samples. Consequently, we investigated the relationship between longitudinal changes in women's steroid hormone levels and their perceptions of faces experimentally manipulated to possess kinship cues (Study 1). Women viewed faces displaying kinship cues as more attractive and trustworthy, but this effect was not related to hormonal proxies of conception risk. Study 2 employed a daily diary approach and found no evidence that women spent less time with kin generally or with male kin specifically during the fertile phase of the menstrual cycle. Thus, neither study found evidence that inbreeding avoidance is up-regulated during the ovulatory phase of the menstrual cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iris J. Holzleitner
- Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
- School of Social Sciences, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK
| | - Julie C. Driebe
- Institute of Psychology, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
| | | | | | - Anthony J. Lee
- Division of Psychology, University of Stirling, Stirling, UK
| | - Kieran J. O'Shea
- Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
- School of Psychological Sciences and Health, University of Strathclyde, University of Strathclyde, UK
| | - Tanja M. Gerlach
- Institute of Psychology, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
- Leibniz-ScienceCampus ‘Primate Cognition’, Goettingen, Germany
- School of Psychology, Queen's University, Belfast, UK
| | - Lars Penke
- Institute of Psychology, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
- Leibniz-ScienceCampus ‘Primate Cognition’, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Benedict C. Jones
- Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
- School of Psychological Sciences and Health, University of Strathclyde, University of Strathclyde, UK
| | - Lisa M. DeBruine
- Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
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Schleifenbaum L, Stern J, Driebe JC, Wieczorek LL, Gerlach TM, Arslan RC, Penke L. Men are not aware of and do not respond to their female partner's fertility status: Evidence from a dyadic diary study of 384 couples. Horm Behav 2022; 143:105202. [PMID: 35661968 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2022.105202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2021] [Revised: 04/18/2022] [Accepted: 05/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Understanding how human mating psychology is affected by changes in female cyclic fertility is informative for comprehending the evolution of human reproductive behavior. Based on differential selection pressures between the sexes, men are assumed to have evolved adaptations to notice women's within-cycle cues to fertility and show corresponding mate retention tactics to secure access to their female partners when fertile. However, previous studies suffered from methodological shortcomings and yielded inconsistent results. In a large, preregistered online dyadic diary study (384 heterosexual couples), we found no compelling evidence that men notice women's fertility status (as potentially reflected in women's attractiveness, sexual desire, or wish for contact with others) or display mid-cycle increases in mate retention tactics (jealousy, attention, wish for contact or sexual desire towards female partners). These results extend our current understanding of the evolution of women's concealed ovulation and oestrus, and suggest that both might have evolved independently.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lara Schleifenbaum
- University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany; Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Goettingen, Germany.
| | - Julia Stern
- University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany; University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
| | | | | | - Tanja M Gerlach
- University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany; Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Goettingen, Germany; Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
| | - Ruben C Arslan
- University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany; Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
| | - Lars Penke
- University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany; Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Goettingen, Germany
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Rohrer JM, Hünermund P, Arslan RC, Elson M. That’s a Lot to Process! Pitfalls of Popular Path Models. Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science 2022. [DOI: 10.1177/25152459221095827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Path models to test claims about mediation and moderation are a staple of psychology. But applied researchers may sometimes not understand the underlying causal inference problems and thus endorse conclusions that rest on unrealistic assumptions. In this article, we aim to provide a clear explanation for the limited conditions under which standard procedures for mediation and moderation analysis can succeed. We discuss why reversing arrows or comparing model fit indices cannot tell us which model is the right one and how tests of conditional independence can at least tell us where our model goes wrong. Causal modeling practices in psychology are far from optimal but may be kept alive by domain norms that demand every article makes some novel claim about processes and boundary conditions. We end with a vision for a different research culture in which causal inference is pursued in a much slower, more deliberate, and collaborative manner.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Paul Hünermund
- Department of Strategy and Innovation, Copenhagen Business School
| | - Ruben C. Arslan
- Wilhelm Wundt Institute for Psychology, Leipzig University
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin
| | - Malte Elson
- Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum
- Horst Görtz Institute for IT Security, Ruhr University Bochum
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Stern J, Arslan RC, Penke L. Stability and validity of steroid hormones in hair and saliva across two ovulatory cycles. Comprehensive Psychoneuroendocrinology 2022; 9:100114. [PMID: 35755924 PMCID: PMC9216405 DOI: 10.1016/j.cpnec.2022.100114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2021] [Revised: 12/17/2021] [Accepted: 01/09/2022] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Steroid hormones are often assessed via saliva samples, as they are noninvasive and easy to collect. However, hormone levels in saliva can fluctuate from moment-to-moment, are influenced by factors such as momentary emotional states and food intake, and some vary strongly across women's ovulatory cycle. In contrast, hormone levels in hair seem to be more robust against these influences and were previously suggested to be a good alternative to obtain women's baseline hormone levels. In the current study, we investigated whether hormone levels are stable across multiple assays and whether hormone levels from saliva and hair samples correlate. We collected saliva and hair samples from N = 155 naturally cycling women across two ovulatory cycles. All samples were analyzed for progesterone, testosterone and cortisol levels via mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Results showed that both averaged saliva and hair hormone levels were moderately stable across cycles. Hair progesterone levels showed higher stability than the respective levels from saliva. Saliva and hair levels for progesterone and testosterone were moderately correlated, whereas cortisol levels from saliva and hair were only weakly correlated. Results suggest that the type of sample from which baseline hormone levels are assessed and the cycle phase in which saliva samples are collected may have a high impact on the obtained results. Implications for future studies are suggested. Testosterone, progesterone, and cortisol were analyzed from repeated saliva and hair samples via LC-MS/MS. Hormone levels are moderately stable in both saliva and hair samples. Progesterone levels are significantly more stable in hair samples as compared to saliva samples. Hair and saliva hormone samples correlate moderately for progesterone and testosterone, but only weakly for cortisol.
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Driebe JC, Sidari MJ, Dufner M, von der Heiden JM, Bürkner PC, Penke L, Zietsch BP, Arslan RC. Intelligence can be detected but is not found attractive in videos and live interactions. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2021.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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Botzet LJ, Gerlach TM, Driebe JC, Penke L, Arslan RC. Hormonal Contraception and Sexuality: Causal Effects, Unobserved Selection, or Reverse Causality? Collabra: Psychology 2021. [DOI: 10.1525/collabra.29039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Many of the women who take hormonal contraceptives discontinue because of unwanted side effects, including negative psychological effects. Yet scientific evidence of psychological effects is mixed, partly because causal claims are often based on correlational data. In correlational studies, possible causal effects can be difficult to separate from selection effects, attrition effects, and reverse causality. Contraceptive use and, according to the congruency hypothesis, congruent contraceptive use (whether a woman’s current use/non-use of a hormonal contraceptive is congruent with her use/non-use at the time of meeting her partner) have both been thought to influence relationship quality and sexual functioning. In order to address potential issues of observed and unobserved selection effects in correlational data, we studied a sample of up to 1,179 women to investigate potential effects of contraceptive use and congruent contraceptive use on several measures of relationship quality and sexual functioning: perceived partner attractiveness, relationship satisfaction, sexual satisfaction, and diary measurements including libido, frequency of vaginal intercourse, and frequency of masturbation. No evidence for substantial effects was found except for a positive effect of hormonal contraceptives on frequency of vaginal intercourse and a negative effect of hormonal contraceptives on frequency of masturbation. These effects were robust to the inclusion of observed confounders, and their sensitivity to unobserved confounders was estimated. No support for the congruency hypothesis was found. Our correlational study was able to disentangle, to some extent, causal effects of hormonal contraceptives from selection effects by estimating the sensitivity of reported effects. To reconcile experimental and observational evidence on hormonal contraceptives, future research should scrutinize the role of unobserved selection effects, attrition effects, and reverse causality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura J. Botzet
- Biological Personality Psychology, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Tanja M. Gerlach
- Biological Personality Psychology, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany; Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Julie C. Driebe
- Biological Personality Psychology, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Lars Penke
- Biological Personality Psychology, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany; Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Goettingen, Germany
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Arslan RC, Driebe JC, Stern J, Gerlach TM, Penke L. The evidence for good genes ovulatory shifts in Arslan et al. (2018) is mixed and uncertain. J Pers Soc Psychol 2021; 121:441-446. [PMID: 34636589 DOI: 10.1037/pspp0000390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
In Arslan et al. (2018), we reported ovulatory increases in extra-pair sexual desire, in-pair sexual desire, and self-perceived desirability, as well as several moderator analyses related to the good genes ovulatory shift hypothesis, which predicts attenuated ovulatory increases in extra-pair desire for women with attractive partners. Gangestad and Dinh (2021) identified errors in how we aggregated two of the four main moderator variables. We are grateful that their scrutiny uncovered these errors. After corrections, our moderation results are more mixed than we previously reported and depend on the moderator specification. However, we disagree that the evidence for moderation is robust and compelling, as Gangestad and Dinh (2021) claim. Our data are consistent with some previously reported effect sizes, but also with negligible moderator effects. We also show that what Gangestad and Dinh (2021) call an "a priori[…]more comprehensive and valid composite" is poorly justifiable on a priori grounds, and follow-up analyses they report are not robust to a composite specification that we consider at least as reasonable. Psychologists have to become acquainted with techniques such as cross-validation or training and test sets to manage the risks of data-dependent analyses. In doing so, we might learn that we need new data more often than we intuit and should remain uncertain far more often. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruben C Arslan
- Personality Psychology and Personality Diagnostics, University of Leipzig
| | - Julie C Driebe
- Biological Personality Psychology, University of Goettingen
| | - Julia Stern
- Biological Personality Psychology, University of Goettingen
| | | | - Lars Penke
- Biological Personality Psychology, University of Goettingen
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Schleifenbaum L, Driebe JC, Gerlach TM, Penke L, Arslan RC. Women feel more attractive before ovulation: evidence from a large-scale online diary study. Evol Hum Sci 2021; 3:e47. [PMID: 37588547 PMCID: PMC10427307 DOI: 10.1017/ehs.2021.44] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
How attractive we find ourselves decides who we target as potential partners and influences our reproductive fitness. Self-perceptions on women's fertile days could be particularly important. However, results on how self-perceived attractiveness changes across women's ovulatory cycles are inconsistent and research has seldomly assessed multiple attractiveness-related constructs simultaneously. Here, we give an overview of ovulatory cycle shifts in self-perceived attractiveness, sexual desirability, grooming, self-esteem and positive mood. We addressed previous methodological shortcomings by conducting a large, preregistered online diary study of 872 women (580 naturally cycling) across 70 consecutive days, applying several robustness analyses and comparing naturally cycling women with women using hormonal contraceptives. As expected, we found robust evidence for ovulatory increases in self-perceived attractiveness and sexual desirability in naturally cycling women. Unexpectedly, we found moderately robust evidence for smaller ovulatory increases in self-esteem and positive mood. Although grooming showed an ovulatory increase descriptively, the effect was small, failed to reach our strict significance level of .01 and was not robust to model variations. We discuss how these results could follow an ovulatory increase in sexual motivation while calling for more theoretical and causally informative research to uncover the nature of ovulatory cycle shifts in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lara Schleifenbaum
- Georg August University, Goettingen, Germany
- Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Goettingen, Germany
| | | | - Tanja M. Gerlach
- Georg August University, Goettingen, Germany
- Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Lars Penke
- Georg August University, Goettingen, Germany
- Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Ruben C. Arslan
- Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Goettingen, Germany
- University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
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Abstract
[Correction Notice: An Erratum for this article was reported online in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology on Jun 3 2019 (see record 2019-34417-001). In the original article the number of participants available for robustness checks should have been 1,054, not 1,043; this applies to the third sentence in the abstract, the first sentence of the second paragraph in the Participants section, the first sentence of the second paragraph in the Robustness Checks section, and the subsample size of women in Table 3. The correct number of naturally cycling usable data should have been 429, not 421. The correct number of diary days should have been 26,680, not 25,948. The correct percentage of diary days in the fourth sentence in the Exclusion Criteria section should have been 5%. Figure 1 should have included guessing hypotheses (n 40) and long diary interruptions (n 41) as further reasons for exclusion, and an error in the effsize R package led to the reporting of inflated effect sizes for the differences between hormonal contraceptive users and non-users in Table 1. Figure 1, Table 1, and Table 3 have been corrected. All versions of this article have been corrected.] Previous research reported ovulatory changes in women's appearance, mate preferences, extra- and in-pair sexual desire, and behavior, but has been criticized for small sample sizes, inappropriate designs, and undisclosed flexibility in analyses. In the present study, we sought to address these criticisms by preregistering our hypotheses and analysis plan and by collecting a large diary sample. We gathered more than 26,000 usable online self-reports in a diary format from 1,054 women, of which 429 were naturally cycling. We inferred the fertile period from menstrual onset reports. We used hormonal contraceptive users as a quasi-control group, as they experience menstruation, but not ovulation. We probed our results for robustness to different approaches (including different fertility estimates, different exclusion criteria, adjusting for potential confounds, moderation by methodological factors). We found robust evidence supporting previously reported ovulatory increases in extra-pair desire and behavior, in-pair desire, and self-perceived desirability, as well as no unexpected associations. Yet, we did not find predicted effects on partner mate retention behavior, clothing choices, or narcissism. Contrary to some of the earlier literature, partners' sexual attractiveness did not moderate the cycle shifts. Taken together, the replicability of the existing literature on ovulatory changes was mixed. We conclude with simulation-based recommendations for reading the past literature and for designing future large-scale preregistered within-subject studies to understand ovulatory cycle changes and the effects of hormonal contraception. Interindividual differences in the size of ovulatory changes emerge as an important area for further study. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Lars Penke
- Georg Elias Muller Institute of Psychology
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16
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Abstract
Psychological theories often invoke interactions but remain vague regarding the details. As a consequence, researchers may not know how to properly test them and may potentially run analyses that reliably return the wrong answer to their research question. We discuss three major issues regarding the prediction and interpretation of interactions. First, interactions can be removable in the sense that they appear or disappear depending on scaling decisions, with consequences for a variety of situations (e.g., binary or categorical outcomes, bounded scales with floor and ceiling effects). Second, interactions may be conceptualized as changes in slope or changes in correlations, and because these two phenomena do not necessarily coincide, researchers might draw wrong conclusions. Third, interactions may or may not be causally identified, and this determines which interpretations are valid. Researchers who remain unaware of these distinctions might accidentally analyze their data in a manner that returns the technically correct answer to the wrong question. We illustrate all issues with examples from psychology and issue recommendations for how to best address them in a productive manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia M. Rohrer
- Department of Psychology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Ruben C. Arslan
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
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17
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Abstract
In psychological science, ego-centered social networks are assessed to investigate the patterning and development of social relationships. In this approach, a focal individual is typically asked to report the people they interact with in specific contexts and to provide additional information on those interaction partners and the relationships with them. Although ego-centered social networks hold considerable promise for investigating various interesting questions from psychology and beyond, their implementation can be challenging. This tutorial provides researchers with detailed instructions on how to set up a study involving ego-centered social networks online using the open-source software formr. By including a fully functional study template for the assessment of social networks and extensions to this design, we hope to equip researchers from different backgrounds with the tools necessary to collect social-network data tailored to their research needs.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ruben C. Arslan
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
| | - Tanja M. Gerlach
- Department of Psychology, University of Goettingen
- Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, University of Goettingen
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18
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Botzet LJ, Rohrer JM, Arslan RC. Analysing effects of birth order on intelligence, educational attainment, big five and risk aversion in an Indonesian sample. Eur J Pers 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/per.2285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Few studies have examined birth order effects on personality in countries that are not Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD). However, theories have generally suggested that interculturally universal family dynamics are the mechanism behind birth order effects, and prominent theories such as resource dilution would predict even stronger linear effects in poorer countries. Here, we examine a subset of up to 11188 participants in the Indonesian Family Life Survey to investigate whether later-borns differ from earlier-borns in intelligence, educational attainment, Big Five, and risk aversion. Analyses were performed using within-family designs in mixed-effects models. In model comparisons, we tested for linear and non-linear birth order effects as well as for possible interactions of birth order and sibship size. Our estimated effect sizes are consistent with the emerging account of birth order as having relatively little impact on intelligence, Big Five, and risk aversion. We found a non-linear pattern for educational attainment that was not robust to imputation of missing data and not aligned with trends in WEIRD countries. Overall, the small birth order effects reported in other studies appear to be culturally specific.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura J. Botzet
- Department for Biological Personality Psychology, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Julia M. Rohrer
- International Max Planck Research School on the Life Course (LIFE), Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
- German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), Berlin, Germany
- Department of Psychology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Ruben C. Arslan
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
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19
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Abstract
People differ in their willingness to take risks. Recent work found that revealed preference tasks (e.g., laboratory lotteries)-a dominant class of measures-are outperformed by survey-based stated preferences, which are more stable and predict real-world risk taking across different domains. How can stated preferences, often criticised as inconsequential "cheap talk," be more valid and predictive than controlled, incentivized lotteries? In our multimethod study, over 3,000 respondents from population samples answered a single widely used and predictive risk-preference question. Respondents then explained the reasoning behind their answer. They tended to recount diagnostic behaviours and experiences, focusing on voluntary, consequential acts and experiences from which they seemed to infer their risk preference. We found that third-party readers of respondents' brief memories and explanations reached similar inferences about respondents' preferences, indicating the intersubjective validity of this information. Our results help unpack the self perception behind stated risk preferences that permits people to draw upon their own understanding of what constitutes diagnostic behaviours and experiences, as revealed in high-stakes situations in the real world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruben C Arslan
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Lentzeallee 94, 14195, Berlin, Germany.
| | | | - Thomas Dohmen
- Institute for Applied Microeconomics, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
- IZA Institute of Labor Economics, Bonn, Germany
- Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
- German Institute for Economic Research, Berlin, Germany
- CESifo, Munich, Germany
| | | | - Ralph Hertwig
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Lentzeallee 94, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Gert G Wagner
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Lentzeallee 94, 14195, Berlin, Germany
- IZA Institute of Labor Economics, Bonn, Germany
- German Institute for Economic Research, Berlin, Germany
- CESifo, Munich, Germany
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20
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai T. Horstmann
- Institute of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany
| | - Ruben C. Arslan
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Germany
| | - Samuel Greiff
- Institute of Cognitive Science and Assessment, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg
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21
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Arslan RC, Reitz AK, Driebe JC, Gerlach TM, Penke L. Routinely randomize potential sources of measurement reactivity to estimate and adjust for biases in subjective reports. Psychol Methods 2020; 26:175-185. [PMID: 32584065 DOI: 10.1037/met0000294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
With the advent of online and app-based studies, researchers in psychology are making increasing use of repeated subjective reports. The new methods open up opportunities to study behavior in the field and to map causal processes, but they also pose new challenges. Recent work has added initial elevation bias to the list of common pitfalls; here, higher negative states (i.e., thoughts and feelings) are reported on the first day of assessment than on later days. This article showcases a new approach to addressing this and other measurement reactivity biases. Specifically, we employed a planned missingness design in a daily diary study of more than 1,300 individuals who were assessed over a period of up to 70 days to estimate and adjust for measurement reactivity biases. We found that day of first item presentation, item order, and item number were associated with only negligible bias: Items were not answered differently depending on when and where they were shown. Initial elevation bias may thus be more limited than has previously been reported or it may act only at the level of the survey, not at the item level. We encourage researchers to make design choices that will allow them to routinely assess measurement reactivity biases in their studies. Specifically, we advocate the routine randomization of item display and order, as well as of the timing and frequency of measurement. Randomized planned missingness makes it possible to empirically gauge how fatigue, familiarity, and learning interact to bias responses. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
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22
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Abstract
Open-source software improves the reproducibility of scientific research. Because existing open-source tools often do not offer dedicated support for longitudinal data collection on phones and computers, we built formr, a study framework that enables researchers to conduct both simple surveys and more intricate studies. With automated email and text message reminders that can be sent according to any schedule, longitudinal and experience-sampling studies become easy to implement. By integrating a web-based application programming interface for the statistical programming language R via OpenCPU, formr allows researchers to use a familiar programming language to enable complex features. These can range from adaptive testing, to graphical and interactive feedback, to integration with non-survey data sources such as self-trackers or online social network data. Here we showcase three studies created in formr: a study of couples with dyadic feedback; a longitudinal study over months, which included social networks and peer and partner ratings; and a diary study with daily invitations sent out by text message and email and extensive feedback on intraindividual patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruben C Arslan
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany.
| | | | - Cyril S Tata
- Technical Workgroup, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
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23
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Stern J, Arslan RC, Gerlach TM, Penke L. No robust evidence for cycle shifts in preferences for men's bodies in a multiverse analysis: A response to. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2019.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
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24
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Abstract
Data documentation in psychology lags behind not only many other disciplines, but also basic standards of usefulness. Psychological scientists often prefer to invest the time and effort that would be necessary to document existing data well in other duties, such as writing and collecting more data. Codebooks therefore tend to be unstandardized and stored in proprietary formats, and they are rarely properly indexed in search engines. This means that rich data sets are sometimes used only once—by their creators—and left to disappear into oblivion. Even if they can find an existing data set, researchers are unlikely to publish analyses based on it if they cannot be confident that they understand it well enough. My codebook package makes it easier to generate rich metadata in human- and machine-readable codebooks. It uses metadata from existing sources and automates some tedious tasks, such as documenting psychological scales and reliabilities, summarizing descriptive statistics, and identifying patterns of missingness. The codebook R package and Web app make it possible to generate a rich codebook in a few minutes and just three clicks. Over time, its use could lead to psychological data becoming findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable, thereby reducing research waste and benefiting both its users and the scientific community as a whole.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruben C. Arslan
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development
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25
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Hill WD, Arslan RC, Xia C, Luciano M, Amador C, Navarro P, Hayward C, Nagy R, Porteous DJ, McIntosh AM, Deary IJ, Haley CS, Penke L. Genomic analysis of family data reveals additional genetic effects on intelligence and personality. Mol Psychiatry 2018; 23:2347-2362. [PMID: 29321673 PMCID: PMC6294741 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-017-0005-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2017] [Revised: 11/08/2017] [Accepted: 11/21/2017] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Pedigree-based analyses of intelligence have reported that genetic differences account for 50-80% of the phenotypic variation. For personality traits these effects are smaller, with 34-48% of the variance being explained by genetic differences. However, molecular genetic studies using unrelated individuals typically report a heritability estimate of around 30% for intelligence and between 0 and 15% for personality variables. Pedigree-based estimates and molecular genetic estimates may differ because current genotyping platforms are poor at tagging causal variants, variants with low minor allele frequency, copy number variants, and structural variants. Using ~20,000 individuals in the Generation Scotland family cohort genotyped for ~700,000 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), we exploit the high levels of linkage disequilibrium (LD) found in members of the same family to quantify the total effect of genetic variants that are not tagged in GWAS of unrelated individuals. In our models, genetic variants in low LD with genotyped SNPs explain over half of the genetic variance in intelligence, education, and neuroticism. By capturing these additional genetic effects our models closely approximate the heritability estimates from twin studies for intelligence and education, but not for neuroticism and extraversion. We then replicated our finding using imputed molecular genetic data from unrelated individuals to show that ~50% of differences in intelligence, and ~40% of the differences in education, can be explained by genetic effects when a larger number of rare SNPs are included. From an evolutionary genetic perspective, a substantial contribution of rare genetic variants to individual differences in intelligence, and education is consistent with mutation-selection balance.
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Affiliation(s)
- W David Hill
- Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK.
- Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK.
| | - Ruben C Arslan
- Georg Elias Müller Institute of Psychology, Georg August University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Leibniz Science Campus, Primate Cognition, Göttingen, Germany
- Center for Adaptive Rationality Max Planck Institute for Human Development Lentzeallee, 94, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Charley Xia
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Michelle Luciano
- Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK
- Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK
| | - Carmen Amador
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Pau Navarro
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Caroline Hayward
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Reka Nagy
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - David J Porteous
- Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK
- Generation Scotland, Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK
- Medical Genetics Section, Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Andrew M McIntosh
- Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK
- Division of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Edinburgh, EH10 5HF, UK
| | - Ian J Deary
- Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK
- Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK
| | - Chris S Haley
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
- The Roslin Institute and Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Lars Penke
- Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK
- Georg Elias Müller Institute of Psychology, Georg August University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Leibniz Science Campus, Primate Cognition, Göttingen, Germany
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26
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Arslan RC, Willführ KP, Frans EM, Verweij KJH, Bürkner PC, Myrskylä M, Voland E, Almqvist C, Zietsch BP, Penke L. Correction to: reply to Woodley of Menie
et al
. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 285:rspb.2018.1427. [PMID: 30111601 PMCID: PMC6111151 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.1427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
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27
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Arslan RC, Willführ KP, Frans EM, Verweij KJH, Bürkner PC, Myrskylä M, Voland E, Almqvist C, Zietsch BP, Penke L. Relaxed selection and mutation accumulation are best studied empirically: reply to Woodley of Menie et al. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 285:rspb.2018.0092. [PMID: 29467268 PMCID: PMC5832716 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.0092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2018] [Accepted: 01/31/2018] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Ruben C Arslan
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
| | - Kai P Willführ
- Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, 18057 Rostock, Germany
| | - Emma M Frans
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Warneford Hospital, Oxford OX3 7JX, UK.,Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Karin J H Verweij
- Department of Biological Psychology, VU University, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | | | - Mikko Myrskylä
- Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, 18057 Rostock, Germany.,Department of Social Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, London WC2A 2AE, UK.,Population Research Unit, University of Helsinki, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Eckart Voland
- Department of Biophilosophy, Justus Liebig University Gießen, 35390 Gießen, Germany
| | - Catarina Almqvist
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden.,Pediatric Allergy and Pulmonology Unit at Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Brendan P Zietsch
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia.,Genetic Epidemiology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland 4006, Australia
| | - Lars Penke
- Biological Personality Psychology, Georg Elias Müller Institute of Psychology, Georg August University Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany.,Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
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28
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Gerlach TM, Arslan RC, Schultze T, Reinhard SK, Penke L. Predictive validity and adjustment of ideal partner preferences across the transition into romantic relationships. J Pers Soc Psychol 2017; 116:313-330. [PMID: 28921999 DOI: 10.1037/pspp0000170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Although empirical research has investigated what we ideally seek in a romantic partner for decades, the crucial question of whether ideal partner preferences actually guide our mating decisions in real life has remained largely unanswered. One reason for this is the lack of designs that assess individuals' ideal partner preferences before entering a relationship and then follow up on them over an extended period. In the Göttingen Mate Choice Study (GMCS), a preregistered, large-scale online study, we used such a naturalistic prospective design. We investigated partner preferences across 4 preference domains in a large sample of predominantly heterosexual singles (N = 763, aged 18-40 years) and tracked these individuals across a period of 5 months upon a possible transition into romantic relationships. Attesting to their predictive validity, partner preferences prospectively predicted the characteristics of later partners. This was equally true for both sexes, except for vitality-attractiveness where men's preferences were more predictive of their later partners' standing on this dimension than women's. Self-perceived mate value did not moderate the preference-partner characteristics relations. Preferences proved to be relatively stable across the 5 months interval, yet were less stable for those who entered a relationship. Subgroup analyses using a newly developed indicator of preference adjustment toward (vs. away from) partner characteristics revealed that participants adjusted their preferences downward when partners fell short of initial preferences, but showed no consistent adjustment when partners exceeded them. Results and implications are discussed against the background of ongoing controversies in mate choice and romantic relationship research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Lars Penke
- Institute of Psychology, University of Goettingen
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29
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Arslan RC, Willführ KP, Frans EM, Verweij KJH, Bürkner PC, Myrskylä M, Voland E, Almqvist C, Zietsch BP, Penke L. Older fathers' children have lower evolutionary fitness across four centuries and in four populations. Proc Biol Sci 2017; 284:rspb.2017.1562. [PMID: 28904145 DOI: 10.1101/042788] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2017] [Accepted: 08/07/2017] [Indexed: 05/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Higher paternal age at offspring conception increases de novo genetic mutations. Based on evolutionary genetic theory we predicted older fathers' children, all else equal, would be less likely to survive and reproduce, i.e. have lower fitness. In sibling control studies, we find support for negative paternal age effects on offspring survival and reproductive success across four large populations with an aggregate N > 1.4 million. Three populations were pre-industrial (1670-1850) Western populations and showed negative paternal age effects on infant survival and offspring reproductive success. In twentieth-century Sweden, we found minuscule paternal age effects on survival, but found negative effects on reproductive success. Effects survived tests for key competing explanations, including maternal age and parental loss, but effects varied widely over different plausible model specifications and some competing explanations such as diminishing paternal investment and epigenetic mutations could not be tested. We can use our findings to aid in predicting the effect increasingly older parents in today's society will have on their children's survival and reproductive success. To the extent that we succeeded in isolating a mutation-driven effect of paternal age, our results can be understood to show that de novo mutations reduce offspring fitness across populations and time periods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruben C Arslan
- Biological Personality Psychology, Georg Elias Müller Institute of Psychology, University of Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
- Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Kai P Willführ
- Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, 18057 Rostock, Germany
| | - Emma M Frans
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Warneford Hospital, Oxford OX3 7JX, UK
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Karin J H Verweij
- Department of Biological Psychology, VU University, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | | | - Mikko Myrskylä
- Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, 18057 Rostock, Germany
- Department of Social Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, London WC2A 2AE, UK
- Population Research Unit, University of Helsinki, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Eckart Voland
- Department of Biophilosophy, Justus Liebig University Gießen, 35390 Gießen, Germany
| | - Catarina Almqvist
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
- Pediatric Allergy and Pulmonology Unit at Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Brendan P Zietsch
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
- Genetic Epidemiology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland 4006, Australia
| | - Lars Penke
- Biological Personality Psychology, Georg Elias Müller Institute of Psychology, University of Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
- Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
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30
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Arslan RC, Willführ KP, Frans EM, Verweij KJH, Bürkner PC, Myrskylä M, Voland E, Almqvist C, Zietsch BP, Penke L. Older fathers' children have lower evolutionary fitness across four centuries and in four populations. Proc Biol Sci 2017; 284:20171562. [PMID: 28904145 PMCID: PMC5597845 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.1562] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2017] [Accepted: 08/07/2017] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Higher paternal age at offspring conception increases de novo genetic mutations. Based on evolutionary genetic theory we predicted older fathers' children, all else equal, would be less likely to survive and reproduce, i.e. have lower fitness. In sibling control studies, we find support for negative paternal age effects on offspring survival and reproductive success across four large populations with an aggregate N > 1.4 million. Three populations were pre-industrial (1670-1850) Western populations and showed negative paternal age effects on infant survival and offspring reproductive success. In twentieth-century Sweden, we found minuscule paternal age effects on survival, but found negative effects on reproductive success. Effects survived tests for key competing explanations, including maternal age and parental loss, but effects varied widely over different plausible model specifications and some competing explanations such as diminishing paternal investment and epigenetic mutations could not be tested. We can use our findings to aid in predicting the effect increasingly older parents in today's society will have on their children's survival and reproductive success. To the extent that we succeeded in isolating a mutation-driven effect of paternal age, our results can be understood to show that de novo mutations reduce offspring fitness across populations and time periods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruben C Arslan
- Biological Personality Psychology, Georg Elias Müller Institute of Psychology, University of Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
- Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Kai P Willführ
- Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, 18057 Rostock, Germany
| | - Emma M Frans
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Warneford Hospital, Oxford OX3 7JX, UK
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Karin J H Verweij
- Department of Biological Psychology, VU University, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | | | - Mikko Myrskylä
- Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, 18057 Rostock, Germany
- Department of Social Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, London WC2A 2AE, UK
- Population Research Unit, University of Helsinki, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Eckart Voland
- Department of Biophilosophy, Justus Liebig University Gießen, 35390 Gießen, Germany
| | - Catarina Almqvist
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
- Pediatric Allergy and Pulmonology Unit at Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Brendan P Zietsch
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
- Genetic Epidemiology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland 4006, Australia
| | - Lars Penke
- Biological Personality Psychology, Georg Elias Müller Institute of Psychology, University of Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
- Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
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Bleidorn W, Arslan RC, Denissen JJA, Rentfrow PJ, Gebauer JE, Potter J, Gosling SD. Age and gender differences in self-esteem-A cross-cultural window. J Pers Soc Psychol 2015; 111:396-410. [PMID: 26692356 DOI: 10.1037/pspp0000078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 217] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Research and theorizing on gender and age differences in self-esteem have played a prominent role in psychology over the past 20 years. However, virtually all empirical research has been undertaken in the United States or other Western industrialized countries, providing a narrow empirical base from which to draw conclusions and develop theory. To broaden the empirical base, the present research uses a large Internet sample (N = 985,937) to provide the first large-scale systematic cross-cultural examination of gender and age differences in self-esteem. Across 48 nations, and consistent with previous research, we found age-related increases in self-esteem from late adolescence to middle adulthood and significant gender gaps, with males consistently reporting higher self-esteem than females. Despite these broad cross-cultural similarities, the cultures differed significantly in the magnitude of gender, age, and Gender × Age effects on self-esteem. These differences were associated with cultural differences in socioeconomic, sociodemographic, gender-equality, and cultural value indicators. Discussion focuses on the theoretical implications of cross-cultural research on self-esteem. (PsycINFO Database Record
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ruben C Arslan
- Department of Biological Personality Psychology, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
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Dufner M, Arslan RC, Hagemeyer B, Schönbrodt FD, Denissen JJA. Affective contingencies in the affiliative domain: Physiological assessment, associations with the affiliation motive, and prediction of behavior. J Pers Soc Psychol 2015; 109:662-76. [DOI: 10.1037/pspp0000025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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