Fluctuating asymmetry, mate choice and experimental designs

No Abstract Copyright 1997 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour1997The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour     

Pathogens, personality, and culture: Disease prevalence predicts worldwide variability in sociosexuality, extraversion, and openness to experience.

Previous research has documented cross-cultural differences in personality traits, but the origins of those differences remain unknown. The authors investigate the possibility that these cultural differences can be traced, in part, to regional differences in the prevalence in infectious diseases. Three specific hypotheses are deduced, predicting negative relationships between disease prevalence and (a) unrestricted sociosexuality, (b) extraversion, and (c) openness to experience. These hypotheses were tested empirically with methods that employed epidemiological atlases in conjunction with personality data collected from individuals in dozens of countries worldwide. Results were consistent with all three hypotheses: In regions that have historically suffered from high levels of infectious diseases, people report lower mean levels of sociosexuality, extraversion, and openness. Alternative explanations are addressed, and possible underlying mechanisms are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex, power, and influence tactics in intimate relationships.

Examined the influence of sex, sex-role orientation, structural power, and interpersonal dependence on the use of influence tactics in 75 homosexual couples, 62 lesbian couples, and 98 heterosexual couples. Ss rated the frequency of 24 influence tactics on a 9-point scale, from which 6 dimensions of influence tactics were identified: manipulation, supplication, bullying, autocracy, disengagement, and bargaining. Several patterns of the effect of interpersonal power on influence tactics were found: Positions of weakness increased the use of supplication and manipulation, both "weak" strategies. Positions of strength somewhat increased the likelihood of bullying and the use of autocratic tactics, both "strong" strategies. Patterns of bargaining and the use of disengagement were more complex and varied across couple types. Both sex and sex-role orientation had consistent effects on influence dynamics, but these effects were limited primarily to the use of weak tactics. These effects of sex do not appear to be mediated either by interpersonal dependence or by structural power. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of trust, aspiration, and gender on negotiation tactics.

Used 60 male and 60 female undergraduates in same sex dyads to study the effects of trust (defined as belief that the other negotiator is cooperatively motivated), aspirations, and gender on the conditions and processes leading to outcomes that jointly benefit both parties. Under high aspirations, high trust produced self-consciously cooperative behavior in the form of direct information exchange; low trust produced self-consciously distributive (competitive) behavior and one form of indirect information exchange. A correlational analysis showed that joint benefit was a positive function of a set of trial and error tactics and 2 forms of indirect information exchange, a negative function of the use of distributive tactics, and unrelated to direct information exchange. Joint benefit was greater under higher aspirations but was not a function of trust or the interaction between trust and aspirations. Women engaged in less distributive behavior and were less interested in the task than men, especially under high aspirations. A theory of strategic choice is presented to explain the findings. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The implicit power motive and sociosexuality in men and women: Pancultural effects of responsibility.

Research has shown that an individual's implicit power motive relates to 2 types of behavioral clusters: either prosocial, socially appropriate behaviors or profligate, impulsive behaviors. The present study examined the relationship between individuals' implicit power motives and their tendency to engage in sexual activities without strong emotional ties (i.e., sociosexuality). For men, but not for women, this relationship was hypothesized to be moderated by an implicit disposition for responsibility. Whereas most research has been limited to Euro-American contexts, the present study examined the relationship between power motive, disposition for responsibility, and sociosexuality among participants recruited in Cameroon, China, Costa Rica, and Germany. Explicit Big Five measures of personality were controlled for. For women, only a main effect of responsibility on sociosexuality was found across cultural groups; for men, the association between power motivation and sociosexuality was moderated by responsibility, independent of cultural group. Traits of agreeableness and conscientiousness were systematically related to lower levels of sociosexuality. Effects for both implicit and explicit measures of personality suggest universality in the processes associated with more enactments of sociosexuality, confirming in part the hypothesized role of responsibility in channeling the realization of the power motive into less impulsive activities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence tactics and objectives in upward, downward, and lateral influence attempts.

Two studies were conducted to replicate and extend previous exploratory research by D. Kipnis et al (see record 1980-33577-001) on influence tactics and objectives in organizations. A new questionnaire was developed that included measures of important influence tactics and objectives omitted in the earlier research. Whereas the earlier research used only agent self-reports of influence behavior, the present research used both agent and target reports. Differences in downward, lateral, and upward influence attempts were replicated more for data from agents than for data from targets. Direction of influence had a stronger effect on influence objectives than on influence tactics. Despite some differences due to data source and direction of influence, the relative frequency of use for the 8 influence tactics was remarkably similar across conditions. Consultation and rational persuasion were the tactics used most frequently, regardless of the direction of influence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivation, affect, and hemispheric asymmetry: Power versus affiliation.

In 4 experiments, the authors examined to what extent information related to different social needs (i.e., power vs. affiliation) is associated with hemispheric laterality. Response latencies to a lateralized dot-probe task following lateralized pictures or verbal labels that were associated with positive or negative episodes related to power, affiliation, or achievement revealed clear-cut laterality effects. These effects were a function of need content rather than of valence: Power-related stimuli were associated with right visual field (left hemisphere) superiority, whereas affiliation-related stimuli were associated with left visual field (right hemisphere) superiority. Additional results demonstrated that in contrast to power, affiliation primes were associated with better discrimination between coherent word triads (e.g., goat, pass, and green, all related to mountain) and noncoherent triads, a remote associate task known to activate areas of the right hemisphere. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Consequences of influence tactics used with subordinates, peers, and the boss.

A field study was conducted to discover how a manager's use of 9 different influence tactics is related to target task commitment and the manager's effectiveness. The variables were measured with a questionnaire filled out by subordinates, peers, and the boss of each manager. The most effective tactics were rational persuasion, inspirational appeal, and consultation; the least effective tactics were pressure, coalition, and legitimating. Ingratiation and exchange were moderately effective for influencing subordinates and peers but were not effective for influencing superiors. Inspirational appeal, ingratiation, and pressure were used most in a downward direction; personal appeal, exchange, and legitimating were used most in a lateral direction; coalitions were used most in lateral and upward directions; and rational persuasion was used most in an upward direction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Inbreeding, fluctuating asymmetry, and ejaculate quality in an endangered ungulate

An ever-increasing number of species are suffering marked reductions in population size as a consequence of human activities. To understand the impact of these changes it is essential to assess how small population size affects individual fitness and the viability of populations. This issue acquires special relevance among endangered species in which numbers have decreased to such an extent that captive breeding must be established with a few founders. A major risk associated with small population size is inbreeding depression. The effects of inbreeding upon male reproductive traits are the subject of an ongoing controversy, since the evidence linking lack of genetic variability and poor ejaculate quality at the population level has been criticized recently by several authors. We report that among Gazella cuvieri males, inbreeding coefficient shows a strong inverse relationship with ejaculate quality. Furthermore, the degree of fluctuating asymmetry is positively related to the coefficient of inbreeding and negatively related to the proportion of normal sperm, suggesting that it is a reliable indicator of genetic stress and of ejaculate quality.     

Male traits, mating tactics and reproductive success in the buff-breasted sandpiper, Tryngites subruficollis

Buff-breasted sandpipers use a variety of mating tactics to acquire mates, including remaining at a single lek for most of the breeding season, attending multiple leks during the season, displaying solitarily or displaying both on leks and solitarily. We found that differences in body size, body condition, fluctuating asymmetry scores, wing coloration, territory location and behaviour (attraction, solicitation and agonistic) did not explain the observed variation in mating tactics used by males. Which males abandoned versus returned to leks was also not related to morphology or behaviour, and there was no tendency for males to join leks that were larger or smaller than the lek they abandoned. These results suggest that male desertion of leks was not dependent on a male's characteristics nor on the size of the lek he was presently attending. Males did join leks with larger males than their previous lek, perhaps to mate with females attracted to these larger 'hotshot' males. Males at both leks and solitary sites successfully mated. Lek tenure did not affect mating success, although lekking males appeared to mate more frequently than solitary males. Courtship disruption and to a lesser extent, female mimicry, were effective at preventing females from mating at leks, and may offer a partial explanation for female mating off leks. Our analysis that combined all males together within a year (regardless of mating tactic) indicated that males that attended leks for longer periods of time and that had fewer wing spots were significantly more likely to mate. Given some evidence that wing spotting declines with age, and that females inspect male underwings during courtship, the latter result suggests that female choice may play some role in determining male success. We suggest that male buff-breasted sandpipers may use alternative mating tactics more readily than males in other 'classic' lek-breeding species because: (1) unpredictable breeding conditions in this species' high arctic breeding range leads to low lek stability, which in turn hinders mate selection mechanisms mediated by male dominance and female choice; and (2) males are not constrained by morphological markings that indicate status or sex. Both characteristics may reduce the reproductive benefits associated with males adopting one mating tactic and result in a sort of scramble competition in which males switch between tactics as local conditions change.Copyright 1998 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour     

Facial asymmetry as an indicator of psychological, emotional, and physiological distress

Fluctuating asymmetry (FA) is deviation from bilateral symmetry in morphological traits with asymmetry values that are normally distributed with a mean of 0. FA is produced by genetic or environmental perturbations of developmental design and may play a role in human sexual selection. K. Grammer and R. Thornhill (1994) found that facial FA negatively covaries with observer ratings of attractiveness, dominance, sexiness, and health. Using self-reports, observer ratings, daily diary reports, and psychophysiological measures, the authors assessed the relationship between facial FA and health in 2 samples of undergraduates (N = 101). Results partially replicate and extend those of K. Grammer and R. Thornhill (1994) and suggest that facial FA may signal psychological, emotional, and physiological distress. Discussion integrates the authors' findings with previous research on FA and suggests future research needed to clarify the role of FA in human sexual selection.     

Home care, medical care and the new competitive environment

Health-care organization and financing is rapidly changing in the USA due to competitive pressures. Parallel changes are occurring in other countries. These changes are affecting, and will affect, home care services. Watching these changes, and building on social models, leads one to focus on important developments. These developments include: point of service plans, disease management, outcomes measurement, price and quality competition. These changes will make measured outcomes and demonstrated value essential in home care.     

Informativity and asymmetry in comparisons

We propose an account of comparison asymmetries based on viewing comparison as a process of structural alignment and mapping. Specifically, we hypothesize that (1) comparison asymmetries result from directional differences in informativity, and that (2) asymmetries can therefore be predicted from the relative degree of systematicity or conceptual coherence of the items being compared. In Experiment 1, we found a clear preference for placing the more systematic of two passages in the base position of a comparison. Experiments 1 and 2 further showed that structural alignability is crucial in obtaining such asymmetries. In Experiment 3, we found that asymmetries are predicted by the relative systematicity of the comparisons items rather than by the relative size of the distinctive feature sets. These results are inconsistent with accounts of asymmetry based on feature contrast or stimulus bias. In Experiments 4 through 6, we tested the functional implications of our account by examining inference projection and perceived informativity across asymmetric comparisons. Critically, comparisons having the more systematic item as the base were more likely to result in inference projection and other forms of target modification and were rated as more informative than reverse comparisons. We conclude by demonstrating that this account can explain comparison asymmetries without positing underlying asymmetries in subjective similarity, and that it offers a unified approach to the directionality of literal comparisons, analogies, and metaphors.