Sexist Humor and Rape Proclivity: The Moderating Role of Joke Teller Gender and Severity of Sexual Assault

Three experiments examined the effect of sexist humor on men's self-reported rape proclivity (RP). Pilot study demonstrated that people differentiate the five rape scenarios of Bohner et al.'s. RP Scale based on the degree of physical violence perpetrated against the victim. Experiment 1 demonstrated that men higher in hostile sexism report greater RP upon exposure to sexist jokes when a woman (vs. a man) delivers them, and that this effect is limited to rape scenarios depicting a moderate versus a high level of physical violence. Experiment 2 further demonstrated that the relationship between hostile sexism and rape proclivity in response to a moderately violent rape scenario after exposure to sexist humor generalizes beyond women in the immediate humor context to women as a whole.

How do different humanness measures relate? Confronting the attribution of secondary emotions, human uniqueness, and human nature traits

The present research examines the relationship between the infrahumanization approach and the two-dimensional model of humanness: an issue that has received very little empirical attention. In Study 1, we created three unknown groups (Humanized, Animalized, and Mechanized) granting/denying them Human Nature (HN) and Human Uniqueness (HU) traits. The attribution of primary/secondary emotions was measured. As expected, participants attributed more secondary emotions to the humanized compared to dehumanized groups. Importantly, both animalized and mechanized groups were attributed similar amounts of secondary emotions. In Study 2, the groups were described in terms of their capacity to express secondary emotions. We measured the attribution of HN/HU traits. Results showed that the infrahumanized group was denied both HU/HN traits. The results highlight the importance of considering the common aspects of both approaches in understanding processes of dehumanization.

Interacting with dehumanized others? Only if they are objectified

Members of dehumanized groups are somehow accepted in a variety of menial roles. Three studies verified when and why people might approach members of animalistically and mechanistically dehumanized groups. In Studies 1 and 2, participants showed a greater intention to interact with (Study 1) and attributed higher ratings of success (Study 2) to members of an animalistically dehumanized group in a social context. On the contrary, participants expected that members of a mechanistically dehumanized group would be more successful and were preferred to interact with in a professional context. In Study 3, the psychological process underlying these preferences was investigated. Interestingly, results showed that the objectification of dehumanized group members led participants to interact with them. Taken together these studies show that people approach dehumanized others not because they are liked, but because they are objectified.

Short-term effect of crunch exercise frequency on abdominal muscle endurance

Despite core exercise programs are broadly used to increase muscle function and to promote low back health, there is a lack of scientific evidence on some of the most important characteristics of trunk exercise programs, as for example training frequency. This study aimed to compare the short-term effect of training frequencies of 1, 2 and 3 days per week (d/wk) on abdominal muscle endurance in untrained adolescents. One hundred and eighteen high-school students (59 men and 59 women) with no previous experience in structured abdominal exercise programs were assigned randomly to groups that trained 1 d/wk (G1; N.=21), 2 d/wk (G2; N.=27), 3 d/wk (G3; N.=23), or to a control group (CG; N.=47) that did not train. The training groups performed crunch and cross-crunch exercises 1, 2 or 3 d/wk during six weeks. Before and after the training period, the bench trunk-curl test (BTC test) was carried out to assess abdominal muscle endurance. Men obtained higher BTC test scores than women before and after training. Training frequencies of 1, 2 and 3 d/wk provided a significant increase in BTC test scores; however, no significant differences between the three groups' scores were found after training. Therefore, a small dose of crunch exercise training (1 d/wk) may be sufficient stimulus to increase abdominal endurance in untrained male and female adolescents, at least during the first weeks of an abdominal exercise program, which seems a very relevant finding in terms of time-cost efficiency.

BDNF Val66Met polymorphism in primary adult-onset dystonia: a case-control study and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

A polymorphism in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) (Val66Met) has been reported as a risk factor in primary dystonia. However, overall the results have been inconclusive. Our aim was to clarify the association of Val66Met with primary dystonia, and with the most prevalent clinical subtypes, cervical dystonia and blepharospasm.

METHODS

We conducted a Spanish multicenter case-control study (including 680 primary dystonia patients and 788 healthy controls) and performed a meta-analysis integrating our study and six previously published studies (including a total of 1,936 primary dystonia patients and 2,519 healthy controls).

RESULTS

We found no allelic or genotypic association with primary dystonia, cervical dystonia, or blepharospasm risks, for the allele A (Met) from a BDNF Val66Met polymorphism in our case-control study. This was confirmed by results from our meta-analysis in white and mixed ethnic populations in any genetic model.

CONCLUSION

We did not find any evidence supporting the association of the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism with primary dystonia.

Benevolent sexist ideology attributed to an abusive partner decreases women's active coping responses to acts of sexual violence

This article describes three studies in which we explored the influence of the sexist ideology attributed to the perpetrator on women's responses to hypothetical acts of sexual assault perpetrated by male intimate partners. In Study 1 (n = 83), college women read three sexual assault scenarios in the context of an intimate relationship. The male partner's sexist ideology (benevolent, hostile, or control) was manipulated within participants. Women showed less active responses when the partner had been described as a benevolent sexist man. This effect was replicated in Study 2 (n = 103), which showed a relationship between women's less active responses and the belief that benevolent sexist men are very attracted to and interested in their partners. Study 3 (n = 130) demonstrated experimentally that women's responses are less active when they are exposed to information that indicates that the perpetrator is both high in benevolent sexism and highly attracted to his victim than when the latter information is not provided. Results suggest that sexist ideology and particularly benevolent sexism-attributed to the perpetrator in this case-is highly important in women's reactions to acts of sexual violence perpetrated by male intimate partners.

Ethanol production from glucose and xylose obtained from steam exploded water-extracted olive tree pruning using phosphoric acid as catalyst

In this work, the effect of phosphoric acid (1% w/w) in steam explosion pretreatment of water extracted olive tree pruning at 175°C and 195°C was evaluated. The objective is to produce ethanol from all sugars (mainly glucose and xylose) contained in the pretreated material. The water insoluble fraction obtained after pretreatment was used as substrate in a simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) process by a commercial strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The liquid fraction, containing mainly xylose, was detoxified by alkali and ion-exchange resin and then fermented by the xylose fermenting yeast Scheffersomyces stipitis. Ethanol yields reached in a SSF process were close to 80% when using 15% (w/w) substrate consistency and about 70% of theoretical when using prehydrolysates detoxified by ion-exchange resins. Considering sugars recovery and ethanol yields about 160g of ethanol from kg of water extracted olive tree pruning could be obtained.

How Attractive Are Sexist Intimates to Adolescents? The Influence of Sexist Beliefs and Relationship Experience

The emergence of heterosexual intimate relationship experiences has been described as central to the development of ambivalent sexist attitudes during adolescence. The quality of these relationships might be largely determined by the perceived attractiveness and expectancies about potential partners also in ideological terms. In a questionnaire study, 262 Spanish adolescents reported their attraction toward various sexist (hostile, benevolent, and ambivalent) and non-sexist profiles of other-sex targets as potential friends and intimate partners. Relationships between attraction judgments and participants' own sexist beliefs as well as their experiences in romantic relationships were examined. Results show that young women considered benevolent sexist young men to be most attractive and young men considered ambivalent sexist young women to be most attractive. Congruency effects were found between these preferences and participants’ own sexist attitudes. In addition, young women’s experiences in romantic relationships significantly predicted their preference for benevolent sexist young men. Discussion focuses on the importance of socialization in the development of such preferences and on the endorsement of benevolent sexism in female and male adolescents. More generally, theoretical and applied implications of these results in relation to ambivalent sexism theory are discussed.

“Having it All”: Women's Perception of Impact of Female Promotion on Threat of Domestic Violence

This study involved 219 women participants. The main aim of the present study is to examine the perceived consequences of a work-related promotion for the female partner in a heterosexual relationship. The impact of the promotion was manipulated - both partners share paid and domestic work, the male partner taking responsibility for all the domestic work - or female partner continuing to do all the domestic work, as well as the male partner's sexist ideology. Finally, the study examined gender ideology of participants. The results showed that participants felt that violence was more likely when the male partner was presented as sexist and that this was due to a perception of threat on the part of the male partner.

Are they Animals or Machines? Measuring Dehumanization

The present research deals with two forms of dehumanization: 1) denying uniquely human attributes to others (seeing them as animals); 2) denying human nature to others (seeing them as machines or automata). Studies 1 and 2 explored these two forms of dehumanization, analyzing whether people associated their ingroup more with human-related words (vs. animal- vs. machine-related words) than two different outgroups. A paper and pencil procedure was used to find out which words were associated with the surnames of the ingroup (Spaniards) or the outgroup (Germans, Gypsies). Results showed that participants were more ready to link ingroup than outgroup surnames to human words. They also linked more Gypsy surnames to animal-related words and German surnames with machine-related words. Studies 3 and 4 used the Implicit Association Test to analyze the same ideas and replicated the results of Studies 1 and 2.

Reversing Implicit Gender Stereotype Activation as a Function of Exposure to Traditional Gender Roles

We examined the influence of exposure to traditional gender roles on the activation of gender stereotypes in Spanish women. An associative procedure was used to expose participants to stereotypical vs. counterstereotypical gender roles, and a word categorization task with stereotypically feminine communal/warmth and stereotypically masculine agentic/competence trait words measured participants’ automatic responses. Results show that women exposed to traditional roles reverse the activation of gender stereotypes. That is, they activated competence/agency faster for female primes and warmth/communion faster for male primes in a subsequent task. The implicit stereotype reversal was predicted by participants’ endorsement of positive attitudes toward affirmative action policies. The results are discussed in terms of the motivational influence of perceived discrimination in intergroup relations.

Nations' income inequality predicts ambivalence in stereotype content: how societies mind the gap

Income inequality undermines societies: The more inequality, the more health problems, social tensions, and the lower social mobility, trust, life expectancy. Given people's tendency to legitimate existing social arrangements, the stereotype content model (SCM) argues that ambivalence-perceiving many groups as either warm or competent, but not both-may help maintain socio-economic disparities. The association between stereotype ambivalence and income inequality in 37 cross-national samples from Europe, the Americas, Oceania, Asia, and Africa investigates how groups' overall warmth-competence, status-competence, and competition-warmth correlations vary across societies, and whether these variations associate with income inequality (Gini index). More unequal societies report more ambivalent stereotypes, whereas more equal ones dislike competitive groups and do not necessarily respect them as competent. Unequal societies may need ambivalence for system stability: Income inequality compensates groups with partially positive social images.

The Power of a Smile to Move You

Extending evidence that nonverbal complementary behavior can occur in dyads to the intergroup domain, the authors predicted that women assume a relatively submissive (narrow) posture when confronted with a male instructor adopting a dominant (broad) posture, but only when he smiles (affiliation motive) and when gender is salient. Male affiliation (smiling vs. not smiling) and gender salience were manipulated in Study 1 by focusing on sex differences (vs. individual differences) in presentation style, strengthened by the instructor making a sexist remark. As predicted, women adopted a more submissive posture when gender was salient and the male instructor smiled. In Study 2, male posture was manipulated (dominant vs. submissive) to examine postural complementarity in women. Study 3 replicated the postural effect, especially when the sexist remark is present. This effect was mediated by the instructor’s perceived warmth. Implications for gender, benevolent sexism, and intergroup power relations are discussed.

Altered glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in a mouse line with activated polyamine catabolism

Ubiquitous activation of polyamine catabolism has been demonstrated to have protective effects in mice on fat accumulation and insulin sensitivity/glucose tolerance in, both, normal conditions and after a high fat diet. We have analyzed the endocrine pancreas functionality in four months-old male mice overexpressing the rate limiting enzyme in the polyamine catabolism, spermidine/spermine N¹-acetyltransferase (SSAT). The pancreatic SSAT activity was 37-fold elevated in the transgenic mice, which reduced the total pancreatic and islet pools of spermidine (71%) and spermine (69%), and increased putrescine and N¹-acetyl spermidine. Reduction in the islet ATP levels (65%) was accompanied with increased transcription of 5'-AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) (1.5-fold) and Foxa2 (2.7-fold), and reduced HNF4α (67%) and HNF1α (92%), insulin 1 (47%), insulin 2 (50%), and Glut2 (57%). Moreover, the SSAT transgenic mice also presented increased beta cell area, decreased insulin production, and altered glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. It has been hypothesized that the acute activation of the polyamine catabolism produces a futile cycle that greatly decreases the energy reserves of the cell. The lower energy status would activate the energy expenditure regulator, AMPK, which would consequently repress the PI3K/Akt pathway, and activate the transcription factor Foxa2.

Spanish validation of the Acceptance of Modern Myths about Sexual Aggression scale (AMMSA)

Two studies were conducted with college students to validate the Spanish-language version of the "Acceptance of Modern Myths about Sexual Aggression" scale (AMMSA) (Gerger, Kley, Bohner & Siebler, 2007). This scale assesses modern myths about sexual aggression in a subtle way. In Study 1, 305 students completed the Spanish AMMSA and other scales with related content. In Study 2, 263 participants completed the Spanish AMMSA and answered questions about a hypothetical sexual assault perpetrated by a young man against a female acquaintance. The Spanish AMMSA showed high internal consistency and adequate evidence of validity in both studies. Compared to traditional scales of rape myth acceptance, mean scores on the AMMSA were higher and their distributions more closely approximated normality. These findings suggest that the Spanish version of the AMMSA scale is a useful instrument to study the social perception of sexual aggression.

It's his right, it's her duty: benevolent sexism and the justification of traditional sexual roles

This study tested the effects on social perceptions of sexual marital rights and duties of ambivalent sexist ideology and information about the benevolent sexist ideology of a husband, portrayed in a hypothetical marital vignette. In addition, the perception of whether hypothetical forced sex between husband and wife is considered rape was explored. For one half of the participants (college students), the husband was presented as high in benevolent sexism (BS); and for the other half, no information about his ideology was given. Results showed that participants in the first group ranked sexual marital rights (for him) and duties (for her) more highly, and regarded forced sex as rape to a lesser extent. Positive relationships were also found between participants' BS and these ratings. Moreover, participants' perceptions of marital rights and duties played a mediating role in the relationship between their BS and their perception of forced penetration as rape. Finally, an interaction was found between participants' and husbands' BS in the perception of marital rights and duties: The influence of participants' BS was higher when the husband was presented as a benevolent sexist man. Results highlight the role of sexist attitudes in the interpretation of marital rape.

Temephos resistance and esterase activity in the mosquito Aedes aegypti in Havana, Cuba increased dramatically between 2006 and 2008

Aedes aegypti (L.) (Diptera: Culicidae) control programmes in Cuba rely on the application of the organophosphate temephos for larval control. Hence, the monitoring of resistance to this insecticide is an essential component of such programmes. Here, 15 field populations from different municipalities of Havana City were assayed for resistance to temephos. High levels of resistance were detected in all strains and resistance ratios were highly correlated with esterase activity (P = 0.00001). Populations from three municipalities were tested in both 2006 and 2008; resistance and esterase activities both significantly increased during this 2-year period. Synergist studies demonstrated that neither glutathione transferases nor monooxygenases were associated with the increase in resistance to temephos in this period. The duration of the efficacy of commercial formulations of temephos in controlling Ae. aegypti populations in Havana City was reduced by the high level of temephos resistance observed; hence these data are of clear operational significance for the dengue control programme in Cuba. New integrated strategies to avoid further increases in temephos resistance in Cuba are necessary.

Lava cave microbial communities within mats and secondary mineral deposits: implications for life detection on other planets

Lava caves contain a wealth of yellow, white, pink, tan, and gold-colored microbial mats; but in addition to these clearly biological mats, there are many secondary mineral deposits that are nonbiological in appearance. Secondary mineral deposits examined include an amorphous copper-silicate deposit (Hawai'i) that is blue-green in color and contains reticulated and fuzzy filament morphologies. In the Azores, lava tubes contain iron-oxide formations, a soft ooze-like coating, and pink hexagons on basaltic glass, while gold-colored deposits are found in lava caves in New Mexico and Hawai'i. A combination of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and molecular techniques was used to analyze these communities. Molecular analyses of the microbial mats and secondary mineral deposits revealed a community that contains 14 phyla of bacteria across three locations: the Azores, New Mexico, and Hawai'i. Similarities exist between bacterial phyla found in microbial mats and secondary minerals, but marked differences also occur, such as the lack of Actinobacteria in two-thirds of the secondary mineral deposits. The discovery that such deposits contain abundant life can help guide our detection of life on extraterrestrial bodies.

Victim blaming and exoneration of the perpetrator in domestic violence: the role of beliefs in a just world and ambivalent sexism

The existence of domestic violence is closely linked to several ideological factors that include sexism and other beliefs about society in general, namely the belief in a just world. In this study, which involved 485 people of both sexes aged between 18 and 70 years, we analyzed the influence of these ideological variables of the perceivers and characteristics of the situation on judgments of a gender aggression--blaming the victim and exonerating the perpetrator. Results showed differences in the reactions of observers depending on the cause that triggered the aggression. Participants blamed the victim and exonerated the aggressor more when no cause of the aggression was mentioned than when a cause was mentioned (the woman wanted to separate, to see an old male friend, or simply to take a trip with her female friends). We also found clear effects of hostile sexism and just world beliefs on the dependent variables. Results showed that the influence of just world beliefs depended on the fact of mention or not a cause for the aggression.

Exposure to sexist humor and rape proclivity: the moderator effect of aversiveness ratings

The aim of this study is to explore the effect of exposure to sexist humor about women on men's self-reported rape proclivity. Earlier studies have shown that exposure to this type of humor increases rape proclivity and that funniness responses to jokes are a key element to consider. However, the role of aversiveness responses has not been studied. In a between-group design, 109 male university students are randomly exposed to sexist or nonsexist jokes. Participants are asked to rate the jokes according to their degree of funniness and aversiveness. Participants' levels of hostile and benevolent sexism were also measured. Results about the relationship between sexist attitudes and sexist humor and the relationship between sexist attitudes and rape proclivity are consistent with those of earlier studies. However, exposure to sexist humor affects rape proclivity only when aversiveness shown to this type of humor is low. The results are discussed in the light of the prejudiced norm theory.

Don't Rock the Boat: Women's Benevolent Sexism Predicts Fears of Marital Violence

We examined how Spanish women's benevolent sexism (a sex-role attitude) affects their perceptions of whether a hypothetical husband will feel threatened by a wife's success at work. In a social perception study, female participants ( N = 210) read a vignette in which a husband and his wife argued over her job promotion. Women's benevolent sexism (but not hostile sexism) predicted viewing the husband as more threatened by his wife's promotion and more likely to aggress against her (intimate partner violence). The effect of women's benevolent sexism was robust and not mitigated when specific information about the husband's attitude (traditional, egalitarian, no information) was provided. Belief that a husband would feel threatened by a wife's promotion partially mediated the relationship between women's benevolent sexism scores and their anticipation that the husband would become violent. Benevolently sexist women may embrace traditional roles in relationships in part to avoid antagonizing male partners, ultimately maintaining the status quo.

Attitude similarity and stereotypicality in leader evaluation

Stereotypicality and attitudinal similarity are variables broadly studied in the research about leader's acceptance and evaluation. However, the interaction between these variables has not been deeply studied. An experimental research in which we analyze the influence of both variables and their interaction on leaders' evaluation is presented. A 3 x 3 (attitudinal similarity [none, moderate, high] x leaders' stereotypicality [none, moderately and very stereotypical]) design was used. Participants were 215 Psychology students. Results show that both variables influenced leaders' evaluation, although the influence of stereotypicality was stronger than that of attitude similarity. The significant interaction between both variables indicates that, when a very stereotypical leader is not at all similar or moderately similar to the perceiver, his or her evaluation diminishes.

The Impact of Music on Automatically Activated Attitudes: Flamenco and Gypsy People

The two studies reported in this article agree in demonstrating that activating a positive side of the stereotype of a traditionally prejudiced group could be a useful strategy to improve the implicit attitude toward that group. The goal of the current research was to explore whether activating the present association between Flamenco music and Gypsy people would decrease the negative view of this group in Spain, using the IAT measure. In the first study, when a stereotype-consistent but positive feature of Gypsies (i.e. Flamenco music) was used as a positively valued attribute in the IAT measure, the IAT effect was lower than when a different positive stimulus was used (classical music clips). The findings of Study 2 showed that for the North African community—another highly discriminated group in Spain—the use of Flamenco or classical music clips did not have any effect on the implicit attitudes of participants toward them. The implications for attitudes toward discriminated groups and the use of music to improve intergroup relationships are discussed.

Stereotype content model across cultures: towards universal similarities and some differences

The stereotype content model (SCM) proposes potentially universal principles of societal stereotypes and their relation to social structure. Here, the SCM reveals theoretically grounded, cross-cultural, cross-groups similarities and one difference across 10 non-US nations. Seven European (individualist) and three East Asian (collectivist) nations (N=1,028) support three hypothesized cross-cultural similarities: (a) perceived warmth and competence reliably differentiate societal group stereotypes; (b) many out-groups receive ambivalent stereotypes (high on one dimension; low on the other); and (c) high status groups stereotypically are competent, whereas competitive groups stereotypically lack warmth. Data uncover one consequential cross-cultural difference: (d) the more collectivist cultures do not locate reference groups (in-groups and societal prototype groups) in the most positive cluster (high-competence/high-warmth), unlike individualist cultures. This demonstrates out-group derogation without obvious reference-group favouritism. The SCM can serve as a pancultural tool for predicting group stereotypes from structural relations with other groups in society, and comparing across societies.