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Pavlovič O, Fiala V, Kleisner K. Congruence in European and Asian perception of Vietnamese facial attractiveness, averageness, symmetry and sexual dimorphism. Sci Rep 2023; 13:13320. [PMID: 37587194 PMCID: PMC10432390 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-40458-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2023] [Accepted: 08/10/2023] [Indexed: 08/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Attractiveness is a proposed universal cue to overall biological quality. Nonetheless, local raters and raters of the same ethnicity may be more accurate in assessing the cues for attractiveness than distant and unfamiliar raters. Shared ethnicity and shared environment may both affect rating accuracy: our aim was to compare their relative influence. Therefore, we photographed young Vietnamese participants (N = 93, 33 women) from Hanoi, Vietnam. The photographs were rated by Czechs, Asian Vietnamese, and Czech Vietnamese (raters of Vietnamese origin who lived in Czechia for all or most of their life). Using geometric morphometrics, we measured facial shape cues to biological quality: averageness, asymmetry, and sexual dimorphism. We expected that Vietnamese raters residing in Czechia and Vietnam would agree on perceived attractiveness and use shape-related facial cues to biological quality better than Czech European raters, who are less familiar with East Asians. Surprisingly, mixed-effect models and post hoc comparisons identified no major cross-group differences in attributed attractiveness and path analyses revealed that the three groups based their rating on shape-related characteristics in a similar way. However, despite the considerable cross-cultural agreement regarding perceived attractiveness, Czech European raters associated attractiveness with facial shape averageness significantly more than Vietnamese raters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ondřej Pavlovič
- Department of Philosophy and History of Science, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Vinicna 7, 128 44, Prague, Czech Republic.
| | - Vojtěch Fiala
- Department of Philosophy and History of Science, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Vinicna 7, 128 44, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Karel Kleisner
- Department of Philosophy and History of Science, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Vinicna 7, 128 44, Prague, Czech Republic
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Novaes FC, Natividade JC. The sexual selection of creativity: A nomological approach. Front Psychol 2023; 13:874261. [PMID: 36698589 PMCID: PMC9869285 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.874261] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2022] [Accepted: 11/03/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Cultural innovations, such as tools and other technical articles useful for survival, imply that creativity is an outcome of evolution. However, the existence of purely ornamental items obfuscates the functional value of creativity. What is the functional or adaptive value of aesthetic and intellectual ornaments? Recent evidence shows a connection between ornamental creativity, an individual's attractiveness, and their reproductive success. However, this association is not sufficient for establishing that creativity in humans evolved by sexual selection. In this critical review, we synthesize findings from many disciplines about the mechanisms, ontogeny, phylogeny, and the function of creativity in sexual selection. Existing research indicates that creativity has the characteristics expected of a trait evolved by sexual selection: genetic basis, sexual dimorphism, wider variety in males, influence of sex hormones, dysfunctional expressions, an advantage in mating in humans and other animals, and psychological modules adapted to mating contexts. Future studies should investigate mixed findings in the existing literature, such as creativity not being found particularly attractive in a non-WEIRD society. Moreover, we identified remaining knowledge gaps and recommend that further research should be undertaken in the following areas: sexual and reproductive correlates of creativity in non-WEIRD societies, relationship between androgens, development, and creative expression, as well as the impact of ornamental, technical and everyday creativity on attractiveness. Evolutionary research should analyze whether being an evolved signal of genetic quality is the only way in which creativity becomes sexually selected and therefore passed on from generation to generation. This review has gone a long way toward integrating and enhancing our understanding of ornamental creativity as a possible sexual selected psychological trait.
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Borráz-León JI, Rantala MJ, Luoto S, Krams IA, Contreras-Garduño J, Krama T, Cerda-Molina AL. Self-Perceived Facial Attractiveness, Fluctuating Asymmetry, and Minor Ailments Predict Mental Health Outcomes. ADAPTIVE HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND PHYSIOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s40750-021-00172-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Objective
Phenotypic markers associated with developmental stability such as fluctuating asymmetry, facial attractiveness, and reports of minor ailments can also act as indicators of overall physical health. However, few studies have assessed whether these markers might also be cues of mental health. We tested whether self- and other-perceived facial attractiveness, fluctuating asymmetry, and minor ailments are associated with psychopathological symptoms in a mixed sample of 358 college students, controlling for the effects of body mass index, age, and sex.
Methods
We applied the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) questionnaire to assess psychopathological symptoms, a battery of questionnaires about self-perceptions of facial attractiveness, and gathered information about the number of previous minor ailments as well as demographic data. Other-perceived attractiveness was assessed by an independent mixed sample of 109 subjects. Subjects’ facial fluctuating asymmetry was determined by geometric morphometrics.
Results
The results revealed that in both men and women, higher self-perceived attractiveness and fewer minor ailments predicted lower scores of Somatization, Obsessive–Compulsive, Interpersonal Sensitivity, Depression, Anxiety, Phobic Anxiety, Paranoid Ideation, Psychoticism, and a General Psychopathology Index. Higher facial fluctuating asymmetry was associated with higher Interpersonal Sensitivity, but did not contribute to its prediction when controlling for the other studied variables.
Conclusions
The observed strong associations between self-perceived attractiveness, minor ailments, and psychopathology indicate common developmental pathways between physiological and psychological symptomatology which may reflect broader life history (co)variation between genetics, developmental environment, and psychophysiological functioning.
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Life History Is a Major Source of Adaptive Individual and Species Differences: a Critical Commentary on Zietsch and Sidari (2020). EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s40806-021-00280-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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5
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Nadig A, Seidlitz J, McDermott CL, Liu S, Bethlehem R, Moore TM, Mallard TT, Clasen LS, Blumenthal JD, Lalonde F, Gur RC, Gur RE, Bullmore ET, Satterthwaite TD, Raznahan A. Morphological integration of the human brain across adolescence and adulthood. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2023860118. [PMID: 33811142 PMCID: PMC8040585 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2023860118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Brain structural covariance norms capture the coordination of neurodevelopmental programs between different brain regions. We develop and apply anatomical imbalance mapping (AIM), a method to measure and model individual deviations from these norms, to provide a lifespan map of morphological integration in the human cortex. In cross-sectional and longitudinal data, analysis of whole-brain average anatomical imbalance reveals a reproducible tightening of structural covariance by age 25 y, which loosens after the seventh decade of life. Anatomical imbalance change in development and in aging is greatest in the association cortex and least in the sensorimotor cortex. Finally, we show that interindividual variation in whole-brain average anatomical imbalance is positively correlated with a marker of human prenatal stress (birthweight disparity between monozygotic twins) and negatively correlated with general cognitive ability. This work provides methods and empirical insights to advance our understanding of coordinated anatomical organization of the human brain and its interindividual variation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ajay Nadig
- Harvard/MIT MD-PhD Program, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115;
- Section on Developmental Neurogenomics, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892
| | - Jakob Seidlitz
- Section on Developmental Neurogenomics, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, 19104
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104
| | - Cassidy L McDermott
- Section on Developmental Neurogenomics, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104
| | - Siyuan Liu
- Section on Developmental Neurogenomics, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892
| | - Richard Bethlehem
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1TN, United Kingdom
| | - Tyler M Moore
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, 19104
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104
| | - Travis T Mallard
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712
| | - Liv S Clasen
- Section on Developmental Neurogenomics, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892
| | - Jonathan D Blumenthal
- Section on Developmental Neurogenomics, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892
| | - François Lalonde
- Section on Developmental Neurogenomics, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892
| | - Ruben C Gur
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, 19104
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104
| | - Raquel E Gur
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, 19104
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104
| | - Edward T Bullmore
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1TN, United Kingdom
- Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge CB2 1TN, United Kingdom
| | | | - Armin Raznahan
- Section on Developmental Neurogenomics, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892
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Weiss S, Grewe CM, Olderbak S, Goecke B, Kaltwasser L, Hildebrandt A. Symmetric or not? A holistic approach to the measurement of fluctuating asymmetry from facial photographs. PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2020.110137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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Eckert MA, Vaden KI. A deformation-based approach for characterizing brain asymmetries at different spatial scales of resolution. J Neurosci Methods 2019; 322:1-9. [PMID: 30998943 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2019.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2019] [Revised: 03/19/2019] [Accepted: 04/12/2019] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Structural cerebral asymmetries are hypothesized to provide an architectural foundation for functional asymmetries and behavioral lateralities. Studies of structural asymmetries typically focus on gray matter measures that are influenced by gross deformation fields used for normalization, and thus characterize a combination of different morphologic influences on structural asymmetries. NEW METHOD A deformation-based morphometry approach was developed to characterize structural asymmetries at different spatial scales of resolution, which can provide relatively more specific inference about the morphologic reason(s) for structural asymmetries, using a dataset of 347 typically developing children (7.00-12.92 years). RESULTS Significant structural asymmetries were observed for a larger lobar spatial scale (e.g., frontal petalia) and for a smaller gyral/sulcal spatial scale of resolution (e.g., marginal sulcus). Total intracranial volume was significantly associated with asymmetries at the larger spatial scale of normalization, while age was significantly associated with asymmetries at the smaller scale of normalization. There were no significant anti- or fluctuating asymmetry effects based on Hartigan Dip Tests and Bonnett Tests, respectively. COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHOD(S) While spatially similar asymmetries were observed in both gray matter and deformation field data (e.g., medial planum temporale/Heschl's gyrus), the deformation approach characterizes asymmetries based on three iterations of successively smaller scales of normalization. CONCLUSIONS Structural asymmetries can be identified in normalization deformations with a procedure that is tailored for sensitivity to structures at different spatial scales of resolution where there may be different mechanisms for the expression of asymmetry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark A Eckert
- Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, S.C., 29412, United States.
| | - Kenneth I Vaden
- Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, S.C., 29412, United States
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- Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, S.C., 29412, United States
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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] [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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Woodley of Menie MA, Fernandes HB, Kanazawa S, Dutton E. Sinistrality is associated with (slightly) lower general intelligence: A data synthesis and consideration of the secular trend in handedness. HOMO-JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE HUMAN BIOLOGY 2018; 69:118-126. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jchb.2018.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2018] [Accepted: 05/14/2018] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
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10
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Symmetry in Motion: Perception of Attractiveness Changes with Facial Movement. JOURNAL OF NONVERBAL BEHAVIOR 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s10919-018-0277-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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Winegard B, Winegard B, Geary DC. The Status Competition Model of Cultural Production. EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s40806-018-0147-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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12
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What Caused over a Century of Decline in General Intelligence? Testing Predictions from the Genetic Selection and Neurotoxin Hypotheses. EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s40806-017-0131-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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13
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Borráz-León JI, Cerda-Molina AL, Mayagoitia-Novales L. Stress and cortisol responses in men: differences according to facial symmetry. Stress 2017; 20:573-579. [PMID: 28927320 DOI: 10.1080/10253890.2017.1378341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Stress response is associated with increased activity in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis. Chronic stress-induced elevation in cortisol may alter its own negative regulation with multiple long-term consequences for physical and psychological health. One of the most reliable physical traits associated with mental, apparent physical health, and competitiveness is the degree of facial fluctuating asymmetry. However, to our knowledge there are no studies regarding the relationship between cortisol levels, facial symmetry and male competitiveness, and how cortisol changes after a stressful test depending on these traits. Here, a group of 100 college men were photographed to obtain their facial asymmetry levels. They then, answered the perceived stress scale and the intrasexual competition test and donated two saliva samples (pre-and post-test sample) to measure the change in their cortisol levels after a stressful test. We found that basal cortisol levels were positively correlated with both perceived stress and competitiveness, but not with facial fluctuating asymmetry. Cortisol levels increased in most symmetrical men after a short stressful test, but it decreased in most asymmetrical men. The results suggest differences in endocrine responses according to facial fluctuating asymmetry in men and how these responses could be related to the maintenance of social status.
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Affiliation(s)
- Javier I Borráz-León
- a Postgraduate Program in Biological Sciences , National Autonomous University of Mexico , Mexico City , Mexico
- b Department of Ethology , National Institute of Psychiatry, "Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz" , Mexico City , Mexico
| | - Ana Lilia Cerda-Molina
- b Department of Ethology , National Institute of Psychiatry, "Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz" , Mexico City , Mexico
| | - Lilian Mayagoitia-Novales
- b Department of Ethology , National Institute of Psychiatry, "Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz" , Mexico City , Mexico
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Kleisner K, Kočnar T, Tureček P, Stella D, Akoko RM, Třebický V, Havlíček J. African and European perception of African female attractiveness. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2017.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
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Abstract
Given what we know about the predictors of leaders’ ability, facial appearance should play a small or a very limited role in observers’ selection of leaders; however, research convincingly shows otherwise. The more distant observers are from leaders or the less information they have about them, the more likely they are to use whatever information is available—including the target’s looks—to make inferences about a leader’s character and competence. In this article, we review which consequential leadership outcomes are predicted by facial appearance. We explain why observers are inclined to make heuristic decisions using facial cues, discuss whether facial appearance carries credible information, and identify the conditions that may attenuate face effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- John Antonakis
- Faculty of Business and Economics, University of Lausanne
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Međedović J. Intelligence and Fitness: The Mediating Role of Educational Level. EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY 2017; 15:1474704917706936. [PMID: 28504891 PMCID: PMC10367467 DOI: 10.1177/1474704917706936] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2016] [Accepted: 01/30/2017] [Indexed: 09/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The evolutionary status of intelligence is not clear: It is positively related to various indicators of fitness but negatively to reproductive success as the most important fitness marker. In the present research, we explored the links between intelligence and three fitness indicators: number of children (short-term reproductive success), number of grandchildren (long-term reproductive success), and age at first birth. Participants were individuals in a postreproductive stage ( N = 191; mean age = 66.5 years). Intelligence had a positive correlation with short-term reproductive success and age at first birth but a negative correlation with long-term reproductive success. Participants' education turned out to be a significant mediator of the link between intelligence and criterion measures. The results showed that intelligence can elevate short-term reproductive success. Furthermore, individuals with higher intellectual abilities tended to delay reproduction, which negatively affected their long-term reproductive success. Education was revealed as a very important resource which affects the link between cognitive abilities and fitness, thus proving its evolutionary role in contemporary populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janko Međedović
- Institute of Criminological and Sociological Research, Belgrade, Serbia
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Hill AK, Cárdenas RA, Wheatley JR, Welling LLM, Burriss RP, Claes P, Apicella CL, McDaniel MA, Little AC, Shriver MD, Puts DA. Are there vocal cues to human developmental stability? Relationships between facial fluctuating asymmetry and voice attractiveness. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2016; 38:249-258. [PMID: 34629843 DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2016.10.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Fluctuating asymmetry (FA), deviation from perfect bilateral symmetry, is thought to reflect an organism's relative inability to maintain stable morphological development in the face of environmental and genetic stressors. Previous research has documented negative relationships between FA and attractiveness judgments in humans, but scant research has explored relationships between the human voice and this putative marker of genetic quality in either sex. Only one study (and in women only) has explored relationships between vocal attractiveness and asymmetry of the face, a feature-rich trait space central in prior work on human genetic quality and mate choice. We therefore examined this relationship in three studies comprising 231 men and 240 women from two Western samples as well as Hadza hunter-gatherers of Tanzania. Voice recordings were collected and rated for attractiveness, and FA was computed from two-dimensional facial images as well as, for a subset of men, three-dimensional facial scans. Through meta-analysis of our results and those of prior studies, we found a negative association between FA and vocal attractiveness that was highly robust and statistically significant whether we included effect sizes from previously published work, or only those from the present research, and regardless of the inclusion of any individual sample or method of assessing FA (e.g., facial or limb FA). Weighted mean correlations between FA and vocal attractiveness across studies were -.23 for men and -.29 for women. This research thus offers strong support for the hypothesis that voices provide cues to genetic quality in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander K Hill
- Department of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802
| | - Rodrigo A Cárdenas
- Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802
| | - John R Wheatley
- Department of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802
| | - Lisa L M Welling
- Department of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802
| | - Robert P Burriss
- Department of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802
| | - Peter Claes
- KU Leuven, ESAT/PSI - UZ Leuven, MIRC - iMinds, Medical IT Department, Belgium
| | - Coren L Apicella
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104
| | - Michael A McDaniel
- Department of Management, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23284
| | | | - Mark D Shriver
- Department of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802
| | - David A Puts
- Department of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802.,Center for Brain, Behavior, and Cognition, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802
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Gignac GE, Szodorai ET. Effect size guidelines for individual differences researchers. PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2016.06.069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 875] [Impact Index Per Article: 109.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Yeo RA, Ryman SG, Pommy J, Thoma RJ, Jung RE. General cognitive ability and fluctuating asymmetry of brain surface area. INTELLIGENCE 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2016.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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Woodley of Menie MA, Fernandes HB. The secular decline in general intelligence from decreasing developmental stability: Theoretical and empirical considerations. PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2015.12.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
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Pietschnig J, Penke L, Wicherts JM, Zeiler M, Voracek M. Meta-analysis of associations between human brain volume and intelligence differences: How strong are they and what do they mean? Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2015; 57:411-32. [PMID: 26449760 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2015.09.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 153] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2015] [Revised: 09/07/2015] [Accepted: 09/30/2015] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Positive associations between human intelligence and brain size have been suspected for more than 150 years. Nowadays, modern non-invasive measures of in vivo brain volume (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) make it possible to reliably assess associations with IQ. By means of a systematic review of published studies and unpublished results obtained by personal communications with researchers, we identified 88 studies examining effect sizes of 148 healthy and clinical mixed-sex samples (>8000 individuals). Our results showed significant positive associations of brain volume and IQ (r=.24, R(2)=.06) that generalize over age (children vs. adults), IQ domain (full-scale, performance, and verbal IQ), and sex. Application of a number of methods for detection of publication bias indicates that strong and positive correlation coefficients have been reported frequently in the literature whilst small and non-significant associations appear to have been often omitted from reports. We show that the strength of the positive association of brain volume and IQ has been overestimated in the literature, but remains robust even when accounting for different types of dissemination bias, although reported effects have been declining over time. While it is tempting to interpret this association in the context of human cognitive evolution and species differences in brain size and cognitive ability, we show that it is not warranted to interpret brain size as an isomorphic proxy of human intelligence differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakob Pietschnig
- Department of Applied Psychology-Health, Development, Enhancement and Intervention, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Department of Psychology, School of Science and Technology, Middlesex University Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
| | - Lars Penke
- Georg Elias Müller Department of Psychology, Georg August University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Jelte M Wicherts
- Tilburg School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands
| | - Michael Zeiler
- Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Martin Voracek
- Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Georg Elias Müller Department of Psychology, Georg August University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany; Department of Psychology, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
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Mõttus R, Marioni R, Deary IJ. Markers of Psychological Differences and Social and Health Inequalities: Possible Genetic and Phenotypic Overlaps. J Pers 2015; 85:104-117. [PMID: 26292196 DOI: 10.1111/jopy.12220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Associations between markers of ostensible psychological characteristics and social and health inequalities are pervasive but difficult to explain. In some cases, there may be causal influence flowing from social and health inequalities to psychological differences, whereas sometimes it may be the other way around. Here, we focus on the possibility that some markers that we often consider as indexing different domains of individual differences may in fact reflect at least partially overlapping genetic and/or phenotypic bases. For example, individual differences in cognitive abilities and educational attainment appear to reflect largely overlapping genetic influences, whereas cognitive abilities and health literacy may be almost identical phenomena at the phenotypic, never mind genetic, level. We make the case for employing molecular genetic data and quantitative genetic techniques to better understand the associations of psychological individual differences with social and health inequalities. We illustrate these arguments by using published findings from the Lothian Birth Cohort and the Generation Scotland studies. We also present novel findings pertaining to longitudinal stability and change in older age personality traits and some correlates of the change, molecular genetic data-based heritability estimates of Neuroticism and Extraversion, and the genetic correlations of these personality traits with markers of social and health inequalities.
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Affiliation(s)
- René Mõttus
- University of Edinburgh.,University of Tartu
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25
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Li JCH. Cohen'sdCorrected for Case IV Range Restriction: A More Accurate Procedure for Evaluating Subgroup Differences in Organizational Research. PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/peps.12096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Borráz-León JI, Cerda-Molina AL. Facial asymmetry is negatively related to assertive personality but unrelated to dominant personality in men. PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2014.11.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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27
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Mendelian and polygenic inheritance of intelligence: A common set of causal genes? Using next-generation sequencing to examine the effects of 168 intellectual disability genes on normal-range intelligence. INTELLIGENCE 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2014.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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Pound N, Lawson DW, Toma AM, Richmond S, Zhurov AI, Penton-Voak IS. Facial fluctuating asymmetry is not associated with childhood ill-health in a large British cohort study. Proc Biol Sci 2014; 281:20141639. [PMID: 25122232 PMCID: PMC4150332 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2014.1639] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2014] [Accepted: 07/22/2014] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The idea that symmetry in facial traits is associated with attractiveness because it reliably indicates good physiological health, particularly to potential sexual partners, has generated an extensive literature on the evolution of human mate choice. However, large-scale tests of this hypothesis using direct or longitudinal assessments of physiological health are lacking. Here, we investigate relationships between facial fluctuating asymmetry (FA) and detailed individual health histories in a sample (n = 4732) derived from a large longitudinal study (Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children) in South West England. Facial FA was assessed using geometric morphometric analysis of facial landmark configurations derived from three-dimensional facial scans taken at 15 years of age. Facial FA was not associated with longitudinal measures of childhood health. However, there was a very small negative association between facial FA and IQ that remained significant after correcting for a positive allometric relationship between FA and face size. Overall, this study does not support the idea that facial symmetry acts as a reliable cue to physiological health. Consequently, if preferences for facial symmetry do represent an evolved adaptation, then they probably function not to provide marginal fitness benefits by choosing between relatively healthy individuals on the basis of small differences in FA, but rather evolved to motivate avoidance of markers of substantial developmental disturbance and significant pathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas Pound
- Division of Psychology, Department of Life Sciences, Brunel University, London UB8 3PH, UK
| | - David W Lawson
- Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Arshed M Toma
- Applied Clinical Research and Public Health, Orthodontic Department, School of Dentistry, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Stephen Richmond
- Applied Clinical Research and Public Health, Orthodontic Department, School of Dentistry, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Alexei I Zhurov
- Applied Clinical Research and Public Health, Orthodontic Department, School of Dentistry, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Ian S Penton-Voak
- School of Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
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Marioni RE, Penke L, Davies G, Huffman JE, Hayward C, Deary IJ. The total burden of rare, non-synonymous exome genetic variants is not associated with childhood or late-life cognitive ability. Proc Biol Sci 2014; 281:20140117. [PMID: 24573858 PMCID: PMC3953855 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2014.0117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2014] [Accepted: 01/27/2014] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Human cognitive ability shows consistent, positive associations with fitness components across the life-course. Underlying genetic variation should therefore be depleted by selection, which is not observed. Genetic variation in general cognitive ability (intelligence) could be maintained by a mutation-selection balance, with rare variants contributing to its genetic architecture. This study examines the association between the total number of rare stop-gain/loss, splice and missense exonic variants and cognitive ability in childhood and old age in the same individuals. Exome array data were obtained in the Lothian Birth Cohorts of 1921 and 1936 (combined N = 1596). General cognitive ability was assessed at age 11 years and in late life (79 and 70 years, respectively) and was modelled against the total number of stop-gain/loss, splice, and missense exonic variants, with minor allele frequency less than or equal to 0.01, using linear regression adjusted for age and sex. In both cohorts and in both the childhood and late-life models, there were no significant associations between rare variant burden in the exome and cognitive ability that survived correction for multiple testing. Contrary to our a priori hypothesis, we observed no evidence for an association between the total number of rare exonic variants and either childhood cognitive ability or late-life cognitive ability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Riccardo E. Marioni
- 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
| | - Lars Penke
- Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, UK
- Institute of Psychology, Georg August University Göttingen, Goßlerstr. 14, Göttingen 37073, Germany
| | - Gail Davies
- 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
- Medical Genetics Section, Centre for Genomics and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Jennifer E. Huffman
- Medical Research Council Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Caroline Hayward
- Medical Research Council Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, 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
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Kirkpatrick RM, McGue M, Iacono WG, Miller MB, Basu S, Pankratz N. Low-Frequency Copy-Number Variants and General Cognitive Ability: No Evidence of Association. INTELLIGENCE 2014; 42:98-106. [PMID: 24497650 PMCID: PMC3909536 DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2013.11.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Although twin, family, and adoption studies have shown that general cognitive ability (GCA) is substantially heritable, GWAS has not uncovered a genetic polymorphism replicably associated with this phenotype. However, most polymorphisms used in GWAS are common SNPs. The present study explores use of a different class of genetic variant, the copy-number variant (CNV), to predict GCA in a sample of 6,199 participants, combined from two longitudinal family studies. We aggregated low-frequency (<5%) CNV calls into eight different mutational burden scores, each reflecting a different operationalization of mutational burden. We further conducted three genome-wide association scans, each of which utilized a different subset of identified low-frequency CNVs. Association signals from the burden analyses were generally small in effect size, and none were statistically significant after a careful Type I error correction was applied. No signal from the genome-wide scans significantly differed from zero at the adjusted Type I error rate. Thus, the present study provides no evidence that CNVs underlie heritable variance in GCA, though we cannot rule out the possibility of very rare or small-effect CNVs for this trait, which would require even larger samples to detect. We interpret these null results in light of recent breakthroughs that aggregate SNP effects to explain much, but not all, of the heritable variance in some quantitative traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert M. Kirkpatrick
- University of Minnesota Department of Psychology, 75 E. River Rd, Minneapolis, MN 55455
| | - Matt McGue
- University of Minnesota Department of Psychology, 75 E. River Rd, Minneapolis, MN 55455
| | - William G. Iacono
- University of Minnesota Department of Psychology, 75 E. River Rd, Minneapolis, MN 55455
| | - Michael B. Miller
- University of Minnesota Department of Psychology, 75 E. River Rd, Minneapolis, MN 55455
| | - Saonli Basu
- University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Division of Biostatistics, 420 Delaware St SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455
| | - Nathan Pankratz
- University of Minnesota Medical School, Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathology, 420 Delaware St. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455
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32
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Greengross G. Male Production of Humor Produced by Sexually Selected Psychological Adaptations. EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-0314-6_9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
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McKeown GJ. The Analogical Peacock Hypothesis: The Sexual Selection of Mind-Reading and Relational Cognition in Human Communication. REVIEW OF GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY 2013. [DOI: 10.1037/a0032631] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
This integrative review presents a novel hypothesis as a basis for integrating two evolutionary viewpoints on the origins of human cognition and communication, the sexual selection of human mental capacities, and the social brain hypothesis. This new account suggests that mind-reading social skills increased reproductive success and consequently became targets for sexual selection. The hypothesis proposes that human communication has three purposes: displaying mind-reading abilities, aligning and maintaining representational parity between individuals to enable displays, and the exchange of propositional information. Intelligence, creativity, language, and humor are mental fitness indicators that signal an individual's quality to potential mates, rivals, and allies. Five features central to the proposed display mechanism unify these indicators, the relational combination of concepts, large conceptual knowledge networks, processing speed, contextualization, and receiver knowledge. Sufficient between-mind alignment of conceptual networks allows displays based upon within-mind conceptual mappings. Creative displays communicate previously unnoticed relational connections and novel conceptual combinations demonstrating an ability to read a receiver's mind. Displays are costly signals of mate quality with costs incurred in the developmental production of the neural apparatus required to engage in complex displays and opportunity costs incurred through time spent acquiring cultural knowledge. Displays that are fast, novel, spontaneous, contextual, topical, and relevant are hard-to-fake for lower quality individuals. Successful displays result in elevated social status and increased mating options. The review addresses literatures on costly signaling, sexual selection, mental fitness indicators, and the social brain hypothesis; drawing implications for nonverbal and verbal communication.
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34
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Bodily symmetry increases across human childhood. Early Hum Dev 2013; 89:531-5. [PMID: 23375947 DOI: 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2013.01.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2012] [Revised: 12/21/2012] [Accepted: 01/07/2013] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Although bodily symmetry is widely used in studies of fitness and individual differences, little is known about how symmetry changes across development, especially in childhood. AIMS To test how, if at all, bodily symmetry changes across childhood. STUDY DESIGN We measured bodily symmetry via digital images of the hands. Participants provided information on their age. We ran polynomial regression models testing for associations between age and symmetry. SUBJECTS 887 children attending a public science event aged between 4 and 15 years old. OUTCOME MEASURES Mean asymmetry for the eight traits (an average of the asymmetry scores for the lengths and widths of digits 2 to 5). RESULTS Symmetry increases in childhood and we found that this period of development is best described by a nonlinear function. CONCLUSION Symmetry may be under active control, increasing with time as the organism approaches an optimal state, prior to a subsequent decline in symmetry during senescence. The causes and consequences of this contrasting pattern of developmental improvement in symmetry and reversal in old age should be studied in more detail.
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Hope D, Bates T, Penke L, Gow AJ, Starr JM, Deary IJ. Symmetry of the face in old age reflects childhood social status. ECONOMICS AND HUMAN BIOLOGY 2013; 11:236-244. [PMID: 21820367 DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2011.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2011] [Revised: 06/21/2011] [Accepted: 06/21/2011] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
The association of socioeconomic status (SES) with a range of lifecourse outcomes is robust, but the causes of these associations are not well understood. Research on the developmental origins of health and disease has led to the hypothesis that early developmental disturbance might permanently affect the lifecourse, accounting for some of the burden of chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease. Here we assessed developmental disturbance using bodily and facial symmetry and examined its association with socioeconomic status (SES) in childhood, and attained status at midlife. Symmetry was measured at ages 83 (facial symmetry) and 87 (bodily symmetry) in a sample of 292 individuals from the Lothian Birth Cohort 1921 (LBC1921). Structural equation models indicated that poorer SES during early development was significantly associated with lower facial symmetry (standardized path coefficient -.25, p=.03). By contrast, midlife SES was not significantly associated with symmetry. The relationship was stronger in men (-.44, p=.03) than in women (-.12, p=.37), and the effect sizes were significantly different in magnitude (p=.004). These findings suggest that SES in early life (but not later in life) is associated with developmental disturbances. Facial symmetry appears to provide an effective record of early perturbations, whereas bodily symmetry seems relatively imperturbable. As bodily and facial symmetries were sensitive to different influences, they should not be treated as interchangeable. However, markers of childhood disturbance remain many decades later, suggesting that early development may account in part for associations between SES and health through the lifecourse. Future research should clarify which elements of the environment cause these perturbations.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Hope
- Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
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36
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Bagshaw ATM, Horwood LJ, Liu Y, Fergusson DM, Sullivan PF, Kennedy MA. No effect of genome-wide copy number variation on measures of intelligence in a New Zealand birth cohort. PLoS One 2013; 8:e55208. [PMID: 23383111 PMCID: PMC3559383 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0055208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2012] [Accepted: 12/27/2012] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Variation in human intelligence is approximately 50% heritable, but understanding of the genes involved is limited. Several forms of genetic variation remain under-studied in relation to intelligence, one of which is copy number variation (CNV). Using single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) -based microarrays, we genotyped CNVs genome-wide in a birth cohort of 723 New Zealanders, and correlated them with four intelligence-related phenotypes. We found no significant association for any common CNV after false discovery correction, which is consistent with previous work. In contrast to a previous study, however, we found no effect on any cognitive measure of rare CNV burden, defined as total number of bases inserted or deleted in CNVs rarer than 5%. We discuss possible reasons for this failure to replicate, including interaction between CNV and aging in determining the effects of rare CNVs. While our results suggest that no CNV assayable by SNP chips contributes more than a very small amount to variation in human intelligence, it remains possible that common CNVs in segmental duplication arrays, which are not well covered by SNP chips, are important contributors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew T M Bagshaw
- Department of Pathology, University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand.
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37
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Genetic entropy and the human intellect. Trends Genet 2012; 29:59-60. [PMID: 23245856 DOI: 10.1016/j.tig.2012.11.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2012] [Accepted: 11/21/2012] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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38
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Deary IJ. Looking for 'system integrity' in cognitive epidemiology. Gerontology 2012; 58:545-53. [PMID: 22907506 DOI: 10.1159/000341157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2012] [Accepted: 06/20/2012] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In the last decade, an increasing body of empirical evidence has gathered to establish an association between higher cognitive ability in youth and later mortality, less morbidity and better health. This field of research is known as cognitive epidemiology. The causes of these associations are not understood. OBJECTIVE Among the possible explanations for the associations is the suggestion that they might, in part, be accounted for by general bodily 'system integrity'. That is, scoring well on cognitive ability tests might be an indicator of a more general tendency for complex systems in the body to be efficient. The construct of system integrity is critically assessed. METHOD This viewpoint provides a critical presentation and an empirical and theoretical evaluation of the construct of system integrity as it is used in cognitive epidemiology. RESULTS A precedent of the system integrity suggestion is discovered. The empirical tests of the system integrity idea to date are critically evaluated. Other possible routes to testing system integrity are suggested. There is a critical re-evaluation of the idea and other, related concepts. CONCLUSION The construct of system integrity is distinct from related constructs. It is still underdeveloped theoretically, and undertested empirically within cognitive epidemiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian J Deary
- Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
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Rahman Q, Bhanot S, Emrith-Small H, Ghafoor S, Roberts S. Gender nonconformity, intelligence, and sexual orientation. ARCHIVES OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR 2012; 41:623-30. [PMID: 21331499 DOI: 10.1007/s10508-011-9737-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2010] [Revised: 10/07/2010] [Accepted: 12/06/2010] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
The present study explored whether there were relationships among gender nonconformity, intelligence, and sexual orientation. A total of 106 heterosexual men, 115 heterosexual women, and 103 gay men completed measures of demographic variables, recalled childhood gender nonconformity (CGN), and the National Adult Reading Test (NART). NART error scores were used to estimate Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) Full-Scale IQ (FSIQ) and Verbal IQ (VIQ) scores. Gay men had significantly fewer NART errors than heterosexual men and women (controlling for years of education). In heterosexual men, correlational analysis revealed significant associations between CGN, NART, and FSIQ scores (elevated boyhood femininity correlated with higher IQ scores). In heterosexual women, the direction of the correlations between CGN and all IQ scores was reversed (elevated girlhood femininity correlating with lower IQ scores). There were no significant correlations among these variables in gay men. These data may indicate a "sexuality-specific" effect on general cognitive ability but with limitations. They also support growing evidence that quantitative measures of sex-atypicality are useful in the study of trait sexual orientation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qazi Rahman
- Biological and Experimental Psychology Group, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London, E1 4NS, UK.
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Banks GC, Kepes S, McDaniel MA. Publication Bias: A call for improved meta-analytic practice in the organizational sciences. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SELECTION AND ASSESSMENT 2012. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-2389.2012.00591.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- George C. Banks
- Virginia Commonwealth University; 301 West Main Street, PO Box 844000; Richmond; VA; 23284; USA
| | - Sven Kepes
- Virginia Commonwealth University; 301 West Main Street, PO Box 844000; Richmond; VA; 23284; USA
| | - Michael A. McDaniel
- Virginia Commonwealth University; 301 West Main Street, PO Box 844000; Richmond; VA; 23284; USA
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Abstract
Individual differences in human intelligence are of interest to a wide range of psychologists and to many people outside the discipline. This overview of contributions to intelligence research covers the first decade of the twenty-first century. There is a survey of some of the major books that appeared since 2000, at different levels of expertise and from different points of view. Contributions to the phenotype of intelligence differences are discussed, as well as some contributions to causes and consequences of intelligence differences. The major causal issues covered concern the environment and genetics, and how intelligence differences are being mapped to brain differences. The major outcomes discussed are health, education, and socioeconomic status. Aging and intelligence are discussed, as are sex differences in intelligence and whether twins and singletons differ in intelligence. More generally, the degree to which intelligence has become a part of broader research in neuroscience, health, and social science is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian J Deary
- Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
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42
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Woodley MA. The Cognitive Differentiation-Integration Effort Hypothesis: A Synthesis between the Fitness Indicator and Life History Models of Human Intelligence. REVIEW OF GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY 2011. [DOI: 10.1037/a0024348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
This article presents a potential synthesis between the fitness indicator and life history models of human intelligence through consideration of the phenomena of ability differentiation and integration. The cognitive differentiation-integration effort hypothesis proposes that these effects result from a life history tradeoff between cognitive integration effort, a mating effort component associated with strengthening the positive manifold amongst abilities; and cognitive differentiation effort, a somatic effort component associated with the cultivation of specific abilities. This represents one of two largely independent sources of genetic variance in intelligence; the other is mediated by general fitness and mutation load and is associated with individual differences in levels of ‘genetic g‘. These two sources (along with a common source of environmental variance) combine to give rise to a variety of cognitive phenotypes characterized by different combinations of high or low levels of ‘genetic g‘ and cognitive specialism or generalism. Fundamental to this model is the assumption that measures of life history speed ( K) and g are essentially independent, which is demonstrated via meta-analysis of 10 studies reporting correlations between the variables (ρ = .023, ns, n = 2056). The implications of the model are discussed in an evolutionary, ecological, and developmental context. Seven key predictions are made in the discussion which if tested could provide definitive evidence for the hypothesis.
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Greengross G, Miller G. Humor ability reveals intelligence, predicts mating success, and is higher in males. INTELLIGENCE 2011. [DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2011.03.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 127] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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44
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Eppig C, Fincher CL, Thornhill R. Parasite prevalence and the distribution of intelligence among the states of the USA. INTELLIGENCE 2011. [DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2011.02.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
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45
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Yeo RA, Gangestad SW, Liu J, Calhoun VD, Hutchison KE. Rare copy number deletions predict individual variation in intelligence. PLoS One 2011; 6:e16339. [PMID: 21298096 PMCID: PMC3027642 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0016339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2010] [Accepted: 12/13/2010] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Phenotypic variation in human intellectual functioning shows substantial heritability, as demonstrated by a long history of behavior genetic studies. Many recent molecular genetic studies have attempted to uncover specific genetic variations responsible for this heritability, but identified effects capture little variance and have proven difficult to replicate. The present study, motivated an interest in "mutation load" emerging from evolutionary perspectives, examined the importance of the number of rare (or infrequent) copy number variations (CNVs), and the total number of base pairs included in such deletions, for psychometric intelligence. Genetic data was collected using the Illumina 1MDuoBeadChip Array from a sample of 202 adult individuals with alcohol dependence, and a subset of these (N = 77) had been administered the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI). After removing CNV outliers, the impact of rare genetic deletions on psychometric intelligence was investigated in 74 individuals. The total length of the rare deletions significantly and negatively predicted intelligence (r = -.30, p = .01). As prior studies have indicated greater heritability in individuals with relatively higher parental socioeconomic status (SES), we also examined the impact of ethnicity (Anglo/White vs. Other), as a proxy measure of SES; these groups did not differ on any genetic variable. This categorical variable significantly moderated the effect of length of deletions on intelligence, with larger effects being noted in the Anglo/White group. Overall, these results suggest that rare deletions (between 5% and 1% population frequency or less) adversely affect intellectual functioning, and that pleotropic effects might partly account for the association of intelligence with health and mental health status. Significant limitations of this research, including issues of generalizability and CNV measurement, are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ronald A Yeo
- Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States of America.
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