How does prestige bias affect information recall during a pandemic?

The prestige theory of evolution states that our memory has an intrinsic bias to memorize information from someone of prestige. However, the evidence for information recall is mainly focused on content bias. Considering that the prestige bias can be advantageous in selecting information in contexts of uncertainty, this study assessed whether, in the scenario of the COVID-19 pandemic, the prestige bias would be favored over other models that do not possess the prestige spirit characteristics. The study was conducted through an online experiment, where participants were subjected to reading fictitious text, followed by a surprise recollection. Data were analyzed using a generalized linear mixed model, Poisson family, and logistic regression. The results showed that prestige is only prioritized in the recall due to the family model and does not present any difference from the other models tested. However, it influenced the recall of specific information, suggesting its role as a factor of cultural attraction. Furthermore, we observed that trust in science-oriented profiles can influence the recall of information during a health crisis. Finally, this study highlights the complexity of the functioning of the human mind and how several factors can act simultaneously in the recall of information.

The influence of exotic and native plants on illnesses with physical and spiritual causes in the semiarid region of Piauí, Northeast of Brazil

BACKGROUND

Local medical systems (LMS) include native and exotic plants used for the treatment of diseases of physical and spiritual nature. The incorporation of exotic plants into these systems has been the subject of many studies. In this context, an analysis was conducted on the influence of the origin of plants on diseases of physical and spiritual nature in order to evaluate the therapeutic versatility of native and exotic species in these therapeutic targets, to investigate whether exotic plants mainly fill gaps not met by native plants (diversification hypothesis), and identify which species are prioritized in the redundant targets in these two therapeutic groups in the rural community of Morrinhos, Monsenhor Hipólito, Piauí.

METHODS

Data collection took place in 2 stages. First, free lists and semi-structured interviews with local residents (n = 134) were conducted to survey plants used for therapeutic purposes and the associated illnesses. Then, another phase of interviews was carried out to evaluate the prioritization between native and exotic plants in redundant therapeutic targets. To test the diversification hypothesis (DH) in each group of illnesses, data were analyzed using generalized linear models (Poisson and Binomial GLMs); versatility was measured by the number of therapeutic indications and compared between resources using the Mann-Whitney test, and prioritization in each group was verified by comparing the proportions of native and exotic plants with the χ2 test.

RESULTS

One hundred and thirty-two species of plants were surveyed, being 71 exotic and 61 native, with indications for physical and spiritual illnesses. The results revealed that the diversification hypothesis did not explain the inclusion of exotic plants in the local medical system to treat physical or spiritual illnesses and that the therapeutic versatility of exotic and native resources in the two groups was also similar (p > 0.05). However, exotic plants were prioritized in illnesses with physical causes and native plants in illnesses with spiritual causes.

CONCLUSIONS

The local medical system presents similar and distinct patterns in the therapeutic targets, depending on the perspective evaluated. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the patterns of use of medicinal plants in different sociocultural contexts in order to broaden the debate about the role of plant origin in the selection of treatments for illnesses with different causes.

Does prestige bias influence the recall and transmission of COVID-19-related information? Protocol registration for an experimental study conducted online

In epidemic and pandemic contexts, such as that of COVID-19, epidemiological changes are continuous, and many people do not have access to accurate, up-to-date information. In this context, social learning can be an advantageous survival strategy. We investigate whether people remember and communicate information attributed to someone prestigious more often than that attributed to family members, politicians, and people with experience in public health. The experimental phase will include a recall stage and an information transmission stage, which will be based on a fictitious text containing an opinion about a drug treatment for COVID-19. There will be four versions of the text, and each participant will be assigned one of these versions for the investigation. The participants will be instructed to read the fictional story and then complete a distraction exercise. Subsequently, a recall test will be performed, where they will be asked to recount the story as accurately as possible. The second stage of the experiment is aimed at testing the transmission of information where we will conduct a linear chain transmission experiment, where eight chains of four participants will be used for each story. They will be asked to write down their recollection of the material. This text will undergo spelling error correction and then be sent to the next participant in the chain through the platform. At the end of the experiment, there will be a self-reporting questionnaire for the participants; this allows for triangulation of the data.

Use of game fauna by Fulni-ô people in Northeastern Brazil: implications for conservation

BACKGROUND

Due to the influence of several factors on the hunting of game meat, we investigated how the seasonality of the environment, the abundance, and the biomass of wild animals, as well as the proximity to these resources, can affect the hunting.

METHODS

The research was developed with the Fulni-ô people in the municipality of Águas Belas, Agreste of Pernambuco, Northeast of Brazil. In order to do this, we applied snowball sampling to select the participants. Data from potentially useful game species were obtained from lists and semi-structured interviews to register their particular kind of uses, capture periods (daytime, night, or both), preferences, and perceived abundance. The hunters who allowed their game meat captured to be weighed and identified were followed for 1 year.

RESULTS

Our records pointed to a vast repertoire of potentially hunting animals. However, we did not verify relationships between the abundance, seasonality, and biomass of the animals that were hunted by the Fulni-ô. We observed a total of 209,866 (kg) of game meat hunted in the studied group, belonging to 23 species, distributed in three taxonomic groups, the birds being the most representative group with 59% of total reported.

CONCLUSION

Such consumption by the group is well below in terms of biomass when compared to other ethnic or local groups in other regions of Brazil, or in Caatinga areas, characterizing an activity much more of cultural character than subsistence. Also, the use of game meat among the Fulni-ô seems to be actively directed to the preferred species, suggesting that in the case of an urbanized indigenous community, where other sources of income are available, the demand for game meat is lower when compared to other ethnic groups.

Religiosity/Spirituality Matters on Plant-Based Local Medical System

Religiosity/spirituality can affect health and quality of life in myriad ways. Religion has been present since the first moments of our evolutionary history, whether it is understood as a byproduct or as an adaptation of our cognitive evolution. We investigated how religion influences medicinal plant-based local medical systems (LMSs) and focuses on how individual variation in the degree of religiosity/spirituality affects the structure of LMSs. The knowledge of people about their medical systems was obtained through the free-listing technique, and level of religiosity/spirituality was calculated using the Brazilian version of the Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality. We employed a Generalized Linear Model to obtain the best model. Religiosity/spirituality is predictive of structural and functional aspects of medicinal plant-based LMSs. Our model encourages a discussion of the role of religion in the health of an individual as well as in the structure of an individual's support system. Religiosity/spirituality (and the dimensions of Commitment and Religious and Spiritual History, in particular) act to protect structural and functional elements of LMSs. By providing protection, the LMS benefits from greater resilience, at both the individual and population levels. We suggest that the socialization process resulting from the religious phenomenon has contributed to the complexity and maintenance of LMSs by means of the interaction of individuals as they engage in their religious observances, thus facilitating cultural transmission.

An ethnopharmacological assessment of the use of plants against parasitic diseases in humans and animals

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Ethnobotanical surveys are detecting an increasing frequency of exotic plant species in pharmacopeias, which has led researchers to investigate the role of such species in traditional medical systems. According to the diversification hypothesis, exotic species are included to complete pharmacopeias, i.e., to treat diseases for which no native species are known, thus broadening the scope of the plant repertoire.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The present study was conducted at two rural communities in northeastern Brazil aiming at a survey of the plants known or used by the population to treat endo- and ectoparasitic diseases in humans and animals. In addition, plant extracts exhibiting acaricide activity were assessed using the engorged female immersion and larval packet tests (LPT).

RESULTS

The results of the present study showed a tendency for native species to be used against ectoparasites and exhibit a broader scope of use compared to exotic species. In turn, exotic species were predominantly indicated to treat diseases caused by endoparasites, although there was an overlap of native and exotic species relative to some therapeutic purpose, e.g., ticks. Only two of the plant species tested exhibited acaricide activity (Nicotiana glauca Graham and Croton blanchetianus Baill.), and in both cases, the activity was weak.

CONCLUSION

The ethnobotanical data do not fully support the suggested hypothesis. Overall, the wide versatility of exotic species was not exclusively used to treat parasitic diseases in humans and animals. In addition, the selection of acaricide plants based on the ethnopharmacological study generated uninteresting results.