Conservatism Negatively Predicts Creativity: A Study Across 28 Countries

Previous studies have found a negative relationship between creativity and conservatism. However, as these studies were mostly conducted on samples of homogeneous nationality, the generalizability of the effect across different cultures is unknown. We addressed this gap by conducting a study in 28 countries. Based on the notion that attitudes can be shaped by both environmental and ecological factors, we hypothesized that parasite stress can also affect creativity and thus, its potential effects should be controlled for. The results of multilevel analyses showed that, as expected, conservatism was a significant predictor of lower creativity, adjusting for economic status, age, sex, education level, subjective susceptibility to disease, and country-level parasite stress. In addition, most of the variability in creativity was due to individual rather than country-level variance. Our study provides evidence for a weak but significant negative link between conservatism and creativity at the individual level (β = −0.08, p < .001) and no such effect when country-level conservatism was considered. We present our hypotheses considering previous findings on the behavioral immune system in humans

Conservatism Negatively Predicts Creativity: A Study Across 28 Countries

Previous studies have found a negative relationship between creativity and conservatism. However, as these studies were mostly conducted on samples of homogeneous nationality, the generalizability of the effect across different cultures is unknown. We addressed this gap by conducting a study in 28 countries. Based on the notion that attitudes can be shaped by both environmental and ecological factors, we hypothesized that parasite stress can also affect creativity and thus, its potential effects should be controlled for. The results of multilevel analyses showed that, as expected, conservatism was a significant predictor of lower creativity, adjusting for economic status, age, sex, education level, subjective susceptibility to disease, and country-level parasite stress. In addition, most of the variability in creativity was due to individual rather than country-level variance. Our study provides evidence for a weak but significant negative link between conservatism and creativity at the individual level (β = −0.08, p \u3c.001) and no such effect when country-level conservatism was considered. We present our hypotheses considering previous findings on the behavioral immune system in humans

Reasons for facebook usage: Data from 46 countries

Seventy-nine percent of internet users use Facebook, and on average they access Facebook eight times a day (Greenwood et al., 2016). To put these numbers into perspective, according to Clement (2019), around 30% of the world\u2019s population uses this Online Social Network (OSN) site. Despite the constantly growing body of academic research on Facebook (Chou et al., 2009; Back et al., 2010; Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010; McAndrew and Jeong, 2012; Wilson et al., 2012; Krasnova et al., 2017), there remains limited research regarding the motivation behind Facebook use across different cultures. Our main goal was to collect data from a large cross-cultural sample of Facebook users to examine the roles of sex, age, and, most importantly, cultural differences underlying Facebook use

Affective interpersonal touch in close relationships: a cross-cultural perspective

Interpersonal touch behavior differs across cultures, yet no study to date has systematically tested for cultural variation in affective touch, nor examined the factors that might account for this variability. Here, over 14,000 individuals from 45 countries were asked whether they embraced, stroked, kissed, or hugged their partner, friends, and youngest child during the week preceding the study. We then examined a range of hypothesized individual-level factors (sex, age, parasitic history, conservatism, religiosity, and preferred interpersonal distance) and cultural-level factors (regional temperature, parasite stress, regional conservatism, collectivism, and religiosity) in predicting these affective-touching behaviors. Our results indicate that affective touch was most prevalent in relationships with partners and children, and its diversity was relatively higher in warmer, less conservative, and religious countries, and among younger, female, and liberal people. This research allows for a broad and integrated view of the bases of cross-cultural variability in affective touch

Sex differences in mate preferences across 45 countries: A large-scale replication

Considerable research has examined human mate preferences across cultures, finding universal sex differences in preferences for attractiveness and resources as well as sources of systematic cultural variation. Two competing perspectives—an evolutionary psychological perspective and a biosocial role perspective—offer alternative explanations for these findings. However, the original data on which each perspective relies are decades old, and the literature is fraught with conflicting methods, analyses, results, and conclusions. Using a new 45-country sample (N = 14,399), we attempted to replicate classic studies and test both the evolutionary and biosocial role perspectives. Support for universal sex differences in preferences remains robust: Men, more than women, prefer attractive, young mates, and women, more than men, prefer older mates with financial prospects. Cross-culturally, both sexes have mates closer to their own ages as gender equality increases. Beyond age of partner, neither pathogen prevalence nor gender equality robustly predicted sex differences or preferences across countries

NEOLIBERALISM AND INTERVENTION PHILOSOPHY IN AFRICA: MYTH OF UNDERDIFFERENTIATION

A plethora of topics has been examined within the neoliberal discourse.In Africa, most of these bear, in one way or another, on the adverse consequences of the neoliberal turn. But the neoliberal impact can never be understood separate from contextual and socio-historical configurations. Through a critical reading of both empirical and theoretical literature on neoliberalism, this paper shows that, ultimately, it is the same old intervention philosophy– motivated by the same old social evolutionary thinking –that still drives the neoliberal policy thrust. We lean on the complexity theory to contend that the failures of neoliberalism in Africa are neither due to lack of adequate knowledge of how to implement it nor the political will to do so, but tothe fact that the programme is being deployed, without due modification, to social settings for which it is not suited. Development anthropologists are convinced that the best strategy for change is to base the social designs on the local social form in each target area. There is no alternative tobasing the plans and policies for progress across African societies on theeconomic peculiarities of the different local settings. One-size-shoe-fits-all short cuts have never worked anywhere

DETERMINANTS OF REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH SEEKING BEHAVIOUR AMONG WOWEN OF REPRODUCTIVE AGE IN AJAOKUTA VILLAGE, KOGI STATE

Women of reproductive age play a pivotal role in ensuring the continuity of the society, yet, they are faced with high risks of complications and even death in the course of performing this role. The study examined the determinants of reproductive health-seeking behaviour among women of reproductive age (15-49 years) in Ajaokuta village. The Behavioural Model of Health Service Use was adopted as a theoretical framework of the study. A self-administered open-and closed-ended structured questionnaire was used as instrument of data collection. A descriptive survey was carried out among 156 respondents using the multi-stage sampling technique. Frequency distribution tables and percentage were used to analyze the data. The respondents had the knowledge of reproductive health service, seeks reproductive health care services but the traditional and the faith-based care services. Family influence, educational qualification, inadequate healthcare services, access to health care service, lack of quality services, inadequate health workers, attitudes of health workers, cost of services, lack of confidentiality, waiting period to access care and volume of patients awaiting treatments were the determining factors found by the study. More awareness centered on the benefits of orthodox services utilization, minimal family interference, education of women, availability of quality and accessible reproductive health services, adequate health workers with good attitudes, affordability of healthcare services, strict confidentiality, urgent attention to avoid large number of patients&nbsp; awaiting care services were the recommendations provided by the study Keywords: Ajaokuta Village, Maternal Morbidity, Maternal Mortality, Reproductive Health, Reproductive Health Seeking Behaviour

Predictors of Loneliness among Older Adults in South-Eastern Nigeria : Implications for Social Workers

Old-age loneliness is a crucial public health issue with mortality consequences as well as other negative health conditions and lifestyles including depression, substance abuse, sedentary lifestyles, and suicide ideation. This study investigated the predictors of loneliness among older adults in Nigeria’s southeast in order to articulate some interventions that will plummet the issue. A structured questionnaire (N = 516), in-depth interviews (N = 8), and focus group discussion (N = 16) were used to collect data from respondents aged 60 years or older. The quantitative data sets were subjected to chi-square and binary regression analysis, while a thematic analysis was adopted for the qualitative data. The study’s findings show that some demographic factors such as the number of children (p<.002), health status (p<.023), and social support (p<.014), among others, were statistically significant in predicting loneliness among older adults. The study, therefore, recommends the consideration of community-based services to enable elderly adults to buffer the experience of loneliness. Social workers should also influence the various organs responsible for social policies to formulate and promote policies that address the well-being of older adults

Sex Differences in Mate Preferences Across 45 Countries: A Large-Scale Replication

Considerable research has examined human mate preferences across cultures, finding universal sex differences in preferences for attractiveness and resources as well as sources of systematic cultural variation. Two competing perspectives—an evolutionary psychological perspective and a biosocial role perspective—offer alternative explanations for these findings. However, the original data on which each perspective relies are decades old, and the literature is fraught with conflicting methods, analyses, results, and conclusions. Using a new 45-country sample (N = 14,399), we attempted to replicate classic studies and test both the evolutionary and biosocial role perspectives. Support for universal sex differences in preferences remains robust: Men, more than women, prefer attractive, young mates, and women, more than men, prefer older mates with financial prospects. Cross-culturally, both sexes have mates closer to their own ages as gender equality increases. Beyond age of partner, neither pathogen prevalence nor gender equality robustly predicted sex differences or preferences across countries