In your face: facial metrics predict aggressive behaviour in the laboratory and in varsity and professional hockey players

Facial characteristics are an important basis for judgements about gender, emotion, personality, motivational states and behavioural dispositions. Based on a recent finding of a sexual dimorphism in facial metrics that is independent of body size, we conducted three studies to examine the extent to which individual differences in the facial width-to-height ratio were associated with trait dominance (using a questionnaire) and aggression during a behavioural task and in a naturalistic setting (varsity and professional ice hockey). In study 1, men had a larger facial width-to-height ratio, higher scores of trait dominance, and were more reactively aggressive compared with women. Individual differences in the facial width-to-height ratio predicted reactive aggression in men, but not in women (predicted 15% of variance). In studies 2 (male varsity hockey players) and 3 (male professional hockey players), individual differences in the facial width-to-height ratio were positively related to aggressive behaviour as measured by the number of penalty minutes per game obtained over a season (predicted 29 and 9% of the variance, respectively). Together, these findings suggest that the sexually dimorphic facial width-to-height ratio may be an ‘honest signal’ of propensity for aggressive behaviour

Taking Control of Aggression: Perceptions of Aggression Suppress the Link Between Perceptions of Facial Masculinity and Attractiveness

Women’s preferences for masculine-looking male faces are inconsistent across studies, with some studies finding a positive relationship between masculinity and attractiveness and others finding a negative relationship or no association. One possible reason for this inconsistency is that the perception of masculinity is also associated with perceptions of aggression, which may be viewed as particularly costly to women (aggressive individuals are more likely to experience injury or death). Based on the proposal that women’s preference for masculinity is in conflict with their aversion for aggression in male faces, we hypothesized that the bivariate associations between perceptions of masculinity and attractiveness would be weak or negative, but would be positive and significantly stronger after controlling statistically for perceptions of aggression. Across three studies involving three sets of faces (n = 25, 54, 24) and five sets of raters (n = 29, 30, 26, 16, 10), this hypothesis was supported with the average correlation between perceptions of masculinity and attractiveness (r = -.09) reversing in direction and substantially increasing in magnitude after perceptions of aggression were controlled statistically (r = .35). Perceived masculinity may thus involve both attractive and unattractive components, and women’s preferences for masculinity may involve weighing its relative costs and benefits

Facing Aggression: Cues Differ for Female versus Male Faces

The facial width-to-height ratio (face ratio), is a sexually dimorphic metric associated with actual aggression in men and with observers’ judgements of aggression in male faces. Here, we sought to determine if observers’ judgements of aggression were associated with the face ratio in female faces. In three studies, participants rated photographs of female and male faces on aggression, femininity, masculinity, attractiveness, and nurturing. In Studies 1 and 2, for female and male faces, judgements of aggression were associated with the face ratio even when other cues in the face related to masculinity were controlled statistically. Nevertheless, correlations between the face ratio and judgements of aggression were smaller for female than for male faces (F1,36 = 7.43, p = 0.01). In Study 1, there was no significant relationship between judgements of femininity and of aggression in female faces. In Study 2, the association between judgements of masculinity and aggression was weaker in female faces than for male faces in Study 1. The weaker association in female faces may be because aggression and masculinity are stereotypically male traits. Thus, in Study 3, observers rated faces on nurturing (a stereotypically female trait) and on femininity. Judgements of nurturing were associated with femininity (positively) and masculinity (negatively) ratings in both female and male faces. In summary, the perception of aggression differs in female versus male faces. The sex difference was not simply because aggression is a gendered construct; the relationships between masculinity/femininity and nurturing were similar for male and female faces even though nurturing is also a gendered construct. Masculinity and femininity ratings are not associated with aggression ratings nor with the face ratio for female faces. In contrast, all four variables are highly inter-correlated in male faces, likely because these cues in male faces serve as ‘‘honest signals’’

Esociformes: Esocidae, Pikes, and Umbridae (Mudminnows)

The order Esociformes (Pikes and Mudminnows) comprises two families, Esocidae (Pikes) and Umbridae (Mudminnows). The Pikes are a small Holarctic (Northern Hemisphere) family, that includes large, elongate predators with duckbill-like snouts full of sharp teeth. Popular with sport fishers, the largest Pikes fight fiercely on hook and line. As piscivorous, voracious, ambush predators, the Pikes play an important functional role in the trophic ecology and fish assemblage structure of many aquatic systems, especially in northern lakes. Other esocids, such as the Olympic Mudminnow, Novumbra hubbsi, and Blackfishes, genus Dallia, are interesting because of their tolerance of low dissolved oxygen and pH. The Alaska Blackfish, Dallia pectoralis, and the Northern Pike, Esox lucius, can also withstand the extremely cold conditions of the Arctic and subarctic waters of Canada, Alaska, and Siberia. The name Esocidae is derived from Linnaeus’s (1758) generic name for Pike, Esox, from the Latin word esox meaning Pike, which came originally from the Greek isox or possibly the Gaelic eog, ehawe (salmon) (Boschung & Mayden 2004)

Menstrual cycle phase does not predict political conservatism

Recent authors have reported a relationship between women's fertility status, as indexed by menstrual cycle phase, and conservatism in moral, social and political values. We conducted a survey to test for the existence of a relationship between menstrual cycle day and conservatism. 2213 women reporting regular menstrual cycles provided data about their political views. Of these women, 2208 provided information about their cycle date, 1260 provided additional evidence of reliability in self-reported cycle date, and of these, 750 also indicated an absence of hormonal disruptors such as recent hormonal contraception use, breastfeeding or pregnancy. Cycle day was used to estimate day-specific fertility rate (probability of conception); political conservatism was measured via direct self-report and via responses to the "Moral Foundations” questionnaire. We also recorded relationship status, which has been reported to interact with menstrual cycle phase in determining political preferences. We found no evidence of a relationship between estimated cyclical fertility changes and conservatism, and no evidence of an interaction between relationship status and cyclical fertility in determining political attitudes. Our findings were robust to multiple inclusion/exclusion criteria and to different methods of estimating fertility and measuring conservatism. In summary, the relationship between cycle-linked reproductive parameters and conservatism may be weaker or less reliable than previously thought

Endocrine disruptors and spontaneous premature labor: a case control study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Premature labor is a poorly understood condition. Estrogen is thought to play a key role and therefore the labor process may be affected by endocrine disruptors. We sought to determine whether or not an environmental toxicant, DDE, or dietary derived endocrine disruptors, daidzein and genistein, are associated with spontaneous preterm labor.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Cases were defined as primiparous patients having a preterm delivery at or before 35 weeks following the spontaneous onset of labor. Controls were defined as primiparous women who delivered on the same day as the cases but at term gestation.</p> <p>Over approximately 1 year, 26 cases and 52 controls were recruited. Subjects agreed to have blood tests on day one postpartum for DDE and for the phytoestrogens genistein and daidzein.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The mean concentration of DDE was similar in the case and control groups: 4.29 vs 4.32 ng/g lipid p = .85. In the case group, 13/26 had detectable levels of daidzein (range 0.20 – 1.56 ng/ml) compared to 25/52 controls (range 0.21 – 3.26 ng/ml). The mean concentration of daidzein was similar in cases compared to controls: 0.30 vs .34 ng/ml p = 0.91. Of the case group,14/26 had detectable levels of genistein (range 0.20 – 2.19 ng/ml) compared to 32/52 controls (range 0.21 – 2.55 ng/ml). The mean concentration of genistein was similar in cases compared to controls: 0.39 vs 0.31 ng/ml, p = 0.61.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The serum levels of DDE in this population were found to be low.</p> <p>There appears to be no relationship between serum concentrations of DDE, daidzein, and genistein and spontaneous preterm labor in our population. The inability to identify an effect may be related to the comparatively low concentrations of DDE in our population and the rapid and variable reduction of phytoestrogens from women in labor.</p

Getting “Just Deserts” or Seeing the “Silver Lining”: The Relation between Judgments of Immanent and Ultimate Justice

People can perceive misfortunes as caused by previous bad deeds (immanent justice reasoning) or resulting in ultimate compensation (ultimate justice reasoning). Across two studies, we investigated the relation between these types of justice reasoning and identified the processes (perceptions of deservingness) that underlie them for both others (Study 1) and the self (Study 2). Study 1 demonstrated that observers engaged in more ultimate (vs. immanent) justice reasoning for a "good" victim and greater immanent (vs. ultimate) justice reasoning for a "bad" victim. In Study 2, participants' construals of their bad breaks varied as a function of their self-worth, with greater ultimate (immanent) justice reasoning for participants with higher (lower) self-esteem. Across both studies, perceived deservingness of bad breaks or perceived deservingness of ultimate compensation mediated immanent and ultimate justice reasoning respectively. © 2014 Harvey and Callan

Development of a New Tacaribe Arenavirus Infection Model and Its Use to Explore Antiviral Activity of a Novel Aristeromycin Analog

Background A growing number of arenaviruses can cause a devastating viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF) syndrome. They pose a public health threat as emerging viruses and because of their potential use as bioterror agents. All of the highly pathogenic New World arenaviruses (NWA) phylogenetically segregate into clade B and require maximum biosafety containment facilities for their study. Tacaribe virus (TCRV) is a nonpathogenic member of clade B that is closely related to the VHF arenaviruses at the amino acid level. Despite this relatedness, TCRV lacks the ability to antagonize the host interferon (IFN) response, which likely contributes to its inability to cause disease in animals other than newborn mice. Methodology/Principal Findings Here we describe a new mouse model based on TCRV challenge of AG129 IFN-α/β and -γ receptor-deficient mice. Titration of the virus by intraperitoneal (i.p.) challenge of AG129 mice resulted in an LD50 of ∼100 fifty percent cell culture infectious doses. Virus replication was evident in the serum, liver, lung, spleen, and brain 4–8 days after inoculation. MY-24, an aristeromycin derivative active against TCRV in cell culture at 0.9 µM, administered i.p. once daily for 7 days, offered highly significant (P\u3c0.001) protection against mortality in the AG129 mouse TCRV infection model, without appreciably reducing viral burden. In contrast, in a hamster model of arenaviral hemorrhagic fever based on challenge with clade A Pichinde arenavirus, MY-24 did not offer significant protection against mortality. Conclusions/Significance MY-24 is believed to act as an inhibitor of S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine hydrolase, but our findings suggest that it may ameliorate disease by blunting the effects of the host response that play a role in disease pathogenesis. The new AG129 mouse TCRV infection model provides a safe and cost-effective means to conduct early-stage pre-clinical evaluations of candidate antiviral therapies that target clade B arenaviruses

Facing Aggression: Cues Differ for Female versus Male Faces

The facial width-to-height ratio (face ratio), is a sexually dimorphic metric associated with actual aggression in men and with observers' judgements of aggression in male faces. Here, we sought to determine if observers' judgements of aggression were associated with the face ratio in female faces. In three studies, participants rated photographs of female and male faces on aggression, femininity, masculinity, attractiveness, and nurturing. In Studies 1 and 2, for female and male faces, judgements of aggression were associated with the face ratio even when other cues in the face related to masculinity were controlled statistically. Nevertheless, correlations between the face ratio and judgements of aggression were smaller for female than for male faces (F1,36 = 7.43, p = 0.01). In Study 1, there was no significant relationship between judgements of femininity and of aggression in female faces. In Study 2, the association between judgements of masculinity and aggression was weaker in female faces than for male faces in Study 1. The weaker association in female faces may be because aggression and masculinity are stereotypically male traits. Thus, in Study 3, observers rated faces on nurturing (a stereotypically female trait) and on femininity. Judgements of nurturing were associated with femininity (positively) and masculinity (negatively) ratings in both female and male faces. In summary, the perception of aggression differs in female versus male faces. The sex difference was not simply because aggression is a gendered construct; the relationships between masculinity/femininity and nurturing were similar for male and female faces even though nurturing is also a gendered construct. Masculinity and femininity ratings are not associated with aggression ratings nor with the face ratio for female faces. In contrast, all four variables are highly inter-correlated in male faces, likely because these cues in male faces serve as “honest signals”

Poorer White Matter Microstructure Predicts Slower and More Variable Reaction Time Performance: Evidence for a Neural Noise Hypothesis in a Large Lifespan Cohort

Most prior research has focused on characterizing averages in cognition, brain characteristics, or behavior, and attempting to predict differences in these averages among individuals. However, this overwhelming focus on mean levels may leave us with an incomplete picture of what drives individual differences in behavioral phenotypes by ignoring the variability of behavior around an individual's mean. In particular, enhanced white matter (WM) structural microstructure has been hypothesized to support consistent behavioral performance by decreasing Gaussian noise in signal transfer. Conversely, lower indices of WM microstructure are associated with greater within-subject variance in the ability to deploy performance-related resources, especially in clinical populations. We tested a mechanistic account of the “neural noise” hypothesis in a large adult lifespan cohort (Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience) with over 2500 adults (ages 18-102; 1508 female; 1173 male; 2681 behavioral sessions; 708 MRI scans) using WM fractional anisotropy to predict mean levels and variability in reaction time performance on a simple behavioral task using a dynamic structural equation model. By modeling robust and reliable individual differences in within-person variability, we found support for a neural noise hypothesis (Kail, 1997), with lower fractional anisotropy predicted individual differences in separable components of behavioral performance estimated using dynamic structural equation model, including slower mean responses and increased variability. These effects remained when including age, suggesting consistent effects of WM microstructure across the adult lifespan unique from concurrent effects of aging. Crucially, we show that variability can be reliably separated from mean performance using advanced modeling tools, enabling tests of distinct hypotheses for each component of performance